The Worst of All Possible Worlds

by TheTimeSword


World 3: Chapter 3

The fur beneath the metal band was pressed down, causing a weird sensation as Sunset walked. It’s not like having arms, she bitterly noted, missing the ease of bipedal walking. Every time they stopped, she found herself playing or moving the watch around. The metal band was the same color as her fur, with a white clock face and the darkest shade of blue for ticking hands. She had left her backpack in her room for the day—or night as everyone said—not wanting the burden of the straps digging into her shoulders. Seems like I traded one tight fit for another, she thought, tugging at the band again.

As she stood in the castle elevator, glancing at her reflection and the stallion who was her guard for the night, she wondered what exactly Fluttershy had planned, if anything. Hopefully I won’t have to do much finagling today. Meet some animals, see the menagerie, and maybe, possibly, perchance convince Fluttershy to use her Element on Nightmare Moon. The metal doors opened with a click and a drag, the pegasus in question stood firmly on the other side.

“Oh! I was just coming to find you,” Fluttershy said, greeting the world-hopper with a cheery smile. She had traded her collared shirt for a long, moss-colored sweater, which almost matched the purse she brought with her the previous night. The pigtails remained. “I hope you’re ready for a wonderful time with animals. They’re a bit shy to strangers, but they’ll accept you as long as I am there to help.”

Sunset stepped out of the elevator, smiling her best smile but feeling that it was her worst. “Got any sheep in the menagerie?” she asked before glancing back at the guard, but the doors had already shut. Guess I’ve got my new guard. She turned back to Fluttershy who had a curious look about her. “In the very first world I visited, you developed a sort of donation where you would sheer sheep to be sent off for wool clothes. It was to help the war there.”

“War?” Fluttershy repeated, a sudden gulp in her throat bounced the skin along the sides of her neck. “We’ve never had a war before. Not that I’ve been alive for, at least.”

While they made their way to the exit of the castle, Sunset explained the details of the Crystal War timeline. Once they reached the courtyard, taking a right instead of a left, which would be towards Twilight’s tower, they passed a set of large glass topiaries. “Have you ever been to the Crystal Empire?” Sunset asked as a large domed building came into view beneath the mountain face, something she hadn’t seen in any other world.

“No, I haven’t. I’ve stayed in Canterlot since the Forever Night came, aside from visiting my parents and brother in Cloudsdale.”

“You have a brother?” Sunset asked. She knew the answer, the shy Fluttershy from beyond the mirror had mentioned her free-spirited brother once or twice, but it was smarter to mix knowledge and ignorance. It would help in finding if there were any lies that her friends might keep hidden out of fear of the great blue mist.

Fluttershy nodded, her tongue buried between the gap in her front teeth. “He’s a hard worker.” He isn’t. “Right now he’s in between figuring himself out and his cutie mark.” He is. “But he sort of mooches off our parents.” He does. “No one will hire him though, he was arrested for fanaticism.” He was what!?

“Fanaticism? How can somepony be arrested for that!?” Sunset wailed, stopping just short of the door to the royal menagerie. It was the dome, a shade of white that almost matched the color of the moon’s surface.

When Fluttershy bit her lip, a small portion passed between the gap in her teeth. Sunset would have thought it was adorable, but her rage was blinding. “Well,” Fluttershy started to say, “He’s always had a crush on Rainbow Dash. She and I were friends when we were younger and the world was still in ruins by the sun. When the Forever Night came, she gave up her dreams and became a royal guard. One of the few times Zephyr Breeze came to Canterlot to see me, he asked Rainbow Dash out, but she quickly turned him down stating that she was only into those who were devoted to Nightmare Moon.” She gently tugged on the collar of her sweater. “Rainbow’s not into Zephyr, but since he’s my brother she’s always been refusing him with gentle excuses. This or that, and whatnot. Never telling him that she just doesn’t like him.”

“And so he took it upon himself to be completely devoted to Nightmare Moon,” Sunset replied, understanding the situation. Nightmare Moon did say there were some crazies. “So, how did that end up getting him arrested?”

“Ever heard the term nip it in the bud? Well, Zephyr is a well-known bud.” Fluttershy shook her head. “Of course, that didn’t stop the problem. It only turned the biggest fanatics underground.”

“Ah.” Sunset didn’t let it show, but an internal cringe swept through her body. Poor Zephyr. Love is a crazy, misguided thing.

They quickly leapt to another conversation topic as Fluttershy drew open the white doors of the dome. It was bright inside. Possibly brighter than anywhere else in the world. “Many animals are slow to adapt to the Forever Night, and as such, we keep the domes nice and bright. There are three more domes at the base of the mountain on the eastern side.”

The side where there’s a hole to an underground cavern with pink crystals spiking out of the ground in pure darkness. Sunset nodded.

“Most were fine, though. Our feathered friends took to the night surprisingly well.” Fluttershy extended a hoof into the air and a bright red bird landed gracefully. “Some still have trouble seeing, especially birds that peck the ground for seeds or bugs. Nightmare Moon has done her best to try and brighten the moon as much as she can, and most species are thriving.”

“What about the night time exclusive animals? The ones that usually didn’t appear when day was a thing.”

Fluttershy grimaced. It wasn’t an angry expression or sad, but something mixed between. “You would have thought they’d thrive, but their numbers are actually dwindling. With night and true night, they’re awake at all hours, draining their little bodies to the point of exhaustion.”

“Insomnia for animals,” Sunset deduced.

“That’s exactly right.” Fluttershy didn’t seem happy about the answer, but it was clear that she had been dealing with those feelings for quite a long time. “Come on, let me introduce you to some of the cuddle bugs around here.”

The dome was at most three stories high with a long, winding brick road that led from one end to the other. Trees had been planted and trimmed to create a forest within the menagerie, so much so that Sunset couldn’t see the bright white walls past the entry. Only when she looked up could she see the white, and even then she was blinded by the light. There were a few clearings, though not many due to the small size of the dome. Ponds or rocks for small animals to gather around were more common. The brick pathway curved and twisted like one of the snakes that bathed in the light on one such rock. “You’ve done a good job creating a sun-like environment,” Sunset applauded, glancing over at an iguana making its way up a shrub.

“I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“Nightmare Moon likes to visit the rodent exhibit down in one of the menageries in the east, but she often complains how bright the others are. It’s rare that she’ll come here alone. She only does that when she’s feeling sad.”

“Feeling sad?”

“I shouldn’t talk about it, but I think she feels sad that she can’t help the animals. The world had grown accustomed to living in the light of the sun. I know we can’t go back to the way things were, and I understand why that is, but the animals don’t, no matter how many times I explain it.”

“Do you?” Sunset asked. “Understand why, I mean.”

Fluttershy stopped her trot, her pigtails bounced as she turned her head to face Sunset. “W-what?”

Sunset continued to walk but slowed down to a meager crawl. “Do you understand why the world is covered in darkness? Why there is no sun?” Her eyes dragged from tree to tree, from shade to shade, looking for a blue mist that could be waiting to pounce if the wrong word was said. There was nothing, and Sunset stopped finally, glancing back at the uneasy pegasus. “Your face says you do and can’t admit it.” Whether that sounded harsh or sarcastic, Sunset was unsure, but she didn’t mean it as either. “Are there others who understand?”

The pegasus began to play with the cuffs of her sweater, refusing to look in Sunset’s direction. “Who are you?” she asked, her eyes firmly planted toward the ground.

“A friend.”

The last world had genuinely paranoid ponies, but the expression Fluttershy held would have beaten them all if it were a contest. The pegasus shook her head, her brows so furrowed that they almost touched. “I guess I don’t understand.” Her hoof stretched to point at the unicorn. “Are there really other worlds without the Forever Night?”

Sunset didn’t answer. Sometimes you ask questions you already know the answer to, she smirked. Grabbing the yellow pegasus by her foreleg, Sunset then dragged her through the habitat. “Come on, we’ve got to get you your Element of Harmony. Can’t do that if we’re just standing around all day.”

“You mean night,” Fluttershy corrected as she attempted to wiggle from Sunset’s firm grip.

“Yeah, sure, that’s what I meant.” It wasn’t what she meant.

The plan was coming along smoothly in Sunset’s eyes. Compared to the Crystal War and Resistance timelines, she had already gathered all the information she needed. Some ponies don’t like the fact that the sun is gone, while others really like it. Fluttershy could be converted relatively easily, but only after they became true friends. To think I once bullied Fluttershy at CHS, and now here I am dragging a Fluttershy around to show me animals.

“That’s Harry.” Fluttershy pointed to a skittish bear hiding behind a pine tree. “He’s a big ol’ cuddle bear. Come here, Harry.” She patted the floor, making cooing noises from deep in her throat. The gentle brown bear plopped on all four legs and crawled over like a scolded child after stealing a cookie. “What’s the matter, Harry?” Fluttershy asked, petting the bear’s head. With a sudden grasp and a gasp, the yellow pegasus was up in the air.

“Fluttershy!” Sunset yelled and her horn began to light up, but giddy laughter ceased the magical discharge.

The pegasus landed in the bear’s arms, laughing and hooting as Harry held her tight in a bear hug. “Oh, Harry, you’re such a trickster.” Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around the big lug’s neck as he licked the side of her head, making one of her pigtails dance. “Sorry if he frightened you, Sunset. Harry is a gentle giant. Isn’t that right, Harry?”

As if on command, the bear leaned down and let Fluttershy go before turning to Sunset and giving her a big lick across the face. “He’s certainly friendly,” Sunset laughed, patting the bear’s big black nose.

“Do you know where Angel Bunny is, Harry?” Fluttershy asked, sounding as sweet as honey tea.

Harry looked at Fluttershy and gave a toothy smile before turning back to Sunset and winking. Wait, did that bear just wink at me? Sunset thought, glancing back at Fluttershy who started to squirm. “Are you alright?”

“I think Harry here was a distraction.” Fluttershy giggled, her sweater moving in all directions. Two big white ears suddenly popped out at her neck, tickling her chin. “There you are, mister. Momma’s missed you.” The bunny jumped from the collar and landed in front of Harry, turning and angrily crossing his arms. Fluttershy must've sensed something Sunset couldn’t as the pegasus said, “I know and I’m sorry, but I had to bring a new friend tonight.”

That didn’t seem to sit well with the little white bunny, as he turned to look at Sunset with two small brows of anger above his beady eyes. It all seemed to sink away for him, however, as his eyes and mouth went wide. “Hi there,” Sunset greeted, smiling down at him. “It’s good to see you again, Angel Bunny.”

“Again?” Fluttershy inquired, and Angel’s reaction seemed the same.

“That’s right.” Sunset extended a hoof, allowing Angel to jump up onto her. “I’ve missed seeing him and Spike. The last two worlds I visited didn’t have you two, though Spike isn’t in this one either.” She pressed her neck against the rabbit and he held onto her for a moment before climbing up into her red and yellow mane.

Fluttershy blinked. “Who’s Spike?”

“Well, in my world, he’s Twilight’s assistant. He’s also a young dragon that—” Sunset paused, slapping a hoof against her face. I forgot to continue searching for when Twilight and Spike first met each other! The Twilight of this world interrupted my whole train of thought yesterday. She jiggled her watch, realizing now that leaving her backpack had been a mistake all along.

While Sunset scolded herself, Fluttershy continued with their conversation. “A baby dragon? Oh, how I’d love to meet one of those! I’ve never met a dragon, ever, actually. Do you think they’re alright with the Forever Night?”

“I don’t know. Spike’s the only dragon I’ve met, and he’s a dog in my wor—” Sunset paused once more, slapping her face again. Fluttershy, with the gap in her teeth and her quirky pigtails, stared curiously for a long moment. So long that Sunset couldn’t ignore it. “I guess the cats out of the bag,” she sighed.

“I don’t understand. How can he be a dog and a dragon?” Fluttershy wonder. Her face showed she was thinking about a scaly dog with wings or something similar.

Sunset scratched the back of her neck, almost forgetting Angel Bunny was burrowing himself into her mane. “Well, I haven’t really told anyone, and I know Nightmare Moon doesn’t want me telling ponies this... But, while I am from Equestria originally, the world I live in isn’t part of Equestria. It’s a place where everyone is a bipedal furless creature, and even I am transformed into it when I return there.” She looked at Harry. “Kind of like Harry here. They walk on two legs and use their hands. They don’t have horns or wings. And they aren’t as hairy as Harry.”

“Hmm.” Fluttershy tucked her forelegs against her neck. “Ohhh, I’d love to meet one! I’m always interested in meeting new animals, especially ones that talk. Do dragons talk too?”

“As far as I know they do. Nothing magical passes through the mirror between worlds and stays the same. One thing that does is you guys, you bearers of the Elements. I’m friends with you all in my world, but I haven’t really had the pleasure of meeting you all in Equestria—except for Twilight and Pinkie.”

“Nothing magical? Like, at all?” That shocked Fluttershy more than the alternate version of herself. “Do you mean that it’s always…?”

“Sunny and bright?” Sunset laughed. “Yeah. But don’t tell anyone about the world beyond the mirror. Nightmare Moon wouldn’t be happy if I kept bringing up worlds where it’s not always night time.”

Harry frowned and clasped his hands together, shaking them in front of Sunset.

“Oh, Harry,” Fluttershy comforted, placing a hoof over his paws. “He doesn’t like the Forever Night. He misses the sun.”

“I’m guessing he’s not the only one,” Sunset said, pointing out the other critters that had come out to see the commotion. The number of animals kept in the menagerie put Sunset in awe. Too many to fit in a place as small as this. “Are they all afraid of the eternal night?”

“Yes. That’s why they’re here,” Fluttershy lamented. “B-but it’s not all bad! I believe the next generation won’t be unhappy, they’ll be born into the darkness. They’ll have never seen the sun, so… it won’t…”

Sunset turned back to look at the pegasus who was being consoled by Harry, tears soaking her bright yellow cheeks. “Fluttershy, are you alright? What’s wrong?” Sunset felt a sudden split in her mane, and Angel Bunny came crawling out. Landing on his feet, he quickly scampered over to the pegasus and wrapped his small bunny arms around a foreleg.

Fluttershy took the bunny in one hoof, rocking him against her sweater. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a sad sourpuss. It’s just so hard to think about all the poor babies growing up never knowing the beauty of the sun.” Just as quickly as she said the worlds, two wings came clasping down over her mouth. “I didn’t mean that!” she shouted, her eyes as wide as the moon.

Harry covered his ears and closed his eyes, Angel Bunny tucked himself back into Fluttershy’s sweater, and the rest of the animals disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. “Whoa,” Sunset mouthed silently, glancing around to see if the blue mist might have seeped somewhere close. Even in the shadows, there was nothing, and the bright lights above illuminated the rest of the menagerie.

“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it,” Fluttershy belligerently repeated.

“Fluttershy. Fluttershy!” Sunset took the pegasus’s wings and pressed them away. “It’s alright. You don’t need to make yourself feel bad for feeling that way!”

“But I—”

Sunset shook her head. “No buts.” I suppose it’s too soon to try and coerce her into joining me. “I think what you need is some ice cream.”

“Ice cream?” Fluttershy sniffled.

“Sure.” Sunset wrapped a hoof around the pegasus’s neck, hugging her tightly. “Believe it or not, I was actually a bad guy once. I tried to take over the world beyond the mirror, but I was defeated by six exceptional people who became my friends.” Sunset gave a wink and a smile, pulling Fluttershy back down the brick path they'd come. “Nobody knows this, but I didn’t take my defeat too well. I was pretty sore, so I got some ice cream. Sometimes, sitting and eating ice cream is the best thing for trying to figure things out.”

With her wings, Fluttershy wiped away the tears from her eyes, blotting the soaked cheeks with her feathers. “You were a bad guy? What was that like?”

“Oh, it was awful,” Sunset exclaimed. “Dumbest, stupidest, most half-baked idea I ever had, but I wouldn’t go back in time and change it, that’s for sure. If I did, I wouldn’t have great friends like you.” After pushing the bright white door open, Sunset held it for Fluttershy, and waved a goodbye to Harry and Angel Bunny who sat on the big bear’s shoulder. The moon was high in the sky, casting down light on the huge castle bearing down on them.

“Are we friends, Sunset?” Fluttershy asked as she stood in the mighty moonlight. “Do you want to be friends?”

“Absolutely. It’s going to be nice just sitting down and enjoying a cold treat for once.” It’s better than eating snow after being tackled by a brainwashed soldier. “I’m hoping this world is still close enough to the original to have my favorite ice cream parlor.”

“I thought you said you didn’t live in this world?”

Sunset had to chuckle at that. “Now that’s an even longer story. If it’s still there, I’ll tell you all about it.” Fluttershy seemed to like that idea, and the two headed for the gate to the rest of Canterlot. The guards gave them a suspicious eye but let them through regardless. As they traveled down the steps, Sunset laughed. Last time I came down this way was to find Chrysalis. Now I’m going for ice cream. “What a strange life I live,” she mumbled as they turned the corner onto the main street.

Ponies crowded the moonlit limestone road. Some were in fancy outfits, some were pulling carts or delivering mail, and some were castle guards coming down to enjoy their shift's end. Beautiful classical music was playing from a place Sunset couldn’t quite discern, but as they made their way down the main street, she noticed speakers hung up on some storefronts. They looked like the type of speakers that CHS had for their morning announcements, except these were coated in black and blue.

A song would end and another classical tune would start up. “Since when does Canterlot have radio?” Sunset wondered aloud, looking around at the rest of the shops to see if anything else was new. “An elevator. A radio system. What’s next? Television?”

“Oh, no. They say television rots your brain and that we should stick to reading,” Fluttershy replied, stopping beside the unicorn. “Though, maybe that was just made up by some author who didn't want his craft to go off to the wayside.”

“Never mind that, I see the ice cream parlor!” With a clap of excitement, Sunset jaywalked across the intersection and came face to face with her reflection in the parlor’s glass. The wooden sign above the doorway held cursive writing that Fluttershy attempted to read but couldn’t. “I called it the Squiggles when I was a filly,” Sunset said, pushing the golden bar on the door and entering the ice cream shop. “It wasn’t until I was older that I could read it, but by then I had no interest in sitting down for brain-freezing treats. My mind was… elsewhere.”

The parlor had booths on the right side, and on the left were barstools lined up against the counter. Two stallions sat near the door while two mares sat further in the back. A balding old stallion stood behind the cash register wiping down a thick glass. “I’ve never been in here before,” Fluttershy said, taking a seat on a barstool next to Sunset. “How is it you’ve known about it?”

“I was an apprentice to a very important pony,” Sunset answered. “She would often take me here as a reward for my magical improvements.” She paused, glancing over the same wooden wall behind the counter that had been there all those years ago. The counter, a tan wood, replaced the marble that she had known, and the reupholstered stools were now a red velvet. “I suppose I should order something in honor of her, but the truth is, I don’t deserve something like that just yet.”

“Oh, my…” Fluttershy gasped. “Who was she?”

Sunset smiled, touching one side of her mouth and pulling her hoof to the other side like a zipper. “I don’t think Canterlot would enjoy me saying her name. But I plan to make amends with her once I return to my world. There are a few ponies I need to make things right with.” She glanced down at the watch and noticed it hadn’t bugged her as of late.

“What can I get you two ladies?” the stallion behind the counter asked. As he came closer, Sunset noticed that one eye had gone grey, while the other remained a beady black. Both of his eyes squinted at Sunset for a moment, which Sunset caught and thought nothing of it.

“I’m not sure. What’ll you have, Sunset?”

“Two ice cream sundaes,” Sunset responded, holding up her hoof to show two fingers that weren’t there.

The stallion nodded, exiting through a small door behind the counter. “I haven’t had ice cream in a while,” Fluttershy admitted, a sweet smile creasing her lips. “There’s been no time. I’m usually with the animals all night, and even though I’m used to the Forever Night, living in Canterlot has been a whole different thing.”

“Do you have a house in Canterlot?” Sunset asked, folding her forelegs over the counter like she would do if she were bipedal.

Fluttershy nodded in response. “The princess has been ever so gracious to help fund those that help her. One of the ponies you met yesternight, Applejack, actually has a home in Canterlot, Fillydelphia, and Ponyville, though I believe she spends most of her time in the latter. She’s really successful. Many ponies became successful after Nightmare Moon saved us. So much so that we’ve had a boom in technology.”

“So, where does she get all the money?” Sunset wondered. Another area of exploitation.

But Fluttershy only giggled. “I’m just the zookeeper, not her accountant.”

The cashier eventually returned with two glassfuls of sundae, a pink banana soaked in the middle with chocolate sauce poured throughout. “Here you two ladies go,” he said sternly, never taking his one good eye off Sunset. They thanked him and he disappeared behind the door once more.

Sunset scooped out a piece of the banana with her spoon, holding it with her magic, and wondering why exactly it was pink. “I’ve got to take the girls out for ice cream when I get back to my world.” She split one of the scoops of ice cream in half, then quarters. “I’m going to have so much to tell them. I can’t imagine how they must be feeling without me.”

“When was the last time you saw them?” Fluttershy asked with a mouthful of ice cream.

“Umm.” Sunset swiveled in her seat, looking for a calendar. One sat on the wall near the door, to which she levitated over to them. The picture at the top was of ice cream, shockingly. “Wait.” Sunset shoved her spoon back into her sundae, flipping the calendar backward one month. “This can’t be right.”

Fluttershy turned her head, getting a pigtail caught in her ice cream. “What’s wrong?”

“This calendar, it’s marked for this day as yesterday.” Sunset pointed at the fifth box with an X through the middle of it. “Except, when calculating it in the mirrored world's time, the day I left is here.” She then pointed at the third box with an X through the middle of it.

“Isn’t that a good thing? Not much time has passed.”

Sunset shook her head. “No. In the last world I was in we were closer to the end of the month.” I never did find out how changelings were creating calendars, or why. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“There are a few things that don’t make sense.” The bald stallion had reappeared in the doorway behind the counter. He made a sharp whistle and motioned to the other inhabitants of the parlor. That’s when Sunset realized something was wrong. There’s no fillies or colts here. It’s an ice cream shop without foals.

The two stallions that sat near the entrance got up and locked the door, blockading it with their bodies. The two mares, who sat at the other end of the parlor, also rose from their seats, staring intently at Sunset and Fluttershy.

“S-Sunset, what’s happening?” Fluttershy bleated.

“Who are you all? What’s going on?” Sunset demanded, rising to her hooves while still standing on the barstool.

“Sunset. Sunset Shimmer,” the balding stallion said as he came towards them, a piece of wood under his right foreleg. “Yeah, you sure look like her.”

Gulping her anxiety down, Sunset stared at the good eye of the stallion. “Do you know who I am?”

The stallion was quick, and Sunset expected more, but all he did was toss a wooden picture frame onto the counter. It had been jarring enough for Sunset to fall to the floor, landing gracefully on her hooves. “I hope you trust this here friend of yours. I don’t want this place shut down.” The stallion flipped over the picture frame, revealing the photograph beneath.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy raised her hooves to her mouth, and that stirred a bit of curiosity into Sunset.

With her magic, Sunset levitated the picture frame to her level. Her eyes glanced between the pair of stallions and mares and the bald stallion. It wasn’t until she saw the photograph that her eyes stood still.

“Aw.” She had no words for the tears that exploded down her cheeks. Inside the wooden frame sat a black and white photograph of an alicorn princess and a curly haired filly, aptly titled ‘Student and Teacher’ in the upper left corner. “I can’t believe it.” She climbed back onto her stool, a few tears falling into her sundae. “This was so long ago, back when I was a young—”

Everything went silent for a moment.

Sunset, a smart unicorn from Canterlot who traveled through a mirror, returned to Equestria and found herself in the crossfire of two ponies experimenting with time travel. “This was taken before Twilight became her apprentice—before she was even looking for a new apprentice,” Sunset voiced her thoughts, linking the two pieces together. “Those two went so far back that Spike doesn’t exist and the events brought on by the bearers were altered, yet here I am in this photo. That means they didn’t go back so far as to mess with events long ago. That’s why Nightmare Moon has appeared in every timeline! That’s why the Crystal Empire always returns! They’re predestined, but things like Discord and Tirek are not.”

Sunset tore open the picture frame, ignoring everypony around her. On the back of the photo was written the day, month, and year. “It was three years after this that I gave up my apprenticeship to Celestia, and she found a replacement not long after.” With tear-soaked cheeks, she turned to Fluttershy. “With this, I might be able to figure out the correct time when they started changing the past!”

“W-who’s changing the past?” Fluttershy asked, growing increasingly more terrified of Sunset rather than the ponies around them.

“Twilight Sparkle and a pony named Starlight Glimmer.” Sunset wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hoof. “Whatever they’ve done, why I’m even here, it has to do with those two.” She lifted the calendar back up, giving the stallion behind the counter the meanest stink eye she could. “Is this calendar correct?”

The stallion didn’t show his intimidation, but he did gulp before he answered. “That’s correct, yes.”

“So, whatever they changed happened when Twilight was a filly, and each world starts on the day I left. Which means that whatever these worlds are, they don’t exist without—” Sunset paused, the sudden realization sinking in.

“They don’t what, Sunset?”

“Sunset?”

“We matter! What happens here matters to us!” Twilight Sparkle yelled, staring down at Sunset with tear-soaked eyes. “If you were truly our friend, you would have already known that!”

“Aren’t we friends, Sunset?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Multiverse theory,” Twilight Sparkle replied.

“Don’t you miss us?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

Darkness shrouded the sky, but nothing was dark. The yellow plains were illuminated somehow, like on a cloudy, rainy day when the sun sat hidden. Sunset felt the flowers all around her, brushing against her sides. She could barely see the darkened sky past the underside of the petals. “Of course I miss you,” she said, blinking slowly, tears still in her eyes. Sunset sat up and pressed her hand against the corners of her eyes, rubbing them with her thumb and index finger. “What in Equestria!?” she shouted, throwing her hand out as if ants covered it.

She looked down, a light cream-colored skirt sat bunched up against blue jeans. “I’m… I’m me.” Her eyes wandered from her shoeless feet to her painted nails. “But this isn’t truly me. I came from Equestria. I’m a pony.” Pushing herself forward onto her knees, she summoned all her strength to rise and stand bipedal. A gentle wind pushed her bangs into her eyes as she rose, and when she removed the hair, she saw the indigo gazebo from her dreams. “I must be dreaming. But how? Why?”

Her strides were long and rough as she attempted to get used to walking on two feet again. As she climbed the slope and reached the top, she grabbed onto the wooden siding. Pulling herself up to the handrail, she found that she was alone. A few unused benches were the only thing that remained. She pulled her legs over the side and stood on the wooden floorboards, glancing around the plains to see what she could see. The wood beneath her feet felt dirty—like someone hadn't swept in years. “There’s nothing here.”

“Oh, there’s someone here.”

Sunset twirled at lightning speeds, surprised by the voice from behind her, and even more surprised by who it was. “Midnight Sparkle!”

“Don’t you miss us, Sunset? Don’t you miss feeling like you were the hero? You failed the last two worlds, and now you’ll never see them again.” Midnight Sparkle laughed. She sat on the bench, cross-legged, as calm as snow covered woods.

“I didn’t fail! The Elements of Harmony saved the last two worlds, they were saved by bearers, just like how they gave me the power to defeat you!” Sunset yelled, clenching a fist at the magic-filled demon in front of her. “But this is just a dream, I don’t have to fear your words. I don’t have to explain my actions to a shadow.”

“She’s waiting for you in a field of golden flowers, Sunset Shimmer. And unlike her, you can have everything you want. Just try not to break your back by burdening yourself with all those lessons.” Midnight Sparkle erupted into dust and vanished, leaving only her mocking laughter behind.

“Lessons?” Sunset turned back to the entrance of the gazebo. “Am I really supposed to learn something here? What’s the point of all these dreams?”

“Sunset!” a voice so loud rang out from the sky, pushing down the flowers in the field so forcefully that they did not immediately regain their stance. “Sunset!” the voice yelled again, pushing the flowers even lower.

“What!? What do you want from me!?” Sunset yelled back. A light so bright blinded her for a moment, and she quickly covered her eyes. “What? What’s going on!?” she yelled and found that she was covering her eyes with her hooves.

It was Fluttershy’s voice. “Are you alright Sunset? You passed out!”

Sunset was sprawled out on her back, Fluttershy stood over her along with the bald stallion and the two mares. “W-what? Passed out?” Sunset felt a jolt of pain lingering in her shoulders. “I suppose it wasn’t a soft landing,” she guessed, rubbing the ache in her shoulder blade.

“You started blabbering nonsense there for a moment, kiddo,” the bald stallion said, extending a hoof. Sunset took it and was pulled to her flank. “It’s a good thing you had that episode here.” With his other hoof, he held an ice cream sandwich still in wrapper up to her back.

“Thanks,” Sunset replied, rubbing her forehead just below her horn. “So, where’d you get that picture? You’re not the original owner, I remember him. A tan stallion with brown hair. I had a crush on him, but I think it was because he had ice cream.”

“My son,” the stallion replied. “He’s sitting somewhere in the dungeons right now. Too much preachin’ about Princess Celestia.”

Fluttershy pulled the photograph to Sunset. “The cat really is out of the bag.”

“Ah, don’tcha worry,” one of the mares said. She was blonde with a fur hat that had ears going down to her chin. Her creamy fur reminded Sunset of the skirt she had been wearing moments ago. “We’re all huge fans of Princess Celestia here, though we ain’t gonna admit it out to the general public.” She snorted.

Sunset turned to Fluttershy, glancing over the expressionless pegasus. “We’re not going to admit anything that’s happened here, are we?”

The pegasus smiled a wide smile, her tooth gap displayed prominently. “I think I found my favorite ice cream parlor in Canterlot.”

Sunset had to laugh at that, but her eyes dragged back to the slumped over calendar that was between the wooden counter and barstool. A thousand thoughts were racing through her mind, but only one stuck out amongst the rest. Just a short, simple pop in. Say hello, grab a replacement, and then head home for dinner. That’s how it was supposed to go. Now, I might actually make it to that picnic, but that means nobody knows I’m here.