Sunset needed answers. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind about that. She wandered the meadow aimlessly, hoping to find anything that might resemble a clue as to what had happened. Did she teleport? If so, then where did she teleport to? Why did the sun seem to have so much magic? And most importantly of all, how would she get back?
One thing was clear, the answers weren’t just going to come to her. She had to find something that could give them to her. But where would she even begin? Grass and the occasional flower rubbed against her ankles as she walked. Eventually, her wanderings took her to a stream, a small creek that cut through the meadow with the gentle sound of running water.
Most strangely of all, however, was the creature she saw hovering just above the stream. It looked like a fish, the largest fish she had ever seen, roughly the size of one of Anthropia’s horses. Its body was blue with red markings, with a wide maw and shadows above its eyes that almost looked like eyelashes. Feathered wings pulsing with magic grew from its underside, and the end of its body trailed off into an ethereal cloud of butterflies made from blue light. The creature gently glided over to Sunset, and regarded her curiously.
“You’re a friendly thing, aren’t you?” said Sunset. She reached out and placed a hand on its forehead, which was surprisingly warm to the touch. Her geode glowed, and a nugget of information dropped directly into her mind.
Sunset pulled her hand away. “Lorwyn? I’m on a plane called Lorwyn?”
The fish let out a satisfied chirp. Its eyes twinkled, and another piece of information crawled into Sunset’s thoughts.
“You’re a mulldrifter,” Sunset said gently. “An elemental spirit of knowledge. But I didn’t touch you that time.” She paused for a moment, mulling the thought over. The creature’s name made perfect sense. “Did you just give that knowledge to me?”
The mulldrifter nodded, cheeping softly. It then vanished, its body scattering into a swarm of butterflies that dissipated into the air.
“No, wait! Come back!” But by then, it was already too late. The mulldrifter had given its life to give its knowledge to Sunset, just as it was made to do. Sunset felt a twinge of sorrow, but she couldn’t bring herself to mourn. The elemental had gotten everything it had wanted in life, after all.
But what of the knowledge that she was on another plane? There was only one possible explanation.
Sunset, somehow, was a planeswalker.
It didn’t seem possible. At the very best, it should have been wildly improbable. From what she’d seen of Twilight’s memories, someone receiving a planeswalker spark was an extraordinarily rare occurrence, and having that spark ignite was even more exceedingly uncommon. The odds that both herself and Twilight could possess a spark would have been astronomically low.
Or perhaps she was thinking about it the wrong way. She and Twilight held their share of similarities, after all, and the most sensible explanation came to her easily. Both she and Twilight had been Princess Celestia’s student at some point in their pasts. They had both been chosen, she realized, because they both held the same potential. Sunset had been replaced by the first pony Celestia could find with the spark.
A tension built up within Sunset’s chest, and she couldn’t rightly figure out why. Except she knew exactly why. Except no, she didn’t. No matter what the voice in her head kept trying to tell her.
Sunset sighed. Now wasn’t the time to start dwelling on the past. She scanned the horizon for any landmarks, anything that she could use to help navigate this strange new world. She found it in a small, lonely mountain in the distance, jutting out from the landscape and covered in green foliage. From its peak, she could easily map out the surrounding lands.
Resolve poured itself into her body, and she began her journey to her new destination. Only time would tell what she would find.
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The sun was already halfway to the edge of the horizon by the time Sunset had reached the mountain, and already the thought of nightfall made her nervous. The magic of Lorwyn’s sun was especially powerful, and the feeling it left on her skin as the day grew closer to her namesake changed, growing less warm and pleasant the further it grew to evening.
At the very least, she could find a suitable shelter from her vantage point atop the mountain. And what a mountain it was: small by any mountainside’s standards, yet at the same time tall and imposing, covered with so much green that its entire surface was enveloped in moss and grass. It was also strangely lumpy in shape, far from the rocky crag she had expected it to be from a distance. Come to think of it, she couldn’t even see any stone at all.
As she reached out to climb the mountain, the reason why became clear. Her geode pulsed, and she felt the familiar sensation of being pulled into another mind. Before she could even get a clear look at the memory, she pulled her hand away, shrieking in surprise as she fell onto her hindquarters.
What she had tried to climb wasn’t a mountain. It was something else. Something alive.
The ground rumbled as the giant landmass shifted and moved, and Sunset was suddenly very glad that she hadn’t had anything to drink in the past several hours. Her body shook and trembled as a giant, grassy visage turned around and faced her.
“Well, hello there, dearie.” The giant’s voice boomed, but it was far softer than Sunset expected for a creature of her size. “There’s no need to be afraid, little one. I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Sunset tried to get a grip on her body’s shaking. There was no chance of running, not against a being with strides undoubtedly larger than a football field. “W-w-what are you?”
“My name is Rosheen Meanderer,” said the giant. “Tell me, would you like to hear a story?”
Sunset nodded silently. She had a feeling her answer wouldn’t really matter regardless. It wasn’t wise to turn down someone who could squish you with a finger.
A smile cracked its way across Rosheen’s face. “Once upon a time,” she started, “the plane of Lorwyn was very different from the plane that you see today. It was a plane where all things had only one nature, where the sunrise and sunset where naught but times of day. But all of that changed when the faerie queen’s ambitions grew bolder.
“Oona, having ruled over the fae of Lorwyn for millennia, sought more. She wished to rule not merely her own subjects, but the very fabric of the world, and even the day and night itself. From her secluded glen, she weaved a web of powerful enchantments that transformed Lorwyn to suit her will, shaping it into her own image. But as the enchantments grew stronger, the world began to fall out of balance. All that is began to split in two, each soul developing two sides that would spend their waking hours fighting each other for supremacy of the body. Rather than lose control of the world she desired, Oona instead split the very plane in two, stabilizing its existence into two parallel worlds. Lorwyn, a world of eternal daylight, and Shadowmoor, a world of eternal night.”
A godlike monarch named Oona, whose powerful ambitions had created a world of eternal night. Something about that sounded familiar, but Sunset couldn’t quite put her finger on what. By then her body had stopped trembling, and she sat up, giving the giant her full attention.
“Every few centuries, a powerful magic called the Great Aurora swept through the land,” Rosheen continued. “It turned one world into the other, along with every one of its inhabitants. Souls that were kind and gentle in Lorwyn became vicious and cruel in Shadowmoor, and vice-versa. And every time the plane transformed, none but a precious few held any memories of the life they had before the Aurora transformed them. But despite Oona’s ambitions, even the Great Aurora began to slip out of her control. In her desperation, she began hurriedly plotting schemes to retain her rule over the nature of the plane. Oona grew reckless, and in her recklessness, she allowed a group of unlikely heroes to defeat her once and for all. Without her, the Aurora vanished, and Lorwyn and Shadowmoor became one once more.”
Sunset stared at Rosheen with wide eyes, utterly enraptured by her story. And yet, there was something else that bothered her. “But what about the sun?”
“The sun?” said Rosheen. “What about it, dearie?”
“The sun. I can feel its magic,” said Sunset. “And I can feel it getting darker the closer it gets to the horizon. Not just physically, but magically. What’s with that?”
Rosheen’s massive eyes swam slightly. “Ah, that. Well, dearie, just because the Aurora is gone doesn’t mean its influence isn’t still felt. A magic that powerful doesn’t simply go away without leaving a lasting mark on the world. Though Lorwyn is no longer transformed by the rising and setting of the sun, every time it dips below the horizon, people begin to change. Negative feelings grow much more powerful after nightfall. Anger, resentment, and hatred are magnified tenfold. You had best learn to accept such feelings, or they’ll end up ruling you.”
Sunset’s body tensed. “Excuse me? And just what is that supposed to mean?”
Rosheen chuckled gently. “That, I’m afraid, you will have to figure out for yourself. Would you like to hear another story? I have quite a few more to share.”
Sunset shook her head, and propped herself back onto her feet. “Thank you, miss Meanderer, but I really do have to be going.”
“Any time, little one,” said Rosheen. “You feel free to come visit me again whenever you wish.”
Sunset didn’t count on it. Lorwyn’s sun was already nearly at the horizon by the time Rosheen’s story had finished. And one thing was certain, she didn’t want to be around when nightfall happened. Not if what the giant had said to her was true.
Of course, not being around was easier said than done. Sunset didn’t even know the first thing about Lorwyn, or about planeswalking in general. The moment her spark had ignited, she was overcome with so much anguish, so much inner turmoil, that she had barely even noticed the power that had burned inside of her. She didn’t remember what it felt like to planeswalk, or how she would even begin to call upon that magic.
Panic began to set in as she considered just how lost she truly was. There was so little she understood about Lorwyn, so little she knew about the multiverse. Her breaths quickened, and she broke out into a run, hoping that if she covered enough distance, she might find an answer. Maybe another mulldrifter would give it to her, maybe she would find it somewhere else.
Sunset didn’t know how long she had been running for, and the meadow seemed to stretch on infinitely in all directions. Either way, a sudden chill down her spine, paired with a darkening of the sky, informed her that it was too late. Brilliant red and gold painted the horizon, and sunset turned to see Lorwyn’s sun lowering itself below the edge of the world.
And then, in a flash of light, everything vanished.
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...
....
.....
......Strange. I didn’t feel any different. When I opened my eyes, nothing at all had changed. I was standing in the same perfect meadow I had been standing in before, only now there wasn’t any sun hanging over it. That old lady had said something about my anger being intensified during nightfall, but that wasn’t the case at all. I was always angry, but I certainly didn’t feel any more so than before.
But then I noticed something. My thoughts felt different. There was nothing resisting them, nothing pushing them back into the corner of my own mind I had been trapped in for so long. I felt... well, free.
Slowly, I turned my head down. That alone should have confirmed it, but I decided to it take another step further. I commanded my body to raise my hands, and wriggle my own fingers before my eyes. Sure enough, my body obeyed, and I watched as the human digits danced in front of my vision.
A sudden lightness made its way into my chest. I felt absolutely giddy with excitement. Why wouldn’t I be? I was free. For the first time ever since the Fall Formal, I was free. Happiness was an unfamiliar feeling to me, but I felt so happy that I could burst into laughter at any moment.
Of course, like all good things that have ever happened to me, it didn’t last. I heard a voice in my mind, her voice, a voice much like my own. Yet though we sounded exactly alike, she couldn’t have been more different from me.
W-what? What’s going on?
Oh, of course. Of freaking course. She just had to be here, too, didn’t she? It wasn’t enough that she’d stolen everything from me, no. She didn’t even have the decency to leave me alone once I got it all back.
Why are you in my body? Who ARE you?
Be quiet, you. I don’t want to hear your stupid voice. And to answer your question, I’m Sunset Shimmer. The real Sunset Shimmer. You were never anything more than an annoying little goody-two-shoes voice in the back of my head. That is, until the Elements of Harmony gave you an identity of your own, and proceeded to hand you control over every single goddamned aspect of my life.
I-I don’t understand! Somebody help! P-please, I’m so scared!
Shut up. Just shut up. I hate you, and if it weren’t for Twilight and Celestia, I’d hate you more than anyone in the entire multiverse. So keep your mouth shut, because if you distract me from my goals, I won’t hesitate to destroy you, too. It doesn’t even matter that you’re in my own mind, push me far enough and I will find a way.
Thankfully, that damned parasite calling herself me didn’t bother to respond after that. I guess she knew her place after all. Still, even with her keeping quiet, I faced something of a dilemma. Namely, that I was still trapped on Lorwyn. I knew what I wanted, where I wanted to be, but I had no idea how to get it. It was frustrating. Aggravating. Downright infuriating.
But no, I couldn’t let that get to me. Rage defined me, rage was me, but I couldn’t let my own nature blind me to my ambitions. One way or another, I would to return to Equestria. I would find Celestia, and I would pay her back tenfold for all of the pain I was forced to endure when she turned her back on me. I would find Twilight, and make her pay for stealing the title and wings that were rightfully mine. My entire being became one with a singular goal, filling every crevasse of my body and soul with determination. I would make them suffer for what they did to me.
And then, the way back to Equestria became clear. I don’t know how it happened, the path simply appeared to me in my mind. Maybe my unstoppable will had forced the multiverse to give me what I wanted. Maybe I’d known all along on some unconscious level. Either way, it didn’t matter.
I called upon my newly-understood abilities, and planeswalked away. Soon, all of Equestria would bow before its true master.
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Sunset the Exiled 4BR
Legendary Planeswalker — Sunset
+1: Sunset the Exiled deals 2 damage to target player. That player discards a card.
-2: Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gets +2/+0 and gains haste and menace until end of turn.
-7: Create a legendary 7/7 black and red Demon Avatar creature token with flying, first strike, haste, deathtouch, and indestructible named Sunset, She-Demon.
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