Sunscarred

by Masterweaver


"Okay, something is definitely off about you. And I'm not talking about the horse ears."

"Pony," Sunset said flatly. "They're pony ears--why am I even talking to you? I need to find the others!"

"The other girls?" Flash asked. "You could just call them on your phone. Seriously, are you feeling okay?"

"No, I am not feeling okay! I've been cooped up in the lab for three damn days and, I mean I get it and all, but I need to do something or--or else, what am I?" She flung up her hands. "Just a copy of Sunburst that managed to get to think? A failed student of Celestia who jumped into another world? A wannabe tyrant that got trounced by teenagers? I have to do to be, to be more than what I was!"

Flash Sentry nodded, paused, and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I get that you're having some sort of existential moment, but I'm still not sure what you're talking about. It's just, you seem kind of twitchy--"

"OF COURSE I'M TWITCHY I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO!"

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"I want to... I..." Sunset clasped at the air. "I want to be me! I want to be who it is I am!"

"Alright, who are you?"

"That's just it! I know I'm Sunset Shimmer, or, you know, part of her? But..." Sunset sagged against a wall. "I'm not able to figure out... what that means, exactly. I thought I knew, when this first happened, but... the more time I spent not contributing to the situation, the more time I spent being... this..."

She clutched at her bangs, pulling them over her eyes as she sunk to the ground. "Damn it all. This is the gala all over again. Is that what's happening? Am... are we seven, now no longer the one? But if it is, then why do I feel like this?"

Flash sighed, sitting down next to her. "Look, Sunset, we all get confused sometimes. Heck, I'm confused right now, I don't even know what you're talking about." He put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to be confused. To ask questions. It's okay not to know who you are sometimes--because you can change over time. You used to be, let's be honest, a power-mad self-absorbed bully. But you've come so far since then. You've become... a leader, in your own right. A caring friend. A confident young woman. And maybe you're going through some weird new magic thing that's making you wonder if you're still who you were--and I can say, no. You aren't. Because change is a part of life, Sunset, and what we do... what's best for us to do, is to find the best way to incorporate it into ourselves."

Sunset, slowly, turned to look at him.

"...Flash, I am literally a split off portion of Sunset Shimmer, who is in turn an artificial magical opposite sex clone of a nervous unicorn made something like five years ago."

"Oh....kay, I did not know that, but that's just what you are, not who you are. So my point still stands."

She snorted, shoulder-checking him with a small smile. "You dork."

"Well I figure, if I'm going to have that sort of reputation I might as well live up to it." Flash paused. "So... you used to be a guy?"

"Yes and no. I have the memories of living as a unicorn stallion, but I was literally created as a unicorn mare, and the stallion I used to be still exists...? I self-identify as female and have since my spontaneous creation, if that's what you're asking." She smirked. "What, I thought you weren't weirded out that you dated a horse from another world, how is this any stranger?"

Flash opened his mouth, paused, and then frowned. "I sort of think even trying to answer that question is going to land me in some serious hot water."

"You can be very intelligent when you want to be."

"Yep. So... about this thing where you're a split off portion of Sunset... are you like her spleen or something?"

Sunset snorted. "No, I'm more... I think, like, her drive. Her power and identity, her will to act--that's why being locked up and not being able to do anything bugged me so much. And why it's so... frustrating, not being able to figure out who I'm supposed to be."

"Maybe you're not supposed to work alone. I mean, people are more than just their drives. They're their emotions, connections, wisdom..."

"Which is why I need to find the others," Sunset stated firmly. "I've got to find them all and bring them back to the lab. The problem is, I don't know where any of them are!"

Flash Sentry chuckled. "Well, your friends are probably looking for them... and you. Maybe you should call them. I mean, it's not like they'll just fall out of the sky, right?"

A great fireball smashed into the road in front of them, resolving into a blouse-clad Sunset Shimmer with a pair of flaming wings. The teenager spat, rubbing some blood off her lips as she formed a great flaming sword out of the aether. "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME, WEAKLING! I HAVE THE POWER!"

"Power? HA!" A crystal-armored Sunset Shimmer, wielding a car hood as a shield, slammed into the ground. "Power without purpose is pointless! I will always reign over you, for I have DETERMINATION!"

"Of course I could be wrong," Flash admitted. "Uh, so these two are...?"

"I think she's supposed to be my magic," Sunset mused, pointing at the flame-winged avatar. "And she... I think she's actually supposed to be my purpose. Huh. Is it weird that I find her incredibly sexy?"

"...Maybe a little, but, um... maybe you should step in before they wreck everything."

"Yeah, that's a good call."

The pony-eared Sunset stood up, marching forward. Both the flame-winged and the armored teenagers paused when she walked between them.

The armored one lowered her shield. "...This is not your affair--"

"This is entirely my affair!" The pony-eared one gestured between them. "We're the same person! Why are you two even fighting?!"

"She said I was an undirected pattern of heat and passion!" the flame-winged one accused. "I'm a VERY directed pattern of heat and passion, thank you!"

"Directed at what," scoffed the armored one, "being a brazen show-off?"

"Oh sweet Celestia." The pony-eared one put her hand to her face. "Look... you. Just because she's flashy doesn't mean she's a waste of energy. She's our magic. Has our magic ever been used frivolously?"

"...on... rare occasion..."

"Rephrase, have we ever used our magic frivolously after we were twelve?"

The armored one sighed. "...no."

"And you." The pony-eared one turned to the flame-winged one. "Why did you attack her after that?"

"Well... she was wrong. I mean, it wasn't even that she insulted me, it was that she was wrong."

The pony-eared one quirked an eyebrow. "So you didn't even bother to try to correct her."

"Well--I... no." The flamewinged one fidgeted. "You're right. This was not thought out well."

"No, it wasn't. Then again, none of us are thinking entirely straight. We should all head back to the lab and--"

"AHA!" Rarity rushed around a corner. "THERE YOU TWO... three are?"

"...right. We should all head back to the lab," the pony-eared one said slowly, "and talk this over."

"Especially since yer brother's here," Applejack added, coming out after Rarity.

Flash blinked. "Hold on, you have a brother?"

"It's... you know what?" The pony-eared one turned to him. "Why don't you come with us? We can explain on the way."