//------------------------------// // A Broken Sunset // Story: The Ties that Bind // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// "So you were a personal student of the Princess herself you say?" Ancient Scroll stroked his beard, eyeing the filly with a thoughtful expression. He fully intended to have Sunset Shimmer explain herself the day he had given the fillies their first assignment, but had ultimately decided against it at the last minute. He wanted her to at least get a hoof in the door with her studies before broaching the topic. So to that end he waited a few days and had decided that was enough time to get her comfortable before their talk. She had opted for the most part to stay silent about her life before showing up at his door a little over a year ago. Back then she had been an angry, bitter little filly that didn't really say much at all and snapped when she did. Thankfully she had mellowed out since then, although Ancient Scroll could still see occasional signs of the anger, hurt, and betrayal she showed when they had first met. But now, the filly had revealed that she had knowledge of some very classified information. He himself had never understood why the Princess had classified the information on Runic and Summoning Magic - especially when she allowed at least the limited use of Dark and Mind Magic - but he knew unlawful access to said information could have severe consequence for even a filly like Sunset. Scroll was worried for the filly, very worried. It was for this reason that he decided it was time for Sunset Shimmer to tell him the truth about herself. And what she had revealed... "I..." Sunset sat on her haunches staring at her hooves while Ancient Scroll looked on from the chair behind his desk. After a moment she sighed in resignation and looked up at Scroll apologetically. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Uncle Scroll," she said, her voice colored with shame, "I was afraid you'd give me up to Celestia," she stared at the old stallion with pleading eyes, "you're... you're not gonna do that, are you?" Ancient Scroll was about to respond when Sunset cut him off, her voice becoming slightly panicked. "Please don't send me back to Canterlot, Uncle Scroll!" she cried suddenly taking a step backwards towards the door, "I don't know what she'll do to me!" "Calm d-" "She's not a good pony, Uncle Scroll," she continued in a shaky voice, "I-I found some things out... things I w-wasn't supposed to see..." Ancient Scroll stood up from his chair, disturbed at Sunset's sudden and drastic change in demeanor. "What are you on about, filly?" he asked warily, trotting towards a distraught Sunset. Sunset wasn't listening anymore, trapped within her own thoughts as she continued to let the words spill out of her mouth. "D... did you know Celestia had a m-magical affinity f-for Mind Magic?" she asked, looking at Ancient Scroll with a broken smile, "b-because I didn't... not until... until she..." She sat there, staring past Ancient Scroll at something he couldn't see - her eyes cloudy and distant. "Sunset, I-" "I'M NOT GOING BACK TO THAT WHORSE!" "AND I'M NOT GONNA MAKE YOU!" Sunset blinked, releasing the built up tears in her eyes as she stared at Ancient Scroll in shock. Scroll grabbed the filly in a warm embrace, gently stroking her mane. "Look, Sunset," he said softly, "I don't quite know what went on between you and the Princess or what you went through to get here - or even why you decided to come here of all places, but it's obvious you're still hurting something fierce," he pulled back to look into the orange filly's eyes, "I'm not gonna send you back to Canterlot, and I won't pry anymore - not until you're ready to tell me, alright?" Sunset nodded silently, pressing her face into Scroll's chest - her own heaving as she sobbed quietly. Twilight chose that moment to step away from the closed door. She had a lot to think about. Her and Ancient Scroll both. The following afternoon saw Ancient Scroll and the three fillies trotting out to an open field nearby the cottage where Sunset Shimmer was set to finally apply what she had learned in the past few days. She had just finished with her second book on the proper application of Elemental Magic and would be the first of the three fillies to actually try casting a spell, much to Twilight's and Trixie envy. With Ancient Scroll's approval, Sunset had chosen to create a miniature pool of water using earth manipulation and the snow piled around them. "Alright, little, filly," Ancient Scroll announced as they stopped in the snow covered clearing, "this is your show. Let's see how far you've come." "Trixie doubts you'll pull it off on your first try," the blue filly mocked, "but I suppose anything is possible." "Don't listen to Trixie, Sunset," Twilght said with an encouraging - if oddly strained - smile, "just focus and you'll be fine." Sunset nodded to each of them before turning her attention to open field ahead of her. She took a deep breath before closing her eyes and lighting up her horn. For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen and Trixie laughed. "Hah!" she scoffed, "Trixie knew it was impo-" Sunset stomped a hoof and, with a loud and sudden whump, the ground in front of them all gave way and left a hole seven hoof-lengths wide and four hoof-lengths deep. Trixie's mouth dropped open. "...Wow," Twilight whispered, eyes wide with awe. Ancient Scroll merely nodded in approval at the display. Sunset paid them no attention as she refocused, lighting her horn once more. She began levitating piles of snow into the hole, and with a grunt, packed it down as best she could. She let the aura around her horn die out as she slumped to the ground, her forehead shining with sweat despite the cold weather. As she sat there breathing heavily, she cast a glance back at the others. Trixie looked impressed despite herself, Ancient Scroll gave her an encouraging nod, and Twilight... flashed her another oddly strained smile. Sunset raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored it as she turned back around. This next part should be easy, she thought, if my cutie mark is anything to go by... Her horn flared to life once again and the air around the hole began to distort slightly. The others watched as steam began to rise from the large pile of snow within the hole. As this went on, they started to notice the snow disappear in and around the hole and water begin to take it's place. Twilight glanced over to Sunset to see a grimace on the orange filly's face as she concentrated on heating the snow slowly and carefully. As she looked closer, her eyes widened. Tears were streaming down Sunset's cheeks and the aura around her horn began to spark dangerously. "That isn't good..." Ancient Scroll muttered with a frown, "filly's putting to much power into the spell." Twilight and Trixie looked at the stallion in surprise, and back to Sunset worriedly. Sunset's horn sparked again and the grass and plants that had been revealed below the melted snow began to smoke. The snow within the hole had already melted and steam continued to rise from the now rapidly heating pool of water. "Um, Trixie thinks it might be a good idea to stop her now," Trixie said, backing away nervously. Ancient Scroll nodded and stepped forward. "Alright, little filly," he called out, "that's e-" "NO!" everything plant and tree nearby burst into flame. Twilight and Trixie cried out in surprise and galloped behind Ancient Scroll as he lit his horn. The boiling water rose from the hole, forming into a large orb wrapped in a green aura. Ancient Scroll grit his teeth with effort and enveloped his horn in a second layer of magic. The orb of water rose higher. Twilight and Trixie watched as streams of water shot out of the orb and hit the flames around them, snuffing them out instantly with a loud hiss. A scream caught Twilight and Trixie's attention and they looked over to Sunset who had fallen to the ground, writhing around in agony as her horn flared brighter and brighter. "She's having a magic surge!" Twilght cried in alarm as she turned to the sweating stallion, "Uncle Scroll what do we do?" "Ah, horseapples," Ancient Scroll growled. He put out the last of the fires before turning to the screaming orange filly. Without taking his eyes from Sunset, he spoke to Twilight and Trixie. "You girls need to hightail it back to the cottage, I'll take care of - Trixie get back here!" Trixie ignored Ancient Scroll as she galloped towards Sunset. Sunset Shimmer's eyes were wide and shining with the same bright light as her horn. Tears flowed down her face as she continued to scream in pain. That is, until she felt a pair of hooves grab her face. Running purely on an instinct Trixie didn't know she had, her horn blazed bright pink and she touched it to Sunset's. What happened next, neither Twilight nor Ancient Scroll could say, but from Sunset's perspective, everything seemed to ebb away. Her pain, her fear, her anger, her hurt. They all seemed to be slowly leaking out of her mind, leaving her thoughts clearer and clearer by the second. Eventually her screams died down to whimpers, which eventually quieted to soft breathing as she fell into a deep sleep - the aura around her horn dying down and vanishing all together after a second. Ancient Scroll and Twilight stood stock still, silenced by shock as they witnessed the event. "Trixie!" Twilight shouted, running over to the blue filly as her magic aura faded and she fell to the ground. She reached the two unconcious fillies, looking from them to Ancient Scroll in a panic. "What do we do, Uncle Scroll?" she cried, her eyes shining with tears of worry, "are they gonna be okay?" Ancient Scroll trotted over and examined the two with a frown. After a moment he sighed in relief and gave Twilight a worn but confident smile. "They'll be fine, little filly," he said ruffling her mane, "just need a bit of rest is all. I think we all do after this." He nudged the lavender filly in the direction of the cottage, "why don't you head back? I'll pop back in with the other two in a moment. Just gotta get my strength back real quick." Twilight sniffed and nodded, giving Sunset and Trixie one last look before she turned and galloped back to the cottage. Ancient Scroll watched her go for a moment before turning to Sunset, a look of guilt crossing his face. "You did it again, Scroll," he muttered to himself, "you couldn't wait until she was ready to tell you... just like..." He trailed off with a sigh, shaking his head. "When are you gonna learn?" He lit up his horn and the three of them popped out of existence.