//------------------------------// // Thoughts from the dark side of the moon // Story: Sunset Shattered // by fmriver //------------------------------// Sunset had been left behind. She knew she would be. Logically it even made sense from a purely medical perspective, as it would be unsafe to go through a shape changing portal after turning into a giant demon, and getting blasted by enough Harmony magic to make a large crater in the ground. That didn't change the feeling of abandonment that joined the rest of the chaos that made up her jumbled mind. Her entire psyche felt like it had been shattered then the pieces put together improperly. In truth she barely even felt like her own self. At this point Sunset Shimmer was going through the motions, as her brain tried to make sense of everything. After working on clearing the debris around the school entrance for an hour, her mind was beginning to shake itself off from it's numbness. As reality came back, Sunset began to think about how the next few days and weeks would be like, as she remembered all the bridges she burned thinking it would all end tonight. All the favors used up that she could no longer get back. She hadn't expected to be around to care. She was so tired, numb from exhaustion and phantom pains, and whatever the magic did to her mind. She had no idea what her next steps would be. For the first time ever, the normally fiercely independent Sunset just just wished for anyone to tell her what to do, what to think, how to go on and wake up tomorrow and the day after and after and after and after and after... Vice-Principal Luna had been keeping an eye on the delinquent teen while the dance continued. Sunset had been put to work while the rest of the students had returned to the Fall Formal, dancing the night away. Luna had let her mind wonder as she oversaw Sunset's labors. she hadn't gotten as deep an explanation as she would have liked from Twilight Sparkle, but she had gleaned that Sunset was tied to the world on the other side of the portal, and had wanted to use the students as a disposable army of some sort, for usurping the throne. It sounded fantastical on its face, like something from a fairy tale, but she couldn't really dispute the magical explanation after what she witnessed. However something else kept nagging her about how easily her sister and she had seemed to accept Princess Twilight's very succinct explanations for the events of the evening, particularly around Sunset's plan. It just didn't make sense from what she knew of Sunset Shimmer. Maybe she had planned to transform everyone as she did with her lackeys Snips and Snails? Even so, why was the conclusion of her plot so ham-fisted, so foolish? It just didn't fit. This girl had fooled the entire faculty for the last 3 years, had tested into some of the hardest classes, all while emotionally controlling the whole school. She had instincts to make Machiavelli jealous. Luna was temporarily distracted from her musings at the end of the evening. She saw as Sunset Shimmer slowly petered out after hauling the last load of bricks and broken masonry away from the steps, seemingly mesmerized by the mound of debris she'd piled up. It was eerie, like watching a wind up doll lose power. Sunset's face made her wince, even with what happened earlier. At this point of the night the dance was over, the princess had gone back through the portal, and the rest of the students and faculty had left. Only Celestia remained nearby, and she was back near the auditorium, locking up for the night. There would be a lot of paperwork to deal with in the morning, but the evening was wrapping up here. Well, except for the shell shocked hooligan in front of her. Well, Luna mused, with how out of sorts the Sunset looked, now was probably the best time to ask. She was clearly as out of balance as she ever would be, so she may let much more slip than she would otherwise. Besides, something told Luna that it wouldn't be prudent to let her leave just yet, in her current mental state. "Ms. Shimmer, come here. I need you to clarify some things for me." She called out, using her practiced, authoritative voice. It was guaranteed to be listened to by teenagers, no matter their innocence or guilt. Sunset's numb face briefly flashed resignation towards the upcoming conversation, before stepping closer to the educator. "Yes Vice-principal Luna?" Luna decided not to beat around the bush, and began her interrogation plainly. "First, did you expect to turn into that ... demon form... when you put on that crown?" Luna asked, waving a hand in the general direction of the new hole in the ground. "No... no, I definitely did not see that coming. Usually magic boosting artifacts, even corrupt ones like the Alicorn Amulet, make changes much more slowly, and rarely anything as physically obvious like that, much less a supposedly benign one like an element of harmony. It-the crown... it did a lot more than just change my body... that thing wasn't..." Sunset tried to explain, before lifting a shaky hand and moving her hair away from her face "It shouldn't have been that painful. Definitely shouldn't have made me insane that-that... quickly? I-I think... I have a couple ideas why it did so, but there's no way to test it now..." Luna looked at her student closely. She was shivering, huddling into herself with a haunted face. If Luna didn't know better she would think that Sunset was a victim of violent assault from her body language. Now wasn't the time to feel empathy however, as much as her instincts cried for her to soothe her student. She needed the answer to the next question to know what to do next. "Sunset... I need you to be honest right now... did you plan to take the school hostage before hand? Damaging the school? Were you planning on hurting the other students?!" Luna demanded sternly, looking into the redhead's face, looking for any tics that may betray a false answer. "No! Well, I... I guess, in a way I took a hostage to get the crown? It was only a dog and we didn't hurt him though! I... I would have made sure to take Princess Twilight and her pet back with me, but only so they wouldn't be stuck here for years. They aren't native to this world. If Fluttershy hadn't... well, I didn't actually want to involve anyone else in this." Sunset finally seemed to focus on Luna's face. "If things had gone to plan no one here would have realized anything even happened until whenever you noticed I was gone..." Sunset's energy seemed to give out after confessing that she had planned to disappear off the face of the earth, as she went back to holding her arms close to her chest and looking away. Fresh tears began rolling down her dirt caked cheeks. Luna thought that over. Personally, Luna didn't really consider Twilight one of her charges after learning that she had infiltrated the school. It sounded more like Sunset wouldn't have involved the students at all if she could. Well, Luna could work with this answer, but she decided to press a bit more, to make sure. "Oh? I thought the crown would make you invincible so why would you take the princess hostage when you left? Is it because she would be stronger than you on the other side?" "She's... not exactly the princess I would be thinking of... that was supposed to be stronger than me... I wouldn't abandon anopony else to this side of the mirror..." Sunset wrapped her arms around herself tightly, clearly agitated about whomever she was thinking of. The way she phrased that seemed odd to Luna. Odd enough to dig into a bit later, particularly the use of 'anypony'. It did underscore Luna's current ignorance about the details of what was on the other side of the statue. Thankfully, Luna had experience in getting information out of teens, which was frankly an exercise in frustration at times, though it seemed Sunset had decided to be forthcoming. "Oh, a sister of Twilight's then? Or maybe the king or queen?" Luna asked. Sunset's snort at the question was a bit surprising. "Hahah... no. In Equestria the title of 'princess' is used for po-for those that ascend. Basically, they are extremely magically strong. I guess the closest you'd have here is imagine if suddenly someone achieved nirvana and became a demigod or super hero I guess? Basically they all have a lot of firepower." Again, Sunset seemed to stumble on how to refer to the inhabitants on the other side of the portal. Luna did want to know more, but the odd response along with the fact it was probably not as important at the moment as other answers made her change track again. Twilight had left a positive impression, but she wasn't saintly enough to compare to a religious leader. Something was definitely getting lost in translation. "Ok, I'll need you to explain more on that later. For now follow me. Since you've missed all the buses, I'll drive you home." Vice Principal Luna ordered the girl. While she appreciated what Princess Twilight did to save the day, Luna wasn't going to let someone capable of dealing that much damage out of sight until she was under some form of adult supervision, never mind if it was through the use of a 'magical artifact'. A voice in the back of her mind couldn't help but compare some of the symptoms Sunset was displaying with red flags all educators were trained to look out for as well. Luna's comment seemed to get a reaction form Sunset, as she suddenly had a look of fear on her face, before she looked away. "I can get home myself, thanks." "It wasn't a question Sunset Shimmer. You just blew up the front of your school, and the only reasons we didn't call the police on you is that there is no sane explanation for what happened, none of the students were actually harmed except for yourself, and all the witnesses seem to be willing to simply go along with whatever Twilight Sparkle decreed." Luna replied stoically as she began guiding the teen towards the teacher's lot. "Not only that, but apparently you're an inter-dimensional exile left to our parole. That is definitely not on your file. I want to find out what else isn't in your file, including what kind of home life you have... if any." Once they had gotten to the vice principal's car, Sunset seemed to have shut down again. If her eyes weren't open, and she didn't quietly give directions to her abode, Luna would have thought her asleep or catatonic. It was beginning to seriously worry the school administrator, to the point that Luna was considering doing something drastically stupid, as her instincts all seemed to cry against leaving Sunset alone and unsupervised in her current state. They finally pulled up to a small, somewhat dilapidated apartment complex. Behind it, the start of Canterlots small industrial zone began, with warehouses ominously jutting up in the background. "This is my stop. Thanks for the ride Vice-Principal Luna." Sunset quietly said while unbuckling herself. "I'm going up with you. I want to confirm your living arrangements for myself." Luna replied, getting down from the car as well. She expected some excuses or platitudes from the teen, but beyond some nervousness on her face, she didn't argue at all, simply walking to the building in silence. It was grimy, and each door they passed seemed to exude a new odor. Cat pee, cigarette smoke, marijuana, mold... until finally they got to a little door at the end, which opened with a whine after Sunset jimmied the stuck lock with her key a couple times. Luna was not impressed with what she saw inside, not so much the contents, which were actually quite organized, but the lack of items along with space. This couldn't have passed code as a legal dwelling. It seemed to be a single room, with a kitchenette area, that held a sink, a moveable stovetop, and a mini fridge. There was a door at the back, which she presumed went to the bathroom, a jerryrigged pole with clothing hanging above a twin bed mattress that took up almost the entire floor space. It was as if someone had tried to live in a walk in closet. Sunset was looking at the floor, refusing to make eye contact, but she had shimmied out of the way so Luna could walk inside. Luna found that the bathroom didn't even contain a shower. This was not reasonable. "Sunset... how'd you end up here?" "I'm... this was originally the property super's office, but the guy that runs this place never used it, and I offered to rent it for a couple hundred... and so I got a place to live." Luna looked around again. Honestly, she could probably fit all of Sunset's worldly possessions in a garbage bag, ignoring the mattress. Just standing here with the door closed was claustrophobic, and it was the final push in her mind. "Pack some clothes, and whatever you need. You'll be staying in my guest room tonight, until we can think of something better than this. I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone right now anyway." "It's not much but I've made due for a couple years ma'am. It's tiny but I just come back here to sleep mostly..." Sunset replied, showing the first hint of obstinance since being hit by the magic rainbow. Still, that was all she did, as she proceeded to wilt under the vice principal's stare and slowly gather her things. Soon enough there was nothing left in the apartment at all that would betray that a young woman had lived there. Luna had been right in her earlier assumption. All of the girl's things did fit in a garbage bag with room to spare.