//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24 
// Story: Alternative Origins 
// by TalkingToMyself 
//------------------------------//

Even days later, Sunset’s anger still burnt brightly inside her
“Not ready. I’ll show her not ready.”
Her voice was a low growl as she stepped through the dark corridors of the forbidden tracts. She wasn’t worried about getting noticed since she had multiple enchantments in place to hide her from the world around her, even against tracking spells for a while. Nopony would find her until she had found everything she needed.

She entered the large forbidden library and only saw a single pony inside. The mare was asleep on her desk. You’d think this place would be better guarded.
Unconcerned, she walked right past her and activated a dozen of research spells. As she expected, dozens of books floated towards her, anything the library held that would tell her about the mirror, alicorns, the Crystal Empire and forbidden magic.

She glanced at the tower of books and set down the single candle she brought for light on the floor. So far, so good. Now for the fun part.
She concentrated on her magic and evoked a single powerful spell. Of course it was a spell Princess Celestia had warned her about and forbid that she ever used it, but it seemed only fitting that she would cross this line as well tonight, deep inside the forbidden library of Princess Celestia.

Her body started to glow from her magic, but the light focused on her head as the spell took effect. She opened the first book and sifted all information on the page into her mind with a single glance. Her magic skipped through the pages and in less than a minute, she knew everything about the history of the Crystal Empire there was to know. This book alone told her more than all the books Princess Celestia had given her combined and mind magic allowed her to process and memorize all the information perfectly.

With a rush of success, she worked through all the books one by one, pouring more and more knowledge into her mind.
Hm, not really what I was looking for. But that spell might be useful later.
She soon reached the hidden journals of Starswirl the Bearded and within minutes, everything was clear. The mirror was a portal between worlds, one of the greatest magical inventions the supposedly greatest wizard of all times had ever created. Since transdimensional energies were hard to predict, the portal was kept dormant for safety, but it still would react to strong sources of magic. That’s why it showed me my future as an alicorn. The mirror sensed my potential and reacted to my magic.

She read of ways to reactivate the mirror and keep it stable, though there would be fluctuations. Once activated, the portal would only be stable for three days, then close for thirty moons before it was stable again for passage.
However, Starswirl’s research remained unfinished. Sunset read some wild theories that never had been proven, probably because Starswirl the Bearded had vanished under unclear circumstances at that point. Sunset memorized all of them.

She learned more about mind magic as well, more refined spells than the ones she had been experimenting with lately. In a cross reference to the crystal heart, Sunset Shimmer learned of the Elements of Harmony, six powerful magic artefacts that had been used to defeat Discord, the spirit of chaos, by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but then had been lost shortly after. Sunset soaked up everything about them, especially the element of magic, the most powerful but also more obscure of the elements.

Finally, she found the book that would change her life. In one of his last ever written documentations, Starswirl the Bearded theorized about alicorn magic and ascension. He laid down a concept of how certain ponies had the potential to reach this level of magic, however they would require a boost from an outside source to turn into an alicorn. The easiest and safest way, according to Starswirl, was the assistance of another alicorn.

Sunset’s spells flickered out as she read this last sentence over and over again. She knew. She knew all this time. Her anger raged like a wildfire inside her mind, fuelled by unchained ambition and a painful stab of betrayal.
She could have made me an alicorn any time she wanted. But she didn’t. Why? Because she didn’t trust me. Because she was afraid I might be more powerful than her, even.

“Why did she never tell me? How could she dare to keep this sort or magic secret from me?”
Sunset didn’t even notice that she had spoken out loud this time. She also had not noticed that her enchantments had stopped working. She only realized she wasn’t hidden any longer when she heard a voice from behind her
“That is not for you to know, is it?”

Sunset Shimmer spun around and glared at Princess Celestia. The alicorn apparently had recovered quickly from her breakdown and was back on the throne the morning after Sunset Shimmer and Cadance had confronted her. Of course, she had all her masks in place again and pretended that nothing had ever happened.

Sunset was no longer fooled by those masks, so even though the princess stood tall and regal in front of her, flanked by two guards, she saw the cowering mare that hid behind it
“You’ve always know. You kept me from being great! This book tells me you could make as powerful as you! You knew I deserve to be your equal, maybe even your better! Make me a princess, now!”

Sunset’s face was a grimace of rage and anger, but Princess Celestia didn’t even blink as Sunset flung a book towards her. Her horn glowed briefly as she deflected the tome and her voice was hard as steel
“No.”
Princess Celestia narrowed her eyes in disappointment
“Being a princess must be earned. Each time you say that you deserve something tells me that you are not ready. You are so consumed by your ambitions that you cannot see clearly any longer.”

Sunset stomped her hoof on the ground and flared her horn brightly
“I’ll never be good enough for you. I’ve passed all your tests for years. I’ve done everything you asked of me. I have proven again and again that I’m worthy of being at your side, but you don’t want to see it. We’ll never move past this, because you will never accept me as your equal.”
Princess Celestia closed her eyes and for a moment, Sunset Shimmer saw her mentor’s face contort in deep pain. That moment passed quickly and the princess fixed her with a impassionate stare, so cold that Sunset could feel her heart freeze inside her chest
“If this is how you see it, then our time together comes to an end. You are no longer my pupil. You’re welcome to stay in Canterlot, but you won’t be allowed inside the palace any more.”

Sunset stared at her, unbelieving, refusing to believe
“After all I’ve done, that’s it? All those years for nothing? Everything we’ve been through… nothing matters to you?”
“The guard will escort you out now.”
Princess Celestia never answered her question. She did not look at Sunset when she said this, and by now the guards moved to push her out of the library, away from the princess.

Pain, anger, betrayal, loss and rage turned into a poisonous concoction inside her mind. Sunset turned away and screamed so nopony could see her tears
“This will be the biggest mistake you ever made!”
One of the guards shoved her forward and Sunset stumbled into walking. Her voice broke apart and Celestia never heard her last words
“I’ve done everything for you. I’ve always wanted you to accept me. But you never wanted me to belong here. You never wanted me to be more to you than just a student.”





Sunset felt numb as she walked behind the guard while the other one was close behind her. She didn’t know what to do, where to go, what to feel.
She noticed that the guards led her right towards the exit. They didn’t even give her the chance to visit her room and gather her things, they were just going to kick her out.
This place has been my home for ten years, and now she’s just throwing me out? What gives her the right?
They walked along a corridor with tall statues flanking them when Sunset’s anger returned, perhaps even stronger than before.

As they passed one of the statues, Sunset suddenly noticed a motion from the corner of her eyes. The statue fell over and Sunset could barely jump out of the way, unlike the guard behind her. Although he was a pegasus, he wasn’t fast enough to dodge and got hit on his head. Fortunately, his helmet saved him so he was only unconscious.

The guard in front noticed something was wrong and spun around, when a grey figure rushed forwards and crashed into him at full speed. However, since he was in full armour, the attacker had not much of an impact on him and only made him lose his balance for a moment.

He turned his head around, just as Crystal Note kicked at him with her rear hooves. The small mare was not a warrior though, and the guard could easily deflect her kick. Before he could retaliate, a blast of magic tossed him against the wall, so hard that the stone cracked behind him. He barely managed to look up to see Sunset Shimmer’s horn flare up as another spell took him out.

Sunset suddenly breathed hard and felt dizzy. Everything had happened so fast, she had only reacted on instinct. Crystal Note was in front of her and pulled at her hoof
“Sunset Shimmer, we need to go, now! If the other guards heard us, they might be already on their way!”
Sunset snapped out of it and grabbed Crystal Note’s hoof. They looked at each other and Sunset saw the fire in Crystal Note’s gemstone eyes. The crystal pony had chosen to stand with her, against Princess Cadance and now even against Princess Celestia as well. Sunset didn’t know how Crystal Note had found out what happened, but right now, she didn’t care much. 

They nodded at each other, then Sunset’s magic pulled them out of existence and teleported them to Sunset’s room. Crystal Note rushed into her room only to return with her violin case strapped on her back and a large pair of saddlebags. Sunset Shimmer already had filled hers with any book within reach as well as her personal journals and Crystal Note stood still as Sunset filled her bags as well. 
They heard yelling from the hallway and Sunset teleported them away once more.

They ran but the voices closed in on them. Sunset and Crystal Note flinched when one voice sounded over the guards, so loud the hallway seemed to shake
“SUNSET SHIMMER!”
Sunset clenched her teeth together and slowed down to a standstill. She could teleport again, but Princess Celestia could easily follow her trail. She could also fly and catch up on them quicker than they could run.

Crystal Note saw the flicker of desperation in Sunset’s eyes, and something snapped inside her. She had seen this before. She had witnessed ponies she cared about lose all their hope before, in a dark night like this one, deep inside a palace. NEVER AGAIN!
She tossed her saddlebags at Sunset who caught them in her magic by instinct
“Crystal Note, what are you doing?”

The crystal mare turned towards the voice and fell into an aggressive stance. Her coat took a dark grey colour and her eyes narrowed when she heard the sound of hooves on marble floors
“Go, Sunset Shimmer. I’ll hold her off.”
Sunset stared at her and shook her head, too surprised to process what even happened
“Are you insane? You can’t stop Princess Celestia.”
Crystal Note folded her ears flat against her head as she stood with her back towards Sunset Shimmer
“I won’t have to. I just have to slow her down long enough for you to get away.”
Sunset’s mouth hung open when she heard this and realized what Crystal Note meant. She would do anything necessary, even if she didn’t stand a chance.
She’s crazy. She’ll get captured. She could get herself hurt… for me?
 
And just like that, Sunset snapped back and her mind worked again. The only way they could escape would be to a place even Princess Celestia wouldn’t dare to go. Luckily, she knew exactly where that was.
She grabbed Crystal Note in her magic and teleported one last time.

The room with the crystal mirror was dark but Sunset’s horn flared brightly enough for Crystal Note to see. Thanks to the spell she used earlier, Sunset remembered the activation process perfectly and performed it without flaw. The surface or the mirror was replaced by a swirl of lights, in all colours in existence. They glowed brightly even when Sunset finished the spell with a satisfied smirk
“It worked! The portal is open!”
Crystal Note stood next to her and stared with a weird mix of awe, fear and curiousity
“What is this, Sunset?”

Sunset frowned when she sensed another magic signature nearby. Princess Celestia was catching up, and she could teleport into this room any second
“We don’t have time for explanations. Go, I’m right behind you.”
Without even a second of doubt, Crystal Note followed Sunset’s command and charged towards the light. Once she was close enough, the swirling vortex sucked her in and Sunset heard only a scream of surprise.

“SUNSET SHIMMER! WAIT!”
Sunset snapped into motion and ran towards the light as well. She reached it with her hooves and the world around her melted into spinning colours. She looked back and saw the hazy form of Princess Celestia. The magic of the portal roared in her ears and she couldn’t hear the last call from behind. Neither did she see the white hoof that reached out for her, but stopped before it touched the portal
“Sunset! No! Please, don’t go! Sunset! Sunset! SUNSET!”


End of Arc 2