Spitfire and Soarin watched in horror as their daughter was literally torn apart by zombies only to respawn and be alright a second later. They knew a lot could be done with movie magic, but it just seemed so real.
Horrified and confused, the two of them wondered what was going on.
Spitfire had heard about Sunset Shimmer. Her daughter had stories to tell about how terrible the girl was. Honestly, Spitfire had not met the girl personally but she sounded downright nasty and mean. Sunset Shimmer had not bullied or harassed Scootaloo, but she had done some terrible things in the past. Not to mention that she heard Scootaloo mumbled Sunset’s name in her sleep whenever she had a nightmare about the demon.
And now Sunset Shimmer was playing a video game with their daughter. Only, it was not in a fun way. Scootaloo was literally inside of the game and being tortured by it.
“Hey, Spits. Check out the awesome gift I picked out for Scootaloo!” Fleetfoot said as she climbed up from the edge of a cliff and held up a shopping bag. “She is going to love it.”
Fleetfoot noticed how absorbed her friends were on Spitfire’s phone and raised an eyebrow.
“Hey Cap, I thought you said it was bad to stare at your phone all day.”
Fleetfoot waited for a response but when she didn’t get one she started to worry.
“What’re you guys looking at anyway?”
Fleetfoot walked to stand besides Spitfire when the mall intercom came on.
“Attention shoppers, there’s a special 50% off sale at the furniture store. Hurry if you don’t want to miss out on this one in a lifetime deal!”
Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot suddenly felt the ground shake.
“Oh no,” Soarin muttered as he felt snow land on top of his head.
“Move!” Spitfire ordered as she shoved her phone in her purse before grabbing Soarin and Fleetfoot’s hands and jumping over the cliff that Fleetfoot had just climbed up on.
“Soarin!” Spitfire called out her husband’s name.
“On it!” Soarin said as he took out a grappling hook and swung it towards the next level beneath the one they were just at. The hook latched on to a nearby stone chair and, using the momentum, the trio swung themselves over to the next level.
“Fleetfoot!” Spitfire called out to her teammate.
Fleetfoot pulled out her climbers pickaxe and stabbed it into the ice just below the edge of the the next level of the mountain, preventing them from swinging back. Soarin then released the rope and he swung to the other edge of where Fleetfoot was and used his own climbers pickaxe to latch himself to the ice. Together, they helped Spitfire launch herself over the edge and on to the next level where she proceeded to help her companions.
“Help Fleetfoot first,” Soarin suggested.
Spitfire did as he asked and as she went to help Fleetfoot, the rumbling they felt above grew stronger before an avalanche of people came down from above as they were all in a hurry to get to the sale.
“Hurry, Spits!” Fleetfoot urged her friend to pull her up.
Spitfire managed to pull Fleetfoot up and they both went to help Soarin up.
“Thanks, girls,” Soarin thanked his wife and friend.
“Oh my god, it’s the Wonderbolts!”
The Wonderbolts trio looked up to see fans falling towards them. Soarin looked back to Spitfire and Fleetfoot before pushing them out of the way just as the falling fans descended on top of him.
“Soarin!” Spitfire shouted her husband’s name as she watched him get pulled over the edge.
The two women quickly looked over the edge to see Soarin surrounded by fans as he fell down.
“I’ll catch up with you two later!” Soarin’s voice echoes as he descended with the crazed fans who were shouting for pictures and autographs from the athlete.
Spitfire watched her husband descend until he vanished into the clouds, a worried look on her face.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s dealt with fans before,” Fleetfoot assured Spitfire.
“I know. He’ll probably talk them to death about his favorite pie,” Spitfire chuckled.
“C’mon, let’ get back to our Christmas shopping,” Fleetfoot said as she and Spitfire resumed their shopping.
What had Spitfire been worried about again?
“Princess, look out!” Rainbow Dash warned Sunset’s mother as several faculty members wearing wrestling costumes jumped on top of her. “Princess!”
“Do not worry, Rainbow Dash. I can handle this,” Princess Celestia assured the rainbow-haired athlete as she lifted up all the faculty members with ease and threw them out of the ring.
“Are you alright, Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked as she approached the Princess of the Sun.
“Yes, I am perfectly fine. That was barely even a warm up,” Princess Celestia said as she gave Rainbow Dash a reassuring smile.
“This is crazy,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked around at the wrestling ring. “I can’t believe this used to be the teachers lounge.”
“That’s the nature of chaos, Rainbow Dash. Which is why I love it!” Princess Celestia said with glee.
“I get that a little chaos can be fun. But don’t you think this is a bit much?” Rainbow Dash asked while pointing to the pile of wrestlers the Solar Princess had just thrown out of the ring. “One moment we’re in the hallway opening doors, the next thing I know the whole room shifts and now we’re in Wrestlemania.” Because the layout’s sudden change, Rainbow and Celestia were separated from the rest of their group.
“It’s true that under certain circumstances chaos can be fun, but in a situation like this...” Princess Celestia trailed off as she began walking towards a nearby door. “Anyway, we better find this ‘computer lab’.”
The Solar Princess reached for the door and as soon as she grabbed the doorknob, the room changed to that of the school gym.
“We’re in the gymnasium,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked around the room.
“Heads up, Crash!”
Rainbow Dash turned around and saw Dumbbell condensed into a ball and speeding towards her. Acting on reflex, she brought up her hands and to try and catch it but the princess did it for her. It was a good thing she was the one to intercept Dumbbell because he was going at an alarming speed as the impact he made with Celestia’s hand created a powerful shockwave.
“T-thanks,” Rainbow Dash thanked the princess nervously as a bead of sweat ran down the side of her face. If she had tried to catch it then she would have surely broken her hands or have the wind taken out of her.
“Oh man, I’m out!”
Rainbow Dash and Celestia turned to see a floating talking dodgeball with an annoyed look on its face.
“What the hell?” Rainbow Dash muttered as she looked at the other floating talking dodgeballs that held students in the shape of balls like Dumbbell.
“What kind of game is this?” Princess Celestia said as she brought Dumbbell up to her face to inspect him. She had gotten the basics of using her fingers to grip objects.
“It’s called dodgeball!” one of the balls said.
“And if you wanna get out of here, you gotta beat us,” another ball explained. “So, think you got game?”
“Dodgeball, huh?” Princess Celestia grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve last played this game.”
“Let’s get them!” a dodgeball said as it threw a student ball at Celestia at high speed.
“I’m sorry about this,” Celestia apologized to Dumbbell as she used him to intercept the ball. She then threw Dumbbell and he zoomed towards the dodgeball that threw the student ball at her and knocked it out.
“Whoa.” Rainbow Dash was impressed with the princess’ throw. “Nice throw.”
“Rainbow Dash, lookout!” Celestia warned as she dodged another screaming student ball.
Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to the dodgeballs and just barely managed to dodge an incoming student.
“Why you!” Rainbow Dash grabbed the student ball and threw it as hard as she could at the dodgeball, but it merely caught the ball.
“You’re out!” the dodgeball shouted.
“No way!” Rainbow Dash protested.
“That’s the rules missy, now off the court,” another dodgeball said.
Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath as she left the court and Celestia alone.
“Sorry about that, princess,” Rainbow Dash apologized to the princess.
“It’s alright, Rainbow Dash. This challenge is beyond what you can do normally. Besides... “ Princess Celestia grabbed a student ball that was thrown at her. “You’re not out yet.”
“Aw man!” a dodgeball whined as he was now out.
“Awesome! Thanks, princess!” Rainbow Dash said as she ran back into the field.
“Rainbow Dash, pass me the students and I’ll take them out,” the Solar Princess said as she stared at the balls.
“You got it!” Rainbow Dash nodded her head as the dodgeballs started throwing the student balls.
Both women dodged the students and Rainbow Dash proceeded to quickly scoop them up and hand them over to Celestia who then threw them at the dodgeballs and knocking them out. As Rainbow Dash kept passing the student balls to Celestia, she noticed something familiar as she threw the student balls at the dodgeball. The look of concentration on her face, her smirk, her power and the way she was enjoying herself reminded Rainbow of Sunset.
‘Sunset,’ Rainbow Dash thought grimly as she dodged another ball. Sunset was getting even worse and they didn’t stop her then she could seriously hurt herself.
Not to mention the CMC.
“Last one!” Celestia declared as she threw Dumbbell and knocked out the last dodgeball. “Yes!”
Rainbow Dash watched the princess jump in excitement and couldn’t help but smile.
“That was so much fun!” Celestia said with glee.
“Wow, princess. I didn’t know you were such an athlete.” Rainbow Dash was impressed with the princess’ athleticism.
“You haven’t seen anything yet. I’m barely warmed up,” Celestia said as she stretched.
Rainbow Dash suddenly came to a realization and she started laughing.
“What’s so funny, Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked raising an eyebrow and giving the rainbow-haired athlete a playful smile.
“It’s just that it’s so obvious that you’re Sunset’s mom!” Rainbow laughed. She remembered when she had PE with Sunset Shimmer and how the girl had easily defeated her team during a dodgeball game.
“Maybe not as obvious as you might think, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused.
“If I hadn’t told you that I am Sunset’s mother, would you have seen the connection?” Celestia asked.
Rainbow Dash thought for a minute before responding, “No, I guess not.”
“Now, playtime is over. I fear that the next few obstacles are only going to get trickier and stranger,” Celestia urged.
True to the princess’ word, the room changed and the duo found themselves in a room with a moose.
“This doesn’t look so bad,” Rainbow Dash commented.
“I don’t think so madam,” the Moose suddenly spoke as he stood on its hind legs.
“It talks?!” Rainbow Dash said in shock.
“Of course I can talk, young lady,” the Moose huffed in annoyance. This young one really needed to learn proper manners. “Now, let us get on with the game.”
“What game?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Whack-a-mole,” the Moose simply said as two Whack-a-mole games poofed into existence.
“Whack-a-mole? Pft no problem,” Rainbow Dash said as she walked confidently towards the game. “I’m really good at this game.”
“Excellent, then we shall have a fun time,” the Moose said as he extended his hoof towards Rainbow Dash. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, you too,” Rainbow Dash shook the offered hoof before looking at her game. She picked up her mallet and waited for the moles to pop up.
A mole popped out but to Rainbow surprise, it had a mallet and attempted to whack her but she sidestepped it.
“What the hell?!” Rainbow Dash saw the mole snickered before going back in its hole.
“What’s the matter, young lady? I thought you said you were good at this game,” the Moose taunted as he waited for a mole to popped out and when it did, he dodge its strike and whacked it on the head.
“Not one where they try to hit me!” Rainbow Dash raised her voice.
“You gotta be quick on your feet if you want to win this game!”
“Rainbow Dash stay focused!” Celestia urged just as another mole popped out of another hole and tried to whack Rainbow. Rainbow Dash dodged the hit and countered back by whacking it on the head, scoring a point.
“Not this time!”
“Good whack,” the Moose complimented as he dodged another hit and countered. “But you’re still lagging behind.”
Rainbow Dash looked over to his game and saw his high score. It was already way higher than hers.
“Not for long,” Rainbow Dash said to herself. She was not going to lose. She would catch up and overtake him, claiming more scores than he had. If there was anything to never underestimate, it was her competitive spirit.
“Back off!” Luna shouted as she used her magic to blast away the numerous flying books that were attacking her and Rarity like a flock of angry birds. Twilight may get upset at her for destroying books but this was necessary.
“Thank you, Princess Luna,” Rarity thanked the princess of the night as she checked to see if her hair was alright. Those infernal books had likely given her split ends.
“Don’t thank me just yet,” Luna said as she glared at the approaching bookshelves that had bandanas wrapped around their heads and had nunchucks made of books. “Oh how I detest Discord’s chaos.”
When Rarity saw Luna’s glare, she couldn’t help but be reminded of Sunset. Guess they were related after all. Sunset did have Luna’s eyes.
Just then a giant book landed in front of them. The cover read ‘Reflections’ and as it opened and flipped through its pages, it started to glow before turning into Demon Sunset.
“What in Equestria?!” Luna was shocked by the appearance of this monster, but her shock quickly turned to anger. “How dare they turn our beloved niece into a monster!”
Luna lunged at the demon, charging magic into her fist as she prepared to knock the demon out.
“A-auntie?”
Luna stopped midway as she stared at her niece with wide eyes.
“Sunset?”
Sunset stared at her aunt’s eyes before she smiled wickedly.
“Not quite.”
Luna was shocked to hear her own voice coming from Sunset.
“Did you honestly think you had gotten rid of me? Fool,” Sunset said before she transformed into Nightmare Moon in human form.
“NO!” Luna screamed in terror at seeing her niece turn into her monster.
“The Elements of Harmony may have freed you from me, but a small part of me laid dormant within Sunset and it was all due to our magic attacking her while she was in Celestia’s womb,” Nightmare Moon smirked at seeing Luna’s face lose all its color.
“No,” Luna whispered in denial.
“Oh yes, our magic seeped into our still growing niece, where we influenced her development and made her into our image,” Nightmare Moon explained.
“That’s a lie!”
Luna and Nightmare Moon turned to look at Rarity who glared at the nightmare version of Princess Luna.
“It is the truth. Sunset. Is. Me!” Nightmare Moon declared.
“Sunset is nothing like you, she takes after her real aunt,” Rarity said as she glared at the demon. “Whenever I look into Sunset’s eyes, I see warmth in them. The same warmth that is reflected in her aunt’s eyes.”
Luna was taken aback by this. Was what Rarity saying true? Were her eyes as warm as Sunset’s?
“Care to put that to the test?” Nightmare Moon challenged.
“I would be more than happy to,” Rarity said.
“Very well,” Nightmare Moon said before turning into Demon Sunset. “Find the warmth, Rarity.”
Rarity’s eyes widened slightly before narrowing. She gazed deep into the demon’s eyes, searching for the warmth that Sunset’s eyes always displayed. But then the demon started fading.
“What is happening?” Luna asked as she looked at the library and noticed that the out of place books and bookshelves that had come alive before had started to switch back to their original forms before switching back.
Rarity eyed what was happening curiously before taking out her smartphone and checking on Sunset’s livestream.
Sunset’s eyes were closed tight as she was coughing violently.
“Don’t do this to us Sunshine,” SunDash said as she started to fade away.
“Just hang on a little longer!” SunJack urged as her controler slipped through her hand and landed on her lap.
Sunset continued to cough, dark bags beginning to form under her eyes as she started to feel very weak. The coughing finally subsided and Sunset opened her eyes and saw her blurry screen but her vision soon came back into focus as she regained some of her strength.
She then turned back to look at her other selves, offering an assuring smile.
“Don’t worry, girls, I’m still in this.”
“Goodness! Sunset can’t hold on for much longer!” Rarity said in alarm.
“Then we must get to her immediately!” Luna said as she hurried to the next door and used her magic to open it, and upon doing so she and Rarity were transported into the auditorium.
“Everything looks normal here,” Rarity assumed as she looked around the auditorium to see if anything was out of order.
“Don’t be fooled, Rarity. When it comes to chaos, nothing is as it seems,” Luna warned the young fashionista.
“Right,” was all Rarity said before spotting the exit. She and Luna made their way towards it but as soon as they got close enough, the door moved along the wall and got farther away from them.
“See what I mean,” Luna said as she eyed the door that was now out of reach.
“Oh great. Not this again,” Rarity said in annoyance. “Your royal highness, I have a plan to prevent the door from escaping.”
“Then let us hear it,” Luna said as she listened to Rarity’s plan. After hearing it, she complimented, “That’s a brilliant plan, Rarity!”
“Why thank you, your royal highness,” Rarity thanked the princess, a slight blush on her cheeks as she had never been called brilliant by royalty. Come to think of it, Sunset had called her brilliant before; and now that she knew about her royal lineage, then it stood to reason that Rarity had been called brilliant by two members of a royal family.
“There’s no need to be formal with me, Rarity. You are a friend of my niece and you may call me ‘Luna’,” the Princess of the Night told her.
“As you wish then, Luna,” Rarity said.
Both women then went to either side of the door and slowly closed in on it. Once they had it cornered, they both jumped towards it. But to their shock, the door sprouted legs, pulled itself out of the wall and ran off, causing both women to collide with each other.
“Ow. I’m terribly sorry, Luna,” Rarity groaned in pain as she held her head.
“It’s alright, Rarity. Clearly it won’t be as easy as we thought,” Luna admitted as she looked in the direction the door had run off to and saw it try and fail to hide. “If it wants to play this game then we shall oblige it, ruthlessly.”
Princess Sunset and Applebloom walked through the woods in silence. The princess noticed Applebloom stole glances at her and judging by the guilty look on the young Apple’s face she knew that Applebloom wanted to apologize to her.
‘Might as well start things off.’
“It’s okay, Applebloom. Despite the fact that you tried to frame me in an effort to break me and my friends up, I’m not mad at you,” Princess Sunset told her without looking at her.
“Really?!” Applebloom was shocked to hear this. She assumed Sunset would be furious.
“Yep!” Sunset turned to Applebloom and gave her her best disarming smile. “But I bet Applejack will be furious.”
At the mention of her big sisters name, Applebloom’s shock turned to despair.
“Yer right, she probably won’t talk to me ever again,” Applebloom said grimly as she was terrified that she had ruined her relationship with her sister.
“She’ll probably never want to be your big sister anymore or speak to you ever again,” Sunset said nonchalantly.
“Y-yah really think so?” Applebloom asked in a frightened tone.
“I know so, trust me. Nothing makes a family member disown you like betraying them,” Sunset explained as she thought about her own betrayal towards her mother. Her mother had never written to her using their journals after she left through the portal and when she written to her asking for help, Twilight was the one who had answered instead.
Applebloom couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her big sister was going to disown her.
What had she done?
“But at least you still have your friends right?” Princess Sunset said, trying to be positive. “You and I are really lucky to have such good friends. No, they’re not just friends. They’re family.”
“Family,” Applebloom repeated that word. Her friends have stuck by her through thick and thin. They even made sure that if Anon-A-Miss’ identity was ever found out, they would also take the blame.
Princess Sunset watched as Applebloom mulled over her words. The seeds of doubt had already been planted. Now to give it some water and fertilizer
“I’m sure they would appreciate it if you saved their sisters.”
Applebloom snapped out of her thought as she looked at Sunset.
“That would make them happy, but what about Applejack?”
“You’ll save her too, but you want to save Rarity and Rainbow Dash first,” Sunset assured her.
“Ah don’t know, won’t her feelings be hurt?” Applebloom wasn’t sure if this was right.
‘Like she cared about yer feelings when she decided to spend more time with Sunset?’
Applebloom was startled as she heard a voice in her head.
‘W-who is this?’ Applebloom asked in her mind nervously.
‘Ah’m yer true feelings,’ the voice spoke.
‘Mah true feelings?’ Applebloom questioned.
'Yep, an’ ah say we save Rarity an’ Rainbow Dash. Forget about Applejack,’ Applebloom’s inner voice suggested.
‘But she’s my sister; she’s family!’ Applebloom argued.
‘She also thought of Sunset as family.’
Applebloom’s eyes widened upon hearing that sentence.
‘Family.’
‘That’s right, Applejack thought of that she-demon as family. She chose to hang out with her instead of her real family!’ Applebloom’s inner voice spoke with resentment.
‘Yeah,’ Applebloom thought as she narrowed her eyes. 'She brushed me off whenever ah wanted to spend time with her, just so she could hang out with Sunset.’
‘The nerve of her,’ Applebloom’s inner voice growled. ‘We’ve been the best little sister anyone could ask fer and she treats us like a baby.’
Applebloom recalled how Applejack had literally baby-proofed the entire house just so she could be safe.
‘Ah’m not a baby,’ Applebloom thought bitterly.
‘She’s no sister of ours,’ Applebloom’s inner voice said. ‘Scoots and Sweetie Belle are more family than she ever was.’
‘They were willin’ to go down with us,’ Applebloom thought. ‘Crusaders forever.’
‘So we must save their sisters,’ Inner Applebloom urged.
‘We will save them,’ Applebloom vowed, as her whole body lost its color.
‘Crusaders forever!’ Inner Applebloom shouted internally as her voice began to fade.
“Crusaders forever,” Applebloom mumbled as she marched forward.
Princess Sunset smiled wickedly as she watched Applebloom go. It was so easy to manipulate her. Just like the old days.
“Serves her right,” Princess Sunset said softly.
“Something about this….feels wrong,” Sunset said as she suddenly felt a pit growing in her stomach.
“Yeah, I actually feel even more sick,” SunDash said as she held her stomach.
“Why do you suppose that is?" Sunjack asked before coughing.
None of the three could explain it, but they brushed it off so they could continue this game. Applebloom had already been converted so Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were next.
Soon, it would all be over.
“Must go faster!” Discord said as he turned to look at Applejack who was in the driver’s seat of the jeep that they were all on. He then turned back to look at the T-Rex that was chasing them down the jungle path. It made sounds like thunder with each foot fall as it was gaining on them, snapping its jaws which, when opened, revealed rows and rows of sharp bone-crushing and meat-tearing teeth.
Honestly, if the thing had been a shark and T-Rex hybrid then it would be cool, but right now Discord really had no time to admire his daughter’s handiwork.
“Third gear! Third gear! Third gear!” Fluttershy screamed in horror as the T-Rex started closing in. It snapped its jaws just as the jeep sped out of its reach. Fluttershy loved animals, but she really did not want to be like the dinosaurs and go extinct.
Applejack looked to the left side view mirror in time to see the T-Rex open its jaws to expose its large sharp teeth.
“Mr. Discord, can’t you do something?!” Fluttershy demanded, her terror stricken eyes were wide in fear as they were locked on to the T-Rex.
“Let’s see,” Discord reached into his pocket and pulled out a banana. “This will do.”
“Are you going to use the banana peel to make it slip?” Fluttershy asked.
“Nope,” was all Discord said as he peeled the banana. He then ate the peel and threw the banana into the T-Rex’s mouth.
The T-Rex chewed on the banana before smiling happily as she started slowing down, satisfied.
Making her slip on a banana peel? How cliche was that?
“It worked!” Fluttershy said in relief as she started calming down. “Nice work, Mr. Discord.”
“It was nothing,” Discord said as the surrounding jungle area began to disappear along with their jeep. Now they found
themselves in the front of the school and near the statue where the portal was.
“Are we seriously back where we started?!” Applejack asked.
“Remember, Applejack. Things aren’t always as they appear,” Discord reminded her as he went towards the portal.
“Mr. Discord, what are you-” Fluttershy cut herself off as she saw Discord walk through the statue’s base.
“Did he just go back to Equestria?!” Applejack was shocked by this.
However, the area around them changed and they now found themselves in the gym.
“What the?!” Applejack looked around frantically in confusion.
“Like I said, things aren’t always as they appear.”
The girls turned to the bleachers where they spotted Discord sitting down and waving at them.
“Wow, I’m sure glad you’re on our side, Mr. Discord,” Fluttershy was glad to have someone that could easily handle and navigate this unusual situation.
“You won’t be thanking me once I tell you that my daughter has completely turned your darling sister against you now,” Discord said as he flew towards them.
“W-What do yah mean?” Applejack asked nervously.
“See for yourselves,” Discord said as he snapped his fingers, which caused a TV to appear. The TV turned on and replayed what had just occurred with the added benefit of listening in to Applebloom’s and Princess Sunset’s thoughts.
“No,” Applejack couldn’t believe what she had just seen. “Ah don’t believe this.”
“Why, Sunset?” Fluttershy was on the verge of tears.
“I’m afraid so,” Discord said sadly, he really felt bad for Applejack. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I suppose.”
“Did you do something like this?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m ashamed to admit it now, but I manipulated and corrupted the you and your friends of my world into becoming the opposite of who they were,” Discord explained.
“Oh um, it’s alright. You’re a different person now.” Fluttershy tried to look on the bright side.
“Thanks, Fluttershy. But I’m afraid that I did suffer a relapse,” Discord rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn’t believe that he had fallen for Tirek’s words and not only betrayed the only friend he ever had, but also betrayed the love of his life. “I fear that Sunset’s actions are entirely my fault.”
“But it isn’t your fault,” Fluttershy assured him. “None of this is.”
“It’s our fault,” Applejack confessed in shame.
“Hmm?” Discord looked at the two girls who were now staring at the floor with looks of shame and regret. “What do you two mean by that?”
Both girls looked at Discord before they started telling him about Anon-A-Miss, how they first accused Sunset and then how angry and hurt she was when they had told her. When both girls were finished, they waited for Discord’s response.
Discord stared at both girls, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then exhaled. He opened his eyes to look at the two girls.
“The Apple truly doesn't fall far from the tree.”
Both girls blinked in confusion and before they could ask what he meant, Discord spoke.
“Because of my past actions, your counterparts who were in charge of my reformation didn’t trust me. They waited for an opportunity for me to mess up so they could turn me to stone again.”
Discord turned to Fluttershy and gave her a small smile.
“But your counterpart believed in me, and because of her I had a second chance.”
Fluttershy smiled at this.
“But it seems my daughter wasn’t so lucky.”
Fluttershy’s smile immediately fell.
“Because of me, she’s cursed to be mistrusted. And alone,” Discord said sadly. “I am such a terrible father, I don’t have the right to see her.”
Discord turned around and started walking away.
“She probably hates me.”
“Yer wrong!”
Discord stopped and turned his head to look at Applejack.
“Sunset doesn’t hate yah!” Applejack stated.
“And what makes you so sure?” Discord asked skeptically, fully turning around and crossing his arms.
“Sunset told me herself,” Applejack said. “When Sunset told me about her mom, I asked her about her dad.”
Flashback
Sunset and Applejack were in the farm girl’s kitchen, enjoying some BLT sandwiches. Sunset was helping Applejack with her chores as part of her friendship training. The two had been doing chores all morning when it was time for lunch.
“Thanks for the help, Sunset,” Applejack thanked the former Equestrian. “Ah really appreciate yah helping me out.”
“It’s no problem at all, Applejack. It’s the least I could do since you girls were kind enough to take me under your wings,” Sunset said as she looked at her sandwich with a melancholy look. “Especially after what I did to you all.”
“Yah were overwhelmed by the crown’s magic, yah weren’t in yer right mind,” Applejack reminded her. “That’s what yah told us, remember?”
“Yes, but I also told you girls that the magic of the crown brought out the worst in me,” Sunset reminded Applejack. “That demon came from inside me...from my heart.”
Sunset placed her right hand over her heart.
“I guess deep down, I really was a monster.”
“Was a monster,” Applejack clarified. “Yah ain’t that demon anymore, Sunset.”
Sunset gave Applejack a grateful smile before she resumed eating her sandwich. The two ate their lunch in silence until Applejack’s eye caught a family photo of herself, Big Mac, Applebloom, Granny Smith and her parents framed on a nearby wall.
“Say, Sunset.”
“Hm?” Sunset looked to Applejack who was still looking at the family photo.
“If yah don’t mind me askin’, do yah have any other family besides yer mom?” Applejack asked as she finally looked at Sunset.
“Not really,” Sunset answered with a shrug.
“No aunts, uncles, siblings or cousins?” Applejack asked a little surprise to hear that Sunset only ever had a mom.
“Nope.” Sunset said simply as she took another bite of her sandwich.
“What about yer dad?” Applejack asked.
"I never really knew my dad, but my mom used to tell me that he could always make her laugh. I asked her where he was but she always went silent and sad. I stopped asking after a while. Kinda wished I knew him. A guy who could win the heart of Princess Celestia must've been awesome." Sunset thought about the last part. Her mother never really showed much interest in other ponies but she would often catch her looking at a pony couple playing with their foal with a look of longing.
“Do...do yah think he’s passed on?” Applejack asked carefully.
“My mom never gave any indication that he passed away. I’ve seen how ponies react when they mention that their loved ones have passed on. Mom never had that look,” Sunset explained. “Not to mention that we never visited his grave.”
Sunset chuckled a bit before she suddenly had a thoughtful look as she started to recall something.
“You know, my mom said something to me that kind of gave away that he wasn’t dead,” Sunset remarked.
“What is it?” Applejack asked curiously
“When I was little, she would always read me a bedtime story to help me fall asleep. But despite falling asleep, I was still consciously aware of what was going on around me. I heard my mom tell me goodnight before kissing my forehead, but I didn’t hear her the sound of her retreating hooves.”
“Hooves?” Applejack questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Didn’t Princess Twilight mention that she and I were ponies from a world filled with magical talking ponies?” Sunset asked.
“She did mention something like that,” Applejack said as she rubbed the back of her head.
“Anyway, I could feel my mom’s gaze on me and I wanted to open my eyes and say ‘boo!’ but then she said ‘I wonder what his reaction will be when he finally meets you? No doubt he’ll fall to pieces at finding out he has a daughter, but I have no doubt that he’ll love you as much as I do.’,” Sunset quoted.
“It definitely sounds like yer father is alive,” Applejack said.
“Yeah, not to mention that he has no idea that I existed,” Sunset said. “But my mom really seems to think that he would accept me with open hooves.”
“What ever happened between yer parents anyway?” Applejack questioned.
“I’m not sure,” Sunset said as the two sat in silence, Sunset bit her lip as she contemplated telling Applejack something she had found out when she arrived in this world.
“Applejack?”
“Yeah?” Applejack looked at Sunset expectantly.
“When I-”
“Applejack!”
Granny Smith’s voice echoed from the living room.
“What is it, Granny?!” Applejack shouted back.
“Can yah help me with with these here crates?!” Granny Smith shouted.
“Sure thin’, Granny!” Applejack said. “Excuse me, Sunset.”
“No problem, Applejack,” Sunset flashed Applejack a smile as she watched the farm girl leave the kitchen to help out her grandmother.
Sunset’s smile faded as soon as Applejack was out of sight. Sunset wanted to tell Applejack that upon finding her mom’s human counterpart was the principal of their school, she inadvertently discovered that her mom had a younger sister, which meant that Sunset had an aunt.
‘Mom, never mentioned that she had a sister,’ Sunset thought as she ran her hand through her hair. ‘Just how many family secrets is mom keeping from me?’
It also didn’t help that the Principal and Vice-Principal started acting odd around her. It was only after the Fall Formal did they started acting normal. But Sunset never forgot the look that Vice-Principal Luna gave her as she, Snips and Snails started repairing the front entrance of the school. She looked at Sunset with disappointment but not as a teacher to her student, but that of an aunt to her niece.
“So what were yah saying, Sun-” Applejack returned but cut herself off when she noticed the tears falling down the
sides of Sunset’s face. “Sunset, are yah okay?”
“Huh?” Sunset snapped out of her musing and looked at a concerned Applejack who was immediately at her side. “What?”
“Yer crying,” Applejack said with concern as she motioned to Sunset’s tears.
Sunset raised her right hand to touch her face and confirmed that she was indeed crying.
“When did I…”
“Is somethin’ the matter, sugarcube?” Applejack asked in concern.
“I….I’m not entirely sure,” Sunset lied.
“It’s gonna be okay, ah’m here fer yah if yah need anything,” Applejack assured her.
“Thanks, Applejack,” Sunset thanked the farmer as the two shared a hug.
Flashback End
“So ya see, Sunset never hated yah. She really wanted to meet yah,” Applejack said.
Discord was silent as he took in the information. He let out a sigh before speaking.
“Sunset has been denied the right to know more about who she is and I honestly can’t blame Celestia for keeping that information from her. I doubt Sunset would’ve taken the news that she’s related to two of Equestria’s greatest threats rather well.”
“Sunset’s aunt didn’t react well when Sunset turned into the villain of the game,” Fluttershy noted.
“Nightmare Moon has always been a sore spot for Luna,” Discord said.
“Sunset’s the same,” Applejack said as she recalled how down Sunset looked whenever someone mentioned the time she got turned into a demon. She started to feel guilty as she sometimes brought up that sensitive subject.
“Well then, that’s enough time wasted waddling in self pity. Onward!” Discord said in his usual enthusiastic tone.
Fluttershy and Applejack shared a smile as they both followed Discord.