Subject 3: Sunset Shimmer
As I desperately tried to keep up with Sunset’s much longer and more frantic hoofsteps, I considered what l was going to do next. The first part of my impulsive plan to get the Sun Princess’ protege to notice me in some way had worked, but I had no idea what to follow it up with.
I knew that once we reached wherever Sunset was taking me, it was likely she’d try to intimidate me into keeping silent about the notes on her book. Her anger was about as subtle as a battering ram was to an unfriendly door.
Not that I blamed her. If I was a powerful unicorn and some earth pony two years my junior read my notes on dark magic spells that no pony outside of the restricted section of the library should be allowed to read, I’d be pissed too.
I considered all that I knew about Sunset Shimmer.
She was a unicorn powerful enough for Celestia to take notice, during her introduction speech she had spoken passionately about how CSGU was the school where the most powerful unicorns were taught and she was apparently secretly studying powerful dark magic concerning mirrors.
But what sort of power could I offer…
…
Bingo.
As soon as we had arrived at an empty history classroom and Sunset turned around, I deliberately allowed my expression to change.
In an instant, gone was the lost little earth pony following the Sun’s chosen. Replacing him was an earth pony made of stone, hardened by a lifetime of experience in a much different, much more ruthless world.
Hard sapphire met teal blue.
Her face, which had only contained anger seconds before, quickly changed to surprise. Her back hoof moved backwards a few millimeters in response in a very well concealed flinch.
I gave her a frigid smile as I gently closed the door behind me and began the performance.
“I see you have been dabbling in rather dangerous magic, Miss Shimmer,” I began, making it a point to address her formally while making my very best attempt at a Hugo Weaving impression. (As with all attempts at imitating his brilliant performances though, I couldn’t capture the real thing)
“Wh-What?” She said, stumbling over her words. “What do you mean dangerous? And more importantly, how would you know what magic is dangerous anyway?!”
“Hmm… let me answer your question with another question, Miss Shimmer. Why do you study magic?”
“Huh?” She seemed surprised, as if she had never actually asked herself such a silly question.
“Why do you study magic? Why do you get up every morning to go to this school? What would motivate you to risk your student career and apprenticeship under Princess Celestia to study dark magic about mirrors of all things?”
She stumbled for a moment, then seemed to gather herself and threw her head back in a haughty manner.
“To become an even more powerful unicorn, of course!” She exclaimed.
“And do you believe that you need that power for something? Can you tell me what that is? Do you even know?”
Stunned silence. It didn’t really surprise me to know that Sunset hadn’t actually thought that far ahead, simply trying to become more powerful for power’s sake.
“Could it be perhaps that you will try to generously use your power for the benefit of the common pony? Spread kindness and laughter throughout Equestria? Prove your loyalty to Celestia? Come now Ms. Shimmer… be honest with me.”
It took a few moments, but eventually Sunset’s eyes widened in realization.
“Wait… You… You’re talking about that old pony’s tale. The Mare in the Moon?”
“Yes, The Mare in the Moon!” I exclaimed loudly, making a big show of looking angry at the mere mention of the name of the story.
“Someone with your memory surely remembers that tale? How Princess Celestia, through the use of the Elements of Harmony, conquered the evil ‘powerful pony’ and then went on to rule Equestria through 1000 years of peace?”
“Of course I remember, the Elements of Harmony are only the most powerful magical magic known to ponydom! To be able to harness that power…” A strange look came upon her face, before she performed the classic Canterlot Unicorn scoff (TM). “Not that you’d know anything about that, of course.”
I gave a small chuckle.
“Ah! Yes, about that! Sunset Shimmer, it is very nice to meet you.” I extended my hoof over in Sunset’s direction, intending for her to shake it. “My name is Lost Hope, master illusionist, at your service.”
After a few awkward seconds in which Sunset stared at my outstretched hoof like it was the strangest thing she had ever seen, she regained enough of her wits to ask the obvious question.
“What in the hay is an ‘illusionist’?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” I exclaimed, ignoring her eye roll. “An Illusionist is someone who practices Illusion Magic, of course.”
“... That doesn’t tell me anything…” Her eyes had narrowed and she shot a glance at the door behind me, as if just now noticing that I had effectively blocked the only exit.
“Then allow me to explain.”
I gave her a small smile, then adopted a very deliberate ‘lecturing’ tone.
“Illusion Magic is a very secretive and powerful branch of magic that relies on misdirection. It is the art of convincing others that what you know to be fake, an illusion if you may, is actually real. A true master illusionist can make others fight their battles for them, make enemies destroy themselves, and have entire countries fall under their rule without anypony being aware.”
It’s also more commonly known as the art of Bullshittery and can be used to convince arrogant unicorns that they are learning a super secret dark branch of magic.
There was a brief pause in which Sunset Shimmer considered my words, but eventually she finally asked the question I had been waiting for her to make since I first mentioned Illusion Magic.
“Let’s say I believe you. What sort of illusions can you do?” She asked with skeptical eyes and a barely discernible smirk.
I responded with a full-blown shiteating grin, of course.
“Why, the most important illusion of all, Miss Shimmer.”
“I am a unicorn.”
Subject 4: ???
It didn’t take too long after that.
Barely a week had passed since Sunset Shimmer had begun her so called ‘apprenticeship’ under me, after I had explained to her that it had taken me literal years to be able to design an illusion intricate enough to completely erase my horn from all five pony senses and that no I wasn’t going to dispel it just so she could see how it looked like.
She also wasn’t entirely convinced by my unicorn story, mostly because she thought it didn’t make any sense. After all, why would a unicorn pretend to be an earth pony at a magical school? Which, admittedly, was a good point.
In response, I gave her the classic spiel about ‘true wolves hiding among the sheep’ and how everypony underestimated me simply because I looked like an earth pony.
Then I pulled a bit out of her ear. She was asking for lessons a few seconds later.
When I told her that her first test would be befriending Twilight Sparkle, she may or may not have made several coughing noises that sounded vaguely like celestia and magic of friendship bullcrap. Then I told her that a true illusionist was one that managed not only to sell other ponies on an illusion, but also themselves if the case needed it. All Sunset had to do was convince Twilight to be her friend (Easy) and then convince herself that she wanted to be Twilight’s friend. (Much, much harder)
And if she does actually end up becoming friends with Twilight by convincing herself to do it, well, all the better. ‘Fake it ‘till you make it’, as they say.
I had been in the middle of planning out her first ‘evaluation’ during the last few minutes of a boring Thursday Math class when the teacher tried to get my attention.
“Mr. Hope?” She asked, staring at my unfocused eyes as I gazed directly at the blackboard without really seeing it.
“Uh… Excuse me?” She waved a hoof in front of my face, but I was still in plan-land.
I wonder if I can setup a reunion between all of the potential Elements of Magic? Then again, it’s very likely Celestia would notice that, wouldn’t want to-
“Lost Hope!” The teacher said again, this time much louder, bringing me right out of my own head.
I snapped to attention in my desk and looked around, trying to remember what exactly I was supposed to be doing.
There were quite a few snickers across the classroom.
“Mr. Hope” The teacher said after giving the ceiling a look of sheer exhaustion, as if asking the heavens to grant her strength. “The principal would like to see you in her office after this period finishes.”
There was the usual “ooohhh somepony’s in truuubuuuuull!” along with a few laughs and even a “finally!” from the back of the classroom. Considering it was the last period of the day, it wasn’t unwarranted either.
On the outside I remained expressionless, simply nodding at my teacher as an answer, but on the inside there were two different warring factions, logic vs emotion.
OH GOD HOW DID SHE FIND OUT SO FAST WE’RE ALL GONNA DIIE-
Hmm… The probability of this meeting being coincidentally a week after we first contacted Sunset is extremely low…
WE TRUSTED HER! CONVINCED HER NOT TO TELL ANYONE, WHY-
Ah. Our first task for her. I believe it is quite probable that Celestia noticed Sunset’s changed attitude towards her friendship teachings… Could she have noticed her try to approach Twilight? Or perhaps this just has to do with what occurred a week ago…?
WAIT. DOES THIS MEAN WE GET TO USE IT?
Yes. We knew we would be talking to the principal soon enough, it was only a matter of time considering how we got into CSGU. Time to execute.
With the argument inside my head settled, I could finally move on to the contingency plan I had prepared for just this opportunity.
I was going to assasinate Princess Celestia.