Canterlot High Science Lab, Sunday Afternoon, 12:45 PM
Sunset sat at one of the desks in the science lab, anxiously waiting for several students to arrive. While she should've been optimistic about getting lab assistants, her past failures made her anxious. People often said failure was a prelude to success. But for Sunset, failure was just leading to more failure.
With a small sigh, the fire-haired girl craned her head toward the ceiling and closed her eyes.
"I don't know who or what is up there," Sunset said solemnly. "I know...I had this coming. I know that...I'm in a nightmare of my own creation. But...I don't anyone to get hurt. I don't anyone else paying for my mistakes. Please...please let this go right." She opened her eyes, just as the door opened. In stepped the Shadowbolts.
"Hey Sunny," Juniper said cheerfully, a warm smile on her face.
"Hey June," Sunset said cheerfully. She turned to the other Shadowbolts. "Hey guys."
"Hey," Sugarcoat said mirthlessly. The other Shadowbolts were still reeling from the party, if their downcast moods were any indication.
"Um Sunset?" Sunny asked uneasily.
"Yeah?"
"Could you send a message to the Princess," Sunny uttered. "Telling her....'thanks for standing up for us' ?"
"Sure," Sunset said graciously.
"Tell her that we're grateful for what she did...even though we didn't deserve it...'" Sunny said, her voice cracking. The mood of the other Shadowbolts also seemed to deteriorate. Juniper looked at them like a disappointed parent.
"Guys, you heard what Princess Twilight said," Juniper said in a soothing rebuke. "She didn't give you a second chance for no reason. You've proven to me-and her-you want to be better people. If you guys didn't deserve it you wouldn't be here."
"Thanks June," Sunny said. The other Shadowbolts were looking at her with gratitude.
The sight helped alleviate some of Sunset's anxiety a bit, a warm smile forming on her face as she looked at Juniper with no small amount of pride.
"She would be a good runner up for the Element of Loyalty," Sunset thought with joy.
"Alright that's enough of our pity party," Indigo said. "Let's get to work shall we," Indigo said, rubbing her hands with glee.
"So what are we going do?" Lemon Zest said excitedly, looking at the equipment on the table. "Mix things in beakers? Make weird chemicals?"
"Before we start anything," Sunset said, her voice becoming stern. "You guys need to understand that even though I've given you another chance, that doesn't mean you get to act as you please. You are all still on thin ice with me and Princess Twilight. So, if you want to help me, you have to do whatever I tell you and follow whatever rules I give you. Do you guys understand?"
"Yes," the Shadowbolts and Juniper all said.
"If you any break any of the rules or cause another accident," Sunset said paused. "You're out. Gone. Finito. And that includes you too Juniper," Sunset said in a less severe tone to the blue-haired girl. "It isn't anything personal June. But the Twilight that lived here was also a genius, and even she nearly got a lot of people killed during the Games by accident. This is very new territory. You can't afford to be arrogant. If I have to kick you out, its because I don't want anyone else getting hurt or killed. Do you guys understand?"
"Yes" the six girls said in unison.
"OK, so here are the rules," Sunset said. "You can't tell anyone about what goes on here, outside of Luna, Celestia, my friends, and Cadence. You can't take any of the lab equipment out of this room. You can't take pictures. You have to be here at 12 PM on Sunday sharp. No food. No drink. No headphones," Sunset said directly to Lemon Zest, who sheepishly put hers away. "No touching the equipment unless I let you. Don't treat any of the lab equipment like a toy, and you all have to put on the lab coats," Sunset finished, gesturing to the open closet full of coats. The six girls went to put them on.
"As I've said, you six cannot break any of these rules. They exist to protect you and everyone else. You guys break any of these rules, and you're out," Sunset said. "Do you guys want me to repeat them?" Everyone shook their heads.
"Indigo, Sour, Sunny, Lemon, Sugarcoat, I need you to pay attention to this rule," Sunset said with urgency. "You see that line on the ground." The group of six looked down, and saw that a segment of duct tape that went across the width of the room separated the table with the equipment from them. "Not only are you not allowed near the equipment, but you can't cross this line. Ever." The Shadowbolts eyes narrowed in confusion.
"If we can't touch the equipment, then what can we do?" Indigo asked Sunset.
"Well, see that computer over there," Sunset said, gesturing with her thumb. "The human Twilight's notes were all there. She left, a lot of notes," Sunset said in a tired voice. "Your jobs are to go through the notes to find any relevant information about the topics I asked you about." The Shadowbolts were dismayed.
"SO THAT'S IT!" Sour screeched. "WE'RE JUST A BUNCH OF SECRETARIES! I-," Sour paused when Sunny put a hand on her shoulder.
'
"Sour," Sunny Flare admonished. "Enough. We should be lucky Sunset is giving us a chance. She doesn't want us to screw anything else."
"Look, this isn't personal," Sunset said in reassurance. "Pinkie Pie caused an accident by swinging one of my pendants around, so I've banned her completely from this lab." Sunset said with a hint of anger. "You guys aren't really scientists and there isn't really anyway for me to measure the magic properly. But if we can make some progress, and you guys behave yourselves, then I let you do some more hands off stuff."
"OK", the Shadowbolts said humbly. Sugarcoat raised her hand.
"Yes Sugarcoat?"
"Since we're working together," Sugarcoat said, crossing her arms and honing her bespectacled eyes on Sunset. "Maybe you can tell us why you came to our world, and why you brought magic here."
"And what was the Princess saying about 'sirens' and 'demons'?" Juniper asked the amber-skinned girl. Sunset looked down and let out a sigh.
"OK," Sunset said. "I'll you everything."
Sunset regaled the six other girls with her life as a unicorn, her time as a student of a mighty princess, her betrayal of that student in her quest for power, arriving at Canterlot High, her time as an arrogant bully, her theft of Princess Twilight's crown, becoming a brainwashing demon, her disgraceful defeat, and the battle against the sirens.
"That was a really incredible story," Sour said.
"Really?" Sunset said. Sour's face twisted into a sneer.
"NO!" Sour said with disgust. "You sound like some kind of...cliché cartoon villain." Juniper, Indigo Zap, and Lemon Zest are chuckling at Sour's proclamation, while Sunny and Sugarcoat stared at Sunset with expressions of mild contempt.
"Well," Sunset said, her face blushing and a sheepish smile forming on her lips.
"You said you were...defeated by the power of friendship-," Lemon Zest couldn't finish the sentence before breaking down in laughter.
"That sounds so...corny and lame," Indigo Zap, also chuckling.
"And your plan just sounds so...crazy," Juniper said, a mocking grin on her lips. "You wanted to rule a pony world by becoming a...prom queen."
"The fact you cheated and bullied other people just to win several plastic crowns speaks to an incredible inferiority complex brought upon by a failure to rise above your station," Sugarcoat surmised.
"I guess," Sunset accepted with gritted teeth, rubbing the back of her head out of embarrassment
"Clearly, you were so consumed by megalomania, you sought to have the crown placed in a ceremony you had long used to dominate your classmates," Sugarcoat continued, "rather then just steal the crown and walk away."
"Yeah, why didn't you just steal the crown and leave," Sunny asked with confusion. "Didn't that ever cross your mind?" Sunset's eyes lowered to the floor.
"Well, my minions and I-," Sunset began, before being interrupted by Indigo's amused snorting.
"Minions," Indigo said with snicker. "Here that," Indigo said playfully to Juniper. "She's got minions now."
"Anyways, I did try to sneak in and get the crown," Sunset said, gritting her teeth. "But there was a...complication."
"What complication?"
"Well," Sunset said. "I decided to hide in the bathroom one night and well..."
It was late at night in Canterlot High. Princess Twilight and the ever-loyal Spike slept. The two blue eyes that watched them through the glass door of the library entrance were filled with nothing but fury and contempt. Sunset, dressed completely in black, considered attacking Twilight and her dog at this very moment.
The pony princess-turned-human struggle to even walk upright meant she would go down hard in a physical fight. While Sunset was no athlete, she could easily handle some twerp who tripped all the time.
"No, no," Sunset said to herself. "She won't give up over a few pushes. And her screams of pain could attract attention". She looked down the hall hungrily, where her true prize was.
"Once I put that crown I my head," Sunset said to herself with malicious glee ,"I'll have the power to bend her mind to my will. Nothing would break that white jerk and make her see me as worthy more than seeing her precious princess becoming loyal to me."
"Are you done talking to yourself?" Snips said, pulling Sunset out of her megalomaniacal fantasy. Snails was beside him, the two also dressed in black. Sunset grit her teeth.
"Let's go and get the stupid crown already," she grunted to her lackeys. The trio approached the door with a wrench and the screwdriver she needed to pick the lock. As she approached the Principal's office, where the crown was, she felt herself shaking with glee.
"Finally," Sunset thought to herself, "the power I deserved will be mine, and nothing will get in my way." She soon as got near the door, a massive alarm went off.
"What the-?!" Sunset said allowed, feeling panic. She heard loud footsteps running in her way.
"Run," Slips yelled. For once, Sunset didn't question her minion's suggestion, and trio ran away from the school security.
"I thought I knew everything I needed to know about this world after two years," Sunset said with a wry smile. "But there were still things I didn't know about. Like silent alarms."
"How did you not get caught?" Indigo asked.
"I knew about the security cameras and their blind spots," Sunset said with a less annoyed tone. "Snips, Snails, and I were able to get rid of our clothes and equipment and run into the bathroom. When security found us, we lied and said we we stayed after school to look for our stuff."
"Didn't you try again?"
"After the school found out about a bunch of 'thieves'," Sunset said with air quotes, "they tightened security. So by that point, it was impossible for me to steal the crown. In order for me to get it, I'd have to win it. I thought that Princess Twilight was way too weird for anyone to want her to be a Fall Formal Princess, and I would win like I always did."
"I guess that makes sense," Sour said. She then sneered at Sunset. "In an evil villain kind of way!"
"So how did the 'Magic of Friendship' make you want to change for the better?" Indigo said.
"Well, when I put on Twilight's crown," Sunset said, unease forming on her face, "it...awakened something inside me. Suddenly, my brain went from 'getting power and respect' to 'overthrow Celestia and kill anyone who got in my way'." The Crystal Prep students were astonished and a little scared.
"Anyways, I was about to head for the portal with the students I enslaved, but Princess Twilight and her friends got in my way," Sunset said. "I was willing to burn them to death just to get...power." Sunset felt a tear of shame fall down her face. She looked at the Shadowbolts, who looked back at her with disbelief. "But then suddenly, the girls were able...to draw on the power of Harmony."
"How?" Sunny said. "Them suddenly getting power sounds like...one heck of an plot twist."
"Harmony is the force that protects Equestria from dark forces," Sunset said. "Twilight theorizes that Harmony saw that she and her friends were worthy of its power, and that they would use that power to stop me."
"I think I know what happens next," Juniper said. "It was like in that Diamond Warriors episode-,"
"Diamond Warriors?", Sunset asked.
"Some juvenile cartoon about a group of girls who fight evil that some teenagers and adults inexplicably like," Sugarcoat said.
"Yeah," Juniper said almost dreamily. She let out a cough of embarrassment at everyone's bewilderment. "Anyways, the Diamond Warriors blast the villain with what they call 'The Light of Hope'. It automatically turns the villain good. That's what happened-,"
"That's not how Harmony works!" Sunset said with some anger. She let out a sigh as she saw everyone looking at her with a bewildered expression. "The Elements of Harmony don't just turn a bad person good."
"Then what do they do?" Sunny asked Sunset. Sunset looked down silently and grabbed her arm.
"Sunset," Lemon Zest said, picking up on the amber-skinned girl's distress. "Dude. If you don't want to talk, that's cool."
"When I was hit with the blast, it h-hurt," Sunset uttered. "It felt like, a thousand knives were stabbing me at once." The Crystal Prep students winced.
"When I came to," Sunset said, biting her lip, "I found myself in this weird void."
"Void?"
"Void," Sunset repeated. "Suddenly, the void began...showing me...showing me first turning into a demon and hurting other people." Sunset looked down in shame. "No matter how bad I was, I never wanted to do that." Her lip quiver. "Then it showed me all the horrible things I did. Bully people, act like a brat, destroy friendships, treating even my own...mentor like garbage." Sunset let a tear fall out. She saw Lemon Zest put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from crying. "Thanks," Sunset said.
"I know the Elements were saying," Sunset said. "I was always a demon. A monster. And that all my decisions led me becoming a brutal killer. All my life I thought the Princess was just being a jerk to me. But know I realize...I really wasn't ready for the power of the Princess. I realize...Celestia she was really trying to protect me and everyone else from what I would do." Sunset regained some her composure. "But it didn't really sink in how much I didn't deserve to be an alicorn until..."
"Until what?" Indigo asked, curious.
"Until I woke up and I saw Twilight and her friends staring down at me," Sunset said. "I thought I was gonna expelled, at best. I thought I was going to go back to Equestria in chains and spend the rest of my life in a dungeon," Sunset said in a small, weak voice. "But instead, Twilight told me...I deserved to have friends. I humiliated her, stole her crown, tried to kill her, and still said I deserved to know what friends are like." Sunset's expression became a mixture of warmth and sadness. "She even got the girls I hurt to be my friends." The Crystal Prep students were astonished by that.
"She even got the principals not to expel me," Sunset said. "I mean, I didn't get off scot-free. I was suspended for six weeks, and I spent four of them doing backbreaking labor fixing the chunk of the school I broke. And everyone in school hated me and hurt me as much as I hurt them. And I had to work hard and atone before my new friends ever really trusted me. But the fact that someone gave me a chance meant I had a duty to be better."
"And you did," Lemon said with a warm smile. "I mean, you knocked Cinch's lights out."
"And you also gave us a chance," Sunny said. "You did that because...we're a like out how you used to be."
"Well, you weren't as bad as becoming a demon."
"No," Sunny said uncomfortably. "But, we made fun of Twilight to. Treated her like garbage. Sent her on goose chases. Because we all thought she was...an obnoxious retarded teacher's pet."
"Sunny," Indigo scolding, "don't use that word."
"I think that's an accurate way to describe how we saw Twilight," Sugarcoat said, before letting out a tearful sigh. "But...then we learned we were the idiots. We were willing to gamble with our lives over a stupid game. And Twilight, who knew the danger, was the one who paid the price." Sugarcoat felt a tear fall down her face.
"And despite our screw up, you and Princess Twilight gave us a chance we didn't deserve," Sour said, the hurt in her normally boisterous voice evident. "Meaning, we had no excuse to treat Twilight like a reject."
"Because you guys stood up for me," Juniper said, the warm smile in her eyes raising everyone's spirits a little. "Whatever stupid things you did, you've learned from them. Enough that, if Twilight were here, she would be lucky to know you guys." The other Shadowbolts all ran up to Juniper, tearful smiles on their faces, and gave her a warm hug. After a few minutes, the other girls broke from the hug.
"I got one more question," Sugarcoat asked Sunset in a somewhat lighter question. "You said you left behind your entire world to come here. Didn't you have...like...family in that pony land." Sunset stared at her Sugarcoat blankly before looking at a red amulet.
"OK guys, we got six weeks to figure out how the magic did before the Princess returns," Sunset said, dodging Sugarcoat's inquiry. "So...let's get to work." Sugarcoat noticed how Sunset didn't respond to the question at all.
"Alright," Sugarcoat said, silently accepting Sunset had a family history she wasn't ready to discuss, "Let's get to our work station." Juniper followed Sunset from behind the work table, while everyone else went to the computer to look through Twilight's data.
"For Twilight," Lemon Zest said.
"For Twilight," everyone else repeated.