Sunset threw her head back and laughed.
Twilight looked on in shock as the cackles Sunset let out trickled down to a low chuckle. She clutched her side as she caught her breath.
“What, do think I’m that dumb? You’re just gonna waltz on over and tell me the Princess is gone and that you need my help? The portal opens every thirty moons without any pony with tampering it. And who’s the only person who has the knowledge to open it early?”
Twilight frowned. “Sunset, I’m not tricking you. Why would the Princess send a mare who can barely walk to apprehend you? If she was coming to get you, don’t you think she would get the strongest people available to try and find you?”
Sunset squinted her eyes at Twilight. " . . . Okay, I’ll humor you,” she said. Her eyes lit up in amusement again. “So they finally got to the old hag, eh? I would’ve preferred to be there myself to see it happen, but,” she sucked in some more air, “letting my imagination run wild is a lot more fun.” Sunset’s grin died down a little. “I guess I’ll have to change my plans a bit,” she said.
Twilight stared at her, aghast. “Do you not care at all? Equestria’s doomed, Sunset. I can’t stop this alone.”
Sunset shrugged. “Well, I guess you’ll have to try, ‘cause I’m not helping.” She walked through the foggy haze back to the bus stop and sat on a waiting bench. “If I were you, I’d count my blessings, cut my losses, and get the hell outta town. Welcome to Earth! It’s like Equestria except everyone’s uncomfortable and quick to violence!”
Twilight took a seat next to her and fidgeted. “But . . . your friends, family? They’re all captured. The Changelings will suck them dry of all their love, magic, and energy!” Twilight pointed to her to her arms and legs. “Look what happened to me. I was only in a pod for a few hours!”
Sunset sighed. “Sorry Twilight—your world, your problem. Let’s just say that when I came here I cut my losses and counted my blessings. You’ve got enough energy in you to keep on. I know a nice sushi shop that would like a cute girl like you; I don’t remember the conversion rates between bits and dollars, but trust me when I say a starting wage of twelve-fifty an hour could be a lot worse considering you’re an illegal alien.”
Twilight frowned. “At least let me tell you what happened, Sunset. Isn’t there a part of you that wants to know?”
Sunset pondered the thought for a few minutes. On one hand, she wanted to hear about Princess Celestia’s demise, and the immense satisfaction it would entail. On the other hand, she getting just the story would rope her in a little bit, which was the opposite of what she wanted. If Celestia was overthrown, I suppose it means I have a new ruler to deal with. Maybe I could lead a resistance group, and take back over in Celestia’s name—wouldn’t that be the cruelest irony for her! “Alright, tell me what happened, and especially who did it.”
Twilight sat up and cleared her throat. “It started at the Canterlot wedding between Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor—”
“Isn’t she a little young for that?”
Twilight scowled. “What? No. Anyways, the wedding became an attempt at a coup d’etat from the Changelings, led by Queen Chrysalis. She mind-controlled Shining Armor and took Cadence’s place. I figured out what was going on and managed to call her out at the last minute, but it spiraled out of control. Chrysalis overpowered Celestia, and all of the Changelings swarmed the streets. We tried to get the Elements, but we couldn’t get there in time. My friends . . . I . . .” Twilight trailed off.
A brief panic overcame Sunset. The Elements . . . please don’t let that mean what I think it does. “I don’t have all day. You can cry later,” Sunset said.
Twilight sniffed. “Okay, they, um, captured all of us at the wedding and threw us into pods. Me, Princess Celestia, my friends, everypony. I don’t remember how long I was in there, but the Princess said it was only a few hours. It turns out that she pulled me out; Luna had missed the reception, and when she found out what happened, she got the Princess out before getting captured herself. The Princess then opened my container and gave me the instructions to find you.”
Sunset swallowed. “What did she say?”
“That she had an old student who lived on the other side of the mirror. She thought you could help, and that I needed to find you as fast as possible. She was going to go with me, but the Changelings caught up to us. She told me to go to the portal while she stayed behind and dealt with them. So I ran as fast as possible and ended up here.
“The palace is full of pods, Sunset. I looked out some of the windows, and the streets are lined with ponies, slowly having their energy drained from them. I don’t know how much longer they can last. I need to do something, but we need your help.”
Sunset put her thumb to her chin. Changelings, huh. Well, most of the plan can still work, and it guarantees me the love of the people if I succeed. I’m not doing it with Twilight, though. “Well, that’s a great story, but I’m still not gonna help. I don’t even know if it’s true, and there isn’t anything in it for me at all. Celestia can’t come crawling to me when she needs help; if she can’t show her face around here then I don’t see the point in helping her.”
Twilight sighed. “How can I get you to understand how bad this is, Sunset? When I was in the pod, I—I didn’t want to leave. It’s like paradise, reliving your best memories over and over again. You’re turned into a willing power source. Nopony will manage to break free on their own. Somepony from the outside must come in and help. I need . . . a friend, for this. I can’t do anything without my friends.”
Sunset stood up from the bench. “I don’t know how I’m going to drill this into your head, but I am not going to help. I’ve gotten by just fine without any friends for a long while now, and I don’t plan on changing that any time soon. Now tell Celestia to either accept that she lost and stop bugging me about it, or that this is a goddamn cruel trick to try and bring me back to Equestria.”
Twilight scooted up to Sunset and almost comically raised her hands up to beg. “Sunset, please, the Princess said you both departed on bad terms. Can you let go after ten years? We need your—”
“Hold on, ten years?”
Twilight leaned back, confused. “Well, as far as I know, yes. How long do think you’ve been here?”
“I’ve been here a year and a half!” Sunset began to enter another panic; if Twilight wasn’t lying, then Celestia had probably forgotten about her by now, or had enough time to adequately prepare for Sunset’s intended takeover. I can’t let this happen; I’ll have missed too much! “No, I don’t believe you. This is another one of Celestia’s tricks, isn’t it?”
Twilight furrowed her brow. “Why would I lie to you? I’m telling the truth, as much to my knowledge.”
Shit, I need a way to figure out if she’s lying. Sunset scanned her brain for any way to confidently vet the girl’s statement. Ah-ha! She smirked. “Okay, Twilight, if you’re from ten years in the future, then tell me this: probably a year or two ago, did something big happen to the government? Maybe a new addition to the family, perhaps?”
When Sunset had first arrived at Canterlot High she was quite confused as to the fact that Principal Celestia had a sister, but she made the connection to the tale of Nightmare Moon and assumed that her return would actually occur on the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. It was the perfect test for Twilight, because not a single Equestrian would not know about something at least strange happening that night, and she seemed fairly close to the Princess as well.
Twilight grinned. “Nightmare Moon returned!” Shit. “My friends and I used the Elements of Harmony to purge Nightmare Moon of her evil and return Princess Luna to Equestria.” I’m screwed. “I hold the Element of Magic, being Princess Celestia’s student and all.”
Sunset stared back at Twilight, stonefaced. She promptly got up from the bench, and without any word of goodbye, ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.
Celestia walked out to her car as she continued her phone call.
“Look, Luna, there isn’t much we can do at this point. The bus driver already told me he let both of them off. I will make sure Sunset shows up to school tomorrow, and talk with her then.”
“Okay,” Luna’s voice buzzed over the phone, “but we need to remember that someone a lot worse could have gotten on just as easily.”
“Yes, I think we’ll have a talk with all of the bus drivers tomorrow. See you at home, Lulu,” Celestia said.
“See you then. I’m already starting supper.”
“I cannot wait! Goodbye,” She said, and hung up. Celestia had needed to stay late in order to make sure nothing went wrong on Sunset’s bus ride. She was brainstorming ideas to come up with a good way to remind the bus drivers about letting only their students on, but she couldn’t help but be embarrassed at her own inability to keep the girl off. I essentially pointed her in the right direction! I should not have made that mistake on a normal day.
Celestia reached her car and tucked her phone in her pocket, swapping it out for her car keys. Celestia kept her small bronze sedan in perfect condition, so much so that Luna joked it was Celestia’s own personal chariot. She slipped inside, and gently closed the car door behind her. She set her bag down on the passenger seat, the can of wasp spray she used in the morning sticking out to remind her just how much of a failure the morning’s venture was.
I hope Sunset’s doing okay. Celestia couldn’t help but feel an affinity toward Sunset, and she found herself wanting to help the girl with her troubles. Sunset thought that Celestia could not see how much anger Sunset held for her and the student body, but Celestia had seen it enough times in students in the past. The only difference that intrigued Celestia so much was that most students let their anger overwhelm them; Sunset seemed to be quite the opposite, scoring the top of her class, almost like it was motivating her.
The shroud of mystery around Sunset also contributed to Celestia’s intrigue. She never showed up for any parent-teacher conferences, and her address was a small apartment in a dilapidated section of town. Celestia and Luna were almost certain she was an orphan, but somehow she had parents able to sign any forms and she was never lacking for money. But, as long as Sunset was hostile to everyone she met—the students had mistaken her haughty superiority to be a cool-girl vibe, funny enough—Celestia would never see her grow her wings and into the girl she thought Sunset could be.
Although, that girl was looking for her. She realized afterwards that the girl reminded her of a child her niece once babysat, however the last time Celestia saw the girl, she was completely healthy, and completely devoted to study. She would certainly not want to associate herself with a girl like Sunset, who, although extremely smart, was significantly more interested in the social aspect of high school.
Celestia pulled out of the parking lot, and immediately slowed down and turned on her lights. She had not noticed the fog roll in since the afternoon, and now that it was almost five, it was starting to drench the town, clouds of gray hanging overhead. She missed the sunny weather of the morning.
Inside her pocket, her phone buzzed.
She quickly glanced down at it and saw that Luna was calling her again. What now, I wonder? She slowed down some more and pulled the phone up to her ear. “Hello, Luna?”
“Hey, Celestia, I just wanted you to know to be careful when you pull into the garage.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
“Well, it’s just this wasp,” Celestia heard sounds of shuffling from the other end, “that has been clinging to each window I walk by for the past fifteen minutes or so. It may try to take a go at you when you get home.”
More wasps? It’s getting late in fall already. “Okay, is it a yellow wasp? I think I can handle just one.”
Celestia heard Luna step forward to the window. “No, no, it’s huge. Like, a third of the window huge. It’s green, too; quite an interesting creature actually—”
Luna hung up. What is she up to now? Celestia stuffed the phone back in her pocket and put her eyes back on the road. The small description of the wasp brought back the memory of this morning, when the new swarm entered the old hive. It couldn’t be the same one, could it? Do wasps fly that far from a nest? And, the swarm we saw today had big wasps, for sure, but none of the ones I saw were a third of a window big.
Celestia sighed. Today was shaping up to be full of nuisances that she could just not avoid. Deep breaths, Celestia. Think about tending to the tree. She continued to drive through the foggy city, at what was beginning to feel like a snail’s pace.
Her phone rang again.
Celestia snatched the phone back out of her pocket. “What is it now, Luna? I’m driving right now,” she said.
“Hey, sorry Celestia. I was talking to you, right?”
“. . . Yes?” She answered.
“It was about the bug I saw, right? Or what was for dinner, maybe?”
Celestia smiled, bemused. “Did you hit your head or something? You were going on about the wasp.”
“Oh, haha, yeah, I was looking at it when I accidentally tripped. Happens to the best of us, y’know?”
" . . . Yes, I suppose.”
“So, anyways, the wasp flew off the window and went away when I fell. You’re good to come on home.”
“Okay, thanks Lulu. I’m hanging up now.”
“Goodbye.”
Celestia hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket, hopefully for the last time. She liked to think her sister was not a klutz, but she had a knack for proving the opposite sometimes. She continued to drive home, her car cutting through the fog inch by inch. Dinner better be ready by the time I get in the garage.
“Stop following me!” Sunset yelled at the figure behind her as she ran down the sidewalk. “If I wanted to talk, I would!”
Twilight Sparkle stumbled forward. “Just listen to me! I have nopony else to turn to!”
Sunset did not respond. One foot after another, and soon, I’ll be back at my house.
“What do I need to do to make you stop and listen!”
“Nothing! You can rot!”
A litany of emotions flurried through Sunset as she continued her escape. My whole plan, ruined, because some naive girl had to get the Element of Magic first. Sunset had intended to use the Element of Magic once it was rediscovered to reinstate herself as a national hero. She certainly was not lacking in the magic department, so all she had to do was get to it first. Instead, she got bested by her replacement, who would be more accurately described as the Princess’s favorite sycophant. God dammit! If this world hadn’t screwed me over, I would be flying at the top of Equestria right now.
A devilish idea appeared in Sunset’s mind. She stopped running and turned to face Twilight Sparkle, who was quickly approaching her through the fog. “Stop there, Twilight!”
Twilight stopped, gasping for air. “Will you please listen to me?”
Sunset smirked. “All right. I’ll help you out,” Twilight looked up, a hopeful expression on her face, " But, only if you get me the Element of Magic you claim to possess. Give it to me, and I’ll fix up Equestria lickety-split.” And do a few extra things, too.
Twilight fell to the ground and teared up. “I . . . don’t have it. We couldn’t get to the Elements in time, and Equestria fell because of it.”
Sunset hissed in some air. “Ooh, well that’s too bad. I guess you’ll have to find someone else to bother then. All you’ve given me so far is a sob story.”
“W-wait! I can help explain things to you!” She stood up. “You mentioned that you thought you were on this side of the mirror for a year and a half, but ten years have passed on our side. Celestia told me that the mirror opened once every thirty Moons, however a Moon is not an accurate unit of measurement. Starswirl the Bearded was known to be extremely technical and precise when he was in control of the Sun and Moon—I’ve seen his log notes, some of the most interesting bits of history, trust me—but upon Celestia and Luna’s acquisition, the exact specifications began to vary. Prior to Nightmare Moon’s return, Princess Celestia began to increase the amount of Moons in order for astronomers to wrap up documenting the Mare in the Moon’s face; she didn’t phrase it that way, of course—she said she wanted to ‘liven the night up a bit’ to me back then—but the intentions became clear once Luna returned. Plus, when Luna returned, she began going through pretty much one Moon a night in order to help the citizens of Equestria adjust to her arrival. So, you most likely were going to be following a one-to-one ratio of time between both sides of the mirror, but the time period you chose to leave during was inopportune.” She gasped for air. “That’s all hypothetically speaking, of course.”
Sunset stared at her, barely taking in the wall of words Twilight spewed out. “So you’re one of those students. Let me ask you something, Twilight. Have you ever, and I mean ever, not believed something Celestia has said?”
Twilight tilted her head. “Why shouldn’t I? She’s been completely right so far.”
Sunset threw up her hands and turned away again. “I rest my case.”
“H-hold on a minute!” Said Twilight as she caught up to Sunset. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m trying to say that you’re not her student, you’re her goddamn pet,” Sunset snarled. “Of course she’d give the Elements to you. Heaven forbid she chooses somepony with free will, who won’t let herself get stepped on every minute of the day! Well, look where that ended up for her.”
“Hey!” Twilight said angrily. “I’m not a pet! Celestia trusts my judgement!”
“You know what I think, Twilight?” Sunset approached her, and got right up to her face. “I think Celestia sent you here, not to get my help, but to try and rub in my face how much better off Equestria is without me. If you had the Element of Magic on you right now, I bet you’d have already turned me to stone. You’re just a coward who accepts her role in Celestia’s little game and only thinks for herself when the Princess isn’t around.”
“But Equestria isn’t better off without you!” Twilight exasperated. “That’s what I’ve been trying to say this whole time! Celestia wants you back to help save the country.”
Sunset laughed in her face. “You’re delusional. If you didn’t think she was God you’d immediately see what she plans to do to me. Well, perhaps I can be the messiah that will set you head straight.” She leaned in, almost touching Twilight’s nose. “Celestia probably went insane from old age hundreds of years before either of us were born. She’s a goddamn sociopath.”
“Well, do you know what I think, Sunset?” Twilight buckled under Sunset’s advancement, but she showed no fear on her face. “I think you’re the sociopath. I’ve know you for twenty—no, fifteen—minutes now, and you’ve shown enough to fit the label by the book. You show no empathy to your family or friends, you’ve tried to manipulate me out of the Element of Magic, you have been completely callous and arrogant, and you’ve assumed that I’m here to hurt you, despite me begging on my knees for your help.”
“I think you need to shut up,” Sunset growled.
Twilight nearly fell over, but she grabbed onto Sunsets shoulders in a final effort to stay balanced. “Tell me, Sunset, did you leave Celestia because she wasn’t treating you like an equal, or because you’re uncapable of expressing any love for another pony?”
Sunset threw Twilight off of her shoulders onto the sidewalk. “You can call me a sociopath, but at least I don’t have the genocide of an entire nation resting on my shoulders. Imagine how your friends feel, your other bearers, knowing that all you managed to do was give them the slowest death possible.” Twilight looked up at Sunset in shock. “Some friend you are. You know, there are plenty of duplicate ponies from the other side of the mirror in this world. Maybe you could find them and live a facade of the life you’re never getting back. From what you’ve told me, though, you’ll probably get them killed by the second week.”
Twilight sunk to the ground, tears welling in her eyes. “Why . . . why won’t you understand that I don’t want to trick you?”
Sunset laughed. “Trick me? You’ve already ruined everything for me and I didn’t even fucking know it!”
Sunset stormed off to her house, occasionally glancing behind her to see if the girl would continue chase. Twilight, did not keep up chase, however; she bore holes into the sidewalk, and tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes.
Out of the foggy haze appeared Celestia and Luna’s house. The large white two-story home held plenty of space for the two sisters to cohabitate. Celestia pulled into the garage and stopped her car. She had checked the windows of the house as she pulled in to make sure the pesky wasp Luna mentioned had decided not to return. Nothing was there though, so she grabbed her bag, stepped out of the car, and walked into the anteroom.
“Luna! I’m home!” Celestia hung her jacket on the hook next to the door, and took off her shoes. “Is that spaghetti I smell?”
Celestia walked into the living room, but Luna was not there. All the lights were off in the house, and all the windows closed. “Luna? Hello?” She must be in the shower. I thought I told her to focus on the food when she cooked.Celestia sauntered into the kitchen and saw that a plate of spaghetti was already sitting out on the table for her.
I should light a few candles to make sure the whole house won’t smell like spaghetti all night. Celestia walked over to a kitchen drawer and pulled out a lighter. She moved over to the candles on the counter and began lighting them, only to hear a cough from the living room. “Luna? Is that you?”
“Yes. I was . . . in the shower.”
Celestia lit the last candle. “Oh, alright,” she walked back into the living room, lighter in hand. “Thanks for already plating the spaghetti. Once I put my bag down—”
Celestia paused as she saw the woman sitting on the couch.
It was as if Celestia was looking into a mirror, but the mirror was wickedly grinning back.
Sunset slammed the door to her apartment behind her, and sunk onto the floor against the wall. Shit. I might as well pack my bags. Pissing off the current student of Princess Celestia was not what she planned to do, and if there was even the slightest chance that Celestia was still kicking, a world of hell was going to reach her soon. Hopping the next train sounded like a safer option all around.
There was an inkling suspicion in the back of Sunset’s mind that Twilight was telling the truth and not blowing it out of proportion. If Celestia was truly gone, then abusing the power vacuum would not be the worst idea. But if I jump too early, I'll get ousted immediately. Sunset had only heard about Changelings from books she read in the Royal Library, and they were described as ground-dwelling, reclusive creatures, not the imperialists Twilight built them up to be. She was awfully hurt when I insulted her friends. Maybe it is true?
A small pang of something hit her chest when she recalled the insults she threw at Twilight. I've still got it, at least. Hurting Twilight did not give her the satisfaction that she usually got when she flexed power over another student. It felt less like killing a bug and more like kicking a puppy. Well, no more time to dwell, I suppose. She stood up.
Her apartment was very small, just a bedroom, bathroom, and a kitchen/hallway, but it had been enough to keep her going since she arrived, and considering that she obtained it illegally, there was no real basis to complain. She walked into her bedroom and crawled under her bed, searching for a small suitcase she carried her bare essentials in: passports, ID’s, spare cash, and a few personal trinkets.
“New York City always sounded kind of fun,” she muttered to herself. “Or maybe Chicago, I’d love to compare and contrast it with Chicoltgo. Although, someplace with really high altitudes might be fun. A hut on Mount Whitney?”
Her hand grasped the handle of her suitcase and she dragged it out. Three outfits, plus the one she was wearing, would be enough to get by. She got up and began raiding her dresser for her best clothes.
Across the small hallway in her house, a bump came from the bathroom. Sunset ignored it and continued collecting her outfits. Everything she chose was chosen to mix nicely with the leather jacket, but that also meaned a lot of her shirts and pants had holes or were thin, which would not be good for a trip across the country.
A clatter came from the bathroom again.
Is it the Royal Guard? I led them right to me, didn’t I? Sunset searched the top drawer of her dresser and pulled out a small switchblade. She creeped closer to the bathroom door and placed her ear against the old wood.
It was silent. With careful trepidation, she inched the door open and peered inside.
No one was there.
“Phew,” Sunset said, relieved. “Might as well get my toothbrush while I’m here.” Sunset began rummaging around the drawers in the sink to find all of the hygienic products she needed. She glanced up at the mirror and peered at herself.
This is how my time at Canterlot High ends, huh? I’ll just disappear, completely forgotten by the end of this year. Maybe I’ll focus on taking over this world; there might be more luck for me over here.
Sunset’s eyes started to get unfocused as she stared at herself in the mirror. The past year and a half, wasted. She continued to look at her double vision in the mirror, feeling another pang of the same emotion from earlier. Look at me, completely worthless the minute everything falls apart. Maybe it might be better just to turn myself in to—
Sunset gawked at her double figure in the mirror. Are my eyes fooling me, or am I grinning?
She turned around and came face to face with herself.