//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Hostile History // by Jest //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer wasn’t led directly to her cell, that would be too simple. First she was taken for an invasive medical examination by an altogether too-attentive doctor. After being stripped, bled and prodded for at least an hour, she was given a threadbare orange jumpsuit, then led somewhere else by another group of soldiers with their strange masks and hissing gas. Sunset tried to make conversation with one as they walked, but he didn’t respond. There were hundreds of cells down here, or at least that was the impression she got from the identical cell-block doors and bland fluorescent lights overhead. As they passed one, she heard someone pounding on the cement. In another, mad wailing that sounded only vaguely like human speech could be heard. They sounded more like a windigo, trapped in a tiny space and raising the strongest gale it could, only to end up forever alone. It was hard to believe she was even dealing with the same species anymore. Sunset stared at the inside of her isolation cell—fifteen square feet of featureless concrete, with a combination sink-toilet on one end, and a raised slab for a bed without so much as a pillow. It felt like far less than she was entitled—there had to be some laws broken by putting a minor in a place like this. The world had laws for a reason, after all. The second the door slammed shut Sunset Shimmer felt truly alone since her reformation, completely, and utterly alone. At least if they’d been put in jail together, she might’ve talked to the others for company. They could reassure each other that they’d made the right choice, saving lives even if the process had cost them their freedom. But she couldn’t talk to them, and unlike the others, Sunset didn’t have a hope of using her powers to escape. Maybe Applejack would finally get tired of waiting and organize an escape? She probably could, particularly if she worked together with Twilight and Rainbow Dash. The others all had useful talents. But not you. They wouldn’t need you to help escape even if they did want to. Sunset Shimmer thought to herself. Sunset quickly lost track of time. Maybe hours passed down there in the dark, maybe it was days. Sometimes she slept, sometimes she used the sink to try and clean herself off. Sometimes food entered through the slot in the bottom of the room, or a guard outside shouted for her to give back her old tray if she wanted to eat. It was incredibly unpleasant to say the absolute least, but they weren’t torturing her, though it was pretty damn close to torture. At the bare minimum she got her three squares, just like Foxtrot had promised.  Three squares of bland, tasteless cafeteria food.  The longer Sunset Shimmer spent by herself, the more she found her mind returning to the message that dragon had been sent to deliver. She heard that strange voice in the darkness, reminding her of the emptiness of her own life. At least the humans had only locked her in a room. Equestria had violated her mind, changed her. Made her weak. What would old Sunset have done? The answer came to her without wanting it to. Old Sunset wouldn’t have allowed herself to be captured in the first place. She would’ve had an escape plan in mind in case she saw the police appear while fighting some other creature. And if she was pushed into a corner, she would’ve used her magic against them.  You could never lose control, because once you did… you could end up down here. Sunset Shimmer thought to herself. Or dead. You aren’t even a citizen to them. Foxtrot thinks you’re an intruder here. He’s afraid of you. Maybe they’ll just kill you and be done with it. It was hard to imagine the United States government just murdering a child in some secret jail, but maybe she hadn’t known the country as well as she thought she did. After all, Sunset had never done any of her own research on the topic and had merely trusted what she had been taught in school. With nothing better to do with her time, Sunset found herself wandering back through her memories, pondering what had once been. She thought of an associate of hers, a mare with a talent for mixing magic and technology like noone else could. Sunset remembered how she had constructed an engine much like the ones humans used for their cars. The former pony also remembered how she had reportedly disappeared for several days before being found dead of an apparent suicide. The event had always struck Sunset as odd, for the mare herself was happy, and not just in appearance. She would regularly talk to Sunset about her discoveries despite barely knowing one another. Every time they had spoken Sunset felt as though she got a glimpse of a person who found true joy in their work. Sunset considered the mare’s death for hours, thinking back to what possible clues there might have been to her mental state. Yet for all the time on Sunset’s hands, she couldn't figure out why the pony had taken her own life. That was if she had indeed done it, for as Sunset thought about it, there were likely a lot of ponies who didn't want her engine to go to market. Even Celestia herself had made a remark about it in passing once, the alicorn mentioning its potential for destruction. Sunset had initially agreed with Celestia, but the longer Sunset considered things, the stranger the comment felt. She briefly wondered if Celestia had a hand in what had happened only to brush it aside after thinking about it for an hour or so. Celestia was simply too benovelont, or was she? She did seem to dump all of her problems on Earth and thus inadvertently hurt others in the process. And that wasn't even thinking about all the ponies she could have altered using the elements, provided the voice had been right. Brushing aside all of that, Sunset focused her mind elsewhere, namely to the voice, and the vision it imparted on her. She wondered why Foxtrot had been so determined to bring her in despite all evidence of their heroism. Was he merely waiting for something terrible to happen in order to justify her capture? Did Foxtrot really think she’d been behind all the attacks, or was he just saying that to try and get her cooperation? And if so, why would he then say that he wants to send them back. Was he trying to steal their powers for some reason? There were too many questions, and not nearly enough answers. Though thankfully Sunset wouldn't be left wondering for much longer as a few days later Foxtrot himself arrived to settle that question personally. Rapping heavily on the door, Foxtrot startled Sunset out of an uneasy sleep.  “Sunset, wake up,” he barked. Sunset yawned, sat up dimly. “I’m up. Are you letting us go?” He laughed, his voice bitter and mocking.  “Yes, we commonly release uncooperative prisoners. That’s how we keep the country safe. Actually, the less cooperative a prisoner is, the shorter we keep them here. That way their energy isn’t wasted bashing themselves against a lonely cell wall and instead they can be out killing people,” Foxtrot remarked in a bitter tone. “I’ve never killed anyone,” Sunset snapped, folding her arms and glaring out the narrow slits. “And you’d know be able to see that too if you had more than two brain cells to rub together.” Foxtrot was there on the other side all right, wearing a crisp suit with a black tie. His hair was slicked back and shiny in the light of the overhead lamp. Though there was a close call the first time. “I’m not sure why I would believe you,” Foxtrot stated. “You’ve been entirely unhelpful so far. Why start telling the truth now?” “I’ve done nothing but tell you the truth!” Sunset shouted back. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know, but I’ve told you everything I do.” “Is that so?” Foxtrot leaned closer, staring at her through the cell door. “How do we remove your powers?” She would’ve had an answer to that, at one point. Removing their jewelry had once done the trick. But the magic wasn’t in the rocks anymore, it was in them. She didn’t have to lie however. “You know what? Screw it. If you really want to remove our powers, then you need a thaumic vortex of at least two sigma. There’s a creature in our mythology who used to commonly harvest abilities like that named Tirek. All you have to do is break into Tartarus and let him go free! Should be a piece of cake,” Sunset Shimmer retorted, throwing up her hands. Foxtrot stepped back, glowering at her. “This is how seriously you take your situation? You mock me with what, a fairy tale?” “No,” Sunset argued. “I’ve just told you the truth, again and again. But you’re so completely ignorant, so far out of your depth, that you don’t believe me. So how about this. If you really think there are invaders on the other side of the portal, if you really think your country is in danger—then go to the other side and see what’s waiting there. Scout it out, see what the danger is, meet the locals. Not only will they confirm everything I’ve said, but I’m sure you’ll see very quickly how pointless your fear is. The ones living on the other side are gentle and kind compared to you.” “We’ve done that,” Foxtrot answered. “But you murder everyone we’ve sent. At least, I assume you murder them. As not one of them has ever reported back.” Well that’s interesting. Another thing to put in her letters to Twilight that never got answered. Sunset thought. “Maybe they didn’t want to leave,” Sunset Shimmer offered. “The land on the other side has not seen war in eons. Its people know nearly limitless prosperity, and the murder rate is near non existent. Compared to here it must look like paradise.” Foxtrot didn’t argue with her, the man merely staring down at Sunset for several seconds before turning away. “Clearly you’re not prepared to properly negotiate. That’s fine, I’m patient. You probably saw on your way in that I’ve got plenty of space. Your friends are all citizens with families, and sooner or later, I’m going to have to let them go. But not you. You’re no one, Sunset Shimmer. You don’t exist. No one will miss you. Consider that carefully while you sit in your cell,” Foxtrot statedbefore walking away, joining two other soldiers Sunset hadn't initially noticed. “I am telling you the truth!” Sunset screamed after him, her voice shrill and desperate.  His departure broke something in the woman, and all at once Sunset felt a desperate panic well from deep within her. She didn’t want to be alone again. Anyone, even a hated enemy, was better than the relentless mocking of her own voice. Of the four blank walls which continually closed in on her from all sides during the long night time hours. “Please! I’m telling you everything I know! I can even write it all down, if that’s what you want! Anything you want to know about magic! Just don’t leave me down here!” Sunset Shimmer shouted. But that was exactly what Foxtrot did. The man didn’t so much as hesitate, or even turn around to look at Sunset. Maybe that was the worst part, that feeling of absolute helplessness. Sunset thought. Even giving him what he wanted wasn’t enough to make him stay.  And with his departure, the darkness returned.