Sunset followed Tempo slowly, watching each step for potential dangers. There was no telling whether she’d be able to spot an attack coming before it came. The house was huge, strange, and clearly not of standard design, leaving Sunset Shimmer with a vague feeling of apprehension.
Even while she glanced nervously at a suit of armor, Sunset Shimmer’ rational side fought against her paranoia. Perfect Tempo didn’t need to lure her here to hurt her, he could’ve put dangers in her apartment, or done something any of the times they’d been alone. After the power he’d demonstrated, Sunset had no illusions about her ability to fight him.
He won’t let Platinum do anything to me. Sunset Shimmer thought to herself.
This is a formal meeting, that’s all. Just because she’s undead doesn’t mean she’s evil. Sunset Shimmer’s mind rebelled at the thought, like sour milk on her tongue. Undead creatures were all evil, and every one of them had dangerous intentions for Equestria. The very act of creating them imbued them with corruption that warped the pony they’d been into something unrecognizable.
Or at least that was what she’d been taught. That was what Celestia had shown her. Was there any reason she should believe it? How have I got so far that I’m questioning whether the undead are evil? Sunset Shimmer wondered bitterly.
Tempo might not have brought her here for some nefarious purpose, but he was still watching her, and couldn’t possibly be blind to the conflict roiling in her. He slowed in the hallway, beside a room filled with ancient, hollow armor.
Sunset half-expected it to come to life and start attacking them right there, due to how dark everything felt. There were no lights in the long hallway, nothing but the feeble starlight peeking through a row of distant windows.
“You’re afraid,” Tempo stated. “Of Platinum’s little gathering? Or something else?”
Sunset took a deep breath, considering her answer carefully. She didn’t think her odds of successfully lying to someone like Perfect Tempo were very high, even if it might be the most opportune answer.
“I don’t know how Equestria used to be, but this house… it’s got necromancy leaking out the walls,” Sunset Shimmer exclaimed, gesturing to the aged oak which surrounded her on all sides.
“Ah,” Perfect Tempo glanced once up the hallway, before nodding sharply. “You’re not wrong, Sunset. And you’re probably not wrong to think about the long history of… nefarious behavior, associated with that kind of magic. But understand that the princess you know—her laws were only ever made for the least of all creatures.
“To her, Equestria is a land of foals who cannot make their own choices. They’re inheritors of the planet’s greatest magic, but forced to barely even understand the power they were born with. Whatever you have studied about Necromancy—that information isn’t wrong. I’m not telling you to reject anything you’ve ever learned. The corruption of the mind, the erosion of the soul and emptiness that waits at the bottom of insanity—those are real dangers. But they are dangers, you see, not guarantees. You confront danger every time you climb into a human automobile. Yet you accept the danger as commensurate with the benefits provided,” Perfect Tempo continued, gesturing back to the way they came and the driveway beyond.
It would’ve sounded like the ranting of a mad pony, except for one thing. The stench of necromancy wasn’t on Tempo. He wasn’t trying to justify his own behavior and to Sunset Shimmer that gave his words an air of credibility to them.
“So we’re not in any danger?” Sunset Shimmer pressed.
Perfect Tempo chuckled, then turned back to the hallway. “Life is dangerous, as Platinum knows more than most ponies. But treat her with respect in her own house, and you will leave it again. She has invited you for a specific purpose, Sunset… but it would be wrong of me to say. Let’s join her at the feast.”
Every room they passed brought Sunset some new horror. A few had dark silhouettes, half hidden in the deep recesses which littered the houses’ long halls. Sometimes there was nothing but the profound sense that she was being watched. However it wasn't all doom and gloom, there were a few paintings Sunset Shimmer recognized from art class and several items she knew from history class.
The most obvious was the declaration of independence which hung from a seemingly random wall near the entrance. Was platinum involved in the signing of such a document was this some sort of twisted attempt at mockery? Sunset Shimmer wasn't quite sure, but it wasn't the only peice of this country’s history adorning her walls.
A painting of two men on horses approaching a group of farmers armed with muskets hung alongside one of Napoleon in a tent along with numerous others. There were other seemingly random items like a tattered flag with far less stars then Sunset Shimmer was used to. Weapons could also be seen mounted on the walls such as a shattered musket complete with bayonet as well as a diminutive cannon.
Who would build a house like this? This is a one part maze, one partmuseum. Nobody could comfortably live here. Sunset Shimmer thought, while trying and failing to remember the path they had taken to get where they were.
Unless Tempo was leading her in circles on purpose, so she wouldn’t be able to find her way out again?
Finally they came to the dining room, and Sunset Shimmer realized that “feast” was exactly the proper word. Sunset had begun to expect plates of raw flesh, maybe with their former owners dead on the floor. But no—there were golden trays filled with food, served in more courses than she’d eaten at Canterlot Castle.
It wasn’t just Platinum either,Tempo’s other strange associates were here, clustered near the head of a table so long it could’ve fit fifty people comfortably. Tempo escorted Sunset to a seat right beside the front, before excusing himself to sit beside his wife near the other side.
Platinum looked up at her, eyes deep red. While the others were all enjoying the feast, her own plate was spotless, her utensils untouched.
“Please join us,” encouraged the undead. “It’s not often Tempo takes interest in someone. We can only assume his judgement is as sharp as ever.”
“You won’t get less hungry standing there,” Harvest Moon pointed out.
He’d come dressed so formally, yet the entire set of ancient eastern armor hung from the chair behind him, right down to the hilt of a glittering sword which protruded from the back.
Sunset Shimmer gave the spread one last look before sighing and sitting down. “Sorry. I’m just… overwhelmed to say the least. This is a lot to take in all at once. Coming to Earth, I thought I was the most magical thing here, you know? I don’t know how many times I can learn I’m wrong.”
Platinum laughed, cold and mocking. “It would be just like a child. But this is no fault of yours, surely. You’re only the product of the world that created you. Ignorance of your potential is no crime. Eat first, then I can explain.”
Sunset ate, though her formal training on how to deal with so many different plates and utensils was ultimately unequal to the task. Even in Celestia’s court, she’d never encountered anything quite like this.
If there was any comfort, it was that so many of the other guests didn’t know what they were doing, or seemed to care. The dragon took up a specially made steel chair all to himself, along with an entire rack of ribs and more beer than one person should ever drink without ending up in a hospital, or morgue.
Sunset did the opposite, serving herself the smallest portions she thought she could get away with. Her new magical senses detected no spell on what she took, but she didn’t know how to do anything more complicated. There would be no casting anti-poison here, so she could only settle for taking from trays others had already used.
“I hear the Moon Princess rules again,” Harvest announced, voice casual. “How has that gone? Is she as mighty as the old stories?”
Sunset shifted uneasily, barely meeting his eyes. “I, uh… left before she came back. I’ve only heard good things about Princess Luna, so I assume she’s a good princess. But I don’t actually know anything about how she's been doing.”
Harvest sighed. “Ponies like her. Pity.”
He said nothing else, sipping contemplatively at his tea.
Sunset didn’t get the chance to ask him what he meant, because Platinum chose that moment to clear her throat. “So, Sunset Shimmer. You were a student of the princess, right? One of Celestia’s… recruits as it were. What were your qualifications?”
Why would you care? Sunset Shimmer almost said aloud. Tempo had been clear about the respect she needed to show here. Sunset intended to give Platinum no excuses to rescind the hospitality Sunset had been receiving so far.
“I guess part of it was breeding—my family has been living in Canterlot longer than most, and lots of powerful mages came from our line. I’ve been studying thaumaturgy since I was a foal, and I tested for admission into Celestia’s school soon after getting my cutie mark. Instead of the regular student body, she wanted to tutor me personally,” Sunset Shimmer claimed.
Platinum nodded at all this. If anything, she seemed more interested in Sunset’s brief mention of bloodline than anything that came after. “You were rigorously schooled in all the ten arts, I assume? It’s no secret from me that Celestia’s personal students are groomed for something greater.”
“Ten?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “She taught me the six magical disciplines, and I know of the two forbidden schools. Life, Force, Matter, Space, Enchantment, and Time. Then there’s Mind and Death, but those are forbidden in Equestria. I’m not sure where I would even go to learn them.”
Platinum slammed a fist against the table, expression hardening. “Did you hear that drivel, Perfect Tempo? Six disciplines! You see how far they’ve gone? How long until the princess has them down to levitation and parlor tricks? This is what happens in our absence!”
“A bleak vision of Equestria,” Perfect Tempo replied simply, as if he had seen the entire outburst coming. “But one Sunset has no responsibility for.”
“I know that!” Platinum turned, eyes narrowing. “But I want to be certain. You know nothing of Spirit, or Fate?”
Sunset shook her head. “I’m sorry, Platinum. I would tell you if I had, but they’re not familiar. There are… some folk stories I’ve heard that might be explained with Fate magic. But if you asked me what Spirit was meant to do, I couldn’t even guess.”
Platinum rolled her eyes. “How do you feel about having the breadth of your powers stolen from you Sunset Shimmer? Does it feel right to you? Does it feel just that the ruler of a nation would take the powers away from her citizens in the interest of safety?”
Even the humans on Earth had similar debates, and Sunset Shimmer wasn’t sure what to tell them either. But while the former pony never had much of an opinion on human issues, here she felt the passion rising in her chest.
“The princess never made it a secret that I was going to join her one day. While I studied with her, I learned that becoming an Alicorn wasn’t some… divine gift. It was a thaumaturgical achievement, and she knew the spell. But when I’d achieved mastery in all six schools, when I could cast any spell in the library and invent my own for any task—she still refused me,” Sunset Shimmer stated, her words growing more fiery by the second.
Sunset twitched suddenly in her seat, leaning back slightly. In an instant Canterlot High’s Fall Formal came rushing back, and all the pain she’d caused. The way she had reacted so poorly to everything.
“But she probably did the right thing by refusing me,” Sunset Shimmer remarked in a low tone. “I’m clearly not ready for power, after the things I’ve done. Twilight Sparkle was a better choice. I’m glad she’s princess.”
“Liar,” Platinum spat, though she didn’t look angry, only smug.
She lifted a crystal glass to her lips, filled with something deep red. She drained it, face still bright from where it had touched. The only color anywhere on her body, in fact.
“No, that’s too harsh. You don’t mean to lie. You’re conditioned into it. You lie to yourself. More of Equestria’s cowardice at work,” Platinum stated firmly, gesturing out over the table like it was her own private fiefdom. “When I ruled, the world was a different place untamed at its boundaries. Creatures who lacked strength were taken by powers beyond our control. Demons, and older things that had lived long before. Fair folk from distant kingdoms… Strength was our only choice.”
But is that really required anymore? Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but think.
Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but notice that only a few of the other dinner guests seemed interested in the rant Platinum was currently in the middle of. From the look of things this hadn't been the first time she had said something to this affect, and most seemed content to continue their own hushed conversations. Even while the undead glared out into the distance, as if she were looking back into the past rather then the hear and now.
“Sometimes that magic drove a unicorn to evil. In every case, I had to make a choice. Could I turn that pony’s power towards something productive, or did I give them the dignity of death?” Platinum announced suddenly, making Sunset Shimmer realized that she hadn't been paying attention.
“Equestria still does that,” Sunset argued. “They sent Twilight and she helped me change. Made me a better person.”
“Not true,” belched the dragon. “We saw that blast from space, kid. She didn’t convince you, she just flushed your brain with the Elements of Harmony and pretended it was a kindness.”
Platinum nodded. “That’s why I invited you here, Sunset. Not just to see if you had the proper courage, though that did cross my mind. What if I told you that I’m older than the Elements? I know what it did to you, and we have a way to remove its effects. You could be restored to what you once were.”
Sunset shifted in her seat, but stopped short of getting up. That wouldn’t be respectful, she hadn’t even asked permission, even if she felt intensely uncomfortable.
Tempo caught Sunset’s wandering eye. “What Platinum describes is possible. Not only that, but it will be vitally important to restoring your magical abilities. It isn’t just your mind that’s been restructured. Your powers have also been shackled. The great pony you were, powerful enough to attract the princess’s personal attention. You won’t ever be her again, unless you break free of what the Elements did to you.”
Sunset Shimmer felt eyes on her again—half a dozen strange creatures, all suddenly watching her. It was clear that Platinum was being honest about one thing, this was the purpose of this meeting. They had all known it from the start.
“It won’t change me itself, right? Just fix the damage?” Sunset Shimmer asked hesitantly.
Platinum nodded confidently. “We have no need to use mind magic on you Sunset Shimmer. You are a strong, intelligent young woman and we know you see things our way. In time.”
“Then… yeah. I’ll do it,” Sunset Shimmer stated, confidence slowly building. “I want my magic back.”