The assassin was making his way through the Royal Palace, on route to kill Princess Celestia. Stumbling with each step from his injuries, he snuck through the halls, using the shadows for cover. Despite his injuries, he’d been able to take out what few guards were on duty tonight, though he didn't have much faith in his ability to fight for much longer. His battle with Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer had sapped most of his energy, and if it wasn’t for his roaring rage, he would’ve collapsed to the floor and fainted. The only thing keeping him going was his thirst for revenge. Vengeance on Sunset for stealing his money and fighting him. And vengeance on Twilight for being born so damn special. While ponies like him had to fight for their lives just to survive, others like her were born with everything handed to them. Celestia was no different. Born an alicorn, born to rule, while he was born as nothing. She deserved death. Twilight deserved death. And he would be the pony to give it.
When he reached Celestia’s bedroom, he slowly opened the door. It only let out a soft creak which was quickly drowned out by the sound of the princess’ snoring. With a grin, the assassin stepped toward Celestia and took out a knife. The blade was covered with globs of dried blood. He preferred it this way, because the stains dulled the blade and ensured that it would take him a longer time to cut through his victim’s throat. He knew Celestia would easily be able to overpower him once she woke up, which was why his plan was to stab the knife as forcefully as he could into her carotid artery. No matter what happened after that, at least her death would be guaranteed.
When he reached the princess, his grin crept from ear to ear. He lifted his blade, ready to strike. His gaze was focused on his target, and his mind on the two fillies he hoped would suffer. You’re next, Twilight.
He thrust the blade into Celestia’s throat. She awoke with a gasp and then a scream. The blood began to shoot out of her artery. Before she could attack, the assassin slammed his hoof into the butt of the knife, launching it through her throat and out the other side. With a shriek full of agony, mixed with the gurgling of blood, Celestia’s body went limp and she collapsed, dead.
The assassin was just about to shake with glee when Celestia’s body faded into nothing. He froze, the same time the room disappeared and was replaced by a black void. His heart sank as his mind raced to figure out what was happening. Was this a mind trick being played by Celstia? Was she going to kill him here? Or worse, leave him trapped in this alternate dimension forever?
His fear lasted until he heard a familiar voice coming from above. “You don’t have to keep doing this,” Twilight said.
The look of fear was wiped off the assassin’s face, replaced by a scowl. “You think this is a choice? What does somepony like you know about not having any choice?”
Sunset’s voice came next. “I know what it’s like, Flash. And I also know how this ends.”
The blackness began to transform into color. Within seconds, a vision of Flash’s future began to play in front of him. He saw himself as a fully grown up stallion, but he wasn’t the cool, handsome, free man he dreamed of becoming. Instead, he was rotting deep below the earth, in the dungeons beneath the Royal Palace. He was shriveled up from malnutrition, complimenting the empty look in his eyes.
The real Flash shuddered from the vision. “I-I escape, right?”
“You do,” Sunset said.
“Ha!” Flash let out a cocky laugh and grinned. “Knew it.”
“But it isn’t the victory you think it is,” Twilight said as the vision began to transform again. It changed to one of the sickly, older Flash stumbling his way through Canterlot at night. He stopped at a house that looked like any other in the city’s middle-class suburbs and knocked on the door. When the door opened, an elderly mare stood inside, one who froze from the sight of Flash.
“Son?” the mare said, her face turning pale.
With a growl, Flash took out a knife and thrust it into her neck. Too weak to put up a fight, the mare collapsed and began to bleed out. With a grin dripping with malice, Flash continued into the house. The vision didn’t show the sight of what happened next, only the sounds of screaming and gurgling blood.
“Good!” the real Flash yelled. “They deserve this. No, they deserve worse.”
“But it doesn’t heal the pain,” Sunset said.
“I don’t care! What, you think what I feel can be healed? That a song and a hug will magically make me forget what they did?”
The vision transformed again, this time to the sickish, older Flash fleeing from the police and Royal Guards. It showed him being forced to hide and live in fear from the law for weeks, then months, then years. Every night he would wake up multiple times covered in anxiety-induced sweat, and every day he would shake from unease. No matter which corner of Equestria he fled to, he knew it was only a matter of time before the law found him again. And if it wasn’t the law who found his location, it would be the criminals who still owned him.
The vision showed Flash’s body growing even more sickly over the years from anxiety. As he aged, the failures of his life gnawed at him more and more. He began to realize that he had wasted his life--his only life. While others had grown up to be happy, fulfilled, and have a family, he was nothing more than a ghost living in the shadows. He could never show himself in public out of fear and could never attempt even a single one of his dreams. He would die a failure, and he knew it. And that fact ate away at him until the bitterness and resentment was too much to bear.
One day, when he was elderly, he took out his rage by walking into the middle of a public square and attacking every pony in sight with his blade and then his burst ability. Knowing he was too weak to attack for long, he aimed at the children first, to rack up as high of a kill count as possible.
The vision ended here, leaving the real Flash frozen and trembling.
“What happens next? Tell me!” he screamed.
The vision reappeared, showing him back in the dungeon.
“I get captured again?” Flash let out a growl.
“No,” Twilight said. “You return to the dungeon voluntarily.” Flash was taken aback. “Living in fear becomes too much for you to bear, as does the pain of knowing you wasted your life. After the massacre you commit, you realize it’s best if you rot away. At least, this way, the only pony who gets hurt from your actions is yourself.”
Shaking with anger, Flash stomped his hoof on the floor. “Why am I not surprised? I bet you and Sunset end up with such happy lives, am I right? Because you’re both just so special and blessed.”
“Not if we stay on our current paths,” Sunset said. The vision began to show her future, one where she continued living with her mother. As the years passed, her mom and village’s negativity continued to rub off on her, turning her into a bitter and resentful pony who wanted nothing more than for others to fail and be as miserable as she was. The vision showed her staying in her hometown as she aged, even after her mother died from old age. When Sunset became middle-aged, it began to sink in for her that she had wasted her one shot at this crazy thing called life. This truth chipped away at her spirit at first, but eventually, it became a burden too heavy for anypony to bear. The vision ended with a still image of Sunset’s lifeless body hanging from the ceiling of her bedroom by a magical noose.
“If I continue to value myself only on whether I proved my mother wrong, then I’ll end up no better than you. Destiny can only go so far when you never learned to love yourself,” Sunset continued. “But it’s my choice whether I want this ending.”
The sight of Sunset’s corpse transformed into one of her as a happy mother playing with her children. Instead of living in her dreary hometown, she was living on the sunny hills of the Equestrian west coast. What took Flash’s breath away was Sunset’s smile. It was so bright and genuine, and made her look like a different pony compared to the one he’d dated. The sight of such a pure smile filled him with envious rage.
“We all have a choice,” Twilight said. The vision transformed into a still image of the night sky. “Yes, I was born powerful, and it’s not fair that you weren’t. But it’s still up to me what I do with that power. If I abandon friendship, then it’s only a matter of time before I use my power for disharmony. And when that happens, I leave Princess Celestia no choice but to banish me to the stars above. I become an old mare’s tale lost to time. Midnight Sparkle.”
The vision transformed into another still image, this time of an adult Twilight ruling as princess of Equestria. She was an alicorn, sitting beside five ponies who Flash couldn’t recognize. “It’s up to you,” Twilight continued. “You can continue on your current path, to where it leads you.”
The vision transformed one last time, showing Flash an older version of himself who made him cry with joy. He was living not in a house, but a home, and was surrounded by a loving wife and children. He was no longer alone and forced to kill. He was happy, at peace.
The vision was overwhelming for Flash. His scowl was replaced with a bright smile, and for the first time in his life, he felt optimistic. He was hopeful. His entire life, he’d believed that somepony as cursed by destiny as he was didn’t deserve to be happy, but now, he could see just how wrong he’d been. He deserved happiness, and now, he could finally see what it was like.
“I’ll pay for your freedom. That’s a promise,” Sunset said. “It’s the least I can do.”
“And I’ll help!” Twilight said, her voice squeaking from glee.
Feeling as if a heavy load had finally been lifted from him, Flash nodded, smiling with the optimistic radiance of a colt who had his whole life ahead of him.
The black void surrounding him faded away, revealing him to be standing within a dark, empty bathroom in the Royal Palace. Twilight and Sunset emerged from the shadows of the room, smiling.
“Not the ideal place I wanted to do this,” Twilight said with a laugh, wearing a certain red and dark red amulet.
Sunset laughed along. “Agreed. I’d really like to know what the Royal Guards have been eating recently.” She shifted her gaze to Flash, after which she gave him a warm smile. “You really do have a contagious smile. You know that, right?”
The comment caused Flash’s cheeks to blush. But as quickly as the happiness overcame him, it ended as dozens of Royal Guards ran into the bathroom and surrounded the three children.
Twilight and Flash began to shake with worry, but Sunset kept her composure. “Arrest me,” she said, offering her hooves to the guards. “I am the one Princess Celestia should throw in the dungeon.”
………………………………....
After restraining Sunset, the guards had brought all three children to the throne room, where Celestia was waiting for them, scowling. Being the respectable princess she was, she allowed the three to explain what they were doing sneaking through the palace, and why Flash had a knife on him. Sunset took the initiative and explained everything with full honesty. She explained how she’d hired Flash to kill Twilight, how she joined her former rival to stop him, and how they used the Alicorn Amulet to change his path in life.
When Sunset was done explaining, she hung her head, fully expecting to be thrown into the dungeons for the rest of her life. But despite her guilt, she smiled, because she hoped her honesty would save her two friends. To her shock, Celestia grew a smile and said, “I’m proud of your honesty, my former student.”
Everypony in the room, including the guards, was taken aback.
“It takes great courage and conviction to risk one’s own future and life to correct their mistakes,” Celestia continued. She shifted her gaze to Twilight. “And an even greater strength of character to take a chance on changing another pony for the better. I am proud of both of you.”
As relieved as Sunset wanted to be from Celestia’s reaction, she knew that she deserved to be punished. “How are you not mad? You should be ashamed, Princess. Lock me in the dungeons, please.”
Celestia stood up and walked to Sunset to calm her former student with a bright, motherly smile. “Sunset, I am upset, but I am more proud of how much you have changed. That, to me, is worth more than what any punishment could provide. However, this does not mean you are completely off the hook.”
Sunset began to shake with worry.
“For believing in this colt’s ability to transform his character, I will take back Twilight Sparkle as my student,” Celestia said, causing Twilight to jump with glee. She shifted her gaze to Flash, who hung his head from the guilt of his past actions. “As for you... Flash Sentry, is it? I will personally see to it that you receive foster parents, and that the criminals who claim to own you are brought to justice. In fact, your case may help us locate and free other ponies in your situation. However, you will be watched over very carefully, and any indication that you are returning to your old ways will be noted and dealt with.”
With a radiant smile, Flash nodded. “Understood, Princess.”
“What about me?” Sunset said. “What about my punishment?”
“Punishment may not be the correct word. You will not be permitted to return as my student... but, you will be allowed to visit Twilight Sparkle whenever you want.”
Shaking with joy, Sunset ran to her friend and gave her a tight hug. Twilight, however, began to scowl. “If Sunset is not allowed to return, then neither will I!” Twilight said. “You said it yourself, Princess. It takes great strength of character to take a chance on changing another pony for the better. I took a chance on Flash Sentry; that is why you are allowing me to return as your student. Doesn’t it make sense then that you give Sunset another chance?”
Twilight’s comment caused Celestia’s smile to grow. It was obvious that the princess was going to agree and take Sunset back as well. However, before such a thing could occur, Sunset said, “No, I don’t deserve it... at least, not yet.” Twilight was ready to respond, to yell at Sunset to come back and stop being so stubborn, but before she could do so, Sunset said, “I actually have a different idea for my future, at least, for the short term. I’m going to start my own school, except it’ll be for weak unicorns. If I could bring myself from nothing to this level, then surely I can help other unicorns too, right? I’m gonna build it in my hometown. Hopefully this school changes it for the better. And, of course, you’re free to visit any time! Teach too!”
Sunset turned to Celestia and bowed. “And obviously you’re invited too. Hopefully you approve of the idea.”
“Sunset, that is an amazing idea, and I will be sure to help in any way I can,” Celestia said.
It took Twilight a moment, but she nodded and gave her friend a fistbump. “Obviously I’ll visit.”
Sunset could barely contain her smile. “In a way, this school will be the best way to beat back my mom and town’s negativity. Even better than me becoming princess. I’m not going to let them poison me and my life any longer, and I can’t let the same happen to anypony else.”
Celestia could barely contain her smile as well. “I know you will succeed, Sunset. And I am sure Twilight will make sure of it as well. Oh, moments such as these remind me so much of my younger days with my sister.” Memories of her sister caused her to frown. When the guilt was too much to bear, she said, “Upon reflection, I have to apologize as well.”
Sunset and Twilight were taken aback.
“Sunset’s behavior was my fault as well,” Celestia said. “Sunset, I should have told you about the dinner with the griffins. The reason I chose not to was because of your… how do I put this…?”
Sunset cracked a laugh. “Rude behavior?”
“I was going to say unruly, but that works.” Celestia gave her a wink. “Despite popular belief, I am not perfect and make mistakes too, no different than how any other pony does. In fact, that was the reason I wanted you to have a classmate. I did not want you to be alone as I am right now, separated from my sister. I wanted you to have somepony your age to be friends with, so you both could eventually be given the role of princess and rule side-by-side, just as my sister and I did long ago.”
Sunset wanted to slap herself across the face for her stupidity.
“Though, perhaps, one day, you can return as my student,” Celestia said.
Sunset ran to Celestia and gave her a tight embrace. “And I can’t wait for that day to come.”
After a long hug, Sunset waved Princess Celestia and Twilight goodbye and left the room. Flash joined her, and they walked to a nearby balcony, where they could see the entire city ahead of them, thanks to the rising sun. Not only that, much of Equestria was in view from this high up Canterlot Mountain. It was a sight Sunset used to love seeing when she first became Celestia’s student. She used to imagine seeing this view as the next ruler of Equestria and finally being proud of herself enough to prove her mother wrong. She may not have been the next ruler of Equestria right now, but she was indeed proud of herself, and that mattered more to her than anything, even her mother’s approval.
“Feels weird,” Flash said, standing beside her. Head held high, he gazed at the view with a smile.
“What do you mean?”
“Feeling hopeful. Doesn’t it feel different?”
As Sunset thought back to her past--to all the years of hating herself for not being good enough, to all the years living for another’s approval--she couldn’t help but smile at how much she’d grown. “It does.” She turned to Flash and stared at the many scars and bruises over his face. What few years he’d been alive had not been kind to him, but he was still the pony Sunset had once called her significant other, as well as the pony she’d hurt. “You don’t have to forgive me, but I really am sorry. For everything.”
Flash wrapped his hoof around her body and pulled her in close for a hug. A warm feeling overcame her as she felt her body press against his, causing her to rest her head on his shoulder. “Forgiveness is overrated,” he said. “But I am glad you believed in me. I owe you everything. Both of you.”
As Sunset continued to rest on his shoulder, she noticed fragments of his shattered mask that were trapped in his mane. She remembered how scary his mask had looked during the battle, as well as how she’d never seen anything like it. “If you don’t mind me asking…”
“Since when do you ask for permission?” Flash let out a laugh.
Sunset couldn’t help but laugh along. “True. Your mask, where is it from?”
Flash let out another laugh, this time one a bit more sinister. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Sunset smirked. “Yeah, because this kingdom is so normal and lacks any surprises, right?”
“Tell me, have you ever heard of a pony called King Sombra?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Well, in that case, neither have I.” Flash gave her a wink.
Sunset playfully punched him, and the two shared a chuckle. They stayed on the balcony, gazing at their kingdom, for the next couple of hours, until a few guards came for Flash to send him to his new guardians.
Sunset Shimmer remained on the balcony until the sun set. When night came, she took one last look at her kingdom before turning around. She was at peace, ready to leave the palace and begin her new life.
She had come so far, and she couldn’t wait to go even further.