//------------------------------// // End of the Line // Story: Infinity Train: Bookworm // by luckyboys121 //------------------------------// As Twilight and One One silently entered the next car, they where surprised to hear sobbing, tentatively Twilight began following it until she came to the prone form of the cat laying on the floor. The cat looked up at Twilight with tear stains on her fur saying, "So, finally come to join the pity party?" "That doesn't sound like a very fun party speak for yourself," said One One as he approached from behind Twilight. The cat stared in disbelief as she said, "You... you still have the robot!?" Twilight nodded before looking off in the distance. The cat briefly raised an eye brow at that before she noticed that one member of the group was absent as she simply said, "Oh... mes excuses," as she looked away in thought. "Sunset took Spike.... if you where really telling the truth when you said you know her, can you please help us get him back?" said Twilight as she bent down to the cats level. "Hold the phone kitten, you know her real name?" said the cat as she cocked her head in confusion. Twilight sighed as she said, "Yes but that's about all I know about her... it's kind of a long story." The cat then scratched her chin as she said, "Hmm, well as you can most likely guess by how I was crying when you came in, me and her aren't exactly on the best terms right now... she basically just admitted she plans on getting rid of me eventually no matter what I do." Before the cat could say anymore she suddenly felt a warmth on her as Twilight had placed a comforting hand on her back saying, "I'm sorry." The cat jumped back in confusion saying, "Répète! Why are you apologizing to me?! If I recall the last time we met I was trying to trick you into turning over that little robot to Sunset, if anyone should be apologizing it should be." Twilight simply shrugged as she said, "Well yeah, but we all make mistakes... besides you where just doing that to try and stay safe from her." The cat thought on this for a moment before sighing as she got up and walked over to her hiding spot saying, "Well for what's it's worth I am sorry... and while I'm not sure how much it can help," she then went digging through the hidden pile before pulling out a particular object and gesturing it to Twilight as she said, "This can at least tell you some more about Sunset." Twilight walked over as she said, "Wait is that a... VHS tape?" asked Twilight as she took the object in her hand. "Look a little closer kitten," said the cat. Twilight turned the tape over in her hand and her eyes widened as she saw written on the side of the tape in glowing green letters was "SUNSET SHIMMER". "Wha- what is this?" asked Twilight. "That would be Sunset's memory tape, every passenger has one and Sunset is no different," said the cat as she soon walked over to a comfy chair sitting in front of a television with a built in VCR. Twilight moved over as she said, "Wait... passenger?" "Oui, once upon a train there was a different conductor, but Sunset ousted them when she got aboard... that memory I'm afraid isn't on the tape though. All you'll find there is the reason she got on this train in the first place," said the cat as she curled up on the arm rest of the chair. "And... do you think knowing that will help me?" asked Twilight as she sat down in the chair. "Who's to say... but information is power and you need all the power you can get if you want to challenge her," said the cat. Twilight simply stared at the tape in thought thinking, "Watching this will at the least help me separate this Sunset from my Sunset which if I'm going to fight her, is something I'll need to do." Twilight gulped before reaching out and putting the tape in as suddenly the world seemed to dissapear in a void of white. As Twilight looked around she suddenly heard a voice say, "Come along kitten," as she jumped back in slight fear before seeing it was the cat. The cat barely paid any mind to it as she began walking saying, "We aren't going to find any answers just standing around here." "Standing around is pretty boring," said One One as Twilight once again jumped at the sudden noise. "Oh, so you're coming with us then?" asked the cat. "Might as well I'm uncomfortable being alone," said One One as he soon followed after. The cat spared a glance at Twilight saying, "You coming kitten?" Twilight nodded as she followed after and the further they walked the more Twilight began to see patches of static appearing in the void before suddenly the static gave way and the entire world shifted. Suddenly the three where standing in a front yard watching as what appeared to be a ten year old Sunset got off a school bus with a smile as she walked up to the door. As Twilight and the others followed after her, Twilight couldn't help but think something about this seemed familiar. She didn't have much time to dwell on that though, as Sunset ran through the door beaming from ear to ear as she jumped on top of a couch next to a man holding a game controller as he looked towards her with a smile saying, "Hey my little sunshine, how was school today?" "It was OK, but more importantly how'd you do?" asked Sunset. The man simply sighed as he handed the controller to her with a smile and put his feet up on the table as he said, "Well I think you're gonna have to show me the ropes again, because no matter how many boxes I break I just can not find those hidden gems." Sunset chuckled as she said, "Daddy, that's not how you find them, here I'll show you." She then got to work with a smile as a voice from the kitchen said, "Not so fast young lady," before a woman entered the room carrying a bowl of carrots and a glass of milk as she said, "No playing on an empty stomach." Sunset slightly pouted as she paused the game, only for her dad to pat her on the head saying, "Come on you heard your mom, eat up... hey maybe you can pretend the're wumpa fruit." Sunset smiled at that as she quickly munched on the carrot saying, "I just can't wait for Wrath of Cortex to come out next week so we can find the hidden gems for the first time together!" "I'm sure it well be great, but don't expect me to find many," said Sunset's mom as she sat down next to her. "Eh with all my training I think I might just end up finding them all while you're eating your snacks," said her dad as he tussled Sunset's hair. Sunset giggled at that as Twilight smiled at just how cute the little Sunset looked and how wholesome the scene was, before suddenly the world shifted once again. They now found themselves in a bedroom as Sunset laid under the covers, red faced and a thermometer in her mouth. Her dad sat next to the bed as her mom soon entered with a glass of water. She sat it on the table before pulling the thermometer from Sunset's mouth as she said, "I'm sorry Sunset, but it looks like you have a fever, you're gonna have to stay in bed all day." "NOOO!" said Sunset in protest as she weakly raised up her tiny arms before saying, "But we where gonna have a day at the mall and get the game." "Sorry sweetie, but hey tell you what," said Sunset's dad as he stroked her hair with a smile. "Me and your mom need to go out to get a few things anyway, how about we get the game for you then, I'll move the console and stuff in here so we can play all day." Sunset briefly perked up before she pouted saying, "But I don't want you having fun at the mall without me." "Well we don't have to get it from the mall," said her mom as she leaned down towards her daughter. "Yeah... you remember that rinky dink little shopping center on the way to your cousin Sunburst's house?" said her dad. Sunset nodded as he continued saying, "We can go and get it there." "Promise?" asked Sunset. "Promise," said her mom with a nod. "I'll even pick you up one of those awful off brand slurpees from the Gas-N-Gulp to prove it," said her dad with a smile. Sunset giggled at that before once again the world shifted... this time it was very different though. They where still in Sunset's bedroom but it was the middle of the night, Sunset was curled into the fetal position beneath the blanket wailing loudly and the only light present was the flashing red and blue of a cop car outside. "What's going on?" asked Twilight as she reached out a hand to the crying Sunset in vain. She looked around before a chill went down her spine as she asked, "Where are her parents?" The cat simply lowered her head as Twilight began to hear voices talking just outside. She strained to try and listen but couldn't quite hear, whatever it was though caused Sunset's crying to stop suddenly as she began trembling, her hands holding her head as the tears flowed even harder. "What did they just say?" asked Twilight. "Oh I can find out," said One One as suddenly the world shifted again, and they found themselves outside as Twilight watched two officers standing near Sunset's room. "Wait, One One, how'd you do that?" asked Twilight. "I don't know," replied One One before they where suddenly interrupted by the cops speaking. "Man poor kid," said a younger looking one. The older one took off his hat saying, "A lot of things about this job get easier the more times you do them... but telling a little girl her parents aren't coming home is not one of them." The two then turned away as the younger one said, "The thing I can't figure out though, is why they where pulling into a Gas-N-Gulp in the first place, their gas tank was about full." And that's when Twilight heard Sunset's wails stop, and realized what that meant saying, "She blamed herself for what happened." The cat nodded as she said, "Whenever a tragedy happens we all are haunted by the simple question 'what if'." Before Twilight could reply the memory shifted one last time as they saw what looked like a blank and emotionless Sunset walking towards another house as a woman held her hand saying, "I know this is hard, it's hard for me too, but we're here for you Sunset and I know Sunburst will be happy to see you everyday." Sunset didn't say anything as they slowly reached the walk way in front of the house, the woman looked forward as she said, "In time I hope you can think of us this as your new home." Suddenly Sunset broke out of the woman's grip as with teary eyes she yelled, "I DON'T WANT A NEW HOME OR A NEW FAMILY! I JUST WANT MINE BACK!" She then took off running as the woman tried to follow after her, Twilight and the others doing the same. The woman soon tripped and fell down as Twilight kept going, soon though both she and Sunset stopped as a large train pulled in front of her, and it's door opened. In an instant Twilight found herself setting back in the chair as she lifted up her glasses to wipe away a few stray tears. The cat soon sat up with a sigh as she said, "Well kitten, now you know the truth about her." Twilight lowered her glasses back down as she said, "Yeah, but I'm not sure if knowing this is going to make this easier or harder." "I figured you'd say that, but still felt it would be better to know, after all she spent enough time hiding from this pain, we shouldn't do the same," said the cat. She then stretched as she said, "Now then, if you're still feeling like confronting her I can bring you to the engine in my shuttle craft." "Shuttle craft?" asked Twilight as the cat quickly led them out the door to her car where they where greeted to a device that looked like a ball shaped cage with a control console inside. The cat opened a door on it as she started it up saying, "It will be a bit of a tight squeeze but this old gal can get us to any car we want." "Wait... any car?" asked Twilight as a thought occurred to her. "Any car indeed... why?" asked the cat. "We're going to need to make a stop first, I think I know someone who will want to help us," said Twilight. As Sunset placed Spike in a large clear orb she tapped some controls on a nearby console before a screen began displaying several images as she said, "Now let's see what your memories hold little pup." As the images flickered by Sunset immediately hit pause as she was greeted to something utterly impossible, yet here she was seemingly staring at a picture of herself. She stared in disbelief for a moment before a smile crawled across her face as she said, "Well well, now this requires a VERY close look," as she unplugged the orb from the screen and plugged it directly into her suit as her eyes began to glow white as the images played out in her head. Several moments later As Sunset unplugged from the orb Spike began to wake up as he said, "H-HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Sunset's only response was letting out a laugh as she said, "What am I doing, I'm finally finding the answer that's what! After all this time I finally have what I need to bring them back within my grasp!" As Spike stared at the insane girls laughter he notices a soft green glow come from the neck line of her jacket as the top of a number poked out of it, before he could comment on that though, they both suddenly turned as they heard the sound of the door to the engine room opening as they looked to see Twilight holding One One as she stood in the door way. "Well well, so you've come to save your mutt Twilight," said Sunset as she looked at the girl with a smile. "To bad you didn't bring an army." Sunset's suit then let out a beeping noise as the steward began running towards Twilight. "No I didn't... but I did bring a king," said Twilight as suddenly a familiar Corgi ran past her and jumped right into the steward knocking it back. "What!?" said Sunset in a mix of surprise and rage. Atticus growled as he ripped one of the tendrils away from the steward with his teeth saying, "I'll handle the beast, you all go save Spike." The cat briefly poked her head in saying, "And I'll be here if you all need a quick get away." Twilight nodded at the two before she and One One charged towards the front of the engine. Sunset growled as she charged at her, but this was part of the plan as Twilight looked at One One saying, "I'll handle her, you try and free Spike," before throwing him like a bowling ball as he rolled past Sunset. She didn't seem to react to it though, as she reached to grab Twilight with her robotic hand, only to have it knocked away as Sunset growled saying, "WHY WOULD YOU HAVE A METAL PIPE IN YOUR BAG!?" "It's called a DOUGHNUT HOLER!" she called back as she used it to knock Sunset's arm even further back and put some distance between them. Sunset looked at her saying, "You fool, you have no idea what you're doing!" "Yes I do, I'm sorry for what happened to your family Sunset, but you can't just bring them back," said Twilight as she implored the girl before her. Sunset smirked as she said, "Oh but I can, you see the only thing stopping me before was that it was too dangerous to interface my own mind to make orbs... but with this pony Sunset I'll be able to make as many orbs as I want!" Twilight glared at this as she said, "You're not touching her!" Sunset let out a slight laugh as she said, "Please, like a little girl like you can stop me." "Don't treat me like a child, we're the same age!" said Twilight. "Maybe physically," said Sunset as she swung out at Twilight only for her to dodge. Twilight tried to figure out what that meant, but didn't have much time to do so as she had to dodge another throw. Spike watched as One One began approaching him as he said, "Oh thank goodness One One! Quick get me out of here so we can help Twilight." "Oh of course... I don't know how to do that though," said One One as he came to a stop in front of the orb holding Spike. Spike looked around as he said, "Well um... maybe that console has something to do with it," said Spike as he pointed to the nearby wall. One One turned to it and then suddenly found himself transfixed by a semi sphere indent on the wall as he said, "Mum." Atticus managed to sever another of the steward's tentacles, however this proved to be a mistake as from it oil began to spray on his face blinding him. As he backed away he suddenly heard a voice yell, "HEY DOG! DUCK!" Without thinking Atticus did as he was told, as the cat suddenly fired the anchor from her shuttle craft right into the stewards face, cracking it up. This was quickly followed up by the shuttle craft itself being pulled towards the anchor as Atticus's vision cleared and he watched both it and the steward's face clatter to pieces. The cat soon came forward as she said, "Waoh, that was close," she then looked towards Atticus with a smile as she said, "Thank me later." "But wait... how are you going to get back to your car now?" asked Atticus as he looked at the cat. She simply shrugged saying, "Maybe I won't... but I think I'm finally starting to figure out there are things I care about more then myself," she then looked forward as she continued saying, "Speaking of which I think we better lend a few paws." "Indeed," said Atticus as he and the cat charged forward. Sunset stumbled as her suit began to run low on power as she feigned confidence saying, "Ready to give up yet!" "Not even close," said Twilight as she raised the pipe up to hit at her again. Before she could though she watched as Atticus and the cat leaped simultaneously towards Sunset. Sunset tried to raise her arms to defend herself, but found them stuck still as a purple glow covered them. "NOOOO!" she cried out as the two animals ripped wires from her suit causing it finally give out and collapse to the ground as Sunset fell out of the hole in the head and tumbled in front of Twilight. Twilight looked down at her as she said, "It's over Sunset!" "YOU... YOU IDIOT!" said Sunset as she leapt to her feet. "This was never about you, I just needed to stop One from ruining everything!" "Wait... One," said Twilight. Before she could ask about this further they suddenly heard One One say say, "Whoopsie Daisy," as he rolled forward and plopped into the semi circle. "NOOOOO!!!" called out Sunset in rage as she began to run towards him, the others following quickly after. But it was too late as by the time they got close to him all the lights in the car had suddenly gone out leaving them in total darkness. That darkness was soon broken as the white lights of One One's eyes came back before the entire engine was once again bathed in light. The group stared out as One One let out a beep that caused the orb containing Spike to open up as he ran over to Twilight calling out her name. "SPIKE!" called back Twilight as she scooped the dog up in her arms saying, "I'm so glad you're OK." "I'm glad you're OK," said Spike as he licked her face. Twilight giggled at that, before they where interrupted as One One spoke saying, "Excuse me, but I'd like you all to meet my mother isn't she pretty, she's got a real heft to her." "You're mother..." said Twilight before everything clicked together as she said, "Wait One One, you're the real conductor!?" "Yup," said One One happily. Twilight smiled at that before she heard a grumble as she looked back seeing Sunset sitting on the floor glaring as she said, "Why... why did you rip One One out of the console!?" "He has the power of a god, and yet he refused to undo my mistake... so I had to do it myself," said Sunset in a mix of rage and sadness. Twilight stepped forward as she said, "Sunset... your parents death wasn't your fault." "What do you know!!" said Sunset as she curled into herself saying, "Just leave me alone... I've been alone for a long time anyway." Twilight approached saying, "I... I know what it's like to feel alone." Sunset suddenly began to laugh as she said, "No.. no you don't. No one knows what it's like to be alone... not for as long as I have." "What do you mean?" asked Twilight. Sunset's laughter suddenly died down as she said, "You've already figured out that several days on this train only equals a few seconds in the real world and I've been on this train for about seven real world years... how much time do think that was on the train?" Twilight backed away as she said, "My god... I.. I can't even.." Sunset once again laughed as she said, "Go ahead, stammer In disbelief for a bit... I spent a good few hundred years doing that." Twilight soon shook her head clear as she said, "Well... how long it's been doesn't matter. It's never to late to forgive yourself and move on." Sunset smirked at that as she stood up and began unzipping her jacket as she said, "It doesn't matter even if I could forgive myself, it wouldn't even put a dent in my number." Twilight stared in disbelief as she saw Sunset's number was so high it was covering both her arms, her torso and finally stopped at her neck. Twilight briefly gasped before saying, "I... know it's hard to cope with a sudden change but no matter how hard it is you have to keep trying and let others help you." Sunset stared down in thought as she began to slightly glow as her number ticked down slightly, before she said, "But I... don't even know where to start." "Well for starters you could fix up all the cars you broke," said the cat as she sat next to her saying, "And I might as well join... might find some things to add to my collection while I'm at it." "That sounds like something I can get behind, after all every good king needs to go on a crusade to help others," said Atticus as he walked to her as well. Spike smirked as he walked towards them saying, "Oh, did I just hear you call yourself a good king?" Atticus blushed as he said, "Sorry... force of habit." Spike shook his head as he removed the crown and put it atop Atticus's head as he said, "No... I think you're right." Atticus smirked slightly before saying, "But-" Spike interrupted by placing a paw over his mouth saying, "No buts." "Come on dog boy take the crown, it looks pretty cute on you," said the cat with a smirk. Atticus blushed as he said, "Oh my well... if you insist." Spike chuckled at that as Sunset stared before letting out a little laugh of her own as her number once again began to lower, this time making its way down to her collar bone. Twilight soon walked up saying, "I guess we're getting in on this adventure too, at least until I can get back to my door." "Actually that won't be necessary," said One One as suddenly Twilight's number began to glow again as a whole new door opened in front of her. "Wait... but how?" asked Twilight. "A door can be opened in any car at any time, you just need to unlock it and zero is the key," said One One. "Hum," said Twilight as she looked down in thought before looking around as she said, "Well then I guess this is goodbye." She then walked over to the cat as she said, "Thank's for getting me here you... you know this whole time I don't we've actually properly introduced each other, I'm Twilight Sparkle." "And I'm.... Samantha," she said as she let out a sigh she didn't even realize she was holding in as she thought, "If I had a number it definitely be ticking down right now." That thought was interrupted by Atticus saying, "Samantha... that's a rather pretty name, fit for a queen." This caused Samantha to blush as she said, "Wha- I don't know about that," before looking away awkwardly. Spike chuckled as he looked at Atticus saying, "Good luck buddy, both on this adventure and with what you got going on here." Atticus blushed as he simply chuckled saying, "Indeed, and good luck to you as well my friend." Twilight smiled at that before turning to Sunset as she said, "Remember it's not your fault." Sunset looked at her as she said, "I think one day... I'll be able to believe that." Twilight nodded as she said, "As long as you never give up and stick with these guys, you'll be fine." She then got up and began walking but stopped as she heard, "HEY TWILIGHT!... I know I'm pretty different then the other me, but based on what I saw in Spike's memories... I think the other Sunset loves you back." Twilight blushed as she cleared her throat saying, "I'll find that out soon enough... for now though." She and Spike then walked over to the console holding One One as she said, "One One I... you helped me from the beginning and I just don't know what..." she trailed off as she began to cry, she looked down to Spike for help only to see him shedding a few tears too. One One simply said, "Me too," and as Twilight went to walk away he jumped back out of the console saying, "Wait hug, hug first!" The three then joined into a group hug that they wished would last forever, but eventually they had to part as they all simply waved a goodbye to each other before Twilight and Spike went through the door. Twilight watched as she and Spike suddenly stood next to the entrance to Camp Everfree. They turned around to see the exit close before Spike said, "Twilight, we did it." Twilight simply nodded as the two of them walked through the entrance and began to look around asking, "I wonder where everyone else is?" Spike suddenly raised his ear in the air as he said, "Um, I think the're coming." Twilight turned back towards the entrance and saw the bus just pulling in as everyone began to get off. Twilight and Spike ran over pushing past several others as she found herself face to face with Sunset, her Sunset, as she said, "Oh hey Twi... I saw your text and didn't expect you to be here so soon." Without saying a word Twilight suddenly grabbed onto Sunset and planted a kiss on her lips, Sunset's eyes widened for a moment in shook before they closed in passion as she began to kiss Twilight back. "My word, that's a bit forward don't you think?" asked Rarity. "I know, I'm surprised she had it in her," said Applejack. "Well I'm not," said Rainbow Dash as she reached out a hand towards Applejack who simply sighed as she pulled out five dollars and put it in Rainbow's hand. "And the rest of the bet," added Rainbow before Applejack sighed and took a bite of her stetson, literally eating her hat. Pinkie Pie suddenly popped off the bus with confetti as she said, "YEAH! FRIENDS HAVE BECOME A COUPLE PARTY!" Soon though the two broke out of the kiss as Sunset stood flustered for a moment before saying, "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on?" Twilight looked at her for moment before she giggled saying, "It's... kind of a long story."