"Sunset?" Celestia descended the steps of the Canterlot Library. "Sunset are you down here?"
The spiral staircase led down to the deepest recesses of the castle. Since almost no pony was allowed to visit the Star Swirl the Bearded wing of the library, the staircase had no light source and was pitch black even during the day. Her horn glowed with just enough light to see the way down the steps. The stone walls were full of dust and mold as this part of the castle hadn't been refurbished in hundreds of years. The smell of rot and decay was enough to make anypony turn back. It was like walking through a dragon's stomach filled with spider webs.
When she got to the bottom, she found Sunset sitting at a wide oak desk with several candles lit around her as well as the magic light from her horn. She had scrolls and books laid out in an unorganized manner all over the desk. Some were even stacked on the floor. The room at the bottom was somewhat large but felt cramped with the massive shelf storage that took up most of the available space. The air was dead and stuffy. It was too warm to be comfortable, but also dry and cold at the same time.
"There you are," Celestia made her horn a little brighter so she could see Sunset better. It didn't do the room any favors. The books looked musty and faded. Some of them seemed like they would fall apart just by being picked up. The scrolls were stained so yellow and brown they looked like they had been infected by some sort of illness.
"Are you alright? You seem stressed lately, has something been bothering you?"
Sunset didn't look away from the scroll she was reading, and her voice sounded distant.
"I'm fine, I'm kinda in the middle of something though." She tried to focus on the passages in the scroll but Celestia's questions kept breaking her concentration.
"You're always in the middle of something. Have you even eaten? Slept? I never see you around the castle anymore." Celestia pushed a low-hanging cobweb out of her face.
"I'm eating fine. I'm sleeping fine. I just have so much work to do."
Celestia cleared her throat. The dust in the room was getting to her.
"But do you ever see or talk to anypony anymore?"
Sunset slid the scroll she was looking at aside and grabbed another one to her right, unrolling it quickly.
"The less I see of other ponies the better. They just slow me down. They're always getting in my way."
Celestia shook her head. She knew Sunset was growing more distant from the world but at this rate she may become a full on recluse.
"What about that one mare? Tempest was her name I believe. You two were inseparable. What has she been up to?"
"I have no idea," Sunset shrugged, her eyes scanning quickly over the words before her.
"Well why don't you go get lunch with her and catch up sometime?"
Sunset turned around sharply in her seat. She rolled her eyes at Celestia.
"And why would I do that?"
Celestia’s empathy quickly changed to indignation.
"I've told you about the importance of friendship. Without it our magic is lost."
Sunset laughed and gestured around the room.
"Are you sure about that? Star Swirl seemed like a pretty lonely guy and he's considered to be the greatest unicorn who ever lived." She turned back to face her scrolls.
"Star Swirl…" Celestia began, "...was troubled. He never did fully grasp the necessity of friendship and in the end he regretted it."
"Uh huh…" Sunset tried to focus all her attention on the writings again, "Please let me study, this is very important."
"Ugh," Celestia cried out. She was fed up with her student. "What could possibly be so important? You've read every accursed scroll in this room more than twice. What more do you have to gain from this?"
Sunset held up the scroll she was reading to her horn's light so that Celestia could see it.
"Most of these scrolls are personal accounts of Star Swirl rambling on about who knows what. But if I can decipher them, think of the knowledge we'll gain. Think of the magic we could have that he never finished developing."
Celestia grabbed the scroll with her magic, flipped it over and set it back down on the table. So Sunset wouldn’t have the distraction of looking at it while she talked with her.
"But why do you have to do it alone? And why right now at the cost of living your life?"
Sunset stood up abruptly and got in Celestia’s face.
"I have to know more. I have to get stronger, and more powerful if I'm going to rule. I can't have any weaknesses." Sunset's mane was ragged and there were dark, puffy bags under her eyes. She was clearly lying about sleeping well.
Celestia’s expression was morose. She didn't know what had become of the happy filly she knew.
"Having no friends is the greatest weakness a pony can have."
They just stared at each other for several seconds. Realizing Celestia wasn't going to leave until she agreed, Sunset gave in a little.
"Just let me study a bit more. I'll come up in a few minutes, I promise." Sunset tried to force a smile to be convincing.
"Ok, I'll have some tea prepared for us. It's time we had a much-needed chat." Celestia sighed and exited back up the stairs.
Once she was gone, Sunset picked up the scroll again. However, this time she noticed something different. There was some writing on the back side. It was only at the edge of the scroll so you wouldn't notice it unless you unraveled it completely and turned it over. Celestia messing with it had revealed the hidden text unknowingly. Sunset feverishly started reading.
“...I have no words for what I've done. No. I suppose there is one word: cowardice. In my cowardice I have saved Equestria but possibly destroyed another world. The sirens were too powerful to stop. Equestria and all nations the world over were in turmoil from their cursed magic. I couldn't defeat them, nopony could. I saw no alternative but to open a dimensional portal. So I did it. I cast them into another world. But the portal was unstable. They must have exited on the other side. Not only in another dimension, but in another time as well. They can never be allowed to return to our world. They would only want to wreak havoc on Equestria in revenge for trapping them. I've used dark magic to make sure that they stay where they are for good. Another broken promise. But I had no choice. We are safe but who knows what perils I have condemned the future of this other world to. We constructed a mirror infused with a dimensional portal. It is stable but set to a limited cycle in order to properly contain the magic required to do so. One day, this other world will be in jeopardy. And it is our descendants who will be burdened to save them. Because of my actions. I will carry my shame to the grave with me. I am a coward, a liar, and as far as anypony in that other world is concerned, a monster…”
"Another world?" Sunset wondered to herself. The thought of a whole new plane of existence with its own magic was tantalizing. What new power could be found on the other side of that portal?
"I have to find it." Sunset mumbled to herself. "Where is the mirror? Star Swirl, you jerk, what did you do with it?" She was about to go scrambling through the backs of other scrolls, but noticed there was one more thing written below Star Swirl's depressing account of events. It looked like some sort of codex. It wasn't too complicated in fact…
It matches the sorting system of this sub library chamber, she thought to herself.
It was a sequence of several points on the shelf in a set order. Darting her eyes across the numerous, dusty volumes of books, she rattled off their numeric sequence in her head as her eyes scanned the multiple shelves.
Sunset’s eyes finally settled upon the shelf on the far back wall of the room which contained all the points from the scroll codex.
She got up and practically leapt over to the wall. She immediately found the appropriate books and tugged on each of them in sequence. As soon as she nudged the last book, the shelf began to rattle and shake. Dust and dirt trickled down to the floor like a misty rain as the shaking edifice shifted and moved.
It spun halfway towards her until the shelf was completely sideways. A secret new room was revealed to her, albeit cast completely in darkness.
Sunset's heart pounded as she carefully stepped into the revealed chamber. The glow from her horn was just enough to notice empty glow orbs a few feet above her head and hanging all around the room.
Glow orbs were an old fashion magic based lighting system. Noting this, she cast her illumination spell from her horn upward and into the suspended glass orbs. As her magic touched each one, they lit up with a calm, gentle light.
Collectively, they made the room bright enough to hold a school session there. However, the room was barely the size of an office. There were shelves on the walls with books Sunset had never seen before. Normally she would be fascinated and giddy to jump straight into a new secret Star Swirl the Bearded text that nopony had ever seen in what must have been hundreds of years, at least. But there was an even more enticing prize in the dead center of the room. She couldn't keep her eyes off of it.
It was a mirror standing at least six feet tall and raised on a double stepped precipice. The steps and casing holding the mirror were made of stone, but painted in royal lavender. It was decorated in black metal accents. The metal was shaped in a lace gothic design.
There were what looked like orbs cast in the stone up and down both sides of the mirror. At the top above the cornerstone of the mirror arch was a crown shaped piece on top. It was an impressive sight to see both in craftsmanship and design.
Sunset knew this must be the mirror portal Star Swirl had constructed all those years ago. She gingerly climbed onto the first step of the precipice and held her hoof out towards her reflection in the mirror. A light briefly flashed in the mirror as she got closer.
She did not have time to investigate further because suddenly Celestia’s looming reflection appeared in the background of the mirror. Sunset jumped in surprise as she turned around to face the Princess.
"So you found it," Celestia said flatly. Her expression was full of disdain and hatred.
Sunset nervously glanced up at the Princess, ready to beg forgiveness for whatever transgression she had made. She was relieved to see that Celestia’s harsh expression was fixated on the mirror and not her.
"Isn't it amazing?" Sunset asked, a little confused.
"It's wretched," Celestia snapped back with venom, "I would have destroyed this thing years ago, but it is needed for a future purpose."
"You mean the Sirens that Star Swirl banished, right?" Sunset nodded. "One day they will threaten the world on the other side."
Celestia closed her eyes. She recalled her memories of the wise, but foolish old stallion.
"I dread the day we are called upon to clean up his mess. But I cannot in good conscience let another world suffer for our gain. That was one thing Star Swirl and I both agreed upon." Celestia opened her eyes and stared at Sunset.
She wanted so badly to make her student understand. To help her avoid the mistakes that lonely stallion had made all those years ago.
"What is it like over there in the other world? Is it anything like our own?" Sunset's gaze was fixated on her own reflection in the mirror.
Celestia ignored her pupil's question, and asked one of her own, "What do you see when you look at your reflection, Sunset?"
Sunset took a deep breath and stuck out her chest.
"I see a beautiful pony who has nothing but power and potential." She tried to fix her hair and look more composed. Unfortunately, her frazzled complexion and the bags under her eyes would need rest to be fully restored.
Without warning, the mirror flashed and her image changed. Her hair and body looked like she had been given a full luxury spa treatment. She hadn't seen herself look that good in ages. Before Sunset could mention anything about this Celestia added,
"Okay, maybe try again and this time use a little humility and self-reflection in your response?" Celestia rolled her eyes.
Sunset studied herself deeply. She looked furiously at her improved reflection.
"I see a pony who isn't good enough yet. A pony who needs more power to achieve her goals. A pony who could be great. A pony that could rule Equestria!"
As she shouted the end of her answer her reflection flashed again. She saw herself standing tall in the form of an alicorn. Her wingspan was as wide as Celestia’s and a bejeweled crown rested on her head.
Sunset grinned at the new image of herself. It was the realization of everything she’d ever wanted and deserved. As quickly as the regal image was formed, it began to change. Contorting and twisting. Her complexion turned dark red, and her wings fractured into what looked like leathery bat wings. Her eyes were sunk in and her crown turned into black gilded thorns.
Celestia and the rest of the room in her reflection were replaced by flames that engulfed her mutated body. She shuddered and blinked her eyes, and just like that, the image was gone. All she saw was her unkempt self, and a disappointed Celestia standing behind her.
"Sunset Shimmer, you are not to go through that portal," Celestia stated firmly.
"What?" Sunset turned back in disbelief. "What about all the knowledge and magic that could be over there? Are we just going to ignore it?"
Celestia walked right up to Sunset and glared sternly at her.
"I forbid any pony to pass through that mirror. I refuse to risk the consequences."
Sunset turned to look at the mirror again, but her reflection was unchanged. She looked back to Celestia, almost pleading.
"But Star Swirl said one day we'll have to save that world from the Sirens. Shouldn't we see what's on the other side? Shouldn't we be prepared for what we may face? What are we even saving?" With every question, Sunset’s tone grew more annoyed.
"We will not cross the portal until the day we must. That is my final decision." Celestia tapped her hoof on the floor.
"But…" Sunset began but was interrupted.
"Sunset Shimmer you are forbidden to enter the portal," Celestia shouted. Sunset reeled back in shock.
"What did you say to me?" Sunset barely whispered. Even when Celestia was cross with her, she couldn't remember a time her adoptive mother was this harsh to her.
"Acknowledge that you will obey my command," Celestia demanded.
"What? But, that's not fair. Why would…?" Sunset was interrupted again.
"Acknowledge you will obey my command or be under arrest for insubordination," Celestia rattled off like a drill sergeant. Sunset was apoplectic. Celestia had never threatened her before in her life and now she was talking about sending her to jail.
"I… I promise I won't go through the portal." It took every ounce of self-control for Sunset to stop herself from bursting into tears.
"Good," Celestia's tone lightened but only slightly. "Now leave this place. You've spent far too much time down here."
Sunset Shimmer was too emotionally exhausted to argue. She quietly walked back through the secret bookshelf door and up the stairs to the castle hallway. She spent the rest of the day just wandering the castle grounds aimlessly. The events that had transpired in the secret library spinning through her mind.
****
It was a web of lies and deception she had woven, but it was too late to turn back now. The stage had been set and her destiny stood before her.
Sunset had arranged a trip out to Fillydelphia to spend a week sightseeing and meeting new ponies. Celestia had been elated to learn of Sunset’s eagerness to take a break from the constant isolation and relentless research. Sunset felt guilty when she pictured the endearing smile on her adoptive mother's face when she told her she wanted to "see the world for herself" and "get her hooves on the ground."
Of course, it was all to get Celestia off her back so that nopony would notice her slip back down into the catacombs of Star Swirl's magic basement.
She had packed her knapsack with supplies but not for sightseeing. This was going to be an expedition into the great beyond.
She had spent weeks and studied every book in the secret chamber behind the moving shelf. She knew exactly how the portal worked now.
Every 30 moons the portal would open allowing anypony to cross over into another dimension. The portal would remain stable for three days and then become inert again. She had three days to enter the portal, and return before she would be trapped on the other side for another 30 moons.
She took a deep breath. Bravely stepping onto the platform, and up to the mirror. The reflection of herself that stared back looked confident and determined.
"Stop right there, don't move another step," a shrill and catty voice called out from behind Sunset. It was that same miserable voice which filled her nightmares as a child.
Sunset pivoted around to see Madam Bishop standing just inside the small room.
"Celestia was right to have me follow you around. I knew you'd be up to no good sooner or later." Bishop pointed her hoof at Sunset accusingly.
Sunset gritted her teeth so hard that they ached. She would be happy if she never saw this disgruntled kindergarten teacher for the rest of her life. Worst of all, Celestia had her follow her around. Her own mother didn't trust her. It seemed that both of them were keeping secrets from one another.
"You don't know what you're doing, Bishop. Just stay out of my way."
Bishop scoffed and turned her nose up to Sunset.
"How dare you address me as such. Your treason will not go unpunished this time. The Princess and her guards are already on their way." Her scowl suddenly twisted into a despicable grin, "Sunset Shimmer, you are under arrest for being a traitor to Equestria."
"Traitor?" Sunset shouted back, "I'm not a traitor, I'm trying to help everypony. This is…"
"That's enough, Sunset." The princess’s voice was clear and sharp as it echoed through the dual basement chambers. Celestia stepped into the room with two royal guards following in behind her.
One of the guards was a young looking white unicorn with a cool blue mane who seemed focused but bewildered by his unfamiliar surroundings. He couldn't have been more than a few weeks out of training and the secret lair of Star Swirl the Bearded wasn't exactly a stop on the castle tour.
The other guard was a stout looking Pegasus with a distinct scar slashing through his forehead and left eye. The older looking captain glared at her so angrily, Sunset was worried he would attack her at any second.
"I… I wasn't gonna go through the portal, I swear." Sunset stammered in a panic, trying to save herself from being arrested. She had been caught red hooved with her hoof in the cookie jar.
"Lies," Bishop retorted. "You with your travel bag and your fake story of visiting Fillydelphia. Look at you. Standing greedy eyed in front of that magical device. Nothing you say is to be trusted." Bishop looked over to Celestia and shook her head in shame.
The Princess stepped forward so that she could directly face her derelict student.
"Sunset… what have you done?" Her scowl was fierce but her eyes were filled with a thousand year old sadness.
"I… I just wanted to be strong. Like a princess." Sunset was unable to hold Celestia’s gaze.
"A princess’s strength comes from her friends, not from magic or power. It is clear to me now that you will never understand this.” With a heavy heart, she spoke her final judgement. “Sunset Shimmer, you are dismissed as my student. You are welcome to stay in Canterlot, but please gather your things and leave the castle." Celestia closed her eyes. In her mind she saw the moon and the shadow of her dark sister.
Wide-eyed and shocked, Sunset began to beg. "No please, anything but that. I'll do anything you ask, please don't send me away." She stepped towards Celestia, but Madam Bishop got in her way.
"You are fortunate that's the only punishment she's given you. Now stay away from the Princess, and get out of here." Bishop leaned in, forcing Sunset to back away.
Celestia stayed silent.
Throwing all caution out the window, Sunset made one final plea.
"Mom… mom I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please don't do this." Tears streamed down Sunset's cheeks.
Celestia's eyes shot open and looked a little embarrassed. She tilted her head at her former student.
"Uh… Sunset, I think you misspoke a little there." Celestia's eyes darted to Bishop then to her guards and finally back to Sunset. Bishop backed up a few steps and turned to suspiciously study Celestia’s face and then back to Sunset’s exasperated expression. Reading the emotion in the room and finally understanding what had transpired all these years.
"No." Bishop stated with a stark realization, "She didn't misspeak. She didn't misspeak at all. You've been letting her call you mother haven't you?" Bishop almost shouted at Celestia.
"I… well you see…" Celestia tried to explain, but was interrupted by Bishop.
"All these years you ignored my council and you did exactly what I warned you about. And look what it has wrought you." Bishop pointed at Sunset without even looking at her. "A spoiled brat of a castle rat. She thinks she's royalty and now she's hungry with power. Do you see it now princess? She's rotten to the core."
Bishop's words stung Sunset as an awkward silence filled the small basement room.
"It's not like that. It's not true." Sunset, hyperventilating in a panic, pleaded with her adoptive mother. "Tell them, Mom. Tell them the truth. l… I lo-" Sunset began but was cut off by Celestia.
"Sunset Shimmer, I am not your mother. You were my student and nothing more." There was no kindness or love in Celestia’s eyes. There was only cold, royal authority.
Sunset's felt as if her heart had fallen out of her body. She was empty and naked. Nopony is this world or any other cared about her at all. Everything she knew was a lie. And the biggest liar of all stood right in front of her.
She felt a rage building up inside of her like the roaring flames of a brush fire. She gathered her magical energy and focused it intently on her horn. Before she could think rationally or calm down, she let out a devastating yell. The veins in her neck popped and her throat felt raw as her primal scream rang out, catching everypony off guard.
Her magic shot out in a powerful beam and headed straight towards Celestia. This was not an academic or casually cast attack ray. Sunset's intentions were dangerous and the magical energy she fired would have been strong enough to pierce the stone castle walls multiple times over.
In such close range, no mere pony could have possibly reacted to the attack in time. But Celestia was no mere pony. She was the princess of Equestria. She had more than a thousand years of experience in magic, combat, and betrayal. She met Sunset's beam with her own and their magic clashed causing a sonic wave to knock everypony in the room over.
Bishop cowered on the ground and covered her head with her hooves. The young and old guards were knocked back but each slowly got up. The older pegasus captain looked on helplessly. With magic this powerful, there was nothing he could do to help his princess.
The beams had originally clashed right in front of Celestia's face but she managed to push it back to the center of them. Celestia had known very few unicorns in her lifetime who could challenge her magic to this extent. The dark potential of Sunset Shimmer filled the princess with fear.
"Liar!"
Celestia heard shouting from the other side of the beam.
"You lied to me! All these years wasted."
She couldn’t see Sunset around the dual blasts. Her memories were full of that awful day when she had a similar battle with Luna. She remembered what she had to do on that day, and it brought tears to her eyes for the first time in centuries.
Celestia's beam gained the upper hand and wore down the fiery blast from her former student. Sunset attempted to recharge her beam with a last gasp and a shout but it was too little too late. Celestia's beam hit her horn, muting her spell and sending her flying backwards. Her back slammed against the bookshelf and she collapsed prostrated in a heap on the floor. Dozens of ancient Star Swirl books fell on top of and around her motionless body. Sunset was injured, but Celestia canceled her spell just in time to prevent further damage. Celestia and her veteran captain carefully approached the fallen Sunset. She dared to look up at the princess. Barely able to move her neck, she was clearly exhausted and her eyes were dead of all emotion.
"You should have left me in the alley."
Sunset could barely form the words but they came out loud and clear. The pegasus captain sighed and held his hoof out to her.
"That's enough now," his voice was gruff, but there was empathy in his tone. "Come on, miss. I'll escort you out of the castle. Nothing more needs to be said."
Sunset hesitantly grabbed his hoof and he helped her get up on her hooves. Celestia made no objections as they walked silently to the swinging bookshelf exit.
For a brief second the air was calm and the hostile moment had passed. Until an unmoved and unrelenting voice spoke out.
"Lock her up!" Bishop demanded, back on her hooves. "She assaulted the princess. Send her to the dungeon immediately."
The captain glanced back at Celestia.
"What are your orders, princess?"
Bishop was about to interject once again, but he simply held up his hoof and she was silenced.
"I'm sorry, Sunset. It didn't have to be this way, but you gave me no choice. Be well, and safe in your travels." Celestia sighed. Her failure as a teacher and mentor stinging in her mind.
"Very good, princess," Captain Archer nodded in approval as he directed Sunset, "Please follow me, miss."
Sunset began to comply but a devious smile crossed her face as a sneaky thought came to her mind.
"I'm sorry too," Sunset said coldly. Gathering what little magic energy she could still muster up, she sent it blasting into the unwitting captain.
He screamed and grabbed his right wing as a hot searing pain gripped his shoulder. The remaining unicorn guard shot a beam in Sunset's direction but it missed widely. Sunset dodged it by darting back in the opposite direction.
She could see the mirror portal right in front of her. According to the text, today was the day that the portal was open, but she had yet to test it. Almost confirming her data, the mirror flashed briefly as she leapt into the air. She prayed that it would accept her and send her into a whole new world. She prayed it would give her a fresh start.
Celestia could read the trajectory of Sunset's leap of faith. A single beam in her direction could pick her out of the air and send her careening to the floor again. The shot would have been child's play for the Princess and Sunset would spend who knows how much of her adult pony life in prison.
Celestia held the shot back, and Sunset disappeared through the portal. Archer slowly got up to his feet, groaning and cursing.
"I'm sorry, princess. I should have seen it coming." He held his burnt wing in his left hoof.
"I should have seen it coming too, Archer." Celestia kept staring at the portal. She hoped that whatever was on the other side of that mirror would be kind to Sunset. She wished that Sunset would someday learn what Celestia had failed to teach her. Even if it was without her. It may be Sunset's only remaining chance to turn away from the dark path Celestia knew would befall her former student.
"I hardly recognize her now, she was such a nice child." Archer looked remorseful, wishing there was more he could have done.
"Captain, you're injured," the young recruit cried. He had tasted his first field of battle. This was nothing like training camp.
"I've had worse, kid," the captain spat on the ground, frustrated with his oversight. "Let that be a lesson to you, Private Shining Armor. Never take your eyes off your flank."
The young recruit saluted sharply.
"Well good riddance," Bishop scoffed as she joined Celestia’s side. Celestia just kept staring at the mirror portal in silence.
"You did what you had to, Princess. It was necessary. I told you she was a bad apple, did I not?" Bishop stood up tall, content with herself.
"Madam Bishop," Celestia spoke up suddenly.
"Yes, my princess." Bishop bowed her head respectfully to her ruler.
"You're fired."
****