//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: First Encounter 
// Story: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - The Soul Complex 
// by Nasic the Amazon 
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The car was moving smoothly on the road as multiple bumps could be seen in front. 

“YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING!” Austin exclaimed out loud, annoyed “IT'S THE 17th ONE IVE HIT IN THE LAST 5 MINUTES!”

He hadn't found the time to digest the number of bumps on the road, but his frustration was still rising. He could not think.

Just as fast as he was moving, the day was going forward as the sunset could be seen shining behind the mountains of Equestria city. 

Suddenly he drifts multiple times trying to gain control of the vehicle and just verily avoiding crashing. He had never driven seriously before, only when his parents forced him to take driving classes back home. 

As the car exits Equestria City’s limits he turns towards his right to see a map of the state. 

“Ok, so I'm 13 minutes away from CHS from what the guide told me,” Austin said while looking at the road and quickly switching to the map back and forth. 

The road looked limitless in front but that didn't stop him from questioning his situation.

“I wonder when Twilight’s gonna pass through the portal. Maybe today or maybe in one of the following 7 days” 

Questioning himself made time move much faster. So much so that before he knew it his car was passing through the front of Canterlot High School. 

His gaze stayed fixed on the building as students started to walk out the main glass doors, one of them catching his eye. 
A girl with a black jacket, her skin color dark yellow, her hair simulating the sunset he saw while driving. It was her. The villain of the first movie. 

Sunset Shimmer. 

Austin parked the car with a little difficulty but he was relieved when opening the door and touching the firm ground. He almost died multiple times in the last hour. 

After shutting down the car he quickly tried to find that sunset hair girl that captivated him before. She was walking past the light post before starting to cross the street towards the inner part of the town. 

Austin tried to crouch as much as he could behind “his” car, and with his new body, it was easily done. 
Sunset finished crossing the road and waited for something or someone in front of a small food store. 

Now that he saw her, Sunset was a beautiful girl. She was tall and emanated a pretty dominating presence. He knew that of course, he saw the movie and understood her character arc. But watching her this close, watching her in the “real” world was different. He was so accustomed to seeing her smiling later on in the series that watching her frown got to him. Maybe he could help?

“I can't do that… “ he told himself “Even if the timeline is a tiny bit different if I make a mistake it could ruin everything”

But then why was he there? Wouldn't he interfere if he met Twilight either way? How would that be any different?

“That’s different, I can talk to Twilight and leave with her help. Then she can resume like in the movie” he said.

A movement behind his head made him turn around a little. He found that a couple was walking by and got weirded out when Austin was talking to himself. 
He waved with a nervous smile as they walked past Sunset who was still waiting there.

After a few silent moments, Snips and Snails come running towards her from the direction of the school. They were laughing hysterically as they waved their phones. Sunset put up a devilish smile as she turned to look at them. 

That's when he saw it. That turn of expression showed a tiny bit of her true self. A few years of not having any feelings really makes you look at how other people expressed themselves so it was easy to see it, that sadness in her eyes, her lips. It was too evident for him. 

As Snips and Snails got closer he could hear just a little of their conversation, but could not understand them completely. 

In front of Sunset, they showed her their phones and what seemed to be videos. Austin could not see it even with his 20/20 eyesight. He chose to take action. 

He looked around before finally standing up and walked slowly towards them. This made it easier to hear and see what they were doing.

“This is perfect!” Sunset exclaimed “With this, she will be done for”

She looked happier than before, but yet again it was just a front. Austin looked at them only with his eyes, his slow pace making it difficult to arouse suspicion of his plan. 

“Send me this via email, I'll finish the job,” she said while shifting her weight from one leg to another “Twilight Sparkle will NOT know how to handle this! She is just a bug on the sidewalk”

“YEAH, a bug!” said Snips.

“On the sidewalk” continued Snails.

“Go send me this NOW” she demanded as the two boys started to run towards their homes. Before Austin could do anything else, Sunset turned around and saw him for the first time.

She looked at him with intense eyes that would burn the soul of an individual. 
Austin just stood there looking at her without emotion.

“What are you looking at?” she said with a challenging tone. 

Austin panicked and tried to walk away, but his legs were not letting him. As if his body wanted to stand there.

“Are you dense? Or just dumb?” she continued while walking towards him “Are you stalking me?”

Austin just continued to stare at her. This made her angrier than before. She was in front of him now, just a foot away from his face. 

“I asked…. ARE YOU STALKING ME?” she repeated as her eyes stared “You know, it would be really easy to just scream and attract attention. I can practically see it: HELP ME, HELP ME! This guy is going to kidnap me! Somebody, please call the police!”

She wanted to get a reaction just as she normally does with her other students but Austin didn't give it to her. He just stared. His mind was still comparing the Sunset he knew and the Sunset in front of him. 

She runs out of patience. If verbal threats don't work on him maybe a little push will. She smirks and quickly pushes him with her hands towards the wall. A large sound is heard as Austin’s head hits the wall. This makes Sunset take a step back, and just for a second, her face turned to one of worry only for it to return back to her mad front. She thought Austin would just take a step back. She never expected him to hit the wall.

Without knowing, Austin began to smile. His body, his mind, he didn't want to say what he was about to, but it's as if he needed to say it.

“There it was… that face. For just a few seconds you showed it. You slipped up” he said.

She took another step back as Austin regained his composure.

“That was the face of a person who regretted doing what he did. That face is only present in people who seek redemption. Do you think what you're about to do is right? Making a video about her is not going to make you feel better. Nor is getting that crown. It's gonna make you feel worse. More alone than you've ever been” Austin made a pause and took a step towards her “You have the eyes of a person who is suffering inside”

His mouth was moving on its own. Even if he tried to go away, he couldn't. 
And just as he couldn't stop, Sunset’s eyes were getting wider as he continued to speak.

“Wha-, what are you saying!?” she responded in shock “You don't know anything about me you freak! I can do whatever I want whenever I want”

Those words would have hurt anyone else, but they were just empty shells that failed to damage Austin. 

He realized something. Sunset showed a tiny flaw in her disguise. His decision was made and he needed to do something he didn't wanna do. And just as he prepared, something on the inside made it just a tiny bit easier to do it, a little satisfaction. 

“Do you regret it? Leaving her behind in Equestria? Betraying her as you walked through that mirror?” 

As small moments passed, Austin noted her eyes started to get teary but he could not stop. He had to keep cutting deep, deep enough for her to reflect. He already messed up, so might as well go all the way.

The tension in the air began to feel like flames to the skin. 

“If this is how you feel now, imagine how you would feel walking back through that mirror with an army only to be met by your teacher’s eyes. How would she feel? How would she feel if she saw YOU forcing your magic upon others, taking their free will only to serve a cause that's flawed? Think about it for a second Sunset!”

Sunset had no words to respond this time. She knew this, so her panic began to set in as she tried to tilt her head to the left, trying to avoid eye contact with him as her tears began to slide down her cheeks.

“NO. Look at me Sunset Shimmer!”

He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him.

“YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON. You KNOW that this is wrong. And I know that you know what could happen. So please… please reconsider what you are panning” he finally said, taking a few steps back. 

Sunset stared at him with her tears now reaching the tip of her chin. She suddenly closed her eyes and began to sprint away as fast as she could. 

Austin reached towards her, but she was just too far away.

“Sunset wait!” he exclaimed but she was already gone.

“CRAP,” he said while covering his head with his hands “Did I go too far?” 

After a few moments, his view changed from the ground towards CHS. 

“No… maybe it worked… maybe she will change… she is not a bad person, right? Maybe my words got to her enough so that she might change her mind….” He thought, trying to justify the way he treated her. “CRAP, CRAP, CRAP! I really messed up!”

He understood what he did. 

“I turned into the thing I fight against…” he thinks “NEVER AGAIN”

A few seconds passed as his view stayed centered on the school building.

“I practically already messed up the timeline… I have to be more careful so that I don't completely ruin it” 

He turned towards where Sunset ran one last time only to be met with an empty street and a few houses and building windows lighted up.

As the crosswalk light turns green, he walks towards the school. Towards his Objective.

“I have to find her before I mess up anything else,” he thinks as his car keys fall from his pants “Oh crap”