Discord took another bite out of his soda cup, the Styrofoam making a sound akin to a clown’s nose honking as he did so. This universe was fascinating; it seemed that Sparklebutt had her work cut out for her. Standing up from his recliner and switching off the screen, he stretched and popped far more bones than he actually had.
Tossing his spent cup aside and brushing some popcorn off of himself, he yawned. That action sequence had been exhilarating, and who knew how that meeting would tie in to everything? All those potential threats were just screaming that they were narrative tension. He knew how these things went.
He tapped a claw against his goatee. He probably should tell Fluttershy about this at some point. Bookface is her friend and she should probably know about one of the Elements being in this sort of danger…
Discord shrugged. Eh, she’d find out eventually. Just as soon as she thought to ask about it.
Sunset awoke the next morning with a splitting headache and a groan. Apparently the novelty of being able to do magic again after eight whole years on Earth had made her a bit more reckless than she should have been when it came to mana burn. She probably wouldn’t be able to use magic for nearly a week at this point, and her headache would last days. The last time she’d had mana burn this bad was when she’d gotten into a fight with that newly-promoted Guard captain back in the day, Shining whatshisface. Damn his shields were tough.
At least Dedede had given her her own room after the Halberd incident. It was nice and secluded, and had a window on the west side of the room. No sunrise shining through to force her up, no Twilight there to nag at her to get up and help with her experiments, all was peace. She could totally sink back into the pillow, shut her eyes, and catch a few more hours of sleep…
“Hey hey hey, Sunny Shim! You up?”
Sunset shot awake at the voice. “Marx? What the fuck are you doing in my room?”
Sure enough, the jester was standing in the center of the room, happily bouncing from foot to foot with an unwavering smile, all from atop his signature beach ball. Strangely, he somehow had a tray balanced on his hat, filled with a full breakfast platter. “I heard you weren’t doing so hot, so I brought you some breakfast!”
Sunset wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that. “Thanks, I guess? I would’ve just gone down to the kitchen and gotten it myself, but…” she shrugged, trailing off.
“Don’t worry about it!” Marx assured. “You probably need to rest, from what I heard!”
Sunset winced as another stab of pain hit her head. “Yeah that’s…pretty accurate. I’ll need to take it easy for a few days.”
Marx didn’t respond, instead just continuing to bounce from foot to foot after Sunset took the tray, his eternal grin still plastered on his face. Perplexed, Sunset quirked an eyebrow at him. “Do you need something?” she asked.
“Well…” Marx began, “I heard about things happening from the castle grapevine–I’m sure you know how that is–but I’m sure there’s all sorts of juicy gossip right from the horse's mouth!”
Sunset rolled her eyes with a chuckle. “Ah, so breakfast is a bribe, then?”
“Maybe a bit,” Marx conceded.
Sunset mused on how to respond as she took a bite of toast. “What has the rumor mill come up with, anyway?”
“Well, I was talking with Whispy Woods earlier,” Marx began, “and he said that he saw something big go down over Orange Ocean last night, so I figured someone at the castle had to know what was going on! I asked around a bit, and I heard from a broom hatter who heard from a waddle doo who heard from a knuckle joe who heard from Bandana Dee that you guys took down a giant battleship owned by the Meta-Knights! So then I thought to myself: ‘Good golly gee, Miss Sunny-Side Up might’ve hurt herself real bad up there!’ So I got you breakfast!” he finished, his grin never wavering. “So, are the rumors right?”
Sunset shrugged. “Sounds like it’s mostly right.” She frowned down at her plate, trying to parse out how to operate a utensil without magic, before deciding to simply forgo using a fork entirely and just dip her toast in her eggs’ yolk. “The Meta-Knights had a flying battleship, we boarded it, and we took it down from the inside.” She shivered. “I wouldn’t want to do it again, though. Fighting Meta Knight once in my life is once more than enough.”
Marx’s eyes bugged out, and his grin ever-so-slightly fell for half a moment. “You fought Meta Knight personally? And lived?”
“Barely,” Sunset admitted. “Plus, if I’m being honest,” for once, she mentally added, “it felt like he wasn’t going all out. I’m not going to complain about that, though. I’ll take mana burn over death any day of the week.”
“Mana burn?” Marx inquired.
Sunset involuntarily winced. “It’s what happens when a unicorn uses magic faster than their body can draw it from the environment. If we exhaust our internal magic stores as well,” she massaged the base of her horn, “we get a nasty headache until we’re able to cast again.”
Marx looked intrigued. “Magic must work pretty differently wherever you’re from! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of mana burn before.”
“Count yourself lucky,” Sunset said. “I can barely think with how bad this headache is, and even though your food heals physical injuries, it doesn’t seem to do anything with how quickly I can replenish my internal mana.” She considered something for a moment. “Though, I wonder if the Fountain of Dreams would help. It does seem pretty magical…”
Marx suddenly perked up. “You’ve been to the Fountain?”
Sunset shook her head, instantly regretted it when it forced her to wince in pain again, and replied. “I haven’t. It was in the plans for the tour, but that got a bit interrupted.”
Marx hummed in thought. “I could show you it! I’ve been there plenty of times; the Fountain’s great!”
“I’d appreciate it,” Sunset said, “but I don’t think I’ll be up to making a trip like that for at least a few days.”
“Okay!” Marx replied, chipper as ever. “The offer’ll still stand when you’re feeling up to it.” He didn’t exactly frown in concentration–that grin of his was still as weirdly unwavering as ever–but he seemed to give off the vibe of doing so. “Hey, in the meantime, how about I help you out a bit?”
“I wasn’t exactly planning on doing anything difficult until I recover,” Sunset answered a bit confusedly.
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything like that,” Marx clarified. “I was just thinking on how to help you feel better. And you know what always cheers me up?”
Sunset raised her eyebrow again. “I don’t, actually, given that I’ve known you for under a week.”
“Ooh, good point,” Marx responded. “The short answer is that I’ve always found a good laugh to get me to feel better the fastest! And what better way to get a laugh than some good old-fashioned practical jokes?”
“You think pranking people will help with a headache?”
Marx chuckled. “Oh of course not. But it’ll definitely help take your mind off it! And y’know, I could use your help in planning my biggest prank yet!” He glanced at the door, as if to check and make sure no one was listening in. Leaning a bit closer to Sunset, he continued at a lower voice. “You see, in all my years of pranking Dreamlanders, there’s always been one person I’ve never been able to get with a gaffe: Bandana Dee. He always thinks I’m up to something, so I can’t ever prank him! But if you help me out…”
Sunset blinked. Marx’s request was relatively simple, rather foalish, and brought out a playfulness she hadn’t taken to participating in in over a decade. So of course, she grinned. “Why the hell not?”
Marx grinned right back. “Great! Planning session tomorrow at noon at the foot of Mount Dedede! Be there or be square!”
With that, he bounced right out of the room, leaving Sunset alone with her food and her thoughts. Flopping back to her bed (fully intending to get some more sleep), she considered her agreement. It was definitely the right play. She needed some stress relief, after all–she couldn’t very well take over Equestria if she was so stressed she had an anxiety attack halfway through!
Yep, that was definitely still her motive, and that little voice in the back of her head telling her that it was alright to do fun things for the sake of them being fun was completely wrong and not at all overtaking her thought process, no siree!
“So, I was thinking we could hit Bandee with the ol’ one-two punch,” Marx said, leading Sunset through the underbrush at Mount Dedede’s trailhead. “You’ll distract him while I set up the prank!”
“I really don’t think that’s what one-two punch means,” Sunset replied, glancing around. “Where are we going, anyway?”
“Oh, just someplace I keep my notes on Castle Dedede!” Marx chirped.
Sunset blinked. “Notes?”
“Yep!” Marx happily answered. “I keep comprehensive data on everyone in the castle! Likes, dislikes, regular routines, stuff like that. It makes pranking that much easier!”
Sunset furrowed her brow a bit at that, but decided to let it slide as the pair broke out of the shrubbery and entered a clearing. It was relatively small, maybe only a ten-square-meter or so break in the undergrowth, but clearly well-used. A small tent was pitched in one corner, and a well-maintained fireplace was sitting across from it. A set of logs around it seemed to serve as seats, while off to the side there was a cooking set and a cooler.
“There should be some snacks in the cooler, if you’re feeling hungry,” Marx said as he hopped into the tent.
As Sunset moved to inspect the cooler, she swiveled her ears to listen in on Marx’s rummaging around in the tent. Given its size, there was far less of it than she had expected–it didn’t sound like he had much in the way of material things. Opening the cooler seemed to corroborate that hypothesis; there was only half a loaf of bread, a few cold cuts, some cheese, a smattering of other sandwich toppings, and a couple cans of what looked like a soda of some kind.
“Sorry if I don’t really have many vegetarian options,” Marx called as he exited the tent, a manilla folder on his head. “I keep forgetting that I need to restock.”
Sunset shrugged. “Eh, I spent the last eight years in an omnivorous body. I’m used to meat being an option.”
That actually seemed to give Marx pause for once. “You’ve shapeshifted before?”
Sunset waved a hoof. “Sort of. It involved magic mirrors and universe-hopping, but yeah, I spent almost a decade in a completely different form.”
Marx whistled. “That must’ve been an experience and a half.”
“It definitely was,” Sunset agreed. She glanced around again. “Hey, I’m sorry if this seems rude, but I feel kind of obligated to ask: do you uh…live here?”
“Yep!” Marx happily answered, seeming all too chipper for someone admitting their own homelessness.
Sunset blinked. “And you’re alright with that?”
“Yep again!” Marx once again cheerily affirmed. “It’s not that bad a gig, honestly! Whenever I get low on supplies I can just ask around for things, and it means I don’t have to worry about all that much!” He blinked at Sunset, seeming a bit bewildered at her confusion. “What’s got you so perplexed?”
Sunset blinked again and shook her head to clear it. “Sorry. It’s just a bit of a shock to hear someone be so at ease with that. I was homeless, myself, for a while, and it’s not really an experience I want to repeat.”
Marx set the folder down, bouncing up to one of the logs and taking a seat. “Alright, at this point I have to hear this story. Did you end up homeless in another universe, or something?”
“Pretty much,” Sunset admitted. She tapped her chin and took a seat, considering where to start. “Back in Equestria–that’s where I’m originally from,” she added at Marx’s confused expression, “I was the personal protégé of Princess Celestia, the reigning monarch at the time. Which sounds great, right?”
At Marx’s nod, her eye twitched. “Wrong. She was so goddamn stifling. It was all ‘No Sunset, the Restricted Section is restricted for a reason.’ and ‘No Sunset, a filly your age shouldn’t be learning combat magic.’” She scoffed. “I was seventeen when she said that. Given that the Royal Guard starts recruiting at eighteen, I felt like I was completely justified in wanting to learn combat magic.” Sunset rolled her eyes. “But no, it’s like she thought she was my mother or something. It came to a head when she barred me from learning blood magic when I was nineteen. Some…” she cringed, “pretty nasty words were exchanged, so I packed my things and fled through a magic mirror that opened for three days every thirty months.”
“So you fled to another universe because you weren’t allowed to learn something?” Marx asked.
Sunset blushed a bit. “Well when you put it like that it seems petty. There were some other things too; I’m pretty sure Celestia was planning on using me as some sort of political bargaining tool on top of everything else.” She cleared her throat. “But anyway, that left me stranded on the streets of another universe in a foreign body. I had to learn to adapt pretty damn quickly.” Her eyes softened a bit. “So uh…I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you ever need some help, feel free to ask. I know what it’s like in a similar position.”
“Gee willikers, Shim Sham!” Marx exclaimed. “Thanks! I probably won’t really need the help, but it’s good to know someone cares!”
Sunset smiled warmly, once again forcing down that good feeling that comes with selflessness. This was tactical, she assured herself. “No problem!”
The pair fell into comfortable conversation over the next few hours, though they never did wind up discussing how to prank Bandana Dee. Not that Sunset ever noticed that. Nor did she notice that the folder Marx had procured earlier was not Bandee’s, and if Marx had his way, she would never notice whose it was, or what he added to it.
Sunset Shimmer
A few days later, Sunset yawned as she and Marx trekked northward. Her headache had subsided to the point that she was comfortable moving around again, finally, though she wasn’t quite sure why Marx had insisted on reaching the Fountain so late in the day. It was a several hour’s hike just to get to Rainbow Resort in the first place, so by the time they got there there’d be very little daylight left.
Of course, when they arrived, she understood the reasoning quite well.
Much like Orange Ocean, it seemed that Rainbow Resort was also best experienced during the sunset, but in a far different way. Where Orange Ocean simply glowed, Rainbow Resort positively shined. Massive icebergs, dozens of meters high, decorated the frozen seaside. The reddish-orange glow of the sunset was bent through these ice spikes, illuminating the entire resort in a soft orange of a similar shade to Sunset’s own coat. The main draw, though, was the centerpiece of the entire thing: what could only be the Fountain of Dreams.
The Fountain, physically, was beautiful. Its main section was an intricately designed bowl, decorated with a multitude of star-shaped emblems. Water poured from this bowl directly into the sea, seemingly generated by the Fountain itself. The bowl’s center held another protrusion, this a blue and white sphere with another bright yellow star on it. On top of that, though, was the Fountain’s shining jewel: a red and white bar with another, even brighter, enough so that Sunset thought it was even glowing, yellow star on it.
That, however, was all secondary compared to the magical effects Sunset was feeling. The Fountain was magically powerful enough that it exuded its own magical field that Sunset could detect, much like the Element of Magic. The few lingering effects from her earlier mana burn resolved themselves in mere moments, her headache clearing almost instantly. Unlike the Element’s magical field, which simply felt like pressure on the base of her horn, the Fountain’s felt like a gentle embrace, as if soothing away her aches and pains.
“Whoa,” Sunset breathed.
Marx grinned. “Pretty cool, right!” He bounced closer to the Fountain. “The Star Rod’s the main attraction, I think.”
Sunset walked up to get a closer look. “The thing at the top?”
“Yeah!” Marx affirmed. “Legend has it, if the right person approaches the Star Rod in a time of need, it can summon the Galactic Nova, capable of granting any wish.”
Sunset stopped short. That sounded almost exactly like Meta Knight’s story, but that being of unfathomable power… “Any wish?” she clarified.
“Any wish,” Marx confirmed. “But that’s probably just a silly legend, anyway. Besides, the real action starts once the sun sets.” He looked up at the sky. “Like right now!”
Sunset joined him in his stargazing, watching mesmerized as Popstar’s aurora borealis spread across the sky, illuminating Rainbow Resort not in the warm tones of the sunset, but rather the cooler colors of blues and violets. The Fountain reflected this, shifting hues to a far softer shade. As Sunset stepped closer to the Fountain, entranced by the beauty of it, she noticed that the Star Rod didn’t just appear to be, but in fact was glowing.
She had no way of knowing that it didn’t usually do that, just as she had no way of knowing about two incredibly close threats. One was just behind her, ready to note the Star Rod’s response to her presence as an addition to her file. The other, much more immediate threat, was in front of her, hidden within the Fountain’s waters itself.
His seal had been steadily weakening over the past centuries as he constantly chipped away at that Astral’s pitiful attempt to keep him contained. Sealing him, a Creature of Dream, on a planet so influenced by its dreams would only work for so long. With the recent chaos and with how weakened he had forced this blasted seal, his corruption could finally begin.
As Sunset and Marx turned to leave, neither noticed the Fountain’s waters darken. First from blue to violet, but soon enough, the water had turned jet black as the Nightmare took hold.