//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Sunset's Paradise // Story: Sunset Shimmer's magic adventures, Volume 2: The Villain Gauntlet. // by Justafanfictioner //------------------------------// Sunset was woken up by Princess Celestia. She looked around her and saw she was in a sumptuous room. “Did our sweet little princess of Friendship slept well?” asked Celestia. “Princess of Friendship?” thought Sunset. “Is she refering to me? Twilight is the princess of Friendship, not me!” “Today is the day of your coronnation” said Celestia. “Did you forgot, already?” Sunset got off her bed and shook her head. “Wait, isn’t Twilight Sparkle supposed to be your successor?” she asked. “Silly filly...Both of you are going to be our successors” answered Celestia. “Twilight and you did so much to spread the magic of Friendship through your respective worlds. I’m as proud of you as i’m proud of her...” “If you knew how much those words bring joy to my heart...” Said Sunset. She followed Celestia to the dinning room and saw Twilight already sat in her chair. “Good morning, Sunset!!” said Twilight “Good morning, Twilight” she said back. The two hugged each other. “You seem awfully stressed, Twilight” said Sunset. “Is this because of the corronation?” “Yes!!” answered Twilight. “I’m so nervous...What if i made a foal of myself in front of everyone!!?” “Then i’ll make a foal out of myself too to even the odds!” said Sunset, smiling. Twilight looked at Sunset with a smile as well. They finished their breakfast and headed to the bathrooms to clean themselves. “I’m so glad to have you with me, Sunset” said Twilight with a face full of sincerity. “Ruling Equestria is going to be a stressful job, but with you on my side, i feel more calm, more assured.” “Twilight...” said Sunset, with teary eyes. After this touching exchange, the two princesses headed to their rooms to get dressed for the coronnation. Deep down, Sunset knew none of this was real, but her exchange with Twilight hit her right in the heart. Back then, she deliberately refused to become a Princess when Twilight and Celestia offered it to her, pretexting wanting to stay loyal to her friends and not being interested in a title anymore. The truth was she still felt underserving of such honor, despite what she has done in the name of Friendship. It was only now she regretted her choice, because this was a future now out of her reach, even if she woke up. ”I’m such an idiot...” she said to herself. ”That day, i could have chosen both my friends and ruling Equestria with Twilight...I ended up refusing because i didn’t and still don’t think i’m ready for that. What if all this power corrupted me, what if i let my old evil habits get the better of me...” She looked at herself and the mirror. She was an Alicorn, proof that she was worthy of being a princess. She decided to take some fresh air and took off from the open window. She quickly reached the clouds and landed on one...It was cozy and so, so soft. As she was about to fall asleep, Rainbow Dash joined her on the cloud. “What’s up, Sunset?” said Rainbow Dash. “Hi, Rainbow Dash” said Sunset Shimmer, with a monotonous voice. “I just needed some fresh air” “You don’t look very happy...” noticed Rainbow Dash. “You should be!! Your corronation is today, after all!! Are you still thinking about your friends from the other world?” “No” answered Sunset. “I can go visit them whenever i want...I’m just...not feeling worthy of this honor...” “I know how you feel” said Rainbow Dash. “I don’t know if i’ll be able to take Spitfire’s place one day...But you know what? I’m not just doing it for myself...I do it for my friends, my family, all those who believed in me. What i mean is don’t do it for yourself, Sunset, do it for Twilight....You matter a lot for her, you’re like her sister.” “None of this is real, though” said Sunset for herself. “What if i just chose to fly far, far away, far beyond the limits of Equestria? What if i just wanted to go evil and destroy Canterlot, no, Equestria? What if i took a dump from the balcony? It doesn’t matter, since this is not reality, MY reality” Sunset put Rainbow Dash to sleep with a spell, before this one could react. She took off once more and flew as far as she could, flew until she reached the ocean. Along the way, she bombarded Kludgetown with a rain of magic projectiles. She continued flying, passing above a big island full of giant lizards. When she finally decided to take a rest, it was far past sunset. She missed the corronation, certainly made Twilight sad, but she didn’t care because it was not real. What she didn’t know is that Grogar and the others were witnessing her dream. “I didn’t expect things to go that way” said Discord. “If she thinks her actions have no consequences, well, she’s gonna regret not staying in her castle...Cosmos, you’re the best when it comes to ruin people’s life...Take over, would you?” Cosmos smiled devilishly. “It’s a pretty nice place she landed on” she said. “But appearences can be...tricky!” Sunset was exploring the island she landed on. It was a blooming paradise full of unknown, luxurious vegetation. What she didn’t know was the island she landed on was one of the most dangerous place in this world, and she was going to see it for herself very soon. After a few minutes walking in the jungle, the environment around her changed drastically. The bright, beautiful vegetation made place to a deserted, unhospitaliar wasteland. Her immediate reflex was to leave the island, but when she tried to do so, a magic force stopped her. From above, she saw countless monsters, all more ugly, dangerous and deadly than the others. All their eyes were set on her, it was obvious they had one intention: Kill her. “As long as i’m staying in the air, none of those monsters can eat me.” she said while flipping them the bird. “Maybe if i want to leave this place, i have to kill them all...” Sunset gathered her magic in a huge ball that she threw at the monsters. Upon hitting the ground, a huge explosion vaporized all the monster within an area of 30 miles. She then sliced half the island with a powerful laser beam, which began sinking in the ocean. Grogar and the rest where watching the show of gore and cruelty Sunset offered them. Discord, The Sirens, Starlight, Chrysalis and Stygian were utterly shocked, while Cosmos, Sombra, Tirek, Sunny, Grogar and Nightmare were in complete awe. Only Moonlight was indifferent... “Are you sure she’s not a villain?” he said to Grogar. “Cause it look like she’s enjoying giving death to those monsters.” “You created this self-contained dimension according to what she desired most, right, Discord?” asked Grogar, ignoring Moonlight. “I did!” said Discord. “She really regretted her decision not to rule alongside Twilight, so i thought giving her a second chance would make her happy. I guess i didn’t take into consideration her darkest desires would also come into play. I basically created one big sandox for her to play in.” When Sunset was done with the monsters, there was nothing left of the island. “I might have went a bit overboard...” she said. “But oh well, it was good to let my anger loose for once...I should probably go back to Equestria, now...” She flew in direction of Equestria, but stopped halfway through. Kludgetown, the city she bombared earlier today, was a commercial ally of the kingdom of Equestria. By attacking it, she probably caused a diplomatic crisis and she was certain many witnesses saw her do it. Chances that she would be considered an outlaw in the eyes of Equestria was high... ”Maybe the only way to get out of this dream is to do all the bad, evil stuff i wanted to” she said to herself. ”I’m going to get rid of all my darkest desires right now. I won’t fully accept myself if i keep the bad part of me alive. It’s time to let it loose!!” She headed to Equestria, quickly reaching it. Upon entering the land, she made a turn to Mount Aeris and nuked the whole island, leaving no chance to the Hippogryffs. Her next destination was the Dragon Land, which she transformed into a frozen wasteland. She trapped all the dragons as well, in thick, blue ice. Her next target was the Changeling Kingdom. Since the anti-magic throne was no more, she could unleash hell on the land. She turned their kingdom into literal hell...There was lava, fire and destruction everywhere. Chrysalis, back to the real world, was jubilating. She then aimed for the Crystal Empire and found Cadence and all her soldiers waiting for her there. “Why are you doing this, Sunset?!” asked Cadence, full of rage. “In order to accept myself, i realized i had to let all the darkness in my heart out” answered Sunset, with an emotionless voice. “Simply put, i need to purify myself from my sins, and unfortunately, this require me doing the unthinkable...” Back to Cantelot, Twilight was troubled. She just saw Sunset Shimmer, her best friend, someone she considered a sister, commit genocide. “Why would she do this!?” said Twilight. “This morning, she was perfectly normal. It must be somepony mind-controlling her!!” Cadence suddenly showed up in the throne room. She was horribly injured... “Sunset...” she said. “She completely wiped the Crystal Empire...She told me to send you a message...” She whisped at Twilight’s ear the message. Cadence then draw her last breath shortly after. “Everyone, be ready” said Twilight. Celestia, Luna, evacuate the school of Friendship and Canterlot. A pillar of magic appeared in direction of the school of Friendship...It was unfortunately too late. Twilight shed her tear. Celestia and Luna went to grab the most powerful relics they had in their vault and gave them to the Mane 6 and the royal guards. They then casted a dome around Canterlot to let the citizen the time to escape. Sunset arrived from the sky, above the city. She used her magic to break the magic barrier, Luna and Celestia maintained it the best they could, but Sunset overpowered them. Her magic beam destroyed half of the town and a part of the castle. Sunset finally landed in front of the Mane 6. “Why, Sunset?” asked Twilight. “None of this is real” answered Sunset. “You, this world, it’s fake...” Luna and Celestia charged toward Sunset Shimmer. This one, without any remorse, turned them to stone, to shatter in pieces when they hit the ground. “Another thing out of the way” said Sunset. “I always had hatred left for Celestia, and now that i killed her, that hatred is gone...If you know me, Twilight, you know you’re the one i hate the most deep within my heart. You did a lot for me, but to fully turn the page on my past, on my darkest desires, i have to go all the way through them...” “I understand” answered Twilight. “If killing me is the last thing you have to do to burn the last trace of hatred and evil in you, then do it. Just promise me one thing, Sunset.” “What?” she said. Twilight whispered something in her ear. Sunset shed a tear and hugged Twilight... “I promise” said Sunset. She turned Twilight to stone. Suddenly, everything around her disappeared and Discord appeared in front of her. “So, how did you find that experience, Sunset Shimmer?” he asked to Sunset. “How was it to have the opportunity to experience your deepest desires? There was multiple ways for you to end this...You greatly surprised me by chosing the genocidal maniac one...” “This was your doing?” answered Sunset. “Thank you...” “Wait, what?” said Discord. “Why do you thank me?” “You offered me the chance to let all the hatred, frustation, negativity and darkness that poisoned my soul out, once and for all, without causing real consequences to my real life.” she said. “I acted like a monster and i’m disgusted at myself. But it’s a good thing, all things considered. If this is what being a villain is, i’d rather stick being a good person. But wait, tell me... Are my friends also in the same situation than i was?” “Yes, but they returned to the real world way sooner than you” Said Discord. “Like you, when they came to the conclusion it was a dream, they went wild. Also, while nobody can hear or see us right now, i have to tell you i’m the one who sent you that message in the sea. I’m on your side, Sunset, but only when the time will come, i’ll join you. You’ll also gain two more allies in this adventure...See you on the other side...!” He snapped his finger and Sunset woke up in her bed. Her friends were gathered around her, a bit troubled. After she recovered, she told her friends that Discord was responsible for the things they went through today. She also told them what she did in her dream and why. “Girl, you got issues...” said Applejack, laughing. “I thought i was a monster after setting fire to all the orange farms in the kingdom, turning Flim and Flam and that strawberry-loving bimbo into apple jam. I learned that my actions, good or bad, have consequences on my family. I also fucked my brother...” “Wait, you too?!” said Twilight. “Uh, i mean...How indecent. As for me, i did horrible, unspeakable experiments that lead to human extinction. I learned that some things were forbidden for a reason and should stay that way” “I...Cheated, like...A lot” said Rainbow Dash. “But i learned a lesson about true sportmanship...” “I acted like the meanest bitch toward everyone i knew” said Fluttershy. “I also went full psycho-bitch and murdered and tortured to death countless people that destroyed wildlife and tortured animals. I learned that violence is not the way to go to make yourself heard from the people.” “I became a terrorist!!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “What? My magic is literally making sprinkles explode!! They called my the Sprinkler, a play on the words Sprinkle and Bomber. I learned that explosions are only cool in movies...” “I...became a huge whore...” said Rarity, ashamed. “I’ve slept with so many dudes, famous, infamous, hot, ugly, young, old, muscled or fat, i’m pratically disgusted by them. The medias called me Whority!! You imagine?!” “He he he...Whority, that’s a good one!!” said Applejack, trying not to laugh. Sunset wanted to tell them what Discord told her, but she decided it could wait. Before going out with her friends to change their minds, she thought about who those 2 unlikely allies could be...