Chapter 25
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“Oh, that explains why she was panicked when I went through the portal,” Twilight says, a look of recognition in her eyes.
Spike and I glance at each other, not expecting that response.
After arriving back at the castle, and helping Starlight navigate her way to the bathroom as she’d apparently gotten lost again, Spike and I had made our way to the library, where we’d found Twilight going over several record books of some kind.
There, we’d briefly explained what happened with that random portal opening in the sky last night and ended up in that Sunset’s world and how she should let her know that Spike and I are fine after Discord just yeeted us out of there onto Applejack’s farm.
Her reaction… has left us both very confused.
“Twilight, what’re you talking about?” Spike asks the question we both are thinking.
Twilight blinks, before smiling and shakes her head. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that, after Ken when to spend time in Canterlot with… the princesses,” her eyes waver for a moment, looking like she’s about to start Twilighting, but seems to avoid it, if barely, “the very next day I noticed Sunset had left several messages in the journal I missed because of the whole Time Travel Loop with Starlight, so I rushed through to assist and… did you know there was another version of me over there?”
I give her a raised eyebrow, reminding her we literally just told her about her other self and how we’d helped her.
Twilight blushes, coughs and continues. “Well, after my being quite surprised by my double, Sunset grabbed me by the shoulders and was shaking me violently, asking what had happened to the two of you after Discord just showed up out of nowhere in their world and whisked you away without another word.”
“What’d you tell her?” Spike asks, before frowning and scratching his chin. “Actually, didn’t you mention Sunset asking about me when you came back?”
She nods, before frowning. “Weren’t you paying attention?”
“Was a little preoccupied with getting Starlight settled and thinking about my new big sisters?” Spike waves a claw.
We witness another near Twilighting, before Twilight continues, clearing her throat. “Yes, well, I simply told them Ken was in Canterlot with… with the princesses and you were here in the castle with Starlight. Does this mean… you both went through time again?”
“I… I guess so,” I murmur, rubbing a hoof on my chin in thought. “Discord did say something about our clocks being back in sync, but I wasn’t sure what he’d meant by that.”
“We did go through that portal last night and found ourselves in Sunset’s world around midday,” Spike says, brow furrowed in thought.
“And you said Discord brought you back this morning,” Twilight nods, rubbing her chin.
“So, he was making sure our bodies’ time clocks with Equestria weren’t off?” I frown. “That’s a bit weird.”
“Eh, that’s Discord for you,” Spike shrugs.
“So… what now?” Twilight asks, looking at me in particular. “You still wanna talk to Sunset about it? I’m pretty sure she’s not worried anymore, given the times she’s communicated since. Her world’s me is doing fine at CHS, by the way.”
“That’s good to here,” Spike folds his arms, nodding, a slight scowl forming. “Her Crystal Prep principal was a horrible person. She deserves a better place with real friends.”
“To think that world’s version of Cinch is like the exact opposite of ours,” I shake my head. “I think I’d best not tell her. I wasn’t joking when I said she’d be so angry she’d likely flay that other Cinch’s skin.”
“Well, that morbid thought aside,” Twilight says, it obvious she’s trying to change the subject, “Spike, can you help Starlight out today? There’s something I want to discuss with Ken. It’s about something I realized regarding our time in world where Sombra was at war with Equestria.”
Spike nods, before getting a mischievous smirk. “Oh, I get it. You wanna chat” he does air quotes with his claws, “with Ken, huh?”
Twilight’s face immediately flushes red. “N-n-no! It’s nothing like that!”
“Sure, Twilight. Sure,” Spike says in a teasing tone as he leaves the library.
I can’t help giggling as I watch my marefriend fume for a moment, her face bright red.
After giving her some time, I nuzzle her, pulling her from her thoughts she blushes again, shaking her head.
“So… about the Sombraverse?” I ask, my tone firming.
Twilight pauses. “Sombra… verse?”
I shake my head. “Spike says it’s what he and Dash came up with to explain those other timelines quicker. The Nightmare Moon timeline is the Nightmareverse.”
Twilight looks like she’s going to say something, then shakes her head. “I’ll worry about that later. Ken… do you remember Sargent Shimmer?”
I nod firmly. “She was a strong soldier. She worked well with those she was assigned and was a brilliant tactician. Though, she always got weird whenever I talked about her time as Celestia’s student before the war,” I add, frowning in thought. “She never talked about her time in that human world either.”
“With that way your memories were messing with you back then, I guess I can’t blame you for not finding out,” Twilight shakes her head.
To my raised eyebrow, she continues.
“Ken, that Sunset wasn’t our Sunset.”
I nod, confused now. “Um, yeah, Twilight, I get that. I know our Sunset wasn’t in that timeline. The war gave her a totally different path to follow.”
Twilight shakes her head. “No, Ken. The changes to the timeline’s always happened after Sunset left Equestria after abandoning her studies under Celestia. And the mirror was destroyed in that timeline, so she’d never have been able to return during the war.”
I frown, confused. “Wait, what? But, then, how was Sunset there? If she couldn’t return, how was she able to return to fight in the war? That makes no sense, Twilight.”
The other Alicorn nods. “That’s right. The pony Sunset Shimmer couldn’t be there… but there was another Sunset who could.”
I indicate for her to continue.
“Ken, Sargent Shimmer was the Sunset from Sunset’s world. The human world!”
I stare at her for several moments, before my eyes widen and she nods.
“She didn’t remember all the details, the war went on for so long she put her life as a human aside and just embraced her family in that version of Equestria, but she somehow found her way to Equestria through a portal that left her in a cave.”
“Wait, so, if you’re saying the Sombraverse Sunset was Sunset’s human counterpart, if we go by timelines…” I frown.
Twilight nods. “Our Sunset’s human counterpart is somewhere in our Equestria right now! And, while we weren’t able to help that Sunset return to her human family…”
“We could this one,” I smile, before frowning again. “Wait. What about our Sunset?”
Twilight cocks an eyebrow. “Huh?”
“Well, what if she’s been living with her human counterpart’s family all this time?” I point out. “Making it so she has to switch her the other her…”
“Would be a big problem,” Twilight wilts, looking uncertain.
We stand in silence for a few minutes, trying to figure out where to go from here.
“Well, at the very least, we should try contacting Sunset’s family and let them know what we do,” I say, frowning. “I remember she mentioned her brother at one point during the war, his name also started with Sun… but I can’t remember the rest.”
“Me neither, now that you mention it,” Twilight frowns in annoyance. “I completely forgot thanks to the whole… princesses… thing,” she trails off.
I sigh, shaking my head and nuzzle her cheek again. “It’s alright, Twi. Take your time. I wouldn’t be a very good wife-to-be if I didn’t give my wife-to-be time to adjust to the new family dynamic we’ll have once married.”
She sighs, giving me a small smile and a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Ken.”
I chuckle, then cough, deciding to bring us back on topic. “So, Sunset’s family?”
Twilight blinks, then her eyes light up. “Oh, yes. Well, while I don’t remember her brother’s name, I do remember mother.”
“Now that’s promising,” I nod.
“Stellar Flare,” Twilight says eagerly. “And, before the war, so very likely still now for our world, she lived in a place called Sire’s Hollow!”
I blink, frowning. “Wait. Isn’t Sire’s Hollow where Starlight used to live?”
“I… Oh, you’re right,” Twilight looks very surprised. “How did I not make that connection?”
I shake my head. “It’s fine, Twilight. For now, let’s just work with what we have. We’ll worry about Starlight’s connection to that place later.”
She nods. “Right. So, should we speak with our Sunset first?”
I nod. “I think that’s for the best.”
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“I… I’m not sure how it would go if I went there, if I’m honest,” Sunset says as we’re sitting in the library.
We’d sent Sunset a message through the journal that we needed to talk about something very important regarding her world and she came within an hour.
We’ve just finished explaining how we intend to look for her counterpart from that world and asked whether or not she wants to meet with her mother after all these years.
She’s… less than thrilled at the latter idea, it seems.
“May I ask why?” I ask, before frowning. “Sunset, regardless of anything that may have happened between you in the past, your mother has had no idea where you’ve been since Twilight was a filly. Speaking as a mother, not knowing what’s happened to your child after they’ve gone missing… it tears you up inside. For all we know, she thinks you’re dead.”
“I… she deserves a better daughter than I was,” Sunset looks away, her face full of shame. “I just abandoned them. Worse, the one time my brother came through the portal to reason with me… I just dismissed him, like he was nothing.” She puts her head in her hooves. “How’d I fall so far? We used to be so close before I became Celestia’s student and I just…”
Twilight leans forward, resting a hoof on Sunset’s foreleg. “Sunset… it’s okay.”
“No,” Sunset murmurs softly, lowering her hooves and staring at us with shame. “No, it’s not. I’ve stolen that other Sunset’s family.”
Twilight and I both blink. “What?”
Sunset looks down at the table, tears in her eyes. “I… I never told you about this, Twilight, but… after the Battle of the Bands, something happened at CHS. Something really bad and… and I got blamed for it. It got so bad, I felt like I had no one to turn to, even the girls.”
“They abandoned you?!” my eyes widen, before I snarl.
Sunset’s head shoots up and she waves her hooves frantically. “N-not exactly. It just became harder and harder for them to defend me… especially when it seemed like all the evidence pointed to me. They still tried, but, I could tell they were having trouble ignoring the evidence, so I… I just left.”
“Left?” Twilight asks softly.
Sunset nods as tears fall down her face. “I just left, catching the first bus out of the city. I was so out of it, I didn’t even pay attention to where I was going and… and found myself in Sire’s Hollow. I was so desperate for someone to not look at me with uncertainty, when my mom hugged me, I didn’t fight back. I just cried into her and didn’t point out I wasn’t her Sunset… until the girls came for me.”
“To apologize, I hope,” I fold my forelegs.
She nods. “That, and to tell me the real culprits had been found and punished. After that, I eventually came clean about who I really am, but they accepted me all the same, since they were sure their Sunset was dead by then.”
“So, if you could give them back their original Sunset… would you?” Twilight asks, making sure to use the question worded how we’d agreed on.
Just saying “their Sunset” would imply our Sunset doesn’t belong with them and, being told you don’t belong with your family… that would be too cruel.
Sunset looks down in dejection. “If… if that’s what they’d want.”
I get up and hug her, it clear she’s thinking the worst of the scenario.
Glancing at Twilight, I can tell from her expression she doesn’t like doing this anymore they I do.
We’re putting Sunset through some truly painful stuff… but, if there’s a chance her human self is here in Equestria, we can’t just ignore her and leave her to fend for herself. We need to find her and give her a home.
“Sunset, I want you to talk with your…” I take a deep breath and firm my expression, “with your family. Ask them how they’d feel about this. We have a vague plan, but all parties must be in agreement of it. Forcing this on either side without asking would be cruel and inhumane.”
There’s a long pause, before Sunset looks up at me and nods, before a small smirk forms on her lips. “Since when were you so good at being like a mother?”
I smirk. “With all the time traveling that’s been going on around me, that’s not an easy question to answer.”
We have a small laugh together, before Sunset gets herself organized and heads through the portal.
Apparently, she and the others are doing something about raising money to go on a camping trip… in a forest called Everfree.
Thankfully, it’s in that world, so shouldn’t be as huge a problem as our Everfee is. After all, there’s nothing at all magical in their Everfree. Just a normal forest.
I hope she’ll let us know about it once they get back from that.
I sigh, looking firmly at Twilight, who nods.
For now, we’ve another goal in mind.
We need to find the other Sunset Shimmer and contact our Sunset’s family here in Equestria and we’ll start tomorrow.
So, our first stop: Sire’s Hollow.
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“A thousand apologies, Your Majesties!” the train conductor basically prostrating himself on the ground in front us.
After having breakfast and letting Spike know what we’re planning on doing, Twilight and I boarded the train headed for Sire’s Hollow.
However, we got maybe a quarter of the way there before the train had to make an emergency stop at the Hayseed Swamp station.
Apparently, there’s a problem with the engine that will take a few hours to fix.
Once he learned two of the princesses were on the train, the conductor came to us looking like he was about to face a manticore.
Twilight and I glance at each other, before sighing in unison, her speaking.
“It’s not a problem, Conductor. We understand this isn’t your fault. Problems happen.”
“We’re more than willing to wait until the engine is repaired,” I add, smirking. “Trust me, we’re in no rush.”
After several minutes of more prostrating and us assuring him over and over that it’s fine, the conductor heads back into the train to help with getting the engine fix as soon as possible, promising to not leave until we return… despite our insisting his doesn’t have to worry about that.
“Since we’re here, we may as well look around,” Twilight says foal-like glee and I nod.
“With my memories so fractured, I don’t fully remember this place from when I was ruling Equestria in the past,” I say, glancing around. “But, I do have a strange feeling this place is more important for us than meets the eye. I’d be interested to know if any of Mage Meadowbroke’s family still live here after all these years.”
“I am still so jealous of you for that,” Twilight half-whines, pouting as we make our way along the wooden ladder pathways, passing the rustic shacks. “You met Meadowbroke all those years ago, in person… and you barely even remember it.”
“It was a long time ago, Twilight,” I nudge her playfully. “I still don’t even know how I figured out enough about Time Travel magic back then to help create the spell that sent me back there in the first place. Clearly among the countless memories I had to give up that day to save Equestria before winding up back in the present that Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
Twilight groans, wincing slightly. “My head hurts just thinking about it.”
“Wait. That tree!” I point to a tree a little further away, just over the swamp. “I think that was Meadowbroke’s home.”
Twilight’s face lights up and she claps her hooves together excitedly like a filly. “Ooh! Let’s go! Come on! Come on! Come on!”
She zips into the air towards the tree.
I roll my eyes, but smile, following after her.
Twilight’s already knocking on the door as I land next to her.
“Can you get that, Sunny?” a male voice calls from inside.
“Sure thing, Cat Tail,” a familiar voice calls from inside that makes us both turn to each other in shock.
“That isn’t…?” Twilight asks.
“It couldn’t possibly be…?” I murmur.
The door opens and we’re staring back at the one who opened the door with as much shock as she is us.
Standing there is a very familiar yellow unicorn with a red and yellow mane and tail, with green eyes and a setting sun for a Cutie Mark.
However, that is where the familiarities between the Sunset Shimmer we know ends.
This pony looks younger, at least four years younger, her legs stockier than the Sunset we know, her mane tied back in a ponytail and she’s wearing glasses that remind me of Twilight’s human counterpart.
It’s Sunset Shimmer! The very Sunset Shimmer we were planning on looking for after going to Sire’s Hollow!
“Sunset Shimmer?!” Twilight asks, stunned.
The shock on the unicorn’s face turns into concerned confusion. “I… um… yes? Um, pardon my asking, but why are two identical princesses aware of who I am?”
“I’d like to know why you’re here, of all places in Equestria?” I ask, before frowning in confusion. “And how did you know that we’re princesses?”
“Ca-Cat Tail has somewhat informed me how this world’s government works… Your Highnesses!” she adds that last part in a frightened tone, bowing quickly.
“Highnesses?” the male voice, Cat Tail, I presume, says from inside, followed not long after by a rather rotund yellow Earth Pony, with a long two-toned blonde beard tied at the end like his tail and mane, a small pale red headband on his forehead. His Cutie Mark is a pair of the flowers he shares his name with and a sun designed similar to native artworks.
His purple eyes widen at the sight of us.
“Oh, my goodness. Two… identical princesses? That’s a new one. Never heard of you two before. Oh, um, Your Majesties,” he gives a quick bow.
Twilight waves a hoof. “No need for formalities, good sir. Sunset!”
The unicorn eeps as she’s addressed, Twilight’s wide smile probably not helping.
“This is amazing! What a coincidence we’d find you here, in Hayseed Swamp, of all places! We thought we were going to have to spend months scouring Equestria for any signs of you. I was planning on trying scrying spells and location spells, asking witness for any info, expecting the barest hints of trails to follow that were bound to wind up dead ends that would leave us to start all over and repeating the process over and over for months, if not years and yet, here you are, just here, no effort needed to find you and —”
I put a hoof over her mouth. “Twilight, honey, that’s enough. You’re scaring the poor girl.”
Twilight, my hoof still over her mouth, glances at me, then Sunset, who indeed is hunched over, her eyes wide with worry.
Twilight’s body sags and I pull my hoof away, wrapping a wing over my fellow Alicorn.
“Sorry about that, Sunset,” I say, looking to the unicorn, who gives me a slightly less concerned look. “My fiancé tends to get a little over excited whenever studying of any kind is involved.”
Sunset’s eyes widen at the word “fiancé,”, before they narrow slightly as a hopeful look comes into her eyes. “Wait. You… you called me a girl, didn’t you?”
I nod.
“Not a filly?” the hopeful look grows stronger, “You… you know about humans?!”
I can’t help snorting. “Considering, over a thousand years ago, I was one? Yeah, a bit.”
The hope is momentarily replaced with confusion. “A thousand years? How?”
I laugh. “That’s a long story, Sunset. Too long for now. For the moment, why don’t you tell us how you came to our world and how you came to end up here in Hayseed Swamp?”
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“That’s… wow,” Sunset murmurs quietly.
We’ve just spent the last hour or so chatting with Sunset and Cat Tail, bringing them both up to speed on events on our end and them theirs… and BOY, is Sunset’s side of this a doozy.
Years ago, though for Sunset it was barely more than a few weeks, she’d been part of an ocean exploration group to get admittance into Everton, the very education program Twilight’s other self had originally been planning to attend before she moved to CHS.
At one point, a random storm came out of nowhere and Sunset got separated from the group and blacked out.
She’d come to on a remote island and, while exploring, had nearly been eaten by a giant Venus flytrap.
The only thing that had saved her was tripping into what she’d thought was quicksand, only to find herself in a dark cave and a pony.
From there, her story sounds a bit similar to how Twilight explained Sargent Shimmer’s backstory in the Sombraverse.
She’d wandered through the cave until she’d found an exit, gotten out into some woods, found herself randomly sick of a disease she didn’t recognise, but the symptoms immediately reminding me of what Fwinxie had said she’d experienced, then found herself standing in the middle of Hayseed Swamp.
“I took her in about two weeks ago and she’s been helping me with chores while the poor thing gets her bearings,” Cat Tail says, looking at the now dejected seeming teenager. “From what she described… she had Swamp Fever.”
“And, somehow, she was miraculously cured,” I nod, frowning. “Just like Fwinxie.”
There’s a slight pause.
“Who?” Twilight glances at me, very confused.
“Hmm. Oh, a baby Sphinx that guards the temples of Somnabula,” I wave it away, ignoring Twilight’s jaw falling open. “Anyway, Sunset… returning home… won’t be easy for you. We can take you… but you haven’t aged in four years. Even after everything that’s recently happened in your world… that’s not something that’ll easily be overlooked.”
Sunset just stares down at the table. “So… I’ve no home?”
“Not entirely,” I say slowly, closing Twilight’s mouth, snapping her out of it, though the sideways glance she gives me let’s me know she will be expecting an explanation later. “You see, this world also has a Sunset Shimmer. However, she’s been living in your world these last four years. She’s built a life there. Asking her to leave it would be honestly cruel. However, it’s also cruel to keep you from your family. So, we have a comprise. Whether all parties involved will agree to it, we still need to see, but, in the long run, I do think it will benefit all involved. Would you be willing to hear us out?”
Sunset looks between the two of us, before heaving a heavy sigh and nods. “Don’t think I have much choice here, do I?”
“Oh no, you do!” Twilgiht says quickly, before adding sheepishly, “well, and you kinda don’t. It’s… complicated.”
“We’ll do our best to explain on the way,” I say, getting up and nodding to the stallion. “Cat Tail, thank you for looking after her all this time.”
“Oh, it was my pleasure, Your Highness.”
“And thank you for honouring your ancestor’s legacy,” I look wistfully at Meadowbroke’s mask.
“Wait. On the way?” Sunset becomes both anxious and confused. “On the way to where?”
“Truthfully, some of our plan was intended for far down the line, since we had no idea how long it might take to find you,” Twilight says, moving to stand beside me. “Our main goal was to gather information and inform all present parties of the future plan… but finding you as expedited those plans a lot farther than we ever could’ve expected.”
“We’re heading to Sire’s Hollow, Sunset,” I say gently, the unicorn’s mouth falling open at the name. “We’re going to speak with Stellar Flare. Your mother.”