//------------------------------// // Moonlight // Story: Last Lights Falling // by Kalros //------------------------------// I’d like for it to be known that I, Sunset Shimmer, have no idea about, nor am I responsible for the disappearance of Jean-Claude Veilleux. At least, I don’t see how I might be responsible for his disappearance from my mind. The morning started off with me struggling to remove the large pillow that had managed to wedge itself in my mouth. At first I didn’t question the quiet in my head, or why I wasn’t just a passenger in my own body. Jean could easily have been asleep still, his consciousness deciding to rest longer than mine. After a couple seconds dislodging the pillow from my mouth I proceeded to hop out of bed. I hadn’t had control since that bit in the dressing room and I wasn’t going to pass it up. The room itself had little of interest to me, beyond the clock showing that it was just a bit before noon. “Three days since arriving here, and I’ve spent less than a day awake…” I muttered with distaste. So much time wasted. Why had Discord decided to drop us in the middle of nowhere? Provided Jeans memories of what happened were genuine. “Oh, they are…” a voice called out from outside the bedroom, snapping me out of my thoughts. Making my way out of the room my jaw dropped as I saw the… chaos, that had engulfed the house. The kitchen was filled with tiny figures, cooking, cleaning, and squabbling as they worked the stove, sink, and other appliances. Upon closer inspection I realized just what the three inch tall creatures were. “Discord…” I muttered, my horn lighting up as I conjured up a shield around myself, an act that caused a couple of the miniature draconequi to jump back in alarm before scampering off to help with the others carting the milk carton around. “Good morning my dear, you woke up just in time to join me for breakfast!” A voice called out and I was greeted with the conductor of chaos himself; literally. Floating there in a tuxedo, wearing a frilly wig (Or maybe it was actual hair,) and waving a baton around in his lion’s paw was Discord himself, his miniature clones bouncing to the beat of whatever tune was going through their conductors mind. “You’re joking…” I muttered, my eyes flickering to a pair of mini Draconequi arguing over a sponge before diving at one another in anger. A small dust cloud sprang up and the fight was only broken up when Discord jabbed his baton at the pair which was followed by a pop as the two exploded in a mix of confetti and glitter. “Not at all Ms. Shimmer. If it eases your mind, I come here waving the flag of peace.” As if on cue, the baton he was waving suddenly sprouted a white flag. Was I scared? No. I already could think of a dozen ways to leave Jean’s home unharmed. Granted, most of them involved teleportation. But if that was not an option I knew i could figure something out. I hope. What worried me though was the ‘why’ of this whole situation. Why was he here? Was he hoping to strike up some bargain? Perhaps an alliance? “Maybe yes, maybe no. But first! How do you like your eggs?” I sort of understand now why Jean did not enjoy me peering through his thoughts. “My dear, that is not the worst thing your mind has done to him. Now, eggs.” “Scrambled,” I blurted out, frowning as my mouth answered him without my say so. With a wave of his baton a trio of mini-Discords began the process of cracking open a couple eggs followed by the milk team from earlier as they added the liquid to the mixture. Making my way around the kitchen, I took a place by the table and watched in silence as Discord did his thing. In one pan, I could see another team working on some pancakes, ignoring the heat from the stove as she hoped into the pan to drag out a completed pancake while another team stood by, waiting to tip over a bowl and…. Why did I care? The lord of chaos was here, in the flesh, and whatever his motives were I knew it wouldn’t be good for me in the end. “I must say Miss Shimmer you have impressed me. I knew dragging you from that backwater world was the right idea.” And with that, he had my attention. “You had a hoof in me coming here?” I asked, my eyes focussed on the back of the creature’s head as he directed another group to bring over a glass of milk for me. “Already using pony terms? I’m surprised by how well you’ve adapted from being a hairless, magically challenged biped, Sunset. Then again, unlike the rest of the population on this rock you do have the most experience with changing species I suppose. Changelings and queens not included of course.” He says with a laugh. “Answer the question…” I replied in a flat voice. I didn’t have time for his games. What role did he play in getting me out of the ‘mirrorverse’? “Testy… Well allow me to explain my dear. I was just minding my own business the other day, poking through the castle when what should I find but a mirror leading to the most curious of places.” “Get to the point,” I replied as he paused for a moment, drawing an annoyed look before it was washed away with an amused smile. I didn’t need a recap as to where I was, or how he found me. He obviously did not care for any physical barriers between worlds, and other than the elements, there was nothing that could stop him. “Well, not only was I surprised by the way it ‘mirrored’ Equestria’s citizens. But, to borrow the human phrase, you stuck out like a sore thumb,” he explains, jabbing his baton at the team of draconequi bringing me milk. Giving Discord a sharp salute, the group deposited their glass and scurried back to the stove to help the others deal with the scrambled eggs. At some point the mix had sprung to life and the miniature discords were trying to keep it in the frying pan using toothpicks, pins, bits of string, and a toothbrush (probably Jean’s). As to his comment about sticking out; I had taken great care to fit into that school, although it certainly helped that the ‘other’ Sunset Shimmer never showed up despite being a student. I’m not exactly sure but I suspect that it wasn’t really a complete universe like Equestria or Earth was. It was dependant on who was in Equestria and I suspect when a pony hopped through the mirror they would take their counterpart’s place. I couldn’t prove anything though since I was trapped and couldn’t drag somepony through to be sure. “Not that kind of standing out my dear. I mean your magic. You were a flame in the darkness of that dreary world,” he added on, either noticing my confused look or reading my mind again. “And I had absolutely nothing to do with regards to bringing you here. The mirror spat you out of its own accord. And when you returned to Equestria you were brought here.” “So then why did you try to kill me and Jean? Why did you shove us both into the middle of nowhere?” asked somewhat angrily, motioning to the bandages wrapped around my chest. Jean had changed them the night before but it still hurt. “Oh don’t be so dramatic. You were never in any real danger. I simply wanted to see what you could do. And I must say I was impressed,” I seriously doubted those two hunters, whose names I couldn’t be bothered to learn, were drawn there by Discord. It seemed way too ‘in control’ for a being that exemplified chaos. The timberwolf? Yeah that seemed right up his alley. But not guiding a bunch of hunters around. “So what exactly do you want?” I ask, wanting to get this whole visit over and done with. Glancing down I notice a team of mini Discords dropping a plate of pancakes and some of the scrambled eggs (no longer suffering from its bout with life) in front of me, something mirrored across the table as Discord floated down to take the seat. “And why the breakfast?” “Oh this? After what happened with Chrissy, I decided to try a different approach so as not to scare off your human. Imagine my surprise when I realized you’d already taken care of that,” he said with a laugh, which only seemed to increase as he saw my confusion “You don’t know? Oh well that is surprising. My dear Sunset Shimmer, it seems your mind has taken steps own its own to ensure the two you don’t merge. I don’t understand it myself, but then again, I don’t want to. Suffice to say you don’t need to worry about him interfering with any plans you might have. In a way he’s ‘asleep’ and given time. I’m sure a unicorn of your skill can figure out a way to separate him from you permanently.” I wasn’t sure if I should feel relived or worried about that. One the one hoof my worried about what was happening to our mind were no longer an issue. But why? I’d never trained myself in the art of resisting mental invasion. My mind didn’t have the barriers and mental traps that would fool and turn back any probing attempts. And yet Discord said I had managed to separate the mind of another being without actually trying. Maybe it was just something that came naturally to me like my magic did. Somehow I doubted it was that easy. “So then why are you here,” I asked again. Discord sat there for a moment watching me, sprinkling pepper onto his pancake. “I want a truce Sunset my dear. With Ms. Sparkle and the Princesses out of the picture only you and one other pose any immediate threat to my plans. There’s no other unicorn like you on the planet right now,” he said, his voice becoming somewhat serious for a bit. “Sure I could ‘deal’ with you in some special way. But short of killing you, which is such an unimaginative solution I must say, anything I do will simply direct your anger towards me,” he was right… Take my magic away. Shove me in a cage somewhere. Whatever he did, if I managed to escape, I would track him down to exact revenge somehow. “However, unlike the Changeling Queen I doubt you have any interest in an alliance. So I propose this. You make no efforts to interfere with whatever I do, and in return I will leave you free to pursue your own goals. Whatever they may be.“ That was it? A simple agreement to just ignore each other? Considering I already had his attention I saw no reason why I would refuse. Provided Discord could not: be trusted (And I doubt he could), it meant I had one less thing that might potentially stop me from fulfilling my goals. And once I finished with that, I doubt even Discord could stop me. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. I had yet to even touch the meal Discord had prepared (And really. Why would I?) “You don’t!” he exclaimed with a laugh before raising up his eagle claw hand “But perhaps a gift from me might help you decide,” he continued before snapping his fingers. With a cry of pain, I collapsed in my chai. My mind suddenly felt like a thousand needles were poking away at it. Gripping my head in my forelegs, I curled up in a ball, as if that position might help with the pain. It didn’t. But thankfully, after what seemed like forever, if faded away to nothing. Getting back onto my hooves, I tried to focus on summoning up a shield around myself again. I don’t remember having dropped it but after this attack… “W-what did you,” I muttered, trying to look at Discord. He just sat there looking amused. “Just wait for it…” I could already feel it. The reason why I couldn’t focus enough to even use telekinesis was my mind was being flooded with new information. Numbers, passwords, a whole new language… After a moment I managed to figure out that Discord had essentially unlocked all of Jean’s memories for me. “Pretty much. This world has so many rules and regulations and without that information it might be difficult to get anywhere,” he explained in an amused tone. After a moment he scooped up a pancake and began to… Drain the color from it? After a moment it disintegrated before my eyes into a sort of dust. “Important memories, passwords and information. My gift to you should allow you to impersonate Jean and make use of what he has without running the risk of merging or something silly like ‘asking for permission’.” “You could have warned me…” Taking a few hesitant breaths I tried to compose myself. I could still remember events of my own life, but now there was another set, that were obviously not my own. There was a clear distinction between them. “Well then. What do you say? Truce?” he asks, extending a claw to shake. After a few moments I extended a foreleg and shook it, a grin erupting on the draconequus face when I did. Oddly enough it felt like… Shaking a lions paw. No strange magic, no thunder or lightning. It was a normal paw/hoofshake. “Excellent! I tell you Sunset, you won’t regret it,” with that he hopped off the chair, snapping his claw and causing all the mini discords to vanish. Leaving the kitchen looking like it was never touched today, aside from my plate with the pancakes and scrambled eggs on it. “With our business concluded I will leave you to your devices my dear. However, I do extend an invitation for you to come watch the festivities in New York later this week.” He added with a bow before vanishing with a flash. Oddly enough, I was starting to regret what I had just done. I made a deal with the devil, and despite his aid I doubt it was going to end well for me.