//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Heart of the Sunset // by Sintakhra //------------------------------// “This is the biggest mistake you’ll make in your entire life” Sunset Shimmer growled darkly as she pushed her way out of the brightly lit library and into the dark Canterlot castle corridor. Two white pegasi clad in golden armour flanked her on each side – their gazes stern and undiscernible as she glanced from left to right at them. Each hoof-fall echoed eerily on the marble floors as the trio made their way through the dimly lit passageway towards the entrance of the castle. “How dare she?” the young amber coated unicorn hissed mentally to herself. “I was so close! That destiny was mine and she knew it!” her mental berations for the Princess went unanswered as one would expect of a biased psyche. She trembled in fury – hooves slamming down with each step much harder than was necessary. If she was being thrown out she’d not go quietly – literally. “Compassion? Sincerity? What good were they?” the ex-student snarked as they continued on – falling back slightly from her escort as she turned her gaze to the pale blue floor. She was a strong driven mare. She treated the floor with the same discontent that she felt she had been treated for her whole life as a filly; always told to have ambition, to make the most of potential. “And now that I have the ambition – it was a bad thing?” On and on they walked. The mare in the moon gazed eerily down at them through the large stained glass windows, her penetrating gaze interrupted by murals and tapestries which adorned the otherwise pleasant corridor. Canterlot castle was a truly historic and fascinating place – but even such curiosities had a time and a place, a fact appreciated by the sulking Unicorn as she plodded on with her unwanted entourage. Sunset shivered as a wisp of cold air blew over her withers, stopping her in her tracks. She held her head lower to the ground breathed out a plume of mist. The temperature had suddenly dropped She looked to the reflective surface of the floor and gazed into cyan eyes of her counterpart. She looked a mess. Her hair was askew and frayed from her hard night researching the mirror. Bags had formed from her lack of sleep. The spark of life in her eyes that she always had whilst excelling as Celestia’s prize pupil had long since been snuffed out by the bitterness which had taken root within her. “Miss Shimmer, keep moving” the guard on her left growled as he moved beside her – nudging a wing to the back of the head. Sunset found she had stopped just outside the room to the mirror Her gaze was torn from the floor as she glared at the guard. She had stopped right at a junction and several servant-ponies were staring at her in disgust or confusion. “Of course they’d be confused. Princess Celestia’s prize pupil being escorted by a pair of thugs like a common criminal?” The looks she got from some of the maids indicated that the castle walls did indeed have ears. She could practically hear them scolding her for striking the Princess. Their princess. She didn’t strike her properly; not that she didn’t try. She doubted Celestia approved of having books hurled at her face The guard clocked her around the back of the head gently once more, indicating for her to turn down the lesser-used corridor. She scowled back at him, the tip of her horn sparking but she held it in. It wouldn’t do to attack the guard. She unwillingly followed the other guard whilst the second took a position behind her – no doubt to prevent her from having any more ‘moments’. Their metal armour clinked on the solid floor with each step.  They made an odd group as they plodded single file down a more minor corridor. “It figures the Princess would want me out of the castle in by means other than the front door” Sunset Shimmer snapped to no one in particular – and no one in particular responded. She ground her teeth together. Royal Guards are the worst. They couldn’t even give an outlet to her anger – at least arguing she could win at something; being kicked out offered very little otherwise. “Stupid horse” she mumbled as her limbs continue functioning on autopilot. This seemed to have irked her escort somewhat. She visibly saw the soldier ahead ruffle his wings, his head staring straighter ahead than before. She tried to look behind and observe the damage done to the other guard’s demeanour but a wind buffeted her head back to its forward facing position before she could cast a glance. “I mean it’s not like she could’ve done anything to me once I’d ascended. She knows how useless she is compared to me. She just had opportunity. Opportunity she denied to me.” Sunset stared darkly out of the window on the left as she plodded on. “Just you wait, you old bag. I’ll show you how great I am.” “Silent, Shimmer!” The guard ahead of the mare whirled around and glared at her. She felt a large grin seeping onto her face. She laughed – laughed harder than she had in many moons. “You try to bid me to hold my tongue? You’re nothing but a guard! A grunt relegated to escort dignitaries at the best” She sniggered, blowing the loose curl of her hair out of her eyes as she directed her full stare at him.  “A puppy told to sit and play guard dog” The stallion behind her walked beside her and threw his weight against her midriff – knocking Sunset Shimmer onto her side. Sunset let out a cry as she hit the ground, left surprisingly breathless from the impact. The stallion glared down at her, and crowed his amusement at her situation. “We were told to escort you. The Princess was oddly vague on the means we used to get you out of here – as well as if we were forbidden to gag you in the process.” “Peace, Vigor” his companion said calmly – although his frosty gaze betrayed his feelings. “On your hooves, Shimmer” Sunset’s whole right side ached from the forceful knockdown she had taken. But the pain was replaced with rage. The moment her captives opened their collective mouths and dared order her – one of the most powerful unicorns in Canterlot – to shut up and get on her feet. “Fine” she mumbled – defeat deliberately lacing her tone as she kicked off from the floor and got herself upright. The pain in her side lacing up her body. “What is going on?” She walked past Vigor with a cool expression until she was half a length in front and to the side of him before she acted with all the precision and grace one could expect of a future Princess. She braced her weight on her fore hooves and bucked out firmly with one of her hind legs. She felt the soft downy surface of Vigor’s wings beneath her hoof and the audible crack it made as she put the full force of her buck behind it. The surprised guard gave a cry out as he fell onto his side – cradling his damaged wing. With one soldier down, the turned her focus on his partner. Not missing a beat; she swung her head around and began channelling her pyromancy at the remaining soldier. With a sharp victorious outburst, she let loose her flames and watched them engulf the remaining guard. He made naught a sound as the flames quickly died out – his entire form unaffected by her fury. Sunset blinked before dropping down into a defensive stance and circling the soldier. “Of course. I should’ve seen that coming” she remarked calmly as she eyed the remaining guard properly.  “Celestia is foolish but not stupid.” She tittered; “At least not entirely” a spark of pleasure reached her eyes as she focused her magic and attacked in a different way, dropping the glamour covering the remaining guard. Very little changed in the guard’s appearance except for his wings vanishing and a horn appearing atop his head. Knight-Lieutenant Shining Armour stared back at her with his concrete cerulean gaze. “You never detain a Unicorn without another being present.” “You were never detained, Sunset Shimmer” The young guard frowned as he stood and watched her stalk around him, his eyes only wavering to check on his colleague who appeared to have lost consciousness. Sunset growled. “I was denied what is mine! I am bound within the body of a Unicorn instead of my true Alicorn body! By that I am detained” The stallion stared at her unblinkingly, unfazed. She knew little about the Knight-Lieutenant who blocked her freedom – and she cared little to find out more. All she knew was that he was in the way. The temperature dropped once more – enough to draw the attention of both ponies as they turned their collective gaze to the open door they had been about to pass;  a door which was very familiar to a certain unicorn mare. To their left was a large set of royal blue doors with some very attractive engravings and markings. Two large golden handles were in the centre of them and from within it, a pale wisp of moonlight snaked out in the wake of the cold currents. Widening her grin, she ignited her magic and picked up one of the tapestries hanging on the wall – a tapestry of the two pony sisters, and hurled it at the stallion. Shining Armour reacted instantly. He dropped to a combat stance and caught the falling tapestry before it engulfed him – his dual focus on the fabric wave about to engulf him and Sunset’s original position cost him dearly. Dropping her magic holding the decoration, Sunset teleported in a flash of teal light and appeared beside him. Before he could raise a hoof in defence her amber fore hoof cracked against his horn. The Knight-Lieutenant grimaced as he lost control of the magic. Within an instant the field holding cloth evaporated and it swallowed the two ponies beneath it. With the advantage in her court – Sunset began channelling another teleport spell to escape but found her energy waning. “What is going on? Why am I so weak today” she berated herself, before finding her hooves held down by the Unicorn above her. “Why do you do this, Sunset Shimmer?” he snarled down at her; his armour glowing slightly in the darkness beneath the fallen tapestry. “Ah that explains it. Of course they would have enchanted armour – even if there was a Unicorn with them. Tartarus, I should’ve known this beforehand. I even tweaked the wretched things to be more effective” Vigor had slammed up against her with his armour, and with it came a spell of Sunset’s own making which leeched the magic in the body of that it collided with. Not enough to be consciously noticed but the body feels it all the same. “So that’s why I was in such pain and why I cannot teleport. Celestia outfitted you with a new toy”. She got no response from the Unicorn above her – with the exception of his continuing stare. With her fore hooves pinned, she did the only thing she was able to do. Forcing her rump up, she curled her legs in tight and bucked the larger stallion in his stomach. With all his breath gone, Shining Armour keeled over to the side and gasped loudly. Sunset used this as her chance and crawled beneath the tapestry – her hooves digging for the floor in the darkness until at last she was liberated from its confines. She returned her gaze to the lump beneath the fallen needlework and smiled. The fight with the guards had left her panting and limping but she cared not. Her crimson hair with yellow accents was in such a state – were she around the common pony she might actually feel embarrassment. It was fate. It was destiny. “Not just anyone’s destiny. Mine” She reviewed the events that had happened but it all came down to one focus. The Mirror. The Mirror saved her by providing the perfect distraction; a simple distraction. This time when the breeze rolled over her body, she did not shiver. She cooed in enjoyment. Rolling her shoulders, she planted a hoof on the ajar door and heaved it open – her magic drained too much to try and force it open She gazed upon the water-smooth glass in which she saw the reflection of the beautiful mare she is and the even more powerful mare she would become. Each step brought her closer to the mirror and closer to her prize. The Alicorn she would become stared back at her – fire in its eyes. “Yes.” She whispered – her body trembling in anticipation or nerves, she knew not with which. With a final smile of triumph, she put her hoof against the mirror and pushed through it. As she emerged from the other side, she had only one thing to say: “Well, well, this is an interesting development…”