//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Guiding Light 
// by Havokwithak 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight stumbled through the portal, falling to her hooves as she arrived on the other side. She fell to the floor, ignoring everything. Nothing really mattered to her anymore anyways, not since she had said goodbye. She stifled a sob as she laid on the floor, defeated. She had not been right in an entire year now, her friends had done their best to console her, and on some days, their efforts did dull the pain to the point she could almost pretend she could see her love again.

She had been doing much better during the past month, however today was a different story. Today was the exception she would allow herself, after all it was the anniversary of the day she had been forced to part ways with-

She screamed as tears she had previously thought run out, streamed down her face. Even thinking of the name of her love hurt her physically and she sobbed on the floor for several more minutes thinking only of the name and the love she had felt saying that name in hushed whispers in her bed. 

She sighed as she finally forced the tears to stop, grateful that she had spent Spike to spend the night with Rarity. She had been hesitant at first, but after remembering what day it was, Rarity accepted the young dragon for the night. 

Twilight stood and stared at the book above the portal, tempted to take it down, but on a whim she decided to leave it. No one would know the portal was open so she had no fear of anyone entering the portal. She walked out of the library and stumbled into the throne room, smiling as she saw the giant tree root hanging from her ceiling several gems showing pictures of happier times. After the Golden Oak Library roots had been put up, Twilight had taken it upon herself to place more picture-gems upon them and she smiled to herself as she looked at some of her own additions. 

There was the picture from her love and herself at a picnic each laughing happily with smiles upon their faces. Another gem displayed the two of them having fallen asleep holding one another, their hands linked together and a blanket covering their legs. Pinkie had never explained where that particular picture had come from, but she was grateful for it now. 

She also considered the pictures she had not deemed acceptable for hanging in the open. Pictures that were private gifts from the one she loved. She blushed as she remembered how much she had panicked over the gifts initially, but in time she had realized just how practical they were, after all her love did live in an entirely different world. She laughed as she remembered when her love had caught her "utilizing" the pictures in her bed. 

They had laughed over that moment for several months afterwards. She loved moments like these, when the memories of all their joyful times came flooding back to her at once. The memories really dulled the pain and all she could think of was the warm smile and beautiful laugh that had kept her loneliness at bay during their time together. 

She smiled warmly at the pictures on display as she decided how best to spend the remainder of her night. She walked into her kitchen, just off of the throne room and hummed to herself while she made her love's favorite sandwich; lettuce, tomato, and the strange soy strips that they had mutually referred to as 'not bacon'. The sandwich itself was called a BLT, if Twilight remembered correctly, and apparently the soy in place of the bacon was acceptable. 

She wondered how humans could eat meat and shuddered in revulsion. She was perfectly content to bite into the sandwich held in her magic as she walked back into her library and sat in front of the portal. 

Twilight absently munched on her sandwich and considered her plan as she stared at the open portal. "I miss you." she mumbled aloud. "I know it's impossible for you to hear me right now, but the books I've read on dealing with this sort of thing say that talking to you will help. I don't understand how it would help, but... I'm willing to try. After all, I know you would want me to at least try to be happy." 

She finished her sandwich in silence before speaking again. "My friends have been helping me deal with it... losing you, I mean. I know that it's for the best, but I still wish you were here. Still, I'm an alicorn now, I have to learn how to deal with loss eventually."

She laid on her stomach and placed her head in her hooves. "I remember everything about you and that really helps. The way you would hold me when I cried or the way you would whisper my name when we were... making love." she blushed for reasons she did not completely understand, after all, nopony was around to hear her. "The way you would laugh when I didn't understand things and the way you would smile whenever you saw me." she laughed. "I love all of those things about you... and I still love you. No matter where you go, or what you do, I will always love you. I know that." 

Twilight used her magic to bring herself a blanket and pillow as she grew more comfortable on the floor. She closed her eyes as she continued to speak. "The way you told me you loved me as we parted ways... I'll never forget that either. I had never been so sad and so happy at the same time."

Twilight yawned widely as she pressed her muzzle into the pillow. She could still smell her love's hair on the pillow, she thought. It may have been wishful thinking, but it was enough to ease her mind into her nightly slumber. 





That slumber was not to last, however, as Twilight awoke to the sound of a gun shot and a mare screaming. She quickly jerked her head up to look at the portal that she had unintentionally left open as its surface shimmered, a sure indication that someone or something was about to pass through. 

She got to her hooves quickly and rolled out of the way of the portal just as a flaming hunk of metal passed through on a collision course with her bookshelves. 

She grabbed the strange, flaming contraption in her magic as she threw a barrier around herself. The contraption exploded, taking half of her library with it. 

She sighed heavily as she imagined just how many books she was going to replace now. She looked back to the portal to find a mare laying on the ground, blood pouring from her chest. 

Panic set in as Twilight recognized the orange and yellow, flame like mane and tail before her. She quickly ran to the mare, yelling as she did so. "Sunset Shimmer?!" 

Sunset did not stir at her own name being called and Twilight quickly wrapped the other mare in her magic. She rolled Sunset over and examined the hole in her chest. She quickly summoned gauze and bandages as she used her magic to search for whatever had created the hole. 

Twilight had spent enough time in the human world to know what a bullet was and she was fairly certain that was what she was searching for now. Her magic hit a chunk of metal lodged deep in Sunset's barrel and she gently pulled it out. 

She grit her teeth as she prepared a fire spell to cauterize the wound, Sunset releasing a helpless whimper at the pain before going eerily still and silent once more. 

Twilight quickly padded the wound with gauze before wrapping bandages around the other mare's chest. She was no doctor and had very little medical skill, so she decided to take Sunset to the hospital. Wrapping the unconscious mare in her lavender magic, Twilight teleported them both to the lobby of the hospital. 

The nurse behind the counter jumped as the loud pop of magic erupted in the lobby. Seeing a tearful Twilight holding a bleeding mare, the nurse immediately pressed the button on the counter to call a doctor before running around her desk to assist Twilight. "Don't cry, it'll be okay." she said. 

Twilight jumped when she realized she was indeed crying. When did that start? she wondered to herself. Logically, she knew that nothing vital had been hit and that Sunset should be okay, but she still could not stop the tears. The doctor entered the lobby and everything was a blur after that. 

It did not take long for everything to be put in motion. The doctors looked over Sunset and came to the conclusion that she was going to be okay after a blood transfusion. Twilight had told the doctors very little about what happened and they did not seem inclined to pry. Soon the unconscious unicorn  was out of the intensive care unit and in her room. 

Twilight had not left the other mare's side and the doctors did not try to make her. Sometimes Twilight was grateful for her authority as a princess. Twilight stood beside Sunset's bed and simply watched her sleep. She knew this was not the Sunset Shimmer she used to know and just looking at the mare hurt her. 

This could not be the Sunset who was originally from Equestria; that Sunset was never coming back. It hurt Twilight to see the other mare sleeping so close, while her double was forever out of reach. 

This was Sunset Shimmer... but it was not the Sunset Shimmer that Twilight loved. 

Twilight sniffled once more as she watched the other mare sleep. She was curious as to how the other Sunset came through the portal and what exactly was that explosion, and how did she get shot?

Twilight sighed when she realized all she could do is wait until "Other-Sunset" woke up. Hopefully she would wake up soon. The doctors seemed very impressed by Twilight's amateur doctor work and promised that Sunset would soon make a full recovery.

There was a knock at the door and Twilight considered ignoring for a moment, until the knock came again only louder. She sighed as she stood from her spot next to the bed and opened the door to reveal a panic stricken pegasus. 

"What is it, Rainbow?" Twilight asked quietly. 

"Are you okay?" Rainbow asked. "I heard an explosion and when I went to your house, half of your library was gone. When I couldn't find you I decided to look here and the doctors said you brought somepony here. Who is it? Are they okay? Why was somepony at your-"

Twilight shoved a hoof in the pegasus muzzle, cutting off her panic induced rant. "I'm fine, Rainbow. I'll explain everything later."

Rainbow pushed the hoof away gently before nodding. "Okay." she said. "At least tell me who got hurt."

Rainbow did not wait for an answer but instead pushed the door open and peered inside. Upon seeing the sleeping mare, Rainbow turned to Twilight a surprised smile on her face. "She came back for you?"

And that was all it took for Twilight to hit the ground crying again. It hurt her so bad, thinking of her Sunset, but seeing her double was much more painful. Rainbow closed the door and wrapped a wing around Twilight asking several questions.

Twilight ignored them all and simply cried in the floor in her friends embrace. "She's not coming back. She's not coming back. She's not coming back." Twilight repeated this several times as she stared at the unconscious form of the one who shared her love's visage. "That's not my Sunset."

Rainbow gently pat Twilight on the back and allowed her to cry. "I'm sorry." she said quietly. "I didn't know."

Twilight nodded and put her head in Rainbow's neck. "It's not your fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have allowed myself to hope."

Twilight's crying seemed to ebb away slowly as consciousness began to leave her. The last thing she remembered before she finally fell asleep was her friends voice. "Everything is going to be fine." Rainbow said. 

Yet, for some reason, Twilight did not believe her. Nothing was ever going to be fine again.