//------------------------------//
// Prompt #556: No One Left 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
//------------------------------//

'Twas the night before Hearthswarming, and all throughout Twilight’s castle, nothing was stirring. Except, of course, for Twilight herself who had gotten locked into a study cycle researching the unicorn mage Meadowbrook and was completely unaware of the passage of time.

Thus, she failed to notice that two rooms over, in a spare room just off the main hall of the castle, the mirror portal to Canterlot High awoke with a gentle glitter.

A few moments later, Sunset Shimmer slipped out of the glass, and checked herself over. Hooves, yes. Horn, yes. Usual yellow coat and her usual mane and tail, check. Satisfied that she was still herself in Equestria, Sunset walked as quietly as she could out of the room, down the corridor and out of the door.

Back in the library, Twilight looked up from her book to wonder if somepony had left a door open. She looked around, but couldn’t hear anypony walking around the castle, and went back to her book.

Sunset Shimmer found the Ponyville train station reasonably quickly, only to realise that she had no bits for a ticket, and slapped a hoof to her face at her lack of foresight.

“Train to Canterlot!” called the conductor, “leaving Ponyville in five minutes!”

Sunset sighed, put on her best ‘innocent girl’ face, and trotted up to the conductor.

“Please, can I get a lift to Canterlot? I promised that I’d get back to see my parents for Hearthswarming, but I spent all my bits earlier,” said Sunset, sniffling just a little. For a moment, the conductor’s face was stern, and he looked like he was about to say no, but then he relented.

“Alright, miss,” he said, “come on, get on board. It’s Hearthswarming, after all.”

Sunset Shimmer suppressed the desire to smile. She may be good now, but she couldn’t help but manipulate people, or ponies. It was in her blood by this point, and she’d had ten years to practice while in the human world. She was just applying her talent in a slightly more constructive way these days.

******

The train ride to Canterlot was long and quiet, leaving Sunset Shimmer with nothing to do but sit and listen to the sound of the wheels clacking over the joins in the rails, and the gentle, rhythmic pulse of the engine. Out of the window, she could see that Equestria was fully into winter, with snow covering every available surface, and the soft glimmer of moonlight bouncing off the falling powder, lending a mystical air to Sunset’s world of origin.

A mere two hours after she’d set off from Ponyville, the train weaved through the final tunnel and pulled into sight of Canterlot. The city looked exactly the same as Sunset remembered it, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

Even the train station was exactly the same as Sunset’s memories, and she half-expected to see Celestia waiting for her, to hear what Sunset had learned on her latest trip out to witness whatever magic had caught her interest that month.

But there was no Celestia, only a thin layer of snow dusting the streets, and Sunset allowed her hooves to carry her through the white streets of Canterlot. Past a park, under an arch, and bringing her to a stop outside a house.

A house, that Sunset noted, was not empty. She could see a fire, in the final stages of dying, flickering through the windows. A quick peek showed a number of family photos decorating the mantlepeice, though Sunset didn’t look too hard. It felt wrong, that a new family had moved into this house, what was once her home, but Sunset was a smart mare. She didn’t know the exact specifics, but she supposed that after she had dived through the mirror all those years ago, and then obviously ceased to keep paying for upkeep, that the house had reverted back to the Crown, and had been sold on.

Sunset sighed, and moved on. She couldn’t go inside somepony else’s home, and went back to wandering the streets. A gentle wind chilled Sunset, but she paid it no mind. Her pony body was a little better suited to dealing with cold than her human one, and it really wasn’t that cold just yet.

Eventually, Sunset Shimmer found herself in Canterlot’s graveyard, standing in front of two long-neglected graves. She stood there for a while, words freezing in her throat, unable to articulate her thoughts.

“Dad,” Sunset eventually choked out, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you. I tried, and when I failed, I ran. I’m so sorry.”

And then Sunset bolted from the graveyard, heading back to the train station, the wind wiping her tracks in the snow clean.