//------------------------------// // 4th and Goal // Story: Revenant // by Muramasa //------------------------------// Sunlight slowly flooded the room, as if it were a parasite infesting itself in it, slowly crawling across every surface until, finally, it had taken over the whole room. I knew better than that, though; sunlight was no parasite. In actuality, sunlight would be better compared to a messenger from a far away land, who with all its speed had come to me to deliver a mere two words. Get up! My eyes fluttered open. It took a few tries, as it always did, but eventually, I was awake, staring at the extravagant ceiling above me. Yes, even the ceiling was extravagant; two chandeliers hung from the walls, but they weren't identical; one, to the right of the room, reminded me of an ice cave, as icicle-looking pieces fashioned an abstract but beautiful pattern. The one closest to the door was clearly meant to be an ode to the forest, as the lights hung from glass branches. It was all very pretty. The rest of the room did not disappoint. I had a king size bed, to begin, which was about twice as big as my old one, and the added room was a nice addition. The color was pleasant, too; a shade a blue just a bit darker than the midday sky. Upon a quick inspection during my first day in the palace, I realized that all the rooms were this color, except for one, but that's another story. I had two huge wardrobes that were eloquently carved from a wood I didn't recognize, their frame reaching almost halfway up to the ceiling. I had a closet, and it was half the size of my old room; I didn't even know what to do with it. I had considered using it as a guest bedroom or a game room, but for right, now, it remained styled for its original purpose. After taking in the scenery for what had to be the thousandth time, I looked to the center of the room to find the clock on the wall; after reading the time, my eyes widened and I let out a quick gasp. One o'clock. That was an hour later than usual. I tried to recall what time it had been when I retired for the night (it was likely morning by then), but I couldn't. I let out a frustrated sigh and meandered my way out of the bed before proceeding to walk towards the bathroom. It had been getting later and later these days, I knew, but one? I'd usually schedule appointments and meetings for one in the afternoon; waking up at that time simply wasn't comprehendible. My steps were laughably slow. Tank the Turtle could have beat me to the bathroom if he really wanted to, and what was worse, I knew it; I woke up at one in the afternoon, and I was still tired. Eventually, I was able to make my way to my intended destination, and, embarrassingly sluggishly, I hopped into the shower and turned it on via magic, letting the warm water slowly careen down my entire body. I had always stayed up late. When I was a foal, I would huddle under the covers with a candle and a good book and read long into the night, usually until my body forced me to rest. I was caught plenty of times, but then again, I wasn't caught plenty of times, and so the practice has continued ever since. I usually was able to make my way to bed during my Unicorn days, but there were occasions when I would wake up finding myself slumped uncomfortably in a my chair with an open book on my lap. Being the young mare I was, this schedule wasn't taxing in the slightest. Recently, however, the nights became much, much longer. I would restlessly stay up for HOURS on end, without truly knowing why I was doing so. I assumed that being a princess, I could get away with doing this--I had become significantly more powerful, after all--but I quickly found that it was the precise opposite. As Cadance explained to me one day, Alicorns very much need sleep, as it allows the massive pool of magical energy to be able to properly replenish in an Alicorn. I knew I wasn't getting enough of it, and after a while, Spike did, too. I couldn't remember how late I had stayed up last night, but could recall that it was a few hours after Sunset retired. As the water trickled down my face, I really realized how terrible I felt. Every muscle in my body felt as if it were being weighed down by a massive object that wasn't there. I sighed and stood there for a few minutes, in a bit of a haze, and I could only think of one word. Why? It was a simple question, but in my life I've found that it's the simple questions that have the most complex answers. I tried to convince myself that this was one such question, that there were many scientific factors behind this, that it was going to go away soon, but that simply wasn't true, no matter what way I spun it. You know why. There were many Equestrian citizens who would dream of becoming a princess. The fame and fortune that came with it, the immense power coursing through your very veins, the ability to live for an extraordinarily long time, almost to the point of immortality. I, in my youth, had dreamed of such things as well, although they were merely fantasies; I had never expected such notions to be realized. And then they were. Just like that, I Twilight Sparkle, an unremarkable filly from Canterlot, had been granted power beyond imagining and had been thrust straight into the politics and madness of the world as one of four leaders that made up the Equestrian Oligarchy. Whenever Celestia would ask me how I was doing, if I liked being a princess, I would respond that it was everything I'd ever hoped for and that I was absolutely honored to be in the position. I would tell her that I was doing just fine. I knew that wasn't true. I lived every waking moment in utter terror. Suddenly, I was the Princess of Friendship, completely responsible for maintaining and spreading the concept in question. One wrong word, one slip up, and the results would be catastrophic (or so I had believed at the time). I like to use Hoofball as the best example; if you're a rookie quarterback in the league, you have to prove yourself to your peers in order to earn their respect and establish yourself as worthy of playing at a professional level. That's constantly how I felt, like I needed to somehow prove I was supposed to be a princess, as if I hadn't already. After a while, I got out of the shower and quickly dried myself off with a heat spell, while simultaneously grabbing a manebrush from the counter. I stood in front of the mirror and styled my mane how I usually did it, and once that was finished, I looked into the mirror for just a little while longer. You look like a Princess, came a voice in my head. I saw myself frown in the mirror. I don't feel like one, I answered back. With that, I walked out of my room and into one of the many halls of my new home. I had planned on going down the stairs for breakfast, but, as I had been brought up to understand, plans change on a whim. I heard rumblings from down the hall; specifically, from Sunset Shimmer's new room. Curious, I began to make my way to her quarters; she had certainly put something on the record player, but it wasn't music. It wasn't until I got about halfway there that I was able to recognize just what it was she was listening to. I opened her door to see her lying on the bed, a little crooked to face the record player at her bedside. She was absolutely captivated, starting in excitement at the spinning vinyl, as she listened to the radio broadcast emanating from it. Sixteen seconds left, 4th and Goal, Canterlot has the ball on their own twenty-sixth yardline, in dire straits; they're down by four so they'll need to score a touchdown here. Baltimare lines up in the Nickel, looking to stop the high octane Monarchs offense, and they've been doing a good job of it so far...The ball is snapped, Quarterback Canter Magnum rolls out to his right, he's sacked and that's gonna...no, wait, he's still up! He fires a pass to the endzone and HE SCORES! TOUCHDOWN AS TIME NEARLY EXPIRES! CANTER MAGNUM CONNECTS WITH JENNET GALLOWAY FOR THE TOUCHDOWN! BARRING A MIRACLE, THE CANTERLOT MONARCHS ARE GOING TO THE MEGABOWL! I sat down next to her on her bed, smiling in amusement at her reaction. I had almost forgotten that Sunset had missed quite a lot during her time in the human world, and the fact that she'd mentioned she was a massive hoofball fan at dinner the other night was coming back to me. "It was incredible," I began. Sunset seemingly paid no mind to me, but I knew she was listening. "I wasn't that big of a fan at the time, but I had the entire family down at the old place to listen to it. We had the radio in the center of the room, the food all around it, the whole deal. The game was captivating from start to finish, and once that happened...I got this feeling of pride. I didn't feel like the Canterlot Monarchs had won that game; it was like all of Canterlot did. And in that moment, I got what the big deal was. How about you?" I asked. Sunset didn't answer for a moment, letting the record play a bit longer before turning it off with her magic. "My dad," she answered simply. "My mom always thought it was silly, but me and my dad loved it. I always had this competitive streak in me, so I love the game, but really, it was that time with my dad that I loved the most. I...I never told you what happened to them, did I? Has Celestia?" asked Sunset, looking up to me. I recoiled a bit in confusion and shook my head no. At that, Sunset sighed, got up from her previous position and sat on the edge of the bed, mimicking me exactly. "They're dead," she explained. "They were taking the carriage to work as they always did, and it crashed. Everypony was injured, but out of the ten ponies that were on said carriage, they were the only two that died." The surprise must have been very apparent on my face. "When did this happen?" I asked. Sunset looked to the ceiling. "I was in fifth grade. Celestia must have been like a mother to you," she said. I nodded. "She was a mother to me." At those words, Sunset slowly fell backwards from her seated position, sending herself careening into the bed, causing it to slowly bounce up and down. "This is stupid," said Sunset. "Every five minutes feels like a visit to the psychiatrist." I laughed at that, which in turn caused Sunset to laugh as well. After the laughter had died down, I moved a little closer to her. "I know. It must suck to have it be like that, but your aren't ever alone, Sunset, I cannot stress that enough. It really must have felt like that, though, once your parents died. Applejack was faced with a very similar situation in her youth, you know," I said. Sunset nodded before I even finished the sentence. "Yep. I spent many hours in discussion with my Applejack. Which brings me to the second thing that's been bothering me," said Sunset. "You're homesick," I replied. Sunset let out a short chuckle. "I mean, isn't that crazy? I've been bitching to Celestia over letters for the past month about how much I miss her, Equestria, the magic, everything...and there's still hesitance! After all this time away, and the sleepless nights thinking of home...I didn't want to leave my friends. It was you in the first place who helped me make them, and then I understood that I...didn't wanna leave," she said. She looked up at me with a look of defeat on her face. "I don't think I even wanna see the girls, Twilight. It'll remind me too much of the ones back there." Sunset quickly removed herself from the bed and began pacing around on the carpeted floor. "I mean, I know they're exactly alike," she began, "but they aren't. The stories, memories, inside jokes, none of those are there. I'm afraid I'll get this feeling that I'm talking to a bunch of copies, even though I know they're the real ones! I...I don't even know if you understand me..." she finished. "Of course I do," I replied immediately. "But there's always time to make new stories, new memories, and new jokes, and we will. I was actually going to go to Sweet Apple Acres tonight for dinner with all the girls. Come with me, Sunset; we have to start somewhere." Sunset stared at her hooves for what seemed like an eternity, and I think it was there that I actually realized the extent of Sunset's plight; she had lived here for a large majority of her life, and now, coming from a different dimension, she was a complete and total alien. Everything in her homeland had changed, and she effectively couldn't call her home her home. She recognized Equestria, but it didn't recognize her; I couldn't even imagine what that was like. I got up, too, and stuck out my leg in wait for a hoof bump. "How about we go to dinner tonight," I said, "And put everything in the mirror. No more visits to the psychiatrist, no more looking back. Sound good to you?" I asked. Sunset looked at my hoof, her eyebrows raised, before bumping it with her own. She looked up to me with a smile. "Sounds good to me, Twi," she said. I returned her grin before looking over to the record player. With magic, I took the record and flipped it to other side before pressing play. "You thought THAT was a good game," I said, turning back to her, "You're gonna love this one."