Hope and Fear: Sunset Past

by Dasher924

New Friends

“This doesn’t make any sense!” Highland said, “Are you sure this information is correct?”

“Yes sir. These instruments don’t lie.” came the response, “He’s been sent to the past, as well as a different dimension.”

Highland sighed, “Alright then. Get Alan on the line. That’s some info he probably needs to know about.”

“I can’t sir; I can’t seem to get a connection.”

Alan, Shadow, and Celestia walked through the castle heading for Sunset Shimmer’s room.

“You see Alan, there’s this prophesy talking about my sister: ‘On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal.’ I truly believe that Sunset Shimmer will help me reunite with my sister when the time comes.”

“So, that’s why you took her on as your personal student?”

“Exactly. I want her to learn about the Magic of Friendship. I think it may be the only way to free my sister. More than that though, I believe that Sunset is destined for even more greatness, but it will only happen if she has friends by her side. The problem is she doesn’t want to make friends. She thinks it’s a waste of time. She’s seems to be more concerned with learning how to put more power into her spells.”

“Have you told Sunset about all of that?” Alan asked.

“I have, and she accused me of simply using her to get what I wanted, but that’s not true. At least not most of it. It is true that I want my sister back with me, safe and sound, but it’s much more than that. I need Sunset to be ready for what will happen when my sister returns to Equestria from her prison on the moon. You see, after Luna had gotten angry with the ponies, her hatred and anger had consumed her. It had changed her. She took on the persona of Nightmare Moon, and a very evil persona it was. Using the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon didn’t destroy Nightmare Moon. Wherever she is on the moon right now walks Nightmare Moon; not my sister. The Elements of Harmony should have changed her back to her normal self. I think the Elements failed to change her back because I was not able to harness the Elements’ full power.”

“Why couldn’t you use them at full power?” Alan asked.

“The Elements of Harmony were never meant to be used by only one pony; no matter how strong he or she is. Each of the six Elements represents something different, and their true strength is only awakened when it has found the pony that represents the same thing. Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, Generously, and Magic. Once we find the ones that also represent these six, we will have found the bearers of Harmony. I believe that Sunset represents Magic, as I have never really seen any other unicorn that has shown as much promise as she has. That is why I want her to study the Magic of Friendship. When Nightmare Moon returns to Equestria after the curse is broken, I will need the six bearers of Harmony to stop her, and in doing so, return my sister to me.”

“Sounds fair.” Alan replied, “What can I do to help?”

“I don’t know. I just - I don’t know.” Celestia said.

The way she said that made Alan think that she might be about to cry again.

“Listen, Princess. If she’s the one who brought me here, I’m sure she’ll want to talk to me or something. I’ll try to figure out what her goals are and then maybe I can help you find a way to talk to her based on her goals. Maybe we can find a win-win here somewhere”

“Oh, thank you, Alan.” Princess Celestia said, “It would mean a lot to me if Sunset and I could work together to solve this.

They both got to Sunset’s room in the castle. The door was propped open when they arrived. Stationed outside the room were two royal guards. When princess Celestia got near, the guards bowed slightly, but did nothing as Celestia walked through the doorway followed by Alan. Inside, the doctor and one of the nurses were putting Sunset to bed.

The doctor turned when he heard someone walk into the bedroom.

“Princess.” He said, “Sunset is going to be fine. She’s sleeping at the moment. I should think she will wake up not too long from now. When she awakes, she may experience dizziness or light-headedness. So, I would suggest she stays in bed for a little bit after waking up to give her body some more time to adjust.”

“Thank you Doctor.” Celestia said as the doctor walked back through the bedroom doors.

“Oh, Sunset,” she said, “you should have known that the spell would have been too much for you. Why did put yourself at risk without first talking to me.”

“Just remember, Princess,” Alan responded, “This isn’t your fault, and besides, she’s going to be fine. Now, why don’t you go about your day. I’ll be sure to let you know when she awakes. You need some time to relax. You’ve hit several emotions today, from anxiety to sadness. I’ll watch her. I promise.”

“Thanks, Alan. Maybe I should try to relax some. Please, just let me know when she wakes up.”

“Of course, Princess.”

With that, Princess Celestia walked out of the room, closing the doors behind her.

“Are we really just going to sit here until she wakes up?” Shadow asked as he appeared in his usual wolf-thing form.

“Got anything better to do?”

“Well, um…Maybe?”

Alan just rolled his eyes. He noticed that he did that a lot with Shadow.

“But why did you just send Celestia away?” Shadow pressed.

Alan paused a second before answering. “I know you felt it, Shadow. I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. I think that Sunset is somehow connected. I think she maybe even knows something. And, if what Celestia told us was true, Sunset may not fully trust the princess. I thought that maybe Sunset would be more willing to tell us something if Celestia wasn’t in the room.”

“So, we’re not actually going to get Celestia when she wakes up, like the princess requested, are we?”

“Of course we are! Just not immediately after she wakes us. I want to be able to talk to her first.”

Shadow grinned a bit. “Clever.” He said, sounding genuinely surprised.

“You make it sound as if I’m not very clever most of the time.”

“well-l-l-l…” Shadow began.

Alan was about to open his mouth to jab Shadow with one of his best comebacks, when they both heard a sound coming from the direction of Sunset’s bed.

“She’s waking up.” Alan said out loud

Alan was surprised at how unsurprised Sunset was when she saw them. She looked back and forth between Alan and Shadow for a few seconds before saying, “The spell worked, didn’t it?”

“That depends. What spell are you talking about?”

“I found a spell that can open a door to another dimension. I activated the spell, and I think you’re the one who came through that door.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“Due to the Princess’ nagging, I’ve done a lot of studying. I’ve studied just about every type of creature that ponies know of in Equestria. I’ve never read a description of any living creature that resembles you in the least.”

“We have a smart on here, I see. It is true; I am not from this place. I come from another world entirely. I did step through a dimensional portal, and when I came out through the other side of the door, I found you unconscious. I made sure you were taken to the doctor. He checked you out and moved you to your bedroom. So, here we are.”

“Ok,” Sunset said turning to look at Shadow, “a-a-and w-what is that?” She said pointing a hoof.

“Oh, that’s just one of my best friends. His name is Shadow. I’d say his name fits pretty well, don’t you think?”

“My name is Alan, by the way. It’s nice to meet you, Sunset.”

Then all of a sudden, it was as if Sunset’s brain was done processing all the information she needed to make sense of the situation. Alan wasn’t sure how she did that so fast. He sometimes couldn’t believe some of the stuff that he saw, and he’s been through a lot in two years. Either way, Alan thought he could see a smile curl up on Sunset’s lips.

“Ha!! This’ll show Celestia! I don’t need to know any of that bogus stuff she was talking about. I managed to complete this level of spell. I’ll prove to her that I don’t need the Magic of Friendship to be successful.”

“You sound like you’re trying hard to impress the princess. Does she not believe in you?”

“She believes in me alright. She believes I can solve all of her problems for her.” Sunset said. Alan could feel her starting to get angry with Celestia.

Alan decided to remain calm, as he thought it might help Sunset calm down too, “Wanna talk about it?”

“Why would I want to talk about it to you?”

“I don’t know. Whether you tell me or not is up to you. Just remember that, as a friend, I’ll always be here for you if you need to talk, or to have a shoulder to cry on. Always remember that. Now, the princess asked me to get her when you wake up. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Come on, Shadow.”

Alan started to walk toward the bedroom door when he heard Sunset call out to him.

“Wait! You want to be my friend?”

“Of course. Why not?” Alan said turning around.

“Well, you only really met me just five minutes ago, for one thing.”

“That’s about right.” Alan said as he looked at his watch.

“I don’t get it. I’ve done nothing to earn your friendship. How can we be friends?”

Alan smiled as he walked back to Sunset’s bed. “Friendship is a mysterious thing, isn’t it? I can’t really explain it, but sometimes two creatures just become friends because maybe they see something that they have in common with each other.”

“You see something in common in us? How is that possible? We’re two totally different species.”

‘Well, if you’re looking for physical similarities: we’ve both have two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth. They might not look exactly the same, but we’re more identical to each other than you might think. But, what I was referring to was the similarity of our personality.”

“For example…?” Sunset started.

“For example,” Alan continued, “there was a time in my life that I didn’t want to make friends. All I wanted to do was be alone, isolated from all others. I liked the quiet. I didn’t want to have to talk to others. I didn’t have to put up with others. I was perfectly happy being by myself, and I saw no reason to try to make friends. Friends would mean less time alone, anyway. Then, one day, I found out what it meant to have friends by my side. My little buddy, Shadow here is like, my best friend. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“Well, I don’t see my opinion changing anytime soon.” Sunset remarked.

“Neither did I, until it happened.”

“Ok. I’ll bite. Why did you all of a sudden decide to make friends?” Sunset asked, hoping that if she got Alan to stop lecturing her faster, he’d leave her alone faster.

“To be honest,” Alan continued, “it wasn’t really my choice. It was sort of thrust on me. I assume Princess Celestia told you the story about me. That’s why you tried to use the same spell, wasn’t it?”

“She told me that a friend helped her find the Pieces of Happiness or something.”

Alan laughed to himself. “They are called the Elements of Harmony, although you were close. Now, it is true that I uncovered the Elements of Harmony for the two sisters, but I didn’t really do anything after that. The defeat of Discord was entirely in their hands-er, hoofs. But let me tell you this: I didn’t have to help them. What happened here in Equestria wouldn’t affect me where I’m from. I could have just walked away from that whole mess. The reason I helped them was because that’s what friends do. I know that Princess Celestia would do the same for my world too, if she could. Friends stick by each other in times of happiness, and in times of pain. Let me tell you something, Sunset. You never know when you’re going to need someone to” Alan paused for a second, thinking about how to say it, “watch your back.” He finished.

“What are you trying to say?” Sunset asked, trying to get Alan to come to his point.

“I’m trying to say that friendship goes both ways. Whether you’ve put it up or not, I’ve accepted your friendship, Sunset. Now the question is: will you accept mine?”

Sunset sat in silence for what seemed like a good minute. She was staring into Alan’s eyes. It was as if she was trying to look into his soul. It kind of creeped Alan out, although he did his best not to show it.

Finally, Sunset answered with a single word: “Yes.”

Comments

[Freewing Alchemist P]

This is for the two chapters this and it's predecessor.

So there is Alan and another being named Shadow?
I wounder how Shadow came about?

This seem to be an interesting take on A HIE and Sun Setshimmer.

Alan seems really mature for his age. I bet he's been thought a lot I wounder how that will play in?
Also how this government agency and Luna's return will play. There is a lot of moving pieces it will be fun to see how they all fit together.

Good luck best wishes.

[Dasher924]

3586402
Back for some more torture, are you? To be honest, I was planning on putting up one more chapter to tie up some loose ends, then just end the story there. But, if you truly like this story, maybe I'll continue it after all. Although, any continuation of this story may be used as a sequel to this story. I believe some of your question about Shadow may be answered in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading through it all and commenting!

[Freewing Alchemist P]

3587328 Do what you wish I don't mind. as long as my questions will be answered.
You said your making a squeal?

[Dasher924]

3588078
I will be making a sequel to this story. Your questions may not all be answered at the end of "Sunset Past", but the story that comes after will may hold the answers you seek, as well as possibly making you ask more questions.