May 31: Absence Heard, Presence Felt
Amongst the crowds in Canterlot International Airport’s Terminal Five, two sisters looked at each other. The younger one, looking almost like a walking zombie, was nearly dead inside, just one stroke away from being murdered by the thing that haunted her dreams. The older one had a fiercely protective look on her face, and even though it was the younger who would travel and leave the elder behind, the flame-haired girl would do anything to protect the happiness of her plum-haired sibling.
“Italy sounds great, and you’ll only be gone for a week,” Sunset said. “Besides, you could use the vacation.”
“Sunny, what if—” Twilight started, but was hushed by a gentle finger placed on her lips.
“I promise, you’ll be okay.” Sunset reached into her pocket, pulling out a small, Beanie Babies-esque plushie that looked vaguely like her unicorn form. “It’s dangerous to go alone – take this,” she said, giving Twilight the mini-Sunset.
Twilight started giggling, much to Sunset’s puzzlement. “I love it,” she said, “both the plushie and the joke. Where did you get this thing?”
“Bought it from a custom plushie maker on DeviantArt,” Sunset replied; in truth she had done just that, finding it freakishly odd that someone’s “Fantasy Style Unicorn” collection included a dead ringer for herself – she’d noticed a few other colors that wouldn’t have been out of place back in Equestria.
“I’m going to miss you,” Twilight said, embracing Sunset. “I…I don’t know if….”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll only be gone for a week and things are going to be boring as hell at summer school. Ms. Luna says she’ll try not to kill me too much.”
“Besides, Twily,” Octavia said, finally interjecting herself into the conversation, “I’ll keep her out of trouble, I promise. You just relax and enjoy your vacation, okay?”
Standing a distance away, Night, Velvet, Shining, Cadance, Evening, and Ballad were all talking.
“You know, if it weren’t for your assurances that this is just a phase,” Evening said, “I might be worried. Twily does look a little rough.”
Velvet sighed; she’d been through this a dozen times with Sunset – though, admittedly, she was absolutely proud at how much Sunset had assumed the ‘protective older sister’ role – and she didn’t want to deal with it again while on the cusp of a vacation.
Cadance then spoke. “I guess you haven’t checked your email then: Sandy sent us a DEA report and I forwarded it on. Seems that one of the components in The Vibe contains an LSD precursor and apparently affects a small amount of the populace.”
Shining nodded. “One of the victims attending Sunnytown High apparently had a bad case as well, though fortunately that got sorted out.”
Night looked at his son. “Are you telling me your sister is basically having a delayed acid trip?”
Ballad put two and two together. “Wait – if that’s the case, then why didn’t it happen to Tavi?”
Shining attempted to explain. “Just like actual LSD itself, the percentage of people feeling extremely delayed effects is miniscule. I’m presuming Tavi metabolized it faster since she had a more adverse reaction when she first consumed it. But Twily just got over the chickenpox a couple of months ago, and that probably depressed her immune system to the point where the precursor was able to act – didn’t this all start right around the time she was sick?”
Velvet looked at Twilight, then at Sunset. “Is there anything else we should be aware of, Shiny?”
He shook his head. “Not really. Once it’s finally out of her system, it’s gone. Could be during the trip, could be after, could be years – just like some really delayed LSD flashbacks; there are cases of it happening. But I can say one thing for sure, Mom,” the young man said as he looked at the three teens standing just away from them, “Sunny will be there for Twily.”
“Speaking of which,” Night began, “did you…?”
“Don’t worry, Night, I didn’t forget,” Evening replied. “Though admittedly, you guys could probably do it easier. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure that it’s taken care of…well, at least started.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
“ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS: DELTA AIRLINES 981 NONSTOP TO NEW YORK CITY, NOW BOARDING AT GATE 5D.”
“That’s our flight,” Twilight said softly, not wanting to go. She felt safe, protected around Sunset, as though her foster sister was the only thing keeping whatever was haunting the teen at bay.
Sunset was equally reluctant to let her go. Finally, she embraced Twilight, telling her, “You’ll go, have fun, and forget to bring me back something. You’ll be fine, I promise.”
Octavia embraced Twilight as well. “You’d better bring us back something, Twily, or I’ll make you walk back to Florence to do so!”
Twilight laughed. “Yeah, right.”
The drive back to Canterlot was as quiet as a tomb. Sunset sat there, uneasily, not knowing what to say.
“You really are worried about her, aren’t you?” Octavia said, her voice sounding a little guilty. “I’m an idiot, I swear. If I’d just listened to you, I’d….”
“It’s okay,” Sunset said, giving Octavia a wan smile in reply.
“No, it’s not okay! She and I have been together through everything, and for her to just think I abandoned her….” The guilt was ripping through Octavia now that she’d heard about everything that had happened to her best friend and cousin’s near-suicide two weeks before. “We’ve always been as thick as thieves before, and for the past couple of months, I’ve pretty much just abandoned her!”
“Tavi!” Sunset’s voice was sharp. “Be there for her when she gets back. It’s too late to do anything now, but it’s not too late once she gets back. Trust me, do you remember what I told you when we first met? That a friend of mine once told me that friendship is magic? Being there for her will be the strongest help you can give her.”
From the driver’s seat, Evening said, “Yup, listen to Sunny, Tavi. She knows what she’s talking about.”
“But I should have been there for her!”
“Don’t worry – in a couple of days this will all be over,” Sunset said in a tone that brooked no argument. Octavia looked at her with surprise; even Ballad, peeking over from the passenger seat, wondered what the older teen was talking about.
“How can you be so sure?” Octavia asked.
“Because this has to end one way or another,” Sunset said in a firm voice, “and I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure it does.”
The following morning, June 1st, Sunset left her “aunt and uncle’s” place early in the morning. She had a breakfast date, she replied, and though Octavia teased her a bit about that, she was honestly glad that Sunset was able to bounce back from yesterday. The older teen had very much taken to her foster family and last night looked absolutely forlorn from being away from them, even though in truth she’d already done so just mere weeks before. However, if Octavia had actually known who Sunset’s “breakfast date” was with, it might have given her pause. Frankly, Sunset knew, her companion was seriously risking both her career and even her freedom doing just what she was doing right now.
Thankfully, no one ever seems to eat at El Torito for Sunday brunch, Sunset thought, which is a shame, because it’s not bad. Lifting a bit of huevos con chorizo to her mouth via fork, she heard what her tablemate had to say.
“So there’s nothing that Tia or I can say to persuade you otherwise?” Luna spoke, looking at the young girl before her. She’d disguised herself well, wearing a smoky purple wig that she said came from her “Nightmare Moon” days; she’d kept it for nothing more than nostalgia purposes. Combined with the sunglasses, the sundress and the subdued look, she kinda sorta resembled that British actress from the 50s, Blue-Eyed Beauty. Sunset idly wondered if Luna had a counterpart back in Equestria, and if so, what she did for a living. Probably a schoolteacher as well, Sunset reasoned. After all, she’d never heard of a “Princess Luna” back in her day, even amongst the minor princes and princesses of the ancien regime.
“No, Ms. Luna,” Sunset replied honestly. “I am the person I am today partly because of my friends, but more so because a family took me in, not knowing who or what I really am, and not caring about any of that – only caring that I needed someone. They gave me that someone, and now, her life is in danger in a way that only I can save her from.”
“And now you’re throwing yourself to the wolves to save her,” Luna said, somewhat impressed. When she’d encountered Sunset Shimmer nearly five years ago, the young girl had been just enrolled in Central Junior High on the other side of the combined campus, and CJH’s principal, Cherry Jubilee, had warned Luna that the girl was a handful. Having seen her on school grounds a couple of times afterwards, by the time she advanced to Canterlot High, Luna knew that the young girl would be a problem child the likes of which she hadn’t seen before in her educational career.
But in the past year, to realize that this “girl” was in truth an alien – a unicorn, a creature out of mythology, no less – and never really had anyone in her life who loved her, was startling enough. But then she’d been taken in Luna and Tia’s childhood friend, and Luna had watched as the alien from another world became so human that she was now willing to risk her life for someone who wasn’t even related to her by blood.
And yet Luna still had to inquire, “And you’re absolutely sure that you’re not risking everything just for the sake of something overblown? Sunset, did it ever occur to you that this could be a very elaborate trap set for you?”
“You’re not going to make me change my mind. Because what if Twily’s just the first? How do I know this isn’t just the start of something? No offense, Ms. Luna, but you have no idea of the kind of things I’ll be facing.”
“You’re right, I don’t – but from everything you’ve told the others and what little you told both me and Tia, this other princess, Princess Twilight’s mentor, will kill you on sight if you so much as attempt to return. If that’s the case, you’re walking into a death sentence, and….” Luna sighed. “Please understand. I’m not just speaking as a teacher here, Sunset. I’m speaking as your foster mother’s best friend: you’ll break her heart if anything happens to you. And what will happen in the end is that Vel will lose not one, but both her daughters. Can you accept that?”
“No. No I can’t. But neither can I live with watching Twily be torn apart while I have a chance to save her,” Sunset answered. “Besides, I remain hopeful. Maybe Twilight’s created some in-roads for me. Maybe I have an opportunity to convince the Princess just to leave me in exile. And before you ask, no, I don’t believe that.”
“So it’s Bambi going up before Godzilla,” Luna estimated.
“Maybe,” Sunset said, before taking a drink of her horchata. “But I saw that old cartoon. And you know what the problem was? Bambi didn’t have something to fight for. I do.”
Luna was quiet for a few minutes, realizing that Sunset’s choice was already made. She was already taking a huge risk: she was the summer school principal and Sunset was one of her students, both in the summer semester and regularly. And yet? For the Sunset Shimmer that had existed a year ago? It wouldn’t have been the bother. But for this one, who was kind and gentle, loving and friendly – the very antithesis of what she’d been before – Luna would sign her job away in a heartbeat. The Sunset Shimmer of the past had been a loner, and Luna wouldn’t have cared for that girl…but this Sunset Shimmer was Velvet’s daughter, and for her, Luna would move the moon if she could.
“Okay. Celestia’s at the museum. Fortunately, with Armonia being the director, they know us well – to the point that they’ve left us alone there quite a few times; hardly the smartest thing to do, but they trust her and they trust us. The only issue will be the security systems, which per state law cannot be turned off an—”
Sunset grinned. “Don’t worry, I called in a favor.”
The things I do for my friends, Rarity thought, gingerly lifting up a box of CD-ROMs, setting it somewhere in the sea of technological bric-a-brac. Finally assured that she’d cleared up at least a small spot on the couch in the room, she took a chance and sat down. She then looked at the girl in the gray tank top, backwards Canterlot Colts baseball cap and designer eyeglasses. “And you’re absolutely sure that you’re not going to get caught?”
Pinkie, who was with her, happily munched on a banana nut muffin that she’d brought along. Its siblings had been given to the owner of this bedroom about five minutes prior, and Pinkie grinned looking at the techno-insanity of the whole place. “Trust me, Rarity! She isn’t going to get caught.”
“Everyone gets caught dear,” Rarity said reproachfully. “It’s just a matter of time when.”
“How about somewhere between ‘fuck no’ and ‘never’?” the girl in the tank top said. She fixed Rarity with a look behind eyeglasses, then removed them. As she removed her spectacles, her warm citrine eyes revealed a slight case of strabismus, enough of one to go away while wearing the corrective lenses, but bad enough to return back to their original position otherwise. Looking right at Rarity with those eyes, she said, “Lemme guess: because everyone knows about my bad eyes, I look like some sort of mouth-drooling retard, right? Can barely take care of myself? My best chance at survival is if someone can get a guy to play hide the sausage with me while putting a paper bag over my head?”
“No, quite the contrary, Derpy. I know you better than that,” Rarity replied. “Given that you’re still one of the smartest girls I know.”
“One of the?”
“Well, no offense, but although she really doesn’t apply herself, Sunset Shimmer is brilliant; and her sister, Twilight Sparkle, is an absolute genius.”
Derpy grinned. “Eh, don’t worry, I’m not offended, and we’ve known each other since kindergarten. But most people just see my eyes and take me for some kind of short-bus basket case at worst or Asperger’s special at best. They never bother to figure out why I’m taking AP Physics, or Computer Programming or anything like that. I mean, hell, I’m ‘only’ sixteen and I’ve already got my own software company just waiting when someone in Silicon Valley decides they want to pay me a few cool million for it.”
“You’re joking.”
In response, Derpy turned and tapped a few things into the browser bar. A page from the Equestria Daily came online and Derpy gestured towards the screen with her head. “Kid down south in Orange County just sold his app to Google for $200 million – oh, and did I mention he’s younger than me?”
“Sounds like I’m studying for the wrong profession,” Rarity said, half-jokingly.
“Naah, don’t worry about it. Ya gotta have a love for this sorta thing. I built the W4LL3Y3Z app because I wanted to and I could, not because I expect to be rich off it – though that would be a nice side-effect; someone’s gotta pay for my sister’s college fund, and Dad really doesn’t make enough to cover his dreams of Dinky going Ivy League.”
“I see. So then you’ll do it?”
“Hah, do it? Already did.” Derpy leaned back, and tapped the ENTER key on her keyboard. “ECMAH’s security systems will have a unique and special snowflake crash by six this evening. They won’t be able to bring it back up, and they won’t be able to find me – because I’m behind seven proxies!” She winked and, making a gun-sign with her fingers, blew on the ‘muzzle’ as if dissipating smoke.
“So how much do we owe you for this—”
“Don’t bother – you couldn’t afford it,” Derpy said in a serious tone. “Taking down a security system? Violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and who knows how many state and local statutes, so it could cost me a lot if I get caught, not that I’m going to. And I don’t play that Anonymous-Lulzsec crap, so I don’t care about that.”
Pinkie then looked at Derpy and asked, “Derpy, I know you’re the forgiving sort, but why did you agree to this?”
Derpy looked at Pinkie and then said, “Three reasons. One: you forgave her, and while you’re a little naïve sometimes – no offense – if you’ve really been her friend all this time, then she’s probably really turned the corner. Second, after all the abuse I put up with her since seventh grade, she came up to me back in mid-December and brought me these.” She removed the glasses, handing them to Rarity.
“Prada?” Rarity asked as she took and inspected the glasses. “Wait – I was there when she ordered these from the optometrist! They were expensive as hell and, well, at first I thought she’d ordered them for her foster mother, or for me, since I wear contacts.”
“Nope. They were meant to be a replacement for the glasses she broke back in junior high. She knew that glasses really improve my eyesight, but I couldn’t get any really good ones, since my parents aren’t the richest folks in town – that’s why I wore those glasses with tape around the bridge for the rest of the year, looking even more dorktacular than I normally do. But she brought them to me and said she knew they would never be enough of an apology, but she wanted to make one all the same.”
“That sounds like Sunset,” Rarity replied as she handed Derpy back her glasses. “But what’s the third reason?”
“That would be me,” a girl at the door said. She had flaming red hair and brilliant green eyes, topped by a tanktop that rivalled Fluttershy’s in chest tightness and nearly wasp-waisted jeans. Rarity recognized her instantly as Derpy’s best friend Golden Harvest, though everyone in town tended to call her “Carrot Top”, seeing as how her hair was roughly the same color as that of the namesake comedian.
“How so?”
“I was one of the girls that got it the worst from that Club,” she said sadly. “Because I tend to dress in a certain way and I tend to be flirty with guys, some idiots made connections, and….” The look in her eyes was lost.
Rarity understood that look. “What did they do, dear? I…was nearly one of their victims as well.”
Derpy looked at Carrot Top and asked, “Can you get us something to drink?” When the redhead departed, Derpy looked at the other girls and said, “She was hospitalized for a month from a fractured pelvis. I’m sure you know what that means, right?” From the looks of horror on both Rarity and Pinkie’s faces, it was very clear what that meant. Seeing that, Derpy continued. “Carrot and I…she’s my best friend. I love her like a sister and I would do anything for her. Anything. But I couldn’t save her from what she went through thanks to that asshole boyfriend of hers.”
“Derpy, I—”
“No. Peppercorn…I thought he was a genuinely awesome guy, because he seemed to treat Carrot like his queen. But he turned her into….” Derpy turned away and for a second, Rarity thought she saw a tear slide down the girl’s cheek. But Derpy wiped it away and turned back to them, a stoic look on her face. “Whatever Sunset did to me – or anyone else in the past – I don’t care about. And do you know why? Because she took them down. I know, nobody’s willing to admit that for real. But Noteworthy has confessed, as have a few other people in the know. The cops didn’t do anything about it, the teachers didn’t either. It was all Sunset Shimmer. She got revenge for Carrot. And even if nobody else knows or appreciates it…I do.
“So do you want to know why I just hacked the museum’s security systems? Because whatever reason it is – and frankly, I don’t give a damn what it is, so long as it’s not illegal – Sunset Shimmer needs me to. And that’s all I’m going to say on that.”
Stepping out of the subway station, Sunset stood in front of the entrance to the Equestria County Museum of Art & History complex. As she walked through the fancy wrought-iron gates of the main entrance, she moved towards the marble steps rising to the Doric-columned entrance to the original ECMAH building, the classically-designed structure holding all the antiquities and fine works of art. From where she stood she could see the three other buildings, like compass points, all surrounding the central rose garden building during the 80s. To the south was the warehouse-like building that held the modern art and the museum’s restaurant and gift shop. On the far side of the garden, at its eastern end was the glassy, U-shaped building that was the Canterlot branch of the state’s Science Museum, complete with its centerpiece display of the space shuttle Stargazer. Finally, at the northern end of the park was the multi-building Exposition Center, where concerts, trade shows and conventions were held; it shared a large parking lot with the Equestria County Coliseum – “the Palace”, as the local sports fans called it – where Canterlot State’s football team usually got their ass handed to them in Division I NCAA.
She slowly turned around to see the skyline of the city, its concrete, glass and metal spires reaching towards the sky. She looked at everything, because this was her home – this Canterlot, this everyday, average city of roughly 468,000 people nestled in the shadow of Mount Shasta – this was where she belonged.
But now she was about to leave it, perhaps forever. It was very possible that this would be the last time she ever set her eyes on what she now considered her true home; if so, she wanted her last memories of it to be the peace and joy she never felt when she first arrived on this strange, magically-deficient world she’d come to love.
“Hey, Sunny, you okay?” Octavia asked. When Sunset arrived home and mentioned that she was heading to the Summer Teen Super Session at the museum, Octavia, who hadn’t seen the newest exhibits – including the Cavalcanti displays – insisted on going as well. While Sunset wanted to think of a dozen reasons why she shouldn’t come, the truth was that Octavia was her cousin – in heart, if not legally – and the last member of her family she might ever see. That alone was reason enough to let her come, though the flame-haired girl would have to make sure she somehow ditched her cousin at some point. During the subway ride to the museum, Sunset sent a text message to her friends in the hope that they could find a way to distract Octavia.
“Oh, girls, there you are! What a relief!” Both turned their heads to find Rarity, standing by the van her employers usually used for work, a look of reprieve on her face. “At last, someone I can actually count on!”
“Oh, heya, Rarity,” Octavia called out as both approached. “You here for this as well?”
“Well of course, Octavia dear. But unfortunately, I could use some assistance, if you wouldn’t mind. You see, the boutique I work at is supplying the sundries – tablecloths, napkins, that sort of thing – for this whole event and while I’d asked Pinkie to assist me since she wanted to come as well, unfortunately she disappeared ten minutes ago – something about needing to use the facilities – and my employer will simply harangue me to no end if I don’t get the linens up there in time.” A wry smile then came onto Rarity’s face as she added, “Then you can help me take it out on Pinkie afterwards, seeing as I’ll wager that her attention was dragged away by something ‘shiny’, as though she were a magpie.”
“Sure, we’d love to help,” Octavia replied.
“Absolutely,” Sunset replied, before a voice called to her from the top of the steps, by the museum’s entrance.
“Sunny! Get your ass in here!” Rainbow shouted from the top of the stairs. “Ms. Luna’s looking for you and if you don’t get in here, she says she’s going to make sure you don’t get class credit for this!”
“Wait, this is counting as class credit?” Sunset shouted back. Sunset hadn’t expected this little stunt on her friends’ behalf, but she knew that they were certainly creative enough; in hindsight she should have realized they had a knack for troublemaking no different than she did back then, save for where they focused said mischief.
“Hey, I’m not going to risk my grades if your happy ass ain’t getting up here!” Rainbow shouted back.
Sunset looked at Octavia and Rarity.
“Go – I can handle this,” Octavia told her. “As soon as we’re done we’ll join up with the rest of you guys, since I’m guessing the others are here.” Sunset’s response to that was a shrug, before she turned and sprinted up the stairs, hoping to look like her academic career counted on it.
As she reached the top of the steps, she asked Rainbow, “She didn’t really, did she?”
“Of course not,” Rainbow said with a grin, “but it got you up here without Tavi staring down your back, right? C’mon – Principal Celestia’s cordoning off the Exhibition Hall so they can bring in the tables while everyone else is taking a tour of the other buildings. Ms. Luna, Pinkie, Flutters and AJ are already in the Hall, waiting for the rest of us.”
“What about Rarity?”
“She’ll be there, don’t worry – we got my sister’s girl scout troop to help with organizing the tours, and we gave them some extra money to make sure that they keep Tavi busy. I have no idea what they’re going to do, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be illegal or anything, though your cousin might hate us for a little while.”
“They’re not going to hurt her, are they?” Sunset remembered when Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo asked for her help the week after her return from Los Angeles – because they needed a “mentor” who they weren’t related to – to supervise a girl scout badge project, which was community service via a car wash they’d set up. By the end of that day, Sunset had repeatedly apologized to several people whose cars had somehow inexplicably been turned into a glaringly bright color of lime-green because the three young teens had thought to get the science badge as well by coming up with their own mixture of “detergent”. At least the strange coating washed off, though only through the use of an actual car wash, the costs of which ended up being double what they’d made in the car wash stunt to begin with.
“It’s the girls – what do you think?” A quiet glare from Sunset caused Rainbow to say a second later, “Don’t worry, we have 911 on speed dial.”
A few minutes later, they were all in the Exhibition Hall, which was closed to the general public for the event. As promised, the room was being set up for the teen banquet afterwards, and most of the floor displays had been carefully moved out of the way, so the tables would be brought in twenty minutes from now. As Sunset and Rainbow entered via a backstage doorway, the flame-haired girl had noticed that the security camera by the door, normally swiveling to get a wide view of the room, was down and dead. Guess Derpy really did come through for me, she thought with a smile.
The moment she entered the hall, however, she was virtually bowled over by the power radiating from the mirror, a magic the strength of which she hadn’t felt since the day she left Equestria. Do humans block magic that much? she wondered. It was possible, given that the first time she saw the mirror, the room was crowded; but then again, when she was here the last time it was almost entirely deserted, so that couldn’t be the answer. Could it be that humans were always meant to have no magic? I’m having a hard enough time as is with just what little I have now; I don’t think I could live a life entirely magic-free. Just as quickly as the thought came to her, she put it away. Humans couldn’t have become what they were without magic – it was just a magic of an entirely different sort. Funny that in coming to a world that seemed so magically dead that she would finally learn about the most powerful magic forces that existed: friendship and love. But even still, the line of thought brought new questions: If I return from Equestria, will I be forever stuck with a lower level of magic for the rest of my life? Perpetual “magical kindergarten”, as the old jokes went?
“When”, Shimmer, Sunset reminded herself. “When”, not “if” – you’ll be back once you solve this problem. Don’t give up hope. Closing her eyes for a brief second, she reminded herself that if she gave up now, Twilight would be as good as dead – and Sunset wasn’t going to let her sister down.
As she crossed the length of the room, she could feel each fall of her human foot. I may have been born a unicorn, she mused as she walked towards the mirror and seeing Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy trying to budge the glass screen out of the way, but I also feel human. I guess, in the end, as much as I feel I belong here, I have to wonder…do I?
“Sunset.” She heard a voice and turned around to see Principal Celestia standing there, next to Ms. Luna. For a rare change, both looked sorrowful – and it was a mild surprise when she realized she was the source of it, but not for the same reasons as in the past. “I’m…I’m not saying this as a principal or any kind of authority figure, but as your mother’s best friend: don’t do this. If anything of what you’re saying is even remotely true, you’re walking into nothing less than a death trap.”
Luna’s voice actually cracked as she spoke. “You’ll break Vel’s heart if you don’t come back.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to come back,” Sunset said, sounding a bit cockier than she felt as she ascended the dais to the mirror. Walking over to the glass case, she said to her friends, “Here, let me.” Her hands glowed, and with an ease she hadn’t felt in a long time, she effortlessly moved the polycarbonate screen via telekinesis.
“Whut th’….” Applejack said, completely shocked at what her friend just did.
“The mirror’s radiating full magic from Equestria. Between that and the current lunar phase, I’m almost back at my old magical strength, though I am a little out of practice,” she said, as the screen wobbled slightly when she set it down.
At last, she stood between her friends and the mirror. She could hear Rarity running, making sure that she made it in time. Gasping for breath, the violet-tressed girl said to the others, “We’d better do this soon: I overheard a member of the museum staff say they’ll be bringing in the tables in twenty minutes.”
“Then we’d better get this over with,” Sunset said, casting another spell. At once, the glass of the mirror began to swirl and ripple, before turning into a renaissance version of Stargate SG-1.
“Don’t go,” Rarity said, embracing her friend. She didn’t have long before the other girls did as well, Sunset finding herself in a huge group hug. The first time she’d done so with her friends, she found it stupid and embarrassing. Now, she’d have given anything to tell her past self just to shut up and enjoy it.
“I have to. My sister’s life’s on the line, and…well, eventually I knew this was going to come,” she said, her voice quavering. She forced the tears away – she would not cry in front of her friends. That vow only lasted as long as it took for her to notice that they were doing so, unabashedly, and even Celestia and Luna’s eyes were moist.
“You’d better come back,” Rainbow sobbed, comically crying and trying not to sound like she was crying at the same time.
“What, to where I belong? Of course I’m coming back,” Sunset said, the tears streaming from her eyes. Looking at Celestia and Luna, she said in a soft voice, “The last thing I need is to be marked absent from school – my parents would ground me for eternity.”
“Well,” Fluttershy said, finally letting go as the others did, “you’d better go soon. We’re going to have to push this thing back into place.”
“Besides, Ah dunno if that thing’s safe to’ keep like that much longer,” Applejack added, pointing at the undulating surface of the mirror.
“Yeah,” Sunset said, looking at her friends. She owed them more than she could ever say, and it was for their sakes that she had started on the journey from fallen alicorn wannabe to normal member of human society. “I’ll be back. I don’t know when, and I hope it won’t be long…but I’ll be back, one way or another. You can count on it.”
“And if you don’t?” That last came from Celestia, who looked as though she would jump at any moment to pull Sunset away from the mirror; Luna held the same gaze in her eyes. It was in that moment that she knew how lucky her foster mother was to have friends like that, friends like the ones she had – family in all but blood.
Sunset gave them all a beatific smile. “Then tell them everything. Everything. And then…” Sunset paused, in order to finally say the words she never could. “Tell them I love them, more than I could ever say.”
And with that, Sunset Shimmer jumped through the mirror, returning to Equestria.
High above in the late afternoon sky, there was a double crack of thunderous sound as two blasts of prismatic color suddenly filled the air.
“Double Rainboom!” a chirpy voice cried. “OhmiCelestia! So intense!”
“Pinkie, dear, it isn’t anything you haven’t seen before—”
A pink earth pony began hopping around like a live wire on cocaine, a green baby alligator holding onto her magenta mane like a living hairclip. “Ooooooooh…ohmiCelestia ohmiCelestia! Wooooooah! Double Rainboom all the way! Wow!”
Rarity looked at Applejack for help, but the farmmare just shrugged it off. “It’s Pinkie,” she replied. “It’ll wear off in a few.” At her side, Winona barked in agreement.
“Well,” a soft-spoken voice said, “all my animal friends agree: this is the perfect place to hold this year’s Summer Sun Celebration.” There was a sudden raspberry sound, and Fluttershy turned to her left, looking at a particularly impertinent bunny. “Angel, be nice.”
“Well, as soon as our two royals arrive, we’ll inform them,” Rarity answered. “It will be nice to have finally chosen a suitable spot, if only so we can attend to the other tasks Luna has assigned us regarding the Celebration’s planning. I, for one, need to liaise with Tents & Dishtowels to make sure they’ll have all the pavilion tents we’ll need ready.” She heard a hiss behind her, then rolled her eyes. “Yes, Opal, dear, we can go to the pet spa so Tender Paws can give you a makeover.”
A slight distance away, two ponies casually walked down the path towards the Whitetail Woods, miles away from Ponyville. The first, a raspberry-colored unicorn, walked unsteadily, thanks to a limp mostly taken care of by the brace she wore. The other, a lavender alicorn, fanned her wings out occasionally, as if exercising them.
“Thanks for waiting up for me, Razz,” Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, told Raspberry Beryl, Princess in Pretense of the Crystal Empire, as the two friends walked towards where the rest of their group met. “Still haven’t gotten used to flying long distances, so the trip from Canterlot took far longer than I’d have preferred.”
“Oh, it’s not like I had much of a choice; Heelee wanted to play a prank on me by hiding my brace,” Raspberry replied, half-scowling at the young emerald-and-gold phoenix curiously perched on her horn. As if to continue his prank, he took to the air, rocketing off towards where the others were. A second later, he was joined by Twilight’s pet owl, Owlysious, as they headed off towards the pet playdate.
“Well, since the girls wanted to make the search for this year’s spot for the Summer Sun Celebration and our pet playdate one and the same, you can’t blame him for being too rambunctious.”
“That’s certainly true,” Raspberry agreed. “He’s been spending a lot of time indoors ever since we permanently moved into the Inn, an—” Raspberry paused, frozen as if something suddenly struck her. She then turned to look at Ponyville, distant on the horizon, and the black line just behind it – the Everfree Forest.
“Is something wrong?”
“I…for a moment, I thought I felt the use of black magic,” Raspberry replied.
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, suddenly concerned. Raspberry was the most knowledgeable about the dark arts, though she personally did not walk the Left Hoof Path. If something was threatening Equestria once more….
Meanwhile, Raspberry blinked. “Odd….” she murmured, then turned to Twilight. “Maybe I’m just imagining it. After all, there’s nothing nearby that could be problematic.”
“Are you sure?”
Raspberry smiled. “Positive. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
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Well, at least we know why the parents aren't as worried as they should be. Touching gift Sunset. I see that Sunset never did much research into the history of the Elements, since she doesn't know about Princess Luna. I see Derpy here is just as smart as her All-American Girl counterpart. So, Peppercorn's equivalent here is ''not'' a nice fellow, eh? Hopefully his AAG version is the nice guy he seems to be. Poor Carrot Top. Sunset is really brave going back, it's a clear sign how much she's grown. Tempting Fate Razz, really?
You know, I was born in Redding, California. It's a very dry place.
4740578
I'm going mostly with my memories of the place (which is at least a couple of decades out of date.) With the real-life drought playing havoc on the whole state (especially my family down in the SoCal area), yeah, it's not fun.
4740614 Manzanita everywhere. I moved to Oregon when I was nine, so I'm in very much the same boat. I still visit there every once in a while though.
I'm so happy it's complete. I'm shedding tears of joy and now I am looking forward to the second book.
Oh, Raspberry, Raspberry, Raspberry. Don't you know that you never, ever say those words aloud? It's a certified recipe for disaster!
Anyway, sorry to see that Book I is done (I thoroughly enjoyed it, btw), but I can-not wait for Book II to begin!
I just hope that Sunset is able to defeat whatever's hurting her sister Twilight, and that's she's able to go back to her true home, and to those that she loves there.
And also that Celestia doesn't try to hurt her, now that she's found her true destiny.
(I somehow just can't believe that she's going to anything bad to her, though, given how worried that she sounded about Sunny at the end of Equestria Girls 1. But I guess that we'll just have to wait and see, huh?
)
I also hope that we get Chapter 1 of Book II soon!
Please?
4741447
Well, the title is Seven Days in Sunny June, maybe Sunset's errand will be quick?
4741668
And maybe 24 will be drama free since it only takes place over a day.
4741978
That would depend on how many Fellini films Blue's been watching.
Razz, go investigate already!
Jeez, if anyone else finds Sunset, she's likely to not even get a chance to do anything.
But, yes, time to watch for Book II.
I swear that Sunset knew Luna in an earlier chapter, or referenced her somewhere. I'm not sure, but that bit about her not knowing seemed odd to me. Granted, in EG she was away from Canterlot the whole time that Nightmare Moon ran amuck, but if she was anywhere in Equestria for the last few years show-wise she should at least have HEARD of a returned alicorn of the night. Just bringing that up to be sure it didn't contradict something in the past, or if I'm wrong for someone to clarify!
Strange: Yeah, I know it all too well. Medicinal causes for me, but there's reasons why I pull stupid stunts like not sleeping for four days straight. I know where Twilight's at with night terrors (that's technically what they are, from Shinzakura's descriptions) and after a few days it's hard. You don't want to sleep, you get up at 3am and can't go back to bed, and not only are you destroying your physical rest, you're throwing your circadian rhythm off as well as adding a truckload of mental stress from the panic. Fight or flight reactions are just as real when you're asleep, and it adds up fast. I can personally sympathize with Twilight's decision a few chapters ago...I've been just short of that point. Shinzakura knows.
Can't wait for the next book!
4761094
That's the thing: in the past five years, Sunset's total amount of time back in Equestria prior to this is about twenty minutes. So other than references to Nightmare Moon (via Nightmare Night excursions as a kid) and a vague recollection of a dark alicorn that she can scarcely remember (and can easily chalk up to a NMM reference) she has no proof of Luna's existence.
This was a great first book, I'm so glad I chose to read this.
I love all the references and each story arc was wonderfully done. Congrats on writing such an amazing EqG fic, I'm definitely gonna read book two now.
Will Rainbow Dash be beating anybody up in this fanfic series? Will the Dazzlings be appearing?
4801827
1. Maybe..
2. Rainbow Rocks is not canon to 7DSJ and the "Dazzlings" being the main antagonists was revealed well after Book 3 was plotted out so probably not.
Huh. I've been really disappointed by the lack of good Sunset Shimmer longfics - I mean, she was such a promising character, and the movie completely butchered the opportunity.
And then I find this. First chapter, looking good so far.
Well, this ranks as likely the greatest fanfic I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Even the staple Past Sins pales in comparison to this piece of art. My complete inability to stop reading is amazing. The characterization is spot on and the development of characters second to none. Add in the ability to hook and reel in the reader and it's a published-novel-class story.
When can I expect the sequal?!
4867279
Its already out over on the other guy's page:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/187558/seven-days-in-sunny-june-book-ii
4867279
Heh, thought I made the edit. Anyway, sequel is here!
4867279
This is better than Past Sins?
Alright, show's over, we have won Fimfiction. There is now nothing better than this story now and forever
4871689
I propose we have t-shirts made with this:
tipwiki.net/images/c/cf/Awesome.jpg
4872044
Not really, Trixie is a known variant/short version of Beatrix/Beatrice.
4872064 I know, I'm just saying that maybe it was in my subconscious after reading this and I didn't know it until just now. I came up with Beatrice Athena Lulamoon as human Trixie's full name just a couple days ago, in fact, sorta on a whim.
Although, somehow, I also thought of the Ramona Quimby series because of Beezus' real name being Beatrice...
...
...Why am I still thinking of an elementary school kid's series?
4872273
"Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
- C.S. Lewis
4872299 Right you are! We're on a site dedicated to magical talking ponies meant for little girls, after all, and we don't care! We still love them! I've learned throughout my life that there's nothing wrong with being imaginative or a child at heart, and to not let others tell you otherwise.
I played a Dungeons and Dragons game in college (not the most kid-friendly game with how complex it is, but still) and would love to start my own campaign with me as the DM! I still play Pokemon, too, and am patiently waiting for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and want to complete my trading card deck. I was just surprised I thought of Ramona Quimby since I haven't read one of the books in about 15 years!
Well, I've drifted far enough from the story. Still a pleasure to read a month after completion.
4872446
Completion? We're only three chapters in the second book!
4873202 Completion of the first book, I meant. I'll stick around for the whole thing, of course.
4910072
You'll note that someone mentioned a lawyer-friendly cameo reference on the TVTropes WMG page.
4909863
Having taken some Taekwondo some years back, you don't need to be magically enhanced to be able to deliver triple-digit lbs of force to something with a kick.
4928022 Who said anything about Twily (or Tavi, for that matter) having pony blood? Only Tavi is related to La Musica (via her mom's side) and there's no proof that Musica Allegra was a transformed pony like Sunny.
Yay!
I like this!
This is good stuff here!
A great fanfic!
Really good dude!:)
So, the Prodigal Daughter returns and, I think, possibly the vector by which the attack between worlds is happening.
4928350
You mean Trixie's mom?
Also, no, Sunset's magic wasn't getting stronger with every spell she cast. She knew her limits well before this story started, living four years in a crappy abandoned warehouse ensured she needed to know how much she could still do merely to survive.
4971554
Yeah, probably that more than anything.
4971554
4974863
That's exactly why I figured he'd be more like Perry Farrell and his bands. Farrell's known for some biting satire in his songs ("Been Caught Stealing" fits that bill) and the absurd ("Of Course!" - lyrics here).
That's not to say that Weird Al wouldn't be welcome in the EqG world, but...Weird Al was discovered in college, and it's likely that Cheese Sandwich is still in high school himself at this time.
4975187
Okay.
5036269
That...is exactly what happened to the character in my avatar, believe it or not. Because of this guy.
4803849
Book...3?! Wait, if this thing gets cleared up by the next book, then what is the net story?
Anyway onto the review, I really love
Wait, who? Oh Celestia, I am going to have to read A hairier problem aren't I? But wait, how can I do that? I mean, its a story about werewolves, what time is coming up in the next week where someone can enjoy werewolves and other supernatural things?
Everyone of the villians has an awesome redemption story: Discord is "Broken Spirit" and Trixie has "Getting Back on Her Hooves." This is fic...is Sunset's. Yes, I know that the different between the above and this is that this would be less on the show and more on the CW just right before Supernatural. But, that is beyond the point. This fic was really well written for Sunset and gave her some really well written moments. Each time she worked for her redmeption and became closer to her foster family, I cheered. I loved the interactions between the family, Sunset and the Humane five, and the interesting looks at the characters other lives. Like Discord being a freaking rocker or Shining a police captian. I was shocked at Cadence being a DA (Figured with her talent being love back in Equestria she would be a therapist) but it made sense. At least Shining is here unlike EQG where he seems to have vanished into the Twilight.
If I had any complaints, it would be maybe the villianization of Flash Sentry. I mean, you may have your reasons, but I do have a thing about villianizing a character just because someone doesn't like him. On the other hoof, you made it feel like ssuch a part of the story that I bearly noticed. I was too busy rooting for Sunny to save the day. Then again to be honest
I'm guilty of the same thing.
I compared this to getting back on her hooves eariler, because it was the fic that made Trixie for me. It helped made me into the
lover I am today. This fic...did the same for Sunset and I can guarantee you, that when I watch Rainbow Rocks, you are going to watch me be hard pressed not to think of this fic.
A few years ago my band teacher AND my math teacher said.
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU KIDS DOING? PLAYING HAPPY GRAB ASS??! GET TO WORK!"
Thats all I could think or when RD said that.
5071484
Google translate should help.
Great story! Though I probably want to read A Hairier Problem before I read Book II, huh?
5155838
Could have been a ring-out where the losing character's damage percentile was high enough that either kick of Link's could have instantly defeated them.
Additionally, Rumble is the first to go out, whereas Pip and Feather are defeated simultaneously afterward, and it's not mentioned what stage it is so it is conceivable that Spike kick-KO'd Rumble by isolating him away from the others repeatedly (assuming it's Final Destination - No Items, if it's another stage then it's even easier to use topography control to achieve the same ends with less effort on maps like Spear Pillar or ones with moving set pieces ala Big Blue). Doesn't matter in the long run since Rarity still creams him easily.
5157086
Even if that is the case, Link (Spike) would have had to knock away the other two just to get at Rumble, so as to not give them an opportunity to interrupt. Link's my main (working on little mac [he ain't no air fighter] and lucina) They'd have to be very weak players to let that happen in a 3-on-1
5166214
It was never established that Spike was truly a great player on Rarity's level, only that he was significantly better than his buddies.
Which means that if Spike was just average in skill, then the other three were absolutely abysmal
5166214
5166370
Also, keep in mind that Rarity used to game with her cousin, the professional gamer. Spike did not.
The fun part of watching Rainbow Rocks? Watching it WITHOUT trying to think of this fic.
I think I suck at Smash because I can never hit anyone.
Goddammit you've done it again... you've gotten me crazy invested in another sprawling epic. Guess I need to go read the other two books... and the Beryl stories... you bastard.
Seriously though, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to reading the other stories in this series. It seems you have a knack for taking characters who are complete monsters in your AAG stories and giving them redemption in others (NMM in he. she. we, Sunset Shimmer here). What's next, a Chrysalis redemption story? Oh, I know! A Guino Di Tacco story. Now that I'd pay good money to see!
5324459
And again, that's her opinion. Plus, Godzilla's fictional (even in the context of 7DSJ), whereas Ursas are real (again, in context). So Ursas have Godzilla beat by virtue of that. Hell, a real-life lizard has Godzilla beat just by virtue of that.
Bravo. Bra-fucking-vo.
I have no words to describe what I have just witnessed: literature history has been made here, folks. This passage here, I expect that from a Marvel movie - Spider-Man or some shit - not from a My Little Pony fan fiction.
But there it is, plain as day. Some of the best words I have read.
Bravo.