Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns

by DrakeyC

Chapter 10

Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns

Chapter 10

---

The field in front of Twilight's castle was a flurry of activity. Construction ponies laid out boards together on one side of the path to make a dance floor, while other ponies erected a stage and scaffold at the end furthest from the path. Set away from the stage were tables, chairs, and a central buffet from which food and drink would be hosted. At the end of the seating area closest to the castle was a raised platform with a long table, and on the centre of the table, a high chair with a six-pointed star on top stood, surrounded by six other chairs.

Watching it all from the balcony, Sunset sighed. "You know, when Pinkie offered to throw me the biggest party ever, I thought she was joking."

"You obviously don't know Pinkie Pie that well. You should have paid closer attention to the journal."

Sunset looked at the balcony beside her. Twilight stood there, watching the festivities with her. Sunset glared. "You think you're clever, don't you?"

Twilight looked back at her and shrugged. "I'm only as clever as you think I am."

"Whatever. Go away." Sunset waved a hoof in annoyance and turned her head.

"Okay. Talk to you later," Twilight replied. Sunset waited a moment before she looked back. When she, did the balcony was empty again.

"Why does she keep appearing?" The continued presence of the hallucinatory Twilight was both confusing and annoying. It was particularly odd that she carried on conversations with Sunset. Of course she does. She's a hallucination: she knows what you're thinking; she knows what you're going to say; and she knows exactly what to say back. Her brain raised good points. "So, if that's all true, then what's with seeing her all over the place?" I don't know. She's just in your head. Maybe she's a manifestation of your guilty conscience.

Sunset laughed out loud. "My guilty conscience? That's ridiculous."

"I dunno, I think you're on to something. Rather, your brain is. You're still in denial."

Sunset's ears flattered. "Clearly I'm just insane," she deadpanned.

No kidding. You're having an argument with your own mind and a hallucination.

"It's too bad two positives don't make a negative, or you'd be a picture of mental health."

Sunset turned to see Twilight smiling at her. "You're a lot snarkier and meaner than I remember Twilight being."

She's more of a mental projection of your own thoughts than an actual being embodying Twilight. Consistency of personality has no pull in this situation.

"I'd listen to your brain. It seems to understand me better than either of us."

Sunset growled and pounded a hoof on the side of her head. "Get out of my head already!" She turned and headed inside the castle. "Both of you stay out here and leave me alone!" Sunset passed the threshold and slammed the doors shut behind her. She headed down the hall to the library. "Gotta find some sort of spell to get rid of her."

Perhaps magic is the cause of this in the first place. You turned to magic to suppress your dreams the last two nights. Maybe your nightmares are manifesting while you're awake instead.

Sunset paused, then nodded slowly. She had looked up the dream magic Luna had spoken of and given it a try the same night they had met. She had enjoyed a comparatively peaceful night's rest and woke up early the next day, but it was that morning when she was moving the first paintings out of the basement that "Twilight" had appeared for the first time.

I suppose there's some reason for that. Sunset tried to figure out what the cause could be as she headed into the library. I supposed it could be emotional. What Luna said to me… Sunset stopped at the stairs up to her room. I'm unworthy of being princess just because some Star Swirl's distorted magic says so? Who made him an expert on character? Celestia chose me, doesn't that count for anything?

"You seem to forget she changed her mind." Sunset's eye twitched when she heard the voice echoing down the stairs. She kept her head still to avoid looking up at the purple eyes she could feel watching her.

I'm not going up there. Sunset turned and left the library. She needed an escape.

Spike.

Sunset teleported to the doors outside in the lower hall, and pushed them open. At least a dozen work ponies, probably more, were moving tables and chairs into position, and Spike wasn't among them. She teleported back to her balcony and this time found what she was looking for. Sunset spread her wings and took flight, gliding down to the far end of the field. At the end of the stage, Pinkie Pie was wearing a hard hat and talking to a unicorn with a bright blue mane and rose-coloured sunglasses. Spike stood next to them looking over a clipboard.

As Sunset landed near them and stepped up, she heard Pinkie’s conversation. "Now, this sound system needs to be loud enough that they can hear it in the Crystal Empire, got it? I want all of Equestria to know we are celebrating our princess!" The unicorn lifted her sunglasses to give a wink, and then gestured a hoof at a pair of technicians standing with an equipment cart. The two followed the unicorn backstage, and Pinkie turned to Sunset. "Hey, Twilight. What's up?"

"I presume everything is going well?" Sunset asked.

Pinkie nodded and grinned. "Super-duper! Trust me, after tomorrow, no party anypony will ever throw you will be able to measure up."

"That's great." Sunset turned her attention to Spike. "Hey, Spike?"

"Hm?" Spike raised his head from the clipboard.

"I need something to do. Are there any errands to run at all? Do we need groceries? Any of my friends need help with something?"

"Uh…"

"Come on, there must be something! Is there another dragon napping nearby we can annoy?"

Spike and Pinkie shared a glance. "Twilight, are you feeling okay?" he asked.

Sunset grunted angrily. "I'm fine, great – I feel like I could raise the sun. I just need to get out of that castle and stretch my legs, so give me an excuse."

Spike shrugged. "Well, Rarity won't let you help with the dress since she said she wants to surprise you with it tomorrow. Pinkie, how are we doing here?"

Pinkie gave Spike a look of horror. "Are you crazy? I can't let a pony help prepare her own party! It would fly in the face of everything a professional party planner stands for!"

"Then…" Spike paused to think. Sunset shifted her weight between hooves, growing irritated. At last, Spike snapped his claws. "There’s the tribute fund money Cheerilee needs for the Appleloosa trip this coming week."

Sunset relaxed. "That'll do. Where is it?"

"It's in my room, in my desk drawer. I'll show –"

Sunset vanished in a burst of light.

---

Spike sighed and looked at Pinkie. "That was weird."

"Tell me about it!" Pinkie thrust a hoof at the metal scaffolding holding up the curtains over the stage. "I'm amazed somepony as smart as Twilight didn't notice the obvious structural hazard!" Pinkie pushed a hoof against the metal, and the curtain shook. "Obviously somepony used five-eighth bolts instead of three-quarters." She shook her head and sighed. "Makes me wonder what I pay them for."

Spike slapped a claw to his face. "Not that – Twilight! Have you noticed she's been acting unusual lately?"

Pinkie cocked her head and looked at the sky. "Well, Twilight usually doesn't ask me to plan parties. Or for Rarity to make her dresses. And she's been calling Rainbow Dash by her last name."

"That's important?" Spike replied.

"Well, duh. She usually calls her 'Rainbow'; the last week she's called her 'Dash.' Obviously something is wrong." Pinkie began to pace in a circle, rubbing her chin. "A week, you say? So, since she's come back from Canterlot?"

"Yup."

Pinkie gasped. "She said Sunset Shimmer returned from the mirror during her visit!" Pinkie zipped in front of Spike and spoke quickly. "What if Sunset Shimmer used evil zebra magic to steal Twilight's body, and now the friend we think we've hung out with for the last week is really Sunset Shimmer impersonating Twilight, and the real Twilight Sparkle we know and love is trapped in Sunset's body and was shipped off to some cave in the middle of nowhere, doomed to a life of misery living with some old hermit we've never heard about before?"

Spike darted his eyes around after Pinkie's outburst. "Um… you really think so?"

Pinkie pulled back and shrugged. "Could be. Or maybe she's just having an off-week. I dunno." She smiled and patted a hoof on Spike's head. "Come on, we've got to make sure the buffet shipments will be here on time!"

She trotted away, singing 'la la la' to herself merrily. Spike sighed and followed her, muttering under his breath. "You are so random."

---

Sunset reached the Ponyville schoolhouse and knocked on the door. She heard muffled talking inside and then movement. The door pulled open to reveal the smiling face of Cheerilee. "Princess Twilight!"

"Hey." Sunset turned her head and opened her saddlebag, withdrawing the small purse of bits inside with her magic. "I just wanted to drop this off."

Cheerilee nodded. "Yes, of course. Could you come inside for a moment?" She stepped aside and gestured a hoof. Sunset saw a teacher's desk and heard whispering. She fidgeted in place and looked away.

"Um… well…"

"Please, Princess, it will only be a minute." Cheerilee smiled again. Sunset groaned and mentally berated herself for not being able to think of an excuse. She dropped the purse back into her bag and slowly walked into the schoolhouse, her head low. She heard Cheerilee shut the door behind her and walk up to her. "Class, you've all met Princess Twilight before, yes?"

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee," thirty voices chorused. Sunset raised her head to find a classroom full of young fillies and colts were looking at her with varying expressions of happiness and excitement.

"As you know, our bake sale last month underperformed, and I was worried we'd have to cancel our field trip to Appleloosa to meet Chief Thunderhooves." Cheerilee nodded at Sunset. "Fortunately, thanks to the generosity and charity of Princess Twilight, we've been able to make up the missing funds and will be departing next week as scheduled."

The class erupted into cheers, hooves pounding the desks in applause. Sunset smiled awkwardly and withdrew the purse from her saddlebag again. "Yes, well, the duties of royalty and all." She floated the purse to Cheerilee's desk. "Now, if that's all, I really must –" She turned to head to the door.

A hoof shot into the air. Cheerilee looked at it and nodded. "Yes, Pipsqueak?" Sunset stopped and looked back. A white and brown colt raised his head above the crowd.

"Um, Princess Twilight?"

Cheerilee looked at Sunset. Sunset almost let out a growl, but held it in and turned to the class.

"Yes?"

"Where did you get the money? Miss Cheerilee said you don't work."

"That's correct. The money came from my tribute fund."

"What's a tribute fund?" Sunset's head swivelled. A filly was asking this time, one with glasses and a curly red mane.

"My tribute fund is all the money I get from visitors to my castle. They bring their princess gifts, including money, and I save it for when I need it."

"Do you get gifts often?"

Sunset couldn't tell who had asked this time. "Yes. It's not always bits, though. Now if there's –"

"What other gifts do you get?"

Sunset's eye twitched.

Cheerilee chuckled nervously and approached Sunset. "I'm very sorry, Princess Twilight, they're such inquisitive and curious kids sometimes. We don't often get royal visitors."

"It's fine." Sunset returned the laugh, and then turned her attention back to the class. "I get all sorts of things. Jewellery, paintings, sculptures."

"How come?"

Sunset gritted her teeth. She saw the speaker this time, a lavender pegasus with a blond mane. Sunset turned to her and forced a smile. "Because ponies love their princess, and they want to show her how much they adore her."

Next to the pegasus, a pink earth pony with a purple mane snorted. "That's stupid. What did you ever do to be loved by anypony?"

Sunset's eyes widened. She blinked and stepped back, looking away. Cheerilee shook her head and stepped in front of Sunset.

"Diamond Tiara, be nice to Princess Twilight. She's being very generous to us with this money and I'm sure she wasn't ready for all these questions." That said, she turned to Sunset and bowed her head. "Princess Twilight, my sincerest apologies about this. Perhaps at a better time we could arrange a more formal visit for you to speak to the class?"

Sunset looked up at Cheerilee and nodded. "Sure. That'd be alright."

"Wonderful." Cheerilee turned back to the foals. "Now, wave goodbye to Princess Twilight, class. She'll be back sometime in the future."

"Wait, I have one more question!"

Sunset looked up; it was Pipsqueak again. "Yes?"

"What exactly do you do as a princess?"

"Yeah, and how come you were made princess anyway?"

Sunset didn't see where the second question came from. For a moment she stood and stared at the rows of fillies waiting for an answer. Then she turned to the door and left without a word, the door shutting behind her.

Cheerilee watched Sunset leave, her head tilted. When the door closed, she turned to the class and raised a hoof to gesture at the door. "Um… Princess Twilight, my little ponies."

The students slowly stomped their hooves on the floor in hesitant applause.

---

Sunset stumbled away from the schoolhouse. Her chest felt tight, and she was gasping for breath. She kept her eyes fixed on the ground, the blades of grass blurring. She pushed past somepony who got in her way and stumbled to one knee with a wince. She lifted her head to see the streets of Ponyville around her.

And everypony was staring at her in silence.

Sunset turned in place, whipping her head back and forth. Stall vendors, a mail pony, civilians with packages. All standing in place. Watching her. Judging her. No, not all. A few were leaning to ponies nearby and whispering. Her hooves shook under her, and she forced herself to stay standing when they threatened to buckle and send her to the ground.

"Wha... what are you staring at?" she whispered. She looked at the nearest pony she saw, a brown stallion with a blue mane, and thrust a hoof at him. Though she was still a distance away, he recoiled from her. "What are you staring at, hm?" Sunset glared at him and waited.

The stallion swallowed. "I-I'm sorry, P-Princess Twilight. You just… seem bothered."

Sunset let out a bitter laugh. "Yes. I'm bothered. Deeply bothered."

"Is there something we can do to help, Princess?" Sunset turned her head. A pale green unicorn mare was approaching her. As though some cue had been given, the crowd began to condense around her.

"Perhaps you're lost? I know the neighbourhood well."

"Look at her eyes, she's sick! I know an old home remedy my nanny made –"

"Do you need to sit down, Princess? Do you need a drink?"

Sunset clenched her eyes shut and tried to tune out the voices as they thundered in her ears. Her body felt hot, her head swam, and her hooves shook under her. Make them shut up! Somepony make them all shut up!

Sunset raised her head and saw a purple flank and tail vanish between the crowd just in front of her. Sunset growled and pushed through them to face the pony they belonged to. The pony was only trotting, but already she had a large lead on Sunset. With the Ponyville citizens out of her way, Sunset could clearly identify the familiar mare fleeing from her. She ran after her, rising into a gallop. Inexplicably, however, the pony she was pursuing was not coming any closer. If anything, she seemed further away.

Sunset ran past several more buildings and Ponyville citizens. Her head was pounding, and she was stumbling to stay at speed, yet continued to give chase. The houses on either side of her stopped, and the crowds thinned. Sunset galloped over a bridge spanning a river and chased her enemy into a forest. Brambles pricked at her coat and mud caked her hooves where she stepped in watery spots. A branch reached out and grabbed her ankle, so she fell in a patch of muddy ground. A small puddle of water reflected the image of two bloodshot purple eyes with bags under them. Sunset growled and pushed herself up, stumbling forward.

"Twilight!" Sunset screamed into the trees, darting her eyes back and forth. She groaned and fell to her knees. Her head was heavy, and her breath came in short pants. Sunset realized she couldn't breathe, and let out a weak groan. "What… what is…" Too weak to speak, she attempted to climb to her hooves. They wobbled and threatened to give out, the ground was spinning under her. She tried to focus on a spot of dirt to recover her senses, but her vision blurred, and she saw multiple images swirling in the air.

Sunset lifted her head and saw a cloaked figure in the trees, coming towards her. She attempted to call out to them, but her voice caught in her throat. Unable to fight her body's afflictions any more, Sunset closed her eyes and collapsed on her side.

---

Sunset’s vision swam before her: a dull brown ceiling with wisps of smoke in the air. She groaned and shut her eyes again. The lighting was dim, but it still hurt her. She had a throbbing headache.

"Hello?"

Sunset heard movement, and a hoof gently pressed down on her shoulder.

"Rest now, and do not fret. You still have not recovered yet."

Who is that? Sunset turned her head and opened her eyes. The speaker had moved away towards a large cauldron in the middle of the room, but Sunset could make out a striped grey coat with a white and grey tail. A zebra? In Equestria? She licked the inside of her mouth. "Who are you?" Her voice was hoarse and weak.

The zebra did not turn, but hummed under her breath. "I'd recommend you do not speak. Your mind and body both are weak."

Why is she rhyming? "I asked a question."

The zebra turned around and regarded Sunset carefully. "It seems your condition is worse than I feared, that your memories of me could be sheared. So to set your heart at ease, I am Zecora, if it would please."

"Zecora?" Sunset thought back to the journal. Right. Okay, Twilight's friend. "What happened to me?"

Zecora turned back to the cauldron. "You were short of breath and quite confused. I believe the cause was mind magic, misused."

Mind magic? Sunset groaned and lay her head down. Luna… she said dream magic would be safe for me. She must be lying, tried to trick me! Sunset put a hoof to her hood. No. Luna doesn't know. She just made a mistake. That's the magic talking. Sunset held her head and looked up at Zecora. "Yes. I've had some odd dreams lately, so I've been using magic to suppress them."

Zecora turned, her eyes wide. "Dreams so awful, you'd stoop so low? You are lucky there are no effects but woe!"

Sunset didn't have the energy to argue. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. "What can we do?"

"Because of the magic, your senses are blind. This potion will cleanse them and free your mind." Sunset cracked an eye open. Zecora set a shallow bowl filled with a pale green liquid in front of her. "Drink."

Sunset lifted the bowl with her magic. She avoided peering into it and seeing her reflection. "What is it?"

"To purge your mind of thoughts unspoken, you must permit the dreams unbroken. This draught will invite them in anew, so that their build-up will not trouble you. It will be painful, that is sure, but there is no other way to make you pure."

She… no. Sunset shook her head. "I can't. The dreams are too much."

"Then you allow yourself to be cursed, for these symptoms will only grow worse."

Ponyfeathers. Sunset looked at the bowl and gulped. "It'll really make me better? There's no other way?" Zecora shook her head. Sunset lifted the bowl in her magic. "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" She smiled wryly. "Bottoms up." She put the bowl to her mouth and, tilting her head back, downed it in one gulp. The green liquid slid past her lips and down her throat in an instance. When her mouth was empty she turned her head and coughed, the bowl clanging to the ground. The brew was bitter with an herbal aftertaste.

"When from your dreams you chance to wake, I will offer an alternate means to slake."

"Sthla… what? Thecor…" Sunset's speech slurred. Her eyes were heavy, her tongue thick in her mouth. She fell back on the bed and shut her eyes.

---

Sunset opened her eyes. Zecora was gone and the lanterns lighting up the hut had been put out. She stood and blinked. She felt better than she had all week. "Zecora?" She looked around, but there was no sign of the zebra. "Um… Well, thanks for your help!" Sunset moved to the door to the hut and pushed it open. The Everfree Forest stretched before her, the path back to Ponyville winding through the trees. Sunset looked behind her once more and then started down it. She had only gotten a few steps down the path when she heard another set of hooves behind her. She turned her head and gasped.

"You…" She stepped back. "Why are you here?"

Behind her, Rosen Cross snorted. He continued walking until he was beside Sunset and glanced at her when he was. "Why would you ask me? This is not my dream. I would rather not be here. I know enough about your mind to know my presence is pointless."

"You're as big a jerk in the dream world as in the real one," Sunset replied. Rosen gestured his head forward and turned down the path. Sunset looked behind her, but Zecora's hut had vanished. Only trees remained now. She looked ahead and reluctantly followed Rosen.

"This is your dream, Sunset. All that is here is but a reflection of your inner mind. I am not Rosen Cross as he truly is, but Rosen Cross as you know him."

"Rosen Cross is a pompous, callous know-it-all," Sunset said. "Harsh truth, but too bad."

Rosen shook his head. "Truth is relative. We each believe all we know is true, until somepony wiser than us disproves that truth. Absolute truth is an absolute lie."

Sunset groaned. "Fine, then you're my delusional projection of Rosen Cross spouting pseudo-philosophical nonsense. Why are you here talking to me?"

Rosen shook his head. "I told you before; I do not know. Clearly your subconscious mind has conjured my image for a reason. Can you think of why?"

"Nope. Rosen is useless to me – always was. I could do just fine forgetting he ever existed." Around them, the forest receded and Ponyville loomed ahead. "If you're my mind's projection, shouldn't you know exactly what's going on?"

"Sunset, if understanding the self was as simple as drinking a dreaming potion and asking the beings in your dreams questions, we would have long mastered the pony mind."

"That's not an answer."

"No. It is the best answer. You just cannot understand it, and so you reject it. You reject all things you cannot understand."

"That's not true!" Sunset glared at Rosen.

"It is your arrogance, expressed in its purest form. You refuse to entertain the idea you could be wrong, and so when someone challenges you, you conjure a reason to dismiss them. Rosen Cross, Celestia, Twilight Sparkle. Each reached out to you, and you batted them away when you failed to comprehend their meaning. It is understandable, of course. What lessons do they have to teach a princess like you?"

"Now you're just making things up." Sunset quickened her pace and trotted in front of Rosen. "I'm done talking to you."

"And when you cannot dismiss a problem, you flee from it. That is the expression of your fear."

Sunset spun around. "I'm not af –" She stopped when she saw the path behind her was empty. She growled. "This dream is annoying! I'm ready to wake up now!"

"A pity, then, you cannot get what you want simply by demanding it. But you already know that, Sunset."

Sunset recognized the voice coming from behind her, and didn't turn. She considered running back into the forest, but she remembered Zecora's hut and realized there was no escape. She turned around and came forward to the pony waiting on the outskirts of Ponyville. She shook her head and looked up at the figure. "Of course you'd be here."

"I am always with you, Sunset." Celestia turned to walk with her when Sunset reached her. "I have never been far from your mind. You know this."

"Yeah, and it sucks," Sunset said. "If I had the choice I'd forget we ever met."

"Would you truly?"

"Yes. You fed me false hope – dreams filled with lies! And then when you decided you didn't want me anymore, you snatched it from me and cast me aside!"

"Did I?"

"Yes!" Sunset's eyes bulged as she yelled at Celestia. "You found a new favourite student and gave her everything that should have been mine! You treated me like some piece of trash to throw away!"

"I loved you, Sunset. You were as close to me as a daughter."

"You're lying again!"

"I cannot lie. I am but your own mind made manifest. If I say it, it is only because you feel it. Somewhere in your mind, you believe I still love you."

"Shut up!" Sunset ran up to Celestia and thrust her head towards her. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don't get to say those words! I was just a substitute, a ringer until you found Twilight! You told me I would be a princess, that I might even find the Elements of Harmony! Then Twilight came along, and it all went to her! You never loved me and you know it! So stop saying it! You don't love me, and I don't love you! I hate you!"

In the wake of Sunset's rant, Celestia simply stared at her. Then, she turned and continued down the streets. Sunset watched her go, confused, and ran up beside her. "Hey! Don't ignore me! You heard what I said!"

"Yes. You hate me. But I am nothing more than your mind's projection. Hating me is to hate yourself."

Sunset sneered. "No. I hate Celestia. And since she isn't here, you're my stand-in."

"As you were Twilight's?"

"Exactly! You promised me everything, and then you took it from me to give to Twilight."

"And then you took it back."

Sunset smirked. "Darn right I did. I spent years listening to you gush over her, while you refused me the power that was rightfully mine. So when I'd finally had enough, I got the power and respect I deserved elsewhere. And when the time was right, I came back to do what you wouldn't – what you couldn't. I would seize the Element of Magic, I would be an alicorn. Equestria would be mine to rule!"

"Yes. And you came so close to victory, only to fail. You spent how many years hating Twilight and plotting to take my throne? And she foiled you."

"No. It was just a temporary setback. Now I've won. There's nothing Twilight can do to get her life back. And if I ever see her again, I'll laugh in her face and tell her all about how I've stolen her life with nopony the wiser, and I'm living it better than she ever could!"

"Then go, and tell her now."

Sunset turned to Celestia, but the princess was gone. When she looked forward, the path and the rest of Ponyville had ended. Two large blue doors with an eight-pointed violet star rose in front of her. Sunset growled, shoved them open, and galloped down the hall. She reached the doors to the throne room and flung them open.

"So, they saved the worst for last," Sunset said, marching into the room.

Sitting in her star-adorned throne with her old lavender and pink body, Twilight looked at Sunset and nodded. "Yes. There is nothing else beyond this. You're ready, now."

"Yes, I am!" Sunset stood in front of Twilight and grinned. "Twilight, there's something I should have told you when I saw you in that cell." Twilight gestured a hoof for her to continue. "You're useless, you're pathetic, and you're a waste of the crown. You were princess for almost three years – you had power and authority normal ponies can only dream of – and what did you do with it? You lived in Ponyville, you studied magic, you threw money away on dumb public projects! You had everything handed to you, and you wasted it!"

"I did more with it than you have."

Sunset backed away. "What?"

Twilight stepped down to the floor and began walking around the outside of the circle of thrones. "You've held my body for a week. What have you done?"

Sunset turned in place to watch her. "I've been researching that stone! I need to know more about it, if I need to use it again."

"And?"

"And I've learned how to imitate you better by learning your history!"

"And?"

"And what?" Sunset yelled. "It's only been a week. I'm still securing my position."

"You just told Celestia there was nothing I could do to you. Which of us are you lying to?" Sunset simply scoffed at the comment, but Twilight ignored her and continued. "This is your dream, your mind. All that you are is laid bare here. Posturing to us here is pointless, Sunset. You're only fooling yourself with such things."

"You're trying to confuse me, but it won't work." Sunset stomped a hoof. "I've confronted you and said what I had to say. Now, let me wake up."

Twilight stopped circling the thrones in front of the doors to the room. Sunset hadn't noticed when they had shut. Twilight turned to her. "It is time to stop running, Sunset."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"No, you can't. Not until you accept the truth we have to offer you."

"Truth is relative, ha!" Sunset smirked at Twilight, but her rival didn't show a response. Twilight spread her wings into the air, and the doors behind her slowly swung open. Sunset looked behind her, eyes growing wide. The doorway was filled floor to ceiling with a large mirror inside a purple frame shaped like a horseshoe. Twilight stepped aside.

"Look into the mirror."

Sunset turned her eyes from the mirror to Twilight. "No. It's a trick."

"This is your dream. I hold no power here. All that you see – all that you hear – is your own mind's work."

"Maybe not." Sunset shook her head. "I've been using dream magic, maybe this is something Luna is plotting! Or maybe you and Rosen Cross found some spell to interfere with my dreams."

"You won't look because you're afraid. You're afraid because you already know what you will see. The mirror reflects the true worth of a pony's heart, and you fear what's become of yours."

"I'm not afraid of anything," Sunset said firmly with a piercing glare. "Fine, I'll show you!" She marched up past Twilight, not breaking eye contact. "You want to know what I see? Here, take a good look!" Sunset turned to the mirror and grinned. Twilight stepped up beside her and looked.

The image of a bright orange and red alicorn filled the mirror. She stood as tall as Celestia, wings stretching into the air and horn tapered to a delicate point. An ethereal mane blazing in a hundred hues of red, yellow, and orange streamed from her head, billowing and undulating in the air like a wave of fire. A golden crown with a red and orange sun emblem rested on her head, a matching necklace and hoofguards over her neck and hooves.

"Behold, Twilight! Do you see her?" Sunset beamed at her reflection. "A true princess, beautiful and beloved by all. That is what's in my heart, Twilight. Do I look afraid?"

"Take off the crown."

Sunset turned from the mirror. "Why?"

"Take it off."

"Not until you tell me why."

Twilight turned to Sunset, and their eyes locked. Tears brimmed in the corners of Twilight's eyes, her mouth drawn in a sad smile. "Because I'm just your mind's projection. And I can't let you wake up until you admit the truth to yourself."

Sunset watched as Twilight faded away, leaving her alone in the throne room. Sunset looked up at the mirror, and the image of the alicorn princess looked down at her in return. She slowly reached up to her head and put her hooves to the crown she was suddenly wearing. Sunset inhaled, braced herself, and lifted the crown from her head.

The alicorn in the mirror vanished.

Sunset lowered her hooves in front of her and looked down.

Her hooves were empty.

---

Sunset opened her eyes to look up at the ceiling of Zecora's hut. She took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out.

"Ah, I see you have awoken. Tell me, has your enchantment been broken?" Sunset climbed off the bed and avoided looking at Zecora. "Twilight?"

"Thank you, Zecora." Sunset's voice was quiet, her head low. "Please, do not tell anypony about this."

"Of course." Zecora nodded. She continued to talk, but Sunset didn't hear her. When Zecora moved to another part of the room, Sunset walked to the door of the hut and pushed it open. She raised her head to look out over the Everfree Forest, the path back to Ponyville stretching before her. She started down the path, taking her time.

No Rosen Cross this time. Or Celestia. Not even Twilight… I'm alone.

Comments

[Yappyjack]

I love it!!! Keep up the AWESOME work!!!

[TheFaceofMercy]

Sunset is loosing it, the pressure is too much for her to bear, Spike is noticing, so is Pinkie (Kind of), I think the revelation is approaching.
Also Brilliant job with Sunset's dream, although I think that her representation of Celestia, was too bland...
Impatiently awaiting for the next chapter.

[mrgysao]

Why would you do this to me? This chapter was really deep and I can't swim! Yet there was just so much Denial.

[Raistlin]

Inverted mirror development: While Twilight is progressing in learning about Sunset´s past and slowly connecting with Cross,Sunset fails in recognizing her own past mistakes and flaws, lying even to herself.
By the end of the fic, Shimmer will be permanently broken

[StainlessKey]

You can't fool Pinkie Pie...

[Csquared08]

Love the way you handled this dream scene.

And of course Pinkie spouted off what's really going on. Of course she did :|

[DrakeyC]

5374173 Pinkie knows all and sees all. None can escape Her.

[DrakeyC]

5378001 Precisely. Not to spoil revelations from later chapters as you keep reading, but Sunset's lessons never sunk in, or at least, she didn't take from them what Celestia and Rosen were trying to teach. She understands the "what", not the "why". She has practical intelligence, but lacks wisdom to go with it.

[Maxout020]

5378073 Just like the real life goverments! (Drum beat)

[Carbon]

Wow. Nice story! +1 reader sir!~

[DrakeyC]

5427689 The one defense I'll offer is one I've said before - in Equestria, body-swapping magic is outlawed and kept to the zebra tribes. No one would be expecting Sunset to somehow know such spells, so the idea that she would steal Twilight's body is a long shot, versus Twilight simply being a bit stressed after another encounter with Sunset.

Otherwise, I'm sorry this story doesn't meet your approval. I hope you found some enjoyment out of it, and if not I'm sorry you wasted your time on it.

[Swift Wing]

I don't often find stories that keep me reading into 3 AM, unable to put it down because I'm too excited to see what happens next, but it looks like I just found another!

Aside from what I percieve as the oddity of Celestia revealing to Sunset at such a young age the plans for her to become a princess (I'm thinking that would have been more appropriate when she was closer to adulthood), this is a really interesting read. Also, I found the explanation of how Star Swirl's spell works and how that explains her demon form to be pretty brilliant actually.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

[DrakeyC]

5439684 Precisely. RR came out just after chapter 6, I believe.

[Dartrunner]

How does it feel to be horse famous?

[DrakeyC]

5450029 Something like this.

[Fourpony]

"You're a lot snarkier and meaner than I remember Twilight being."

That is cause you are dealing with Sassy Twilight Sparkle. Who is best and hottest princess.
fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/068/0/5/twilight_sparkle__the_princess_of_sass_by_nastylady-d5xhjma.png

"What if Sunset Shimmer used evil zebra magic to steal Twilight's body, and now the friend we think we've hung out with for the last week is really Sunset Shimmer impersonating Twilight, and the real Twilight Sparkle we know and love is trapped in Sunset's body and was shipped off to some cave in the middle of nowhere, doomed to a life of misery living with some old hermit we've never heard about before?"

You feel that? That is the moment Pinkie drops the whole plot for some fourth wall breaking and the whole audience sighs at the terrible use of Pinkie all for a simple joke.

The alicorn in the mirror vanished.

So... the truth is she is living a lie and desperately holding on to it? All she has is stolen power that will disappear once her thoughts are gone? Dream magic is confusing.

[Emperor]

Ah, Pinkie Pie dropping the entire plot of the story to Spike as a gag, I'd call it out, except they did just that in the first Equestria Girls movie, not once but twice, one for each version of Pinkie.

Yeah, I definitely don't think Sunset's coming out of this without a major mental meltdown

[K-O-D-E-X]

blatant misuse of ponk