Chapter 10: Wayward Sun (Part 2)
"Uggh..." Sunset's eyes slowly opened as she slowly gained consciousness. "Wha... what happened...?" Shaking her head, she blinked a few times, trying to correct her vision before taking a quick glance at her surroundings.
Her eyes fell onto a messy bunk bed beside her, and across from that was a dirty sink, a cracked mirror hanging right above it. Walls made of stone blocks surrounded Sunset, and the floor she was sitting on was extremely filthy, littered with dirt and some snippets of grass and hay. "Where... where am I...?" she groaned.
"So you're finally awake."
Sunset's eyes widened as she recognized the gentle voice that had spoken to her. Rage overtaking her, she spun around and spotted Princess Celestia, gazing at her through a cell door.
"YOU!!!"
Her face livid, Sunset charged up her magic in an attempt to yank the door off its hinges. At that moment, however, her horn sparked and a sharp pain went through her forehead. She let out a yelp, falling backwards onto her flank. "What the heck...?" she muttered as she rubbed her head. Her forehoof grazed metal something at the base of her horn. Her eyes widened in shock. Oh no... don't tell me...! In a panic, she rushed over to the nearby sink and took a quick glance at the mirror above it.
At the base of her horn was a metal ring that Sunset easily recognized: a ring guards used to prevent imprisoned unicorns from using magic.
"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" Further enraged, Sunset charged towards the door, grabbing the bars with her forehooves and shaking them violently while Princess Celestia simply walked up to her. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Sunset yelled, her voice filled with fury and a hateful glare directed at her former mentor.
Princess Celestia sighed. "It pains me to see you like this, Sunset Shimmer."
"Don't give me that crap! Answer me!!!"
"My guards reported that you used dark magic to escape," Princess Celestia answered. "And you were about to enter the portal in the Crystal Mirror, with dark magic ready at your disposal. I will not have you using it to threaten the beings that inhabit the world on the other side of that mirror, nor the citizens of Equestria."
Sunset released her grip on the bars and dropped to the ground, her glare never wavering.
"You could have achieved great things, Sunset Shimmer," Princess Celestia continued. "If you had opened yourself up to others instead of looking down on them all these years, we wouldn't be in this unfortunate position."
"Oh no," Sunset shot back, pointing her forehoof at Princess Celestia. "The only reason we're in this position right now is because you're too blind to see how great I could become. You said it yourself: I could achieve great things! If you actually believe that, then prove it and make me a princess! Otherwise, you're just holding me back!"
Princess Celestia lowered her head in disappointment. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "But may I ask you a question before I leave?"
"What?"
Princess Celestia looked at Sunset with a mildly curious expression. "Why didn't you travel through the portal when you had the chance?"
Sunset didn't expect this from her former mentor. She turned away from the Princess and replied, "What's it matter to you?"
"I'm just curious..." Princess Celestia answered. "When I arrived at the mirror chamber, you were standing right in front of the mirror, completely motionless. You were staring into it with a look of terror on your face. Tell me... did you see something in the mirror? Something that prevented you from entering the portal?"
Sunset's eyes widened and sweat began to roll down her face. "I... I don't know what you're t-talking about," she told her in what she hoped was a convincing tone.
Princess Celestia nodded before turning around. "I see. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But if you change your mind, please let the guards know."
Sunset looked towards the cell door just as Princess Celestia vanished from view. After hearing the slam of an iron door, she scoffed. "Pfft... what does she know? I didn't see anything in that stupid mirror."
"You sure about that?" a sinister voice replied.
"Ack!" Sunset jumped up as the fur on the back of her neck rose. She spun around, her eyes frantically darting everywhere as she tried to locate the source of the voice. "Wh... who are you?!" she shouted. "Show yourself!" Her eyes fell on the cracked mirror, her shaken expression staring back at her as she slowly approached it. She looked closely, but didn't see anything other than her reflection. She blinked once, and she jumped back with a scream.
Inside the mirror was a tall figure with deep red skin, sharp-tipped wings protruding from her back, her mane and dress matching the intense flames around her. Her black eyes stared into the cyan ones that belonged to Sunset, who was trembling.
"Awww..." the demon taunted. "Poor little unicorn's scared of me."
"You... y-you're not real!" Sunset gasped, trying to slap herself awake. "Th... this is just a bad dream!"
"Oh, I'm very real," her reflection whispered menacingly. "Just a... dark reflection of who you are inside: a brat who hungers for power and doesn't care who she has to stomp on to get it."
Sunset shook her head as she backed up towards the wall. "No... you're not me!"
The demon simply laughed and crossed her legs as she floated in the air. "You know..." she muttered as she folded her arms. "Pretty disappointed that you chickened out before you jumped through that portal. What's the matter?" She vanished from the mirror.
Sunset looked around frantically, her heart pounding wildly as she tried to control her breathing. Suddenly, she felt something stroking her shoulder. Gulping, she turned her head, and recoiled in fear as she saw the demon right beside her. She leaned in close to Sunset's face before whispering to her.
"Scared to face who you really are?"
"NO!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"
Sunset's screaming caught the attention of a nearby pegasus guard, who galloped down the hallway to Sunset's cell. "What's going on here?" he shouted as he stopped in front of the door and peered inside.
The only thing he saw inside the cell was a terrified unicorn curled up against the wall, shaking and whimpering as tears fell from her eyes.
I was alone in that cell for a month. Nopony came to visit me; the only visitors I had were the guards who gave me leftovers from the kitchens. Princess Celestia, on multiple occasions, tried to talk to me, but I just shut her out.
The only company I had... was that demon I saw in the mirror.
She kept popping up, taunting me as I begged for her to go away and leave me alone. Many nights passed where I couldn't sleep. The more I tried to push her away, the more she came back to haunt me.
My screaming would often catch the attention of the guards keeping watch, but all they saw when they went up to check on me was a unicorn losing her mind.
After a month, Princess Celestia decided to send me to an old acquaintance of hers, a former professor at the School of Gifted Unicorns who had retired, named Moon Dusk. He was the most liked teacher at the School of Gifted Unicorns, extremely friendly towards his students, but also firm. I spent the next two years as his assistant, while he tried to help me open up to other ponies and teach me about humility. He took me with him while he went out to buy supplies for his experiments, and he would try to get me to interact with random ponies we ran into.
He was desperate for me to make at least one friend.
Unfortunately, all my attempts at befriending somepony were for naught. Paranoia made sure of that.
It wasn't just my inner demon that was making me crazy... something else came up that only made things worse:
Twilight Sparkle.
I had heard a lot about her from Princess Celestia while I was still her student. Like me, she was extremely talented and had a ton of potential. However, I never got a chance to meet her because our schedules never lined up. Back then, I didn't think much of her. I had heard about her massive magical surge during her entrance exam, but I didn't consider it a big deal.
That all changed just two months after becoming Moon Dusk's assistant, during the Summer Sun Festival when Nightmare Moon returned. Princess Celestia kept in touch with Moon Dusk, and he would often share with me the details of the letters she sent, even those regarding Twilight's accomplishments.
As I kept hearing about all the things Twilight had accomplished, I started to grow jealous of her. She defeated Nightmare Moon, found the Elements of Harmony, became one of the six bearers, and brought back Princess Luna. She defeated Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, and eventually helped reform him. She defeated King Sombra and ended his reign over the long-lost Crystal Empire. Then came the straw that broke me...
...her transformation into an alicorn.
Once that news reached my ears, my hatred towards Celestia skyrocketed. How was it fair that she refused to turn me into a princess, but was completely willing to turn Twilight into one?! What made her so special?! My anger was now directed not just towards Celestia... but now Twilight.
And the monster inside me? She began tormenting me even more, and I would often wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Moon Dusk grew concerned, and he decided to add therapy sessions to the mix. The therapist he hired tried to help, but my paranoia and stubborn pride kept him from doing it effectively. The nightmares continued, and my hatred towards Celestia and Twilight only grew.
On a few occasions, Princess Luna appeared in my dreams to check up on me. She told me that as long I continued to hold a grudge against Celestia and Twilight, the monster would never go away. Considering that Princess Luna herself had first-hoof experience with hatred and jealousy turning her into a monster, you'd have thought I would take her advice.
But just like Celestia and Moon Dusk, I refused to listen to her. I was still convinced that Celestia was in the wrong, that I deserved to be a princess, and she was only holding me back.
After two years, Moon Dusk sent me back to Princess Celestia, saying that he was deeply sorry that he couldn't help me. He did try his best, but in my crazed state, there was little he could do.
Princess Celestia decided to have me stay in the castle while she tried to figure out what to do with me. She gave me a spare bedroom for me to sleep in, and she had guards stationed to keep an eye on me in case I tried anything. She also had the Crystal Mirror moved to the Crystal Empire up north, out of my reach.
I was living there for four months by myself, losing my sanity with each sleepless night.
At one point, I started hearing voices inside my head. I don't know who they belonged to, all I know is that they were singing something. I couldn't tell what they were singing, but it sounded... hopeful. The voices were encouraging me, telling me to... 'carry on.' Unfortunately, the sounds of the demon's evil laughter would only drown it out, so I couldn't make out what they were saying.
I was all alone... alone with the terrifying monster inside me.
As they listened to Sunset's tale, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were speechless.
Sunset Shimmer was an arrogant elitist who shunned those she deemed inferior and lashed out at Princess Celestia like a selfish, spoiled child. And as a result, not only was she imprisoned after attempting to escape, but she was imprisoned with her inner demons for a long time, while shutting out everypony who tried to help her fight them.
Now, that very same pony was now sitting right next to them: a kind, strong-hearted mare constantly putting her life on the line for the sake of others. They couldn't believe it.
What they could believe, however, was that Sunset meant every word she said. She didn't need to tell them that; the tone of her voice told them all they needed to know. Her voice cracked and tears began to fall from her eyes as she repeated the last words she had spoken to Princess Celestia.
"'This is the biggest mistake you'll make in your entire life,'" she repeated as she took the mask in her hooves again, her tear-soaked reflection in the eye lenses staring back at her. "That was what I had told Princess Celestia that night... but I was the one making a big mistake. I threw my life away that night, and for what? A petty, selfish dream that could never become reality as long as I continued to act like an elitist snob and a spoiled brat?"
The Crusaders watched in concern as Sunset broke down, all three of them desperately trying to find anything to say that could possibly comfort her.
"And that damned mirror..." Sunset continued, her voice trembling. "When I first looked into it, I saw myself as a powerful alicorn and a ruler of Equestria... but that was all an illusion. When I took a closer look at my reflection that night, I saw what I was actually turning into: a monster. A monster that would spend the next thirty moons tormenting me in my sleep. A monster that brought me to the brink of insanity and despair. What if Princess Celestia hadn't stopped me from jumping through the portal? What if I had truly become that monster I saw in the mirror? Just thinking about it..." Sunset wrapped her cape around herself as she began shaking.
"...it terrifies me..." she whispered, more to herself. She closed her eyes, trying to push the image out of her mind.
She opened her eyes in shock as she was suddenly tackled by the Crusaders, all of them wrapping their hooves around her in a comforting hug. "Wha...?"
Sweetie Belle looked up. "Sunset, we've all done things we regret," she told her. "I've lashed out at Rarity quite a few times, said and done things that I wish I hadn't."
"There's no use beating yourself up over your mistakes," Apple Bloom added. "The best you can do is learn from them, and continue to move forward."
"And you've done just that!" Scootaloo piped up, a smile forming on her face. "Look at you now: you've got a great life, fantastic friends, and you're doing your best to help out others who need it! Definitely a step up from what you were before!"
Sunset remained silent as she listened to their words of encouragement. "You really mean that?" she asked.
All three fillies nodded confidently. "That monster in the mirror... she's long gone now," Sweetie Belle reassured her.
"And in her place is Mare-Do-Well, a monster to bad guys all over Equestria," Scootaloo added with a smirk.
The three fillies started laughing. Even Sunset let out a small chuckle at Scootaloo's joke. Her mouth curled into a small smile as she wrapped her hooves around the three fillies, letting her tears fall.
"Thanks, you three," she whispered. "It means a lot."
"Hey, that's what friends are for," Scootaloo replied, pulling the purple fedora off her head. With a few flaps of her tiny wings, she got herself airborne, hovering above the ground long enough to place the fedora onto Sunset's head.
Sunset lifted the brim of her hat, a heartfelt smile visible underneath. She looked towards the horizon, the sun almost completely submerged behind it as the sky grew darker. "It's funny..." she chuckled. "The only reason my life is so great right now is because of what I did that night."
Sweetie Belle raised her hoof. "So how'd you end up in Ponyville?"
"And you also said you used to really hate Twilight because she was everything you weren't," Apple Bloom added. "Something must've happened for the two of you to be as close as you are now."
Sunset took a deep breath. "Well... shortly after the defeat of Lord Tirek, Princess Celestia decided to give me a second chance..."
Sunset groaned as the bedroom door opened. She hopped off her bed, groggy from yet another restless night. At the other side of the door was Princess Celestia, accompanied by two guards.
"Come with me, Sunset Shimmer," she said.
Sunset rubbed her eyes and blinked a couple times. "Wh... what's going on?"
Princess Celestia strode down the hallway, Sunset following closely behind. "My sister has told me that your nightmares have only gotten worse in recent months, and I don't know how much longer you can take them before you lose your sanity. Moon Dusk has tried his best, but your time with him only made things worse for you."
Sunset scoffed. "Right..." she groaned in a sarcastic tone.
"However, another pony has volunteered to be your new mentor," Princess Celestia continued. "The two of us have discussed it at great length, and I have my utmost faith in her that she will be more effective at guiding you than I was. We're heading off to Ponyville right now."
Sunset rolled her eyes. "HA! Who's the poor sucker that got roped into this scheme of yours?"
Princess Celestia turned her head, a smile visible on her face.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle."
Sunset stopped in her tracks, her brain trying to process what she just heard as her blood pressure began to rise. "Hold on..." she muttered, her voice filled with contempt and a glare directed at the Princess. "Did you just say... Twilight Sparkle?"
Just freaking fantastic... my new mentor is Twilight Sparkle... the pony that stole what was rightfully mine! Just. Freaking. FANTASTIC!
Sunset was scowling the entire chariot ride to Ponyville, her forearms crossed as she mumbled angrily under her breath. Princess Celestia looked at her ex-pupil, a small smile formed on her face.
"Sunset Shimmer..." she began. "I only want what's best for you. You need to open up to other ponies, and I'm sure Twilight can help you with that."
"Oh, shut up," snapped Sunset. "I don't see what's so special about her, or even why you made her a princess in the first place. What's she done that I haven't?"
"To start with, she opened herself up to other ponies," the princess replied. "Just like you, her studies were her top priority, and she didn't give much thought about making friends. But once she discovered the magic of friendship, she didn't want to give it up. And now she wants to spread friendship all around Equestria... including you."
Sunset scoffed and turned away. "So she's hanging out with a bunch of other ponies. Explain to me how that gets her a title as a princess, but me being at the top of the class doesn't!"
Princess Celestia shook her head. "It takes more than simply having excellent talent in magic to become a princess. Twilight has shown compassion and sincerity, and she doesn't consider herself above anypony else, not even with her title. She's willing to put the needs of everypony else above her own; she even chose to fail a test I assigned her to save the Crystal Empire from King Sombra."
Sunset rolled her eyes before slumping over, her head resting on the edge of the carriage. Suddenly, something in the distance caught her eye, and she gasped. "Whoa..."
As the carriage soared through the air, a giant, crystalline tree appeared over the horizon, holding a large castle in its branches. A banner depicting a violet six-pointed star hung from the side, and from the branches, strings of beads in five different colors. On top of the structure was a giant, crystal star that matched the one hanging from the banner. Sunset's eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.
"What is that?" she asked Princess Celestia.
"Why, that's Princess Twilight's castle."
"WHAT?!" Sunset continued to stare at the castle in disbelief, but now for a different (and more infuriating) reason. She turned to Princess Celestia and shouted, "You gave her her own stinkin' castle?!"
Princess Celestia shook her head. "That castle was actually the work of an enchanted chest that Twilight and her friends found at the Tree of Harmony. It appeared after the defeat of Lord Tirek."
"Ugh..." Sunset's scowl deepened further as the carriage began its descent into Ponyville.
As the carriage slowed to a stop outside the castle, the doors began to open slowly. Sunset and Princess Celestia stepped out of the carriage as the doors swung open to reveal a lavender alicorn, pink and violet streaks running down the length of her indigo-colored mane and tail. Upon a closer inspection, Sunset noticed a baby dragon walking beside her. The two of them approached her, a smile on the alicorn's face.
"Hi there!" she said excitedly. "You must be Sunset Shimmer. It's really great to finally meet you! My name is Twilight Sparkle." She extended her forehoof in a friendly greeting.
Sunset looked at Twilight for a few seconds with a stoic glare. Brushing off Twilight's forehoof, she scoffed and muttered coldly, "Trust me, I know who you are."
Twilight paused for a few moments, surprised at how Sunset responded. "Okay..." she muttered slowly. She cleared her throat before gesturing her forehoof to the dragon standing beside her. "And this here's Spike. A lifelong friend of mine-"
"And Twilight's number one assistant!" Spike cut off confidently. Twilight facehoofed while Spike approached Sunset and stuck his claw out. "Nice to meet you, Sunset!"
Sunset stared at Spike for a few moments. "Huh... didn't know you had baby dragons as servants," she blurted out.
Princess Celestia tried her hardest not to groan while Twilight gasped and Spike stomped his foot in frustration. "I'm not her servant!" he shouted indignantly.
Sunset just shrugged. "Whatever." Her eyes met Twilight's, and the two ponies stared at each other for a couple seconds. As Twilight looked at Sunset's face, she couldn't help but think that something was wrong. Something about the way Sunset was looking at her was making her uncomfortable...
Princess Celestia suddenly cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Twilight," she said. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"
Twilight nodded and turned to Sunset and Spike. "You two wait inside, I'll join you in a minute."
Sunset and Spike looked at each other for a few moments, both of them scowling at each other in silence, before turning around and heading towards the castle doors.
As Sunset walked, she gave a sharp nudge with her shoulder to Twilight, who recoiled in surprise. What's with her...? she thought to herself as she watched her new student continue towards the castle. Once Sunset and Spike were past the doors, they began to slowly close shut. Before she disappeared from Twilight's view, Sunset turned around, her eyes narrowed in a cold, intense glare. Twilight glanced back nervously, confused by Sunset's attitude towards her. Why is she acting like that...?
Once the doors closed shut, Twilight turned to Princess Celestia. "What is it, Princess?"
"You seem pretty nervous," the Princess replied. "Is something bothering you?"
Twilight remained silent for a few moments before turning her head towards the castle doors, where Sunset and Spike were waiting for her. "Princess Celestia..." she said slowly. "You told me that she has problems with humility and opening herself up to others, but..." She stopped, unsure of how to say what she was feeling right now.
Princess Celestia looked at Twilight with concern. "What is it?" she asked.
Twilight sighed. "Did you see the way she just looked at me? And how she was acting? It's almost like..." She paused for a few moments, then closed her eyes.
"...it's almost like she hates me."
To be continued...
After two and a half years of being tormented by her inner demon, Sunset Shimmer is sent to Ponyville to study under the Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle. Unfortunately, it's off to a rocky start... 
Stay tuned for Part 3, and the beginning of Sunset and Twilight's friendship! 
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Awesome chapter. Damn she broken as hell
My friend... You got featured
When can we expect part three?
5758240 Not entirely sure, but my best guess is sometime within the next two weeks. Hopefully it won't actually take that long...
5758271 Ok, and will part three be the last part of this chapter?
5758275 I'm planning on it.
My reaction when I found out this was your first fic.
I am error
I haven't read this... YET! I just wanted you to know that IT SOUNDS FUCKING AWESOME!
Jesus, being tormented by nightmares and visions of her demon self for two and a half years? That's horrible...
Excellent alternate backstory for Sunset, much better than the rushed one we got in the first EQG. 
Something about this chapter bothers me... like a lot. So Sunset was imprisoned before Twilight got her cutie mark and was accepted as Celestia's student (how long before isn't specified), she then continued to be imprisoned throughout Twilight's childhood and the first 4 seasons of MLP. She says to the CMC that she was in there for 30 moons, and you say in the ANs that it was about 2.1/2 years, but in reality it would probably have been several years to account for the time between Twilight being accepted as Celestia's student and defeating NMM. the idea of Celestia keeping her locked up for a couple years without doing anything proactive to reform her was ridiculous, but keeping her in there for that long is just insane (although not as insane as Sunset should have gone if her demons/nightmares were really as bad as she's making out). And on top of all that, it implies Sunset is several years older than Twilight, who's already generally considered to be a young adult.
5765289 To be honest, the time discrepancy is bothering me too. The problem is that Twilight's depicted as a "blank flank" filly in the background of "The Fall of Sunset Shimmer," and the fact that the mirror portal only opens every 2.5 years.
However, I've just thought of some ways to fix the issues with this chapter. Once I get the next chapter out, I'll probably do a revision of this one.
5785217 5781940 Glad to hear you're both enjoying it!
5886277 Looking over some of the chapters... yeah, I need to work on that.
Still glad you're enjoying it so far!
"And Sunset Shimmer?"
"WHAT?"
"What makes you think that I turned Twilight Sparkle into an alicorn? What makes you think that I did anything other than set her on the path that she walks? You will recall that I told you that being a Princess is something that you must earn. That was true. You may wish to consider what that means regarding Twilight Sparkle and the station that she now occupies."
And that's persona 4