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Prolouge: The Corrupter Arises979 words
Chapter 1: A Crisis in the Making1,211 words
Chapter 2: The First Day1,175 words
Chapter 3: From Sunset to Sunset1,483 words
Chapter 4: When the World Goes Upside-Down878 words
Chapter 5: A Whole New World617 words
Chapter 6: Mind Games871 words
Chapter 7: On the Brink of the Abyss546 words
Chapter 8: It's a Madhouse In Here...662 words
Interlude: WHAT???158 words
Chapter 9: The Fifth Force of Nature: The Pinkie Pie Force531 words
Chapter 10: As Unity Holds Out, One Must Go Alone1,066 words
Chapter 11: Confrontation1,036 words
Chapter 12: The Fate of Two Universes1,067 words
Chapter 13: Who Said Saving the World Is Easy?1,017 words
Chapter 14: Painful Memories282 words
Epilouge: Wrapping Up413 words

Chapter 2: The First Day

August 28, ****

Twilight Sparkle sighed. Today was the day she went to the Empire college, one of the original members of the Crystal League and rated as one of the top schools in the country. This was her top pick for college, so why was she so nervous?

She turned away from her breakfast of oatmeal, stood and looked out the window, and sighed once more, as she made herself face an uncomfortable truth.

She was afraid. Afraid of what the culture at college was going to be like - and how she would fit in. Sure, at her high school, she had been withdrawn and rather lonely, but she had also been used to it. Here, the social life on campus was going to be an even bigger factor than ever before - and she was pretty sure she knew what was going to happen to her.

Her gut clenched, as she remembered her stormy social past. Outcast. Ridiculed. Shunned and banished, victim of venomous slander - whenever the student body had bothered to take any note of her at all.

It hadn't always been that way. Back in elementary and middle school, she had been liked. Respected, even. But that had all changed in her freshman year of high school, due to a girl named Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight had wound up dedicating the summer before her sophomore year of high school researching Sunset Shimmer. She had discovered that, up to the summer after eighth grade, Sunset had been a sweet, kindhearted person - until her parents were killed in a car crash.

Sunset had been in the car - and survived. However, due to complications from infection of the injuries she had sustained in the crash, survival came at a brutally steep cost to Sunset Shimmer. Her arms and legs were amputated, replaced by prosthetic limbs.

And she had apparently lost her originally happy disposition because of it. The Sunset Shimmer that emerged from the wreckage of that car was bitter, and obsessed with power. She quickly outmaneuvered the legal guardian that was appointed by the courts to watch over her until she came of age, gaining access to all the money that her parents had left behind.

She first used the money to upgrade her prosthetics. Then, she invested the remaining money in various companies, stocks, and bonds - all of which soon started to roll in large sums of money. Then, once school started in the fall, she moved into the social life of high school with just one goal - complete and utter domination of the school.

One of the first moves she made was to reach out to Twilight, asking for her to become one of her lieutenants. Twilight had considered the offer - and refused, stating that she was here primarily to learn, not to rule over the school.

And Sunset Shimmer had made her pay dearly for that refusal. By the end of the first quarter, she had consolidated a powerbase. By the beginning of the third quarter, she had ruthlessly crushed all opposition to her rule. Her grip on the school had been unyielding - as had her hatred of one Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight had responded to Sunset's ruthless persecution by withdrawing into herself, throwing everything into her love of science and research to compensate. The teachers praised her, giving her high marks for her work. But the wrath of Sunset Shimmer did not abate in the following years.

Twilight had hoped that, once high school was over, she and Sunset Shimmer would part ways. But she had discovered last week that Sunset Shimmer was also going to Empire - and that was after the final payments had been collected.

Twilight's thoughts were disturbed when Spike, her dog, came up next to her and nudged her with his nose.

"What? Oh, it's just you, Spike", Twilight said, scooping up the purple puppy. Then she glanced out the window and realized that the bus which she planned to ride on in order to get to Empire was pulling up to the corner.

"Gotta go! I love you, Mom!" Twilight called out as she hurriedly grabbed her backpack and duffel bags. The voice of Twilight Velvet drifted into the room as Twilight Sparkle dashed out the door.

"I love you too, and good luck at Empire!"

That afternoon, Twilight Sparkle sighed in relief as she made it to her dormitory room, number 715. She grabbed her newly-issued key, but just as she was about to unlock the door, she heard a voice, one she'd hoped to never hear again.

"Hey, look what the dog brought in."

Twilight grimaced, and, quickly pocketing her room key, whirled around to look down the hallway - and came face-to-face with Sunset Shimmer.

"I was wondering what had happened to you", Sunset Shimmer continued. Twilight saw, with some surprise, that Sunset's prosthetic legs and arms appeared to have been upgraded yet again.

"What do you want, Sunset Shimmer?" Twilight demanded, hoping that Sunset couldn't see how her body quivered in fear.

"I want you to assist me in taking over the school", Sunset replied, smiling with the total self confidence of the apex predator who knows its prey is terrified.

Twilight stared. "You've got to be kidding me? This AGAIN? What makes you think that I'll be any more willing to help you than the first time?" she stated incredulously.

Sunset Shimmer's smile became even more predatory. "I believe I can persuade you otherwise", she stated, advancing a step towards Twilight. Twilight instinctively backed up. But before she - or Sunset Shimmer, for that matter - could act further, a voice came out of the night:

"What's going on over there?"

Before either of them could react, a body came out of the darkness and tackled Sunset Shimmer. Sunset went flying; only the automatic reflexes programmed into her prosthetic limbs prevented her from getting a serious head injury.

But Twilight wasn't really paying attention to that. She was too busy gaping at the person who had tackled Sunset Shimmer, who was just getting up off the floor.

It was... Sunset Shimmer. Either that, or an identical twin, which Twilight knew for a fact couldn't be the case. This girl looked exactly like Sunset Shimmer, except for the fact that she was perfectly healthy and had no artificial body parts.

"Give it up, me. You should know to act better than this", the healthy Sunset stated. Twilight noticed that behind her stood five other girls, but she was still so shocked that the information was essentially ignored by her brain.

Now the original Sunset Shimmer glared up at the second one.

"YOU DESTROYED MY LIFE!!!"

She launched herself at the second Sunset, and Twilight thought, Well, I guess this corner of the world is about to become real ugly.

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