Well ... Je Ne Sais Pas ;~;

by Alwaysthatoneguy

9 ~ Choosing a Rabbit Hole

Boots on -- after using her fingers as shoehorns -- and clean-brushed, fiery hair neatly flowing well passed her shoulders, human-born Sunset Shimmer kicked a laminate floor with her toes to ensure her feet were fully inside her favorite footwear before staring at an opaque oak door; its frame, hinges, handle, and lock all portrayed the signature aesthetics of handmade crafts one way or another.

"Arc! I'm going now!" she cut through an otherwise dead-quiet, Saxon-style house of three stories; some of the structures (wallpapers, mirrors, or electric amenities for instance) were imported over years from more modern outlets, but almost everything in the building had been cut, nailed, sanded, forged, or otherwise turned by the labor of one who preferred a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle.

From around a hand-planed oak column which served as a support for wall plaster replied a tired, low voice, "Oi! Do wha' you got'a, Shim, but take one of 'e tarps out to me choppin' blocks an' cover 'em limbs will ye; it's s'pposed to rain la'er an' I'm sure not worried abou' fuel for tonight ... an' don't forge' an umbrella!" Aerick -- an ancient family friend -- sounded offhanded, probably because he was busy carving something, but his consideration was not unappreciated. Of course, Sunset already had everything she felt she might need for the day -- including an umbrella -- packed away in an immaculately-stitched, oil-canvas day ruck.

"Aye!" she acknowledged before twisting the front door's brass knob and breathing in brisk, fresh air. Farmlands surrounded the seemingly-wattle-and-daub house for how many square decameters Sunset could not recall; almost all crops had been harvested save recently planted winter barley which could be seen as the fiery-haired girl walked to a straw-thatched workshop.

Preceding entering this building, she stalked behind it to its Northwest side where a thermometer hung from the wall; mercury within a glass tube leveled with a plastic chart's measurement of ten degrees centigrade. Such temperatures were to be expected with the approaching cold season, but the cooling was still happening gradually.

No matter, she figured. Eventually it'll frost and snow, but it shouldn't get too far below zero here. At least for a while. Stretching her arms up, she turned away from the thermometer to face the general direction of the Canterlot Precinct before returning to the workshop's entrance.

Inside the structure were various materials and tools: vice grips, saws, pliers, nails, and anything one might construct any number of things with hung from walls or sat on a two-and-a-half-meter-long workbench, but none of these items were Sunset's goal. Right, facing inside from the front, door-less entrance, was a stall with dozens of cubbies for fabrics, leathers, and tarps of all kinds. Upon grabbing a gray tarp from the highest right-hand cubby -- because the ones higher up were designated to be the largest -- Sunset spun around, intending to stride out of the building, but ended up considering something.

Rested against the wall opposite where the tarps were, in its own stall, was her own, painted-to-match-her-hair motorcycle; using it to travel would certainly get her to Canterlot faster, but schools in the district wouldn't be out for hours anyway. Thence, she ignored the vehicle in favor of -- and not minding -- walking for a few hours.

Being out in early morning meant chilly temperatures, but moving in decent clothing meant comfort. Withering flora and desperate, scrambling fauna offered a barren view of nature as its inhabitants prepared for hibernation. Alas, trekking through glamorous hardwood forests after covering seasoned logs provided little assurance; Sunset still could not fathom recent events. First, she was ripped from her prior community and lifestyle in a bright, populated city -- brought to this puzzling place of pensive quiet -- and had way more responsibility thrust upon her than she was used to. Then, as the motions of her days displayed the ever-monotonous colors of repetition, one thing which differed from normalcy caused whole dimensions of possibility to insurrect her mind.

Hence, she felt no peculiarity in the fact that she experienced nervousness as she walked on a dirt path which became asphalt and led into a more suburban environment. 'Canterlot' appeared in white letters on a green sign and -- a mile passed it -- Sunset came to a beautiful vista. From where she hailed, withering forests and dying grasses were separated of thin sand blankets by the road. Continuing on in the distance were sparse residences; some of these had the fortune of being situated on the sand as beach houses, and -- for some reason -- Sunset could not resist walking out toward a shining lake which these sands descended into.

What beauty, she thought -- staring onto glistening waters. Here, things have been smashed apart -- via stellar explosions or heavy bombardment -- and coalesced again into a sight so pretty as this lake reaching into the horizon. Nothing seemed anything but gorgeous save for a small, fist-sized wad of mud, twigs, and leaves. How did this get here? It's too far from shore to have been washed up ...

Clear skies, despite the beach's stain, allured Sunset to gazing over noble, shifting blues for almost an hour before she startled herself into the reminder of her mission: find answers. Two hours passed and almost nobody stalked the roads; few sat outside their homes from morning to afternoon -- perhaps it was too cold for them -- and younger people didn't begin walking the streets until about 3:40 P.M. Sunset rounded an unfamiliar corner and looked left; there, not five minutes away, was a pink sign reading, 'Sugar Cube Corner."

Nervousness did strike her but she mustered courage nonetheless and approached ... which resulted in being a poor decision in terms of keeping her clothes clean. Someone -- with an admittedly accurate arm -- chucked a mud clump from 15 meters away ... square on her right temple. "Don't forget your crown, bitch!" they shouted.

Flicking the projectile off her, Sunset decided, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that ... and entered Sugar Cube Corner; eyes were on her instantly and, by the time Sunset reached a pink-haired cashier, she was tired of the attention, so she cleared her throat and glared at anyone passing sneers. Almost everyone who stared ceased, but not before flashing the asymmetric expression of contempt. Of course, Sunset was startled when her, "Excuse-" was cut off.

"Did you need something else? I thought I asked you not to unlock the back door ... please re-lock it." the cashier stated as if they'd had previous discourse. No reasonable response came to Sunset -- as the pink-haired girl glanced to a door behind the counter -- but she threw together an awkward response regardless.

After clearing her throat, she said, "Uh, no I don't need anything. Is Pinkie Pie, Applejack, or Rainbow Dash here?"

Sunset felt -- by the clerk's expression -- that she was being judged as crazy when response came. "Are you okay? Come to think of it ... your nose looks a lot better. Whatever, Rainbow's still around back as far as I know."

"Right ... thanks."

With that strange interaction out of the way, Sunset walked through a door behind the clerk's counter. It would have been a lie for her to say that she wasn't tempted to purchase a sweet from the shop, as that was apparently their specialty, but she had a mission to focus on. Sweets could wait. Stepping through the door revealed, at first, a dark corridor, and walking down it slowly allowed Sunset to recognize two familiar voices in the midst of deep conversation. Some degree of apprehension still accosted her, so she moved slow and silent toward the sounds' source.

First, a voice which Sunset could not produce naturally said, " ... so, then, you fought Gilda over her club room, won, and that's the main reason she hates you?"

Then, in a very surreal experience, Sunset heard her own voice speaking words she was not thinking -- replying, "About sums things up. I mean, I did also have her relegate herself to staying out of my way ... no matter what, so I could imagine -- watching me torment her friends and peers and all -- her probably holding some resentment over that." At this, there was a quick, soft sigh of agreement before Sunset-but-not-Sunset's voice asked, "Since I gave you my whole story -- more or less -- what about you?"

"Well ... we were ... " Suddenly Sunset felt like she was getting into eavesdropping territory, so she walked (loud) through the dark corridor until a light to her left led her into a lit room with a few things; the space wasn't particularly large, counters and cupboards sat atop the floor or jutted from pink-and-white painted walls, a coffee maker and other amenities rested upon various surfaces, but Sunset's goal sat in a metal, folding chair around a circular table of oak veneer.

There, leaning against that metallic chair, was a version of herself in relatively clean, yet damaged attire with bruises and bandages across parts of her face -- specifically her nose. Adjacent to either Sunset was Rainbow Dash who glanced between the two of them before awkwardly sinking into her own seat.

Whilst the human-born Sunset blinked to ensure her eyes were not deceiving her, her counterpart's aqua eyes only made contact for a moment preceding turning away; the dimensional interloper was not only not expecting the encounter but felt her stomach drop as a direct result of seeing what appeared her own face. For a time neither party spoke. Instead, the sitting Sunset played with her hair until Dash scratched thick ice.

"Ahem," she started by clearing her throat and standing. "I think you two should talk first, then we'll all chat." Rainbow looked to the Sunset she was familiar with -- who did not meet the athlete's gaze. "Or are you gonna run? I know how good you are at that."

Sunset -- in response -- crossed one leg over another, stared at a wall with a defiant, childish expression, puffed one cheek out, and muttered, "The thought's gone through my mind ... "

"Argh," Dash grimaced and looked to the standing Sunset who still had yet to proactively compose a sentence. "Say what you need to say, Shimmer -- I'm calling you Shimmer since it's easier for me to think of her as Sunset, that okay? -- I'll go around back and, hopefully, if she runs I'll stop her."

Shimmer, pondering what to say to Sunset, gave a dismissive, "Yeah, that's fine, I'm used to it," as the athlete passed her and walked down the very corridor she entered from. Sunset still refused to make eye contact but that didn't matter; Shimmer stepped up to the table, loudly pulled a chair, and sat with some shred of confidence before remarking, "You look like you got hit by a bus ... "

This elicited a soft chuckle -- a good start -- and a facile, "Part of me wishes I had been." Happy to have started some degree of accord, Shimmer placed her ruck on a well-tiled floor, then her hands (clasped) on the table, but this defiant decision from her company to not actually look at her made things seem like she was being ignored.

Hence, after clearing her throat, she asked, "You find it polite to not look at people talking to you?"

Using one motion, Sunset rolled her eyes and head toward Shimmer's position across the table; alas, upon acknowledging her counterpart, something in Sunset's stomach churned and she swallowed back something unpleasant -- not unnoticed by Shimmer -- before laying out, "So you found me -- I gather Rainbow had something to do with it ... What do you want? Why are you here?"

The respondent, taken mildly aback by this blunt approach, collected herself before declaring, "Uh, what I want is for you to answer my questions." Sunset gave a quiet growl ... "Why are you here? You said you came from another ... universe? How? What was it like? Why leave? And you said you slandered my name ... " Shimmer pointed to her temple where a small bit of mud remained. "I kind of figure what you mean by that -- considering you're sitting here like you just crawled away from a fight -- but still: how? That's just what I've got, you know, off the top of my head; I'm sure there are more where those came from."

Bringing fingers to the bridge of her nose -- avoiding pinching to minimize pain -- Sunset used these questions as a guise for her to appear pensive by lowering her eyes to the surface between them. "Well, I guess you deserve at least that much." You guess? "I'll try to recount things briefly, ahem." Shimmer widened her eyes in an expression of impatience, rested her elbow on the table to then rest her chin on a fist, and found herself again annoyed at Sunset's deliberate avoidance of her eyes.

"I was born into a dimension where magic is practically prevalent as water is here -- believe it or not -- to a rather dull livelihood." the storyteller began with a turn to the room's back door ... not alleviating Shimmer's irritation. "Slowly, very slowly, I honed my skills and ended up top student to ... my government's monarch; I was the best for a time, and it felt good to be more skilled and knowledgeable than any other student but-" For a moment Sunset had to pause to figure out how to word things.

Urging the story onward, Shimmer hummed a long, "Mmhmmm?"

"Geez, I ... " Sunset rotated her wrist a few times as if physically trying to transform her memories into language. " ... wanted to learn more advanced forms of magic. Going through the basics got very boring and, by every test performed, I had mastered them. 'Course, Cele- my monarch thought I was too engrossed in my studies and ambitions." Momentarily, Sunset considered adding, "Turns out she was right." but Shimmer interrupting incited her to skip ahead.

"Was, 'your monarch,' right?"

Standing and scuffing her heel against the floor, Sunset ignored this question and continued, "My monarch -- names aren't important -- decided I needed to cease studying and ... connect with other students." Muttered though it was, Shimmer heard the end of this sentence, gave a sarcastic hum, and tapped her foot continually. Oh, the humanity ... "Hey!" Sunset defended, "This was a very demeaning and- and hypocritical thing for her to do to me!" She began quickly pacing back and forth (it was somewhat intimidating, like she was going to lash out at any moment) while smacking one fist into her opposite palm -- anger visible throughout her comportment despite a lack of eye contact.

"Never had other students provided anything useful for me; it's not like I had fun around them or enjoyed their company! I-I mean, half the time I spent with other students ... they- they were just looking for easy ... answers to get better grades! They never t-tried to be my friend, so why should I have tried to be theirs?" Shimmer was not expecting this loss of temperament -- justifications, yes, seething annoyance, no -- for Sunset seemed composed despite not wanting to partake in this conversation right up until this point.

Putting her foot down and ceasing her pacing, Sunset cracked her knuckles and ceded, "Maybe- just maybe she was trying to help me- I could accept that! But it was still ridiculously ... Gah! ... hypocritical! she didn't even have friends; hell, she banished her own sister to our moon for ten thousand years!"

"Ack!" Shimmer coughed at this number. Ten thousand years ... ?

"I got so fed up with her and -- to answer how I got here -- I broke into forbidden-to-me chambers in her castle and crossed into this dimension via a magic mirror which only opens once every 30 nights for three days." Any previous annoyance Shimmer had was gone, for Sunset not only seemed to be answering but doing so in earnest. "When I first got here, suddenly standing on two legs instead of four ... " Wait, what? "I just fell over a few times, figured out how to stand, and started running." Conscripting an abrupt change in mood which startled Shimmer, Sunset returned to her seat, deflated into it, and held her face in either hand -- bashing her elbows onto the table.

She buzzed through connected palms, "How did I slander your name? Actually, I had it summed up pretty swell for me today." Shimmer blinked continually at this for a few moments -- not really sure how to act -- before humming not just to urge her forward but to indicate she was listening. "These are words I'm loathe to restate, but: First, she- I came here and spied ... I -- as you might imagine -- learned some things in the castle I lived in. I needed to figure out what was normal here; how you people spoke, what was socially okay and not, and in that process I ... Damn, I hate to say it but Gilda said it best: I stole secrets and invaded privacy, I blackmailed others to gain influence and, somewhere along the road, things got so easy."

Taking a deep breath, Sunset karate chopped either of her hands onto the table and concentrated on a point of the surface in between them. "Suddenly I had power, authority -- which I never really had in my home -- and I just didn't let it go; I couldn't let the past go! Little more than a week ago, I went back through the mirror ... I was upset! For three years my teacher, my monarch, dare I say the only ... being I ever thought understood me, seemed to- to ignore me like I never showed up!"

"Practically without thinking, one day I went back through just to see what things were like. She didn't even post any guards around the thing; it was just a dusty mirror sitting in a dusty room as if she'd never even gone back in since the day I left!" What are you supposed to say about any of this, Shimmer? Come on, think! "Ugh, to make a long story short, that day I stole a very powerful artifact: the Element of Magic. You might note: it's called the Element of Magic, and that's for a good reason. I certainly wasn't more powerful than it; I had this illogical desire to control those around me by this point and it manifested when I equipped the Element. Ironically, it showed me everything I was working to embody despite part of me knowing it was a dark path and not wanting to be consumed."

Dead silence rang for a time. Shimmer hadn't constructed any reasonable or thoughtful interjections and Sunset was really taking time to consider how awful things had been ... for everyone involved! Regardless of her desire and attempts to avoid the consequences of her actions, she knew that those affected deserved as much, and Shimmer -- if she wanted to spend any time in Canterlot ever -- arguably deserved the most reparations.

"My humility is like a racer who's never seen a track." Sunset let slip. What? "Anyway, as Gilda put it: I stole the very minds of an entire school. Perhaps it was for but a brief time, but any duration for such a thing is too long and cruel. Fortunately, my monarch did send someone to stop me; they annihilated everything I had done in one fell swoop -- like it was nothing."

Of course, part of Sunset still did not accept that those years meant nothing, but she felt Shimmer had no need to hear that. "That's basically the whole story, and so for the recent week I have been undertaking my penance: living with those I hurt so much. All because the person who defeated me knew that I would never be able to let go of what I've done."

" ... "

What do I say? Shit, words, Shimmer, use them!

Sunset recollected her breath and finally met her counterpart's eyes. "Well, other questions?" she asked.

"Uh ... " Shimmer started -- being asked a question was always a good way to construct responses -- before letting out a soft hum. " ... mm, no ... I think that about ... covers it. I mean, it's a good place to start." Some piece of Shimmer wondered still whether or not this was all some fraud or ploy for sympathy -- it was certainly working -- but, if she was wrong, she didn't want to appear rude or insensitive. Not to mention, considering how people seem to be treating her, stealing my identity doesn't seem very productive. "Actually, come to think of it, what are you going to do to keep people from -- say -- throwing mud at me? It's not as if I'm responsible for what you did. You're going to help deal with this, right?"

Looking up and standing, Sunset mused aloud, "No ... you're not, but I'm sure I can spread the word that the Sunset who actually shows her face in public probably isn't me." With this, she stalked toward a gray, metal back door, unlocked it via a simple switch, and yanked it toward her. Rainbow Dash -- whose weight was entirely leaned against the door -- fell face first into the room followed by a stumbling-forward Rarity and Applejack. "Plus, something tells me they'll help."

Once she sprang to her feet -- with a stinging sensation in her nose -- the athlete stood and showed Sunset a half frown. "How'd you know?" she inquired.

"Lucky guess ... no Pinkie, no Flutter?" Sunset retorted while looking passed Dash to a shame-ridden Rarity and an embarrassed-to-be-caught Applejack.

Rarity answered, "Pinkie went right into the shop and Fluttershy ... "

" ... couldn't bring herself to eavesdrop?" Of course, Sunset felt a sense of justice getting this jab in at the girls, for they were doing precisely what she started which led to her fanaticism. "How kind ... "

Interjecting, the athlete scoffed and sarcastically stated, "When you say it like that, it sounds like spying is mean."

"Haha," Sunset demonstrated her capacity to deliver sarcasm as well and moved on -- quickly introducing everyone and allowing acknowledgements of these introductions time to occur -- with, "So, you probably just heard, but, we need to spread the word that Shimmer's in town and people need to not mistake her for me."

At the very last syllable of this declaration, Rainbow quipped, "Seems like the scars, torn jacket, and generally sour personality would be enough."

" ... you tryin' to start a fight, Dash?"

" ... not not tryin' to start a fight, Sunset."

These two, Shimmer wondered, Do they seriously want to hit each other, or is this just the way whatever mutual agreement between them works? Disregarding the strange relationship before her, she focused on the subject matter. "Exactly how do we 'spread the word,' though?" Ideas about having them appear in front of different clubs and classes to explain the situation were thrown around. Of course, this would take at least a few days of work.

Unfortunately, the best option for expediting the process made Sunset cringe when Rarity described, "Oh, the Student Council will have all kinds of plans for something like this. Still, it'll take some coordinating; how often can you come to the Canterlot Precinct, Shimmer?"

"Every two or three days ... We can exchange numbers." Sunset listened to these plans which required her participation be drawn out with a modicum of irritation; she was glad to help, but -- before her counterpart showed up -- all she really cared about was dealing with Gilda.

Thence, when she heard Rarity say, "Let's go talk to Fluttershy, then." Sunset refused.

"I'm going home," she proclaimed but Dash -- who was fully prepared to re-enter the shop -- narrowed her eyes at this.

Not before jabbing an index finger at the multidimensional girl, she ensured, "You didn't say you agree to showing up here every other day or so to meet with us ... say it!"

Rolling her eyes, Sunset replied, "I agree, happy?"

"I'll bust your damn door down if you try to worm out of it"

"Now I'm tempted."

Just a low growl was Dash's response to this before her, and her friends, began toward the corridor from whence Shimmer arrived. "Are you coming?" Applejack asked to receive a nod and raised finger -- indicating that Shimmer would be along shortly -- and the trio disappeared.

Half a minute of silence passed preceding Shimmer remarking, "Ironic, isn't it -- considering what you said before -- that now, of all times, you have friends? I mean, I'm surprised."

"You and me both, but I would use the term loosely."

"Ah."

Author's Note:

Aight,

It's aight.

avons amuse! I think that's wrong, whatever.