Book One, Chapter 1 (Side Celestia)
Principal Celestia sized up the teenage girl who looked just like her. For a long time, she said nothing. Then, a wry smirk graced her lips. "Haha. Very funny, Luna. You had me going with this one. Very good job with the hair dye, though. How hard was it to find a girl whose skin was the same shade as mine and who had the same eye color, though? Or is that makeup and contacts?"
Luna shook her head as she reached for the large cardboard bucket on the table. "You think this is one of my practical jokes, Tia?"
"Well, it's a little different from your usual style, I admit."
Luna groaned as she extracted three pieces of chicken from the bucket and placed them on a paper plate, then dug through one of the bags that accompanied it. "Seriously, is anybody here but me going to eat? Help yourself," she said aside to Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia shook herself and tentatively reached for the bucket, pulling out a chicken drumstick and eyeing it dubiously. She gave it an experimental sniff. "What is this?" she asked curiously. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear it smells like meat."
"It is meat," Luna said as she dumped a huge spoonful of mashed potatoes and gravy on her plate, then plopped two large, golden biscuits next to it. "What, you've never had fried chicken?"
"No, I...I haven't," Princess Celestia said.
Principal Celestia raised an eyebrow. "You seriously don't know what fried chicken is?" she asked as she began serving herself.
"She also doesn't know what seat belts or cell phones are," Luna said, rolling her eyes. "Hey, Tia, pour us all some sodas. You, uh, do at least know what soda is, right?"
"Yes, of course," Princess Celestia said as her counterpart stood and walked to the refrigerator. "We do have it in Equestria. I'm afraid I don't have it very often. It's terribly frowned upon in Ca—err, in the city where I live." Luna added some mashed potatoes and cole slaw to Princess Celestia's plate, along with a second piece of chicken and two biscuits.
Principal Celestia placed three glasses full of ice on the table and began filling them from a two-liter bottle of cola. "Well, it's not exactly good for you," she said. "I try not to drink too much of it myself. Unlike some people I could name."
"Hey, I burn off the calories," Luna protested as she took a giant bite out of a chicken thigh.
Once Principal Celestia finished pouring the drinks, she sat and studied the two seated across from her, particularly the younger version of herself. "Okay, so what is going on here?" she asked.
Princess Celestia sighed as she struggled to emulate the way Luna handled her own fork with less than complete success. She managed two bites of mashed potatoes before she started picking at her biscuit with her fingers. "I had a falling out with someone very important to me. Her name is Sunset Shimmer. I followed her here, but our way home...well, it's cut off. It will be thirty moons before I can return to my own land, and Sunset Shimmer is out there somewhere, in this city, doing who knows what..."
"Thirty moons?" Luna asked, snorting. "Are you Eweropean or from the Buffalo tribes? Make up your mind, kid."
"Luna, hush," Principal Celestia chided. She frowned at Princess Celestia. "And your name is—?"
"Celestia," Princess Celestia said. "The same as you." She swallowed a bite of biscuit, then added, "This...might sound completely crazy, but—"
"You're me, right?" Principal Celestia asked. "Is that what you were about to say?"
"Sort of."
"Thirty moons," Principal Celestia said thoughtfully. "That's...a little over two years, right?" She frowned. "You know, strange things happen every two years or so at CHS. There's been a school legend since long before I was principal that the school statue is haunted or cursed."
"That old story?" Luna snorted. "Please. Kids have been blaming that statue for everything from missing homework to losing the Friendship Games for years."
Princess Celestia took a deep breath. "I know how crazy it sounds that...that you and I are the same being."
"It'd be easier to accept 'daughter from the distant future' or 'distant cousin who freakishly looks exactly like me'," Principal Celestia said. "Or 'obsessed stalker fangirl', though that wouldn't make sense under the circumstances."
Luna snickered. "You forgot 'yourself from the past because time travel'," she added.
Princess Celestia stood up and slammed her palms on the table. "I WILL NOT BE MOCKED!" she yelled. "My kingdom, my subjects, are without their Princess for the first time in three thousand years! I cannot return home and have no way of assuring them that I am alive! My entire kingdom could well descend into chaos! All because I foolishly chased one petulant student...through..." She slumped back into her chair, burying her face in her hands, heedless of the grease from her dinner. "Sunset," she moaned, a sob shaking her slight frame.
Principal Celestia and Luna fell silent, staring at her, then at one another, with wide, startled eyes. Principal Celestia wiped her mouth with her napkin and cleared her throat. "Why don't you start at the beginning?" she asked gently.
* * * * *
Over the course of the next two hours, Princess Celestia had spoken at length to the human counterparts of herself and her sister. She had, in her despair and vulnerability, told them everything. Who she was, where she came from. That she was not human, though she did not tell them exactly what she was. She told them of her kingdom, her own sister and her tragic downfall. She named names—particularly Blueblood and Cadance—and learned of some differences between the two worlds, such as Cadance not being Principal Celestia's adopted niece, but rather Luna's old friend from college and the Dean of Students of a private school in the city. She told them of the mirror portal, and of Sunset Shimmer. She told them of Sunset's ambitions, the rift between them, and ultimately, of the argument that led to Sunset's departure through the mirror.
As she spoke, she ate, though she was very picky about the chicken, eating very little of it even though she seemed to enjoy it. By the time she finally wound down, her voice was hoarse and raw, and her eyes drooped with exhaustion. Luna took her to the guest room and helped her change into a spare nightgown, then gently laid her down in the guest bed.
Now, Luna and Principal Celestia sat on the living room sofa, nursing cups of coffee. "What do you think, Tia?" Luna asked.
"I don't know what to think," Celestia said, shaking her head. "I don't think she's making it all up. Or rather, she seems to believe every word of what she said." She frowned. "The name 'Sunset Shimmer' is ringing some bells in my head. It seems familiar somehow, but I can't place it."
"Well, the bad news is she wasn't carrying any identification at all," Luna said with a grimace. "I stripped her bare-ass naked and other than the dress, shoes, jewelry, and panties she was wearing, she doesn't have anything. No identification, no phone, not even a bra."
"I kind of noticed the lack of a bra," Celestia said with a dry chuckle.
"And another thing," Luna said. "The hair's natural." She glanced significantly at her sister. "If she's not you, she's your clone, because nobody else on this planet has your freaky pastel rainbow hair."
Celestia sighed. "Do you really think she's me from a parallel magical world?"
Luna snorted. "I don't believe in things like that," she said. "Now, cloning, time travel, that I believe in."
Celestia slapped her upside the head. "Be serious," she said. She pulled out her phone and idly searched the web for 'Sunset Shimmer'. She frowned at the results. "I knew that name sounded familiar. Sunset Shimmer...a girl by that name was reported as a runaway two years ago. She was never found." She showed Luna the article, which had a photo of the missing teen. "Is that her?"
"I didn't get a good look at her," Luna said, frowning. "All I really saw was a leather jacket, maybe a streak of red hair..." She tilted her head. "Could be her. We'll ask Celes—the girl when she wakes up."
Celestia groaned. "I think for simplicity's sake, we should just call her Tia," she said. "At least until we have a better handle on who she really is."
Luna shrugged. "Fair enough. So, umm...what are we going to do with her?"
Celestia sighed. "I don't know," she said. "We should take her to the police, but..." She grimaced. "Without identification, without any clue where she's really from, the police are going to take one look at her and one look at me—"
"They're going to think she's your daughter and you're wasting their time," Luna finished with a frown. "Yeah, I was kind of thinking that myself." She set her coffee cup down on the table. "I think we're stuck with this kid," she said. "At least, until we know what the hell's going on here."
Celestia ran a hand through her hair. "All things considered, we don't really have much of a choice," she said. "Though to be honest...I get the feeling taking responsibility for her is the right thing to do. That...that we should help her ourselves. Not...not pawn her off on child services or some psychiatrist."
Luna smirked. "She could be the daughter you always wanted," she teased.
"Niece," Celestia corrected. "Or cousin. If we're...if we're really doing this, we're pretending she's our cousin."
"Suit yourself," Luna said with a laugh. She stood up and stretched. "I guess I'd better take her shopping in the morning. She's going to need some more clothes. And a phone. And a bra."
"I'll enroll her at CHS while I'm working on the student rolls for the coming year," Celestia said. "The good thing about being principal is I can fake her enrollment information and nobody will ask questions."
"That's a felony, sister," Luna cautioned.
"No, it's a clerical error," Celestia corrected with a sly smile. Luna shook her head and padded off to her bedroom. Celestia finished her stone-cold coffee with a grimace and stood, stretching. She took both cups to the kitchen, washed them, then headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. On her way to her own bedroom, she stopped by the guest room to check on the sleeping teenager. She was tossing fitfully, murmuring the names 'Luna' and 'Sunset' over and over.
Celestia's eyes softened, and she leaned down to brush the girl's hair out of her face. "If you really are me," she whispered, "I know how badly you're torturing yourself over your mistakes. I hope...I hope we can help you."
With that, she headed for her own room, where she lay awake for hours, deep in thought, before sleep finally claimed her.
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issue with this idea is that no matter what Celestia would be an adult not a teenager.
7187343
So you accept a magical transformation from one species to another, but the age transition is where you draw the line?
ETA: Let's try it this way. When the series begins, Twilight is very arguably an adult. She's graduated from her initial schooling and has a job, which comes with a place of her own. She may be a post-graduate student or in early college with a part-time position, but she's no longer a minor. The same thing applies to Sunset -- and given the lack of intersection between herself and Twilight for school and palace, she's probably older. With the exception of Spike, none of the Mane Cast are kids.
And yet when Twilight goes through the portal, she winds up in the body of a teenager. As did Sunset.
So why can't we just postulate that the mirror assigns everypony passing through it to the humanish world into a single default age? The transformation can work by reassigning the transitioning body to a pre-programmed template. And if it has to trim off a few years to make somepony fit that template, then that's what's going to happen, because the portal doesn't know any other way to do it.
7187343 Try to be a little more open-minded, please.
7187361 Yeah man. I'm of the theory Sunset and Twilight were aged down when they went through the mirror.
I completely and unbiasedly give thems a thumbs up and follow. I am sure this story will be good with such a sexy, smart pre-reader helping Zef make sure it is awesome.
Can this please be what the Equestria Girls was supposed to be? This would be one awesome movie!
I hope pony Cadence is a quick study when it comes to celestial mechanics. Otherwise, Equestria is up a creek without a sunrise, to say nothing of the political upheaval, the international issues, the impending return of Nightmare Moon...
But those are long-term problem in another universe (and really, Luna can accept time travel and cloning but not parallel timelines? What kind of nerd is she?
) For now, the butterfly effect with which I should concern myself is how Celestia being in the human world at the same time as Sunset will influence things down the line. After all, she's not going to just stand by and let Sunset run roughshod over the school... though going by that first Fall Formal picture, that isn't what happened. Sunset seemed to go for the sweetness-and-light route at first, which means that this will be a massive political struggle.
(Well, yeah, FoME. That's what it says in the description.
)
Oh hush, self-criticism. The point is, this seems like it's going to be all kinds of fun, even if the tags don't fully support that impression. Definitely looking forward to seeing where you go from here.
7187503
With a name like what, a synonym for Twilight and a type of material? Don't read things into things that aren't things. In 80% of my stories where Sunset has parents, her mom is named Sunset Satin because it's analogous to Twilight Velvet and for no other reason.
7187543 Lots of good questions that I have no answers for, because that isn't the purpose of this story. Not for a long time, anyway.
7187560 I refrained from tagging Comedy even though, well...it's me, you know there'll be some. But mostly, this is going to be teen social soap opera type stuff, with "Oh my god Equestria is doomed without me" being a constant thing Tia has to worry about. You know, in between being a cheerleader, making friends, dating, and studying for exams.
Another Sunset story from MythrilMoth? *faves and likes*
7187583 Well, hopefully I'll still be lurking about when the answers are ready to come to light. Until then, I'll just read this as it updates and wait.
Well, this certainly an interesting idea. I do have one question: if the human versions of Sunset Shimmer's parents were really living close enough for them to coincidently run into/over her under these circumstances, than why didn't they encounter each other in the original version?
7187357 I think admiral has a point. While it's true Sunset and Twilight are adults they're at least in their 20, 30's since it's not stated exactly how old they are and all the time stuff you have to factor in to figure out their age what with events and all like Twilight still being a filly and when Sunset ran away in bitterness and anger over her destiny being denied because of how she was acting.
Celestia however would be a special case I think since she's literally in her 1000's by now. It'd make sense she'd become an adult human if she went through the mirror if we use logic. The Dazzlings are an exception to that logic cause while they are 1000 years old too, it's only by Equestrian standards as they were banished to Earth present day from Equestria's past instead of sticking around to live in modern Equestria, so that sort of screws things up a bit agewise. They might've been in their 20's or older too when banished across time and space.
7187614 Because they don't exist in the canon movies?
It's a fanfic, dude. Don't ask silly questions like that.
7187648 People who argue points like this because it doesn't fit in with their own headcanon tend to miss the point of the "what-if?" scenario that is the very heart of fanfiction.
7187761 True.
New pony words from MythrilMoth? Sign me up.
Okay, so far so good in the first three chapters. Celestia's met her counterpart along with her sister's counterpart and Sunset has met her counterpart's parents... Hmm, I see interesting things in the future and I'm not even psychic.
As I opened the page to the first chapter, I was already like
4.bp.blogspot.com/-pIx07-C0APo/UcCvyULmn9I/AAAAAAAAMmQ/0IF1lVbAZlc/s1600/my-body-is-ready.gif
7188025 that is exactly how I felt XD
MORE! MORE! i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/169/432/nic_cage_moar.gif
I have a feeling that at school she will be referred to as "Tia" by her friends. Anyway, the idea that Sunset gets taken in by her alternate self's parents is a nice touch. Would explain how she was able to live in that world for years and sustain herself. It's a lot to take in. Anyway, 'Tia' might actually be able to enjoy herself, but at the same time worry about her kingdom. Who would run it in her absence?
7187877 ...why do people always assume the sex tag means actual sexual intercourse? It also applies if there is sexual humor or references and the like. (This is why it never should have been made a tag in the first place.)
7187503
*Rogal Dorn voice* Cloth ponies would not work very well. They are soft, but fall apart easily in water.
7187343
Well actually she's be a pile of dust since humans can't live for thousands of years, but let's just overlook that, shall we?
*Sniffle*
OMG THAT HIT ME RIGHT THERE!
Keep up the good work!
"One of my best friends IS a fried chicken."
"Not since that incident with the three thousand year-old dragon, the pop rocks, and the soda bottling plant..."
Annoyed, it poked back. Then it scurried under the dresser and fought the spiders for dominance.
"You don't know ponies! They may look cute and cuddly, but bubbling beneath the surface is a savage beast that will tear its neighbor hoof from hoof just because its mane was fluffier and its rump was bouncier!"
"A-all right. Ahem.... Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night..."
Her weight. Her measurements. The name of her gardener. Her hair stylist's secret jam fetish. What she had for dinner last night.
"And it... it waves in the breeze."
"What... all of it?"
"It was like abstract art."
"Mine doesn't do that!"
"All I know is, I was craving bacon for a long time afterwards."
7188408 her coutnerpart is principle of the school so if they are translated into the age of their counterpart Celestia would be an adult. not a teen.
7188421 Please stop. You've made your argument. Let it go, alright?
Interesting, but I'm kinda turned off by the sex tag.
7188431 Read Moth's explanations about this issue. The "Sex" tag means there might be sexual content (like discussions or jokes), not that there will be the act of sex.
7187357
Missed one little detail: Sunset was not made a 16 year old teenager like Twilight since, by the time Twilight shows up and becomes a teenager, Sunset had already been there for, what, a couple years or something. Basically, Sunset was made younger on arrival and aged naturally to become 16.
It's weird and a plot-hole in the movies. Sunset is older than Twilight, if you are to go by what the comic's show, Twilight was a little filly when Sunset was a teenager or young adult, and yet, both entering the portal at different ages and years apart still had them being the same human age when they meet. It boggles the mind.
I guess the best you can do is say it's coincidence it happened this way and the portal assigns ages at random.
7188421
Principalestia has really good anti-aging cream.
7188462 One theory i saw i a story is that the human versions are as old as the pony versions but magic makes humans not question how long they have been the heads of the school (including themselves) or why they don't age.
7187343
7188467
You know, there's this great thing called creative expression, where the author can create whatever story/ world he wants to in his work of fiction, without applying real life logic, cannons set by the show, and even other headcannons.
In the world the author has now created, Celestia is a teenager. That's how it is, and that's now the new cannon for this story that the author himself has established. Doesn't have to make sense, doesn't have to be logical, you don't even have to agree with it or like it... Honestly if you're going to read the story all you have to do is accept it... if you're not willing to do that, then don't read the story, it's really as simple as that.
Maybe leave out some details when you're talking to the police, Luna.
Like that, for instance
This is a very interesting idea, one I haven't seen before, so I'm definitely curious to see where you take this.
I'm not at all surprised this hit the feature box.
Ok, I have two theories as to whats happening back in Equestria . 1) Ponies are flipping their s%$# and will revert back to before the wendigos then be conquered by Nightmare Moon, or 2) They all freeze and die.
*Looks at cover art. Looks at description.*
I don't know what you're doing, but please keep doing it.
Mythril I swear to god if you do not complete this story I will hunt you down and make you!
Oh, MythrilMoth you and your Equestria Girls stories.
But I'm curious, what possessed you into writing this story instead of working on thirty moons, or (Mis)taken identity?
I don't mind whatever you choose to write exactly, but whatever it is I hope you finish it.
~Leonzilla
I hope you finish this one. (No offense meant, of course)
Another interesting story from you. Ah, nice to see that Celestia had some experience with humans. Right now still pretty emotional, with Celestia trying to "save" Sunset. Nice to see human Celestia and Luna willing to support her, she might be stuck there for a long time. I'm looking forward to them fighting it out in high school- Celestia is a lot more stately, but all those years of experience have to be good for understanding people. Not to mention Celestia not knowing the Mane Six (pony or human) at all this early. I hope Celestia can reach Sunset before she gets really, really bad.
I started reading the first chapter and instantly became hooked with the idea that you've presented here. I'm particularly liking how Luna speaks her mind without having to hold back her opinions.
Now this my friend shows promise can't wait to see where this goes. How you keep things interesting and good luck!
7188498
Do you honestly think an alicorn who's thousands of years old has never dealt with carnivorous species, or for that matter, eaten poultry or fish? (You just hit one of my pet peeves. I hate when people assume equines flat out don't eat any kind of meat and are shocked to see others doing so.)
7188504
I'd love to know where the heck you got the idea her looks are "partially damaged". The last I checked, the kind of injuries Sunset sustained don't damage the face in any way, shape, or form, and any surgical scars she has left (from the internal bleeding) will be faint, on the side of her torso, and frankly mostly hidden under the shadow of her bosom if she were actually wearing anything that revealing.
7188606 Or Cadance takes charge and keeps things from getting too crazy. It's not as if Equestria is completely without leadership. (That having been said, the sun/moon cycle is gonna be a bitch.)
7188623 Honestly, I think I'm doing Bring It On with Celestia as a cheerleader. Except that I've never seen Bring It On. So I don't really know what I'm doing. I just know I'm having fun doing it.
7188686 The same thing that possesses me to write anything. I had an idea and I wanted to run with it. That's how the creative process works. I don't chain myself down to one or two stories. I write whatever's in my brain.
Great story, can't wait for more!
7188961 That's fair, I know what is like to actively work on creative projects, still I like to encourage you to try to figure out a way finish up your stories whenever you can.
~Leonzilla
So far this seems interesting just like your other works. I look forward to when this is continued.
Damn you Mithril! Why must you take away my free time!
7189108 Thanks, but I don't think I need "encouragement" of that sort.
7189196 Because it fills my stomach with timey-wimey goodness.