Wrong Way on a One Way Track
"Now that we've met the other me, I'm curious: Where's the other you?"
Sunset Shimmer blinked at her friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. The two of them were alone by the portal; it was late evening, and everyone else had gone home.
Sunset's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. "I...I'm not sure," she said. "I honestly never thought about her before."
"Maybe we should try to find her," Twilight suggested. "I mean, before she just randomly shows up out of nowhere like the other Twilight apparently did."
"Hmm..." Sunset frowned. "Well, we've got tomorrow off from school, so it's a three-day weekend. I was just gonna hang with the girls, but I guess I could go looking for my counterpart."
"We can go looking for her," Twilight said with a gentle smile. "I would never ask you to do this alone. Besides," she added softly, "after everything I've just been through with Starlight Glimmer, I could use a little break from princess stuff."
Sunset nodded. "Alright. You can sleep over at my place tonight, then tomorrow we'll see if we can find the other Sunset."
* * * * *
The next morning, Sunset searched the Internet for her own name. She pretty much expected most of the results to be about her, the pony turned human, and all related to Canterlot High School. After a half hour of searching, she couldn't find anything about another Sunset Shimmer. "Ugh," she groaned, planting her face on her desk. "Well, wherever she is, she's keeping a low profile."
Twilight frowned. "Maybe...try to find your family? I mean, her family?"
Sunset looked up at her thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea." Taking a deep breath, she turned back to her computer and typed 'Sunset Satin' into the search engine.
After a few minutes' work, she had an address in Fillydelphia. She glanced at Twilight. "Feel up for a train trip?"
Twilight nodded, smiling.
It was past lunchtime when the two girls got off the train in Fillydelphia. Twilight gawked around at the huge, gray, gritty city around them. They stopped at a small corner deli for a bite of lunch and directions, then made their way to a slightly run-down neighborhood. A dingy little yellow house with acrylic siding, a shabby roof, and a lawn that was overtaken by crabgrass greeted them. Exchanging a look, they walked up to the door and knocked.
The rose-haired woman who answered the door was probably once beautiful, but she'd developed premature wrinkles, sunken cheeks, and her eyes were a pale gray shadow of what Sunset knew would once have been a vibrant purple. Her dusky purple skin paled when she saw Sunset, and her eyes widened. "S-Sunset," she choked out. "You...you came back..."
Sunset grimaced. "I'm not who you think I am, Mo—I mean, Mrs. Satin. I know I look exactly like your daughter, but I'm not her."
Sunset Satin shook her head, looking Sunset up and down. "Y-young lady, I know my...my own child when I see her..."
"Mrs. Satin," Twilight said gently, "we're from Canterlot. We're actually here looking for Sunset Shimmer. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my sister Soleil."
Satin looked at Twilight, confusion and doubt in her eyes. "Canterlot? But...no," she said, looking back at Sunset and shaking her head. "No, you're...you're her. You have to be."
Sunset's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, but I'm not," she said sympathetically. "I know I...I know I look like her. That's actually why we came looking for her. There's been some, umm...confusion." At Satin's uncomprehending look, she coughed nervously. "I've been mistaken for her," she clarified.
"O-oh," Satin said. She looked Sunset up and down, the hope in her eyes dimmed and replaced by sadness. "Y-yes, I can...I can see why," she said. She shook her head. "She...she's not here," she said. "I...I haven't seen her in..." Her shoulders slumped and she sagged against the open door, a sob wracking her body.
Sunset and Twilight looked at each other helplessly, alarm and concern on their faces. "Mrs. Satin?" Twilight asked. "Did Sunset...did she...run away from home?"
Satin nodded, sniffling. "Th-three years ago," she whispered hoarsely. She blinked suddenly, eyes wide and startled. "W-wait!" she exclaimed. "If...if someone's been asking about her, then she...she's still..."
Sunset smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm sure she is," she said. "I'm sure she misses you. I...I'm sure she's sorry for whatever happened that made her run away from home." She fidgeted. "You don't have any idea...?"
Satin shook her head miserably.
Sunset nodded, shifting uncomfortably. "Alright," she said. "Sorry to have bothered you. We'll...we'll be going now."
"W-wait," Satin said desperately. She stepped away from the door. "Please...stay? Just...just a little while? I'm...I've been so alone ever since Des died..."
Tears filled Sunset's eyes. She nodded. "Alright," she said. She looked to Twilight, who seemed torn and apprehensive. Twilight swallowed and nodded, and the two girls walked into the small, shabby house.
* * * * *
Another phlegmy cough wracked her thin frame.
A tiny cloud of blood filtered through the murky fluid in the syringe as she drew back the plunger, then injected its golden payload into her vein.
The pain eased...some. Blinking back hollow tears from her bloodshot eyes, Sunset Shimmer withdrew the needle from her vein and put it back in the dingy old Ziploc baggie, putting it back in the inside pocket of her heavy coat, which she slipped back onto her slender, slumped shoulders.
An older man in clothes slightly grubbier than hers walked down the rise from the overpass, his boots crunching on the loose gravel of the dry riverbank. As he entered the shadows where she sat slumped against the wall, he produced a wrapped convenience store sandwich and two bottles of malt liquor from his own heavy coat. He tore the sandwich in half, giving her the smaller half and one of the bottles. "Feel better?" he asked.
Sunset nodded, sniffling. "A little," she whispered hoarsely.
"Eat," he said.
She shook her head. "Not hungry."
"Eat," he insisted. "You need your strength. You've gotta go downtown tonight."
Sunset sagged. "What's the point?" she asked. "I can't anymore. They don't want me anymore. Besides, I can't even get..." She coughed. "It's not enough anymore."
"You think that chiva's free?" the man asked. "You think I steal to feed us because I want to? You gotta do your part, girl!"
Sunset drew her knees up to her chest and shivered. "Just leave me alone," she croaked. "I can't. I can't. I can't."
He studied her for a long time, then shook his head and ate his sandwich, watching the distant traffic on the city streets.
* * * * *
Twilight and Sunset—or rather, 'Soleil'—ended up staying the night, getting to know Satin better. When they boarded the train to return to Canterlot the next morning, both girls were sad.
"I wish I could've told her," Sunset lamented. "I wish I could be her Sunset Shimmer."
"I know," Twilight said. She laid a gentle hand on Sunset's shoulder. "You know...you haven't seen your parents in a while, have you?"
Sunset chuckled ruefully. "I wouldn't even know where to begin," she said.
Twilight smiled softly. "How about...'Mom, Dad...I'm sorry. I love you.'?"
Sunset studied her for a long moment, then smiled hopefully. "You think they'll be happy to see me? After all this time?"
Twilight nodded. "I know they will." She wrapped an arm around Sunset's shoulders. "Besides, I'll be right there with you."
Sunset sniffled. "Thank you, Twilight."
One train took Sunset Shimmer to Canterlot. A quick trip through the portal, and another, more cheerful and cozy train took her home.
* * * * *
The chill of night bit into Sunset's flesh even through her coat.
She stood at the edge of the tracks. A freight train would be coming by soon.
She needed that train to come. She needed to leave.
He'd wake up soon and come looking for her. He always did.
She didn't want to do it anymore. She didn't want to do any of it.
Tears streaked down her face. She coughed, spitting up a gob of phlegm mixed with blood. The cough was getting worse...
It didn't matter anymore.
Her entire body hurt. She needed to shoot up...
She was out. And there wouldn't be any more.
He'd seen to that. When she said she couldn't do it anymore, when she wouldn't get up off the ground, when she wouldn't even eat, he took everything away. Where he put it, she didn't know. She wanted to go look for it, but...
She had to wait for the train.
She'd waited for the train before. She'd waited, but she'd never stayed until it came. Or she had, but hadn't gone away. Hadn't had the strength to leave.
But now she knew it was time to go.
She hoped the train would take her someplace where she'd never hurt anymore. Where she'd be free. Where she could feel again.
She wondered how her mom and dad were doing. Maybe the train would take her to them.
She heard the horn blare, saw the light swimming through her hazy vision.
She smiled and sniffled. "Mom, Dad...I'm sorry. I love you."
And the train took Sunset Shimmer away from her pain.
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I wish I could say that you could have given the human Sunset a happier ending, but I know that it probably would have been too convoluted and hard to swallow...probably.
I shudder to think of what you're feeling so angry about that you would write something like this just to purge yourself. I've had moments like that myself, although I have not yet written anything because of them.
7226892 I've had anger management issues for most of my life, and it's only in the last several years that I've learned to calm down and control my temper. (Mostly.) I've just been letting a lot of little things get to me lately until I realized I either had to let it all out at once or risk a very large, very ugly explosion.
I can see where Sunset's plotline in Cheer Princess might have generated that, and why you would have wanted to wall the possibility off in its own separate box.
It's good, for what it's worth.
This actually nauseated me a little. You know that feeling of weight on the back of your tongue? I felt that at the end of the story. I'm certainly never going to look at Cheer Princess the same way again.
I hope this provided the catharsis you wanted it to.
Ouch... I'm sorry shit's been piling on you, dude. I know what it's like to let the little things get to you, that's what happens to me most times. I'm glad you put it on a page (so to speak) instead of bottling it up. I hope you feel better soon.
7226979 Yeah, this whole thing is a compartmentalization of all the things I could have done to Runset (oh god did I just do that?
) that I won't be doing to her in that story. And I think it's helped some. That plus resolving a little RL snafu that's been a constant source of stress since around Thursday.
Wow, that is dark. I understand if you can get rid of your anger by writing stuff like this, everyone has their own way of calming down, but if you ever need to just talk with someone, or message someone, any of us are always willing to listen.
...dark much...
...i love that song and now am imagining Sunset's face among the pictures of the missing children. Wow, just wow!
Well...at least this explanation doesn't involve Pony Sunset murdering her counterpart...
Depressing, but marvelously well executed. Kudos for that, Mythril!
Wait. Where's a YouTube link to the Soul Asylum video?
7227048 did she kill herself and If not we need a sequel this one's a hit
Jeeeeeeeesus........that escalated quickly. Ah, well. Better that you destroy a fictional character than turn into the exploding man from the Jewish Chautauqua Society PSA called "Hate Hurts You." (Seriously......the cartoon man EXPLODES with rage.)
I'm with 7227266 on this; it's bittersweet and awful and poignant in all the right ways.
Wait, is it possible she killed herself instead? Huh, dark intresting way to look at it, and leaves an impact either way.
Wow, very dark. And shows not everyone has a happy ending. They get hit by the train there counterpart is riding.
7227069 Ditto this.
The title reminds me of this song.
7227391 Right here, but I just posted the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRtvqT_wMeY
Holy dark stuff man....
Wow. Great story, despite the darkness. Horrifying and tragic to see the juxtaposition between the two sunsets.
There but for the grace of a princess go I.
Also, I now have that song stuck in my head.
Wow, that's dark.
Jumping onto the nose of a monorail was tough, but she finally went to Disneyland to become a cast member! :D
7228558 Really man? A joke? About suicide? I'm all for black comedy, but in this case. No. Just... no.
Not quite as dark as I feared (seen a few fics where Sunset kidnapped or killed her counterpart and took over her life), but this was still pretty dark. Hope your venting helps. Interesting contrast in this story, where redeemed Sunset and Twilight try to look up human Sunset, but its only a weekend diversion, then Sunset finally returns to Equestria (on better terms), compared to human Sunset escaping... in a way. Wonder what drove her to rebel and run away (compared to pony Sunset's split from Celestia), but still, an unfortunate ending. Not sure if its better or worse for Satin to see a doppelganger of her daughter like that.
PURGE PURGE PURGE PURGE!
7228643 That wasn't black comedy. Black comedy would've been to mock the circumstances of her death,rather than try to create a more lighthearted outcome for myself by way of levity. Because humor isn't always about making fun of something, but about diffusing tension that's difficult to deal with --joking is, more often than not, a coping mechanism.
So is this your version of the human sunset now? Because if so that makes me sad that we'll never see her again. Hope you feel better after that
Now that i rethink it I'm surprised it wasn't the train sunset and twilight were on that hit the human sunset
7229063 Well that joke was still in poor taste.
7229169 Zef's my best friend. He knew I'd understand the context of his comment. And I do.
7229202 I see.
7227122 You know any good stories where that happens?
I've heard of the idea but i haven't seen a story yet that actually executed it.
Heh, executed.
Whelp, that was certainly grimdark. Doubly so because that actually happens in real life aswell.
Certainly puts Cheer Princess into a new perspective.
Let's hope that that Runset doesn't end up the same.
Though it would certainly be interesting to see Celestia react to her dying like that.
Good story though. Good little punch in the gut.
Poor Sunset, and her mom
Huh. Good work.
…
I really can't say anything else at this point.
7229309
Not off the top of my head. It's just a really common theory as to what happened to human Sunset (and also a good theory as to how her enrollment at CHS didn't wave any red flags beyond her being a bitch).
You are easily one of my favorite authors at the moment. Seriously, every time i see you upload something new I get excited.
Well... damn.
Nicely written, and an interesting (if dark) concept of how human Sunset turned out.
I didn't find this story dark at all. If you want a really dark story with a similar theme, check out JadeRing's A Girl Walks home At Midnight.
7230223 Wow... human Sunset being a drug addled teen prostitute and her committing suicide "isn't dark at all"? That's saying something, dude.
7230281
Is that what happened in the story? I couldn't tell at all.
So... Where was Human!Sunset supposed to be residing in? The slums of Manehattan?
7230421 Baltimare, Seaddle, take your pick, she was homeless and sheltering under bridges.
Oh. So that's why you were so pissed when people kept going UPDATT!!!!! or anything like that.
Shit, hope you feel better soon man. I don't like getting mad, I just end up tired and sad afterwards.
Hope you're feeling alright.
I was having trouble getting interested in Cheer Princess (nothing exactly wrong with it, but my brain has trouble reconciling a rather silly story concept with a serious execution), but reading this makes me want to keep an eye on it just to hopefully see something less awful happen to Runset.
Hope you feel better, MM.
So sad . That ending . Why sunset why.
also kinda dark
could...
Could we get a different story with this kind of idea?
I know it sounds a little demanding, but having Sunset and Twilight trying to track down human Sunset is kinda cool... plus the whole switchin between the two sunsets was cool...
yeah.
And I hope that writing this story helped vent some of that frustration, bottling that kind of thing up never helps.
Riperroni Runset, you will be missed
7228038 I was thinking more:
But then again, I'm old school like that.