The Sun Never Sets

by Mr Fislewait

A Different Sunset

A towering mountain reaching up into the bluest of skies. Vibrant greens rolling down its lower slopes and across the foreground. The beautiful spires and antiquated buildings nestled atop its highest points contrasting with the winding train track that rolled across the scene trailing all the way from the front of the shot on into the distance where the castle sat...

Sunset bit her lip and dipped the paintbrush into the yellow smear on her palette. She still wasn't happy with the sun, she could never seem to get the sun right. She carefully placed her tools back onto her desk and abandoned the easel for the time being, she would finish it some other time. A few strides brought her across the room and she slumped down into her bed. Her room was quite nice all things being considered. She had her books and her paints and a comfortable bed, fresh clothes every morning and three meals a day, the staff had even been willing to accommodate her desire for a vegetarian option. If it wasn't for the fact that the sole window out of her room was fitted with thick iron bars then a casual observer might have been lead to believe that she was the guest at an affordable hotel.

"Good afternoon, Sunset!" came a cheery voice from her door.

"Good afternoon to you too, Buttercup, I thought that today was a free day?" Nurse Buttercup was one of her regular points of contact at Ashhoof, Sunset might even consider the woman to be a friend, but today there was something off about her. "Have you done something with your eyes today?"

"No, Sunset, nothing different to usual," the nurse carefully looked about the room, scanning for any signs of misconduct from her patient, when she seemed content that all was it was meant to be she nodded and walked up to Sunset's painting. "It's really coming along now isn't it?" she said admiring the work. "Where did you get the idea from?"

"Home, it's meant to be a painting of home." Sunset sighed and admired her work, even after all these years the image of Canterlot remained strong in her mind.

"Sunset..." Buttercup sounded disappointed, but that was nothing new. "I thought doctor Stern had been over this with you? Nowhere like this exists in Canterlot, Sunset. In fact I don't think anywhere like this exists in the world."

"Would you prefer me to lie about it? Pretend I have memories of growing up around here just so everybody thinks I'm normal?"

"No, Sunset, nobody wants you lying to speed up your recovery," Buttercup's gaze flickered between the painting and Sunset. "It's been twenty six years though, Sunset, if you aren't showing signs of recovery by now...and after your 'accident' last month," both women's eyes shot to Sunset's still bandaged wrist, "well I'm just worried that you might never be allowed to leave."

"Maybe that's for the best." Sunset shrugged her shoulders, that was the plan after all, live out the rest of her life here at Ashhoof.

"Sunset," Buttercup sat down beside her on the bed and put an arm across her shoulders. "In the first few years you spent here you should so much progress, it was clear that you regretted your actions and that given a chance you could be reintegrated back into society. What changed, Sunset?"

"Nothing changed, I just... I guess I never really felt I deserved to leave."

"Have you mentioned this with Stern?"

"Yes, multiple times. He thought I might be faking symptoms to stick around here, had me go through a lot of tests before he decided I wasn't lying about my memories," Sunset sighed, it was depressingly easy to convince everybody she was mad, all it took was for her to mention a couple of truths about her past and they'd add a few extra years onto her mandatory treatment. "Anyway back to my original point, I thought today was a freebee?"

"Ah right," Nurse Buttercup brightened up again, "you have a visitor."

-----------------------------------

Twenty three years, it had been twenty three years since her last visitor, excluding people from the press that was, or the parole board. Understandably then Sunset was a little confused as to who might be visiting her after all these years, she didn't have any family or friends outside of the institute and her story had long since faded from public attention. She fidgeted awkwardly in the chair of the visiting room, the handcuffs itching at her wrists. Buttercup had expressed a great deal of regret over having to put them on her but it was a necessity, she'd never actually been downgraded from her status as a dangerous patient. Sunset didn't mind though, they were a welcome reminder as to why she was here in the first place.

Across from where she sat the door to the visiting room clicked open and a young woman stepped inside. From the moment she entered Sunset knew there was something wrong about her though. Her facial features were oddly familiar and her choice of dress was incredibly unorthodox, Sunset doubted there were many people who visited a mental hospital in a long black dress and cloak. Beneath the hood of the cloak Sunset could make out short red and blue tresses and a startling pair of red eyes that practically glowed. The eyes coupled with the dress made her look like a witch, the curious silver and red necklace clamped around her neck completing the image. Slung over one shoulder she carried a crude handbag and in one hand was a long pair of scissors. She wasn't wearing a visitor pass. Something was very wrong.

"Hello, Sunset," the woman said with a genial tone to her voice as she took the seat across the table from her. Where were the staff? Whenever Sunset had met with a visitor in the past there had always been at least one orderly on hand...

"Hello..." Sunset paused and cast a glance at the young woman.

"Eventide," she said, filling in the missing word. "But you can call me Evey."

"Hello, Evey," the glow in her eyes, that was what had been wrong with Buttercup, there had been a similar red glow in her eyes too. "You're not from around here are you, Evey?"

"No, no I am not," Evey gave a slight giggle as she spoke but quickly seemed to return to her previous kindly demeanor. "I am very far from home, further than you even. I'm here today to see you though, Sunset, I was hoping we might have a little talk."

Sunset's eyes returned to the pair of scissors that Evey had now placed delicately on the table. "At the end of this talk do you execute me? It's been a long time coming," to her surprise Evey paled at that comment, she looked mortified perhaps even sad.

"No! No never that! I...I read up on your case the last time I was here," Evey stumbled over her words, awkwardly fiddling with her fingers. Were those tears in her eyes?

"So... you weren't sent here by Celestia?" Evey shook her head.

"No...I...I wanted something from you. But I was also hoping that maybe we could talk for a bit? Like...friends?" Sunset blinked in disbelief, who was this woman and why did she care about her? "I read the papers from back when you were first locked up in here," Evey mumbled trying to keep the conversation going. "You hit another student in the head with a sledgehammer. Died instantly, nothing anybody could do to help her. Very sad. Quickly emerged that both of you and her were homeless, no family, both in school on forged documents or no documents at all. The investigation revealed that you were suffering from various delusions and... other problems." Evey paused and took a deep breath. "If you want, I can help you get out of here. We can walk right out the front door nobody would even try to stop us, we could find you somewhere safe to live, away from the humans and away from Celestia-"

"No." Sunset cut Evey off leaving the young woman staring at her in confusion. "I wound up here for two reasons and both of them were technicalities. First they believe I'm mad when we both know I'm not. Second they believed that when I...killed her... I was a minor. I wasn't. Life in prison or a probable death sentence, that was what I should have gotten regardless of which side of the portal we were. This right here? It's a punishment, but it's better than what I deserved." Sunset played with the handcuffs, feeling the metal rub against her skin. "Three years after I killed her Celestia herself came to investigate what happened. She visited me, we talked... permanent banishment from Equestria was a much more lenient punishment than what she could have done to me."

"You thought she had sent me to kill you didn't you," Evey mumbled, barely suppressing her tears.

"Sort of. Look are you alright? There's clearly something going on here, what do you want with me, why do you care about me and... no offense but how are you using magic?" It had been a long time since she had seen magic but Sunset was pretty sure Evey must have used some kind of mind control spell on the staff.

"Cursed amulet, it gives me an external magic source so I can get away with a few magical tricks even though I don't have my horn. As for the other two questions, I'd like a lock of your hair and the only reason I care is that you remind me of someone very dear to my heart."

"Dark magic?" Sunset arched an eyebrow at the sinister looking amulet about Evey's neck. "Yeah, sorry lady but if I learned one thing about dark magic from my studies in Equestria it's that you don't go giving body part samples to anybody who practices it."

"I don't practice dark magic!" Evey snapped, fiddling with the necklace about her neck. "This thing was a spur of the moment decision, I was going to use it as a glorified battery! I never wanted to put it on... I can quit any time I like." Her eyes dropped to the floor, why was she acting like this around Sunset?

"Then take it off, prove what you said, take it off and then maybe I'll help you out," Sunset folded her arms and looked at the young woman, in truth she could probably take the hair sample by force so why wasn't she? Every part of the situation should have put the power in Evey's hands but it was as though she was entirely subservient to Sunset.

"For you? Fine. I'll do it for you." Evey reach up to the back of her neck and undid the clasp on the amulet, proudly removing it from her neck and slamming it down onto the table. "See, Sunset? I'd do anything for you-" before she could finish what she was saying Evey turned a deathly white and collapsed onto the table, her body twitching in spasms and her breath becoming ragged. She seemed to try taking in a deep breathe of air but instead wound up coughing blood onto the table.

Sunset stumbled backwards from the table in fear. What was going on? What was happening to her? Was it some aspect of the curse? Had Sunset killed her by making her remove the amulet? Thinking fast she grabbed the amulet up off of the table and ran round to Evey's side, carefully trying to fasten it back about her neck. Between the cuffs and Evey's twitching this was easier said than done but on her third attempt the satisfying click of the clasp put it back in place.

"Are you alright? What just happened?" Sunset asked as Evey began to return to normal. She wrapped the young woman in a hug, patting her on the back to try and help her cough up any more blood that might have been stuck in her throat.

"Turns out I can't take it off just yet," Evey muttered clearing her throat. "Had a little accident, couldn't get to a doctor and needed more magic to heal myself," Sunset began to loosen her grip on Evey but was surprised to find that Evey was returning the hug, keeping the two of them locked together. The closeness felt a little awkward, especially as Evey seemed to be crying into her shoulder. "Right now I guess the amulet is the only thing keeping the injury from finishing me off, I was sort of hoping it might be done fixing me up by now but... well I guess it's going to be keeping me company for a little longer yet huh?"

"Evey, who are you and why are you here?" Sunset whispered into her ear. "Cause this? This is pretty weird right now."

"Sorry," Evey mumbled, "I know you're not her but... it was nice to pretend at least for a little while. Could I... could I just hold you a little while longer?" the young woman sniffled like a child, her grip on Sunset tightening further and making her feel that it probably wasn't a request. Whoever it was Sunset reminded her of must have been very special to her.... have been, past tense. As awkward as the hug was Sunset couldn't bring herself to break away from Evey, the girl seemed to be grieving, Sunset could relate to that.

"Why do you want my hair, Evey?" Sunset whispered, rubbing her gently on the back.

"It's a spell, me and my friend came up with it. Has a few unusual components but if it works out then I should be able to use it to find my dad," the tears were letting up a little but the hug remained tight.

"Why my hair?"

"Cause you're Sunset Shimmer, or at least a Sunset Shimmer. She was my...my-m-m-m-"

"Shhhhh," Sunset hushed the young woman before she went any further. She was clearly hurting, she didn't need to say anymore. Disentangling herself from Evey's grip she reached down and picked up the scissors, the blades were nice and sharp, she could.... For the briefest of moments the blades hovered over her unbandaged wrist before she raised them up to her forehead and cut off a long lock of hair. "Here, I think you wanted this right?" Evey nodded and gratefully took the hair, stowing it and the scissors away in her pouch. Breathing a sigh of relief the young woman wiped the tears from her face and stared at Sunset.

"Thanks," she rose as if planning to leave the room but quickly slumped back into her chair. "Would you... would you mind if I just sat here for a little while longer? With you? Just... just to remember the good times?"

"Sure, Evey," Sunset replied as she returned to her own seat with a smile, "if it makes you feel better then I think I can spare some time down here." The young woman nodded gratefully and silently mouthed the words 'thank you'.

Comments

[diablo4000]

Oh Sunset...Why?! Did you get so desparte you killed Twilight?!

At least she regrets what she done, and paying for it willingly.

[badninja]

Crap, crap, crap, crap. Evie has modified Starlight's spend and is visiting other realm to find her father. I wonder if she was ever told it was Shining Armor. Even if she finds the correct one he will not be pleased with her, unless Evie has never quite returned to her home reality yet.