• Published 2nd Jun 2016
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The Sun Never Sets - Mr Fislewait



Sunset Shimmer finally returns to Equestria but when she arrives she is confused and sitting on death's door. Twenty five years later the mare Eventide Trailblazer is looking to continue the legacy of Sunset Shimmer for better... or for worse.

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Move On

"Sunset? Suuuunset?"

Sunset started at the sound of the voice, somehow familiar yet at the same time entirely alien to her. She was alone in the darkened halls of Canterlot. It was just as she had remembered it being all those years ago but something seemed wrong, oh so very wrong. The halls were bathed in a sinister red glow that did little to illuminate her former home, instead seeming to cast impenetrable shadows into the corners of every hall and room. In her wanderings she had come across no other signs of life but the ominous cooing voice that she knew she wanted nothing to do with.

"Sunset! Come to me, Sunset! We belong together, together until the end of time itself," the voice called to her again, cackling from the darkest depths of the castle. She felt so alone, she wanted nothing more than to scream out 'hello' to ask if anypony was there, but to do so would surely call the owner of the voice right to her location.

She stopped, pausing in the royal suites before a great mirror that stretched from ceiling to floor. There she was, just as she remembered herself but for one horrible difference. Her horn was gone. The mare that stood before her was none other than Sunset Shimmer but where her horn had once proudly stood there was nothing but empty space. Yet she was not an earth pony, her build was her own and she felt none of the strength or endurance she would have expected of the tribe. Sunset was alone, she was scared and she was useless, quaking before her terrified reflection in the mirror. What skills did she truly possess in her present state? Her talent was for magic but without her horn she was weaker than a young foal still awaiting her cutie mark. In her reign over CHS she had relied on manipulation and social standing but what use were either of those talents with nopony to follow her orders? Even the gifts she had after her reform felt lost to her here, she had once been able to call upon the magic of friendship but that was similarly useless when she was so devoid of friends.

"Oh but you don't need to be useless, Sunset! I will always be here for, always there to pick you up when you fall and carry on where you left off. Even when you die I shall be there to force you to stand once more," the voice was closer now. It giggled maniacally as it taunted her with its feigned sweetness.

She rose from her position in front of the mirror. Powerless as she was the only thing she could do was keeping moving, perhaps if she kept moving she could evade the voice, stay one step ahead of it.

"Peekaboo!"

Sunset fell backwards screaming in horror as the shape leaped through the mirror in a great shower of broken glass. It was beautiful and terrible, a great towering alicorn that circled her with the elegance of a Queen and the eyes of a predator. A great fiery mane billowed from her head floating ethereally like that of Celestia herself. Her coat was a deep bloody red and her wings... where every other alicorn's wings were formed of feathers hers were more akin to those of a bat, great leathery red monstrosities that stood proudly extended at her sides.

"Who are you," Sunset whimpered, though at heart she already knew the answer.

"Why, I am you, my dear precious, Sunset! I am everything you ever wished to be, everything the mirror promised you would become. Oh, you might say that I am behind you, that I am some ghost of your past, but we both know that is a barefaced lie. I am you, Sunset, past, present and future." The alicorn knelt before her to put its eyes level with Sunset's. "I am your destiny, Sunset, dictated by the mark upon your flank. I am succession and though they may be loathe to admit it, without me Equestria will whither and die." With a sinister black glow from her horn the alicorn began channeling a spell and light began to flood into the halls. Turning away from the grim specter of her past Sunset gazed in horror as she realized what was happening. Outside, wreathed in a thin black nimbus the sun was rising.

"You can no more change your future than you can change your past, Sunset. Celestia shall not live eternal and when she dies the two of us shall raise the sun in her stead." The alicorn trotted back into her sight with a sinister grin and for the first time Sunset noticed that its mouth was fanged like that of a carnivore. "And when that time comes, Sunset, all of the little ponies shall bask in our radiance. Or if that does not appeal to them, they shall tremble in our shadow!"

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"Sunset!"

Sunset snapped back into consciousness her body jumping in her restraints and her eyes snapping open. She was back in the hospital, safe in the world where Twilight and her friends had bested the foes of Equestria. Her coat was cold and drenched in sweat and her body felt sore all over, a result of fresh bruises from her restless struggles in the bed and her painkillers wearing off over night. The nightmare had haunted her night after night over the course of the past month. With a few exceptions she had barely gotten a single good night's sleep since her journey had begun, by now she had grown accustomed to the sickly feeling of cold sweat upon her skin.

"Speak to me, Sunset! Are you alright? Do you need me to fetch you a doctor?" the voice called to her again. Not the voice from her nightmare, this was a different voice. A voice filled with worry and concern, a motherly voice.

"Celestia?" Sunset croaked in a combination of pleasant surprise and sudden fear. The voice was unmistakably hers yet Sunset could see no sign of her.

"I am here, Sunset," the white alicorn replied. "I apologize if my raising of the sun brought you any discomfort. Had I known it would rouse you so roughly from your sleep I would have stepped outside. I'm afraid I couldn't bring myself to leave your side," the voice spoke to her again though the speaker continued to remain absent from her sight.

"The... the other side of the bed, Celestia. I can't see you if you stand by the windows," Sunset was quickly growing to hate the layout of her room. The bedside chair had been placed on her left and so it seemed that ever since she had arrived in the hospital bed everypony who visited would gravitate towards her blind side.

"Of course!" had Celestia ever sounded so concerned, so fragile? Sunset could recall her being disappointed or angry but the concern she had shown back then was always that of the disapproving teacher, this was new, this was nice. "Doctor Horse had told me of your eye but I am afraid it had slipped my mind. How are you, Sunset? Is there anything I could get you?" Celestia strode into view coming to sit beside the right side of Sunset's bed. Great bags hung beneath her eyes and the white of her coat was streaked with the stains of dried tears.

"How long have you been here?" Sunset croaked out. "Water?"

Levitating a glass of water to Sunset's lips Celestia smiled at the unicorn. It was a sad smile but compared to how things had been when they had parted company it was a welcome balm for her troubled mind. "Since Luna took over for the night. When I arrived you had already drifted off to sleep but I was happy to wait at your side until you woke. I have been waiting many years for this moment, Sunset, I only wish it could have come about under better circumstances."

"I'm sorry," Sunset said once she had finished her drink.

"Sorry? Whatever for, Sunset? My being here is of no inconvenience, the day court will resume when I return to Canterlot but for the next two hours I will remain by your side. I am here because I want to be, Sunset, there is nothing to be sorry about."

"No," she whispered back. "I'm sorry about shouting at you, sorry that I didn't listen when I was your student. I'm sorry that I ran away, sorry that I stole the crown, sorry that I wanted more than I deserved," the confrontation had been a long time coming but she had never pictured it playing out in this manner. She had imagined Celestia to be angry with her, she had pictured herself begging for forgiveness, shouting out how sorry she was for her misdeeds. Instead Celestia simply hung over her with a smile and a look of pity as Sunset could barely muster a whisper to list off her crimes.

"You are too hard on yourself, Sunset. I have long since forgiven you for your actions, Twilight made it quite clear that you have changed for the better and grown into the wonderful mare I knew you could be. If anything I should be the one begging forgiveness from you. I raised your hopes with promises of gifts I was unwilling to explain, I encouraged study one minute yet demanded you make friends the next. The mistakes you made were a result of my own negligence."

"No. It wasn't like that, it was never like that, it was all me. I..." Sunset shook her head as best as she could. "Could we, could we just start over? Put it all behind us. No more blaming each other, no more blaming ourselves?" Celestia positively beamed.

"You truly have come a long way my student. I am so proud of you. Now, I must ask, what happened to you, Sunset, to injure you like this?"

"Can't that wait?" Sunset pleaded. "I've promised to tell Twilight, and I will, so can't we just spend this time talking about happy things? I've missed you, Celestia, I'd love to hear what's been going on while I was away."

"Very well then," Celestia conceded without even a hint of disappointment. "On one condition," her gaze narrowed for a brief moment her eyes seemed almost threatening. "I hear you have made some friends, I would love to hear about them." The pair laughed, for the time being at least Sunset would be able to put aside her troubles and enjoy the company of her oldest friend.

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Twilight had been very busy since she left Sunset yesterday evening. First she had accompanied Cadance and Shining to the train, she was reluctant to say goodbye having barely had a chance to speak to the two of them but they were required back in The Crystal Empire. After that she had put aside an hour to catch up with her friends at Sugar Cube Corner. A portion of this time had been spent trying to console a somewhat distressed Pinkie Pie who was convinced that she had done something incredibly wrong to upset Sunset. By the end of the hour she wasn't quite her normal bubbly self but she had shown a noticeable improvement over how she had been before.

After that she had gone through a similar process with Starlight, reassuring her that she wasn't a bad mare and that everything Sunset had said was in the heat of the moment. Starlight had been a little trickier to placate than Pinkie but in the end Twilight had managed to distract her from the worst of her worries with a mammoth study session on time travel, trying to work out exactly what had happened to Sunset. In Twilight's eyes it was a small miracle that she had managed to convince Starlight to accompany her back to the hospital in the morning with the small chance of achieving some form of reconciliation. Up until they had mentioned their own time travel experience everything had been going so well, the two unicorns seemed to have really hit things off and almost seemed to be bonding over their past experiences.

"Are you sure this a good idea, Twilight, I mean she didn't exactly seem thrilled with me being there yesterday," Starlight was understandably reluctant in being here but as Twilight had informed her last night 'nothing ventured nothing gained'.

"Starlight, right now Sunset is hurting and she probably said a few things that she didn't mean. She's a long way from the place she calls home and she is likely feeling alone and afraid. Right now she needs all the friends she can get. Don't worry I'm sure she will open up to you in time." Speaking of Sunset's friends Twilight had unfortunately been unable to get in touch with them last night. She had left a brief message in the journal on the off chance that one of them had Sunset's copy before opening up the portal and having a quick look on the other side. Sadly it had been night time when she had gotten there and so the school grounds were empty. In the end Twilight had left a note explaining the current situation in an envelope, tucked beneath the doors of the school and addressed to her friends. Celestia or Luna would likely have found it this morning and would make sure it made it to the intended recipients.

"Twilight! It is good to see you here," the two mares paused as they turned the corner to reach Sunset's room. Standing before them was none other than Princess Celestia herself. "I imagine you are here to see Sunset but I was hoping I could perhaps have a word with you first."

"Sure," Twilight said recovering from her surprise. It made sense of course that Celestia would come to visit her wayward prodigy but she hadn't quite expected to see her here so soon and unannounced. "Why don't you go on in without me, Starlight, the Princess and I just need to catch up but I'll be with you shortly," Starlight opened her mouth to protest but found herself pushed through the door by Twilight's magic before she could voice her concerns. "What can I do for you, Princess?" Twilight asked with a genial smile.

"Please, Twilight, how many times must I remind you to call me Celestia?" the elder alicorn laughed. "Enough of that though, I would like to hear your opinion of Sunset, she has been away for so very long and now she has returned we have much to discuss."

"Have you... seen her yet?" Twilight probed, uncertain of what Celestia knew of her current condition.

"We have spoken, we have cried, we have laughed with one another as we once did long ago when our relationship was still stronger. Though it pains me to see her in her current state I am overjoyed that we have managed to reconcile with one another. I know my own thoughts on this matter though, it is yours that I wish to hear."

"She's really turned things around," Twilight decided to start with the good news. "Things haven't been easy for her through the portal but she has made some good friends and taken your teachings to heart. I for one would be proud to call her my student if I were you." Celestia nodded in agreement but said no more, clearly waiting for Twilight to finish. "That said though she seems to be in a bad place right now, I can only imagine what she has been through but it seems to be weighing her down. She isn't like she used to be when she was at her worst but she seems scared and ready to lash out at the slightest provocation. If we give her time and support though I'm sure she'll make a full recovery." Celestia nodded again.

"Something wonderful has happened, Twilight, and I may have been given an opportunity to rectify one of my great mistakes," Twilight had known that Celestia had regretted how she had handled Sunset but she couldn't help but feel there was something more to what Celestia had said then a simple matter of reconciliation. "I do not know if you noticed it but there has been a great change in Sunset's aura, a recent change from what I can gather. In her absence it would seem she has connected with The Elements of Harmony, she has used all six under her own power to achieve some great deed I can only wonder at," Celestia paced back and forth in front of her in excitement. "The last time a pony wielded all six elements on their own was when I banished Nightmare Moon. Twilight, I believe Sunset is ready to ascend," Twilight jumped in surprise at the admission, Sunset had long desired to be made a princess but she seemed to have thrown such ambitions aside ever since her reformation. "Not now at this moment of course, and not without her approval. I understand that she has friends in the other world and may wish to return to them but I am hoping you might broach the matter with her during her recovery here in Ponyville. If she still desires it the choice will be hers. I do not know how it happened but in her absence it would seem she has earned the right to call herself princess." Twilight nodded dumbly, not wanting to raise her fears on the subject to her mentor when Celestia seemed so clearly overjoyed by the development.

"I'll see what I can do," she managed in the end.

"Thank you, Twilight. Now if you will excuse me I have a court to attend and preparations to make for the birth of your niece," with that Celestia strode off through the hospital halls, the look of a proud and doting mother displayed across her face for all to see.

"Ah, Princess Twilight! A word please?" Before Twilight could join Starlight and Sunset she found herself pulled aside by doctor Horse, why did it have to be so hard to walk through a hospital without being accosted by everypony?

"Well I was hoping to see Sunset but I'm guessing this has something to do with her?" Horse nodded grimly in confirmation.

"I'm afraid we have been having a little difficulty with Mrs Shimmer's case. Her medical paperwork is somewhat lacking and we have no information on her whereabouts for over a decade. No check ups, no visits, nothing." Twilight had expected that but she could hardly let Horse know the truth of the situation. "According to what we do have she was orphaned at a young age so we have no next of kin to turn to and on top of it all she has been tight lipped about how she found herself in her present state," the doctor scratched his head awkwardly and let out a defeated sigh. "I know this is hardly standard practice but I was hoping you might take on the role of next of kin until we can locate her family."

"I'm sorry but didn't you just say her family had died?" Twilight had never been wholly certain on Sunset's family situation but the ease with which she had left Equestria had always made her suspicious.

"Her blood relatives yes, but I was hoping we might-" Horse stopped mid sentence as though struck by some sudden realization, his mouth silently forming the word 'oh'. "I umm, take it you haven't been informed of this mornings development in the case then?" he nervously asked.

"What development?"

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The atmosphere inside Sunset's room could at best be described as 'awkward'. Sunset sat quietly in her bed staring off into space as Starlight stood by the door waiting for Twilight to finish speaking to Celestia. Maybe she hadn't even seen her enter? She was completely blind in one eye but Starlight had forgotten to ask how good her vision was in the other. Maybe if she just stood there and waited she could put off the conversation until she had Twilight to support her, maybe she could-

"You going to stand there like a rabbit in the headlights all day, or are you going to say something?" Starlight had no idea how long she had been standing there before Sunset spoke. The amber unicorn smiled at her from across the room but Starlight was certain it was insincere, Starlight knew all about fake smiles.

"Headlights?" she asked, wow what a start to the conversation, Twilight would be so proud.

"It's-" Sunset stopped, "It's a thing from where I live, a figure of speech, I forget most ponies won't get it."

"The other world you mean?" Starlight asked.

"Yeah, I'm guessing Twilight filled you in on the details of where I'm from then?"

"Some of them, but she was a little vague about a few things."

"Sounds about right," Sunset chuckled. "Hey could you come over here, Starlight, I having something to say and it's sort of private. I'd rather not have anybody else overhear it. Starlight nervously looked at the other mare as she slowly walked over towards the bed. "I'm not going to hurt you Starlight, I don't think I could even if I wanted to," Sunset gently rocked in her bed to prove the point.

"I'm really sorry, Sunset, I never meant to hurt anypony, I wanted a little revenge on Twilight but I didn't think anything like this would happen, I didn't know how much things would change just from messing about with one little race, I didn't-" Sunset raised a hoof as much as she could to stop Starlight mid breakdown.

"I know. If you weren't sorry you wouldn't be here and that actually means a lot. Now then, be honest with me, Starlight, how do you feel about Twilight?" that was not the question she expected.

"She's a good friend. I owe so much to her right now, if it hadn't been for her I'd still be in a dark place right now, until she came along I never really understood what I'd been missing in my life," as she finished Sunset gave a curt nod of confirmation.

"About what I expected. I'm pretty much the same you know, I owe her so much and I don't know how I can ever hope to repay her for what she did for me. I care for her a lot you know, she's like the sister I never had. Now I could go and do the whole protective elder sibling act and say that if you ever hurt her again there will be hell to pay but she already has a brother to do that for her, so instead here's the deal," Sunset raised her head as far as she could off of the bed and brought her voice down to a low whisper.

"I don't like you, Starlight. I don't expect you to ever understand but the things I went through just aren't in my power to forgive. I'm not Twilight, I can't just ignore everything that happened and move on from it. We will never be friends Starlight Glimmer, doesn't matter how much you try to apologize nothing will change that. But Twilight wants us to besties, she's so transparent like that. I may not like you, Starlight, but my friendship with her means the world to me. I'll play nice, I won't go starting fights with you and when Twilight's around I'll act like the two of us are cool, act like the past is water under the bridge. That's all it will be though, an act, and I expect you to do the same." Sunset sank backwards into her bed, resting her head on the cushions. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Starlight answered through gritted teeth. This wasn't what she had wanted, this wasn't the friendship she had come here to try and fix. There was no reconciliation here, no closure. Yet it was still preferable to the alternative.

"Good," Sunset said as the door to the room opened. Standing in the doorway was Doctor Horse and Twilight Sparkle, the latter with a look of absolute shock and horror plastered on her face. For a moment she worried that Twilight had been listening to their conversation but there was no anger in her face, only sympathy.

"Twilight?" she hazarded. "What's wrong?"

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