• Published 14th Aug 2016
  • 4,117 Views, 108 Comments

One Night in Canterlot - MrAskAPirate



Trapped in a time loop, Sunset Shimmer struggles to come to grips with her own conflicting feelings and everything she thought she knew about friendship.

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Chapter 6: ... On a Roll of the Dice

On second thought, maybe ‘we need to talk’ wasn’t exactly the best way to start things off, Sunset Shimmer mused, trying to ignore the fact that her fingers were starting to ache from maintaining a deathgrip on a piece of partially rusted metal for the last eleven minutes. Maybe next time I’ll try something more urgent-sounding, like ‘we need to go,’ or ‘come with me if you ever want to see tomorrow.’

Another bone-jarring bounce made Sunset wonder if she was going to live to see tomorrow.

“Jeeze, is she aiming for every pothole in Canterlot?” Rainbow asked, her voice just barely loud enough for to be heard over the wind that whipped Sunset’s hair about her face and neck.

Applejack’s pickup truck, being the only vehicle the girls had access to that could carry them all at once, had been the logical choice for getting the group to Canterlot High as soon as possible. It would’ve been a lot sooner, however, if Sunset’s attempts to explain the situation to her friends hadn’t taken forever. They’d believed her readily enough, but trying to answer everyone’s questions and bring them up to speed on her current plan still took the better part of two hours, followed by a solid ten minutes of hijinx she normally might have found comical as the eight of them tried to find a way to squish into the slightly worse-for-wear work truck.

Sunset managed to catch Applejack’s gaze in the rearview mirror as she checked to make sure all her external passengers were still accounted for, and Sunset gave her an exasperated nod.

“I’m sure she’s doing her best to avoid them,” Sunset shouted back, though her aching tailbone didn’t believe it for a second.

“Wheeeeeeeeee!!” Pinkie Pie suddenly stood, leaning on the back of the truck’s cab with her arms spread wide as her hair danced behind her. “I’m king of the world!”

“Sit down!” Rainbow Dash sprang up and grabbed Pinkie by the arm, yanking her back to a sitting position just as the truck hit another bump in the road. “For crying out loud, I know you’re crazy, Pinkie, but seriously?” Dash admonished, drawing a pout from the party girl.

“Aww, but when else am I gonna get a chance to re-enact Titanic?”

“... You want us to hit an iceberg and sink?” Dash deadpanned.

“Pff!” Pinkie laughed with a dismissive wave. “Of course not! There’s no icebergs in Canterlot, silly!” Her eyes sparkled and brightened considerably. “Now an ice cream truck; that’s much more likely, not to mention way yummier!”

Dash facepalmed as Pinkie started saying something about the best flavors of ice cream to eat while stranded at sea, and Sunset gave them a wry smile, but her expression evaporated as her gaze drifted over to the fourth and last occupant of Applejack’s truck bed.

Princess Twilight Sparkle’s head was bowed, her arms wrapped around her knees in a sort of self-comforting hug. Her bangs hung at just the right angle to keep her eyes and most of her expression hidden, but Sunset didn’t need to see her best friend’s face to guess that it carried the same sad frown she’d been wearing all night; the same one Sunset had been forced to endure--from her perspective--for the better part of a whole day.

Sunset had failed to stop the breakup again, and thanks to focusing her efforts on getting the rest of their friends on board, had also failed to give Princess Twilight the support and comfort she sorely wanted to. Seeing Twilight curled into a ball as she was now; shying away from the rest of them… as gently as Sunset had tried to put it, her insistence that her time travel problem took precedence over Twilight’s emotional well-being must have cut even deeper than she had expected.

Sunset shifted her position, sliding a little closer to Princess Twilight as Applejack hit yet another jarring pothole and began to slow.

“Twilight?” Sunset said, reaching out with one hand to touch the other girl’s leg.

Princess Twilight gave a slight start, rapidly wiping at her face with the back of her arm before raising her puffy eyes to meet Sunset’s gaze, a sight which tore at Sunset’s already-raw emotions.

“What? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing,” Sunset shook her head, “I was just… I just wanted to say I’m sorry. About… everything, I guess.” She tried put on a warm smile, but even the attempt felt hollow somehow. “Things with Flash really will turn out okay. Trust me.”

Twilight smiled back at her weakly.

“Thanks Sunset.” The Princess looked like she wanted to say more, but the truck swung into a slow turn, and Twilight’s gaze was drawn to something over Sunset’s shoulder.

Sunset turned, the familiar sight of Canterlot High School looming just ahead. Applejack slowed to a stop near the shattered Wondercolt statue and cut the engine.

“Finally!” Rainbow Dash leaped down from the truck onto the grassy lawn, both hands trying to massage the small of her back. “If that ride was any longer I’d have to start looking for a chiropractor.”

“Sunset said to get the lead out, so I got it out,” Applejack said as she stepped out of the truck, turning and offering her hand to help Rarity down as well. “Quit yer bellyachin’.”

“Silly AJ!” Pinkie Pie bounced down next to them. “It’s not Dashie’s belly that’s aching, it’s her butt!”

Rarity and Applejack shared a look and rolled their eyes as Rainbow stifled a laugh.

“Focus, girls,” Sunset said as she shouldered her backpack and helped Princess Twilight down from the truck bed. Fluttershy and Crystal Prep’s Twilight came around from the passenger side of the vehicle as the girls collectively made their way over to the broken statue, and more specifically the portal to Equestria set into its thankfully still-intact pedestal.

“Okay,” Princess Twilight said with a weak smile and a slight sniffle. “I’ll be right back with Starlight.” She hesitated, her smile turning into a pensive frown. “Unless she’s already gone to sleep, in which case I’d better ask Spike to make some coffee first.” Her eyes widened. “Unless we’re out of coffee… in which case this miiiight take a while. Starlight isn’t what you’d call a ‘morning pony’, hehe.”

“I’m sure we can get Starlight some coffee here if we need to,” Sunset said, glancing to Applejack hopefully.

“Yeah, I can go on a run and meet y’all back here,” the farmgirl said with a sigh as she pulled out her keys again, “but somebody’s comin’ with to help carry.”

“I’ll accompany you, darling,” Rarity said, failing to conceal a small yawn behind her hand. “So long as we’re going, we might as well get a little something for everyone. I know I could certainly use a bit of a pick-me-up.”

“That’s a good idea. We haven’t had all that sugary ice cream this time around,” Sunset nodded.

“I call shotgun!” Rainbow Dash’s shout cut off any questions the others might’ve had about Sunset’s comment as she bolted for Applejack’s pickup.

“A minute ago you couldn’t wait to get outta my truck and now you want back in?” Applejack deadpanned.

“‘Cause just standing around waiting is boring, and this time I’m getting a nice comfy seat,” Rainbow smirked as she pulled open the passenger side door. “Why do you think I called--what the?!”

Dash found herself face to face with Pinkie Pie, already buckled into place in the very spot she had been intending to claim for herself on the truck’s bench-style seat.

“Coffee! Somebody said coffee! I heard them!” she practically shouted, jittering with nervous energy that was normally reserved for people who had already imbibed too much caffeine. Dash frowned and let out a low grumble.

“Ugh, fine; just move over!”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

Applejack pinched her nose and mumbled a curse under her breath. “Sunset, I assume you’re stayin’ here; anybody else gonna tag along?”

Fluttershy whispered a ‘no thank you’ as Crystal Prep’s Twilight shook her head. With a nod to the four remaining girls, Applejack climbed into the driver’s seat once Rarity had claimed the last open spot in the cab next to Pinkie, turned over the engine and drove off into the night.

“Okay,” Sunset exhaled sharply as she turned back to the statue. “Well, I guess we’ll…” She trailed off, taking note of the downcast, distracted look Princess Twilight seemed to be giving to the cement between her shoes. “Twilight?”

“Yes! Going to get Starlight! Sorry!” The Princess snapped to attention, giving her friends a quick smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a fla-” She stopped short, her smile twisting awkwardly into a frown. “I mean… I won’t be long.”

With one last fleeting look, Princess Twilight turned and stepped into the mirror-smooth surface at the base of the statue. A wave of bright white light shone across the courtyard as her body sank into the stone as if it were water, leaving only a slight ripple as her trailing foot vanished back to her own world.

Sunset took a single step forward and set her backpack down, staring as the portal reverted to its normal state.

“Don’t worry, Sunset,” Fluttershy said as she and the remaining Twilight stepped up to stand on either side of her, “I’m sure Starlight will be able to help.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said as she crossed her arms, finally pulling her gaze from the portal and turning to regard the darkened building towering above her. Like any school, Canterlot High looked and felt very different at night. Normally bright and inviting when the sun was shining, the two-story structure seemed much taller, was deathly quiet, and felt far more imposing now that shadows hung over every corner.

Sunset swallowed hard as her eyes inevitably found themselves drawn to the main entryway. A shiver ran down her spine, and she instinctively drew her arms in tighter to ward off the chill that she was almost certain was entirely in her mind.

“Everything okay?”

Sunset gave a start at Twilight’s voice, and the girl herself likewise jumped; glasses sliding midway down her nose.

“Sorry,” Sunset turned to face her, noting that Fluttershy had released Angel Bunny from the confines of her backpack and had settled onto a section of the grassy lawn with him some distance away. “I’m fine, I just… being here after dark makes me a little uncomfortable. Bad memories.”

“I think I know what you mean,” Twilight murmured as she set her glasses back in place, taking an awkward glance at the shattered remains of the Wondercolt statue.

A soft smile grew on Sunset’s face. “You really do, don’t you? Maybe more than anyone else ever could.”

Twilight’s only answer was to bow her head a little in an attempt to hide the rosy tint spreading across her cheeks.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that, I just...” Sunset trailed off with a sigh. “I just meant that out of all of my friends, I think you’re probably the only one who really understands that part of me.”

“You… you really mean that?” Twilight practically whispered.

“Of course!” Sunset laughed, genuinely taken aback by the question. “C’mon, who else can I talk to about what it was like to transform into a raging she-demon and try to take over the world?” She reached out and lightly punched Twilight in the shoulder. “It’s just you and me, Sparky.”

“Sparky?” Twilight raised her head and gave Sunset a confused look, though her blush yet remained.

“It’s a nickname I gave you last loop,” Sunset grinned. “You said you liked it.”

“I did, huh?” Twilight smirked pensively, tilting her head from side to side as she rolled the notion around. “Yeah, I guess I do.” Her smirk blossomed into a genuine, full-on smile. “Thanks, Sunset.”

“You’re… you’re welcome,” Sunset replied, her own expression faltering. She turned her attention away, back to the surface of the portal to Equestria.

“Did I say something wrong?” Twilight asked, hands clutching at her plaid skirt.

“No,” Sunset assured her with a shake of her head. “It’s just that seeing you smile like that makes me realize how much I miss seeing the other you smile.”

“O-oh,” Twilight’s expression fell. “I see.”

“I hate doing this to her,” Sunset shook her head and re-crossed her arms. “I hate asking her to focus on my problems when she already has so much weighing down on her.”

“The Princess does seem a little distracted,” Twilight agreed, “but then again I’ve zoned out in the middle of conversations plenty of times.” She offered a weak grin. “Shining Armor calls it ‘Twilight Stackfull’; y’know, like when you’re programming and you have a problem with recursive…” she trailed off, blinking as Sunset shot her questioning look. “Nevermind; it’s not important.”

“It’s more than just zoning out,” Sunset scoffed, the tension in her voice rising. “It’s like her brain is on full shutdown mode. I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised, I mean for crying out loud, she’s just had her heart broken for the first time, and instead of comforting her here I am telling her to just suck it up and deal! I… I feel like I’m being a terrible friend.”

“Sunset, this isn’t your fault,” Twilight said, taking a step closer. “You didn’t ask to get stuck in this time loop, but if you don’t find a way to break it you’ll be stuck here for… well, potentially forever!”

“I know that,” Sunset admitted softly. “It doesn’t make seeing her suffer any easier.”

“What about your suffering?” Twilight asked, drawing Sunset’s attention. “When time resets Princess Twilight isn’t going to remember any of this. No matter how many repetitions occur, the cumulative result for her is always going to remain constant, but that isn’t the case for you. You’re most likely going to retain your memory of this entire experience, and it’s only going to get worse the longer it goes on. Do you think that’s what Princess Twilight would want? For you to prolong your own suffering just to give her a temporary reprieve that she won’t even remember?”

Sunset stared at Twilight for a long moment, her mouth working silently.

“I… no,” she finally managed to say. “No, that’s not what she would want.”

“And if the situation were reversed?” Twilight pressed. “You’d want her to escape the time loop as soon as possible too, right? Even if it meant she had to hurt you in the short term?”

“Yes!” Sunset’s answer came without hesitation.

“Then I think it’s safe to say you’re not a good friend, Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight adjusted her glasses with a smile. “You’re a great one.”

Sunset choked back a sob through a tightening throat, her vision going blurry as she threw her arms around Twilight and pulled her close.

“Thank you, Twilight,” she whispered as Twilight returned the hug. They stood like that for a neverending moment as Sunset let the tears slide down her cheeks. A quick laugh escaped her lips. “You know, for someone who used to be a reclusive, anti-social nerd you’re picking up this whole friendship thing really well.”

“I’m a quick study,” Twilight quipped, finally pulling back from the embrace to look Sunset in the eyes, “and I have a great teacher.”

The two friends shared a laugh and hugged again just as Applejack’s truck turned the corner. Twilight pulled away from Sunset abruptly and set about nervously adjusting her uniform, though her smile--and what looked to Sunset like an even deeper blush than before--remained.

“Sorry it took so long,” Applejack said as she parked ad hopped out of the truck carrying a cardboard tray of coffee cups, “we had to hit up three different coffee places because somebody got a mite too particular about their fancy ‘whateverachingos.’”

“It’s a white chocolate and hazelnut mocha frappuccino sprinkled with sea-salt and caramel drizzle,” Rarity stated as she too climbed down from the cab, cup in hand, leaving little question as to who Applejack had been referring to. “What good is purchasing it if one has to forego the caramel drizzle?”

“The first place had caramel drizzle!” Applejack shot back.

“Well yes, but did you see the ghastly state of their drizzle dispensary?” Rarity shuddered. “I loathe to think of what horrible, palate-assaulting tastes might’ve been mixed in with my frappuccino had we actually ordered it from that dreadful establishment!”

Applejack glowered but held her tongue in check as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie joined them, each carrying their own tray of drinks, and in Rainbow’s case a bag that Sunset presumed was full of creams and sugar packets.

“Why’d you guys get so much?” Sunset asked, counting a total of thirteen coffee cups between them.

Three fingers pointed at Pinkie Pie, who let out a satisfied ‘ahhh’ just as she finished downing one cup of concentrated caffeine and reached for the next with her trademark wide grin.

“Oh, that’s gonna be fun later.”

Rainbow Dash snorted at Sunset’s comment before glancing around the courtyard.

“Where’s Twilight? I mean, the pony princess one?”

“She’s not back yet,” Sunset said looking to the portal and then to the clock on her phone. “She did say it might take a few minutes.”

“Can you send her a message to see if everything’s okay?” Fluttershy asked as she rejoined the group.

“Sure can,” Sunset replied, striding to and unzipping her backpack before withdrawing a pen and the leather-bound journal emblazoned with her cutie mark. She flipped to the next open page and began writing.

Twilight stepped closer, eyeing the journal curiously.

“So this journal is what allows Sunset to keep in touch with Princess Twilight when she’s back home?”

“Yep,” Applejack nodded as she handed over a steaming cup of joe. “Princess Twilight’s got one just like it on her end. No idea how they work, but anythin’ you write in one shows up in th’other.”

“Hm,” Twilight sipped her drink, enjoying the warming sensation it brought with it. “So it’s like interdimensional text messaging.”

“You got it, sugarcube.”

“Uh,” Sunset furrowed her brow, “expanding on that analogy, I think I might need a new phone plan.”

“What’s wrong, darling?” Rarity asked as the girls exchanged worried glances and crowded around Sunset for a better look at the journal.

“I’m not sure,” Sunset shook her head, turning the book so that the others could see. “Normally you write a message and then close the book, like so,” she clapped the tome shut, “and then the cover will glow for a second to let you know it sent the message.”

The seven girls watched the book intently, but beheld nothing.

“How long does it usually take?” Twilight asked, gingerly touching the surface.

“It’s immediate,” Sunset shrugged. “Or at least it always has been before, even during the Friendship Games when the portal wasn’t working, but now...”

“So is it broken, or did the battery die or somethin’?” Applejack said with a frown.

Sunset sighed, hugging the inert book to her chest. “If we were in Equestria I could just cast a spell to find out what’s wrong with it.”

“Uh, duh. What do we need the stupid book for anyway?” Rainbow Dash swished her hand through the surface of the portal, creating a shimmering, rippling effect. “Equestria’s right there. Just go through and see what’s taking Twilight so long.” She shot a look at Pinkie Pie as she emptied yet another cup. “Y’know, before we run out of coffee.”

“I guess I’m gonna have to,” Sunset said, handing the book over to Twilight, who cradled it in her arms as if it were fragile. “Better leave this here. Even if it’s not working, it’s still the only thing keeping the portal open until the lunar cycles in both worlds align again.”

With a nod to the group as a whole, Sunset turned and set herself before the mirror-like surface. She took a deep breath before reaching out to place one palm against the stone, feeling the electric tingle on her skin as it made contact with the dimensional barrier.

She closed her eyes and stepped forward, the portal sliding over her body like chilled water. She immediately felt disoriented, just as she remembered feeling before, and opened her eyes to behold the swirling cacophony of color and energy that had bombarded her senses on her previous trips between worlds.

But it wasn’t there.

Sunset Shimmer saw nothing; only an inky blackness that obscured even her own body when she tried to look down at it. She heard even less, as the ringing of silence in her ears was permeated only by the quickening sound of her own heartbeat. She tried to call out, but no sound came forth.

Panic tickled at the edges of her consciousness. Where’s the portal? Where’s Equestria?!

She tried to turn, to see if she could somehow reach back and pull herself back to the human world, but she felt nothing as she flailed in the empty space, and couldn’t even really be certain that she was reaching in the right direction.

A sound suddenly splashed across her perceptions, fleeting and distant, but seemingly growing louder. Whatever it was, it wasn’t this nothingness, so Sunset tried to will herself towards the source. It drew closer; louder, rising to a dull murmur, until…


“... But in the end I was finally able to convince Starlight Glimmer that what she was doing was wrong and restore the original timeline,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said, pausing to take a bit of a breath as she finished the rather lengthy tale of her recent exploits in Equestria. A moment of silence and blank looks of shock from the other girls followed.

“What the... ?” Sunset Shimmer blinked.

“I know, it’s kind of a lot to take in, isn’t it?” Princess Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled playfully.

Sunset Shimmer nodded slowly, her eyes darting around the room to spot the many familiar sights she had not been expecting to see for another couple of hours.

“You have no idea…”

Author's Note:

Obligatory Huey Louis reference; I choose you! :rainbowwild: