Looking Glass

by Krickis

31 – Another Way

Chapter Thirty-One
Another Way

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Everything was white. It was blinding to see, but anywhere Sunset turned, there was just more of the same. She kept walking because there was nothing else to do; there was nothing as far as she could see, so she just had to hope that she’d eventually find something.

It took a while for her to notice the way the ground crunched under her feet. The white surroundings and the soft crunch of each step brought snow to mind, but when she bent down to touch it, she found it was warm. It left a powdery feeling on her hand, and she realized what it was.

Sunset was walking through ash, and that was all there was left in her world.

What had happened? Sunset had gotten the crown, that much was certain. Everything after that, however, was a blur. The only thing she could vividly remember was the pain; there had been a lot of pain.

Even if she couldn’t remember anything after the pain, Sunset knew something very bad had happened. Something that she never should have allowed, but had never actually tried to stop. But she couldn’t remember what it was, and she didn’t know how to keep it from happening again.

“Hmph.”

Sunset stopped in her tracks at the sound. It wasn’t just because it was the first thing she had heard since everything had gone white, but also because she knew the voice. She hadn’t heard it in more than eleven years, but that unsatisfied tone had never left her mind.

“You’re going to have to do better than that.”

Sunset turned towards the speaker and was met with the disapproving gaze of her father. Brass Badge was a tan unicorn with a dark blue mane and a perpetually unhappy expression, and Sunset couldn’t stand the sight of him. “What’s the matter? Am I ruining your perfect fucking legacy, asshole?”

“She’s just a child,” a mare said. She was also a unicorn, with a golden-yellow coat and a green mane, and she stood off to the side. She seemed to be focused on something else, but Sunset wasn’t able to see what that was.

“Don’t act like you’re better than him,” Sunset told her mother. “In fact, don’t you have business to attend to?”

“Then stop acting like one!” Brass Badge demanded.

Sunset blinked. ‘I’m not a child.’ That had been her response at the time. She was watching a memory.

Brass Badge turned to Golden Lace. “Baby your daughter if you want, but I’ll take no part in it. And besides, don’t you have business to attend to?”

Golden Lace looked upset for a second before turning away. “Yes, in fact, I do.”

Sunset looked from one parent to the other. She remembered this moment. This was when she realized that she hated them both. The hatred had always been there, but this was when she stopped buying into the idea that she should feel anything else for them just because they were her parents. Brass Badge was a bully, even if he never laid a hoof on his wife or daughter. Nothing was ever good enough for him, and Sunset had spent many of her early years hunting for his praise in vain.

But at least he had shown he cared for something to do with his daughter, even if it was just the way she reflected on his legacy. Golden Lace was a successful business owner who threw herself into her work. And every time Sunset thought she might decide to stand up for herself or her daughter, she backed down.

One parent who ran away from her problems and one who tried to dominate all of his without regard to who was caught in the crossfire. And at the time, all Sunset had managed to say was, “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll do better next time.”

It had been years ago and in another world, but Sunset felt her anger rise up at the memory. She walked over to Brass Badge and reached her hand out to grab him, but he turned to ash at her touch. She frowned as she watched it fell, noticing it was grey in the otherwise white environment.

She turned to see that Golden Lace had also vanished, leaving only ash where she stood. Sunset looked around for any sign of anything else, but there was just her, ash, and the endless nothingness.

Tired of walking aimlessly, Sunset sat down beside one of the ash piles. She had no idea where she was or why she was seeing her parents, but she knew it was because of the crown. She closed her eyes and tried to remember. She had become… wrong. When she put the crown on, there had been pain, and then she had become something else. Or maybe she had only become what she always was deep down.

There was a light breeze. Sunset felt it on her skin, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the ash blowing away. But rather than get carried off completely, it seemed to form a visible path. One lone path laid out before her. There was no other way.

Sunset stood up, and she noticed something else that contrasted the white – a flower at the start of the path. It had a long green stem with no leaves, but at the top there was a blood-red flower, with dozens of stamen sticking out in all directions.

Lycoris radiata, or red spider lilies. It was Sunset’s favorite flower, although seeing it here filled her with trepidation. She had only one path to follow, but she made sure to go around the poisonous flower as she started walking it.

The path twisted and curved, seemingly with no rhythm to its movements. And yet, Sunset never questioned it. Something about the path felt right, felt familiar. It felt like she had always been walking it, like she always would. It was her path, and there was no other way.

Somehow, Sunset hadn’t noticed the next pony she came across until she had almost reached her. Perhaps it was her pristine white coat that allowed her to blend in. But the moment Sunset laid eyes on Princess Celestia, she broke into a run.

Celestia smiled as she greeted her. “Hello, my gifted student.”

“Princess Celestia!” Sunset fell to her knees in front of the princess, sliding a little in the ash. “I’m so confused! Please, what’s going –”

“I was hoping you might want to join me in watching the sunset.”

Sunset looked up and blinked. This was another memory. It was Sunset’s tenth birthday, the first she’d spent as Celestia’s pupil. The princess had asked her if she would like to join her for a while after she’d celebrated with her family. Sunset had agreed, but hadn’t been able to tell Celestia that she wished she could have spent the whole day with her.

Celestia heard a response from a younger Sunset who wasn’t present. “Well, Sunset is your name.”

“But it’s just a time of day, Princess,” Sunset said, remembering her response from so long ago. There hadn’t been tears in her eyes when she had said them back then, though.

The Celestia from her memories took no note of how far her gifted student had fallen, just smiling along as she spoke with a filly that had long since vanished. “True, but anypony can appreciate the sunset. Here, come and watch it with me. Maybe you’ll like it more than you think.”

And Sunset had. She’d never found the words to tell Celestia that, but she treasured the memories of watching the sunset with her mentor. At the time, Sunset had thought it didn’t matter if she said anything or not. Now she wondered how many other things had gone unsaid.

Usually when they met to watch the sunset, they didn’t speak. Usually, but not this time. This first time, Sunset had been too excited to show her teacher how much she knew about the sun and had launched into an explanation of why the colors showed the way they did, which meant that any moment now…

“Very good, Sunset.”

Sunset bowed her head at the praise. She was anything but.

“I’m not surprised you know that, my gifted student. Tell me, what do you know about the stars? Can you name the constellations?”

Sunset looked up into where the sky should be, but there was nothing there. Nothing now, although she knew that in the memory, Celestia and Sunset would be watching the sky give way from sunset to twilight.

The memory of Celestia vanished, leaving only ash in its place. “No!” Sunset reached out for Celestia, but she was gone, and there wasn’t even a memory of her to sit beside Sunset any longer.

All that remained in the place where Celestia had been sitting was a small patch of red spider lilies. With nothing else left to do, Sunset stood up and continued along her way.

Ignoring the lilies wasn’t possible for long, as they started sprouting up along the path as well. Patches of red and green dotted the grey, which otherwise remained the same. How long had she been walking the same path, and what would be at the end of it?

“Hi, Sunny!”

Sunset winced. She didn’t need to revisit a memory of Cadance. And yet, when she turned towards where the voice had come from, she saw a pink alicorn excitedly greeting her. “If I just poke you now, will you poof like the others?”

“What are you doing?”

Sunset frowned and folded her arms. As much as she wanted to poof Cadance, she wasn’t looking forward to going back to the monotony of the path. She decided to wait and see where it would go.

“I love to read! Right now I’m reading a story about a little filly who follows a rabbit down a hole and winds up in a crazy world, and, uhm…”

Sunset tried to remember why Cadance had stopped talking, but before she could figure it out, the memory crumbled to ash like the others. Sunset blinked in confusion. Both of the other memories had been noteworthy; this one she barely remembered.

She closed her eyes to try and think. Cadance had been really young, so it was probably shortly after she had moved into the castle. Sunset replayed the conversation in her head, and with some prodding, it clicked.

One of their earlier interactions had been at the castle library where Cadance interrupted Sunset’s reading, and Sunset had left. That was it. There had been no big meaning to anything, no life-changing revelation. Sunset was perplexed that it had shown up after the others.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a flower where Cadance had been. But just as surprising as the memory’s appearance, it wasn’t a lycoris. A pink rose grew just outside of the ash path.

Sunset looked around, but there was nothing else to see. She turned to look ahead on the path she’d been walking. It was familiar, comfortable. It felt like she was supposed to be there, and nowhere else. Part of her wanted to keep walking, certain that it would get her where she needed to be.

But something compelled her to investigate the rose further. It couldn’t be coincidence. Sunset had no idea why she was here or what she should be doing, and trying to take guesses were just that – guesses.

She stepped off the path and walked ahead. It wasn’t long before she noticed another rose. She kept walking.

The ground below her feet changed as well. It felt harder, and soon, she could see a path forming. It was an illustrious blue crystal, and it was lined everywhere with pink roses. Decorations adorned the path – gemstones in the shape of moons, suns, and stars.

Compared to how long she’d walked the ash path, it wasn’t long at all before she came to the end of the crystal one. She was baffled by what she saw, however.

A bookshelf stood before her, and the path led right into it. Sunset didn’t understand how that could be the end. Wasn’t there supposed to be something here? Some sort of point to everything?

She walked forward and placed a hand on it, and everything shifted.
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Sunset was in the library by herself, which was exactly how things should be. Princess Celestia was busy with her royal duties, and there were no classes to attend on Saturday. That didn’t stop Sunset, though. At fifteen, Sunset was already far younger than any of her classmates. In addition to the head start she’d gotten by starting school at six years old, she’d also advanced through classes faster than any of her peers.

Ponies often called Sunset the most impressive unicorn her age, but she was determined to be more than that. She was going to go down in history. The name Sunset Shimmer would never be forgotten, but to make sure that happened, she needed to study.

Which she had been doing for hours without any issues, but which was about to become much more difficult. A pink filly was walking over to the table that Sunset was sitting at, and there was no way she’d have any peace.

“Hi, Sunny!” Cadance said carefully.

“Don’t call me that,” Sunset said without looking up from her book.

“What are you doing?”

“Reading.”

Ignoring Sunset’s complete lack of interest, Cadance sat down beside her. “I love to read! Right now I’m reading a story about a little filly who follows a rabbit down a hole and winds up in a crazy world, and, uhm…”

Sunset stood up, cutting Cadance off mid-speech. She shoved the book she’d been reading into her bag then walked away without a word. It was rude, but the last time Sunset tried telling Cadance to leave her alone, she wound up making her cry. And then to make matters worse, Celestia had given her a lecture and guilted her into an apology, which only seemed to encourage Cadance into thinking they should still be friends.

The sigh of defeat she heard as she was walking away told her that Cadance wouldn’t be following. Good, she could avoid an argument and study in peace.

If only she hadn’t looked back. Cadance was sitting with her head on the table, not looking at sunset. She didn’t seem to be looking at anything, for that matter. Or even doing anything at all.

The sight was pathetic, and Sunset knew she should just keep walking. They would both be better off once Cadance finally accepted that they should just stay out of each other’s way. But it was just so baffling see Cadance so dejected only a month after she’d been given everything that Sunset had dedicated her life to earning. What reason could she have for being so miserable?

“Don’t you have any friends you could go play with?”

Cadance picked up her head up and gave Sunset a confused look. “All my friends are back home. I don’t know many ponies in Canterlot.”

“You’re a thirteen-year-old alicorn princess. How are ponies not lining up to be your friend?”

“I don’t want ponies to be my friend just for that.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah, what was I thinking. It must be so tough to have ponies look up to you!”

“But it is!” Cadance pushed her seat back and leaned her body across the table. “Everypony suddenly expects so much from me, and I don’t have any idea what I’m supposed to be doing!”

“Are you kidding!?” Sunset teleported to stand next to Cadance again, causing the younger girl to jump back. “Just becoming an alicorn is more amazing than what most ponies will do in their entire lives! Do you know how many other alicorns there have been that were as young as you? None! You’re the youngest alicorn in the history of Equestria! If you never do anything else for the rest of your life, ponies will adore you for that alone!”

“Of course you don’t understand!” Cadance glared and pushed her face closer to Sunset’s. “You’re so good at everything you do! You’re better at magic than anypony, and you know, like, everything! And I can’t even go to school with the other kids! I have to get private lessons just so I’m not stuck with the foals in magic kindergarten!”

“Hey, I worked for everything I have!” Sunset poked her hoof into Cadance’s chest accusatively, ignoring the tears that were forming in her eyes. “Why do you think I spend so much time studying? Do you have any idea how many nights I’ve stayed up pushing myself past my limits to study a new spell, falling asleep out of exhaustion if I sleep at all?”

“I know! That’s why it should be you!” Cadance tore her head away from Sunset’s and stared at the floor. “You’re the coolest pony I ever met. You’re tough, you never give up, you keep getting better every day, and you do all that without a crown or alicorn wings. But I’m… I’m a mistake. I didn’t know what I was doing when I stopped that amulet from stealing love, it was just a fluke. I definitely wasn’t trying to become an alicorn. So it should be you, not me. You’re the one who deserves to be a princess.”

Sunset stared at Cadance for a moment and considered what she’d said. Eventually, she sighed and took a seat. “Well, it looks like both of us are stuck with this now.”

Cadance laid her head on the table. “I just want to go home… where I knew everypony, and I didn’t have to worry about letting them down.”

Not worrying about letting ponies down wasn’t a luxury Sunset had ever been afforded. But she did know how lonely the castle could feel. She had been alone more often than not at her parents’ house, but somehow all the ponies running around the castle only made the feeling worse.

Sunset opened her bag and pulled out a small jar filled with dirt. She pulled off the lid and set it off to the side, catching Cadance’s attention. Sunset just grinned.

“Check this out.” Sunset’s horn lit up cyan, and she reached out to a small seed within the jar. She willed it to grow, and a small sprout shot up from the dirt.

Cadance gasped at the sight, which only made Sunset’s grin grow. She hadn’t seen anything yet. The sprout rapidly grew, becoming sturdier and darker as it did. Leaves and thorns appeared before their eyes, and in just a moment, so too did a bulb. Pink, to match Cadance’s coat, and it blossomed into a flower as she watched in awe.

“I’m working on growth magic for an upcoming exam,” Sunset said as she cut the stem and passed the rose to Cadance.

“It’s beautiful.” Cadance attempted to grab it between her hooves, but she immediately pulled back. “Ow!”

Sunset arched an eyebrow. “Uh, you know you can use magic now, right? It’d make it a lot easier to avoid the thorns.”

“Yeah, but I’m not that good yet… I don’t want to smoosh it on accident.”

It seemed that Cadance hadn’t been kidding about her skill level being ‘magic kindergarten’. She really was helpless. Well, if Sunset was going to be forced to live with Cadance, she would just have to make sure Cadance wasn’t someone she’d be embarrassed to be seen around.

“It’s not that hard,” Sunset said as she scooted closer. “Here, I’ll teach you. Let’s start by removing the thorns.”

“Thank you, Sunn– Sunset!”

Sunset could already see a losing battle. “Just… call me whatever you want.”

“Really!?”

“Calm down, it’s just a name! And if I’m gonna be helping you, you better be taking this seriously.”

Although her giggle didn’t sound very serious, her voice was calmer when she spoke. “You got it, Sunny.”

---

What had Sunset gotten herself into? She should be working on her growth spell, not standing against the wall in a crowded room while some guy prattled on about his fruit store.

Most of the ponies around her were adults, but there were a few other teenagers as well. That would be fine, except all the teenagers had congregated together, causing Sunset to feel out of place. The adults would have been fine; Sunset was used to being surrounded by ponies much older than herself. But teenagers? The only teenager Sunset ever spent time with was, begrudgingly, Cadance.

Cadance. This was all her fault. Sunset’s life had been going perfectly before Cadance showed up. She was living in the castle with Princess Celestia, the only other pony Sunset needed or wanted to be around. Sunset was her gifted student, and she was on the fast track to becoming the next Starswirl the Bearded.

But then Cadance came along, and Sunset’s life was upended overnight. Suddenly, Princess Celestia had less time as she had to oversee two young ponies’ well being. Suddenly, there was a younger filly who was always following her around, and who always wanted to be part of whatever Sunset was doing. And try as she might, Sunset just couldn’t say ‘no’ to her.

Which was how she came to being surrounded by a bunch of teenagers who were discussing which of the students was their cousin or brother or whatever. Or worse, giggling about which member of New Colts on the Block was the cutest. Sunset had made the mistake of admitting she didn’t know who they were, and now she was listening to a girl her own age going through an unnecessarily thorough explanation of every band member and what all their dreamiest traits were.

As soon as the podium opened up and Sunset realized it was her turn, she teleported over to it. All she wanted to do was get away from the conversation as fast as possible, but the surprised reaction from the audience was a significant bonus.

Sunset scanned the room. Most of the crowd in front were ponies a few years younger than her. Along the walls and in the back were older ponies, relatives of the younger ones. There was a large banner in the back that read ‘Family Appreciation Day’.

And there was Cadance, beaming at Sunset while waving excitedly. That was the worst change of all. Because every time Sunset saw the excited little filly who looked up to her so much, Sunset just couldn’t find it in herself to resent her anymore.

“Hello, everypony. My name’s Sunset Shimmer, and I’m Cadance’s big sister.”

---

“I still don’t see the point in this,” Sunset said as she and Cadance walked up to a large house.

“Come on, Sunny! Think of the good you’re doing for a young filly!”

Sunset smirked and gestured towards the house. “Look at this place! It’s almost as big as my parents’ house. They can afford to get her a private tutor.”

“Yeah, but you’re the best!” Cadance wore a sly grin and nudged Sunset. “Besides, we know you’re really soft deep down.”

Sunset sighed and turned away. “You should’ve stuck with the compliment.”

It had been over a year since Cadance had come to live in Canterlot Castle, and Sunset couldn’t even pretend to not like her anymore. The pair were inseparable, and it wasn’t just Cadance following Sunset around these days. As such, Cadance got a lot more leeway than anypony else. But calling Sunset soft? That was a step too far.

But as Sunset turned to walk away, she found herself encased in a light blue aura. She didn’t try to escape as Cadance levitated her back to her side.

“Your magic’s getting a lot better.”

“Thank you.”

“I could still break out of this in my sleep.”

“I know.”

There wasn’t really any point in denying it. While Sunset wasn’t thrilled to meet this filly that Cadance foalsat for, she also wasn’t going to go back on her word. So resigning herself to her fate, Sunset walked up to the door with Cadance.

Cadance knocked on the door and flashed a comforting smile. Sunset didn’t even bother trying to look pleased. After a few moments, the door was answered by a white unicorn colt with blue hair that seemed to be around Cadance’s age.

“Oh! C-Cadance!” He stood in the doorway and stared while Cadance giggled and blushed. Sunset made sure to commit everything she saw to memory so that she could properly tease Cadance about it later.

“Hi, Shining,” Cadance said, then giggled again. “Can we come in?”

“Yes!” Shining said too loudly. He blushed furiously and gestured for them to follow. “Uh, please, come in…”

Sunset was pretty sure that if she squinted hard enough, she’d be able to see the hearts floating over their heads.

Shining led them into a living room where he and Cadance continued to fail miserably at anything that could even generously be described as flirting. “As delectably awkward as this is, we’re actually here to see your sister,” Sunset said. “Think you can get her for us?”

Shining seemed to notice Sunset for the first time. “Huh? Oh, yeah, of course. Leave it to me!” He fixed his expression into a determined stare and ran off as if he were charging into battle. The effect was kind of ruined by the way his voice cracked as he yelled, “Twily! Cadance is here for you!”

Cadance didn’t seem to find him any less charming, though. “Isn’t he dreamy?”

“He’s a dork.”

“Uh huh.” Cadance smirked as she arched an eyebrow. “And this is coming from the mare who reads textbooks for fun?”

Now that was just ridiculous. “Oh please. I’m not a dork, I’m a nerd.”

“Oh, forgive me,” Cadance said in a mock apology.

“I shall, but only this once. If it happens again, I’ll have to –”

“Cadance!”

Before Sunset got the chance to reveal her punishment, a small purple filly ran down the stairs and dove headfirst into Cadance’s outstretched forelegs. “Hello there, Twily! It’s nice to see you too, but there’s somepony I’d like you to meet.”

As they pulled apart, Sunset showed a confident grin. “You must be Twilight Sparkle. My name’s Sunset Shimmer, and I heard you’re looking for the best of the best to show you a thing or two about magic.”

Rather than addressing Sunset, Twilight turned to Cadance. “You’re right, she does have a big ego.”

Without breaking her smile, Sunset turned to Cadance to find her wearing an innocent expression. Sunset was sorely tempted to retaliate, but for whatever reason, Cadance liked this little filly, so Sunset decided not to embarrass her. That didn’t mean she’d allow herself to be the butt of their joke, though. “Oh, it’s not just big. I have the biggest ego in all of Equestria! It was so big that I had to move to the castle just so there’d be enough room for it!”

Although Sunset was a little skeptical that Twilight wouldn’t get a joke hinging on sarcasm and metaphorical size, the young filly laughed. “Cadance said you’re her big sister.”

Sunset nodded. “That’s right.”

“You don’t look like her big sister…”

Cadance and Sunset exchanged glances. There were several holes in Twilight’s logic, but Sunset didn’t know how to explain any of them to a child. But thankfully, Cadance had a lot more experience with kids, so she jumped in to explain. “Not all families work the same, Twily. Like my parents, for example. They’re earth ponies, and they don’t really look like me either, because they adopted me when I was a baby. Then Princess Celestia adopted me as her niece, and when I went to live in the castle with Sunset, we adopted each other as sisters.”

Sunset huffed. “And the less we talk about my family, the better.”

Twilight looked perplexed. “I just meant that it’s weird the big sister is smaller.”

At least Cadance found it funny. Sunset frowned, but refused to not have the last word. “That’s because Cadance is a horrible little sister. I keep telling her to stop growing, but she doesn’t listen to me at all!”

Cadance stuck out her tongue. “Being the younger sibling is much cooler. Right, Twily?”

“Right!” Twilight nodded her agreement. “And besides, even if you had the same parents, only one allele needs to be different to change what type of pony you are. Plus even two ponies of the same type could have foals of any type, since the trait can be recessive through generations.”

Sunset blinked in confusion, but Cadance was smirking. “Told you she’s smart.”

Sunset looked from Cadance to Twilight and smiled. “How old are you again?”

“Nine,” Twilight answered. “Is it true that when you were nine, you became Princess Celestia’s student?”

Sunset couldn’t help her smile widening just a bit as she nodded. “Sure is.”

“Wow! You must be really good with magic then!”

“Oh, I’m not just good. I’m the best!” Sunset grinned as she remembered Cadance calling her soft. It seemed she’d be getting her revenge sooner rather than later. “In fact, how about a little demonstration?”

With just a flash from Sunset’s horn and a yelp from Cadance, Sunset transformed her perfectly maintained pink coat. While it had been short and even before, now it poofed out in curls all over her body.

“What did you do!?” Cadance asked as she ran her hooves over her body.

“Oh nothing.” Sunset looked at Twilight and winked. “Just made you extra huggable is all.”

Catching on to what Sunset was getting at, Twilight wasted no time in throwing her hooves around Cadance. “You’re like a lamb!”

Cadance patted Twilight’s back and laughed nervously. “Sunset, I don’t want to be a lamb…”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Relax, it’s temporary.” She waited until Cadance looked relieved to add, “Once we shave it all off, your new coat will come in the same as before.”

“What!?” Cadance shot straight up, causing Twilight to jump back.

Meanwhile, Sunset could only laugh. “I’m joking! Here…” With another flash of her horn, Cadance’s coat returned to normal.

“That was amazing!” Twilight said while Cadance inspected her coat to make sure Sunset hadn’t done anything sneaky. “Could I do something like that?”

Sunset grinned. “Sure, someday. But for right now, I think it’d be better if you learned some spells that are more suited for your age level. So let’s see what you can do.”

Twilight pawed at the ground. “I’m not very good with magic…”

Cadance placed a hoof on Twilight’s back and smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay, Twilight. Sunset is here to help you learn.”

Sunset’s excitement to see Twilight’s magic was replaced with shock once the little filly actually got started. She barely managed to levitate small objects, and she couldn’t manage to do much else aside from that. Sunset hoped it was just her nerves, but whatever the reason, Twilight was bad at magic.

Which was a damn shame. Every time Twilight opened her mouth, complex magic theory came out. It seemed that she understood everything about magic except for actually using it.

How could someone so smart struggle so much? As far as she knew, there was only one pony as dedicated to magic as Twilight was, but whenever Sunset pushed herself to do something, she succeeded.

After they practiced for a little while and only wound up with an extremely distressed filly, Cadance convinced them to call it a day. To cheer Twilight up, they stayed for a little while and talked about all her favorite things. Unsurprisingly, they were all books.

On the way back to the castle, Sunset found herself lost in thought. Cadance didn’t seem to have that problem and maintained a cheerful composure. “See? She’s a lot like you! Except that she’s well behaved, of course.”

“Yeah…” Sunset didn’t even try to come back with a jab of her own.

Cadance was quiet for a moment, then she nudged Sunset. “Okay. What’s up, Miss Grumpy? Was it really that bad to spend the day with a sweet little filly?”

“Cadance…” Sunset frowned as she looked into Cadance’s eyes. “Does Twilight have any friends?”

Cadance’s smile fell away as she realized what was on Sunset’s mind. “She’s… a lot like you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought…” Sunset was who she was. She thought the things other ponies her age did were stupid, and she’d never give up her goal to be the best. But ever since Cadance came along and she had someone to pull her away from her studies to laugh and remember that there was more to life, Sunset hadn’t been nearly as miserable as she used to be.

“Twilight does have some things you didn’t at her age, though,” Cadance said, some of her smile returning. “She has two parents who love and support her, she’s got an older brother who includes her in the games he plays with his friends, and she’s got me.” She nuzzled against Sunset’s neck for a moment while they walked. “And maybe she’ll have you too?”

Sunset thought for a moment about all the study time that would be lost if she started to make regular trips into town. Only for a moment though, then her thoughts turned to a little amber-colored unicorn sitting by herself as she watched other foals through a window, with nothing but a book for company.

“Yeah. Yeah, she’s got me too.”

---

The sun had gone down some time ago, but Sunset was still awake. Only the light from her horn allowed her to see as she lay in bed with her book. It was so engrossing that she almost didn’t notice the soft knock on the door.

“It’s open,” she called.

The door creaked open, and Sunset was taken by surprise at the pony on the other side. “Hello, Sunset,” Princess Celestia said. “I was afraid you’d already be asleep.”

Sunset quickly righted herself into a proper sitting position. “Hi, Princess. Is everything alright?”

Celestia entered the room and took a seat on the bed beside Sunset. “Yes, my gifted student, everything is fine. Your studies are going well, I take it?”

Realizing that she was referring to the open book, Sunset smiled sheepishly. “It’s, uh, it’s a novel. Cadance wanted me to read it, so of course it’s a romance, but it’s not bad.”

Was Sunset imagining it, or was Celestia more proud of her reading something because of Cadance than she had been when she thought Sunset was studying? “I see. You two certainly have gotten quite close.”

Sunset blushed. “I guess.”

It was obvious that Celestia hadn’t come to talk about Cadance’s book, but as usual, she took her time to get to the point. Sunset remembered how much that had frustrated her when she was younger and always eager to get to the next thing, but now, she found it peaceful. Even without talking, Celestia’s presence was calming.

“You’ve been my student for a long time. Nine years, and you’ve never stopped impressing me.”

Sunset smiled at the praise. “Thank you, Princess. I’m just grateful that I’ve had the chance to.”

“Did you know that I’ve learned as much from you as you have from me?”

That made Sunset blush even more. “I don’t know about that.”

“It’s true. Every teacher should learn from their students.” Celestia looked around the room, taking note of all the books and completed projects scattered about. “These days I’m struggling to find any more material for you. You’ve exceeded all my expectations, and I’m not sure there’s much more I can teach you.”

The point of the conversation hit Sunset full force and left her with her mouth hanging open. Celestia wasn’t taking her time to reach a point, she was softening a blow. “There’s so much more for me to learn, though.”

“Yes, there is.” Celestia placed a hoof on Sunset’s, and she understood without needing to hear. ‘Yes, there is. But not from me.’

Celestia looked down at their hooves as she spoke. “Today was the entrance exams at the school. I met a promising young filly. In fact, I can only recall one other filly in recent times who had quite so much potential.”

That explained it. Celestia had found a new student who needed her, and she didn’t have enough time to focus on Sunset’s studies as well. She blinked as she willed away her tears and turned to Celestia with a smile. “She couldn’t ask for a better teacher.”

Celestia smiled as well. “I’m glad to see you’re taking this well. And I hope you know that I had not planned on things changing so quickly. But the amount of magical ability that she possesses could be a threat to herself and anypony around her if she doesn’t learn to control it.”

Sunset nodded. “I understand. And she’ll be in good hooves.”

“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.” Celestia’s smile grew and she looked into Sunset’s eyes. “She’s going to need a lot of attention to learn to harness so much energy. I was thinking it may be wise to seek assistance in teaching her.”

For the second time, Sunset found herself awestruck at what Celestia was implying. But there was no way Sunset understood her correctly. There was no way she was asking her to… “What do you mean?”

As Celestia answered, Sunset might as well have been a filly again, excitedly showing her beloved mentor that she also had a sun for a cutie mark. “You do have much to learn, Sunset. But a good teacher always learns from their student. I think the lessons you’ll learn from this young filly will take you much further than I can now. And I can think of nothing more fitting for your final task as my student than to help me pass the knowledge I’ve given you onto another young pony.”

Sunset felt resolve course through her. Celestia trusted her with this, and there was no way Sunset would let her down. “Of course. I’m honored to have this chance.”

“There is one more thing,” Celestia said with a hint of playfulness in her voice. “When I mentioned your name, our new student was quite excited. It seems that she may already know you. Does the name ‘Twilight Sparkle’ sound familiar?”

“Twilight Sparkle!?” Sunset shot straight up and found herself grinning.

“I’ll take that as a yes. The strangest thing happened during her exam. It was going poorly, but then a flash of rainbow light in the distance set off a spark that seemed to unlock her ability. Well, I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it.”

“Twilight Sparkle… She finally did it.”

“I’m glad to see you’re as excited as she is. Now rest up; tomorrow will be a busy day for all of us.”

“Thank you again, Princess. Good night.”

“Good night, my gifted student.”

Even with her excitement for the future, Sunset couldn’t help but feel a pull at her heart with those words. “I think I’m going to miss that nickname.”

Celestia paused at the door. “Oh, Sunset. No matter what else you go on to do, I’ll still think of you the same way.” Celestia looked back and Sunset almost thought she saw a tear in her eye. “You’ll always be my gifted student.”

---

The whole thing was bizarre. No, it was well past that. When it came down to it, Sunset couldn’t manage to even comprehend all that had happened.

Twilight had gone to Ponyville. That much had been expected. Sunset was even part of the plan there. Twilight had flourished under Celestia and Sunset’s guidance, but neither of them had been able to teach her friendship – likely because neither of them was much good at it in the first place.

But after that? Well, the story just grew more and more incredulous. Twilight had made friends, which was a surprise unto itself. But then she led those friends on a charge to stop Nightmare Moon, and in the process, they restored Celestia’s long lost sister back to her former self as Princess Luna.

Sunset had always known Twilight was destined for great things, but she was only now seeing for the first time how great.

But now was not the time to process all of this. Now was the time for an awkward meeting for which Sunset felt completely unprepared for. At least she was with Cadance.

“So, a trapped lunar goddess returned to us,” Sunset said as they walked up to Luna’s door.

“She’s not a goddess, Sunset,” Cadence said softly. “She’s Aunt Celestia’s sister. She’s family.”

“For you maybe,” Sunset said with a smirk. “For us mere mortals, well, that’s a different story.”

“As if you’ve ever thought yourself a ‘mere’ anything.” It was nice to see Cadance join in with the joke a little, but it was short lived. “Seriously, Sunset. Think about what she went through. Don’t say things like that around her.”

Sunset sighed. “Do you really think I don’t know when to hold my tongue?”

Cadance seemed to consider her for a moment, then she smiled a little more genuinely. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

A million smart remarks played through Sunset’s head, but she settled on an uncharacteristically subdued one to show she understood the gravity of the situation. “It’s okay. Come on, let’s go meet her.”

Sunset knocked on the door, and they waited a moment. The room was one of the only rooms in the castle that Sunset had never been to. Apparently it was Luna’s room from before she’d become Nightmare Moon, and Celestia had kept it as she left it. It was only in use again because she was back.

The seconds ticked on, and Sunset knocked again, a little louder. She exchanged glances with Cadance. They were well aware that Luna was in her room, unless she snuck out of a window or something. Why didn’t she answer?

Sunset was going to try knocking one more time, but before she did, the door creaked open. The room beyond was dark, but a mare’s shape could be seen. “Yes?”

Sunset took a deep breath. “Princess Luna? I’m Sunset Shimmer. I’m here with Princess Cadance. May we come in?”

Luna was silent for a moment, and Sunset wondered if she somehow hadn’t heard her. Eventually, she spoke quietly. “You may enter.”

They walked in, and Sunset realized the only light was coming from the still open door. Luna had her curtains drawn, and no torches lit.

Cadance spoke next. “We wanted to meet you because we’re both close to Princess Celestia. She adopted me as her niece when I became an alicorn, and Sunset –”

“I was your sister’s student, and now I am her co-teacher,” Sunset answered for herself. “Twilight Sparkle is my student.”

“Twilight Sparkle…” Luna said the name slowly. “She was the one… who saved me.”

Sunset nodded. “Yes. No one is more proud of her accomplishment with that than I am, or more surprised with her involvement.”

“I… I’m certain I caused you worry… I am sorry…”

Sunset looked at Cadance, who looked just as perplexed, then turned back to Luna. “What do you mean?”

“I… I put your student in danger, when I… when I was…”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Cadance said, stepping forward. “Aunt Celestia explained it to us, about Nightmare Moon. That wasn’t you.”

Luna was quiet for a moment, and it occurred to Sunset she hadn’t moved since they entered. “My sister is… she is very kind to me…”

This whole situation felt wrong. Luna was a battered and damaged mare, that much was obvious. Her time as Nightmare Moon and her banishment, they left her a shell of a pony.

Cadance could tell too. She took another step forward. “Let’s not worry about that right now. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

“I… no. The guards, they tend to my needs.”

Cadance smiled sadly. “You haven’t left your room since you’ve returned. Not even for meals.”

Luna looked apprehensively at Cadance, possibly alarmed by her continuously coming closer. “No. I haven’t felt the need to.”

Cadance stopped just in front of Luna. “We’d like to be your friends. We know you don’t know anypony except your sister, so we thought we could be the first.”

Luna didn’t say anything.

Sunset inwardly sighed and crossed the room much more steadily than Cadance had. “Look, Luna… you have a lot going on. I can tell you still blame yourself for whatever happened before. But this is a chance to start over, and we want to help with that.”

“I do not understand.” Luna looked between them. It was the largest movement she had made since they entered the room. “Why?”

“Because…” Cadance looked at Sunset.

“Because I got a second chance once.” Sunset looked to Cadance. “I was on a bad path, and I had a friend show me the right way. And I want to help you do the same.”

Cadance smiled and nodded. She turned back to Luna and extended her hoof. “The important thing is that we want to help, if you let us.”

“I… I do not know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Sunset said. “Let’s all sit together and I can tell you about Twilight or something.”

“Twilight Sparkle…” Luna repeated the name. “I… I would like to hear about her.”

Luna looked at Cadance’s outstretched hoof, then turned to look at Sunset again. She nodded, and Luna looked back to Cadance. Slowly, she raised her own hoof and brought it to Cadance’s.

---

Why did Luna need to have so many stairs? True, the trek to the top of the astronomy wing was really the least of her concerns, but that didn’t make it less of a hassle.

When she finally got to Luna’s door, Sunset didn’t bother knocking before entering. Courtesy was for ponies who didn’t have the audacity to have their rooms on the opposite side of the castle from Sunset’s. Besides, Luna already knew she was there.

“Greetings, Sunset,” Luna said as the door opened. She hadn’t needed to look up.

“Luna.” Sunset nodded to Luna then turned to the other pony in the room. “Twilight.”

“Sunset! Please tell me you see how weird Cadance is acting.”

Sunset couldn’t quite manage a smile for her student. “Yes, I do. And that’s exactly why I asked Luna to call you here.”

“Twilight was just telling me about the things she’s noticed today,” Luna said as Sunset took a seat beside her student. “It seems there is even more evidence to support your concerns.

“Both of you already know something’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Of course I know,” Sunset said. “Do you really think I wouldn’t know something’s wrong with Cadance?”

“So then how come nopony’s done anything about it!?” A sharp glare from Sunset reminded Twilight to keep her temper in check. “Sorry…”

“It’s okay, I know you’re worried about Cadance and your brother. But the situation is complicated.” Sunset bowed her head. “The main reason is that Celestia doesn’t believe that there’s anything wrong.”

“I had something to do with that, I’m afraid,” Luna added. “I have the ability to detect ponies’ unique magical signatures. Cadance’s is unchanged, meaning she is not an imposter.”

“Or meaning the imposter is capable of faking another pony’s magical signature,” Sunset insisted.

“Wait, hold on…” Twilight shook her head then stared incredulously at Sunset. “You think she’s an imposter?”

Sunset nodded. “Only after I ruled out mind control. No spells have been cast on Cadance, I made sure.”

“Yes,” Luna said, “Sunset only seems to doubt my abilities, it seems. She’s quite certain of her own.”

They’d been over this, but Sunset humored her again for Twilight’s sake. “I don’t doubt your ability, I just think that somepony powerful enough could mimic another pony’s magical signature.”

“It is theoretically possible,” Luna relented. “Perhaps you could do it, Sunset. But it would take somepony comparable to your skill to even pull it off, and then require considerable effort to maintain the illusion. Anypony skilled enough could surely find more devastating uses for their power than to interfere with a wedding. Even if it is a royal wedding.”

“But it is possible,” Sunset reiterated. “We can figure out the motive later.”

“But wait, could somepony even do that?” Twilight asked. “They’d need to keep it up while sleeping, unless…” She gasped. “You don’t think Shining’s replaced too, do you?”

“I haven’t noticed anything strange with Shining, but I know Cadance,” Sunset said forcefully. “And that is not her.”

“Remember that we are holding this meeting because I acknowledge your concerns.” Luna attempted to use the same look that had kept Twilight’s temper in check. It proved less effective on Sunset, who was in no mood to quell the fire burning within her.

“There are three options,” Luna said. “The best is that you’re both wrong and there is nothing to worry about.” Both Sunset and Twilight attempted to speak, but Luna silenced them by holding up a hoof. “The second, which I already know you will disagree with, is that Cadance herself has something underhoofed going on. The third is that Sunset is right, in which case we are all in a lot more danger than either of you likely realize.”

Twilight shot Sunset a nervous look. “So what can we do about it?”

“So far I’ve been monitoring her. As Cadance’s best mare, I have an excuse to follow her everywhere. If she does anything to blow her cover, I’ll be there to catch her.”

“And the moment we have proof, I will not hesitate to apprehend her,” Luna said. “In the meantime, while our answer may not be clear, our way forward is. Sunset will continue to be Cadance’s shadow, and I will continue to watch over the city during the nights.”

“But what about the real Cadance?” Twilight asked. “If this is an imposter, we have to find her!”

Both Sunset and Luna stared at Twilight, who still took a moment to get the hint. “Wait, you want me to find her?”

“You’re the only one who can,” Sunset said. “Since Celestia doesn’t believe us and nopony else will listen, it has to be you.”

“It may not be as futile as it seems,” Luna said. “Cadance is not being held in the castle, of that I am certain. I will make the time to search the city for her magic signature myself. Unless she is nowhere to be found within Canterlot, the only remaining place would be the caverns within the mountain.”

Twilight reared back. “The mountain caves? But those are uncharted, nopony can navigate them!”

“That is not entirely accurate.” Luna cast a brief glance toward the door. “My guards know the caves well. They have been instructed to assist you in this task, and are waiting for you outside the door now.”

Sunset could see the panic on Twilight’s face without her needing to say anything. “Twilight, listen to me. You can do this. You’ve taken on much bigger challenges than a search and rescue mission, and you always come out on top.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “Thank you, Sunset. I won’t let you down.”

Sunset nodded. “I know you won’t.”

She kept her certainty until her student was out of the room, then turned to Luna for encouragement. “She’s got this… right?”

Luna smiled. “Twilight Sparkle is an amazing mare. She will certainly excel at this task.”

“You’re right,” Sunset said, more to herself than Luna.

Luna walked across the room to sit beside Sunset. “Between the two of you, I must admit that I am far more concerned for you.”

Sunset smirked. “Oh? Suddenly believe me about Cadance being replaced?”

“I believe that it is a possibility, but I also believe you to be capable of dealing with any situation that may arise.” Luna gave her a concerned look. “But I can see that you are exhausted. You’ve been working nonstop since this whole thing started, and you are burning yourself out.”

There was no point in arguing, at least not with Luna. As soon as she returned, she and Sunset had been fast friends, and she could read Sunset like an open book. “Yeah, I haven’t been sleeping well. Got any cure for that, O Nocturnal Princess?”

“Unless it is because nightmares are plaguing you, I’m afraid that I would not know any remedy you wouldn’t already know of.”

Sunset sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that. On that note, I should head back. I have to go down all six thousand bucking stairs, after all…”

Luna placed a hoof on Sunset’s before she could get up. “You need not leave, if you’d prefer to stay. You are welcome to my bed.”

Sunset chuckled. “Geez, maybe buy a mare a drink first?”

“I did not say I would be in it. Remember that I shall be watching over the city until my sister is awake, by which time I suppose you’ll be gone.”

“It’s Sunset, not Sunrise.” Sunset was not the only open book, and she didn’t buy into Luna’s deflection for a moment. She leaned in a little closer as she continued. “Suppose I’m not gone. Suppose I’m waiting for you. What happens if I’m still in your bed when you get back to it?”

Not to be outdone, Luna leaned in closer as well, touching her forehead to Sunset’s. “Whatever you might be comfortable with. But returning to find a beautiful mare in my bed? I shall not think I’ll be complaining, no matter what that may be.”

“Luna…” Sunset pulled her head back, just a bit. “Is this just because of the wedding?”

Luna frowned and turned away. “Yes, I suppose it probably is. I apologize; you have been a dear friend to me, and I would not wish to be unfair to you.”

“No, I just wanted to make sure where we stand before taking this any further.” When it came down to it, Sunset suspected the stress relief would benefit both of them. She grinned and leaned her body against Luna’s. “Yeah, I guess you’re pretty comfy. No promises, but we can see what happens.”

“Oh?” Luna perked up. “Then it shall be a morning to remember.”

“I have no doubt there.” Even though it was tempting to just keep resting on Luna, Sunset forced herself up. “But first, it shall be a night to sleep through. I hope your bed is comfortable.”

“Fit for a princess, I assure you.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and stood up. She barely made it two steps before wincing as a realization hit her. “Your bedroom is up another flight of stairs, isn’t it?”

Luna laughed. “It is. You know, your magic is second to none, but perhaps you could benefit from putting some effort into your stamina as well.”

Although the thought of climbing more stairs filled her with dread, Sunset hid that as she rolled her eyes. “Luna, come on. I’m an archmage of the highest order. Why would I need to exercise?”

---

Sunset made a mental note to exercise more often. Relying on her magic was always fine in theory, but now that it was about to be put to the test, she realized it wouldn’t hurt to have physical skills to fall back on.

But whether she was prepared or not, time was running out. Twilight still hadn’t found Cadance, and the day of the wedding had arrived. To top it off, there wasn’t going to be a better chance to take action – Sunset and Celestia were alone in the dressing room with the pony who had taken Cadance’s place.

“I’m afraid there’s still no sign of Twilight,” Celestia said with a frown.

“You know, she’s been acting strange since she got here,” the pink alicorn said. “It’s almost as if she’s not even happy about my wedding.”

Sunset bit back her reply. Not ‘the’ wedding, ‘my’ wedding, as if Shining Armor wasn’t a part of it. The real Cadance would never talk about their wedding like that, especially in relation to Shining’s own sister.

“Of course she is,” Celestia insisted obliviously. “I’m sure she’ll turn up any minute now.”

“And in the meantime, you’ve still got me!” Sunset wrapped a foreleg around the imposter’s shoulders. “You know I’ll always be around to look out for my baby sister.”

It was only for a moment, but irritation flashed across Not Cadance’s face. Even when it passed, she did a bad job at covering it with an obviously forced laugh. “Thanks, Sunset. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Sunset, not Sunny. But no evidence mattered unless it convinced Celestia, who was far too preoccupied with the fact that one of her little fillies was getting married to notice anything so subtle.

Time to see if she’d done her research. Sunset turned her attention to a bouquet on the vanity table that the imposter was sitting at. “Pink roses, both of our favorite. Of course, you remember that time as teenagers, right?”

To her credit, Not Cadance didn’t falter in the slightest. “How could I forget?”

“But you know, I don’t think Celestia’s heard it.” Sunset glanced to Celestia, who looked perplexed. Not only was she aware of the day at the library, but she had been known to tell the story herself on occasion. “Why don’t you tell her about it? A little bit of looking back before your big day!”

Not Cadance grinned along, but her eyes flickered around. “Oh, but you tell it so much better!”

That had been expected, so Sunset just grinned and rolled her eyes. “I do, don’t I? It was that time Cadance and I visited her parents. We were playing in the woods when Cadance yelled for me to come over. I thought she was in trouble, so I ran to her as fast as I could. But then when I got there, it turned out that she had stumbled on a whole field of pink roses! We found out later that it was a florist’s hidden stock, but at the time, we really thought it was a whole field full of perfectly pink roses.”

Celestia looked like she was about to speak, but Sunset silenced her with a glance.

Predictably, Not Cadance just smiled along with the fake memory. “I’ll never forget that one.”

Celestia stepped forward to stand on the pink alicorn’s other side, so that she was surrounded by the other two ponies. “I remember when you first came to live with us, Cadance. I’d never seen two fillies become friends so quickly. Right from that first day, you and Sunset were inseparable.”

Perfect, Celestia could finally see it. It had been over a month before Sunset could stand to be in the same room as Cadance, which Celestia certainly hadn’t forgotten. But of course, Not Cadance didn’t know that. “Settling in certainly was easier thanks to my big sister’s warm welcome.”

Sunset chuckled. “Well, it’s like I said. I’ll always look out for my baby sister.”

Without warning, Sunset grabbed the imposter in her magic and threw her into the mirror. As she screamed and glass flew everywhere, even Celestia jumped back.

“Sunset! Don’t you think that’s a little too far?”

“Look, you trail some bitch pretending to be Luna for a few weeks, and then you can tell me what’s too far.”

“Fair…”

The imposter’s pink fur was stained red with blood as she crawled her way onto her hooves. “What!? Why would you –”

“It’s over,” Celestia said. She held out a wing to push Sunset back. “Only one changeling could pull this off so flawlessly. Why don’t you drop the disguise and tell me where my niece is, Chrysalis?”

To Sunset’s surprise, Chrysalis laughed and stood up to her full height. Green flames covered her body, and when they vanished, a hard black exoskeleton replaced Cadance’s pink coat. She stood much taller, nearly as tall as Celestia, and she had holes in her legs and her wispy green mane.

She looked like a demon masquerading as a pony.

“I knew I should have gotten rid of you while I had the chance,” Chrysalis said to Sunset.

Celestia used her magic to push Sunset back further. “You will not touch her! And now that I know who you are, I will not allow you to hurt anypony again!”

A golden beam shot from Celestia’s horn. It collided mid-air with a green one from Chrysalis, and Sunset could only stare.

In all the years Sunset had studied under Celestia, she had never seen her mentor unleash the full force of her magic on anything. The force from the beams colliding resonated through Sunset and kept her transfixed on the sight.

It should have been glorious. It should have been a story Sunset would tell for years. But when Chrysalis pushed her magic harder and Celestia failed to do the same, there was only terror.

As Celestia fell, so too did Sunset’s heart.

“I… I did it.” Chrysalis looked down at Celestia’s motionless body and stepped forward. “I won! Oh, how the mighty –”

Chrysalis was cut off as a shielding spell was opened between her and Celestia, then expanded until it pushed her against the wall. She dispelled it easily, then glared at Sunset, who was standing protectively over Celestia.

“Get away from her!”

Chrysalis stepped forward slowly, using her large size to make an attempt at intimidation. “Does the little pony think she can –”

Sunset lunged at Chrysalis, teleporting both of them as she brought her hoof into the changeling’s face. By the time Chrysalis’s horn was lit, Sunset had already teleported behind her.

Ponies were screaming, and Sunset realized they were in the reception hall where the wedding was supposed to take place. “Get Luna!” she ordered to nopony in particular.

“You’re a fiery one, I’ll give you that,” Chrysalis said as she turned to sneer at Sunset. “But do you really think you can do anything to me when I’ve already defeated your precious little princess?”

Sunset burned with rage. It didn’t matter what Chrysalis was capable of. Sunset was going to make her suffer. “Try me, bitch.”

A green beam shot toward Sunset, who didn’t even try to meet it head-on. Instead, she focused her magic on the marble floor, ripping a slab of it up and using it as a shield against the attack. It shattered, and Sunset could make out Chrysalis protecting herself from the rubble.

Not Sunset, though. She ignored the stones that pelted her, not even feeling the sting. Her horn lit, and a ring of flames surrounded her and Chrysalis, separating them from other ponies.

Chrysalis shied away from the flames, but Sunset welcomed them. The heat only fed the fire inside her as she stared down her adversary. “You have no idea what you’re up against,” Sunset told her calmly. “You’re playing with fire now, Chrysalis. And you’re going to burn.”

---

There seemed to be no end to the visitors. Every day since Sunset had woken up in the hospital, ponies had been in and out nonstop. It got to the point that Twilight had to step in and start scheduling when they could see her.

Although her memories became blurry after a point, Sunset could remember most of the fight with Chrysalis. She had held Chrysalis off with fast thinking and clever uses of her magic, but there was no stopping the ending; Chrysalis’s raw power had been enough to take out Celestia. The fire had thrown her off or a while, but eventually, she managed to catch Sunset.

It was hell when she did. Sunset had landed more than a few damaging blows on Chrysalis, and the changeling queen was not one to overlook that. But Sunset had turned her malicious nature against her, goading Chrysalis into hurting her so that she would delay the killing blow just long enough. Luna’s arrival was the last thing Sunset could distinctly remember.

Only once Sunset woke up was she able to take stock of her injuries. The most noteworthy was her left foreleg, which might never see use again. The bone had been fractured in several places, and even if it healed, it wasn’t likely to heal fully. Even with magic, repairing something inside a pony’s body was imprecise. They saved it from amputation, and what happened next would need to be discovered in time.

There were three notable injuries on her face, but Sunset insisted those were merely cosmetic, no matter how bad they looked. From the same attack, Sunset had lost the tip of her right ear and a section of her mane, which may or may not grow back depending on how the scar tissue healed. There was also a cut across her face that she couldn’t remember the origin of, spreading from her left cheek to her muzzle.

There was a fair amount of bruising and more minor cuts. Some would likely leave scars, but none that were so bad they’d be highly noticeable through her coat. She’d also lost some of the hair on her tail from getting too close to her own fire, but she had put it out before it could burn her skin.

Sunset just shrugged off everything but her foreleg when it came up, insisting that each one was a testament to having survived a fight with the queen of the changelings. It was only late at night that Sunset revealed her insecurities about her appearance, and even then only to one pony. Luna, however, assured her that she was still beautiful.

Luna also filled her in on everything else that had happened. When Luna arrived, she managed to subdue Chrysalis. She attributed the feat to Sunset wearing her down, although Sunset suspected that was just for the sake of her ego. Luna arranged for Sunset’s and Celestia’s medical care before leading both the Celestial and Lunar guards in ridding Canterlot of changelings. It was apparently chaos, even with Chrysalis subdued, but Twilight returned with Cadance, who was able to power Shining Armor’s shield spell and immediately purge the city of changelings.

Although many ponies had important roles during the invasion, Sunset’s injuries and early action resulted in her getting most of the praise. To hear some ponies tell it, Sunset may as well have fought off the changelings by herself.

Sunset would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the attention. It didn’t make up for the loss of use of her foreleg, but it certainly helped keep her from being miserable about it all the time. Plus between Cadance and Shining refusing to have the wedding until Sunset could fulfil her place as best mare, the overwhelming amount of pride she felt at Twilight’s success, and Luna ignoring visiting hours to make late night visits and cuddle Sunset while she slept, her spirits were kept much higher than they could have been.

Indeed, Luna, Twilight, and Cadance had been by her side constantly. Her other visitors included Spike, all of Twilight’s friends, Twilight’s parents, Shining Armor with a squad of soldiers, Cadance’s parents, a couple dozen ponies Sunset didn’t know but who had been there for the wedding, and even Sunset’s own parents. Granted, that had been a painfully awkward visit that Sunset would have rather done without, but they still came. It seemed that every pony in Canterlot had made the time to stop by her room and thank her for keeping their city and loved ones safe.

Every pony in Canterlot, except for one.

When Sunset had first woken up, Celestia had been there. But in the flurry of doctors and nurses, she had vanished before Sunset could so much as speak to her. It took a full week for Celestia to visit, and when she did, she scheduled it in advance. That part irritated Sunset more than it really should have, but at least she had plenty of time to figure out what she was going to say.

“Hello, Sunset,” Celestia said as she entered the room. “Are you feeling well enough for visitors?”

“Forty-six.”

Celestia stopped in place. “Come again?”

“I’ve had forty-six different ponies visit me this week.”

If Celestia saw Sunset’s point, she pretended otherwise. “I imagine that must have been a lot for you to take in. I hope you’re still managing to get plenty of rest.”

“You know, there’s a funny thing about resting and talking with other ponies.” Sunset stared pointedly at Celestia. “The two aren’t really mutually exclusive.”

Celestia took a step back. “Is, uhm, is this a bad time? I can leave you alone, if you’d prefer.”

How could the pony who had taught some of Equestria’s brightest minds be so damn dense? “I would have preferred if you didn’t wait a whole week to come see me! What, couldn’t work it into your schedule sooner!?”

Celestia bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this would be so important to you.”

Sunset huffed and leaned back in her bed. “No. Of course you wouldn’t.”

Celestia hesitated, likely worried that Sunset would start yelling again, then took a seat beside her. “I brought you something.”

It was clear that Celestia was trying to put the issue behind them, and Sunset wanted to as well. When Celestia presented Sunset with a box of her favorite candies, Sunset wanted to thank her. She wanted to smile and make a joke about everything that had happened. She didn’t want to be so angry, especially not at Celestia.

Sunset closed her eyes and willed her temper to stay in check. “I know you’re busy. I know there’s a lot of stuff going on with the aftermath of everything. But… everyone else made it. Everyone but you.”

“I… I’m sorry. I see now how inconsiderate I’ve been.”

Sunset opened her eyes to see Celestia had turned away from her. “You weren’t moving.” There was no anger left in Sunset’s voice, only the desperation and the lingering memory of terror that hadn’t fully left her. “I saw Chrysalis’s attack hit you, and then… nothing. When I fought Chrysalis, I didn’t even know if you were alive.”

Celestia’s head sunk lower. “Oh, my poor student… It is not right that this fell to you. If only I had been more attentive… I could have realized Chrysalis’s trap before she had grown too strong for me to stop by myself, or I could have confronted her with Luna. I could have… I could have done something different that could have kept you safe!”

In all the years that Sunset had known Celestia, she’s never seen such a large crack in her ever-regal demeanor. “Is that why you didn’t come sooner?”

Celestia hesitantly lifted her head a little. “I was… not sure how to speak with you. Not after you’ve suffered so much for my foolishness…”

“It’s not your fault, and I don’t blame you or anything, I just…” Sunset grunted as she pushed herself back into a sitting position. “I know you’re not my mom or anything, but… you brought me into your home, you took care of me while I was growing up, you did a hell of a lot more than my ‘real’ parents ever did, and…”

It had been eighteen years since Sunset had first been Celestia’s student. Eighteen years of one of the most important and complicated relationships in Sunset’s life, and yet she still found herself doing something for the first time.

Sunset leaned against Celestia and used her one good foreleg to hug her as tightly as she could manage. “I love you. And…” Sunset broke down and found herself crying into Celestia’s chest. “And I was so scared I’d never get to tell you that!”

Celestia sat rigid for a moment, then slowly placed one foreleg around Sunset. Soon, she wrapped the other around her as well, pulling Sunset in closer as she cried. “Shh, it’s okay. I’ll always be here for you, Sunset. I love you too.”

---

“The whole castle’s been swept clean,” Sunset reported. “No sign of Sombra’s magic remaining.”

“Good. And the town?”

“Shining and the guards are still checking it out, but a preliminary report from my pegasi scouts suggests it’s perfectly safe and secure.”

Cadance nodded solemnly. “Excellent work. Thank you, Captain Shimmer.”

Sunset saluted. “Happy to be of assistance, Princess Cadenza.”

Both ponies maintained eye contact for a moment, but soon Cadance caved in and started to laugh, and Sunset wasn’t long to follow.

“I still can’t believe this is all real,” Cadance said as they walked towards her bedroom.

Every fourth beat of Sunset’s hoofsteps sounded slightly off. Thanks to a leg brace of her own design, she managed walking just as well as she always had, but her leg had never healed properly and her rhythm would always be slightly off. At least her officer’s jacket covered the brace; the tip of her ear being gone, the missing section of her mane, and the scar across her face were always on display.

But she didn’t let it get to her too much. Nopony in Canterlot ever saw her as less than a hero. And even though it had been Twilight and Spike that saved the Crystal Empire, the crystal ponies seemed to have nothing but respect for the new Captain of the Crystal Guard.

None of that would stop Sunset from teasing her little sister, of course. “I still can’t believe you roped me into following you and cleaning up your messes.”

“I don’t recall you being too hard to convince.” Cadance smirked. “I actually thought you might not want to come, considering how much time you’ve been spending with a certain somepony.”

Sunset chuckled. “Luna and I will figure things out. I talked to her about it before committing to anything and we’re still on the same page about us. We have a lot of fun together, and we’re very important parts of each other’s lives, but we were never anything serious.”

“Uh huh,” Cadance said knowingly as they reached her room.

Sunset grinned and blushed a little. “And… she said she’d come visit. Often.”

Cadance giggled. “Of course. So do you think the wedding should be here, or in Canterlot?”

Sunset nudged her. “Wherever you want it to be, since it’s only gonna happen in your dreams. Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be resting up? You must be exhausted.”

“Too tired to tease you? Never.” Right on cue, Cadance let out a yawn. “Alright, I am pretty tired. But I have to give you something first. I wanted to give it to you as soon as we got here, but then this whole ordeal with Sombra happened.”

Sunset followed Cadance into her room. “Oh? Is this a ‘thanks for becoming Captain of the Crystal Guard’ thing or a ‘thanks for being an amazing teacher to the mare who saved me twice now’ thing?”

“Neither.” Cadance led them to a table, which was empty of anything that she might give to Sunset. “It’s more of a ‘thank you for being the best sister in the world’ thing.”

After spending so long keeping Sombra’s magic at bay without sleeping, it was frankly surprising that Cadance found it in her to do anything at all. And yet, she focused her magic into a thin beam, which she aimed at the table. Where it touched, a short green crystal grew, then another on top of it, then another, continuing in a jagged line. After several segments, a larger pink crystal bloomed into a flower atop the green ones, creating a crystalline pink rose.

Sunset levitated it over for a closer look. Crystals were hard to work with, and yet Cadance had created a perfect flower out of nothing, complete with individual petals.

“I’ve been practicing,” Cadance said. “I’m sure it’s nothing compared to what you could do, but...”

Sunset shook her head and smiled. “It’s beautiful.”

---

A silver light poured into the room, just enough to reveal the face of a sleeping purple alicorn. Sunset carefully made her way into the room, stopping just short of Twilight’s bed. She smiled at her student, but had to roll her eyes upon seeing that she’d just left her crown on the bedside table.

It would have been a clean getaway too, but Spike rolled over as she was trying to leave, and Sunset tripped on his tail. She hit the ground with a grunt as pain shot through her bad leg, and she heard Spike’s voice behind her.

“Huh? What?”

“Sunset?” Twilight asked as she pushed herself up. Spike rushed over to help support her on her left side. She smiled appreciatively as she made sure the crystal rose hadn’t fallen out of the buttonhole on her officer’s jacket.

The damage was done, so Sunset limped over to Twilight’s bed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just checking on the night guards, and thought I could stop in real quick to check on you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Twilight said. “I wasn’t exactly sleeping soundly anyway.”

“Speak for yourself,” Spike added.

Sunset laughed and poked his stomach. “Oh, I have no doubt you were sleeping soundly. Frankly, I’m surprised I even woke you up at all!”

“I don’t sleep that heavy…” Spike grumbled, causing both mares to laugh.

“And I think I can guess what’s keeping you up,” Sunset said to Twilight. “Nervous about the summit tomorrow?’

“Well, that’s part of it, but mostly it’s because of these…” Twilight spread out a wing. “I just can’t get used to them!”

Sunset grinned. “Unfortunately, that’s something I can’t help you much with. But I’m sure you’ll get used to it soon.”

“I hope so. There’s a lot to get used to lately…”

“Yeah, I know.” Sunset wrapped a foreleg around Twilight. “But I know you’ll do great, Twi. You learned from the best, after all.”

Twilight laughed. “Thanks, Sunset.” She looked at her crown and her smile dropped a bit. “And… I’m sorry.”

Sunset cocked her head. “Why?”

“Because… I know you always wanted to be a princess.”

It was a testament to how much Twilight had grown that she even noticed that. Sunset had never stated that so plainly to her, and as bright as her pupil was, she was usually very bad at reading between the lines. But it seemed that learning about friendship had given her reason to read other ponies better; Sunset resolved to be more careful with what she told Twilight in the future.

“You’re right. I always wanted it.” Sunset levitated Twilight’s crown over for a better view, appreciating the fine details that she might normally miss. “And I guess, when it comes down to it, I still do. Being a princess just like Celestia has been my dream since I was nine years old, but I know it’ll never happen.”

“It’s not fair,” Twilight said. “I didn’t even want to be a princess, and nopony deserves it more than you.”

Sunset smiled and set the crown back down. “You know, Cadance told me pretty much the same thing a long time ago. But that’s just it, part of the reason you’re both perfect for this is because you wouldn’t pursue it. I was the youngest student in CSGU, and it wasn’t good enough. I was Celestia’s pupil, and it wasn’t good enough. I got an unprecedented position as a co-teacher with her, became an archmage, took on the queen of the changelings, and none of it has been enough for me. Now I’m the Captain of the Crystal Guard, and I still want to be a princess. So what happens if I become a princess and that’s still not enough?”

“Uh, I don’t think there’s anything after princess,” Spike said.

Sunset shook her head. “There’s always ways to get more power for ponies cunning enough. And I don’t think it’s just my ego talking when I say I’m cunning enough.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Twilight said. “I think you’d be a great princess.”

“You have to say that, you’re my student.” Sunset mussed Twilight’s mane. “But it doesn’t really matter. I couldn’t be more proud of you than I am, and Cadance too. Because you know, I may want to be a princess, but I don’t need that. I already have everything I need. I have you two, Cadance, Shining, Luna, and Celestia.” Sunset placed a foreleg around both of them and pulled them closer to her. “I’ve got my family, and that’s all I ever really needed.”
⠀

⠀
Sunset stumbled back from the bookshelf. She fell to the ground and held her head in her hands. At first, both realities were true. Sunset had hated Cadance more than anything as a teenager, just as she had adopted her as a beloved little sister. Twilight was her nemesis that had taken everything from her, just as she was Sunset’s pupil.

Her mind slowly reconciled the fact that the two realities did not coexist, but the memories remained. Vivid memories of a world that was impossible, yet still seemed so real.

It had been a better life. Sunset had been happy. She hadn’t achieved everything she wanted, and she had suffered personal loss that she otherwise wouldn’t have, but she had still been happy with what she had. And all of it hinged on one conversation going differently. She remembered that day in the library, but she had walked away and not looked back. If she had stayed, would everything have been different?

Sunset didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to return to the ash trail to continue walking endlessly. She remained on the ground for some time, hoping something would happen, hoping that she could somehow return to the world she had seen.

But nothing happened. Time passed, and the only change was Sunset resigning herself to her fate. The path she was on had run out, so she stood up and turned around. There was no other way to go.

The way back to the ash path was short and easy to find. Although she hadn’t seen the crystal path from the ash one, now the two converged at the point she had first left the trail, creating a proper crossroad.

As Sunset returned to the trail of ash, she found herself much less sure of it. Before, it had seemed familiar and that had been comforting. Now, she knew what else there could have been.

She kept a more careful watch on the world around her, and realized it was not so straightforward as she had thought. She could make out things around her, vague shapes that seemed to disappear when she tried to focus on them.

“That’s not really for you to know, now is it?”

Sunset grimaced. After having seen a world in which she and Celestia had a complicated, yet positive relationship, hearing those words again stung. She barely found it in herself to look up at the memory.

“You could be great. I thought I saw compassion and sincerity in you, but it was nothing but ambition. You’re being selfish, you need to step back and reflect –”

Every word struck like a blow. The words in the memory had always hurt because Celestia had been the one speaking them, but never quite like this.

“No. Being a princess must be earned. I have been trying to teach you everything you need to know, but you’ve turned from it. Every time you say you ‘deserve’ to get something without the effort just proves to me that you are not ready.”

At the time, Sunset had been so sure she was right. Years later, self-hatred had brought her to the point where the memory had hurt because she knew what Celestia was saying was true. But now? Now she knew that even if the words were true, they didn’t have to be.

“Sunset Shimmer, I am removing you from the position of my pupil. If we cannot get past this, your studies end here. You are welcome to stay in Canterlot, But you are no longer welcome in the castle.”

Sunset looked into Celestia’s face, saw the anger in those magenta eyes. “I’m sorry…”

“No. The guards will escort you out.”

The memory came to its conclusion and Celestia fell to ashes. Sunset remained staring at the space where Celestia had been. But there was no undoing the past, and she knew that. The only thing she could do was keep going down the path that she had made for herself. There was no other way.

When Sunset continued walking, the path was lined with even more red spider lilies. They grew along the sides and down the middle of the path, making them practically unavoidable. Sunset gave up trying.

More painful memories followed, this time all humans. She saw Violet Dusk watching out for her when Sunset was a young girl, Sugar Breeze after Dew Drop had been adopted and she hoped in vain that Sunset might become a friend, Rose Petal trying her best with an unruly adolescent.

And Sunset knew that was just the surface. There were so many people who had meant her no harm, and yet Sunset had wound up making them all miserable. And that meant it was only a matter of time before…

“Uh, Sunset?”

Applejack. She had seen this coming. Hell, she had anticipated this exact memory.

“I just… thank you.”

Sunset weighed her options. She knew what happened in this memory, and there wasn’t much point in reliving it. A pointless look around showed there was nothing new to be seen, and Sunset made up her mind.

“Well, I mean… You saved my life.”

Sunset reached her hand out to Applejack’s shoulder, and the memory turned to ash immediately. She felt guilty, but it was pointless to hear that conversation again.

Unless it happened differently.

Sunset looked to the path ahead of her and saw no end. If it worked once before, it might work again. And really, what did she have to lose?

Sunset stepped off the path to where Applejack had been. With nothing to stop her, she walked ahead.

Once again, the ground changed beneath her feet. It was soft and still made noise as she walked on it, but it was more of a rustling sound. She bent down to feel it and realized it was grass.

Sunset closed her eyes for a moment. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she was beginning to see patterns in the world. She focused on what she knew, that she was standing on grass, and opened her eyes again.

She could see the grass beneath her feet. It was slightly overgrown and there were apples scattered about. Sunflowers lined the path, and Sunset followed it.

The ash path had been familiar. The crystal path had been enticing. This one was peaceful. Sunset felt more calm while walking it than she could remember feeling in a long time. Maybe more than she had ever felt in her life.

That came to an abrupt end when the ground beneath her opened up, and Sunset fell into the burning cold water.
⠀

⠀
Even though Sunset was back in her bedroom in warm clothes and a heated environment, she was still shivering. She was sitting on the floor while Applejack was on her bed, and the only sound came from the CD she had playing. Sunset knew that wouldn’t last, though.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Applejack forgot their agreement to not speak and said, “Uh, Sunset?”

“Yeah?”

“I just… thank you.”

That wasn’t fair. Sunset didn’t deserve that. “For what?”

“Well, I mean… You saved my life.”

Sunset hung her head. “No, I almost got you killed.”

“It was an accident, and you came in after me.”

She knew what she should say. She knew that she should tell Applejack that it hadn’t been an accident, that Sunset had intended all of it. Convince Applejack that she wasn’t worth trying to save, no matter what the cost.

Sunset knew that, but she couldn’t say it. The words were right there, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, couldn’t stand the thought of Applejack thinking that low of her. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not someone you should be thanking. Fixing my own fuck up shouldn’t count as a good thing.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t thank you for what ya did.” Applejack paused for a moment before adding, “And besides, if I don’t wanna blame you for the fight, then that’s my business.”

Sunset wanted to argue. She wanted Applejack to see how this was all her fault. But the words wouldn’t come, not after everything that had happened. “Whatever…”

The song changed on the CD, meaning it was half over. She had less than half an hour to find a way to convince Applejack to leave her alone.

“Sunset, why… why do you act this way?”

“I don’t know.” Sunset shrugged. “I just am how I am.”

“And are you really happy all by yourself all the time?”

Sunset wondered when the last time she had ever really been happy was. She couldn’t remember. “People like me don’t get to be happy.”

Although Sunset continued to avoid looking at Applejack, she must have moved to the edge of the bed. Sunset heard rustling, and then Applejack’s voice was closer when she said, “I don’t really believe that.”

What did Applejack know? She didn’t know anything about what Sunset was going through, she didn’t know about the nightmares, the hallucinations, the false memories taunting her, always being alone, anything! “That’s easy for you to say. You live in a picturesque little farmhouse with your perfect family. Maybe in your world you can just hug all your problems away, but that’s not how things work for me.”

Applejack got off the bed to sit next to Sunset, bringing the blanket with her. “That’s not exactly true. Maybe I got some things that you don’t, but things ain’t so perfect for me either.”

“Oh yeah?” Sunset scowled as she turned to face Applejack for the first time. “Let’s hear it then. What’s so bad in your world that makes you think you can understand me? What, your little sister gives you a hard time? Your parents didn’t buy you the right toys for Christmas?”

Applejack bowed her head. “No, they’re… they’re gone.”

Sunset’s mouth fell open. “Gone? You mean they died?”

Applejack just nodded, and all Sunset could do was remember the things she’d said before the fight. “God… I’m such an asshole…”

Applejack placed a hand on her shoulder. Sunset didn’t understand how Applejack could stand to touch her. “Hey, ya didn’t know. You don’t need another thing to beat yourself up about.”

Sunset clenched her fists. “No. Fuck this. You don’t get to console me right after you tell me something like that. You shouldn’t even care about me at all! I’ve been awful to you for weeks, I’ve spread rumors about you, you almost died because of me!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t. I… Wait, are you…?”

Sunset didn’t want to cry, but everything was too much. “You almost died… and it would’ve been all my fault…”

“Shh, it’s okay.” Applejack moved closer to Sunset, who had wrapped her arms around herself. “Here. You look like you’re freezing.”

Although Applejack had to know that the cold wasn’t responsible for Sunset’s shaking, she still wrapped the blanket around her. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m still here.”

This was wrong. Sunset needed to push Applejack away, that was the only way to keep her safe. And yet, just like seven years ago, Sunset found herself crying as Applejack held her.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

---

The odds of this meeting going well were extremely small. On a good day, there would have been more ways it could go wrong than ways it could go right. But today? Today there wasn’t a chance this conversation wasn’t going to devolve into an argument.

It might have been better to avoid it until another day, but Sunset had given her word that she would show up. So bad outcome or not, she made her way to the bus circle after school.

Applejack and Golden Harvest were already talking by the time she showed up. “Hey, sorry I’m late,” Sunset said as she approached them. “Ran into some trouble.”

Applejack turned and smiled. “No problem, how – Goodness sakes, what happened to ya!?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sunset took a deep breath through her mouth; breathing through her nose was difficult through the blood. She ignored Applejack’s shocked expression to turn to Golden Harvest, so that she might better ignore her shocked expression. “Alright, so, I know I was awful to you last year, and I wasn’t a whole hell of a lot better when we met over winter break, but I want to apologize.”

Whether it was due to her obviously forced tone or the dried blood on Sunset’s face, Golden Harvest didn’t seem to have noticed her apology. “What did you do this time!?”

Sunset’s first instinct was intimidation. Golden Harvest was questioning her? Surely she of all people should know better. But, regrettably, that wasn’t an option for Applejack’s friend, so sarcasm was the best she could get. “I was off picking flowers. Had a delightful time.”

“Did someone do that to you?” Applejack asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” Sunset smirked as she tried to defuse the situation. “And besides, you hit harder anyway.”

“Unbelievable,” Golden Harvest said. “I don’t know why you think she’s changed, AJ. Just look at her!”

Applejack looked at her pleadingly, and Sunset knew what she wanted – some explanation that would make it okay for Sunset to have a bloody nose. Some reason that would show Golden Harvest that Sunset was worth trying to fix.

Only she wasn’t. Sunset wasn’t worth Applejack’s time, and she knew it. There was no hiding that, and she wasn’t about to try. “Look, this is a waste of time. I should just go.”

Sunset turned, but Applejack wasted no time in calling after her. “Sunset Shimmer! Don’t you dare walk away!”

Sunset turned back and threw her arms out. “Why not? Even someone like you has to be able to see that this is an awful idea.”

Applejack folded her arms. “Even someone like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sunset facepalmed. “Nothing, I just… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

Applejack sighed. “Alright, fine. But you could at least tell me what happened.”

“Why? What does it matter?”

“Because we’re friends, and I don’t want bad things happening to my friends!”

Sunset gestured to herself. “Newsflash, AJ: I’m the bad thing here! If you really want to know, I started a fight. That’s it, that’s all there is to it.”

“Like hell that’s it!” Applejack walked closer to her so they were face to face. “I’m not as dumb as you seem to think I am. I know fighting isn’t the way you do things.”

“I don’t think you’re dumb!”

“Oh, but you think I’ll just accept ‘oh, don’t worry about my face’ as an explanation?”

“How is not wanting you to worry the same thing as thinking you’re dumb!?”

“I see what’s going on. You want this to go bad because then I’ll have another reason to give up on you and ya can go back to feelin’ sorry for yourself!”

Sunset opened her mouth to respond, then realized Applejack was probably right.

Applejack clearly knew she’d gained ground on that one, so she dug her feet in. “So what happened, Sunset?”

Sunset looked away. “I lost my temper and hit someone. It didn’t work out so well.”

Applejack inclined her head. “Ya lose your temper every day, but ya don’t go around hittin’ people. So one more time… What happened?”

Sunset clenched her teeth and gave in. “Someone was talking shit about you, okay!? More of that stupid fucking rumor, and she didn’t shut up when I told her to. So I punched her because I’m an idiot who’s too dumb to realize she doesn’t know how to fight. Happy now?”

Applejack shook her head in disbelief. “Why would I be happy with that!? Do you think I want you fighting people because of me!?”

“No.”

“Then why would ya do something like that!?”

“I don’t know!” Sunset turned her back to Applejack and neither of them said anything.

“Uh…” Golden Harvest said after a while. “Should… I just, er, go?”

Sunset had forgotten about her. “No, I’ll go. This was never going to work out anyway.”

Surprisingly, Applejack didn’t try to stop Sunset as she walked away. Equally surprisingly, Golden Harvest did. “Uhm, Sunset?”

Sunset stopped walking, and glanced towards Golden Harvest. She looked nervous. “Yeah?”

“I… still think this is a really bad idea. And I don’t forgive you for what happened last year. But… if you’re really trying to be better, and if Applejack thinks you can, well… I guess I’m willing to give you a chance.”

It was funny how she thought Sunset cared about any of that. But then Applejack smiled, and Sunset no longer found it funny as she realized she did care, even if not for the right reason. “You’re right; this is definitely a bad idea. But thanks, anyway.”

---

Sunset woke with a start. She frantically glanced around, but she could only see darkness.

‘It wasn’t real,’ she reminded herself. ‘It was just a nightmare.’

It didn’t help. No matter what she told herself, she still felt the burn of magenta eyes.

She tried to ground herself in reality. She was staying the night at Applejack’s house. They were sharing a bed because Applejack had been raised in a home that didn’t think that was strange, and even though Sunset did feel weird about that, she never said so. That meant Applejack was right beside her, and nothing bad would happen when Applejack was around. She needed to calm down, or else her shaking would wake her up.

“Mmm, Sunset? You okay?” Applejack mumbled.

Sunset tried to calm herself as much as possible before answering. “Y-yeah.”

Although she had her back turned towards Applejack, Sunset heard her sitting up. “Another nightmare?”

Sunset squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m fine. Go back to sleep, AJ.” A hand rested on Sunset’s shoulder, and she instinctively pulled away. That would only worry Applejack more though, and she regretted it immediately.

“Sunset, ya said you’d talk to me ‘bout this…”

That was true, but it had been easy to agree to that when it was a hypothetical possibility. Now that it had actually come, Sunset just wanted to ignore it until it went away, like always. With luck, that would keep it from getting worse.

“I’m gonna turn the light on.” Applejack stood up, and after a few moments, there was light. “There now. See? Nothin’ to worry about.”

“Yeah…” Sunset felt stupid. She was being childish, and keeping Applejack awake because of it.

Applejack returned to the bed. “So… ya want to talk about it?”

Of course she didn’t. What would Applejack think of her if she knew the things that went through her mind? “No, it’s… better if I don’t.”

“You sure about that?” Applejack’s hand found Sunset’s, and she didn’t let herself pull away this time. “I know it’s not fun to talk about, but this keeps happening…”

“I’m sorry… I’m being a pain, I know…”

“What?” Applejack sounded perplexed. “You think I’m worried about being woken up? That don’t bother me none.”

Sunset was being stupid. She had to at least look at Applejack. This wasn’t a dream, and Applejack was real. Sunset had to trust that.

Steeling her nerves, she turned towards her friend. It was just Applejack, nothing out of the ordinary. Sunset sighed with relief. “You ever… think you wake up from a dream, but then you’re just in a different dream?”

“Uh huh. Is that what you’re worried about whenever you wake up?”

Sunset nodded.

“That makes sense. But ya know, I’m here to remind ya that this isn’t a dream.” Applejack chuckled. “I mean, I don’t think you have nightmares about me.”

Sunset remained silent.

“Er, do you have nightmares about me?”

“Sometimes…” Sunset noticed Applejack’s expression shift and realized how that might sound. “Sometimes I see you, and I think it’s going to be okay, but then… you’re not breathing. And I can’t get you to start again.”

“Oh…” They would occasionally joke about the fight at the lake, but they never talked about what happened after. “Well, I am. And I’m not goin’ anywhere, you can count on that.”

Sunset frowned and looked away. That should be reassuring, but Sunset could only focus on one thought: Applejack still didn’t know how crazy Sunset really was. “You don’t… you wouldn’t…”

“I wouldn’t understand?” Applejack guessed.

Sunset shook her head. “If you knew, you wouldn’t… Applejack, I’m really messed up.”

“I, uh, I hate to break it to you, but that’s not exactly new.”

“How… how far back do you remember? Do you remember before kindergarten?”

“Uh…” Applejack seemed confused by the apparent subject change, but she didn’t push. “I guess a little. Just a few things, ya know?”

Sunset gave a hollow laugh. “I don’t.”

Applejack shrugged. “I bet a lot of people don’t.”

“I remember the day I was found. I was five years old, lost and alone. I didn’t know where my home was, or my who my parents were, or anything. The only thing I knew was my name, and that was just something I read. I don’t… I don’t actually even know if Sunset Shimmer is me, or if it’s someone else’s name.”

“Oh, geez…” Applejack smiled reassuringly. “Well, whatever was in your past, you’re you now.”

“The doctors said I would get my memories back, and then when I didn’t, they said it was because I was so young.” Sunset hesitated. How much could she tell Applejack? She wanted to trust Applejack, but she couldn’t lose her. “I… I remember something… But it’s something crazy.”

“What is it?” When Sunset didn’t answer right away, Applejack squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”

Applejack’s hand was so warm. Sunset’s life had been cold for so long, but now she had Applejack in it, and she didn’t have to be lost and alone anymore. “I know this is impossible, but I have memories of… of this whole other world.”

Applejack didn’t even miss a beat. “Okay. So what was it like?”

Unlike Applejack, Sunset was full of hesitation. Applejack waited patiently for her reply, however. “It was… it was a five-year-old’s fantasy land. But even today, it still feels real in my memories.”

“So like… fairies and unicorns and stuff?”

Sunset smiled at how close that was. “Well, there weren’t any fairies.”

“Aww, come on. It ain’t a proper fantasy land without fairies.”

Somehow, Applejack always managed to ease Sunset’s worries just by being herself. “It was called Eq–” Sunset stopped. She never allowed herself to even think that name. But when she looked into Applejack’s eyes and saw her silent encouragement to continue, Sunset gave in. “Equestria. There weren’t any humans. Instead, there were ponies. Griffons, dragons, and some other things too, but mostly ponies.”

Applejack’s smile never faltered. “Alright, so then what about you?”

Sunset smiled as well, although it was mostly out of embarrassment. “I was a unicorn.” As soon as the gate was open, Sunset knew there was no stopping herself. Applejack was willing to listen and encourage her, even if it was absolutely crazy. “I was a magical prodigy, the personal student of the princess. But then one day, she showed me this mirror…”

---

“What clubs ya want to check out?” Applejack asked as they drove. They were squished together in Big Mac’s truck as he drove them to the Canterlot High School Freshman Fair. Sunset hadn’t bothered going to the open house, since she was only going to the school because Applejack was, but she’d been talked into going to the Freshman Fair.

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure I want to join any clubs at all.”

“Oh, right.” Applejack nudged her. “We wouldn’t want to do anything that might damage that tough girl persona, would we?”

“You do know me so well.” In truth, that ‘tough girl’ persona had fallen to her feet. She’d tried maintaining her position at Everfree Middle School while still being Applejack’s friend, but since there was no way Applejack would condone that, she’d had to lie about things all the time. Eventually, the guilt caught up to her, and Sunset just gave up.

And when it came down to it, she felt a lot better after she did. She had Applejack and, to an extent, even Golden Harvest, and that was better than running the school had ever been. Sunset was surprised to realize that she was actually sorry to hear that Golden would be going to a different high school than Applejack and herself.

But all in all, leaving Everfree Middle School behind was a good thing. Sunset could start over at a new school, with nothing from her past holding her back.

Or so she thought, until they pulled up to the building. She recognized it. Her nightmares had subsided a lot in recent times, but this place had been a vivid part of them for years.

Applejack shook her to get her attention. “You okay?”

“I’m… yeah.” Sunset’s eyes flickered between Applejack and Big Mac, who was too focused on parking to notice. “Just… a little nervous about today.”

Applejack nodded. “It’ll be alright.” Applejack’s hand found Sunset’s and gave it a quick squeeze, and she knew it was understood that neither of them were talking about the fair.

“High school isn’t so bad,” Big Mac said. “You girls get yourselves in a good club, make some good friends, and you’ll be just fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” Applejack shot back, “you already graduated!”

Big Mac chuckled. “And that makes me an expert. Trust me, these years will fly by.”

Big Mac let them out and reminded them he’d be back in a few hours. They waved good bye, then Applejack wasted no time in getting into the matter at hand. “What’s going on, Sunset?”

Sunset kept her voice low. “Remember that story? About when I came here from, uhm, the other place?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Sunset looked around. “This is where I came out. There’s a… a statue on the other side of the school. That’s the portal…”

“Well alright then.” Applejack smiled and grabbed Sunset’s hand. “What are we doing waiting around here for?”

While Applejack tried to walk off, Sunset wouldn’t be moved. But she kept her grip on Applejack’s hand, suddenly terrified of letting go.

Applejack didn’t try to force her, and instead stepped closer. Her voice was soft and comforting. “Hey now, don’t tell me you’re afraid.”

“I don’t… What if…”

Applejack pulled her into a hug. “Neither of us knows what’s gonna happen, but here’s what I do know: No matter what, I’ll be here with you the whole way.”

Sunset tried to speak, but she could only manage to nod.

“Alright then, let’s go find this statue.”

---

It had been a few weeks since Sunset had started going to Canterlot High School, and things kept popping up. Most notably, Principal Celestia, but a few other faculty seemed way too familiar.

It had been Applejack who first spoke what Sunset had been thinking. What if Sunset’s memories weren’t fake? What if she really had come from another world? For whatever reason, Applejack seemed willing to accept that. Sunset wasn’t sure how she could have ever managed this without her.

Unfortunately, the two didn’t share any classes together. But much to her surprise, Sunset actually found herself talking with other classmates.

Meanwhile, Applejack did more than just talk and wound up making some friends of her own, but of course, she was always more sociable than Sunset would ever be. Sunset had met a few of them here and there around school, but they had finally arranged a meeting with all six of them for the first time.

Sunset walked through the mall until she heared someone calling out to her. “Sunset! Over here!”

She turned to see Pinkie Pie waving at her. Pinkie seemed to know everyone in the school already, even though she was a freshman like the rest of them. Sunset smiled as she approached the table with her and the other girls.

“Hi, Pinkie,” Sunset said as she took a seat next to Applejack. She took a quick look around. She recognized Rarity from her English class, but they had only ever found a reason to speak on a few occasions. Meanwhile, she recognized Rainbow Dash as the school’s rising star athlete, and Applejack had already introduced them a few days before. That just left one person that she didn’t know.

“Hey there, my name’s Sunset,” she said to a girl with yellow skin and long pink hair.

“Oh, uhm… I’m Fluttershy…”

“Fluttershy is a little, well, shy,” Applejack said. “But I’m sure you two will get along great.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Fluttershy.” Sunset flashed a smile, which Fluttershy returned.

“Yeah yeah, we’ll all be best friends and all that,” Rainbow said. “But let’s get down to what’s really important: What movie are we gonna go see?”

Rarity lit up. “My vote is for the new –”

“No,” Rainbow and Applejack said at the same time.

“Sorry, Rares,” Applejack said, “but vampires ain’t supposed to sparkle.”

“Besides, you and Fluttershy already saw that one!” Rainbow added. “I want to see that monster movie!”

“Oh, that looks scary…” Fluttershy said.

Although Sunset wanted to see it too, she wasn’t sure Fluttershy could handle that. “I heard it’s just a bunch of shaky camera footage, and you don’t even get to see the monster in it.”

“Uhm, there’s that cute animated movie about the robots…” Fluttershy suggested.

Rainbow Dash looked crestfallen. “Animated? Come on, Shy, we’re not kids…”

Rarity regarded Rainbow skeptically. “Oh please, as if you don’t still watch that silly show about those muscle heads with the spikey hair.”

“That’s different,” Rainbow insisted.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Sure it is. Anyway, I happen to like cartoons, so I’d be fine with the robot one.”

In truth, Sunset wasn’t terribly interested in cartoons either. But she doubted they were going to find something everyone liked equally, so she decided to cast her vote with the others and be done with it. “Sorry, Rainbow, but it sounds like you’re outvoted. I’m okay with the robots. Maybe we can do a superhero movie or something next time.”

At least Fluttershy seemed excited enough to make up for Rainbow’s disappointment.

“I don’t suppose I could sway any of you with a romantic comedy?” Rarity asked.

“Robots it is!” Rainbow relented, causing everyone to laugh.

---

There was a lot to love about life at CHS. Starting with the day at the mall, the six girls had become inseparable. Even when Sunset finally made friends at Everfree, it had really been focused around Applejack while her history had prevented her from becoming truly close with Golden Harvest. But now, she was part of a group, and every one of them could be considered a true friend.

Which was still a lot for Sunset to take in. She’d been alone for so long that being one of six could be intimidating. But she always had Applejack looking out for her, and she found herself becoming closer with, of all people, Fluttershy. The two of them were more often than not the ones choosing to sit out on big group activities, preferring to just watch.

Although occasionally, the others didn’t make that easy. “Hey, Sunset! Bet I can beat you in this game.”

They were having a slumber party at Rainbow’s house, and the others were preoccupied. Rarity was doing Fluttershy’s makeup while Applejack was helping Pinkie bake cookies for everyone.

That left Sunset as Rainbow’s only possible opponent, although she wasn’t particularly interested in going head to head with the overly competitive girl. She tapped her chin as she pretended to consider it. “Hmm, well, considering I’ve never played it and have barely played videogames at all… I’d say you’ve got a pretty decent shot.”

“Alright fine, then you can be on my team and we’ll play against the computer.”

Sunset looked at the game in question and smirked. “You sure about this? There’s robots in it, so you might cry at the ending again.”

“The robots were in love!” Rainbow said while blushing furiously. Rarity and Fluttershy giggled from the corner.

It had been a cheap shot, so Sunset decided to make up for it by going along with playing Rainbow’s videogame. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot. But don’t blame me when I get us killed.”

Having so many friends was intimidating. Sunset still made a lot of mistakes, occasionally taking jokes too far or losing her temper over frivolous things. But even so, she wouldn’t change things for the world.

---

It was great to have a lot of friends, but Sunset was glad to still have plenty of one on one time with Applejack. It was late autumn, and the two of them were on a break from doing chores around Sweet Apple Acres. Sunset spent most of her weekends there, and the Apples had come to regard her as a regular part of their farm. That sometimes meant helping out with work, but Sunset was happy to.

Sunset and Applejack were just sitting together and talking while drinking apple cider, and there was a lull in the conversation. But rather than feeling awkward, the moment was perfect. They had been busy all morning, and there was still more to do in the afternoon, but that left Sunset feeling accomplished, and she couldn’t ask to be in better company.

“Well, suppose we better get back to it,” Applejack said after a while.

“Hey, Applejack?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

It had been on Sunset’s mind for ages. She had finally decided to tell Applejack, but could never seem to find the right way to do that. Eventually, it seemed, she just gave up.

Applejack only seemed confused for a moment, then she threw an arm around Sunset’s shoulder. “Aww, I love you too.”

“Really?” Sunset had been thinking about this conversation for months, and never did she think it would be this simple. But… this seemed too simple. “Wait, how do you mean that?”

“I, uh…” Now Applejack looked more than momentarily confused. “How did you mean it?”

“I meant… I love you. I’m in love with you.” When Applejack didn’t respond immediately, Sunset added, “In the, uh, the gay way.”

Applejack shook her head to clear her confusion. “I, uh, I think we meant it different ways…”

Sunset bowed her head and wondered if Applejack even realized she still had her arm around her. “Right. Sorry, I… I just made things awkward.”

“Nah, of course ya didn’t.” Applejack tightened her grip on her half hug and smiled. “I’m just, well… I don’t even like guys yet, let alone girls.”

“I… probably should’ve brought that part up first.” Sunset found herself chuckling, even after her failed attempt at romance. Applejack still had an arm around her, and that was good enough.

“Besides, it’d make things a little weird with the surprise coming up.”

“What surprise?”

Applejack laughed. “Now if I told ya that, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it? But just wait, it’s gonna be great!”

---

“And then she said it’d be weird ‘cause of some surprise, but she won’t tell me what it is.”

Sunset and Fluttershy were at the animal shelter she volunteered at. For some reason, Sunset had become the go-to person to ask when they needed extra help. But she didn’t mind; it was peaceful, the animals were a lot of fun, and Fluttershy was always easy to talk to.

“I didn’t want to make things weird…”

“But, uhm, that’s not what she said, is it?” Fluttershy asked. “She said it would be weird, not that it was weird.”

“I guess… And she hasn’t changed how she’s acting or anything.” Even that same day, Sunset had still spent the night at Applejack’s, who was every bit as friendly and affectionate as always. “But she also said she loves me, so I don’t know. I don’t think I really always get what people mean when they say things.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, that part’s not so hard. I love Rainbow, but not as a girlfriend or anything. We’ve been friends since we were little, and she’s more like my sister than anything.”

Sunset shrugged. “I guess.”

“I’m sure everything will be okay with Applejack. You’re just overthinking things. Again.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Fluttershy smiled with admiration. “I still can’t believe you told her… That was so brave of you.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Not really. It’s just three words.”

“I don’t think I could do that. Especially with, uhm, another girl…”

“Everyone makes it out like it’s so much harder, but honestly, I don’t think it would’ve made a difference to me either way. Girl or guy, I think it’s just a matter of saying it.”

Fluttershy looked down. “For you, maybe… But you’re so confident in yourself.”

Sunset quirked her head to the side. “Are you saying you have your eye on someone, Shy?”

“N-no!”

“Oh! You do! Who is it!”

Fluttershy blushed furiously. “No one! I don’t… I just…”

Sunset laughed and patted her on the back. “Hey, I’m just teasing. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, although I am all ears if you do want to talk.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “I know. Thank you, Sunset.”

“No problem. I’m happy to be here for you, you know?”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

---

The seasons changed, and another year came to a close. Snow covered the town, which always brought back memories of impenetrable ice and burning cold water. But that had been two years ago, and things changed.

Sunset had spent the day in a daze. It all seemed surreal, like watching a scene from someone else’s life. These types of things didn’t happen to her, even in these past few years in which everything had been so much better.

But as Sunset stepped out of Big Mac’s truck carrying a box of her possessions, she knew this was real. So much of her life felt like fantasy when she looked back on it, but this was good and it was real.

She carried the box into Applejack’s room. Or rather, into what she had always thought of as Applejack’s room, although it was now something else as well.

Sunset placed the box on top of her dresser, which they had brought in earlier. Feeling a little overwhelmed, she sat down on the bottom of their new bunk bed. She took a look around the room, which was now partly hers.

Applejack came in after carrying another box, which she set beside the one Sunset had brought in. She smiled as she sat down on the bed beside her, and clapped her on the back. “Welcome home.”

---

It was late in the evening on a Saturday, so Canterlot High School was empty when Sunset walked into its courtyard. She just had to hope that no one would stop her, because she really didn’t have a good explanation for why she was there.

There was only one destination on her mind, so she made her way directly to the statue. She stopped short of touching it, however, and just stared at her reflection on its smooth surface.

She sat down beside it, making sure she didn’t accidentally lean on it. She sat in contemplation for a long time; not so much wondering what to do, but contemplating where her life was in relation to where it had been.

She pulled off her backpack and took out a notebook and a pen, and reflected on how long it had been since she wrote the words she was about to write.

‘Dear Princess Celestia,

There are no words to start this letter, not really. So much has happened since I was your student. I can finally see that I’m not who I always thought I was, although I’m not sure I know exactly who I am yet.

That’s why I’m writing to you instead of coming myself. I know I failed as your student. I excelled at every lesson except the ones that really mattered. Perhaps worst of all, I took you and everything you did for me for granted. You deserve so much more from a student than I could ever give you.

And I’m still not sure I’m what I wish I could be, what you always saw in me. I get angry all the time, I say things I shouldn’t, I’m cynical, I’m egotistical… In short, I’m not always an easy person to get along with.

But some people have been doing their best, and for the first time in my life, I can finally appreciate them for that. I was adopted by a family in this world, and they accept me as one of their own. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to see them as family – well, except for one of them – but I’m thankful and I work hard to do what I can for them. I even have friends now, a whole group of people who care about me, just as I care about them.

That’s the main thing I want to tell you: I’m trying. I know I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m trying to be a better person. I know it’s late, but I think about all the lessons you tried to teach me, and I try to live up to them. I’m not ready to meet you again right now, not while I still have so far to go, but I do want to see you again.

It’ll be another thirty moons before the portal opens again. When that time comes, I want to cross it to tell you all about the things I’ve done, and to show you the person that I’ve become. I’m sorry it took me nine years to write this, and I’m sorry that I have to ask you to wait even more. I can only promise to try and be someone worth waiting for.

Sincerely, your gifted student, Sunset Shimmer

Sunset stood up and faced the statue. Either something magical was about to happen, or she was going to feel really stupid.

But when she tossed the notebook towards the statue, it vanished without a trace. Sunset stared dumbfounded.

Once she shook herself out of her stupor, she couldn’t help but smile. She turned and walked back to the bus stop, feeling lighter than air the whole way. It seemed that she had another reason to try and be the best person she could be.

---

As soon as she was off the stage, everyone ran over to congratulate Rarity. They all talked at once, making it hard to hear individual praises, but it was clear that everyone was excited for their friend.

“Thank you all so much,” Rarity said, then she turned to Sunset specifically. “And thank you, Sunset! I couldn’t have done this without you!”

Sunset scratched her neck awkwardly. “I didn’t do that much…”

“Didn’t do that much?” Rarity threw an arm around Sunset. “Why, you only masterminded my whole Spring Fling campaign! If that’s not that much then I simply don’t know what is.”

“Aww, I was happy to help. And besides, you were the one who actually won it! Tonight it’s your show, Princess.”

Although Sunset was afraid she’d continue heaping on the unneeded praise, Rarity yielded at ‘Princess’ to let out a giddy laugh.

With the crown awarded, the Spring Fling kicked off in full force. Everyone found themselves on the dancefloor, and Sunset was no exception. Perhaps it had been helping Rarity win the crown, but for whatever reason, Sunset found herself having the time of her life. They were halfway through their junior year, and yet this was the first time she had actually enjoyed any of the school dances.

Because she was enjoying herself so much, it took a while for Sunset to notice that someone was missing from their group. She left the others to sneak to the sidelines, where Fluttershy was watching everyone else.

“Had enough dancing?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, I don’t know if dancing is really my thing,” Fluttershy said. “But I have fun watching everyone.”

Sunset nodded. “I wouldn’t say dancing is really my thing either. It is fun once in a while, though.”

“You’re right. Maybe I’ll go back out in a little bit.”

The song changed to a slower one, and single people left the dance floor as couples partnered up. Fluttershy smiled at the change. “Ooh, I like this song.”

Sunset was smiling as well. “You know, you and I always were the ones sitting out and watching the others, especially when we first met.”

Fluttershy nodded. “It’s fun to watch, especially with good company.”

“It is. But sometimes it’s worth taking a chance and joining in.” Sunset held out her hand. “Dance with me?”

Fluttershy reached up a hand as if to accept, but she stopped short. “But… this is a slow song.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said, “I know.”

Very slowly, Fluttershy placed her hand in Sunset’s.

---

The party didn’t end when the dance did. They all piled into Pinkie’s minivan and drove back to Sweet Apple Acres, where they had planned their post-dance slumber party. But since everyone had tired themselves out dancing, it wound up being more slumber than party.

Sunset was in the kitchen grabbing them some soda in the hopes of keeping everyone going when Pinkie sought her out. “Hiya, Sunny.”

“Hey, Pinkie. Rainbow pass out yet?”

“She said she’d just take a quick nap.”

Sunset grinned. She had no doubt that nap would last until the morning. “Well, more soda for the rest of us then.”

Pinkie jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter. “You know, Fluttershy stepped outside to get some air.”

“Oh yeah?” Sunset smirked. She had a pretty good idea where this was going.

“Yup! It’d be the perfect time to talk to her.” Pinkie leaned forward to add, “In private.”

“Now what would I have to talk to Fluttershy in private about?”

Pinkie shrugged. “I don’t know. Dinosaurs?”

Sunset laughed, then leaned against the counter beside Pinkie. She passed her a can of soda before opening up one for herself. “I guess… I want to, but I’m worried about her reaction. Last time I did something like this it didn’t work out.”

Pinkie took a sip from her drink. “Did the person do something crazy like hate you for it?”

“No.”

“Did they stop being your friend?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “No. It didn’t even get too weird, and things went back to normal pretty quickly.”

“That doesn’t sound like it didn’t work out.”

Sunset drank some of her soda while she thought. “Yeah. I guess you have a point. Thanks, Pinkie.”

“Hmm? I didn’t do anything. I’m just making conversation!”

Sunset chuckled. “Of course. Could you bring that soda to the others?”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

Sunset chugged the rest of her soda, threw the can in the recycling, and stepped out the kitchen door. She looked around to see where Fluttershy might be and decided the garden would be the best bet.

It was also the hardest bet. Among other things, Sunflowers taller than Sunset made it hard to see into the garden. She could have walked through it while looking for Fluttershy, but she decided to take a different approach. “Marco.”

She heard Fluttershy giggle before answering, “Polo.”

Sunset smiled as she followed the sound of Fluttershy’s voice, and found her sitting on a small stone bench that was practically covered in plants. It was meant for one person, but Fluttershy still scooted to one side so Sunset could sit beside her.

They didn’t talk at first, each of them just enjoying the cool night air as they watched the stars above them.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Sunset said gently after a while.

“Yeah. It is.”

“Are you comfortable here? I could get another chair if you want.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, this is okay.”

Sunset reached her arm around Fluttershy’s back, holding onto her waist. “And… is this also okay?”

Fluttershy leaned against Sunset, resting her head against Sunset’s shoulder. “This is perfect.”

They sat in silence, enjoying the peace and each other’s presence. At one point, Sunset placed her other hand on Fluttershy’s stomach, so that she was holding her in both arms as best she could while side by side. Fluttershy tilted her head back to smile at her, and Sunset closed the distance between them.

The kiss was also perfect.

---

Sunset’s nerves threatened to be the end of her. One way or another, everything was changing tonight. She barely could focus on the conversation going on around her.

Fluttershy placed her hand on her cheek. “It’ll be okay, Sunny.”

Sunset moved her hand to cover Fluttershy’s, enjoying the warmth against her face. “I hope so…”

“You should listen to her,” Pinkie said. “Shy’s a really smart cookie!”

That got Sunset to smile a little. “How did you even hear that from the driver’s seat?”

“Oh, Sunny… I hear everything!”

Pinkie was driving them, since her minivan was the only thing that could fit all six friends. Rarity sat beside her in the front, Applejack and Rainbow took the middle, and Sunset was in the back with Fluttershy.

It was the middle of the night, but they were going to Canterlot High School, where Sunset’s life was going to change forever.

“Remember that no matter what, we’re here with you,” Applejack said.

“Through thick and thin, as they say!” Rarity added.

Sunset shifted in her seat. She knew what she saw when she threw that notebook into the portal, but it had been over two years, and it was hard to not have doubts. “Even if I’m just batshit crazy?”

“Ya know, after sharing a room with you for the past three years, I gotta say…” Applejack looked back and grinned. “You’re batshit crazy no matter what happens tonight.”

“Besides, crazy is good!” Pinkie said.

“We’re your friends,” Rainbow said. “Whether this portal thing works or not, we’re not going anywhere.”

“Precisely!” Rarity said. “We’re here for you, darling, because we’re your friends. We were your friends before you told us of this other world, and we’re certainly not going to stop being your friends if things don’t work out with it.”

Rainbow Dash was practically bouncing in her seat. “Although I’m really hoping this works because that would be so awesome!”

“It will be,” Fluttershy said. Oddly enough, she had seemed more convinced of Equestria than Sunset had been.

Pinkie pulled into the empty parking lot of Canterlot High, and the six girls walked across it and onto the courtyard. It felt strange being at the school so late, and Sunset was worried someone might see them and chase them off.

But nobody came, and soon enough, they found themselves in front of the statue.

“So, uh…” Applejack adjusted her hat. “How’s it work?”

“I… I think we just have to walk into it,” Sunset said. She swallowed a lump in her throat and then stepped forward.

A hand took hold of hers, fingers locking together. She turned to see Fluttershy smiling. “We’ll go together.”

Sunset nodded. Side by side and with all their friends right behind them, they walked into the portal and the world disappeared around them.
⠀

⠀
Sunset fell to the ground and made no attempt to get up. Once again, she struggled to piece together what was real and what wasn’t as everything she had just experienced battled against the life she’d actually lived.

There was too much to take in to even think about anything, but things slowly fell into place. Applejack wasn’t her sister. Fluttershy wasn’t her girlfriend. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity weren’t her friends. Sunset didn’t even have any friends.

Two different lives in two different worlds. A life of magic and adventure, spent with the most mismatched family she could imagine, and Sunset had been happy. A life of high school dances and young love, spent with a group of friends that were as close as they were different, and Sunset had been happy.

Neither world had given her everything she wanted, but Sunset had been happy, and that had been enough for her.

When she looked up, she saw she was already back at the trail of ash. It was what she had made for herself. She pulled herself to her feet and took a good look around. The vague shapes she had seen in the distance were clear now – other paths and adornments surrounded her.

There was a path of stone, moss growing over it. There was a path of glass, perfectly pristine. There was a dilapidated wooden path, which looked like it might collapse at any moment. The paths all intertwined, an infinite number of places she could have made a different decision and wound up with a different life.

Sunset turned ahead. Her path had felt familiar before, now it felt restraining. It was the sum of everything Sunset had made for herself, and it just wasn’t good enough.

And what did she get? What was waiting for her at the end of the path? There was only one way to find out. Summoning all of her determination, Sunset marched forward.

When memories popped up – Flash asking her out, the decision to stay at CHS instead going to Crystal Prep – Sunset ignored them. She knew what decisions she had made, and she had seen enough of what could have been.

Before long, she started running. She ran past memories without even looking to see what they were. She ran through the red spider lilies, ignoring them even as they grew ever more plentiful. She ran past paths that diverged with her own, pushing herself ever forward.

The path opened into a field of flowers – lycoris radiata as far as she could see. Sunset knew she was close and ran through them. She just had to cross the field and then she’d be free. She could already see the night sky in the distance.

Something stood in front of her. Sunset wasn’t sure what it was at first, but once she moved closer and it became more clear, she stopped in her tracks. The field of flowers came to an end, and just at the end stood a statue of a horse rearing up into the air. She had seen it in the school courtyard every day at school, but here it towered over her and cast its gaze down, stone eyes judging her.

And beyond, there was nothing. No paths, not even an endless sea of white, just empty space.

“This is it,” Sunset’s voice said from behind her. “This is all there is.”

Sunset turned around and found herself face to face with her reflection. “What do you mean?”

The reflection smirked. “Sorry, Princess, but you don’t have a choice anymore. You had choices, tons of them. And, well, you blew every last one.”

Sunset bowed her head. It was true. There had been far more than those two chances for Sunset to turn her life into one worth living, but she had always pushed forward with accomplishing her goal of making sure she was the best.

“It’s a shame, really. You came so damn close to accomplishing something great! But you just couldn’t cut it in the end, and, well… here we are.”

Sunset looked down at her hand. What had Sunset done? She’d gotten the crown, but once she placed it on her head… She clenched her hand into a fist and looked up. “I don’t accept that.”

“Oh?” The reflection seemed delighted to hear that. “And what do you think would happen to you if you could leave here? Do you think that everyone will just laugh and forget what you did? Maybe you still don’t remember, but you –”

“I turned into you.” Sunset folded her arms. “I remember everything now.”

“Oh, don’t act holier than thou with me. You got what you always wanted.”

“You’re right. More power than I ever imagined, and yeah, I loved it.”

“Of course you did.” The reflection spread out her arms and fire moved over her body, transforming her into a demon. “This is who we always should have been!”

“No. That’s part of who I am, but that doesn’t have to be all I’ll ever be.” Sunset turned and took a step towards the statue.

“Don’t walk away from me!” There was a blaze of fire between Sunset and the statue, and the demon appeared before her. “You don’t get it. It’s over!”

“Why? Because you say it is? I’ve done a lot of things wrong, but I’ve never given up before, and I’m sure as hell not going to start now!”

“Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.” The demon snapped her fingers, and the field of flowers burst into flame.

Sunset twisted around wildly, looking for anywhere she could go, but she was surrounded. The fire started in the distance, but it was closing fast. She could already feel the heat.

“What do you think you’ll do from here? All you know how to do is consume!”

What would happen if the flames reached her? Could she die in this place?

It seemed that the demon knew what was in her thoughts. “This isn’t one of your little nightmares. There’s no waking up from this one.”

There was no going back. There was no hiding. But it didn’t matter. This was what Sunset had made for herself, and she was done running away from it.

She took a step towards the demon. “No.”

“What?”

“No. I won’t accept this. It’s my life, and I’ll decide when to stop. I may have burned some bridges that I’ll never get back, but I know now that there’s always another way!”

The demon took a step back. “There’s no coming back from what you did, Princess. You don’t get to live a normal life after tonight.”

“You don’t know what happens from here any more than I do.” Sunset smirked. “And that’s what you’re afraid of.”

As she advanced, the demon caused the fire to expand. The flames were almost at Sunset. “You’re nothing without me!”

“To tell the truth, I don’t even know who I am without you.” Sunset stopped right before the demon. “And… I’m afraid too. I’m afraid of finding out who I am without all the titles and power. But I’m still going to find out.”

The demon backed up, so that she was directly under the statue. “There’s nothing after this. You’re at the end, there’s no other way to go.”

“Then I’ll make one.”

The demon clenched her fist, and for a moment, Sunset thought she was going to charge. But then her expression shifted from anger to disappointment as she regarded Sunset. “Pathetic.”

The demon turned to ash as the fire died down. Sunset looked around her and saw nothing but ash, as far as the eye could see.

Sunset walked forward, towards the statue and the pile of ash underneath it. When Sunset bent down to examine it more closely, she noticed it wasn’t all ash. She reached into it and pulled out a flower, warm from the hot ash.

Six pink petals emerging from a yellow center. Lycoris squamigera. Sunset took it with her as she walked under the statue, stopping short of where the path ended.

There was nothing past it, just empty space. She took a step.
⠀

⠀
Everything was too much. So many thoughts ran through Sunset’s head that she didn’t have the chance to focus on any of them. For the third time, Sunset’s mind struggled to piece together what was real.

She was on her hands and knees with her head down, and there was smoke everywhere. For a moment, the smoke played a trick on her mind and she thought she saw a demon’s hands where her own should be. But when the smoke cleared, it was just her.

Memories came rushing back. Everything that Sunset had done, both before and after getting the crown. She knew that the whole school would be watching her. It was time to face what she had done, time to own up to her mistakes. Somehow, that was even more daunting than facing down her own demon.

“You will never rule in Equestria!” Twilight said from above her. “Any power you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight, you’ve shown everyone who you really are. You’ve shown them what is in your heart.”

When she looked up at Twilight, Sunset had tears in her eyes. “I-I’m sorry,” she choked out, although she knew she could never hope for that to be enough. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know there was another way.”

Painfully aware of the eyes on her, Sunset crawled out of the crater she found herself in as Twilight spoke. “The magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria. It’s everywhere. You can seek it out, or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours.”

“But... But all I’ve ever done since being here is drive everyone apart. I don’t know the first thing about friendship…”

To her astonishment, Sunset felt a hand grab hold of hers. Twilight smiled as she helped her to her feet. “I bet they can teach you.”

Twilight gestured towards her friends, the same ones that Sunset had tormented for years. Fluttershy lingered behind in the back. Rainbow Dash hovered on wings she must have got from the same magic that had broken Sunset’s demon form. Ever the sensible one, Rarity still seemed skeptical as she regarded Sunset, although she soon smiled with the others. But it seemed that Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, was instantly excited by the turn of events.

And Applejack? Applejack stood in front of all the others. She had her eyes fixed directly on Sunset, and her smile was warm and welcoming.

Author's Note:

Lycoris squamigera artwork used towards the end by Pasu-Chan

I commissioned Bubaluv to draw the first scene with Cadance and Sunset, and the result is pretty fantastic Check it out here! And because I couldn't just commission art from one of the AUs, I also got Char to do Sunshyne at the Spring Fling, so give that a look too!

Comments

[The spooks]

My body was not ready for the glory that was this chapter. I’m gonna be real sad to see this fic done, but it was an amazing journey, and I’m happy to see Sunset’s tale come to a (hopefully) happy end.

[Doggyshakespeare]

The ending almost made me cry.
The whole chapter is awesome, even the AU parts. At first, though, I was confused at what was part of her memory and what wasn't, but eventually it was clear what you were trying to do here, and I like it.
Also, would Sunset know who Luna is?

[Krickis]

8632552
I’ll definitely count that as a victory I’m pretty sad to see this one end myself, it’s been a great story to work with.

8632582
I am eternally after tears, and even coming close is a pretty great feeling

I did worry that the first AU part would cause some confusion since readers wouldn’t be familiar with that scene (as opposed to the second AU where readers could remember that scene going differently). Glad to hear the confusion didn’t last, though. As for Luna, Sunset learned a little about her while she was reading about Twilight and she is of course familiar with Vice Principal Luna, but her knowledge would be fairly limited.

[SolFang]

holy crap man this whole story has been great but these last 2 chapters have been my fav so far but this one was just... hnnnnngggg. and i basicly fokin cried a few times durring this chapter to great job

[Krickis]

8632643
Thank you, they’ve been my favorites too

[ChaosBrony101]

I know it probably won't happen but I so want more of the stories in those AU. This whole story is amazing but I was completly enthralled by them and was a little disappointed when each one ended.

[Krickis]

8632728
I absolutely feel you on that. The Applejack/Fluttershy one has been in my head since before I even started writing Looking Glass, so I’m glad I was able to get it out in some way here. But even if there’s so many places these could go, time restraints will keep me from ever writing full stories in these AUs Ah well, it was still a lot of fun to run through a scene by scene “best of” version of these worlds.

[KingJoltik]

I am so confused. If I got this right, Sunset saw two timelines where things are better...I think? Was that what this was?

[Krickis]

8632754
Yeah, you got it Two different possibilities where she could have had a better life if she had made better choices.

[KingJoltik]

8632762
Hmmm...okay. I think I get it then.

[Krickis]

8632886
I would love that myself, although I won't have the time to do then, I'm afraid Glad you enjoyed the AU highlights reels, in any case

[pabrony]

Almost at the end. Final chapter will be posted on Monday

Nooooooooooo!!!!

[Krickis]

8633257
Well, it couldn't last forever But the series this is a part of will continue on

[pabrony]

8633286 I know. It's just one of those things that I've enjoyed looking forward to every week and now I have find something else. This has been an incredible story and hope to see more works from you.

[Krickis]

8633299
Yeah, I feel you. And thank you, you'll definitely be seeing a lot more from me for years to come

[Fangren]

Happy birthday! Also, I really don't think trimming back the Cadance AU would make the chapter better - it's already freaking amazing! Seriously, I think this chapter needed to be long to accomplish what it was meant to do, more or less. Or maybe I'm just a fan of long chapters, I don't know.

Either way, it was great.

[Twilight_Crow]

That was beautiful! I have thought of many scenarios of whatever went through Sunset's mind when she was hit by the Rainbow, and read quite a few more, but this is one of the best, kudos! And thank you for sharing these AUs.

Sorry I'm a bit late, but life prevented me to read this in one go. Happy Birthday!

[ChaosBrony101]

8632746
Maybe a bonus chapter of some different branching paths?

[Krickis]

8633929
Thank you Long chapters are at least more accepted in fanfiction, but I’m a bit surprised to find this chapter seems to be unanimously loved. I thought it would polarize people between love and hate lol. Basically the reason I said the Cadance AU might be objectively better if shorter is that neither AU actually happened, so that’s a lot of time dedicated to something that mostly exists to show that she could be happy. I could cut half the scenes out and get the same result (is it really necessary to ship tease Lunaset? Not at all, I just wanted to), even if the AU section itself would be less interesting.

Anyway, moot point since it seems no one minded me being all extra wordy after all lol

8634388
This idea took hold and I just couldn’t not go with it Even if it put 20k words in between Sunset getting hit by the rainbow laser and her coming out of the crater haha. And to be honest, I’m surprised anyone did read this whole thing in one go

8634478
I’m not a fan of bonus chapters, I’m afraid. Plus while I could probably come up with ideas (what if she went to Crystal Prep when she had the chance? What if she’d done something different and gotten herself adopted before meeting AJ? What if she allowed her relationship with Flash to be something more positive for her?), I don’t actually have ideas for any of these paths Plus gotta keep moving forward with this series or it’ll never be done lol

[shy sad jaded shard]

Well happy birthday to you and this. Chapter was great and sad although it does fill in the gap eqg1 left us with that bit from the film

[Night Spark]

My god this was the chapter of fucking chapters. This is the best “painful rainbow description” I’ve ever read. Literally living the lives you could have had only to have them torn away. Reminds me of Black mercy from Superman.

This chapter is solidifying this story in my top three sunset fics. Holy shit.

[Griseus]

woah

[RoboRed]

Absolutely. Fantastic. Chapter.

[Krickis]

8634933
Thank you lol great and sad sounds like my kind of story

8635565
That certainly makes my day to hear And considering some of the Sunset Shimmer stories around here, that's high praise indeed

8636003
Hope that's a good woah

8637276
Glad you enjoyed it so much

[WovenTales]

8632582
Almost? I was crying for the entire second half of the Cadance future, from once Chrysalis got her hooves on her, and the only reason I (mostly) wasn't for Applejack's was because the shuddering breaths I was taking -- and I didn't realize that wasn't just a literary description -- managed to stave off the worst of it.

8632627
You introduced the true scene well enough beforehand that, for me at least, it was signposted well; the only thing that took me a bit to realize was that Sunset wasn't seeing it third-person. Seriously, though, the story as a whole is already on both degrees of my favorites lists, but I wish knighty gave us some way of marking individual chapters as well, because this is a masterpiece. (And of saving blog posts, but that's a different issue.) Thanks so much for this all!

[Eclipse Brightwing]

I've just realised
The memory of Applejack being her sister and Fluttershy being her girlfriend link directly to your other story. Warmth in the snow is a one shot sequel to an alternate universe memory in an entirely different story. So technically you made another story from one of the alternate universes before this chapter was even released

Krickis, you make my head hurt, you magnifigant bastard

[Krickis]

8638219
Got this message during a bad night at work, and it really turned my mood around I’m thrilled the chapter was so effective

8638979
As cool as that would be, that’s not the case Warmth in the Snow is a sequel to Looking Glass’s main story, not the AU. The similarity was intentional and will be a part of the proper sequel, though.

[Eclipse Brightwing]

8640747
wait, so are the dreams almost insights into the future, not just the possible future? Is it like some advanced form of Deja Vu? Is Sunset psychic? Was it Reverend Green in the kitchen with the candlestick? I need answers damn it!

[Atashi Desu]

I don’t comment on here often; you either have to really screw up in a story or reeeeally do a fantastic job for me to bother... and this was the latter, I loved every second of it, and immediately went and reread the chapter when I was done.

I loved the divergence into alternate lives she could have had, ESPECIALLY the Cadance one (honestly, I would read a full-length AU about it if you ever decide to write one!).

Great job! I’m looking forward to more!

[Griseus]

8638161 *nods*

[The_Foreman]

So I was reading the Finding Home anniversary post and realized, you still haven't written the story you were intending to write.
The Fragile needed a prequel to explain somethings, So you had The Downward Spiral (which became In Pieces)
But then That needed a prequel, dubbed Pretty Hate Machine (now Finding Home)
But then THAT needed a prequel, so you made Inner Strength first....
Only to realize after writing those 3 books, Inner Strength also needed a prequel.
So is it safe to assume the next book will finally be The Fragile?
Also IF you wanted to go a step further back in the timeline who would you make the story about?
Actually bad idea, you might realize you need another prequel. *Leaves it in anyway*

[Krickis]

8640906
lol nothing so out there I don't know how big of a factor this will be, so idk how big a spoiler this is, but if you're really curious Sunset is chasing the happiness she remembers from the AU here by pursuing a relationship with Fluttershy.

8641429
Wow that's a lot of reading I'm flattered you enjoyed it so much! I don't think I'll be writing in these AUs at all, but I'm glad you enjoyed this look into them

8641829
I'm so far removed from that Pretty Hate Machine-Downward Spiral-The Fragile trilogy... Finding Home is Pretty Hate Machine story, but In Pieces isn't The Downward Spiral. When I planned the trilogy, Amber Glow wasn't part of it. She became a character on a whim while writing Inner Strength, so any storylines with her were never originally planned. Looking Glass, In Pieces, and the next three stories I'm planning were added to the plan as I've started writing and my original idea expanded. Mostly it's been because I decided to add focus to other characters and because I didn't think I'd spend over a fucking year on this fic.

As for what I'd do if I went back further, I actually have a few ideas for early stories (some earlier, some that would take place concurrently with LG). These are really just things that are fun hypothetically, not things I'll actually be writing. I'd like to do my own version of the Hearth's Warming story someday, which would be a war story; a story about Luna just after coming back which would elaborate on her early interactions with Cadance; and a autobiography from Twilight Velvet, which would cover her life as an author and her early marriage and motherhood. Kinda thought about sometime with Sunset and Cadance, but honestly I feel like their early relationship was covered well enough in LG. But unless I somehow found myself with a wealth of time on my hands, these aren't actually happening.

[Lamplighter]

Life's been keeping me from being able to read the conclusion of this story over the last few days. Looking back at it now I'm almost glad, I think reading it all at once has always set better with me then getting it in driblets. This was so much better than I could have ever hoped for, and I had high expectations for this story.

The way the previous chapter showed the alternate perspective of events from the point of view of Celestia, while still being able to work in much of the lore from the comics was brilliant. Time skip narratives like that are very helpful for delivering important Story related notes over long periods of time. But that was nothing compared to the absolute beauty of this chapter.

One of the first great fantasy series I've ever read or The Wheel of Time Books. In them, was the first time I had seen this idea used. The hero of the story travels across the world using a magical stone, but something goes awry. In that story he sees every possible outcome his life could have ever had. He lived, breathed and died many times. Living the full entirety of each life and then moving on. After the experience was done, the memories faded, but the meaning yet remained. Because of that he had an idea of the whole of his being from then on. Of where his life might go. This has always been an amazing storytelling tool, the idea of "What if". And even the show used it in it's own way with the season five final.

The symbolism is very well done in this chapter. I love especially the different flowers, and the materials of the paths. Having sunset walk along the path of Ashes. The path of her own destructive nature, Despair and self-loathing. Seeing it as the only possible path for her to walk was enlightened. No Better headcanon Could exist for her Redemption. This, this shall be my head cannon from now on. This shall be my Sunset Shimmer.

PS. I liked a lot of the little things in the AU parts. How Sunset would have effected Equestria should she have stayed is always a nifty idea to have fun with. But the Sunflower path was the best for me. It felt like it had more to do with this Sunset, the one we've been getting to know all this time. And that scean between her and Fluttershy actually had my heart beating a little faster in anticipation of that kiss. On the other hand, the whole thing with Luna felt... I don't know, a little shoehorned in. Like it only existed for the sake of being a Sunset/Luna ship. It felt unnatural. Where as the one with Fluttershy was vary organically worked in, and felt much more like two kids falling in love.

Also, I loved all the not quite references about the movies and shows, those were fun. And I loved that RD cried at the end of Wall-e.

[Krickis]

8650074
Don't mind me, I'll just be over here flailing around happily because of this comment I'm so glad someone finally said something about the flowers, and that you preferred the sunflower AU (I've been afraid the rose AU overshadowed it based on the comments here).

To be honest, I think things would've been a lot more different with Sunset around than I portrayed them here, but that would've required a lot more time to set up. It's easy to set up the channeling invasion when I'm just piggybacking off what the show did, for example, which let me use the time to focus on relationship dynamics instead. On that note, I agree that I probably could've set Lunaset up better. An early scene in their friendship, perhaps. But i was wary of spending more time on the less important of the AUs, and didn't want to cut it out because it gives Sunset a very solid connection to all four princesses (mother, sister, pupil, and lover). Plus it amused me and I'm not even pretending that this wasn't an exercise in self-indulgence

[Ice Star]

This right here is probably my favorite chapter so far. It's dramatic, it's new, it's psychological - so many qualities I love in a story. Fantasy and drama really combine in here, and it's great! Also, can I commend you for including Cadance? Finding nice examples of her, especially pre-canon ones are really hard.

One question though. In the Sunflower future, Sunset is in a relationship with Applejack, and I know from reading some of the other stories she goes on to date human Fluttershy. All the characters (so far) have heavily implied sexual orientations, or ones that are stated outright. For Sunset, it really seems to be blurry. Do you have any concrete notes or anything about who is what so I don't confuse anyone? Or just so that things start to click a bit more, like with Sunset here? I know it's something intentional and not an error, but so far it has come across as a bit confusing. With that said, what is Sunset, according to you, the author?

[Krickis]

8669272
Thank you I kinda wish I could have done more with Cadance and Sunset's dynamic. Glad I was at least able to explore it here, even if it's in an AU setting.

Bit of a moot point, but in the Sunflower AU, Sunset's dating Fluttershy (Applejack turned her down, and she was later adopted by the Apples). Either way, your question stands though. Sunset is bisexual, although she generally prefers women.

I debated making a list of what everyone is because some of them have only been hinted at, but fuck it, I'll throw it under a spoiler tag and you can decide if you want to see. But first, here is the info that's actually been revealed across various fics, so this isn't really spoiling anything (some of it is inaccurate as characters continue to figure themselves out):
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Amber Glow: gay
Sunset and Pinkie: bi
Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, Cadance, and Celestia: straight
Luna: pansexual
Shining, Flash, and everyone's parents have never had their orientations come up, but they're all in opposite-gendered relationships. The younger characters (who aren't so young at the end of the current timeline) haven't been heavily explored yet.

And here's a few things that have been hinted at that contradict the above. This will involve spoilers that haven't been explored in-universe yet:
Pinkie is pansexual, I just haven't found a good place to point that out. Sunset says she's bi because she knows Pinkie likes both mares and stallions and assumes bi is the logical answer.
Applejack is asexual and identifies as straight based on the idea that if she's not gay or bi, she must be straight. Her romantic feelings are a little more complicated, so to save the lengthy explanation of something that'll be explored fully eventually, it's simplest to say she's demiromantic.
Celestia may or may not be explored more fully at some point. She is straight, but she's also aromantic (just not asexual). She doesn't acknowledge this aspect of herself, but it's the reason that she's only been with seven ponies in all the years that she's been a ruler (all of whom were political marriages).
I dunno if I'll ever explore this, but I highly doubt all the parents are actually straight.

[3phantoms]

Fuuuuuuuuu-

Oki-doki-loki... That was intense. I understood the symbolism behind the Lycoris but the images just hammered it. Seeing bloody red flowers mixed with that imagery really makes it feel like the end. It felt like Sunset was in a post-apocalyptic world, one that he razed to the ground.

I think I like the second path best. It's ending agreed with me most, though they're both good, and very sad, tales.

I wish I had more to say, but... Wow.

[Krickis]

9113347
I’m always happy to hear from people who prefer the second path, since I always felt the bigger scale and more differences of the first one made the second get a little overshadowed. Also delighted to hear you mention the flowers, since I’ve always been incredibly proud of that detail

[Emperor]

Wow. What a ride that chapter was. That's a rather interesting way to symbolise a faux-afterlife, with Sunset walking through a road of memories that fall to ashes upon being observed/touched, and being able to branch off and see what-could-have-beens. Since this was something likely set up by the Elements, it could also have been a devious trap: if Sunset was too obsessed with seeing the alternate worlds that could have occurred, they'll keep her trapped until she can find the will to move on. At least, that's my interpretation. It's only when she's strong-willed enough to reach the end that she can face her literal self in the demon and continue to move on.

I'm not particularly certain what the symbolism with the flowers is supposed to be. I mean, I know there's symbolism there, I just don't know precisely what it's supposed to represent.

I do feel, at least as an outside observer, that the two alternate paths shown that Sunset's life could have taken are too conveniently tailored. It's quite obvious that these alternate timelines are put together from Twilight's knowledge and Sunset's knowledge, with a little help from the Elements. Sunset wouldn't have known about Chrysalis, but Twilight would have of course. In the first timeline, of course, Sunset does a whole bunch of great accomplishments, but in the end she also never becomes a Princess. Of course, that's the whole point. If it was hinted that Sunset could have become a Princess in that timeline, or any other timeline, then that'd be kicking her while she's down, by saying she essentially could have had it all and screwed it up.

Really, I don't honestly know if you wrote it that way, but the first timeline at seems designed to appeal to Twilight's ego, even if bookhorse wouldn't consciously realise it if she saw the timeline. Twilight still becomes a Princess, but Sunset doesn't, even with arguably far greater achievements. And since Celestia couldn't see false-Cadance's behavior, the timeline overcompensates by having it be incredibly obvious to Sunset.

[The Scarlett Mare]

“ The robots were in love! ” Rainbow said while blushing furiously. Rarity and Fluttershy giggled from the corner.

I was going to read this chapter entirely and then comment so as to not spoil myself
But I just can help it
THEY WATCHED WALL-E AND RAINBOW CRIED
HOW WHOLESOME IS THAT
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

[Krickis]

9864980
Who doesn't cry at Wall-E???

[The Scarlett Mare]

Okay so, thinking back on this chapter. There will be spoilers mixed with commenting, maybe making it hard to mark it while still making sense. I don't even know anymore. Another warning: it's a huge comment. Grab a soda.

The ash path with the blood red spider lilies was actually quite easy to figure out. Debris and a path of destruction that started when she was a filly.
It just
It all fits together so well. I started this chapter wondering how in Hel she would just, learn about friendship without nothing really showing it was worth it.

The different paths were ingenious, really. I said it before and I'll say it again: it's really hard to find a fic with every aspect of Sunset's origin completely figured out, in a way that manages to make more sense than anything could ever make. Specially the movie, but that's a footnote. People usually start from where she fell, few people actually mention anything that happens before the show, and it's nothing short of astounding that you managed it so well. The best part about this chapter is that yes, this could have been a whole different story. You had the ability to make this an adventure story or a full on romance slice of life with a rough start.
But your determination to show just how messed up Sunset's logic is, all culminated on this chapter being the time to look back on some of her most important bad decisions and realized that she could have fared soooo much better had she not been an arrogant prick or just maybe done the right thing at the right time. The fact that she consciously acknowledged that the path she had been in her entire life had been one of ashes and misery, speaks to how much she understands her own decisions were the reason she ended up all alone, even if she does not acknowledge it like that all the time. In fact she also consciously avoids doing so because she knows just what about her decisions was wrong; she unconsciously doubted them on the spot. (I really hope that made sense).

Personally, I like the second path better. Not just because Eqg appealed to me much more than Fim did (there I said it), but because I think that part of what happened to Sunset on the human world... Kinda made it more interesting. She just fits in with it. I remember feeling by the end of the bookshelf that the human world would probably never be interesting if Sunset weren't a bitch to Cadence. Sure, it would be almost idyllic except for, maybe, the broken leg, but in hindsight it was too good to be true, lacked the drama of her being a bitch to everyone at Everfree. Just, that would have been the adventure/slice of life/romance of the ages but it would also be a bit stale, and the way you told it here more than suffices, at least for me. But I think you could still manage to make it interesting xD that's how far you swayed me. Someone really should try their hand at a Sunset-Cadence sisterhood, to be honest. It would be very fun to read. I might add it to the pile of ideas that I will never expand on probably.

Now, AJ and Sunset being sisters... Honestly I was expecting them to be shipped in this from the very beginning. Still love Sunshyne and I believe SunTwiShy is best poly I've seen in front of me so far (look up Graph Theory by stillinbeta. It's a good romance). Just realized actually that I liked the second one better because of the romance. I love fluff that actually has a conflict and some appeal. And not the "hey she is lesbian, shame" kind because that pisses me off, though it is a real thing of society to do that. Still. Yeah. The first one had action and a brief description of the royal wedding with Sunset though. So idk. I liked both but the second was more appealing for me.

Your writing is really good, and the only time I remember being this enraptured by a story was reading The Enchanted Library. As a matter of fact, I found this fic searching for romance and poly fics. I found Finding Home doing that and decided to give the whole timeline a try because it was just too good. Like, where has this been all my life?

Yikes, too much. I think. Too many thoughts. Too many things that make me happy about the cleverness and quality of this whole story, and it's very well paced; it really felt, in the beginning of each act that you'd never time skip to a time where it was stagnant, and though you skipped years, the reader never missed how Sunset changed throughout. My favorite arc, off the top of my head, was the bottle of wine. It was the beginning of Sunset's characterization as a delinquent. Five year old Sunset clearly is not so little anymore.

But I digress because this isn't even the last chapter; it's just the longest. It's also the culmination of everything so I wouldn't be completely sad or angry if this story ended here. But it wouldn't be enough because I feel like the end of this chapter was only a climax, one of many. Also a turning point. But that was obvious :v. Don't worry, I'll probably have another massive comment on the Epilogue as well. Because I just can't get enough of explaining why I liked this story so much.

[The Scarlett Mare]

9865014
I don't know!!!!!!!??

[Krickis]

9865148
I love everything about this comment Super glad you enjoyed this so much, it's by far my favorite chapter. Since you brought up the idea of the story ending here, there's an important reason there's another chapter: big climatic moments are the easy part. Everyone can have that "No more, I'm changing my life" moment, and everyone does all the time about things big and small. But that's not enough, you've gotta take the next step. For Sunset here, it's easy to feel tough and talk big when she's facing down the embodiment of her bad side, but what after? She's gotta actually live that life. There was almost a whole sequel about that called Guiding Light, all about her first steps with her friends and actually following through with her decision to be better that would be the story in between EqG 1 and 2, but I decided I didn't wanna dedicate the time to writing that

And, incidentally, I inspired Graph Theory, and I was the first to come up with and write TwiShySet

[evilSunsetShimmer]

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

You really know how to get me to cry

[viclouiis]

Oh my god. Listen. I think you just fixed one of the shakiest parts of EQG canon for me. Straight up? I consider this fic practically canon now. This just... it makes so much sense! It explains both why Sunset was the way she was before Twilight's intervention, and then why she was able to turn herself around afterward. Also, this chapter made me tear up so many times. The lives Sunset could've lived were so bittersweet, and then her final confrontation against herself... it was just. SO good. I mean, initially I didn't realize that the first universe was a "what if" scenario, and once I figured it out I was just. So freaking impressed. This story is so good.

[Krickis]

10301525
Filling potholes was another reason I wanted to write this story In my completely unbiased opinion, I do think this story improves on EqG1. This is also my favorite chapter out of anything I've written, in ridiculously proud of it and I'm glad to hear you liked it so much

[Skulljack17]

Oh...oh the possibilities...they're so beautiful. And it's even more cruel that they aren't real! The pairings were so perfect in their own ways!

This really was beautiful though. Seeing all the ways that things could have gone. All how Sunset herself felt how things could have become real for her. And how she can still find a way to go on, even after everything. Because she doesn't give up...even though she doesn't know how to atone yet. But the effort to try is still more significant than anything else, as the first step is the hardest one.

[Krickis]

10319043
This chapter remains the thing I'm most proud of writing. It's the moment where everything comes together, and it's everything I wanted this story to be. I'm glad you liked it, and that you liked the story in general! I've really enjoyed all your comments as you've read

[PresentPerfect]

I don't know what's better, Sunset hooking up with Luna, or Sunset fighting Chrysalis. :D You clearly know what I like!

Sunset leaned against Celestia and used her one good foreleg to hug her as tightly as she could manage. “I love you. And…” Sunset broke down and found herself crying into Celestia’s chest. “And I was so scared I’d never get to tell you that!”

Aaaah-haah-hueh-huhhh! ;_;

“ The robots were in love! ” Rainbow said while blushing furiously. Rarity and Fluttershy giggled from the corner.

This is the best. XD

I love that she finally found a way to run from her memories. She just needed something to run toward.