Sunset the Seventh

by SmilesPerHour

Prologue

Across the infinite reaches of reality, there are thousands upon thousands of alternate realities where the impossible becomes possible, and still other realities that are very similar to our own. One such world is fairly normal and uninteresting, with the exception of their high school: Canterlot High. Canterlot High is no ordinary school, although the students are very much like us, they unknowingly possess a portal to a magical world. This world is called Equestria, where magical horses are the dominant race, some of which can fly, others can perform magic, and still others can grow crops. However, on occasion, the magic from Equestria has leaked into Canterlot High, resulting in powerful and dangerous monsters (such as sirens) to attack the school and attempt to enslave everyone within. Seven extraordinary students defeated these monsters and restored peace at Canterlot High, but the most extraordinary of these students was Sunset Shimmer.

You see, although Sunset Shimmer looked like any other student at Canterlot High, she was not from that town, or even that world. Sunset Shimmer was born in Equestria, but she was forced to leave her home world as a result of a disastrous plot to enslave Equestria. Before Sunset Shimmer became a human student at Canterlot High, she was a unicorn studying under the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia. Sunset had studied in her room day in and day out, hoping to learn a magic spell that would prove to Celestia that she was worthy to reach the final step of her studies. Only by completing her studies would Sunset fulfill her dream of becoming the rarest and most powerful species of magical equine: an alicorn, with the horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus, in addition to magical abilities beyond the dreams of any horse or human.

Sunset Shimmer wanted to become an alicorn and make Celestia proud, but every day, Celestia insisted that Sunset was not yet ready to receive such an honor. Frustrated, Sunset doubled and redoubled her efforts, reading every spell book she could find in hopes of finding something that would impress her teacher, but she refused to consider that the key to her success was not within a book, but rather, outside her door. There was no question in anyone’s mind that Sunset Shimmer was a skilled mage, but she was a recluse, refusing to leave her room or make friends for any reason. Princess Celestia insisted that Sunset Shimmer could only complete her studies by making friends and learning about friendship, but Sunset Shimmer refused to listen, and spent days, weeks, months and even years alone in her room. Loneliness manifested itself within Sunset’s heart, and soon loneliness became bitterness, bitterness became resentment, and resentment became rage. Sunset’s only goal in life became searching spell books and becoming more powerful by any means in hopes of one day becoming an alicorn, but one day Sunset Shimmer made a startling discovery.

Sunset found a magical mirror in Celestia’s castle that transported her into the world of Canterlot High, where she sought to use a powerful magical artifact from Equestria to give her enough power to enslave the school, and eventually the entire world. However, Sunset was quickly defeated by the appearance of Twilight Sparkle, another student of Princess Celestia who had learned the benefits of friendship and taught the same lessons to Sunset Shimmer, allowing her to turn over a new leaf. After learning to seek friendship instead of power, Sunset Shimmer became one of the kindest and most popular students at Canterlot High. Sunset was happier than she had ever been in her life, but she could not ignore the feeling that she would not truly be complete until she returned to Equestria and made amends with her former teacher.