Repercussions

by shallow15

Mind Games III

“There's something I don't understand about all of … this,” Sunset waved a hand, indicating the entire environment. She ignored the fact that she was still human and Celestia was an alicorn, deciding it was too weird to deal with at the present time.

Celestia sipped her tea and levitated her teacup back to the saucer on the table. “And that is?”

“I don't know what this actually is,” Sunset said. “I don't know much about comas, but what I've read seems to indicate most coma patients don't dream. So what exactly is this?”

“What do you think it is?” Celestia asked. Sunset gave her a look.

“No, let's not do the thing where you ask me questions about my questions and I end up answering them. What is this? Seriously.”

Celestia gave her a small smile. “All right. As I'm sure you've realized, this is not a traditional coma as defined by medical science.”

“So it's magic in nature,” Sunset sighed. “Which means all the normal rules are probably out the window.”

“They are. It would probably be best to think of this place as a magically enhanced form of your own mental landscape, created when you were attacked. Unfortunately, the circumstances of the creation of this... realm, for want of a better word, prevent you from leaving it without some sort of external assistance.”

“External assistance?”

“Someone out in the real world will need to figure out how to counteract the attack in order for you to wake up.”

“Great,” Sunset groaned. “I was hoping I'd just have some kind of personal inner revelation and wake up.”

“Sadly, life is not a bad student art film from the 1970s,” Celestia smirked. Sunset laughed, then blinked.

“Wait, I know you're not really Princess Celestia, but that's a reference I would never make. I've never seen any 1970s student art films.”

“Ah,” Celestia said. “I guess I did let that slip. You're correct, of course. I'm not entirely a construct of your mind.”

“Then who or what are you?”

Celestia didn't respond but gave Sunset an enigmatic smile. Sunset quirked an eyebrow.

“Oh, so this one I have to figure out on my own, huh?”

Celestia's smile didn't budge. Sunset sighed.

“Okay. So let's see here. This isn't a dream, but something similar comprised by the interaction of the magic and my mind. Correct?”

“Correct,” Celestia answered.

Sunset nodded. “Okay. Therefore, it stands to reason that this place and everything that inhabits it is comprised of a mix of magic and something from my psyche. Memories, personality traits, my own sense of self.”

Sunset drummed her fingers on the table, her eyes staring off into the distance as she thought. “You admitted outright that you aren't really Celestia, which means that you probably aren't composed of a memory, outside of your appearance. So why would you manifest as Celestia, unless my mind associates her with some other aspect of your being?”

Celestia sipped her tea again. Sunset got up from the table and began pacing.

“I associate the princess with knowledge, wisdom, learning, and magic. Wait?” Sunset whirled around to face her mentor. “You're the magic?”

Celestia smiled. “Not quite, but it's close enough. I am a projection of the Magic of Friendship created by your mind. This is actually quite unusual, even Princess Twilight's never been in this position.”

“I don't think the Princess of Friendship is likely to be attacked by people she's wronged in her past.” The sarcasm was evident in Sunset's voice. Celestia laughed.

“No, probably not.”

“So,” Sunset began, “If you're the magic, I have to ask. Why don't you work the same way as you do in Equestria?”

“That's a simple one. Different world. Different rules.”

“I figured that, but why the pony ears and tails? Why the geodes?”

“I am manifesting in many different ways in this world because right now, I am out of balance. Ever since the portal was created, I have been leaking through. If you want to use a faucet analogy, imagine that I was leaking through one drop at a time, with each drop falling through every few years. When the portal opened, the drops became a trickle.”

“And when I brought the Element of Magic through, I turned the faucet on full blast.”

“More accurately, that happened when you tried to use the Element against Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia clarified. “Then, when the portal closed, the faucet, for want of a better term, wasn't closed all the way. The trickle was still happening, especially after Twilight figured out how to open the portal permanently. As a result, I am flowing into this world from Equestria on a small but consistent basis.”

“And the Friendship Games!” Sunset exclaimed. “Cross-dimensional rips must have brought more magic into the world.”

“Exactly,” said Celestia. “And so, I needed to try to balance the forces. Hence, the geodes.”

“And things are still out of balance, which is why you're running rampant,” Sunset concluded. “But, I have to ask, why are you corrupting anyone else who encounters you?”

“Magic isn't inherently good or evil, you should remember that from your time in Equestria,” Celestia replied. “In the case of friendship magic, it's empathic in nature. When you and your friends are in harmony with yourselves and each other, beneficial things happen. But if someone who isn't in harmony gets ahold of something I inhabit, well, you've seen what happens.”

“But why us? No.” Sunset stopped herself. “I know why the other girls. They're the counterparts to the Element bearers in Equestria. Why me?”

Celestia smiled and stood. She walked over and leaned her head in close to Sunset's own.

“Because, Sunset, you – “

Sunset was thrown back as a bolt of dark energy connected with Celestia. The alicorn let out a high pitched scream which was abruptly cut off as she exploded into a multi-colored cloud. The force of the explosion hurled Sunset backwards. She crashed to the ground and let out a cry of pain.

She sat up and stared in disbelief at the scorch mark where Celestia once stood. “Princess?”

“Sorry, got tired of her blathering.”

Sunset whirled around and she grit her teeth at the sight of her dark reflection standing behind her. The reflection waved.

“Told you we weren't done yet.”

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why do you rarely respond to comments?

[shallow15]

8468818
In the case of this story, I don't want to accidentally confirm or deny anything speculated on in the comments.

[HelgaButtercup]

I wonder who is the culprit :(

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

because Sunset is the seventh element.

[The Crazed Werewolf]

Why am I beginning to suspect either Luna or Celestia?

[Csquared08]

Yeah, I figured we'd be going back and forth between the demon and the magic.

[DanaO]

Ah. Touch of confirmation there for my own suspicions about some of what's going on. Needed it, since I've already noted authors can use symbolism in very different ways than my own preferred interpretations. But there were only three sources to draw upon for creating Sunset's current condition, and the preceding didn't feel quite right for the known two.