A Tale That Wasn't Right

by Equimorto

Something wrong with the world

Princess Sunset Shimmer sat on a wooden bench atop a small hilltop looking over a park in Canterlot. The mid-afternoon sun's light streamed over the nearby tree, throwing its shadow over her and the rest of the summit. This had always been her favorite place in the park, the elevated, somewhat isolated position giving a perfect view of both the ponies spending time in the garden below and the sky above the city, usually hidden by the buildings, while also allowing one to rest undisturbed. It wasn't rest that the alicorn was looking for today though, as she was enjoying watching the younger colts and fillies playing in the fields.

Not many dared to challenge the heat of the late spring, most preferring to spend their time inside their homes, but those still in their youth were not so easily deterred, having no intention of wasting a perfectly good chance to forget school and homework and just enjoy time with one another. She somewhat wished she could've joined them, but she knew it would've been a rather awkward experience for all of them. Her relations with others had been like that ever since she had become Celestia's student, and she was sure her recent ascension would have only made things worse.

Still, on a better day she might have tried regardless. She could always get others to go past the barrier of her supposed importance, and the younger age would have certainly helped, given they weren't as used to the standards of social interaction as older ponies were. But Sunset was not in the mood to try today. Besides, she wasn't the only pony spending time on her own in the park.

Twilight Sparkle, another one of Celestia's students and probably the best one beside Sunset herself, was reading a book under the shadow of a small tree in a corner of the park, completely oblivious to the commotion not so far from her. Sunset had always wondered about her. She was an extraordinarily talented learner, being able to master about any spell she studied in mere days, sometime hours, all the more impressive considering she was younger than Sunset.

Despite this, there always seemed to be something off about her. She spent most if not all of her time with herself and her books, and the few times Sunset had tried to approach her had been unsuccessful at best. She always tried to avoid talking to her, their interactions felt unnatural, and Sunset once feared she would've dropped asleep in front of her, the look on her face suggesting she hadn't closed eyes for more than one night. They hadn't met directly after Sunset's coronation, but the indecipherable mixture of admiration, jealousy and what looked like hate she had seen in the unicorn's eyes at the event deterred the princess from trying to approach her again.

Sunset sometimes wondered if she would have ended up like Twilight had Celestia not taken care of her as closely as she had. She genuinely wanted to help her see what friendship was like, but never found the right chance to do so, the wall put up by the younger student always proving too much for her. It pained her to see such a talented and promising pony denying herself the possibility to become so much more than what she was already, and all because she wouldn't understand that others were there to help her, not to stop her.

It felt wrong. And unfortunately for the alicorn, it was not the only thing that felt wrong. There was something, she could feel it, something that didn't belong. She had realized she had always felt like this, but that only recently it had gotten strong enough for her to notice. It was like the music of the world was playing the wrong notes, like reality was dancing to the wrong beat. Everything felt forced, unnatural. The ponies she met sounded like actors playing their role with the wrong script. The city around her felt misshapen, like a painting seen through a distorting lens. The rays of the sun felt alien, their heat leaving her cold inside, the light falling at what felt like an angle that should not exist.

It was driving her crazy the more she thought about it, and she knew it would only grow stronger if she tried to ignore it. Reality all around her looked like a mockery of what it should have been, and the more she felt it the more she knew why. It was like looking from a place she wasn't supposed to look from, like witnessing a play from the side scene instead. And she knew why. She felt like she was wrong, like she wasn't supposed to be where she was. There was something, just out the corner of her eye. A shadow moving behind the courtain of existence, something beside her out there on the edge. The more she stared at the stage of the life she was put in, the faker it all looked to her, the more Sunset knew that she was not alone.

---

"What is the matter, Sunset?" Celestia asked before taking a sip of tea from the small cup she was holding with her magic.

She was a beautiful sight, the way her mane drifted on a wind that wasn't there, her white body resting over the bright crimson colored cushions at the center of her room. To Sunset's tired mind, she almost looked real. Almost, but the younger alicorn couldn't ignore the strings pulling and moving her teacher, nor the unending void looming beyond the confines of the room. It was a surreal experience, almost like her eyes were able to see in a dimension above the common ones. Celestia saw nothing of all those things, just like she couldn't see the figure of a pony sitting to the side near the fireplace of her room, most of their body hidden beneath a dull yellow hood and cape.

"It's... complicated," Sunset answered in a quiet tone, her weary eyes betraying her inner discomfort as she sat down in front of her teacher.

"You are the most talented student I ever had, I'm sure you'll find the right words."

The right words. Sunset wasn't sure she understood what was going on herself, let alone trying to explain it to somepony else. But that was why she was there, so might as well try.

"Have you ever felt like you were noticing something wasn't the way it was supposed to be? Like there was something wrong? Ponies acting weird, looking like they don't belong where they are, doing what they're doing?"

"You think there might be another changeling intrusion?"

"No, it's not that. It's not just ponies, either. It's like everything feels wrong."

"Maybe Discord escaped again," Celestia replied, taking another sip of her tea.

"No, no, its different,"-Sunset shifted awkwardly in her position,-"and what do you mean escaped? He's been reformed! He would never-"

A fit of pain shot through her head, cutting her short.

"Wonderful weather, wouldn't you say?" asked the white alicorn while staring out of the window.

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Sunset, a hoof pressed to her temple.

"Whatever is happening, I'm sure you'll find a solution. You are my greatest student, after all."

"What if I'm the problem?" Sunset said, standing back up. "What if I'm the cause of all this?"

"Of course, my dear, I'll gladly join you for a tea at your place."

Sunset moved closer to the other alicorn. "What? Are you even listening to me?"

The headache made it painful to walk, a costant thumping from the inside of her skull trying to hammer its way out of her head. Her gaze unfocused and she stumbled slightly to the side before steadying herself.

Celestia's voice came distant and muffled to her ears. "I'm quite impressed by the progress you've made with those high precision teleportation spells, I'm sure they will be extremely useful in the future."

"What are you talking about?" the orange mare shouted in the direction of her mentor.

The sound of another sip of tea leaving the cup. "Don't overwork yourself. As for the party, I think a raspberry cake would be the best choice."

"Celestia?" Sunset slumped forward until her body collided with that of the princess. "CELESTIA!" she screamed, her hooves grabbing the other pony as the world came back into focus around her, the older alicorn's body unmoving despite her efforts. Celestia wasn't looking at her. It was like she wasn't even there.

"Goodbye Sunset," she said, her eyes tracing from where Sunset had been sitting before to the exit door. Her body then moved with a series of mechanical looking jerks, her eyes now staring at the slowly withdrawing figure of her student, her still full cup of tea repositioning itself as her features returned to a more natural look.

"What is the matter, Sunset?" Celestia asked before taking a sip of tea from the small cup she was holding with her magic.

"It's... nothing," Sunset answered in a quiet tone, an expression of terror painted over her face. "I just wanted to say hi."

---

Running.

Not to any place, not towards anything, just away.
Away from all the madness that had become her life, away from the living nightmare that she was trapped in, away from the deafening silence of the void beyond the crumbling walls of her reality.

Running.

The mad pounding of her heart as she sprinted over the marble floors of the castle's corridors, the clacking of her hooves as she made her way through the halls, the short spasming sound of her erratic breath.

Running.

The rhythmical black and white of the checkered tiles, the rainbow hues cast by the light passing the stained glass, the gold and silver, red and blue of the banners lining the walls.

Running.

The pain in her legs as she pushed forward, the burning in her lungs as the cold air filled them, cutting like a knife on its way to them, the aching in her chest, her body screaming at her to stop.

She couldn't. She wouldn't.

She had to get out.

Out of that game, out of that play, off of the stage, out of wathever it was, out of wathever was happening to her and to the world around her, she had to run away.

And she couldn't.

No matter how hard she tried, no matter how long and hard she ran. The halls and corridors looped themselves, each and everyone like the last and the next. It was a twisted mockery of reality, a little space for her to have her little crysis before she went back to her place, time standing still as it waited for her to go back to her role.

And around every corner, beyond every turn, in every room, she saw it. That same figure, the same hooded pony she had first noticed in Celestia's room. It was following her, watching her, like it was a part of her, a part of her body that she'd forgotten about and was only now aware of, always with her wherever she went.

A missplaced hoof, a slip on the floor. Sunset's body fell forward, coming to a stop with a crash against the wall. The alicorn got up, tears in her eyes because of her situation more than because of the pain. The other pony was there, looking, mocking her with presence alone. The princess slowly made her way to the nearest door.

She entered the library. A few ponies were in the large room, some sitting at a table, others looking for a book on the shelves. Some were surprised by her presence, some greeted her in a stiff, formal way, others more used to her presence in the place gave her a welcoming smile, a few were too focused on reading to notice her. She paid no mind to their reaction, ignoring them and instead walking on between the bookcases, pain accompanying her every movement. She absentmindedly wandered the labyrinthine structure of literature-filled forniture, not caring for where she would end up. She was trapped either way, any place would be the same.

The sudden metallical clicking of a chain hitting her low held horn awakened her from her thoughts. She had inadvertently reached the entrance to the forbidden section of the archives. She had never been to that particular wing of the library, Celestia herself having told her she wasn't ready to go there yet.

She watched the sealed wooden and iron door for a few moments, pondering what to do.

"Screw it."

A blast of magic sent splinters flying off of the remains of the door, ripping it from the joints and turning the bulk of it into dust. Sunset strode forward through the ashes and the white-hot shards of metal, staring at the unlit corridor stretching in front of her. She had to admit, it was a rather unsettling darkness. But she had seen worse, everyday for the last few days. She helped her legs with a small flap of her wings and jumped into the shadows, her hooves landing on the smooth ice cold floor.

It broke.

Like a sheet of glass being hit with a rock the world around Sunset shattered, leaving a hole for her to fall into as all around her came crashing down, down, down into the void.

Sunset was falling, a maelstrom of nothingness swirling around her as she plummeted away from reality, glimpses of worlds beyond the world flashing through her eyes before she lost them in her descent.

She didn't land. There never came a moment in which she felt herself stop, an impact from her body hitting something. Simply, one moment she was falling, the next she wasn't, and she became aware that she was standing in the middle of a dimly lit hallway lined with bookshelves. The light had a strange green and blue tint to it, the air was cold, and the floor seemed to be covered in a layer of sparkling dust. She tried to move and found it unnaturally difficult, like being immersed in cream rather than air. She took a few steps forward and noticed that the small clouds of dust she lifted with her hooves seemed to hover in place, reflecting the light in a shimmering pattern.

She had just grabbed a book from a shelf with her magic when a sound startled her and caused her to drop it, the half opened tome remaining suspended in midair. She turned towards the source and saw a pony walking towards her. She was the same one that had been following her, she realized, only now she had lowered her hood to reveal her amber colored fur and her red and yellow striped mane from under which a horn was jutting out.

Sunset stared at her reflection in the cyan eyes of her slightly taller, winged, but otherwise identical double.

"You always have to go and ruin everything, don't you?"

Comments

[shallow15]

I am officially intrigued. Tracking.

[Ze1a7in]

...There are so many theories I have for what's going on right now. And they are probably all wrong.

[Starlight Nova]

Isn't that the artwork Chengar Qordath uses for all of his stories?