The World Left Behind

by AnoneMouseJr

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sunset Shimmer bit her lip nervously as she waited by the base of where the Canterlot Wondercolt statue had once stood, looking down at the message Twilight had sent her. She had sprinted out of the house and run most of the way to the school to meet her friend, but even with her best speed and as many blocks as she'd had to go, she couldn't be sure that she'd gotten there before Twilight had...

With a brief noise and a ripple of magic across the portal, Twilight suddenly emerged, carrying a backpack and looking relieved when she saw Sunset. "Oh thank goodness..."

Sunset smiled at her friend. "Good to see you again, Twilight."

"Good to see you again, Sunset," Twilight said with a happy sigh. "Life has been downright crazy this last month or so, and I need some normalcy for a change."

Sunset blinked in surprise. "And I'm guessing this has to do with whatever you said you had to talk with me about?" She gestured to the journal she was still carrying.

Twilight nodded. "But I think we need to be somewhere not so... public first."

"Sure thing." Sunset tucked the journal back in her own pack. "Come on, we've got quite a walk ahead of us."

"We're not staying here?" Twilight asked as she gestured towards the school building.

Sunset shook her head. "It's Saturday, school's closed."

"Right." Walking next to Sunset as the two headed for the sidewalk, Twilight looked at her. "So, how's everything going on your end?"

"It's been kind of quiet, ever since we won that Chance to Prance contest," Sunset said. "I told you about everything that happened at Camp Everfree, right?"

Twilight nodded. "I'm glad the other... well, me, is doing better - I know all too well what it's like to have a monster haunting your dreams. Not from personal experience!" she added. "But I know somepony else who did." Before Sunset could ask, she continued. "And I do want to take a look at those geodes you all got there at some point - I wonder just how closely they're linked to the Elements back home." She looked contemplative.

"Considering we've got seven of them and there are only six Elements of Harmony, I'm kind of wondering about that too." Sunset looked at her curiously. "This world's Twilight has been curious too, but even if she is feeling more confident about magic after what happened at camp, she's said she doesn't want to get too obsessed with it again. I... kind of told her a little about what happened when I got obsessed with trying to figure it out, and all I ended up with was a huge mess." She looked a little embarrassed.

The pair walked in silence for a little while, Twilight looking around and marveling at everything. She'd visited this world only three times before, and the first and third times she'd never really left school grounds. While the second visit had let her see more, she'd mainly focused on her friends and less on the surroundings, even when they'd gone to the amphitheater where they'd held the Battle of the Bands. Now though, Sunset couldn't help but smile at her wide-eyed wonder.

It was nearly half an hour after they'd left the school before they reached Sunset's home, and Twilight looked around it in amazement. "Wow..."

Sunset nodded. "Probably not as fancy as where you live, but it's home. And it's a lot better than where I lived when I first came here."

Twilight looked at her curiously.

"I came over with little more than my saddlebags and the fur on my back, remember?" Sunset told her. "I had to... well, I was kind of hiding out in an old abandoned warehouse for a while, until I figured out how to turn what few bits I had into cash. Plus some funds that the last owners left there. I was desperate!" she added, seeing the look on Twilight's face. "I did what I had to survive... plus, I was kind of evil then."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't blame you for that," she said with a sigh. "But... if you were having that kind of trouble then, how'd you get this place?"

"I did a lot of research, invested wisely and ended up with enough income to get and maintain this place - helps that it was relatively cheap." Sunset set her backpack down, then headed up the stairs, checking something on one of her nightstands. "Plus, Snips and Snails chipped in after I... intimidated them into helping. I've paid them back since then," she added as she came back down. "So, what's the big news?"

Twilight nodded, then found herself a seat. "This is... going to be complicated."

Settling in next to her, Sunset looked at her. "I'm listening."

"I just spent a month with an alicorn from another dimension living in my castle."

Sunset's eyes widened. "What."

Twilight nodded. "Apparently, there was a portal of some kind on our moon, and it led to another dimension. Not a stable one like the mirror - Princess Luna examined it, and apparently it's... broken somehow. But this mare, Spliced Genome, managed to get through it and wound up on Equestria's moon, and Luna sensed her and brought her down. And once she and Celestia had talked with her for a while, they arranged for her to come and stay with me so I could learn everything I could about her and help them decide whether to let her stay or not."

Sunset blinked. "Oh-kay."

Twilight sighed, more to herself. "She was more than a little rough around the edges, and after what we learned about her history - both personal and her world's - I don't blame her. But even still, she became my friend. And now she's gone. Her own people came and took her back. And Celestia let them."

"Why?" Sunset asked. "If she was your friend, then-"

Twilight looked at her, a bitter expression on her face. "We found out that Spliced wasn't just any mare. She was a war criminal."

Sunset's jaw dropped, and Twilight continued. "Apparently, she had the blood of billions on her hooves before they sent her to some prison on their moon - she found the portal when she was trying to escape from there."

"That's..." Sunset looked dumbfounded. "I don't know what to say. Even at my worst, I never..."

"I know," Twilight said softly. "I remember how you let Spike go when I asked." She looked down. "And after everything else, you learned, and changed for the better. Spliced was changing too - it used to be that she didn't care about anypony, but while she was with us, she learned how to. I know for a fact that she never once hurt anypony in Equestria - not permanently, anyway," she added. "And when her people came for her... she gave herself up to them so they wouldn't hurt us."

Sunset shook her head. "That's... quite a story," she said. Then something occurred to her. "You said she didn't hurt anypony permanently?"

Twilight nodded. "Apparently, from what Princess Luna told me later, Spliced kind of panicked when she woke up after she first got brought down. And she... well, she broke Celestia's nose and tried to run off. She fixed it afterward!" she added hastily. "But given her life, I don't blame her for freaking out and reacting like that."

Sunset shook her head again. "I can't even imagine what that must have been like," she said. "But I trust your judgement." She then leaned in. "So... did something else happen that made you need to take some time away from Equestria?"

Twilight nodded. "For one, I'm ticked off at Celestia - she told me she was glad Spliced left, even after how much she had changed. And this is the mare who forgave Discord with no problem, after everything he did to us when he escaped!" She looked disgusted. "Sure, he's better now, but after the way he messed with our minds... it took me a long time to get over what he did to us, and while I've long since forgiven him, it's not something I can forget easily. Not to mention..." she trailed off.

"Twilight?" Sunset asked hesitantly.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't help but remember how much Celestia manipulated things when she asked us to free him, and even if it worked out in the long run, the idea of what she was doing just makes me so angry." She took a deep breath. "It all goes back to something that I promise I'll explain soon."

Sunset gave her a worried look. "Take your time if you need to," she said.

"Thank you, Sunset." For a few minutes, Twilight fell silent, then looked up again. "I found out just how much she's been keeping from us, about the Elements and our place in the world."

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked.

Twilight looked at her friend. "I found out that there are... Powers, beings that act as the source for what they are named after in that dimension. The six of us, who used the Elements of Harmony? We're all Powers in our own right, and together we make up the Power of Harmony. Then there's Discord - he's the Lord of Disharmony, and our joint Opposite. And Celestia had been studying what other versions of her had done to... well, neutralize him and bring him to our side, and the manipulations she pulled off to do it just disturb me." She shook her head for a moment, then continued.

"Aside from Discord, we've each got an individual Opposite, representing another Power. But unlike us, they act independently, and aren't needed to call the Power of Disharmony." She smiled faintly. "Luckily, I've also found out that just because two Powers are Opposites, it doesn't mean they have to be enemies - they can work together peacefully."

"Oh?" Sunset asked curiously.

Twilight nodded. "For example, Celestia is the Lady of Day, and Luna, the Lady of Night, is her Opposite. But they work together - in fact, they have to work together to keep things balanced. My Opposite is the Lady of Technology, and she and I are friends now that we've had time to meet and talk things over."

"Your opposite is technology?" Sunset asked in surprise.

Twilight nodded. "I know, I was surprised when I found out too. But fortunately, it's not as literal as you think and not restrictive at all; I'm not barred from using technology, and she's not barred from using magic. We can work together, cooperating to make the world a better place." She smiled. "In fact, when I met Gear Shaft, she was quite impressed with the device I'd made to work with the Crystal Mirror so we could come from Equestria to here and back, without worrying about the restrictions it used to have."

Sunset sighed in relief. "That's good to hear." Then she looked at Twilight. "What does this mean for this world though? I mean... do these Powers affect us too?"

"I asked Discord about that before I sent you my last letter," Twilight said. "He said that this world has its own Powers, but they're closely enough linked to the ones from our Equestria that it's safe for me to visit. And he confirmed that the other Twilight, and the rest of the girls you and I bonded with, are local Powers." She paused for a moment to take a breath, then looked up. "And considering everything that's happened?" She gazed into Sunset's eyes. "I'm sure you've become a Power too, and while I don't know which one... like I told the girls back home, if you just stay true to yourself, that's all that you need to do. Don't worry about whatever Role you have; odds are that you are already fulfilling it perfectly."

Sunset smiled at her. "That's good to know." Suddenly, something occurred to her. "Our Equestria?"

Twilight nodded. "Celestia and Luna showed Cadance and I that there are a lot of other dimensions, each with their own Equestria or its equivalent, plus their own mirror-worlds like this one, and their own sets of Powers. Most of them are alternates for the Powers I know of in our Equestria, but there are some variants. I saw one where Trixie was Magic, and another one where she was Laughter, for instance. And that's just the tip of the iceberg." She leaned in closer. "You remember Prince Blueblood?"

Sunset snorted. "That pompous plothead?"

Twilight smiled. "Remind me to have you talk to our Equestria's Rarity about him sometime - I think you'd get a kick out of what she has to say. But anyway, one of the worlds I saw had him in my place as Celestia's personal student, and he messed it up so badly... most worlds that I saw, the Bearers had to use the power of Harmony to purify Luna and turn her back to normal. In that one, Blueblood was so detestable and offended every single pony in Ponyville, to the point where Luna broke free from Nightmare Moon on her own because she was so tired of being compared to somepony like him just because they were both royalty."

Sunset covered her mouth, and Twilight could tell she was struggling to keep from laughing. "That sounds like him," she said.

Twilight smiled. "And then there were the times he was the exact opposite. I don't mind saying I was really surprised by those worlds." Then she looked down. "Of course, there are some things I found out at the same time that I wasn't too happy about - like I said before, Celestia has been looking into a lot of those worlds and using what she learned to plan ahead for our future, like what she did to help get Discord on our side. And it wasn't until just recently that she told me about all of it." Her fists clenched. "She kept things secret and played us like pieces on a chessboard, and I'm not happy about that."

Sunset laid a hand on hers. "Did she..." her voice faltered. "Did she do it to me, too?"

Twilight sighed. "Sort of... but not the way you're probably thinking," she said quickly. "Celestia told me that when she first saw the various worlds where you... fell, for lack of a better term, she did everything she could to try and keep you from ending up like those other Sunsets did, and she was so upset when it didn't work out." She looked down for a moment. "In her own way, she did, and still does, care for you... when I came back from here the first time, the first thing she asked me was if you were all right." Twilight shook her head. "After everything that's happened between us recently, there are moments when I'm so angry at her. And then I remember things like that, and I wind up being confused over how I want to feel."

Sunset smiled. "Well, you're more than welcome to stay here until you've got everything sorted out," she said. "Believe me, I know what it's like." Her eyes narrowed. "That... incident last Christmas..."

Twilight nodded. "I wish I could have come here for you then," she said. "I'm glad my advice then helped, but if I could have been here for you in person..."

"You did the best you could, and it all worked out in the end," Sunset reassured her. "That's all that matters."

Twilight smiled gratefully at her.

"So, what else is new?" Sunset asked after a minute of silence.

Twilight thought for a moment. "Well, Flurry Heart's as happy and healthy as ever," she said.

Sunset shook her head. "I still can't believe there's a new naturally-born alicorn in Equestria," she said. "I'm happy for Cadance - which, given our history and how jealous I was of her for being an alicorn when I wasn't, is saying something." She looked contemplative. "I wonder..."

"What?"

"Well, if our Cadance and your brother had a foal together... how long until Dean Cadance and this world's Shining Armor wind up having their own child? I mean, as far as I know they're not even married, though our Twilight says they are close."

Twilight shrugged. "If they do, I'll be happy for them." She smiled. "I'm just glad that the Twilight here has a Cadance and Shiny to be here for her too."

"Yeah." Sunset contemplated. "I wonder how they'd react if they met you."

"I don't know..." Twilight looked thoughtful. "I mean, it'd be interesting, but... how much do they even know about Equestria?"

"Um... not much," Sunset admitted. "Of course, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna don't know that much either, just that you and I come from a world of magic. I'm not sure they even know we're actually ponies over there."

"Despite the ears and tails whenever you pony up?" Twilight asked dryly.

Sunset shrugged. "They've never asked."

Twilight sighed. "Well, that's one thing I might wind up talking to them about." She looked serious. "I might be seriously irked at our Celestia, but that doesn't mean I'm mad at the one here. They're separate people, after all, so..."

Sunset smiled. "I know - when I first came here, it took me all the self-control I had not to go raging at Principal Celestia like she was the one I first knew. In a way, I suppose that when I started tearing apart friendships here, it was my way of lashing out at her indirectly. I'm past all that now, but still..."

"I understand," Twilight said. "It's hard not to give in to your first reaction and think things through, especially if it's someone that you have a strong emotional connection to."

"Yeah." Sunset was quiet for a moment. Then she looked at the other girl. "Hey, Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"I've missed talking with you, face to face, like this."

"I've missed being around you too, Sunset." Twilight smiled at her, and held out her hand. After a moment, Sunset took it, and smiled back.

"It's good to have you here again," she said. "You can stay as long as you feel the need to."

"I'll try," Twilight told her. "I'll try."

---

Equestria...

"Oomph," Applejack grunted as she lifted the last barrel up into the wagon, before heading around to hitch herself to it and pull it in towards the barn. As she worked, she thought back on Twilight's request.

She really hadn't had that much personal interaction with Spliced, aside from that first meeting. Most of the times since then had been as part of a group. The other mare had seemed okay at first, though more than a little... well, she wasn't quite sure how to put it. There was a dark center to her, but in her heart Applejack could feel that wasn't all there was to the other mare.

No mare who was truly irredeemable, she concluded to herself, would have willingly given themselves up while asking, first and foremost, that others not be prosecuted for her actions. She had felt the honest truth in Spliced's words when she'd made that request; she genuinely did not want Twilight and the others to be hurt by these newcomers.

She also understood that while some of her friends had been understandably reluctant to trust Spliced, she could tell the other mare was changing for the better the more she was exposed to others. While still far from perfect, Spliced had at least been making an effort to improve herself as a person, and that was something Applejack could appreciate.

Sighing, she saw that while her mind had wandered, she'd reached the barn. Unhitching herself, she went back to work unloading the wagon again.

Ah just hope you're still okay, wherever you are, she thought to Spliced.

---

Rarity had also been at work, already busy with the new clients that had started to come through the portal as well as several old ones from Canterlot wishing to snoop on the newcomers.

There were already talks about land being turned into a suitable place for their ships to be docked in Ponyville - Canterlot had been deemed too risky as it was a mountain city, as she had heard from one of her visitors - and Gear Shaft was in touch to help in advising the construction and technology being shared with Luna keeping an eye on what was happening over her moon.

Rarity had also kept an eye on the ponies that came from the other world... dimension... place? She still wasn't sure how to call it just yet, but she was starting to form an opinion on their people.

For the most part, they seemed to be good ponies that were in awe of everything in Ponyville. They had acted like Spliced had, completely enraptured by the more natural look and feel of the town, though Fluttershy and Book Balancer, the Hesturland representative that wasn't in Canterlot talking with the princesses, had to make sure that none went into the Everfree Forest after the first few times.

The topic of Spliced of course came up and for the most part, they seemed to feel pity for her and Rarity could understand why. She'd be the first to admit that she and Spliced had gotten off to a rough start (seeing the other mare snap her own neck had given her nightmares for days afterward, and she still had them from time to time), but as she'd gotten to know Spliced, she'd come to see her as... well, as somepony who was trying, at least, to change and help others in her own way. And also to learn tact, taking care not to show her unique talents around Coco; the dear probably would have fainted had she witnessed what Spliced was capable of. She was also relieved that Spliced had never showcased these abilities around Sweetie Belle. Her sister would have either freaked out or... or...

Shaking her head, Rarity sighed. "And now I can't remember where I was going with that," she muttered to herself. "Moving on!"

Thinking again, she reflected on Spliced's last actions before leaving. She could see Spliced had begun to grow great understanding and compassion for others; one didn't give up their own life and freedom for others without having those in abundance.

As she jotted these thoughts down, she heard the bell ring to signal the entrance of another client. Dashing off the last bits and tucking them away, she let out a sing-song "Coming!", then trotted down the stairs to greet the newcomer.

Comments

[Asolem2]

In that one, Blueblood was so detestable and offended every single pony in Ponyville, to the point where Luna broke free from Nightmare Moon on her own because she was so tired of being compared to somepony like him just because they were both royalty."

That's actually pretty impressive

[AnoneMouseJr]

10484375
The scary part about it is, I didn't make that up. Back in March 2017, IDW put out a special edition comic - My Little Pony: Deviations - portraying a universe where this really happened.

Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.