Alternative Origins

by TalkingToMyself

Chapter 21

“Okay, let me sum this up again.”
Sunset looked at the notes in front of her once more and shook her head
“You remember yelling at someone like Blueblood to protect somepony. You were angry and you didn’t think of the consequences.”
Crystal Note nodded with a blush on her cheeks
“I was still scared, but anger won out in the end.”

Sunset nodded and scribbled down another note
“And then, something terrible happened.”
“Yes.”
Sunset sighed and rubbed her temple. This is not enough. I need more details.
“Who was the pony you tried to protect?”
“I wish I knew.”
“And that pony ‘like Blueblood’, that has to be Sombra, right? We only have historical documents and legends as reference, but he didn’t seem the type of king who liked to share his power with anypony.”
Crystal Note shivered at the mention of the name and lost the remain of her sparkles, but she still managed a nod
“I… I don’t know, but that would make the most sense.”

Sunset groaned and shook her head
“So, let’s put up some theories.”
She turned to the chalkboard that dominated an entire wall of the study and scribbled down the words from her notes with enough space in between
“Why would you yell at the king?”
The word ‘Reasons’ joined the board, right under King Sombra
“When you stood up against Blueblood, he threatened one of your friends. Considering that Sombra scares you more than Blueblood, the pony you tried to protect had to be somepony very important to you.”

The piece of chalk in her magic wrote down ‘Threat’, ‘Important Friend’ and a few lines in between. Sunset tapped her chin
“Who could be that important to you? Probably somepony from your family, maybe…”
“Sister.”
Sunset turned around and stared at Crystal Note
“Come again?”
“I… I’m almost sure I had a sister.”
“You’re almost sure?”
“I don’t know her name or see her face, but I know… no, I don’t know, but I feel it.”
Sunset cringed at just how convinced Crystal Note seemed, but feelings wouldn’t help them now. Only facts would help.
“Do you remember anything else about her?”
Crystal Note shook her head
“I’m sorry, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset sighed again, but she wrote ‘Sister’ next to important pony
“Moving on, then. What other reasons could there be?”
Over the course of the next hour, Sunset filled the chalkboard with all kinds of ideas, crossing lines in between and figuring out which would be the most logical outcome. Crystal Note didn’t say anything unless Sunset asked her, but even then she barely gave any input.

In the end, it was just Sunset staring at the chalkboard and scribbling down more and more absurd ideas. When she realized that, she let out a frustrated groan
"Augh, this isn't getting us anywhere! All we do is going in circles here.”
“Well, maybe you need a different approach then?”

Cadance’ voice from behind her only surprised her for a second, then she spun around and glared at the wannabe-princess
“Who said you could just brag in here?”
“Hi Sunset, nice to see you too. I’ve had a nice day so far, thank you for asking.”

Crystal Note barely managed to hide a giggle that stopped when Sunset shot a glare in her general direction before she focused back on Cadance
“You’re not though enough to make sarcasm work.”
Whatever reaction Sunset expected from the pink princess, it was not the big smile she saw from Cadance
“Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Coming from me, you should take this as a threat.”
Sunset Shimmer kept her eyes on Cadance, but her glare only intensified
“You’re nothing but a naïve little filly and the moment Princess Celestia finds out how helpless you are, she’s going to strip you of your title and kick you out.”
“If you want to threaten me, you should try something I’d be actually afraid of.”

Sunset Shimmer barked out a hard and unkind laughter
“Oh please. You’d be lost without somepony cleaning up behind you and cook your meals for you. If you had to leave your cosy little suite behind, where would you even go? You wouldn’t survive a week not being a princess.”
Sunset watched as Cadance’ smile grew more and more strained, very quickly turning into an angry scowl. That’s it. Get angry at me. Give me a reason to put you back in your place. Sunset smirked and waited for the Princess of Useless Feelings to boil over and do something stupid.

Cadance glared at her for a couple of beats, but then her frown vanished completely and any anger was just gone. In its place, Sunset saw something she hated even more than Cadance’ mindless smile. Pity. Princess Cadance was looking at Sunset with a sad, pitiful smile. Cadance was feeling bad for her and Sunset hated it.

Before she could get back at her, Cadance started talking in a soft voice, full of understanding and compassion it would have made Sunset sick, if the words wouldn’t cut through her like knives
“I guess you’re right, Sunset. I would be helpless, all on my own. And I’m sorry I never realized before how terrifying that thought must be for you.”
“For me?”
Sunset was unable to be snarky, she couldn’t think of a comeback. She couldn’t even stop her voice from sounding so weak and pathetic
“What do you mean?”

Sunset wanted to gag when Cadance’ smile turned even softer and she wanted to yell when Cadance’ eyes looked at her with so much pity. However, all she could do was stare up at her when Cadance continued in that soft voice
“I mean, you’ve been living in the palace for most of your life. It’s your home and I’m intruding.”
Sunset couldn’t look away and her voice failed her, so she couldn’t stop Cadance
“I know how you must feel.”
Sunset gritted her teeth together. Shut up.
“And I promise I will never get between you and Auntie Celestia.”
Auntie Celestia! In a sudden burst of rage, Sunset’s voice returned
“SHUT UP!”

Sunset screamed at the top of her voice and with murder in her eyes
“You know nothing! You don’t know anything! You can pretend all you like, but you’ll never understand me! I’m not some wannabe like you! I am Sunset Shimmer! I’m the most powerful unicorn of all times! I solved magical mysteries for Princess Celestia before you even knew she existed! I fulfilled missions not even Princess Celestia could do! I’m her equal, if not her better! And all you are is a fake pretend-wannabe failure and that’s why I hate you! You could never get between me and the Princess! And Princess Celestia would never send me away!”

Sunset breathed hard when her rant ended abruptly. She was still burning up with rage, and that’s why her voice cracked at the end. She was so angry that tears ran down her cheeks. They had to be angry tears. They had to!

Cadance backed away as soon as Sunset started to scream, with real fear. As Sunset went on, any pity faded, any compassion left her features. Now there was a cold glare instead
“You know, I tried so hard to see something good in you, Sunset Shimmer. I never wanted to believe what they all told me. But you really are nothing but an arrogant, self-centred and ill-tempered brat. You’re so full of yourself, not even Celestia is good enough for you.”
“That’s so rich, coming from you!”
Sunset faced her glare head on, fire and ice causing the air to sizzle between them.

“Let me tell you something, Sunset Shimmer. If you were sent away from the palace, where would you go? When was the last time you had to cook your own meals or even make your own bed?”
“Shut up! I leave the palace all the time when I’m on missions for the Princess!”
“Oh yes, your important missions.”
Cadance sneered back and Sunset gritted her teeth. How can she even dare talk about Princess Celestia like that?
“Do you really think Princess Celestia has all these super-important missions and problems just lined up waiting for you?”

Sunset flinched back, but she didn’t even know why
“What do you even mean?”
“Celestia could take care of all of these missions without you. She’s probably done so for centuries. You don’t really think she waited almost a thousand years just for Sunset Shimmer to appear and solve all her problems?”
“Obviously, that’s exactly what she did! I’m her most talented student ever!”

Cadance laughed again and sent Sunset’s world tumbling
“Maybe you really are. But do you know what it looks like to me? Auntie Celestia is keeping you busy. She’s giving you tasks that keep you occupied so your temper won’t get in your own way. It’s how I deal with overeager children as well when I’m foalsitting. I give them simple tasks, so it won’t matter if they mess up or not.”

“SHUT UP!”
Sunset Shimmer crumpled on the floor and her tears kept running. It can’t be true. It can’t. Is this how they all see me? Is this how she sees me?
Sunset didn’t even realize that it wasn’t her voice who had screamed this time.

She blinked through her blur of tears and saw that somepony had stepped between Cadance and her. Crystal Note stood as tall as she could in an effort to shield Sunset from any glaring. Sunset could only see her backside, but Crystal Note’s stance was aggressive. Her coat was grey right now and Sunset knew that Cadance had eyes made of stone pushing her back right now

“How can you say such terrible things? What gives you the right to judge her? Sunset may not be the nicest of ponies, but she always always ALWAYS helps! She doesn’t just try, she helps! Even if it’s not the way you’d expect!”

Sunset watched as Cadance backed away a little from Crystal Note, just like Blueblood had when faced with the crystal pony’s anger. Unlike Blueblood, Cadance looked guilty enough and Crystal Note didn’t rage at her, even if her rant was far from over

“You say Sunset is so full of herself, but why would she put herself in danger for others then? She could have finished her mission easily, but she took the hard way and saved my life instead. And now she keeps up with me, even though I’m slow at learning and even when I ask annoying questions. Princess Celestia just ignores those and you just run away from them. So who are you to judge? How can you expect Sunset to be perfect when you’re so far from it?”

Cadance lowered her head in what had to be shame and her ears flopped down as well. She shook her head in kind of an answer, as if she didn’t trust her voice, just like Sunset didn’t trust her own right now
“I thought you were different. Last night when we talked… but you’re obviously not. You asked me how I felt. Now I’m asking you, Princess: How do you feel right now?”

Crystal Note ended calmly and sat down on the floor, so Sunset could still cower behind her if she wanted. At the same time, she kept looking at Cadance and waited for an answer.

Sunset had a difficult time standing up since her hooves were still shaking. At the same time, she was aware she could probably not stand at all if it wasn’t for Crystal Note coming to her rescue the way she did. She stumbled the two steps forward and sat down next to the crystal pony. Sunset didn’t dare look at Cadance until she heard the sob
“I feel just awful.”

Sunset looked up and found Cadance to be the same teary mess she supposed she was right now. Another hitched sob, then she looked directly at her
“Sunset, I’m so…”
“Don’t!”
Sunset cut Cadance off before she could even start
“A princess doesn’t apologize.”
Cadance snorted and shook her head
“A pony who makes a mistake should always apologize, it shouldn’t matter if she’s a princess or not.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You saw a weakness and you exploited it. That’s smart.”
“It’s heartless, and it’s the complete opposite of who I want to be.”

Sunset stared at Cadance and Cadance stared back, still sniffling
“You’re helpless, Cadance. Naïve and helpless.”
“And you’re arrogant, Sunset. You’re downright a pain. But if anypony ever manages to change me, it’s going to be you.”
It’s got to be me.

Without any further warning, Sunset started to laugh. The laughter was not bitter or angry, but it wasn’t very cheerful either. This whole situation was just so absurd, what else could she do but laugh? Cadance talking her down, then Crystal Note coming to her rescue, and now this? This day couldn’t get any more weird if the Lord of Chaos suddenly reappeared next to them.

Cadance laughed along, mostly relieved. She rubbed away some leftover tears with her hoof, but then levitated a box of tissues from the desk behind her, without looking. Always the polite princess, she offered the box to Sunset first. Sunset’s usual smirk reappeared as she took a few tissues and rubbed then over her face. If nothing else, at least one lesson stuck around.

Crystal Note still sat next to Sunset, but was watching both of them. Sunset would expect her to smile at the sudden reconciliation between her and Cadance. But, on this weirdest of days, Crystal Note just watched them with an unusual, thoughtful expression
“What’s wrong?”
The crystal mare shook her head
“Usually, I’m the one in tears. It’s strange being on the other side for once.”
Cadance sputtered and laughed even harder than before, followed by Sunset. At least the weirdness spreads evenly.

Cadance blew her nose one last time, then looked around for a waste bin to dump her tissues in. She couldn’t find one, of course, so Sunset took care of it and fizzled them out of existence, like any unicorn would.
Cadance got stuck when she saw the large chalkboard and frowned when she read what Sunset had written
“What’s all this?”

Sunset looked between Crystal Note and Cadance and shrugged
“You tell me. Apparently, all this came up when you two talked it out.”
Cadance took a closer look and frowned when she noticed all the lines and crossed out words Sunset had added to the few facts Crystal Note had given her. Crystal Note didn’t say anything as usual, but she was watching the two others carefully. Sunset could only guess that she didn’t trust the sudden peace between Cadance and her, but that was just the dynamic between them. The only difference was that today, for the first time, Cadance had pushed back.

“I think I know what’s wrong. You’re thinking about it like Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset glanced back at Cadance. On any other day, she would have a snarky comment at something as stupid as that, but today she just rolled her eyes
“And by that, you mean?”
Cadance tried to explain and waved her hooves in front of her
“You’re trying to see logic behind everything. Every action has a specific cause and a specific reaction, which leads to one specific result. There’s no other way you can see it.”
“That’s how it works, Cadance.”
“That how you want it to work. But in all of this, there are a lot of conflicting emotions involved. Emotions don’t follow any rules, Sunset.”

Sunset sighed deeply and shook her head
“We need more information to understand what really happened, Cadance. We definitely don’t need more stuff to make it even more confusing.”
“It’s not confusing for her.”
Cadance pointed at Crystal Note who looked up surprised and in fact very confused
“Huh? Me?”

“Yes.”
Cadance shifted around so she could look at Crystal Note, but she threw a sideway-glance at Sunset Shimmer first
“This isn’t going to make any sense to you, at first. But, do you think you can just listen for a little while?”
Sunset let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes again. Might as well embrace the weirdness now that I can’t stop it anymore. She waved with her hoof for Cadance to start whatever she was getting at.

Cadance focused on Crystal Note who looked somewhat scared. When Cadance reached out and took hold of her hooves, most of that fear faded, but Crystal Note was still very nervous. Sunset could tell since her coat was still mostly grey and her tail twitched nervously
“Crystal Note, take a deep breath and tell me how you feel right now.”

Crystal Note seemed to understand and Sunset watched curiously as the crystal mare closed her eyes, took a deep breath and whispered after a moment of thinking
“Nervous. And anxious.”
“And why is that?”
Cadance managed to keep her voice calm, but Sunset could tell she was just as curious as she was. Crystal Note barely whispered, so Sunset leaned in closer
“I’m afraid that I’ve done something terrible. I’m afraid Sunset will find out, but I still want her to find out, because not knowing just hurts so much.”

Sunset glanced between Cadance and Crystal Note with open suspicion. That’s more than she told me all day. How does Cadance get her to talk so much? Is Crystal Note holding back information from me?

Crystal Note started shivering, but Cadance managed to keep her calm
“It’s okay, Crystal Note. I know you’ve done nothing wrong.”
You know? How can you know that?
“What does your music tell you about this?”
Wait, what?

Crystal Note took a shaky breath and whispered
“It’s that song. The one Sunset Shimmer heard when she was inside my head.”
Cadance looked at Sunset, a tad worried it seemed
"You can read her mind?"
"Not like you think. It's mind magic and it lets me access her subconscious mind. But, the one time we tried didn't work as planed."
Sunset waved her hoof towards the chalkboard that was filled with theories and possible connections
"You think this is messy? You have no idea what it's like inside her head."

“Could you do it again?”
Sunset flinched and rubbed her temple as she remembered the headache that had followed the last time she used that spell
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I literally learned nothing from looking into her mind last time.”
“But this time, you know why! It’s this song. It’s the key you need to unlock everything.”

Sunset looked at Crystal Note who cowered in fear already
“No. It’s too much of a risk.”
“Since when has this ever stopped Sunset Shimmer?”
Sunset growled at Cadance
“Shut up. You need two ponies to make that spell work. And Crystal Note is in no condition to do it right now.”

Cadance, mildly annoyed, looked back at the crystal pony and gasped when she saw the fear in her eyes
“Oh no, Crystal Note. I’m sorry. I didn’t think that…”
Crystal Note shook her head
“It wouldn’t work anyways. I’d have to be asleep for the spell.”
Sunset couldn’t fully supress a smug grin, satisfied that Crystal Note had not forgotten about the details of the mind spell.

“So we wait for the night.”
“No. We use a sleep spell.”
Crystal Note looked between the two of them
“The spell didn’t work last time. Why should it work now?”
“Because, Crystal Note, you now have your song to guide you. And Sunset Shimmer has a lead to follow.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and sighed
“It’s would be worth a try. If Crystal Note wasn’t terrified about it.”
Sunset noticed that Crystal Note was now watching her closely. She turned her head and their eyes met. Crystal Note had changed a lot during the last few weeks, but whenever she looked at her, Sunset still saw open admiration in those gemstone eyes. Right now, she even saw something more.
“If you are sure that you want to cast the spell, I’ll do it, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset looked very closely at Crystal Note and searched for any doubts or any fear. She noticed a feint trace of both, but in front of that she saw the pony who protected her friend Dusty against an unknown foe. She also saw the angry mare who defended her friend even against a princess. I tried to protect somepony and then something terrible happened.
Crystal Note’s words echoed through her mind. Something terrible might happen again. Sunset know that it was a possibility, and Crystal Note had to know too. But, Crystal Note braved her fear, as long as Sunset Shimmer was there to lead her.

And just when I though this day couldn’t get any weirder.
“Alright. We’ll do it.”
“How can I help?”

Sunset and Crystal Note both turned their head towards Cadance
“You can’t. This is high level magic and dangerous. You’re more of a risk than any help.”
Cadance took the barely hidden insult with a sigh, but her wings twitched eagerly
“There must be something I can do.”

Sunset Shimmer grinned inwardly but simply nodded to Cadance
Now who needs a meaningless task to keep herself occupied?
“You can stand guard. This spell takes a lot of concentration, so you should make sure she doesn’t suddenly barge in like a certain other princess did today.”
Cadance rubbed the back of her head, but she stood up and headed towards the door. She sat down so she could keep both ponies and the door in sight, though most of her attention was on Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset took a deep breath and motioned to one of Princess Celestia’s big sitting cushions. Crystal Note could easily lie down on it and rested her head on her forehooves
“Ready?”
“Yes, Sunset Shimmer.”
“Alright.”
Sunset used a well-dosed amount of magic for her slumber spell, just enough to induce a deep sleep but not so much that Crystal Note would stay catatonic for the rest of the day.
“Okay, remember what Cadance said. Use the song to guide you. Here goes.”

Crystal Note’s eyes clouded over as the spell took hold of her, but Sunset only found a little glimmer of resistance before they fell shut. Moments later, Crystal Note was breathing deeply and evenly, only her ears flicked a little as she slept.

Sunset noticed that Cadance was still watching them with open wonder, but she pushed that all away. She had to concentrate now. The spell had not changed since the last time she cast it, but now she knew more. Princess Celestia had given her some useful pointers, but that night when she had confessed her anxiety towards mind magic had told Sunset more than enough already.
Mind magic affects my mind as much as Crystal Note’s. I need to be aware of that all the time. I will control my spell, not the other way around.

With a swift, confident motion, Sunset touched Crystal Note’s forehead with her horn.

---

Cadance was getting more and more anxious as she watched the other two. It had been almost an hour now since either of them had moved, beside breathing, and she wondered if everything was alright.

Just when she was on the edge of calling somepony for help, but then all of a sudden Sunset’s head jerked up and both their eyes opened wide
“ROSE QUARTZ!”

Sunset Shimmer rubbed her temples, as the almost familiar headache began throbbing, though nowhere as bad as the first time. Her vision was blurry for a couple of moments, but she could still make out Crystal Note in front of her, curling up into a ball on the large cushion and shivering. Even though she had her eyes pressed shut, a few tears managed to escape.

And of course, Cadance flew right to her to fuss over Crystal Note. Whatever good mood Sunset might have had before, it evaporated under the throbbing pain in her head
“Give her some space. She needs to recover.”

Cadance, reluctantly, let go of Crystal Note, but the latent anger in Sunset’s voice was enough to make her follow orders right now
“So, did it work? What did you see?”
Sunset Shimmer growled and Cadance backed away another step. Something about the alicorn’s voice just made her feel nauseous right now.

She gave her head another minute of silence, and the pain faded into a dull bumping at least. Instead of turning to Cadance, she walked over to look at the chalkboard with all her notes and theories
“I learned something. But it’s very vague, I’m not sure.”
Just by looking at the notes, Sunset Shimmer knew there was something important hidden in all the lines and crosses. She could feel it, she could almost taste it, whatever it was, it was just barely out of her reach.

Cadance tried to be helpful and joined her in staring at the chalkboard, although she kept throwing glances at Crystal Note needed longer to recover than Sunset
“Um, you said something when the spell broke. Maybe that’s important.”
Sunset frowned and tilted her head
“I did? I can’t remember clearly.”
“Both of you, actually. You said ‘Rose Quartz’.”

“Rose Quartz…”
Suddenly it was all clear. How could she not have seen it before? It was so obvious the whole time.

Sunset grabbed a piece of chalk in her magic and Cadance stared with wide eyes. The chalk wobbled dangerously in Sunset’s magic and a sideway glance told her that Sunset was barely able to get a hold of herself.
Then, the chalk darted across the board at ridiculous speed. A few words were marked and clear lines in between formed a connection. The word ‘Sister’ was circled a dozen times, and ‘Important’ next to it got a similar treatment.
Then, just a few seconds later, it stopped. The piece of chalk dropped out of Sunset’s magic and clattered on the floor. Sunset Shimmer blinked a couple of times and shook her head
“Whoa, that was weird.”

They looked at the chalkboard together and suddenly, it made sense. Even Cadance could see it
“King Sombra used crystal ponies for experiments with magic.”
“That’s why Crystal Note is so wary of magic in general.”
“He wanted to use her sister next, but she intervened.”
“She was angry and attacked the king.”
“Then, something terrible happened.”
Cadance nodded and all colour drained out of her face
“By all gods.”

Sunset sighed and shook her head
“No wonder she’s downright paranoid.”
“Oh, you poor thing.”
Cadance lost no time to pull Crystal Note into a tight hug. The crystal pony was still dazed, but she seemed more than happy to have this kind of affection right now.

Sunset watched from a distance. She wasn’t any good with those things, better let Cadance have her moment. At least for this.
“Come on, Crystal Note. You’re burning up, let’s get you in bed. You need rest.”
Cadance carefully helped the mare back on her hooves and lead her towards the door, but her eyes lingered on Sunset
“Are you going to be okay for a while?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”

Sunset didn’t notice that Cadance watched her with concern for a minute longer, she was already studying the chalkboard again. She barely even heard the door close as she was lost in her thoughts. Sombra was coming at something big. He knew something that was so dangerous that even Princess Celestia had to intervene. But what? What could be so powerful?
Sunset frowned. Whatever it was, Princess Celestia doesn’t want anypony to ever find out. It has to do with Crystal Note, Cadance and me. But how far would she go?
An uneasy thought crossed her mind. All these missions and new study subjects… are those her attempts to keep me away from the truth? Is she sabotaging my studies on purpose? Does she really want to help me, or is she just trying to control me? Is that why she showed me the mirror?

Sunset flinched when the door opened, but it was only Cadance who had returned
“What a day, huh?”
She sat down next to Sunset with a heavy sigh
“How are you holding up.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m more worried about Princess Celestia.”

Cadance nodded and her wings twitched
“Me too. She was acting so strange when we talked earlier today.”
“About what?”
“I took your advice, Sunset. I asked her of the meaning of my cutie mark. Auntie Celestia was very nervous.”

That was enough to get Sunset’s full attention back on Cadance
“Okay, tell me exactly what she said about your cutie mark.”
“She didn’t want to say anything, but I was persistent. In the end, she just told me not to worry about my crystal heart for now, that all would be clear to me when the time was right.”
Sunset Shimmer’s ears perked up immediately
“Are you sure she called your cutie mark a ‘crystal heart’? It could have been something else?”
“No, she definitely said crystal heart. Is that important?”

Sunset sighed and nodded. She levitated one of the oldest tomes between them and flipped through the pages
“Remember the source of power King Sombra used to amplify his magic? The one that was bound to the northern empire and couldn’t be moved away?”
“Yes. What about it?”
“This source was in fact an ancient artefact, and it was called the ‘crystal heart’.”
She finally found the page and showed Cadance a mostly faded illustration. Cadance leaned closer and tilted her head, but now that she knew what to look for, she saw it as well
“That… looks very close to my cutie mark.”
“Yeah, I thought so too.”
“But what does that mean?”

Sunset poked at the image on the page
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that you have some connection to the Crystal Empire, Cadance, as it once was, before the Dark King took over and messed things up.”
“But, how is that even possible? That all was hundreds of years ago, how could a connection like that stay hidden for so long?”
“I don’t know, but I bet Princess Celestia knows.”

Cadance stared at the page for a while longer, or Sunset thought so. But then she felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned around. Cadance was looking at her, with the same worried expression that she had looked at Crystal Note before
"Sunset Shimmer, you need some rest. That spell has taken a lot out of you. I can feel it."
As much as Sunset hated Cadance' reasoning, the burning itch in her horn told her she was right. Still, the though to Princess Celestia being involved in all of this wouldn't let her go
"We're on to something big here. Everything is leading into a certain direction."
"I'm not saying we give up. I'm just suggesting you take a break."

"Cadance, I need to get behind all of this before..."
Sunset hesitated to finish that sentence. So far, Cadance had been useful, but could she trust her enough for this?
"Before Auntie Celestia finds out?"
Sunset took a deep breath, and then nodded.

"Sunset, I think we need to talk to her."
"Not we, you. You're the only one she still talks to without getting suspicions."
"Sunset..."
Cadance didn't look convinced and tried to reason with her, but Sunset couldn't let her
"No, listen. Ask her about the crystal mirror."

"What?"
"The crystal mirror. It's a very powerful artefact she showed me once."
Cadance frowned at her
"Why have you never mentioned it before?"
"Because, I thought it was just a coincidence. But I'm not sure anymore."

Cadance shook her head
"I always thought I'd celebrate the day I see Sunset Shimmer unsure about something, but now it just makes me worry more."
"So, will you ask her?"

Sunset knew this was a big gamble. Cadance could say no and bug her about the mirror. Cadance could say yes to her but confess to Princess Celestia about their hidden research. Even if Cadance agreed to help, Princess Celestia could realize what was happening and intervene.
So Sunset waited as Cadance worked it out for herself. She didn't look any happy, but in the end, she nodded anyways
"I will ask her. But only if you promise to get some rest, Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset fought back the urge to roll her eyes and nodded.

Cadance insisted to take her to her room, but Sunset disagreed
"As far as everypony is concerned, we're not on talking terms with each other. We don't want to cause any suspicions before you had a chance to talk to Princess Celestia."
Cadance sighed, but agreed, so Sunset made the way to her room by herself.

She made an effort to look particularly grumpy, just to make sure non of the staff would bother her. Inside her room, she had to take a few deep breaths. Whatever was behind all this, there was no more turning back now.

One way or another, she would solve the mystery of the mirror and what she had seen, and she would do so very soon.

Comments

[JMP]

Well, that worked a lot better than last time. Sunset really needs to get over herself because Cadance is making a lot more progress with her methods than Sunset is with hers. And together, they make strides. Glad Cadance is clued into the significance of her cutie mark, though. Celestia definitely is acting strange.

[Akwolfgrl13]

Lol that fight was kinda good for them theroptic in fact. Im so happy to see then getting along and as much as i like celstia she def is good at hideing things