One Page More (Fifteen Pages - Post Fic)
Sunset's Isekai
By Wanderer D & NaiadSagaIotaOar
One Page More (Fifteen Pages - Post Fic)
Rarity pushed her door open, barely breaking stride.
Then she realized it was not her room she walked into, and she came to a dead stop. Nothing around her looked familiar. Where she expected walls and furniture of light, charming colors, spread about a modestly-sized bedroom, she found a hallway, dimly-lit, with walls of dark wood and high-gloss brick.
She couldn’t recall when the door closed, but by the time she looked back, it had. It was not her own door, and through the colored glass window of it she saw a glittering urban skyline far removed from any she recognized. She frowned, blinking—nothing changed, and she was left wondering why she expected anything might. It had all come with abruptness that left it feeling more surreal than alarming.
She turned, looking forwards into the… wherever she was. The hallway opened up into a larger room not too far in front of her, filled with tables and chairs and stools and…
A bar.
She had to pause for a moment and give that another look.
Yes, she decided. Definitely a bar.
It was not clear to her that going forwards was the best decision possible, but nothing else came to mind, so she took a few cautious steps. “Hello?” she called out. She wasn’t sure what she’d say if someone did answer. Could always ask for directions, she supposed.
When she got far enough to get a better look at the bar, that thought—and many others—took a hasty retreat, because she took one look at the woman standing behind it and her veins filled with ice.
A moment passed. Rarity stared. Stared at a face she knew, a name that haunted her, and a symbol branded into her memory.
And then she spun sharply and ran for the door.
Sunset polished the surface of her bar, it had been several hours since her last visitor, and she had no tutoring of teenage ducks today, nor arguing with ghostly body-guard wannabes. Nope, just her, and her bar, and hopefully a new customer or two.
She put away the rag and straightened her uniform, wondering briefly if she should go back to wearing the cowgirl set that Rarity had made for her. That was pretty classy too, and it might give her other-worldly bar an even more interesting image.
Just then, she heard the silver bell announcing a new arrival. She quickly made sure nothing was out of place. She could hear the hesitant steps… so it was a brand new guest. Usually they were rather surprised by finding her bar in unusual places. Like the broom closet.
She frowned and made a mental note to review the appropriate locations for her bar. It could make things really awkward for others if it appeared, say, as the door to their bathroom just as they had finished taking a shower.
It was then that her newest guest called out. "Hello?"
She immediately recognized the voice, and sure as sugar a young Rarity stepped into view soon after, looking around the bar with a mixture of curiosity and, when she looked at her, growing terror.
Sunset smiled a little uncertainly and opened her mouth to greet her guest. "Welco—"
But Rarity was not there. She had run back to the hall and, if the bell was any indication, had opened the door rather violently. When she heard a scream, Sunset quickly vaulted over the bar and ran after her guest, finding her holding on to dear life, with space floating just outside. "What the…"
She quickly made her way to the young Rarity and pulled her in, shutting the door behind her. "Okay, uh, sorry about that. It's never done that before," she said, glaring angrily at the roof. "One sec, let's try this again, it should drop you off where you were before you came in…" when she opened the door, there was nothing.
She closed the door.
"Okay, one more time." She opened the door again, and this time they could see several unidentifiable fish of some kind, of varying sizes and colors, simply floating and swimming in the ocean. "Alright. This is definitely not in the manual." She slowly turned around. "Um. I'm sorry, miss Rarity, I don't know what's happening to the bar. Would you mind taking a seat while I figure it out? I can get you a soda? On the house, of course, for the inconvenience."
The alarming side of Rarity’s sudden relocation, it turned out, had been delayed rather than wholly absent.
Because that was Sunset. That was Sunset Shimmer, standing right in front of her. The girl that, last time Rarity had seen her, was stepping through a shimmering doorway to another world.
A doorway that had been scattered in a million pieces over the ground.
Rarity’s first instinct had been to run. When that failed, it was like a dozen emotions sprang into being at once. Too many to count.
“Y—yes. Of course,” she stammered, finally processing Sunset’s request. She glanced from one side to the other with quick, jittery motions of her eyes and head, practically falling onto the closest chair.
She felt like she had to say something. But where would she even begin? That was Sunset she was looking at.
A tremble shook through her. A shiver.
“Sunset?” She heard her voice cracking. She spoke much faster than she thought, in that moment, so a long pause followed. “I’m…” She shook her head slowly, her mouth hanging open awkwardly. “I’m sorry,” she blurted.
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, she hated them, picked them apart and critiqued them—one part of her said she had nothing to be sorry about, another said that a few words wasn’t possibly enough. Both brought shame, and shame soon brought tears.
"Hey, hey." Sunset quickly made her way over to Rarity, careful not to touch her. For some reason, this version of her friend didn't seem very comfortable with Sunset herself. "This is not your fault, I'm not sure why the bar did that, it's not supposed to move around like that, although it's been doing it more lately," she said. "Here, let me get you something…" She went around the bar and rather than a soda, she made some chamomile tea, carefully setting it on the table where Rarity was sitting. "I'll get it working in a moment, alright? I'll get you back to where you were, not a second after you left, I promise."
Rarity found herself fumbling for words again. “W—what? What are you…” She shuddered again. It hurt looking at Sunset, but she also found she couldn’t look away. “What are you talking about?”
Sunset cleared her throat. "Y-you know. Uh. Alright, here's the spiel… this is an interdimensional bar, I'm from another world. Surprise?" She grinned, but it faltered when Rarity didn't react. "It, sort of appears for people that are going through stuff in life. So, if you need a drink, or an ear to talk to?" She motioned with her hands at the place. "Ta-dah."
“I—well, yes, I knew you were from another world, but…” Rarity fidgeted, rubbing at her eyes and glancing about in the vain hope of there being a handkerchief nearby. “I… suppose I didn’t expect our next meeting would go… like this.”
Sunset blinked. "Um. Here," she said, pulling the red handkerchief out of her pocket and handing it over to Rarity. "I guess I should clarify, I'm not the Sunset Shimmer you met." She stood up and pulled down a couple of pictures from the wall, bringing them over and handing them to Rarity. One was the graduation picture from Canterlot High, the other the picture of herself, with her other self in the wheelchair, and Gilda. "As you can see there's a few of us out there in the infinite multiverse."
She sat down across from Rarity. "I take it things didn't go well with your Sunset?"
Rarity went quiet for a little while, staring at the pictures set out in front of her. There was a lot to take in; the bar having come out of nowhere felt mundane by comparison. She dried her eyes, though she still sniffled a little. “You could say that,” she said. “We were…” She cut herself off, quirking her lips. “I’ve never really told anyone about it. But we were close, for a while.”
Another pause. She drew in a long breath, meeting the eyes of the Sunset sitting in front of her. “You’re really a different person, aren’t you? You don’t remember any of this?”
"Yeeah," Sunset said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "I am. I'm… sort of best friends with you in like… five worlds. But I never dated you, or would have… done something to hurt—what actually happened?" she asked, grimacing. "I'm sorry if I'm being invasive it's just… so unusual to find a world where we're not in good terms." She straightened up. "What did I do?"
“Not… not much to me, I suppose.” Rarity set the handkerchief down, reaching for the tea. “I should start at the beginning, shouldn’t I?” There was no telling how different any two Sunsets could be from each other, apparently. “I met her when she came to my world through a mirror. I know that probably sounds…” She cut off, looking again at the pictures of multiple Sunsets. “... Never mind. She looked confused and disoriented, so I wasn’t going to let her go off by herself.”
Sunset smiled. "Yeah, same happened to me, only I was alone that night. I think I crawled around the highschool on my knees at least once before I figured out what the soles of my shoes were for. And that was because I saw Vice Principal Luna come out of her office." She leaned back. "It would've been nice to come out and see one of my friends but…" She sort of nodded sheepishly. "I wasn't, you know. In a happy place."
A wry smile came to Rarity’s face, though it didn’t last long. “You don’t sound so different from her, then.” She sipped from the tea, then lost herself in staring into it. The Sunset in front of her felt… so different. And not in a bad way. “Perhaps you were better off that way. Coming through alone like that.”
She winced after she said that, like the words twisted around to cut at her. “But I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?” She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “I got along well with her, at first. She seemed desperate for someone who… understood her. And I thought I did.” It was coming as a surprise how easy it was to talk about it. Memories bubbled up, of the times being with the other Sunset made her happier than she’d ever been.
“What happened with you?” Rarity asked. “You turned out so differently from her.”
"I—" Sunset sighed. Her finger tracing the face of her doppleganger from another dimension in the picture. "I guess the same old Sunset Shimmer story. I was the beloved student of the perfect teacher, I wasn't happy. I ran away and got to your world, or a similar one… I tortured, blackmailed, intimidated and bullied everyone… made false promises, told people I was their friend and destroyed their other friendships…" She cleared her throat. "It… took a real princess to show me the error of my ways. Well, her and you and a few others. It was painful… and humiliating and humbling. If it wasn't for you and the others, I'd probably just end up going back to Equestria with Twilight, but you all gave me another chance, despite everything."
She picked up the other picture, of the happy group on their last day of class. "It wasn't easy to make amends or ask forgiveness. I sometimes wonder if anything I've done actually compensates for the past, but…" She looked up at Rarity. "If I don't seek redemption, who will grant it to me?" She stood up and went around the bar, pouring herself some tea as well. "I don't know how different I am from your Sunset."
“I don’t know either,” Rarity said. She bit her lip. Tightness came to her chest. “I don’t know if she ever got that second chance. I never gave her one, anyway.” Unpleasant thoughts brewed in her head; was she weak, for not having reached out, just once? Had it been too cruel of her, cutting things off so abruptly? “If I’d known she could turn into someone like you, maybe…” She squeezed her eyes shut; tears started to well up again.
Sunset made her way to the table and sat down. "If she was anything like I was back then?" She shook her head. "I don't blame you for feeling that she was a lost cause. I nearly was, it took a miracle basically to get me to rethink my life." She sighed, watching Rarity carefully. "But, I never was in a relationship with anyone… I wonder how different things were? Was I… was she good to you?" She bit her lip. "Sorry, that's really not my business. How did… she end up leaving?"
“The same way she came,” Rarity said. “Through the mirror.”
Sunset nodded. "Was she, like… planning on taking over Equestria? How did you stop her? Did you get help from the other girls?"
“Well… I didn’t stop her. Not really.” Rarity fidgeted anxiously in her chair. “As soon after she went through as I could, I… broke the mirror. And then I never saw her again. I don’t know where she went after that.”
"Huh." Sunset nodded. "Simple. So, no demonic transformation or rainbow lasers? Were you the only student not under her control at the time?"
Rarity blinked. “What? No—no, nothing like that. Did you…? You did, didn’t you? No, I… wouldn’t say she had anyone ‘under her control’ at the time. I’m not sure anyone else thought she was anything more than what she looked like.”
Sunset studied Rarity for a moment. "So it was just you and her? I-I'm sorry, that just really sounds different from my-most Sunset's modus operandi." She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, thinking. "Why were you two alone then? Were you supposed to guard the mirror?"
“No. No, she was expecting me to go through it, right behind her.” A lump grew in Rarity’s throat. “And I was so scared of what would happen if I did that… that I broke it instead. Smashed it to pieces.” She glanced away. “That was the last I saw of her. So when I saw you, I… thought you’d be furious. Because I betrayed you.”
Sunset's eyes went wide. "Wait what? But why would she… does that mean… she wanted you with her?" She stared at her cup. "I… never, I can't believe she…" She shook her head, licking her lips. "When you told me you were in a relationship with her… it really was mutual, wasn't it?"
“She was someone right out of a fairytale, and I… well, I got the impression I was giving her exactly the kind of validation she’d wanted at the time.” Rarity let out a wistful sigh. “I thought she was the most wonderful person in the world, once.”
"If she dropped the plans and asked you to go with her…" Sunset said softly, "I think she might've thought the same of you." She leaned back, crossing her arms and not meeting Rarity's eyes.
“She…” Rarity swallowed, wringing her hands. “She might have, yes.” She tried to make herself sound angry, but her tone felt half-hearted to her own ears. “I’m not sure I’m so convinced. She said a lot of things she didn’t mean.”
Sunset's eyes narrowed. "But she—" She stopped biting her lip and taking a long deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm sorry. I know you can't read minds." She looked down at her tea, letting the silence linger awkwardly. "I realize that I'm… being defensive, but when I look back at who I was, that kind of invitation…" She trailed off, shaking her head.
“Well. I think we’ve already established you weren’t her, haven’t we?” Rarity sat back, folding her arms. “Maybe you’re right,” she said. “But she’s gone. I’m never seeing her again. It—” She faltered, briefly, but shook her head and got herself back on track. “It’s easier for me to think she didn’t.”
"Of course she—" Sunset opened her mouth and closed it, swallowing the retort she felt she needed to throw back. It was all too-easy to put herself in the other Sunset's shoes. She remembered those first days alone at school, hiding in the library at night, studying to try and make sense of how best to figure out her life in this new world until she could return to Equestria.
What would it have meant for her to not have to hunt down a boyfriend to make things easier. What it would have meant for her to have someone that loved her. Would she have… acted differently than this other Sunset? If she put herself in that situation, the level of trust she'd need to have for Rarity in order to bring just her to Equestria to confront Celestia would be… staggering in hindsight.
She didn't want to be upset, but she was. It felt on some visceral level like Rarity had betrayed her, that she had ignored her friendship and her love and just dismissed it. She imagined what it would feel like, to go to Equestria to visit Twilight, with Applejack or Pinkie or Fluttershy in toe, only to arrive alone, and have the mirror portal collapse behind her with the sound of broken glass.
She looked at the table, where the picture of herself with her friends, all smiling at the camera lay flat, facing them both like some sort of inescapable proof that Rarity was wrong. She let her eyes stray up, narrowing… to a younger Rarity, folded into herself, arms crossed protectively in front of her. Miserable, watching her tea cool down without even tasting it.
Suddenly, her mouth felt dry. 'What would it be like to be in Rarity's shoes?' She wondered, remembering the hard times that she had helped her friend through. Past those, to the beginning, where she had callously destroyed her friendship with the girls because it was an inconvenience that would make her job of taking over more difficult were she to have to face a united front of some sort?
What if she had been on the other side? Would she have been strong enough to… what, stick to someone that was actively trying to hurt others?
She compared this Rarity to her partner. To the cowgirl. To her schoolmate. To the changeling. If she met them again, and they were as vulnerable as this young woman was, would she be angry with them? Because they had decided what they thought was the best for them?
She bit her lip. She felt a lump in her throat and coughed, downing the rest of her tea, pondering Rarity's words. "It… must have been very hard," she finally said. Softly, looking down at the table, rather than the person her other self had put in an impossible situation. "I'm sorry."
Rarity stayed quiet for a while. Her composure cracked. “It… it was very hard, yes.” She looked first down at the pictures on the table, then away, off into the distance. “I wish I could have done something else. I… I don’t know what that would be, but…” She slumped in her chair, lip trembling, eyes glassy. “If you’re right—if she did…” Her voice seemed to vanish for a few seconds. “... love me… then I can’t imagine how it must have hurt her.
“But she was hurting other people.” She shook her head slowly, sadly, blinking back tears. “What was I supposed to do?”
Despite her reservations, Sunset reached out, placing her fingertips just on top of Rarity's hand. "I think—" She swallowed, trying not to allow her voice to crack. "You did the right thing," she said, the idea of pushing her best friend to that extent making her feel slightly queasy.
“You—” Rarity squeezed her eyes shut, letting her head hang. Her hair tumbled down in front of her face. “You have no idea how much I want to believe that,” she murmured.
Rarity sniffled, then lifted her head slowly. Her smile was sad and small and didn’t touch her eyes. “Thank you for saying it.”
"Hey, I had a lot of issues… criminal even." Sunset shared the hesitant smile with Rarity. "But I had to face them one day. I know it's probably not ideal in many ways, but maybe, just as you did what you needed to do, it put her in a position to face what she had to—whether she wanted to or not."
“I… I guess. Maybe.” Rarity breathed deeply, pressing her fingers to her brow, then straightened her posture and put her hand on Sunset’s. “I’m sorry, I know you’re trying to help, I just… I don’t know what happened to her. I—I can hope. I can wonder.” She trembled. “But maybe she didn’t recover. Maybe she still hasn’t gotten better.” She sighed, pausing to fumble for the handkerchief and dry her eyes once again. “I know it’s no use dwelling on all those questions,” she murmured. “But I don’t know how to make them stop.”
After a moment’s pause, Rarity started to draw back. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, her voice low and soft. “I—I shouldn’t be throwing all that at your feet.”
"Don't be sorry," Sunset said, a bit more firmly. "For whatever it's worth, you're my friend… or other yous are." She frowned. "In any case, time and again your counterparts have been there for me, in one way or another, and the least I can do is the same for you. It wasn't me specifically who put you in this situation, and I can only imagine how hard looking at me can be. Don't be sorry for trying to sort your feelings." She took a deep breath. "You know, I usually avoid this, because it can create trouble in certain circles, but… we could check on her."
Rarity paled. “We could?” Her voice came out as a barely-audible squeak. “O—oh. Right. The, um…” She cleared her throat, making a vague gesture towards the surrounding building. “I…” She turned her eyes downward, biting her lip. “... I broke the mirror because I was afraid I couldn’t say no to her. If she’s still… the way she was, then…” Clenching her eyes shut, she retreated in her chair. “I know it makes sense, I just… I can’t know whether that’s a good idea or not.”
Sunset leaned back. "You know… I wish sometimes I could go back and talk to myself and tell me all the good things I'm missing out, all the good friends I'm hurting; all the potential in front of me. It's very tempting, with this thing." She motioned at the bar around them. "But I was told by myself from another world, that sometimes we just need to deal with our choices and… rather than abuse this to fix them, embrace them and continue forward." She tapped her fingers on the table as she thought. "Maybe you could see her, if you wanted, but… when you made that choice it… well, at the risk of being dramatic, I can see it destroyed you emotionally."
She took a deep breath. "Maybe when you did the right thing by… ripping the bandaid off, it was also a sign that you were ready to heal?" She chuckled at the weak line. "Does that make sense?"
“I think so,” Rarity said. She looked exhausted. “I hope you’re right.” She turned to eye the bar’s entrance. “Is it… safe to leave? I… think I need some time to process all this.”
Sunset blinked and stood up, walking over to the door. She tried opening it and it led to a hallway. She had been to Rarity's enough times to recognize it. She carefully shot the door. "Yeah. It's fine now," she called over her shoulder.
“Ah. Good.” The sounds of Rarity’s footsteps grew closer. Rarity came to a stop beside Sunset, eying the door. She didn’t step through right away; she lingered, her lips pursed thoughtfully. “Before I go, could I ask a favor of you?”
"Sure," Sunset said, stepping back to give the young woman some space. "What would you like me to do?"
“Could you get a letter to her?” Rarity asked. “My Sunset, I mean. I don’t know if it’d help her to… to know why I did it. But I’d like her to know.”
Sunset's eyes widened at that. "That's… very generous of you." She cleared her throat. "But you do know that you don't need to do that, right? She also needs to live with her choices."
“She does. And perhaps it’s more than she deserves.” Rarity hesitantly met Sunset’s eyes. “But I have to live with mine too. If the worst part of my pain is not knowing what happened to her… what kind of person would I be if I’d inflicted just that on her and didn’t even try to make up for it?”
"A normal human, who's dealing with potentially breaking someone's heart after breaking your own?" Sunset ventured. "I mean, if you want, I'll do it, but… it's one way, Rarity."
“I thought as much. And I think it’s better that way.” Rarity glanced about uneasily. “Now, do you have a pen on you? I’d like to write it before I change my mind.”
"Sure, come on in," Sunset said, guiding her back to the bar and going into Rarity's office. She came out soon after with a few papers and an envelope, all sporting Rarity's cutie mark on them. She set them down in front of her, and produced a ballpoint pen for her. "I'd lend you the quill and ink, but my Rarity is very particular about those."
“Of course she is.” Rarity took the pen and laid out a sheet of paper, pausing to steady herself and stare at the paper, seemingly lost in thought. “I might be a while. I’ll… let you know when I’m done?”
Sunset smiled. "I'll make you some tea, and I think I can whip up some study guides for Lena in the meantime."
Rarity smiled back. “Thank you. For everything.”
"Don't mention it," Sunset said, picking up the tea set.
Sunset Shimmer hated magic suppressors. They were heavy, uncomfortable, and suppressed magic. She also hated prisons. And cells in prison. And most specifically her own cell.
She had had a room in the palace before going to that stupid other world and—she cut her thoughts short. Instead, she forced herself to concentrate on her book. It wasn't much on magical theory, but it had references to some interesting myths. Stories about what Starswirl the Bearded had been up to. Enemies that were supposed to be immortal that he had "defeated".
As far as she was concerned… possible pawns.
She heard the gates at the far end of the hall open, and the hoofsteps of a pair of ponies. She frowned. One was normal… the other… longer strides. Paused and composed. Only one pony walked that way.
She forced herself to keep her eyes on the pages. She didn't want to acknowledge her guest.
"Sunset Shimmer," Celestia said gently, but firmly. "How are you, my little pony?"
She forced a snarl down. Didn't look up. "How do you think? Hm. Let's think about it, shall we, dear teacher?" She looked up at the roof, tapping her chin as if in thought. "'Miserable' comes to mind. Angry. Annoyed. Wrongfully imprisoned."
Celestia sighed as she always did with her visits. What did the old hag want from her, anyway? She had denied her future, and not only that, Sunset herself had proved her wrong when the only person she had ever—well, loyalty and love were lies, anyway.
"If you're here to lecture me, you can spare yourself the trouble," Sunset said hating the bitterness and hurt in her voice. "There's nothing more you can do to me."
"I would like to think otherwise, my little pony," Celestia said gently. She always said things gently. Even the most awful things. "But this time, I'm here because somepony very special requested to see you."
This made Sunset look over. And stare.
Right next to Celestia stood another Sunset Shimmer. She was dressed in some sort of vest and shirt, with a pin.
"W-what is this?" she asked, slowly standing up and walking all the way up to the bars, staring at her cleaner, and slightly older-looking reflection. "Some sort of joke?"
"No joke," the other her said. "I'm you. Or, rather, a possible you." She levitated something out of a pocket, a white envelope, unimpressive by all standards except for two things.
The stamp on the top right corner was three stylized diamonds in a familiar design, and it had her name written on it with a handwriting she would recognize anywhere. She felt her breath stop, her eyes focused on the letter, her attention on it, ignoring the other two mares as it floated in the familiar magical aura and landed gently on her desk.
"There is always another way to be happy," her counterpart said, turning and following Celestia out of the cell block, leaving her behind.
"And this is Equestria! Didn't I tell you it was beautiful?"
She hadn't been able to sleep. She had tried to ignore the letter. Throw it away. Rip it in half.
"Rarity?"
But she couldn't.
Every time, her hoof stopped. Every time, her eyes wandered up to it. It was all-consuming in her mind. Finally, she had laid down in her bed and covered her head with a pillow.
"...Rarity?"
It didn't work.
"Ugh! Stupid letter! Stupid Rar—" She stood up, clamping her mouth shut and walking up to her desk, sitting down and staring the envelope in silence.
Finally, she opened the letter.
Hello, Sunset. I know it’s been a while since we last saw each other, and that we didn’t part on the best of terms. And if you hate me for that, I understand. I’m not asking for forgiveness.
I wanted to let you know that I loved you. For a while, I thought meeting you was the best part of my life. And I wished we’d never be apart. In some ways, maybe I still do—I still dream of Equestria once in a while.
But as time went by, I saw more of you. Of what your life was like. What direction you were going. I wonder if there was something I could’ve done to… I don’t know. Make you change your mind. Reconsider what you wanted. But by the end, I was so frightened that I’d end up getting carried off alongside you. And when it came down to it, I wasn’t willing to take that chance, so I did what I thought I had to do.
I met another Sunset. You might have seen her already, but if you haven’t, she looks just like you, and I think she grew up much the same way you did. She’s one of the kindest people I’ve met in a long time. I like to think that means there was some good in you too, that I wasn’t just so starstruck I only saw what I wanted to see.
And if I’m right, if that person’s somewhere inside you… I hope you meet someone who can see it, who you’re willing to show it too, even though that person won’t be me.
Since I never said it before… Goodbye, Sunset.
She placed it down on the table, facing up. She glanced from it to the bed, the gray stone walls. She could hear the guards walking the perimeter outside and through her window see the full moon, with the mocking face of the Mare in the Moon looking down on her.
I had been a long time since she had cried.
Sunset hung up the pictures she had taken down earlier. Gilda and Sunset. Her graduation picture. And the newest one, herself and a slightly younger Rarity, toasting with cups of tea. Rarity didn't look her best, but there was an air about her, of having finally shed a weigh that had been dragging her back somehow.
Maybe it was Sunset's imagination… mostly because she had seen that weight evaporate when Rarity had sealed the envelope.
They had hugged at the entrance to her bar. Rarity had been thankful, but eager to return home. Of course Sunset had promised her that if she ever needed it, the bar would drop by for her. But she had forgotten to thank her too.
She had seen what her own hubris could have caused. One of many possible variations, no doubt, but a very real one, where she had lost everything that really mattered and still refused to see her own fault in it.
Yes, she had much to be thankful to this young Rarity, and the memory on the wall would always remind her of it.
End Chapter
Stats
Page generated in 0.041 seconds
Total duration
987 users online
1,420,624 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
At this point, I think Sunset should add a 'free relationship counseling' to her signboard.
Sunset Shimmer, Bar Tender, Magic Tutor, and Relationship Counselor!
Also how long to Sunset's Native Celestia and or Luna show up?
Hmm hmm... that was nice and emotionally cathartic.
Love me some other world bar stories, they make my mornings.
Brilliant epilogue to the source story. There really was no right choice for Rarity in the heat of the moment. But now, I'd say she's taken the best route she could. Hopefully that will inspire her Sunset to follow suit.
Deciding that this was going to be chapter fifteen was a stroke of genius
Ouch
I like the ending a lot! Especially some of the smaller details, like Sunset cutting off her thoughts when they’re getting closer to Rarity, and how she recognizes Celestia’s gait. And that last bit with Sunset and the picture was so beautiful.
Thanks for including this! It was a blast writing with you, and I’m so happy you liked something of mine enough to include it
9862490 I like a lot of your stories! I thought about using Accidental Matchmaking, and obviously Adagio, but the first didn't carry the emotional "oomph!" I felt we could get out of this one, and the second is a very, very complicated piece to adapt to something like this.
I think we made a good team, though!
This is a downer episode. I’m glad you posted the link to the story, even though I don’t think I’ll read it. Too many upbeat stories out there to bother with and I think you did a good job with the context. And it’s probably really nice to give that story some closure. It’s also a reminder that not all alternative worlds are happy. I’m just kinda bummed thinking about that Sunset in prison crying. Feels.
Damn, this hit hard. And I don't even know anything about the crossover. That's some quality writing!
I don't think any one of us could say that the other Sunset wasn't in the wrong. But for her to stake so much of herself in another - only to be turned away at the moment of truth? To have reached out a hand, and not even be told no to your face? I can empathize with that pain.
Absolutely worse is Rarity's situation. A fairy tale romance ruined by a dash of reality. And Rarity is absolute the kind of person who'd fall for this too. Any Rarity. It's good she got out when she did but that's gonna hurt.
I'd say Barkeep Sunny should've gotten the hard stuff but no amount of emotional baggage makes underage drinking legal.
9863207 I think that was the tragedy of the original story—I feel like Sunny was so close to learning to value something other than her own power, but at the same time, Rarity holding on to a co-dependent, ultimately toxic relationship in the vain hope that Sunny would see the error of her ways? Yeah. Rarity made the right choice. As Isekai Sunny has to admit to herself.
This is easily the most emotional chapter yet.
Very good work.
I can’t help but laugh at this thought, but what if Sunset’s Isekai dropped in on somebody in jail? I’m seriously wondering what wacky hijinks would happen.
9865029
Or if it replaced the door to tartarus perhaps?
9865076
Or maybe if it appeared in the TARDIS....
This is good.
I think I might give fifteen pages a gander.
9862379 not really. It was a "heat of the moment" decision and like many such decisions, it was poorly thought out on her part with no thought to consequences outside of immediate ones.
That said, it's a fairly realistic decision. Rarity has always been prone to dramatics as well as emotional exaggeration. It makes sense that she chose this way to react. But as for best decision, far from it. If you pull a stunt that leaves you hurting and hoping the other party somehow got over it, you've made a fairly bad decision.
But that's how thing are. Sometimes there's simply not an optimal choice that leaves everyone happy and satisfied.
Judging from this chapter it's a very dark and sad story. Not sweet :P
Very sad. I hope that Sunset, at least, can start to pull things together again. Celestia is nothing if not forgiving. Maybe she can start coming out of that hole.
I haven’t read the original, but man, this chapter’s great!
That was really sad and heartbreaking. I hope this sunset can find happiness again
I should probably be It
I've just fairly recently found this series, through my husband. I must say, this had me sobbing, even though I've not read the fic it's crossing over / based on...
Couple typos I noticed (sorry they are out of order from the story):
toe should be tow
I think this should be door?
(Not sure if the extra e in Yeeah is intentional, showing a drawn out word [probably should have 1 or 2 more e's in that case. Yeeeah.] or a typo...)
in should be on.
Fifteen Pages was one of my favorite entries in the Endings contest (which says a lot given the caliber of the entries. This was a wonderfully painful and real look at the scars left by the ending, and it's nice to see them get some closure here, in a place so far removed from the original.
You really caught me in the feels with this chapter.
It -
Tough story. Doubt i ever read it
another good chapter made from not so good source source material.
light novel style is a perfect blend between beutiful novel and easy to read diary already.
You got me. I cried for about an hour.