Hearsay

by Nyhll

Chapter 7: Betrayal

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Equestria

Sunset awoke for the second time in as many weeks, unaware of where she was. A heady buzz slowed the world around her as she tried to push herself up, only to realize that her hands felt incredibly stiff and bulky. She groaned as she brought her hoof in front of her face.

Her hoof.

Her.

Hoof.

She gave a startled cry as reality dawned on her. She had made it back to Equestria! She was home!

And home meant Princess Celestia.

Terror overtook Sunset as she tried to flee, only to find her left hind leg motionless as a magical alarum started sounding and a pair of guards in ornate crystalline armour rushed into the room, spears held pointed at Sunset as she flopped back onto the bed.

This was it. It was over. Princess Celestia planned to have Sunset executed, if she were feeling merciful, or to send her to Hades, which seemed the most likely option. Sunset suddenly started coughing, her lungs in agony as if she had just sprinted for ten kilometers. A forehoof instinctually covered her muzzle as best it could, and when the fit finally ended and she pulled it away she noticed it covered in large splotches of blood. It seemed the magic she used to get back home had really done damage to her body. Maybe she would pass away before Celestia could do anything to her?

"Stand aside." a familiar voice commanded,"And lower your spears for Celestia's sake! She's my sister, not a monster!"

Sunset gave a dark chortle, her back to the newcomer as crystal shod hooves clacked against the floor. "Hello, Princess Cadance. Long time no see. Here to get one last look at me before I'm drawn and quartered?"

Sunset's bed shifted behind her, sinking slightly under new weight as a feathery wing draped itself over her. "What happened to you, Sunset?"

Memories from her life growing up flashed across her eyes as Princess Cadance carefully snuggled in close against her. Sunset gave her head a light shake. This all had to be a ploy. "The Sirens. Turns out Starswirl sent them to Gaia and they are trying to get back home, so you may want to get your mother."

"You mean our mother, Sister." Sunset remained silent as Princess Cadence rested her muzzle against her crest, a minute passing silently before the alicorn spoke again. "She spent an entire month in her room when you ran away from us."

"I ran away, did I!?" Sunset yelled, rolling awkwardly on her other side to lock eyes with the Alicorn Princess. "Tell me, Princess Cadance-" she spat venomously- "What other lies has your mother spread about me, huh!? Did she perhaps say that I stole Philomena from the wilds!? Or maybe that I ran away to save my life because I had assaulted her!? The truth is that if I stayed I was Hades bound!"

Princess Cadance looked at Sunset with pity in her eyes and sorrow on her face. "The truth? The truth is that you've always been her favourite, Sunset."

"Says the Princess." Sunset growled.

"If you really want the truth, then why don't you ask her yourself?" Princess Cadence said, motioning to the door as a shadowy figure stood there, halting Sunset's pulse and freezing her blood, before the amber Equestrian snarled in defiance.

"If you have any concept of mercy you'll kill me now instead of sending me to Hades." Sunset narrowed her eyes as she watched the tall form of Princess Celestia slowly walk towards the bed. "But regardless of that, you should know that the Sirens are trying to make their way back using the mirror portal."

"That can wait…" Princess Celestia said slowly as she came to a stop in front of the bed, magic flaring around her horn as light flickered into the room, illuminating the leader of Equestria and the tears running down her regal features. "Everything can wait, my little Sunbeam."

Princess Celestia sat down at the edge of the bed, her expression stony but her body subtly shaking as she studied Sunset, yet never met the unicorn's fiery glare. "You know she's lying." Sunset said, standing beside the snow white Alicorn and smirking before glancing at Sunset.

Sunset jolted in bed at the sight of the figure that suddenly appeared in the room. A pinkish-red coat covered the mare, while a familiar crimson and gold mane flowed around her face, drawing attention to her sclera- a deep black devoid of everything. She had a Unicorn's horn, but she also had wings as if she were an Alicorn, but they looked… wrong. They were devoid of feathers, just patchy strands of skin spotted with holes.

"Ah, good. You decided to pay attention finally." the mare snickered in Sunset's voice as a dark purple mist flowed from her eyes and horn, the edges curling in on themselves as they shifted to a sickly green. What Sunset could only describe as a throne made out of the same smoke grew behind the other mare as she lazily took a seat upon it. "Now I'm sure you have many questions, but I suggest saving them for a time with less plebeians."

"-Sunset?" The amber mare blinked rapidly as her focus was brought back to the two alicorns.

"Do you really not see her!?" Sunset shouted, waving a hoof towards the redish mare as she sat in her throne with a bemused expression as she shook her head.

Cadance sounded unsure as she shifted around, trying to see who Sunset was pointing at. "See who?"

"It's just the three of us, Sunset…" Princess Celestia wore a desperate smile as she reached out with both her front hooves and grabbed hold of Sunset's with an unrelenting grip. "As it always should have been."

"The three of-" Sunset started, desperately trying to free herself from Princess Celestia's hold, but being an Alicorn meant the Princess had magic from all three Pony races, and the strength granted by the Earth Ponies was being put to good use.

"Sunset." Princess Celestia said softly, quieting the protesting mare. "We may not be bound by blood, but you are my daughter- my first child. I had spent so many years refraining from becoming a mother, but when I saw you on the streets of Vanhoover... I knew I had to rescue you. And when you decided to stay with me, you made me the happiest I had ever been.

"But I wasn't prepared. I have seen countless generations of ponies pass under my rule. I resented growing personally attached to anypony, as I knew I would outlive them and all their kin. And that led me to abandoning you. I treated you as yet another pony- yet another student at my school. I forgot who you were, my little Sunbeam… And I fear I will never be able to make amends."

Princess Celestia lowered her head in shame, tears pouring through her tightly clenched eyes as her body shook with her heaving sobs. Time passed without care, but finally she had composed herself enough to speak again. "I know this all means nothing to you, Sunset… My daughter… But… But I promise you… Upon my life and all those who reside in Equestria… I vow to make right my neglect of you. I vow to make your life as full of love and attention as anypony elses." The alicorn shuddered as she raised her head, bloodshot eyes locking with Sunset's as countless millennia of sorrow and loneliness flowed freely forth. "I love you, Sunset. And I'm sorry for failing you and driving you away from us. From me."

Sunset remained quiet as she locked eyes with Princess Celestia. "It's nothing but lies, and you know it." She heard herself say, the doppelganger chuckling as she watched with amusement. "Cadance always was her favourite- after all, who's the princess now?"

Sunset tried her best to block out the sound of her own voice as she continued to watch Princess Celestia in silence. The Alicorn slowly lowered her head, looking pitiful as she resigned herself to losing her daughter forever. Her body started to quake as she tried to hide her sobbing, hooves struggling to find purchase to pick herself up off the floor.

"...I'm sorry, Mom…"

Celestia froze- her body, her sobbing, everything as if she had instantly been petrified. One could almost hear her bones creak as she cautiously raised her head back up to meet Sunset's gaze. Tears were streaming down the unicorn's face as she finally met Celestia's look.

"I'm so sorry…" Sunset hiccupped as she started to sob uncontrollably, years of pent up emotions bursting through to the surface. "Everything you did for me… All the lessons in Friendship, I just… I threw them right back in your face! And when Cadance became an Alicorn I-I-I snapped! I was the best student your school ever saw, and all I saw was you favouring her! You kept calling me your daughter and her your niece, yet you managed to tear yourself away from ruling Equestria to help her! I felt more abandoned than when I lived on the streets! That's why I set fire to your school- and when you punished me, more leniently than I deserved, I ran away, rather than facing my mistakes… I tried to hurt you as much as you hurt me…"

Celestia remained silent as she watched Sunset try to rub the tears off of her face, failing as more streamed down her muzzle. "You really should stop lying, you know that, right?" Sunset's voice echoed back at her. "It felt amazing to burn that pathetic preschool to its foundations. Our magical ability is second to none- hell, we could likely rival Princess Sun Cheeks!"

"...I shouldn't be here…" Sunset said as she finally stemmed her tears. She realized why she was hearing her own voice, and if she wanted to prevent a tragedy she would have to go back to Gaia.

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked, obviously trying to hide her fear. "Your leg needs to heal!"

"It can heal back-" Sunset started to object, only for Cadance to intervene.

"Sunset, you can't go back there- your leg… I don't know if you'll ever walk on that leg again here, and we have magic to try and aid the healing process. From what I heard, that world is barren of magic."

"Regardless, the Sirens are loose there, and were about to cross through the portal. I'm the only one who can stop them." Sunset said, shifting around awkwardly. "Besides, I-"

"Oh no you don't." Sunset's voice sneered as the unicorn froze mid sentence. "I think you need to take a break and relax. All this magic- Doesn't it feel amazing!?"

"Twilight Sparkle will be able to handle them." Celestia wore a wide smile as she attempted to reassure Sunset. "With her crown-"

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Equestrian

Sunset's eyes flew open, a cold and panicked sweat dripping down her as she struggled. She was bound by something- had the reunion all been a dream? No, she recognized the feeling of her unicorn body, but everything was so dark she couldn't see anything, and she could feel the magic being halted- inhibited by a ring around her horn.

"I can't believe we have to keep her here! What if she went after the Crystal Heart again?" A gruff voice grumbled.

"I don't get it either, but Princess Celestia said we need to protect her." Replied a second voice in a stern manner. "Now go check on her, make sure she's still breathing. I don't want to see the Princess angry again."

Muttering mixed with the creaking of a door as light flooded Sunset's eyes, temporarily blinding her. "Looks like she's awake." the first voice called back. "Weird, she was red when we subdued her, and now she's yellow."

"I prefer amber." Sunset spoke up as she tried to squint her eyes in an attempt to see anything. "You mind telling me where I am?"

"You're in the holding cells." the voice responded as Sunset's vision cleared enough to see the recognizable armour of one of Celestia's personal guards.

"...Mind telling me why?" Sunset continued, both to get more information of her situation as well as to try and see where she was.

The guard, a pegasus Sunset now saw, gave her a quizzical look as he responded. "You tried to attack the Crystal Heart, and Princess' Celestia and Cadance both said to spare you and keep you restrained down here until Princess Twilight returns from her journey."

Years of experience kept Sunset from reacting visibly, but a cold terror ran through her veins at the fear of Princess Twilight losing to the Sirens. She didn't know that the Sirens had the entire school under their thumb- she would cross over and probably expect her 'friends' to still be such. No one knew what they were dealing with here.

Except Sunset.

Sunset coughed, looking at the distance between her rear hooves and the ground. A short drop, easy to manage. "Sorry, but could I get a glass of water?" She asked as she returned her gaze back to the Pegasus. The guard looked unsure, glancing back at the open door.

"Captain?"

"Give her a drink, Lieutenant. I don't want to hear anything from the Princess'." The pegasus sighed and rolled his eyes as he cantered over to a clay jug and filled a small cup.

"Always the Princess' with him…" the guard muttered to himself as he wrapped a wing around the cup and returned to Sunset, holding it up. "Here."

Sunset looked at the cup and then back to the guard. "Uh… I'm a little tied up here."

The stallion groaned as he maneuvered the cup to Sunset's mouth and started to pour, only for her to spit it all back at him and start coughing.

"I asked for a drink, not to be drowned!" Sunset wheezed out as she tried to catch her breath.

"Just use your hoof, nimrod." The captain's voice ordered from the other side of the door. "She's all shackled up and has a magic inhibitor, so she can't hurt you."

Sunset smirked as she finished freeing herself from her chains, a reddish magic aura dissipating from around them as the pegasus guard lay unconscious on the ground, the cup he held being deposited gently on the floor beside the magic inhibitor and the chunk of his helmet that she 'borrowed' to remove it. Now for the captain and then she could get to the mirror and to Princess Twilight's side.

She didn't notice that her shadow smiled as she neared the door.

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Equestria

"Stand down, Sunset." The amber unicorn froze in place as magic bound itself around her three functioning legs, effectively freezing her in place just a few steps away from the portal mirror. "At least, I hope you're really her."

"You know, Caddy, one of the guards told me I was red." Sunset said as she kept looking forward. "Is that why I woke up in the dungeon?"

"After you tried to attack the Crystal Heart, me and Mother decided that you needed to be protected until we could figure out what was wrong with you."

"Now ya see… I don't remember any of that." Sunset said, her mind focused instead on how to get through the portal. "Last thing I remember was Mom-"

"Stop trying to buy time, Sunset. Mother will be here shortly and this time we'll keep you personally under watch until Twilight returns with the Element of Magic. Then we can use them to…"

Sunset's mind tuned out her sister. Twilight took her crown? If the Sirens got a hold of it, who knows-

"Thank you, Cadance." Sunset smirked as a thought hit her. "You just helped save Equestria."

"What?"

Sunset's horn lit up, her magic seeming to wrap around Cadance's and shattering it, causing the Alicorn to give a shocked cry.

"How did-" Sunset wished she could see the look on her sister's face as she watched Sunset blink from existence and reappear next to the mirror, her horn still aglow.

"You may be an Alicorn, Cadance, but you were born a pegasus, and it seems like you've still been shirking your magic studies." Sunset touched her horn against the mirror, the surface warping and shifting like liquid. A tingle caused Sunset to take a step back as Cadance's magic appeared around her again.

"I'm not letting you go and hurt yourself again!" The Alicorn yelled, jumping and taking flight towards Sunset. The unicorn chuckled as Cadance neared.

"I'll see ya again shortly, Sis." Sunset magic seemed to explode out of her, knocking Cadance to the ground and shattering her magic, allowing Sunset to grit her teeth and jump into the mirror.

She had a world to save.

Friday, October 26th

_6:21PM

Canterlot High School

Sunset gave an excruciating cry of pain as she arrived once more in Gaia, crumbling as her left leg fell from beneath her. Her hands caught her and prevented her head from ricocheting off of the pavement, but the mind-numbing agony from her left leg threatened to cause her to black out. She managed to unclench one eye enough to look around, taking in the dark night sky as the sound of music floated through the air, and the back of her head started to tingle.

Sunset prayed she wasn't too late as she forced herself slowly up to her one good foot, muffling a scream as she leaned against the statue. She caught her breath as she wiped the tears off of her cheeks and took a moment to check herself over. "Sasha…" she muttered happily as she ran a finger along her leather jacket, but her brow furrowed when her eyes glanced over her jeans. The right leg was perfectly normal, but the left leg was a torn mess and looked like it was fused with a cast.

One meant for a pony.

The portal had obviously not known what to do when she stepped through, and now she was left with only one pant leg and her left leg open to the air. Sunset fought back the urge to wretch as she saw the state her leg was in. The magic that had been trying to help her heal obviously had no effect on Gaia, leaving her leg a misshapen mess of scars and cuts, with small slivers of bone protruding awkwardly through her flesh that seemed to be fused around it.

How was she going to walk? She couldn't prevent the Sirens from winning with only one leg! She looked around in desperation, but there were no trees nearby to take a branch from to use as an impromptu crutch. The tingling grew as Sunset started to hear the Sirens' voices. She didn't have her journal here to act as a conduit to draw Equestrian Magic from this time.

Not having any more time to waste, Sunset grit her teeth and slowly lay down, before starting to pull and drag herself towards the music, apologizing under her breath to Sasha the entire time.

The closer she got to the sound and the sound of the Sirens singing, the more her head started to tingle.

Then the tingle started to turn into an ache.

Then the ache turned into pain.

And as Sunset finally reached the top of the edge looking down into the amphitheater that had been turned into a musical stage, she saw them. All three Sirens stood on stage, singing gloriously about their victory. The entire student body and school faculty stood in front of the stage, swaying slowly back and forth in a zombie-like manner as their heads were glued to the three singing Equestrians.

A fourth Equestrian knelt behind them, the five girls that had been her allies before standing behind her and watching her, and from what Sunset could see, Princess Twilight didn't have her crown…

"No…" Sunset whispered to herself, her body deflating as her head fell into the grass.

She was too late.

The Sirens had won…

"Ptoie!" Sunset looked up in a panic at the sound of someone spitting something out and it landing heavily on the grass. "Sunset! Thank Celestia you're here!" Sunset met with the gaze of Spike the Dog, overwhelming happiness in his eyes. "Twilight needs your help!"

"What can I do?" Sunset responded in defeat, looking away and closing her eyes. "I can't walk and the Sirens have the whole student body at their beck and call- Plus they have the Element of Magic!"

"What? No! It's right here!" Spike grabbed the crown and passed it towards Sunset, her aquamarine orbs widening at the familiar sight. "Twilight gave it to me before she was captured by our friends, and I was just about to try the portal again to see if I could get back to Equestria and get help!"

The crown. The single greatest source of Magic in this entire world, and it could be hers- "Wait! How did the Sirens not catch you?" Sunset asked, suddenly weary. "They could tell my journal was Magic, so wouldn't they instantly detect the Element of Magic?"

"I don't know- they've been gloating and really vain the entire time we've been here." Spike responded before shaking his head. "Look! You gotta do something, Sunset! They said they're gonna use Twilight to open the portal to Equestria! You're the only other Pony here that can use the Element!"

Sunset glanced back over at the crown. Memories of the pains and agony flashed across the back of her eyes as she clenched her lids shut in pain, her head feeling like it was about to shatter from within. "But what about before? When I-"

"The fact that you're trying to not use it shows that either you're playing the long game and are on the Siren's side, or that you've changed for the better, and for the sake of Equestria I hope that's what it is…" Spike spread his four paws as he levelled a determined look at the human Equestrian. "So show me, Sunset. Show Twilight that you've been trying to change and be a better pony!"

Sunset looked between the crown and Spike, her hand hovering in uncertainty. She slowly tried reaching out towards the Element, small motes of magical energy floating lazily out of it and tracing slowly around her. Everything was different from last time. She had to force it before, but now it was reaching out to Sunset, willing to offer it's powers, so that she could finally prove to-

"Ow!" Sunset hissed in pain as she retracted her hand, angry reddish welts appearing on her skin. The pain was now exactly the same as at the Fall Formal.

"Sunset!? What's wrong!?" Spike bounced around worriedly, eying Sunset in concern.

"It remembers me…" Sunset said, hiding her hand and arm as best she could as the burning started to spread along her arm. "I-I-I… I can't use it… Not unless…"

"...Like the Fall Formal…" Spike muttered under his breath, before pausing and giving an excited cry. "Wait! We can still pull through this!"

Sunset glanced at Spike as he seemed to chase his own tail in excitement. "Pardon my bluntness, but what the fuck are you talking about, Spike?"

"Twilight and her friends! Once you beat the Sirens you'll free the Rainbooms from the Sirens spell!" Spike's tail sounded like a lawnmower as it wagged back and forth. "Then if you go all power crazy they can beat you again!"

Sunset wasn't sure if she should be more insulted that she would be easily beaten by a bunch of teenagers again, or that Spike believed she would go power crazy again, as he said. "What guarantee do we have that… whatever I become won't join the Sirens?"

Spike's expression voiced the groan his lips did not as he stared blankly at Sunset. "Do you really think they'd share? Look, either we go back and see if the mirror is working, or-"

"I'll do it…" Sunset said, terrified of what she may end up doing, but it was her fault all of this happened in the first place. If she had never come to this world, the Sirens would still be stuck without magic. "But promise me you'll hide, Spike. I don't want to risk hurting you."

The dog nodded his head before scampering off into bushes overlooking the event. Sunset grit her teeth as she looked back at the crown, her uncertainty freezing her hand halfway there. She took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. "It's now or never..."

"And for you it's going to be never."

Comments

[Dr Mysterious Shade]

"And for you it's going to be never."

Man she just can't catch a break can she.

[Argentyros]

10409138
Of course not, this is Sunset we're talking about. When it comes to events that directly affect her, she's pretty much the incarnation of Murphy.

[Dr Mysterious Shade]

10409393
Dude, rhetorical question

[Sollys]

Damn Sunset, the school better give you a throne once this is over.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Since when were Sunset and Candace sister???
And tbt what Sunset encountered in equestria confused be a lot and after finishing this chapter I have to say most of it was confusing to me

[Nyhll]

10409138
Not yet at least xD

[Nyhll]

10409782
Sunset deserves a throne of some sort! xD

[Nyhll]

10410487
They are both adopted by Princess Celestia in my world~
And this is one of those chapters that supposed to be confusing for later ideas~ ^^

[Sundance]

I can't wait for the next chapter~

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

10410574
Ok thx hope the next chapter won't be a long wait

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

wonder when we'll get a new chapter?

[Eternal Chaos Gurl]

Please update this