Sunset at Shujin

by ultiville

Prologue

Author's Note:

I am pretty behind in the EQG and FiM canon, which almost stopped me from writing. But, well, I really liked the idea and it's an AU anyway, so if I get something wrong, it's just part of what makes it an alternate universe!

Or something.

If you're not familiar with Persona 5, you won't know who the characters are immediately, but I'm intending to write such that it works either way.

When Sunset Shimmer found out Celestia was a tyrant, she nearly broke. Young and brash, she was a hair's breadth from storming in to the throne room and unleashing all her magic in a surprise attack, enraged at the betrayal of all she'd believed.

So close, in fact, that in another universe - one we know well - that's what she did. And, doing so, she was defeated, and fled through the mirror to Canterlot High, in a world perplexingly similar to her own, for all it was also perplexingly different.

But this Sunset Shimmer pulled herself back, and thought again. She took a deep breath, and barely held her anger in check. She couldn't defeat Celestia. At least, not alone, not now. She needed allies. Probably a whole lot of them. And so she hid her true self, to keep her resources as Celestia's student. Years passed. She became a little less young, a little less brash. But she kept her conviction close in her heart: I will be the bane of tyrants.

She studied politics and revolution in the lands where an immortal Princess didn't rule supreme - among the griffons and dragons, and what hints she could glean from ancient pony history. Slowly, painstakingly, she built relationships and gathered like-minded ponies (and a few others) to her cause. In doing so, without really noticing, she grew up. Indeed she became, in many ways, like that other Sunset Shimmer, after meeting and being inspired by Princess Twilight Sparkle. But still she held fast to her rebellious spirit. And it spread, slowly but surely, among the ponies of Canterlot until, late in the fall of her final year at the School for Gifted Unicorns, she had several dozen ponies in her corner.

But a small change in a few small ponies is rarely enough to turn the tide of centuries, so it ended much as it always did: the guard closing in, no way out of the castle, Celestia herself likely not far behind. And the mirror, the last and only option.

Her patience bought her at least this much: she understood it a bit better, and she had a bit more time. She how knew to reach her magic out to it, to subtly tune the power that bridged universes. She focused on her rebellion, desperately hoping that, somewhere, the magic would latch on to someone who could help, or at least who felt the same way. If nothing else, it'd make it harder for Celestia to find her before she was ready.

So, a few years late, and a few years wiser, this Sunset Shimmer also jumped into the mirror.

---

A young man with slightly-too-long brown hair stood in a police observation room, talking to a taller, older man with a shaved head.

"And why did you bring her to me?"

The contempt in the older man, Masayoshi Shido's, voice was better fitting of the dictator he aspired to be than the forgettable mid-level politician he was. But then, young Goro Akechi knew well that presumption was the least of the manifestations of Shido's distorted ego. He nearly let his frustration show, but resisted answering in kind.

"The cameras never saw her enter the station. I checked back a week. And no one reported seeing her before I did. Don't you think it's suspicious? Just as I leave the metaverse, a mysterious girl appears?"

Shido slowed his pacing, turned, and focused on Akechi. He'd learned this was a good sign.

"So you think she might not be...human?"

Akechi shrugged and looked through into the examination room, trying not to let Shido see how much he'd been wondering just that. She certainly looked human, and the physical agreed. But between her ridiculous name, her distinctly Western skin tone and eyes, and her flamboyant hair, she didn't seem much like a Tokyo teenager either. And she'd had nothing on her but her clothes - nothing. Not even a wallet. Not even a subway pass, even though he'd found her on the deserted platform.

"We know things live in there," he said finally. "And we know I can come in and out. So far I've only found shadows, but it's a big place. And where else could she have come from? Even if she's a human, she could be like me."

Shido stopped entirely, his eyes narrow.

"That could ruin everything."

"Or be valuable. Yes." He lowered his head, feigning deference. If he suggested, then Shido would deny, but...

Shido nodded.

"You were right. You're our expert. What would your play be?"

Akechi indulged in a secret smirk before raising his head again.

"Keep her close. Somewhere you have influence, but not obvious influence. Make it seem like you're helping. If she's nothing special, well, you helped a poor girl, maybe she'll open for you at a rally. If she's more, and she knows you helped..." Akechi shrugged. "She says she's a bit younger than I am. She should be a second-year I think."

Shido nodded again. "Shujin. They don't have dorms, but Kosei houses exchange students for them sometimes, and I have an in there, the artist."

Of course, this was what Akechi wanted, but it wouldn't do to overplay.

"Excellent idea, sir."

"I'll arrange it. It's last minute, but Kobayakawa will not deny me. You will consult with me on this as it develops. And of course, if nothing comes of it, she seems like Kamoshida's type."

Akechi barely managed to hide his disgust for that one, but he'd had plenty of practice.

Comments

[everydaygamer]

Pretty good start though I'm wondering if Celestia is literally a tyrant or if that's just how Sunset views her.