Chapter 17
The snow gently fell. Sunset had spent nearly an entire year in this place, and now it was late in the winter. Pinkie’s house, where they normally gathered for small get-togethers, had a part of the roof you could easily go out onto to sit. It had a great view of the horizon over the ocean, so Sunset had come up here on several occasions to watch fireworks or sunrises or the such.
Right now, she sat alone on top of a thin layer of snow watching the moon. The moon and stars you saw were fake; you could never reach those illusions any more than you could reach the end of the desert - but they were still beautiful to look at.
Principal Celestia said, at least, that she was impressed with how quickly Sunset improved at the art of portals. Sunset was confident that if she tried to force the portal open it would work now. Still, she wanted to wait another month before trying, until her actual first anniversary of coming to Canterlot High.
The official excuse was that there was a small chance of shattering the mirror if the spell went wrong. Another month of practice would bring that chance down to zero. More privately, a part of Sunset didn’t want all of this to end just yet. Going back to the real world now would be like waking up from a pleasant dream. Everything here was so easy and happy. But it felt like she had work tomorrow.
The only other year of her life that she could argue was better than this last one was when Celestia first took her off the streets. Sunset still remembered how elated she was back then to have been recognized by Princess Celestia herself, to have been set free from her old life, to have a bright future - to have felt like she’d accomplished something.
Which of those years had been better? They were so different it was hard to compare.
Of course, her older memory was spoiled a bit by the burnout and betrayal she’d experienced later. Maybe the answer would depend on how much of a betrayal it was, how much Sunset’s bias distorted everything. Sometimes, when she remembered her first year as Princess Celestia’s student, she could almost forgive the princess for using her as a pawn.
The window behind Sunset opened and Twilight came out. Twilight sat down next to Sunset, briefly looked up at the same moon, then back at Sunset.
“Hey,” said Twilight. “What are you out here for? Nothing at the party was bothering you, right?”
“No. I was fine,” said Sunset. “I just wanted to come out here to think.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do to make the party, or being here at all more fun, just let me know,” said Twilight.
Twilight was so easy to read. Sunset liked that about her. It was cute, in a way.
“Are you worried about next month?” Sunset asked her. “That’s what I was thinking about.”
Twilight nodded.
“I don’t want you to leave.” Twilight looked down at the snow. “I know I only got to cut in line to help you, but I don’t want to deal with this kind of stress anymore.”
“You’ll be fine,” said Sunset. “Even in the worst-case scenario, Celestia will make it fine. You’ll be as happy as everyone else here. And I’ll remember you no matter what happens. You were my first real friend. That’s not something I can forget.”
“I know all of that.” Twilight closed her eyes. “But I still feel like I’m getting left behind. You were my first friend, too.”
“I’m not just going to leave you behind,” said Sunset. “My offer to come with me still stands. I can help you -“
“You’re doing it again!” Twilight covered her ears.
“Doing what? Giving you hope?” Sunset repeated Twilight’s line with a sigh of frustration. She’d hoped she could have softened Twilight up a bit more by now. “What’s wrong with having hope for once?”
“Where I come from being positive is rude,” said Twilight. “‘Don’t give me hope’ is just what you say when someone gives you good news or implies that something good could happen. It’s normal. Anything else is like you’re making fun of everyone else’s suffering.”
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Sunset remembered Twilight giving her that line on multiple occasions.
Sunset did understand more and more that it wasn’t just Twilight who was broken. She was simply a reflection of the culture she grew up in.
“It’s the hardest thing for me to get used to here. I’ve never seen anyone be optimistic before coming here. Not really, anyway.”
“I don’t know if I’d agree with that,” Sunset said. “Everyone here has absolute pessimism about the outside world.”
“But they are positive about some things,” said Twilight. “Just having a positive opinion about a movie or something is usually shot down. A lot of people would call me overly optimistic just for thinking this place could be good. Having hope for the outside world just feels wrong to me.”
Twilight shook her head.
“You said you’d consider staying here.” Twilight turned to Sunset. “Have you not changed your mind at all? Can you tell me Canterlot High isn’t better than Equestria? That you don’t have more fun here? That the people here aren’t nicer to you?”
“I changed my mind about this place a little,” said Sunset. “If someone wants to stay here, maybe it’s okay for them to decide that. It really isn’t the worst thing that can happen. But you never had anything legitimate to choose over this place. I want to give you that much. I want you to come to Equestria with me so you can choose for real.”
“I don’t think anywhere can be good,” said Twilight. “You can’t be happy like this – heck, you can’t be happy at all without paying a price. I can be happy here because I gave something up. I can’t just go to another world and expect to be happy there without paying a price. There’s no hope for any world. That’s just something you need to accept.”
Twilight was being a lot more open recently. Maybe giving her a little bit of slack on this world, giving her and this place a chance, really was paying off.
“You said it yourself.” Twilight rested her chin on her knees. “You were betrayed by the person you cared about the most. Everything you believed in was a lie and you were miserable. A normal relationship couldn’t work out for you. How can you tell me I’m supposed to be optimistic when that’s what it’s like? How can you make light of everything by continuing to hope?”
“What if I can overcome my problems?” Sunset stood up and held her hand down to Twilight. “I’m not going to pretend my problems are as bad as yours, but if I can overcome them then it’s possible. Isn’t it?”
Twilight was clearly terrified, looking up at Sunset, as though she’d just been asked to jump off a cliff. She didn’t take Sunset’s hand, but she didn’t say no or yell at her for trying to give her hope.
“Give me a year,” said Sunset. “I’ll come to terms with the other Celestia. I’ll make friends back in Equestria and I’ll find somewhere I can be happy. Then I’ll come back for you. If I can do all of that, will you give Equestria a chance?”
“It’s not going to work.” Twilight looked away. “Nothing ever works.”
“But if it does! Would you come with me then?” Sunset asked.
“But what if you can’t?!” Twilight stood up. “What if you realize that the world is even more horrible and cruel than you could ever imagine? Will you come back then?”
“Well, I can imagine the world being pretty terrible.” Sunset laughed.
What would the worst-case scenario be? Getting arrested? Sunset was pretty sure using that mirror wasn’t against the law.
“But maybe,” said Sunset. “If I can’t find anything better than here, I don’t see why I wouldn’t come back. ”
Sunset felt like she was so close right now.
She closed her eyes and centered herself. She paced a few steps away from Twilight, thinking carefully about her next words.
“How about this?” Sunset held out her hand again. “One year. Promise me you won’t block your memories for one year. If I come back with hope, you’ll come to Equestria with me. If I’m still miserable by then, I’ll admit you were right. I’ll give up and come back here for good.”
Twilight was still afraid but managed to step forward this time. Whether she was finally curious about Equestria or she thought it was the best shot at getting Sunset to stay here, Twilight summoned the courage. Twilight took Sunset’s hand and nodded firmly.
Somehow this felt like an even bigger accomplishment than even opening the portal would be.
“But let’s try to have fun until then,” said Twilight.
“Sure.”
The two girls went back inside.
The day finally arrived.
A full year had passed now, and Sunset was ready to open the portal.
It was early in the spring again, so the weather was nice once more, bringing out a small crowd gathered around to watch the spectacle. Twilight was there, of course, as Sunset needed her help to cast the spell. Sunset’s friends and Principal Celestia were watching from a safe distance. There were a few other curious students Sunset knew less well, hoping for a spectacle - whether that be the portal, or a small explosion.
Twilight did her part, pointing the staff to the mirror, levitating it, and spinning it around to drill the hole open. Sunset still wasn’t better than her at that technique.
But there was another, equally important job to be done. Sunset closed her eyes and felt carefully for tiny threads of magic that lingered in the inert mirror. Her meditation practice wasn’t just for anger management, but an important part of casting this spell.
There was almost zero chance Sunset could have found them before starting this training, but now, after carefully feeling things out, she did find the one, tiny, straggling fiber.
She closed her eyes and very carefully guided it across the face of the mirror, so it was no longer dangling. Then she copied the thread and stretched that one across as well.
The work was so delicate Sunset needed to block everything else out as she slowly moved her staff crisscross around the mirror, circling it once over. The whole process took nearly an hour and she was already getting tired, but a serviceable network was there now, and the most crucial part remained.
Next, Sunset had to pump all of her energy into the matrix and allow Twilight to finish reopening the portal. If either of them messed this up it would break the matrix and Sunset would have to start over - if she didn’t accidentally break the mirror, that was.
Sunset needed to be forceful, yet precise. She put everything she had, all of her strength and concentration, to make the matrix workable for Twilight. The matrix wobbled but began to strengthen. Then all the fibers snapped forward... but in the right direction!
The mirror shimmered just like it had before Sunset came here!
The portal was open!
“I did it!” Sunset jumped into the air. Such a sense of accomplishment rushed into her. This was impressive even for an elite mage. “I can’t believe I finally pulled it off!”
A couple of students, mostly the ones Sunset didn’t know well, applauded the achievement.
Twilight was much less thrilled with their accomplishment. She was clutching her staff tight, trying hard to smile.
“Y-yeah!” Twilight nodded. “It is impressive. But I guess this is goodbye.”
Seeing Twilight tear up a little made Sunset second guess her decision to go once again. This part may have been harder than opening the portal itself. She reminded herself this was something she needed to do.
“It’s not goodbye. Not forever, anyway.” Sunset put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be back eventually either way."
Twilight nodded.
“I’ll still miss you,” said Twilight.
“I’ll miss you too.” Sunset put a hand on Twilight’s head.
The two of them shared what would be their last hug for some time.
“She’ll totally be back,” said Dash. “See, once you get used to how nice Canterlot High is you just can’t live anywhere else. It’d be too painful by comparison. It’s kinda like going into a hot spring on an icy mountain. The cold’s way too much for you to get out again.”
“Maybe she already came back,” Pinkie suggested. “Cause whatever she runs into is already on the other side of the mirror.”
“Should I be worried that comment almost made sense?” Sunset asked.
“I know we didn’t get off on the right foot.” Rarity put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “But I want you to know I really did enjoy our time together. I’m sad you’re leaving, but I understand.”
Sunset gave her friends a nod. It wasn’t easy leaving them behind. She knew none of them would follow her out, none of them save maybe Twilight.
“I’ll never forget any of you.” Sunset gave all of them one last hug for now, then stepped away. She had to do this now or she’d never be able to tear herself away from them again.
Sunset turned to Principal Celestia, who’d remained silent this whole time.
“So you’re really not going to stop me?” Sunset asked the principal.
“I’ve done everything I can to keep you here,” said Principal Celestia. “If you don’t come back, I couldn’t have kept you here.”
Sunset gave her one last wary look before turning back to the portal.
It would remain open for a full twenty-four hours so Sunset could immediately turn back in the unlikely scenario that the other Celestia told her guards to attack Sunset, or anything crazy like that.
“Thank you,” Sunset said. “If I don’t get a chance to say it later.”
Sunset stepped through the portal.
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That's what equality of outcome gets you, so long as one person is miserable, for whatever reason, then everyone must be equally miserable.
Hey, She got the portal open, well done there, well done indeed. Now to see what sort of Equestria she comes from.
I love this story! Can't wait for the next one!
Cool.
...
Something bad's gonna happen, huh?
A person with a 'glass half full' opinion is their usually looking to find something to refill it, while a person with the 'glass half empty' know they'll be drinking but will not be looking for ways to refill ...
10633289
Engineer: The glass just has a 50% safety margin.
Police: Who's been drinking from my glass?
I love these jokes. Vaguely fairy-like, too.
ooh, Twilight’s culture seems like the worst of cynical Millennial culture amplified. can’t wait to see how her pact with Sunset turns out! of course, the offer of Equestria as a place to live rather than Twilight’s original home of terrible pod world does shift the balance on what is a good decision for her, but that could be my pro-Equestria bias
Great chapter!!