Sunset: Stranded

by Viking ZX

Flight

Author's Note:

Well, here we go. I'm putting these notes at the top because, well, they're important.

See, here's the thing: This story was an experiment, and therefore may already be a bit of a dud. My Alpha Readers did not enjoy it, but for reasons that largely amounted to "We very literally may not be the audience for this?"

Why? Well, as I've said, this story was an experiment. There were a few things I wanted to try with it to see first how they would work and second if I could pull them off to the satisfaction of an audience. Clearly the audience for my usual work and my published novels wasn't enthralled by it, but that's why I do these tests. Better to try something new and risky with a fanfic than with a book that's going to end up on a store shelf.

So yes, this story was specifically written to challenge me with a few new things. I won't illuminate you all as to what they were here (but you're free to guess). However, personally? I think the story whiffed. Not all of it (in fact, I feel like some stuff worked too well, something to keep in mind when I take those exercises on to full fruition with the series I had in mind to practice them with.

But just because I felt that it whiffed doesn't mean you might. Well ... it's still pretty likely.
An author who can't tell a whiff from a decent product doesn't sell many books. But that said, it could be that for some of you, this story is exactly what you're looking for.

And even if not, hey it's free! Might as well give it a shot. Besides, it was a lot of fun to finally play in this setting.

So with that, I'll leave you. May you enjoy the story, swing-and-miss or hit aside.

Chapter One - Flight

What have I done?

The question echoed through Sunset’s mind as she galloped through the palace, her heart pounding in her chest. Each thud was like a gavel striking down. Or worse, the sound Princess Celestia’s hoof had made when she’d stamped it at the end of her proclamation.

What I had to do. She lowered her head, gritting her teeth as she galloped through the back hall. Any minute now, a member of the palace staff could discover what she’d done, come across the two members of the Royal Guard she’d stunned and shoved into a side closet. Or the stunning spell would wear off, and one of them would cry for help—

Focus! She galloped onward, hooves sliding against the stone as she took a tight corner. She had to be quick. Her escort would be discovered. It was only a matter of time. And when they were, Princess Celestia would know in moments.

She had to be gone before the Princess found out. Had to reach the mirror before anypony could stop her.

It was her destiny. A destiny the teacher she had loved had tried to keep from her. Out of fear? Out of jealousy? She didn’t know.

She didn’t want to know.

But it’s my destiny to choose! The staff passage widened, and from ahead she could smell the scent of the kitchens.

Perfect. She smashed through the door in a rush, startled kitchen staff looking up in surprise. One of the cooks dropped a pot, contents splashing across the floor.

“Sunset?” one of them asked. “Are you—?”

There was no time for finesse. Power rushed through Sunset’s horn, blasting out of her in a wave of opal light. The eyes of everypony in the kitchen rolled back, each of them collapsing like a puppeteer’s tools at the end of a show.

Puppets, she thought, a fresh wave of pain rolling through her chest. Like I was.

She darted through the room, eyes searching for anything she could grasp with her magic. A tray of sandwiches flew into a small sack, wrapped tightly and tied to her saddlebags. Dried fruits were swept along, packaged and added to the mix. She even raided the shelf kept for the ambassadorial meals. Dried meat was an acquired taste, but was high in protein. As were beans.

“Wha—What’s going on—?”

Sunset spun, firing another stunning spell from her horn and cutting down the unicorn server that had just opened the kitchen door. They collapsed without a sound.

Time to go. She might have overstayed her welcome already. She needed to flee, needed to be gone as quickly as possible. She wrenched another door open with her magic, eyes searching for the last item she’d wanted, alighting on a small, royal canteen hanging from the back of the pantry by a single strap. Her former teacher’s seal was printed on the side.

She’d remove it later. She might have already stayed too long as it was. She snagged the canteen in her magic, flinging it across the room to one of the large sinks, and filled it.

Good enough! Go! Were those shouts of alarm she was hearing, or was that just her imagination? She bolted from the kitchen, chest heaving as she raced down the hallways once more. Two servants startled as she rushed past, jumping out of the way, but there wasn’t time to stun them.

She had to get to the mirror. Had to.

It’s my destiny. She narrowed her eyes as she galloped, hooves pounding against the floor. Celestia had known. Known what awaited Sunset. And then she’d tried to deny it. Deny her.

My birthright. The mirror. Somehow they were connected. She wasn’t sure yet, but she’d seen something in the mirror. Something Celestia was trying to keep from her.

And for trying to find it, she exiled me. The hallway ahead took on a blurry look as tears welled in her eyes. Threw me out. Because—

She blinked, pushing the hot tears away. Well I won’t let her.

Her ears twitched as she began to hear cries echoing through the palace halls. Somepony had found what she’d done to the Guard. Or to the kitchen. Any minute now the Princess would know.

To her surprise, she could run faster.

She just had to make it to the mirror. Then she could get away, someplace Celestia wouldn’t find her. Couldn’t find her. She’d found Starswirl’s old notes in the library. His explanations for how the mirror worked. Celestia had wrested the notes back from her.

But she had not taken Sunset’s research journal. Into which Sunset had painstakingly copied the old mage’s formulas and diagrams for how the mirror worked. And she hadn’t checked to see what else Sunset had removed from the special collections in the palace library.

Come on … Ponies were definitely shouting now, the calls echoing through the halls. It didn’t matter; she was almost there. Just a little bit longer … She rounded a corner, the door to the room that held the crystal mirror just ahead.

Her mind was already racing forward, running over what she’d seen in Starswirl’s notes. She’d need to make … changes … to the way the mirror had been set up. According to her teacher—former—the control spells on the mirror hadn’t been altered in over a thousand years, not since Starswirl had settled on what his notes had referred to as a “convenient, almost magicless dumping ground” for him to dispose of “problems” into.

She didn’t want to go there. Not a magicless dump. Especially not one with a regularly opening portal. Even if it was open at the moment, that would simply mean her teacher—former teacher could follow her.

She needed someplace different.

“Sunset!”

A chill ran down her spine at the cry, and she snorted, sliding to a halt as she neared the door. After everything she said—

She cut the thought off, shoving the door open and rushing into the room that held the mirror. It was still there, sitting atop the plinth, its surface glistening and swirling, currently open. To the dumping ground.

“Sunset!”

She ignored the cry, jerking her thoughts back with a mental slap as she ran to the back of the mirror. The device was powered by the phases of the moon on both sides, both where she currently was and … wherever the end was. Whatever exit point the magic chose, the spell there would be powered by the position of the moon.

Or moons, she thought as she spied the mirror’s control spells. Her eyes flashed over the matrix, horn glowing as she searched for the parts of the spell that controlled the destination. If there’s more than one, then there’s either a greater or lesser chance of the portal being open as often. The old geezer’s notes had concluded that more moons probably meant less often. She’d have to take the gamble.

“Sunset!” The Princess’s voice was closer now. She had half a minute at most. Seconds, maybe.

There! Her probing senses found the part of the spell she’d been looking for, and she twisted it, altering the parameters. Why have one moon when you can have two? she thought as the spell took effect. And on a short window! The shimmering quality to the mirror faded, a bolt of panic rushing through her, but then she saw the magic for what it was. The spell on the mirror was searching for a destination, searching for something that fit the new criteria it had been given.

Now, if I could just tweak the magic parameters … Her horn began to glow again, but a cascade of galloping hooves from the hall pulled her attention away. She’d simply have to make do. The spell would make sure that whatever world she arrived on held everything she needed to stay alive.

She was on her way to her destiny. She would master Starswirl’s spells, master the notes she’d copied and books she’d stolen, no matter whatever almost magicless backwater she found herself in. Maybe she’d even be a ruler there.

Like I was meant to be, she thought standing with the mirror at her back and trying her best to put on a confident face as a quartet of Guard rushed around the doorway. They skidded to a halt as they saw her glowing horn.

“Prin—” They were Guard, but she had been the Princess’ student. The wave of energy rushed from her, blowing them back through the door and scattering them against the far wall. Black smoke sizzled from her horn.

“Sunset Shimmer!”

Her feeling of elation vanished as swiftly as a flame thrust into a bucket of ice water. Sunset glanced back at the mirror. It was still flat. Come on!

“Sunset!” The pleading tone to Celestia’s cry made her twitch. “Whatever you think you’re doing, please—”

Something inside her snapped, the shout bursting free of her like a tropical storm. “I’m claiming what you tried to deny me!” She glanced back just in time to see the surface of the mirror shimmer once more as the spell stabilized, its connection made once more.

She turned back, horn glowing with protective magic as she saw her former teacher appear around the door, wings spread and eyes wide with fear.

“And I will have it.” She threw herself back into the portal, and the world she knew vanished in a spray of prismatic color and sensation.

Comments

[ejWilliam]

Niiice opening!

[Demonic Lemon]

11090516
I agree they've peaked my interest

[TheIrishKhan]

Bruh no other comments? Must be too busy reading.

[FilthyFaith]

You have my interest let’s see if you keep my attention