Equestria Girls - The Tale of Two Sunsets

by HumanSunset63

Chapter 77: Swarm of the Century

Sunset, Smolder, and Silverstream all stared Indigo down, anticipating her very next move. They weren't sure if she was planning on attacking, or expecting to sneak around them to escape, whilst using her new disguise to her advantage. Thankfully, it seemed rather pointless, given how the students had already gotten to know Sunset rather well in the time they've spent together, to where they'd easily be able to identify her. However, unknown to everyone else in the room, Indigo was already one step ahead of them all, especially after making her mistake with impersonating Rainbow Dash.

"So, I suppose the first thing you'd like to do is free your friends from that cage." Indigo said, before holding up a remote with a red button. "But unfortunately for you punks, you'll never manage to do that without this thing!"

"Oh yeah!?" Smolder huffed, taking a step forward. "Well we'll just see about that, you weasel! Silverstream and I are gonna stop you, even if we have to rely on our traditional combat skills!"

"Yeah!" Silverstream agreed. "We're gonna teach you a lesson you won't forget, you little... stair hater!"

"You'd better watch yourself, Indigo!" Sunset continued glaring at the treacherous pegasus. "We won't let you get away with what you've done!"

"Oh, please!" Indigo scoffed. "You three? Ha! I could take all of you on myself if I wanted to! But since I'm feeling so generous today, I'll let you try to stop me! Show me what you've got."

The trio began charging toward Indigo at full speed, and as expected, the disguised pegasus simply backed away and made a run for it, initiating a huge chase atop the maintenance room's high-raised platforms. Indigo had managed to circle the machinery multiple times, and kicked some old boxes at the trio in an attempt to slow them down. It seemed as though her disguise of Sunset had still allowed her to retain her remarkable athletic ability and speed, despite no longer having wings. After giving chase for a while, Indigo spotted a large old pipe that was hanging loosely from the ceiling above them. With a mischievous grin, she dashed towards it and knocked it free from its rusty bolts.

Suddenly, the pipe came loose and crashed to the ground, spilling a torrent of dark, foul-smelling sewage all over the floor. The thick, slimy mess instantly covered the area, making it nearly impossible to run without slipping and falling. Smolder and Silverstream skidded to a halt, their eyes widening in disgust as the muck managed to splash onto them. The dragon and hippogriff slipped and ended up landing on their backs, both injuring one of their wings. Sunset was more tenacious however, and simply ignored the awful odors to continue the chase, especially after climbing out of a dumpster earlier. Unfortunately, Indigo had managed to accomplish exactly as she had planned, which was to isolate Sunset from the two students. After pursuing the pegasus long enough, Indigo managed to hide in a nearby broom closet, seemingly cornering herself. Sunset followed suit, and was ready to finally confront the troublemaking pegasus.

"This is it, Indigo!" Sunset yelled. "You're cornered, and there's nowhere left to run!"

"Oh really?" The voice of the disguised pegasus echoed throughout the closet. "I've been in worse situations before. Besides, you're the one who's actually cornered here, my little fool. You shouldn't have followed me."

"Well, it's too late now." Sunset frowned. "You're going to pay for what you've done."

"Oh, I'm going to pay, am I?" Indigo challenged. "Well, that just sounds like a wonderful idea!"

As Smolder and Silverstream had been slowed down from the sewage earlier, they already lost track of where Sunset and Indigo had ran off to. Conflicted on where to go within the station's massive maintenance room, the two students had no choice but to return back the way they came, to the exact spot with the giant cage that trapped Sandbar, Gallus, Ocellus, and Yona. Without either one of their field trip's chaperones by their side, the students had begun to worry, unsure if they would ever find a way out of Bridlewood Station, let alone return home safely.

"Hey, you two think you could help us outta here?" Gallus said from within the cage. "Yona's already feeling pretty claustrophobic!"

"This is so tight space, and bars are too strong for Yona to bash through..." Yona began chattering her teeth. "YONA! CAN'T! TAKE! MUCH! LONGER!!!"

"Did you manage to catch that crazy pegasus who trapped us?" Sandbar asked.

"And where's Miss Sunset?" Ocellus had begun to worry.

"We don't know where that mean pegasus went, nor Miss Sunset!" Silverstream began freaking out. "But we need to figure out a way to get you all out of there! Who does that pegasus think we are, zoo animals!?"

"Nrrrrrrrgh!" Smolder did her absolute best to lift the metal cage, but to no avail. "Rats! I sadly don't have the strength of Dragon Lord Torch, that's for sure. And I sadly already gave up my dragon fire to give us this field trip. Of all the times for me to not have my fire breath... it would easily melt these bars to free you all!"

"Well, I have my abilities to morph into a dragon, but it's only visual." Ocellus sighed. "No fire breath, sadly. And I highly doubt changing into a fish could help us either."

"Maybe not, but you could probably change into a smaller critter to slip through the bars." Sandbar suggested.

"But... we can't just leave the rest of you in there!" Silverstream interjected.

"Of course not." Sandbar replied. "But perhaps Ocellus could make her way out of the cage, then she could help you two search around for Miss Sunset. Since the maintenance room's so big, maybe it'll be easier to find her by flying around."

"I don't know, Sandbar." Smolder hesitated. "Silverstream and I both slipped and broke one of our wings earlier, while chasing after that crazy pegasus."

"Oh no, are you two all right!?" Sandbar said, concerned.

"We'll be fine, but it's going to take us a while longer to fly again." Silverstream moped. "We're pretty much stuck here until we can get our wings back in shape. Sorry Ocellus, but if you can manage to get out, you'll be on your own."

"Well, I guess that's what I'll have to do then." Ocellus said, determined. "If you guys can't come with me, just stay here and be safe."

"Uhhh, not to be pushy or anything but..." Gallus began, rather disconcerted. "You think you could find our chaperone as soon as you can? Yona looks like she's about to snap...!"

"YONA! NEED! SPACE! NOW!!!" Yona howled, as she began banging on the cage's metal bars.

With a deep breath, Ocellus focused her concentration and began to morph out of her changeling form, into that of a mouse. The mouse scurried out of the cage and down to the ground, squeaking softly. After exiting the cage, the changeling student morphed back into her original form, and began flapping her wings to soar into the air.

"Don't worry, I'll find them and get us all out of here." Ocellus assured the others before scampering off into the distance, searching for any sign of Sunset or Indigo.

As Ocellus frantically searched high and low throughout the maintenance room, she began to feel a sense of panic rising within her. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but metal and machinery, and there was also the internal fear of possibly getting lost herself. The changeling student knew she had to act fast, especially given the circumstances with Yona's claustrophobia. The adrenaline was rushing through her heart, this somehow began to feel more intense than her extreme study sessions back at the School of Friendship. After enough determination, she eventually noticed Sunset within one of the corridors.

"Hey, over here!" Ocellus called out from a distance, prompting Sunset to turn around, happy to see her student. "What happened to that mean pegasus?"

"Oh, you know, just another pegasus with a stick up their flank, we won't need to worry about her anymore." Sunset assured. "Anyways, I'm glad you're safe. Do you know where the rest of the students are?"

"Yes, of course!" Ocellus nodded. "I'll take you back to them right now! But we must hurry, Yona's becoming quite claustrophobic of that cage!"

Ocellus and Sunset rushed back through the maintenance room, careful not to trip over any of the pipes or machinery. As they neared the cage where their friends were trapped, they could hear Yona's loud howls echoing through the room, which was a dead giveaway on their location.

"Everyone, good news!" Ocellus began to approach the group. "I found Miss Sunset rather easily!"

"Wait just a minute... how do we know that's really the best chaperone we've ever had?" Smolder folded her arms. "After all, that rotten pegasus transformed into her earlier!"

"But... Ocellus seems to recognize it's her!" Silverstream observed. "If any of us here would know about changeling magic, it'd be Ocellus, right?"

"Well, I am pretty good at recognizing changelings, yes." Ocellus nodded. "From what I can gather... I can't sense any natural changeling magic coming from Miss Sunset here. So it has to be her!"

"Besides, I snatched the remote control from that awful pegasus." Sunset held up the remote, before pressing the red button to lift the cage up, releasing Sandbar, Gallus, and Yona. "I just came back to free you students from that awful trap."

"T-Thank you!" Yona ran over to give Sunset a big hug. "You have no idea how much Yona hate being trapped like that! Yona was almost ready to smash all over cage, like rest of family!"

"It's a good thing you showed up when you did, then." Gallus breathed a sigh of relief. "Otherwise, Sandbar and I would be griffon scone jam right about now."

"Well, I'm just glad that we're all safe now." Sandbar added. "Thanks to Ocellus and Miss Sunset, we're finally back on our hooves again!"

"Again though, how do we know that's Miss Sunset?" Smolder continued pressing. "What were we fighting about back upstairs before we jumped through the garbage chute?"

"Oh, you mean that little argument over those cream cakes?" Sunset reminded. "It seemed like a silly argument anyways, since even I wouldn't feed those to a dog!"

"Besides, if she had the ability to morph like a changeling, I'd be able to detect it." Ocellus assured. "I don't sense it coming from Miss Sunset, so it must be her."

"Well, I suppose that's good enough for me." Smolder finally conceded, still looking a bit skeptical, but trusting Ocellus's word. "So, Miss Sunset, what should we do now?"

"To tell you the truth, the diversion of that pegasus had us all sidetracked for a bit." Sunset replied. "Could someone remind us why we're all here again?"

"We were about to fly up that broken staircase in search of the stationmaster's office." Sandbar reminded. "Problem is, now that Silverstream and Smolder injured their wings, it's going to be a lot more difficult for us all to get up there together."

"Perhaps we can find another way up there." Sunset observed her surroundings. "This place is so big and complicated, there has to be another route that we can take to reach our destination. We just need to keep our heads together and think creatively. Come on, every creature! Let's go!"

Sunset and the six students began to exit the opposite way they came, looking for another way to reach the stationmaster's office. Everyone seemed assured that they were following their true chaperone, especially since Ocellus was able to corroborate that there wasn't anything funny going on. Despite this, Smolder still remained somewhat skeptical of the whole ordeal, especially given her experience with being able to identify someone disguising themselves, most notably when Ocellus herself had attempted to take the form of a dragon during their first day of school.

As everyone exited the maintenance room and began searching for another way to reach the stationmaster's office, Smolder's intuition would unfortunately soon prove to be correct. Back in the broom closet where Sunset and Indigo supposedly fought over the remote control, an unconscious body remained on the floor, before slowly moving again, as the wind blew the door open, letting in a glimmer of light. Before long, the pony began to immediately get back up, realizing that something bad must've happened.

"This isn't Canterlot..." Sunset began to slowly reiterate. "Where am I...? Princess Celesti- wait a minute now. I don't think I have my memories erased this time, must be a force of habit. Let's see... I'm chaperoning a field trip to Hope Hollow, we just encountered Indigo Zap, and... SHE KNOCKED ME UNCONSCIOUS WITH SOME KIND OF MAGICAL ARTIFACT!!!"

Recalling the true extent of the circumstances now, Sunset immediately ran out from the broom closet, and to her horror, found absolutely no sign of Indigo, nor the students anywhere. It began to sink in that supposedly, Indigo must've truly utilized her disguise to her advantage, especially after separating her from the students during that chase. Sunset was now all alone in the station, as she had now been separated from the students she was assigned to chaperone, along with her own identity. This most likely meant that unlike with Rainbow, Indigo was now doing more of a deliberate job at playing a convincing role as Sunset, good enough to fool the students. With the situation growing increasingly dire by the second, Sunset scrambled all around Bridlewood Station's maintenance room, before exiting through another side door in the corner.

---

As this was happening, trouble would soon brew back in the Human World at Crystal Prep Academy, where coincidentally, another Sunset Shimmer had a vendetta toward a different Indigo Zap. Principal Cadance had been on the phone with the parents of two students, whom she knew were rather close friends, to discuss a rather urgent matter. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat were rather unpleased to be called back to school campus at nearly 6 PM, but knew that they couldn't let anything minor get in the way of their graduation.

"What do you suppose Principal Cadance wants from us?" Indigo questioned. "It's not like us to get a trip to the principal's office just a few days before graduation, let alone at around 6:00!"

"Maybe she's congratulating me on the many college acceptance letters I should've received by now." Sugarcoat remarked, proudly. "As for you, I'd say she probably wants to talk to you about cheating on that math final with Mr. McColt. I know I saw you sneaking those cheat sheets into your desk during class."

"Oh, please." Indigo rolled her eyes. "Like you didn't have your own stack of them!"

"Nope." Sugarcoat shook her head. "I can recite the pythagorean theorem and rules of derivatives in my sleep. You know what else I can do, if Principal Cadance called us in for something else? Mention to her that I witnessed you cheating, even if you only ended up getting a C-."

"You'd better not!" Indigo spat. "If you even DARE think of doing so, I'll make sure your school life in college will be miserable, just like I did to that nerdy girl way back in freshman year!"

"Good luck doing that when you won't even know which college I'll end up choosing." Sugarcoat called Indigo's bluff. "Besides, you know the drill at this point, since I let you take pictures of my homework for a fee. If you want to buy my silence, cough up the dough."

"Fine..." Indigo growled, before reaching into her pocket and handing Sugarcoat a $20 bill. "Let's just get this over with, so I can go home and start training for something that's ACTUALLY important!"

Before long, the two Crystal Prep girls made their way into Principal Cadance's office, and took a seat. It had admittedly been a while since either of them had been in the principal's office, but they noticed that the gloomy and dark interiors were no longer there, as it had been when Principal Cinch was in control. Despite the lively and more cheery atmosphere, Principal Cadance was ready to break some hard news to the two students.

"So, what's up, Principal?" Indigo asked, innocently. "We're not in any trouble, are we?"

"Maybe you are." Sugarcoat scoffed.

"Sugarcoat!" Indigo stomped her foot on the floor in a rage.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid that there is indeed trouble for you, Indigo." Principal Cadance sighed, as Indigo's eyes widened.

"Please, don't hold me back from graduation!" Indigo began crying crocodile tears. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT!!!"

"Didn't mean to do... what?" Cadance raised an eyebrow. "This is regarding an incident I had witnessed, involving a break-in with your locker.

"Oh, well..." Indigo fidgeted her fingers, nervously, before recalling what she used to bribe her math teacher for a passing grade. "I didn't mean to give Mr. McColt a pumpkin pie as a treat after the finals. I didn't realize he didn't like pumpkins."

"Wait, what did you say, just now?" Sugarcoat's eyes widened at the principal. "Indigo's locker?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that a few hours ago, I had witnessed what appeared to be two hooligans somehow breaking into Indigo Zap's locker." Cadance explained.

"They... didn't steal our old Crystal Prep uniforms, did they!?" Sugarcoat began hyperventilating.

"Sadly, they did." Cadance sighed. "In fact, according to the CCTV footage from our security camera, it appears that those were the only items that were stolen."

"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO STOP THEM!?" Indigo snapped. "WHAT KIND OF PRINCIPAL ARE YOU!?"

"Indigo, you idiot!" Sugarcoat facepalmed. "I knew I should've just kept my old Crystal Prep uniform with me the whole time!"

"How is this my fault!?" Indigo became enraged. "You were the one who said my locker combination out loud earlier at the gas station! Some crook must've overheard and put two and two together!"

"Like you're even the type of girl who knows what two plus two even is!" Sugarcoat jabbed. "After graduation, I was going to sell my uniform and use that money to pay for my college dorm costs! Thanks a lot, now I'll probably have to live in the campus library, thanks to your incompetence!"

"It's not my fault you and the other girls wanted to store your uniforms in my locker for free, while you all focused on studying for finals!" Indigo huffed.

"Now, now, girls." Cadance tried to break up the fight. "Let's not get any more worked up, shall we? I'm sure we can come up with a solution to this problem. Perhaps we can ask the police to investigate further into this matter, and see if there's any way we can retrieve the uniforms."

"Well, I suppose that's all we can do for now." Sugarcoat groaned. "But to get an idea, do you think we can see the security footage of the two thugs who broke into our locker?"

"Absolutely, the only issue being, there's no audio." Cadance nodded, before playing the footage back on the large monitor next to her desk.

Although the two girls were unable to recognize Gilda, they both noticed that the other girl looked familiar. In fact, it didn't take long for them to realize that the hairstyle, facial features, and even mannerisms, seemed to match up with Sunset Shimmer. Sugarcoat and Indigo's eyes widened at this, before Indigo stomped again, rather outraged. This prompted the goggle wearing girl to storm out of the office to let off some steam, as Sugarcoat accompanied her.

"It was that girl at CHS, Sunset Shimmer!?" Indigo snapped. "What does she have against Crystal Prep Academy!?"

"Well, in all fairness, the other girls and I partook in plagiarizing her and her friends' dance choreography once." Sugarcoat recalled. "Still though, stealing dance choreography is nothing compared to stealing my college dorm rent! Should we let Principal Cadance know who we think the culprit really is?"

"Why bother?" Indigo folded her arms. "She'll probably ask us for more solid proof, especially because that footage was a little blurry, and lacked audio! Well! Two can play at this game! Come on, Sugarcoat. If Sunset Shimmer thinks she can ruin our lives just days before graduation, we'll teach her AND her dumb school!"

---

Back at Bridlewood Station, Sunset continued to search through the various rooms within the station, only to be met with dead ends, and no sign of Indigo and the students anywhere. She had almost begun to have flashbacks of desperately searching through Canterlot's labyrinth-like main castle during Twilight's coronation, although there weren't any security guards in hot pursuit this time around. However, she knew time was of the essence, especially with the possibility of Indigo being up to no good, and potentially leading the students into an even more dangerous trap. It was still unknown why Indigo was doing all this, but Sunset stood by her original belief that the pegasus was likely doing it out of pettiness, after what had happened with Rainbow Dash.

Eventually, Sunset found herself within what appeared to be an old basement, with records and archives of the station's history. Upon further inspection, Sunset took notice of a framed picture on the wall, showing Grandpa Skies, which listed him as the former stationmaster. It made sense that this would be here, after Mayor Skies had implied that his grandfather had connections with Bridlewood Station long ago. Unfortunately, this didn't really help matters, especially since Sunset was still focusing on regrouping with her students, or potentially finding another way outside the station. Sunset looked around the station's basement for further clues, before finding what appeared to be a hidden message written on the back of Grandpa Skies' picture.

"In case of cravings, check the stationmaster's office, 6-28-86." Sunset read out loud. "Hmm, this combination... maybe that's what we need to find the keycard? I'll have to keep this in mind."

Sunset made a mental note of this combination, before exiting the basement, and miraculously, discovering another room that led up, and outside of the station. There was now a visible night sky, signaling the near end of what now felt like the longest day of her extended stay in Equestria. Unfortunately, due to the barbed wire fences cutting off the forest area, Sunset didn't have many options to go from here, as she was technically outside, but still inside, in some ways. She was about ready to head back into the station to thoroughly search for the students, before hearing what seemed to be... soft crying from a distance? Sunset worked up some courage to approach the station's garbage dump, and eventually noticed what appeared to be a familiar face behind a dumpster. It was Sour Sweet, the other chaperone who had mysteriously been vanishing throughout this entire field trip.

"Sour Sweet...?" Sunset approached the broken pegasus, unsure of what was even happening.

"I... I'm sorry..." Sour Sweet whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "I... I never meant for any of this... please, don't turn me in to Princess Twilight!"

"What are you talking about?" Sunset said, taken aback at this. "I'm just glad to see that you're okay. What... didn't you mean for?"

"Getting you in trouble a few days ago, just because I wanted that bonus from Mr. Steele." Sour Sweet sniffled. "And... now you're probably going to report to Princess Twilight that I was stealing everypony's things on the train!"

"I'll admit, it wasn't cool what you did, back during Twilight's coronation." Sunset acknowledged. "But as for the train thief, I know it wasn't you. I just can't really see you as a crook, being a former royal guard, and all."

"Easy for you to say." Sour Sweet pouted. "Everypony on board hates me, and thinks I've been stealing their stuff!"

"Wait a minute..." Sunset began to slowly process what happened. "Is that why you were...?"

"I went back into my cabin to enjoy my dinner." Sour Sweet began explaining herself. "However, when I overheard Mr. Ramsay announce that his lamb sauce had been stolen, I realized there was trouble. Part of me didn't want to miss my chance to talk with you and the students regarding this matter, but then I began overhearing some of the other passengers accusing ME of being the thief. That got me even more anxious and paranoid, to where I just panicked, and hid in Mr. Ramsay's freezer to save myself the shame. Then, I stepped off of the train and flew all the way here, just to drown my sorrows."

"I guess that's why we found you unconscious in the freezer." Sunset recalled. "I can kinda see why you did this, but... if you truly were innocent, you'd have nothing to hide."

"I know, I know..." Sour Sweet whimpered, wiping her eyes. "But it's just... what if nopony believed me, or heck, tried to frame me on purpose by planting evidence? Besides, I can't really prove my innocence now, can I?"

"Well, I wouldn't really say that." Sunset assured. "Like I've said, I already know who the real thief was, because I just caught her earlier. Mr. Ramsay and the mayor were even around when she revealed herself, so I can assure you that no one believes you're a thief now. If anything, they're just confused as to why you mysteriously disappeared."

"I... I don't know what to say." Sour Sweet said, rather surprised. "Thank you, Sunset."

"No sweat at all." Sunset replied. "I'm just wondering now though... even if everyone was still accusing you of being the thief, why did you take such an extreme level to hide from the problem? I'm sure that sooner or later, we would've discovered the real thief anyways."

"Don't you remember what Princess Twilight said to me back in the dungeon?" Sour Sweet reminded. "She'd maximize my sentence, and also make certain I could never find work in Equestria ever again. With that kind of pressure on my shoulders, something inside me just snapped. I've always hated my job as a royal guard, anyways."

"I understand that what Twilight said might've been a bit harsh, but from my experience with her, it's primarily tough love, when she knows you have hope." Sunset remembered everything Twilight had done to set her on the right path, shortly after the Fall Formal back at CHS. "If you don't mind me asking... what didn't you like about your job?"

"Well... I suppose it's not the job itself, but rather the expectations that came with it." Sour Sweet gave her input. "As a former royal guard, everypony expected me to be this tough, unshakeable pony, always in control of any situation. But the truth is, I'm not. I'm just a normal pony, with normal problems. Sometimes, I just need a break from being a tough and sour leader, because my family always raised me to be a kind and sweet pony. The pay wasn't that great either, and paying rent on time in Canterlot was never easy."

"I guess this was before Twilight became the Princess of all of Equestria, when there were different rules." Sunset listened on. "While I can understand this, why were you a pony who ended up abusing her power? Flash even told me that you sometimes ended up talking trash behind his back, when you two were working together."

"Oh, you know how it is." Sour Sweet continued. "Everypony gets fed up with their job sometimes, and they take it out on those they perceive as being beneath them. I... I wasn't always that way. I used to be just as nice as Flash, but when I was assigned to be Princess Celestia's personal guard, things started to change. Her highness was always so... perfect. Always had a smile on her face, and was so kind to everypony she met. I began to feel inadequate, like I could never live up to her standards."

"I can certainly relate to that, myself." Sunset could never forget how she pushed herself to be Celestia's prized pupil, only to feel that it was still never enough. "If you're anything like me, I suppose that also means you began to feel resentment over time?"

"It was a slow process, yeah." Sour Sweet opened up. "Over time, I began to resent Princess Celestia for making me feel that way. And when I was assigned to protect, I saw that opportunity as a way to prove that I was just as good, if not better than Princess Celestia. I wanted to show that I could be strong, and unyielding, just like she was. But instead, I just became a bully who let nopony stand in my way, I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late."

Hearing Sour Sweet's words, Sunset's heart sank for a few moments. She herself was certainly in no position to judge the former royal guard, after learning what had led up to her behavior, and that she felt remorse for her actions. She wasn't necessarily just a pony of authority who abused her power, but rather, only did so because she was misguided into believing she was expected to. Sunset also knew from experience as a pony who once resented Princess Celestia, albeit for different reasons, that this sort of resentment would lead into dishonesty, anger, and a series of other psychological factors that would cause her to do all sorts of things that she'd regret to this very day.

Attempting to frame somepony else for a little bonus was rotten, for sure. But Sunset knew that she was no better when she had attempted to frame Twilight for wrecking the CHS Fall Formal, in a dirty attempt to disqualify her from winning her crown back. The resentment, expectations, and peer pressure all contributed to a once sweet mare becoming the type of pony with a sour demeanor, with a tendency to lash out at others. Sunset was able to absolutely empathize with everything Sour Sweet had opened up about, since in her own eyes, she was way worse off in her own path of resentment toward Celestia than the former royal guard.

"I understand how you feel, Sour Sweet." Sunset began holding the pegasus, tenderly. "I had my own resentment against Princess Celestia for a while, and it led me down a dark path too. I know it's hard to forgive yourself, but I want you to know that you don't have to carry that burden alone."

"I... I appreciate that, Sunset." Sour Sweet sniffled. "It means a lot, coming from you. But I still feel like I owe it to those I hurt to make things right, especially Flash."

Hearing this had made things even more heartbreaking for Sunset, especially with the circumstances of Flash no longer being with them, after what happened on Everfree Island. Sunset knew that while the news would be upsetting for Sour Sweet, she would inevitably find out soon enough. By that point, she'd have a much more difficult time accepting the new reality, so Sunset knew she had to build up the courage to let the pegasus know about Flash's fate.

"I'm sorry, Sour Sweet." Sunset's voice trailed off, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know how to say this... but Flash... he lost his life on Everfree Island. My friends and I were cornered by rushing magma, and he sacrificed himself to save us..."

"N-No..." Sour Sweet looked as if she'd been hit in the gut, as her eyes welled up with tears, trying to process the news. "It can't be... he can't... oh, Flash... I'm so sorry I never got the chance to reconcile with you, after what happened between us on the last day at the E.U.P!"

The former royal guard buried her face in her hooves, sobbing uncontrollably, as Sunset came by to cradle her, knowing that she'd miss Flash just as much as her. In fact, it felt even more shocking to learn that the both of them not only went down a dark path due to their resentment toward Princess Celestia, but also had a bad history with Flash, albeit completely different ones. Sunset now understood the full extent of Sour Sweet's psychology, and ended up learning that they had much more in common than she would've ever imagined. As difficult as everything currently was for Sour Sweet, Sunset knew that the first step would be to accept the reality of the situation, and mention the best alternative solution for her, once the field trip was over.

"When we make arrangements for Flash's funeral back in Canterlot, you should try to talk to him, Sour Sweet." Sunset continued holding the former royal guard. "Tell him how you feel, and how you're no longer going to treat anypony else like that ever again. I know it's hard that you may not be able to tell him directly, but I know deep down that it'll still help you both find some peace."

"I... I'll try." Sour Sweet sniffled, wiping her eyes with a hoof. "I'll try to find peace with it, and I'll make sure to tell Flash everything I want to say, even if I can't tell him face to face anymore. Thank you, Sunset... for being here for me."

"It's never a problem, though we should both technically thank Twilight." Sunset replied, softly. "She did the same thing for me, way back when I couldn't even have one true friend by my side. In fact, now that you've told me about how you've been feeling about your job, I can let Twilight know, and I'm sure she'd be willing to make arrangements for you. In fact, if you really needed a break from your old job, I'm sure there are plenty of other ways you can serve Equestria, it doesn't have to be a royal guard."

"Thanks, Sunset, that means a lot to me." Sour Sweet sniffled. "Maybe I could work with something else entirely within Canterlot. I'll... I'll think about it. Though when it comes to new work experience, I guess being a field trip chaperone is a start?"

"Well, it's certainly something." Sunset chuckled softly. "Just don't let this be the last time you get to hang out with us, alright? I know we haven't had the best start, but I'm hoping we can all be friends by the end of this. I mean, we're all in the same train, right?"

"Yeah, we are." Sour Sweet nodded. "I'll try not to be such a... grump around you all, and act more sweet, rather than sour."

The two mares continued hugging it out, sending a heartwarming sensation, in contrast to the dark night sky and abandoned old train station. Once Sour Sweet showed she was comfortable enough to pick herself up off the ground, Sunset knew it was time to search for the students, as they both still had plenty of work to do on this field trip.

"Alright, so should we go back to the train and find the students?" Sour Sweet asked. "I'm guessing they're waiting for us right now?"

"Well actually, that's the thing." Sunset began explaining her situation. "You know the actual thief who had been stealing everypony's things back on the train? It was Indigo Zap, the pony who was in the cell across from yours in the dungeon. And if I understand everything correctly, she's used her mysterious transformation powers to disguise herself as me, and fooled the students into following her!"

"In that case, we need to find and stop her immediately!" Sour Sweet insisted, looking at the station. "We can't let her get away with this! I'll help you, Sunset, no matter what!"

The two mares hurried back through the exit, and desperately began searching together for the students. They were still unable to find any sign of Indigo or the students anywhere, making them feel a bit worried at the possibility of already being too late.

"Hmm, where did you last see the students before you got separated from them?" Sour Sweet kept looking around.

"In the station's maintenance room." Sunset replied. "I'm not exactly sure where Indigo could've taken the students off to, since... let's just say we had to get downstairs by a garbage chute. The other stairway leading down was blocked off by the building's debris, so I'm not sure if they somehow found a way back upstairs."

"Hey, wait a second... do you hear that?" Sour Sweet's ear pointed her toward an air vent in the ceiling, which had some vague noises coming from upstairs, prompting the two mares to listen in.

"Miss Sunset, what are we doing all the way over here?" Sandbar questioned from the floor above. "Weren't we supposed to find the stationmaster's office?"

"Oh, well you see kids, the stationmaster's office is... actually back here!" Indigo explained, her voice somewhat muffled by the vent. "We're going to have to get back there through this air duct. It's part of the mystery!"

Hearing this, the two mares observed that the duct leading down would presumably trap the students again within another steel cage, which only made the concern intensify even further.

"Looks like Indigo's walking them right into another trap!" Sunset said, uneased. "And I'm guessing if she needed to know anything to convince the students that she's me, she must've overheard me from this air duct, it's got a pretty big echo going down. Either way, how are we going to get back upstairs in time? We can't get up through there, that's for sure."

"There's actually a way we can both get up there, but it's going to take a bit of trust on your part, Sunset." Sour Sweet explained, taking a deep breath. "I'm going to need you to hold onto my tail really tightly, and I'll use my extra strength to pull you up into the duct. Let's just say... it's a technique that Flash taught me back at the E.U.P. to rescue ponies trapped within tight spaces."

"Okay... I trust you, Sour Sweet." Sunset nodded, taking a deep breath herself, as she leaned forward to get a better grip on Sour Sweet's tail. "We're in this together, and I know you wouldn't lead me astray. This is our only chance now to keep the students safe from that imposter!"

The duo carefully climbed atop the cage, with Sour Sweet's powerful wings spreading wide to brace for impact. With a mighty heave, Sour Sweet launched herself upwards through the air vent, her powerful wings propelling her through the narrow space with an incredible speed. Sunset clung onto her tail, her hooves scrabbling at the smooth metal of the duct as they shot upwards at breakneck speed. After reaching the top, the two had burst through the vent, and landed onto the same floor where Indigo and the students were currently at.

"Wha...!" Indigo stood there, aghast at this unexpected event. "How did you two get up here?"

The students behind Indigo looked on in confusion, unsure of what was going on. The real Sunset then took a step forward, glaring at the imposter.

"I'd ask you the same thing, but I already know the answer." Sunset narrowed her eyes. "You've been lying to these poor kids, and thought you were going to get away with it, huh?"

"You mean... you thought YOU were trying to get away with it!" Indigo had attempted to turn the tables. "Look, every creature! Indigo's returned, and she's teamed up with Sour Sweet to ruin your field trip again! Let's get them both!"

However, the students were more hesitant on following 'Sunset', and had instead been curious as to where their other chaperone had been this whole time. Suddenly, Sour Sweet had decided to play along, since she had already spent enough time around both Indigo and Sunset, to know for certain who was the real deal.

"You are... Indigo!?" Sour Sweet gasped at Sunset, as Indigo smirked, knowing that her plan was working. "You mean... I've been helping the train's thief!?"

"That's right, Sour Sweet." Indigo said, confident in her lie. "Though it's not like you were any help in the first place. Now, let's see if you two can stop the whole class from enjoying this field trip. Come on, students! Let's get these treacherous ponies!"

"I...I'm sorry, Indigo." Sour Sweet continued her charade, but winked to the real Sunset. "But... Sunset's the only pony around here who's shown me any kindness! She even released me from the dungeon, and gave me another chance to turn my life around!"

"Sounds like you have every reason to stick by my side, Sour Sweet." Indigo said, believing that the odds were now in her favor. "Now, go on ahead and give Indigo exactly what she deserves!"

"You got it." Sour Sweet nodded, before using her opportunity to fly over to the real Indigo, and knocking her off of the ground.

"Wha-!?" Indigo's eyes widened in surprise. "Sour Sweet! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Doing exactly as you said." Sour Sweet replied, coldly. "Giving Indigo exactly what she deserves."

The two had begun to wrestle over the floor, but unfortunately for Indigo, Sour Sweet had far more experience in combat as a royal guard, giving her the advantage. The former royal guard managed to catch Indigo by surprise multiple times, resulting in throwing the imposter off balance. Before long, Sour Sweet had managed to daze Indigo through a swift kick to the noggin, before throwing the pegasus down through the same opened duct that she and Sunset had flewn up from earlier. Indigo fell all the way down, and eventually plummeted directly into the trap cage that she had set herself. Sunset and Sour Sweet then looked back toward the students, happy that their teamwork was enough to save the students from literally falling directly into another trap.

"So that WAS that rotten pegasus thief this whole time!?" Smolder deduced. "I should've known, my intuition is never wrong."

"But... I don't understand." Gallus scratched his head. "How was Ocellus unable to detect the natural changeling magic?"

"Actually..." Ocellus inspected the real Sunset, and came to the same conclusion she did with Indigo. "I don't sense it coming from the real Miss Sunset, which means... whatever that thief was using to disguise herself, it wasn't natural changeling magic! I should've figured earlier, since... we changelings typically don't glow that particular color when transforming ourselves."

"Chaperone Sunset is not mad at us students, is she?" Yona said, unable to comprehend being fooled.

"No, no, of course not, Yona." Sunset assured. "I'm just glad that everything worked out, especially since Indigo was leading you all into a trap by going down that duct. Luckily, Sour Sweet was around to save you all before it was too late."

"Speaking of which... where WAS our other chaperone this whole time?" Silverstream questioned.

"It's... kind of a long story, I can tell you back on the train." Sour Sweet replied. "But hey, we still have work to do, don't we?"

"Right, we still need to reach the stationmaster's office to get that keycard for Torque." Sunset explained. "We were supposed to get there through Bridlewood Station's maintenance room, but we hit a dead end when we saw that the exit was located at the top of a broken staircase."

"Broken staircase, huh?" Sour Sweet pondered. "Well, that's certainly no issue at all, if climbing up a ventilation shaft was doable. Come on, let's go!"

With the students and both chaperones finally reunited, the field trip to Hope Hollow was back on track, especially once the stationmaster's keycard was acquired. Sunset and Sour Sweet led the students back into the maintenance room they were all in earlier, before returning to the broken staircase. Sour Sweet was easily able to carry Sunset and every other student upstairs with her flight and strength, though she had admittedly struggled carrying Yona by herself. Now that everybody had finally reached the corridor leading out of the maintenance room, they were well on their way to approach the stationmaster's office, which was located at the end of the hall. As Torque had alluded to earlier, the office had a locked door, which prompted Yona to do what she had done before with the abandoned gift shop.

"BE! OUR! FRIEND!!!" Yona recited, before bashing her way through the locked door, knocking it off of the hinges as well.

Sunset and the others walked into the office, and surprisingly, found the elevator keycard lying flat on the front desk. Though if the keycard was here, Sunset pondered what that lock combination she had found behind Grandpa Skies' portrait was pointing her towards. She then brought her attention to a rusty iron safe in the corner of the room, which was the only thing within the office that had a padlock on it. Sunset grabbed the keycard, before inputting the combination that she remembered. The lock had opened, and within the safe was a dusty old book labeled, 'Skies Family Secret Recipes'.

"How did you know the locker combination?" Gallus questioned.

"I found a clue earlier while looking for you students, let's just say." Sunset replied. "Hmm, it's probably not our business to be taking things from this old office, but apparently, Sunny Skies' grandfather was the original stationmaster here. Perhaps the mayor would like to have this, cause otherwise... it'll just remain here in Bridlewood Station until the end of time."

"I'd say hold onto it." Smolder suggested. "Finders keepers, after all, just like we found the elevator's keycard."

"Hey, speaking of which... didn't we see an elevator in that corridor outside?" Sandbar recalled. "Maybe we could use the keycard to get all the way back upstairs with it, since the other staircase is still blocked off by debris."

"That's a good idea, Sandbar." Sunset nodded. "Let's go check it out!"

Sunset, Sour Sweet, and the students all went out of the office, and approached the old elevator. As Sunset swiped the keycard in the slot, it had miraculously lit up, returning electricity to the once inactive power cells. Everyone had entered the elevator, and began ascending upwards, specifically the floor leading up to Bridlewood Station's main passenger room. Unknown to them, Torque and Sunny Skies were waiting right outside the elevator's exit, rather concerned about the passengers' whereabouts.

"What do you mean you couldn't find Starlight and those students?" The mayor questioned.

"I don't know!" Torque panicked. "They told me they'd meet me by the stationmaster's office, but there's no way to get downstairs, since the staircase had been caved in. I'd need a jackhammer to get through that rubble, and I don't have one handy on the train!"

"You think something bad happened to them within the station?" Sunny Skies began shaking.

Just then, the elevator behind the two ponies had opened, revealing Sour Sweet, Sunset, and the students. Sunset had instructed Sour Sweet to bring the students safely back to the Endtrak Express, which the pegasus had agreed to do so. As the group began leaving the station's corridor, ready to reboard the train, Torque and Sunny Skies turned around to commend Sunset on her efforts.

"Well I'll be a pimento sandwich!" Sunny Skies said. "Whatever you ended up doing, you got the elevator working again, Starlight! Great job!"

"It was really no trouble, thanks to this keycard." Sunset handed the repair pony the keycard. "Oh, and I also found this while going through the station."

Sunset handed the mayor his grandfather's old recipe book, which made Sunny Skies' eyes widen.

"Oh my... you found my family's old recipe book!?" Sunny Skies exploded with joy. "My dad always claimed that he had lost it forever, since he never figured out Grandpa Skies' safe combination! Is there anything you can't do, Starlight? You've been an amazing help this entire trip!"

"Well, I'm just glad that I could be of assistance, Mayor." Sunset smiled. "Now that the elevator's powered up, I'm sure that Torque and I can get the Endtrak Express back on track."

"Right then, it's time we get the fuel pumps working again!" Torque nodded, before pressing the elevator's buttons to reach the sublevel that the electrical room was located on.

Sunset and Torque rode the elevator down, hoping that they could flip the master switch without much hassle. Unfortunately for them, they would soon be in for an unpleasant surprise, once the elevator's doors opened. Within the electrical room, camped a massive swarm of red beetles. In fact, Sunset could immediately recognize that due to their sizes and horned appearances, they weren't any ordinary pests, but rather... the Stagma Beetles that Dr. Whooves had warned her about back in Canterlot.

Unknown to Sunset, these were the same beetles that Human Sunset had provoked within the Canterlot library's restricted section. They had remembered Sunset's face and image rather well, and had been searching all over Equestria for their attacker, before eventually giving up and settling down within Bridlewood Station's electrical room. Sunset and Torque widened their eyes at the infestation, but knew that they had no choice but to flip the switch. However, their plan to sneak around the beetles had backfired, once a group of them had awoken, due to sensing the presence of pony fur. These beetles began hissing loudly, which alerted the rest of the horde from their slumber.

"Gahhhhh!" Sunset shrieked, as a pile of beetles immediately began to overwhelm her. "Get these nasty things off of me!"

As the beetles were more focused on targeting Sunset, this gave Torque the opportunity to run over to the opposite side of the electrical room, before flipping back on the master switch. This caused various sections of the area to light up with a high voltage, frying some of the beetles with a spark. Torque then held up an electrified transistor rod, zapping away any beetles that stood in her way, and especially the ones that engulfed Sunset. After enough punishment, the Stagma Beetles decided to retreat as a swarm, as they realized they were very susceptible to the electric shocks.

"I've dealt with plenty of pests in my experience, but it's great to know that a little electricity is all it takes to get them to scatter." Torque helped Sunset back up. "Though... isn't it a little strange how they only attacked you, and not me?"

"Not really sure why they did, but... at least they're gone now." Sunset breathed a sigh of relief. "More importantly, we got the master switch flipped, so the train should be able to refuel again."

Sunset and Torque went back up the elevator, and eventually exited the station itself, before Torque began to work the fuel pump on the station's platform, which thankfully now had its power restored. As this was happening, Sunset knew that it was getting late, and that it was finally time to get some shuteye, after the long and difficult day she's had. Sour Sweet and the students had already gone to sleep in their respective cabins, but instead of returning to her own cabin, Sunset decided to camp out within the students room, just in case Indigo were to return and create another emergency. She had locked the cabin door to ensure there were no further intrusions, before eventually dozing off to sleep.

As this was happening, Mr. Ramsay was in the kitchen, preparing his Sticky Toffee Pudding for the passengers' breakfast the next day. He was unaware that there was a massive swarm of Stagma Beetles sneaking outside the station, which had become attracted to the strong and savory scent of the desserts. Torque had already finished refueling the Endtrak Express by this point, prompting her to let the conductor know that they were now set for takeoff. Unbeknownst to everyone aboard, the Endtrak Express would soon break the world record of having the absolute most stowaways a train would ever have...

---

The next morning, the train was on the move again, and would expectedly soon arrive at Hope Hollow. Sunset had awoken, but noticed that Sandbar was absent from the cabin. She didn't think too much of it, and believed that he had most likely gotten a head start on breakfast. However, when she unlocked and exited the students' cabin, she went next door to notice Sour Sweet was absent as well. Not only that, but so was Mr. Ramsay, Sunny Skies, and the other residents of Hope Hollow. Sunset had no idea where everybody was, but figured that since the train was still moving, perhaps the conductor had an idea. She went over to the front of the Endtrak Express, where the conductor was still casually driving the train. Sunset knocked on the door, and was invited in by him.

"I'm normally not allowed to let passengers in here, but to tell you the truth, I do feel kinda lonely in here sometimes, so it's nice to have some company." The conductor said. "Though... it seems unusually quiet on the Endtrak Express this morning, don't you think?"

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Sunset said. "I can't find most of the passengers, and I'm starting to get a little worried. You don't happen to know where they might be, do you?"

"I'd imagine having breakfast, or maybe-" The conductor began, but immediately noticed a strange noise from the train's windshield. "Hmm, what was that? Did a bug splatter on the windshield or something?"

Suddenly, a massive swarm of Stagma Beetles had dropped down from the train's roof, obstructing the conductor's view, and making both ponies gasp in shock.

"WHOA!!!" The conductor's eyes widened. "What in Equestria are these things!?"

Before Sunset could even answer, she immediately heard a window breaking from within the train's coaches, prompting her to rush back, only to find the five other students trying to get the beetles off of them in their cabin. They had successfully fended them off, as the beetles began retreating out of the window, and back onto the train's roof. Sunset then surmised what this most likely meant, and why everyone seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. Sunset climbed outside the broken window, and carefully maneuvered over to a nearby ladder on the train, climbing aboard the roof. The five other students had done the same, mostly to see what the commotion was all about. From a distance, Sunset could spot a massive red blob on the center coach, and began approaching it.

It didn't take long for Sunset to realize that her fear was indeed true, in that the Stagma Beetles from Bridlewood Station had somehow snuck aboard the train and kidnapped the passengers. More specifically, every other pony passenger aside from the train's conductor were now in the firm grasp of those vicious beetles.

"Buckle up, students!" Sunset said to the five students standing behind her in complete shock. "The train's been hijacked!"

Comments

[CrimsonCrystal77]

I sure hope that things will work out in the end. That nothing bad will happen to both Sunset Shimmer and her human counterpart at the end of this story when it is finished. But I'm glad Indigo got what was coming to her for nearly tricking the Young Six.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"Nrrrrrrrgh!" Smolder did her absolute best to lift the metal cage, but to no avail. "Rats! I sadly don't have the strength of Dragon Lord Torch, that's for sure. And I sadly already gave up my dragon fire to give us this field trip. Of all the times for me to not have my fire breath... it would easily melt these bars to free you all!"

A shame.

"This isn't Canterlot..." Sunset began to slowly reiterate. "Where am I...? Princess Celesti- wait a minute now. I don't think I have my memories erased this time, must be a force of habit. Let's see... I'm chaperoning a field trip to Hope Hollow, we just encountered Indigo Zap, and... SHE KNOCKED ME UNCONSCIOUS WITH SOME KIND OF MAGICAL ARTIFACT!!!"

And here I thought they were in the clear. Nope.

"You'd better not!" Indigo spat. "If you even DARE think of doing so, I'll make sure your school life in college will be miserable, just like I did to that nerdy girl way back in freshman year!"

I want to feel bad for Sunset's counterpart but I'm not sure if I should or not.

"Didn't mean to do... what?" Cadance raised an eyebrow. "This is regarding an incident I had witnessed, involving a break-in with your locker.

locker."*

"Sadly, they did." Cadance sighed. "In fact, according to the CCTV footage from our security camera, it appears that those were the only items that were stolen."

Wait, I thought in a previous chapter they were trying to figure out that problem?

"It was that girl at CHS, Sunset Shimmer!?" Indigo snapped. "What does she have against Crystal Prep Academy!?"

Technically her counterpart Zap.

The two had begun to wrestle over the floor, but unfortunately for Indigo, Sour Sweet had far more experience in combat as a royal guard, giving her the advantage. The former royal guard managed to catch Indigo by surprise multiple times, resulting in throwing the imposter off balance. Before long, Sour Sweet had managed to daze Indigo through a swift kick to the noggin, before throwing the pegasus down through the same opened duct that she and Sunset had flewn up from earlier. Indigo fell all the way down, and eventually plummeted directly into the trap cage that she had set herself. Sunset and Sour Sweet then looked back toward the students, happy that their teamwork was enough to save the students from literally falling directly into another trap.

Falling into your own trap eh Indigo?

Unknown to Sunset, these were the same beetles that Human Sunset had provoked within the Canterlot library's restricted section. They had remembered Sunset's face and image rather well, and had been searching all over Equestria for their attacker, before eventually giving up and settling down within Bridlewood Station's electrical room. Sunset and Torque widened their eyes at the infestation, but knew that they had no choice but to flip the switch. However, their plan to sneak around the beetles had backfired, once a group of them had awoken, due to sensing the presence of pony fur. These beetles began hissing loudly, which alerted the rest of the horde from their slumber.

Shit!

It didn't take long for Sunset to realize that her fear was indeed true, in that the Stagma Beetles from Bridlewood Station had somehow snuck aboard the train and kidnapped the passengers. More specifically, every other pony passenger aside from the train's conductor were now in the firm grasp of those vicious beetles.

This is bad, very bad!!!