CH.7 - Sudden Burst
A large hourglass slowly flips over its side of the clock, particles of sand trickling down and into the bottom. Its motion is slow but steady as the small grains are carried through the air in a perfect circle. Celestia passes by said glass before climbing up the swirling stairs, reaching for the top. She makes her way towards the balcony overlooking the silhouettes of the mighty mountains.
The sun just at the base of the sky, casting a deep orange glow on the land below it. Its rays stretch outwards to reach the city below them, illuminating the buildings and people that reside there. The shadows cast by the massive stone pillars stretch long across the roads and streets, making a path between each building. Ponies walk through their own paths, hooves clicking loudly against the cobblestone road. Few ponies walk around carrying baskets and buckets filled with supplies. The town is filled with life and excitement; everypony living out their day to fullest. It is an absolute sight to behold.
Celestia takes note of this, the corners of her lips turning upwards in a gentle smile. The scene has always been like this; lively and vibrant no matter which season it is. This will be something to remember. Celestia stares back at the sun as it was slowly setting just above the mountains.
Celestia hummed quietly to herself; today’s task was a success. During her time with Anon, her faithful student Sunset Shimmer, along with Cadance and Shining Armor. They managed to convince both the Bayaki and the Geyaku tribe not only to establish peace among themselves, but to prevent a war from erupting between them. It has been a great accomplishment.
It wasn’t easy at first, they were hesitant at first about agreeing to join the peaceful negotiations. But in the end, all they wanted was to keep the peace amongst their tribes. And if the treaty between said tribes could keep the tribes united as well, then it was worth it. It was all worth it.
Celestia sighed in disappointment as she looked back at the sunset one last time. The sunset reminded her of somepony, who she wishes she should’ve been more understanding. She shook her head lightly. Today has been…a rather eventful day so far, Celestia thought to herself. After they had returned from the Yakyakistan tribe, Celestia couldn’t help but notice that her prodigy, Sunset Shimmer, had been acting a bit aloof lately.
And what happened not too long ago confirmed her suspicions.
Her suspicions were stirred when she first saw Sunset’s future behind the mirror: A alicorn version of Sunset, starring forward with cold soulless eyes. Her wings were spread open, giving off an aura of evil that made Celestia’s heart sink slightly. She thanked the stars that her student didn’t see the full picture of her future self, because if she did, there would definitely be trouble. Celestia was hoping Sunset would let it be and move on. But the unicorn was persistent.
It didn’t take long before Sunset began researching any information about the mirror. All behind her back, of course. Celestia closed her eyes In saddening disappointment. She thought she saw compassion and sincerity in Sunset when she first took her in as her prodigy, but the more Celestia learned about her student, the more she realized that Sunset hid colors that could easily betray her true nature. She had never known Sunset was capable of being ambitious and selfish.
Celestia’s horn lit up bright yellow, signaling the beginning of another night. She closed her eyes once again as the sun descended behind the mountains and allowed room for the moon to illuminate the sky. Stars dotted the sky like specks of glitter sprinkled on a piece of cloth, sparkling brightly. The stars were shining brighter than ever before tonight. Celestia found the scenery beautiful. She could hardly believe she had the privilege of seeing such beauty every single day.
Celestia glanced down to the ground. This is wrong—what she did was wrong of her. The day Anon asked her for sugar, deep down she knew what he meant; what he actually wanted was a simple sugar for his coffee. But instead of just accepting the request, she accepted it in a different alternative. By the old equestrian law she took the opportunity by accepting it not as a request but as a marriage proposal. One that intertwined him and her as Prince and Princess.
On one hoof she was happy to finally be with the man she loved ever since he appeared in Equestria. On the other hoof, she felt guilty that she did against his will and despite knowing full well of what Anon actually meant she ignored it. Celestia didn’t even bother to hear him when he tried to correct her while she was busy spouting about preparations for the wedding.
“Mother of me…” Celestia murmured, closing her eyes once again. She remembered the look of shock in Anon’s face that day as they left the garden together. She definitely needs to discuss this with her sunshine when the time is ripe.
Celestia rolled her body around and exited the balcony. Her hooves made a quiet tap against the hard floor as she walked back towards the spiraling stairs.
Crickets played music from the grass of Canterlot. Anon could feel himself falling into the piece of the moment, floating on the surface of time where nothing ever happened. There was no other place like this place, no one but him and the stars shining down, the air kissing his skin, and the night sky that stretched forever above. The sound of the crickets became the only thing he could hear, not the constant noises on the main street of Canterlot, with its bustling ponies and tourists. He crosses his arms, closing his eyes.
He distracted himself with thoughts of his childhood, before everything had changed. His father would often take him to a quiet, secluded spot by the river, and they would sit side by side on a boat and fish together. It wasn’t a big deal, as long as they didn’t stay there too long, or his mother wouldn’t worry. Sometimes he would come back with a little fish for his dinner. But that night in particular felt like an eternity away. As if it never existed.
His mind wanders. He thinks of his family, of home, of his childhood. His thoughts stray to how things are going with them now that he’s no longer in that world anymore. Anon ran his fingers up his bald head and exhaled. He couldn’t imagine what they’re feeling right now. They were all probably devastated to hear about his disappearance. He just hoped they weren’t blaming themselves too much. He knew that his family loved him, after all.
Anon shook his head in amusement. Though he often never voice his opinions, but he believe Sunset had a made a mistake by allowing herself to be a bit blinded with her overconfidence. Anon understood that overconfidence, especially when one is young and has an easy life. But being blinded by too much confidence wasn’t something Anon approved of, and definitely not from Sunset.
What she said earlier to Celestia echoed in his head. ‘This is the biggest mistake you’ll make in your entire life.’ The first thing he noticed when he looked into her eyes before the guards escorted her out of the library was how loathing she held for Celestia. That look in her eyes; that expression of complete and utter hate; was something Anon was familiar with. He’s seen that look millennia of times in the eyes of those who hold grudges against anyone.
Anon opened his eyes and lifted his head up. The moon reflected off the clear water on the lake and cast a silver glow onto his green face, illuminating his tired features. The crickets chirped even louder than usual, their loud chattering drowning out any sound of the world around him. Anon rubbed his temples. He should go to bed, Celestia might be waiting for him. And he should probably talk to Sunset tomorrow when he has the chance.
Anon stood up and dusted his pants before making his way down the carpeted hallway. He was still exhausted from traveling so far away from Canterlot in his own chariot. But as he stride slowly down the hall, he stopped in his tracks, surprised.
Three royal unicorn guards laid on the floor, parts of their armor were dotted by burnt marks and small holes. A few feet away from them, lay another guard, a white Pegasus, his spear lying next to him, covered in burns. Anon approached the fallen guards cautiously. He bent down and checked their pulses. They were still alive, though unconscious. One of them stirred awake, slightly lifting their heads, turning their gazes at Anon.
“Your…majesty..” the guard stammered, his eyes were glazed over with pain. He must have been hit several times. Anon placed his hand gently on the stallion’s shoulder.
“Hey, hey, don’t talk man. What happened here?” he asked softly, but sternly.
The guard tried to answer but couldn’t muster more than a hoarse noise. An uneasy feeling was creeping into Anon’s stomach. He took his finger and pressed down on the guard’s throat, checking his pulse. It was steady. He sighed in relief.
Somewhere to his right there was a faint thump. Anon glanced to see from ten feet away, the double doors were slightly opened, specifically the door to the right. There was movement coming from inside the room, an intruder maybe...a ghost Anon shook his head. Now was not the time to joke around. Anon turned back to the injured guard, whose breathing had begun to become more regular. Anon kneeled down beside him.
“Stay here buddy,” he whispered, his eyes darting towards the doorway again. Slowly, as to not make a sound, Anon got up, and crept closer, trying to peer through the crack of the door. All he saw was dark. He stepped inside the room and squinted into the darkness, trying to make out anything. The air was still, and smelled of old books. Slowly, Anon moved further into the room, taking note of all the different artifacts that lay scattered around the room. Some of them were familiar to him: a large black mirror, carved with a dragon holding a book; a tall shelf full of books, stacked neatly from top to bottom.
Then laid the ancient artifact: an oval shaped mirror stood at the center of the room, connected to said mirror was a two step staircase leading up towards the rippled glass portal.
Anon blinked, when he saw a familiar unicorn standing on the second step. It was Sunset. She gazed upon the Mirror, and a wide smirk spread across her lips. Right hoof raised, she gently touched the glass. Said hoof was halfway phasing through the barrier, but then she stopped, as if contemplating what to do. Then her head lowered. She looked almost guilty.
“Sunset?” Anon asked aloud, a brow arched questioningly. He took a few steps towards Sunset.
Sunset’s head shot upward, her mouth fell open. But she didn’t turn to face him. Stared into the Mirror instead while her ears twitched with every step Anon took.
“What are you doing here? Celestia said this room is off limits, no one’s supposed to be here.” He said as he drew nearer. He was about half way towards her. Sunset didn’t respond, which made Anon a bit concerned. “Hello? Earth to Sunbutt?”
She didn’t react at all. Her cyan eyes remained fixed into the mirror. Suddenly, she turned to face Anon, staring at him without blinking. She smiled at him. A malicious smile.
Suddenly, Sunset’s horn lit up and was shrouded in a bright red aura. Anon cocked his head back, alarmed and startled. In one swift motion, Sunset swung her head back and thrust her horn forward. A red magical wave struck Anon in the chest, sending him flying through a wall. Said wall exploded by impact as Anon had no opportunity to straighten himself out and regain control.
He slammed through another wall, chunks of marble scattering everywhere. He groaned in pain, his body ached and burned. Anon bursted through another wall, finding himself outside of the castle and flying over the towers of Canterlot. The night air brushed past his cheeks, cooling his burning face. Wind whipped in his face, and he could barely see where he was going. Gravity wrenched Anon’s limbs and body downwards, causing him to lose the balance he managed to keep, and drop straight down to the earth.
He landed hard on his back, landing on the grass and rolling a few meters along the ground. He rolled into an archway of bushes, stopping only inches from crushing some flowers underneath him. He let out an exclamation of shock, his breath catching in his throat. He quickly pushed himself to his feet. Blood dripped out of the cut on the bridge of his nose, staining his burnt shirt with red liquid.He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
In a cyan flash Sunset had appeared behind him, her horn pointed at him, a triumphant grin plastered on her face.
Anon stood still for a moment, his eyes blinking rapidly and his expression went from shock to confusion…to anger.
“First, OW! Second!” He points at the burnt part of his shirt, the fabric hanging loosely from his revealing chest. “You just burned my favorite shirt. Third, what the hell was that?!”
Sunset smirked wickedly. “Oh calm down Anon, you’ll live. Besides, you can regenerate.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I lost a good shirt! What the heck did you do that for?! Why would you suddenly attack me like that?” He shouted angrily.
“Well, you were in the way of my goal. My road to greatness.” She turned away, her nose raised up, and her hoof in the air as if she was posing for a photoshoot. “Where I could become powerful of all magical spells as well as being the best princess there is.” Her lips curled into a smirk again.
“In an alternate world.”
Anon’s eyes blinked. Alternate world?
Sunset continued, her smirk growing wider now, “But in order for my vision to be fulfilled….I need to remove the one obstacle that is standing between me and that mirror. You,” she turned around and faced Anon once again, her smirk becoming devilish. “So I figured I’d get you out of my way, just as I had demonstrated back there.” She shrugged nonchalantly, her grin widening. Her horn lit up again and the air grew hot around it whilst slowly stalking towards him. “And, since you’re still not that good with your handling of magical spells, dealing with you will be a piece of cake.”
As Sunset drew nearer, Anon could only utter one word under his breath.
“Crap…”
Whew! Welp, there you have it mares and gentle colts. Not gonna lie, I was planning on writing the meeting between the two tribes while Anon and Celestia tried to assist through the discussion but decided to scratch that out. It appears Anon has found himself in a bit of trouble and is about to go toe-to-toe, or in this case, hoof-to-hoof with Celestia’s prodigy. Kinda a noob vs pro situation if you ask me. 
With that, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. See you all in the next one! 
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Hmmm…So i guess we’re in the "Fall of Sunset Shimmer," event, huh?
Yeah but he can still feel pain…
Crap indeed.
Ah come on, there's no way Anon is gonna be an easy opponent, he's a friggin' millennium old! The old dog has to have some tricks....
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Oh, trust me. Sunset’s in for a surprise…
Run
I like the idea of him just flicking her nose, and her horn and saying, "No." Using a wrapped up newspaper and just bopping her gently on the head and saying "no", over and over again.
But he's not in her way. In fact after she sent him sailing through the castle walls she could've just waltzed right through the mirror. But I digress.
Don’t talk! Now talk and TELL ME WTF HAPPENED!?
Alright, I look forward to seeing what happens next.
Wait, since when can he regenerate?
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His immortality came with regeneration
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Huh. That wasn't obvious by any means. 😇
Great chapter
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I’m planning on editing on both chapter one and two before I even get started on chapter eight, so I would appreciate it if you pinpoint exactly which paragraph it is that’s confusing you so that I could edit it. Because honestly, I’ve look through the chapters and I don’t see whatever this issue is that is bewildering you.
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The little things, like at the beginning of chapter 2, it says that Sunset and Anon are eating breakfast, and then a bit later it says that a maid brings out their food? Implying they weren't already eating. That's one of others.
When is the next chapter ?
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The next chapter for this story is still in the works. But I’ve been planning on returning to chapter 1 and 2 to update them with a few changes. Rest assured it’ll come.
Tired of authors disappearing man 😭😭 so many good stories that never get any updates because they ALL KEEP LEAVING
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I’m still here, lol, I’m on hiatus.