Chapter XX: Something to Die For
Chapter XX: Something to Die For
Rain came down in buckets, drenching all those caught in it to the bone. Ponies zigged and zagged around each other for cover or huddled close underneath umbrellas.
Twilight watched them scurry around the platform from the window of the train. A cloud of steam would occasionally drift by the window, and each time she grew more anxious.
“You… you don’t think she ran away, do you?” she heard Fluttershy whisper.
“’Course not,” Applejack said. “Sunset wouldn’t do somethin’ like that…. Ah hope."
“Applejack is right,” Twilight said in a small, quivering voice. “She’ll come back.”
The eyes of her friends were on her, but Twilight couldn’t give them any answers. It took all of her willpower not to break down again and sob into her pillow. A knife stabbed at her heart and cut deeper every time those words played in her head.
“I don’t die—I cease to exist!”
“I hate you.”
Hate. One of her friends hated her. It hurt worse than disappointment or betrayal. Worse than any spell ever thrown at her. It was a concept she had always feared. But now that it was played out in reality, the pain devastated Twilight more than anything she could have imagined.
Steam snaked by the window again, and the train quivered in anticipation.
Twilight looked over her shoulder to her friends scattered about the compartment. Rainbow and Fluttershy looked out the windows. Pinkie watched the door. Applejack paced the carpet. Rarity and Spike spoke in hushed tones on the cot across from her.
Twilight smiled, then bit her lip until the tears stopped. She couldn’t imagine her life without any of them in it. They had all fought in the past; no friendship was perfect. Discord had almost driven them apart with his magic. Yet even then, none of them had said they hated the other.
None of them had ever been in peril of fading from existence.
And Sunset pinned it on her. Her fate was Twilight’s fault. Twilight had sat in the alley, Sunset’s words washing over her like the falling rain. She tried to tell herself that Sunset had just been lashing out and didn’t mean it. It had been a heated moment, nothing more.
But the despair in her voice when she uttered those words… Sunset had meant it. She had thrown as much pain and hate into those words as she could.
Twilight clutched her heart; the pain cut another deep incision. Outside, steam constantly drifted by, and the train trembled continuously.
Maybe she isn’t going to come. Maybe she thought it would be better to just run away. Twilight knew Sunset was brave, but having to look not just one’s mortality but one’s very existence in the face…. Part of her wanted to be mad, but she couldn’t entirely blame Sunset if she had run away.
No! She’s better than that! She’ll come... and then what? Twilight slumped her shoulders and watched a few stray tears fall onto her pillow. Sunset would probably still hate her if she did show up. And they would all ride off to find the Obsidian Hoofguards and stop Vesper Radiance once and for all.
Then, Sunset would disappear.
Twilight thought it over with her knowledge of time-travel theories. There were several ideas of what could happen if you changed the past, many of them written by Starswirl himself. Sunset’s idea was that any direct meddling to her existence would end said existence. Thinking over her story, Twilight believed she might be right.
Her entire existence was circumstantial. If they destroyed the Dark Regalia, the Elements of Harmony would never have to be used, and if they were never used, Sunset’s soul would never be separated from her body. The same would be true if Vesper never absorbed the power of the Frostlich, making herself immortal. Worse of all, if it really came down to killing Vesper off, Sunset’s link to this world would be gone for certain.
Twilight grappled with the conundrum but came up with no solution. She pressed her muzzle against the window, her breath fogging up the glass. She had known the possibility existed where she would have to say goodbye to Sunset. She was from the future, and Twilight thought it might be possible for her to go home when everything was said and done. But she took comfort in knowing she had such a wonderful student to look forward to in a few years time.
The idea that another version of herself had merely used Sunset in a plan to save the world turned her stomach. No matter how bad things got, Twilight knew she would never willingly sacrifice her friends like that. That’s what they had been: friends. It was something Twilight believed with all her heart. They had been great friends in the future, and they were great friends now. She had felt that bond during their time together.
Twilight had found an intellectual and magical equal. Even though she had only known Sunset for less than a week, she felt like they had been together her entire life. It was like her first trip into the Everfree Forest with her five friends. At the end of the journey, she realized just how powerful friendship was and how much she had already come to care and appreciate them.
She shared that same spark with Sunset. Only this time, Twilight wasn’t sure a spark would fix everything.
There’s no problem friendship can’t fix, a voice whispered to her. Twilight wanted to believe it. But when pitted against time and space itself, maybe friendship just wasn’t enough.
The train lurched forward. A bell whistled outside, and the platform slid out of view. Twilight wiped the fog off the window and tried to scan the crowd one last time for a hint of crimson and gold, but to no avail. The rain muddled everything until the world was a runny painting.
“I don’t believe it,” Rainbow said, pushing herself away from the window. “She… she ran away.” She jumped over and landed on Twilight’s bed. “Come on, Twi! Tell us what happened out there! I know you ran into her after she chased that psychopath, so spill the beans!”
Twilight kept her back to Rainbow. Could she tell them that Sunset wasn’t coming? Was it her place? They deserved to know the fate of their friend, didn’t they?
The compartment door slammed open. Every head turned; Sunset stood there, soaking wet and shivering. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the hourglass floated by her side.
“Sunset, dear, we were worried sick!” Rarity said. She grabbed a spare blanket and held it out to Sunset. “And you’re positively soaking wet. Aren’t you freezing?”
“Very.” Sunset pushed the blanket away. “But at least I can feel it. At least I’m alive.”
Her grim tone was enough to keep everyone at bay as she walked across the compartment and exited to the caboose.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy whispered.
“She must be taking her connection to Vesper really hard,” Spike said.
Twilight got up and followed the trail of water Sunset left behind to the caboose door, pausing with her hoof on the handle. She needed to try. Sunset was still her friend, even if Sunset didn’t think so. Twilight pulled the door open, flinching as the cold rain sprayed against her coat. Still, she pressed on.
Sunset rested her head on the railing, watching Tall Tale fade into the mist. She could feel the train moving faster than its previous trips. The world melded together quicker than before, so that she couldn’t see the space between the trees. Sunset guessed they were trying to make up for lost time. That was fine with her. The quicker this was all over, the better.
She squeezed a hoof against the cold metal bars. No. I don’t want to fade away! I want to live! I want to exist!
Then you should give in to me. Go help your past self and you can live forever!
Shut up!
“Sunset, can we talk?”
Sunset flared up at the voice behind her, and she whipped her head around. “Tell me, Twilight, what do you want to talk about?” she shouted. The wind carried her voice away. “I think we’ve both got a fine grasp on things, don’t you?”
Twilight’s ears fell back, but she stood her ground. “I know you’re mad at me. I know you’re mad at a lot of things right now—”
“Mad doesn’t begin to describe how I feel.”
“I know, I know. And… I know that you… hate me. But I want you to know that I’m still here for you. I’m still your friend, whether you believe me or not. And I know that out there, somewhere, is a way to keep you from… disappearing.”
Sunset narrowed her eyes. “Don’t get either of our hopes up, Twilight. I’ve been crushed enough today. I’ve been crushed enough for two lifetimes.”
Twilight reached a hoof out. “Please, let’s just—”
Sunset slapped it away and turned back to the blurred scenery. “Please, Twilight, just… leave me alone.”
After a beat of silence, the door opened again and banged shut. Sunset stood alone on the small balcony, shivering uncontrollably.
She enjoyed feeling everything that wasn’t pain and sadness. But perhaps she had spent a little too much time in the rain. She conjured a bubble around the caboose and created a small floating flame to keep close to her. It burned bright, and while it provided her body warmth, her heart still felt cold.
“Empty hope,” she growled. “The last thing I need.”
Sunset mindlessly watched the flame hover up and down in a lonely dance, its gentle sway hypnotizing her into relaxing her shoulders and even her breathing.
“Sunset?”
Her relaxation broke. She spun her head around, prepared to forcefully repel Twilight if she had too, only to find Pinkie standing there with a sheepish smile.
“I’m really sorry if you wanted to be alone, but I was just really worried about you.” She took a tiny step back. “But I’ll leave if you want.”
“No, no, it’s fine, Pinkie. You can stay,” Sunset said, easing from her aggressive position. She scooted over to give Pinkie some room on the balcony.
“Oooh, it’s really toasty out here!”
“Yeah, I put up a forcefield to keep the rain out.” Sunset reached forward and poked the invisible barrier. It flashed blue for a second, then faded away.
“Neat!” Pinkie said with a hop. “But why didn’t you just come inside?”
“I don’t feel like it.”
Pinkie stared at her with bright, blue eyes. Her smile was small, but it was still there. “You know, Twilight’s worried about you—we all are.”
“Twilight’s the reason I’m in this mess in the first place,” Sunset said bitterly.
“That isn’t fair, Sunset,” Pinkie said, keeping her voice light but stern. “You can’t blame Twilight for all of this.”
“Why not?” Sunset growled. “Past, present, future—what does it matter? She’s the reason I’m living this lie. I’m not a pony, Pinkie. I’m just… just a clone.” Sunset bowed her head. “Just a replica.”
“Well… what’s wrong with being a clone?” Pinkie asked.
“What?”
Pinkie poked at the floor with a sullen look. “A few months ago, I found a magic pool that makes copies of you. I used it…”
Sunset remembered Princess Twilight telling her this tale: a lesson in making choices instead of trying to do everything at once.
Pinkie continued. “For the most part, it looked like they just wanted to have excessive amounts of fun, which is what I wanted when I made them. But when Twilight sent them back, I started wondering if maybe there was more to them… if they were really their own pony.”
“Pinkie, I…” Sunset was unsure how to properly respond.
“Okay, so maybe you’re kinda a copy of somepony else.” Pinkie lifted her head and smiled. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be a copy. You’re you.”
Sunset opened her mouth to counter, but Pinkie beat her. “You two are two totally different ponies, even if you do have the same soul. She’s all, ‘grr, I hate everyone.’ But you’re all nice and friendly and a smarty-smart pants, like Twilight.”
Sunset’s eye gave a subtle twitch.
Pinkie looked to the sky for a moment, trying to find more words. “It’s almost like… if your soul had a soul. You’d have a totally different soul from Vesper.” Pinkie placed a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “What I’m trying to say is: just be you.”
“Pinkie, I appreciate that, but…” Sunset gently brushed her hoof away. “Me is just a—”
“No.” Pinkie shook her head. “Be you. As you are right now. Not as who you were or who you think you'll be—be the good you that you know you want to be.”
Sunset tried to make sense of the words in her head. As odd as they were, perhaps there was a grain of truth somewhere in them.
Be the me I want to be. Does it matter that I’m a reincarnation?
Of course it does! Remember: you’re a worthless scapegoat marked for complete oblivion! That won’t change no matter who you pretend to be.
Sunset bit her tongue. As much as she loathed to admit it, she had a point. It didn’t matter who she was in the end…
“Pinkie, did Twilight tell you anything about what happened after I ran off?” Sunset asked slowly.
“No. She just came back super sad.” Pinkie frowned. “Why? Is something else wrong?”
Sunset pretended to be interested in the flame. So you didn’t tell them, Twilight? Sunset was in no mood to be grateful to Twilight for anything. But she silently thanked her for keeping quiet about the conversation in the alley.
Pinkie was still giving her full attention to Sunset. Her body leaned forward, like she was ready to spring forward and give Sunset a hug at a moment’s notice.
I can’t tell you, Pinkie. I just can’t. You all care too much. We need to focus on the task at hoof, and if I told you what was going to happen to me at the end of this… But she knew Pinkie was persistent. She would do anything to make her friends happy. She would wait forever for a decent answer.
Sunset ran a hoof through her mane. “Pinkie, what if the me I want to be.... What if…” She sighed. “Let’s say, hypothetically, that the you you wanted to be had to pay a price—had to do something really hard in order to be a better pony—in order to keep the things she cared about safe.”
Pinkie tilted her head to the other side, humming softly. “A price to pay to keep everyone safe? Like, I could never eat cake again? Or throw a surprise party?”
“Uhh. Sure, why not?”
“Well, if it meant everypony I knew would be happy, then yes, I’d pay it.” Pinkie smiled again and bobbed her head. “That’s the me I know I’d want me to be.”
Sunset eyed her carefully. “And if it was something more personal than not eating cake or throwing parties?”
“Then I’d still do it!” Pinkie said proudly. “No matter what.”
“I see…” Sunset stared into the flame. An image of Canterlot burning and crumbling surfaced in her mind. No matter what… ponies say that a lot, but when you’re actually faced with that decision…
Pinkie eyes held an unexpected amount of wisdom. “Sunset… what price do you have to pay?”
Damn… she’s good. Sunset fiddled with her hooves. “I…. When all of this is over, I…” Maybe I should just tell her. “Pinkie…”
“What?”
“I’ll…” Sunset looked down at her hourglass leaning against the rail; the fire made it glow in a majestic light and turned the gold beads into rubies. “I can’t go home, Pinkie,” she said quickly, swallowing her emotions down. “I’ll never be able to go home. That’s why I don’t want to be me. Being me… means…” Sunset’s throat constricted.
Pinkie didn’t tackle her this time. She just leaned over and gently wrapped her hooves around Sunset. “I’m sorry, Sunset. That’s a really sad price to pay. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t go back to Ponyville or the rock farm again.”
“Yeah...” Sunset didn’t push her away this time, but she didn’t return the hug either. Pinkie didn’t seem to mind. She kept Sunset wrapped in her embrace. Sunset had to admit, it served as a better protection from the cold than the fire.
“Would you still do it?” Sunset asked when Pinkie let go.
“Do what?”
“If not being able to go home again… to never be able to see your friends ever again… would you still be willing to pay that price?”
Pinkie hesitated for only a second before nodding fiercely. “As long as I know everyone is all right, that’s good enough for me.”
Sunset nodded in turn. “You’re right… keeping everyone else safe. That’s all that matters in the end.” I can’t be selfish now. All of their lives mean more than mine… I’ve had two chances to live when most only get one. So if I have to forfeit mine to let them have a future, then…
“Besides, Sunset—” Sunset looked up at Pinkie, who was beaming warmly at her “—you’ll always have a home with all of us. We all think of you as a great friend. We may not be able to replace your real family and your old friends, but we’ll always be here for you.”
A smile made its way across Sunset face, and she turned away from Pinkie so her tears wouldn’t show. “Thanks, Pinkie. That means a lot.”
Luna had been right. Just because she and Vesper shared the same soul didn’t mean they were the same pony. Sunset had different memories, different experiences…
You’re honestly going to believe that rubbish?
I have friends! I have family! Two things you never accepted! And that’s what makes us different.
“Yeah,” Sunset said aloud. “I am my own pony.”
“That’s the spirit!” Pinkie jumped into the air and clapped her hooves. “I knew I could make you feel better! You just gotta dig through all the sour to find the sweet and smile!”
Sunset laughed. “Pinkie, don’t ever change.”
“Okie-dokie-lokie! You never change either, Sunny.”
“I’ll try my hardest not to.”
Pinkie embraced her one more time and said, “I know you’re mad at Twilight, but you should really talk to her. She only wants to help.”
Some of Sunset’s newfound vigor drained away. Whether or not she accepted her role, Sunset couldn’t forgive Twilight for forcing her down the path in the first place. For Pinkie, however, she gave a curt nod and said, “Okay.”
Pinkie turned to open the compartment door and bounced inside.
Sunset dispelled the flame, watching it flicker out of existence. Maybe my life is inherited. Maybe hardly anything belongs to me. Maybe I’m doomed to fade away. She turned and walked inside the train. But this is still my life now. And I’m going to be me until the very end of it all!
The streets of Canterlot were quiet this morning. Word of what happened in Hoofington hadn’t yet reached the populace. They were still blissfully unaware of just how large the danger was becoming.
Celestia could no longer hide behind that shield.
Though she supposed it wasn’t the danger she had been shielding herself from. It was the mare behind the danger. She wished she had sprung into action back when Twilight and her friends were still in Las Pegasus. When she could keep telling herself that Vesper Radiance wasn’t her daughter.
She stood on her balcony, eyes to the north. Just beyond the mountains was the Crystal Empire: the Bearers of Harmony’s next and last destination. Where the Obsidian Hoofguards were supposed to be buried.
And where Sunset Shimmer—her lost daughter—was waiting for her.
“I walk away for two seconds, and I come back to see you about to take flight, Sister.”
Celestia looked back at Luna standing in the doorway. “Would you have me do something else, Luna?” she said, words unintentionally barbed.
Luna took a step forward. “No, not yet. It is only, I just barely finished telling you what I saw and learned of in young Sunset’s dreams, and you’re already prepared to leave. I would have thought you would tell me your side of the story first.”
“What is there to tell?” Celestia snapped. “I failed! I failed my family again, only this time I could not bear to banish her like I did you. So I let her walk away.” Celestia sagged her shoulders, feeling the weight of her age crash down on her again. “I let her walk away. And when she came back… I tried to tell myself it wasn’t her. I didn’t want to believe…”
Luna walked up to Celestia and folded a wing over her back. “Celestia, I am going to tell you something you have been telling me ever since I came back.” Luna led her back inside to sit down on a pair of cushions. “You are being too hard on yourself.”
“Luna?”
“Oh, I admit—” Luna sat down across from her “—perhaps you showed cowardice in not initially facing Vesper Radiance when your feelings first hinted that it might be your corrupted student.”
Celestia sighed. Brutal honesty was one of Luna’s endearing features.
“But can you honestly tell me you failed Sunset Shimmer? That you did not provide for her everything that she needed? That you did not try to put her on the right path? That you did not do your absolute utmost to teach her right from wrong?”
“That’s just it, Luna.” Celestia spoke so softly even she could barely hear herself. “I tried. But evidently, I did not try hard enough.”
Luna gave her eyes a hard roll. “Nonsense. Would you have chosen to spoon-feed her the rest of her life? No matter how little or how hard you tried, her actions are ultimately hers alone.” Luna looked out the window just as a flock of robins flew past. “You cannot blame the mother bird if the chick she pushes out of the nest falls instead of learning to fly.”
Celestia watched the robins circle around each other and sing sweet hymns before flying north. “You can blame the mother for pushing her before she was ready. You can blame her for filling the chick’s head with delusions of grandeur. You can blame her for being so blind with love that she couldn’t see how far her chick’s madness had already spread.”
The robins departed, leaving the room quiet save for the sisters’ synchronized breathing.
“I indulged her, Luna.” Celestia cringed, feeling the buried pain rush forward and assault her heart. A mourning veil fell over her eyes. “I mistakenly gave her ideas of this grand destiny.” The desert had found its way into her mouth; she ran her tongue along the inside but gained little relief.
“Our talk on the balcony… after she told me just how much I meant to her. I knew I had a choice to make then. How much could I tell her? What words would assuage her fears that Cadence was taking her place? And did I tell her how much she meant to me in return?”
Every heartbeat sent a pulse of pain through Celestia’s body. She continued to stare at the mountains, unable to look Luna in the eye, even though she was positive Luna could see the pain on her face anyway.
“What else could I have done, Luna? Should I have lied and kept our relationship strictly teacher and student? Would that have brought us both less pain in the long run?”
“Could you have done that, Sister?”
Celestia shook her head. “No. I suppose not. I loved her.” Her mouth was parched, but her eyes were overflowing. “I loved her so much. But I never wanted to impose. I knew she held me in the highest regard—thought me flawless and infallible, but a lot of ponies do. Not a day goes by without somepony somewhere referencing me as a deity. I knew there was love there—I just didn’t know how much of it.
“And then she called me ‘Mother.’” Celestia broke into a smile. “She had caught me so off guard, I couldn’t even respond. Many ponies have looked up to me as a mother figure… but to actually be called ‘Mom’...” She wiped her eyes and continued.
“So I told her everything. I thought that maybe if she knew what was coming, she’d stop trying so hard to force it to happen. She’d stop competing with Cadence, maybe even open up to her.” Celestia’s eyes wandered over to the shelf that contained all of Twilight’s friendship letters. “But… Sunset was against the very idea of making friends. Twilight just found there was always something that took priority. She was an introvert. Sunset was a recluse.
“But she was so brilliant.” The sharp aches danced across Celestia’s chest. “She was so powerful, so talented, so confident. I thought she had to be the one.” The admiration in her voice died. “I deluded myself into believing that she wasn’t drunk on ideas of power and glory, that she wasn’t driven by greedy ambition and her obsession with me. I kept telling myself she just needed to find the right ponies to befriend. Yet the more I pushed her towards friendship, the more she pushed away. To her, I was the only pony she needed… and perhaps… part of me enjoyed it.”
Luna raised an eyebrow.
Celestia gave her a guilty smile that quickly descended into a painful grimace. “Please, do not take it as me being egotistical, Luna. It was just…. how could I reprimand her for loving me? I never thought I would have a daughter who looked up to me so much.”
“Tia,” Luna said gently, “you have a whole nation who looks up to you…. I still look up to you.”
Celestia reached over and nuzzled her neck. “Yes. But look who the wiser one is now. Perhaps it is I who should be looking up to you.”
“I am not wiser,” Luna said, though a smirk crossed her face. “I am merely balancing us out. When one of us follies, the other must be there to help her see reason.”
Celestia pulled back and gave her a sad smile. “How I wish you had been there over the long years to help me see reason.” Her eyes clouded over, and she looked down at the golden guards on her hooves. “Sunset reminded me of you a great deal. I was so certain that she would be the one to set you free because if not her, then who else? What were the chances that another pony with that kind of magical caliber would come along within the ten years before you were free?”
Luna chuckled. “Evidently high.”
Celestia nodded. “Yes. A year and a half after I…” She choked on her words and blinked her tears away. “After Sunset left, Twilight appeared and gave me hope again.” She stood up and stretched her legs, small pops echoing in her joints. She stepped back outside to the balcony and looked down at the city.
“I found one more chance to make everything right. I vowed not to make the same mistakes with Twilight that I had with Sunset. Perhaps there was a little deception on my part. It’s only after the fact do I realize that Twilight would have handled that information differently from Sunset.”
Luna stepped up next to her and watched their ponies scurry about the city. “Twilight would have shied away and hesitated.”
“Yes. And I think there is the key difference between them. Power should go to those who want it the least.”
They stood side-by-side in silence for a time. Every tender moment Celestia shared with Sunset forced its way to the top of her mind. How could such a sweet, curious filly turn into such a megalomaniac? Celestia still blamed herself, even if Luna was correct in that she ultimately could not control Sunset’s actions.
“Did you never look for her after she ran away?” Luna asked.
“I… didn’t have to. I knew she ran to our old castle. There is a sensor spell in the throne room. I knew where she was, but…” Celestia folded her eyes shut. “What was I to do? Chase her even further away? I… I could not go and take back what I said—ask her to come back. Even if my heart begged me to do it.”
Luna nodded. “If you had, we may have had the grounds for an argument right now.”
Celestia gave a weak laugh. “Perhaps. It was after the Rainboom that I noticed she was truly gone. I had my highest guards keep an eye out for her, but they never saw her. I guessed that she had learned Twilight was my newest student and left Equestria for good. Part of me was… happy. Maybe she would finally find her own path.”
“And now, Celestia?” Luna’s voice was not accusatory, but Celestia flinched just the same. “Why did you not tell me about her sooner? And why did you not go out and meet her when you first thought Vesper Radiance might very well be your daughter?”
“I was afraid…” Celestia whispered. “I was ashamed. I couldn’t bear to see the monster I had created. I didn’t want to see how far she had driven herself to madness... all in the name of pleasing me.”
Celestia lifted her face to the sky, letting the sun kiss her. “I told myself Vesper Radiance could not be Sunset… because she was already traveling with Twilight. That was my daughter. I didn’t know how, but she had landed in the future and found peace under Twilight’s tutelage.” She smiled. “I suppose my fantasy wasn’t too far from reality.”
A fire rose in Celestia’s heart, blanketing the sharp, cold pain. “But this has gone on long enough.” Her voice was hard and resolved. “I will not ignore her anymore. If it is me she wants, then I shall face her.”
Luna’s impassive face broke into a wide smile. “Verily! And I shall join you!” She flexed her wings and rolled her shoulders. “She may have defeated us in one timeline, but we will have the upper hoof this round!”
“I do not intend to fight her, Luna,” Celestia said calmly. “Not if I don’t have to.”
“You intend to reason with her?” Luna asked with skepticism. “I have seen just how damaged her mind is, Celestia.”
“You saw her at her worst. Perhaps there is still time to catch her before she falls too far.” Celestia inhaled, breathing in the first memory she had of Sunset: meeting her for the first time in the school office. “I must try to talk with her. She must still be in there somewhere… that filly I found so long ago.”
Luna gave Celestia her deepest stare. “And what will you do if you fail, Sister?”
The fire in Celestia’s heart flickered, threatening to give in to the cold pain. “I…” A young Sunset sat in front of her, smiling with an innocence known only to foals. She mouthed something to Celestia, then vanished, replaced by an older Sunset with a twisted smile and wide eyes.
Celestia turned away and squeezed her eyes shut. “I will do what I must,” she said, her voice so heavy, it barely rose out of her throat. “Just as I always have.”
“Are you sure you can face her alone?” Luna placed a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder. “Because I am ready to join you, fight or no fight.”
Celestia gave her another loving smile. “I love you dearly, Luna. But yes, this is something I must do alone. I won’t have any more barriers between us. And… if we should come to combat… if I fall—”
“You shall not!” Luna’s volume rose dangerously close to the Royal Canterlot Voice. “By Mother’s name, you will return to me, Celestia! You are the Princess of the Sun, not Sunset Shimmer. No matter how strong she gets, you are greater.”
“I shall indeed remember that.” Celestia pulled Luna into a hug and whispered, “And whatever happens out there, know that I love you completely. And if it ever came to it, Equestria would flourish and prosper under your sole care.”
They broke apart, and Celestia spread her angelic wings. “But I do intend to return. With everypony safe and sound in tow. Everypony.”
Celestia leaped off the balcony and took to the skies. Canterlot grew smaller and smaller beneath her until the ponies were naught but ants. She faced north and took off, feeling the wind whip her face. She kept her eyes open against the cool air, giving them an excuse to cry.
“Princess, Princess, look what I learned today!”
“I’m here, Princess, and I’m ready to learn!”
“I promise I’ll make you proud, Princess Celestia!”
“Mother look! I made this just for you!”
“You’re the only pony important to me, Mother.”
“I love you.”
Celestia bit back a sob. Even if it’s fruitless… even if her mind has already gone, I must try! One more time!
“I must try!”
Cadence shifted on her throne. The guard on her right flicked his ear but said nothing. The lack of questions was met with silent gratitude by Cadence; the last thing she wanted was for her guards to think she was bored.
Granted, it had been a very slow day. Her cabinet session had concluded early, and there were hardly any petitioners today.
She looked outside where the noonday sun made all of the Crystal Empire gleam brightly, a perfect jewel shining in a multihued radiance, broken only by evenly trimmed fields of emerald green.
Cadence shifted on her throne again.
The guard cleared his throat. “Is everything all right, Your Grace?”
“Yes,” Cadence said with a smile. “Just getting comfortable.” She moved one more time to punctuate her lie.
While it was a gorgeous day outside, boredom was not what made Cadence fidget so much. She raised a hoof and pressed it against the back of her neck, pressing the hairs down. She scanned the throne room, checking every shadow and crevice. Her ears stood at attention, but they only picked up the chatter and laughter from outside.
It was a relentless itch that she couldn’t scratch. It was a hot iron placed precariously close to her very soul. It was even starting to make her nauseous.
An intense feeling of hatred.
Cadence could not pinpoint it. It came from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Was it coming from one of her subjects? She wasn’t sure if crystal ponies had the capacity to hate on this scale. Was it something lingering from Sombra? Cadence shook her head. He was gone. And if she even mentioned his name, the palace would run around in a panic.
No, this hate was different. And in an odd way… it felt familiar. Cadence didn’t memorize patterns of hatred; her life goal was to spread love and happiness and get rid of hate. But in her life, she had come across a few ponies that had their hearts locked tight.
And this hatred felt a lot like…
“Sunset Shimmer!” Cadence exclaimed, standing up on her throne.
Both her guards snapped to attack positions, brandishing their spears at air.
“What is it, Princess? Is there an intruder?” the guard on her left asked.
“Intruder?” a voice said softly, echoing from within the walls. “Now that’s a little harsh. You consider a visit from an old family member intruding?”
Cadence and both her guards gasped as a void opened up in the center of the room and released a fiery maned pony in a black cloak.
“Sunset.” Cadence held a hoof to her mouth. “I can’t believe it.”
Sunset smiled. “Hello, Cousin. I see you’ve made out like a bandit.” She looked around the throne room with faux fascination. “My, my, how impressive.”
Cadence took a step off her throne, wincing as the waves of hatred broke against her. “Where have you been all these years?”
“Oh, here, there, everywhere,” Sunset said nonchalantly. “I’ve kept myself busy. Just like you have. I heard you had quite the wedding. I’m so sorry I missed it.”
“Yes,” Cadence said slowly. “I… would have loved to have had you there.” Her eyes fell to the necklace around Sunset’s neck, and she stepped back.
“So when can I expect foals to play with?”
Cadence’s eyes snapped back to the malevolent look on Sunset’s face. Her hackles standing yet again. Cadence remembered the Sunset from long ago: cold, spiteful, reclusive, and occasionally mean. Though for a while, Cadence was never sure if Sunset had intentionally meant to hurt her during the library incident.
But the Sunset before her was somepony different. Hateful, cruel, manipulative, sadistic. Cadence knew this pony would have meant to cause her harm back then. And laughed.
“Why are you here, Sunset?” Cadence kept her guard up. The very tip of her horn sparked, spitting out a tiny bead of magic she hoped went unseen.
“I just came to say hello.” Sunset sauntered closer, giving a lazy look to the guards. "I wanted to see how my favorite cousin was doing. Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire. Ahahaha.”
“Does Celestia know you’re back?”
Sunset laughed again. “Oh no. I’m saving her for last.” She nodded her head excitedly. “Yes, Mother and I are going to have a nice, long talk. And then, I’m going to kill her.”
Cadence’s blood froze. “You’re going to what?”
“Oh, was I not loud enough? I said, I’m going to kill Celestia!” Sunset shouted.
The guards readied their spears. “Any enemy of the princesses must go through us!” They charged before Cadence could get a word out to stop them.
Sunset grinned and ripped the spears from their hooves before they reached her. She snapped them over her head with her magic and fired a spell at the guard on the left.
He turned and allowed the spell to bounce off his crystalline coat. It bounced around the room, forcing both Cadence and Sunset to duck before it struck either of them in the head. It finally hit the carpet, leaving a smoldering crater.
“Huh, interesting,” Sunset said with genuine amusement.
The guards rushed her again, but Sunset teleported to the side of the room and ripped a crystal from the throne. She brandished it like a sword as the guards came at her again.
When they got in close, she swung it upwards, smashing the crystal into one of their jaws. The remaining one rolled to the side and tried to flank her. Sunset ducked as he jabbed a hoof, then brought the crystal club around and bashed it into his head.
He crumpled to the ground, moaning in agony. Sunset stood over him with an air of superior triumph. She raised the club again—
Cadence slammed her whole body into Sunset’s side, sending her sprawling across the room and onto the carpet. Her weapon landed a few feet away.
“Enough of this, Sunset! I will not allow you to harm my subjects or Celestia!”
“Ehehe. Hahahaha!” Sunset got up and gave Cadence a lopsided smile. “You aren’t the weak little pony I grew up with, are you? So much for that barrier addling your brain.”
Cadence gritted her teeth, seeing the truth finally coming to light. “I can’t believe I tried so hard to be your friend. There isn’t a drop of love in you, is there?”
Sunset held a hoof to her heart. “Of course there is. I love Celestia. I love her more than any of you. She’s my mother, and a pony always loves their mother.”
“I know love, Sunset. And what you have for Celestia isn’t love.”
“Hmmhmmhmm, ehehehe. Ahahahaha! That’s right—the pretty pink princess knows everything about love!” Sunset hid her mouth behind her hoof and giggled to herself. “But let’s see how much you know about death!”
Red energy spiraled from Sunset’s horn towards Cadence. It stopped short against a purple shield and rebounded off the sides.
Cadence felt the strain on her magic immediately, and beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. She backed up until she was pressed against her throne. Over the roar of magic, she could hear Sunset laughing madly.
Just hold on. Just a little longer. Cadence stood her ground, keeping her concentration on her shield but her eyes on the door.
It burst open just as the first crack in her shield appeared. Shining Armor and five guards rushed in, all of them wielding swords and full armor.
“Freeze!” Shining roared.
Sunset broke her concentration and looked back at the contingent. She smiled widely at them. “That’s a great idea!” Her horn ignited, and she shot a beam at the floor in between them. A wall of ice erupted from the crystal floor and stretched to the ceiling, cutting Cadence and Sunset off from Shining and the guards.
“So that was the spell you sent out?” Sunset grinned at Cadence. “You’re going to have to try harder than that.”
Cadence growled, seeing her warm breath against the frigid air that permeated the throne room. She fired her own spell at Sunset, who merely deflected it with a flick of her horn.
Sunset yawned. “Come on, Cousin. I’m waiting for you to suck less.”
Breathe, Cadence. Remember your training. Cadence gathered light around her horn, feeling it spin and build into a small sphere. She reared back and threw the ball of energy with all her might.
It sped through the air, aiming for Sunset’s face. She lowered her horn and smacked the ball back.
Cadence returned it at a faster speed, and Sunset did likewise. The sphere of energy bounced between them, faster and faster until Cadence could no longer see it coming.
An intense pain seared her shoulder, and she collided against the throne before she rolled down onto the carpet. The energy rippled through her, making her body convulse while spots danced in her vision. She tried to push herself up, but her shoulder screamed in pain.
When the spots vanished, she found Sunset looming over her, eyes and amulet glowing a piercing red.
“You’re weak. Pathetically so.” She raised the crystal club. “You were never fit to be a princess.” Her mouth stretched into a maniacal grin. “But maybe you’ll make a decent zombie.”
The ice behind her smashed open, and Shining burst through with a wild bellow. His sword clashed against Sunset’s club as she spun to defend herself, and sparks danced through the air.
“Stay away from her!” Shining said with murderous intent.
“Oh, you must be her husband.” Sunset giggled. “Which means you must also be Twilight Sparkle’s big brother.” She licked her lips. “I wonder how devastated she would be if she found you dead.”
Sunset looked around as the other guards filed in, a whole platoon having joined the original five. They spread themselves in a tight circle around her and Cadence, keeping their weapons pointed on Sunset.
“Give up,” Shining growled. “We’ve got you surrounded.”
“You’re right.” Sunset put a hoof to her cheek. “Whatever am I to do?”
“If you’re thinking about teleporting, forget it.” Shining grinned at her. “I already put a barrier around the palace.”
“Well, I’ll give you points for trying.” Sunset gave one last push with her club, moving Shining out of her personal space, and began to sink into a dark void in the floor.
“Grab her!” Shining ordered.
The guards made a lunge but only managed to dog-pile one another on top of nothing.
Shining stomped a hoof against the ground before dismissing the problem in favor for Cadence. He rushed over to her side and knelt down.
“Are you all right?”
Cadence attempted to nod but couldn’t find the energy. “I-it’s j-just my s-shoulder,” she stammered, the leftover magic still running through her. She looked over and winced at the sight of the wound. Her fur had been burned off entirely, and the skin beneath had bubbled and lacerated.
“I’m going to get you to the infirmary,” Shining said. He turned and addressed the rest of the guards. “I want a twenty-four hour perimeter around the Crystal Heart and hourly reports! The rest of you, fan out and search the city! Block all the main gates and stand guard at the station!” A shadow crossed his face. “I want her alive, but if you have to drag her to the dungeons in chains, I’m not going to object.”
The train pulled into the Crystal Empire Station in the early afternoon. Sunset watched the tall spires of sculpted crystal, glowing under the brilliance of the sun slide into view. The central construct pointed to the sky, a sentinel to keep watch over the other buildings.
Sunset felt the train rattle to a stop, and she hopped off her bed, eager to leave the mechanical snake. She had had enough train travel to last both lifetimes.
She paused when she saw Twilight picking up her saddlebag. Pinkie had asked Sunset to forgive Twilight, but whenever Sunset tried to look for the words, she only found anger and loathing. At the end of the day, she still had to die, and it was still Twilight’s fault.
At the compartment door, Pinkie was hustling everyone else out. She looked back at Sunset and gave a wink before taking off as well.
The room was a lot smaller with only two ponies in it.
Twilight avoided Sunset’s eye as she headed for the doorway. Sunset was tempted to just let her go but cleared her throat and said, “Twilight, can we talk?”
She halted in the doorway and turned around. “Sure.” There was a hopeful but cautious look in her eyes.
Sunset shifted a hoof across the carpet. “Listen, I… I wanted to say…” That I hate your lying face with a passion! She shook her head. Come on, keep it together.
“Twilight, I want to believe that you didn’t do… this—” Sunset gestured to herself “—on purpose. But it’s really hard right now. I know it wasn’t you you, but…” Sunset sighed. “Look, I—”
“It’s okay,” Twilight said softly. “I guess you have every right to be mad at me.”
“No I don’t! I shouldn’t be mad at you, I should be mad at… well, okay you, but… either way, I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I’m sorry.”
Twilight gave a faint smile. “Apology accepted.”
“Good… that’s good.” Sunset looked away. “I’m still mad but… I’m going to try to not throw it on you.” She fidgeted, unable to think of anything else to say. When it was too much, she grabbed her hourglass and walked around Twilight.
“Sunset,” Twilight called. “I’ll… I’ll think of something! I promise, I won’t just let you disappear!”
Sunset stopped and lifted a hoof to her eyes. “Please. Don’t make me a promise you can’t keep, Twilight.”
“I’m going to keep it,” she said with fixed determination. “Like I said, you’re still my friend, even if you hate me right now.”
The whirlpool of emotions swirling within Sunset made her want to scream. You can’t just let me hate you, can you? She kept walking, trying to ignore the flicker of hope in her heart.
Their friends were gathered on the platform and gave Sunset and Twilight eager looks when they approached. After a few seconds when no one said anything, some of them looked crestfallen.
“Sooo, uh—” Rainbow broke the awkward silence “—where do we start looking for those Hoofguard things?”
Sunset looked at the mountains and fields surrounding the Empire. “I don’t know exactly. I was sort of just jumping around in my memories. But I know the answer is in the library.”
“All right then, we’re off to the library,” Twilight spoke up. “Maybe we can get Cadence and Shining to—“
“There she is!”
Running down the platform were two heavily armored crystal guards. They shoved tourists and luggage out of their way, and it wasn’t until they lunged did Sunset realize who they were coming for.
To her relief, they didn’t weigh as much as she feared, but they still crushed the wind out of her as the pinned her against the ground. Her hourglass dropped out of her magic and rolled off the platform.
“You’re under arrest for breaking and entering, and assaulting the princess!” one of them shouted over the clamor of her friends.
Sunset could only grunt in response. I’m going to kill her!
It was like stepping through a veil of water, only it left her feeling empty instead of wet. Sunset looked back at the golden archway that lined the dungeon door and growled at the security pony operating it. She was cut short when the second guard shoved her forward again, making the chains clasped around her hooves rattle.
Sunset had been tempted to break out and make a run for it instead of going to prison for a third time. That was before she had been shoved through the magic disabling archway. The sensation was akin to when she had the inhibitor ring stuck around her horn: a vacancy that started from her horn and spread through the rest of her, blocking her connection to her magic.
The guard led her to the furthest cell and pushed her inside, slamming the bars shut behind her. Sunset had to admit, this was the nicest cell she had been in thus far. It was entirely made of crystal and looked like it had been freshly polished. The downside was that it had no windows, although Sunset wasn’t surprised seeing as she was somewhere beneath the city.
Three times. Sunset had now been to jail three times for something she hadn’t done.
“Well,” she said bitterly, “I guess I did trespass the first time in Canterlot Castle.” She shook her head and shuffled along the floor until the shackles began to chafe her ankles. Twilight had promised her she’d get everything sorted out soon. In the meantime, Sunset was left alone with her thoughts. Again.
She walked over to a far corner and sat down. It was all she could do until the others spoke with Shining Armor and explained the situation.
Sunset snorted like a bull and slammed a hoof into the wall, regretting the action the second she had made contact. She held it against her chest and swore loudly. “Why? Dammit all! Why did she have to go and attack the princess?”
“To get you all alone of course.”
On the other side of the bars, Vesper smiled her feral smile. “How’s my favorite replica?” She teleported to the other side and strode forward.
Sunset jumped to her hooves, instinctively charging her horn, only to have a dizzying pressure press against it. “How are you able to use magic here?”
Vesper rolled her eyes. “The door only works if you walk through it, idiot.” She shook her head. “But before I digress, have you given my offer any more thought?”
“I have.” Her limited existence. Fading into complete oblivion. Her friend’s smiles and futures. It had been hard not to think about it. They were all lead weights on her thoughts.
“And...?” Vesper leaned forward.
Sunset allowed herself a small smirk. “Go to Tartarus.”
Vesper blinked. “You… you would pick them over yourself? You’d choose a fate worse than death over eternal life?”
“Guess we’re not so alike after all.”
“Why?” Vesper bellowed. “What is wrong with you, you useless doll? Why would you try and defend them?”
Sunset raised her head and looked down at Vesper. “Because they’re my friends. Recycled or not, illusion or not, they are my friends! And I’ll fight to the end to give them a future!”
Vesper stared at her, utterly baffled. Then, the corners of her lips twitched, and a soft laugh came from deep within her throat.
“You… you’ll fight? Hehehee… You think you can give them a future? Ehehe… when you’re the one who destroyed it in the first place?” She tossed her head back. “Hahahahaha! You think anything you do will have any difference in the long run?”
Sunset’s smile dropped.
“You don’t seem to understand that your life is pointless.” Vesper’s horn sparked, and Sunset flew against the wall.
The chains around her hooves snapped apart as she was stretched across the wall. The crystal melted and formed around them, creating even tighter shackles. Sunset struggled but was only able to move her head about.
“Everything you do is pointless, Replica.” Vesper brought her face close to Sunset’s. “Even if you succeed, all you will do is fade away, making anything you accomplished pointless.”
“I’ll have helped create a better future for my friends,” Sunset said defiantly.
“Friends?” Vesper looked around the dungeon. “I don’t see any friends now. Why is their life more important than yours, hmm? Why should they get to go on and be happy but not you—not us?”
“Because…” Sunset tried to put the answer into words, but none came to her.
“They don’t care about you, Replica. No pony does. You’re just an echo, a scapegoat used by Twilight to fix Celestia’s mistake. No one’s going to care once you’re gone. They’ll just celebrate the fact that they defeated another villain.”
“You’re wrong! They do care about me!”
Vesper’s savage smile gave Sunset a terrible chill. “Oh, they care, do they?” She stepped closer and rose up on her hind legs. “You still don’t understand, do you?” She clasped her front hooves against the sides of Sunset’s head, and purple smoke clung to her eyes. “I’ll show you just how much they care, Replica.”
Sunset pulled her neck back, twisting and struggling as Vesper brought her horn closer to Sunset’s own. The red glow blinded Sunset as her eyes shrank to mere dots.
She was standing back in the Ponyville Library. The smell of bark and parchment greeted her nose. Seated at a table in front of Sunset was all of her friends, talking and laughing.
“Girls!” Sunset sighed in relief. “I’m so glad to see you.”
None of them seemed to notice her, however. They carried on like Sunset wasn’t even there. She walked around the table, waving a hoof in front of each of their faces, but none of them batted an eye.
“Don’t bother,” a voice hissed into her ear. “They can’t or hear you. You don’t exist, remember?”
“That’s a lie! You already played this trick! I do exist!”
“For a time, perhaps. But just look at you now. And look at what they think of your memory.”
Spike entered the room from the kitchen with a plate of sandwiches. He set them on the table and allowed Twilight to ruffle his spines.
“I’m so glad everything is back to normal,” she said before biting into her sandwich.
“Yeah,” Pinkie chirped. “No more evil curses, no more monsters, and no more Sunset Shimmer.”
Rainbow grinned. “You said it. I’m glad we don’t have to deal with her anymore.”
Sunset grinded her teeth. “If this is the best you’ve got, you’re going to have to try harder. I know this isn’t real!”
“Maybe not yet,” Vesper whispered. “But this is the outcome if you help them.”
Twilight swallowed her food and said, “Agreed. She was only good for destroying her evil half. Now, the world is safe, and she’s gone. A perfect victory in my book.”
Twilight’s words held such honesty and conviction, Sunset staggered from their sting.
“You see? Twilight only saw you as a puppet after all. And the rest of them are just glad not to have you dragging them down anymore.”
“L-lies. I know they’re lies.” That’s all they were: twisted words from Vesper. Yet why did they continue to rattle her soul? Why was despair clawing its way through her?
“If they wanted to keep you around so badly, why did they let the guards carry you off? Why are you still languishing in this dungeon?”
Sunset shook her head. “They’ll come. I-I know it…”
“She was such a crybaby.”
“And quite selfish sometimes too.”
“She thought she was so good with magic, showoff.”
“She made a pretty decent sacrifice though.”
“Yeah, and that’s all she was good for.”
As they all laughed and continued their onslaught of insults and hurtful jabs, Sunset took quivering gulps of air to keep her tears down. She turned around and ran out of the library, only to find herself in the throne room of Canterlot Castle.
Twilight sat on the throne, a book in her magic. “Well, well, well,” she said, looking over the top. “Sunset Shimmer. What in Equestria do I have to do to get rid of you?”
“P-Princess, please!” Sunset cried.
Twilight dropped the book and flew off the dais. Her hooves slammed into the stone floor; the vibrations knocked Sunset onto her back.
“The only reason I kept you around was so you could go kill yourself at the right moment and cease to exist. Two birds with one stone.” She charged her horn. “But you can’t even do that right.” Twilight’s eyes turned red and her smiled revealed all of her sharp teeth.
Sunset tried to turn and run, but the arcs of electricity were infinitely quicker.
She screamed, but only for a second. She bit down on her lip and thrashed her body, begging for the pain to end. Her eyes snapped open, the illusion of Twilight tormenting her fading into the reality that was Vesper’s cold, maniacal laugh.
“Go ahead! Scream! Scream for your friends to come and help you! Scream all you want, but no one is going to hear you!”
Lightning tore through Sunset’s veins, turning her body into a living circuit. Tears freely fell from her eyes, but she refused to make any noise. The taste of copper leaked into her mouth from her punctured lips.
Vesper ceased her outpouring of electricity and frowned. “Why aren’t you screaming?”
Sunset panted, unable to say anything.
“Are you not in enough pain? Do you want me to hurt you even more?” Vesper’s horn lit up again and she jerked her head to the side.
Sunset gasped as a gash split open across her cheek, sprinkling blood across the floor. The new wound then burned like somepony pressed a hot iron against it. Sunset beat her head against the wall, but still did not say a word.
Vesper rolled her head to the side. “Are… are you trying to act tough? Hahaha! You think you’re a strong pony because you won’t scream.” Vesper’s face dissolved into a hideous mask of anger. “I’m going to make you beg for your life!”
Sunset threw her head back, feeling the lightning return to wrack her body. She opened her mouth, but no sound escaped. Pain interfered with any of her thoughts. She was driven now by only one desire: not to scream.
The jolts of electricity faded from her body, but Sunset had no time to breathe peacefully. Her skin erupted into blisters as a blanket of fire covered her. Her screams tore at her throat, but she never released them. Instead, she made a shrill whine.
Vesper roared in frustration, spittle flying from her mouth. The wave of fire ended, and the crystal shackles fell away, dropping Sunset fell to the floor. A barbed red chain extended from Vesper’s horn and wrapped around Sunset’s throat; it hoisted her into the air and slammed back down to the hard surface.
“Worthless—”
Sunset slammed into the wall.
“Piece—”
She slammed against the ceiling.
“Of—”
She was thrown across the floor again.
“Trash!”
Sunset’s body trembled, unresponsive to her desire to get up. A hoof slammed into her stomach, and she collided with the bars of the cell.
“Who’s the tough one now, hmm?”
A hoof smashed into her muzzle, and blood burst inside of her nose and mouth.
“There’s no Princess Twilight and her shield spell to protect you this time!” Vesper stomped her hoof against Sunset’s face repeatedly. Her look of anger melted into ecstasy as her hoof came down faster. “Hyahaha, ahahahah, hahahahahaahahahahahaha!”
Red exploded across Sunset’s vision every time the hoof came down. Her muzzle was so broken, she could barely breathe through her nose. She wasn’t sure if she could scream even if she wanted to.
Girls… please… help me.
When Vesper was done, she picked Sunset up again and threw her back against the wall.
“You never had a chance to beat me anyway, Replica. That’s why your life is pointless. You failed at the one thing you were meant to do.” A silver dagger floated from Vesper’s coat. “How does it feel, hmm?” She stabbed Sunset in her shoulder, right where her stitches were.
Sunset’s eyes bulged, and she flailed weakly. But still, she made no noise.
Vesper withdrew the dagger slowly, its edge further slicing Sunset’s shoulder open. “How does it feel to know your life is meaningless because you’re a failure?” She stabbed Sunset in the opposite shoulder. “To know that you couldn’t do the one thing asked of you and let so many ponies down?”
Sunset spat out a mouth full of blood. “Talking… to me… or… yourself?” she managed to speak in a hoarse voice. Her mouth twisted into a broken smile.
Vesper slashed the dagger across her face. She brought it back and looked at the blood coating it. She licked some of it up and smacked her lips. “Hmm, even our blood tastes the same. Yet you’re the sorriest excuse for a reincarnation anypony could ask for.”
The dagger hovered between them, pointed at Sunset’s chest. “Well, I think it’s time there was only one Sunset Shimmer again. I promised you a slow and painful death, and I believe I’ve made good on that promise.” She plunged the dagger into Sunset’s center.
Sunset made a faint gurgling noise. She tried to raise a hoof to pull the blade out, but her body refused to respond.
Vesper leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “You should be grateful, Replica. I’m granting you a mercy death. You get to go to whatever comes next instead of oblivion. You’re off the hook. Die with that happy thought.”
Sunset felt the dagger rip itself free from her before the world twisted on itself and vanished in a tunnel of white. Vesper’s laugh was the last thing she heard.
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so either sunset is dead dead, or something else happened.
and does that mean the next chapter is the end, or how many are left?
...... if I have an issue, that sunset, or whoever attacked cadence..... should have had every bone in her body broken when cadence attacked her.
Am I a bad person for thinking that if sunset dies here, it will actually be a lot happier ending then if she was to truly fade from existence? You could argue that she was never going to because of alternate time lines and all that and I would probably agree with you but that stuff is all just theory and we dont know if it applies to this story or not so whatever.
Awesome story. I both love you and hate you so much for ending this chapter where you did. Please don't make us wait to long for the next chapter.
Very punny. I'm dying of laughter.
What good is being a ruler if all you rule over is shambling corpses?
Killing one causes the other to pop too?
Hmm...
Please don't let Sunset die...
Please
That being said, the chapter was awesome as ever.
5591719
Only if you kill the past version. Future Sunset dying wouldn't have any effect on P!Sunset's existence, whereas P!Sunset's death would, theoretically, cancel F!Sunset out. ...Unless we get lucky and we're dealing with branching timelines....which we don't seem to be.
5591782 well we have alternate timelines in mlp at a whole, though ultimately they are worlds completely different in so manyways.
if I were to make an idea for it for mlp, alternate worlds are born through bast divergences. otherwise changes redact themselves.
5591719
If you think about time linearly and not timey whimey, it'd be like have two balloons, both the same color and right behind each other. Imagine that they are on a dart board, and now it all makes sense. You can't hit one without hitting the other in a linear understanding of time.
5591821
I meant in the case of THIS STORY. AJ's rescue in the canyon seems to indicate we're dealing with a single timeline, meaning that going by what info we have now, if Vesper is stopped, Sunset will cease to be because the events that led to her rebirth won't have happened, ergo she won't have happened.
5591782
Well, if you destroy F!Sunset's soul, then it would still work the same.
5591843 shrugs. in terms o matter that could make sense. if something is unmade then it never existed. however in a case of magic, that leaves far too much in question. a soul exists outside of matter and time. so even if she was physically unmade it would not change the fact she existed. time and space manipulation only affects what is within the realms of time and space, not what stands outside of it.
5591874
You have no evidence to back that up, whereas all evidence presented in story indicates that if P!Sunset dies or is stopped, F!Sunset goes poof.
I see three ways though that could save her.
1. We are dealing with a branched timeline, or stopping Vesper is a big enough change that it creates one. Either way, it means that, while she still can't go home (because in timelina A Equestria is destroyed, but in B she never came to be) she will continue to exist in the present.
2. Jorneyman Project time travel. Meaning that all changes to time echo forward, so because Sunset's in the past, she would be safe from the changes to the timeline.
3. Vesper is stopped...after she absorbs the ice lich but BEFORE she gets the shoes. This would mean the Elements would still need to be used on her, but the resulting remains might not be powerful enough to be the threat it was originally, meaning F!Sunset still comes to be, but Souless!Vesper can be more easily dealt with when/if it escapes.
5591993 to presume a soul ceases to exist because a physical medium ceases to exist is no more provable than me saying it doesn't. neither side has proof.
besides, why stick to the rules of time travel of science when it is being magically affected?
5592028
Because there seems to be no difference whether Sunset used a magic hourglass or hopped into a suped up Delorian and zoomed off at 88 mph, it still appears to work the same way in this story. At least the magic expert unicorn/alicorn ponies, sure seem to think it works that way, and since they're the magic experts in this story, I'm more inclined to beleive they are correct.
noooooooooooooooooooooo
Please don't let Sunset die. This can't be the end for her. Not this...
Oh no! I certainly hope that FutureSunset isn't dead!
I liked these phrases:
All very emotional.
There is clearly some kind of linkage between P!Sunset and F!Sunset that transcends time and space. That said, I have to wonder if that could possibly have no effect. I would expect the death of one to affect the other. I guess it depends on what really happened in the not-yet when F!Sunset came into existence.
P.S.
Crystal Guards are stupid idiots if they can't tell the difference Between Vesper Radiance and Sunset. Although I suppose I can't rule out P!Sunset from having done something to them
P.S.
It'd be pretty humorous if F!Sunset died and got pulled back into P!Sunset. That would be an unfortunate side effect/setback for Vesper Radiance.
What a thing to come home to after a long day's interning!
*reads Celestia scene, reads fight scene*
I once again wonder if we don't share a mental link that our stories keep crossing like this.
5592526 regardless my issue there is that she really shouldn't have gotten far after cadance tackled her. power does not make vesper, or sunset gone bannanas, durable.
5593329
That's debatable. I'm pretty sure she has both the Alicorn Amulet and the Tempest Crown which means she's basically a pretty high powered unicorn and pegasus. If she's acquired the Obsidian Hoofguards she'd easily push Cadence aside since she'd effectively be an alicorn. As it is she's hardly an ordinary unicorn.
5593837 ordinary unicorn does not mean albe to withstand an earth pony tackling her. it would take something with endurance like an earthpony to take such a blow.
personally think that is one of the reasons why unicorns are the protectors and such. they have few weaknesses. where any single pony type is weak, they have the power of the other breeds to give them an edge and, plausibly, enchances one another. earth pony strength enhanced by flight momentum for example.
5593948
I think you mean alicorns on the latter bit. Also, for what it's worth, pegasi appear to be pretty durable. Rainbow Dash is implied to crash often and hard enough to have earned the nickname 'Rainbow Crash' somewhere. And that's excluding anything active done with pegasi/unicorn magic. I disagree that she necessarily needs the endurance of an earthpony here and, last I checked, she might have the hoofguards by now (which would easily give her that endurance). I wouldn't assume that the traits necessarily play off each other like that.
5594202 why wouldn't they? earth ponies have a lot of force you know. amplify that force with the force given by flight momentum, and you get even more pow.
and with the magical artifacts....... guess that is just speculation at this point. personally speaking, imitation is not replication. even if you grant yourself earth pony strength, does not mean your body is meant for it. trying to test it out against something with that strength is risky as well. their body will hold up, and there is no certainty yours would.
but as i said, personal speculation.
I still don't get it.
How can anything that doesn't directly affect time itself, affect time itself at all? By going to the past, all changes sunset shimmer would make will be made. Therefore, all effects to the timeline would already be there. Things that then wouldn't exist wouldn't just stop existing; there's no reason to. You can't just have a before and after for time if the before and after are bound to time itself. It makes no sense. Assuming time is a line that goes from A to B, how can there be another line where Sunset doesn't exist that depends on line AB?
If time is mutable at all, there needs to be some sort of meta-time, with a before and after change to time. But this meta-time can't be time itself; otherwise causality will go out the window.
Interesting chapter. I'm glad to see Sunset's almost over the whole Identity Crisis now. Your past actions don't necessarily make you who you are, when you choose to make different choices in the future.
As for Celestia, I can only say this. "Hindsight is always 20/20"
Welp, good bye Sunset, it was nice knowing you.
Yeeeeeees!!!! :D
It's incredible to finally see this story updated. "Long Road to Friendship" has been so much fun reading as part of the hiatus between chapters, but I was so excited to finally see a new chapter.
I almost forgot how much I missed it; how much I missed this adorable nerdy Sunset. The Sunset of LRTF who 'frowns in sheer defiance' has really grown on me, but it's this altruistic depiction of her that's always been my favorite.
Before getting to that, I can definitely say that this is easily one of the most strongest chapters so far. This one really propelled the story forward, and was more than well worth the wait. You played around with different theories people came up with that were expressed by Twilight on how to save Sunset, as well as getting into things that I didn't know you would touch by glad you did (namely, if Celestia ever questioned where Sunset/Vesper was after she left the castle).
Getting back into Sunset's origins, I honestly still felt somewhat confused and had to re-read the chapters yet again. At first I thought that Future Sunset really was born out of a last-bid attempt by Vesper to win. Her burning desire, as expressed in the text, caused her to manifest in a new body, albeit with unforeseen consequences (namely, starting over as a foal). However, re-reading it yet again, it seems it was the other way around and Sunset really was born out of the Elements, which explains the white-light and the (angelic?) hoof. At least that was the intent, and everything that happened with her born in a new body was accidental because of Vesper's meddling with the Frostlich.
Which brings me to, once again, questioning Sunset's anger toward Twilight, and that it truly is unfair. While I can't certainly blame her, emotional as she is, for being distraught at the thought of being erased from existence, the alternate path was getting sealed up with the rest of Vesper. Sunset was supposed to go to, for the lack of a better term, "the other side", and everything that resulted was seemingly accidental. Will it remain that way? with future developments, perhaps not. With the information thus far though, it really just doesn't seem right for Sunset to hold any anger toward Twilight.
Before I go any further with that, and coming back to the present, it's wonderful that she did apologize. Pinkie Pie being the one to calm her down wasn't something I expected, but she reminded her of what's really important: answering what she intends to do with herself right now. Almost like Gandalf reminding Frodo that no one asks for dark times, but reminding him the importance of deciding what to do with the time he has left :P.
Princess Celestia taking a more active role is something I genuinely didn't expect, but it's not unwanted. She's been antzy to get involved more than once now, and given that Vesper fully intends to kill her last, and she has yet to absorb the Frostlich...if there was any single opportunity to get through to her, the time is now.
Which brings me to the gore at the end of the chapter. It's...not something I'm usually overly-fond of, to be honest. Perhaps it's because psychological horror is my preference, or I just tend to just gloss through it because things can get very long-winded as it becomes descriptive. That said, I honestly didn't expect this to happen at all. Out of everything this chapter had, this was one outcome I never expected this story to take. This story has always been quite dark, but trying to read it in fairness....
Well, it could have been worse. Some authors just go into staggering amounts of detail. This one....was certainly explicit, but I think it could have been worse. That, and it wasn't gore for the sake of it, but still plot-driven which certainly helps.
It nevertheless opens up rather interesting possibilities. While I can't say I have any idea of what will happen, I'd like to think Princess Twilight will make an appearance on whatever comes next for Sunset. It's her, after all, that all her anger is directed toward, alongside this idea that she was only using Sunset as a weapon. Time will tell, but if there is to be any real closure on what exactly Sunset is or for what purpose why she was specifically asked to go back in time, it would be best to be heard from her.
And...honestly? I'd like to think we'd finally get to be able to see Sunset's adoptive Mom and Dad. Up till now, we've only ever heard from them in passing, alongside Sunset's friends in the future. I just think...it would be nice if Sunset can see them again. If all of them together can be the ones who help Sunset next, because they are the ones she's most concerned about losing.
And that's honestly it for now! for a brief moment, I was confused as to how Twilight knows about the Frostlich, until I remember that Sunset explained the whole story, including that.
This chapter was more than worth the wait: it strongly propelled the story forward in many ways <3.
Sunset is not dead and I can't hear you say anything different.
Only 6 chapters left. Everyt8me this updates I am both excited and filled with dread. I am excited because I love this story, but I am filled with dread because the story's not over, and I have to wait for more.
Okay, now that I've had a chance to calm down a bit I can appreciate the artistry behind this chapter, with Sunset deciding that she is willing to give her life to the cause right before she dies a meaningless death at the hands of her evil doppelganger, having accomplished nothing. George RR Martin would proud.
Click.
Click.
Click?
That's odd.
The [Next→] button seems to have gone missing.
5594245
They might, but I think that's an activated ability of sorts rather than passive
I don't know how they work, but the description speaks to replication rather than the imitation you suggest. The Tempest crown gave sunset real Pegasus wings not those magical butterfly ones Rarity got from Twilight's spell. The artifacts appear to transmute/transform the pony. The changes are anything but illusory even if they go away without the artifacts (which isn't super clear). Since it said the hoof guards also granted longevity I'd say it's clear that they're not just hoofguards of strength +5. It sounded like, from previous chapters, that Sunset definitely had the hoofguards before she offed Celestia, but I unsure if she had then before her confrontation with Cadence.
Woo 500 likes
A) I have to agree with Sunset's inner voice. If she's just going to cease to exist as the time line corrects itself.. why bother? Would her friends even remember her? Would this rogue temporal tangent be purged, causing an entirely different chain of events to retroactively happen?
Personally, I would've said 'fuck it' and ran off Zebrica. Or looked for a way to break time and space.
B) Also, I kind of feel that you pulled a lot of punches in this chapter. Sunset just coming back, Pinkie so easily inspiring her, Cadence and company escaping with flesh wounds, Twilight and Sunset's friendship already starting to recover. It just cuts into the drama and tension, even with the torture.
Okay, yes, theres a soulless alicorn killing abomination to look forward to but I really hope the next chapter paints the walls red.
I... I've figured it out. All of it. It came to me in one instant, and it was glorious. Albinicorn, I'll PM you to see if my suspicious are correct. I think I just found a way to break time and space itself.
5617974
I can currently think of two possibilities:
1) She somehow fuses, literally, with Vesper so that they are one whole person. Don't ask me how, but she can't disappear if they are literally the same person now.
2) More likely somehow, she goes *outside* of time and space. Causality is what is dictating that she will disappear, but if she were to somehow go outside those constraints, perhaps with the hourglasses help, that may be a solution. Given what is happening to her right now, I predict something along these lines is more likely to happen.
5626828 that would also work, but that wasn't what I had in mind.
I... I just realized how this could go.
The Sunset we all know and love is dead. Well and truly dead. No "it was all a dream," no Twilight ex machina, no healing spells, nothing. Dead.
Evil Sunset disposes of her body. Cleans up the cell. Disguises herself as the good Sunset for when they come to release her.
Then, she feigns friendship with Twilight and co. long enough to discover the location of the Obsidian Hoofguards, and then they all go to retrieve them. The perfect plan, eh?
But... while Sunset is pretending to be nice, she experiences real friendship. She gives up her evil ways and disposes of the regalia, choosing to live as Twilight's student in the hopes that she can ascend naturally, as Twilight did, and as Celestia had intended.
How's that for a twist?
Just found this:
iT mUsT BE sOOON.......TeLl mEH ITssssss goANa Be Soooon......plez
5651023 Hopefully.
5640431 Honestly I really do hope that's not what Happens.
I'm just gonna leave this here...
fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/004/e/b/sunset__listen_to_yourself__by_theshadowstone-d70t5kc.png
Any idea when the next chapters will be? ^_^
5695583 Soon now. Very soon.
5699080
Yaaaay! <3
Wonderful wisdom from Pinkie here. That whole scene made me cry... a lot.
Now, as for the end... I'm hoping my gut is wrong.
Oh man, the story finished, which means it's time to start reading new chapters.
ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ W E D I D I T B O Y S ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ
RIP quotation marks
Also
Pinkie, you da real MVP
*eats popcorn* this is getting better and better by the frakkin minute.
*looks at notepad that reads "Reading schedule" and smiles* soon...