Can even a daughter's love eventually help wear down the darkness of hate?
Can a daughter's love help wear down the darkness caused from anger and hate in one person's soul even when some of it may be justified? And will it give said person a reason to go on when that anger and hate is stripped away taking away the false strength it gave to face the day after a painful past?
Grinning as she watched Snips and Snails, her two lackeys for a lack of a better term, ran behind her holding Twilight’s baby dragon turned dog. She still found it silly how a pony would turn human thanks to the portal while a dragon would turn into a dog. She didn’t know what would happen if a fully grown dragon actually made it through the thing. Not that it mattered, she didn’t care about Equestria any longer as she doubted she could ever return anyways.
“That’s close enough!” Sunset sneered as she hefted the heavy sledgehammer like a baseball bat upon seeing the arrival of the four girls who she had tormented for years following the humanized princess of friendship. Upon Twilight’s head was her goal, they key to everything that she desired. The power to make sure she could protect the one silver lining in her life. Screw the princess and screw Equestria!
“Twilight!” Spike cried out fearfully as Snips and Snails tightened their grip on his muzzle to shut him up. Sunset couldn’t help a pang of pity at the creature, it was a child no matter what species it was.
“Don’t hurt him!” Twilight cried out, clenching her fist as she stared at Sunset wavering the large tool turned weapon near the portal, a silent threat of destroying it hanging in the air.
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m not a monster, Twilight. Not like these humans. No, they’re the real monsters!” Sunset snapped out, getting confused looks from Snips and Snails, the four girls around Twilight and the gathering crowd at the entrance to the school who watched on in shock and confusion. It was true in Sunset’s mind though, she wasn’t the monster, these people were the monsters. Unlike them, she would never hurt a child and as she thought more about it the more she felt ashamed for dragging the one and only innocent into this ordeal. Sunset turned a little towards the two boys holding the baby dragon turned dog saying, “Let him go.”
Looking at each other over Spike, Snips and Snails shared a hurt and confused look. The complied to their order though and gently sat Spike down who wasted no time running past Sunset and to his friends. Twilight dropped to her knees with her arms open wide as Spike dove into them for a comforting hug.
“You don’t belong here.” Sunset said with a mocking generous voice, holding out her hand waiting for Twilight to hand over her crown. “Give me the crown and you can go back to Equestria tonight.” Taking a better grip with both hands again on the large sledgehammer, she continued, “Or keep it and never go home!”
The fear in Twilight’s eyes was plain to see as she gasped, her friends looking a little confused though just as worried. Thankfully none of the others seemed inclined to join into the confrontation just yet as Sunset waited for the princess’s answer, saying “Tick~tock, Twilight, you don’t have all night! It’s either the crown or good~bye portal! So what’s your answer?”
With a stern resolve and look of steel, Twilight slowly put Spike down and stood tall while saying, “No.”
“What?” Sunset gasped out, shocked that Twilight would really go this far to keep the crown. Shaking the bat as if getting ready to swing, Sunset demanded, “Your friends! Equestria! If I destroy the portal they will al be lost to you forever! Can’t you see what I’m about to do?”
“Yes! But I’ve also seen what you are able to do without magic!” Twilight said, facing off against Sunset knowing what might happen though feeling like she had no other choice. “Equestria will find a way to survive without my element of harmony. This place might not if I allow it to fall into your hands! So go ahead and destroy the portal, you are not getting this crown!”
Sunset was stunned. Yet her rage was growing moment by moment as all of her plans were falling apart. She needed the crown soon as the planetary alignment would be soon and by all of her calculations, it would grant her unbelievable power in this world. Maybe even allow her to rewrite reality itself and make this world into a much better place without the monsters that would hurt others for no other reason than the pleasure of it! After all if the alignment of stars and planets in Equestria effected the magic there, it surely would effect it here when a powerful artifact was tossed into the mix.
“Fine.” Sunset sighed, dropping the sledgehammer over her shoulder narrowly missing Snips and Snails feet as it crashed to the ground. “You win.”
“You. Are. So. AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash gushed, staring wide eyed at her new friend as Sunset could only sneer at them. After all, this wasn’t over just yet.
“Ah can’t believe ya was doing ta do that fer us!” Applejack said, slapping Twilight on the back with a large smile.
“It’s no wonder you are a real life princess.” Rarity said with starry eyes towards Twilight while all the while Sunset’s rage grew more and more. She would not be denied this chance, her only chance to gain the power she desperately needed.
“Oh yes, she’s soooooo special!” Sunset growled out before lunging at Twilight and her crown. She managed to tackle Twilight to the ground, the two wrestling for dominance as the crown rolled away with Spike chasing after it. Just as Sunset gained the upper hand and lunged for the crown, Spike bounced off her head forcing her to eat dirt momentarily as he grabbed the crown and ran with it. “Grab him you fools!”
Spike grew wide eyed upon seeing the two boys give chase, soon followed by Sunset herself. As she overtook the two, she knocked them out of her way as she closed in on the crown and Spike, the girls closing in after her. He was nearly to the group of people standing on the steps of the entrance looking on in utter disbelief as the group fought over the crown. What shocked them the most though was the talking dog sending many of them into a semi-state of shock proving that the things being talked about were real.
“Spike!” Rainbow Dash called, waving her hands above her head. “Over here! Throw me the crown!”
No sooner than did Rainbow Dash catch the crown, Snips and Snails were all over her trying to grab it. After seeing that Fluttershy was wide open, Rainbow called to her to get her attention before tossing the crown like a discuss. Bouncing off her hip, Fluttershy quickly caught the crown with a look of fear in her eyes as the others converged on her. Frozen in fear, Fluttershy trembled as Applejack lassoed her and pulled her out of the others path only to lose the crown from the sudden jerking motion.
Catching the crown, Snips looked both shocked and pleased before Pinkie Pie plucked it out of his hands, tossing it toApplejack who in turn tossed it to Rarity who finally tossed it to Twilight. Just as Twilight regained the crown, Snips and Snails jumped toward her making her toss the crown behind her in surprise only for Sunset to finally catch it.
“I’ll take that!” Sunset giggled in glee as she finally got her hands on the crown with plenty of time to spare. “Soon, I’ll have all the power I need to make sure none of you monsters ever hurt her!”
“Who? Hurt who?” Twilight asked, fear filling her as Sunset finally got a hold of the crown. Yet this is the first time she really paid attention to Sunset’s ramblings of power realizing that there was more going on here than just an angry, spoiled girl on a power trip.
Ignoring the question, Sunset finally placed the crown upon her head laughing maniacally waiting for the power to wash over her. After a few moments went by and nothing happened she began to worry that maybe she was wrong with her theories or maybe it was just too early. Maybe her timing was off? Just as she was about to pull the crown off to make sure it was the real one, a corona of power flared up around her as a column of light shot high into the sky.
The pain was unbelievable, almost unbearable as tears started falling only to be evaporated as they fell. She tried to move, only for her body to draw in on itself as she rose into the air. Halfway in a fetal position, Sunset’s body arched in pain as power flooded it making her thrash out as fire traveled along her body turning her skin red and changing her fingernails into sharp deadly talons. Her hair shot upwards and stayed that was in a spiky mess as the sclera of her eyes bleed darkness turning black while her pupils turned a bright, glowing red.
Turning to her two minions, she waved her hands turning them into replicas of herself yet they seemed to not be feeling the pain that Sunset herself was feeling. The biggest part of the problem was Sunset never did it, or didn’t direct her body to do it. It just did it on her own.
‘That’s because I did it dear.’ A voice chuckled darkly inside her head. Her voice, yet much darker and heavier with hatred and rage that was impossible not to feel. Sunset wanted to sob out as she was seeing visions of both Equestria and Earth burning in eternal flame with no person or pony surviving except for the very few she kept as slaves.
‘No. NO! I don’t want that! I just want the power to protect her from these monsters!’ Sunset sobbed out mentally, trying to regain control of her body even as the pain grew by the moment. She knew this was a mistake now, the human body was meant to hold this much magical energy. It was even more than Princess Celestia herself probably controlled and it was foolish to think that she could.
‘You do want that! You want this, and I’m going to make sure you get it!’ The voice cackled, as it turned it’s attention to the group about to cast a mesmerizing spell on he entire group, but Sunset managed to wrest enough control from the creature possessing her to prevent it. ‘Why fight this?’
‘Because I’m not a monster like them!’ Sunset cried out angrily, though she was beginning to wonder. She was running new theories in her head, discarding dozens upon dozens trying to find out what was going on before she finally realized what was likely happeneing. And if it was true, what did that make her?
‘I see you finally figured it out, give the girl a prize!’ the voice chuckled, ‘I am you, I am your ambitions, your anger, your rage and most importantly your hatred given life! I am you and you are me, no more and mo less!’
‘No! I don’t want to kill every single one! There’s still good people out there!’ Sunset sobbed as images of Star, Cadence and Crystal filled her mind. People who were nice to her, people she loved. Then there was him, Shining Armor. While she loved him like a brother, maybe a father, she also hated him with a passion. She kept it hidden deep down inside, maybe even so deep that she didn’t even consciously realize it. Yet now she couldn’t deny it as her subconscious and her consciousness were both warring for dominance. Her subconscious being the beast that the element of harmony brought forth. The beast that was the true her under all of her feelings, hidden or not.
‘Oh my poor Sunset, trying to deny who you really are deep inside? Such silliness. Just hang back and let a real woman show you how it’s done.’ The voice giggled as the demon form of Sunset Shimmer turned to look at the group that surrounded Twilight. In Equestria this group would form the elements of harmony, yet Sunset controlled the most powerful element now. They were helpless and would fall before her. She didn’t notice the panicked throngs of students and faculty trying to get back into the school and hopefully to safety even as they stared out the glass doors to what was going on. The voices from the courtyard clearly heard from inside still.
“I’m going to start here and destroy every one of these little monsters for all of the pain they ever caused! Then I’m going to go to Equestria and destroy that pathetic excuse of a teacher and show Celestia she is nothing!” Sunset cackled as power crackeld between her claws, orbs of magic floating arong her hands and the star of the crown. “And there is nothing you or anybody else can do to stop me!”
“You want to bet!” Twilight growled, making a fist as she glared up at the demon.
“You? And how are you going to stop me?” Sunset scoffed.
‘Please! Please stop this! I don’t want this!’ Sunset sobbed, begging whatever it was controlling her to stop this as she tried to regain control of her body.
“She has us!” Rainbow Dash cried out as the others and her joined Twilight by her side.
“Gee, the gang really is all back together again!” Sunset giggled as she flapped her wings, sending powerful gusts of winds down at the courtyard making the group struggle to stay in place, though they somehow managed.
‘STOP THIS!’ Sunset wailed inside her own mind seeing just what the demon had planned, knowing just what was about to happen and regretting it. She never really wanted to murder anyone, not really. She hated people for what happened to her, the happens for what was done to her. Celestia for being the catalyst for it all. But she never wanted to murder anyone. And yet this demon was her darkest desires and it was more than happy to wipe out not only this world, but Equestira as well.
‘You finally realize it.’ The voice laughed gleefully, ‘You are a monster, more of a monster than humans ever were. Look at everything you have done since coming to this pathetic school.’
Sunset couldn’t do anything but cry as she realized just how badly she hurt these people, how badly she hurt those who were innocent of the things that had happened. They weren’t the ones who hurt her, yet she did everything in her power to hurt them all while justifying it as protecting herself from the pain she told herself they would cause her if she let them. She knew somewhere deep inside herself they weren’t a threat to her, yet she enjoyed hurting them just to feel powerful enough that she could lie to herself. Lie to herself by telling herself that she was safe now, that by doing this would keep anything else bad from happening to her. Instead, something much worse was happening. Her body was going to become a mass murderer and it was all her fault!
“Sunset!” A new voice called as the yard was bathed in red and blue lights. There was only one person there getting out of the car, most likely driving home for the night. Yet the voice didn’t care, he was there anyways and he would pay for his role in everything. Sunset could only look out of her eyes as she saw Twilight Sparkle’s eyes grow wide upon seeing the man walk slowly towards them. She could also see the recognition in Armor’s eyes as he looked shocked at the demonized form of Sunset Shimmer. Seeing the fireball gathering in Sunset’s hands he reached out toward her pleading, “Please, what ever is going on, stop this. This isn’t you! I know you and I know you aren’t a killer! Think about Star! Do you think she wants to see you like this?”
‘Star!’ Both demon and Sunset sobbed thinking about her. For one brief moment they were both on the same page, but all of a sudden the voice screamed furiously out loud, rage taking over as it threw the large fireball at Twilight and the group of girls.
“Twilight!” Shining screamed in horror, only for the explosion of fire to die down to see the group of five girls and a dog standing behind a shield of magical power.
As the five girls surround Twilight with linked hands, all of them glowing, Twilight pointed up into the air at Sunset with a look of triumph saying, “The magic in my element were able to connect with those that helped create it!”
Everyone standing around, including Sunset were shocked to see the six girls float into the air as energy washed over them giving them pony ears and lengthening their hair into pony tails while some of them grew soft, feathery wings.
“Honesty!” Twilight called out as Applejack spun around, the magic filling her with power and strength along with a sense of truth. And she could see the truth deep in Sunset, the pain that filled her heart even if she couldn’t see what exactly caused it.
“Kindness!” As the power flooded through Fluttershy, her wings flapping a few times as she softly landed. She could see the kindness hidden deep within Sunset, and feel the need to help her overcome the darkness that had taken root in her heart. She could almost hear herself whispering, ‘Everybody needs a little kindness.’
“Laughter!” As Pinkie Pie looked upon Sunset, she could feel that Sunset didn’t have much of a reason to laugh. Though she could feel that there was a reason, and that reason shone like a star. Yet there was something deeply wrong with Sunset and if they got through this, Pinkie swore to herself that she would find a way to give Sunset Shimmer more reasons to laugh. Maybe then she wouldn’t be so mean all of the time.
“Generosity!” Rarity mentally gawked at the demonic looking girl before as she could feel the generous spirit hidden deep inside. There was something making Sunset Shimmer the way she was, and she could sense that maybe there was a different person hidden inside. Someone worthy of getting to know, and maybe with a little generosity she could help that person grow.
“Loyalty!” Rainbow Dash never liked Sunset Shimmer, and she doubted she ever would. Yet as she was filled with the magic and a sense of loyalty, she could see that there was a loyalty deep inside Sunset that was her greatest strength and greatest weakness. She could tell that for some reason Sunset’s sense of loyalty had somehow become twisted in such a way that it was making her this creature before them.
“Magic!” Twilight cried out, feeling the comfortable power of her element filling her with its strength. She could feel the same strength and power deep inside Sunset Shimmer, yet somehow it had become tainted. It was darkened by rage and pain, but there was something crying deep inside. It wanted to be free, wanted to find peace and the element was responding to that. It was guiding Twilight in her actions, letting her know what had to be done.
“Together with the crown they create something more powerful that you could ever imagine! You may have the crown upon your head Sunset Shimmer, but you can’t control because you don’t have the most powerful magic of all. The magic of friendship!” Twilight said, feeling the power from her friends and their elements flowing into her and back to them strengthening them through their bond of friendship.
Sunset struggled against the powers flooding back through her from the energy connecting the crown to the aura surrounding the girls as the took a formation high above the ground as the feedback from the magic felt like it was tearing Sunset’s mind and soul apart. With an anguished cry she tried to pull back from the magic, but it was too late. A rainbow double helix fueled by the full power of the elements of harmony was arcing towards her making her try to flee. With a soul shattering scream the power slammed her into the ground leaving a crater around her.
“What is happening?” Sunset screamed, trying to stand up as the power kept samming into her.
“Here and in Equestira, it is the only magic that can truly unite us all!” Twilight cried out, her eyes glowing brightly. The power washing over Sunset split off to wash over both Snips and Snails changing them back to normal, not that they were much of a threat as they watched the whole thing in awe.
“Please stop it!” Shining Armor screamed at the girls, angry at them for hurting Sunset though he was also angry with her for making them do so in what appeared to be self defense. He was lucky that he wasn’t on duty and wasn’t called in on this as he had no idea how he could explain this.
“Any power you may have had in this world is gone, Sunset Shimmer. The magic of friendship just doesn’t exist in Equestria, it’s everywhere. You can seek it out,” Twilight says, walking towards the crater where smoke was rising obscuring her view of Sunset Shimmer as Shining Armor rushed to the side of the crater. “Or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours.”
“Choice?” The demonic cackle that came from the rising smoke sent a chill through everyones back as they first saw a shadow with wings in the smoke before a singed, weakened looking Sunset Shimmer stepped from the billowing darkness where everyone could see her. It looked as if she was crying as her body shifted from looking normal with rivers of tears flowing and back to the demon as they both glared up at Shining Armor. “I never had a choice, did I?”
“I’m sorry, Sunset Shimmer. I would have done anything to go back and change things if I could, but I was too young then. I couldn’t do anything more to help you.” Shining Armor said with tears in his eyes as Twilight turned to look at him in shock. Just as Shining had quickly figured out that this wasn’t his sister, Twilight had figured this was this world’s version of her brother. Both had questions for each other, but right now all Shining cared about was the crying girl glaring at him.
“I’ll kill them! I’ll kill all of them!” Sunset raged, “But first I’ll make you pay!”
“Then make me pay, Sunset. I deserve it. I deserve your hate, but not them. Take your hate out on me, punish me, I deserve it.” Shining sniffed opening his arms wide. Twilight was about to push him out of the way when she saw Sunset tense, ready to launch herself at him. She was too late though as Sunset flashed from one spot to right in front of Shining. She couldn’t stop the demon as she raised her hand and slapped Shining on the chest.
“Bastard! I hate you! This is your fault! I hate you! I hate you!” Sunset sobbed, hitting him again and again between each exclamation with each hit weakening more and more until she fell into his arms reverting fully back to human. He held her tight stroking her hair, the pair crying as everyone looked on in shock. Even the students from inside was coming out to see what was going on.
“I know, and I’m so sorry Sunset.” Shining whispered into Sunset’s hair as she sobbed in his chest before slowly passing out.
“What’s going on?” Twilight asked with a shakey voice.
“That’s what I’d like to know.” Shining Armor said as he sent a stern look to Twilight before another voice clearing their throat got their attention as Shining knelt to the ground holding the unconscious girl to him.
“As would I officer.” Principal Celestia said with crossed arms glaring at the entire group and the hole in the ground of her school. The look on her face wasn’t a very happy one either making the group as a whole swallow nervously.
“I don’t know, but does it justify everything that she’s done?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“Like hell it does, I hope the bitch never wakes up!”
“Yeah, let the freak rot in hell for all I care!”
“Hey, isn’t that a little extreme?”
“NO!”
“YES!”
The growing crowd of students surrounding the downed teen seemed to be torn between feeling sympathy for her and feeling an anger that could turn bad if it continued. Something that Shining Armor refused to let happen, though with how dense the crowd was getting, he doubted he could get her out of there easily. Not that he believed a pissed off aunt would let him.
“Listen up people! You can either go back to the dance and try to enjoy the rest of the night or you can go home!” Luna called out, once again proving she didn’t need a microphone or bullhorn to project her voice as it brooked no argument and took a stern tone of voice. “Whichever you pick matters little to me, but you will vacate the courtyard immediately! Failure to do so will land you in detention with me for the next month! NOW MOVE!”
“Thanks Auntie Luna.” Shining sighed, stroking the girl’s hair as her head rested in his lap.
“Don’t thank me; you still have to deal with her.” Luna said, giving a small grin as she thumbed towards her sister making Shining swallow.
“I played along when Twilight showed up playing whatever little game she was playing wanting to observe classes for a couple days since I couldn’t get a hold of your parents.” Celestia said, her voice even showing just how truly pissed off she was. Something the woman rarely ever was, but when she was it was best to run. “However, it has become apparent that this is not some little game! What the hell is going on? Students could have been seriously injured tonight and what the hell am I supposed to do with a crater?”
“You could make a pond!” Pinkie Pie suggested getting an angry glare from Celestia making her back up with a whimper. “I was just saying.”
“Shouldn’t you be going back to the dance to?” Luna asked as Derpy Hooves stepped forward nervously, offering Shining a muffin.
“She seemed really sad, didn’t she?” Derpy asked softly, thrusting the muffin out into the officer’s hands. “Please give that to her, muffins always cheer me up, maybe it will help her to.”
“Thank you miss.” Shining replied, taking the muffin a little awkwardly from the strange girl. She seemed really nice though, and he couldn’t help wondering just what Sunset had done here. “I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“Tell her that there’s better ways to protect those you love and if she ever wants to talk, I’ll be there for her.” Derpy said, smiling bright before turning to walk away. Shining was about to raise his voice, but it was too late as the girl let out an ‘EEP!’ before tripping into the newly made crater. A moment later her hand could be seen sticking up as she said, “I’m okay!”
“I want an explanation, NOW!” Celestia seethed, the woman looking like she was about to explode. The closer he looked though, Shining could see there was a great amount of fear etched into her face as well. Not that he blamed her as he was scared shitless himself before he realized that demon thing was Sunset.
“I’m sorry, I guess I should start off my saying I’m not the Twilight Sparkle you might know.” Twilight said sheepishly, holding one arm, rubbing her elbow. “I’m from another world.”
“Uhuh, another world?” Shining asked.
“Yeah, both of us came from there and so did Sunset Shimmer.” Spike said, stepping forward as several sets of eyes locked onto him with looks of disbelief and shock.
“Okay, that’s something you don’t see everyday.” Shining chuckled humorlessly as he turned back to Sunset who began to stir.
“Hey Shiny, what happened?” Sunset asked, her head hammering as she stared straight up at Shining Armor.
“You kind of turned into some demon thing and terrorized the school, kid. Care to let me in on just how the hell you managed that?” Shining armor asked, though he didn’t look as if he was mad at her. It took a few moments for her thoughts to settle and memories to finally come back making her sit up and hug him tightly.
“I don’t hate you, I love you! I’m so sorry!” Sunset sobbed as she dove into Shining’s arms, the man looking worried down at her with a sad look.
“What’s going on here, Armor?” Luna demanded, glaring at the pair. “If you are cheating on my niece I swear you will pay for it!”
“Darling, that is so uncouth.” Rarity said, glaring at the pair kneeling on the ground.
“BBBFF?” Twilight asked, her voice a little shaky.
“Is isn’t cheating on Cadie!” Sunset snapped as she pulled free, turning to glare at the ones making assumptions. “It’s none of your business, but they adopted me!”
“Wha?” Celestia asked, shaking her head. “You know what, I don’t care! This was a gas leak!”
“Principal Celestia! That freak caused this!” Rainbow Dash called out as Celestia stormed away.
“GAS LEAK!” Celestia snapped out, not bothering to turn back towards them.
“Auntie?” Shining asked, looking up at Luna.
“She’ll be okay, you know she’s always been the more level headed of us sisters. She also never believed real magic was possible so this is probably very hard on her.” Luna sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “I do want to know exactly what is going on. Everyone meet me at the McDonald’s down the road in thirty minutes. If any of you girls aren’t there, consider yourself expelled.”
“You can’t do that!” Applejack gasped out.
“Yeah, we didn’t do anything wrong!” Pinkie gasped out, looking on the verge of tears.
“Destruction of school property isn’t nothing. I need to make sure the rest of the faculty will handle the rest of the night and make sure my sister is okay. I’ll be there shortly.” Luna demanded, leaving no room for argument.
“We will meet you all there, I have some things to discuss with Sunset Shimmer here first.” Shining Armor said, crossing his arms and giving a strange look.
“I can’t just leave you here with her.” Twilight gasped out, Rainbow Dash agreeing as she punched her hand.
“Look, I’m not entirely certain of what is going on, but you aren’t really my sister no matter how much we may look alike. On top of that, I know Sunset Shimmer a lot better than you, and truthfully I’d trust her a lot more than I’d trust you.” Shining Armor said, narrowing his eyes at the girl wearing his little sister’s face. He didn’t really have any reasons to not like her, but he couldn’t bring himself to think of her as his sister right now. To him she was a fake even if she was a Twilight Sparkle.
“Come on, sugarcube. Ahm sure the officer here can take care of himself.” Applejack said, putting a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.
“Wait!” Sunset called out, cursing herself. Why was she feeling the urge to play nice with them now of all times. If anything she should be pissed at them, not rewarding them for beating her. Even if beating her had saved her from whatever that was that possessed her. True she had a theory that it was all her hate and anger which suspiciously seemed absent making her question just what the elements had done to her.
“What do you want?” Rainbow Dash snarled.
“Don’t make me regret this.” Sunset sighed as she pulled a wallet out of her jacket and pulled to fifty dollar bills from it before shakily standing and handing it to Fluttershy who barely managed to take it. “I doubt any of you have money in those dresses. Buy you all something to eat and save us a place.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie cheered with a salute making Sunset roll her eyes.
“Thank you darling, that was very generous of you.” Rarity said giving Sunset a slight smile.
“Yeah, probably the cops money.” Rainbow Dash scoffed getting a glare from Shining Armor.
“Sunset doesn’t need my money, she makes more money a year than I do.” Shining growled, defending Sunset.
“It’s okay.” Sunset said, putting a hand on his arm to calm him down and smiled a little. Ever since Shining and his wife moved in across from her and found her living there, the two had wormed their way into the teen’s heart. Two of the extremely few humans who have been able to. “If she doesn’t want some food, I’m sure the others could use it at least.”
“Come on, let them talk.” Twilight sighed, as the group slowly left Shining alone with Sunset, their transformations slowly dissolving as they left.
“Sunset, I love you and you know I’d never force you to anything, but after seeing what you did tonight I have to insist.” Shining said, taking a deep breath as he steeled himself for another argument over the subject he was about to broach.
“Don’t bother, I know I need help.” Sunset sighed, hugging herself as she looked towards the muffin he still seemed to hold onto with one hand and raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”
“A student gave that to me for you, said it might cheer you up.” Shining said as he handed the muffin over. It wasn’t hard to figure out who it came from as only one girl in the school was muffin obsessed and crazy enough to reach out an olive branch, or muffin in this case as an offer of something other than hate and scorn.
“It’s really good.” Sunset said as she took a bite of it, feeling a little better as she looked up at Shining. “Want a bite?”
“I’m fine.” Shining chuckled as he put an arm around her shoulders. “You know I love you, right?”
“I do, and I do love you guys to. I’m really sorry for what I said, I didn’t mean it.” Sunset sighed, wondering if that was even true anymore as she realized that somewhere deep inside her she still felt a little anger though it was nowhere near as bad as it once was.
“You did, Sunset, but I don’t blame you. I know you love us, but there’s a part of you that blames me for what happened to you.” Shining sighed, as Sunset swallowed the last of the muffin. “I blame myself for it to. If I could have adopted you sooner, I would have. I tried several times, but until I married Cadence they wouldn’t even bother looking at my application to.”
“It wasn’t your fault, I know that now. And I wouldn’t change things if I could, even if I had to go through all of that.” Sunset said, wiping the tears from her eyes that she just realized was there again.
“Star?” Shining asked softly.
“Star.” Sunset agreed, nodding her head. “Come on, we better get going before moonbutt gets there.”
“Moonbutt?” Shining asked making Sunset giggle a little through her tears.
“Here’s your change, darling.” Rarity said, pushing the change and receipt across the table to Sunset. The place was surprisingly quiet, but with most of the students at the dance and being well past the dinner rush, it was no surprise.
“Thanks, Rarity. And thanks for making sure to get Twilight a salad. She’d probably flip if you bought her one of these.” Sunset said, waving a hand at her Big Mac and having to hold back a bit of a blush as the blonde of the group was trying to do the same. Applejack hadn’t eaten a Big Mac since Sunset caught her one time and was teasing her like crazy over it about it eating practice for the other Big Mac that the country hicks were likely to do.
“What’s wrong with you two?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeing the tension between Applejack and Sunset Shimmer.
“NOTHING!” Applejack blurted out, a little too fast for Twilight’s liking.
“It’s something stupid that I said to Applejack and for what it’s worth, I’m very sorry.” Sunset said giving the most sincere look she could to the blonde who nodded in thanks. The strange thing was Sunset really did feel guilty over it now that she thought about it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to feel the hate and anger that filled her with strength for so long. She felt kind of empty right now, more running on autopilot than anything.
“Good, you are all here.” Luna said as Celestia and Luna took the last seats of the two tables pushed together.
“I’m sorry about earlier, this is just all very hard to take in.” Celestia sighed. She knew something was wrong with Twilight, though a part of her refused to accept it. She tried getting hold of Night and Velvet, but they hadn’t returned her calls yet seeing how both were out of town for a few days. She knew Twilight was thinking about transferring out of the private school to a regular school for her senior year as she was getting tired of the competition and hate from all the others she constantly beat out for the top student of the school. She had tried to convince herself that Twilight was just pretending not to know her so the students wouldn’t think she was her mole or spy among the students and played along.
“It’s okay, Auntie.” Shining replied, “I think it would be best to go with that story as official if you don’t mind. I don’t think reporting it as magic would go over very well with the general public.”
“No way! You can’t let her off the hook that easy!” Rainbow Dash protested, only to get a glare from Luna.
“Go ahead and spread the word that you used magic to defeat a demon. If you don’t mind starting a witch hunt and being burned at the stake, then by all means go ahead.” Luna snapped out at Rainbow Dash, cowing the girl. While Salem was one of the most known among locations for the witch trials hundreds of years ago, Canterlot was home to the most brutal ones even if it wasn’t as widely known.
“Yeah, I think I’ll pass.” Rainbow Dash said as she lost all color.
“I thought so.” Luna said as she glared at the teen.
“Witch hunt? Burned at the stake?” Twilight asked in horror.
“Drop it Sparkle, you really don’t want to know.” Sunset said, dipping her fries in the side order of mac sauce she ordered.
“I’m ready though, I want to know the truth of what happened.” Celestia said, though her shaky demeanor told otherwise.
“Where I come from, the world is filled with talking ponies that are ruled by two princesses who control the sun and the moon.” Twilight explained, getting a few curious glances yet no interruptions much to Sunset’s shock. She was sure that somebody would question sun and moon thing if not he pony thing itself. “There are unicorns that have magic and both Sunset and I are. Then there is earth ponies that are very strong and live longer lives than the others while usually do a lot of the farming. And finally pegasi who have wings and some live in the clouds and control the weather.”
“I don’t understand, it sounds like all of nature is controlled by ponies.” Rainbow Dash scoffed making Sunset role her eyes.
“It sounds like My Little Pony!” Pinkie Pie gasped out as everyone looked back and forth making Sunset pray that they didn’t figure it out. Only a very few people knew she wrote those ebooks on Amazon that had only recently been turned into a cartoon series. She even has several offers to publish a new set of books in hardback for kids though her email account publishing everything so far under Anon.
“It does, darling. Tell me, Sunset dear, you say you are a unicorn from this other world?” Rarity asked, arching an eyebrow in curiosity as she turned her attention to Sunset. “Does the names Sunbutt and Moonbutt mean anything to you?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” Sunset snapped out, crossing her arms and refused to meet anyone’s looks.
“Don’t worry none, sugarcube. Ahm sure we call can keep a secret. Right gals?” Applejack asked, giving all of the girls a stern look, the only one refusing to budge at first being Rainbow Dash, but she eventually agreed to.
“Thank you.” Sunset sighed, getting a shocked look from the principal.
“You wrote those books?” Celestia asked with a hint of pride.
“They aren’t anything special, just stories I remember from home plus ideas I get from looking through the mirror.” Sunset explained, “I had to do something for an income and I honestly didn’t expect it to become so popular.”
“Oh wow, I love those stories!” Fluttershy exclaimed, more excited than Sunset had ever seen the shy, meek girl.
“As much as I’m proud of your accomplishments, Sunset Shimmer, I would like to know how things got to tonight.” Celestia said cutting off any further discussion on Sunset’s literary accomplishments.
“Well, I don’t know a whole lot other than Sunset came back and stole my crown which houses the element of magic in my world. One of six elements that together protect our world from some of the worst evils there are.” Twilight explained, “All I know was that she used to be the princess’s personal student like I am now.”
“Aren’t you the same age?” Luna asked.
“We likely are, or very close. The princess took Sunset in long before I ever started school since I was a late starter anyways.” Twilight admitted, “My parents were busy a lot though they home schooled me. They always had time to make sure that I knew they loved me, but they believed it was best to take care of my education. They could personally make sure I was getting the best if they took care of it themselves and not have to deal with all those parent teacher conferences.”
Shining couldn’t help looking at the girl in shock as it was partly what his own parents did with his little sister. Though for them it was more because they traveled a lot and Velvet always took Twilight with her and tutoring her until she was old enough to take care of herself. Only times Twilight didn’t tag along was on short trips which either he or his now wife took care of her. It sounded so similar to this supposedly pony turned human.
“I was an orphan that that bitch took in.” Sunset said, finally feeling the familiar feeling of hate as it didn’t seem to fade when it came to the princess while for any of the others it seemed to be mostly gone, if not completely.
“Don’t talk that way about the princess!” Twilight snapped, for the first time showing real anger.
“Don’t tell me how I can talk about her! I was a fucking filly! I wasn’t even twelve years old when she kicked me out of the castle not even caring that I had nowhere to go!” Sunset cried, as Shining put an arm around her. “I wanted a mother, not a strict teacher that treated me like nothing I ever did was good enough!”
“What?” Twilight asked, shaken as she stared at Sunset in horror. She had to be telling lies, because if she wasn’t then that mean Celestia had thrown a defenseless child out on the streets with no place to go.
“Darling, that’s horrible!” Rarity gasped out, though she had a curious looking expression. “It might explain why you might hate her, but you said you hated humans. Why?”
“I have my reasons, but after tonight I think, no I KNOW I was wrong. Not all humans are bad.” Sunset said as she smiled up at Shining Armor, then glared at Rainbow Dash. “Then some of you are egotistical and full of themselves, yet you aren’t cruel of evil. Just because,” Sunset swallowed, trying to muster the courage to try and explain it without revealing too much. “Just because some humans does bad things, it doesn’t mean all humans are bad. I kind of always knew that, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
“What happened to ya, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, though she had a look of sympathy.
“Something bad, but she can’t talk about it right now.” Shining replied, rubbing Sunset’s shoulder in support as the girl smiled up at her.
“How did you turn into that demon if you were a unicorn though?” Luna asked softly, trying to figure out how that fit in.
“I didn’t want to change into that and I can’t really say for sure. All I can say is that I wasn’t in control then, I kept begging for whatever was to stop as I didn’t want to kill anyone but it wanted everything destroyed.” Sunset explained, shivering at the memory of being helpless that forced her to struggle to stay in control as it dredged up even more memories that she didn’t want to deal with right now. “I think it may have been my hate and anger though, all of my negative feelings given form and life. Every little thing that I would never do despite at one point or another thinking about it.”
“Did it hurt?” Pinkie Pie asked sadly, her hair flattening a little.
“Very badly, the whole time I felt as if I was being burned alive while that thing enjoyed it. It felt like that thing was ripping my soul to pieces to, trying to make sure it kept control.” Sunset said softly, her eyes becoming kind of glassy looking. “You girls may have saved me, but I feel violated at the same time. You forcibly stripped me of my hate and anger but it saved me. I don’t know how to feel about it right now. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, because I am, but I never wanted to feel this way again.”
“What? What do you mean feel that way again?” Rarity asked with suspicion.
“Sugarcube, ya can tell us. We won’t tell anyone else and it might help sort out ya feelings.” Applejack said.
“Look, I can’t right now.” Sunset said as she stood up, “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
“Look, I’d like to talk to you some more Twilight. You might not be my real sister, but you seem to be a lot like her. If you have time come to come by I’d love to talk more, but don’t show anyone else this. Not until Sunset is ready to let others know.” Shining said as he pulled a pen and small notepad and scribbled something on it before ripping it off and handing it to Twilight.
“I won’t tell anybody, thanks Shiny.” Twilight said with a smile before he turned to follow Sunset out with worried expression.
“Do you think she will be okay?” Fluttershy asked softly.
“Like I care.” Rainbow Dash huffed, yet her friends knew her better than to take those words to heart. They could see that the girl was worried about Sunset Shimmer just as much as the rest of them. There seemed to be much more to Sunset Shimmer than they thought, a lot more than any of them had thought.
After saying a tearful goodbye to her friends, she kept the address in her backpack that she knew would become a saddlebag once she crossed the portal. She knew she had another day, but she was worried about getting stuck here with the element of magic since Equestria needed it so much. She intended to study the mirror upon returning and find a way to change the way it only opened every thirty moons. She would find a way!
“Princess.” Twilight said stiffly upon finding Celestia the only one in the mirror room when she stepped through.
“Twilight, your safe!” Celestia cried in relief, “And you brought back the element of magic!”
“Of course I have!” Twilight huffed, feeling anger at the alicorn before her.
“Tell me, is Sunset Shimmer safe. Is she okay?” Celestia asked as hope and fear both filled her voice.
“Why does it matter? You kicked her out of the castle with nowhere to go when she was still basically a filly!” Twilight snapped out taking Celestia aback, the alicorn starting to cry a little.
“So she told you about that?” Celestia asked softly, regret filling her expression. “It was one of my three biggest regrets in all of my hundreds of years of life my faithful student.”
“So it’s true?” Twilight demanded as she stomped a hoof.
“Yes, and no, Twilight.” Celestia sighed, “I did, but I never meant it. It was to be a scare tactic to get her to rethink things. I teleported to the gates to wait for her, but instead a guard came and informed me that she went through the portal and I never go the chance to meet her and have her come back inside.”
“So you wasn’t going to throw her out?” Twilight asked with relief.
“Of course not, I’d never leave a filly with no place to go! I did fail Sunset though, I never realized how much I meant to her more as a parental figure than a teacher. I read the journals she left behind and they were full of hopes and wishes that I’d just drop the schooling and take her as my daughter. I failed to see that she was pushing away others to get me to acknowledge her by excelling at her school work. I failed to see that she wanted a mother first and foremost.” Celestia sniffled, tears running like twin rivers. “I loved her like a daughter and I chased her away!”
“He didn’t have to do that, you know.” Sunset sighed as she went to her kitchen, trying to decide what to make for herself for breakfast. A part of her wanted to just go back to bed, but she knew better than to give into that. She knew that she was needed and couldn’t allow herself to fall apart.
“He promised he would take Star to the library today anyways, Sunny. He just picked her up earlier so they could go out for breakfast.” Cadence smiled as she leaned up against the counter, studying Sunset with a critical eye. “Besides I wanted to spend some time with you alone.”
“I’m fine, really C. Don’t worry.” Sunset rolled her eyes, pulling down a box of instant waffle mix from the cabinet. “Do you want some waffles?”
“No thank you, Sunny, but I don’t think you are fine at all.” Cadence sighed Cadence sighed as she walked over to Sunset, putting a hand on her arm making her lower it from getting a bowl down. Gently rubbing Sunset’s arm she continued “I might have only known you for a few months Sunny, but I love you. I know you have trouble trusting, but if there is one thing that you trust is that we love you. We only want what is best for you.”
“I already agreed with Shiny last night, C, don’t worry.” Sunset sighed, “I know I need help.”
“About last night, Shiny was just messing with me. Right? You didn’t actually?” Cadence asked as she took a step back, still finding it hard to believe. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in the possibility of magic. She just found it hard believing that Sunset’s stories could be true, much less that she could turn into a demon.
“Turn into a demon? Yeah.” Sunset sighed, thanking the ring of the doorbell for getting her out of what she was sure to be an uncomfortable topic. A topic she herself was unsure about as all she had were theories to go on at the current point in time. “I’ll be back.”
Cadence wanted to curse their luck, she had been trying for weeks to get Sunset alone to have a heart to heart. It had been increasingly harder to get two minutes alone with the troubled teen, much less several hours like she wanted.
“Principal Celestia!?” Sunset gasped as she opened the door to find a woman who looked just like her aunt standing there, though Cadence knew this wasn’t her aunt.
“Sunny, get back! That isn’t Auntie Celestia!” Cadence gasped, pulling Sunset back and taking a defensive posture in front of the girl she viewed as a little sister if not daughter.
“I guess this was wrong.” Celestia sighed waving a piece of paper. “I just wanted to speak with Sunset Shimmer.”
Cadence didn’t care who this woman looked like or claimed to be, there was something seriously wrong here. There was a woman who looked exactly like a identical twin sister of her aunt and was, “Oh wow! It’s true!”
“You fucking bitch!” Sunset screamed all of a sudden making both women jump a little as they both turned to witness what seemed like a really pissed off teen seething angrily as she glared at the Celestia doppelganger. “How dare you show your face here?!”
“Sunny?” Cadence gasped out, a little shocked at the girl’s outburst while being thankful that they were the only ones there. Looking closer at Sunset though made Cadence even more worried as she knew how Sunset looked when she was angry, even if she never really witnessed her being this angry. Right now Sunset didn’t look angry, not really. Her posture wasn’t rigid, her breathing was actually pretty normal, no blush across her cheeks and the most disturbing thing of all was her eyes. They looked to be more lost than angry.
“Please Sunset, I just want to talk.” Celestia pleaded, falling to her knees as tears began falling almost instantly. “I just want to make things right, I love you!”
“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have kicked me out of the only place I knew as home!” Sunset screamed at the woman before turning back and heading back to the kitchen leaving the other two to watch in surprise.
“You did what?” Cadence hissed angrily as she turned back to see the woman sobbing into her hands, shoulders shaking as she kept repeating how sorry she was.
“It was supposed to be a scare tactic! I went to meet her at the gates but she ran through the mirror while I was waiting! I was just trying to teach her a lesson!” Celestia sobbed as she looked up with devastated eyes. “I loved her, I didn’t want to hurt her! She just, she was acting like a spoiled brat and I was just trying to break her of it!”
“Congratulations!” Cadence sneered, for once finding it hard to feel sympathy for anyone. “Because of you, you caused that girl a world of pain and suffering that you can’t even begin to imagine!”
“I’m sorry!” Celestia whimpered.
“If you loved me why didn’t you come for me?” Sunset’s voice came from the kitchen, sounding almost dead.
“Sunset, I wanted to, but I had a responsibility to my little ponies. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t risk leaving Equestria alone and come here.” Celestia sighed, “With only a few hours left for the portal it’s dangerous now, but my sister is finally free. I left Equestria in her care and she promised to watch over it if anything happens.”
Sunset felt as if she should be angry, as if she should tear the woman a part. She really wanted to somewhere inside of herself, but she was having trouble grasping that. She knew she hated the woman, knew she hated her Princess with a passion, yet she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t find the anger and hate the drove her for so long despite knowing it should be there. She wanted to cry for the loss of it because it was what kept her going for so long without giving into the depression and despair that was always on the edge of her soul trying to take hold. It didn’t take long to find a reason to go on without the hate and anger, but she knew it was going to be hard. She would do it for Star, the biggest reason she had to keep fighting the darkness within herself.
“That doesn’t excuse what you did!” Cadence hissed out at the kneeling woman as Sunset finished another batch of waffles.
“It’s fine, C. Are you two going to have any or not?” Sunset asked as she carried the three plates to the table before heading back for juice and syrup. She still refused to get a coffee maker though she had been thinking about changing her mind just for Shiny and Cadence. The only problem was that if she bought one just for them, she would be admitting that she liked them to be over more than just the occasional company or help. She didn’t want to really admit how much she loved them out loud even if she did admit that she liked them. Then again last night ruined all of that.
“I’m not really that hungry.” Cadence said softly as she kept her eyes on Celestia, and jumped when Sunset slammed the silverware down with her final trip.
“You two will sit down and fucking eat!” Sunset snapped out, getting both of her guests’ attention. “I want a peaceful morning so just, just sit down and eat. Please.”
“I’m sorry, Sunny.” Cadence said softly, joining the younger girl at the table and was soon followed by a timid seeming Celestia who slowly took a seat across from Sunset and next to Cadence.
“That’s better.” Sunset sniffed, rubbing her eyes. Once again wishing she could just let her hate give her the strength to tell Celestia to fuck off and never come back. Seeing her there on her knees crying tore into her heart and reminded her about old feelings she thought was dead.
“They smell great.” Celestia said softly, almost seeming as if she was afraid to speak. Not that Cadence blamed her for that after seeing how angry Sunset appeared to be initially. If it wasn’t for knowing the signs, Cadence would have been sure it was real anger.
“Thank you.” Sunset said stiffly as she poured some syrup on her own waffles forgoing any butter. “And no they aren’t like the waffles from back at your home.”
“It’s your home to.” Celestia said softly.
“No, it’s not. I don’t care what you say, the day you threw me out of the castle was the day Equestria stopped being my home.” Sunset said coolly, taking a big bite of her breakfast.
“Sunset, I came to ask you to please come home. I miss you.” Celestia said, watching as Cadence kept an eye on both of them even while spreading a large amount of butter on her waffles. “I didn’t know you loved me like you did, like I loved you. I was trying to groom you for something you weren’t ready for and in my haste I hurt you.”
“Fine, I forgive you.” Sunset sighed, putting her fork down though Cadence knew she wasn’t telling the truth. She didn’t forgive Celestia, and Cadence didn’t blame Sunset in the least after the crap that she had been through. “It doesn’t change the fact that I have a life here, however fucked up it is. A life I’m not leaving to come back to a world that didn’t want me when I have people here who do want me. Even if I’m a bitch half the time.”
“You aren’t a bitch, Sunny.” Cadence said, giving the girl a watery smile. She felt the need to scold Sunset for the language as it was usually the girl doing the scolding when someone used bad language here. After last night though and what was going on now, it was easy to ignore it.
“I am C, but you accept me for that. You accept me as your family and I may not act like it often enough, but I appreciate it. I love you guys.” Sunset sniffed wiping her eyes as Celestia looked on sadly.
“Sunset, what happened to you?” Celestia asked softly as Cadence shook her head.
“You turned her away, I don’t see how she is any of your business anymore.” Cadence said, but Sunset waved her hand signaling her that it was okay.
“You first, you said you were trying to teach me a lesson. Was that true?” Sunset asked, fidgeting a little while trying to summon up some anger and still seemed denied of the emotion.
“Sunset, you were the first foal I really dealt with in years.” Celestia sighed, “I know I interacted with students at the school, but I was raising you. I had no idea how to raise you and I tried to just treat you like any other student as that was all you were at the time. I took you in because I saw so much potential in you, the potential to become a Princess and become the bearer of the Element of Magic.”
“So I was just a tool to you?” Sunset asked looking away, trying to hide the hitch in her voice at hearing that.
“You were never a tool, Sunset. You were a special student with much more magical potential in any unicorn that I have ever met in my long life. Things changed though quickly as I came to love you as if you were a daughter, but you didn’t seem to want that. You always seemed so intent on studying that wanting to deal with any pony.” Celestia explained, wiping tears from her eyes.
“I was trying to make you proud of me so you would acknowledge me!” Sunset snapped out before leaning back into her chair with her arms crossed.
“I know that now, I read your journals after you left. If I had known Sunset, if only I had known all of that sooner.” Celestia sighed as Sunset got up and walked over to one of the bookshelves lining the living room and the entertainment system. Cadence wondered if what the girl was doing was a good idea or not as Sunset brought back a picture frame and handed to Celestia.
“I won’t tell you about my past, as far as I’m concerned my past is not today.” Sunset said as Celestia studied the picture frame with shaky hands. “Besides Cadence here and Shining Armor, this is my family.”
“How old?” Celestia asked, her voice cracking as her fingers traced the cool smooth glass.
“She’s four and even smarter at her age than I was.” Sunset said softly.
