Not long after testing new magic in Equestira, Sunset Shimmer notices that one of her friends are gone, and no one seems to remember them. Now, armed with enough knowledge of magic, Sunset must set the world's past right.
Starswirl was the last unicorn to have studied the magic of other worlds. That was over a millenia ago, and still no one had even thought of using magic in another world. At least, no one until Sunset crossed the portal. Disobeying her teacher, she had taken magic to the new world, and found it altered. After being reformed, she tried to understand the world's native magic, but failed. She found it was different. Perhaps she just needed a focal point, and what better focal point than Equestrian magic?
However, not long after the primary test, Sunset discovers that one of her friend’s pasts has been altered, and all memory of them erased. Only she notices anything is wrong and has enough knowledge of both worlds to save her friends.
Now history requires an Editor, and Sunset will have to step up if she is to save her friends.
“Remember to study for Monday’s test,” the history teacher told his seventh period class as they rushed towards freedom. “It’ll cover the Gilded Age, so be sure to study Rockefeller.”
Only after he had finished speaking did Twilight Sparkle begin to pack her notebook into her backpack. Sunset Shimmer, who had fallen asleep halfway through the lecture, was groggily stuffing her notes away. They were disappointingly short, with no real information behind them. Shaking off her sleep, she walked outside with Twilight.
“Got any plans for the weekend?” Sunset asked as the two walked down the hall.
“Not really.” Twilight looked down for a few moments. “Though I am planning on going to the library to get a few books and to start on the term paper.”
“What?” Sunset raised her eyebrow. “You do know the term paper isn’t due for another couple of months, right?”
“Yes, but I want to get it done and out of the way.”
Before the two could get any further, the rest of their friends joined in.
“Another week done,” Rainbow announced as she fell into step with her two friends. “Just a few more until Halloween.”
“Are we still gonna have a party at yer place for Halloween, Sunset?” Applejack asked as she came up from behind Rainbow.
“Of course we are!” Smiles spread throughout the group. The four teenagers stepped outside the front doors and into the free open air.
“Oh, there you are, darlings.” Rarity came rushing over to the group, Pinkie Pie in tow. “You would not believe what they’re forcing us to do in computers!”
No one in the group asked the obvious question as each of them mentally rolled their eyes at their friend’s melodramatics.
“Alright, I’ll ask. What’re ya’ doin’ in computers?”
“We have to design a web site for another person. An entire website!” Rarity continued her complaints for several seconds, her friends quietly allowing her to vent. As soon as she was calmed, the topic quickly changed to the dreaded History test.
“He always give me a bad score, no matter how much I study.” Rainbow Dash threw her hands into the air. “No matter how much info I put in my essay, he always gives it a D!”
“Yeah, he’s a real hard teacher ta’ please.” Applejack turned to Sunset, a small smile on her lips. “By the way, Sunset, mind if I borrow your notes for today’s video? I ran out of paper.”
Sunset couldn’t help but feel guilty, and her poker face was not what it used to be. Instantly, her friends saw through her.
“Sunset, did you fall asleep during History again?” Twilight finally asked after Rarity had been pacified. “I can let you borrow my notes again if you’d like.”
Sunset looked over, guilt and anger rising in her brain. How could she have fallen asleep again? She couldn’t rely on Twilight forever, but she also couldn’t get a bad grade. Twilight needed her notes to study off of too, so she couldn’t just take it.
“No, I’ll be fine,” Sunset lied. “I have been meaning to do a new system of notes, so I’ll be fine.”
After all her friends had broken off to go home for the day, Sunset ran over to her locker. Opening it, she found the item of her salvation: the Instantaneous Message Journal™. Pulling it out, she wrote to Princess Twilight.
Hey, Twilight, want to perform a test of the magic between the worlds? Your friend, Sunset.
Crossing her fingers, Sunset put the journal into her bag and began to walk towards the entrance of the school. Before she could even exit the building, she felt the journal vibrate. Pulling it out, she stepped off to the side to read the message.
I would be more than happy to help you test the magic in that world. When do you need me over there?
Sunset couldn’t help but smile at the inefficient use of a quill. It left the words bigger and much more smudged. She pulled out her pen again and wrote her reply.
I need a book that’s been enchanted with the Continuous History charm.
Sunset watched as the words appeared, showing Twilight’s response.
What do you need that for?
Sunset had to pause. She couldn’t let Twilight know she fell asleep during class. She would never hear the end of it. A half truth would work best here, but what reason would prevent suspicion best?
As you know, my journal works but your element doesn’t. I want to see if it is just a fluke or if other objects are changed through the portals.
Do you mind if I try something new I’ve been making to get it to you?
What do you want to do?
I have been designing a spell based on one of Starswirl’s theories of Portal Dynamics. It should allow for me to send you an object, which I will try with a book after I give you the regular copy through the portal.
Alright, that sounds fine. Can you get them to me sometime this weekend?
I can have everything ready by tomorrow. Is that fast enough?
That should be fine. Thanks Twilight.
Of course. You know you can ask me anything.
Anyways, how are things in Equestria?
The two spent several minutes communicating through the book about the happenings between the worlds. Before long, however, Sunset bid Twilight a good night before closing the book and locking it to stop any vibrations. She continued along her trek down Canterlot High’s grey hallways. On her way heading home, she decided to go see how conditioning practice for Soccer was going.
Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Wondercolts were doing soccer drills in the field, trying to keep in shape. Rainbow, as the team captain, was leading the team and keeping them all on track. As such, Sunset didn’t walk over to talk and instead watched the team practice for a bit.
They were all working very hard. Lightning Dust, another member of the team was almost beating Rainbow Dash in some of the contests, though they didn’t appear to be mad at each other. Yet, Sunset couldn’t stop seeing a certain glint in her eyes, and the air of competition between the two.
Shaking her head, Sunset continued on her way home before it got dark. Sunset got home just as the last beams of light were on the horizon. Opening the door, she entered and promptly threw her backpack off to the side. After getting some water and taking care of other necessities, Sunset returned to her backpack and withdrew her single sheet of notes. Seeing again at how pitifully short they were, she felt tempted to just crush the paper. Instead of giving into that urge, she withdrew her history book. Rereading through the first few pages of the chapter, she took more notes on that sheet of paper. However, at around 8:32, her phone buzzed with a text. Sunset got no more work done that night.
Saturday morning, Sunset found herself walking to school once more. When she was ten minutes away, she felt her backpack shake slightly. Pausing, she opened it and withdrew the Instantaneous Message Journal™. As she opened the journal, Sunset hand went for her lucky pen, usually in her pocket. However, for once, it was absent. Frantically searching for the pen now, she dug through both her pockets and her backpack’s innards looking for it.
After several seconds of searching, the Instantaneous Message Journal™ began to buzz again. Deciding to look for it later, Sunset opened one of the side pockets and withdrew a different pen. Turning back to the journal, she read the new message.
Alright, the spell is ready to send you the book. You ready?
Sunset smiled and put pen to paper.
Alright, go ahead and send it. I’m a few minutes away from the school. By the way, where will it end up at?
It should show up right in front of the portal.
Sunset picked up her pace, practically jogging towards the school. It shaved a minute off her arrival, though she was slightly out of breath when she arrived. Smiling, she looked in front of the statue, only to find it vacant of any and all books. Sunset opened the journal again.
Did you send it?
Yes. Did it not appear?
Unfortunately, no. Did you send one or two?
I only sent one. Want me to bring you the backup book?
Yes please.
Yes, please.*
Sunset could only sigh as she closed the journal, then let a smile break out across her face. Twilight was coming to visit, if only briefly. Sunset returned journal to her backpack and turned to the portal just in time to see Twilight step out.
“Twilight!” Sunset all but shouted as she hugged her friend. “Welcome back.”
“Hey.” Twilight held out a wrapped square. “I brought you a gift.”
Sunset wasted no seconds in tearing open the gift, showing what should have been a Book of Continuous History. It was supposed to be a sleek looking book, with a modern binder and roughly the size of a compendium.
Instead, the book looked rather large, with a leather binding, as well as being the size of a compendium, it was as thick as two, though surprisingly light. It was entitled Book of History: Editor’s Edition.
“Well,” Sunset said while still slightly stunned. “The words changed.”
“It would appear so, but what else changed?”
The two girls sat down as Sunset opened the seemingly aged book and flipped to the glossary. Just as she had hoped, the glossary contained chapters about Earth’s history. Everything from the Ancient Greeks, and older, up to the Modern Era.
Flipping to the furthest page in the glossary, the two girls found words still being written as the events came to pass. Even the minutest of details were in the book, including what the diplomats were drinking.
“This is amazing!” Sunset pulled Twilight into a quick hug. “Thank you for bringing this to me.”
“It was no trouble.” Twilight returned the hug, though her face was a touch redder. “I assume you want to study it more?”
“Definitely.” Sunset looked down at the book again and flipped to the American Gilded Age. All the information she would ever need, and some she wouldn’t, was right there in front of her. “If I show this to anyone, it could revolutionize everything about human history.”
“I don’t think you should show anyone.” Twilight looked aside in thought. “I don’t think introducing magic to a species without it would aid them… and could very well prove detrimental. Or even disastrous.”
“Huh…” Sunset looked up in thought. “I suppose that argument could be made. But wouldn’t intervention to aid them be better than letting them suffer in ignorance?”
“Letting a species grow on its own has always been Celestia’s, and by extension Equestria’s, policy.” Twilight leaned her head back on the statue. “I’m not entirely sure if I’d be allowed to even give you that book if you are going to give it out to people here.”
“Don’t worry, I know as well as you do on how Celestia would respond to that. I won’t give it out to anyone.” Sunset checked her phone, seeing that already five minutes had passed. “How long can you stay this time?”
Twilight grimaced. “I can’t stay long. An hour at most.”
“Oh… okay.” Sunset thought about what was within walking distance that they could do for an hour. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. “What do you wanna do?”
“How about you show me some of the technology from this world. I’ve yet to use a cellphone, and I can’t help but wonder if it can be replicated in Equestria.”
“Sure,” Sunset said as her smile grew.
For the next hour, Sunset allowed Twilight to use some of the technology that was in the world while showing her others. Laptops, phones, digital cameras, among other things. Before long, the hour was up.
“I need to get back now,” Twilight announced as she stood up. “I’m afraid I have a meeting with some delegates from Zebrica.”
“Oh, alright.” Sunset rose as well, her smile turning into a grimace. “Well, see ya.”
“Next time I’ll make time to stay longer.” Twilight hugged her friend goodbye. “I promise.”
Without waiting for a response, Twilight turned and entered through the portal. Sunset waited several seconds before feeling the surface, which had once again become solid. Taking her enchanted book, Sunset turned and began her walk home. Her mind already whirling with ideas of how to use her newly enchanted object, she didn’t even notice she almost left school grounds.
“Sunset!” the voice shouted before she could escape. Sunset turned to see that it was Flash Sentry trying to catch up to her. He was wearing his backpack, which looked to contain something big and heavy.
“Oh, Flash.” Sunset’s mind was reeling. It was true that they used to date, but she was unsure whether or not he held a grudge. “You need something?”
“Yeah.” He held out a pen to her, the same pen she had failed to find earlier. “You forgot this yesterday, and I just thought I’d come to give it back.”
“Oh.” Sunset reached out and took the pen. A small sigh escaped her lips as she felt its familiar weight in her hand. Giving it a slight squeeze, Sunset placed it into her pocket.“Thanks.”
Awkward silence reigned for several seconds. Sunset scrambled for something to say, but nothing came to mind.
“Well, I gotta get going.” Flash turned a waved a hasty goodbye before running off.
Sunset stood in silence for a few seconds before returning to her walk home. After arriving home and throwing her backpack onto the couch, she moved to make herself lunch. Once she’d eaten a totally healthy meal of ramen, she pulled her new book out again.
“Well… time to study,” Sunset told herself dryly, feeling all the enthusiasm of studying Laissez-faire economics. She went to the Gilded Age section of the Book of History and began to read up, taking notes on a separate sheet of paper. It took hours to complete, but she was thorough. Her notes spread across five pages, her hand feeling like it would fall off. Now all she needed to do was study for the weekend, and she was golden.
“Ha, I’m going to ace you, test!”
“I have here yesterday’s test results,” the teacher informed the class as he passed back the essays and tests on Tuesday. “Some of you did quite well, and I couldn’t be prouder. Others of you really need to start studying, or you may fail this class. And I know you don’t want to see me again next year.”
Sunset sat in her chair, her body language screaming confidence. She had studied for the test all weekend and was all but dancing as she walked out of class the day prior. However, when she received her test, right on the top of the paper was a big red, circled C. All of her confidence fading, Sunset could only sit in shock until the all the tests were passed back.
“If any of you would like to see a good essay, I would suggest reading Twilight’s,” the teacher continued. “Her essay’s on a level I would expect from a senior. Compare your essay to her’s, and you’ll see where you went wrong.”
As Twilight blushed under the praise, the bell rang and most of the students did their best in getting out of the class as fast as possible. Sunset was just as fast as them, but instead of leaving, she went straight to the teacher’s desk.
“What do you mean I get a C?” Sunset all but shouted to the teacher. She could still hear some of the other students most of them complaining about their grade. “I answered every question completely, thoroughly, and provided evidence. Why did I get a C?”
“Sunset, your evidence was exactly the problem.” The teacher lifted up her paper and read through the first paragraph until finding what he was looking for. “Right here, you speak about JP Morgan buying Carnegie Steel, but you have all the facts wrong. It was quick, with JP Morgan buying it immediately after Carnegie named his price. You put that it was a long, drawn out process, full of backdoor dealings. And don’t even get me started on what you fabricated about Rockefeller.”
“It wasn’t fabricated,” Sunset insisted. “I found evidence that that’s how it really happened!”
“Oh?” He sat back in his chair. “Where did you find this evidence?”
“Uh…” Sunset’s mind racked to find some form of excuse, some way to make it not sound like she was an idiot. “Internet?”
“I thought so.” He rubbed his eyes briefly before looking sorry for Sunset. “You are a victim of a pseudo-Historian. Someone who creates facts without evidence. Be sure to check your sources, Sunset. Do you need anything else?”
“No… I guess not.” Sunset sulked out of the classroom, her test barely held by her weak grip. Outside the door waiting for her were all her friends, minus Rainbow Dash.
“Didn’t go well, darling?” Rarity moved over to comfort her, her hand resting on Sunset’s shoulder.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” The six girls began to make their way to the front of the school. “That reminds me, have you seen Rainbow Dash today?”
“Rainbow Dash?” Appplejack tilted her head, confusion clouding her eyes. “Who’s that?”
Sunset couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s attempt to pick her up. “She’s gone one day and you already forget her. Seriously though, is she sick today?”
“No, Rainbow Dash is here today,” Pinkie said with a smile. “We share a seventh period, and she was here.”
“Huh…” Why hadn’t she sat with them at lunch today? “I got something I need to take care of. I’ll talk to you all later.”
“Okay, bye!” Pinkie all but shouted as Sunset peeled away from the rest of the group.
Sunset decided to go to the one place she knew Rainbow would be: conditioning. Before she could make it to the field, she found Rainbow. But something was definitely different about her. Her normally cyan skin was far paler than normal, and her clothes, usually a vibrant mixture of colors, were replaced by a pair of pants and dark blue sweatshirt.
“There you are, Rainbow,” Sunset said happily as she approached. “Where were you today? You feeling okay?”
“Huh?” Rainbow turned to Sunset with the same confusion that filled Applejack’s eyes. “Uh… hi?”
“Mind if I walk with you to practice?” Sunset’s smile grew as she nudged Rainbow in the side. “I promise I won’t slow you down.”
“Practice? I’m walking home,” Rainbow retorted, rubbing her side where Sunset’s elbow had connected. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.”
Sunset stopped, stunned. None of it made any sense, Rainbow usually responded to an elbow with an equally rough one, and she would never miss a single practice. Something was wrong, definitely wrong. Rushing over to the soccer team’s condition, she found Lightning Dust there, leading the team through exercises. After a few sets, she called for a break and moved to get a water, where Sunset intercepted her.
“Hey, do you know what’s wrong with Rainbow?” Sunset asked her.
“What do you mean? And who’s Rainbow?” Lightning replied before drinking down some of her water.
“You know, Rainbow Dash, the team captain?” Sunset gave Lightning a hard stare, though her only response was laughing.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I’m the captain of this soccer team.” She turned around and picked a person at random. “Hey, Fleet, get over here.” The member in question rushed over, still heaving and catching her breathe. “Who is the captain of this team?”
“Y *gasp* You are, Lightning,” the girl answered. “Was that all you needed?”
“Yeah, go back to rest. But you better be ready in five minutes. I won’t allow anyone to pull the rest of us down!” Lightning turned back to Sunset. “Now, was there anything you wanted to ask?”
“No, no. That’s all.” Sunset watched as Lightning whipped everyone back up and began another set of suicide drills. Turning away, she rushed home, her mind still reeling. So many things just didn’t make sense.
She arrived home, throwing her backpack on her couch as she thought. Her mind was racing with strange ideas, but none of them made sense. She spent hours sitting on her couch, contemplating why her world was so different suddenly.
Slowly, her mind drifted to the book that Twilight had given her. Getting up, she walked to her bedroom and, on her desk, was the book already open. There seemed to be a red glow coming from one of the pages. It also appeared to have a bookmark set to the page, and it wasn’t the one she had left the book open on. She walked over and read the red text.
Mistake found in this section of History. Evidence of tampering found. Editor required to fix mistakes.
Sunset could practically feel the magical energies emanating from the book. Already she knew the book had been changed by the world, but how and in what ways she didn’t know. Sitting down next to the book, she examined it fully. There was an entire section highlighted in red.
After a brief scan, she deduced it was about a soccer game, one Rainbow Dash had been in. There was, however, something odd. It looked as if someone had used white out and wrote their own story in place of the book. The font was different, as was the size of the letters.
Sunset reached over and pulled out white-out from her drawer and tried to apply it to the page, only to find that it didn’t work. It wasn’t that the white-out wasn’t sticking, it was simply that the words persisted and went through it.
Sunset looked at the words in red again. An editor was needed, but what did that mean? How did someone manage to alter the book? How could anyone else in this world know how to control an Equestrian construct?
Setting aside those thoughts for later, she turned back to the problem at hand. She knew the book was most likely the problem and solution to Rainbow Dash’s problem, but she didn’t know how to fix it. Twilight wouldn’t know, nor would anypony in Equestria. Only she knew enough about both worlds to fix it.
Sunset sighed, her mind thinking up new ideas. However, before long, her mind began to drift again. Snapping herself out, she decided to look at the one object that had helped her through her hardest time on this planet: a photograph.
It was a picture of her and all her friends. It had helped her get through all the bullying that occurred after she turned into a she-demon, showing her that there were people that honestly believed in her. It was her most treasured item. The fact that Rainbow Dash was now missing from it pushed her to make sure she restored whatever had gone wrong.
Putting her mind back to the task at hand, she once again drew up a blank. Finally settling for simply searching, Sunset closed her eyes and focused on the book. The magic of this world was rarely used and had a feel that was much like calm water, but also unusable. However, Sunset could feel a channel through the book, the magic being used to do something other than writing words.
Suddenly, she felt something pulling her towards the book. Her body felt as if it were fading away, her limbs no longer under her command. She felt as if her conscious was being sucked into it.
Panicking, Sunset pulled herself back into her body, fighting against the urge to fall into the pages that tried to draw her in.
Her eyes popping open, Sunset looked around the room. Her skin was sweaty, as if she had just sprinted a mile. She felt tired enough for that to be true, too.
Taking a deep breathe, Sunset got up and closed the book. She couldn’t be dragged in without a backup plan. Walking to bed, a plan began to form in Sunset’s head. It was stupid, dangerous, and probably hazardous to her health, but it would probably work. Hopefully.
The next morning, Sunset found herself waiting at the front of school far ahead of her usual schedule. Most of her friends didn’t even show up until five minutes before the first bell rang, but she had arrived thirty minutes early.
Yawning loudly, Sunset stretched in her spot on the front steps of the school. Although autumn was already in full swing, it wasn’t a cold morning. Sunset checked her phone for the fourth time that minute. Twilight should have been at school already, but she hadn’t shown up with the last bus.
The sound of an approaching bus shook Sunset out of her sleepy state. Smiling, Sunset waited patiently for the bus to approach and deposit Twilight for another day of learning. The bus stopped and students got off, but Twilight was not one of them.
Sunset immediately pulled out her phone and sent a text to Twilight. It read simply, “Are you running late today? I need to talk to you before class starts.”
Returning to her waiting, Sunset thought back on her plan, making sure every detail was correct before trying to explain it. Sunset watched as another bus came by, and still no Twilight.
Determined to wait until Twilight arrived, Sunset practically jumped up when she felt a hand shake her shoulder. Standing behind her was Twilight, backpack already gone.
“Hey, Sunset,” Twilight greeted with a smile. “You needed something?”
“How’d you get here so fast?” Sunset asked in shock. She had been at school and watched the first bus as it arrived, and she was certain Twilight didn’t know how to drive.
“Someone in my first period offered me a ride, so I took them up on their offer.” Twilight sat down next to Sunset, her smile growing a bit wider. “This school’s students are so much nicer than Crystal Prep. If someone offered you a ride from there, they would demand a fee.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty good.” Sunset shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “Anyways, can you come over to my place after school?”
“Uh… I’ll ask my mom, but she’ll probably be fine with it.” Twilight pulled out her phone and sent of a quick text before depositing it back into her pocket. “So, what do you need me over for?”
“It’s… it’s complicated.” Sunset let out a loud sigh. “Long story short, something happened to the past, and now you don’t even remember one of our friends because they’ve changed. I have an idea on how to fix it, but I need you to watch over me while I do it.”
Twilight leaned back against the step, her head nodding slowly as her mind worked its way around all the new information. After several seconds, she turned to Sunset.
“Alright,” she said simply, pulling out her phone again to send off a quick text.
“Wait, that’s it? You’re not gonna ask a bunch of questions concerning what I need you to do or what I just said?”
“Nope.” Twilight looked around for her backpack and, noticing its absence, looked a touch glummer. “If what you’re saying is right, and I have no reason not to believe it’s true, then asking questions would prove itself moot as, if you do succeed in restoring our memories, then I’d understand what you meant.”
“I guess that’s one way to look at it…” Sunset sat back with Twilight, who was already getting up. “Where are you going?”
“I need to go jot down notes on how I’m feeling and what I know, as well as how I reacted to what you said. If I’m going to do my own, safe research on magic, then I need any data I can get. Anyways, gotta go!” Without waiting for a response, Twilight rushed over to the doors, presumably to go jot down said notes.
With a playful rolling of her eyes, Sunset looked down at her phone. She still had twenty minutes before her first period started.
“Uuuugh!” Sunset slumped back on the stairs, practically laying down. “Why did I get here so early?”
Six and a half hours later saw Sunset returning home with a very anxious Twilight in step, trying to jot down any notes she could.
“So, did you feel anything other than dread when you saw Rainbow Dash, or some other sense that told you something was wrong?”
“Nothing magical, I think.” Sunset had been answering questions the entire trip, and was starting to get tired of answering them. She was carrying a bucket full of ice in front of her, for use later.
“And when you saw Rainbow Dash, you still recognized her, though it was not reciprocated?”
“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.” Sunset sent up a silent prayer to speed up the journey, which was answered immediately as she finally saw her house. Picking up the pace, Sunset all but slammed into her door, pushing it open. “Finally, we’re here.”
Twilight entered in after her, her notebook still out. Sunset led her into the living room, where she finally put down the bucket full of ice. Letting out a big huff of air, Sunset sat on her couch, ignoring the remaining mess in her house.
“So, what do I need to do?” Twilight sat on the couch as Sunset began to put some water in the bucket.
“It’s very simple, really.” Sunset continued to put water in the bucket as she spoke. “I’m going to try to connect with the magical energies, but I don’t know what’s gonna happen when I do.”
“Isn’t that really dangerous?” Twilight asked in a worried tone.
“No, as long as you’re here I should be fine.” Sunset gave Twilight an assuring smile. “I’m only to be connected with the energies for two hours. Once those two hours are up, shake me to bring me back.”
“What if that doesn’t work?”
“That’s where this comes in.” Sunset motioned to the bucket, now full of ice and water. “If you can’t wake me up by shaking me, do not hesitate to dunk my head in the bucket to shock me out. That’s the best way to wake someone up when they’re exploring unknown magical energies of this type.”
“Okay, I think I understand.”
Sunset left the living room, coming back with the Book of History in hand. Placing the book on the table, Sunset assumed a comfortable meditating position. For her, it was laying down.
Closing her eyes, Sunset projected her mind outward again, towards the book. She could feel it clearly, still feeling the magic being channeled through it, like water through a gateway. Letting out a deep breath, Sunset let go of her body and focused on the gateway more, allowing herself to be pulled into it.
With a blinding flash, everything changed. Sunset could see a million colors swirling around her in a wondrous mix. She lost all sense of time in the colorful swirls, but eventually it all ended. Sensation returned to her. Nothing felt wrong, though she couldn’t feel her home’s carpet she was probably still laying on.
With a forced effort, Sunset opened her eyes and found herself in a strange, new place. Looking around, she found herself surrounded completely by walls of bookshelves. There seemed to be ample light, but no source could be found. It seemed to simply exist above the smooth, white marble tiles.
Sunset glanced around, searching for an entrance or exit. Her eyes, however, kept focusing on a book in front of her. This particular book caught her eye as it had bookmark sticking out from the top of it. Following her first instinct, Sunset waved her horn, withdrawing the book. She flipped through the pages to see that it was the section that was in her own Book of History, but with much more detail.
Carrying the book next to her, she began to explore the wonderous place she found herself in. There were rows and rows of books, reaching high into the sky. There didn’t appear to be an end, appearing as more a labyrinth than a library. Eventually, she found her way to what appeared to be a different area entirely.
It was a small clearing, with a desk on one of the sides. In the other three directions were entranceways back into the collection of books. Between the desk and her was a large fountain, except the water within it wasn’t blue; it was a dark purple.
Sunset began to make her way over to the desk, her hoofsteps sounding louder with every impact, echoing off the bookshelves and walls. Sunset made her way past the fountain to the desk. Looking over it, she found it in pristine condition, without a single bit of dust, grime, or use. After seeing nothing was amiss, she turned and began to make her way towards one of the entrances.
“Another visitor?” a voice said, coming from behind her. “How intriguing.”
Sunset turned to face the creature that spoke. Sitting at the desk, which was now a chaotic mess, was some form of creature. It’s body was very unique, with a nearly flat angular face. Its skin was a pale brown. It was missing its nose and ears, but its mouth was made in a wide smile.
“No one comes for two thousand years, and now two visitors in the span of days.” The creature’s smile grew, its body becoming more casual. “More interesting is that one is an Equestrian.”
“H-how did you know that?” Sunset asked, pointing a hoof at him. When her hoof entered her vision, she realized that her form had changed. She looked at the offending limb with incredulity before realizing she was a pony again.
“It appears somepony is a bit behind.” He got up from his desk and grabbed her hoof, giving it a hard shake. “I suppose I should introduce myself. I am HaSt Soporific. I work here, sometimes.”
“Where is here?” Sunset pulled her hoof away from Hast. He simply moved back to sit behind the desk again.
“You don’t even know where you are? What are they teaching you?” Hast swirled his finger in the air, creating a floating sign saying, “Welcome to the Akashic Records”. “Does this answer you question?” His smile transformed itself into an annoying smirk, making his face all the more punchable.
“That doesn’t tell me anything!” Sunset jumped up onto her hind legs, placing her forelegs on the desk. “What. Is. This. Place?”
“It’s the center of all knowledge. Any and all ideas, thoughts, events, and general history are stored here, for the select few that manage to make it here… which hasn’t happened in a long time, though some manage to tap into part of it.”
“So this is where all that comes from…” Sunset trailed off, realizing where all the information from the Continuous History enchanted books came from.
“Now, Ms. Shimmer…” Hast outfit had changed to that of a secretary, complete with tiny glasses and a clipboard in front of him. “You seem to fit most of the requirements, so I will offer you it now. Do you wish to be an Editor?”
Sunset felt herself get teleported over to a chair in front of the desk. Glaring at Hast, she tried to get comfortable. “What’s that?”
“Well, you’ll be required to go back in time and fix whatever errors the Records find. Very simple, I assure you.” The clipboard disappeared in a puff of smoke, in its place a stack of papers. “All you have to do is sign this contract and you’ll be granted full rights as an Editor.”
“Contract?” Sunset’s mind raced back to her time as Celestia’s pupil. “Can I read through it first, just to make sure there’s nothing wrong with it?”
“Ms. Shimmer, I’m a very busy entity.” Hast pointed behind her, where now stood a line of Hast’s all waiting impatiently. “But, if you wish to hold up the line, please, go ahead and waste your time reading it.”
Sunset took the stack of papers and levitated it over to her, her magic feeling as natural as it had when she was Celestia’s pupil. Reading over the front page, there were four numbered statements.
1) I may not look at my own future or change my past. 2) Any consequences that come, I must accept. If that means what I fixed leads to an undesired outcome, I don't have the right to complain to any entity of the Records. 3) A fee will be paid to the Editor based on the problems they fix, and in what way. 4) I may not ever tell anyone else of the way to get into the Records.
Sunset flipped to the next page only to notice that it had the same exact words. Flipping through the next several pages, suspicions began to grow and were confirmed. Every single page was the exact same, with no deviations.
“Why did you give me a bunch of copies of the same page?” Sunset asked, pointing a hoof at the accused.
“Backup copies, of course. You only need to fill out one, obviously.” Hast’s all too innocent smile spelled his guilt clearly. “So, do you wish to accept this contract? I assure you, it will bring about quite the adventure.”
Sighing, Sunset levitated one of the pens from his desk. Slowly, deliberately, she signed her name on the very bottom of the sheet. After her name was fully written, the letters shined a brilliant gold before the contract disappeared.
“A pleasure to have you, Ms. Shimmer, and since I’m feeling generous, why don’t I give you a little tour?” Without waiting for an answer, Hast snapped, teleporting Sunset across the room into a theater chair. With a snap, Hast was sitting next to her with a large bag of popcorn. With another snap, a projector appeared into existence behind them while a projection board was placed in front of them. Without missing a beat, Hast pulled out a remote, giving it a click.
The first of many pictures appeared on the screen in front of them. It was just the title page for the power point, though most of it was filled up by the words, “Created by Hast Soporific.”
A second Hast appeared by the images, a pointer in his hand. Hast pulled a remote out of thin air and pointed it towards the projector, giving it a press. The picture changed to show wide rows of bookshelves.
“These are the bookshelves of history, each one containing information on a certain person or a certain time or even a certain event. I won’t go into the details of how it works, just that it does,” the Hast at the front said.
The image changed again, this time showing a map of the records.
“As you can see, there are three main library wings of history and then the editor’s area, where only editors are allowed in. If anyone else tried… well, nothing bad would happen, per se, but nothing would happen. They wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
The scene changed again, this time showing a strange looking portal and clothing.
“This is the Time Displacer. It allows for editors to go back in time to fix disturbances in the past. The clothing on the left will allow you to go unseen. You have to wear it or the butterfly effect might harm someone.”
Hast continued his lecture for a few more minutes, but he mostly went on about how the cafeteria was top notch in the editor’s wing.
“By the way, did anyone else come through here recently?” Sunset interrupted just before he could start talking about the glories of mystery meat.
“Yes, I told you that earlier. Weren’t you listening?” Hast reached over and pulled a cotton ball out of her ear. “Ah, I see the problem. Cotton in your little pony ears. I didn’t know it was a problem for equines as well as humans.”
“Who were they?” Sunset leaned towards him, trying to draw the answer out of him.
“I have no idea who they were, I just gave them the tour like I did you. And they were much nicer about it!” Hast hmpfed and teleported a small distance away. “Now, if you don’t need me, I must be going.”
“Wait!” Sunset called out to him, which he surprisingly obeyed. “Can you at least tell me what they looked like?”
“Ah, alas, I’m not good with faces. I might remember something later, though.” With a smirk he tried to hid behind his hands, Hast teleported away, leaving Sunset alone, the chairs and projector disappearing with him.
Getting off the chair, Sunset moved to the right of the main desk, finding a small key card slider there. Glaring at it, she felt a tap on her chest. Looking down, she found a lanyard around her neck with an obscured picture of her as well as all her details. Sliding it through the keypad, the door slowly opened.
Returning after grabbing the book she was supposed to fix, she walked through the door and into a long hallway. There were many doors, but, according to the map, the Time Displacer would be at the very end of it. After a minute of walking, she finally got to the end of the Hallway, and found the machine and the suit that was in the slide show.
The suit was a dark shade of purple, with lilac trimmings. It covered the full body, and was her perfect fit. Putting on all but the hood, Sunset turned back to the main machine. It looked like a large gateway, but to one side was a lectern. Walking over to it, she placed the book into the lectern and took a step back.
The machine sprang to life. A swirling vortex with multiple time symbols covered the gateway. Already a picture could be made out, but it wasn’t focused. Returning to the book, Sunset flipped through a few of the pages and found the picture changing, getting more focused. When she flipped to the page with the error, the vortex showed Rainbow sliding into another player’s ankle.
Taking a step back again, Sunset gathered her courage. Taking a deep breathe, she strengthened her resolve. She needed to fix the past. She couldn’t let anything stop her. She ran towards the portal, and everything went white.
The first thing Sunset could feel was cold water on her face. She was almost out of air, and someone was forcibly pushing her head into ice cold water, barely giving her enough time to breathe. Everything was a mixture of color in the water, and Sunset felt physically drained, as if she could do nothing.
After several more seconds, her head was raised out of the water for several seconds, only to be met face to face with Twilight Sparkle, who was peering right into her eyes.
“Sunset, are you back?” Twilight asked, adjusting the bucket.
“Yes! Yes, I’m back!” Sunset all but shouted. Twilight’s shoulders relaxed and she let go of Sunset’s head. “What happened? Why did you bring me back?”
In response, Twilight silently pointed to the clock that hung on the wall. The time was two and a quarter hours past when they had started. Sunset, still catching her breathe, turned back to Twilight.
“Listen, I need to go back for just a few more hours. Wake me up in---” Before she could continue, Twilight covered her mouth with her hand.
“No, Sunset. You can’t do that.” Removing her hand, Twilight sat back. “I need to go home, and you look worn out. You started sweating while you were… over there. You started to move, shout weird things…” Twilight looked away, not meeting Sunset’s eyes. “You scared me.”
For the first time since being pulled back, Sunset examined herself. Her arms were heavy, as were her legs. She felt as if she could eat an entire wedding cake designed by Pinkie. Already she could feel exhaustion overflowing her.
“But I have to go back, I have to fix this as soon as possible.” Sunset tried to reach for the book, only to be stopped by Twilight again.
“Sunset, if you change the past, will it change the present?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Sunset answered after a moment of thought. “That’s how it was changed in the first place and why you can’t remember Rainbow.”
“That means you can fix it any time and it won’t have any negative effects on Rainbow or anyone’s past. You don’t have to rush through it, harming yourself in the process.”
“But I have to help her!”
“And you will, but for now you need to rest. Even I can tell you need it, and I’m terrible at reading people.”
The two sat in silence as Sunset mulled it over. She didn’t enjoy being forced to wait, but going back to that place could prove dangerous when exhausted. Sighing, Sunset gave Twilight a nod, prompting her to smile.
“Do you even know what you have to do in order to fix it?”
“No.” Sunset sighed, laying down on the floor. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing when I go to fix it. I have no idea what the ‘right’ choice is or how to bring it about.”
The two sat in silence for a few more moments, thinking. Twilight moved off the couch and lay next to her friend.
“Why not just ask Rainbow Dash what happened that day?” Twilight proposed.
Sunset looked at her, thinking it through. “That would be helpful, and give me more information…”
The two let silence return, preferring instead to simply think and relax. The peace did not last long, however, as a buzzing in Twilight’s pocket cut through the silence. Retrieving her phone, Twilight read the text and got up.
“My mom’s here,” she said, moving to grab her backpack. “See you tomorrow at school.” Twilight waved a goodbye and exited the door, closing it on her way out.
“Bye.” Sunset locked the door before moving to the kitchen to grab and eat some leftovers. While eating, the Book of History mocked her, taunting her with the chance to save one of her closest friends.
After eating, Sunset moved over and forced herself to close the book. Twilight was right. Extensive magical use without rest could prove disastrous. Sunset started to clean up the mess that was made. It was then that she noticed something had changed. Below the title were four little words: “Property of Sunset Shimmer”.
Sunset got to the cafeteria before the bell had rung. Given that she had a TA period before it, she was almost always the first one there and sat waiting for her friends. The lunch bell rang, and Sunset was lost in deep thought as she her clouded eyes watched the doors. She shook herself from her thoughts upon recognizing one of the first students to arrive: Rainbow Dash.
Sunset watched, waiting to see with which group Rainbow would sit down with. However, instead of sitting, she made her way towards the exit and left while most other students were filing their way in.
Sunset all but jumped from her seat as she picked up her speed to follow Rainbow, who was doing her best to get away from the cafeteria and head upstairs. Sunset’s training in following other students kicked in, and she slowed her pace so as not to possibly alarm Rainbow.
After reaching the third floor, Rainbow walked over and entered room 124. Sunset, not wanting to look suspicious, moved to the side of the stairwell and decided to wait a few minutes. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text to Twilight explaining that she was going to be late for lunch.
After waiting long enough to avoid suspicion, Sunset moved to the room and put an ear to it. She could hear explosions, slashes, and people talking, though it all sounded like gibberish. Taking a deep breath, Sunset strode inside to find a darkened room.
There were about a dozen students in their own little groups. A projector was showing some type of cartoon. Some of the students were watching it, their food slowly disappearing as they watched. Others were simply standing in the back talking. In the furthest part of the room were two people playing some sort of card game.
“Hello!” a girl all but shouted as she walked over to Sunset. “You’re new here, right?”
“Yes.” Sunset forced a smile onto her face.
“Great! Are you interested in joining anime club?” The girl held out a small club form. “We are always interested in new members. If you have any questions, I’m the president, so you can just ask me.”
“Uh, sure. Great, thanks.” Sunset took the form and stored it away into her backpack, though she only roughly knew what an anime was. Giving the other girl a smile, she made her way over to her currently amnesiac friend. “Hey, Rainbow.”
Rainbow turned for just long enough to shoosh her before turning back to watching the cartoon on the screen.
“Whatcha watching?” Sunset asked, trying a different angle. This provided more of a response.
“Season 14 episode 1 of Ninja Y.” Rainbow hesitated before looking at Sunset, giving her a grin that could only be described as adorkable. “It just came out today.”
“Oh. I see.” Sunset’s mind thought about the show for a moment longer than it should have. 14 seasons for a cartoon? “I haven’t seen this show before. Is it any good?”
“Any good?!” Rainbow’s eyes screamed incredulity at her ignorance. “It’s only one of the best animes ever made!”
“That’s not true, and you know it,” another one of the students chimed in. “Single Segment is a far better anime, with more relatable characters and a better branching story.”
“Oh, please, that pirate show isn’t that great,” Rainbow scoffed. “You just like it because of that story you’re writing about how far certain limbs can stretch.” Unknown to Rainbow and her contrarian, the episode was paused as the president walked over.
“Rainbow Dash!” the president called out, her eyes narrowed slightly. “You broke one of the only rules in this club. You know the punishment.” The president’s mouth began to grow into a smile.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened wide, her mouth opening slightly. “Wait, I didn’t—”
“You have to do it, Rainbow.” The president moved to the computer and turned off the projector. “You can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.”
Rainbow looked around, her eyes begging for help from any of her other club members. She was met only with clear anticipation instead. She buried her face into her hands as she got up and walked to the front of the classroom. With a resigned sigh, Rainbow nodded to the president.
Sunset watched in some combination of horror, shock, and amusement at seeing Rainbow Dash perform for the club. Her brain couldn’t process what was happening in the beginning. After the music started, she understood even less. It was no surprise to see a few of the students had their phones out, probably recording Rainbow.
Nyan-nyan
Rainbow’s cupped hands opened and closed as she leaned first left then flipped her arms to the right as she sang.
Nyan-nyan
Nīhao nyan
Rainbow was back into the first position, her face bright red. Her hands closed along with her eyes as she leaned forward.
Gǒjasu derishasu, dekaruchã
Throwing out one arm then the other, corresponding each of them to the first two words she sang proudly. After both of her arms were out, she performed a quick spin, only to hold them out to the audience who were watching her to finish off the chorus.
Sunset was a touch surprised to find her own phone out and recording Rainbow’s performance. Before she could stop herself, her eyes were once again drawn to the dance routine Rainbow had apparently memorized.
Nyan-nyan, nyan-nyan
Nīhao nyan
Gǒjasu derishasu, dekaruchã
And with that, the music drew to a close and a now bright red Rainbow Dash rushed from the makeshift stage. Sunset, finally snapped from her daze, put her phone away before walking over to Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, can I ta—” she started before being drowned out by the show. Before she could say anything more, Rainbow lived up to her name and dashed out of the room in a light sprint. Sunset tried to follow, but by the time she had turned the corner, she was out of sight.
Sighing, Sunset made her way to her own class. She still needed to talk to Rainbow, but she had all the time in the world to fix the timeline.
“Alright everyone, time’s up!” Sunset’s seventh period teacher intoned to the class. “Start packing up, unless you’re staying after class to finish the DBQ because you spent half the period texting your boyfriend or girlfriends. Notes and summaries are due Monday.”
Sunset put away her notebook, noticing a despairing lack of notes on the sources dotted around the room. Pulling out her phone, she turned on her camera, only to notice that the video she had recorded of Rainbow was front and center. Pursing her lips, she quickly finished her task of taking photos of the remaining documents to complete the notes over the weekend.
As soon as she was done, the bell rang signalling freedom for most of the students. Twilight was already standing to the side, waiting for Sunset to catch up. Sunset finished packing up before following Twilight out the door.
“So, did you figure anything out during lunch?” Twilight asked, keeping a slightly slower pace in their walk. “Pinkie was really bummed you weren’t there. She said she had something for you, an envelope I think.”
“No.” Sunset sighed and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t learn anything. I think I’ll try catching her next week to talk to her.”
“You coming to Sugarcube Corner today, or are you just not in the mood?” Twilight gave Sunset a small smile. “I can probably try to explain why you weren’t there, if you’d like.”
“You know what? That sounds nice.” Sunset began to walk faster. “I really need to do something relaxing, even if it’s just for a few minutes.”
Before long, the duo found themselves walking into Sugarcube Corner, with all of its sweetness bombarding them from every angle. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were already there. Waving, Sunset sat down in her normal spot, painfully aware of the missing chair.
“There you are!” Rarity pulled Sunset into a quick hug. “Where were you during lunch, dear? Were you looking into a new club?” Despite Rarity’s calm face and schooled demeanor, Sunset knew she was bursting full of curiosity.
“No, nothing like that, I was just a bit busy doing some stuff.” Sunset waved her hand dismissively. “I just had to take care of something real quick, and probably on Monday as well.”
“By the way,” Fluttershy chimed in, “did you get a picture of the sources for history? I was going to, but Angel wouldn’t let go of my phone.”
“Yeah, I’ll send them to you.” Sunset pulled out her phone, beginning to send a message to Fluttershy before she felt a presence over her shoulder.
“What’s that one?” Pinkie asked loudly into her ear.
“Which one?” Sunset reflexively pulled away, massaging on ear slightly. In her moment of carelessness, Pinkie took the phone from her hand and, without a moment’s hesitation, played the video that was recorded earlier at full volume. Upon the first couple of notes being heard, Sunset began to fight Pinkie over her own phone.
Nyan-nyan, nyan-nyan
Nīhao—
Sunset turned off her phone completely, shoving it violently into her pocket. The rest of the group simply stared at Sunset with varying degrees of confusion, shock, and embarrassment. After several seconds of awkwardness reigning, Rarity broke the silence.
“Darling, if I may ask… what was that?” She was trying very hard not to laugh or look at her friend.
“That certainly was somethin’.” Applejack lacked any subtlety with her wide grin and almost laugh. “Mind tellin’ us what that was about?”
“It, um, sounds like she was doing the Nyan Nyan dance,” a timid voice said. All eyes turned to Fluttershy who was trying to hide her face behind pink hair. “It’s a popular dance, usually in the anime community.”
Everyone sat staring at Fluttershy, each one wondering the same question: How does she know that? However, no one was willing to voice their curiosity.
“Oh!” Pinkie bounced out of her chair, rummaging through her backpack. “I just remembered, I have something for you, Sunset!” Finding the item, she pulled it out and thrust it onto the now thoroughly curious Sunset.
It was a small card, simply saying:
We need to talk.
-Hast
Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise. It didn’t seem possible, but Hast had sent her a message.
“So, who’s the lucky guy?” Pinkie was once again looking over Sunset’s shoulder. This was what it took to tear Sunset out of her stunned stupor.
“Oh, uh, just an acquaintance.” Sunset shoved the paper into her pocket, trying her best to forget about it. Fortunately for her, conversation had picked up again with the group. The hour passed quickly as the group slowly dwindled until it was just Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset remaining.
“By the way, Sunset, when are you going back there?” Twilight asked once Fluttershy was away.
“Probably going to be sometime Tuesday.” Sunset watched for Fluttershy as they talked over the plan. “I need more information before heading in, and I don’t know how to reach Rainbow over the weekend.”
“Alright, I’ll tell my mom.” The conversation was cut there as Fluttershy returned to her seat. “Well, I have to start heading home. Don’t want to miss the bus, though I honestly doubt that’ll happen if they’re on schedule.”
Sunset and Fluttershy waved goodbye before also packing up their stuff and getting ready to leave. Fortunately, Fluttershy’s house was on Sunset’s way home, so the two girls often walked together.
As the two were walking by the park, Fluttershy motioned for Sunset to stop so Angel could get a moment of fresh air and to walk around. The two teenagers sat on a bench while watching the bunny hop around the park.
“Sunset…” Fluttershy gulped, mustering her courage. “Can you show me that video from earlier?”
Sunset took a long moment to blink, somewhat surprised at the request.
“Uh… why do you want to see it?”
Fluttershy looked to the side, as if thinking it over. When she turned back, she had an unexpected hardness in her features. Her eyes demanded obedience even as her lower lip trembled slightly.
“I thought I recognized the voice, and I just want to be sure. So, please, show it to me.”
Sunset’s hands moved by themselves to pull out her phone and hand it over to her friend, who watched the video intently. Neither girl moved until the video was over.
“She looks happy,” Fluttershy commented to herself. Hearing this peaked Sunset’s interest: a memory still existed between them.
“Wait, you know Rainbow Dash?!” Sunset lunged at Fluttershy, grabbing her shoulders. “How do you know her?”
“S-Sunset?” Fluttershy was completely trembling, this time in fear. “W-what are you d-doing?”
Sunset’s brain finally regained control over her body and she forced herself to sit back down, slightly away from Fluttershy. “Sorry, I was just… how do you know Rainbow Dash?”
“She was my closest friend since summer camp when we were little.” Fluttershy smiled at the memories. “She was always there for me, always confident… until middle-school. After something happened, we just… drifted apart.”
“What happened?” Sunset’s eagerness for answers were once again forcing themselves to the forefront of her thoughts and actions. “What made her change?”
“I don’t know. She never talked about it.” Fluttershy closed her eyes, trying to create a memory but couldn’t. “You could ask Ms. Spitfire what happened. I know they were close, and she might know something more.”
“Alright, thanks.” Sunset internally cursed at still having no answers. But… if Fluttershy remembered a little bit, she might remember more. “Are you sure you don’t know anything else about Rainbow Dash, don’t have any other feelings or memories about her?”
“Um… well…” Fluttershy looked around, trying to see if anyone was close enough to hear her. In a hushed tone, she continued. “I’ve never told anyone else this, but she was my first kiss.” Sunset sat in stunned silence, not knowing where this conversation was heading. Fluttershy noticed this and started waving her hands in front of her. “It wasn’t like that! She was dared to kiss me and I knew how much she wanted to be a part of the sportsy group, so I let her.”
“O-of course…” Sunset’s mind began to work through everything she had just been told as Fluttershy chased after Angel, who was dragging out the game of chase. After several minutes the three of them were on their way back home.
After getting home, Sunset went through her usual Friday ritual of eat, clean, TV, computer, sleep. She went to bed thinking over all the facts she learned over the day. What she didn’t realize was, in her skirt’s pocket, a small card was slowly crumbling into itself, burning away as she drifted off into sleep.
Sunset’s eyes opened to find herself outside of what appeared to be an office. To her left and right stretched long empty hallways, but there was some sort of invisible wall preventing her from going down said hallway. The office’s door had large letters spelling out “Hast Soprofic” on the glass. Sighing, Sunset used her hand to open the door.
The room was very cluttered, with bags of ramen and fruits strewing the floor, alongside miracle water and soda. There was a small, upturned fishbowl in the corner, but the water wasn’t flowing out and the fish seemed fine. Finally, dominating the room, was a desk, also unorganized. Hast Soporific sat behind the desk, reading a book titled, How To Avoid Shipping Fuel.
“Oh, there you are. Please, sit.” Hast motioned with his hand and a chair forced its way through the ceiling to land in front of the desk. “You got my card, yes?”
“Yes, I did.” Sunset took her seat across from him. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”
“Why, I wanted to know why you were taking so long? You already wasted half your time and haven’t made a dent of progress with the errors.” Hast’s sickening grin was already in place, as if awaiting her answer so he could make fun of her.
“Wait, wasted half my time?” Sunset’s heart rate spiked dramatically. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean?” Hast paused to think, realization lighting up in his eyes. “I never told you! My apologies, I should have told you sooner.” Hast clapped and a calendar appeared next to him. It showed the current month and year. “See, the change was made Tuesday night, and, per the rules and backup files, after a week and the edit hasn’t been made or the change hasn’t been touched, it’ll be copied and become the truth, for all of time.”
“What?!” Sunset launched herself at Hast, grabbing him by his shirt. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? This seems pretty important to know!”
“Slipped my mind.” Hast shrugged, a devious smile still playing at his limbs. Snapping, he teleported to the other side of the room. “I thought you had read the contract.”
“I did!” Sunset glared at the creature who was now holding the contract, reading it over. “There was nothing about that in there!”
“Did you read the fine print?” Hast pulled out a microscope and placed it on his desk, putting the contract under it. Sunset moved over to look into the microscope. It was too blurry to make out, but Hast adjusted the settings so she was able to see it. Right in the contract, in the fine print, it was clearly laid out.
One week will be allowed for the editing of any singular mistakes. Any massive, wide sweeping changes will be checked over with M…
The rest of the statement was out of the scope of the microscope.
“Son of a gun, there it is!” Sunset said, feeling an almost compulsion to say it. Shaking her head, she glared at Hast. “How was I supposed to know that was there?! I didn’t look over it with a microscope, nor was it mentioned!”
“Well, I suppose only in your own paltry, limited way, you really couldn’t.” Hast rolled up the contract, which disappeared after completing itself. “I sometimes forget how unknowing non-immortal beings are.” Sunset tried to speak, but Hast put up a hand to stop her. “If you’re going to complain, I’d suggest you look at your contract again. Unfortunately, we can’t stay here for much longer, so I’ll allow you to ask me one last question.”
Sunset mulled the idea over for all of three seconds. “Who is messing with the past?”
Hast shook his head slowly, eyes closed. “I don’t remember who they were or what they looked like.” Hast thought for a few moments before opening his eyes. “You have enough time for one more question. Make this one count.”
Sunset thought about what she could ask. She had so many questions… but the most pressing was the time limit. “Where will I be able to talk to Ms. Spitfire tomorrow?”
Hast pulled a book book out of thin air and read through it briefly. “You will find her at the park near your house on her weekend jog, at 12:30.” He closed the book with a loud thump. “Unfortunately, your time is up.”
The last thing Sunset saw before waking up was Hast’s smile, waving goodbye.
Sunset woke up with an abnormal lethargy. Forcing her eyes, she forced herself to get up. She felt drained; her arms were slow to move and her leg was asleep. Forcing herself up, she found a card by her bedside.
12:30, park. Time’s ticking.
-Hast
Reading the card jogged Sunset’s memory and she lunged for her phone that was on the charger. Dialing a number, she sent up a silent prayer that the person would pick it up.
“Hello?” Twilight asked, sounding like she was wide awake.
“Twilight, it’s Sunset. I need you over here tonight so I can go to the past and fix it.” Sunset looked at the clock. It was only 10:24, so she had plenty of time.
“Sunset? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I’ll explain everything once you’re over.” Sunset looked at the card again, rereading it. “Please, hurry.” Sunset hung up the phone and rushed through her morning requirements.
At 11:43, a knock came on her door. Standing outside was a very anxious looking Twilight.
Sunset opened the door. “Thank you for coming so fast.” She ushered Twilight in, and hurried her to sit down on the couch.
“Sunset, why are you acting so…” Twilight’s expansive vocabulary lacked any tactful word to use. “Deranged?”
“I don’t have much time to explain.” Sunset looked at the clock again, seeing only a minute had passed. “I’ll tell you on the way to the park.”
Sunset all but dragged Twilight out of her house, though she did make sure to lock it. Sunset set a grueling pace, one which Twilight struggled to keep up with.
“What is all of this about?” Twilight asked again. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to the park to learn a bit more of the past, so that I can fix it.” Sunset paused, and added, almost as an afterthought, “Today.”
“Why are we fixing it today and not when we scheduled in?” Twilight pulled out her phone. “‘Tuesday, 3:30-6:30, fix the past.’ Why aren’t we doing it then?”
“Last night I found out there’s a time limit: one week.” Sunset let out an agitated sigh. “Apparently, I was supposed to know that despite not being physically capable of reading microscopic print.”
“Wait, what happens after that week?” Twilight looked around for her backpack, only to finally note its absence. “I forgot my backpack, mind if we go back to get it?”
“Not enough time, we need to be at the park by 12:30, and it’s a 15 minute walk.” Sunset waited just long enough for Twilight to catch up before continuing her speed walk. “I’ll tell you more when you have your notebook, as I’m sure you’d prefer.”
“Yes, that would be helpful.”
Ten minutes later, the two were at the park and sitting on a bench, waiting. Slowly each minute ticked by while the two sat, waiting. Sunset spent this time looking up information on their soon to be informant, while Twilight read.
“We could have grabbed my notes,” Twilight murmured after some time had passed. Sunset deigned not to reply, knowing that her studious friend was probably right.
Finally, before Sunset checked her phone for the thousandth time, Twilight pointed at an approaching jogger. “She’s here.”
Sunset all but jumped out of her seat and set off after the jogger, who was taking a quick break for some water.
“Excuse me,” Sunset said, trying to get the person’s attention. “Are you Ms. Spitfire?”
“Yup, who wants to know?” Ms. Spitfire turned to Sunset, her smile not losing any of its warmth. “You’re Sunset, right?
“Y-yes…” Sunset tilted her head slightly. “How did you know that?”
“Look, you’re kind of a local legend, kid.” Spitfire’s smile turned into a smirk. “Besides, how could I forget the person that saved my mind from some brainwashing? Thanks for that, by the way.”
“N-no problem.” Sunset hadn’t expected to be thanked for her efforts. In Equestria, heroes were rarely mentioned, much less appreciated after the fact.
“So, what’d you want to talk to me for?” Spitfire asked, beginning to do some stretches. “I know you didn’t stake out in the park for me just to ask my name.”
“Do you know someone named Rainbow Dash?” Sunset asked bluntly.
Spitfire paused in her stretches, her smile fading. Taking a deep breath, she brought herself out of her stretches and looked at Sunset. “Yes, I used to have a prodige with that name… before an accident occurred.” Spitfire’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m a friend of her’s, and I just wanted to ask what caused that… accident.” Sunset could tell Spitfire still didn’t fully trust her. “I didn’t know about the accident until a few days ago, and I need to know what happened. For Rainbow Dash’s sake.”
Spitfire’s eyes gave Sunset a full examination before they finally softened. “It was a couple of years ago. It was the semi-final against the Everfree’s Wolves. During the second half, right after the break, Rainbow did a slide tackle… right into a teammate’s knee, fracturing it.” Spitfire closed her eyes, as if reliving that day. “Rainbow… she couldn’t forgive herself for what she had done. I saw her confidence completely drain away in one instant. I tried helping her, we all did… but it didn’t help. She stopped coming to practice, and hasn’t touched a soccer ball since.”
Spitfire’s eyes opened, this time they were hard as iron and piercing as a spear. “If you do anything with this information that makes me regret it, I will know about it. I will make sure you get what you deserve.”
Sunset gulped, trying to rid a lump from her throat. “Understood.”
Spitfire pulled out her phone and looked at it. “Dang it, I’m late.” Putting it away, she began to jog away. “Hope this helped!” Without another word, she was off, a dozen yards away before Sunset could even voice a response, sufficing for a wave.
Only after Spitfire was out of sight did Twilight return to her side. “Did you find out what you had to?”
“Yeah… I think so.” Sunset told Twilight everything as the two walked back to her house, though they did stop by the store to pick up some ice. Within the hour, the two were back at her house, preparing for the next trip into the past.
“So, same plan as last time?” Twilight asked as she filled up the bucket with ice.
“Close to the same.” Sunset opened the book to the appropriate pages and pulled out a timer. “I’m probably going to need a few more hours to fix this, so give me… 5 hours before you begin to try and pull me back.”
Twilight gave her a thumbs up before writing down all the notes she could into her notebook. Sunset couldn’t help a small smile from showing on her face at seeing Twilight trying to learn magic when her other-self was the princess of it.
Sunset steeled herself against procrastinating any longer and closed her eyes. The moment she reached out with her mind, the book’s current pulled at her. Allowing herself to follow the currents, she was pulled into the Akashic Records.
Sunset opened her eyes to find herself in front of a fountain with dark purple water. Sunset saw that she was once again in her equine form. Sunset looked around in a faint hope of having the book she needed to fix still with her, to no avail. Sunset was about to go off in search of it when she heard a voice coming from the front desk
“Well, that didn’t take you long at all.” Hast waved her over, a book in his hand. “I believe you left this in the Time Displacer last time you were here. Very unprofessional, I must say.”
Sunset made her way over and took the book from his hands. “Thanks.” She was about to leave when Hast touched her back
“Do you have everything you need?” He looked up, as if checking for someone or something that was watching him. “I’d really like to see your first attempt at editing happen with flying colors.”
“I have everything I need… I think.” Sunset gave Hast a wide grin. “Don’t you have any faith in me? You were the one to offer me the position.”
“Yes… I suppose that’s true.” Hast snapped his fingers and a small TV appeared in front of him. “I’ll just… stay here and watch.”
“Alright, wish me luck!” Sunset walked to the door and swiped her ID card through the scanner. Immediately, the door opened. Sunset continued her walk to the Displacer. Nothing appeared to have changed since her last visit.
Sunset trotted over to the lectern while flipping through the book. As soon as she had found the correct page, apparently page 215, she placed it onto the lectern. The Time Displacer’s vortex showed the same scene as it had last time: Rainbow Dash sliding into another player’s knee, one she knew was her teammate.
Sunset put on the suit, which were conveniently tailored to her pony form, while going through the instructions one more time. She needed to get in there and fix the past by stopping Rainbow from injuring a teammate. She had the suit to prevent any time paradoxes or problems, and the page was on the correct one. Taking a deep breath, Sunset jumped into the portal.
Sunset opened her eyes as sensation started to return, only to get them impaled on stalks of grass. Immediately, her eyes closed as her hands moved to shield them from any further harm. Sunset forced herself to her knees, unable to stand as dizziness overwhelmed her. She scratched at her eyes, trying to cajole them into opening. After several seconds, they finally obeyed.
To her left and right stretching far away were soccer fields, though only two seemed to be in use. Around each soccer field were parents, many of whom were screaming at the top of their lungs towards their child. Children ran behind the parents, playing in their own mock battles and games.
With the dizziness passing, Sunset pushed herself up and found, to her surprise, that she was no longer a pony. She was once again in the body of a human, her suit having changed to fit her shape. Shaking her head, Sunset looked around, finally spotting Spitfire at one of the edges shouting encouragements louder than anyone else.
A whistle blew to signal the halfway point, and both teams left the field to regroup and plan for the second half. Sunset made her way over to the Wondercolt’s tent to listen in.
“We’re doing great out there!” Spitfire said with a smile. “You’re all playing at the top of your game and it’s showing. We just need to keep up the energy.” She looked down at her notes. “Their number 14 seems to be their best player. Rainbow, I want you to switch to defense and cover him.”
“Yes, coach!” young Rainbow replied, with a mock salute. “Should be a breeze.”
“Don’t get cocky, kid. This game is still ours to win or lose.” Spitfire continued passing out orders, but both Sunset and Rainbow tuned her out.
Without warning, a familiar voice entered Sunset’s skull.
“I forgot to ask, did you read the handbook on how to control the Time Displacer?” Hast asked.
“What handbook?” Sunset thought back to him. There was a pause, though she heard pages being flipped through.
“Now I know that I gave you the handbook for controlling the Time Displacer. I put it in your locker at school.”
“I don’t use my locker!” Sunset tried to yell think back at him.
“Well, looks like I’m going to have to give you the basic commands then.” The rest of the world continued on, despite Sunset’s distraction and the players were once again heading out to finish their game.
“Hurry up then!”
“Alright, alright, I’m hurrying.” Sunset could hear the sounds of flipping pages again. “You would not believe how long it’s been since I looked these up. They usually just come so naturally.”
“For Celestia’s sake...” Sunset sighed before returning her main attention to the game.
“Alright, you can use the ‘stop’ and ‘resume’ commands to stop time and resume it after making some changes.” A few more pages were flipped through. “Remember, you can only change things to a point before you will be stopped, so as not to create even more questions.”
Sunset nodded, which Hast saw through his tiny Television.
“You can also say ‘rewind (seconds)’ and ‘forward (seconds)’ to make time shift ahead and back.”
Sunset nodded again, making mental notes for all of the commands and a private note to punch Hast later.
“Those are the real basics. I’ll tell you when something else comes up that you should know.” Without a moment more, Hast’s presence in Sunset’s mind disappeared, allowing Sunset to focus completely on the game.
It was about five minutes in when she saw Rainbow running next to the other team’s number 14. Sunset saw as Rainbow began to move into her slide.
“STOP!” Sunset shouted, and the world obeyed her. Everything stilled, even the dirt flying into the air and the sweat dripping off athlete’s faces. Sunset approached the game, and fully examined the scene.
Rainbow Dash was going into a slide right in front of the other team’s player. On the other side was her teammate, who was tripping. Her shoelaces were tied together, as if to make sure she would fall.
Acting on a hunch, Sunset said, “Rewind five seconds.” The world pulled itself back around her and everyone was where they had been five seconds prior. Sure enough, her hunch had paid off. The teammate’s shoelaces were not tied together.
They had definitely been tampered with.
“Forward 5 seconds.”
Everything was back to its original state. Sunset considered how to fix the problem.
The easiest and most straightforward solution was to simply untie the shoelaces, which would fix everything… probably. The girl wouldn’t trip, she wouldn’t be injured, and the whole problem would be solved.
Sunset nodded to herself. That plan would probably work, and, even if it didn’t, she could fix it some other way.
“Rewind 2 seconds.”
The shoelaces still weren’t tied, and Sunset wanted to find at the exact moment the shoelaces were changed. This took several attempts and a bit of patience, but she eventually forced it to the right point. Carefully, Sunset untied the shoelaces. For a few seconds, she could see another person wearing a robe next to her. The only difference was they had been tying the shoes together, whereas she was doing the opposite.
Sunset immediately jumped into action, kicking at the phantom, only for it to pass through thin air as the robed figure disappeared. Sunset, her adrenaline racing, sat still for several moments, taking deep breaths. When she felt her heart rate return to typical levels, she returned to tying the shoelaces the right way. Making sure the problem was fixed, Sunset stepped out of the field.
“Resume!” she commanded, and the world obeyed once again.
The players fell back into motion, and Rainbow’s slide passed through grass and hitting the ball away from the player’s feet, right into her teammate’s. Sunset felt a tug behind her, and looked back in time to see the vortex there again, this time forcibly pulling her away.
Sunset turned and jumped through the portal.
Sunset felt the cold marble beneath her before she could open her eyes to see it. She was back in front of the Time Displacer, which was now inactive. On the lectern, the book was still opened to the page.
Sunset forced herself up, despite feeling a slight cramp in her foreleg, and walked up to the lectern. The book was completely clear of any red ink requesting an editor. However, the portion with the event hadn’t gotten the whiteout and false information removed. Instead, it was changed again. This time, the story was written out in her own handwriting.
Sunset grabbed the book in her magic and walked back outside of the hallway, back to the main desk, where Hast was waiting.
“Congratulations, Sunset!” he shouted, before throwing confetti in the air. “You made your first edit in the annals of history.” He took the book from her grasp, placing it on his desk. “Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of this and make sure everything’s nice and fixed.”
“I can do it.” Sunset took the book off the table and levitated it over to her. “I have time to kill, since Twilight won’t wake me up for a couple more hours… probably.”
“Why wait on her?” Hast forcibly took the book back. “You can leave whenever you want. Just use your keycard.”
“Use my keycard?” Sunset held up her keycard to get a better look at it. “Use it how?”
“You mean I didn’t tell you?” Hast made a note for himself and placed it to the side. “My apologies, I have been a complete scatterbrain lately.” Hast pointed to a device at the front of his desk. “Slide your keycard through there and you’ll be taken out and put back into your body.”
“And you didn’t tell me this yesterday because…?” Sunset glared at Hast, who simply shrugged.
“I assure you, it slipped my mind. I promise to make sure it never happens again.” Hast snapped, now wearing a sweatshirt with a hand on it before holding up his own hand. “Scout’s honor!”
Sunset continued to glare at him as she walked over and slid her keycard through the reader on the desk. As soon as it was through, the world turned black.
Sunset’s eyes shot open. She was still in her living room, and Twilight was idly reading on the couch. Sunset tried to move, only to find her entire body was lethargic and slow. However, she had moved enough that it caught Twilight’s eye.
“Sunset!” Twilight bounded from the couch to her side in just a few seconds. “How are you back? You look in pain. What happened?”
“Twilight, do you remember someone named Rainbow Dash?” Sunset asked, cutting off any further questions. Twilight’s pause caused Sunset’s heart to leap into her throat, as did the words that came after.
“No, I don’t remember anything more about her.” Twilight pursed her lips. “Does this mean it didn’t work?”
“I guess not…” Sunset sighed, trying to move again, and finding she was able to. “Twilight, do you want to just spend the night here so I can go there again tomorrow morning to check what’s up?”
“You mean… like a sleepover?” Twilight asked, her eyes getting bigger, somehow.
“I guess if you want to call it that, sure.” Sunset immediately regretted her decision to call it a slumber party as Twilight began to squeal.
“I know the perfect book to make this the best slumber party ever. I just need to find a PDF of it real quick!” Twilight pulled out her phone and began to dig through the internet to find her apparently fantastic source for slumber parties.
Sunset massaged her forehead, regretting the decision more and more.
“Be right back,” she told Twilight as she walked to the bathroom. “I need some aspirin.”
Sunset felt a brightness pierce her eye. She tried to shield them, but her arms weren’t quite ready to obey her. Growling, Sunset braced herself and opened her eyes, only to get blinded by sunlight. Closing her eyes even harder, the young woman lurched her head back and tried to cover her head with a blanket. Unfortunately, the spell was broken. She couldn’t go back to sleep.
With a sigh, Sunset threw the blanket off her head and gave the window a glare that would have shattered it, had it not been for the Sun now shining into her dilated eyes. Sunset’s hands flew to her eyes, covering them from the Sun’s onslaught. After several seconds, her irises readjusted and she could finally open them without pain.
Sunset let out a yawn as she forced herself up. Looking at her phone, she saw that it was already 11:21. The tired girl couldn’t help but clench her teeth. Twilight was supposed to wake her up. Twilight was the one who set the alarm, after she was kept up for a slumber party.
She already felt another headache forming. Trying to prevent any more annoyance, Sunset stomped to the living room, where Twilight was supposed to be sleeping. The night before, the living room was an absolute mess, with books and food bowls scattered around. Sunset saw no evidence of any slumber party having been in her living room.
Everything was clean, relatively speaking. Sunset’s backpack was still by the door, and dirty dinner dishes were in the sink. The couch was put back together, the blankets folded and put away, and the pillow was missing. Along with everything else, Twilight herself was gone.
Sunset’s heart beat faster. She walked through her house, checking all the rooms for her missing friend, but she couldn’t find her. Sunset pulled out her phone and, her hands shaking slightly, she touched Twilight’s contact and hit the call button. It only rang twice until someone answered it.
“Hello?” Twilight’s voice came through the phone, triggering a sigh of relief from Sunset.
“Where’d you go?” Sunset’s panic was already replacing itself with anger. “I can’t go and save Rainbow Dash without someone watching over me.”
“What are you talking about?” Sunset could hear Twilight opening a planner in the background. “Did we have something planned for today? Oh, I’m so sorry!”
Sunset could feel her teeth grinding. “Just hurry back.”
“Back where?” Sunset could hear Twilight rushing around, grabbing something. “I don’t have a ride, my parents have been gone all weekend.”
“Back to my house?” Sunset’s anger was disappearing rapidly. Why was Twilight asking her this? It didn’t make sense. She was just there yesterday. “Twilight, are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, I’m good.” Sunset heard a few taps on computer keys. “Okay, the next bus leaves in 20, so can we just meet up at Sugarcube Corner at 12:30?”
“Sure, see you there.” Sunset hung up the phone before leaning back to think. Looking at the clock, she noticed only ten minutes had passed, leaving her an hour to meet with Twilight.
And only twelve to save Rainbow.
With a grimace, Sunset pulled out the Book of History. However, the pull that she had felt coming from it for the last few days was only noticeable by its absence. Sunset knew it was probably a bad idea to start this without Twilight being there to jump in, but she was able to escape without an external aid last time, so she would be fine. Hopefully.
Sunset placed it on the other side of the room, before sitting in the center. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and opened her mind. She searched for the book with her mind, but couldn’t find the currents it usually gave off. It took an entire minute of searching to find it, and only then she could barely feel its magical field.
The moment she touched it, however, it sprung to life. She felt the portal opening before her, and she entered the Akashic Records once more.
Sunset’s eyes opened to find herself back by the fountain and the front desk. Hast Soporific was nowhere in sight, though Sunset doubted he would stay hidden for long. Trotting past the desk, a voice spoke up from behind her.
“What are you doing back here?” a masculine voice asked from behind her. Sunset turned to find the desk once more engulfed in a mess, and the mess creator back in the chair behind the desk, a goofy smile on his face. In his hands was a familiar looking book.
“I need to fix the past.” Sunset pointed her horn and gripped the book in her magic. “I don’t have much time, so if you can just give it to me, I’ll hurry and get it done.”
Hast let go of the book, allowing it to move next to Sunset before responding. “I’d suggest you read it before you go about ‘fixing’ it again. Oh, and before I forget...” Hast, with a wave of his hand, pulled an envelope out of thin air, and made it disappear with one fluid motion. “There we go, done.”
Sunset gave him a flat look before opening the book, turning to the page she had all but memorized, a page she knew for fact was in the book. It wasn’t there. Sunset flipped through the book, doing her best to ignore the snickering from behind the desk. This book was definitely the one she needed, but there was no error markings or anything that screamed “fix me”.
Sunset turned to Hast, and threw the book in front of his face. “What happened to the book?” She hopped onto her hind legs, her forehooves resting on the desk. “You said I had one more day!”
“Why would you need another day?” Hast scooped the book from the air, and placed it to the side. “Everything’s fine now. No need to worry your cute pony head.”
Sunset’s immediate response was just to glare at him. “Obviously it’s not fine. Twilight didn’t remember Rainbow Dash, meaning I didn’t do it right.”
“Have you asked her that today?” Hast held out his hand and a book soared straight to it. Opening it, he scanned through one of the pages before looking back at her. “Nope, you didn’t ask her after the update.”
“Update? What update?”
Hast sighed before holding up his hand. “It’s all explained in the book. It really would have been easier if you just read it.” Looking over his desk, Hast pulled out a rectangular card scanner. “Now, just swipe it through here and we can both leave.”
“No.” Sunset slammed a hoof on the desk while the other pushed the scanner away. “I’m not leaving yet. I’m tired of you piecemealing the information to me.” Grabbing Hast in a levitation spell, she forced him closer. “I’m not leaving until you tell me everything.”
“Hm…” Hast pulled out a clock shaped as a duck out of nowhere. “Nope, I’m afraid it’s time for me to go, so…” Grabbing the scanner, he held it out to Sunset. “Would you kindly just slide your keycard through for me?”
“Not until you answer my questions.”
Hast gave out an overdramatic sigh. “Oh very well.” With a snap, the two were in chairs facing one another, Hast behind his desk. “I can answer one question, then I have to go.”
“One question. That’s all I get?” Sunset would have spoken more, but was rudely cut off.
“Yes, you only got one question.” Hast pushed the scanner where she could see it again. “Now, I must be going. Bye!”
Before Sunset could even leave her seat, Hast was gone. Not even a snap, just nothingness where he was. Sunset sat glaring at the clean empty desk. It took several minutes for her to calm down enough to put her keycard through the scanner.
Sunset’s consciousness returned to her body. Her headache was back in full force, not aided by her foray into the Akashic Records. Pulling out her phone, she pressed the contacts button and went straight to Rainbow Dash’s. The clock at the top read 11:51. Taking a deep breathe, Sunset hit the call button.
The phone only needed to ring twice before a voice picked up.
“Hello?” Rainbow’s voice came from the phone. “What’cha need?”
“Rainbow…” Sunset realized she might not have thought this through. In an attempt to keep the conversation, she defaulted to, “How are you?”
“Good.” Rainbow said something else, but it was cut off by the wind blowing. “I’m over at AJ’s right now, and it’s pretty windy. What do you need?”
Sunset’s sigh of relief filled the entire room. Her head falling back, a smile grew on her face. Rainbow was with AJ. Her friend.
“Sunset?” Rainbow asked, breaking her out of her reverie. “You there? You got suddenly very quiet.”
“Yes!” Sunset focused on the conversation once more. “Yes, I’m here. Sorry, got lost in thought.”
“Oh no.” Rainbow’s voice was tinged with sarcastic mockery. “Twilight’s habits are rubbing off on you. You’re becoming the third Twilight.”
Sunset gave off a slight laugh, an idea forming in her mind. “In all seriousness, mind meeting me at Sugar Cube Corner?”
“Oh, uh, hang on.” Rainbow’s voice turned distant. “Hey, AJ, Sunset wants to hang on Sugar Cube right now. Wanna head over?”
Sunset couldn’t make out a reply, but Rainbow’s voice returned a moment later.
“AJ and I’ll be there at 12:30-ish. See ya’ then.”
“Bye.” Sunset hung up the phone. It was at this point she noticed her hand was trembling. Gripping the phone tighter, she let out a worried grimace. Turning her phone on again, she dialed in another number.
Sunset walked into Sugar Cube Corner fifteen minutes before anyone else was supposed to arrive. Anyone besides Pinkie, of course, who was already sitting in her normal chair, a milkshake in hand. The rest of the shop was relatively empty, only one or two other patrons. As soon as Pinkie spotted Sunset, she gave a fast, energetic wave. Sunset walked over to her friend and sat in her normal chair.
“So, why’d you call me here?” Pinkie asked, her eyes locking on the bulky bag Sunset brought with her. “And what’s in there?”
“I’d prefer to wait until everyone else is here before I explain.” Sunset kept the bag a bit closer, giving the currently curious friend a smile. “As for the bag, it’s part of why I called you here.”
“Can I at least have a hint?” At Sunset’s lack of response, Pinkie turned away, a finger resting on her cheek. “Maybe it’s a baker’s dozen of cursed cupcakes? Or perhaps it’s something to do with the magic from Equestria?” Latching onto an idea, Pinkie swung around, her face right in front of Sunset’s. “Does this have anything to do with that note I gave you?”
Before Sunset could say anything else, she felt a presence behind her, only noticeable by the shifting of a chair’s weight. Turning, she found Fluttershy sitting, her bunny resting in her lap.
“Sorry I took so long,” she said sheepishly. “Angel wanted to run around the park a bit before leaving.”
“You’re good,” Sunset assured her, reaching out to pet the bunny. It seemed nice enough, until the point that it’s paw came up to stop her from petting it. Sunset didn’t press her luck, reclining back into her chair.
Turning back to Pinkie, Sunset saw her pilfering her bag, taking a sneak peek at what was supposed to be a big reveal. Sunset moved behind Pinkie before giving a slight cough, causing the guilty girl to stand straight up, a smile creeping onto her face. Before Sunset could properly reprimand her, the door opened once more.
“Sup all.” Rainbow Dash spun a chair around and took her seat. Applejack was close behind her, though she just sat on the couch. “What’d you need, Sunset?”
“She wants to show us something in the bag,” Pinkie answered before Sunset could. “I looked, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Well, what is it Sunset?” Applejack asked.
“I’d rather wait for Rarity first.” Sunset brought the backpack closer to where she was sitting. “Twilight can help me explain it once she gets here.”
“What do you need my help with explaining?” Twilight inquired as she made her way over to her spot.
“Good, now all we have to do is wait for---” Before Sunset could get any further, the front door opened again to show Rarity entering with a dignified walk. “Nevermind.”
“Oh, everyone else was coming as well?” Rarity looked around, her eyes blinking. “My, if I’d known that I would have brought something.”
“You’re good.” Sunset cleared her throat before speaking a bit louder. “I asked you all to come here to warn of a new magical problem.” Pulling out the book, she set it on the table in front of them. “This is a magical book I got from Princess Twilight. It allows me to go back in time and fix the past that has been messed with.”
“How can a book do that?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Books don’t have any real powers, so how can a book from Equestria do that?”
“It was an enchanted book.” Sunset held out her hand to Twilight. “Twilight can explain the process of what happens when I go into the past better than I can, since she was the one in the present at the time.”
Awkward silence took control for a few seconds as all eyes turned to Twilight, who looked akin to a deer caught in the headlights.
“How would I know?” Twilight finally asked, breaking the silence.
“What do you mean?” Sunset’s mind spun at the possibility. “Don’t you remember what we did this past weekend? Our meeting with Ms. Spitfire, how I left to look for Rainbow Dash, coming to my house to watch over me?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Twilight put her chin into her palm. “Though you were gone Friday, and your text didn’t make a lot of sense.”
“What are you two talkin’ about?” Applejack chimed in. The five other girls were all sitting around the table thoroughly confused.
Sunset’s mind raced for an explanation. Time Travel was supposed to be a theoretical spell at best, and its applications ranged from world destroying to harmless, depending on the amount of manipulation of events. It was possible that her stopping the past’s mistake wouldn’t erase her actions in the present, but would affect other’s actions.
“Earth to Sunset.” Rainbow Dash snapped her fingers in front of Sunset’s face, knocking her out of her thoughts. “You back to us yet?”
“Huh?” Sunset shook her head wildly, clearing it of thoughts. “Yes, sorry… but I think I understand what happened, now.”
“It’s not polite to leave us out of the loop, then.” Rarity cocked a single eyebrow, a knowing smile on her face.
“Right, right.” Sunset collected her thoughts for a moment before speaking. “Someone messed with the past, completely rewriting Rainbow’s past.” Rainbow tensed a bit, but otherwise didn’t show any change. “This person got Rainbow Dash to accidentally break a teammate’s ankle in a soccer match, which led to her quitting sports entirely out of guilt.”
“That’s awful.” Sunset put a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “But I don’t remember that…”
“Yeah, how does that work?” Applejack asked her brow furrowing. “I know what happened, and Rainbow hasn’t been acting unusual or different at all.”
“Your memories were rewritten… Twice, I guess.” Seeing that nobody made the connection, she pressed on. “Each of you, when Rainbow wasn’t like she is right now, didn’t know Rainbow beyond what happened prior to that change, and now that she’s back, your memories are rewritten again.”
“Oh… that definitely complicates things.” Rarity brought a hand to her temples, giving it a quick massage. “But, how do you know that’s how it worked?” Everyone glared at her. “I’m not saying you’re lying, but usually we can see the magic that affects us.”
Sunset’s mind thought for a prime example, before turning to her pink haired philanthropist. “Fluttershy, do you remember telling me anything important on Friday?”
“Um…” Fluttershy stared off into the distance, combing through her own memories. “Not that I know of.”
Leaning towards her, Sunset cupped her mouth to Fluttershy’s ear and whispered so no one could hear her say, “Your first kiss was with Rainbow Dash.”
Immediately the light yellow girl’s face turned a shade of orange as red embarrassment flooded her face. Quietly, she told the group, “She’s right.”
The entire group was quiet at this, each one in the recesses of their minds having had a seed of curiosity planted. What could embarrass Fluttershy?
“Well, now that that’s settled, what do we do?” Sunset asked.
“You mean, how do we stop this creep?” Rainbow punched the palm of her hand. “I say we find this monster and use some Equestrian magic to put it back where it belongs.”
“And how do you propose we find it?” Rarity gave the suggestion a dismissive wave. “We don’t even know what it is.”
“It’s a person,” Sunset informed somberly. “I saw a glimpse of them, briefly. Their face was hidden, but their body shape was definitely humanoid in origin.”
“Great, that just narrows it down to a couple billion people on the planet.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “C’mon, don’t you have anything else to go on?”
Silence reasserted itself, as the clues that Sunset prepared had dried up quickly.
“We’ll need to start investigating it,” Twilight announced, nodding her head. “I still have some of my old equipment that will help us find Equestrian magic, so we can use that.”
“That seems like the best option, at the moment.” Sunset looked around the group. Most of her friends were in agreement. “When can you have something ready?”
“It’ll probably take me a few days to get back to my lab in Crystal Prep, though if it’s in one of the boxes in my room, it’ll be much easier to get.” Pulling out her phone, Twilight sent a quick text. “I’ll check when I get home.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Sunset finally let a smile show on her lips. They had a plan, and the person they were after was going to be caught. Things were looking up.
“Sunset?” a voice called out.
Her eyes reopened to find her in her history class again. Clenching her teeth, she mentally berated herself for falling asleep again in class.
“Sunset, you have a note here,” the history teacher said, holding out a piece of paper. “And please, I know it’s Monday, but that’s no reason to fall asleep in my class.”
“Sorry.” Sunset took the note and gave it a quick read.
Come to my office after school. We have something to discuss. -Principal Celestia
Sunset gulped hard, but the frog that just crawled up her throat refused to go down at all. A meeting with the principal was never good if she had to send a note.
Despite dread making every moment seem like an eternity, the bell rang all too soon. Accepting her inevitable fate, Sunset moved for the door, only to be stopped by Twilight.
“Wait for me!” the nerdy girl shouted, hurriedly shoving a book into her backpack before slinging it around her back. “What was the note for?”
“I have to talk to Principal Celestia.” Twilight gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure it’s just something to do with magic.” Suddenly her eyes lit up. “Maybe she knows something about the past being changed?”
“That’s… possible.” This Celestia was nothing like her old teacher, but that possibility made Sunset’s heart lighter, if only a little. However, before too long, they were in front of the doors to the office.
“Alright, talk to you tomorrow,” Twilight said as she waved. Sunset waved back before turning to the door. Taking a deep breathe, she walked into Principal Celestia’s office.
Principal Celestia was sitting behind her desk, a file in front of her. She didn’t move to put it away, instead looking up at Sunset.
“Please, take a seat.” She motioned to one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. Her voice lacked any emotion. Sunset followed and took a seat right in front of her, knowing this would not end well. “Tell me Sunset, do you have problems with your history class?”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Sunset assured her, a false smile on her face. Inside, she was all but freaking out.
Celestia looked down at the file in front of her again. “It seems to me that you’re having trouble with it, if these grades are any indication.” Sighing, Celestia lay back into her chair. “Sunset, do you know why I bring this up?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Sunset confessed.
“If you don’t keep up a 4.0 GPA, then the grant that you get that I handle would disappear. You’d have enough money for a few more months of school before you wouldn’t be able to pay for anything.” Celestia closed her eyes. “If you don’t keep your grades up, it’ll be a slippery slope.”
“I know that.”
“Then why don’t you do anything?” Celestia stared at Sunset for a few moments, but the latter could give no answers. “Look, you have many friends in this school, get one to tutor you. You need to spend more time on history, less time on other activities.”
Sunset’s mind was in autopilot, so all she said was a timid, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, now…” Celestia pulled out another note and slid it across the table. “Take this to the nurse.”
“Okay.”
“Unless you want to talk about anything else, you may leave.” Celestia waited several moments for Sunset to get up, but the girl just sat there. “Is there something else you wanted to talk about?”
“Yes…” Taking a deep breath, Sunset began to explain. “There is a new Equestrian magic threat that I am dealing with at the moment. It alters the past, but I undid the alteration.”
“I see…” Celestia leaned back in her chair, eyes closed. “Which part of the past was affected?”
“Rainbow Dash was completely changed by a single event in the past, and that event was changed for the worst possible outcome.”
Celestia thought for a long moment. “Is there anything I should be on the lookout for, or is there something I can help you with?”
“I was hoping you’d know something.” Sunset sighed. “I guess that was hopeful thinking.”
“I’ll keep a lookout for suspicious individuals and objects, but I can’t be overt about it, or the school board would think I’m crazy.” Celestia motioned to the doorway. “Take that note to the nurse’s office, and I’ll think more on this.”
Sunset got up and left the room, leaving Celestia to contemplate. Several minutes after she was gone, Celestia opened a drawer in her desk. Inside were two files. Taking the top one out, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Vice Principal Luna.
Schedule Rainbow Dash a medical exam and get me the files on Fluttershy.
It took Sunset several minutes to find the underused nurse’s office. It looked like any other room in the school, as if it was just converted to serve the needs of the medical personnel. The inside, however, couldn’t look any more different. There were several smaller rooms off to either side, a waiting area, and a desk, where the nurse was sitting.
Sunset walked over to the nurse and held out the note. “Principal Celestia told me to give this to you.” Without looking up from the computer, the nurse took the note and read it with a glance. Only after it was read did the nurse take her eyes away from the screen.
“Are you Sunset Shimmer?” she asked. Sunset nodded slowly. “Okay, if you can go into room 2, I’ll be there in a moment.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s why you’re here, aren’t you?” The nurse gave the note back to Sunset, allowing her to read it.
Nurse Redheart, Sunset needs to take a medical examination, as well as a psychological examination. Make sure to send me whatever you find.
-Principal Celestia
“This can’t be right,” Sunset said, giving the note back to Nurse Redheart. “Celestia would have told me about this, instead of tricking me here.”
“Well, there might be a reason for that…” Nurse Redheart wheeled her chair over to a file cabinet and retrieved a manilla folder from it. “According to your records, you haven’t had a single vaccine since coming here, and I’d like to make sure are up to date, so I’ll need to draw some blood. You’re not afraid of needles are you?”
“No,” Sunset lied. “I’m not afraid of them.”
“Okay, if you can go into room two, I’ll be there in a minute.” Nurse Redheart walked into one of the side rooms as Sunset walked towards room two. However, before she could enter it, the front door swung open. Rainbow Dash and another student entered carrying a limp Lightning Dust between them.
“Nurse Redheart!” Rainbow shouted. Immediately the nurse came out of the side room, two files in hand. The moment she saw Lightning Dust, she rushed over and shouldered most of her weight. With a jerk of her head, she began to pull the unconscious student to room two.
“What happened?” the nurse asked as they walked. Sunset followed behind them, morbid curiosity taking over her.
“Right before practice started, Lightning Dust just took a knee clutching her head.” Rainbow helped to lift Lightning onto the bed in the room. “After a few seconds she just went limp.
Nurse Redheart nodded. Placing a finger on Lightning’s neck the nurse closed her eyes. After a few seconds she nodded, and began to examine the rest of the body.
“It seems she’s dehydrated, though it looks severe.” After she said this, Lightning began to stir, her eyes opening slightly. “I’ll go get some water.” Within a few seconds, the nurse went out of the room.
“What happened?” Lightning looked around the room, her eyes resting on the retreating nurse. “Why am I in the nurse’s office?”
“You passed out on the field.” Rainbow went to the side of the bed. “Nurse says you’re dehydrated.”
“What? Dehydrated?” Lightning Dust looked around, noticing the others in the room. “I’m not dehydrated. I just got a little dizzy is all.”
“Don’t put on a strong face, you idiot.” Rainbow gave an uneasy smile. “Seriously, don’t say it was nothing. You were out for a solid five minutes.”
The door opened to permit the nurse entrance again, this time with a cup of water with a straw. “Good, you’re awake.” She placed the plastic cup into the student’s weak palm. “Drink all of it, slowly.”
Lightning Dust followed the nurse’s instruction, stopping only to ask, “Will I be able to practice today?”
“No,” Nurse Redheart answered firmly. “I want you to be in here drinking for at least the next fifteen minutes, then it’s off to home with you. Preferably with someone else.” Her eyes turned to Sunset. “In fact, it shouldn’t take me more than fifteen minutes to get your examination done with. Do you mind walking her home?”
Sunset blinked in surprise. “Uh, sure. I wouldn’t mind.”
“Thank you.” The nurse moved over to the door. “We’ll be in the other room if you need anything, Lightning Dust.”
“Alright, thanks.”
Sunset followed the nurse to the neighboring room. Needles weren’t that bad, right?
Twenty minutes later, Sunset was walking down the hallways accompanied by Lightning Dust. The latter wasn’t even trying to stifle her laughter.
“That didn’t happen,” Sunset said, her voice sounding dead even to her ears. “Nothing that occurred in the nurse’s office happened.”
“Don’t worry,” Lightning Dust assured, stifling another round of laughter. “Though I don’t know if I can keep quiet about the nurse chasing you down the hallway.” This time she didn’t hold back, letting out all her stifled giggles.
Sunset’s face only grew redder as the two exited the front doors. However, once the two reached the road, Lightning Dust began to walk towards the back of the school.
“Where did you say you lived again?” Sunset was pretty sure she lived down the road from the school, not around back.
“Hey, listen, don’t worry about it, ’kay?” Lightning Dust turned to look back at her. “I’m not going home. I need to head off to practice, otherwise I’ll fall behind.”
“Wait, hang on!” Sunset rushed ahead before stopping, standing right in the way. “I promised Ms. Redheart I’d get you home after you left.”
“Yeah, yeah, and I’ll get home, but I’m perfectly healthy now.” Lightning must have noticed Sunset’s suspicious looks, or perhaps it was simply that she knew she was lying straight to her face. With a small grin, she took off at a dead sprint. “If you can catch me, I’ll agree to go home with you.”
Sunset hesitated for only a moment before charging after the fleeing girl. Unfortunately for Sunset, she hadn’t been keeping up on exercise since leaving Equestria, while Lightning Dust was still in her prime.
Needless to say, it wasn’t even a contest. By the time Sunset got halfway to the back of the school, Lightning Dust had rounded the corner. Sunset, not wanting to break her promise, pushed herself harder. Upon rounding the corner, she almost crashed straight into Lightning Dust, who was waiting for her.
“Woah!” Lightning Dust was able to get out before the two plunged to the floor. “Jeez, you trying to break your neck or something?”
“I didn’t,” Sunset began, letting out a few deep breaths of air, “think you’d be standing there, waiting.”
“What? You think I’d issue a challenge then ignore it once I’ve won?” Lightning Dust flashed her a smirk. “C’mon, you can see I’m okay. I’m not dehydrated. Now, will you just leave me alone so I can go practice?”
“No.” Sunset’s answer seemed to catch the athlete off guard. “You’re getting home, whether you’re in shape to exercise or not.”
“How does that make any sense?” Lightning turned around, only to notice Rainbow standing there. “How long have you been standing there?”
“A couple of seconds after Sunset almost floored ya.” Rainbow looked past Lightning, at Sunset. “I assume the nurse said she’s not gonna be practicing today?” Seeing Sunset, nod, she returned her gaze to Lightning. “Then you’re not practicing.”
“Why not?” Lightning asked, her face scrunching up. “I’m fine. I can practice without holding anyone back.”
Rainbow locked gazes with her for a few seconds before her voice dropped to near inaudible levels. “Go home. That’s an order from your team captain.” Without waiting for a response, Rainbow ran off back towards the soccer field, where the rest of the team was in the middle of practicing.
Lightning Dust stood, shaking slightly, her fists clenched. After a couple of seconds she turned around and began to walk towards the front of the school, pausing only to say, “Let’s go.”
Sunset hurried to catch up with a speed-walking Lightning Dust. When they approached the front of the school, a voice called out to Sunset. Turning, she found Twilight rushing towards her, accompanied by Flash.
“You going home, Sunset?” Twilight asked as she approached.
“No, I’m walking Lightning Dust home.” The girl in question was waiting a few feet ahead, her eyes closed, as if trying to calm down.
“You know,” Flash brought a finger up to his chin, “I can give you a ride over, then back home, if you want.”
“That would be appreciated.” Sunset turned back to Lightning Dust, raising her voice a little. “Flash is giving us a ride. Come on.” Lightning Dust took a deep breath before following the trio to Flash’s car.
Sunset and Lightning Dust shuffled into the back, while Twilight and Flash got the front seats.
“So, why are you walking Lightning home?” Twilight asked during the ride.
“Well, she came into the nurse’s office, so the nurse asked me to take her home.” Lightning grumbled under her breathe.
“Woah, Lightning, what happened?” Flash asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror. “Did something happen at practice?” Lightning, however, didn’t answer.
“The nurse says she got dehydrated,” Sunset explained after a few seconds of silence.
“I wasn’t dehydrated.” Lightning shot a glare outside the window. “I wasn’t thirsty. I just fainted after looked at Rainbow.” Lightning finally allowed for a shiver to come over her. “It was weird.”
“How was that weird?” Twilight looked back, cocking her head. “It sounds like a normal coincidence to me.”
“When I saw Rainbow it was like…” Lightning tried moving her hands, as if trying to grasp the proper words. “It’s like my mind broke, I guess? It was like there were two ideas at the same time in my head, and it just beat me over the head with pain.”
The car was silent for a few seconds. This silence was broken with an excited screech from Twilight, who all but turned around in her seat to look at Sunset.
“Do you think it has anything to do with the magic?” she asked, an enthusiastic smile on her face. “Do you think it may have affected her?”
“It’s possible,” Sunset confessed. “But how can we know?”
“I have a gadget back in my lab that would work for this very thing!” Twilight looked back forward, determination in her eyes. “I can get it on Wednesday, then we can test it.”
“Hey, we’re here,” Flash announced, pulling the car to a stop in front of Lightning’s house.
“Thanks for the ride, dude,” Lightning said as she got out. “I owe ya’ one.”
“No problem.” Flash waved goodbye before beginning to drive away. Once they were safely back on the roads, he looked through the rearview mirror at Sunset. “So, what are you two talking about magic?”
“Oh, just some new magic problem that we’re trying to solve,” Twilight answered. “Don’t worry, it probably isn’t even a problem anymore.”
“Well, if you two ever need a ride to handle these magic things, just give me a call.” Flash gave the two girls what he thought was his winning smile. “I’m pretty much free all the time, so I can drive you around whenever.” It didn’t affect either of them.
“Thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that.” Sunset saw her house down the road. “And thanks for the ride.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Flash pulled up to her house before putting the car in park. “Seriously, if you ever need a ride, just call.”
“Will do.” Sunset hopped out, giving the two remaining people in the car a quick wave before heading inside of her house. Breathing a sigh Sunset moved to her couch, laying on the couch for a few seconds. She let her stress just melt away, feeling relaxed and comfortable.
Unfortunately, the moment ended all too soon. Once her ears adjusted away from the noise of conversation, Sunset could hear the faint sound of buzzing. Opening her eyes, she moved down the hall, investigating where the noise was coming from. Finding that it was coming from her room, she opened the door.
On her desk, next to the Book of History was the journal Celestia had given to her. At that moment, it was vibrating and shining a bright red. Walking over, Sunset opened the book to find new messages from Princess Twilight.
Sunset, how did the test go? Did it act the same despite the name change or did it disenchant entirely? Awaiting a response, Twilight Sparkle
Sunset reread the message over, slightly confused. She had looked at the book the night before. No message was sent, yet the entire page was filled up. Sighing, she read on.
Sunset? You there? I’m starting to worry as I’ve yet to receive any messages from you since I sent the book over two weeks ago. I’m tempted to cross over there to see what’s going on. A worried friend, Twilight Sparkle
Another layer of confusion fell upon Sunset. It didn’t make sense. The timeline matched up, but something was very wrong about the contents of the message. Sunset’s eyes moved further down the page, noticing the letters were becoming less neat, as if rushed in writing.
I can’t cross over the portal. Sunset, please don’t tell me that the book has led to the destruction of Starswirl’s portal. But, please, if it is destroyed, tell me the truth. I need to talk to you, I’m starting to freak out. I even started a sentence with a preposition. Currently freaking out, Twilight Sparkle
The portal wasn’t broken, at least not from the outside. Was something wrong with the magic? That would explain why the messages were broken, but if it was broken how was she getting the messages? Reading down, she noticed the script changed hoofwriting entirely.
Dear Sunset, Twilight has been freaking out lately, and I don’t think she’ll hold out very long without hearing from you. Please, send a message soon. -Spike
Sunset picked up her pen immediately, and began to write.
Twilight? You there? The portal and the book aren’t broken, I think. I just got your messages. -Sunset
Sunset sat back in her chair. Nothing left to do but wait. She could probably go and cook dinner, maybe get some chores done. Before she could even leave the seat, words began appearing in the page in front of her.
Sunset! Where have you been, what happened?
Sunset breathed a sigh of relief, picking up her pen again.
Some stuff happened with the book, some of which I can’t explain.
Sunset tried her best to fill Twilight in on everything that had happened in the past week, including her scrambling to save Rainbow Dash. It was only going over everything that she realized she had forgotten to grab the one object that would shed light on the powers of the book.
Sorry, Twilight, but I have to rush back to school to grab something. Talk to you later tonight?
Yes. I may even be able to help solve this mystery.
With a smile, Sunset flung her backpack across her shoulders before running out of her house, pausing only to lock it. With a deep breath, she set off on her walk back to school. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she read the time. It was already 3:30. The school would probably be open for a few more hours.
With a nod to herself, Sunset picked up her pace. By the time she got to the school, it was already 3:45. Pushing open the front door, she rushed over to her locker. Inside was a bright yellow book she didn’t recognize.
Pulling out, she read over the title: The Akashic Records and You. Rolling her eyes, Sunset stuffed the the book into her backpack. Turning to walk outside, she was caught off guard as Rainbow walked towards her.
“Is practice already done?” Sunset asked, though she already knew the answer. Practice lasted until at least 4:00.
“No, but I wanted to talk to you…” Rainbow looked off to the side, as if avoiding looking Sunset in the eye. “I wanted to talk to you about the me from the alternate past.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Sunset followed Rainbow outside. Rainbow lead them over to the bleachers next to the field where the rest of the team should have been practicing, but it lay vacant. After sitting, Sunset turned to Rainbow. “So, what did you want to know?”
“H… how was I, when I was changed?” Rainbow rubbed a hand through her hair. “Was I as awesome as I am now, or was I someone completely different.”
“Definitely different.” Sunset hid a smile behind her hand. “You were very different.”
“How was I different?” Rainbow adopted a cocky smirk as she eyed Sunset. “Was I into basketball instead?”
“More like you were into cartoons.” Sunset wouldn’t admit it, but she loved watching the confidence fade from Rainbow’s face, changing to horror.
“What do you mean, cartoons?” Rainbow’s eyes began to fill up with fear.
“You were part of the anime club at this school, you knew a silly dance, and you even performed it on command when you broke a rule.” Sunset couldn’t hold back her smile anymore, nor even the laugh that escaped her mouth as she thought back to that day.
“You mean… I was an egghead?” Rainbow fell back in her seat, laying her head on the bleacher behind her. “How could I have been an egghead?”
Sunset finally felt some of the mirth leaving her. “There’s nothing wrong with being an egghead. I mean, you may still like the stuff if you---”
“No.” Rainbow sat upright. “No way would I enjoy any of that nerdy stuff.”
Sunset was taken aback. “What do you mean? You haven’t even tried it.”
“Trust me, I know what I like.” Rainbow slid on a mask of confidence. “I like sports and stuff, not books and nerdiness.”
Sunset eyed Rainbow suspiciously. “You seem to be very opposed to the very idea of you liking nerdy stuff.” Realization dawning, Sunset let out a sigh of relief. “Rainbow, are you hiding the fact that you---”
Rainbow pulled out her phone raising a single finger to interrupt her. She put the phone up to her ear.
“Hello?” Rainbow looked around. “Yeah. Oh. Oh! Sorry! I’ll be there in a few.” Rainbow hung up the phone, giving Sunset an apologetic smile. “Sorry, gotta run. Dad needs me home for monthly family dinner.” Without waiting for a response, Rainbow took off running, slinging her backpack on in one fluid motion.
Sunset watched her leave, almost disappointed. Was that really the best excuse Rainbow could come up with? After a few seconds, she pulled out her journal and a her lucky pen.
So, how can you help solve this mystery? -Sunset
Sunset put the journal back in the backpack and began her trek home. Halfway there, she felt her backpack vibrate, but decided to leave it until she got home. Once she was in the safety of her home, she opened it again.
I think it’ll be easier for me to answer that question in person. I think this may be involved with the time anomaly I told you about, but I’d like to do some research into Starswirl’s Constants and Variables Theory. When is a good day for you?
Sunset let out a loud sigh. She studied Starswirl for several years, but it seemed that every time she thought he run out of theories to make, he had another one tucked away somewhere.
How about this Saturday?
That doesn’t work. I have to attend a Princess Summit. Does next Saturday work?
Sunset opened her calendar. Nothing too important was scheduled for that Saturday.
Yes, that works. However, I need to read a book that will shed some light on the scenario, so I’ll have to message you later.
Okay. I’ll be waiting.
Sunset smiled, comforted by the fact that her closest friend was always nearby. Opening her backpack again, she pulled out a bright yellow book.
“Now, let’s see what you have to say,” Sunset said to no one but the book.
Just by opening it, Sunset felt her head grow light. By reflex, she closed the book. After a few seconds, the light-headedness faded. Sunset glared at the book, silently cursing Hast. Sunset looked around the room. Unless she was wrong, she wasn’t going to be up for very long.
Sunset got up and moved to her room. Laying on her bed, she didn’t even bother to read the book or get in a position to read it. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Opening the book, she felt the light-headedness return.
The first few seconds were manageable. However, after them, Sunset was feeling almost sick. She was sorely tempted to just close the book and go see Hast, but she knew that he wouldn’t provide any answers. Instead, she persevered.
As soon as she made that decision, all the ill effects of the book disappeared. In its place was the same pulling that the Book of History had when she first opened it. Sighing, she opened herself to it, and allowed it to pull her in.
The first of Sunset’s senses to return was hearing. The surroundings sounded faintly of classical music. After a few seconds her eyes opened. It looked like she was in the Akashic records, though the air was colder on her skin. With an annoyed sigh, Sunset marched over to the desk.
It was still clean. Hast had obviously not shown up yet. Taking a deep breath, Sunset lay her hand on the desk. “Hast, I know you’re watching. Come out. Now.” A second later, Sunset heard a popping sound behind her.
“What do you need?” a male voice asked. Turning around, Sunset found Hast standing there wearing a pair of pajamas. “It’s my off time and I’m trying to sleep.”
“I am in the records,” Sunset said through gritted teeth. “I was trying to enter that book of yours, so why am I here?”
Hast was silent for a time. Rubbing his face he turned away. “Is that really what you woke me up for?” He looked back at her over his shoulder. “You are in the book. Can’t you tell?”
“Not every book looks like this.” Sunset gestured to her surroundings. “Why am I here?”
Hast snapped and disappeared, reappearing behind the desk. He was now dressed in his normal outfit. “This isn’t the Akashic records. You are, actually, in the tutorial book.” Hast swiveled in his chair, doing a full rotation. When he came back around, he had a little laptop on his lap. On it was a map of the records.
“See, this doesn’t actually have the full wings of books, only a much smaller selection of practice books. It also has the editor’s area, as well as all the tools you’ve unlocked.”
“Tools I’ve unlocked?” Sunset got a little closer. “What do you mean?”
“Naturally we can’t trust a new editor with tools that could rip the space-time continuum in two, so that’s restricted until you’ve fixed a few mistakes.” Hast gave her a grin. “Though, since you’ve successfully fixed an issue, you probably have a new tool. You can see what you’ve unlocked in this room right here.” Hast pointed to a room marked Armory. “Now, if you don’t need anymore help learning how to work this place, I’m going back to…”
Sunset heard a ringtone. Hast reached into his pocket, pulling out a comically large cellphone. Clicking a button, he put it up to his ear. “Hello?” Hast was silent for a time, only nodding. “Be there soon.” Clicking another button, Hast put the phone away, making a face. “Well, I have to go and explain something now. Toodles!” WIth another snap, Hast was gone.
Sunset stood still for a moment, before asking to no one. “Explain to who?”
Sunset was in the armory. The wall was coated in pegs, and rough outlines of tools around them. However, there were two actual items on the walls. The first was the robe she wore when entering the time displacer, while the second was a strange metal rod.
Sunset walked first to the robe. There was nothing around it to explain what it did, but if Hast was being honest, this should answer most of her questions about it. After inspecting every nook and cranny, Sunset finally touched the robe itself. The moment she did this, a text box came out of it, floating in front of the article of clothing in question.
These robes were designed by [REDACTED] to act in conjunction with the editors and the time displacer. The inside is laced with runes which permit alterations of the past without leading to a butterfly effect by negating the wearers subconscious impact on the world.
Sunset couldn’t help but smile. That meant that, whatever the robe was, it was a counter measure to what Starswirl described as the cascading displacement, meaning it would work without messing anything up. Whoever designed it had to be a genius.
The robe will also gives the wearer boosts to their physical abilities proportional to their rank, starting once they are a validated Editor. The highest rank permits double stamina, strength, and ability to jump. Once the outfit is removed, all effects disappear.
Sunset blinked and reread that paragraph. Even in Equestria, spellwork that altered a pony’s physical abilities was a developing field, and highly dangerous. However, judging by the wording, it appeared nothing bad would come from wearing it. Maybe she could study the runes within the robe a bit.
When worn outside of the Akashic Records or the past by a validated Editor, it will transform itself into the perfect outfit, as per the wearer’s preference. It will also revert back whenever it is brought back to the records. If returned outside, it will take a new form, if the user wishes.
Sunset stared blankly for a minute, her mind racing through the possibilities. After thinking it through, she asked one simple question to the empty room. “What’s the point of this?” Why would that be built into a suit whose sole purpose was to protect the wearer. Why did it matter if it looked good?
Sunset finally let go of the robe and, with the touch, the description disappeared as well. With many, many questions, Sunset took two steps to the right and touched the metal rod. Just like the robe, another box opened up with a quick description.
This rod, developed by [REDACTED] has the ability to implant basic motivation for people. This can range from wanting to leave the room to wanting to opening a locked door just to make sure whatever is inside is still there. The effects are not permanent, and will not work if it is a decision the person would not normally do. After a few minutes, the event itself will be forgotten.
Sunset’s brow furrowed. This magic was in the grey zone with all other forms of mind manipulation. It was a violation of privacy and free thought. Then again, it could be useful, if used in a limited way. Looking around, Sunset checked the room one more time.
No new items had appeared. Turning around, she left the supposed armory and turned left towards the Time Displacer. Standing in front of it, she placed her hand against it. Immediately, the next text box appeared.
Time Displacer is only to be operated by an Editor with at least two weeks training.
Two weeks of training? Sunset’s face contorted in anger. She would be speaking to Hast about this. After several seconds and a few deep breathes, Sunset continued to read.
This device has the ability to put someone back to any point in the past, making it the third most useful place. It is limited in that it can only be activated in edit mode if there has been an error found and an editing order has been placed. However, it can be used in view mode, allowing someone to travel through the past without affecting anything. In this setting, the editor using the device will be unable to affect any object in the past.
That was it? Sunset touched different parts of the Time Displacer, but no other information appeared. It didn’t explain anything. Taking another deep breath, Sunset started to walk the halls, looking for anything else. Suddenly, the entire world began to shake, accompanied by a loud siren.
Sunset ran out to the front desk, trying to keep her balance through the shaking halls. The first thing she noticed was a big door with an exit sign on top. Rushing towards it, she opened the door and all but slammed it behind her. She was plunged into black.
Sunset turned over in her bed. Her alarm clock’s alarm was still ringing loudly. Scrunching her eyes and letting out a growl, she finally mustered the energy to hit the snooze button. Before she allowed her body to get a few more minutes of sleep, a casual glance at the clock put her plans to a stop. It was already 7:00.
Flinging herself out of bed, Sunset all but ran through her daily routine. What would normally take her 45 minutes only took her 20 as she rushed through everything. By the time she was out the door, she had a bagel in her hand and mouth, and everything she needed.
The one thing she forgot to do was lock her door.
Sunset was already at the cafeteria when the lunch bell rang. Smiling and shaking her head, she watched as people all but trampled each other in an attempt to be the first to get the cafeteria’s taco.
“Ha! I totally beat them,” Rainbow boasted, holding her tray as if it was a hunting trophy or a prize. “That’s what happens when you don’t keep up on exercise, I guess.”
“You were first among them,” Sunset gave her friend an evil grin, “but I still beat you.” Sunset waved her hand to her tray.
“Yeah, but you cheat.” Rainbow sat down, all but devouring her food.
“By the way, how was last night?” Sunset asked innocently.
“Last night?” Rainbow paused in eating, frowning slightly. After a few seconds, her face lit up as she remembered. “Oh, yeah. Dinner was good. Had some nice steak.”
Sunset raised a single eyebrow as she regarded Rainbow. She was really going to stick with that lie? “Look, you don’t have to lie to me.”
“Hello.” Twilight took the seat adjacent to Sunset. “What’s Rainbow lying about?”
“I’m not lying.” Rainbow gave the two a glare. “Just wait until AJ gets here. She’ll show you I’m telling the truth.”
“What do y’all want me to confirm?” Applejack asked as she sat down.
“Sunset doesn’t believe I have monthly family dinner night. But you can tell them I’m telling the truth with that crazy lie detector skill you have.”
“Lie detector skill?” Twilight shook her head. “You do know that lie detectors are almost always inaccurate, and have since fallen out of practice. It’s nothing but pseudoscience. This is nothing more than subjective experience speaking.”
“I don’t know anything about lie detectors, but I know you’re secretly hoping that I do have something like that.” Applejack sat back smugly as Twilight stared agape at her. “Now, as for RD?” Applejack cocked her head for a few seconds. “Nope. She’s lyin’’”
“What?!” Rainbow stood out of her chair. “AJ, come on!”
“I ain’t lyin’ for y’all.” Applejack shrugged. “I was asked to tell if you was lyin’, and I did.” Without wasting a moment, Applejack returned to her meal.
Rainbow stood silent for a few seconds before scooting slightly closer to Twilight and putting her arm around her shoulder. “Well, I’m with Twilight on this one. There’s no such thing as a lie detector.”
The rest of the group, including Twilight, gave her a flat stare. This continued for several seconds until Pinkie appeared.
“Hey!” Pinkie shouted as she practically fell out of the sky into her chair. “Dashie, how did your parents like those cookies?”
“Huh?” Rainbow blinked twice before smiling. “Oh! Yeah, they loved it. How did you know that was my mom’s favorite type?”
“Research, my dear Rainbow.” Pinkie gave her a goofy grin. “Besides, you ask for one every month for your family dinner, so I had to get lucky some time.”
The rest of the table fell ominously silent. Rainbow grinned like a fool while Applejack simply looked confused.
“Wait, so you do actually have family dinners?” Sunset asked after a few seconds of relative silence.
“Yeah. I wasn’t lying.”
“Then why haven’t any of us heard about it?” Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose. “I haven’t once heard of any family dinners besides my own.”
“I don’t share my entire life with you.”
Before anything else could be said, both Rarity and Fluttershy arrived. After everyone had been assembled, Twilight spoke up.
“Um, can I ask any of you for advice?” Her face was slightly red, as if embarrassed over asking for help.
“Of course you can, darling.” Rarity flashed her a glittering smile. “If you ever need advice, we’re your friends. We’ll be there for you.”
Taking a deep breathe, Twilight returned the smile. “Okay, well…” she gulped, “this morning, Flash Sentry was in front of my house and offered to drive me over here so I didn’t have to wait out in the cold or take the bus.”
“That’s a little creepy,” Rainbow offered. “How long did he wait for you?”
“Rainbow!” Rarity looked appalled. “It’s not creepy, it’s romantic.”
“Romantic?” Twilight’s face reddened a bit more. “You mean, like romance romantic?”
“Of course darling, oh you simply must tell me more.” Rarity and the rest of the group mined Twilight for all the details she was willing to share. Only Applejack was caught up in her own thoughts.
She knew Rainbow was lying about the family dinners. But, if that was the case, why was Pinkie covering for her?
For once, Sunset was fully awake during her seventh period, getting more than a few pages of notes on the progressive era.
“And that is how the Wizard of Oz is a political book,” the history teacher finished as the bell rang. For once, there weren’t any students rushing out immediately. “Heh. I guess this lecture actually interested some of you. Have a good day.”
Sunset packed up her bags quickly before following Twilight out of the class.
“You heading straight home after this?” Sunset asked as they walked.
“No, actually.” Twilight blushed. “After this morning’s ride, I asked if he would take me to crystal Prep after this, and he said yes.” She paused for a moment. “You want to come with me?”
“Would Flash be okay with that?”
“I’m pretty sure he would.” Twilight pulled out her phone and read a text. “He says he’s in front of the school right now.”
The two picked up the pace and walked straight to Flash’s car.
“Hey Twilight,” he gave her a wave. “Ready to head over to Crystal Prep.” After a second he noticed Sunset and visibly deflated. “Oh, Sunset’s coming along too?”
“You don’t mind, do you?” Twilight asked, oblivious to his plight.
“No, no.” Flash sighed and a small smile formed on his lips. “I don’t mind if Sunset comes too, though I hope you’ll sit up front.”
“If that’s your one rule, I’m okay with it.” Sunset hopped in the back seat. “Don’t worry, Flash. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“Why do I doubt that?” Flash mumbled under his breathe.
“We’re here,” Flash announced as he pulled into a parking spot outside of Canterlot high. Most of the students were already gone, even though it was only 2:30. “You sure they know we’re coming?”
“Yes.” Twilight pulled out her phone. “I already texted Principal Cadence to tell her that I was coming to pick up a few more things from my lab.” The three got out of the car and began to make their way to Twilight’s lab.
“Principal Cadence?” Sunset frowned as she thought. “Wasn’t Cadence only a dean before? What happened to Principal Cinch?”
“Oh, right.” Twilight took a deep breathe. “From what I’m told, after she returned to her office after losing the Friendship Games she wrote her resignation, claiming she needed some time off.”
“Ouch, that bad?” Flash flinched. “I didn’t know her pride was that… strange.”
Twilight led the group down the flight of stairs and straight to her lab. “Um, I should probably tell you this now. I may have left my lab a bit messy before coming to Canterlot High. So… be prepared for anything.”
Twilight took in a small breath before opening the door. She was ready to confront whatever fungus had grown, or which computers were still running their simulations, or anything at all relating to her research.
What she didn’t prepare herself for was an empty room.
Twilight blinked a few times. “What?” She looked around the stark room. “Where is everything?” Twilight took a few steps into the room, looking around. “Where are my experiments, my devices, the simulations?”
“Twilight?” Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Years of progress and diagrams. Gone.” Twilight’s eyes were still fogged, her voice hollow.
“I’m going to go get Principal Cadence,” Flash said before he ran back out the hall.
“Twilight, it’s okay.” Sunset shook Twilight slightly. “We’re going to get your stuff back.”
“Are we?” Twilight looked at Sunset. They once again had life in them. “How are we going to do that?”
“Doesn’t Crystal Prep have cameras in places?” Sunset suggested. “Even Canterlot High has those, so surely Crystal Prep does.”
“You’re right.” Twilight’s eyes gained a fire of righteous anger. “We can use that to find out who did this.”
“Twilight?” a voice asked. The two turned and saw Principal Cadence walking in behind Flash. “What happened, now?”
“Someone stole everything in here,” Twilight answered. “Can we get the camera footage?”
Principal Cadence thought for a few seconds. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that.” Before anyone could protest, she held up a hand. “I need to go through the proper channels, and get the proper authorities to hunt down whoever took it.”
“But what if it’s magic related?” Sunset pointed out. “We’re the only ones with experience handling magical creatures.”
“If that’s the case, then I will allow you to handle it.” Principal Cadence turned around. “I need to report this right away.” She marched from the room. After a few seconds, the trio heard her voice again. “Hello, Shining? Yes. Your sister’s here and something’s happened.” Her voice trailed away until they could no longer hear her.
Flash scratched the back of his head. “Well… anywhere else you’d like me to take you?”
“No.” Twilight shook her head. “I’ll need to try and remember everything that was stolen, so that I can give Cadence a list.” She thought for a moment. “She’ll probably take me home, so I don’t need you to give me a ride.”
“Oh. Yeah. Alright.” Flash turned to Sunset. “Want me to give you a ride home?”
“That’d be nice, yeah.” Sunset placed her hand on Twilight’s shoulder again. “Don’t worry, we’ll get them.”
Twilight nodded solemnly. Flash and Sunset waved a goodbye as they returned to the car.
“Man, that sucks.” Flash glared at the sky. “Who would steal a bunch of stuff from a school?”
“Yeah.” Sunset’s mind was already trying to piece her information together. Was this theft related to the past? Was it what allowed the person the ability to travel back in time?
“So, you wanna go straight home?” Flash asked as he got into the driver seat and started the car.
“That’d be nice, yeah.” Sunset had a few questions for Hast. Questions she would make sure would be answered.
Flash pulled up in front of Sunset’s house. Sunset was still lost in thought, but Flash noticed something she didn’t. “Hey, is your front door open?”
Sunset looked and saw that her door was slightly ajar. She felt a chill go down her spine and immediately got out of the car. Flash turned the car off and got out after her. Sunset cautiously walked forward. The burglar could still be in her house. The two teens got to the door and pushed it open slowly.
The living room wasn’t messed up in any way. Everything was still perfectly in place. None of her valuables were taken, not that she had any. Her couch was still put together, and nothing seemed to have been broken. Putting a finger to her lips, she warily entered her own house.
Going to the back of the house, Sunset moved quietly, getting her fists ready. Flash moved equally stealthily behind her. Before long, they got to her room and still no sign of who had gotten into her house.
Sunset gulped as she approached the closed door to her room. This was the last room of the house they hadn’t searched. If someone was still in here, they’d be in her room. Slowly, Sunset put her hand on the handle and quickly flung the door open. The moment it opened a crack, Flash ran in, looking for someone to fight.
The room was empty.
Like every other room in the house, nothing was broken. Nothing was rearranged. Everything appeared to be the exact same as it had been. Sunset’s eyes scanned the room, until finally finding something that was out of place.
Both the Book of History and the Instantaneous Message Journal were gone.
