> Not Our Sunset II: Equestria > by YellowHornBrony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Argument > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “See you girls soon!” Those were the last words I spoke to them. To my best friends. But I wouldn't see them soon. I would never see them again. I was home, but it didn’t feel right. It could never be the same without the girls. I just wish I could go back, but I couldn’t. Nothing else would make me happy. Not even Twilight could cheer me up, no matter how much she tried. She would try to decorate my room with different items, usually ranging anywhere from photos to an old guitar that most likely hasn’t been played in years. I had tried to tune it once or twice, but never found the energy to get it done. Twilight tried to get me to play a few songs for her, but I was too lazy. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t be happy. This only drove Twilight further and further, until we got to where we are today. “Sunset…” she smiled, “You can’t just sit in your room all day! C’mon, it’s my first day off in months, and I wanted to spend some time with you!”  “I don’t know, Twilight,” I responded, “I’m not really feeling up to it. Maybe later?” She sighed and replied, “I didn’t want to have to do this, but…” A bright flash of magic lit up the room, and within an instant, we traversed all the way across the castle to the main dining hall. The room was pretty basic, mostly white with a few curtains bearing Equestria’s flag. Even the table itself was simple. It was plain white with six chairs on each side and one at the head of the table. The only thing out of place was a tapestry behind the main chair. It was a painting of Twilight and her friends. But even that wasn’t too out of place. It was all just proof of how much more boring this world was to me. “Great, now I have to walk back to my bedroom,” I dropped my head, “Well, I guess I could use the exercise.” “No!” Twilight grabbed me with her magic, “For Celestia’s sake, Sunset! Can’t you sit down and have a normal bucking conversation without running off to your room! I’m so bucking sick of it! All you do is whine and complain!” “Fine,” I sat down at the table, “Speak with me. Have a conversation with me. What do you wanna talk about? Politics? Money? The portal? The girls? Or how about the fact that you aren’t too much different. All you ever do, when we do talk, is whine about your fucking job, which, may I remind you, is the easiest fucking job in the world! So I’m sorry miss pretty pretty princess bitch!” “Well I’m sorry I’m constantly taking care of an entire country or babysitting a grown adult!” She shot back. A bitter taste began to arise within my mouth. It taste like a desert, but brought the warmth of fire.It felt like a burning passion, ready to scream out to the world, and burn it all to the ground. It was a sensation I knew all too well. A sensation so powerful it took me away from my home and towards a land of unknown creatures and unknown technologies. “Well I’m sorry I just lost my best friends and all you ever do is seem to fucking pretend like you don’t care about them!” I yelled. She was taken aback. Had I gone too far? Not that it mattered. We were already here, so I might as well finish it. “Well maybe if you’d get off your fat flank you could help me fix the bucking portal!” Her eyes began to ignite, “All you ever do is whine and complain! But you never do! If you had tried to bucking help me, maybe we could have fixed the portal by now! But no, all you care about is whining about an easy problem!” “Ok Sparkle,” I chuckled, “Then tell me, how do we fix it? What makes it so easy? Tell me, how do we fix it? Can’t you see that not all problems are fixable? So what makes you think we can fix this one?” She remained silent, which was expected. She could never find an answer, as there was none. Nothing to get my friends back, and nothing to bring my happiness back. Of course, she didn’t realize that. She never would. She lived in a perfect world where she could always be happy. A world without clouds or rain. A world that isn’t real. “I’m heading back to my room,” I told her, “If you need me, don’t.” I could hear the sobs as I left the room, but I wouldn’t let them bother me. I still think she got what she deserved. She needed to be taken down a peg or two. But somebody didn’t agree. This somebody was a dragon by the name of Spike. He was basically Twilight’s illegitimate child, though she treated him more as a brother. It never made sense to me, but I accepted it. “Did you really have to make her cry?” Spike stepped in front of me. “Yeah, I did, so what?” I approached him, power with every step. “Well,” He said, “You haven’t acted like this since the Fall For-” “Don’t you dare!” I stomped closer, “Or I’ll wring out that little neck of yours, got it, dragon boy?” “Y-Yes ma’am!” He flew off, presumably to his bedroom or by Twilight’s side. She was probably fine, and didn’t need help. She was just a big crybaby who, somehow, took charge of the greatest nation of all. Still, I felt sorry for her, as if I was in the wrong. But that was just another problem in the life of Sunset Shimmer, ex-pupil of Princess Celestia. Hm, maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. Time for a trip to Silver Shores nearby retirement home, Silver Shoals. I'm coming, mother dearest. > Mother Dearest > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Approaching the doors to the Silver Shoals retirement home may have been one of the most mortifying thing I have ever done in my life. Knowing on the other side of those glass doors was family I hadn’t taken the time to visit or at least write to in a while was a horrifying thought. Who knows how they would react? I had really on met Aunty Luna on one or two occasions. “Okay Sunset,” I calmed myself, “It’s now or never.” The hand lit up with a blue aura as I slowly opened the door, flickering only from the fear of seeing old family. At the desk sat a grey maned pony with a white coat. She couldn’t have been much younger than some of the people living here, yet she sat the writing away on a piece of parchment. “H-Hello there,” I broke the silence, “I’m here to see my mother.” “And who might that be?” The old mare spoke up. She didn’t quite have a rude tone, but it wasn’t a very friendly speaking voice either. She clearly had to have been working here a while. “Princess Celestia” I replied. The mare stiffened. I awaited a response but to no avail. Maybe she hadn’t hear me? “Princess Celestia” I repeated. This time the mare looked up from her parchment, With her face more visible, I noticed that her deep purple eyes were surrounded by either bags or wrinkles, I couldn’t tell what was worse. “Oh no, I heard you,” She stated flatly, “I just can’t believe you expect me to think that your the daughter of the Equestria’s ex-ruler.” “But I am!” I responded, “You got to believe me!” “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” She spoke up, “If you refuse to vaca-” “Now, now, little pony,” A voice spoke from across the room, “I wouldn’t be so quick to disbelieve.” “Pr-Princess!” The mare froze up, nearly clearing the bags from eyes, “Apologies, ma’am, it appears this mare here has come to visit you!” Out from the shadows stepped a tall, white, godlike being with a flowing pastel mane. It was Princess Celestia. It was my own mother. “M-Mom!” I froze up. She had barely aged since that last time I saw her. Her flowing still as bright and pastel as ever, The regality alone would make one question why she would have ever retired from the throne. Yet something seemed off about her. She seemed more rugged and tired. Almost as if she really was aging. “Sunset,” She smiled, “It’s so good to see you! Why it’s been eons since you last wrote me! Why don’t you come with me to my office?” “Office?” I tiled my head, confused. “You think I stepped down to live here?” She chuckled, dragging me along to her office “No no, I came here to run this place.” Swiftly shutting the door, she sat down and motioned me to follow. Her office was neatly decorated with images of friends and family. Aside from a few items scattered here and there, the office was relatively clean. But the most outstanding thing about the office was the large window that allowed the sun to peak through during later hours of the day. You could probably watch the sunset from this office. “My dear,” She smiled, “It is so good to see you! How have you been? What’s life been like in the human realm? I hear that you and your friends across the way have had a great many adventures.” “Actually,” I spoke up, “That’s what I came here to talk to you about.” I froze in my seat. If she’s really running this place, should I really stress her out with this? It wouldn’t be fair to come to her like this after not even sending a single message in years! I thought, But I really do want to get back to my friends... “What is troubling you, my little pony?” My mother looked at me worriedly, " I can see the trouble on your face. It’s okay to talk to me about it.” “It’s-” I choked, “I- I can’t get back to the human realm. The portal shut down and refuses to open up, no matter what we do. Even Twilight’s getting stressed ov-” I froze again. I really messed up last time I talked to Twilight. I shouldn’t of left without apologizing to her. I should probably go back. God dammit, Sunset why do you have to be such a fu- “Hey, hey,” She consoled me, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” I hadn’t even noticed that tears began to drip down my face. God I was such a sucker. I couldn’t even face my own stupidity. I don’t get what’s with her. One moment I’m angry with her and next I’m crying about her. All I can think about is her. “Now, now, Sunset,” My mother held my hoof, “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?” “I-I” I choked, " I really fucked up. Like bad.” “What happened?” My mother tilted her head. “I g-got into a fight with T-Twilight,” I sobbed, “I yelled at her when all she did was try to help me. I treated her like trash and pushed her aside.” “Hm,” She thought, “That is quite the issue... Maybe you could go back and apologize to her. Even if did take her awhile to accept, I doubt she would ever hold a grudge against you.” “B-But-” She cut me off, pulling me into a hug. “No buts!” She put her hoof down, “As your mother, and ex-ruler of Equestria, I demand you to march back down to Ponyville and apologize to Twilight immediately!” I didn’t deserve this. Who would? I was just a cheap friend who treated their friend’s like trash. I can’t even write my own mother, and here I am asking for her advice and help. I really don’t deserve all of this support. “Thank you, mom” I closed the door behind me as I walked out of the office. “Tsk tsk tsk,” The old mare from before stood behind me, “You come to visit and you don’t even recognize me?” Within a flash the mare transformed into a tall dark figure with a blue flowing mane resembling the night sky. I stood frozen in shock. “You really should visit more,” She chuckled, “Your Aunty Luna does love to play games.” > The Kill > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For such a long-distance trip, the train ride back to Ponyville was short. A lot of optimizations and advances in magical study helped with that. Still, the trip felt like ages. Constant tapping and anxiety helped with that. My leg shaking got to a point where they had to ask me to stop because I was shaking the whole train car. All I could think about my apology and what I was going to say. Even after leaving the train, I was distracted. The constant fear and anxiety almost help me back in a way. Yet somehow, hear I was, right in front of Twilight's doorstep. I froze a moment before knocking three times. Silence. Then a loud crash, some mild obscenities and finally the door was open. "Oh, it's you," the small dragon spoke, "So you've decided to come back." "Hey Spi-" I was cut off by a claw to my muzzle. Rude much? "Save the talk, pony," He spoke, "You should just leave. I think you made it very clear that you don't want to be here." "But Spike-" I was cut off again, another claw pointed at my face, this time much more aggressively. "No buts!" He stomped. He was still small, but he had actually quite grown in size. He was now stranding around six foot tall, and definitely had some power in his step. "Fine" I schemed, looking for possible weaknesses. Gotcha. His stance was powerful, but still weak. Sweeping his feet from under him, I pushed my way into the castle... and bumped muzzle to muzzle with a pink mare who was too focused on other ideas. "Ow! Watch where you-" She stopped and scrunched her nose, "Oh, it's you, Sunset." "What a warm welcome," I deadpanned, but quickly changed the conversation, "Hey, do you know where Twilight is?" "Do I know where Twilight is?" She mocked, "Of course I know where Twilight is. Away from your snarky ass, like she should be!" "Sweet Celestia, I do not have time for this," I rolled my eyes, "Listen, if you do not move your flank, I fucking will." "Try me" She snapped back. Both of our horns ignited, each a cyan color. I moved first teleporting out from underneath of her, and knocking her into a wall. Using this opportunity I began high tailing towards the map room, but Starlight was quick to recover, and lit up a barrier in front of me, causing me to slam face first into the translucent cyan colored wall. Turning back towards her, I fired off a flash spell, causing her to drop the wall, allowing me to again bolt towards the map room. Once inside, I was greeted by Trixie, standing tall and proud and intensely staring into my soul. "Here's a spell from my personal collection" As soon as she said this, the room faded away into pure darkness. "Well, well," Her voice cackled from the darkness, "What do we have here?" "Well, Great and Powerful Trixie," Starlight's voice followed, "It seems we have a new visitor to your land of illusions!" "Well let's see how long they last..." Trixie cackled. As soon as she said this, the room changed back to normal. Figures, I chuckled, Trixie couldn't up a spell that powerful to save her- I ran face first into a soft purple fluff. "Twilight!" My eyes brightened, "I'm so glad to see you!" "Sunset..." The mare laughed in my face, 'How dare you return to my castle." "Twilight..." I fell to the floor, "I'm so sorry. I really fucked up, I'm so-" I was cut off for the third time today, but this time, but a purple aura holding my lips together. "You shall not speak in my presence!" Twilight's voice boomed, "You're just a worthless, lazy and quite frankly rude peasant! How dare you ever come within meters of my castle. Why, I ought to banish you to the moon. Be grateful I have not!" "T-Twilight," I began to tear up, "This isn't like you! What's going on?!" "I will tell you exactly what's going on," Her voice got even louder, booming with magic, "You're a worthless freeloader who took advantage of me and my time when I could be taking care of all of the ponies across Equestria! How dare you even return here. You can't even take a hint and disappear. Why do you think I tried to fix the portal? Not to help you find your way to your friends, but to banish you to that dimension." Coming back here was a mistake. I didn't belong here. No, no! Sunset, you got to treat yourself better than this! I stood up defiantly. You can't let her put you down like this! You need to stand up for yourself! "Well, here's what I think, Princess!" I stomped closer, "You're a two-timing bitch who pretends to be all about friendship, but based on what I've seen here, you're no princess! You pretend to care, but in reality, you're a lying bitch!" "Stand back!" She snarled. But I refused to. I wasn't going to back down. Not now, not ever. "No, I'm not running from you!" I shot back, "You think you're so great and powerful, don't you? Well I guess even Trixie is more deserving of that title. Look into my eyes and tell me you're the 'Princess of Friendship' you pretend you are..." "Sunset, I-" This time, I cut her off. "You know what, Twilight?" I put my hoof down, "I should thank you. You gave me a chance and I found myself. And now that I know who I really am on the inside, I will tell you this one time and one time only; Princess Twilight Sparkle, all I really wanted was you, but now, I am finished with you." Twilight fell to the floor, sobbing. Trixie and Starlight quickly rushed to her side. "You need to leave" Starlight said, coldly. "That's fine by me," I replied. I left the castle that day, and I wouldn't return, no matter how loud Twilight sobbed. She got what she deserved. I had no time to dwell on my actions, I needed to find my own back to my friends. Back to my Twilight. I'm not making a mistake, am I?