Interlude: Heritage
Aches.
Sunset couldn't remember being so sore before. Her shoulders hurt, her arms hurt, her legs hurt. She was covered in dust and plaster, and felt like the skin on her hands had been rubbed raw. She was filthy, and it wasn't just her clothes that needed cleaning.
Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were standing nearby, looking down at her, Snips, and Snails long after the conclusion of the Fall Formal. After Sunset's little performance, the trio had been told that their choices were either go to the police or help fix the school facade. Snips and Snails fretted over it for a few agonizing minutes but Sunset took the non-police option as soon as it was offered. Fewer authority figures staring her down the better.
The front of the school was still in shambles, but it was a slightly more organized mess, owing to the limits of how much three students could do in a night. Once the last student left the party, the three offenders were also enlisted in cleaning up the Fall Formal, probably as a reminder of what they had ruined earlier in the day.
Sunset didn't complain. She didn't scowl. She wasn't delinquent in her assigned duties. She hated every second, but at the moment she was willing to accept whatever punishment Celestia chose for her.
"Do you need a ride?" asked Celestia to Sunset after the work was done. It was past midnight and everyone was exhausted.
"No," said Sunset. She wasn't really keen on looking Celestia in the eyes right now.
"Where do you live?" asked Celestia.
Sunset recited her foster parent's address. She wasn't planning on going there, but that was the lie she always -
Oh, what did it matter anymore?
"No, actually, I don't live there," said Sunset after a moment. "My parents live there, but I sleep elsewhere."
"Why?" asked Celestia, sounding curious.
Sunset shrugged. "I didn't really want people looking over my shoulder while I was, well, you know. It was easier to be alone."
"Where do you go, then? A shelter?" asked Celestia. She actually sounded worried. For Sunset.
"I have a place I've been tending to," said Sunset. "It's in an office complex."
Celestia sighed. "Sunset that's illegal. You can't live on someone else's property without their permission."
"No one's ever come by," said Sunset.
"That doesn't make it less illegal," said Celestia. "Why don't you go home - to your parents?"
"My foster parents don't want to see me anymore than I do," said Sunset. "If they did they wouldn't have made it so easy for me to run away."
"Have you ever talked to them about it?" asked Celestia.
"About what?" scoffed Sunset. She kicked some of the rubble around the broken facade. "If you mean have I ever told them I'm a magical being from another world, then no. It never came up."
Celestia shook her head. "Have you ever told them you wanted privacy? That you wanted your space? Maybe you could have stayed home."
"Yeah, right," said Sunset sarcastically.
Celestia put her hands on her hips and looked at Sunset. She got a sinking feeling.
"Oh boy," said Sunset.
"Let's go visit your parents," said Celestia.
Sunset frowned and then stared at the sinking moon in the sky. "Are you aware what time it is?"
*** ( MLP ) ***
Getting woken up at two o'clock in the morning by a school principal did not put Sunset's foster parents in a particularly great mood. Being told that Sunset was involved in a fight at the Fall Formal - Celestia thankfully omitted any mention of magic or demonic visages - was enough to actually get them to react in a nearly sensible manner.
They grounded her. Gave her harsh words. Put on a good show for Celestia. Sunset wasn't entirely sure that Celestia was convinced that the display was genuine - the principal never brought up the other place Sunset lived - but it was, actually, the most emotional she'd seen her foster parents get over her.
"I want you to come back to CHS," said Celestia to Sunset as the former was leaving the house. They stood at the doorway while Sunset's parents fumed just out of earshot in the living room.
Sunset stared at her principal agast. "Why? I just ruined the Fall Formal and your school."
"For a number of reasons," said Celestia. "You aren't a bad person, no matter how this night turned out."
"Others may disagree," said Sunset. She covered her mouth while she yawned. "I tried to be a bad person to a lot of people."
"But not everyone," said Celestia. "You may have hid your actions from me and Luna but you did it by acting like a concerned, involved member of the student body."
"Just lies," said Sunset in a breathless manner.
"Convincing ones," said Celestia. "I think you understood what it meant to be a friend far better than you think you did."
Sunset looked away, unwilling to bear such optimism. After a moment, she felt Celestia's hand gently touch her on the shoulder. She forced herself to look up again.
"Come back," she said. "Do it in earnest instead of to cover your trail. You may feel uncomfortable, but in time it will become genuine."
"Pretend until it's real?" asked Sunset. She shook her head. "It's not that easy."
Celestia patted her shoulder. "It's a start. I hope to see you on Monday. Good night."
Sunset watched the principal leave and wondered again how this Celestia ended up so similar to the one in Equestria. These were such starkly different worlds, to produce such similar people was beyond improbable.
The pony populated land of her memories seemed almost idyllic compared to the harsh human world she lived in. Which was why she was skeptical of Celestia's belief in the good intentions of others.
Once Celestia was gone, it was Sunset's foster mother, Sea Spray who came over to talk to her. The older woman had long purple hair that had started to turn gray, held in a bun on the back of her head, big violet eyes, and blue-grayish skin. She held herself high, back straight, shoulders squared, as if she'd been raised in the army. For all Sunset knew, she could have been. She knew very little about her guardians.
Sunset tried to walk past her towards her room, but the woman stepped in her way.
"What is she going to do?" asked Sea Spray. "Will she tell the police?"
Sunset shook her head. "I don't think so."
"If the police find out, it comes back on us," said Sea Spray.
"I know," said Sunset. "They probably won't.
Sea Spray looked at her, one eyebrow arched, arms crossed. The skepticism was easy to read in her expression.
"Is there going to be more nights like this?" she asked.
Sunset sighed loudly. "There shouldn't have been one night like this."
"What do we do, then?" asked Sea Spray. "We've let you have your way, but if it results in destroyed schools then we have problems. I won't let you drag us down in your flames."
"How compassionate," said Sunset.
"We can take measures," warned Sea Spray.
Sunset growled and stepped closer into Sea Spray's space. "Like what?" she said. "Huh? Lock me up? Take away my toys? Chain me to the porch? You would have a heck of a lot more trouble if you tried that than you do now!"
"You think you're the only clever one?" asked Sea Spray with an arched brow. "I know where you go, I know about the perfume factory. I don't have to lock you up here, I can take away your hideouts. You'll have nowhere to go."
Sunset's jaw dropped. She had no idea her foster parents knew where she went. How did they find out? Who told them?
"I can find other places to go," said Sunset. "You can't follow me everywhere."
"I can try," said Sea Spray.
"Why would you?" asked Sunset. "Leave me be, I don't want to be arrested any more than you want to lose your monthly check."
"You may not want to be arrested, but if you're being so reckless that you nearly destroyed your school, you clearly aren't being cautious enough." Sea Spray pointed at her. "If you're not being careful, then I need to be."
"Oh, please!" said Sunset. "When have you ever cared what I did? For years I lived on my own and you never said a thing. Even when I had the police bringing me back home weekly you just sat there and dealt with it! But now, just because my stupid principal shows up, you suddenly decided to grow a spine?"
Sunset pushed past Sea Spray and headed towards her room. "You never cared about me," she shouted as she stormed off. She ran into her room and slammed the door shut and latched it.
In a huff, she sat roughly on her bed and glared at her bedcovers. She was sick of it. Sick of everything. Stupid teachers. Stupid parents.
Stupid Elements of Harmony.
She felt the tears in her eyes and tried to force them to stop. Annoyingly, that just seemed to encourage them. She was breathing heavily for a few seconds. Then she was bawling.
She had failed. Failed so utterly and incredibly that no semblance of her plan was salvageable, not even the motivation. Not even her backup plans. She wasn't even supposed to be here in the human world anymore, and now she was stuck for another thirty moons. Maybe even more if they destroyed the mirror or stopped her from coming back. She had no idea what to do anymore.
Even the 'guidance' the Elements and Celestia tried to bestow upon her from their high and mighty perches was agonizing. She couldn't just pretend to be a friend to people because she had nobody to pretend to! Nobody she even wanted to be friendly to. She had forged her life and surrounded herself with people based on how useful they would be to her goals, not by how much she actually wanted to be around them.
And right now she didn't want to be around any of them. That was the true punishment. She was stuck in a world that didn't want her, and she didn't want. No police or parents, or public magical shaming could compare to the fact that she was already a prisoner and she'd been one for three years already without a possibility for parole for another three more.
How would she manage for that long? Who would she be by the time the portal opened again? What would she become? Who was Sunset Shimmer now?
Sunset buried her head in the pillows on the bed and cried until exhaustion took her into slumber.
*** ( MLP ) ***
The dawn always came too early for Sunset Shimmer on the weekends, especially ones where she was up so late. She had gotten used to rising with the sun to help get her to school on time (and relying on some wind-up clocks during the winter) that she found it impossible to get back to sleep once she realized what time and what day it was.
With a groan she pulled herself out of bed and started hunting for clothes to wear. It wasn't until she gathered up her things then reached for her door and noticed the latch still closed that she remembered how she went to bed the previous night. She considered simply saying in her room until she died of hunger.
The smell of eggs and pancakes wafting through the cracks in the door made that an incredibly unpleasant thought. She hadn't gotten a chance to eat last night with all the fuss, and was starting to feel pains in her stomach. With a held breath, she opened the latch on her door and stepped out.
She found her foster father, Auburn Storm, in the kitchen cooking. He was the primary chef in the house, Sea Spray being much more inclined towards fixing things around the house than donning the apron and manning the fry pan. He had his short brown hair slicked back and was wearing a checkered red and black shirt with blue jeans and boots. What Sunset presumed was his cutie mark, a maple leaf with a storm cloud, was on his wristwatch.
"Good morning, Sunset," said Auburn with a smile. He was a morning person.
"Hey," said Sunset, keeping her eyes locked on the crackling frying pan.
"Would you like some pancakes before you go?" he asked.
Sunset tried to be nonchalant and shrugged. "I need a shower. Can I take one here?"
Auburn turned from a griddle with three cooking pancakes on it to look at Sunset. "You're always welcome to."
Sunset was momentarily taken aback. "Even after," she started, but then stopped herself. "All right."
"I'll keep some warm for you," said Auburn as he turned back to his cooking.
Sunset left quickly and swept into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her. She quickly began her process for cleaning up while her mind tried to decipher what was going on with Auburn. He was not typically very talkative with her, at least not when he didn't have to be. He was an industrial engineer and worked later shifts, which meant he had every reason to cross paths with the late-arriving Sunset, but rarely did. Sunset always assumed that meant he was avoiding her. So offering breakfast was kind of out of the ordinary.
The only explanation that Sunset could divine was that he was supposed to get something from her, or tell her something unpleasant and he was using breakfast to make it feel less awkward. Which was of course a wasted effort, since she was now even more weary about interacting with him. Perhaps she should just run out the front door when she was done.
But no, she didn't really have a plan for today. No plans to fulfill, no mission to accomplish. No school to go to since it was Saturday. She had the rest of the next three years to fill her time and it was looking awfully empty. Having a strange conversation with Auburn might not be fun, but it was something better than being bored for thirty moons.
Sunset emerged from the bathroom and found Auburn sitting at the kitchen table eating quietly while reading a magazine. He looked up as Sunset approached and motioned towards an empty seat with a plate in front of it. She noiselessly sat and helped herself to some pancakes.
It was a full three minutes of silent eating before Auburn looked up from his reading and turned her way.
"Do you have plans for today?" asked Auburn.
Sunset considered her options. She shrugged in response.
"I need to run some errands today," he said. "Do you want to come with me?"
"No," Sunset said instinctively. She winced afterwards. "What kind of errands?"
"Taking clothes over to the shelter, grocery shopping, visiting my father," said Auburn. "I can drop you off wherever afterwards. Should be just past one."
Sunset didn't find any part of that appealing, except the part where she was dropped off anywhere she wanted. Though she figured she could get wherever in less time than waiting for Auburn to finish his errands.
"Couldn't you drop me off first and then do all that stuff after?" asked Sunset.
"I could," said Auburn, but offered no follow-up.
Sunset was forced to ask. "Okay, can you please drop me off first?"
Auburn pushed his plate aside and leaned his arms on the table. "Can you answer me a question?"
Sunset sighed. "Okay, I'll try."
"What do you plan to do after high school?" asked Auburn.
Sunset stared and slowly frowned. "I really can't answer that."
"Why not?" asked Auburn.
"Because," Sunset struggled to come up with a response. "Because I didn't plan this far ahead. I didn't expect to be here after last night."
"Where did you think you'd be?" asked Auburn, his brow furrowed.
Sunset turned her head towards the window. "I don't know, not here."
"Did you expect to go to jail after yesterday or something more," he trailed off for a moment, then finished. "Permanent?"
Sunset frowned for a second then quickly looked back at Auburn. "No! I-I wasn't trying to hurt myself. And I wasn't trying to get arrested either."
"What were you trying to do then?" asked Auburn.
"I wanted to—no. You just wouldn't understand, you don't know where I'm from."
"You could tell me," said Auburn.
Sunset shook her head and then stood up. "No, I think I'll take the bus." She picked up her bundle of clothes and personal cleaning supplies and headed back to her room. Auburn said nothing, and simply watched her go.
*** ( MLP ) ***
The quiet of Sunset's room at the perfume factory had previously been a comfort, especially on the weekends. She could sit quietly, think to herself, pluck away at the refurbished guitar in the corner, and just lose herself in her grand plan to earn her place back in Equestria. All of that was hollow now and she found the silence to be increasingly overbearing. The stillness meant she was alone, and she was starting to understand exactly what that meant for her future.
There were no shortages of people trying to force their ways onto her life, to her surprise. None of them, however, really knew who she was or what she cared about. And none of them were going to be there for her in a year. Celestia was just the principal of CHS and she wouldn't matter next year. Her foster parents were keeping her around for a check and she would age out of the foster program next year as well. Even Twilight's stupid friends would be off to whatever colleges or careers they had planned for after next year.
Which left Sunset alone, with nothing but an abandoned factory to comfort her. She wondered what would happen to her then. Would she even make it to thirty moons?
"Stop pitying yourself."
Sunset nearly literally jumped out of her skin. Instead she spun around and then stared at the inexplicable sight before her. A pony was in her room. Not just any pony, either.
"Star Swirl?" asked Sunset, unable to believe her eyes and hoping for some other confirmation. "H-How is this even possible?"
Star Swirl the Bearded - hat, cape and, well, beard included - walked casually around the room, gracefully stepping around every stack of notes and fallen book. He looked at the texts lined up on the shelves and nodded appreciably. "I admire your dedication to learning, even in this crazy world."
"You can't be real," concluded Sunset. "I'm losing my mind."
Star Swirl shook his head. "You already lost your mind, this is what recovery looks like."
Sunset closed her eyes. He wasn't real. There was no objective way he could be real. So if he wasn't real - and assuming she wasn't going insane - what was going on?
"Harmony," she said as she opened her eyes. "You're from the Elements of Harmony."
"Closer," said Star Swirl. He walked over to the windows and peeked his head between the curtains. "Such a fascinating world. I wish I'd had time to explore it, but with so little magic I couldn't risk leaving the portal unattended."
"Okay, we need some ground rules here," said Sunset. "Talking to me in my room is mildly annoying but if people in this world see me talking to a pony they would think I'm crazy and talking to myself."
Star Swirl turned and stared at Sunset dead on. "You are talking to yourself," he said. "I'm not a manifestation, I'm what remains of all the knowledge and energy you took into yourself from the Element of Magic."
"So I am crazy," said Sunset. "You could have at least lied to me."
"You aren't crazy, but there are so few people who have ever used the Elements of Harmony, there aren't easy words to explain it," said Star Swirl. "For better or for worse, you are part of Harmony now, and all who have come before and those that come after will be connected to you. This... is not something human brains are apparently well equipped to handle."
"I think that's the case for magic in general," said Sunset. "If you're part of my mind, how do you know things I don't?"
"I am an echo of the Elements of Harmony, an impression that was left in your mind," said Star Swirl. "As penance."
Sunset blinked. "Penance? Are you my jailor, then?"
"Quite the opposite," said Star Swirl. "While my motivations were purer than yours, I too abused the Elements of Harmony, and they stole from me what little youth I had left. I gave them up to the Tree of Harmony and directed Celestia and Luna to them in the hopes they would be better equipped than I was to handle the magic. They were not, as it turns out, but those that came after were."
Sunset shook her head. "I still don't understand."
"I am here to help you," said Star Swirl. "As an apology for the damage we did to your mind that turned you into a demon, however briefly."
"You copied yourself into my brain and now you want to be my councilor? Couldn't you have just fixed me instead?" asked Sunset.
"That would not be proper. It was your motivations that drove the magic to create the demon. To remove or change your intentions would be to change who you are. It is not the Harmonious way."
"Then, what? I never get to be alone for the rest of my life."
"Not the rest of your life," said Star Swirl. "This world makes it hard to sustain myself, and eventually I will fade. This is only temporary. I hope to help you in the time I have."
Sunset sighed then sat down in the chair by her desk. "You might have been better off just changing my mind. There's nothing you can do."
"That is simply not true," said Star Swirl, stepping up to the desk and getting briefly distracted by the pictures and tokens neatly lined up on it. "And I would at least advise you not to lose hope. There are always opportunities coming."
"Yeah, things I'm sure to screw up somehow," said Sunset.
"I understand why you feel that way," said Star Swirl. "It is a thought borne from your recent failures. But you have within you great power and passion, as well as courage. Your duty, now, is to turn that energy towards others."
"Saying that is easy," said Sunset. "Doing it isn't. I'm not good at that. I'm not good at... tolerating other people."
"Then let us start small," said Star Swirl. He stood tall and tipped his head back so it looked like he was looking down his nose at Sunset. He was still quite little compared to her and he failed to inspire much confidence. "You must let yourself care for people, including your parents."
"My foster parents are useless," said Sunset.
"And you are raging she-demon," said Star Swirl with a smirk. "If you wish others to look past your problems, you must be willing to look past the problems of others. And your foster parents are not useless, they just have not yet been of nominal use to you. That can change." He rose a brow. "That should change."
Sunset slouched in her chair and wrung her hands gently. "It sounds like a great deal of work."
Star Swirl walked up to the desk. "Then it's a good thing you don't have any plans."
Sunset looked up at him. "And you won't go away until, what, you run out of juice?"
"Assuming you stay here and don't encounter the Elements of Harmony again," said Star Swirl. "Yes, eventually I will fade. Probably within the year."
"And if instead I just ignore you?" asked Sunset.
"That is your choice," said Star Swirl with a shrug. "I don't want to make your life any worse than it is. But if you really want to change, if you are really sorry for what you did, then I would at least listen."
Sunset spun in her chair and looked out the window and rested her hands on the arms of the chair. "I suppose I can listen."
Star Swirl walked around the desk so Sunset could still see him. "Then listen to your foster father. What do you want?"
Sunset closed her eyes. What did she want?
*** ( MLP ) ***
The Monday after a demon destroys your school is always somewhat of an ambiguous arena. At least, Pinkie Pie believed that to be the case, she had very little previous demon experience to base that around. Like none. No demon experience.
"How much do you think they'll have fixed?" asked Rarity as she walked on the sidewalk beside Pinkie Pie on the way to school.
"All of it," said Pinkie.
Rarity arched an eyebrow. "Really."
"Really dealie," said Pinkie.
"How could they have done that in two days?" asked Rarity.
"Dunno," shrugged Pinkie.
Rarity considered asking saner people for their opinions. Fortunately they were about to cross paths with Fluttershy, who was at least more grounded if possibly no better informed.
They turned the corner and spotted Fluttershy in the spot in front of her house where that she normally waited for them. Today, though, she was talking with someone and wasn't waving down the block. As they got closer, Rarity realized who was the person she was talking to.
"Come on," said Rarity urgently, as she grabbed Pinkie's wrist and pulled her at a faster pace. She wasn't sure what was happening, but no one was going to corner Fluttershy when she was alone.
As they nearly ran forward, they saw Sunset Shimmer talking animatedly with her hands while Fluttershy looked at her with a mixture of wide-eyed surprise and anxious hand wringing. Whatever was going on, Fluttershy was not comfortable with it. That was sign enough for Rarity.
"Hey! Get away!" shouted Rarity once they were a dozen steps off. She watched Sunset's head jerk in her direction then step backwards slightly. Rarity quickly inserted herself between Sunset and Fluttershy while Pinkie stood slightly to her left and behind her.
Rarity waved a finger at Sunset Shimmer. "Don't get any ideas, I'm not going to let you push her around anymore."
Sunset looked at the finger pointed at her. "Really. That's, uh, great?"
"Gooooooood morning, Sunset!" said Pinkie in a cheerful manner. She appeared entirely oblivious to Rarity's concerns about Fluttershy's safety.
"'Morning," said Sunset in response to Pinkie. She nodded slightly in the pink-haired girl's direction. Then her eyes traveled back to Rarity. "I don't know what you think is happening but you need to cool down."
"Ooh, don't be coy with me," said Rarity. "We all know what kind of person you are."
Sunset looked away with a frown. "Yeah, I know." She adjusted her jacket as she studied the pavement.
"Um, Rarity?" said Fluttershy.
"It's okay, we're here now," said Rarity.
"Yup, and before we were over there!" said Pinkie, pointing back the way they came. Rarity resisted the urge to slap her forehead.
"N-no, I don't think she was doing anything bad," said Fluttershy.
"You don't have to be afraid to speak out," said Rarity. "We'll keep you safe."
"Um, that's not quite it," said Fluttershy.
"We don't have magical powers anymore, but I'm sure we can be protect you," said Pinkie Pie.
"I'm sure you can," said Fluttershy. "But—"
"I'm sure she's scheming something already," said Rarity, her eyes still on Sunset.
"Not really," said Sunset, looking slowly back towards the trio of girls.
"A likely story," said Rarity. "I'm surprised you're even coming back to school. Does Principal Celestia know?"
"She kind of—" started Sunset.
"Well, we'll make sure she knows," said Rarity.
"Rarity," said Fluttershy. "She might just—"
"We'll keep her away, Fluttershy," said Rarity with a wave of her hand. "She won't hurt—"
"Will you let her talk!" said Sunset loudly, interrupting Rarity and raising her voice far louder than even the heated conversation had already been.
Rarity blinked and looked a little appalled that she was just scolded. But she looked towards Fluttershy stiffly.
"S-She was just," Fluttershy spoke so softly her words were quickly vanishing.
"What?" asked Pinkie, leaning in so close her ear was practically in Fluttershy's face.
Fluttershy swallowed and then spoke slightly louder. "She was just asking a question."
Rarity was back to frowning. She turned her gaze towards Sunset. "What question?"
Sunset sighed. She closed her eyes briefly and nodded twice. Then she shook her head. Then she whispered something that sounded like "I know" under her breath. Then she opened her eyes again and looked at Rarity directly.
"I was just asking for help making friends," said Sunset.
Rarity's mouth hung slightly open.
Sunset continued. "Twilight said you were good at that sort of thing, and, well, frankly." She breathed. "I'm not."
Pinkie smiled and jumped over to grab Sunset's arm. She hooked her own arm around the other girl's and cheered. "Absoluuuuutely we can help! Right girls?"
Fluttershy made a small smile and nodded.
Rarity just looked Sunset up and down grimly.
"If you want," said Rarity. Her eyes narrowed. "But I'm not promising any results." She turned and walked off in the direction of the school.
"Wow," said Pinkie. "Well, she'll cheer up once we get you some friends and prove you're on the level." She nodded to herself. Then she put her hands up in the air. "Let's go!" She started marching behind Rarity.
Fluttershy nodded again and then followed. Sunset just sighed.
"Yeah, you're right," she said to no one at all. Then she followed behind the girls.
*** End Interlude 1
Author's Notes: Things get more exciting from here.
To be honest, I strongly considered simply starting my story here and filling in the previous 6 chapters with flashbacks. I'm still not sure which is the right path but I did go through the trouble of writing those initial 6 chapters so...
Anyway, I'm interested in everyone's feedback. The real way 'home' for Sunset begins here.
