My Little Pony: Sunset's Shimmer

Chapter 1: Generosity

I had the dream again.

She's always there, in my mind. Like a nail within my skull, unable to be removed. Always delivering poison. Mostly, the walls within my mind stand strong. They send the poison down into my body. My heart beats, however wounded, and the poison is excised. Back into yesterday, not forgotten, whether the day be old or young. But at night, my mind is weary. At night, long after the sun has set, it begins. At night, I see her. At night, she comes alive.

Come the dawn I wake, the sun already risen. Come dawn, I leave for Canterlot High. I drive my car, racing towards the light. I park on the street, well away from the school's car park. Come soon or late, I will have to step into the light of day, and into the school's illuminated interior. Soon or late, the bell will ring, and marching orders will be given. But for now, I rest my hands on the steering wheel, and my head on my hands. Asking myself, "what the heck am I doing?" Asking if it's worth the time and effort, if I should just quit now, and just try and get the portal open. Asking whether I should just stay in the car, or even better, drive west. This world is so different from home. It orbits its sun, and not the other way round. But it sets in the west all the same. In the west, I can hide. I've had this car for three years, when I obtained it from a scrap-yard and refitted it to working order. For three years, it's been my home.

I hear the bell ring. I sigh, and rub my eyes. For now, I think, I'll bear it. For now, I say, I'll stay in the light. I reach back to pick up my bag, and open the door. Taking care to not look in the rear-view mirror.

I don't want to see her looking back at me.

---

The gym is big.

I mean, I knew that way before now. The gym of Canterlot High is big. Big enough to have a plethora of streamers and balloons for the Fall Formal. I remember what happened after the last one, how the pictures of Fall Formal winners were mounted on the wall. The last three of them were of me. They told my story better than any words could, how in span of three years, the old me, the person who, at best, had fled Equestria because of not waiting to learn about the mirror, had gone to the girl who, in a year's time, would turn into a monster greater than even what the portraits showed. So I chucked them in the bin the night after the debacle. No-one saw fit to retrieve them. Can't say I was aggrieved. And let's not even start on what I did at the last Spring Fling.

So yes, the gym is big. Big enough to hold the entire school, even if they're not all here now. But it's not lacking in students either, as we all get ready for the musical showcase. Taking a breath, I walk in – time to make some friends, right? Magic of friendship, right? No better way to do it than through music, right, what with being the universal language and whatnot? I keep walking, and try to ignore the glances and whispers. I know they don't like me. You don't like someone who mentally enslaved you in a bid to conquer an entire world after all. But hey, straight and narrow. Marching on, one leg after another. Straight on, straight on, straight to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. One of many cliques who are working on a poster for the event. I see Sweetie Belle holding up a pot of paint with the brush inside it. I reach out and take it, smiling.

It's at this very instant that I feel like kicking myself, and doing so with the force of a hoof rather than the softer feet that carry me. Idiot, my mind says. You took the brush without asking. It's the kind of thing the old you would have done.

I can't argue with that, but I still smile, hoping to salvage things. "Want some help?" I ask, hoping that it sounds sincere. And it is sincere – I want to help. I want to make amends. Painting a poster isn't the be all and end all for redemption, but it's a start. Yet, the girls don't want my help. I can see that in an instant. The way they look at me. The way covers a noise of surprise with a cough. The way Applebloom says, "no thanks, we're good." The way she sounds more…scared, than anything.

"Oh. Okay," I say, and return the paintbrush to the pot. I feel like I'm burning up. Like it's summer, and not the last month of autumn. It's not so much the refusal of help that gets to me. It's the silence that follows it. That long, awkward, horrible silence. A silence even worse than the sound of whispers.

"Sunset Shimmer!" cries out a voice. "Over here!"

It's Pinkie, along with the rest of the Rainbooms. I smile, and head over, braving the gauntlet of whispers and glances. Did I say that silence is worse than whispers? I take it back. Crossing a floor filled with people who detest you…it's like crossing a desert. A big, long, hostile desert filled with vultures, with tears the only source of water.

I let out a sigh as I reach the girls. "I had no idea the whole school would be here."

Once more, silence. Fluttershy puts a hand on my shoulder, the rest remain silent for a moment. Even at the end of the desert, I still have to bear the thorns. But it's Rarity who breaks the silence, as she and Pinkie hold up the poster they're working on. "Quite the eye-catching advertisement, if I do say so myself," she declares proudly.

It's good, no doubt about it. A treble clef, a guitar, drums, a keyboard…it doesn't have Fluttershy's tambourine, but hey, it's art. I know art when I see it…I think…I spent most of the time studying magic and the theory behind it rather than more abstract concepts. Maybe that's why I fell short on the whole friendship thing. So while they discuss how it smells of cake (courtesy of Pinkie using frosting instead of paste), I remain silent. I still laugh as Fluttershy tries to get some of it off her face. Laughing feels good. I don't need to quantify that.

"Good afternoon students."

We all turn to see Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walk in, and watch as they cross the floor. The school holds them in high regard. Smiles, thumbs up, they're all there. Me? I wonder what the Celestia of my world is doing. What she's thinking, and not for the first time. At least, not since the Fall Formal, prior to which I barely gave my old mentor any thought. I watch as she reaches the gym's centre. "I just wanted to tell you all how pleased I am that so many of you are going to participate in the first ever Canterlot High School Musical Showcase."

The students cheer, and I can't help but smile. Being a school principal is a bit of a step down from being a princess. But the ability to inspire others to follow you is there. No doubt about it. For a moment, I forget about everything. Believe I'm a student like any other.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to raise money for all our after-school programs here at CHS," she continues. "So keep working on those signs and posters. I think it's going to be one of the most exciting events we've had at CHS since the Fall Formal."

Oh no.

There's no cheers this time. Only stares. Whispers. An awful lot of scissors.

I sink to the ground, and cover my face in my hands. Withstanding the silence. Waiting for it to be broken. Listening as Celestia and Luna walk out, their footsteps echoing on the wooden floor. Waiting for the Rainbooms to say something. Anything.

But they remain silent.

---

It's through unspoken awkwardness that we leave the gym. Through unspoken kinship that we end up in the music room. Through unspoken…unspokenness that I sit on the room's piano as the girls pick up their instruments. Finally, I speak, letting it out.

"Ugh," I say. "I'm never gonna live that down."

"You were pretty bad at the Fall Formal," Fluttershy says, as she reaches for her tambourine.

"A demon," I say – may as well get it all out. "I turned into a raging she-demon."

"And tried to turn everyone here into teenage zombies for your own personal army," Pinkie adds.

Oh. Right.

"Oh darling," Rarity says. "You have us. And we've forgiven you for your past…boo-boos."

I can't help but smile as the girls nod their heads in agreement. Even as I reflect on the word – "boo-boo." That's far too tame a description. Because I…the old me…was fully conscious in my decision to try and conquer Equestria. Looking back at it now, I can recognise it as a terrible idea with absolutely no chance of success (a few hundred teenagers conquering a kingdom? Seriously?), but boo-boo implies an accident. So, what word encapsulates the past actions that have made the music room the only place of solace within the school?

"To be honest, Applejack says, as she gets her guitar ready, "I'd say the whole experience brought everyone at Canterlot High closer than ever before."

Screw-up.

Not Applejack. Me. That's the word I'm looking for. "Screw-up." Screwed up in Equestria, screwed up in this world, the screw's now so loose that I don't know which way to push, while the wood strangles me.

Screw-up.

But for a few minutes, I can forget that, as the Rainbooms begin their song. They play, and I watch, as usual. Not that I'm complaining – I'm lucky enough to even be let in here, let alone hang out with them.

There was a time we were apart,

But that's behind us now.

See how we've made a brand new start

And the future's lookin' up, ah-oh, ah-oh!

The song's called Better Than Ever – one of the first songs the band composed (well, Rainbow actually – she's done most of their compositions), and as a first, it's quite good. Not just in its music and structure, but thematically as well. Better than ever, as in, after the…boo-boo, the school's better than ever, they're better than ever, life, as a whole, is better than ever. So, I find myself getting into the beat.

Better now.

The voice tries to assert itself, and I let it. Better than ever. As in, better than when I drove them apart? When I interviewed them for that faux news story, so I'd know how they met, and therefore, know exactly how to drive them apart? Yeah…I mean, just talking to each other would be better than what I did to them, but, well, better than ever. They didn't have a band back then at least.

They might be even better if you got out of their way.

That's a thought I try to suppress, and watching the girls 'pony up' makes it easy to do so. Tails, pony ears, and in the case of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, wings. It isn't the first time this has happened, and the girls have kind of just accepted it.

Oh yeah we're better than ever!

The song ends, and the pony parts fade out. I clap enthusiastically.

"I still can't believe that happens when we play!" Rarity exclaims, as the girls put aside their instruments. "Ooh! I've got to look into some new accessories! Something that looks good in a longer ponytail. Ooh! Maybe some clip-on earrings for when I get those adorable pony ears."

Wouldn't you need to put the earrings on while you're playing?

"I just wonder why it happens," Applejack says. "Princess Twilight took her crown back to Equestria. Shouldn't that mean she took all the magic back with her?"

It's a good question – oh, sure, the group's accepted this quirk, but that's not to say they don't question at all. Me, though? I'd love to know how and why it works, to not just question the process, but actually understand it. Magic doesn't work the same way in this world, but it's got some amazing technology to make up for that. I mean, if I could get them to play in the science lab or something, but…But I remain silent. I can't ask them to do that for me. It's not my place, and I don't want to ruin a good thing. Not when I've already ruined so much up until now.

"Who cares why it happens?" Rainbow asks. "It makes my band totally awesome!

Your band? I wonder.

"Oh? Your band?" Rarity asks.

"Duh! It was my idea to start the Rainbooms so we could be in the showcase. Plus I'm the lead singer and guitarist," Rainbow says.

All of that's true, I reflect. And, after all, I don't really have a say in it – I'm not part of the band after all. Still, at least from the Rainbooms perspective, would it be better to say "our band?" I-

There's a knock on the music room door, followed by the sound of it opening. Why knock if you're just going to barge open, you-

Oh no.

Forget about bands. Forget about words like "our" and "my." Forget about everything, just try to look inconspicuous in the corner, and think sweet Celestia, please don't look at me. Because there's some people in life, in this world or otherwise, that I'm not ready to face. Flash Sentry is one of those people.

"Heard you outside," he says as he walks into the music room. "You guys are sounding really tight."

Please don't look at me, please don't look at me.

"Uh, we're getting there," says Rainbow. "Rarity's still coming in a little late on the second verse, and Applejack's bass solo could use a little work. They'll get it together in time for the showcase."

Is that true? I don't recall any…oh, good, he hasn't noticed me. Please keep it that way.

"Uh, I don't suppose any of our friends from, uh... out of town might come?" he asks. "Uh, it being a special charity event and all."

That's a lot of 'uhs.' And what kind of-

"Sorry Flash," says Applejack. "I don't think Twilight's gonna be back at Canterlot High any time soon."

Oh. Right.

He laughs nervously. "Oh, yeah. Okay. I just, you know, thought I'd ask. Uh, k-keep on rockin' it."

He backs away into the wall, blushes, then heads out the door, leaving it open. A silence falls over the room – a silence that I don't break by letting out a sigh of relief, no matter how inclined I am to do so. That was awkward, but not nearly as awkward as it could have been.

"Well," says Rarity, letting out a giggle. "Someone is quite the smitten kitten."

Part of me feels down after hearing that. And Rarity must notice, because she looks at me, concern in her eyes. I meet them.

"Oh, sorry. I always forget you and Flash used to be an item."

"It's okay," I say. "Flash is a great guy and all, but I never really liked-him liked him. I was just using him to become more popular."

The girls look horrified, and Fluttershy lets out a gasp of surprise. And, once again, I feel like going into the corner and trying to look inconspicuous. Or better yet, find a rock to hide under. I sigh. "The old me really was just awful, wasn't she?"

The girls nod. Pinkie lets out a "yep." And I can't blame them. I also can't help but wonder if Flash's entrance was him not so much not noticing me, but rather not wanting to speak to me.

And who can blame him, I wonder? And what I also wonder is, have I changed? I'd like to think so, but there was me less than a minute ago, thinking less about poor Flash embarrassing himself, and pining for a girl who's in another dimension, and thinking more about me escaping that embarrassment. Is that selfish? I can't help but feel so.

"Well, past's in the past," Applejack says. "Important thing is that you've turned yourself around."

"Thanks, Applejack, but I'm not sure everyone else at CHS feels the same way." Heck, I don't even know if I feel the same way. But I do know that there's stuff to be done, specifically the bidding of Vice-Principal Luna, whose voice sounds out over the intercom, asking me to report to the main foyer.

"Gotta run," I say. "I volunteered to show some new students around the school. Thought it'd be good for them to get to know the new me before they heard all the stuff about the old me."

Rainbow gives me an idle wave, while the rest of the band returns to their instruments. The old me. Yeah…I'm counting on one, two hours tops at the most before "old me" comes to the fore.

But, those hours have to count, so I head for the foyer. Listening to the sound of Awesome as I Wanna Be echo from the music room. I want to be there. I want to play. But, priorities. Hopes. Dreams. Desperation. They have to come first.

"A new leaf, Sunset," I murmur to myself, walking through the empty halls, and feeling glad for the isolation. "Time for a new leaf."

---

I need to pee.

Can you believe that? I can't. I mean, seriously?! Bathroom break?! Now?!

Alright, fine – I pop into the girls' loos for a quick drip, a quick sip, and then back to the foyer. This has to be a good first impression. Being late will harm that first impression, but there's other things that could harm it much more. So, fine, I empty my bladder, flush the loo, and move over to the sink. A quick detour, that's all, I tell myself, as I stare at the running water, looping down into the sink like a star does a black hole. It's not like I'm hiding or anything.

Liar.

I stop still, the water still running. The black hole consuming the light of stars. My own light, dimming.

You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me.

My own eyes come up to the mirror, meeting hers. Those black, pitiless eyes. As if they're a pair of black holes, and I'm a star being ripped apart.

"What do you want?" I murmur.

Ah, she talks! I thought you said you weren't going to do that anymore.

I return to the sink, and begin washing my hands again. With soap this time. I keep on scrubbing, and scrubbing, and-

So, tell me – why did you volunteer to show the new girls around?

I keep on scrubbing. Wanting to wash it all away. To wash her away.

Well?

"Because I want to help," I murmur.

Liar.

"It's the truth," I say, a bit too loudly.

What did I say about not lying to me? She laughs. Oh, Sunset, are you really so deluded?

I turn the tap off – my skin's too raw to continue.

Tell me, she asks, are you aware of the concept of pure altruism? That most forms of altruism can't be true altruism, because the sense of satisfaction is a reward in of itself?

I wasn't aware…and yet I am. I have to be. That's how this works. Everything I know, she knows.

Course, you're a long way from that, aren't you? You're only showing the girls around in a vain hope for new friends, and in the even vainer hope that you can make up for everything you've done.

I dry my hands, shutting my eyes.

The element of generosity, Sunset? It isn't yours.

"I know," I whisper. I throw the paper towel I've been using in the bin. "But I don't need you to tell me that."

I open the bathroom door and slam it, heading back down the hall. Making up for lost time. Trying to get away from her.

I feel her laughter chasing me.

---

I'm skipping down the hall to the foyer. I would be running, but that might seem awkward to the new girls. And I don't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing me run. So, no – skipping it is. And, I have to admit, I'm actually eager to meet the new girls. Right here, right now, they won't know anything about me. Over the next fifteen minutes, I have the chance to make some new, proper friends. Oh, sure, the Rainbooms are fine, but I'm not really part of their group, let alone their band. I'm just the one who hangs out and pretends that everything is normal.

Is that selfish, I wonder? I can't blame them for hating me, but can I blame myself for wanting more?

Yes.

Is this altruistic, I wonder, as I slow down, recalling what was discussed earlier? Or done in self-interest? Like what the old me would have done?

Maybe.

Well, now's the moment of truth. They're standing in the foyer by the door, in the shadows. So with a big smile, I say, "hi. Are you the girls I'm supposed to show around?"

They step into the light of the foyer, and I can see them properly. "We are," says their leader.

Okay, that's a bit presumptuous, but honestly, that's the first word that comes to mind. Leader. Followed by "confident." All three of the girls carry themselves like that – fancy dress, fancy hair, fancy…everything. Yet assured. A bit like the old me, I think, but without the baggage of attempted mind control.

"Great," I say. "Well, Canterlot High is an excellent school. Let's begin."

"Oh yes," says the girls' leader. "We really sense there's something…magical, about this place."

They exchange smug glances, and I feel less spring in my step. They're obviously close friends – the type of people who can say a lot without saying anything. A clique, and one that'll be hard to integrate myself into.

Names are exchanged quickly – Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. All beautiful names, I reflect. It's with unease that I give my name as Sunset Shimmer – it's only a matter of time before the words "Fall Formal" and "Sunset Shimmer" reach these girls' ears, and they hear about what the latter did during the former. But, I have to see this through. I have to prove that I can be a good person, willing to show new students around the school for the right reasons. To prove it to myself, to the world, and…her.

"That's the science lab," I say, as the tour continues – the girls have remained silent, but attentive throughout the walk, and I can tell that in their clique, Adagio is the leader, with Aria and Sonata having her back. "Computer lab is in there." I see Rarity's poster for the musical showcase hanging on a nearby wall. "Oh," I say, running over. "We're having a big musical showcase this weekend. The whole school is pretty much rallying around it."

Adagio smiles – "a musical showcase?" she asks, glancing at her friends. I can't help but smile too – this is the first time they've seen genuinely interested in anything I've shown them. Maybe I'm doing a good job.

"Oh, yes," I say. "I'm sure Principal Celestia will let you sign up if you're interested."

"We have been known to sing from time to time," Aria says.

"Hello?" Sonata asks. "We sing, like, all the time! It's how we get people to do what we want."

What?

Adagio turns around and makes a sound at her. "What? What did I say?" Sonata asks.

I thought you said-

"What you meant to say," says Adagio, "was that being in a musical showcase sounds like a great way to meet other students."

I really don't think-

"Ohhhh, yeah. Th-What she said I meant to say. That's what I meant. To say," Sonata says awkwardly.

Aria scoffs. "And what you would have said if you weren't the worst."

"You are!" Sonata shoots back.

"You'll have to excuse them, they're idiots," Adagio says.

An awkward silence falls over us. If I didn't know better, Sonata said that they sang in order to manipulate people, that Adagio isn't so much a leader but a bully, and that something weird just went on right before me. For a moment, I'm reminded of Snips and Snails, how I had them as my lackeys for three years, giving them a tongue lashing if they failed to keep in line. But then, I don't know better. These girls are obviously close friends. I'm only projecting myself onto them. I feel disgusted at my attitude.

But I have to plough on, and that means finding a new topic to break the awkwardness. And it's at this point that I notice something – all three girls have an identical necklace. A red ruby, fastened at the neck by black leather.

"Those are pretty," I say, after letting out a nervous laugh. I reach for Adagio's. "Where did you-"

She grabs my wrist, and for a moment, our eyes meet, her anger radiating out like Celestia's morning sun. But it's only for a moment, as she lets my wrist go, and laughs awkwardly. "Sorry," she says. "These pendants mean an awful lot to us. We'd just hate for anything to happen to them."

"Right…" I say. Is it just me, or was that an overreaction? Is it just me, or is the way they say swagger off a bit…unusual?

I cringe - of course it's just me. I reached for the necklace without asking, and Adagio reacted like any normal person. That's the old me, I think to myself. Old me would have been making plans to steal them already. New me isn't so far removed from the old me that she won't think of doing the same. So it's with trepidation that I hurry after them, in order to finish the tour – it's not much further, and it ends at the cafeteria in time for lunch. I can't help but feel that the hammer's been dropped, and I'm the anvil. Can't help but feel that I've failed.

And yet part of me feels that something is wrong regardless. That these girls remind me of my old self, when power and popularity was all that I wanted. And that part refuses to go silent, even as we end the tour, and I walk into the cafeteria.

The part that wants to be as far away from them as possible.

---

I'm not hungry.

Not that I get lunch much anyway. Usually I get something from a vending machine and go and sit with the Rainbooms. It saves me from standing in line, sandwiched between people who hate me, and served food by people who detest me nearly as much. Every so often I give into my stomach and brave the gauntlet, but most of the time, I just skip it. Partly self-preservation, partly because I know I deserve it.

Taco Tuesday would be one of those exceptions under normal circumstances, but the circumstances I find myself in right now are anything but normal. So, I find the girls seated at their own table, all with their own lunches. I sit down beside Applejack, who asks me "so, how was the tour?"

"I don't know," I say, sighing. "I mean, these girls, they were...There was something off about them."

"Like, off like this?" Pinkie asks, forming her hair into a beard. "Or, off like this?" ('This' being carrots stuck up her nostrils and lettuce for eyebrows). "Or, oh, like-"

"Maybe we should just let her tell us," Rainbow interrupts.

"That's just it," I say. "I can't put my finger on it. They just acted sort of... strange around me."

I remain silent for a moment, wondering if I've said too much. I mean, the girls were weird, at least in my mind, but I'm not sure if my perception of things can be trusted, and I'm pretty sure that the girls are aware of that. So, were Adagio and her friends actually weird, or is it just me? Or, there is another possibility. One that I blurt out.

"Maybe someone already talked to them. Told them about what I did." I sigh, and bury my face in my arms. "So much for making a good first impression."

"Uh-huh," I hear Fluttershy say, followed by an awkward "oh, that's probably not it…" But if she's trying to convince me, she's failed. Because I know all about failure, and today is just one list of failures that can be added to a document labelled "Failures of Sunset Shimmer, Volume 2." Gym was a failure. The tour was a failure. Lunch has been a failure, because here's me, too dense to pick up on what was bothering Adagio, Sonata, and Aria all along. Instead, I was just projecting my own faults onto them.

Some semblance of conversation returns – the musical showcase, mostly, but I keep quiet. I'm not performing, and right now, I've got too much on my mind. And stomach. Sweet Celestia those tacos smell good. I wonder if-

Thump.

The doors to the cafeteria burst open. We're on the far side of the room that's filled with the sound of teenagers chatting loudly, and yet still, we hear it. And what we see are Adagio, Sonata, and Aria walk in nonchalantly. Walk in, mouths open, singing some kind of melody. One by one, the students of Canterlot High fall silent and look at them. I could hear the melody before, even over the din, but as the cafeteria falls silent, it becomes the only thing I hear.

We heard you want to get together.

We heard you want to rock this school.

We've thought of something that is better.

Something that changes all the rules.

The singing is…off, I think. Functionally, tonally, rhythmically, it's perfect. Beautiful, even. But their voices, they sound…amplified, I think? Surreal? Supernatural? Voices that are far too perfect for any human or pony? I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's just jealousy, but the way they sing, it doesn't sound…natural. Nor is the way they move, swaggering from one table to another. Saying to one student what they're actually saying to us all.

You're a star and you should know it.

Yeah, you rise above the rest.

It doesn't matter who you hurt.

If you're just proving you're the best.

I suppress a shudder. To go to any length to achieve one's end, regardless of who it might hurt. I've been down that road once before. Never again. For a moment, I'm reminded of the last time a song was performed in the cafeteria, when the Rainbooms got Twilight back in the race for the Fall Formal. The old me was disgusted by the display, and tried to frame Twilight for vandalism in a bid to knock her out of said race. The new me right now…is terrified. Because the girls are still singing. Their lyrics are saying that the musical showcase should be a battle of the bands instead, and everyone seems to agree with them. Such sudden consensus would be strange enough, but the students aren't just agreeing with the girls, they've started shouting and yelling at one another, hurling insults like snowballs. Adagio and her friends sing over the growing furore, and the Rainbooms and I just sit in the corner, staring on, dumbfounded. At the girls, at the students, at-

Is that smoke?

A green haze is spreading across the room. No, it's not actual smoke, I think, but I have no idea what it could be. No-one seems to notice it, and even if they weren't yelling at each other, I'm not sure if they could. Even I can barely see it. Not so much my eyes playing tricks on me, but rather my mind. My mind, which can hear clear lyrics, clear voices, and see green mist, all at the same time. See it, and watch it weave into the girls' pendants.

This is wrong, I tell myself. It isn't just me.

Isn't it?

I shut her voice out as the trio finish their song. The mist is gone. Their voices are silent. All that remains is a bustling cafeteria, of an entire school being on-board with a battle of the bands, and with the drive to win it by any means necessary. Shouting abuse, pointing figures, asserting their greatness and the inferiority of others…Essentially, a whole school of the old me. I look at the Rainbooms, who continue to stare. Wondering, hoping, that it's some kind of mistake. That what I saw was some kind of illusion, and not the type that Trixie uses.

"Oh!" exclaims Pinkie. "They're that kind of off."

That hope, like illusions, evaporates instantly.

---

A/N

The origins of this story lie years ago. The original idea was to take little snippits from Rainbow Rocks and convey them from Sunset's POV. As I wrote them, I realized that this was an awful lot of snippits for a oneshot, so I decided to promote it to multi-chaptered status. Returning to it years later, and seeing how short each of those snippits were...yeah. I think multi-chaptered was the way to go.

A potential issue I should address is why I'm novelizing Rainbow Rocks when a novelization already exists? That's a fair point, and, yes, I did order the novelization from Amazon, so I could read it and make sure things synced up with it as well as the film. Well, that novelization is safely hidden on the shelves now, and having rewatched Rainbow Rocks (which isn't so bad, it's easily the best Equestria Girls film IMO), gaining a lot of handwritten notes in the process, I will say that there's certainly overlap, but while Rainbow Rocks uses loose third person, this is based entirely on first person, and hopefully unique enough with its additions to be worth people's time. And since I'd argue that the first three EQG films are actually Sunset's story rather than Twilight's (which is another point of discussion entirely), hopefully it can stand alone.