Canterlot Institute at night was always relatively quiet. The dormitories were located off-campus and most of the teachers left around 5:30 at the latest. Meaning by nightfall, the building would become silent save for a few security guards keeping a careful watch. One such guard stretched and yawned as he stepped outside the room that housed the school’s computer servers, locking the door behind him with his trusted keyring.

Pivoting on his foot, he turned back around to jiggle the handle of the door to ensure he had fastened it tightly. When the knob didn’t move more than a millimeter or two, he nodded in satisfaction as he approached his co-worker.

His younger, fresher less-experienced co-worker tilted his head slightly to the side as he spoke, “So… All locked up then?”

The senior guard nodded and chuckled as he took a step forward, retrieving a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and drawing one to his lips. He placed a hand on the young officer’s shoulder and chuckled. “Yup, that means it’s time to go burn one.”

The young guard frowned. “Aren’t we supposed to stay at our post?”

His co-worker rolled his eyes and offered the boy a cigarette, already annoyed at how much of a good-two-shoes he was He was determined to break that habit quickly. “Lighten up. I locked the place up; we’ll only be out for a minute. You need to stop taking this job so seriously, kid. It’ll get a lot smoother if you just relax.”

A look of concern still lingered on the young man’s face, but he let out a sigh, took the offered cigarette, and stepped with his co-worker. “Alright, but just this once, I don’t want us to get in trouble…”

The other man laughed as he exited the building with his fellow guard. “I really have to take you out sometime…”

Above the two, waiting patiently in the ventilation shaft, a figure in a hoodie lay in wait. Their ear kept tightly pressed to the cold metal shaft listening to the ruckus down below. Upon hearing of the two’s plan to depart outside for a cancer break, they waited another few seconds before determining the coast was clear.

Hastily they moved down the shaft at top speed before coming to their desired opening. Drawing a pocket knife from their torn-up jeans, they began to unscrew the vent blocking their entrance as quickly as they could. Their calculations told them they only had a few minutes to complete their entire task, and that was assuming the two would continue to play grab-ass outside for longer than it took to puff a cigarette out. They couldn’t rely on them opting to take another smoke directly after either, far too risky.

Getting the grate off, the hooded figure descended into the room and allowed their feet to carefully land upon the ground, their cheap sneakers barely cushioning their feet from the fall.

Reaching into their waistband they retrieved a handgun that they quickly cocked and held in front of them while they snuck around the room, ducking behind the large server computers before determining that the room was empty. Ready to utilize the firearm should the need arise.

Once their suspicion was confirmed they approached a large computer in the back of the room.

Gazing at the screen, they set their firearm down next to the keyboard and removed their backpack. From inside they retrieved a small laptop and a set of cables.

With skill and finesse, they quickly got their laptop hooked up to the terminal and managed to boot up in record time. Skillfully clacking away at the keyboard, their mind focused on their prize.

Within minutes a message appeared on screen alerting them that all the data they were after had been copied to their external storage device. A smirk appeared on their face as they quickly unhooked ready to leave the way they came in. Not a soul was the wiser to what had transpired. Everything was going exactly as planned.

So, you've seen a lot, haven't you? Let's go over what you've just seen and see how much you understand.

Sunset came to the human world many years prior. Her arrival created a spark of magic to appear in the human world, that same spark is what ignited the magic potential in Shimmer. From that spark, Shimmer would, unfortunately, become responsible for the death of her own parents.

Through perseverance and goodwill, Sunset was able to help Shimmer find out the truth of this event and even finally receive the closure she so longed for many years. The question remains though: was their death truly not Sunset's fault? After all, there would be no magic for Shimmer to utilize had she not appeared; or was this mere coincidence?

There's no denying the shadow that Sunset casts will have long-term effects.

What you have seen is only a piece of the big picture. To truly understand, there is so much more to see.

Only when you have seen it all can you make your judgment, so let us continue the next part of this tale.

Short but next week we begin anew don't we?

Special thanks to everyone who has stuck with me and been patient.