The Last Rays of Light

by milesprower06

...Dipping Below The Horizon

Sunset found herself on the front steps of Canterlot High. The sun began its final descent towards the horizon, and its journey cast a shadow over the remaining base of the Wondercolts statue, a shadow which was now beginning to engulf the young woman's seated position on the stairs, beckoning the chill of the late evening air. She gazed at her reflection in the base's north face, which contained the magical portal to Equestria. At one time, the portal was only largely active for only three days every two-and-a-half years. But due to the combined ingenuity of Equestria's Princess Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, they had figured out a method to maintain the portal, and it was now an avenue to come and go at any time, save for the day of the Friendship Games, when this world's Twilight Sparkle unwittingly captured the magic that kept it open.

After the Games, Princess Twilight came through again, belatedly responding to Sunset's pleas for help, and meeting her human doppelganger; a new transfer from Crystal Prep, who was just taking the first steps to learning about the Equestrian magic she had discovered. It was the Princess' fourth trip here; only a few weeks after her third.

Between the Battle of the Bands and the Friendship Games, Princess Twilight had made a short day trip through the portal, at Sunset's request. She met her at a small diner in town, where Sunset shared her thoughts, and her then-lack of enthusiasm for the Friendship Games.

"It just makes me wonder if there's... More for me back home." She had said.

Back home...

Was Equestria still her home? She had been here for just about two-and-a-half years now, and still, more than half of that was for rather nefarious purposes.

"Well, it's up to you. As long as the portal is open, you can come back to Equestria whenever you want."

But she couldn't, and she had said so in a letter to her old mentor and teacher, Princess Celestia.

...as badly as I want to go home sometimes, I can't. Equestrian magic is here because of me, and because of the circumstances that caused me to be here, I was here to protect this school and its students from those who would have used that magic for their own purposes, after myself. As long as the magic is still here, I feel it's my responsibility to protect this place, and the people I've endangered.

But at camp, she had experienced a revelation. It turned out that stealing Princess Twilight's crown and bringing it through the portal wasn't the only source of Equestrian magic. She still knew very little about the magic geode from the crystal cave that now resided around her neck, but it was safe to say that it didn't come from the Element of Magic.

'So if Equestrian magic being in this world isn't entirely my fault... Is it entirely my repsonsibility?'

Indeed, not long after she had this revelation, her longing for Equestria, for her family, had returned. She glanced down at the open book she held in her lap, to one of the last correspondences she had received; a reply from Princess Celestia.

You have a friend in me, Sunset Shimmer. I am very proud of you, and I hope I can see you again soon.

Her former teacher now supported her decision to remain in this world, but now that it wasn't her burden to bear, could she return home? Even for just a day? But what if something happened when she was away? How did Princess Twilight get over these concerns? Did she even have them?

Of course she did.

'I have responsibilities in Equestria. Its citizens need me.' She had answered when her friends here had asked her to extend her visit.

Sunset remembered how she had cast aside her responsibilities, along with her patience, when she was under Princess Celestia's tutelage. It was how she had ended up here in the first place. Unwilling to wait until the proper time to know more about the magic mirror, Sunset had broken into a restricted section of Canterlot Castle's library, and was subsequently caught and expelled. It was the perfect coincidence that the portal to this world was open when she decided to see firsthand what Princess Celestia wanted to keep from her.

It was the perfect set of circumstances, and she had come to have a new set of responsibilities here now, and that had been the last line of defense against her impulses. She felt abandoning her responsibilities again, here, would be a grave error. If anything had happened here; to her friends, to the school; while she was away, she'd never be able to forgive herself. She couldn't undo what she had done. If she had never abandoned her studies and gone through the portal, Princess Celestia would have never taken Twilight as a replacement student, and her actions and those of her friends had been Equestria's last line of defense on multiple occasions.

I had hoped to augment your ambition with compassion, but with the way events have played out, I've accepted that perhaps it wasn't my place to do so.

Sunset turned to the next page as the temperature continued its slow decline as the night approached. A letter to Princess Twilight, written just an hour ago; sharing her concerns about the other sources of Equestrian magic, as well as her repeating desires to return home. She had yet to receive a reply, and this was what she was impatiently waiting for. She had written the letter just after returning from Camp Everfree. She had helped her friends put away their band equipment in the band room before they all went their separate ways to go home for the night. Sunset didn't live far; easily within walking distance, so she sat down on the stairs and shared her thoughts with her new mentor. Her jacket fought off the increasingly chilly night air, but pretty soon, she was going to have to stop waiting and start walking home. Twilight had said she'd try her hardest to reply more quickly to her letters; a time travel loop had prevented her from doing so last time. Sunset was about to give up hope for a reply tonight, and started to get to her feet when the book began to glow and vibrate. She turned the page again, to one that was currently blank, and the glow around the book ceased, as a smaller glow took to the blank page as ink magically began to appear as a message was relayed from the other side.

Our dearest Sunset,

Your father and I were overjoyed when Princess Celestia told us that you were alright. She told us that you wanted to make sure that we never blamed her for what you did. We want you to know that while we were worried sick, we never did.

Sweetheart, we all make mistakes, some bigger than others, and the important thing is that you learned from them. We miss you like you wouldn't believe, but Princess Celestia summoned us for an opportunity to write to you, and told us the things you've accomplished there, and while we'd like nothing more than to see you again, we can't help but feel that you're there for a reason.

You've made us proud, Sunset, and we love you more than anything. Never forget that.

Love,
Mom and Dad

Sunset found herself failing to stop the torrent of tears that fell from her eyes. Her heart ached as the conflicted emotions clashed inside her; happiness and relief that her parents understood her situation and approved of her decision to remain here, and grief that she couldn't be there with them right now.

Her determination showed cracks again as she ran her fingers over the magical ink that had just appeared. This had just been written; she fought the urge to leap up from the stairs and run through the portal right now. The gratification wouldn't be instant anyway; the portal now lead to Princess Twilight's castle. Canterlot would be hours away as it was.

Still...

Her entertaining of these thoughts was interrupted as the next page of her book began to glow. Swallowing, she wiped her eyes, and then slowly turned to the next page, where glowing calligraphy began to appear, in a style she recognized all too well.

My dear Sunset,

Twilight informed me of the letter you sent her, and the concerns of yours that it contained. I thought it would be a good opportunity to invite your parents to write to you.

I know you miss home. But I implore you, please don't underestimate the potential importance of where you are right now. If your actions were not the only source of Equestrian magic in that world; in the future, like the sirens, it could be something with far worse machinations than you had envisioned in your quest for vengeance. Something that perhaps only you and your friends can stop.

Stay strong, my former student, for one day you, Sunset, may be the last ray of light that stands before the darkness.

-Princess Celestia

Author's Note:

The aforementioned scene in the diner with Twilight and Sunset is one of a few deleted scenes from Friendship Games, which would have started the subplot of Sunset Shimmer's homesickness. It, and others (including Sunset's portion of "What More Is Out There") never made it past the storyboard phase. While I understood why it was cut (it would have completely and utterly stolen the spotlight from Twilight and her device), the fact that nothing was hinted at in Legend of Everfree either has started to make me worry that DHX has dropped this subplot entirely. I'll continue to hold out hope for something in Equestria Girls 5.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading.

Comments

[Mr-Astounding]

tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.Me4e2222204936242b2c7913677383077o0&w=299&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0

[wiccanminnesota]

A very wonderful story really need to do a sequel to this one. Loved every bit of it.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

A brilliant sequel, and I'm right there with you on the writers not bringing up Sunset's homesickness in "Legend of Everfree", especially since at one point it may have been envisioned as the grand finale for the franchise (but now that doesn't seem to be the case, they've left a sequel hook they wouldn't have bothered to put in if there wouldn't be another one at some point).

[milesprower06]

7612183 I wish that they'd touch on Sunset's life she left in Equestria, so that the decision would seem more heavy and dramatic.

[Ghostfriendly]

A very nice relationship piece, and the last line seems to point towards more stories!

[Alex Warlorn]

While I'll hold onto the head canon that Sunset is Celestia's, or at least adopted by her, until the end of time, I have to agree that it's SAD that these scenes were cut, well, at least the ones that are so character driven in friendship games.

[Dave Bryant]

I do very much like this take on various characters’ responses to Sunset’s internal conflict and doubts!
After viewing the deleted-scene clips (which I hadn’t done before) and pondering the dialog, I wonder if there’s an additional reason Sunset’s plot thread was removed: It isn’t simply that she’s homesick—though I agree she probably is, underneath—it’s that she’s restless as well.
Despite the rampant anachronisms, the show staff and writers still pay at least lip service to the idea Equestria’s technology and culture are supposed to be roughly equivalent to the late nineteenth century, per Ms. Faust’s original pitch book. As Mark Twain’s stories illustrate, this was an era when one-room schoolhouses and the apprenticeship system hadn’t faded away quite yet in favor of the modern many-year school system; teens still were “junior adults” who had to make their way in the world earlier in life than we’re used to today. Sunset is accustomed to this more adult status, enhanced by her role as Celestia’s personal student.
By comparison, a modern high-schooler’s life is regimented and constrained, with more of a “senior child” status. Sunset’s emotional response to this dissonance is completely understandable and realistic, but it doesn’t paint her friends’, or the likely target audience’s, situation in a very positive light. Hence it’s glossed over through the use of the journal, getting her to roughly the same destination.
Ah well. If nothing else, there’s a gold mine of worldbuilding and demonstration of intent and attitude on the part of the writers toward various aspects of the portal and the characters’ views of it.

[milesprower06]

7763052 Thanks for reading, and a great perspective you have as well!

[BenRG]

The debate on whether Sunset should 'go home' is lengthy and often-vitriolic on both sides. However, I think that this story does a very good job in capturing the arguments, pro and con, on both sides.

Ultimately, Celestia is correct in one key insight: The good people of the human world need a champion to help them to deal wisely with the power that is slowly leaking into their world through various fractures. It appears that Sunset Shimmer, by way of her greater familiarity with magic, may be destined to be just that champion.

[milesprower06]

8440392
Thanks for reading!

[logros13]

Staying just because of altruism or duty rather than because she want to strikes me as the kind of thing that will lead to resentment in the long run... Which has an unfortunate history of escalating into nightmare beings/ demons in the mlp verse.

Anyway another nice little short here, thanks for you good work.

[Wilddog88]

8440687
Well I think the deleted version would have been better. I think it could have made Friends games way better than Rainbow Rocks. Reasons:

1 It would have given Sunset Shimmer the thing she needed to relate to Sci-twi.

2 it would have add drama.

3 the end goal would still be the same.

Even the deleted version show that both Sunset and Sci-twi waiting escape.

I do have a pet peeve when shows miss some really important.

Like Winx Club rai English Bloom and Roxy.

In episode 9 of season 4 Roxy gets possessed by a spell of an angry fairy that's imprisoned. And in season 2 episodes 19,24,25,26 Bloom gets spelled into being evil. And the creators don't even have a single sentence mentioning at all!

It would have help Roxy later in episode 13 of season 4.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

'So if Equestrian magic being in this world isn't entirely my fault... Is it entirely my repsonsibility?'

All depends on how crazy it gets.

Her determination showed cracks again as she ran her fingers over the magical ink that had just appeared. This had just been written; she fought the urge to leap up from the stairs and run through the portal right now. The gratification wouldn't be instant anyway; the portal now lead to Princess Twilight's castle. Canterlot would be hours away as it was.

Must be a lot to go through in just a short amount of time for sunset.

[milesprower06]

11130662
A storyboarded deleted scene from Friendship Games where Twilight meets Sunset in a diner, and she confides that there might be more for her back in Equestria.

[milesprower06]

11130792
That's the one.

[Nailah]

A very interesting little piece of Sunset that we didn't see in the movies. As others have said, it is really good we see the pros and cons of her going home, and the importance of who she is now. She isn't the same Sunset who fled with the crown for power. This Sunset understands the true magic of friendship. Great little gem you have here

[milesprower06]

11173867
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the rest of them!

[zachary12]

nice job