Looking Glass

Prologue

It wasn't like Celestia had really left her with much of a choice. Sunset knew what she had seen in the mirror; she had been an alicorn princess. Naturally, Sunset had more than a few questions concerning that, and yet Celestia had continuously refused to answer any of them. She was supposed to be Sunset's teacher, and she had the nerve to withhold the most important information of Sunset's life. Celestia had been the one who decided to show her the mirror in the first place!

And so, Sunset found herself breaking into the dark magic section of the Canterlot Archives. Really, what else was she supposed to do?

A pile of books sat beside her, all useless. She set aside the one she was reading – a nameless spellbook with a face on it – and picked up 'Canterlot Castle: A History, Vol. 2'. Sunset had almost passed it up, given that she was intimately familiar with the history of Canterlot Castle, but she was running low on promising books. She flipped through idly, debating if she should look elsewhere when something caught her eye.

"Here we go!" she said aloud as she finally found something promising. It was a description of the Crystal Mirror, an artifact which had supposedly once resided in the fabled Crystal Empire. While nopony was positive if the Crystal Empire ever actually existed, the description of the mirror was a perfect match.

"The Crystal Mirror..." Sunset quickly skimmed the pages and found what she was looking for. The mirror seemed to show possible worlds – things that weren't, but could still be. That meant that Sunset could become an alicorn princess after all! But how? She continued to read. "Every thirty moons a portal will open to... another world?"

"That's not really for you to know, now is it?" Celestia spoke up from behind her, causing Sunset to drop the book in surprise.

Her shock didn't hold out for long, as it was soon replaced by a much more prominent emotion. She wheeled around and glared angrily at Celestia, who was flanked by two of her royal guards. "How dare you keep this kind of magic from me!? You know that I'm ready for this, that I can be great!"

Celestia held none of her usual patience, meeting Sunset's glare at full force. "You could be great. I thought I saw compassion and sincerity in you, but it was nothing but ambition. You're being selfish, you need to step back and reflect –"

"I'm selfish!?" Sunset smacked the book towards Celestia, who effortlessly deflected it away. Stout Shield, one of the guards, moved to approach Sunset but was stopped by Celestia. "That book right there says I could become as powerful as an alicorn princess. I could rule here. It's selfish of you to keep me from my rightful place!"

Sunset stepped closer, replacing some of her anger with cold determination. "I deserve to stand beside you and be your equal." But that wasn't quite right. Sunset would never prevent somepony from achieving the glory that they rightfully deserved. "If not your better," she corrected. "Make me a princess."

"No," Celestia said definitively. "Being a princess must be earned. I have been trying to teach you everything you need to know, but you've turned from it. Every time you say you 'deserve' to get something without the effort just proves to me that you are not ready."

Celestia stood upright and adopted the tone she used when issuing royal proclamations. "Sunset Shimmer, I am removing you from the position of my pupil. If we cannot get past this, your studies end here. You are welcome to stay in Canterlot, but you are no longer welcome in the castle."

How dare she!? Sunset had worked harder than any of her peers and was beyond all doubt the most talented unicorn of her age. How could Celestia possibly reject that? Reject her? "We'll never get past this because you aren't seeing how great I deserve to be. Is that really all you have to say to me?"

"No. The guards will escort you out."

And that was it. For seven years Sunset had dedicated herself to studying under Celestia, and that was all the 'benevolent' ruler could manage to say to her. As the guards approached to escort her, Sunset began walking out on her own accord. Nevertheless, they flanked her as she walked out of the door. "This is the biggest mistake you'll make in your entire life."

The guards didn't speak as they walked, and neither did Sunset. She was far too preoccupied with thoughts of what had just happened, and thoughts of what to do next. They reached her room, and she haphazardly tossed a few possessions into a saddlebag, slung it onto her back, and walked back out. If the guards thought it was odd that she wasn't sentimental, they never said so.

'Celestia doesn't want me anymore,' Sunset thought to herself as they walked. What would she do then? Go back to living with her parents? Buck that. It seemed Equestria no longer held anything she wanted.

But somewhere else might, and it just so happened that they were passing by the room with the mirror. Without giving any warning, Sunset teleported through the door and found herself staring at the mirror.

She paused, reflecting on what she was considering. She would be leaving behind everything she ever knew and cared about, just to have a chance at something better. And that was only if it even worked, of course.

Then the guards charged into the room, wings flared out defensively and wearing matching scowls, and Sunset realized she was being foalish; she'd already lost the only thing she cared about when Celestia dismissed her from her tutelage.

Sunset grinned. It really wasn't even fair. The guards approached her confidently, no doubt expecting that as it was two against one they'd have the upper hoof. She could strike them both at once, but what would be the fun in that? Instead, she grabbed Stout Shield with her magic, while the other guard prepared to charge. Sunset never gave him the chance, however, throwing Stout Shield into him. There was the sound of metal on metal, and both stallions grunting.

Smirking at how easy it was, Sunset flung Stout Shield to the other side of the room and turned back to the mirror. The reflection no longer showed her as an alicorn, but that was okay. In the other world, Sunset would realize her full potential. And then every mirror would show her as an alicorn.

Without ever looking back, Sunset stepped through the mirror.

Author's Notes:

For those who don't keep up with the IDW comics, this is pretty much a direct adaptation of The Fall of Sunset Shimmer, written by Katie Cook. I don't normally directly adapt stuff, but not everyone reads the comics and this set up is important to the story proper. Although the comic is short, there's a bit more to it than what I adapted here (this is about half the comic), so if you're interested in a better look, Google is your friend.