Book one of "Who We Become".
Sunset always knew that she was destined for greatness, but she never dreamed of how great she could become. Not until she had seen it - the mirror had shown her as an alicorn. Ignoring Celestia's warnings, Sunset goes l...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Despite all the time spent preparing, Sunset had still failed to plan for this part. Tangled up on the floor in clothes that no longer fit, all she could do was sigh.
If her clothes weren't bad enough on their own, she was also covered in the cloak she'd used to sneak around the school. At least throwing that off proved easy, but she could hardly believe her eyes once she did.
It had been a few years since Sunset had been in Canterlot Castle, and it felt like a lifetime since she'd lived in it. It was reasonable to expect that she'd forgotten some of the seldom used rooms in that time. But not something like this. There was no way this could be Canterlot Castle, because there was no way Sunset could have forgotten a room like this one.
The floors and walls seemed to be made of smooth crystal, while pillars of jagged gemstones rose to the ceiling. As if the room itself wasn't enough, it was richly decorated with paintings and fine ceramics as well. Not only was there nowhere in Canterlot like this, Sunset couldn't think of anywhere in Equestria that would have such rich architecture.
'Is it possible the mirror took me somewhere else?'
Sunset twisted onto her back so she could look in the mirror. She saw the ridiculous sight of a unicorn's head popping out of a shirt meant for a human. Her new – or rather, old – body proportions meant nothing but her head could be seen under the tangled mess of clothing, but she was unmistakably a unicorn again.
A wave of euphoria washed over her, but she pushed it down. Last time she had returned to Equestria, she had let herself get carried away with wonder, and where had that gotten her? No, she needed to learn from her past mistake and stay focused. Celestia had already replaced her, and unless she could prove she was better than that purple unicorn, she had no hope of changing things.
Sunset fixed her silly reflection with a hard stare. How could she let something like this hold her back? After all, she was Celestia's gifted student, the most powerful unicorn her age, entirely irreplaceable and unsurpassable. She was fire given solid form, and there was no way she was going to let a bunch of clothes stop her.
Her pants and boots came off easily with a few kicks, but the shirt and jacket proved more difficult. After trying unsuccessfully to wriggle out of them, she stopped and chided herself. Was this really how Equestria's most gifted mage was going to solve her problems?
It had been a while, but there were some things that were just impossible to forget. Sunset took a deep breath and focused her willpower into her horn. She saw it light up teal in the mirror, and felt her whole body respond to the magical energy.
That was only the first step, something any unicorn filly could manage. Sunset pushed her magic out and willed it to grasp her jacket. It came off easily, but roughly; the strength of her magic was as good as ever, but her control was sorely lacking. "Do better," Sunset told herself before trying the shirt. It came off much more smoothly than the jacket had, and she smiled at her success.
