Sad Sunset One-shot [✔]

>Sunset checks her journal again, before sighing.
"Sigh... Still no reply."
>She walks over to the enigmatic horse statue.
>How convenient, she muses, that a portal to a land full of horses — her kind — is somehow placed under a statue shaped like a horse.
>The only link to her home, and to her beloved mentor.
>And to her dearest... friend.
>Twilight.
"Maybe there's another way I could reach her—"
>Sunset reaches over, palming at the portal.
>A numbing dullness washes over her as the fiery magic within drains out of her.
"H-hey! Let go!"

- - - -

>Sunset jolts up in her bed, tangled in faded and musky blankets.
>Cold sweat runs down her back as a thunder belatedly rattles her bedroom window.
>She shivers.
>A muffled shout mumbles through the thin drywall.
>"[Fucking keep it down, lady! It's four in the morning!]"
>Sunset rubs at her throat, trying to vocalize something.
"Ahh— *cough cough*!"
>She must've screamed in her sleep.

>With all the enthusiasm of a limp worm, Sunset lets herself tumble backwards onto her pillow.
>The mattress pops and buckles underneath her in protest.
>She idly tugs at a strand of her red-and-gold hair.
>It's been ages since the portal to Equestria closed up.
>And yet, even after all these years, the nightmares refuse to stop.

- - - -

>"Oh, you're wrong."
>Midnight Sparkle flashes a wolfish grin at Sunset.
>It makes her feel beyond uncomfortable to see Twilight like this, even if she's a doppelganger of her beloved lavender princess.
>"—Unlike you, I CAN have everything I want!"
>Tears begin to well in Sunset's eyes.
>Even behind the warm and blurred lens, Sunset can tell what Midnight Sparkle is doing.
>The portal magic.
>That cursed nerd somehow figured out a way to harness the interdimensional portal—
>"Sunny, WATCH OUT!"
>A mass of rainbow blur shoves Sunset out of the way as a beam of turquoise magic strikes the ground beneath her.

"No, you can't."
>Sunset finds herself monologuing, holding a purple clamshell device above her head.
"Even with all that magic and power, you'll still be alone!"
>The demon growls, sending frightening chills down Sunset's veins.
>This is it.
>Something deep inside her knows.
>She can save this world, but she'd have to expend all of the portal magic to do it.
>She'd never see Equestria again. Or her mentor.
>Or Twilight.
>The monthly catch-ups with the Princess of Friendship.
>The way she'd complain about her duties as a princess, resting her head on Sunset's lap.
>The way she'd giggle at the new human jokes they'd share.
>The warm, nervous grip of her gentle lavender hand.
>Her thumb brushing lovingly at the back of Sunset's ears.
>Sunset clenches her eyes shut, letting loose a scalding flood of tears down her cheek.
>Her dearest Twilight.
>Farewell, she whispers to herself.

"True magic comes from—"

- - - -

>Lightning. Then, thunder.
>A pair of cyan eyes dart about the messy bedroom.
>Sunset crawls out of bed, ignoring the frigid cold and the piles of papers.
>Without even bothering to step out of her underwear, she jumps into the shower.
>Crank the blue-labeled knob, and she's blasting herself with freezing water.
>Her chest heaves with surprised breaths as icy water runs down her hair and onto her starved body.
>Gradually, her labored breaths morph into wracking sobs.
"T-Twilight..."
>The red-gold haired damsel collapses onto the tiled floor, clawing at her face.
>She recites her beloved's name like a broken record, her shoulders shaking with sorrow.

- - - -

"T-Take my hand, Twilight."
>Sunset is practically begging.
>A broken and bleeding body of Midnight Sparkle writhes in her arms, defiant to the end.
"L-Let me show you there's another way! Yes! Just like someone once did for me."
>The tears threaten to blur her vision again.
"P-please. I can heal you with what little friendship magic I have left, but I can't do it if you aren't willing to accept me into your heart..."
>Midnight glares at Sunset.
"I beg you, Twi. Please. I don't want to lose you like this."
>The not-Twilight opens her mouth, her voice gurgling with blood.
>"S-screw you, Sunny! There's m-m-m-more magic there, and I need it to—"
>Midnight Sparkle coughs, splattering Sunset's tear-soaked face with droplets of blood.
>"—I need it to repair my body. This wretched meat prison. I-I—"
>The lavender villain goes limp.

- - - -

>"Miss Shimmer, are you listening to me?"
>Sunset jolts upright.
"S-sorry, Miss Harshwhinny. I was distracted—"
>The dark-beige supervisor scowls.
>"Miss Shimmer, diminished performance alone isn't what brings you here to my office. The fact that you are constantly distracted in every sense of the word, however, is."
>Sunset gulps.
>With her magic gone and no sane research institution willing to back her half-deranged theory about magical portals, serving tables is her only source of income.
>Harshwhinny pushes an already filled-out form to Sunset.
>"I'm terminating your employment effective immediately. Please sign here, and here, and—"

- - - -

>A mass of red-gold hair sprawls itself out on the workbench.
>Though she's loathe to admit it, she's sobbing for the second time today.
>She misses Equestria.
>She misses Celestia. Luna. Her childhood friends. Her parents.
>She misses Twilight.
>With a sudden burst of rage, Sunset sweeps most of the half-finished devices and parts off of her workbench.
>She quietly curses herself for running to this world to begin with.
>She curses Celestia.
>She curses Twilight.
>She curses herself for missing Twilight so much.

>Against the more rational part of her brain, Sunset pulls out the aging and twisted tome.
>It aged horribly once the magical connection was severed forever.
>The bindings warped and creaked as parchments within shriveled out of shape, tugging against stitchings and staples.
>Sunset turns to the page she hates the most.

Dearest Sunset,
What is going on? Are you alright? The guards just informed me that the portal exploded inexplicably, probably from some sort of magical feedback.
Please tell me you're okay. Are you hurt? Pleasepleaseplease write me soon.
I love y—

>Sunset marveled at how neatly the Princess of Friendship had written the message, despite the urgency.
>It reeked of someone who wrote for a living — someone used to writing countless royal missives and research papers.
>And love letters.
>Sunset stroke each letter as though they were Twilight herself.
"I love you too, Twilight."
>Her whisper is barely audible, even to herself.

- - - -