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Chapter Text

    Someway, somehow, Sunset Shimmer had known long before this argument began that it held a kind of finality. The last few days had been filled with a tension that she loathed but couldn't bring herself to break - for she truly didn't see how she was in the wrong this time. Admittedly she often presented herself as permanently in the right, but that didn't mean she couldn't see the faults in her own arguments.

    This time, though. This time - the basis of her argument was her mentors own actions. Princess Celestia had chosen to show Sunset that mirror, so the fact that she now denied her the right to learn more about it so fervently made no sense to the young unicorn - why show if you weren't going to tell? 

    But then, Princess Celestia didn't often make a lot of sense to Sunset anymore. There was the pivot from encouraging her studies to encouraging her to find friends - a pivot that Sunset was unable to settle into after having thrown herself into her studies headfirst for so long, there were the endless riddles, and, almost the most irritating, the professionalism.

    They used to be so close, so close that - that - ...but now? Now there was always the distinction of Princess and Pupil. Teacher and Student. 

    It, truthfully, hurt. 

    Maybe that was the factor leading into some of their recent arguments - Celestia's refusal to admit anything had changed, and Sunset's pain in having to hide how the indifference hurt.

'I- I just can't see what there is to hide!'

'I am not hiding anything-'

'Then why won't you tell me!'

Celestia's eyes narrowed.

'-that you shouldn't be concerned with. You are not ready.'

'Not ready for what?!'

'That is not your concern.'

'Oh for the love of-'

    Sunset tried her best not to roll her eyes. She really did - though that didn't seem to be picked up by Celestia, whose eyes somehow narrowed further while her nostrils flared. Sunset almost winced, but, determined not to let her body get away from her again, stood strong against the Princess, who's mouth opened - but Sunset could tell she wasn't getting an answer. Her patience snapped, the desire to learn that had been fostered in the castle winning over any restraint she might have been able to muster.

'What are you hiding from me?!'

    Great white wings flared at the shout and instantly Sunset shrank back as the Princess took a step forward. Celestia was trying to intimidate her - force her to drop the subject. Sunset figured she might have been prepared to, but apparently she was never going to be given that choice.

'Sunset Shimmer! I see your ambition for learning has outpaced your judgement. In light of recent accusations and your actions here tonight, I have no choice.'

    Sunset blinked. Accusations? What - what accusations?

'I hereby suspend you as my pupil, pending investigation!'

'...what?! You - you can't do this! I wasn't informed - w - wha - what accusations?!'

'SILENCE! The guard will escort you to your room -'

'This isn't - you can't -'

'I can and I have, Ms. Shimmer. You will be under house arrest until..'

    Sunset reacted. A short teleport - a few hooves forward. A move rewarded by the satisfactory thump of a guard on the floor. She span to face Celestia, simultaneously bucking hard against a guards chestplate - aiming at the centre where the most padding lay, after all, she didn't want to hurt them - too badly - before locking eyes with her m- former mentor.

'Why wasn't I good enough for you?!' She hissed furiously.

    For a moment, Celestia looked wounded, but then it was past.

'Sunset -'

'No! You're making the biggest mistake of your life!' 

    Sunset stamped on the floor, drawing attention for a split second, allowing her to freely trigger her second teleport. The magic flowed softly around her, a serene calm in the storm of running emotions, and after a moment she was rolling to a stop in her room. The first thing she did was throw a magical suppression field as far as she could around her room - preventing anypony coming straight to her via teleport and buying herself a precious few extra minutes - after all, it would take a few moments before Celestia noticed the suppression field and sent the message for the guards nearby to go after her.

    She turned away from the door, and almost instantly froze under the weight of memories that threatened to swallow her. For a moment she drifted in them, each moment an eternity, before she shook herself from her stupor and pulled her saddlebags - a brown colour embroidered with her cutie mark, the ying-yang sun that shared colours with her distinctive red-yellow mane - away from where they lay by the door, their contents dumped unceremoniously as she glanced wildly for what she would need.

    She was being thrown out of the castle regardless - of that she had no doubt - so she was simply trying to beat Celestia to the gut wrenching, backstabbing, knife-to-the-heart punch that it was. Sure, she'd said house arrest - but the castle was her house - and she could hardly see Celestia wanting her around anymore. Cyan eyes traced a room highlighted by orange, stained by the dying embers of another sunset over the mountain city, a realisation settling over a shocked and weary brain.

    She wasn't wanted. Again. She just wanted to- Celestia just wanted to get rid of her!

    The large, circular window at the far end of the room was the culprit of the burning light, set on the outside of the castle to allow Sunset to sit in the window with a complete view over the city in all directions. Along one wall lay her desk, supplemented by two small bookshelves, all covered in various papers, research, books and gadgetry swiped from poorly observed laboratories. The other wall held a small array of posters, decorations, a door to a walk in wardrobe turned small kitchen for late study sessions, another door to the bathroom, another bookshelf and finally the staircase that doubled back to her lofted bedroom.

    Her heart caught in her throat once more, and she turned quickly to her desk, shuffling through her papers with mild desperation before picking out a few, alongside a pair of books on thaumaturgical theory, and stuffing them into her saddle bags. She ascended the staircase, all the while pulling objects towards her and inspecting them before they were either discarded or added to her bags. 

    Reaching her bedroom, Sunset did a cursory glance before grabbing the obvious - her bag of bits, a few gems left stray, her identity documents. Then she hesitated, and began adding a few more items of sentimental value. An old stuffed bunny plushie, a half consumed bag of poppy seeds shared between pet and owner, a photograph or two, her journ-

    Her journal.

    The object in question froze in front of her, and Sunset felt her heart hammering in her chest, threatening to break free. It could be a source of so much potential pain and trouble for her, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to throw it away. Swallowing, it took the last space in her saddle bags, which Sunset lifted onto her, the weight causing a small grunt, before attaching the bag of bits to her saddlebags using a small clip and descending the staircase.

Brrrrp?

    Sunset blinked, then turned to the room. Waking up from a nap, settled onto a soft pillow, was her phoenix, Philomena.

'Philomena? Why are - why are you still here?'

Brrr.

'I- I have to go, Mena.'

Rrrrrrrr prr brp?

'I mean...'

    Sunset looked back at her bags, and lifted the flap before floating out her journal and one of the other books stuffed in.

Prrrrrrb?

    Sunset's voice reduced to a whisper, tears misting her eyes.

'You really want to come with me?'

Brr.

'...okay.'

    Sunset looked between the two books, quickly throwing the latter away and fitting the pillow and journal back into her bag with a packet of mixed flower seeds and petals while Philomena took to the air for the few moments it took to cross the room and settle into the folds of Sunset's mane, subtle enchantments keeping the hairs from igniting.

    A tear finally spilled from Sunset's eye as she took one final glance over her room, breathing quick and shallow, and she closed her eyes, choosing to instead focus on the soft vibrations of Mena's comforting purrs against her head.

'Thank you.'

Prrrrb brr drrrp.

    Sunset heaved a deep breath, turning to face the door as thundering hooves approached it. Subconsciously, she backed away, Philomena anxiously nestling further against her head, brain running through a list of possible destinations - the mirror she'd been shown chief among them. Then the door soon slammed open as a pair of guards stormed in alongside - 

    Sunset blinked. She hadn't expected Princess Celestia herself. Regardless, she found the source of her suppression spell and tore it apart, magic quickly rushing back into the space around her like water filling a submerged cup. She raised a hoof to her head in a mock salute, blood thundering in her ears. Her brain blanked, and she fixed her mind on the first place she could think of, magic charging.

'Sunset WAIT-'

'Goodbye, Princess.'

'NO-'

    Her hoof dropped, and in the same instant, Sunset and Philomena disappeared in a burst of cyan sparks. A few minutes later, they burst back into existence on a side alley of 5th Street, Sunset sliding forward onto the ground with a moan and black pulsing rapidly into her vision. She was gasping for breath, her whole body felt like it was on fire and her tongue was beyond dry - the consequences of a series of teleports so complex it would be nearly impossible for even the most talented trackers to follow, especially considering the path taken crossed through several wards. Magical Burnover - a unicorn prodigy's worst nightmare, and Sunset Shimmer's old friend.

    Sunset lay on her side, panting heavily as a flash of orange slid past her vision. Her brain was screaming in pain, and simultaneously begging her to get up lest she be found by somepony with nefarious intent before she could stand up for herself. Just because it was Canterlot didn't mean there was no crime - a fact Sunset recalled in great detail as she lay defenceless. Seconds dragged on like minutes, panic beginning to grip Sunset's heart as the darkness lay thick, the heat unrelenting - this was worse than normal in relation to her usual burnovers. 

    Vibrations knocked at her cheek, growing heavier as they approached. Fear gripped Sunset's heart fully, her eyes still unable to be opened, her body unable to move. She could be foalnapped, she could be killed, she could be - could be -

Here. Drink.

    Something pressed against her lips, forcing them open before water pooled into her mouth, and she swallowed. More water came, and Sunset began to cool, the pounding in her head steadily beginning to subside. Sunset wasn't sure how long it had been by the time her unfocused eyes opened, the world a haze of dark colours - but as far as she could tell she wasn't in any immediate danger. Philomena hopped into view, resting her head on Sunset's cheek, and she relaxed, a sigh escaping her lips as the water returned, held aloft in a soft blue aura.

    Minutes continued to pass, until finally, colour began to filter back into her world. Sunset shivered, closing her eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath before reopening her eyes and struggling to lift her head.

'Hey, hey - wait, you're okay. You're safe, take it slow.'

    Sunset slumped again with another moan, trying to blink the world back into focus. She still felt vulnerable despite the reassuring words, but Philomena's presence helped greatly. Already Sunset found herself grateful for her decision to allow the Phoenix to travel with her and as though she could hear Sunset's thoughts, Mena pressed closer into her cheek with a comforting prrrrrr. When she could eventually define individual cobbles in the street, Sunset shifted to take a look at her saviour.

     Blue eyes acted as contrast to the unicorn mare's pleasant amber coat that harmonised with a bright pale gold and white mane. Partially visible on one flank was what appeared to be a firework, horn and slash of green magic. Either that, or it was a Sunflower - she wasn't quite sure.

    From behind her, a squeak sounded, and a blue-furred face peered around the mare, framed with a light pale blue and white mane. This second mare's brown eyes focused on Sunset with a kind of a wonder. Sunset had a fleeting feeling that she'd seen this filly before, perhaps at CSGU, but she wasn't confident.

'Mama? Are they gonna be okay?'

'Yes, honey. They're gonna be fine.'

    The first mare, who had turned to look at the second, turned back to Sunset before offering a hoof.

'Showcase. Showcase Lulamoon, and this,' she said, gesturing back at the other, 'is my daughter Trixie. You are?'

'Sunset Shimmer,' replied Sunset, though a healthy part of her mind tugged against giving anything about herself to the two mares - as nice as they seemed.

    Said mares shared a look, inevitable recognition passing between them - after all, who hadn't heard of Sunset - before Showcase blinked and lowered the unmet hoof with slight awkwardness, as she realised Sunset both wasn't quite able to move completely yet and that even if she could, Sunset likely wouldn't have returned the hoof bump.

    This prompted a sigh from Sunset, as though she would admit she could be a hooffull, she wasn't impolite. Well, not all the time. But rumours ruled the streets - and Sunset normally didn't come off as a shining example of Palace Society in them.

'So, uhm, Miss Shimmer, what brings you to the streets of Canterlot with a severe case of magical burnover?'

'Just, Sunset, please. And, I'd uhm, rather not say.'

    To her credit, Showcase didn't press further, simply nodding with a smile, eyes closing as she did. Trixie simply frowned and pressed up against her mother, undoubtedly having heard the horror stories from other CSGU students. Sunset pushed herself into a sitting position before taking another sip of the offered water, and Philomena moved to position herself on top of Sunset's head once more. Showcase took the opportunity to throw Sunset another question.

'Well then, Sunset, would you rather I give you a hoof back to the palace, or a place to stay?'

    Sunset groaned internally, realising Showcase was quietly reiterating her previous question within the trappings of offered assistance, which Sunset couldn't refuse without being both simultaneously rude and putting herself at risk once more. Externally, she dipped her head before replying courteously and cautiously,

'If you could point me towards a hotel, please.'

    Sunset could practically hear Trixie's eyebrows shoot up, and Showcase simply smiled with closed eyes again, infuriating Sunset to no end.

'It's okay, Sunset, you can stay with us for the night.'

'Mama-!'

'I am assuming you'd rather avoid the guard, hmm? I will not lead a young mare such as yourself to a dubious establishment where you would avoid them.'

'But, Mama-'

'Be polite, Trixie. I'm sure whatever you've heard is not true.'

    Sunset, who had unconsciously widened her eyes during the exchange, shook her head. The offer was great for her - and Showcase clearly knew it - though she'd be lying if the thinly veiled warning didn't put her slightly on edge.

'Ah, no, no. Uhm, lead the way then, Showcase?'

    Showcase nodded before getting to her hooves and gesturing for Trixie to do the same, who shot another look at Sunset before complying. Sunset herself took another deep breath before getting to her hooves, a shot of nausea crossing through her before she steadied. She took an unsteady step forward before feeling a pressure at her side, and looked up to see Showcase pressing up to support her with a concerned look in her eye.

'Thanks.'

'Yeah, don't worry about it,' Showcase paused for a moment, 'Look, sorry about Trixie. But you carry a lot -'

'Yeah, I know. I'm sorry.'

'Got nothing to apologise for.'

    Sunset nodded solemnly as they followed Trixie, and a silence settled over the group as they walked. Sunset found herself lost in her thoughts after a while. Celestia had spoken of accusations, of which Sunset had never been told about. This was a problem in and of itself - without a way of knowing what it was, she had no way to clear her name. On top of that, something had obviously gone wrong somewhere - in the castle, at least, ponies were informed what they were accused of so they could gather evidence against the case, while being placed under observation - usually by the royal guard.

    Sunset had not been informed, and she certainly hadn't been under any increased observation, which meant either the Princess made it up on the spot or  had thrown out an accusation, seeing no need to follow it, and then used it against Sunset to place her under house arrest. Either way, Sunset could've argued the dubious legality of the call in a court, but she did not have the money for that, and also had no family to fall back on. 

    This segued neatly on to her next problem - Sunset was alone outside of the castle. She couldn't stay in Canterlot, that much was obvious, but she had no idea where to go from here. Canterlot had been her entire life, born and raised. Besides trips out with the Princess, it had been where she'd spent all her time, too.

    But the overlying thought was how much it hurt. Regardless of the method, and dubious legality of said method, that Celestia had used to make the judgement, she'd still done it. It was betrayal, simply put.

    She'd been betrayed by Princess Celestia.

    Betrayed.

    By Princess. Celestia.

    Sunset felt the anger boiling under her fur, and tried her best to push it down with a set of deep breaths, choosing to focus on Philomena's warm body on her head. Some part of her felt a strange tug at that moment, and Sunset blinked before throwing a detection spell on herself. 

    Whatever divine inspiration had pulled that out of her, she was immensely thankful for, as she instantly felt the threads of a weak tracking spell on her saddlebags. Celestia must have cast it in the few moments between her arrival and Sunset's departure.

    The tug must have been the first pass of a locator spell finding the tracker, so Sunset immediately broke the trackers connection wide open - it would alert the caster, but Sunset figured there was no point hiding it. She wasn't going to let them get her easily.

    Quickly, she recalled her knowledge on tracking spells - a two part process, it involved the tracker core, which was embedded into an object or item, and a locator, which swept in rings of increasing size from the casters location, returning a hit whenever the tracker synced with the locator, which could be then used to gradually narrow down range and direction over the space of several passes.

    Normally, they were undetectable, but Sunset had placed her own pair of tracking spells on her more valuable items - one in her own magical frequency, and one in Celestia's. While originally intended to allow Celestia to find Sunset's items over a larger range (assuming they were stolen, given that Celestia had the magic to power a locator over a much greater distance than Sunset could), Sunset had never actually told Celestia about them, and they had never been used.

    Which gave the unexpected side effect of Celestia's locator triggering Sunset's tracker - which had then notified herself as well as Celestia. Sunset smiled to herself, enjoying the small victory, before tearing open her own tracking spells in case Celestia tried at Sunset's frequency. 

    With that, she was practically traceless. Celestia did have a hit, yes, but it would only have had a weak return due to the large scale of a first pass. Celestia could probably guess that Sunset was still in Canterlot, but that was likely the extent of the information. Finally, she cast a long lasting soft diversion spell over herself and Philomena to push any attempts at a direct trace away.

    Showcase glanced at Sunset, likely having felt and seen the magic use - after all, she was pressed up to Sunset's side still, and unicorns could see magical auras, or feel them when in close proximity.

'Smiling?'

'I've been living under Celestia almost my whole life. It's strangely -'

'Freeing?'

'Yeah.'

    Showcase smiled at Sunset again, and, like the past times, her eyes closed again. Sunset decided not to question it, just shaking her head lightly before separating from the other unicorn, now confident enough in her own steps. As soon as she did, a thought occurred to her.

'Showcase?'

'Yeah?'

'Why are you helping me?'

    Showcase side-eyed Sunset for a moment, before shifting her attention back onto Trixie.

'I know what it feels like - being thrown out of your home. Having somewhere to safely ground yourself helps, believe me. I don't want you to get hurt because you didn't have time to process.'

    For a moment Sunset had no response, simply watching Showcase with wide, tired eyes.

'I- uhm.. th- thank you.'

'You're welcome,' Showcase smiled. 

    The group travelled onwards, and Sunset found a strange appreciation in the city around her that she normally didn't get. Few ponies were out, each hoofstep creating echoes on the cobbles. Some stars punched through the light screen created by tall black lampposts, magical flames casting soft glows on beautifully crafted homes - brown wood beams cutting across white concretes, bricks and marbles, each one broken up by varying patterns of plants, flowers and vines.

    This was her home. And yet, now, she had to leave.

'Hey, hey - Sunset. Stay with me. I know it hurts, but we need to get in first, 'kay?'

    Sunset shook her head, freeing herself from the thoughts before giving Showcase a soft smile. Showcase, in turn, pressed back up against Sunset before pulling her abruptly into a hug.

'You're gonna be okay, I promise.'

    Sunset returned the hug, albeit slowly. Trixie turned and looked back at the two mares, eyes widening slightly before they locked with Sunset's own. Trixie simply nodded, and Sunset felt herself smile - properly smile.

'Sunset Shimmer! We are under orders to-'

    Showcase's head snapped up instantly, and Sunset felt the anger rolling underneath the surface.

'Showcase - let's just run!'

'Yeah - yeah okay, come on!'

    The two span, sprinting for Trixie as the guards called out behind them. Wings flapped behind her, and Sunset ducked, avoiding the Pegasus, though Showcase wasn't as lucky, sliding across the ground with a groan. Sunset screeched to a halt, turning quickly before launching herself at the Pegasus grappling with Showcase.

    Philomena lept from Sunset's mane to try and distract the other Pegasus as Sunset herself slammed into the guard, knocking them clean off of Showcase before bucking them across the cobbles, the guard letting out pained sounds as their armour bruised against their side from bouncing across the stones.

    Showcase scrambled back to her hooves, grabbing Sunset in her magic and righting the amber prodigy as she ran. Sunset picked up the pace as she was set down, Philomena promptly settling onto Sunset's back. Catching up to Trixie, Sunset scooped the filly into the air, Showcase catching them to settle onto her back.

    They slid to turn at a corner, and Sunset nearly slipped, but as she caught herself something whipped past her vision, the Bola barely missing Sunset and instead wrapping around Showcase's legs, bringing her crashing to the floor once more.

'No!'

'Trixie! Run!'

    Sunset sprang over to Showcase, grabbing at the ropes with her hooves and desperately trying to pry it off of Showcase. Trixie watched with wide eyes, shock rendering her immobile as the guards approached. Showcase met Sunset's eyes.

'Keep an eye out for Trixie, okay?'

'No, no, c'mon-'

'Sunset, Go!'

'No-!'

    Showcase shoved at Sunset, pushing her away. It was enough to restore motion to Trixie, who promptly fled in the other direction. Sunset's eyes darted between Trixie, Showcase, the guards and the castle. She made another dive at Showcase, grabbing the rope of the Bola in her teeth and pulling in another desperate attempt to loosen it - until she was pushed away again by Showcase.

    They locked eyes, and Showcase simply shook her head, the pounding of hooves on cobbles getting closer by the second. Sunset dipped her head.

'Thank you.'

    Then she was up, rearing, spinning, eyes locking with a pair of royal guards running down the street, and tried to teleport out of instinct - but instead she let out a pained screech as the headache from her burnover returned. Philomena leaped from her back, pulsing in front of the guards and forcing them to back away slightly and cover their eyes, and Sunset dropped back onto all four hooves, shaking, before quickly picking a direction and sprinting as fast as she could away.

    Princess Celestia looked out at Canterlot from where she sat on the balcony, unease rippling under her fur. She had long since dipped the sun under the horizon, despite the anxiety that had pushed her in circuits around her room. Sure, she was still upset - angry, even, with her student, but she hadn't at all wanted her to leave.

'Why wasn't I good enough for you!?'

    Princess Cadance and Raven Inkwell, her adopted niece and personal aide respectively, had tried several times to little success to calm the great white Alicorn, whose mind was stuck on the look of mixed anger and betrayal on Sunset's face, the undisguised hurt in her voice, and the determination in her body as she'd teleported away from the castle.

    It had taken Celestia a few moments to notice Sunset's suppression spell, and a few more to realise what Sunset was doing - and now the guilt lay heavy on her heart. Not only that she'd unintentionally scared her student away, but that she'd also made an idiotic mistake by using the accusations as the basis for Sunset's house arrest.

    The accusation had come from Pastel Lights, the librarian in charge of the forbidden section, who claimed to have seen Sunset there studying dark magic. But he had no evidence to back up the claims, so while it had reached Celestia, she'd not even bothered notifying Sunset.

    This was the mistake. Not only did it open Celestia to possible major repercussions if it made it to the media or a court, should Sunset take that route (and if it did, Celestia would admit to the mistake instantly), but it more importantly, caused her student to panic.

    Celestia let out another groan before burying her head into her hooves once more.

'Why? Why did I do that?!'

    There was no response from the skies, no response from the streets.

    Celestia was also infuriated that Sunset had managed to find the tracking spells - though she wasn't quite sure yet how Sunset had found it, the fact remained that she had, and now besides the lengthy direct trace S.M.I.L.E was working on, there was no way to find Sunset easily.

    The Princess was shaken from her thoughts by a knock at the door. It opened promptly after to reveal Raven, who, after searching the room with her eyes, spotted the Equestrian Monarch and padded softly across the room, concern shining in her eyes.

'Your Highness-'

'Raven, please. Tell me there's news.'

    The aide hesitated.

'There is.'

'Is she -'

'I'm afraid she got away.'

    A pained sigh escaped Celestia's lips, followed by a choked sob.

'The guard detained the mare she was with, but they had to let her go to look after her filly - a CSGU Student, no less. It seems like Sunset herself was suffering from burnover.'

'She's scared.'

'I'm sorry?'

    A shiver passed through Celestia.

'I can't tell where she is. But I can - I can feel it. She's terrified. Panicked.'

    Raven watched Celestia in silence for a moment, unsure, before walking softly next to her side and pressing against the alicorn, offering a slight warmth against the cool night air. Celestia, in turn, wrapped a wing around her friend.

'I didn't want her to leave, Raven.'

'I know. We'll find her.'

    Silence wrapped them both.

'I hope so.'

    Sunset woke cuddled around Philomena, cramped onto the phoenix's pillow with a large blanket covering them both - one of Sunset's own fireproofing enchantments preventing the next Great Fire of Canterlot. 

    Yet, as much as she wanted to pretend she was still in her room in the palace, Sunset's brain was - unfortunately - already aware she wasn't. From small details such as the slightest touch of cool air against her legs to larger ones such as being cuddled on a pillow rather than her bed, and the most obvious being her own - admittedly fuzzy - memory.

Prrrrrrrb brr.

'It's okay, Mena. I'm fine.'

Brrrrrrrt?

'I - I think Showcase will be fine. Trixie, too.'

Brrr.

    Sunset sighed softly before allowing her eyes to open slowly, adjusting to the red tinted sunlight as it filtered through the thick blanket. Waking up was a slow process on the best of days - and with mildly cramped muscles Sunset was ready for such an act to take a while yet - so she stretched steadily, eliciting a satisfied moan as her muscles popped in turn.

    Her head raised, poking out of the blanket to observe the alleyway she had dragged her way into late last night. While she'd still been terrified of something happening to her, Sunset had tried her best to hide the section she'd eventually slept in, and the result was a small box fort of sorts that hid her rather well while simultaneously allowing her to peek out. Happily, her efforts seem to have been well placed and well worth the time she'd spent, even if at the time she'd been half willing to sleep standing up.

    For a few more minutes, Sunset lay motionless, until eventually she rolled onto her barrel and raised onto her hooves, where she swayed unsteadily for a few moments as a thunderclap headache came and passed - a common aftereffect of burnover. Sunset then let magic slowly gather into her horn, using the bare minimum to repack her blanket and pillow before re-equipping her saddlebags, Philomena nestling once more into her mane.

    Sunset steeled herself with a deep breath before taking the first steps out of her hiding place and into the alley. Her heart was already thumping in her chest, but she took another deep breath, re-centering and refocusing, then finally stepping out onto the street proper - eyes and ears swiveling for any signs of the guard or Trixie.

    Sunset figured that Trixie was likely at home, with Showcase - after all, the mare hadn't done anything wrong - but she still felt like she owed it to them to keep an eye out for the blue filly, just in case. Above all, though, was the need for something to eat and drink. Her last meal had been breakfast the previous morning - having skipped lunch in favour of research into her current project at the library, and dinner being, well, interrupted. With another sigh, she ducked her head, trying to blend into the crowd while keeping an eye open for some kind of food shop, and before long came across a general store not too far from a train station.

    Sunset ducked inside and let out a relieved huff at the sight of an array of food and drink, as well as a newspaper and some pieces of clothing. Moving quickly, Sunset picked out a copy of the Canterlot Star, a daisy and mayo sandwich, bottle of water and finally a bandana and cloak - just to help hide her appearance a little better. She kept her head down approaching the register, and generally tried to look anywhere else but the cashier, including when she placed the bits onto the table.

    After a few moments of inaction, whoever the cashier was slowly began to take the bits, and Sunset found her hoof tapping on the floor. She blinked before looking straight at the cashier, who was, in turn, looking at Sunset with wide eyes.

'Look, what is your -'

    Sunset's eye caught on the Star, and one of the subheadings. Then, on a picture of her and River Swirl from a recent diplomatic meeting with the River Republic.

Royal Student Missing - Citywide Search in progress.

'...Shit.'

    Sunset grabbed her things, quickly shoving them into whatever space remained in her bags, backpedaling all the while until she could turn and bolt out into the street, running for the station but making sure to throw in random turns for anypony who may be following. Pausing on a street corner, she scanned the crowds as she caught her breath and, after failing to spot any pursuers, pulled the cloak and bandana from her saddlebags, fixing the latter around her neck and the former over her back, making sure to hide her cutie mark and as much of her mane as possible. It wouldn't stand up to a search, but she hoped it would be enough to avoid notice in the street.

    Taking slow sips from her water bottle, Sunset made her way towards the station, trying her best not to jump at any and all sounds that reached her ears. The station itself was relatively simple in comparison to Canterlot Central, Sunset's usual station, but there was a kind of charm in that which she admired. Making her way inside, Sunset began examining the Departures board. A clock on the wall above the ticket station read 12:53, which meant the next train out was headed to Baltimare - ideal if she decided to go to Zebrica - but the one after caught her attention in particular: Luna Nova, then express to Seaddle.

    Seaddle, Olenia, was a smaller city, but lay near the border with Equestria and was extremely well connected, acting as the train transport hub between Equestrian Cities and Olenian ones, which would allow Sunset to hop back and forth whenever she needed, with the added bonus of having ways to disappear further into Olenia if needed. It was also, conveniently, far from Canterlot, and Ponies in Seaddle weren't a rare sight. It was unfortunately close to the Changeling Lands - but Sunset doubted that would cause her any problems. Most importantly, though, as a trade city, entrance to Seaddle didn't require a passport - only staying - which Sunset could happily provide once there.

    It didn't hurt that the Olenian government would likely be happy to help Sunset out in exchange for some advice - Sunset was, after all, one of the foremost experts on magic in Equus.

    With a determined nod to herself, Sunset stalked up to the ticket counter, brushing past a surprised looking mare with silver fur, fishing out the required bits as she walked before setting them onto the counter.

'Seaddle, please.'

'Of course, class?'

'Secondary business.'

'Mmhm.'

    The ticketer worked quickly, and Sunset dropped an extra few bits on the table before taking the offered ticket and disappearing back into the small crowds. A relieved exhale later, Sunset made her way to the platform before settling onto a seat near the back, trying to make herself as hard to spot as possible. She had a little over an hour to pass, so Sunset pulled one of her hurriedly packed books from her bag and opened to the bookmark, though, try as she might, her focus remained split on the book and the platform, with even her sandwich providing only a minute distraction at best.

    Time passed slowly for Sunset, with her anxiety making each second feel like an hour and she found herself struggling to take comfort even from Philomena's reassuring purrs. Deep breaths turned into shallow ones. Shallow breaths turned back to deep ones - Sunset's panic running on ebb and flow with no signs of stopping.

    For a moment Sunset wanted nothing more than to curl up in a proper bed, with Celestia nearby, to sleep, properly sleep. Just as quickly as the wish came though, she dismissed it - those days were already long gone.

    Time drifted past her, though Sunset, as hard as she tried, was once more stuck in memories. This time, unlike her room, she had no escape. Sunset remained locked in her mind. It took longer still for her to realise she was crying, and more still for her to slowly, ever so slowly calm herself down. It had taken the best part of a day, but now it truly had sunk in for Sunset Shimmer -

    She was alone.

    A breath. A choked sob - more tears.

    It was weak. She was weak - emotions gave you away, let you down, but here she was, unable to stop from crying for more than... however long it had been. Philomena pressed closer against Sunset's chest - having shifted around at some point, and Sunset unconsciously wrapped a hoof around the phoenix.

    Sunset felt Philomena's heart beating steadily against her chest, and Sunset dipped her head to nuzzle her pet.

'Remember, Sunset. In a soul bond, they take care of you just as much as you take care of them. Philomena here knows how you feel just as well as you do.'

    Sunset sniffed.

'I love you, Mena.'

Prrrr.

    A smile made its way to her face, and Sunset's breath steadied gently until their heartbeats matched, a soft warmth combined with a cool calm washing gently over her.

    The train pulled into the station soon after, and with a quick glance Sunset made her way onto the back carriage before setting her bag into a corner and letting out a relieved sigh. She made sure to look out of the window until the train began moving again, at which point she looked up to see the same mare from earlier - with the silver fur - making her way through carriages, a badge now fixed onto her chest.

    Sunset couldn't help but groan - of course, with her luck, it made perfect sense that she'd push right past a S.M.I.L.E agent. She spared another glance out the window.

'Okay, Mena, I have a plan, but you're not gonna like it.'

Brr?

    The agent had clearly seen Sunset by this point, as she was hurrying through the next carriage over with a pair of guards behind her.

'Just trust me, okay?'

Brrr rrrrt.

    A deep breath. Sunset backed up to the door, opening the carriage to reveal train tracks, an alarm set by some unicorn immediately going off.

'Sunset, wait! Listen, Celestia just wants you back at -'

'Where she can keep an eye on me? Yeah, I doubt it.'

'Sunset -'

'She put me on house arrest! She was never gonna let me stay!'

'She was!'

    Sunset turned.

'Was.'

    The mare blinked, quickly realising what she'd said.

'Wait - no - wait-!'

    Sunset stepped off of the carriage, hitting the ground running and only slightly stumbling at the sudden deceleration. She was on a bridge - one of the ones over the rivers with a waterfall on the other side, and-

'Sunset!'

    She span, eyes wide, and found herself facing one of the guards - a unicorn she'd seen occasionally around the palace. She scanned his armour before backing up to the ledge, eyes narrowing steadily all the while.

'Well, Mena, at least the bad plan was the second stage.'

Brrt?!

'Dont -'

'Armour, isn't it?' She grunted, stepping up onto the bridge's ledge, 'Well, Lieutenant Armour-'

    Sunset took a hoofstep back, and felt Philomena purr in warning. The lieutenants eyes widened.

'Come get me.'

    Sunset stepped back, feeling gravity grip her as Philomena let out a terrified screech. Her plans were derailed, she had no other choices, she was desperate; yes, but not suicidal. She locked eyes with her phoenix as she fell, and tried to make her smile as reassuring as she possibly could as she channeled her magic before sending a shockwave towards the river's surface.

    The remnants of burnover clutched at her skull and Sunset felt darkness pulling on her eyes and her head. As the world faded into black, Sunset found that she could only hope the river wouldn't hurt as much to hit as she thought it would.