Months passed, and Sunset Shimmer and Prissy Pen were still living with Austerity and Prune Tart. Raising money for a place to live took longer than Prissy anticipated. Running a perfume shop without Mixer Match was challenging. Without Match’s creativity to help develop new products, sales were slower than Prissy was used to, and profits were smaller than before. Fortunately, the shop was getting a steady stream of customers. Otherwise, Prissy’s quest for a new home for herself and her daughter would have been next to impossible.
Sunset put up with her family’s present circumstances as best as possible. As her mother had requested, she stopped practicing her magic at home. At first, complying with her mother’s wishes was easy. With her magic teacher’s permission, Sunset would stay after school to practice the spells that she had the most trouble with and experiment with the spells that she had mastered. Her teacher would even help her with some of her spells.
Then, all too soon, school ended for summer vacation, robbing Sunset Shimmer of her only refuge against her extended family’s disapproval. Two weeks into the vacation, Sunset was sitting in her bedroom staring at a notebook full of experiments that she could not perform. During the first week of summer vacation, Sunset had occupied herself by writing down any and all ideas that she had for magic experiments, but now, her well of creativity had run dry, and her choices for entertaining herself included playing with Prune Tart or staring at her notebook.
“I’m bored!” Sunset whined to no one in particular, tossing her notebook to the floor.
Sunset, then, picked up the notebook only to throw it down again, and so, Sunset chose to occupy herself. A few minutes later, Frau Zuckermane popped her head through Sunset’s door. She frowned when she saw what Sunset was doing.
“Everything alright, little miss?” asked Frau Zuckermane.
“I wish,” muttered Sunset. “I’m really, really bored.”
Frau Zuckermane nodded sympathetically.
“Well, if you’re interested, I’m about to make some jam cookies. Maybe you would like to help me,” offered Frau Zuckermane.
Sunset Shimmer smiled and got up from her bed, grateful for something to do.
Soon after, Sunset and Frau Zuckermane were in the kitchen happily mixing away at a batch of cookies. Sunset then looked into the mixing bowl and thought, “I wonder if I can come up with another way to bake these cookies.”
Using her magic, Sunset portioned and flattened several balls of dough. She levitated the discs and began to concentrate. However, before she could even begin to cast a spell, a loud and annoying voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Are you trying to use magic on those?”
With her concentration broken, Sunset dropped the dough discs onto the counter and looked up to see Prune Tart scowling at her.
“Uh, n-no,” Sunset lied.
“Oh, you were. You very much were,” taunted Prune Tart, laughing sadistically. “Just wait until I tell Mother. She will banish you to the attic for the rest of the month.”
“No, no, no. Please, please, don’t tell Aunt Austerity,” Sunset begged.
“Say that I am even considering not telling my mother, what’s in it for me?”
Sunset Shimmer stared at her cousin disbelievingly. Prune Tart was blackmailing her. She was totally blackmailing her.
“I’ll-I’ll give you my dessert for the week,” Sunset sighed in defeat.
“Make that the rest of the month, and we’ve got a deal,” countered Prune Tart, smirking.
“A month?!”
“Unless you’d rather sleep in the attic with all the spiders.”
Sunset gritted her teeth and glared at Prune Tart. It wasn’t fair. She gets in trouble for accidents that she never even intends, and her cousin can get away with blackmail. She wouldn’t be surprised if Aunt Austerity let Prune Tart get away with murder.
“Fine, you can have my dessert” Sunset conceded, causing Prune Tart to give a satisfied humph.
“Frau Zuckermane, my tea sandwiches,” commanded Prune Tart.
“Of course, young miss,” said Frau Zuckermane in a tone that was far too sweet to be genuine.
Frau Zuckermane turned to the refrigerator to get Prune Tart’s sandwiches. As soon as she had her back to Prune Tart, Frau Zuckermane rolled her eyes in annoyance. Sunset Shimmer took notice and stifled a giggle.
Frau Zuckermane returned to the counter with the sandwiches and asked, “Shall I have Plumeau take them to the parlor for you?”
“But of course,” replied Prune Tart, turning to go to the parlor.
The maid in question came to take the sandwiches to the parlor, leaving Sunset Shimmer and Frau Zuckermane to themselves once again.
Sunset groaned, “It’s so unfair. How come she never gets in trouble?”
“The madam believes that the young miss is practically perfect in every way and that other colts and fillies are inferior in comparison,” scoffed Frau Zuckermane.
“Wait, you mean, she’s literally never gotten in trouble with Aunt Austerity before? Ever?”
“Not as far as I can remember, and I’ve worked here for a good long time.”
Sunset remained silent and began using her magic to flatten several balls of dough and place them on to a cookie sheet, pondering this sudden revelation of her aunt’s apparent favoritism.
Suddenly, she realized, “Frau Zuckermane, how long have you been working here?”
“Ever since before the young miss was born. Why?” replied Frau Zuckermane.
“Well, do you even like working here?”
Frau Zuckermane paused. In all her time working as a maid, this was the first time that anypony has ever shown an interest in her opinion, so the question took her aback.
The older mare sighed, “I can’t say I do, but I don’t hate it.”
“Have you ever thought about leaving and working for somepony else?” the little filly inquired.
“I have,” Frau Zuckermane grunted with disdain. “I never did because without me, this place would fall apart. Being the head housekeeper is not for the weak, and everpony else who works for the madam is too afraid of her to be fit for the job.”
Suddenly, the entire room became uncomfortably silent. Then, Frau Zuckermane grunted and began cutting small circles out of half of the discs. Sunset sighed dejectedly and began doing the same.
“Oh, little miss, don’t trouble yourself,” Frau Zuckermane consoled. “At least tomorrow, you will be able to spend an entire day with your mother.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Sunset, brightening a little.
With the Summer Sun Celebration going on tomorrow, all the businesses will be closed, including the perfume shop. With the shop closed, Sunset’s mother would have the whole day to spend with her, and tomorrow, a carnival is going to be in town just for the celebration.
Later that night, after an early dinner, Sunset Shimmer and Prissy Pen were getting ready to go to bed early. Everypony wanted to be awake in time to see Princess Celestia raise the sun.
“Are you excited for tomorrow, love?” asked Prissy Pen cheerfully.
“You bet,” exclaimed Sunset, crawling under the covers. “First, we get to see the princess raise the sun. Then, we get to spend the whole day at the carnival. How can I not be excited?”
Prissy laughed. She hadn’t laughed since her husband had passed, but seeing her beloved daughter in brighter spirits lifted her mood greatly. However, the moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. Prissy went to answer it, and to her surprise, her sister-in-law was waiting on the other side.
“Austerity, what a surprise,” greeted Prissy Pen, hesitantly.
“I am here to inform the both of you that I will be hosting a garden party here tomorrow afternoon, and I will be expecting both you and Sunset Shimmer to attend,” said Austerity.
“T-tomorrow?” Prissy shouted in surprise.
“I trust that neither of you have any pressing engagements preventing you from attending.”
“Austerity, I promised Sunset we’d spend the day at the carnival.”
“Surely, you do not have to be gallivanting at the carnival the whole day. Just go in the morning if you must and return in time to get ready for the party. I will be expecting you at three o’ clock sharp. Good night to you both.”
Austerity grabbed the door handle and slammed the door before Prissy could say another word. Prissy simply stared disbelievingly at the door before slumping against the floor with an exasperated groan.
“We’re going to have to come to her party whether we want to or not, aren’t we?” Sunset stated flatly.
“Unfortunately,” retorted Prissy Pen.
The next morning, everypony in Austerity’s household rose early in anticipation for the Summer Sun Celebration. Prissy Pen and Sunset Shimmer got out of bed, slipped on their sundresses, and went to the front door to meet with Austerity and Prune Tart, who were dressed in some ornate yet cumbersome-looking gowns. After Austerity took a quick look at Prissy and Sunset from tip to tail, she gave a disapproving humph and began to head out the door with her daughter following suit.
Since the sun hadn’t risen yet, it was still dark when the group reached the downtown area where Princess Celestia will be making her appearance. However, a sizeable crowd had already gathered, and because of this, Sunset Shimmer and her family weren’t able to position themselves to get a good view of the stage. Fortunately, they had taken their places under a tree, which gave Sunset an idea.
“Mom, may I?” asked Sunset, pointing up towards the tree’s branches.
Prissy Pen smiled and nodded, “Just be careful alright.”
Austerity rolled her eyes. Clearly, her sister-in-law and niece still lacked knowledge about proper decorum despite the time they had been living under her roof. She was grateful that her dear, sweet child would never do something so indecent as to climb a tree and risk ruining her carefully cultivated appearance.
Sunset Shimmer scrambled up onto the branches of the tree until she could see over the other ponies in the crowd. Soon, the trumpets sounded, and Princess Celestia took her place on the stage. Sunset couldn’t help but stare at the princess in admiration. She was probably the most beautiful alicorn princess that Sunset Shimmer had ever seen. Of course, Princess Celestia was the only alicorn princess Sunset had seen, but she highly doubted that many other alicorns had Celestia’s ethereal mane. Then, Celestia flew high into the air as she used her magic to bring the sun up over the horizon, casting a majestic light all around her.
Sunset Shimmer eyes sparkled as she watched the golden light slowly spread throughout Equestria, casting everything that it touched in brilliant color. Her body began to tingle as the sun’s warmth gently enveloped her. It was the most amazing experience that she ever had in her life, and to think, Princess Celestia had the power to make it happen every day. Why, if Sunset had that kind of magical power, she would find a way to carry that light and warmth around with her all the time. Then, dark, terrifying places like Aunt Austerity’s attic wouldn’t be able to frighten her.
Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer had an idea. What if she could somehow carry around a piece of the sun with her? Maybe she could use her magic to create a smaller replica of the sun and carry it inside of a jar. Sunset will definitely need to write down this idea in her notebook and maybe work out the rest of the details, but for now, she had an entire morning of fun and games with her mother to look forward to.
Sunset scurried down the tree and poked her mother on the foreleg, signaling that she was ready to take off and enjoy the carnival. Prissy smiled at her and nodded.
“Austerity, I’m afraid Sunset and I must be going now. We’ll see you later,” Prissy Pen hurriedly said before taking off with Sunset Shimmer.
“Don’t forget about the garden party!” called Aunt Austerity, frowning disapprovingly. “Three o’clock sharp!”
Sunset Shimmer never wanted that morning to end. Every moment that she and her mother spent together at the carnival was nothing but pure happiness, from the wind blowing through their manes as they zipped and zoomed on the roller coaster to the view they shared at the top of the Ferris wheel to the taste of chocolate hazelnut funnel cakes and jalapeño cheddar pretzels. How Sunset wished she could live each moment over again for a thousand lifetimes!
Sadly, like all good things, that bright, wonderful morning had to end, and at three o’clock sharp, Sunset Shimmer found herself at her aunt’s garden party, wearing an uncomfortably large, feathered hat and a dress that was far too hot and heavy for the weather, being bored out of her mind. Prissy Pen noticed the miserable look Sunset was making and gave her a sympathetic frown. Sunset merely glared at her mother in annoyance and resumed staring at the grass dejectedly. However, as more and more ponies began to show up for the party, Sunset had an idea.
“Maybe no one will notice if I sneak off. Then, I can work on that idea I had for a spell from this morning,” thought Sunset.
She soon realized that she left her notebook in her room, and that she certainly couldn’t sneak all the way there without notice. Thinking quickly, she noticed a stack of paper napkins by the punch table. Sunset Shimmer meandered over to the table and stealthily ducked under the tablecloth, grabbing a cup of punch and several napkins. She plucked a feather from her hat to use as a quill and began to write, using the punch for ink.
The first few napkins that Sunset tried to write on either became too wet, too holey, or both, but eventually she found the right balance of writing pressure and “ink” in order to make legible notes. She had managed to scribble down the basic principal behind her spell and decided to use the rest of her time and napkins to write down a list of possible applications. She would have gladly spent the rest of the party working on that list if a certain somepony hadn’t decided to poke her head under the punch table.
“Now what do you think you’re doing here?” inquired Prune Tart, condescendingly.
Sunset was so caught off guard by her cousin’s sudden appearance that she jumped and bumped her head on the table. She silently pleaded that no one at the garden heard the rather loud thump that she made as she rubbed her throbbing head.
“Oh, what’s this?” said Prune Tart, grabbing Sunset’s stack of notes and pulling her head out from under the table.
“Hey, give that back,” cried Sunset, diving out from under the table, after her nosy cousin.
Much to her embarrassment, Sunset noticed that she was lying sprawled in the middle of the garden party, a good three inches away from where Prune Tart was standing. She could practically feel the disapproving stares that her aunt’s party guests were sending her way. Prune Tart held her notes just out of her reach, smiling smugly down at her.
“Why, cousin dearest, didn’t anypony ever tell you how uncultured it is for a young lady to be crouching under a table?” teased Prune Tart, her voice drenched in the syrupy goo of false sweetness.
Sunset Shimmer felt her face burn with the intensity of a million raging infernos. She growled and pressed her teeth together with such force that they began to ache. Her surroundings began to acquire a disturbing tint of red.
Suddenly, “AAAAAAAAAAHHH!” Sunset screamed, lunging at Prune Tart, her eyes blazing with unbridled rage.
Prune Tart managed to dodge her cousin’s unexpected attack and began to run away, still holding on to Sunset’s notes with her magic.
“YOU GET BACK HERE, COWARD!” Sunset shouted, taking off after her. “GIVE THOSE BACK, OR I’M GOING TO PUT YOU IN A WORLD OF PAIN!”
Prune Tart galloped for her life, imploring everypony around her to save her from her mad cousin. Meanwhile, Sunset kept herself locked on to Prune Tart at all times despite Prune Tart’s desperate attempts to evade her. Sunset impulsively began to use her magic to try to slow her cousin down, pulling furniture in Prune Tart’s path and blasting holes for her to trip over. Somehow, Prune Tart kept dodging everything Sunset put in her way. Instinctively, Sunset attempted a teleportation spell. Despite her inexperience teleporting such a great distance, Sunset successfully intercepted Prune Tart who collided into her and fell face-first into the grass.
“HA!” gloated Sunset, grabbing her notes from her prone and humiliated cousin.
Her victory was cut short, however, when she felt a forceful tug on her tail and found herself staring back at a pair of angry, metallic eyes. Sunset looked around, suddenly realizing the extent of the damage she had caused. The entire garden was littered with holes, overturned furniture, and splattered refreshments. From behind Aunt Austerity, Sunset could see her mother looking at her with an expression in her eyes that can only be described as shame and disappointment.
After the garden party’s early and abrupt conclusion, Sunset was sitting in a chair next to her cousin in the parlor, watching her mother begging her aunt for mercy on her behalf. Unfortunately, each and every one of Prissy Pen’s entreaties fell on deaf ears.
“I know she caused a lot of damage, and I will gladly pay to have it repaired, but please just let me have a few minutes to just talk with her alone,” pleaded Prissy.
“Most certainly not,” responded Austerity, every word sharpened with cold fury. “That-that little demon that passes for a young mare has proven time and again to be nothing but trouble. She has embarrassed my guests, my daughter, and most importantly me. I daresay that she’s even embarrassed you. I cannot even think of a punishment good enough for what she has done.”
Unnoticed by the two mares, Prune Tart leaned over and whispered into Sunset’s ear, “After what happened today, I bet your own father would hate you if he was still here.”
Sunset’s pupils shrank in shock. She turned to Prune Tart ready to scream that her father could never hate her, but then she thought, “What if she’s right?” She remembered how her mother looked at her at the garden party, as if she had done something especially shameful. The thought of that same look on her father’s face pained her so much that she could feel her eyes begin to sting with tears.
Sunset got up from her chair and bolted out the parlor. She raced down the hallway, ignoring Prissy’s calls for her to stop, and burst through the front door. Sunset didn’t see the moving cart careening towards her as she ran across the street or hear its owner yelling for everypony to move out of the way, but she did feel somepony push her from behind and hear a sickening crash from directly behind her. She slowly turned around, and what she saw brought her whole world crashing down on her, for pinned underneath a pile of boxes and various other heavy items lay the crumpled form of her mother.