Tears streamed from her eyes as the transformation took place, her normal orange-yellow skin morphing into a grapefruit color. Bat-like wings grew from her back, while a mangled tail grew out with the same flame-like colors as her hair. Even her clothes tore and morphed as they formed a torn yellow dress.
Yes, Sunset Shimmer had all the power she craved and more. She finally had everything: the Element of Magic, a teenaged army at her beck and call, and the means to go and conquer the world she had banished herself from. No pony - alicorn or otherwise - could stand in her way.
Then she woke up, tears still in her eyes and breathing heavily. If nothing else, that dream was the thing that kept her in line. She would have it often after she looked into the mirror; it showed her as a princess, but shortly after it showed her transforming into the terrifying monster she would see most nights to come.
Sunset dragged herself out of bed. Being true to her name, she was not a morning pony. She washed herself and brushed her teeth before going down to get breakfast.
Breakfast was a tradition ever since Celestia accepted Sunset as her student. The teacher and her student would eat a filling meal and afterwards Celestia would give Sunset her daily lesson plan.
Sunset entered the dining hall where her mentor was reading a newspaper.
“Good morning, Sunset!” Celestia greeted cheerily. Sunset groaned; she was sure that Celestia was so cheery like this on purpose. Sunset joined her mentor at the table, her cup of cold brewed coffee waiting for her.
“Morning, Princess,” Sunset managed after drinking her special elixir.
“How did you sleep?” Celestia asked taking a sip of her own tea.
“Fine,” Sunset lied as she usually did. Celestia didn’t know about her recurring nightmare and if Sunset could help it, she would keep it that way. Celestia saw the quivering wreck that the vision had reduced her student to, and Sunset would not be seen in that state again.
Celestia produced a scroll, and sent it over to Sunset. “Today, Twilight Sparkle is coming for some special lessons,” she announced.
Ah yes, Twilight Sparkle. Sunset was unsure how to feel about Celestia’s new student. There was a part of her that resented Twilight, but then the rational part of Sunset’s brain would slap that part upside the head for being mad at a filly that really didn’t do anything. Though there was something suspect about the way Celestia was teaching this one: it seemed that Sunset was heading up most of Twilight’s lessons. Maybe it was because Sunset was the sole student being personally taught, so there was no pony there to coach her, but it seemed that Twilight was more Sunset’s student than she was Celestia’s.
“Would you mind heading up her lesson for today?” Celestia asked.
Despite her conflicting feelings about Twilight Sparkle, Sunset found that she could not say ‘no’ to the filly. “Of course!” she stated, to which Celestia gave a warm nod.
Breakfast went as normal, and Sunset went back to her room to prepare the lesson. This week was a basic teleport spell. Teleportation required a large mana pool to pull off as it basically required one to convert their body into magic and project it to their destination. It would be challenging for the foal, but Twilight had proven herself to have sufficient mana.
Perhaps that was what softened Sunset to Twilight: the large magical potential and willingness to learn. The filly was so much like Sunset, but so different at the same time. Sunset was proud - admittedly more stuck up, and generally a nag to anypony who wasn’t ‘important’. Twilight didn’t make those distinctions, all she cared about was learning magic.
The clock chimed for eleven, and Sunset had everything set up. Twilight would be there any second.
“Big sis?”
Oh yeah, that was something else that endeared Sunset to Twilight: the fact that through all of the weeks Sunset has been teaching her, Twilight had grown to have a bit of Big Sister Worship. Sunset liked that kind of blind admiration.
“Hey, Squirt. Come on in.” The diminutive nickname came from trying to have some form of approachability.
“Princess Celestia isn’t here?” Twilight asked with mild disappointment.
“The Princess is very busy, Twilight,” Sunset stated. “But, if you would rather learn from her, instead of me-”
“No, no, no! I like learning from you, big sis!”
Sunset smiled. Despite her ambivalence to Celestia getting another student, ultimately she could not hate Twilight Sparkle.
“Okay, Squirt. Before we start off today, a bit of review.” Sunset announced in her ‘teaching voice’, signalling Twilight to assume an adorable attention stance.
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“See that circle over there?” Sunset said while indicating an eight-foot circle she had drawn on her floor.
“Yeah?” Twilight said.
“I want you to create a cake that fits that circle. Don’t worry about the height.”
Twilight nodded and aimed her horn at the circle, her horn lighting up with magical energy as she focused on it alone. The edges of the circle lit and magical energies rose up. The magic started to swirl slowly. The movement of the magic began to accelerate until it looked like a tornado of light spinning in the center of Sunset’s room. The magic closed up to form a dome, which then expanded and exploded; leaving a freshly baked boston creme pie, eight feet in diameter.
Sunset walked over to the giant cake, and grabbed a piece with her horn and tasted it.
“Good job, Squirt. It’s even fully baked,” Sunset commended, while poor Twilight Sparkle sat there, exhausted.
“Big sis, I’m so tired...” Twilight droned.
“Come on, let’s go for a walk. that should clear your head.”
The two walked out of the castle and into the garden. Sunset stopped and looked back at the castle, mentally calculating the distance from their current position to her room.
“Feeling better, Squirt?” she asked.
“A little,” the filly answered.
“You feel like you can do some more magic?” Twilight nodded slowly. “Okay, Squirt; today you’re learning how to teleport,” Sunset said, once again assuming her ‘teacher voice’. “It’s a simple spell to use but difficult to master, seeing as it takes a lot of magic.”
Twilight nodded. Sunset positioned herself behind the filly. “First, you need to focus on your destination,” Sunset instructed. “You know where my room is, right?”
“Of course, Big Sis.”
“I want you to picture it in your head; every last detail. Remember the giant cake you made there? Picture that.” Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated. “Okay. Now, envelop yourself in magic and imagine yourself there. Let the magic enter you and lead you.”
Twilight lit her horn, and the grass beneath her started to rustle.
“Good. Don’t be afraid to add more power, and remember: you will always make a safe landing.”
Purple tendrils wrapped around Twilight and started to swirl at a rapid pace.
“Keep concentrating; you almost have it. Don’t lose your picture, but keep your magic flowing and controlled.”
The energy solidified itself around Twilight and exploded, taking her with it. Sunset did her own teleport, tuning her magic to Twilight’s to follow the filly’s path.
Princess Celestia enjoyed her little breaks from paperwork; running her own kingdom was not easy. If all worked out well, her workload would be lightened in ten years. Her favorite thing about her breaks was the cake; most ponies would marvel at how much cake the alicorn could eat, but it was metabolized into a magical stamina reserve.
Celestia was about to dig into her Boston creme pie when a purple filly popped into existence in front of her and dropped to the floor. Celestia looked over her desk to see her newest student shaking off some ash from her teleport.
“Well hello there, Twilight Sparkle. I trust the lesson is going well?” Celestia greeted warmly.
Twilight squeaked as she looked up at her mentor.
“Oh, h-hello Princess. Sorry about this, I guess my spell misfired,” Twilight explained.
An orange light flashed behind Twilight, materializing Sunset.
“Okay, Squirt, where did you end-” Sunset trailed off, noticing where she was.
“Oh, Sunset Shimmer. Was this part of the Lesson?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d teach Twilight long distance teleportation before we cover short distances. We were supposed to teleport to my room, but I guess Twilight focused on one detail more closely than others.”
Sunset spied Celestia’s Boston creme pie, and gave a small sigh.
“Did I do badly?” Twilight asked, her eyes growing ever so wide and sad.
Sunset smiled as she shook her head, “You did better than expected, Squirt. Most ponies don’t even wink out on their first try.”
Celestia smiled at how well Sunset was doing in her role as a teacher. It did concern her how much Twilight seemed to look up to Sunset, but it didn’t seem to do any harm at the moment. Sunset was growing up more to be fair. Something about Twilight brought out something in her something that made her more humble. Although the incident with the mirror seemed to scare Sunset straight, Twilight brought out something genuine in her student. It was something that made Celestia look forward to what the two would become together.
The Summer Sun Celebration was an odd time for Sunset Shimmer. On the one hoof, it was great to see so many ponies getting ready for the festivities; on the other, it was not great to see the seemingly endless mound paperwork. It’s not like Sunset didn’t like her job; she loved it, running the day-to-day operations of the castle was great for a pony with control issues. It also let her stay close Celestia and Twilight. Of course she still had to deal with Cadence, but Sunset even softened up to the young princess. One thing about being one of the most powerful mages in Equestria was that it made multitasking easy when you were doing menial office work. Sunset was currently working between four different forms from Ponyville all finalizing deals for the Summer Sun Celebration.
“Big Sis!”
Sunset lowered her folder, that was always a welcome break from work. Twilight’s training with Celestia was becoming more hooves on - for what value any training with Celestia could be considered ‘hooves on’ - so Sunset didn’t get to see her as often. As for the purple unicorn, Sunset would always be her big sister.
“Big Sis!” Twilight called again, entering Sunset’s office.
“Hey, Squirt. What’s up?” Sunset greeted, and yes, while Twilight had grown into a beautiful young mare, she would always have that nickname.
“Well, I was in the courtyard studying Equestrian lore and I came across the Elements of Harmony. So while researching further into those, I came across The Mare in the Moon and it said that Nightmare Moon is due to come back at sunrise tomorrow!”
“That sounds serious,” Sunset said, amused.
“So I wrote to the princess, and proposed the most direct solution: to blow up the moon!” Twilight continued, apparently missing the condescension in Sunset’s voice.
“Twilight, thousands of ponies would die,” Sunset droned laconically, her eyes at half lid.
“That’s what The Princess said!” Twilight shouted while pointing at Sunset.
“Did she bring up an alternative plan?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, “It’s not so much a plan as a way to keep me busy, but she’s having me go to Ponyville to oversee the celebration and… Ugh… ‘make friends’.”
“Oh, like your friends from school!”
“My what from where now?”
“You know, your friends from school. Like the one that got her head stuck in a flask,” Sunset said slowly.
“Oh, my classmates,” Twilight grimaced, “Yeah, like those guys.”
“Speaking of which, are you going to Moon Dancer’s party?” Sunset asked.
“Why is everypony talking about that?” Twilight replied, causing Sunset to hang her head and sigh in frustration. “I don’t really have time to do anything. Anyway, Celestia wanted me in Ponyville as soon as possible.”
“I’ll make a note of that,” Sunset said, as she floated a scroll over to Twilight. “Here’s the list of things that need to be checked on for the celebration over in ponyville. Have fun!”
“Will I be seeing you there, Big Sis?”
“Nah. I’ll stay here, and watch the sunrise with Cadance,”
Twilight scrunch up her face while raising her eyebrow “You’re getting way too chummy with her...”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Go on, Squirt. It’s not nice to keep the chariot waiting.”
Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes as well, as she left the room.
Sunset walked the halls of the castle after Moon Dancer’s party and doing more damage control for Twilight’s social reclusiveness. Sunset didn’t know where that filly got it from; She certainly wasn’t a recluse, she wasn’t exactly Miss Congeniality either but that was neither here nor there. Sunset went to the party and gave Moon Dancer the teddy bear Spike was intending to give her. At least that showed Moondancer that Twilight was thinking of her. Hopefully that would stop the cream colored look-alike from holding herself in her house like a groundhog.
“Sunset~”, Sunset stopped as a pink alicorn with multicolored hair sauntered up to her, “Where were you all day?”
“Oh, You know, working, making sure Twilight’s social life isn’t a giant train wreck,” Sunset said casually, “What about you, Cadance, ogling Shining Armor?”
“Maybe, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him” Cadance said with a wink.
“And whose fault is that?” Cadance teased as Sunset sighed.
“So, how're you spending your Sun Celebration?” Sunset asked, diverting the conversation.
“Actually , Auntie wanted to talk to us about that”
Sunset narrowed her eyes when Cadance called Celestia her ‘auntie’, but said nothing; although there would be reports of scorch marks in the carpet as they walked through the castle.
Sunset and Cadance walked past the throne room, causing Sunset to raise an eyebrow, it would stand to reason that Celestia would want to talking to them in the throne room . She looked to Cadance who just shrugged. They entered a wing of the castle that gave Sunset the creeps, In a stark contrast to the rest of the castle this hallway was dark and gothic. For some reason she got a headache every time she stayed in this wing for too long. They saw Celestia looking forlornly at what was assumed to be a door, Sunset couldn’t bring herself to look at it for more than a second.
“Sunset, Cadance, I’m glad the two of you could make it,” Celestia greeted darkly.
“What’s going on, Princess?” Sunset asked.
“All in due time, My Faithful Student”, the way Celestia said that raised a red flag in Sunset’s mind.
Celestia lit her horn for a second and with a pop of energy, Sunset’s headache vanished, The perception magic loosening its grip on her. Sunset could finally confirm that she was standing in front of a door. The midnight blue door was an Imposing sight with large crescents decorating it, and Locking it was a giant padlock with Celestia’s cutie mark on it.
“A magic encoded lock,” Sunset noted to herself.
Celestia lit her horn a second time, undoing the lock, and opening the door.
“Are you girls familiar with the Story of Nightmare Moon?”
“Of Course, Everypony knows about the Mare in the Moon. That’s one of the oldest legends second only to Hearth’s Warming,” Sunset explained.
“There is truth to that story,” Celestia started, “As there is truth to many legends. I believed that my sister and I were best friends, we banished Discord together and ruled as equals for many years. I Should have noticed something,”
“Auntie?” Cadance said, concerned.
“Even if she’s not herself, I’m glad she’s coming back, after all this time I’ve waited, Luna is coming home,”
“Luna?” Sunset raised an Eyebrow
“Which makes it all the worse for when she banishes me, and then it’s up to Twilight to do what has to be done.”
“Celestia, What are you saying?” Sunset stepped closer.
“I do hope she’s made some friends,” Celestia continued, “I know you’ve been trying your best to help her here in Canterlot, Sunset, but Twilight has to make friends of her own accord.”
“What’s going on here? Banish you? Twilight’s doing what she has to do? What are you saying?”
Celestia looked down at her student and smiled sadly. She moved slowly to Sunset and Cadance and nuzzled the two of them. Something that was all but foreign to Sunset.
“I love you both, Goodbye.” Celestia exited the room closing and locking the door behind her.
“What… Just happened?” Sunset asked, sitting next to an equally stunned Cadance.
“I think she put us in a safe room,” Cadance answered.
Sunset looked around the room. Everything was painted in various blacks and blues. The rug underneath them held the pattern of a Crescent on a black field. In one corner was a desk, untouched with an unused composition book. On the opposite corner was a four post bed with the curtains up, on the bed was a stuffed rabbit holding a cute little hammer.
“I think this is her room” Sunset ascertained.
“Hm?” Cadance intoned
“This is Luna’s room,” Sunset repeated.
“Luna?”
“Princess Celestia’s sister, before she became Nightmare Moon,”
Cadance looked around the room, “Well that explains the decor, but this castle was built after Nightmare moon was banished!”
“Sentimental value, most likely,” Sunset said.
The Sun was setting, Cadance and Sunset were locked in Luna’s room, waiting for Twilight to do...something, they weren’t sure what. Sunset started to pace around the floor with increasing intensity.
“ Sunset,” Cadance called out, “You’re starting to burn into the carpet,”
“Celestia shouldn’t have to face this alone!” Sunset burst out, “ I know she has a plan, because she ALWAYS has a plan, but… She shouldn’t just sit back and wait for things to work out!”
“Sunset! We need to be here, in case Twilight doesn’t do whatever she’s supposed to do, We’re Plan B,” Cadance said.
“No,” Sunset interjected, “You’re Plan B.”
“Sunset…” Cadance began.
“You’re a princess, Cadance, I’ve made some semblance of peace with that. I’m just a unicorn with a lot of magic. Equestria needs you,” Sunset started charging her horn, “It needs you more than me.”
“Sunset, what are you doing?”
“I’m making myself useful!”
Sunset then teleported out of the room.
“So, you couldn’t even wait until dawn to arrive” Celestia stated.
It was a standoff in Celestia’s throne room. Nightmare Moon had come with no fanfare and the two Alicorns were starting round one of their rematch: the battle of wits.
“Dear sister, I thought you would be glad to see me, it has been a thousand years!”
“Of course I’m glad to see you, I just wish the circumstances would be more desirable,”
“Well, we can’t all get what we want,” Nightmare Moon sauntered up to Celestia, “I’ve learned that lesson well”
“Get away from her!” Sunset’s voice called from the end of the throne room.
Nightmare Moon turned to see Sunset Shimmer, horn alight and a blast mark under her.
Nightmare Moon smiled, “Oh this is just adorable, Tia, one of your little ponies is so devoted to you, they’re willing to fight me.”
“Sunset, What are doing?” Celestia asked, “ You were supposed to stay with Cadance!”
“You know I’m not so hot at following rules, Princess.” Sunset responded with false Bravado.
Nightmare Moon chuckled, as she sauntered over to Sunset “Well, such devotion deserves some kind of reward,” She paused in mock consideration, “I think I’ll give you a free shot,”
Sunset’s eyes went wide, “What?”
“Oh, yes, I’m an honorable ruler, so come at me! Give it your best shot!”
Sunset knew this was a trap, obviously. Nightmare Moon was an ultra powerful Alicorn that was powerful enough to Rival Celestia. Sunset just so happened to be the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, If she let loose a powerful enough spell, then that can at least stun Nightmare Moon and take Celestia to safety.
Sunset’s horn intensified and flames started to form around it. The flames morphed into a ball that was growing in size. Sunset released the spell and shot the fire directly at Nightmare Moon.
The mare in the moon stood still as the fireball headed directly toward her and embroiled her. The flames dissipated as Nightmare Moon stood there with no evidence of damage, laughing.
“Well, that was fun,” Nightmare Moon commented.
“That… Was the strongest spell I had!” Sunset murmured.
“I came here for the express purpose of taking on the Princess of the Sun, a measly fireball spell is easily countered.”
Sunset found herself enveloped in magic and was levitated eye level to the Nightmare.
“ I will admit, that was quite a spell you threw. You’re a special little unicorn, aren’t you?”
“S-so brute strength wasn’t enough, I still have other tricks under my hoof!”
“Oohh, so fiesty, If I were a betting mare, I’d say that this was your champion, right ,Tia?”
Celestia’s silence answered her question. Her estranged sister laughed
“Oh, Well, My Little Pony, I hope you’ve learned a lesson about humility,”
“Let her go, Luna! “ Celestia finally commanded.
Nightmare Moon turned to face her sister, “Excuse me, Sister, but I’m starting to think you're not aware of the situation
Sunset went from being in Nightmare’s telekinetic field to being in a bubble.
“First off, I am no longer your adorable little sister,” a bit of purple smoke then entered the bubble, “Secondly, You do not hold any power over me!”
“Luna! I’m serious!”
“Oh, Look at you with your serious face, I’m not going to kill her,” The smoke then enveloped Sunset, making her feel drowsy, “Rather she, like you, will be made an example of”
Sunset closed her eyes as the magic induced sleep took her over.
Sunset had the presence of mind to know that she was dreaming. Whether that was because of her magical prowess or because that’s how Nightmare Moon wanted it was unclear. What was clear to Sunset was that this was indeed the same place she had visited more nights than she cared to remember. The concrete sidewalk under her hooves seemed to start at a statue of a Horse , and led to a large, symmetrical, three story tall building. Sunset didn’t know what the building was for, but it always served as the backdrop whenever she saw herself turn into that… thing.
Sunset looked around, confused. She took inventory on herself, she didn’t feel like she was transforming, in fact she was still a pony and not the weird ape thing she usually was when she had this dream. Maybe she had more magic resistance than she gave herself credit for.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she spied a tiara in front of the statue. Sunset paused, that was usually what triggered the transformation. It looked innocent enough, just a gold band topped with an amethyst in the shape of a six pointed star. Sunset felt a bit silly having a staredown with a piece of jewelry,but when a specific piece of jewelry haunted one's dreams for the past 10 years, one could be forgiven for being apprehensive.
“Well nothing’s going to happen if you just stare at it,” Sunset’s voice cooed. The Mirror rippled as another Sunset Shimmer came through it.
“Oh no,” Sunset whispered.
“Come on, put it on, it won’t hurt,” The other Sunset command while pawing at the crown.
“Heh, no thanks, I’ve seen what happens when I wear it,” the original Sunset said.
“It’s a small price to pay for the power you’ve always wanted,” The second Sunset’s eyes started to glow yellow.
“Yeah, not interested in that anymore,”
A dark aura surrounded the other Sunset, “Are you now? Are you okay with Cadance calling Celestia ‘auntie’?”
“W-Well, Blueblood does that too!” Sunset said while flicking her hoof dismissively, “It’s not as if that’s a big honor.”
“Oh,” the nightmare Sunset replied, “ Then I guess being an alicorn isn’t that big of an honor, then”
Sunset growled, as the nightmare double circled around her. “All of what you’ve learned, all that you can do, and what do you have to show for it?”
“Stop.”
“A job being Celestia’s glorified secretary. We both know you’re more than that,”
“Stop it.”
The nightmare Sunset stood by the real Sunset “You could have been a princess!”
“I wasn’t ready.”
“Weren’t you? Or did the Princess fear you ?”
“I know what you’re doing, I’m not taking your bait.” Sunset stood
The nightmare Sunset just smirked, “What about Twilight Sparkle?”
“You are not, going there” Sunset whispered.
Sunset tried hard to keep the pony she used to be a secret from Twilight. She had been helping ponies wherever she can, apologizing to those she stepped on to get to her position, even inviting other foals to play with Twilight (even if Twilight just spent those playdates reading books).
“You could’ve taught Twilight so much more if you were a princess, she could’ve been your personal student, You were basically her teacher anyway,”
“No! Stop it! I am not that pony anymore!” Sunset yelled.
Nightmare Sunset moved to look in the real Sunset’s eyes.
“Ah, But you are, you are still that same pony that craves power, that craves Celestia’s approval. You know I’m telling the truth.”
“No!” Tears were streaming from Sunset’s eyes, “This isn’t me, and neither are you!”
The dark aura swallowed the nightmare as it’s voice still rang out, “You’re right, Sunset Shimmer would never be this weak.”
The nightmare then morphed into a tall ape-like being with same yellow-orange skin and flaming hair that Sunset had, Crown in her hands. She was clothed in a leather jacket over a maroon halter top with a orange skirt with a vertical maroon stripe.
“ The Real Sunset Shimmer used to seize every chance she got for more power!” The nightmare said, while she put the crown on, “ No matter the price.”
Dark magic emanated from the crown and transformed the nightmare into a red skinned demon woman in a torn yellow dress. Her normally seafoam eyes were glowing yellow and staring right at Sunset.
“Welcome to your nightmare, Sunset, and soon all shall bow before me, and feel! My! Glory!”
Sunset ran, and for the second time of her life, she freely showed fear. Several fireballs were exploding behind her as she looked for someplace safe. She moved behind the building and hid there while the Nightmare ceased her attack.
“Alright, Sunny,” The Nightmare called, “I’ll play this game for awhile, but you know as well as I do that you can’t run away.”
Sunset would normally try to find some way out. Some clever trick or a spell to help her gain the upper hand, but this was a dream. A nightmare crafted specifically for her. This was what happened to ponies who defied Nightmare Moon.
The walls that Sunset carefully built were dashed. There was no need to keep them here. She could feel whatever emotion she wanted right now. Unfortunately the emotion she was feeling now was unbridled fear, fear of that thing she would see herself transforming into every night. If she had told Celestia what she saw, she was afraid that the Princess would do something drastic, maybe even consider her unsound of mind to even continue being her student. The Nightmare was right, she was weak.
“Big sis?”
It was funny, she could swear that she had heard Twilight’s voice.
“Big sis!”
Sunset opened her eyes to see Twilight as a young filly, pawing at her hoof. Sunset smiled, and chuckled at the her own nostalgia. All these years and this is how she still sees the younger unicorn.
“What are you doing here, Squirt?” Sunset asked, it was a dream, she knew that, but it seemed to follow a sort of logic to this point.
“I was trying to find you!” Twilight said as if that explained everything.
Sunset sighed, “Well I guess that’s as logical as it can get,”
Twilight’s eyes went wide and she attempted to hide behind Sunset’s foreleg.
“Oh, that is not a good sign,” Sunset droned, as she looked behind her and saw the nightmare Sunset sitting on the roof with her legs crossed.
“Found you,” The nightmare cooed, “And look, we have a little guest joining us”
“Oh, we both know that you’re only after me! Leave Twilight out of this!” Sunset yelled at the apparition.
“Hmm, You make a fantastic point,” the nightmare said as she formed a fireball in her hand looking at Twilight, “But, I wonder….”
The nightmare threw a fireball at Twilight. Sunset threw herself onto Twilight and braced herself for impact. Only to feel nothing. Sunset looked up and saw herself and Twilight being covered with a magical purple shield and the fireball dissipating.
“Oh, nice shield spell, Squirt!” Sunset commended while patting Twilight on the head.
“Impressive,” The nightmare Sunset said, “But a filly’s shield can’t last forever”
“Leave big sis alone!” Twilight yelled with her horn alight.
“Adorable,” The nightmare said, “Well then, Squirt, give it your best shot”
Twilight started to charge her horn, while sunset turned to her.
“Twilight! Stop-”
Sunset was interrupted when Twilight’s aura doubled in size as six colored gems started to surround her and Twilight. They started to glow, gaining brightness and intensity until they blinded Sunset.
“Sunset~,” The voice permeated the darkness, “Wake up…”
Sunset felt stiff, she willed her body to move, but it wasn’t having any of it, the most she could muster was a groan.
“Oh, good, you’re waking up! Auntie said that it may take awhile for the spell to wear off completely”
Ugh…. Why did Cadance always have to be so cheery in the morning? It seemed like a requirement for princesses. Sunset finally started to get control of her legs, well, her hooves more specifically. She tried to get up but her strength didn’t quite come back yet.
“Don’t force it, everything will come back in a minute.”
Sunset picked herself up and shook her head to get the rest of the sleep off. She opened her eyes to see Cadance staring straight at her.
“Good morning, sleepyhead~” Cadance greeted sweetly, her head bowed down to meet Sunset eye level.
“Cadance, you are waayyy too close and waaayyy too... Cadance this early in the morning,” Sunset groaned sleepily before processing the situation, “Wait, It’s Morning! What happened”
“I guess Twilight did whatever she was supposed to do,” Cadancesaid
Sunset chuckled, “Heh, Good Job, Squirt,”
“By the way, I made a cup of your favorite coffee.” Cadance announced while starting the trek to the dining room.
Sunset followed Cadance, “You don’t really make my favorite coffee, I mean, you just brew it for twelve hours.”
“Oh, I know, But I added some sugar to it.” Cadance said with a smile
“Please tell me you mean actual sugar!” Sunset complained
“Hmph, Auntie said that it would take the edge off the sleep spell” Cadance said as she held her head high.
They both made it to the dining hall. The two talked about the aftermath of the night before.
“So,” Sunset said while looking at her coffee, “ Twilight’s staying in ponyville with her friends…. It feels kind of weird to say that.”
“On the bright side, Luna’s Staying with us!” Cadance cheered.
Sunset lowered her eyelids while looking at Cadance, “Oh, fun, the mare that plunged me into my worst nightmare will be living with me…”
“Be nice,” Cadance chided, “She’s not the pony she used to be.”
Sunset grunted and the two continued to spend their day in the castle making sure that everypony was okay.
Princess Celestia returned late in the afternoon to a waiting Sunset Shimmer and Cadance.The Princess stepped off of her chariot with a smaller light blue alicorn in tow.
“Hello, Girls” Celestia greeted, “I trust you had a good day?”
“Well it was productive to say the least,” Sunset drawled.
“Everypony is safe and sound!” Cadance reported cheerfully.
Celestia chuckled, she cast a sidelong look at the blue pony standing shyly beside her, “Well, I guess we should address the Alicorn in the room,” She paused to chuckle at her own joke, “ Sunset Shimmer, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I would like to present to you, my sister, Princess Luna!”
Luna bowed her head to the both of them, “G-good morrow, to you both,”
“The honor’s all mine,” Sunset drawled sarcastically.
“Hi, Auntie Luna!” Cadance greeted, rushing to face the small alicorn, “My name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadance!”
“A-Auntie?”, Luna stammered, “Tia, did you…”
“I adopted her as my niece,” Celestia quickly clarified.
Luna looked at Sunset, “Sunset Shimmer, It’s good to meet you again”
Sunset looked away nervously trying to be a tough mare , “Yeah, good to see you…”
“I would like to apologize for what I did to you under the influence of The Nightmare.” Luna said, her voice was young but authoritative.
Sunset sighed and looked Luna in the eye, “It’s okay, you weren’t yourself.”
Luna looked to the floor, “I may have been possessed, but what I did under The Nightmare’s influence were by my own will. So, I apologize”
Sunset groaned and started hugging the lunar princess, “Oh, I can’t take it anymore! You are so adorable!”
“Well there goes your grudge” Cadance teased.
“Oh, Shush, I can’t help it if she reminds me of Twilight.”
“Speaking of which,” Celestia put in, “Twilight did seem a bit distress when she realized that she would be living away from her big sis, so I gave her a little gift, as a token for saving Equestria.”
“Princess, did you giver her your journal?” Sunset asked
Celestia smiled warmly, “It has been a long time since we used those,”
“Please excuse me, “ Sunset said as she ran to her room.
Sunset arrived in her room, out of breath from the journey, and started rifling through her things. She finally found what she was looking for: A dusty old journal with Sunset’s cutie mark. The mark was glowing, signaling an unread message. Sunset opened the book and the message showed.
Dear Big Sis,
I’ve moved to Ponyville to be closer to my friends, yes, I actually used the word “friends”. Not “colleagues” , “associates”, or “classmates”, just “friends”.
Officially, my assignment is to study “The Magic of Friendship”. Was I really that much of a recluse, Big Sis? I thought I was actually quite personable, but apparently Celestia felt it necessary to make sure I was actually friends with these ponies.
I think you would like them, Big sis, and I really hope to introduce them to you soon because I can’t describe them all in one letter.
I’ll miss you, Big Sis, I hope you’ll visit soon. I’m living in a tree called the Golden Oak Library. I can hear you right now, “Sounds like your dream home, huh, Squirt?” Well you’re right, I’m surrounded by books. It’s right on the edge of town, so I hope you’ll come by when you have a day off.
Love,
Twilight Sparkle
Sunset smiled. Her little sister had finally found some friends of her own and she didn’t need Sunset’s help in making them. For all the craziness that happened, this was a pretty good take away from it. Sunset took out an ink pot and a quill and started writing her response as the two would be sure to have more adventures worth talking about.
When Sunset Shimmer wanted to be the Castle’s director of operations, everypony was surprised. It was a huge job, but still menial for a unicorn of her caliber. She had to sign papers, screen petitioners, and ‘misplace’ whatever ordinance Blue Blood had come up with. Special occasions like the Grand Galloping Gala gave her a headache because she was the one who headed up most of the operations or at least the paperwork came to her before Celestia . She was currently floating a large stack of invitations over to Celestia’s study.
“Here are the invitations, Princess,” Sunset announced as she plopped down the large stack of papers on Celestia’s desk.
“Thank you, Sunset,” Celestia said as she beheld the tower of invitations in front of her, “I remember when the Grand Galloping Gala was a meeting of great minds and heroes, but alas nowadays most ponies either buy or birth their way in,”
“At least you understand why I never go,” Sunset chuckled.
“Well, I was about to ask you if you wanted a ticket this year, I’m inviting Twilight and her friends.”
Sunset hummed thoughtfully while tapping her hoof on her chin, “Yeah, that could be a good time,”
Celestia scribbled Sunset’s name on the guest list.
“So you sent Twilight an invitation?” Sunset asked while getting
“Well, she is a hero now, It just seemed right,”
“Did you send an invitation to the rest of her friends?”
Celestia’s silence often spoke volume more than what she actually said. The Princess would not do well in poker.
“Well, you did at least send seven tickets right?”
Once again Celestia stayed silent.
Sunset facehooved, and shook her head. Business went on as usual for her. The next few months were going to be hectic with planning for the gala, but luckily the worst of it was done. Invitation were written out and sent and the noble ponies had a year to prepare.
Sunset’s day ended as usual, one last signature on one last document that was either to be sent to the princess or to parliament the next day. Sunset entered her room after a long day’s work, greeted by a glowing journal. Somehow, Sunset knew what Twilight had to say.
Big Sis!
Celestia had invited me plus one to go to the Grand Galloping Gala, which would be great and all but now my friends are fighting over my extra ticket! They’ve started doing favors for me and I can’t take it any more!
What should I do?
Very stressed,
Twilight Sparkle
Sunset rolled her eyes. She picked up a quill and dipped it in ink.
Hey Squirt,
Just ask Celestia for five more tickets (Spike is going too, isn’t he?) I don’t know why Celestia didn’t just do that in the first place.
With that crisis averted Sunset Closed the book and was about to get ready for bed when there was a knock at the door.
“Ms. Shimmer,” came a guard's voice.
Sunset opened her door and saw a black thestral stallion wearing purple armor. Like all royal guards he exuded an air of professional stoicism that could not be broken by anypony.
“I haven’t seen you around the castle,” Sunset said slowly.
“I’m from the Lunar Guard,” the guard said tersely, “Princess Luna has summoned you to her chambers.”
“What for?” Sunset asked, only to be met with silence. Guards were notorious for being as unhelpful as possible and this one was no different. She then sighed, “I’ll be right up.”
Luna’s wing of the castle was getting less creepy as Luna was settling in. While it certainly was darker than other parts of the castle, While there were still the flying buttresses and gargoyles, it felt protective rather than intimidating. Sunset walked up to Luna’s door which was being guarded by two Lunar Guards Ponies.
“Ms. Shimmer,” One of them said, “The Princess is expecting you!”
They opened the door and Sunset walked in only to see Luna looking out her huge gothicesque window her tail swishing. She was recovering well for the week that she had been there. Her mane was as ethereal as sunset’s was, but it was starting to twinkle a bit. She was starting to grow taller too, slowly but subtly, she was about an inch taller than Sunset and would continue to grow. She looked away from her window and saw Sunset.
“Sunset Shimmer, good to see you this night.” Luna said, “I trust you’ve been well.”
“Uh, Yeah, I’ve been doing well. I mean everything’s a little bit crazy because of the Gala preparations.”
“Ah, yes, The Grand Galloping Gala.” Luna sighed nostalgically, “ I Remember the first Gala, A meeting of some of the greatest minds and greatest heroes in all the land, unfortunately it was also my last.”
Sunset grimaced, it was sort of weird how casually Luna just referenced her banishment. Luna sat at a small table with a tea set and beckoned Sunset to join her. Sunset accepted the invitation and sat down.
“So….” Sunset said uncertainly, “Are you planning to go to the Gala this year?”
Luna shook her head, “I am in no shape to go into the public as of now.”
Sunset nodded and took a sip of tea. Luna wasn’t exactly as intimidating as she was now.
“Besides,” Luna continued, “Once noble ponies hear of a Second Princess, they will try to petition me in order to go behind my sister’s back, and that is a headache that I want to put off for a long as equinely possible”
Sunset chuckled. Luna’s voice was so childlike and while it still held the air of seasoned royalty, it just sounded so foalish at that statement.
“Actually, I kind of understand. I used to go to when Celestia was teaching me, but it turned to be filled with dullards that couldn’t help in any capacity. ”
Sunset then coughed, “Sorry, a bit of the old me slipped out there.”
Luna nodded sagely, “I understand, no matter how much we change for the better, there’s always a shadow of who we once were .”
“So, why did you call me here,” Sunset asked.
Luna was taken aback, “Well I wanted to chat”
“Chat?” Sunset cocked her eyebrow, it seemed too mundane a reason to use an official summons
“Is that not the word?” Luna asked , “You’ll have to forgive me, my usage of Modern Equestrian slang is still, er… A work in progress, I believe the phrase is?”
“No, I mean, yes. Chat is the correct word, but why did you summon me to do that?” Sunset started to ramble.
Luna raised her eyebrow, “I should think it obvious You are obviously close to my sister, and you are not a princess,” Sunset bristled at the comment but composed herself Luna meant no harm.
“You are a perfect candidate for my friendship.”
“Candidate? I’m not sure friendship works that way.” Sunset commented.
“Well, no…” Luna started nervously, her ears twitching , “ But I would a pony to talk to that’s not royalty.”
A long silence permeated the room as both ponies sat there. Both ponies took drinks from their cups as through it would cover the awkwardness.
“Sunset Shimmer, what are you thinking about?” Luna asked.
“First off,” Sunset said, “There’s no need to use my full name, please call me Sunset,”
“Very well, Sunset, does this mean you’re willing to accept my offer?”
“Are you going to summon me every night? I mean my schedual’s sporadic enought--”
“Oh, no,” Luna interrupted, “as my friend, my door will always be open to you as I hope your door will be open to me.”
“You know, I think I’d like that, I sort of need somepony to talk to now that Twilight’s away.” Sunset said.
“Ah, Celestia did say you were close with Twilight Sparkle, are you two of kin?”
It took Sunset a while to parse that sentence, “ Oh no, we’re not actually related, I mean she does call me “big sis” but that’s about it”
“ Big Sis?” Luna said confusedly
“Honestly, I don’t even remember why she calls me that, but she has spent most of her time around me”
“It must be an honor to have a powerful unicorn look up to you,” Luna commented.
“Well I did teach her everything I know,” Sunset said while drinking her tea.
“Oh?” Luna questioned playfully, “I had the understanding that Twilight Sparkle was my sister’s student.
“Yeah, well, she wrote the lesson plans, but I taught her the technique!” Sunset said indignantly
The two girls laughed at that, and continued to talk through the night. At least until Sunset passed out from exhaustion.
Sunset yawned as she went about, filing folders. Talking to Luna was nice, but Sunset still had work to do during the day. Being one of the most powerful mages in Equestria, she was usually pretty efficient at doing her various tasks. After spending last night talking to Princess Luna, through, she was a bit sluggish. Sunset even found herself falling asleep in the middle of moving files.
“Sunset~”
And then there was Cadance. Sunset didn’t really mind so much anymore that she was a princess. What Sunset did mind was that Cadance didn’t really seem to do anything except ogle the guards. Celestia at least ran the kingdom and Luna was recovering from being a dark goddess of destruction and nightmares, but Cadance didn’t seem to do anything. Sunset could forgive all of that however, if it weren’t for the fact that the pink alicorn would not stop flirting with her!
Cadance entered Sunset’s office, “Sunset, are you busy? Because I was thinking that you might want to….”
Cadance trailed off as she Looked at Sunset, barely awake and the files moving slowly above her head .
“Sunset, you look horrible! What happened”
“I was up all night with Luna.” Sunset groaned
“Ooh, Scandalous,” Cadance teased, “Up late with a princess”
“It’s not like that and you know it you perv,”
“It’s been a while,” Cadance commented, her wry smirk only managing to sour Sunset's mood , “ Hey, you want to take a break and go get coffee?”
Sunset and Cadance sat out side of the Donut Joe’s donut Shop, Sunset was a bit more awake now due to having a combination of caffeine and sugar in her system. The atmosphere would be a perfect pick-me-up, except Cadance would not stop staring at her.
“What?” Sunset yelled
“Oh, don’t mind me, I’m just thinking about how cute you and Luna would be as a couple,” Cadance said.
“I said it’s not like that!” Sunset exclaimed, her ears twitching in anxiousness.
“Well, what is it like, then?”
“She… just wanted a friend… Somepony that’s not a princess, you know?”
Cadance leaned back from the table, “Yeah, I guess I can see that, Auntie Celestia seems to be doting over her a lot lately.”
Sunset bristled slightly at the mention of ‘Auntie Celestia’, but she had trained herself not to let it affect her. Somepony would have to tell Donut Joe about the burned seat though.
“So,” Sunset started, trying to divert the conversation, “ What are you doing for the Grand Galloping Gala?”
“I’m not going,” Cadance answered, “I think I’ll just spend some alone time in the chamber of passion.”
“I really wish you wouldn’t call your room that,” Sunset droned.
“Who knows, I might even invite a lucky Stallion to join me, or a Mare if I’m in the mood.”
Sunset just groaned. One other thing about Cadance was her openness about her more … intimate matters.
“What about you, Sunset, are you going to lock yourself away in your room like you always do?
“Actually, I’m going to attend this year, If nothing else but to visit Twilight and meet her friends” Sunset said
“Aw, that’s cute!” Cadance gushed.
Sunset blushed a little bit while she rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof. She was starting to think that maybe she also needed non-princess friends, albeit for very different reasons.
Twilight Sparkle trotted happily down the road to Canterlot’s Palace. Today she would be learning magic from her newest favorite pony in the whole world, Sunset Shimmer. Twilight spent a lot of time reading up on the theory of magic, but Sunset made her apply it. Usually the lessons exhausted the little filly, but she learned more about how magic worked. Sunset was a stern teacher, but that didn’t stop her from giving Twilight positive reinforcement when she did well.
Twilight finally got to the castle gates. The tall regal spires still overwhelmed the filly even though she’s been going there on a regular basis for the past month or so. She walked forward after admiring the castle as she saw her brother walking from the training grounds.
“Twily!” Shining Armor greeted, with a big grin.
“Hi Shiny!” Twilight greeted happily, She adored her big brother, almost as much as she adored Sunset Shimmer. Shining Armor would take her to the amusement park or treat her to ice cream whenever he got a day off, and while that all was fun, learning from Sunset Shimmer was the best fun the filly could think of.
“So, you going up to study?” Shining asked.
Twilight nodded, “I’m going to learn some magic with big sis!”
“Oh,” Shining’s face fell, “Her... Just... be careful, okay, Twily?”
Twilight tilted her head in confusion, why did everypony have that reaction when she mentioned Sunset? Sure Sunset was a stern teacher, but she never said anything bad to Twilight.
“Okay, Shiny.” Twilight said automatically as she trotted into the castle. She traversed the halls that she had already memorized in the past month or so. She entered the residential wing of the castle and stopped at Sunset’s open door.
“Big sis?” Twilight called out into the empty room. Twilight walked into it, slowly looking around. Usually Sunset would be in her room, preparing for the lesson, and there would be books scattered around. Twilight had spied a covered bird cage and noticed a note taped to it. She floated it over to herself and read it.
Twilight,
Sorry to be missing the lesson, Celestia had to deliver a speech to the new recruits for the royal guard and I needed to keep an eye on Cadance.
However, there is still a lesson today: You will be taking care of Celestia’s Pet Phoenix, Philomena, until I return. Good Luck! SS Twilight uncovered the cage to see a sickly looking bird slightly resembling a chicken. It was molting horrendously, and the cage was lined with it’s slightly warm feathers. It was hardly the majestic creature that twilight read about, but as Sunset Shimmer had usually said, ‘don’t believe everything you read’.
“Well, I guess the first thing to do is to feed you.” Twilight muttered looking for some food.
She found a bag of phoenix feed, which looked less like feed and more like wood chops, behind Sunset’s desk. Twilight took opened the cage and took out Philomena’s feeding tray. She floated it over a scooped up some of the feed and floated it back to the cage, which was now empty.
Twilight did a double take looked into the cage and all over the room to find the Phoenix. Twilight started to look frantically everywhere.
“Philomena!” Twilight called, to an expected silence.
Twilight scanned the room and found a trail of feathers leading out the door. She followed the trail into the hallway. The feathers stopped at Cadance’s room. The filly paused a bit, she didn’t really like the pink alicorn, mostly because she seemed to irritate Sunset to no end. Twilight steeled herself and went into the room.
Cadance’s room wasn’t that bad actually. It was much too pink for any sane pony, the plush carpets were a bit much, but all in all, there was nothing in there that offended Twilight.
The trail of feathers lead to under the bed. Twilight lit her horn and took a look under the bed. She saw Philomena past the the other things that Twilight was too young to understand. Twilight grabbed the bird with her telekinesis and floated the bird with.
“Running away isn't very nice, Philomena,” Twilight scolded while escorting the bird back to Sunset’s room, “I’m supposed to take care of you!”
The bird coughed and hacked in response.
“ And you sound like you need a lot of care,” Twilight added
Philomena sat at a small table in Sunset’s room with a bib around her neck. Twilight floated a bowl of soup over to her.
“I read somewhere that hot soup helps with a cough,” Twilight said as she watched the bird.
Philomena just sat there and stared at something… It was hard discern what exactly, her eyes were looking opposite directions. Eventually, Philomena fell face-first into the bowl.
“Maybe it was a bad idea to have you eat soup…” Twilight concluded.
The rest of the day proved to be difficult for Twilight. For being Princess Celestia’s pet, Philomena proved to be the single most unruly bird Twilight has ever met. Not that Twilight has met many birds, but the ones she usually saw didn’t seem to delight in ponies’ misery.
Philomena refused to eat, which was fine for Twilight, The bird obviously wasn’t hungry. The bigger annoyance was that the bird would keep running away from her. Twilight would remember the layout of the castle inside and out after this. To add to the frustration, Philomena was continuing to molt and she was leaving less and less feathers for Twilight to follow.
Twilight followed the feather trail into the throne room, and saw Philomena perched on Celestia’s throne, devoid of any feathers. Twilight was a young filly, and not a lot actually phased her.
“Philomena, come down here this instant!” Twilight commanded with an adorable stomp from her hoof.
This was phasing her.
“Philomena!I am giving you to the count of five!” Twilight said.
The bird just stood there as uncomprehending as ever.
“One…. “
Philomena continued to stand there, her head tilting limply.
“Two….”
The bird coughed in response.
“Three…”
Philomena wobbled a bit.
“Fo-ur….” Twilight’s voice caught when she saw the bird waver.
Philomena fell off the throne, somehow catching on fire on the way down.
“Philomena!” Twilight ran towards the phoenix only to be met with ash. “No…” was all that Twilight could muster while standing before the pile of ash. She blinked her eyes, allowing the tears to flow freely.
“Hey, Squirt, We’re back!” Sunset’s voice called, while she entered the room, “I saw the feathers leading here, I hope she’s…”
Sunset paused as she beheld the crying filly in front of a pile of ash. Sunset sighed and walked up to Twilight.
“I-I tried my best, big sis, I really did” Twilight cried.
“Well congratulations, Philomena, you made a small filly cry, I hope you’re proud of yourself” Sunset said to the small pile of ash.
The ash was swept up in an invisible wind and recomposed itself into what looked like a fiery red hawk, something more akin to what a phoenix is supposed to look like. It perched on Sunset’s shoulder, while Twilight looked on in astonishment.
“Now, apologize to Twilight, or you won’t get a treat” Sunset said, and the bird sheepishly cooed an apology.
“Sorry Twilight,” Sunset said, “If I had known she was going through her reincarnation cycle I wouldn’t have made you look after her.”
“Re… In…” Twilight tried to sound the word out.
“Sometimes, Phoenixes burn themselves up, but they get reborn from their ashes” Sunset explained, “Unfortunately, Philomena has developed a habit of messing with ponies when that happens”
Twilight nodded, sure to remember this day for a long time to come.
Twilight walked along the streets of ponyville, fresh off of seeing The Princess off from her visit. She was kind of disappointed that Sunset couldn’t make it, but it was because of Sunset that Celestia could make her visits.
Twilight was making her rounds to her friends, thanking them for making a good impression on the princess, and to encourage them to make a similar impression when they meet Sunset. Although, for some odd reason they would suddenly get nervous whenever she mentioned her ‘big sis’.
Twilight went up to Fluttershy’s house and knocked on the door. “Hi, Fluttershy! I just wanted to drop by and say thank you so very much for making such a good impression on the princess today,” Twilight said as she let herself in, she paused when she saw Fluttershy trying (and failing) to medicate a red chicken.
“You…” Twilight snarled, “What do you think you’re doing!”
“Oh, Twilight, I’m so sorry, she just looked so sick and -” Fluttery tried to say.
“You are not pulling this on one of my friends, especially Fluttershy!” Twilight scolded as she marched up to the chicken, much to Fluttershy’s confusion.
“Now you either leave my friend alone, or I’ll speed up your reincarnation myself”
Philomena promptly ran back to her cage, and cowered before Twilight.
“That wasn’t very nice, Twilight” Fluttershy scolded, “Philomena is very sick!”
“She’s a phoenix, Fluttershy, she’ll burn herself up and come back good as new” Twilight explained, “She also likes to mess with ponies like when she does that.”
“Oh,” was all Fluttershy could say, looking at the floor.
Twilight smiled and put her hoof around Fluttershy, “Hey, don’t look so sad, your heart was in the right place, it’s just a shame that you had to take care of her”
“How do you know so much about Philomena?” Fluttershy asked.
“Big sis made me pet sit her when I was a filly” Twilight Drawled
“Oh… Your ‘big sis’ … That makes sense”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she grabbed Philomena’s cage and floated it over to Fluttershy.
“Come on, Let’s take Philomena back to Princess Celestia” Twilight said and thus they both exited the cabin with with no other problems. Well, no other problems pertaining to Celestia’s pet phoenix at least.
