Sunset has been princess Celestia's pupil since she was around ten, her behavior started going downhill when she was twelve, now she's fifteen and things are only getting harder as Sunset's behavior puts a strain on her relationship with Celestia.
My name is Celestia, I am the princess of the sun, and I had all but raised a child named Sunset Shimmer since she was about ten. Where I went wrong is that I have never forced the foal in my care to face punishment for her bad behavior. But recently it's come to my attention that she has been sneaking into the restricted section of the library, she has been looking into dark magic and I'm unsure if I will be able to stop her from making a huge mistake.
I know I've made bad decisions by not punishing her when she misbehaved, but maybe it was a mistake to take her under my wing in the first place.
I walked through the castle's halls after a long day of holding court, I would never admit it aloud but I didn't exactly care about many of the issues the various members of the nobility were coming to me with. Many of them begged for money to do Faust knows what with, and each time they asked I would politely deny them with a gentle smile.
Today however, eight noble stallions had begged me for money, it had really started getting on my nerves after the fourth pony. But I declined them with a smile like I usually do. I make my way to the dining room where I find my student currently having her dinner, I sit down across from her and poke at my meal, I wasn't exactly hungry but I had hoped that I could talk to her over dinner.
"Sunset." I begin, "I believe we need to have a conversation about your behavior lately."
She gives me a non-committal grunt and looks up at me, I could tell she wasn't happy about my interruption but I wait patiently for her reply.
"Sure." She says simply, "What about it?"
"Well, I've been made aware that you were spotted in the restricted section of the library, could you please tell me what your reasoning is for being there?" I take a small bite of my meal while I watch her, I know why she was in the restricted section but I wish to give her a chance to tell the truth.
"I was doing research princess, I needed something from the restricted section. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't've been in there but I really want- needed a tome from there."
I was very disappointed that she would go into the forbidden part of the library, it was forbidden for the protection of my ponies and it didn't sit well with me that she would need a tome from that part of the library.
"What were you researching Sunset, perhaps you would like to share your findings so far?"
The filly shook her head no quickly, "No princess, I haven't found anything that interesting yet."
I take that as my cue to back off, it was becoming clear that I wouldn't be getting anything out of her for the time being. "Alright Sunset, but I would like to learn about what you're researching eventually."
She nods quickly and it's at that point that I notice she had been eating her food at a faster speed than before I had arrived.
I suppress a frown and a sigh as I get up. "Good night Sunset, sleep well."
She says nothing as I leave the dining hall, the whole encounter has left me feeling a little upset and worried. I walk through the pretty much abandoned halls looking for the library, I had a feeling Sunset must have left some clue behind as to what she was reading and what exactly she needed a forbidden book for. I don't pay attention to the guards stationed in the hallway, they stand at attention each time I enter the hall and the clanking of their armor as they shift was beginning to get on my nerves.
I soon arrive in the library and I approach the first pony I see, I put on the royal mask and I force myself to smile warmly, "Greetings, my little pony."
The stallion jumps and turned around, he bowed the second he realized it was me, "Your majesty! Hello and welcome, is there anything I am able to assist you with?"
"Yes, of course. Was anypony able to remember the book that Sunset Shimmer was caught in the forbidden section with?"
He tenses up somewhat, I notice his smile falter a little as well. He knows why I'm here now and I suppose he may believe he will be punished.
"I believe so, your majesty. We've placed the book somewhere secure at the insistence of several house guards."
My smile never falters even though my stomach feels strange, I was praying to Faust that my suspicions were incorrect but things were not looking good, "May I take a few moments to take a look at it?"
He bows his head, "Of course your majesty, right this way please."
I thank him and follow the elderly stallion as he leads me to where the book was securely kept, they had put in an enchanted glass case and I approach it. My heart skips a beat when I read the title of the tome.
"Ascensio" I say aloud, this was what I was afraid of. Sunset was trying to figure out how to force an ascension. My throat feels dry all of a sudden, I have to get out of the area as soon as I can.
"Thank you sir, I will have extra guards posted at the entrance of the restricted section for everypony's safety." I say, trying to appear calm, I will not allow myself to make my subjects panic unnecessarily. "But I must take my leave for the evening."
He bows to me yet again, "I understand your majesty, good evening."
I nod and turn to leave, the walk out of the library is agonizing now that I know what Sunset is attempting to do. I keep telling her that she is not quite ready, but it's all my fault. I never should have shown her the mirror of destiny. I am halfway back to my bedroom when I bump into Sunset, she's carrying a few books on how to improve mana flow throughout a pony's body. Normally I would be okay with her having those books, but now that I know why she's needing such an open mana flow it only serves to make me anxious.
"Good evening Sunset, I see you are still studying when you should be in bed getting rest." I smile at her, giving her a hint that she should go to bed.
The filly tenses and looks up at me, "Oh- Oh right- Sorry princess. I just got distracted and lost track of time."
I chuckle, "It's quite alright, but you should be getting at least eight hours of sleep per night and I don't think you've been achieving that judging by how sleepy you are during our lessons."
"Yes princess, I'm sorry." She sounds defeated, "I'll go to bed now."
"Good night Sunset, sleep well." She nods and turns around, changing her course from what I assume was the library to hopefully her own bedroom.
I sigh and I finish my walk to my bedroom, I sit down on an ottoman. On a nearby table there is a cup of Neighponese rice tea, the maids always bring me a wonderful rice tea in the evenings and I always enjoy it. Unfortunately, I had missed the visit this evening so I was unable to thank the pony who had brought it to me. I levitate the teacup close to me and I hold it up to my lips and take a small sip.
I'm worried about Sunset, she's going down a dark path and I do not know if I am going to be able to stop her.
I wake up a short time before I am required to raise the sun, I get out of bed and and move to go stand on my balcony. Standing outside to raise the sun makes the affair go a lot faster and it's a lot simpler to raise the sun when you are not indoors. I look down at the night guard stationed in the gardens, they look like statues and I find myself smiling.
They take such great pride in protecting the castle, they consider being stationed here a huge honor. My smile falls once I notice my pupil sitting on a bench reading a book, I find myself disappointed that she did not go to bed when she said she would. I doubt she even slept at all.
I sigh and wait for a few minutes, one time I raised the sun maybe two minutes late and the ponies lost their minds. I chuckle at the memory, they all came flooding into court asking the same question over and over, 'What happened?!'.
I raise my head and look at the horizon, I light my horn and feel around for the sun. Once I have a firm grip on it I start to slowly lift it up, once it peaks up above the horizon and the land is bathed in a pinkish-red light I see in the corner of my eye that the night guards move to attend their morning briefing and let the royal guards take their post in the gardens.
I continue to raise the sun and once it is in position I go back inside, the morning light bathes everything in my bedroom in a beautiful orange glow, I move to my vanity and use my magic to lift my brush and begin to brush through my mane. My days were relatively the same. Get up, raise the sun, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, hear nobility complain for hours on end, eat lunch, mentor Sunset, go to my office and do paperwork for about two hours, and if I'm lucky I'd have a little time to myself before dinner.
I sigh and finish brushing my mane, I figure that's good enough for today so I put on my royal barding and crown. I hold my head high as I leave my chambers and head for the dining room, I make my way to the dining hall, and to my surprise Sunset was already there eating breakfast.
"Good morning." I say as I sit down across from her, "Sleep well?"
She nods, and makes an affirming grunt, she couldn't speak since her mouth was full of pancakes. I find it pretty amusing and I let out a laugh, "I'm glad you're enjoying your food."
She glares at me but says nothing, she continued eating like I'm not even here.
My breakfast arrives shortly after, the servant apologizing for the delay. I really didn't mind, they're all incredibly busy and there's no point in getting angry at someone for being maybe thirty seconds later than usual. Besides, I'm always impressed by how quickly the staff work and I occasionally sneak a small bonus into their pay.
My attention turns to my breakfast, I use my wings to hold my utensils so I could eat, the delicious blueberry pancakes with syrup and butter were calling my name and I was not going to ignore it for much longer. I was enjoying my breakfast when I heard Sunset suddenly address me.
"Princess Celestia?"
I look at her and swallow my food a little too early, I start coughing and I use my hooves to hit my chest to help the food I was hopefully not starting to choke on go down. "Yes Sunset?"
"I've uh.. I've been doing research and I learned that if a powerful being uses a lot of magic on somepony then they can turn the pony into an alicorn! I was wondering if I could be a princess just like you are, I've been learning and doing my work and I think I'm ready."
I frown and my heart drops, this was the conversation I'd been dreading, "Sunset.. I know you really really want to become a princess, but you're not ready just yet. Being a princess is a lot of responsibility and you're a little too young."
Sunset's expression morphs into one of barely hidden rage, she sounds furious, "B-But princess I am ready! I've been studying ways on how you can turn me into an alicorn!"
"Sunset Shimmer." I say sharply, "I will let you know when you are ready to become a princess, but for now.. You. Are. Not. Ready. And if you are caught in the restricted section one more time, I will be forced to stop mentoring you."
She doesn't flinch, instead she scowls and gets up, "Fine. I'm going to my room."
I say nothing and watch her leave, I am so incredibly frustrated with that young mare, she keeps demanding I force an ascension so she can become an alicorn when it is not simply not possible to do without the use of dark magic. I push away from the table and get up as I do have to open court soon.
I sigh and use a wing to pinch the bridge of my muzzle, I take several deep breaths and shake my head sadly. I had no idea what to do. I exit the room and go to the throne room, I go up and sit on my throne as a guard announces that the day court is now open for visitors. There had apparently been a line of ponies waiting, more than usual I notice.
The first mare who came to visit me apparently needed more money so her foals could attend my school, I had asked her what happened to the money she used to have and she sheepishly admitted she gambled it all away. My frustration was just barely hidden as I told her that I would be unable to help and if she wanted money then she should look for a job that pays well.
'Oh Faust, if they're all like this mare I'm going to lose my mind.' I think and dismiss her, the guards escorted her out like they escorted everypony else before her. The next is exactly like her and I scream internally, today was going to be awful.
I ended court early using the excuse that I was not feeling well, when in reality if one more pony asked me for money I would burn all of Canterlot down in a fit of rage. I wondered if there had been a natural disaster somewhere that I was uninformed about and it was causing so many ponies to come to me asking for bits. I decided I probably needed to go to bed early today, today was simply not my day.
The outraged cries of the nobility fell on deaf ears as I walked past them and out of the throne room, I felt a migraine coming on and I needed to rest before I snapped and did something I would regret or that would damage my reputation.
The guards sensed I needed assistance and they leapt into action, keeping the nobility from attempting to follow me. It was little things like what they're doing now that made me appreciate them, technically I didn't need guards, the ponies did, but having them around did have it's perks at times.
Despite what ponies may think, I do have friendships with some of the guards and at times we get into a bit of a prank war. I smile at the memories of some of the pranks we've pulled on each other, I suddenly get an idea for another prank I could pull on a few of them that I'd have to plan out another time.
I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I notice that I'm in front of my bedroom, I go inside and get onto my bed, I don't get under the blankets since I don't want to move, I just want to be.. It takes me a while to fall asleep, but I do eventually and I wake up when I'm supposed to lower the sun and raise the moon.
I groaned, I really didn't want to get out of bed right now but I had to in order to fulfill my duties towards everyone on this planet. I yawned and got out of bed and went out onto my balcony, I lit my horn and I got a grip on the moon that I had imprisoned my sister on.
The moon didn't rise immediately, I stood there holding the huge rock in my magic, "Oh Luna, I'm so sorry.. You should be the one doing this.."
My chest tightened and my grief was threatening to spill out, the memory of banishing my little sister to the moon would forever be with me. There were so many other ways I could have handled the situation but I immediately chose to banish my sibling. Raising the moon always is hard for me, I know I should never have had to raise it in the first place, it was not my duty, and yet it is all my fault for what happened to her.
I take a deep breath and I start moving the moon upwards, it was slightly lighter than the sun but it was still incredibly heavy. At the same time I get a hold on the sun and I start to drag it down below the horizon, it didn't take long for my job to be done for the night.
I sorrowfully went back inside and I got under the covers, I was about to fall asleep when I heard a knock on my door, I sit up and look over as the door opens. It was a guard and he looked disheveled, his helmet was even on sort of sideways.
"Your majesty! Lady Shimmer has been caught in the restricted section again and will not follow the commands of the guards, she's demanding your presence."
I felt a chill go down my spine, I knew what this was about and this was my last chance to keep her from falling into darkness. I get up and rush past the guard, I'm lacking my barding but I don't care, I need to convince Sunset not to use black magic to get what she wants.
I run as fast as my legs will carry me to the library, I throw the doors open and rush past the night staff. My main focus is to get to the restricted section. I see Sunset next to the mirror of destiny, scattered around her are books on ascension and dark magic.
"Sunset Shimmer." My voice booms, "I have said this multiple times before, you are not ready to become a princess!"
She roars in frustration and throws one of the books at me, I catch it with my magic and toss it behind me.
"I am ready! I've studied so hard, I watched you deal with stupid nobles for hours on end!"
I shook my head no, I was fighting back my tears by now, I really didn't want to have to do what I needed to, "You are not. You have been acting like an arrogant, egotistical, selfish fool Sunset Shimmer. You are no longer my student, you are welcome in Canterlot itself, but you will not be allowed back into the castle at any point in the future. Should you need to speak with me then you may send me a letter."
The guards that were with me moved forward to apprehend the now screaming foal, she was calling me all sorts of cruel names.
"This is the worst mistake you'll ever have made, I'm glad your sister is gone and I hope she stays gone!"
I have since turned around to leave, her words cut deep. I had high hopes for the filly, I said what I was thinking because our student-mentor relationship was clearly shot, "I suppose I was a fool for taking you under my wing in the first place."
I took maybe ten steps out of the forbidden section when I heard the guards who were attempting to escort Sunset out yelp in pain, I spun around to see them on the floor unconscious and the mirror's surface shimmering. It didn't take me long to put two and two together and figure out what had happened.
Any semblance of control I had over my emotions was lost and I collapsed onto my haunches, for the first time since I lost my little sister just under a thousand years ago, I began to sob. And I could not stop. I couldn't help myself, I pulled at my mane in despair, I couldn't keep my long overdue emotions in anymore. I force myself to get off of the library's floor, I stand up and start running towards my bedroom. I'm lucky that it's dark and the castle is pretty much abandoned because it would be humiliating if they saw me having an emotional breakdown.
I can't control my sobs as I run, but as soon as I get into the safety of my room I let it all out. The tears would just not stop flowing as I wailed to my heart's content, I let out a thousand years of pain and suffering over the course of the next few hours.
My sobs slowly die down into hiccups and sniffles, I long since curled up into a ball of sorrow. I was such a fool, I always was one and I'd forever be one. I just hope wherever my former student is, she's at least safe.