Across the Shimmerverse

by DapperLilArts

Pretty close to a Perfect day - PART 2

Pretty close to a perfect day - Part 2

---

Another happy landing, and an explosive one at that.

As she flew down, she could see tents and parasols strung above tables all over Ponyville plaza, and that plenty of the townsfolk gathered around already, likely having noticed the shooting star that was Sunset flying down to the party at that moment.

Sunset’s arrival produced a massive gust of wind; and even her golden red magic hue flowed with a blast around through the party, akin to an actual meteor crash. She landed square center on Ponyville plaza, on a small clearing, and clearly Twilight was more than ready for her, holding the objects of the party down with her telekinesis, so they wouldn't be blasted away by the wind.

With nothing but smiles, Sunset spotted all of her friends, and they spotted her. A banner was above them, hanging on the entrance of the Community Center, alongside several gorgeous decorations, likely the work of Pinkie and Rarity’s combined talent. The banner read; Happy Alicornaversary! 5 years of Princess Sunset Shimmer! Here’s to many more! She tried containing her giddy excitement, and instead gave them a confident smile, spreading her wings wide.

“Hello to everypony who isn’t Twilight, and a special hello to everypony else!”

The entire crowd cheered for her arrival, even if the two Princesses only had eyes for each other.

Twilight teleported forward immediately, giving her wife a greeting kiss. They exchanged no words, they were unnecessary for Sunset, after all, she could feel her wife’s joy and happiness emanating from her with every touch, they simply enjoyed each other's presence, all while their friends approached, hounding them with affection. Every kiss felt like sparks, like fizzles of joy.

Pinkie was the first of her friends to arrive; So quickly one could have easily suspected her of teleportation; But Sunset knew better, exceptionally so, being capable of catching the Pink Pony’s famous tackle-hugs before it collided, giving her a strong hug of her own.

“HEY BESTIE PARTY GIIIRLLL!!” She shouted, leaping into Sunset’s arms, being more than welcome to do so. Being in loving contact with Pinkie Pie felt very, very funny for an empath. “What’s up, bestie party master?” The Princess replied, as they both backed up and did an elaborate hoof-shake that ended with Pinkie being knocked to the floor with a chest bump; They clearly needed to rethink the ending of their hoof-shake, now that Sunset had gotten bigger. But of course, the Pink pony never minded it.

Rainbow Dash was the next one to arrive, with Fluttershy close behind. The former adorned her wonderbolts getup, and the latter, a simple cute party dress, that matched her style well, while also being accompanied by several birds that were either landed on her or flying around her.

And of course, the daredevil pegasus was the first one to speak up. “DUDE THAT LANDING WAS AWESOME!!! SIIIICK!!” And naturally, Sunset replied with the same kind of cocky smile, and they did their own kind of elaborate hoof shake, that even involved their wings flapping together. “That was for you, man!” They both laughed together, reliving its awesomeness.

Fluttershy, giggling, approached the laughing duo, followed close behind by her bird friends. “Happy Alicornaversary, Sunset Shimmer! Dashie brought her Wonderbolt friends to do a presentation later today! And apparently there’s a chance that Starlight and Trixie will make an appearance to put on one of their shows, but we’ll see; They usually are kinda tardy.”

With enthusiastic nods, Rainbow got closer to her girlfriend. “Oh yeah oh yeah! And Flutters brought her bird friends to sing later, too!” After trying to name all of the bird friends of Fluttershy, whose names she had attempted fairly successfully to memorize, She eagerly pointed at the other side of the party, where a stage resided, ready for any band that’d like to perform; Which piqued Sunset’s interest immediately, with her ears twitching. “Wow, you guys went all out, huh?”

Vibrating with excitement, nearly hopping in place, Pinkie smiled HARD. “Of course, silly!! Today’s for YOU!!”

And sharing similar excitement, but with a much calmer demeanor, Twilight added “We figured you might want to play sometime today; We have plenty of ponies that want to use that stage, but whenever you want to, you can!”

Without hesitation, Sunset hugged her wife, who reciprocated, with giggles. “You know me so well…!”

I wish everyday was for you.

Before they could undo the hug, Pinkie joined in, and that easily got Rainbow and Fluttershy to join too; And then, running towards them, late to the embrace, Applejack and Rarity hopped on it too.

“Happy Alicornaversary, darling!! I hope you’ve enjoyed the decorations; My idea! And don’t think I haven’t noticed your outfit–!” The Unicorn stated, joining in the embrace, followed close behind. “HOWDY Y’ALL!! BIG HUG, C’MON!!” And just like that, Applejack wrapped her limbs around her friends and lifted them all into a delighted, cheerful hug; Sunset didn’t need to read minds to be able to tell that those two were distracted by making out, and that’s why they were the last ones here; Not that she minded, all her friends were together, and they were happy, so she was happy.

And, wrapped comfortably in the embrace of her friends, Sunset could feel all their joy, like it was her own. This day was pretty close to perfect.

---

“How's the coolest daughter in the world doing?? Cm’here, Mustard!!” Flare Shimmer, Sunset’s mother, ran towards her daughter, giving her a very happy hug. “Heya, mom!” That excitement was infectious, the Princess could feel it fully, smiling the same way as her.

Flare Shimmer was an older Earth Pony, who carried herself like she was much younger. She dressed in many similar ways to how Sunset usually would, with leather jackets all around, she was the original inspiration for Sunset’s style, after all; She even carried her electric guitar on her back, one that had seen many years of use, and covered her right eye with pony-tailed hair. It’d be rare you’d ever see her nowadays without a toothy smile. Despite her wrinkles, she always remained feisty.

“Heya, kiddo!” Gold Shimmer, Sunset’s father, approached with less of his Ex-wife’s excitement, but no less joy. He joined in on the hug, and they embraced each other quietly. Sunset always felt a certain surprise, having outgrown her parents so much.

Her father certainly carried himself differently from her mother. He was a tall Unicorn that covered his eyes with hair often and wore comfortable sweaters, being moderately soft spoken, with no particularly noticeable eccentricities about him.

And nonetheless, this family was more united than it had ever been, after all this time.

With a quick glance away from her daughter, Flare smiled, looking at Twilight, who gleefully followed behind her wife. “And there’s the cutest daughter-in-law in the world!! C’mon, join in!!” Which naturally, she did.

With a quiet snicker, Gold addressed the Princess of Friendship. “Lovely to see you, Twilight. I take it our daughter has been behaving?”

“Oh, you know, most days... But I never worry, after all, I’m an expert in discipline.” She gave Sunset a mischievous smile, who herself almost choked on a cough.

Flare let out hearty laughter, then addressed her daughter. “Heheh, I expected nothing less. You better be the coolest wife in the world too, ketchup!”

“Oh, she is.” Twilight smiled happily, nuzzling her love, who was more than happy to nuzzle back. “By the way, have you two seen my parents? Oh, and maybe Queen Celestia?”

With a nod, Gold pointed towards the end of the party, where several guests sat. “Of course! We were sitting at the same table; Nightlight and Velvet should be over in that direction. As for Celestia…”

“Oh. She’s here too?” Demeanor clearly changed, Flare frowned.

Her daughter raised an eyebrow. “Play nice.”

And Flare frowned harder. “I’ll play nice if she plays nice.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, hoping not to have to break a mom fight apart soon; and hoping even more that the two of them could find common ground. “I’ll go check on mom and dad! You three enjoy yourselves. See you in a bit, my Sun.” Leaving her wife with a quick kiss on the cheek, she pranced away.

Sunset watched her move away with a dumb grin on her face; One that her parents noticed. “‘My Sun’, eh?” Gold tilted his head, with a smile.

“I-it’s just a cute little pet name, nothing to it–” She lied, badly, flustering; And naturally, her parents didn't buy it. That ‘Pet Name’ was an affirmation, a promise, of a love that would last over a thousand years. It was also a bit embarrassing to be called that in front of your parents.

Suppressing her desire to cackle joyfully, Flare poked her on the chest, sending the little flurries of emotions her mother felt through her. “That’s my daughter, right there, heheh. You scored BIG time, kiddo– What, you gonna let her put you on a leash next?”

I’m so happy for you, kiddo. You deserve this in full.

Suppressing her snickers, and the desire to bite onto the leash commentary, (Which she likely would have in the past, regardless of its truth,) Sunset simply smiled and nodded. “Thanks, mom. I’m happy you two made it.” And that she was, incredibly so.

With a pleased nod, Gold Shimmer smiled back at her. “We wouldn’t miss it for anything, Ketchup. Oh yes– Flare brought her guitar, maybe after we get some snacks, you two could…”

And that mere suggestion already sparked excitement on the two mare Shimmers, whose ears twitched, as they both nodded together in eager agreement, even playing air guitar riffs together.

Surprised, Gold turned his gaze behind them, with a wave. “...Oh hello, Queen Celestia!”

All three of the heads turned at the tall Alicorn’s approach; And her quiet demeanor certainly was noticed, not behaving regally, simply professionally. “Greetings, Shimmers. Sunset, Twilight said you wanted to see me about something?”

Suppressing her instinct of saying ‘I don’t think I do?’ and blinking, she could tell what her wife was doing; Likely trying to get Flare and Celestia to get along. She turned to her parents, showcasing them. “Heya, Queen Celestia! Remember my parents, Flare and Gold?”

“Indeed I do. Hello again to you both!” She stated plainly and professionally, regarding Flare as if she was regarding an assassin, and the mother did the same glance back at her.

Sunset’s mother forced on another of her toothy grins. “Heeeyy Celie. We were just talking about how proud we are of our daughter, and how we love her very, very much. We were even talking about how we might play guitar together later! I taught her that.” Before she even wrapped a loving arm around her daughter, both of the other Shimmers snickered, knowing that Flare was not one to speak the word ‘love’ lightly.

Sunset felt a jolt of frustrated tense anger emanating from her mother as she looked at Celestia.

Clearing her throat, the Queen attempted to remain composed, nodding. “Of course. I, too, am also incredibly proud of Sunset. She has made truly astounding progress, even before her ascension. Did I mention that I took her to space today? Why yes, I’m teaching her how to fly through the cosmos!”

The emotions that Sunset felt from her mother did not change for the better, maybe even intensifying. “Oh that’s great, Celie, that’s great. Do you know how to play guitar? ‘Cause me and my daughter know; ‘cause we’ve played together, dozens of times. We might even do so today, on these festivities! And look at that, we even dress similarly!” She pointed at their same punk style, and Sunset couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her behavior.

With an eye twitching, the Queen tried her absolute best to maintain her royal composure. “No, I do not know how to play guitar. One certainly doesn't need such distractions, when she is busy training the future rulers of Equestria; Who are doing incredibly well in my care, by the way.”

“Play nice, you two.” Sunset tried stopping them, but little could go between those two mothers; She wasn’t even sure that they both heard her.

Flare’s smile wavered, and yet, remained full of teeth. “Really? Do you ever loosen up and have fun with her? Do you care about her?” And quickly and quietly, Gold attempted to poke her into backing up, and to stop antagonizing the Queen, but he certainly knew better than to expect it.

Nearly raising her wings, Celestia tried breathing deeply, but she very much could not keep full composure. “Sunset is my number one priority– As is Twilight. I’ve done all in my power to give them a comfortable, incredibly easy transition into being the rulers of our world–”

“You never changed her diapers though.” The mother dismissively muttered.

Blowing air from her nostrils, and forcing a smile, Celestia had a comeback she had thought of for maybe months. “Did you know? She’s called me ‘mom’ more than a few times by accident. Fun fact, isn’t it?” It was absolutely true, and The Queen of the Sun refused to forget it, delighting herself endlessly with it.

Flare let out a quick snarl while preparing to unleash her retort; But she didn’t need to. Sunset could feel all of her mother’s anger before she herself even processed it.

You’re the reason my daughter overworked herself down to the bone with study. You’re the reason she vanished for so many years. Because she thought she wasn’t good enough for you. She’s better. You–

Sunset blinked and immediately stepped in between them, letting go of her mother and all the anger she felt.

Raising her wings between them, she stopped them both on their tracks. “Mom, STOP. And Celestia, stop taking the bait. Can we all just breathe here? It’s supposed to be a party.” She cared a lot about both of them; But it was really hard to surpass the ego of a Queen, and least of all, the ego of someone who raised Sunset Shimmer.

Both the mothers looked away in embarrassment, trying to cool off their anger.

Gold Shimmer cleared his throat, knowing this would still be a long party. “Apologize, both of you. Please.”

The two mothers mumbled their own respective apologies.

Looking at her mother directly in the eyes, Sunset spoke plainly. “Mom. It’s not Celestia’s fault that I was banished, it was mine. It was my failure.”

Both of the mothers spoke in unison. “That’s not fair to you, Sunset! Hey stop copying me.”

“Down, both of you, please.” Gold quickly stated, resulting in them both crossing their arms and frowning. He continued, attempting to diffuse the situation. “Listen. What you can both agree on is that you love Sunset, right? Why don’t we just calm down and talk about something lighter?”

A brief moment of Silence, as both of them frowned in annoyance.

But Flare saw another chance, and she took it, nuzzling her husband lovingly. “Thank you Goldie, you always know just what to say. I love you.” Both of the other shimmers snickered, knowing full well how out of the ordinary it was to hear the word ‘Love’ from Flare’s mouth– It almost felt like it was a joke. They could immediately tell she was trying something; And Celestia was none the wiser.

“Speaking of which, Celie, how’s your love life doing?” Unfortunately for Celestia, she couldn’t tell she was once again being baited, choosing to believe Flare’s unassuming smile.

“Same as it ever was.” She looked away towards the party, not even considering that question for what it was.

The voice that Flare spoke with was dangerously close to condescending. “Oh, what a shame! A thousand years, and no reports of the Queen of the Sun ever being in love, it always surprised me, to be honest!” It took her all the energy she could have possibly mustered not to simply say ‘No bitches?’

Both Sunset and Gold facepalmed quietly.

And Celestia, almost flustering, scoffed and groaned. “Hey! I’ll have you know I've had more than a couple of flings over my years!” The word ‘flings’ was spoken in a way that implied that she was not good with any sort of slang; None of which inspired confidence in the truth behind her words.

All that Flare had to do was tilt her head and raise an eyebrow, with that same smile. And Celestia kept digging her own embarrassment grave. “I’ll have you know that I had a brief, yet passionate affair with an evil king from a mirror dimension! –H-he wasn’t evil then. He became evil after.”

The three Shimmers blinked in confusion. And Celestia stuttered, continuing. “The gate between our worlds shattered, and he was consumed by darkness.”

“That’s uhhhh… That’s a bummer, man.” For once, Flare was not making fun of her, this was her genuine reaction.

Fluttering her wings in frustration, Celestia refused to be made fun of; But unfortunately for her, it wasn’t hard. “And that’s not all! I also had a brief but very loving relationship with a Valkyrie, in the past!”

Grimacing with pity, Flare had to ask. “And then…?”

“...We didn’t get to do anything– She died.” Celestia facepalmed, realizing that she was setting herself up for even more embarrassment. Sunset regarded her with concern, wondering what did happen, all those centuries ago.

Flare sat back down, genuinely taken back, even if amused at the Queen's expense. “That’s just sad, man. No other way to put it.”

Once again, Celestia tried covering for herself, to little success. “W-well you can’t blame me– An Alicorn of my responsibilities, of my position, I simply have no time for things such as those. H-here, I’ll prove it! Sister! Come over here please!”

The Alicorn’s horn glowed almost akin to a lighthouse, beckoning attention, as she waved to her sister, on the other side of the party. Lots of heads turned and/or were blinded by it, groaning in annoyance, one pony even accidentally hit a wall, being surprised.

Quietly, Flare Shimmer whispered to her daughter, containing her laughter. “Why is she even hiding behind that excuse– You got married in less than half a decade of being an Alicorn!!!”

“Mom, stop bullying the Queen of the Sun, please.”

In the distance, Luna quickly took notice, flying there and taking a drink with her, having it float beside her; A glass of what could be wine, or fruit punch, for all they knew. “Greetings, Shimmers. Is my sister making a fool of herself again?”

“Am not.” Celestia quickly attempted to interject, moving on. “Flare here was giving me a bit of grief, you see–”

Nodding, Luna lowered her glass. “Oh, perhaps I can help, I have a suggestion.”

With ears flicking forward, Celestia leaned closer, hoping her sister would back her up; Maybe even, possibly, hopefully, help her roast Flare Shimmer back. “Yes?”

“Why don’t you, and hear me out here–” The Queen of the Night took a swig of her glass. “Why don’t you banish her to the moon?”

Even Sunset couldn’t help but snicker a bit at that one, joining the others in laughter. It was the rare occasion that Queen Luna ever cracked jokes, but on that comet-like rare instance, it was hilarious.

Blowing air from her nostrils, Celestia fell deeper in embarrassment, using her many thousands of years worth of patience training to remain as level-headed as possible, to questionable success. “We were just talking about romance and relationships, and I was explaining how Alicorns like us don’t have much of a chance to have such things!! Go on, tell them.”

“You don’t know everything I do, sister.” Luna stated plainly, covering her mouth with her glass, taking a swig.

Celestia’s eye twitched. She glared at her sister intently. “What do you mean by this. What do you mean?”

No response from her sister, who simply lowered her glass, and raised her eyebrow, with a sly smile.

“Okay that’s it. Where is my niece. She will sort this out.” Celestia immediately turned around and walked around the party with haste, shouting for Cadance leaving those four on their own devices.

Tilting her head, Luna shared a knowing smile with Flare. “See? No one gets on a sister’s nerves like a sister.”

“You're my man, Luna” they did a sort of awkward fistbump that only two old mares would do, but with hooves.

Rubbing his temples, Gold sighed. “Can you two stop embarrassing the Queen. Please. Honey, we are this close to causing a diplomatic incident with your jealousy fits.”

“I’m not jealous.” She lied. Naturally, her husband knew her well enough not to buy it.

Sunset nodded in agreement with her father. “It’s good to see you Luna; but Celestia was having a pretty good day before this– Can we dial it back?”

Luna took another swig, amused. “I will, once she stops making it this easy.”

“Hear hear.” Flare agreed quietly.

Blowing raspberries, Sunset rolled her eyes. “You two are so lucky Twilight isn’t here, the Princess of Friendship would chew you both up for this one.”

Giving her best pouty eyes, as part of the joke, Flare pleaded for her daughter. “Sweet little Mustard wouldn’t snitch on her mama, would she?”

Try as she might, Sunset couldn’t stop but snicker at her mom’s demeanor. “Whatever.”

They shared a brief moment of silence accentuated with laughter, taking in the atmosphere of the party. Sunset could see her friends in the distance, enjoying themselves in their own respective ways. Fluttershy’s bird choir was absolutely on point as usual; And Pinkie seemed to be doing another keg stand.

With her ears perked up and with a smile, Sunset remembered something good. “Oh! Mom! Guess what! I beat Queen Luna in a fight! Fair and square, too; It was just last month, in one of our training sessions!!”

Flare’s eyes lit up, with a proud smile, she traded looks with her daughter and the Queen. “Holy crap, I’m SO proud of you, Ketchup. is this true, Luna!?”

Luna hid her pride for her student and friend with her glass. “I suppose, statistically speaking, that you would win eventually, Sunset Shimmer.” She teased.

The entire demeanor of the Princess of Valor changed, as she got incredibly excited, smiling wildly. “OOooooHHhh Them’s FIGHTING words, Luna!! You wanna go again?? I’ll take you one here and now, I don’t care— I know all your moves, Nightwing!!”

Her excitement was certainly infectious. “And I won’t slip the same way again, Lightwing.” The Queen of the Night raised an daring eyebrow.

If there was something that brought Sunset Shimmer excitement, more than many other things, it was an invitation for a good fight. She was beaming.

Suppressing a chuckle, Gold tried intervening. “Kiddo, please don’t have an Alicorn fight on your own anniversary. I’m pretty sure Ponyville plaza couldn’t survive it.”

She pouted. “Awww but dad, the best parties are the ones where we beat the crap outta each other…!”

“Hear hear!” Her mother agreed with enthusiasm.

In a matter of seconds, Twilight teleported into the conversation, kissed her wife quickly, stated “no fighting.” and then teleported away, back into the party elsewhere.

Sunset’s demeanor changed completely once more, as she sat back down, with an dumb grin. “Welp! No fighting, then.” She obeyed implicitly.

Her mother let out a boo as a joke. And then, at long last, after a thorough search, Celestia returned to the conversation, with her niece, Cadance, the Princess of Love following behind; Who was quick to greet Sunset. “Hello again, my favorite Lovebird! Where’s your other bird?”

“You just missed her; Heya, Cadance!” Sunset let out a warm smile, pleased to see the Princess of Love again.

“Aww, bummer. I’m sure you two won’t keep your hooves off each other for long, so–” But she was interrupted, by Celestia grabbing her, lifting her, and pointing her like a gun towards Luna.

“Okay, dear niece; Scan her.” The Queen of the Sun commanded, and Luna didn’t even flinch, simply giving her glass another swig.

“Scan her what– What is going on here exactly?” Cadance raised an eyebrow, confused at why she was being held akin to a metal detector.

It was clear that Celestia’s patience was running thin. “My sister claimed she has had love affairs recently; And I strongly doubt the validity of that statement!!! Go on, tell me I'm right!”

And yet, with mere seconds of love magic inspection, Cadance turned to her aunt, with a grimace. “Well, um, then I wont say anything.”

Even just Celestia’s look of terror-filled surprise was enough to send Flare into a snickering fit.

Looking a bit closer, Cadance nodded in approvement. “If it makes you feel better, it was more of a affair than love; A handful of them, though– OOF” Her aunt dropped her on the ground.

“We speak of this no longer.” Celestia stated plainly, with a blank look, regarding her sister with what one could presume is rageful envy.

As soon as Flare’s laughing fit was done, she poked her daughter. “Yo, Mustard, the stage is clear, what say you and me go and shred for a bit? Wanna play your favorite?”

Despite the annoyance of her two mother figures fighting, she couldn’t help but be excited for this part; She didn’t have as much chance to play recreationally nowadays, and playing with her mother was even better. She materialized her own guitar from her horn. “Actually mom, I was thinking we could play your favorite?”

A genuine smile appeared on her mother’s face, as both of them brandished their guitars. “Coolest. Daughter. Ever.”

“YO PINKIE!” Sunset shouted, and seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkie materialized herself next to her; Which certainly would surprise most; But the Princess of Valor knew her too well for that. “HIYA Sunsun!! Hiya, miss Shimmer! Hiya mister Shimmer, Princess Cadance, Queen Luna and Queen Celestia! You rang?”

After the surprise of the Pink pony simply manifesting out of thin air, Flare gave her a confident smile; Pinkie was Flare’s favorite out of all of Sunset’s friends. “We sure did, Rockstar.”

And brandishing her guitar, Sunset gave her friend a knowing nod. “Me and my mom want to shred. You in?

Gasping with joy, Pinkie smiled hard. “YEAH YEAH LET'S GO!! Bye mister Shimmer bye Luna bye Celestia bye Cadance!!” The three of them ran out onto the stage.

“B-bye, then.” Celestia barely managed to mutter.

And right then Sunset turned around and waved properly. “Bye mom– I mean Celestia!”

Despite the wave of embarrassment she had been bathed in, the Queen of the Sun felt that be replaced with relief, the moment she heard that word, counting that as a small victory, and let out a quiet smile. Her gaze accompanied her oldest pupil getting on stage.

“You girls be wise, now!” Sunset’s father stated, before nodding a respectable goodbye to the three royals near him and leaving to find a comfortable spot in the crowd.

The three Alicorns idled for a little bit, each with their own level of awkwardness over the current events.

Luna was the first one to speak up, finishing her glass. “All in good fun, sister?”

The Queen of the Sun, an Alicorn who was over 1000 years old, was pouting. “Hmpf. Could you not be treasonous in front of Sunset, please? …I’m going to go look for Twilight.” She wandered off, trying to stave off the embarrassment she felt over the last few conversations.

Luna and Cadance appreciated a moment of silence, until the Princess of Love spoke up. “For the record? Good for you. I’m glad you’re putting yourself out there. Celestia could learn a thing or two from it. You and me? We gotta have a girls night sometime.”

Both of them exchanged snickers, knowing that the Queen of the Sun certainly would likely never want to join something of the sort.

---

With a giddy smile, Twilight sat at a good distance of the stage, waiting for her wife to start playing. Besides her, were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, praising the shy pegasus for having just finished her musical number with her bird friends.

“Tell your Wonderbolt friends that you can all start performing as soon as Sunset and her mom are done playing!”

With a wide grin, Rainbow’s eyes lit up. “Awww YEAH. Thanks, Twi!” She turned to her girlfriend. “Kiss for good luck, babe?”

What proceeded was not a kiss, but something a bit more passionate and fierce, as Fluttershy pulled her close and unleashed a long and passionate muzzle to muzzle display of affection, and once she let go, Rainbow looked as if she had been slapped, but to both of the other mare’s entertainment. “W-woah…! …Um!”

It was certainly a shock to see the shy Pegasus doing such a display. She sheepishly smiled. “What? I’m in a good mood…! Let’s go, Dashie. You’re gonna do great…!” They shared giddy nods, and flew away together. “Good luck!” The Princess of Friendship accentuated.

“What’s the next performance, darling?” Rarity questioned, as she joined Twilight at the table, with Applejack close behind her.

“Sunset’s playing with her mom and Pinkie– You two want to sit with me?”

With a mischievous giggle, Rarity winked at her love, who cleared her throat. “Um– No thanks, Twi, Me n’ Rares will find our own seats elsewhere!” Applejack stated, a bit flustered.

What she actually meant was that she and Rarity would find a comfortable place somewhere to makeout, regardless of the performance that would or wouldn’t be happening soon. And Twilight could obviously tell, knowing her friends well. She simply smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“See you later, Twilight. Let’s go, Applejack dear!” Rarity proclaimed, while grazing her tail alongside the Farmer’s flank and moving on.

“Bye Twi! Tell Sunset her playin’ was great!” Applejack followed close behind.

The Princess of Friendship simply sighed in delight, watching her friends walk away. The atmosphere of the party was so light– Everyone was having fun, especially her wife, and that’s what mattered most.

“Twilight.” Celestia stated plainly, sitting next to her.

“Hi, Queen Celestia! …So, everything went okay?”

“Hmm.”

“That bad, huh?”

She could see all over the Queen’s face that she had been thoroughly irritated. Without further ado, the curtains opened, And the Two Shimmers strummed their electric guitars loudly, while Pinkie accompanied them with drums, with an incredibly excited rhythm.

Twilight smiled widely, seeing her wife wink at her from the stage, as she got completely in the zone. She turned to Celestia, who was watching the show intently.

“Sooooo….. I take it bringing Luna into the conversation didn’t help?”

“Another casually treasonous display from my next of kin.”

“Surely it wasn’t that bad?”

“...She made fun of me.”

Twilight suppressed a giggle, knowing that despite her many years of experience, Celestia still had the same emotional fragility as even a normal pony would; regardless of all her grand qualities.

They both looked at the stage intently, where Sunset and her Mother shared a mic.

WHY WOULD I BE, STANDIN’ STILL

WHEN YOU GOT BLOOD THAT I NEED TO SPILL?

OHHH YEAAAH I’M LOOKIN’ FOR A THRIIIIIIL

I A M O V E R K I L L !!!!!!!!

And of course, Twilight couldn’t keep a loving grin out of her face, gushing at her mentor. “They play so well together, don’t they?”

“I’m not jealous.” She lied, poorly, observing the two of them be incredibly happy on their display.

Taking a moment to think of what to say, the Princess of Friendship got a little bit closer, giving her mentor a comforting bump. “You know she values having you back even more than you do, right? Trust me. I know.”

A brief moment of quiet, as Celestia stared forward quietly.

“You’re not gonna lose her. Not again, not ever. She loves you, and I do too.”

The Sun Alicorn couldn’t help but smile, hugging her pupil, appreciating her wisdom. “Thank you, Twilight. The student has become the teacher, I see!”

“Pff, give me a decade or two still, I’m not in a rush.” She stated, turning her gaze back to her love, who was continuing to shred, joyfully. “I don’t mind us taking our time.”

---

The sun lowered, and the party’s energy lowered with it, even with its still loving liveliness. The two wives sat together on a table, distant from the other party goers, enjoying eachothers company, flank to flank. They watched the wonderbolts flying above them, performing an encore of tricks on the afternoon sky.

The gleeful murmurs of happy ponies, their laughter and snickers and even music accentuated their conversation; And despite that, they felt like they were alone; Like there was no one in the world but them.

They sat, leaning on each other; And to Sunset, who could feel emotions, this was something she always delighted herself in doing. Despite she, herself, being the one learning to harness the Sun, Being able to feel her wife’s feelings on skin-to-skin contact felt akin to being sat next to a comfortable fireplace; A much fuzzier and cuter one, at that.

She let out a listless sigh, with a smile, and her wife took notice. “What are you thinking about?”

A sly smile appeared on Sunset’s lips. “Read my mind, Sparkles.”

Nuzzling her, The Princess of Friendship made a cute humming noise, as if she was actually casting some magic, which she was not. “You’re thinking About… how lucky you are.”

With a wide eyed snicker, Sunset nodded. “You know, that’s not actually that far from it. Good guess!”

“I learn from the best, hihi.” Her wife knew her well.

Only a brief moment of silence passed, before Sunset nodded and continued, a bit more seriously. “...Sometimes, I forget that this is all real. I feel so lucky to have all this, I just… It almost doesn’t feel like it’s true. It feels like it’s a dream. Like a daydream…?”

With a quiet nod and a smile, Twilight knew better than to simply allow her wife to feel insecure. She moved a strand of hair away from her Sunset’s eyes. “I know what you mean, But it’s real, my Sun. It’s real and it’s good; Everyday is a gift with you, and we’ll have a thousand years of this to look forward to…!”

Trying to make light of those feelings, Sunset nuzzled her. “You’re awfully poetic today, Sparkles.”

“What? I’m in a good mood…!” She smiled sweetly, nuzzling back.

A thousand years doesn’t feel like enough time loving you. An eternity might satiate me.

Yes. but if we cherish every second, it might be close to enough.

Close enough.

Close enough.

That resulted in Sunset getting even closer, with a loving smile. “Just sayin’, we don’t have to stop at a thousand…”

Even the suggestion sent a jolt of eager joy and excitement through The Princess of Friendship, and her wife felt it; As Twilight immediately said “And for the record, if this was a dream, I’d make it even better.” Her smile turned mischievous, and Sunset followed suit, getting even closer.

“Oh really? And how would you make it better, Sparkles?”

“Well for starters, i’d–”

A single firework sounded off, and both of their ears flicked back, Sunset turning her gaze away immediately, more aware.

With a groan, The Princess of Valor distanced herself from her wife only a little. “There isn't supposed to be any fireworks while the wonderbolts are flying– I better check out who’s making a misfire. I hope it’s not Pinkie…”

Twilight let out a small giggle. “Pff yes, I’m hoping our friendship reduces her pyrotechnic tendencies.”

“Cover me?”

“Of course, Sunsun.”

Sunset took off savagely into the sky, and Twilight easily held all the objects nearby down with her telekinesis, a maneuver they had both already rehearsed plenty of times.

Her flight was brief, and low. She kept her eye on the fireworks tent, wondering what had happened. Getting a bit closer, she could see a couple of ponies confused at the misfire.

She inspected the surrounding party for a little bit, mimicking the way Rainbow Dash would often scout Ponyville, ensuring all was well and okay.

She noticed something that did not raise much alarm at first. The gaze of the ponies around the firework tent led to a hooded figure, who was galloping away from the fireworks tent, and into the party, bumping into a bunch of other party guests, not exactly blending with the crowd.

The moment it raised an alarm was when Sunset saw the hooded figure glance back; Directly at her, and then continue moving forward… On the direction of her wife.

She didn’t waste time speculating, she simply flew down to be beside her wife, to take a better look at the suspect.

She landed, and Twilight could only state “Back already?” Before the magical impact happened.

The hooded figure shot some sort of strange magic blast towards Twilight, and yet, Sunset was in front of her, taking the whole hit.

She got thrown back, crashing against the table they were sitting by, much to both their shocks.

The Princess of Friendship inspected her wife thoroughly, relieved to find no wounds, and see her well awake, and managing to stand.

The hooded figure loudly and gleefully professed his victory. “A-HA! Gotcha! I, Hermes, finally have achieved my ultimate vengeance!!! You shall wander forever, Twilight Sparkle!!!” The crown-like halo machine around his horn fizzled and sputtered smoke, seemingly malfunctioning from having fired once.

“What’s the big idea, asshole?!” Sunset snarled, getting up and staring him down; Ready to tackle him.

But besides her, Twilight’s eyes widened with concern; To something that her wife did not notice.

There was a magical glow enveloping her.

“Sunset…?!”

The Princess of valor started levitating, and not by her own choice; As a strange magic swirled around her; And she herself was very confused and shocked; Not being able to do anything about it.

That panic increased even more when her limbs started fading.

Hermes, from the corner, fidgeted in surprise. “U-um, uh oh, I missed.”

Bit by bit her body seemingly vanished, and she had no idea what was happening or what she was feeling; And the rest of the party gathered around slowly, utterly concerned, having no idea what was happening.

Sunset did the last thing she could do. “I don't know what's going on– I love you, okay? I love you!! I love you so much–”

And then, she faded, like she was never even there.

Twilight watched in staggered grief, as the few sparks that remained turned to air, right where her wife was, merely moments ago.

It was as if the light of the Sun itself dimmed.

Celestia ran over, having felt it; As well as all their friends and family.

In the corner, Hermes started panicking, considering a getaway, fidgeting with the device atop his head. “C’mon, reload, reload, reload…”

Twilight’s gaze turned from grief to rage, as it moved to the cowardly Unicorn fidgeting with whatever that device was.

The air itself got electrified, as her eyes glowed; With her magic, she intensified the gravity on him, and then dragged him across the floor closer to her, crashing on several chairs and tables along the way, then bringing him to eye level, incapacitating him entirely.

Objects around them started floating erratically, as the Princess's rage could be seen generating sparks around them. Hermes whimpered, as he felt as if his entire body was pressing in on itself, his bones risking being crumbled to dust at any moment.

With a snarl, The Princess flipped him upside down, nullifying his magic with her own, looking eye to eye, tears bubbling in her eyes, but rage, endless rage, being her primary drive.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY WIFE.”

---

Sunset Shimmer rematerialized, collapsing on a cold stone floor, And immediately let out a sigh of relief, as she patted herself, lifting hooves and raising wings, checking for wounds, being glad to find none. “I’m alive! Oh thank goodness I'm alive, I'm alive…!”

Letting out a huge shuddered exhale, she looked around, in confusion.

She was in some sort of jail cell, in fact, it looked like it was Canterlot prison.

“Twilight?! I’m here, Twi–”

She stopped, after turning around, eyes widened.

Before her, stood another pony, an Unicorn, one that was very familiar. After all… It was her.

Sunset Shimmer, dressed in a prisoner garment, with her horn bound, stared right at the Alicorn version of her that just dropped from nowhere, looking at her in immense confusion and disbelief.

They both spoke in unison.

“What the fuck are you?!”

---

Author's Note:

Into the multiverse we go.

Art I made of Celestia, Flare, and Gold. I think its comical that Flare, being just an Earth Pony, can still get on her nerves, heheh.

So one thing I should probably clarify, I was going to put the "OC" Tag on this story not just because of Sunset Shimmer's parents, 'cause since there will be a lot of universes, some characters might be original here and there; Not to mention my own additions to the world, like the concept of the Valkyries, which will be explored more as time goes! (Specially through Sunset's combat prowess) Though I realized it made more sense to have "Mane 6" in the protag character tag.

Also regarding Flare and Gold-- I know a lot of people prefer to write Sunset Shimmer to be an orphan, and honestly, I don't mind that in the slightest, it's certainly compelling, but few people that do that ever actually go all in, explore her mommy issues with Celestia, and her insecurities regarding having failed the only mother figure she ever had, and whats more, exploring her desire of maybe being with Celestia again! All of those are compelling and interesting, but I rarely see writers go all in (like girl. are you just gonna stay in the human world paying taxes and never try to see your mom again?)

Either way. I had a pretty good idea regarding what kind of parents would have made Sunset "End up" the way she was, (stubborn hard headed punk that feels entitled to be the best) And realized there was a wonderful opportunity to craft a mother figure to be Celestia's rival in a very entertaining way. So forgive me for indulging in original characters but I'm having fun with them, heheh. Don't worry, they'll show up in the story again. And the mom fights will return.

Also regarding Celestia and Luna-- I kinda beefed them um big time (I don't like how wimpy they are in canon) even promoted them to Queens in this universe, since there now is a princess of the sun and one of the moon, (Twilight and Sunset) But above all, I took big inspo with their fun relationship in the comics, where they are a bit more goofy. I hope y'all enjoyed it!

Also, the song that Sunset and Flare sing is one called "For the kill" Which plays on the end credits of the movie Hardcore Henry, by far the dumbest yet funnest action movie ever made, heheheh. And The tone and lyrics of the song might be very descriptive of some of the future chapters.

Worth stating, the fic will not exactly be serialized, not every chapter will lead directly to another, meaning that sometimes there will be no connection or lead up, I'll simply throw you, the reader, and Sunset, into a new problem, but don't worry. I already planned out everything, beginning, middle, end, and every single chapter. And besides, not all chapters will follow Sunset's adventure.

Time to take the plunge! And meet some more Sunsets.

Comments

[Box-Corner]

I can just imagine Flare with the world's smuggest grin thinking:

"go ahead sunbutt, regale me all those wonderful things you have done for her, I can think of 9 months* that can put those into perspective"

_{*disclaimer-I don't know how long it is for horses}

[Ri2]

Oh my god I LOVE SUNSET'S MOM

[Ri2]

11901820
11 months I think