Canterlot Castle
June 12th, Year 1 under the Four Princesses
For many inhabitants of Equestria, summer was the best time of the year. Aside from the constant enjoyable sunshine and the sense of togetherness it brought with everypony outside, it also marked the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. In just over a weeks time, ponies from every corner of Equestria would pay tribute to Princess Celestia's success in defending them from the threat of Nightmare Moon. Of course, very few of them knew the truth of what really happened back then, or what this particular celebration really marked. It had been a year since the mare in the moon had returned in an attempt to shroud the world in eternal night, only to be stopped and redeemed through the power of the Elements of Harmony. Thanks to them, this year's celebration truely marked the return of Equestria's co-ruler, Princess Luna.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without Celestia's personal protégé, Twilight Sparkle. In just the last twelve months she had been a significant figure in saving Equestria three times, become the Element of Magic and made countless leaps forward in her studies. It had all culminated in a final test four months ago where she had ultimately created a new type of magic and proven herself capable enough to ascend to alicornhood, a feat so significant that Equestrian chroniclers were debating it marking the beginning of a whole new era in Equestrian history. Of course, all this could be found in any fresh history book, there were still things to be settled in the aftermath that most ponies wouldn't even think about. Like who would be next to become the princesses' student.
Princess Celestia had thought about that last point a lot ever since Princess Twilight's coronation. Most of her free time had been spent studying lists of current students here at the school that bore her name, travelling Equestria to find those had done good, or simply observing her subjects as they passed. All looking for somepony with the right combination of skill and knowledge, drive, personality and that little extra bit of potential that crossed the line from making a difference to changing the world. Her step was lighter than it had been in some time, her heart looking forward to this new challenge. She may have mentored dozens, if not hundreds of ponies in her time, but each one was a new experience that she undeniably enjoyed every single time.
As she made her way to the highest point in Canterlot Castle, a viewing point that could see across almost all of central Equestria, Celestia reflected that her forward looking attitude might come across as slightly callous, that she was forgetting her previous students quickly. She knew that each of them had progressed enough that they could do their parts without her guidance anymore. Indeed, of her previous three students, World Walker was successfully bringing down barriers of misunderstanding and ill will that had stood between Equestria and Yakyakistan for over twenty two hundred years and both Cadance and Twilight Sparkle had become princesses themselves. All three of them were doing their parts, now she hoped to give another the chance to do the same.
Stepping off the stairs that led to the viewing platform and looking out over the plains and forests that sprawled out in every direction, broken up by the occasional farming village or town, Celestia took a moment to appreciate the beautiful view before stepping into the center of the platform and focusing. The only sound up here was the wind and she had made express instructions not to be disturbed up there, this was a task she had honed to perfection over centuries and the peaceful, sunny atmosphere was perfect. Her wings spread to their full width either side and her horn lit up in its familiar yellow glow. After several seconds a small, cherry sized orb of her magic separated from the rest and hovered in front of her. She took off at a slow hover, simply resting perfectly aligned between the floor and roof. As she did so the orb burst into thousands of tiny specks, each one slowly moving around her in an spherical formation.
Celestia closed her eyes and relaxed, letting each little orb pass in front of her. Each one represented a potential candidate to be her next pupil, ponies of all ages, genders, homes and backgrounds. She believed each of them capable and if she could, she would take all of them on. After what had happened with Torrent and Mirage Slip though, she knew that taking on more than one was inadvisable. She had also learned not to try and force a selection from that time. She no longer knew what to look for exactly when finding a new student, just that she would know when they'd been found. As if on cue, one of the orbs currently floating over her back glowed brighter and she smiled in response.
All the other specks of magic returned to her horn and she brought the bright one before her to study it. That speck contained all she knew on that particular pony, a filly who studied at the school of magic here in Canterlot. She smiled more and landed, folding her wings in as the last orb of magic returned to her. The decision had been completed. Now, she knew as she began to descend the stairs back into the castle, the arrangements had to be made.
Two days later.
"We, haven't told her what's about to happen, your highness. She always did like surprises."
Celestia smiled slightly at those words and looked down at the earth stallion those words had come from. His name was Cipher, a member of the royal guard's intelligence unit and father to the lucky filly. Azure blue with a light grey mane and tail, crimson eyes and a coded sheet cutie mark, he had a reputation for efficiency and a knack for taking on the most difficult tasks. Right now the two of them were walking through one of the many hallways that made up Celestia's School of Magic, lined on either side by records of achievement by some of the establishment's younger prodigies.
"I imagine she will appreciate the effort." Celestia replied, smiling more at the relieved expression it got out of Cipher. She'd always thought that if she had to step down and find a new life, it would involve making ponies as happy as possible.
The two of them stopped outside a classroom door, both of them knowing what was waiting on the other side. Cipher stepped aside to let Celestia through first, to which she graciously nodded and opened the door with her magic. The room beyond was standard for practical magic classes, though since lessons had already finished for the day it was deserted aside from two ponies. On the left was a unicorn mare, vermilion coloured with a golden mane, emerald eyes behind a pair of frameless glasses and a crib cutie mark. On the right, a unicorn filly, no more than five or six years old, amber coated with a two-tone red and yellow mane, cyan eyes and no cutie mark yet. As the princess stepped into the room, the filly gave a squeak of happiness and darted straight toward her.
"Now, Sunset Shimmer, that's not how you behave toward a princess." The mare said quickly but softly, holding the filly back with her light green magic and bowing. Celestia stood there for a moment before waving her hoof in a good-natured dismissal.
"It's alright, I imagine meeting a princess up close is quite the experience for a filly." She said happily, crouching down to let Sunset get a look at her up close. The filly trotted closer, eyes filled with awe.
"Oh, yes miss Celestia! This is amazing!"
"Told you she'd like it this way, Bright Carrier." Cipher commented as he stepped over to his wife, nuzzling her softly as they watched Sunset place a hoof on Celestia's nose. The princess chuckled and booped Sunset's nose in response, getting a happy giggle out of it from the youngster.
"You are just adorable. I bet somepony as cute as you could pass any test by smiling nicely at your teacher."
"Actually, no," Sunset stepped back with a new look of building determination in her eyes. "I work for it, try everything. I can pass any test miss teacher gives me. Miss Celestia, could you use your powers to help me find more to learn?"
Celestia watched the filly, mentally taking notes on her stance, tone of voice, eye focus and magic primed in her horn. It all seemed to match up with what had been in her file, incredible potential, everything she hoped for in a student, but also headstrong, ambitious and focused on learning absolutely anything put in front of her. Tempering those traits would be a lot of work, but she had worked with ponies like this in the past and every new student provided something new. She learned just as much from them, methods and nuances that helped her to be a better mentor. For now she stood back up and watched Sunset with a gentle look.
"That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about. Did your parents tell you anything about it?"
"No," Sunset sounded a little disappointed at that, looking over at her parents. "Daddy said that it was a secret. He's good with secrets, I like them too."
"Well in that case, how about what we say here is kept as our little secret? Nopony beyond those in this room will know."
"Yay!" Sunset cheered, her youthful enthusiasm returning in a flash as she skipped round her parents' legs. "What's our secret? What's our secret?"
"Our secret," Bright Carrier said as she scooped her daughter up in her hooves. "Is that the princess was already planning to help you find so much more to learn."
"Really?" Sunset's voice went high pitched in excitement as she looked over at Celestia, eyes widening in hope and anticipation.
"Really really," Celestia replied. "From the start of your next term, I'd like to take you on as my personal student here at the school. You'd be learning some of the most advanced magic possible for a filly your age and even more as you grow up. You'll be like the Twilight Sparkle of your generation, as our secret of course."
"That, sounds, AMAZING!" Sunset cheered, giddy with glee as she dropped back to the floor and started bounding around the room in unrestrained excitement.
Celestia couldn't help but giggle at the sight at the filly practically rebounding off the walls in her joy. She'd had a lot of students who had reacted similarly to the news over the years. Rising Charge, Serendipity, Positron, Sky Pulse and Twilight Sparkle all came to mind and already she was mentally adding Sunset Shimmer to the list. All the same, she couldn't let her guard down just because she had a student eager to start. Every new student brought unique challenges and even after millennia she knew that there was no guarantee that either she or her student would succeed in their roles. For every Meadowbrook, there had been an Alect, for every Twilight Sparkle, a Cosmic Eye...Or as the world remembered him...
She shook the thought from her mind as quickly as it had appeared, the last thing she needed right now was to sour the moment with bad memories. Focusing on the now was more important and right now, that involved preparing for her next faithful student. Sunset Shimmer was starting to calm down now, if gushing to her parents about this opportunity could be considered such. Cipher ruffled her mane gently and looked back up at the princess, wearing the kind of smile that any proud father would recognise.
"Thank you for giving her this chance, your highness." He said happily. Celestia simply nodded, her smile perhaps a little more forced than it had been before.
"I'm look forward to it just as much as she is."