At the moment, Celestia realized she had two choices. Either she could slam the door in Sunset’s face, or she could act like she had no idea what the girl was talking about…and then slam the door in her face. Celestia decided to go with the third option.
She sighed slightly and gave her former student a small smile. “Yes it has my former student…I have to know was I really that obvious?”
Sunset smirked slightly. “Well, to be honest…I kind of cheated. I may have gained a few abilities since coming here. You sounded a bit nervous when you first saw me.”
Celestia froze slightly. Telepathy? That was a rare trait among unicorns. But now it made sense. “I see… well I shouldn’t be too surprised considering-” The wind was suddenly knocked out of her as she felt Sunset almost slam into her. It took her a moment to realize that the girl was hugging her. “Oh…um…”
“I know…this is awkward isn’t it?” Sunset asked.
“Well…I didn’t imagine we’d meet under these circumstances,” Celestia sighed. “You might as well come in so we can explain ourselves.”
Sunset pulled away for a moment. “Wait a minute…you mean it’s you and…?” Celestia just smiled as she led her inside.
“Who’s at the door sister?” Luna peered around the corner near the kitchen and saw the two of them. “Oh…she found out didn’t she?”
“It would seem so,” Celestia said. “Sunset, I don’t believe you two have properly met.”
Sunset couldn’t believe it. “So that’s really-”
“Yes.”
Sunset bowed rather clumsily. “I-It’s an honor to finally meet you Your Majesty.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Luna said with a smile. “As far as we’re concerned, I am merely a Vice-Principal of Canterlot High, nothing more. It is a pleasure to finally meet you as well Sunset Shimmer. Celestia always spoke highly of you and I hope she did the same while I was…absent.”
“Oh uh…”
“…Your hesitation is disturbing…”
“N-No she said nothing bad!” Sunset said quickly but then she saw that Luna was smirking. “Oh…you were messing with me. Speaking of which, where are Principal Celestia and Luna?”
“I think we should sit down before we get into that story,” Celestia said as the three of them sat down on the large couch. “As it turns out, apparently this world’s Luna wanted to…see what was on the other side.”
“Seriously?” Sunset asked. “I didn’t think they’d care for that.”
“I’m surprised my counterpart even agreed to it,” Celestia said. “Needless to say, they apparently made it to Equestria in one piece.”
“Let me guess…they ended up in Ponyville?”
“Oh yes.”
“Did Twilight freak out?”
“Indeed,” Luna replied. “My sister felt it was necessary to come at once, much to her dismay.”
Sunset snorted. That sounded like Twilight alright. “And you decided to come here?”
“We figured it was an opportunity to understand each other’s worlds better,” Celestia said. “I…wasn’t anticipating running into you and when I did I became…worried.”
“You thought I’d think you were here to take me away?” Sunset guessed.
“How did she-?” Luna began.
“She’s telepathic now sister.”
“Seriously?” Luna’s eyes widened. “But that’s…it’s a very rare talent even amongst the greatest of mages.”
“Well, it’s not just telepathy,” Sunset said. “When I touch people…I can see into their memories.”
The two sisters looked stunned. “This is incredible,” Celestia said. “Wait…before…did you-?”
“Oh no, I didn’t,” Sunset said quickly. “I can control it a little better now. I probably should explain but I’ll give you all the condensed version: we found a cave that contained these small geodes and I’m guessing they harness the same power as the Elements.”
“Interesting,” Luna pondered. “Was this…in the Everfree Forest by chance?”
“Yeah, just like in…” Sunset went quiet for a moment trying to process everything.
“It seems the Elements’ reach extends that of Equestria,” Celestia concluded. “And it would seem here that Sunset herself has become an Element…but of what I wonder?”
“They didn’t have a sign so I have no idea,” Sunset said.
“Well, I’m going to head to my room, I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about,” Luna said as she got up and left the room.
It was silent for a few moments. “So um…how is Twilight?” Sunset asked.
“She’s doing well, all things considered,” Celestia said. “She came to a crossroads just recently when it came to her own student.”
“Oh that’s right, she mentioned that before,” Sunset said. “So uh…are you planning on taking another student?”
“Hmm…that’s an idea I’ve pondered for awhile now actually,” Celestia said, a finger to her chin. She then smirked slightly. “You wouldn’t possibly be asking for me to be your teacher again are you?”
“W-What no!” Sunset almost yelled. “I mean, no I didn’t think about it because…well…I kind of blew it the last time.” She sighed slightly. “You know…ever since Twilight got me back on the right path I’ve…felt terrible about what I did and what I said. I really took your teachings and wisdom for granted. I’m so sorry…”
“Honestly, I feel we’re both to blame,” Celestia said as she put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. "When I saw that you were striving to be better I admit I…saw a bit of my sister in you and as such I became more controlling, even when I told myself I should’ve been more open-minded. If I had only just talked to you instead of prohibiting you things could’ve been…different.”
Sunset suddenly chuckled. “You know…for awhile I always did think what would’ve happened if I had stayed as your pupil. Maybe I would’ve been a princess after all, maybe not…but after everything Twilight did for me, I realize know I probably couldn’t have done half the things she accomplished so…maybe this was supposed to happen.”
Celestia smiled. “I think it also shows me that not even I can teach someone everything…”
“So um…are we okay now?” Sunset asked.
“I think so,” Celestia smiled as the two shared another hug. “And for the record, there was never a time where I was going to come in and snatch you away.”
Sunset grinned. “I know…that wasn’t your style anyway. So…how long are you two going to be here?”
“I told those two we’d return before sunfall,” Celestia said. She looked at the clock and saw it was only after eleven. “Hmm…it almost feels like time here goes much slower…”
“Well…that would give us some time to catch up right?” Sunset asked.
“Indeed, especially since the cat is out of the bag.”
“I just can’t believe you’re letting those two run Equestria.”
“It was an off day…besides we pretty much showed them the basics of magic use. It shouldn’t be an issue.”
“There’s just one other thing that’s bugging me,” Sunset pondered.
“What’s that?”
“How the heck did you two drive back here from the school?”
Meanwhile at the school, what was left of the statue outside of Canterlot High stood quiet as time passed. The portal suddenly started to ripple and it turned a red color. The rippling started to increase more and more, a sign that something was coming through. The light grew brighter and brighter until someone finally came through.
“-yooooouuuuuuuuu Summmmeeerrrrrsssssss-!” the woman screamed until she suddenly hit the ground hard. Groaning slightly, the woman looked around slightly before getting to her feet. “…This isn’t Maretropolis.”
The woman wore mostly purple, purple slacks and a purple jacket which contrasted with her green exotic-looking hair. She looked around and realized the area was completely foreign to her. “I see Matterhorn…you thought you could get rid of me by banishing me to another dimension.” The woman started to chuckle which soon broke down into hysterical laughter. “You fools! By ridding me you’ve doomed this entire world! But I suppose I should be thankful. Now then…there’s much to be done! Ahahaha!” The woman laughed as she ran out of the parking lot towards downtown Canterlot.
For the next half hour, Celestia and Sunset conversed about what had been going in Equestria and this world as well. Celestia had been very impressed by what she had seen so far, especially with technology. Sunset couldn’t believe her former teacher was able to teach herself to drive a car so easily.
“Well when you’ve been the princess of Equestria so many generations,” Celestia said somewhat smugly. “You tend to pick up on things rather easily.”
“Uh-huh…so how’s that phone treating you?”
“…I’m working on it…”
Sunset then decided perhaps it was time to get to know the Princess of Night herself. Of course, she brought nothing up about Nightmare Moon and neither did Luna, but then again she was slightly distracted at the moment.
“Are you kidding me!? You own all this!?” Sunset exclaimed as she stared around Luna’s room.
“Well, technically it’s Vice-Principal Luna’s but she never said I couldn’t play.”
“Wait…what’s your username?”
“TheDarKnight1000.”
“No way…I’ve been playing with Luna all this time and she never told me!?”
“Her collection is quite impressive I must say. Now then Sunset Shimmer, as Princess of Equestria, I offer you a challenge…if you can best me in this challenge I promise I will make sure all of Equestria will remember your name: Sunset Shimmer, heroine of worlds!”
Sunset grinned devilishly. “I accept your challenge Princess.”
“Then let us begin!”
Celestia helped herself to the fridge as she looked for something to eat. Truthfully, she really did crave a croissant at the café and wished she had just stayed and got it. She looked through and saw there was a large jug of orange juice inside and poured herself a glass. “I’ll pay her back…eventually.” She then saw inside that there was a large chocolate cake, a triple-decker by her guess and it was covered in chocolate icing and Oreo cookies.
Celestia found herself drooling already. “Oh come to mama you sweet thing…” She wasn’t going to eat the whole thing but she did cut herself quite the hefty piece. “Again, I’ll pay her back.”
The first bite was heavenly and she felt like her entire body was going to melt. “I haven’t tasted anything this amazing since…when was that sweet convention?”
She took another bite and wondered what Luna and Sunset were up to. Knowing Sunset, she was probably star-stuck that she got to meet Luna. Luna had that effect on others. She went over to Luna’s room, the door open this time and as she peeked inside she saw a scene she’d never forget.
“You’re going down Princess of the Night!” Sunset yelled as she wore a similar headset to Luna’s, the gameplay on the television showing explosions and carnage.
“Ah, you’re a worthy challenger Sunset Shimmer!” Luna yelled in return. “But there’s so much I can still teach you!”
Celestia just stared at the pair as they continued their game, laughing at one another and cheering when one of them got killed. She then slipped out of the room and went back to the kitchen shaking her head. “Maybe she would’ve done better as Luna’s student,” she wondered. She couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Now that would’ve been a nightmare…”