A Lunar Sunset

by ed-stoneman


2 - The Agreement

Sunset roared into the parking lot at CHS and pulled into a spot next to a pale yellow scooter.  Fluttershy was just removing her shockingly pink helmet and jumped at the roar of the Mustang’s engine.  As her boots hit the ground, Sunset smiled at her quiet friend.

“Oh! Hello Sunset Shimmer!” Fluttershy nearly whispered.  She made sure to keep a healthy distance away from the terrifying car.  A small white head popped out of Fluttershy’s backpack and glared at the flame-haired girl.

“Good morning Fluttershy! Hello Angel!” Sunset grinned, and gestured at the scooter “New scooter?”

“Oh, yes.  I saved up all of my money from working at the animal shelter and bought it yesterday.  I just think it’s so cute, and really I don’t need anything too flashy.  N-not that flashy is bad by any means.  It’s just that, um, it’s not really for me.” Fluttershy was becoming flustered as she tried to explain her comment away.

Sunset laughed. “I know you well enough to know that you didn’t mean anything by it Fluttershy.  Besides, I happen to LIKE a bit flash to my ride.” She tipped a wink and a grin to the pink haired girl who relaxed slightly.  The bunny rolled its eyes.

“Good morning girls.  I trust your summer went well?” Sunset and Fluttershy both jumped, neither one  had heard Luna walk up behind them.

“Oh! Vice-Principal Luna.  Y-yes, it was wonderful.” Fluttershy stammered.

“I see that you have a new scooter Fluttershy.  I do quite approve of the environmentally friendly approach.”  Luna smiled at the girl.

“Sunset Shimmer, would you please come to my office once school begins?  I would like to go over a few things with you.  I have already taken the liberty of excusing you from your first several classes, as I expect this may take some time.”

“O-of course.  Is everything okay?” Sunset was terrified.  She didn’t think that another crazy event was due to happen for a while yet.  She hoped that it would be a long while at that.

“Yes, everything is fine, I just wanted to review a few things with you, and see if you can shed some light on them for me.  I will see you shortly.”  Luna walked away without a backward glance.

“Was everything quite alright, darling?  Did Vice-Principal Luna need something?”  Rarity walked up to the two girls with concern showing in her face.  Applejack and Pinkie Pie were right behind the fashionista.

“To be honest, I am not quite sure Rarity…” Sunset let the end of the statement trail off

“She asked to see Sunset in her office during first period, and that it may take a while.” Fluttershy filled in the only blank that she could.  “She said that she wanted Sunsets opinion on something.”

“Ohhhhh maybe she has a secret crush on Sunset Shimmer and she wants to have coffee and talk about magic and friendship and eat cakes and is on a super secret mission to know everything there is to know about anything and get rid of the sun and loud cars and snuggle and get all dressed up and go out to fancy places…”

“PINKIE!” Applejack shouted interrupting the tirade of the Pink Party Person.  “Ah’m sure that y’all are just bein’ silly and letting your imagination run wild there.”

“Oh, well, that could be the case too.  But I like my idea better.” Pinkie grinned and started to skip away from the group toward her first class.

“Ah don’t know where she gets those crazy ideas sometimes.  Sometimes ah wonder if she has frostin’ between her ears.  Class is ‘bout ta start, and I suggest that we all get to gettin’ and worry about Vice-Principal Luna later.  Not that ah think there is anythin’ to worry about.”

All of the girls nodded and said their goodbyes. As Sunset walked toward Vice-Principal Luna’s office.

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Luna sighed as she walked away from the parking lot.  She noticed that she was sighing far more often, and generally when she thought about this particular assignment from her sister.  The last thing in the world that Luna wanted to do was dig into more of this magic business.  If she had her way, she would have just closed the book on the whole mess, and left it at that.  But Celestia was a curious sort, and couldn’t leave well enough alone.

That thought found Luna stepping into the dimness of her office and pressing the button to start her coffee maker.  The appliance in her office clashed terribly with the sedate colors.  It was an office-warming present from Celestia, who thought that she was was truly worthy of the comic stage.  The coffee maker had been set with her “Best Vice-Principal” mug, but while the mug itself was a lovely shade of blue, the coffee maker was distinctly garish in shining white and gold.  Celestia laughed herself silly when Luna had put together the intent.  While she may be the Vice-Principal, it was Celestia who was in charge, just as the coffee filled the cup.  Luna took the mug home, but left the hideous coffee maker in her office, simply for the fact that she refused to have it in her kitchen.

A knock at the door interrupted her thought. “Come in.” she said, loud enough to be heard through the door.

Sunset Shimmer opened the door, obviously a little intimidated, and stepped into the dimly lit office.

“Close the door please.  Would you care for some coffee, I’ve just made a fresh pot.”

Sunset’s eyes went wide.  “Yes please, that would be wonderful.”

Luna nodded and gestured to the small sofa at the side of her office, indicating that Sunset should take a seat.  Given what they were going to be going over, she wanted to put Sunset as far at ease as she could.

“Cream or sugar?”

“No, thank you.  I’m a black coffee kind of girl.”

Luna grinned to herself.  Common ground was a good place to start.

“I also take my coffee black.  I do hope that you enjoy it strong.”  Luna implied the question as more of a challenge.

Sunset rose to the bait.

“Is there any other way?”

“Certainly not, Ms. Shimmer.  I think that we are quite in agreement on that point.  Please do relax, I would like to keep this as informal as possible.”  Luna passed Sunset a plain blue mug and sat down in the chair across from the girl, relaxing into the cushions.

“Vice-Principal Luna, if you don’t mind me asking, I’m sort of confused on why I am here.”  Sunset sipped her coffee and nodded to herself.  The older woman had good taste, for a school administrator.

“Please, let’s drop the formality in here Sunset.  Just Luna if you would be so kind.  Now, as to why we are here - the short answer is that my sister can’t leave well enough alone, and has delegated to me the task of finding out what all of this magic nonsense is about.”

The teen was shocked at the bluntness coming from Luna.

“You don’t sound excited at that.  I would think that as a teacher, you would be chomping at the bit to learn something new.”
“Let me explain my background to you Sunset.  I was an English teacher.  I dealt with other people's ideas AFTER they had finished with them.  I enjoy the written word.  I am by no means a scientist, nor am I a researcher.  But Celestia has tasked me with this, and now here we are.  If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be prying into your private affairs, but answers must be produced in order to maintain the safety of the student body, and at the center of each of those questions, you stand like a beacon in the night.”

Sunset was dumbfounded.  She had never found someone so bluntly spoken.  Not even Applejack was this clear in her opinions.

“All of that being said, Sunset.  If you would, I am asking for your help in this.  Not only to get the answers that my sister is looking for, but also to maybe bring a little bit of peace back to the school.”

“Wow Vic…. Luna.  I suppose I could help.  But I don’t really know much about it myself.  To be fair, the other Twilight might be the right person to talk to about all of this.  She was there too, and she knows WAY more about magic than I do.”

“That’s as may be Sunset, but having the Twilight Sparkle from the other world here is an exercise in luck at the best of times.  We don’t have a way to have here here in a time that is convenient, nor do I think that she is as involved in this as you may be.  Between the Friendship Games, as well as the issues this past summer at Camp Everfree, you remain the only constant across all instances.”

Sunset held her coffee close, and bowed her head.  Everything that Luna had said was true.  Twilight from Equestria wasn’t really involved in the last couple of issues.  Sinking further into the sofa, Sunset resigned herself to the fact that she was the issue, and that helping Luna was best for everyone.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Wonderful.  I do appreciate your help Sunset.  While I may not enjoy the thought of doing this, knowing that we are not going to be at odds over this makes it immensely easier.  Now, as to the times we can discuss this.  I would rather we didn’t have to detract from your classes as I noticed that you are taking quite the impressive course load.  Would you prefer that we meet after school?  Being that you are coming into this willingly, I would like to minimize the inconvenience to you as much as possible.”

Pinkie’s voice echoed inside of Sunset’s head.  The hyperactive girl was partially accurate in her tirade from earlier.  SUnset was thankful it was not brightly lit in the office, as a blush crept up her neck.

“Uh, if we are going to be digging into magic, I do have a library on the subject at my house.  It may help us get to the bottom of this, if you are okay with that?  Some of the books are kind of rare, and some are from Equestria, so they may offer different things to look into.”

“You had me at ‘Library’ Sunset.  If you would be willing, I would like to schedule time this Saturday.  Would later in the day work for you?  I am not much of a morning person.”

The student laughed.  “I would happily prefer later in the day.”

Luna breathed an internal sigh of relief.  She managed to avoid the early mornings on this extra project.

“Wonderful, I will see you on Saturday then.  Oh, and Sunset, one more thing if we could please?”

Sunset stopped with her hand on the door, ready to open it.  She raised her eyebrows at Luna.

“I understand that you are close with the other girls, but for the time being, I would ask that there be some discretion shown with this.”

“Of course… Vice-Principal Luna.”  Sunset smiled as she closed the door behind her.