//------------------------------// // The Past Is Not Today // Story: Sunset's Redemption // by ThomasZoey3000 //------------------------------// Chapter 4: The Past Is Not Today As the reporter left the school, Moon Crest arrived at the castle with the Wood statue on his back. He had made it there safely without a single incident, which was surprising cause today he had only one thing on his mind. Or rather, he had one pony on his mind, and that was Sunset Shimmer. He could only imagine how rough it would be for Sunset to seek redemption from the ponies she had hurt back in her younger days. "She'll never recieve it, not from them, or the one she hurt the most," he thought to himself. "Uh, may I help you Sir?" asked a guard. Moon Crest snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. He had been going the wrong way and a guard had noticed this, "sorry, I guess I was daydreaming. I'm fine though," and with that, he set off for the main throne room. Princess Celestia was pleased to see him, "hello Moon Crest, I trust the little surprise is ready for my sister?" "Indeed it is Princess." Using his magic, he lowered the statue onto the floor gently, then pulled away the clothe covering it. Celestia smiled at the wood statue carving that looked just like her sister; Princess Luna. "I hope I captured her perfectly." The Princess looked the carving over several times, then gave a happy nod. "I knew you were the right pony for the job Moon Crest, well done." "Thank you very much Princess, it was a great honor to do this for you and Princess Luna. I just hope she likes the carving." He bowed to show respect, then turned to leave. "Moon Crest!" He stopped and looked back to the Princess of the Sun, "please tell your wife and daughter that I said hello." "I will," he nodded and walked away. As he left though, Princess Celestia could tell all was not well with Moon Crest. It seemed to her that he had alot on his mind, "I do hope he will be okay," she thought to herself. Sunset, Sunny Rays and her friends were finally returning back to the Shimmer family house after a long day of walking around Canterlot. They had run into three other ponies, all of which had real grudges aganist Sunset Shimmer for what she did to them. Spike and Twilight were actually worried that Sunset would be upset over their angry glares, but she was smiling. "If they were really mad at me, they wouldn't have said anything to me at all," she said to them, "yet they spoke to me, so I say that's a good step in the right direction." "I don't know, they seemed really upset to me," said Spike, "and I think the only reason they spoke to you was because we were with you." "Perhaps, but they could've ignored me and focused on you three instead." "She does make a good point," said Twilight. Sunset sighed before continuing, "look, I knew from the moment I came back to Equestria that those ponies wouldn't forgive me in an instant, that's why I chose to come here for a week or so, depending on how things went." She then looked down to her little sister, who was still smiling, "and it also gives me time to get to know my baby sister." "And for me to know my big sister!" cheered Sunny Rays. Her horn lit up and she floated into the air, much to Twilight and Spike's surprise and shock. Sunset rolled her eyes, "yes she can float in the air with her magic." Sunny Rays then lowered herself onto her big sister's back and wrapped her front legs around her neck. She had only known Sunset for almost a day now, yet there was no doubt, she loved her big sister. Twilight and Spike didn't need to say anything else, they said good night and left the sisters to spend some time together. As they walked into the house, they discovered that there were no ponies around, it was completely quiet. The same type of quiet Sunset often heard in her own apartment back on the human world, it always made her feel alone. "Hey Sunset, want to play hide and seek with me?" But that wasn't the case this time, "sure Sunny, I'll count and you hide." Sunny Rays nodded and ran to find a hiding place while Sunset counted with her eyes shut, and she did not cheat by peeking. Moon Crest came back an hour later after tending to other matters in town, and was soon followed by Sunrise. As they walked in, they were shocked to see Sunset chasing after Sunny Rays. "What in the blazes is going on here?" cried Moon Crest. Sunset lifted a hoof and tapped Sunny Rays on the left shoulder. Finally the two stopped, "okay, that's five...rounds of tag...we played Sunny...Rays. Can we...take a...break?" Sunset panted heavily. "Of course Big Sister!" cheered Sunny Rays. Sunset sighed and collapsed, "I'll never understand how you young fillies and colts can have so much energy." Sunrise smiled, "it's just a friendly game between sisters," she said to her husband, "though I feel bad for not warning Sunset about Sunny's energy levels. Why don't you play with her for a while, and I'll give Sunset something to drink?" "Yeah, sure Sunrise." He then turned his attention to his youngest daughter, "alright you little monkey, since you seem to have enough energy, why don't you chase me?" And he took off. Sunny Rays laughed and chased after her father. Sunrise soon returned with a glass of water, "here honey, drink up." Sunset took the glass in her magic and drank every last drop of water down. "I am so sorry, I forgot to mention that if you play with Sunny Rays, she goes on for hours before she finally wears herself out." "Yeah I think I figured that part out already, but I don't mind. But what was with Dad reacting the way he did? You would think he's never seen a person, uh pony play tag before." "I don't know, sometimes your father does that, it's not just you." Her mother then held out a hoof to her daughter, which she excepted and got back to her hoofs, "Still, I should've expected the bundle of energy since sometimes I hang out with two of my friend's sisters, who are just a few years older than Sunny Rays." "Yes all young ones are like that." They walked into the kitchen and Sunrise got to work on making supper, "so, how was your day honey? Did you meet up with all your old friends?" "I wouldn't say all of them, but we did run into four of them. Sunny Rays found the first one; Honey Tree." Sunset used her magic and pulled the honey jar out of her saddlebag, "by the way, you left this at her shop." Sunrise slapped her forehead, "oh dear, I'm becoming forgetful at my age, that's not good. Thank you anyways for bringing this home. Now, about those other ponies." "Oh right, well there was Silver Swirls, the pony who sells strawberries in town. Then there was Music Note, he was performing and although he wasn't too pleased to see me, he performed wonderfully out there and I gave him three bits, and finally there was Octivia Melody. She's in town for several concerts, but anyways, she snarled at me, but she spoke with me, so that's a good thing." Her mother smiled, "well that's good to hear. I know you'll mend those friendships in no time." "Thanks Mom." Elsewhere in Canterlot, the reporter known as Pen Pal, was looking threw some old photos he had in his desk. He had already handed in his report and now, with the face of that pony in the photo still on his mind, he was eager to find a certain photo. "I know it's in here somewhere, but where the heck is it?" He soon pulled out several photos from his younger days. There were a few ponies in those photos, but none had that face. That was until he reached the second last photo. It was a group photo of himself and four other ponies, then there was the one he had seen in the school photo. "So, Sunset was a student of Celestia's, I thought as much. But what happened to her? As a reporter, I will find the answers, and see if I can find that pony." He snarled under his breath as he looked at Sunset's face in the photo, "you gave me pain, now I will return the favour, ex-girlfriend." After supper, Sunset helped her mother to clean up the dishes, then went to join her father and sister in the living room. Sunny Rays was practising her singing, but it wasn't perfect as she was off-key. "You're getting better everytime Sunny, but you still need to keep up your practising." "Okay Daddy, I'll keep practising." Sunset could only smile. Although her sister wasn't perfect in singing, she did admire her determination. Sunrise entered the living room next, "I remember when you were younger, you used to sing all the time Sunset. You always had a beautiful voice. Then again, you still have a beautiful voice now." "Oh geez Mom, you're embarrassing me," Sunset giggled and blushed a little. "Well it's true. Say, didn't you mention last night you were involved in a battle of the bands? Were you singing at all?" This caught Sunny Ray's attention and she looked eagerly at her sister, "yes I was singing, and every now and then, I often sing with my group; the Sonic Rainbooms. I'm often doing duets with them, but they did grant me a chance to perform a solo recently." "What's a solo?" "Well Sunny, that just means I'm the only one singing. The rest of the group played their instruments and I sang." "How interesting," smiled Sunrise, "what was the song called?" "It's called 'My Past Is Not Today', and to be honest, I love singing that song. So many ponies, uh people, have asked me to sing that song since it first came out." Sunset shook her head, "I really need to seperate the two lingos." "Can you sing that song for us?" Sunny Rays asked with excitment. "I don't know..." "Please!" she begged. "Pretty, pretty, pretty please." Sunrise chuckled and nudged her daughter's shoulder, "you might as well, Sunny Rays ain't going to stop until you start singing. Believe me, your father and I have learned that time and time again." Sunset sighed and gave in, "okay, I'll sing for you guys. Normally I sing with music, but I'll make an exception this time." And with her whole family watching her, Sunset took in a deep breath and began to sing her song. Power, was all I desired But all that grew inside me was the Darkness I aquired When I began to fall, and I lost the path ahead That's when your friendship found me, and it lifted me instead Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky I'll show there's another side to me you can't deny I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say That my Past does not define me Cause my past is not today Ambition is what I believed Would be the only way to set me free But when it disappeared, and I found myself alone That's when you came and got me And it felt like I was home. Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky I'll show there's another side to me you can't deny I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say That my Past does not define me Cause my past is not TODAY! Silence filled the living room for a few moments, then Sunny Rays started cheering and stomping her hooves on the floor. Their parents meanwhile clapped their hooves. "That was wonderful Sunset, and it really is a beautiful song." "Well I'm glad you guys like it." "Like it? I LOVED it!" cheered Sunny Rays. "Now I really want to be a good singer, then maybe one day I can sing with my big sister!" Sunset felt flattered by the remark. "Thank you Sunny, but don't wish to grow up so quickly, there's still a whole life ahead of you. Plus, when you get older, you're going to be wishing you were younger again." "Ain't that the truth?" giggled Sunrise. "Can you teach me a bit about singing?" Sunny Rays asked again. "Pretty please?" And she gave an adorable look that most young fillies and colts gave to older siblings or their parents. Sunset couldn't take it any longer, "oh alright, I'll teach you how to sing as well." Sunny Rays' smile grew bigger and she listened with great interest. Sunset began her lessons right away, while Sunrise spoke with her husband, "Moon, you haven't said anything since suppertime, is everything okay?" "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." "That's not what I asked. I asked if everything is okay." "Yeah, everything's fine honey, it's just I have alot on my mind, plus I'm just watching those two bond like real sisters." Sunrise giggled, "well I got news for you, they are sisters, or have you forgotten that at your age?" "Very funny, and no I haven't forgotten. It's just..." "I know, it's a beautiful sight to see them like this. I only wish Sunset would stay in Canterlot, then our whole family would be back together again. It'd be like a dream come true." "Or a nightmare." "What was that?" "Oh nothing, it was nothing." Sunrise thought her husband was hiding something from her, and with the way he was acting, she may have had a point.