Did I fall asleep in here? When in Tartarus did I become this needy? I wasn’t even this clingy as a foal! Sunset thought as soon as she had woke up the next morning, finding herself tangled in pastel-colored blankets.
I hope she really doesn’t mind…I mean…I’ve only been living here for what? Three weeks? Maybe? I probably crossed some boundary last night but….I can’t say it wasn’t worth it. The nightmares didn’t keep me up all night like they normally do.
She thought as she climbed out of bed, mentally trying to prepare herself for whatever awaited her downstairs. Maybe if I’m lucky she’ll just remind me that nothing between us can change and that this was a onetime thing. Maybe she won’t be too angry?
Sunset knew deep down that she was over-thinking things a bit, that perhaps Principal Celestia wouldn’t mind the intrusion of privacy that much, after all, she had said that the bed was big enough for them both. But even with that in mind, what-if scenarios still began to play through her thoughts.
Maybe I can get by with just grabbing something from the café and meeting up with one of the other girls? I mean, Rainbow Dash did say something yesterday morning about wanting to do something for the showcase that is supposed to happen after the holidays.
However, that hope died as soon as she walked into the kitchen, finding a tired looking Celestia sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee.
“I…I didn’t keep you up all night did I?” Sunset managed to stammer out as she took notice of the rings under her mentor’s eyes.
“No Sunset, you didn’t. But we need to talk.”
Here it comes.
“Did I do something wrong? I-I’m sorry! Please don’t…”
Celestia didn’t give her time to finish that sentence, moving to put her arms around the trembling teen.
“No Sunset, you’ve done nothing wrong.” The older woman tried to assure, though she wasn’t sure how to explain exactly what it was about, especially since it was something that Sunset had tried to keep hidden from her.
“T-Then what is it?”
Celestia hated how frightened the teen sounded.
“Sunset, why didn’t you tell me who the princess was?” Celestia asked calmly, earning a wide-eyed look from the redhead.
“What do you mean?”
The principal could hear the panic in the former unicorn’s tone.
“Sunset, you talk in your sleep. I don’t even want to know what you were dreaming about, because you kept calling out to the princess.”
Sunset glanced down as she heard this “So you know that she is….Your alternative self?” She asked her in a voice barely above a whisper.
“Sunset, is that why you were so afraid to get into trouble with me? Because the Princess could be harsh? I know you don’t want to talk about it and I won’t force you but I think it would help both of us.”
Sunset sighed then, closing her eyes and pulling away though she wrapped her arms around herself as she began to speak, her voice quivering slightly as she forced out the words “I was afraid you would kick me out. I know I’m expendable, just like I was with the Princess.”
Celestia was at a loss for words; however, before she could manage to say or do anything Sunset spoke again.
“At first the princess made me feel special. like I really had found my place and for once I was happy. I wasn’t only the best at magic but I finally had someone who cared about me. But then I saw how she acted around Cadence.”
Sunset closed her eyes as she continued softly
“With me, the princess didn’t tolerate much. I tried to pull a Nightmare Night prank once when I was ten. I got in trouble for a simple confetti bomb but Cadence could get by with the same thing. I mean I get that I was just a normal unicorn but I mean, doesn’t she realize how unfair she was being? It’s not like I did it in front of a group of delegates or something.”
Note to self, When Cadence comes over to make sure that Sunset is included in the conversation as much as possible. Just what the heck was the other me thinking?
“But what was worse was that Cadence was exactly like me, a Pegasus with no one but an adopted family. I didn’t even have visitors but yet Princess Celestia wouldn’t let me within a wingspan. If it wasn’t school work related she wanted nothing to do with and onceI grew bored with basic magic she wouldn’t let me go on to the more advanced, saying I wasn’t ready.”
Celestia heard how the teen’s voice wavered from time to time, though Sunset’s expression remained stoic.
“Besides explaining it to me, she just started pushing me to stop my studies and make more friends. However when I tried to tell her how hard it was for me to just talk to other ponies my age…She just said for me to try harder. I did try…But I failed. Just like I failed at everything and why she replaced me!”
“Sunset Shimmer.”
The soft voice called Sunset out of her thoughts, causing her to look up at this world’s Celestia, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“You are not a failure. Sure, you made mistakes but I think the real failure was the princess for trying to treat a child as an adult.”
"But I betrayed her trust...I broke into the room the mirror was stored in...I..." Sunset began to argue, only to feel a hand gently lift her chin to make her make eye contact.
"Sunset, of course, you lashed out. Anyone would if they felt like they were basically pushing a brick wall. I dare say that everything that has happened was just as much that princess's fault as it was yours if not more so."