The night was crisp and calm, with a few clouds left to lazily drift across the sky. They hardly obscured anything, and that was fine by the pegasus as she stood upon the castle wall and looked up at the moon hanging overhead. She gently removed her helmet with one hoof, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
There were nights to sing of one sort of lost love. This was a night to sing of another.
“Somewhere, out there
Beneath the pale moon light
Someone’s thinking of…”
She paused, her ears standing straight up as she heard soft wingbeats behind her, hooves gently landing upon stone. And she groaned. “Every stinking time. What is it that ponies have against that song?”
“I personally am rather fond of it.”
“Me too!” The mare turned to the newcomer and continued, “I’ve loved it since…!” She then realized to whom she was speaking and stood at attention, then snapped off a brief salute. “Princess Luna! Ma’am! Forgive my outburst!”
The Princess of the Night softly laughed. “Be at ease, Lieutenant. I’ve no objection to your singing.” She approached the young mare and noted, “And in fact, I know the reason for which you sing. There are ponies whom you miss, aren’t there?”
A soft nod. “Yes ma’am.”
Luna smiled. “You are not the first to do such things. My sister would sing to me during my long banishment.” She looked up at the moon and explained, “Every night for a year, and then each night of the full moon until a century passed, and then every night of my birthday following until my return. I heard, even if I could not reply.”
“You were fortunate.” The pegasus looked up alongside her and remarked, “I don’t even know if they can hear me. Or if they’d care. One left with harsh words, and never answered my letters. The other, I was forced to leave, and the results were little different.”
Luna looked at the mare beside her and noticed the tears forming in her cyan eyes. She knew full well whom she spoke to; the resemblance was a dead giveaway. “First Lieutenant Sunrunner, heed my words. I speak from experience on this matter.” The mare turned to her, and she noted, “Time gives us all reason to reflect, in one form or another. As horrible as you feel, do you truly believe that your wayward cousin feels any different?” A smile, and she added, “And do you truly think that you are hated, or worse, forgotten, by the colt you left behind?”
Sunrunner shrugged. “I don’t know, at least as far as the first goes. And the second…” She flashed a hopeful smile. “I can dream.”
“Then go and dream and hope, young guardsmare. But first, sing. This time, I shall not interrupt you.”
“Okay, but…” She flashed a hopeful smile. “But with your permission, I’d like to do a solo instead.” A smirk. “And if you see a stallion come by with a microphone and star cutie mark and he attempts to burst into song, do me a favor and put him on mute.”
Luna smirked in turn. There was a tale there, she suspected. “We have an accord. Now I bid you, sing.”
And the mare did as instructed by her royal audience, and her memories went back to long ago, starting with one shattered dream in particular.
-
She didn’t know what she’d done wrong. Most children didn’t, usually because no one had explained to them what they’d done wrong, but this wasn’t a normal thing for Sunrunner. This time, it wasn’t her parents or a teacher telling her that she’d done something bad and explaining to her why.
“Sunrunner, there’s something you need to get through that thick, bird-brained skull of yours.”
This time, it was someone her own age, being mean to her for doing what she’d been told was the right thing. For trying to be nice.
“I don’t have a sister. I never had a sister. It was just me and my mommy and my daddy – I didn’t want a sister and I didn’t need one. We’re not sisters, and we’ll never be sisters.”
It had hardly been a second after Shims had left before she started trying to hold back her tears. She didn’t know what else to do, after what she’d heard.
“My mommy isn’t your mommy. You never knew her, just like I never knew your mommy. And I wish I hadn’t. I’m going back to Canterlot, back where I belong, and I’m staying there, and everypony will know my name. Sunset Shimmer. Not some stupid nickname like ‘Shims’. If I ever hear it again, it’ll be too soon.”
But after a few seconds, the tears came anyway, and the little pegasus filly dropped to her hindquarters and began to weep.
She barely noticed as the bedroom door creaked open. “Runnie?” Her tears paused as she looked up to find her father standing in the doorway. “Sweetie, what happened?”
“It’s…” She wiped away as many of her tears from one eye as she could as she protested, “It’s nothing Daddy, I…”
Blue Streak had closed the distance and started to gently wipe away tears from her other eye with one silvery wing. “It doesn’t look like ‘nothing’ to me. And besides, the last time I checked, there’s no shame in crying.” He sat down beside her and gently wrapped that same wing around her as she stopped trying to wipe away her tears. “Now, what’s wrong?”
The filly bowed her head. “Shims hates me.” She looked up at her father and pleaded, “What did I do?! I never hurt her! I never insisted on anything! I shared my room, I kept out of her business, I left her alone when she asked me to, I wasn’t anything but nice to her, and she hates me!”
Her father frowned, then considered his next words carefully. “Runnie, I don’t think Sunset actually hates you. She’s just…mad in general, I suppose. It isn’t your fault.” He bowed his own head and admitted, “In fact, I think it’s more mine and your mother’s fault than anypony else’s.”
Sunrunner looked up at her dad in shock. “What did you do wrong? You’re the best mommy and daddy ever!”
“And do you think that, from Sunset’s perspective, her mommy and daddy weren’t the best ever?” That caused the little filly to wonder as Blue Streak continued, “One day, Sunset was just as happy a little filly as any other, and the next, she’d lost her parents, and a mare she never knew showed up and said that she was her aunt and that she had to move away from everything she knew. How would you feel if that happened, and you lost everything you knew?”
The filly bowed her head sadly. “I’d feel really bad.” She sat up again and continued, “But I didn’t want her to forget her mommy and daddy. I just wanted her to feel like she was a part of this family.”
“And so did we.” A sad expression crossed the stallion’s face. “The trouble is, we did a very poor job of it. I hardly knew her mother and father, and as for your mom…” He sighed. “What happened between her and her sister is something I’ll leave to her to talk about. But the fact remains, we didn’t give her the chance to mourn them, or to let them go, and accept us as family. And that’s our fault, not yours.”
“But what can we do so that she does accept us as family?” At her father’s silence, she asked, “Daddy?”
Blue Streak sighed. “I don’t know, Runnie. I really don’t.” He offered her an encouraging smile. “But what I do know is that we shouldn’t give up on her. Sunset may not be your biological sister, but she’s still a part of this family. And someday, she may find that she needs us. So don’t give up on her, hmm?”
The filly smiled. “Of course not, Daddy. You don’t give up on anything you love.”
-
The grown mare frowned as she made her way along the streets of Canterlot, wings tucked to her sides and her thoughts dwelling on her recent decisions. It didn’t feel like she’d given up on something that she’d loved, but it felt uncomfortably close, and she needed somepony to talk about it with.
Fortunately, she knew exactly where to go, and her mood brightened just a small bit as she found herself at her destination. It was an older house, not particularly big but in good condition, and thinking of this place brought thoughts of both joy and sorrow to the forefront of her mind as she climbed the steps and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal an older mare, time having done little to dull her golden coat or discolor her mane, who smiled as she set her eyes upon her visitor. “Hello Runnie.”
“Hi Mom.” Sunrunner took her mother into a warm embrace. “Thanks for having me over.”
“Well I’m not about to turn my little filly away when she needs to talk with her family, now am I?” Solar Flare beckoned her daughter into the house and closed the door behind her. “Your father will be along in a little bit. He’s…”
“Getting something for the two most important mares in his life.” Blue Streak entered the sitting room from another door and set a tray filled with drinks onto a waiting coffee table, then gave his daughter a warm hug. “How you feeling, Runnie?”
The mare laughed. “I’m okay, Dad.”
The three then sat down at a sofa and got comfortable as the stallion asked, “So, what’s all this about? Some big news? Maybe even a promotion?”
“No Dad, not yet. And you know why.” Sunrunner had taken a lot of effort to explain that the promotion she’d received from Second Lieutentant to First Lieutenant was the result of special circumstances, and that it would be some time before she’d be eligible for promotion to the next rank up barring further special circumstances or changes to the law. “I do have some news though. News that could have an effect on my career.” Her parents’ expressions went from eager to concerned as she explained, “I’m not going to be a Wonderbolt.”
Solar Flare’s eyes settled into a grim expression. “What happened?”
“It was my choice, Mom. I’ve been hearing a lot of scuttlebutt about some things regarding the team, stunts pulled behind the scenes that haven’t made it into the wider press for whatever reason, and I couldn’t really justify staying in that kind of environment.” She made a half-smile and explained, “I’m not going to be part of a unit if I can’t be sure they won’t have my back. And from what I’ve been hearing…”
A hoof was gently laid upon hers, and her mother smiled. “It’s alright dear, you don’t need to explain it any further. You made the right decision for you, and that’s that.” She noticed her daughter’s frown, then sighed. “Let me guess, there’s more to it.”
Sunrunner nodded. “I turned down a prestigious post. That’s the second one in the last six months. I could’ve taken a post in the Crystal Empire, but I stuck with the chance to be a Wonderbolt instead.”
Blue Streak smirked. “Ponies don’t always make the smartest decisions when it comes to the heart, dear.” At his daughter’s shocked expression and furious blush, he teased, “As if your mother and I don’t know about why you wanted to be a Wonderbolt.”
“Blue, stop.” Solar Flare rolled her eyes at her husband’s antics, then turned serious as she admitted, “Still, it’s a little worrying that the biggest reason you had was to impress a colt.”
“Mom! That wasn’t…!” The mare groaned. “I didn’t want to be a Wonderbolt because Quiver thought I could do it, or because I thought I could impress him. I didn’t have to work that hard to impress him to begin with, after all.”
“Well, it doesn’t take much for a young mare to impress a young stallion.” Another glare from his wife prompted Blue Streak to admit, “I speak from experience here.”
“The point is that I ultimately wanted to be a Wonderbolt because I thought it would be a good fit for me.” A sheepish grin spread across her face as she admitted, “Plus, I kinda liked the idea of him finding out, and actually having something he said could happen that he could be happy about for once.” She sighed and admitted, “Still, I have to think of what is before I think of what could be. And as happy as it might make him, it would leave me miserable.”
“And it was the right decision to make.” Solar Flare gently draped a wing over her daughter’s shoulders. “Let it go, hmm? The sooner you do that, the better. And hopefully, you won’t…” She noticed the frown on her daughter’s face and fought back a groan. “Sunrunner, what happened?”
The mare reached into the bag around her middle and pulled out an opened letter. “I don’t know how, but I got this in the mail. It’s an invitation to a class reunion, at the school I went to back in Indianapoloosa before we moved here.”
That got both her parents suspicious as Blue Streak raised an eyebrow. “But you didn’t graduate from that school. We transferred you to Canterlot Academy, and you graduated there.”
“I know, but apparently I’m wanted back at the old school to help prep for this upcoming reunion and as a special guest.” She opened the invitation and explained, “Apparently, they want to honor Quiver, among other graduates from that particular class. I want to believe that this is legitimate, but I’m not sure. The only reason I can think of for them to honor him would be an apology over all the grief he went through.”
Solar Flare turned bitter. “If they were going to do that, then they should be apologizing to you as well, along with the administration at that damned school.” She gritted her teeth and growled, “If I ever see that bone-headed pig-faced plot-kisser Fairweather again…”
“Mom, I’m not arguing.” Sunrunner turned attention back to the invitation and continued, “Still, there’s got to be at least a small chance that this is genuine. And as much as I doubt Quiver will want to attend something like this, maybe this will give me the chance to get back in touch. He was the only real friend I had back in that Tartarus pit of a school, after all.”
“And you’ve already decided to go, despite your misgivings.” At his daughter’s nod, Blue Streak smiled. “Well, I can’t fault you for bravery. Just be careful, hmm?”
The young mare smiled. “I will, Dad.” She turned to her mother. “And at least this time I’m choosing to go there, right?”
Solar Flare shrugged her wings. “I suppose. But like your father said, be careful. As much as things changed when you went to that school, something tells me it didn’t change all that much. I still wish you hadn’t ended up there. One friend made and your cutie mark earned aside, you were much better off at the old one.”
-
“So that cousin of yours ever write you back?”
Sunrunner shook her head sadly. “It’s gotta be because she’s really busy. I mean, she’s Princess Celestia’s personal student. That’s gotta take up a lot of her time, right?”
The jenny beside her rolled her eyes. “Filly, you are way too much of an optometrist.”
The filly grinned at her friend’s purposeful malapropism. “Gotta see things clearly if you’re gonna see the bright side, Muriel.”
The two broke out into laughter at that. It had been a good day at school for them and their class, between fun lessons and the special guest who’d come in. That was something of a rule for days like this, right before the break prior to the next trimester of classes, and nopony really minded.
“Class?” Their teacher cleared his throat, and their attention went to him as the skinny unicorn started passing out forms. “Kids, I’m afraid something’s happened. It’s nothing bad, but these forms are for your parents, and will explain everything that’s going on in more detail.” As the last of the forms went to their recipients, he asked, “Does anypony know what the Equestria Education Association is?” No hooves were raised, and he continued, “Well, they’re basically the ponies in the government who are in charge of schools. What gets taught in them, whether a school will get government money, and so on. And they’ve recently decided that…” He hesitated somewhat, as if his next words were bitter in his mouth, then continued, “…that government-run schools will be segregated beginning next trimester.”
The various foals looked among themselves as one colt raised a hoof and asked, “What’s ‘segregated’ mean?”
“Well, it means that one school – this one, in fact – will be set aside for all the students in the city who come from non-pony races. Anyone who isn’t a pony and is attending classes at a government-run school will be coming here after the break, and anyone who is a pony and is attending classes here now will be going to a different school instead.” He looked forlorn as he admitted, “I’m very sorry, kids, but there isn’t much to be done about it.” The bell rang as he declared, “Class dismissed! Nopony forget your personal things now!”
Sunrunner was flabbergasted at the news, and only spoke among her friends enough to determine that of all the schools the ponies among them were going to, none were the same. Her father, meanwhile, was similarly surprised by the news, and the two made their way home in silence until they entered. “Honey, there’s something you need to see.”
Solar Flare looked up from the stove and her efforts at making dinner, holding back curses that she hadn’t retrieved her sister’s cookbook along with Sunset, and saw the concerned looks on the faces of her husband and daughter. “What’s going on?”
Sunrunner pulled a form from her saddlebags and explained, “My teacher gave me this note. It says I’m gonna go to a different school after break.”
That got the mare’s attention, and she claimed the form from her daughter and started reading it aloud. “In accordance with recent guidelines set by the Equestria Education Association, the public school system will be reorganized in order to better accommodate non-pony races…” Her eyes widened as she realized, “They’re segregating the schools?!”
“And it looks like Runnie’s school is the one that they’re sending everyone that isn’t a pony to,” Blue Streak noted without pleasure. “Story broke today at the paper, took us all by surprise. It’ll be front page tomorrow morning.”
“This is insane! Runnie had good teachers there! Friends! Now she’s going to have to figure out her way around a new school, and we have no way of knowing if the teachers there will be anywhere near as competent as the ones she already had!” She huffed. “Do we at least know what school she’s going to?”
“It’s on the second form, dear. They’re stapled together.”
She glanced over the second form and calmed slightly, though her face still showed concern. “Well, at least we have that. I’ll feel better if I can take a look at this, get the lay of the land…” She then turned to her daughter and gave her a sad frown. “I’m sorry, Runnie. I wasn’t expecting this any more than you were. Are any of the ponies you know at least going to this new school with you?”
Runnie shook her head. “Muriel’s staying at the school I’m at now because she’s a donkey, and all the rest of my friends are going to other schools.”
“Well, maybe this will be good for you.” Blue Streak offered a hopeful smile as he suggested, “A new school could mean new friends, after all.”
“But I’ll miss my old friends,” the filly noted sadly.
“Yes, and that’s fine, but there’s nothing stopping you from keeping in touch, right?” Her father gave her a gentle nudge as he added, “And making new friends wouldn’t be bad either. It’s like the old saying, eh?” The two shared a grin before he suggested, “Anyway, you go and get washed up, and I’ll help your mother with dinner.”
As her daughter dashed off, Solar Flare rolled her eyes at her husband. “I don’t need your help with dinner, dear.”
“Exactly, I’m a lousy cook.” Blue Streak smirked. “Which is why I’m going to get the plates and cutlery ready.”
The little filly laughed at her father’s joke. Maybe he was right, and this change was a good thing. If nothing else, she wouldn’t know until she went.