She's got to be near here, somewhere. Princess Celestia walked through the busy streets of the city of Canterlot, searching. She has to be nearby. It hasn't been that long.
Continuing on as she had been doing for hours, Celestia passed by many of the city's random colorful citizens, quickly inspecting each of them before proceeding to ignore them and moving on to the next.
Wrong hair color. Doesn't carry herself as confidently as she would. That's a male. Wrong eye color.
Despite what her actions might have implied, Celestia did not do any of this out of any kind of vain reason; she was not judging any of the people by their appearances nor was she trying to discover the city's next top model for her to manage. Rather, her motivation for inspecting people came from a much more personal reason; she did it because she was looking for one person specifically, someone very important to her.
Not her, either.
Since the very moment she had arrived at the city, Celestia had been looking for this one person the entire day. Actually, it would be more accurate to say she had been looking for this person for the past how many moons. Unfortunately for Celestia, the opportunity to come to Canterlot City and look for this person only happens for a few days every thirty moons, and, as the setting sun over her head demonstrated, she could not control the time of day of this world to make the days any longer for her. Time was very much of the essence. Still, no matter the time of day it was, no matter the circumstances put in front of her, Celestia was absolutely determined to find her beloved protégée: Sunset Shimmer.
No. No. Where are you, Sunset? You're supposed to be here, somewhere.
Earlier in the day, Celestia had been asking random people if they had seen or heard of any sign of Sunset Shimmer. Celestia described Sunset to them as best as she could, as she had never actually seen Sunset in human form. Unfortunately, most of Celestia's replies were the usual "Haven't seen her."
However, after a long time of searching with no luck, Celestia finally appeared to catch a break while searching in the park; one person had told her that they had seen a girl matching Sunset's description around the shopping area a few miles away. After thanking them for the tip, Celestia quickly left to search there.
That tip was not given to Celestia that long before she reached the area. Celestia believed that Sunset still had to be nearby. She had to be.
With a calm and focused mindset, Celestia carried on with her search, determined to find any sign of Sunset Shimmer. Think, Celestia, what would Sunset be doing at a place such as this? Celestia looked at the shops she was passing by, noting the music theme that many of them shared. Um... She peeked into one of the shops. Buying a new saxophone, perhaps? Celestia thought for a moment before she shook her head. As if I could imagine Sunset playing 'Careless Whisper'.
Pushing away any unnecessary thoughts, Celestia peeked through more windows. Not here... Here, neither... Nothing... Sunset, where are you? Not letting up, Celestia headed toward the next shop when she noticed the sun over the horizon. She paused for a moment to look at the celestial object ahead of her and watched as it slowly sank below the horizon, letting everyone in Canterlot City know that the night had arrived.
Celestia sighed. And now, it's dark. Wonderful. She started to walk again when the full moon caught her attention. Hmm... She paused for a moment. Not now, Celestia. Not now. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she took a few more steps when she felt a cool breeze brush over her. Brr. Celestia shivered. Wow, this really is not turning out to be my day.
Regardless of her predicament, Celestia pressed on. She wrapped her arms around herself to try to keep warm and then walked over to look into the next shop. Nothing. Undeterred, she then moved on to the next one. Nothing. Celestia was not going to give up. She kept on walking and looked into another shop, then another, and then another. Not here, either.
Celestia had checked about half the stores on the street but still found no trace of Sunset Shimmer. The city was getting darker, and the wind seemed to have picked up, but even still, Celestia kept moving forward. N-n-not here, either. She shivered.
After a few more failed searches, Celestia finally reached the corner of the block. From what Celestia could see, ahead, where the road continued, appeared to have led out of the shopping district and into a different part of town, while the left corner, where the block continued, had just a few more shops with their lights on.
With a deep breath, Celestia stared down the block and the many stores. Well, I suppose I better get started. Shaking off some more shivers, Celestia was about to resume her search when she noticed something.
Looking all around her, up and down the streets and sidewalks of the next turn, Celestia saw that there was absolutely no one else outside other than her. Turning around, Celestia saw that all of the people that she thought were still there had completely vanished. The bus stops, the street lights, the benches, there was just no other person in sight, let alone a pony-turned-person to be found. Under a dim streetlight on the corner of an empty block, Celestia realized that she was all alone.
... Perhaps it is later than I realized. The wind sent another chilling gust onto Celestia. Brr... And this weather is beginning to become just too much. Shivering, Celestia looked all around her and saw nobody. And maybe she already left. She sneezed. Or... maybe she was never even here to begin with. With a deep breath and one final look around the dark block, Celestia slowly traced her eyes down the path she came from. Another day, Sunset. I promise.
Celestia took a single step back down the sidewalk she came from when she heard the faint sound of bells come from a door not too far away from her.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done for me! Stay in touch! We've got to hang out whenever we get the chance! Bye!"
What Celestia had heard made her stop in her tracks before she could even take a second step.
That voice! Celestia looked toward the other corner of the block and saw a young redheaded woman with a guitar case emerging from one of the shops.
... Could it be? Holding her breath, Celestia stepped closer and closely inspected the girl.
The young woman had blazing red hair with yellow streaks.
That hair...
Celestia then looked at the young woman's arms and took notice of the orange skin color.
That complexion...
Celestia then looked closer to peek at the young woman's eyes and saw a beautiful pair of aqua colored irises.
Those eyes...
Celestia then heard the young woman speak into the shop again.
"I'll miss you, too!"
Celestia gasped. That voice! Celestia felt her heart race. It has to be her! She must be... "Sunset?!" Celestia called out.
"Huh?" The young woman first responded by turning her head and facing Celestia. "Oh. Hey, there. You talking to me?"
Celestia locked her eyes with the girl's, "Sunset, is it really you?"
"...Yeah?" The girl nervously chuckled. "It's me, all right."
Celestia just stared at her.
Sunset's eyes moved left and right. "Uh... So is there, like, something I can help you with or-"
"Oh, my goodness!" Celestia suddenly burst into a sprint, heading straight for the girl. "Sunset!"
"Dah!" Sunset dropped her guitar case and quickly raised her hand. "Hold up, miss!"
"Sunset!" Celestia quickly reached Sunset and pulled her into her chest with a very squeezing hug. "My goodness! I've found you! I finally found you! After all this time, I've finally found you, my dear, Sunset Shimmer!"
"Uh... yeah. I guess you did?" Sunset muffled.
Celestia buried her face into the girl's shoulder, snuggling her cheek on it. She rested it there for about a minute, not muttering a single word to Sunset, who did nothing.
Finally, after taking a deep breath, Celestia spoke. "Please, excuse my outburst, Sunset," she calmly let out. "It appears I had let my emotions get the better of me once again," she lightly chuckled as she raised her head to face Sunset again. "Not that we haven't seen that before."
"Um... Maybe? I guess?" Sunset stared back at Celestia, tapping her chin. "... I'm sorry, miss. I'm kind of drawing a blank, here. How do we kno-OH, WAIT!" Sunset suddenly grabbed Celestia's shoulders and excitedly pulled her face into hers. "Are you a fan?!"
"Fan?" Celestia raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You know, a fan! An admirer! A disciple! A groupie! You were all excited to find me and meet me, right?" Sunset beamed. "Where did you see me play?! Which club?! What night?! What was your favorite song?! Did you like my outfit?! Was my hair okay?! What did you think of my overall performance?! Did the buffalo wings give you food poisoning, too, because I got kind of sick one night."
"Wait, what? Performance? Song? Meet you?" Celestia worriedly looked at Sunset. "How could you not recognize me, Sunset? Do you not remember-Oh!" Celestia quickly shook her head. "Of course. How shortsighted of me. I should've realized it from the beginning. You cannot tell who I am while I'm in this world's form, can't you? It's me, Celestia."
"Celestia?" Sunset loosened her grip. "As in, the principal of that one mean school on the other side of town? Huh," Sunset placed her hands on her hips. "I've never considered the possibility of any school faculty being rock fans. Never really thought it would be their style. Do you guys have some sort of inner rebellion? That's actually kind of cool."
"No!" Celestia shook her head. "I'm not Principal Celestia; I'm Princess Celestia."
"Princess?" Sunset tapped her chin. "Uh... Like, the winner of the city's beauty pageant last month? That's odd. I could've sworn Rain Shine was declared the winner. I didn't even know you competed. You know, I really did like her singing voice-"
"No, no, no!" Celestia frantically grabbed Sunset's shoulders. "I'm Celestia, Princess of Equestria, Sunset! Your mentor! Your teacher! Your-" Celestia looked at the confused girl's eyes and saw how shaken she was becoming under Celestia's tight grasp. "Wait..." Celestia solemnly stared at Sunset Shimmer. "Sunset, where are you from?"
"W-where I'm from? Like, where I live?"
Celestia slowly nodded. "... Yes. That."
"Um... I'm from here in the city. I've lived here pretty much all my life."
"... Oh, no."
Hearing that answer made Celestia's hands drop from Sunset's shoulders to the ground and her heart into a black hole. It all made sense to her at that moment. By following the tips given to her earlier and having the determination to see it through, Celestia persevered and had indeed found Sunset Shimmer where the tip suggested, but, unfortunately, it was not the Sunset she was looking for.
"Oh, no," Celestia covered her face with a hand.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sunset took a step closer.
"I'm so sorry, Sunset," Celestia solemnly faced the teenager. "I didn't mean to bother you. I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Celestia took a deep breath. "My apologies but I mistook you for someone else."
"Oh..." Sunset rubbed the back of her head. "So, you're, uh, not a fan, then?"
Celestia gave Sunset an apologetic smile as she shook her head. "I'm afraid not."
"Aw. Really?" Sunset lightly kicked the ground. "Bummer. I should've known it was too good to be true."
"It's not your fault, Sunset. Really, it's not. I have been looking for someone for a very long time, and, when I saw you, I thought you were her. This is my mistake. I should have been more thoughtful. I am so sorry."
"Eh," Sunset waved off and started to smile. "Don't worry about it, Miss Celestia. I get it. It actually isn't the first time, believe it or not."
"I believe it," Celestia lightly chuckled. "Well, I am sorry to have bothered you. I won't waste any more of your time. I hope you have a good evening."
"No worries," Sunset grabbed her guitar case off the sidewalk. "And thanks."
"You're welcome," Celestia weakly smiled.
"Hey," Sunset stepped a little bit closer. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Oh, don't worry about me," Celestia tried to smile. "I'll be fine. You just go on about your business. Don't let me get in your way."
"Are you sure?"
Celestia looked at Sunset for a moment before she nodded. "Yes."
"Well... Okay," Sunset waved as she began to walk away. "Goodbye, Miss Celestia."
"Goodbye, Sunset," Celestia waved. "Goodbye... Sunset," She quietly repeated before turning around.
"Hope you find who you're looking for!" Celestia heard from behind.
Celestia winced. "Thank you," She replied without even turning around.
Pushing aside any distracting thoughts at that moment, Celestia took a deep breath and began to walk back up the sidewalk where she came. The cool night's breeze seemed to had gotten stronger with each passing step up the concrete path. Celestia soon reached the streetlight at the corner of the block again, and, out of sheer frustration, took a seat on the bench right under it. As soon as she sat down, she buried her face into her hands.
Wonderful. Just wonderful. All this time, all those leads, and I still couldn't find her! I'm no closer now than I was before! I've made absolutely no progress! This has all been yet another waste of time! All I did was just find some who looks like her! Someone who looks... a lot like her.
Celestia trembled.
With the same hair...and voice...and eyes. Celestia tried to fight it back. Those same aqua eyes.
Try as she might, Celestia just could not help it. With everything that had happened that day, along with all the frustration she had been carrying for moons, Celestia just could not keep herself together. Despite her best efforts to fight them, Celestia felt sniffles building up inside her and about to burst out.
"Hey," Celestia felt a hand touch her shoulder.
"Dah!" Celestia jumped. Quickly looking over her shoulder, Celestia met the worried eyes of the girl she had just met earlier. "Sunset?"
"Hey, there," Sunset gave Celestia a soft smile.
Celestia stood up. "What are you doing here?"
"Hehe..." Sunset awkwardly took a step back. "Well, I don't mean to stalk you, Miss Celestia, but I thought maybe I'd check up on you after the way you left. You didn't exactly leave me convinced that you were completely okay, so I kinda... followed you, here, and then I thought I had to step in when I saw your, uh..." Sunset cleared her throat. "State of being."
"Oh!" Celestia quickly wiped a tear off her face. "Um... Pardon me. I was just getting lost in my thoughts and had let them overtake me for a moment. I'm fine, now."
"Riiiight," Sunset spoke gently. "No offense, Miss Celestia, but I don't really think I believe that."
Celestia smiled. "I appreciate your concern, but, really, you do not have to worry about me. I'm quite all right."
"Hmm..." Sunset tapped her foot. "Well... Could you at least let me make sure of that?" Sunset wrapped her free arm around Celestia's. "Come on. Let me take you out somewhere. I know a good café nearby. It should still be open. Come on, my treat."
"What?" Celestia's eyes widened. "Um, Sunset, that's really sweet of you, but you don't have to do this for me."
"I know I don't have to, but..." Sunset smiled. "I want to."
"Really?" Celestia looked down at the teenager. "But why? We've only just met."
"I know that, but I saw how you were when we met, and how you were just now, and you were all crying and stuff, and... I don't know. It just really looks like, right now, you could use a," Sunset squeezed Celestia's arm a little tighter. "Friend."
Celestia's eyes widened even more. "Wow. Um... I don't know. It's getting a little late, and I should probably be getting back to-"
"Please?" Sunset stared at Celestia with her big sparkling eyes.
Celestia looked back at them. Although she had just seen them for the very first time not even ten minutes prior, they looked so familiar to Celestia, and, the way they were staring back at her, they felt just so hopeful.
With a small smile, Celestia answered. "All right. Let's go."
"Great!" Sunset began to lead Celestia back down the corner. "It's this way."
"All right," Celestia chuckled at the teenager's enthusiasm. "You know, I am not sure if offering to help a complete stranger on a desolate street in the middle of the night is the smartest thing to do, Sunset."
"I'm aware of this, but you don't really seem like the threatening type, Miss Celestia. Besides, a wise girl once said, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met'."
Celestia raised her eyebrow. "That sounds like a potentially unsafe motto to abide by."
Sunset cocked her head. "Yeah, I know. I'm just hoping it doesn't come back to bite me, tonight," Sunset tugged Celestia's arm.
"I assure you, I don't bite," Celestia began to walk pace with Sunset. "Now, please lead the way."