A forlorn Princess Celestia gazed longingly into the enchanted mirror that stood before her. It was said that this mirror served as a portal to an entirely different world, though nopony had ever tested that theory. Nopony until the previous night, that is.
Even now the guilt was welling up anew inside the sun princess. Her first student in almost a thousand years, and she had driven her away. Failed to realize what her student was becoming and what her student needed. A firm but gentle hoof to guide her in the right direction, not a stern lecture about where she'd gone wrong.
Celestia fought back the tears, sighing heavily as she stood before the mirror. It would not open now, no amount of magic could change that. Her student was gone. And despite what anypony might tell her it was her fault, she had driven that pony away. It was only made worse by the fact that this was not the first time she had done this, driven away a pony she'd come to care so much for. Now here she was, lonely once again.
As she stood there, gazing helplessly into the mirror, the majestic alicorn began to think back to where it had all began. It hurt to relive the past now that it was tainted by sadness. But the only way to ensure it would not repeat itself was to reflect on it and learn for next time.
It had all begun just a few years ago. For over three quarters of a century now Celestia had ruled the land of Equestria alone. Nopony around was long lived enough to remember that there used to be another princess, another alicorn. Now her sister's name was lost and forgotten to history, and in many circles the symbol of a holiday that made foals believe an evil spirit was out to gobble them up.
Celestia lay in her royal bedchambers, clutching a framed picture of her sister: Princess Luna. She turned her gaze ever so slightly towards a nearby window. It was a full moon tonight, and if one looked closely it might have been possible to make out the faint trace of a mare on the moon's surface. Most ponies knew it only as The Mare in the Moon. But Celestia knew better. It was a symbol and a reminder of a painful fact that she could not escape.
"Luna," Celestia somberly murmured while clutching the picture close to her chest. "It's been almost a thousand years since you were banished. Yet to me it seems like only yesterday that we still ruled side by side," A lone tear streamed down her face. "I only wish I could've saved you. That I had thought sooner to be there for you instead of casting you into my shadow," Wiping the tear away the sun princess struggled to regain her composure. "I won't give up on you! I'll find a way to bring you back! The Elements of Harmony may no longer work for me, but I'll bet there is somepony who can wield them and free you."
The alicorn with a majestic white coat rose from her bed but a moment later, once more dawning her royal regalia as she trotted out of the castle. Her mind was made up, she was going to do something she hadn't done since... well she couldn't even remember when. She was going to take on a student. Not just any student though, she had lots of them at the school named in her honor (all of whom were unicorns).
No, this student would be special. She would personally tutor the lucky colt or filly. Groom them into understanding the values that powered the Elements of Harmony. And that pony would in turn be her sister's savior when the thousand years of banishment ended.
Night time in the city of Canterlot could be quite lovely. The street lights and the occasional house light or lamp illuminated the capitol city of Equestria, creating a scene that was the envy of many a pony.
It was peaceful too. Some ponies were nocturnal by nature or profession, and even those who weren't would sometimes stay awake into the night. Young ones especially longed to stay up past their bedtime, forming secret clubs such as "Children of the Night".
It warmed Celestia's heart to know that many ponies appreciated the night. If only her sister had been able to see it too. If only she had been able to cast off the shadow of her sister.
Celestia paused and shook her head to dispel the thoughts. "There you go again, princess," She mentally scolded herself. "You've got to stop focusing so much on the past. Focus on the future. In just over a decade Luna will return, and if you haven't found a new bearer for the Elements of Harmony there will be no hope for Equestria. Your sister will be lost forever, and you will fall."
So the princess resumed her nightly stroll, thinking to herself about that personal student. Whoever it was would have to be special, extraordinary even. A pony who possessed the magical talent to wield the Elements of Harmony and the knowledge to know how they worked. A pony that could break through to her sister in a way that nopony else could.
Suddenly, Celestia's wandering eyes caught sight of a faint outline! She wasn't really sure but to her it looked like the form of a filly. A unicorn filly at that. It was a brief glance and when she turned to look again the filly was gone. Or so it seemed. The young one's shadow betrayed her, indicating that she was not too far ahead.
Celestia carefully pursued the filly. She couldn't really explain why but something drew her to the wandering little unicorn.
The chase didn't last very long. The filly rounded a corner and a second later the sound of something striking a trash can broke the silence of the night. A raspy, high pitched voice softly cried out. "Ow." And a few faint sniffles could be heard.
Now Celestia doubled her pace, soon closing in on the noise's source! Turning the same corner the filly had just rounded, she finally got a good look at the wandering young one she'd been following.
The filly was indeed a unicorn. A unicorn with a coat of brilliant amber, like the sky at sunset. Her eyes were a beautiful, innocent shade of moderate cyan. And her mane and tail were a very light red with light apple green stripes, loosely hanging at the sides. Even more noticeable was the fact that this filly didn't have her cutie mark yet, her flank was blank.
For but a moment Celestia was silent as she watched the filly stumble while slowly rising to her hooves. She didn't seem to be hurt badly, but the filly's sniffles indicated that she was still sore from the impact.
When the blank flanked unicorn's hooves gave out and she fell to the ground again, Celestia could stay silent and hidden no longer. She trotted forward and finally revealed herself. "Are you hurt, little one?" She called in the most gentle and compassionate tone imaginable, almost like a mother soothing her child.
The filly spun around, her eyes locking onto the princess'. Immediately she shook her head and stopped sniffling. "No. I'm fine. Really." She insisted, even as her attempt to stand up only caused her to fall down again.
Celestia lightly enveloped the filly within the soft glow of her magic, helping the unicorn to stand. "There we go," She spoke in a tone that sounded not unlike a coo. "It doesn't look like you're hurt too badly. Just a couple of bruises."
The filly groaned lightly. "I've had worse. This isn't the first time I've run into something in the dark."
The sun princess immediately became concerned. "Have you been wandering the streets at night for long, missy?"
"My name is Sunset Shimmer," The young unicorn answered. "And no, I haven't. I don't usually stay out for very long. I just wanted to practice my magic in the park, Mommy says I'm getting really good at it," Sheepishly she confessed. "I guess I lost track of the time because it's really late. And everything's so different at night," With a whimper she admitted. "I think I'm lost."
Celestia lightly stroked the filly with a hoof. "Not anymore, Sunset Shimmer. You're safe with me. I'm Princess Celestia."
At that Sunset let out a gasp! She was stricken with awe! "The Princess Celestia?!"
The princess chuckled as she watched Sunset bow before her. "Now now, Sunset Shimmer, there's no need for that. You may be one of my subjects, but right now I'm just a pony on a late night stroll. Kind of like you," She proceeded to ask. "May I ask where you live?"
Sunset shook her head. "I don't know where it is. I've never been in this part of town before. Everything's so much different at night, and I think I took a wrong turn."
"Well, how about this then," Celestia offered as she bent down, lowering herself to Sunset's level. "Why don't I take you back to the castle and you can spend the night with me? Then in the morning I'll take you home."
"That would be amazing!!" Sunset happily exclaimed. "I'll bet your castle is so big that even you get lost in it."
Celestia chuckled. "Yes, I have lost my way on more than one occasion. Which is why it's best if you stick with me. I don't need you to get even more lost," Then she gestured. "Come on, hop onto my back."
The little unicorn cheered! "Yay! Let's fly to the castle!"
At that, the sun princess felt a slight pang of guilt. She could remember Luna being quite fond of saying it when she was younger. Back then Celestia had found Luna's enthusiasm for their new living quarters to be annoying. Now she wished she'd never thought that way.
A thought started creeping into her mind as Celestia felt Sunset climb onto her back and clutch her neck tightly (but not too tight). "Sunset doesn't seem to be an ordinary filly," She thought to herself. "Could she be the one who will unlock the Elements of Harmony? Is she the one with the mark the Tree of Harmony foretold?"
Well, those were thoughts for another time and place. For now she had to focus on getting her young charge to the palace. She could worry more about a possible tutoring in the morning. And not one to let anypony see her in such an emotionally vulnerable state, Celestia pushed all feelings of sadness to the back of her mind. "Okay, Sunset! Here we go! Hold on tight!" She called and flapped her wings, taking to the night skies.
As enjoyable as the flight was, Sunset couldn't stay awake for the whole thing. By the time Celestia reached the castle, she found that her young charge had fallen asleep.
With a warm and motherly smile Celestia floated the sleeping filly gently off her back and carried her into the castle. A few guards were there to greet her. "At ease, guards," She informed them. "We have a guest who will be staying the night. Young Sunset Shimmer. Please prepare the guest bed for her."
The guards saluted. "Understood, your majesty!" And they trotted away.
A short time later, Celestia gently deposited the sleeping Sunset Shimmer onto the bed that had once belonged to her sister, Luna. This time would be different. She wouldn't make the same mistake she made with Luna. She would ensure that Sunset would feel appreciated.
After all, Sunset wasn't just the pony who had the potential to free Princess Luna, she was also the first student Celestia had taken on in ages. Her first one had brief and they had parted ways when they realized that the bond of teacher and student was not shared.
Celestia kissed Sunset on the forehead and departed, watching the filly as her chest bobbed up and down in her sleep. It reminded her a lot of Luna, how she would watch her little sister as she slept in a basket and later the very bed that Sunset occupied.
"Luna, I've finally found the one!" The alicorn thought to herself. "We'll be reunited soon!"