//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Sunset's resolve, part 1 // Story: When Dating a Sunset... // by ThePinkedWonder //------------------------------// Two days after Sunset Shimmer "met" one of Eric Reed’s human sisters for the very first time… In the “human” world, in her apartment, Sunset was steeling herself to reconcile with her former teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia. Inspired by the will Eric showed to heal from his past, Sunset wished to do it herself by mending her relationship with Celestia. Yet it did little to calm Sunset’s worries of what Celestia might think of her, or if she would even want to see her. Sunset’s heart pumped at twice its normal rate as she paced in circles in the middle of her room. Twilight Sparkle was also present near the room’s door, but wasn’t leaning against it. She stopped by to visit on her own accord, and was now just trying to assist in any way she could to ease her friend's worries. “Well, Sunset, I have to say that I’m proud of you for doing this. You always wanted to reunite with Princess Celestia again, but you were too worried about what she’d say.” Continuing to pace, Sunset said, “Yeah, and I’m still worried. I broke her heart, and I don’t know what will happen when she sees me. It’s taking all I have to not back out of this.” “Wait, if you’re that nervous, then why are you forcing yourself to face her?” Sunset stopped pacing and turned to Twilight. After a sigh, she tapped the floor lightly with a foot and rubbed her arm as she confessed, “It’s...if I don’t, I will feel like I’m a fraud.” Twilight gasped and asked, “What?! A fraud? Why?” “Remember how Eric said that I got over my past and it helped him do it?” “Yeah.” “Well, after he told me he did, I thought about it, and I realized that I really haven’t. Not yet.” “Oh. You mean because you never made up with Princess Celestia?” Sunset nodded her head. “Yeah. If I keep putting this off, it will feel like I lied to him, or that he fell in love with a Sunset Shimmer that’s not me. I need to make up with her and prove to myself that I have truly overcome my past, just like my boyfriend did.” “I understand. Still, are you sure you can do this? You know Eric will blame himself and feel horrible if you panic or something, right?” “Yeah, but that’s why I want him and Princess Twilight with me so I won’t. Last month, Eric was scared of me possibly thinking he looked weird because of what happened to him as a kid, but he still wanted to face his fear and ask me out. If he can do it, then I, his girlfriend, should be able to do the same by facing my fear of what Princess Celestia thinks of me.” Twilight smiled at the resolve Sunset was displaying. “Wow. I have never seen this kind of strength from you before, Sunset. I’m proud of you.” “Thanks, Twilight.” Sunset rubbed her hands and took a deep breath. “I just need to believe that I have truly changed, and Princess Celestia will be happy to see me...I hope.” Twilight walked to and set a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “I have an idea. Maybe I could come along to be there for you too? After all, you were by my side when I was afraid of becoming Midnight Sparkle again, and I always wanted to meet Eric face-to-face.” And I still have a lot of questions I want to ask him. Sunset pondered the idea. It could help, but also understood that having two Twilights together could inadvertently create issues. Especially if Twilight wouldn’t be in Alicorn form in Equestria to potentially pass herself off as Princess Twilight, if the Princess of Friendship would even allow it. “Thanks, Twi, but I think it’ll be okay if you stay. But you can walk me to the portal at least.” “Sure, and before you go to Equestria, we can see our friends first so they can give you a pep talk too,” Twilight suggested with a comforting smile. “Yeah, and I could use it.” Twilight removed her hand from Sunset’s shoulder, and the two girls departed Sunset’s apartment. The worries Sunset felt were stronger than she imagined they would be, yet she refused to allow her resolve to relent to them. She was driven to face Princess Celestia, the final step in completely overcoming her past, if it was the last thing she did. In Twilight’s castle, by the portal, Twilight, Starlight, Spike, and I were waiting for Sunset to come through it. Twi was frowning a little, and I figured she was worried about how Sunset might be feeling. I said, “I can’t believe Sunset’s finally going to make up with Princess Celestia after all this time. I’m proud of her.” Twilight stuttered, “Y-yeah, me t-too.” I turned to Twilight, and that stuttering wasn’t normal. She only does that when she’s either hiding something or is more nervous than she tries to let on. “You sound like you’re nervous too, Twi. I can see Sunset being nervous, but not you, so what’s wrong?” “Well...” Pink sparks ran through the portal’s cords, the portal itself glowed, and Sunset came walking out. Not surprisingly, she had a nervous frown, as well as her necklace and pack. “Hey, Sunset. Uh, remember how you used to fly through that portal whenever you came to visit and once used me as a ‘landing pad’?” I asked with a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. Sunset giggled. “Yeah.” It worked. “So, Sunset? Er, are you excited about seeing Princess Celestia again?” Starlight asked. Sunset tapped the floor with a hoof. “Yeah, but mostly nervous. Still, I think I’ll be all right.” Twilight chuckled and commented, “The way you said that, you reminded me of Eric when he’s nervous, Sunset.” Sunset and I looked at each other, then chuckled in almost the same way. Should I be worried? Spike wanted to join the fun, so he teased, “Heh, maybe you two have spent too much time together.” Starlight remarked, “And next thing you know, Sunset, you’re going to be making plays on Twilight’s princess title. Isn’t that right, Prince of Jokes?” We all giggled. I’m a little surprised Sunset never did that to be honest. But, to keep from letting the idea that I spent too much time with Sunset sink in, I said, “Uh, anyway, I know it’s scary for you to face Princess Celestia again, Sunset, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” “You sure, Eric?” Sunset asked in a more hopeful voice. “Yeah. I mean, she’s all about friendship and getting along, so I really don’t see her still holding a grudge against you.” Spike agreed, “Yeah! I’m with Eric: she won’t be mad at you when she sees you. You’ll probably make her day by coming to visit her because I’m sure she’s missed you.” Here’s where I thought Twilight would say the same.  But nope, she instead frowned and made circles on the floor with a hoof. Yep, there’s something she’s not telling us, but she still formed a smile and assured, “And no matter what happens, you will have us by your side, Sunset.” Sunset in turn smiled and told us, “Thanks, guys. I needed that. Let’s go to Canterlot.” With that, Twilight, Starlight, Spike, Sunset, and I left the castle, then boarded a train to Canterlot. Once there, we made a beeline to Canterlot castle. I was getting nervous too, but tried to hide it. Now inside Canterlot castle, I noticed that the walls and windows were decorated with little purple flowers. Fifty bits say the Princess of the Night hung them there. Some of the paths in the hallways we walked down were blocked by one or two of the Royal Guards, all wearing gold-colored armor on their backs. At this point, Sunset had a foreleg curled around my right hand. As usual, when she did this, my hand wound up completely in the foreleg, so I couldn’t hold it back. Some of the guards were staring at Sunset as we walked. Whether it’s because they recognized her and knew about her “history” with Celestia, or something else, I had no idea. What I did know was that Sunset’s grip on my hand tightened as we went, but she wasn’t hurting it. Finally, we reached some light-purple double doors, with two guards beside them. The throne room and Princess Celestia were on the other side. We all stood, in order from left to right: Starlight, me, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike. Twilight sighed and said, “Well, this is it. Remember, we are by your side, Sunset.” Sunset was still holding my hand, and her grip on my hand tightened as she stared at the door, though her grip wasn’t painful. For this reason, I skipped asking if she still felt nervous and reminded instead, “But like I said, Sunset, Princess Celestia isn’t the type to hold grudges. In fact, I bet she’s even excited to see you again and is waiting for you with a big ‘ol smile! Right, Twilight?” Twilight rubbed the back of her head and put on one of her nervous grins. “Uh...funny story. I thought it would be a good idea to have Sunset come as a surprise, so Princess Celestia doesn’t know she’s here.” I wasn’t laughing at that “funny” story. Still, that explains why Twi was acting odd, though I thought something worse was on her mind. But either way, there was no turning back now. Despite the fear in Sunset’s eyes, a fire burned that I’ve never seen in them before. Not even when she stared down the Sirens back in the “battle of the bands” when the pressure was on her. Something was different about Sunset Shimmer today, but I couldn’t figure out where her new strength came from, or why it was there. Maybe she just really wanted to see Celestia, even with her fear. I said, “Oh. Well, in that case, Princess Celestia is about to have the surprise of the year! Right?” “R-Right.” Sunset’s grip on my hand tightened even more. This time, it hurt, and her now-vice grip was still growing stronger! From the pain, I waved the hand in her foreleg and begged, “Ow, ow, ow, stop it, Sunset! Let me go! Ow!” Sunset gasped and immediately uncurled her foreleg from my hand before bones could crack. Man did that hurt! “Oh, I’m so sorry, Eric! I didn’t mean to squeeze that tight! Your hand’s not hurt, is it?!” “Yeah, are you all right?” Spike echoed. I rubbed my hand, but it wasn’t hurt. “It’s all right, and I sometimes forget how strong ponies are, even Unicorns and Pegasi. How about I hold your hoof when we go in instead of you holding my hand?” That pain ended up being worth it: all that made Sunset chuckle, offered me her hoof, and I grabbed it, slowly, with my hand still stinging. Then Twilight asked the guards if we could go in, and the doors to the throne room opened. We all couldn't go in at the same time, so Twilight and Spike went in first, followed by Sunset and me, and Starlight went last. Sunset’s breathing picked up as she gritted her teeth, and she might have been fighting the urge to shake.   I found myself instinctively reaching for Sunset's hoof with my left hand, so I held it with both hands and tightened my grip. When Sunset turned her head to me, I motioned my head in Twilight's and Spike’s direction, then Starlight's, and Sunset nodded her head; she got the message. Once inside the throne room, Starlight, Sunset, and  I caught up to Twilight and Spike. All five of us made our positions to each other the same as it was before we went in: Starlight was furthest to the left and Spike furthest to the right. The room had several pillars near the walls to our left and right. Across from us, on the other side of the room, were two guards. They stood near who we came to see: Princess Celestia, standing in front of her throne. Partly to calm myself down, I thought that if this was on TV, the bronies were losing it. Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia were reuniting! Unfortunately, there was one little thing that kept me from chuckling at that thought. It also made Sunset gulp, droop her ears, and slid closer to me with an even more fearful frown than before. What it was made my heart sink. What was that “thing”? More like who it was. Instead of a big ‘ol smile, a frown was on Celestia’s face. She spread her wings out, and her scowling eyes were on us. Or, to be more accurate, on Sunset. Uh-oh. Either Trollestia was at it again, or I was oh so wrong when I told Sunset that she’s not the type to hold grudges.