//------------------------------//
// The Sun Sets 
// Story: Never Alone 
// by SoloBrony 
//------------------------------//





Celestia and I quickly made our way towards Ponyville, eager to put some distance between us and Bree before she could recover from what had just happened. Twilight had set the sun, so we walked by moonlight, and the temperature was dropping quickly. We'd gotten halfway to town before Celestia said anything.

"Thank you, Sunset. I did not even know where to start dealing with what she said."

I glanced over, and I could see she was still struggling with what to say. I brushed up against her as we walked, and smiled up at her.

"Don't even waste the energy to think about her, or what she says. She's just not worth it."

Celestia sucked in a sharp breath, closing her eyes as she formulated her next sentence.

I guess Bree really got under her coat...

"What she said doesn't become any less true simply because she was the one saying it."

I winced. "Yeah, well... what's being said can be colored by how it's said, too. She left out how I was a self-centered, power-hungry brat that was impossible for you to control."

Celestia's wing wrapped around me, pulling me close as we came to a stop, and she opened her eyes to look at me. They were twisted in anguish.

"Sunset, you were just a filly. I should have known better, should have guided you better, and... and she was right. I should have taken you in properly, not just treated you as a student."

My heart fluttered, thinking about how badly I'd have wanted to hear that even just a few years ago. I pressed into her barrel and sighed.

"You know what? Things are good between us now. Focusing on this, trying to say, 'it's my fault, no it's my fault', how's that help either of us? Ponies get too fixated on where blame should fall, but it's like... we both made mistakes, we both learned from them, and things are fine now. Let's just not even worry about it."

She pulled me into a real hug, then, and I felt her breathing strain as she tried not to cry. The sensation stung me, too, as I realized just how deeply Bree had wounded her.

She really needed to hear me tell her I forgive her.

We stayed like that for a little while, and when Celestia had calmed down slightly she released me to resume walking to town.

After we'd gone a few paces, an idea occurred to me that made me scoff in amusement, causing Celestia to look at me quizzically. I smirked at her.

"That Bree really is a piece of work, huh?"

Celestia huffed, looking to the sky. "She really is! I don't think anypony would have dared to speak to me like that when I was on the throne. I suppose she thought I was 'fair game', as they say, now that I've abdicated."

"I dunno," I said, smirk deepening, "I think Starlight Glimmer might have been willing to go after you like that under the right circumstances."

Celestia's eyes shot wide, and she laughed suddenly, forcing her eyes back closed. "You're right! I don't think Twilight's student has a 'filter', as they say. Why, I remember her resolving a dispute between Luna and me by swapping our cutie marks."

I snorted. "Twilight told me about that. She practically had an aneurysm over it."

Celestia grinned at me. "I can't say I'm surprised! I very nearly lost my temper with that mare, but in the end she was right. I suppose, in retrospect, I can see how much worse I might have had it; Starlight only meant the best for us, so she was blunt, but never... mean-spirited. Could you imagine being raised by a mare like Bree?"

I shuddered. "Yeah, actually. I saw a lot of Cozy's memories of all of that."

Celestia frowned suddenly, realizing her faux pas. "Oh, Sunset, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

I waved her off. "It's fine. But yeah, it was a nightmare. I'm actually surprised Cozy didn't turn out worse in some ways, honestly."

Celestia snickered, shaking her head. "A strong-willed filly like that, under those circumstances? I think we're lucky she managed to stop at hitting Bree once. Not that I approve of such things, but..."

Celestia trailed off, tilting her head this way and that. I raised an eyebrow, and she shot me a sly look before continuing.

"Actually? I think I'm fine with it, just this once."

I belted out a hard laugh. That had caught me so completely by surprise!

"Wow, Celestia! I didn't know you had it in you! What happened to the eternal peacekeeper of Equestria?!"

"She retired, thank the stars!"

We shared a good laugh at that, and Celestia was wiping a tear off of her face when she next commented.

"Honestly, did you see the look on everypony's faces when that happened? I believe all of us thought we should say something, but..."

I grinned. "Yeah, but we were all on Cozy's side there, anyway. Although... I was actually a little worried."

Celestia looked at me with her eyebrows up. "Worried? Did you think Bree would become violent in turn?"

I grimaced. "No, not really. That would have been easy to deal with. I was worried because... well, you're right that we were lucky Cozy stopped at just fending her off. The whole reason she ran off in the first place was... she really, really wanted to hurt Bree. I mean, bad, like, kill her bad. I've never felt malice that overwhelming before. It was really, just... horrible."

Celestia nodded, pursing her lips in thought for a moment. "I suppose that makes sense. Abuse doesn't form overnight, and foals naturally love their parents... To Cozy, Bree must have been the center of the universe. I suppose the only way she could stop her mother from hurting her any more was by twisting every bit of affection she had for her into hatred."

I winced. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Celestia sighed, watching the ground as we walked. "It's something I've seen a few times over the centuries. And... it's quite similar to what happened to Luna, for that matter."

I took a deep breath, thinking that over, and nodded. "I guess that's why she didn't scold Cozy for that outburst. She probably knew just how much worse it would have been if Cozy really lost it."

Celestia smiled at me, sadly. "I'm afraid Luna is all too familiar with that, yes."

We trotted on in quiet for a few moments before I broke the silence with an involuntary snicker. "There's definitely one thing Cozy got from her birth mother."

Celestia looked at me with a quirked eyebrow, and I snickered again as I spoke. "For all of the nastiness threw at you, Cozy's response to her was just... wow."

Celestia shook her head in confusion. "I don't see the humor. What Cozy said was an expression of pure hatred!"

I laughed, throwing my head back. "Yeah, but it was justified anger! And, I dunno, it's just, Bree had it coming. Who knows? Maybe it will wake her up. Either way, sorry, I just can't pretend I wasn't satisfied to see somepony lay into her like that. I guess it's just because I shared Cozy's memories."

Celestia watched me for a few moments, and then snickered herself. "Okay, I will admit that it was perhaps a bit satisfying. But we shouldn't celebrate such a horrible moment, I think."

I scoffed at her. "It wasn't horrible! Cozy was finally standing up to her mom, the way she should have been able to years ago! I think it was actually really good for her. I mean, you know as well as anypony that honesty is a vital element of harmony. It's not like it would have been better for Cozy to lie and pretend everything was fine, or keep hiding her feelings. Doing that was part of why she snapped in the first place!"

Celestia watched me as I spoke, and I was unnerved as her eyes seemed to brighten as I went on. She smiled warmly. What she said really took me aback, though.

"Sunset... you really have grown up."

I recoiled somewhat in confusion, and she went on.

"You're right, of course. I suppose years of mediating disputes have made me believe that if somepony vents whatever anger they have, all it will do is cause more strife. I am accustomed to tempers needing to cool over time, to things needing to blow over, but this was not a case where time spent holding one's tongue would somehow relieve things. Cozy..."

She sighed. "Cozy was never going to forgive Bree, nor do I believe they will ever reconcile in any way. So it was better for her to simply establish where they stand. I can't help but regret that such a thing has occurred in Equestria."

I bumped into Celestia forcefully, causing her to stagger slightly and look at me in surprise. "It's not your fault if somepony was so crazy they hurt everypony around them, Celestia. And you helped Cozy get the confidence to do something about it. Don't take this stuff so personally, and don't worry so much about it. I mean, Equestria is a place where bad things happen all the time, but we overcome them and come out stronger in the end. That's how it's always been, isn't it?"

Celestia laughed, nodding. "You're right. That is the recurring theme of this kingdom, it seems. I suppose I'm just more accustomed to villainous attacks than broken relationships."

I snickered. "Well, just think of Bree as a villain, then. That's definitely how I see her. Come on, Celestia, what do you really think of her?"

Celestia huffed. "I would never speak ill of one of my little ponies."

Her mouth was twitching with the desire to smirk, and I leaned in. "But you're not the big princess of the sun any more, are you? You can say whatever you want."

Celestia grinned slyly, then drew herself up into a regal posture, strutting exaggeratedly. "Sunset, you well know that, reigning princess or not, I would never lower myself to bad-mouthing somepony else. Even if that pony should happen to be a massive cunt."

I reeled, my ears feeling like they lit on fire. "Whoa-ho-ho! I can't believe what I just heard! Since when do you have a vocabulary like that?"

Celestia rolled her eyes, laughing. "Sunset, I've dealt with the angriest ponies and vilest villains for a thousand years! I've heard more profanity than the rest of Equestria combined, in all likelihood."

I blew a raspberry. "Not as long as I'm on this side of the portal. You should try online gaming in the human world sometime; the stuff they say sometimes is just awful."

Celestia shrugged, still strutting like nothing had happened. Her voice came out overly formal, and I could tell she was enjoying the act. "Perhaps I'll do that. I have all of the time in the world, after all."

She narrowed her eyes at me and grinned. "I'll show those human gamers how it's really done."

I couldn't stop snickering at that mental image as we finally came to the outskirts of Ponyville proper.

"Watch out, Xbox Live; Celestia's here to dunk on all of the haters."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. " 'Dunk' on them? I believe I heard Cozy say something similar. Is there some hidden, profane double-meaning to that phrase?"

I laughed, waving her off. "No, no. Don't worry, I haven't been exposing your niece to any filth. It just means you owned somepony."

Celestia cocked her head. " 'Owned'? Do humans practice slavery?"

I groaned. "Nono, I mean... well... actually, some do, and there's prison labor, but that's not what I meant!"

Celestia recoiled, staring at me flatly. "And you willingly live in that place?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Okay, look. What I mean is that it's just a term meaning you really kicked somepony's flank."

Celestia ruffled her feathers. "How garish and violent."

I opened my mouth, snapped it shut, and stared at her flatly. "You're just messing with me, aren't you."

Celestia's grin grew wide and her eyes twinkled. "Gotcha."

I groaned and rubbed my head. "Okay, okay, that one goes to you."

"Indeed, I have dunked upon you."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, rolling my eyes. "OKAY, okay, enough of that. I can only handle so much of you being cool in one evening or my head will explode."

"That's the secret, Sunset," Celestia said with a self-satisfied smirk, "if you build up a thousand-year reputation for being reserved and dignified, it just hits that much harder when you cut loose."

I snorted. "Discord would definitely approve of this side of you."

Celestia's cheeks colored slightly. "Oh, he knows. That draconequus has no sense of privacy or decorum. I believe it's become something of a game between us, as he tries to goad me into antics."

I snickered. "I guess he's succeeded a few times?"

Celestia groaned. "Oh, back when we first met, certainly. I was hardly as mature as I am now. I lost my temper with him more than once, much to his delight."

I sighed happily, pressing into her. "Well, I'm glad to see you haven't lost the ability to loosen up over the years."

Celestia draped a wing over me and smiled. "I learned a long time ago, with Luna, that it's important to let the masks down with family."

I felt my cheeks heat up at that, and Celestia seemed to suddenly register what she'd said. She withdrew her wing, her own face coloring visibly, and cleared her throat to speak.

"Erm, we should be making our way... somewhere."

I nodded hurriedly. "Right, yeah, um... I guess I should head home."

Celestia nodded, straining to recover some sort of poise. "And my home is in the other direction, so..."

I chewed my lip over, thinking quickly. "Y'know... Silver Shoals is a good ways from here. It's been a pretty exhausting day, and my place is a lot closer, once we cross through the portal... if you'd rather spend the night there."

Celestia's smile wasn't like her usual, serene glow or her mischievous grin, but was instead broad and spontaneous, lighting up her whole face.

"I'd love that, Sunset."

I grinned sheepishly. "It's hardly accommodations fit for a princess, but..."

She raised an eyebrow, and tousled my hair. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed that, myself. "I'm sure it will be fine. As long as we can spend some time together, I think I will be quite at ease."

We went together in companionable silence, passing through the castle and portal with a sense of excitement. As Celestia passed through, I caught her hand and helped her stay upright. Then a familiar voice caught us both off-guard from the direction of the school.

"What the heck?"

There, right in front of the school, lit up only by the street lights, was Principal Celestia, coffee in hand. She and Princess Celestia locked eyes, and I coughed lightly.

"Well this is awkward."