The clicking of the phone being hung up echoed throughout the office, followed by a long sigh. Celestia slumped forward, her elbows resting on the desk while she ran a hand through her hair. This was definitely the worst start of any holiday she ever had to endure in all her time as an educator.
The office door opened, and Luna looked inside. "How are things, Celestia?"
Celestia scoffed. "Worse than I hoped but better than I expected." She lifted her head to look at Luna and motioned towards the phone. "I just had a talk with one of the officers responsible for the investigation of the Anon-a-Miss account. He told me that once they’re done with it, they’ll send me a list of those that sent in messages so that I can give out their punishments for their involvement."
"I see," Luna muttered as she stepped closer until she stood in front of her sister’s desk, her eyes still focused on Celestia. "And did you call Sunset yet?"
"I did," Celestia said with a nod. "She took it pretty badly. She went so silent after I told her how the girls got those secrets, I thought the connection had been cut off." Celestia's expression softened. "When she spoke again, she sounded so broken, Luna. It's hard to believe that this was the girl who once ruled over our school by fear behind our backs. She had done so much for all of us, and that's how the students thanked her."
Celestia sighed. "Before she hung up, she told me that she wouldn’t return to Canterlot High after winter break, just as I expected. And Mr. Sunrise made it clear that his daughter would not attend, either."
"It would have surprised me more if they had decided to attend after everything that happened to them," Luna said quietly, looking briefly out of the window before she looked back at her sister. Celestia was once again leaning forward, one arm resting on her desk while the other was supporting her head. Her head was hanging low with her eyes closed. "I can see that something else is bothering you, Celestia. Want to talk about it?"
At first, Celestia remained quiet, and just when Luna took it as a 'no' and turned to leave her alone, Celestia spoke up.
"Am I a failure?"
Luna immediately stopped in her tracks and turned back to her sister. "Of course not! What makes you think that?"
"Just look at the past two weeks," Celestia replied with a scoff. "The school turned into an absolute madhouse, an innocent girl got framed, bullied and beaten up for everything that happened, while another girl nearly got killed by another student whom I should have expelled years ago. All of this because of three girls throwing a hissy fit in jealousy, and I couldn't do anything to stop it." She shook her head and sighed. "I should have done more..."
Celestia recoiled in surprise when Luna slammed her hand on the desk, glaring at her. "First off, don't you dare pin this entirely on yourself, sister!"
"Luna?"
"We both are in this, not just yourself," Luna continued. "We talked about how we are going about this situation. We decided on what to do. We punished every student we came across that caused trouble these past two weeks, while we did what we could to find any clues on the ones behind Anon-a-Miss." She straightened herself in front of her sister’s desk and crossed her arms. "Could we have done better? Yes, but we could only work with what we knew about. None of us knew about what was going on outside school, and none of us ever expected it to escalate to this extreme level. If we had known, we could have reacted to it accordingly, but we didn't.
"We are both responsible for how we decided to handle this situation, so if there are consequences coming, then they are coming not for you or for me but for us."
"Luna..."
"And as I stated before, you are not a failure. Maybe a bit too good-hearted at times for your own good but not a failure," Luna continued, not even acknowledging that Celestia said anything. "You always see the best in every student, no matter how far down the wrong path they are, and you try everything to guide them back towards the right one. That's what an educator is supposed to do: teach and guide those in need. Sometimes, it's a lost cause, though not for a lack of trying on your part, but most of the time, you succeed. Sunset Shimmer is a case of the latter. In your position, I would have expelled her after the Fall Formal, but you saw her potential and her desire to change and gave her that chance to change her way. The results speak for themselves.
"Gilda is the opposite. You did everything you could to help her and gave her countless chances to be better, but if one has no desire to change, there is nothing you can do. Sometimes, you just need to give up on some students."
Celestia stared at her sister as she moved around the desk and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Don't let one very misguided student drag you down by her mistakes. Think about the countless others you helped over the years instead and be proud of your hard work."
The room fell into silence while the two women looked at each other, before Celestia relaxed and smiled. "Thank you, Luna. That was just what I needed to make me feel better."
Luna returned the smile. "Whenever you need it, sister." She looked over at the clock on the wall. "I say we call it a day. We have both been here for over twelve hours already, and I think we deserve a break, with some cake back home."
Celestia's smile fell slightly while Luna walked towards the coat rack. "I appreciate it, but I know that we have no cake left back home."
"I know," Luna said before she tossed Celestia's coat towards her and grabbed her own. "That's why I ordered one an hour ago. We just need to pick it up."
Celestia looked at her sister in surprise, before her smile returned, and she put on her coat. "Have I ever told you that you are the best? How do I deserve such a wonderful sister?"
Luna rolled her eyes while she waited for her sister at the door. "Don't ask me; I have been trying to find an answer to that question for years."
Both sisters laughed at that while they left the room and closed the door behind them.
~*~
Shimmer sighed exhaustedly as she fell backwards onto the bed, her arms and legs spread out as far as possible. Lifting her hand towards her hair, she fished another paper wad out of it after a short search, and it was most likely not the last of its kind. A small part of her was a bit miffed at Twilight for participating in this childish game Northern started, but a much bigger part was sure that she would have done the same in that situation.
Twilights and Northern’s assault had continued for several long minutes while the two girls had continued their stare-down, but after a while, Twilight decided that it was enough and ended the conflict. She had claimed the last snickerdoodle for herself and ate it while both girls stared at her in shock. Moments after she finished eating, Twilight got hit by two thrown pillows at the same time. The following pillow fight, one Northern joined into immediately, lasted another thirty minutes and left the room covered in feathers after one pillow burst open.
Cleaning up all the feathers, combined with the tension from their stare-down, the pillow fight and the rest of the day, left Shimmer exhausted. Northern had left just a few minutes ago with her daughter after asking her for some help downstairs. That left Shimmer and Twilight alone for the time being, and while she enjoyed the fun the three of them had the entire evening, Shimmer decided to just enjoy the few minutes of silence.
"Hey, Sunset? Can we talk for a moment?"
But apparently, Twilight had a different idea. At first Shimmer wanted to ask if it could wait until later when she wasn't exhausted, but turning her head to look at her friend changed her mind. Twilight was sitting on one of the pillows on the ground, her back resting against the front of the wardrobe. She was fiddling around with her hands, apparently unsure what to do with them, and was looking out of the dark window, her eyes showing either concern or nervousness (Shimmer wasn't entirely sure).
"Sure," Shimmer said, rolling onto her side to face her friend. "What's up, Twilight?"
Twilight remained quiet for a few more moments, before she sighed. "I know this is probably the last thing you want to think about right now and that I should wait until tomorrow so I don’t ruin this evening, but what are you going to do now? I mean, you wanted to come back to Equestria just a few days ago, but things have changed since then. Are you still coming back?"
Shimmer blinked before she rolled back onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was true that she had decided to go back, to leave this world behind, just a few days ago. But as Twilight pointed out, things had changed. Dramatically.
"I don't know, Twi..." Shimmer began. "It all happened so fast that I didn't even think much about it; I had more important things on my mind at the time.
"Back then, it wasn't so hard to decide to leave for good; there wasn’t much left for me in this world besides being alone and hated by almost everyone, so it was an easy decision. I’d prefer to face Princess Celestia about everything I did over being completely alone, even if I think I'm not ready for it yet." Out of the corner of her eye, Shimmer could see Twilight opening her mouth to say something, but Shimmer cut her off. "And I know that she has forgiven me, Twilight. You’ve said so often enough. It's not just about the crimes I committed but also that I'm ashamed of how I repaid her for everything she did for me. She pulled me out of the orphanage, gave me a place to live and taught me nearly everything I know, and I became a snotty, entitled brat that demanded more and more." She shook her head. "I'm not ready to look her in the face, yet.”
Twilight remained silent. She knew how she herself had felt in the past whenever she thought she had disappointed Princess Celestia, but imagining how much more intense this feeling must be for Shimmer after everything that happened between her and the princess made her understand her much better.
"Either way, things changed now," Shimmer continued. "With Anon-a-Miss exposed, things will calm down now, and with Sunset, Desert and Northern around, I wouldn't be entirely alone anymore, but..." She sighed. "I'm not sure how I would move forward if I stay here. With me leaving CHS behind, continuing my education in a different school would be the obvious solution, but the only other school nearby is Crystal Prep, a private school I doubt I could ever be able to afford to attend on my own, and without a finished education, there is only so much I can do for a living in this world."
Twilight hummed in thought. "I see your point. You don't know how to proceed in this world if you decide to stay."
"In a way, yeah," Shimmer agreed. "The worst part is that I’d have the same problem if I return to Equestria. What is there in Equestria for me besides you and Princess Celestia once I gather the courage to face her? I have no place to live of my own and no idea what to do with my life. Sure, I would have my magic back, but this world has its own kind of magic with its technology that I’ve come to enjoy at least as much as I enjoyed magic."
Shimmer rose from the bed and slowly made her way towards the window, looking at the snow falling from the sky. "In short, I don't know where I belong anymore. Is it the world I was born in, or is it the world I have lived the last few years in? I just don't know anymore."
A hand on her shoulder drew Shimmer’s attention, and she turned her head to see Twilight standing beside her, a smile on the princess’s face.
"I'm sure you can find the answer in time," she said. "Home is where the heart is, as they say, so listen closely to what it’s telling you. And whatever world you choose to stay in, I will always be here to help you if you need me. You just need to ask."
Shimmer smiled and pulled her friend into a hug. "Thanks, Twilight. For everything."
Twilight smiled as she returned the hug. "That's what friends are for."
The two friends remained in their embrace for a few moments before they separated and continued watching the snowfall through the window. Neither of them was aware of the girl leaning against the wall on the other side of the slightly ajar door, silently listening in on their conversation.