As the last Summer Sun Celebration officially drew to a close in Canterlot, Shining Armor took to the stage to make an important announcement. Despite how long he'd been an alicorn prince though, he knew that what he was about to say would send shock waves throughout the entire land of Equestria. "As we look forward to the coming dawn of a new era and the fact that two ponies who have guided us for as long as we can remember will be stepping down, I am sad to say that the Summer Sun Celebration is officially a thing of the past. No longer shall it be celebrated."
The entire crowd let out a gasp as the young alicorn cautioned. "That is because an even greater and more important celebration shall take its place. As a way to ensure that the legacy of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna is not forgotten, we shall no longer commemorate their great battle from so long ago," He paused briefly, before turning to the two alicorns that stood behind him and announced. "Celestia, Luna, it is my great pleasure to announce that by the power bestowed to me, I hereby declare the establishment of a new holiday: The Festival of The Two Sisters! A holiday built to honor both of you and all you have done."
For a moment there was great silence, before the crowd burst into thunderous and deafening applause! Even Celestia and Luna were speechless and reduced to tears as they brought Shining in for a hug. More than any words, their body language conveyed how happy they were for the prince to have done so.
As Shining took up this wing hug, he couldn't help but find himself thinking about a lot of things. In particular, how far he had come in so few a number of years. He could still remember gaining his wings by completing an unfinished spell from Starswirl the Bearded, and a time when he had still resided in Canterlot as a member of the royal guard but not yet its captain (a position he'd felt he wouldn't obtain until he was much older than he was now).
Another memory that stood out to Shining though, was one that only a small hoofful of his closest friends and allies knew about. It was a memory from shortly after he'd gained his wings and become Equestria's first ever alicorn prince. And one that he found himself flashing back to even now, years after the fact.
The event in question unfolded during the first royal summit to be held at the Crystal Empire. By coincidence, it was also going to be the first major event Shining Armor would be a part of since he'd become an alicorn prince only a few weeks prior. Even now his new wings still felt weird to him.
Princess Cadence, his lovely wife, could sense how anxious Shining was becoming as the young couple prepared to host the summit (Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had yet to arrive, and Shining Armor's friends weren't due to arrive for much longer). "Shining, you need to relax," She told her husband as she got a good look at his anxious state, watching him pace back and forth in the hallways of the crystal palace. "Remember that deep breathing exercise I taught Twilight? The same could work wonders for you. Remember: Breathe in and breathe out. Be sure to do it slowly."
Shining did his best to follow the instructions, but when one was as nervous as he was deep breaths could only do so much to calm him down. "I'm sorry, Cadence," He sincerely apologized. "It's just that, now that I'm an alicorn, all the things I say and do carry far greater weight than they did before. I'm still not even sure what exactly it is I'm supposed to do or if I can even keep doing the things I've already been doing. I wish I had more time to learn before something like this. It feels as if I've just been thrown into the deep end before I truly learned how to swim."
"You're not the only pony who used to be somepony else before they became an alicorn," Cadence advised Shining. "I've been down this road, and I didn't have the resources or the support you have. Whatever challenges you may face going forward, I'll be here to help you and the same is true for others. You have friends, and your sister and Spike who is basically family to you."
The prince nodded very slowly. "Fair point. But there's really only so much help they can give. And for right now I'd just like to get through this royal summit without somehow messing up."
Just then, a door at the end of the long hallways swung open. In stepped not the much older (and wiser) Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but a group of five very familiar stallions that Shining had known since moving to Ponyville a few years back, to say nothing of a very familiar unicorn mare accompanied by a certain little dragon. "Oh, thank the stars you all came!" He exclaimed as he rushed over to hug all of them!
"You kidding? We wouldn't have missed this for the wide world of Equestria!" Soarin declared with a bright smile.
While adjusting his glass monocle, Fancy Pants was quick to add. "This is the first royal summit you're hosting as Equestria's first and only alicorn prince, after all. We simply had to be here to support our friend."
Braeburn then inquired. "You ain't nervous, are ya? It's totally okay if ya are. I remember I was nervous when Appleloosa was bein' built and the buffalo kept attackin'."
"I probably was and still am a little nervous," The alicorn confessed. "But now that all of you are here, I think I'll get by. You've all supported me through so much already, I can't imagine where I'd be if not for you."
"A very wise way of thinking, Shining Armor," A familiar warm and maternal sounding voice declared, its owner soon revealing itself to be the familiar form of Princess Celestia (accompanied by her sister, Princess Luna). "Even though you were never officially a student of mine, you've embodied the kind of humility I have rarely seen in other pupils, including my own." If one listened carefully they might have heard a faint tone of regret seep in.
Shining tried his best to look modest as he bowed in respect to the alicorn very much his superior still. "Thank you, Princess Celestia. I look forward to finally being by your side as something other than an escort for a royal summit. And Princess Luna, I know that there is much you and Cadence can teach me too about how to conduct myself as an alicorn."
Princess Luna nodded. "Indeed there is. It's still quite surprising to me to accept that there are alicorns beside myself and my sister," She sighed and briefly lamented. "After what happened with Mom and Dad, I thought Celestia and I would be the last of our kind."
"Well good thing that's not the case!" Twilight declared with a smile! "And this royal summit is gonna be one for the history books! Four alicorns, all together under one roof! And in the most recent addition to Equestria to boot, the Crystal Empire! Somepony pinch me, this is all too good to be true!"
Celestia simply replied by raising a hoof. "I'm sure we're all very much enthusiastic yet anxious for the royal summit to get underway. But it officially doesn't begin until tomorrow. It's already quite late, and I suggest we all get a good night's sleep even if only four of us will truly need to be present tomorrow."
Everypony (along with Spike who chose to stay with Twilight) retreated to their own private bed chambers a short time later and prepared to settle in for the night.
Shining tried to do the same in the bed chambers that he and Cadence shared, but it was quite a struggle for him. "Urgh, why am I still having so much trouble tucking my wings in?!" He complained aloud as the aforementioned appendages kept unfolding and poofing outward.
"You'll get the hang of it eventually, dear," Cadence reassured her husband as she lit up her horn and used her magic to help get her husband's wings into the proper position for sleep. "It took me months to get used to using my horn after I became an alicorn."
Aside from that small problem, sleep came pretty easily to the young prince. And he slept soundly for most of the night, his crown resting on a nearby nightstand. Within the dazzling head piece resided a familiar gemstone that housed the Element of Magic, a pink star that closely resembled the cutie mark of Shining's sister. Shining had been told never to let the crown out of his sight.
This piece of advice was about to be given a very good reason for its existence, for unknown to any of the castle's occupants an intruder had managed to sneak in. Said intruder had not come in through any of the conventional ways, and neither had they teleported in by using magic. The intruder had found a different way in, and was now currently searching through the lightly guarded hallways in search of their target.
Pushing open the door to Shining and Cadence's bedroom, the intruder spotted the object they were looking for: Shining's crown. More specifically what was housed inside of it. "At very long last, I will have my revenge! I'll make Princess Celestia regret ever shunning me and replacing me!" The intruder thought to itself as it used a reddish colored magical aura to pick up the crown and replace it with a surprisingly detailed replica. It almost could've been mistaken for the real thing if one didn't look closely enough.
Unfortunately, as the intruder prepared to leave they misjudged a step in the darkness and stumbled to the ground as they impacted a shelf. The noise was sufficient enough to awaken Shining, who immediately spotted his crown in possession of an unknown figure! "Hey!" He intentionally shouted at the thief, hoping to awaken the others! "What are you doing with my crown, you thief?!"
The thief didn't give a reply, they just rose and picked up the crown before making a break for it!
Shining stumbled out of bed and leapt to his hooves! "Guards, we have an intruder! Somepony's trying to steal my crown!" He shouted as he gave chase! "Stop them at all costs!"
But the thief had gotten enough of a head start to elude the guards since they had been patrolling a ways down the hall. Shining wasn't deterred though, he lit up his horn and got out in front of the thief to tackle them! In the darkness it was impossible to truly determine who or what the prince was up against even as the sound of a scuffle broke the earlier calm.
The fighting spilled over into an abandoned and empty room within the castle, one that housed a strange looking mirror that looked like it hadn't been touched for a very long time yet still seemed to be in remarkable shape. As the fight between Shining and the thief continued, the crown slipped out of the thief's grasp! Shining tried to light up his horn to snatch it, but was too late as he watched it somehow go right through the mirror, something that shouldn't have been possible!
The thief stood up, and it was only now that anyone had even a chance to see who it was. The thief appeared to be a unicorn mare about the same height as Twilight, but with a brilliant amber coat that looked like the rays of the sun. Her mane and tail were styled into fiery looking locks of vivid crimson and brilliant yellow, her eyes were a moderate cyan that looked like they were full of rage and resentment and her cutie mark was a sun surrounded by yellow and red flames on either side.
Princess Celestia let out a gasp! She knew who this intruder was! "Sunset Shimmer?!" She exclaimed in a tone that seemed to be a mix between surprise and dismay.
Without replying to her name, the unicorn mare simply retreated back through the mirror through which the crown had fallen through. "Sorry it had to be this way," She coldly answered. "But you haven't seen the last of me. I will be back!" And she slipped away before anyone could stop her, as mysteriously as she had arrived.