The unicorn was approaching Ponyville after months of wandering away from Equestria. They had passed through Everfree Forest to pick their favourite treat, a Zapapple apple. They were not afraid of the dangers of this forest; thanks to their ability, creatures such as Timberwolfs were not a danger to them.
The unicorn was arriving southeast of the city, so they passed in front of Fluttershy's cottage. Finishing their apple with one last bite and throwing the core over the shoulder, they approached to see if the animal caretaker was there. A pegasus was there, surrounded by her animals: Harry the bear, Angel the rabbit, Elizabeak the hen, birds, snakes, beavers and many others. all of them were there to comfort her, to try to make her smile again, in vain. She had lost so much that her heart was broken. That pegasus that was there was no longer Fluttershy.
The unicorn was disconcerted, and called the pegasus. Fluttershy timidly looked up and crossed eyes only to lower them immediately. The unicorn asked a question that was never answered, as the pegasus turned her head away, shoulders lowered. Angel laid his paws on one of her hooves, to help her overcome her growing sadness. The pegasus gently took him to seek comfort, and all the animals joined the embrace to try to help her overcome the flood of tears that were now rolling over Fluttershy’s cheeks. The pegasus had no reason to leave her cottage after all.
The unicorn was troubled, so they knew they would not get more information. Their thoughts were racing faster than their hooves as they galloped toward Ponyville. They expected the worst, but nothing could prepare them for what had become of the small country town. Admittedly it seemed the same in the main lines, but the small details were not misleading. The joy of living was practically absent from the general atmosphere. The guards operating in the city wore armour similar to that of the bat ponies, decorated in shades of purple and blue. Even the statue of the fountain was replaced to glorify the reign of Nightmare Moon. No, it wasn't Nightmare Moon who was the model for this statue. It was Luna standing there, transfigured as she was consumed by her anger, a new Nightmare, and it was easy to understand for those who could support the look, that this monster was overshadowing her predecessor.
The unicorn was disturbed. They galloped faster, attracting the attention of the guards, but they didn't care. Soon they arrived at the library. But when they rushed in, only Spike was there, surprised to see this unicorn. Again they asked this simple question. Spike's reaction was almost the same as Fluttershy's, with his index finger he pointed in a vague direction and answered.
The unicorn was incredulous. They could not believe what they had just heard, and short of breath, they resumed their journey. Following the dragon's instructions, they left the city and arrived at the top of a small hill overlooking the Great Plain. It was one of the names given to the cemetery, the one at the foot of the mountain on which Canterlot was built.
The unicorn was scared. They refused to believe what they had heard. Yet there they were, walking down the aisles. They arrived in a special section dedicated to the illustrious personalities of Equestria. They did not want to enter it at first, but their heart was crying out for them to go and see. Step by step, they dragged themself, forced themself, and step by step, they approached the stele. But they could not take their eyes from their hooves, shaking, their whole bodies traversed by a terror that they had never felt before.
The unicorn looked up, with great effort. At the simple sight of the Cutie Mark engraved on the stele, everything broke inside them, tears came to their eyes.
In a jolt, Bitter Truth straightened up on his forelegs, waking up in tears with a short breath, he carried the hoof around his neck to reassure himself that he was awake. He exhaled, driving away his melancholy, and for a moment this sinister vision of his mind. He removed a ceramic mask that covered the upper part of his face, on which was carved loose webbing worked into a pattern around a central hole this enchantment seemed to be there to prevent any oniric intrusion. He was satisfied that the enchantment of the mask was effective enough to first prevent Luna, then Nightmare Moon from perceiving and learning about his recurring nightmares. It was thanks to Princess Celestia that he was able to create such an object. She, who had to protect herself from her sister’s pranks before she gave in to her jealousy and became Nightmare Moon. However, the satisfaction was short-lived, the vision of this tomb haunted him more and more every day. Even if the present time was different from the vision in his nightmare, he couldn’t get over the vision of his friend’s death.
The unicorn cried once again.
Two hours later, at Sweet Apple Acres:
"Are you telling me that Rainbow is finally a Wonderbolt as of yesterday morning, sugarcube?" asked Applejack incredulously after bucking one of the countless apple trees with hind legs to fill fruit baskets all around.
"Yes." Sunset said before trying to kick another tree to fill the harvest baskets as well. "Why? You make it sound like I told a lie."
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, sugarcube, you're telling the truth, I'm not saying the opposite, just..." the mare briefly rubbed her neck to chase away a discomfort. “... It's weird to find that out the next day. Rainbow is not a slacker when it comes to bragging, I thought the day it happened, she'd go talk to everypony the very next minute after finding out. She'd be making Rainbooms all day long, but now I hear it from you a day after, it just feels too weird."
Sunset thought back to the day before. "Probably she takes the project so seriously, that she’d rather be training."
"A project? What project?" Applejack asked.
"Through a letter, Princess Celestia asked Spitfire to complete an older project so that a Wonderbolt could wear the armour involved on said project, and become a guardian of harmony. And since Rainbow Dash was a reservist, having helped save Equestria several times, and is the only one who can break the sound barrier, Spitfire didn't have to look very far to find the one she needed."
"So Rainbow is going to become a special kind of Wonderbolt?"
"It will be a special unit of the Wonderbolts under Spitfire's orders, but she will have no wing pony, on the event that a menace threatens Equestria's safety, as Rainbow must be able to join Twilight without having to leave the copilot behind."
"About that, how's Twilight?"
Sunset looked away, biting her lip before screwing up her face. She let her anger run free and ran to another tree, hitting it with a flying kick to make apples fall into the basket. "She just needs time. Spike makes sure she eats, and once she passes the stage of depression, she should be fine."
"The stage of depression? What are you talking about, sugarcube?"
"Bereavement following a death is divided into five stages. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The time between it’s stages varies from one pony to another. After her meeting with Princess Luna, Twilight came to meet me as if nothing had happened. She was clearly in denial that it had happened, or that she wanted to talk about it when we were all there. In the bedroom, when Rainbow couldn't believe Pepper had killed Celestia, Twilight exploded with anger. Since Pepper is now dead, taking for granted that Chrysalis wasn’t lying, that is, and assuming Nightmare Moon was telling the truth, there’s no way to negotiate bringing Princess Celestia back. This has led Twilight straight to where she is now, depression. I would probably be in the same state if I hadn't been kicked out fifteen years ago." she added distractedly.
"That's a lot of words to say she's having a hard time."
Sunset smiled briefly. "Yes."
"Applejack! Sunset! Hello," Pinkie shouted from afar as she joyfully leapt towards them.
"Hello Pinkie Pie," chirped the farmpony and unicorn. "What brings you here so early?" Applejack asked.
"Well, Rarity came to the shop to take her daily order of cupcakes for tea time and she told me that Rainbow Dash was officially a Wonderbolt so I was wondering if you still had a jar of Zapapple jam to celebrate the event with a cake."
"Wait a minute sugarcube, since when does Rarity know about that?”
Sunset stepped forward. "I told her yesterday afternoon after I left Rainbow with Spitfire at the Wonderbolt Academy, since I had promised to visit her. Between my kimono and this announcement, she had several ideas and started a couple sketches of a new concept for her next few dresses."
"Oh." Applejack adjusted her hat. "I forgot about your promise, sugarcube." She turned to the earth pony with a light pink coat. "It's true that we keep a few jars for special occasions. I suppose we can open one this time."
"That would be great." Pinkie shouted, rearing up on her hind hooves to flail around her forelegs.
Sunset looked around for a brief moment before returning her gaze to Applejack. "I was wondering, considering you’re the element of Honesty and all...about Pepper, didn't you see anything coming? I mean, did she ever say anything that seemed strange to you?"
"As I said two days ago, she was mostly hanging out with Rainbow." she pointed out. She tried to remember how little she had come to know about her. "From the first moment I saw her, she always seemed especially nervous, being all shifty-eyed and such."
"Oh, yes! Like the time when Princess Celestia came to be released from prison, Pepper never turned her back on her, she walked backwards until she was out of the room," Pinkie Pie added.
"And that didn't seem strange to you?"
"Well, Princess Celestia told us that everything would be fine, that Princess Luna would find the words to calm her down, and then asked Rainbow to help Pepper get used to life in Equestria."
"Why Rainbow specifically? Shouldn't this have been entrusted to Twilight instead? She was already the Princess of Friendship, wasn't she?"
Applejack and Pinkie looked at each other before the pink-haired mare turned around to Sunset, lifting a hoof to answer the question with a big smile. "Oh, Oh, I know! You see, after she left the room, Fluttershy said that Pepper reminded her of an injured animal that would refuse to be treated by anypony who tried to approach her, so Princess Celestia gave Rainbow the task of gaining her trust, as the element of Loyalty."
"Twilight told me that Pepper seemed singular, but not malevolent, but now you're not going to tell me that there was nothing to worry about this human?" Sunset asked.
"Listen Sunset, Pepper was already with Rainbow Dash the whole afternoon and Princess Luna during the night. What more could we do? Monitor every single one of her actions?"
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Pinkie took a deep breath. "You mean like when Twilight received a visit from her future self to warn her of a disaster without having time to say exactly what and as a result present Twilight began to monitor absolutely everything in Equestria to the point of almost not sleeping all week and that we ended up by breaking into Canterlot's archives in Starswirl the Bearded’s room to grab a time spell and that in the end there was no disaster the Twilight of the future which was therefore the Twilight of the present left to tell the Twilight of the past that there was nothing to worry about?" she exposited in one breath.
It took Sunset a few seconds to process the endless sentence. "There’s a time travel spell in Starswirl the Bearded‘s room?" She didn't wait for an answer. She turned around, cast the fire wings spell while galloping, and flew towards Canterlot, her wings flapping as fast as they could. Starswirl the Bearded was the precursor in the field of magic, he was the author of many spells still used today. To learn that he had invented a time travel spell was not surprising, although it surprised Sunset that she had never known of the existence of such a spell before.
Abandoned on the spot, Applejack and Pinkie stared at Sunset’s ever smaller shape, already far away on the horizon. "When you explained the outcome, Twilight said that the spell you found only worked once per pony and couldn't go back more than a week, right?" Applejack asked.
"Yep!" replied Pinkie with a big smile.
"And you didn't tell Sunset that because...?"
"A hunch." she replied, her smile persisting.
Applejack watched Pinkie for a moment, her predictions, her insights, she had learned like the rest of Ponyville never to question them, and she would not seek to understand them. She’d rather accept it than have a pot of flowers land on her head. She moved towards the wicker saddle, pulled it up on her back and walked towards the farm. "I'll give you a jar of Zapapple jam right now, sugarcube."
"Thank you Applejack," replied Pinkie, following her as she bounced, always smiling.
In Canterlot, Starswirl the Bearded's room was a large round room of about fifty square metres, in it’s centre was a huge hourglass mounted on an enchanted device that reversed the bulbs when the sand had completely drained, the mechanism on a massive pedestal. From there stretched corridors of shelves, filled with books and other scrolls containing spells and other treatises on magic.
Dusty Nova was chasing the oracle from aisle to aisle.
"Bitter Truth! Listen to me! I have a question to ask you." The vampony called out.
Bitter, who was looking at the books on the shelf at the time, laid his lemon yellow eyes on the vampony. "You're the one who's not listening to me, Lady Nova, it's probably my fault. I was too subtle, so let me rephrase it." He took care to delay it to make it languish. "Not today." he said simply before fleeing to another aisle.
Dusty Nova tensed up out of irritation, she used her magic to dislodge one of the chewed wooden pencils from her mane, which was pulled into a bun, to chew it again, and ran after the unicorn to find it three aisles away. "Don't laugh at me, that's exactly what you just said," she barked after removing the pencil from her mouth.
"I have my reasons, Lady Nova. No, this is not an attempt to prevent the trick from being blown up, and no, threatening to stab that wooden pencil in my throat won't do you any good," Bitter said with a smile. "What is this mania for mares to threaten the throats of stallions." he commented, scraping the bandage on his throat that covered an itching, healing wound.
She moved backwards. "I didn't mean to threaten your throat with this pencil," said the disconcerted mare, before she began to chew the pencil more rapidly, she glanced around, thinking quickly.
"Yes, it's normal to think I'm just a telepath, but no, I'm not."
Stressed beyond her limits, the vampony with the grey coat gave in to anger, she clenched her teeth and broke the pencil with her magic before throwing herself at Bitter Truth. With her telekinesis, she knocked him down and leaned the improvised weapon against his throat. "Stop...... This." Her anger gave way to disbelief. She realised that as he said, she was threatening his throat. However, she could not help but think that this was the result of a subliminal suggestion. "Don't do that again." she ordered.
"Because it drives you crazy? Imagine what it feels like to see plausible futures and to know what anypony will say before they even think about it. Why do you think I avoid everypony?" He sighed, "I only have peace of mind when I isolate myself."
In her haste, she forgot to formulate her sentence correctly. "If so, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm here to meet Sunset Shimmer, and you're going to open the door when you leave from here. There you go, you've just used your right to ask me a question."
"Hey! That wasn't the question I wanted to ask you."
"You knew I'd only answer one question, you were too curious."
Dusty Nova released her telekinetic grip on Bitter Truth, and began to chew her pencil for a moment, her distracted gaze looking around before a thought came to her mind.
The unicorn that hadn't moved giggled. "I plead guilty. To make it up to you, I agree to answer the one you have in mind at our next meeting. But it will not be unconditional."
She was upset for being manipulated in this way. However, she resisted the urge to kill him. If what he had just said was true, and it was difficult to think that this would not be the case, she would need him, even if she would have to comply with his conditions. "I'm going to leave this place, otherwise I won't answer for your safety. So, until the next time we meet, then." She headed for the exit, biting into the pencil as hard as she could. Behind her, Bitter Truth would get up, and once in front of the gates that acted as a door, she found herself with a unicorn she had never seen before.
Sunset Shimmer observed the one standing in front of her, the glasses that completely protected her eyes from the slightest ray of sunlight gave her a small idea of what she was dealing with. "Hello. We have never met before. I'm Sunset Shimmer. May I enter the room?"
She took the pencil out of her mouth and made an appropriate bow. "I am Dusty Nova, royal magician of Canterlot. Hello to you Sunset Shimmer. I've heard of you, and indeed you have the accreditation to enter this room. What's more, you're expected. Whatever the reason for your coming, good luck with this Bitter Truth, he's going to play with your nerves. That being said, don't hurt him too much."
After some polite exchanges, Sunset entered the room, and from the centre, searched
In which alley was hiding the stallion. She finally found him, guided by a sigh.
"Hello to you too, Lady Shimmer. Yes, it is me, as Lady Nova said earlier. Yes, I was waiting for you. Before you have the idea of asking another question in the near future, be aware that this meeting is not accidental. And that if you have any questions, I will only answer one of them. In clear or cryptic ways, it is up to me alone. You have no idea what it's like to see the future and be exploited for selfish purposes."
Entering the alley, Sunset observed the stallion in detail. In front of her stood a stallion whose age it was difficult for her to determine, his nonchalant attitude left the idea that he was out of touch with reality. The slate-grey coat was summarily maintained, just like the white mane. Sunset could not help but wonder, in view of the hairstyle, if it was not the result he obtained by pulling small strands of his mane but by cutting them short with scissors. The body seemed surprisingly robust for a unicorn, which was nevertheless the most frail of the three races, at the same time the heavy circles under his eyes gave him a tired look, as if he was about to give his last breath. She came closer, and noticed a piercing at the base of each of the ears, a small topaz carved into a star, and when she crossed her eyes, she had the feeling that he had seen the beginning and end of this world. She kept in mind the warning about the question. "Strange, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
"I know. We've met before. Well, I should say I saw you, because you were more busy with somepony else to pay attention to me. The unicorn you are thinking of was certainly much more famous than I was. A small clue, the room in which we are is named after him."
She looked at him for a moment, imagining him with a beard and a large cape and a dark blue hat, both covered with star motifs. "No way." And yet, with this clue, it was difficult for the mare not to see Bitter Truth other than a younger version of Starswirl the Bearded.
"Impossible? Would it be so difficult to accept the idea that my ability to see the future is only a consequence of his work on time and space? After all, he abused time travel so much, and his pretty mirror that led to other dimensions...." He observed Sunset. "....You know, the one you were planning to go through fifteen years ago, immediately following your banishment." He watched her carefully for a moment. "Considering the result, I'm glad I had Reynaud change places with him at the last minute."
She was dumbfounded. "So it's your fault that I was reduced to wandering the road to Japony!"
He smirked. "It was only your hooves that led to this. You could have stayed in Canterlot. You could have had a certain notoriety, as you should have started with the bad reputation of being the student who failed to learn from Princess Celestia's teaching. Your trip to Japony is only the result of the sum of your decisions. Let's face it, if you had passed through that mirror, you wouldn't be a quarter of the unicorn you are now." He sighed, "I take some responsibility for forcing your fate to take an unexpected direction. But once you left Canterlot Castle, you were solely responsible, Miss Shimmer."
Sunset bit his lip. "It wasn't my destiny you had to force, it was Princess Celestia's."
Bitter Truth had a reproving look in his eyes. "What do you think? I tried, over and over again, I tried to make her give up the destiny she had decided to embrace. But after she asked me her question, nothing could change her mind."
"You could have told Twilight or Princess Luna, or her adopted niece Princess Cadance."
"I am a master only of my own destiny. I am an oracle, I answer questions that can help to drastically change the course of a lifetime, if I am asked a relevant question. Asking somepony else to hide a mirror is one thing. Preventing a princess from doing what she thinks is right, is another. Do you think you have any chance of persuading her?"
"I have to try!" Sunset cried feverishly. "For a lot of reasons, I have to try."
Bitter Truth looked away, empathetic. "I fully understand how you feel." He looked up at a shelf, using his magic, he took out a scroll. "Follow me." he asked calmly.
Sunset didn't ask any questions, she just followed the stallion through Canterlot Castle. She let herself be led into the immense corridor that preceded the throne room.
This corridor had not changed since Sunset's last passage, still as huge, wide enough that fifteen adult ponies could stand side by side without squeezing, and so long that a queue of a hundred ponies could have held in a single line. The floor was composed of a chequerboard with white and blue tiles, in the middle was a red carpet. The room was very bright thanks to the many windows separated by a dozen stained glass windows, all allowing sunlight to pass through. The endless vault was supported by white columns, which were decorated with a bouquet of flowers.
It was about noon now, Princess Luna had already retired for a snack, and the guard had briefly retired to do the same. There was no one there but them.
The mare's cyan eyes looked at the stained glass windows there. She recognised Twilight and her friends who were hitting an alicorn as dark as the night. The next stained glass window was almost similar but the creature was indescribable, each part of his body came from different creatures. The third represented a couple, she easily recognised the mare, it was Princess Cadance, their love for each other that surrounded them, forming a circle around them, dropping strange creatures that Sunset had never seen before. On the next stained glass window, Spike raised his hands high in the sky, as if he had just thrown a blue heart larger than the dragon into the sky. Said artefact, Sunset assumed, seemed to radiate an immeasurable power. And the last one represented only Twilight taking flight, wearing a crown with a purple star, the element of magic.
"Yes, these are the events I predicted."
Sunset, who had been cut off, was now looking at the oracle with an irritated look. "It must not be easy to have a conversation with you."
He unrolled the scroll on the ground and began to read it. "We are not here to have a conversation," he underlined as he studied the scroll. "Indeed, easy if you know how to remove it," he murmured. He concentrated, his magic struck the scroll and the text of the spell was modified in the great widths.
Sunset was going to ask a question but changed her mind at the last minute. "You know what you're doing, I guess."
Bitter watched the mare for a moment. "This spell is limited, Starswirl has placed constraints on it. Normally, because of a specific one, you couldn't go back any further than last week. But with this modification, this constraint is removed. Ready?"
"Go ahead!"
Bitter Truth magically struck the scroll to activate its spell before moving it under Sunset, a bubble formed around it, multiple cogs formed on it, rolling counterclockwise, in an ever faster rhythm, until the bubble became opaque. The next moment, the bubble burst, and there was only the scroll left, Bitter Truth took it back and turned around to leave.
From the other end of the corridor, Reynaud approached, holding a tray with one leg carrying orange juice on it. When he reached the unicorn's height, he presented her with the drink.
He drank it all in one go, the freshness did him good at first, and biting into the ice cube gave him a slight icy headache that was not to his displeasure. "Thank you Reynaud." The oracle observed over his shoulder for a moment before returning to the butler. "Miss Shimmer will be back in a few seconds, can you give her a message from me?"
"Of course, Sir Bitter."
At another time, in the same place, the bubble containing Sunset Shimmer appeared and spat out the unicorn without warning, yet Sunset managed a perfect landing on her four hooves.
"Did it work?" she asked herself. The mare looked around, and very quickly she had the answer. All the new stained glass windows she had seen a few moments earlier were no longer there, replaced by stained glass windows on the theme of the celestial stars. The spell had brought her back at least four years in the past, before the Summer Sun Festival, celebration that commemorated the thousand year anniversary of the day Nightmare Moon was banished. Sunset didn't know how long she was going to stay in that time, but she wasn't willing to waste any more precious seconds.
She turned to the doors, facing two unicorn royal guards, who were puzzled by the sudden apparition. She opened one of the doors with magic and teleported to the middle into the throne room. "Princess Celestia! I need to talk to you!"
The guards of the throne room, surprised by this sudden entrance, moved backwards before standing on the path of this intruder, taking the weapons out of their sheaths, to prevent her from getting any closer to Princess Celestia.
The white alicorn was no less shocked to see Sunset Shimmer. But from the multiple feelings that collided in her mind, only one voice emerged. "How dare you?" she whispered as she stood up. She stood up in all her splendour, spreading her wings to assert her rank, looking angry to see her former student right here in the heart of the palace. "How dare you Sunset Shimmer, introduce yourself to this castle from which you are banished?!"
Following these words, the four guards began to approach the unicorn, to arrest her.
"Princess Celestia, you don't under-"
"Silence!" ordered the princess, using Canterlot's traditional voice.
The guards were just as shocked as Sunset was, they had never seen the princess in such anger, that she came to shout like that.
The unicorn strangled a sob, she tried to keep her head above the water, but deep down inside, she struggled against her regrets, she tried to find a way to talk to her, but no matter what she could imagine, she was convinced that Princess Celestia would refuse to let her speak. The simple fact of being in her presence, of being able to see her so furious towards her, of hearing her scream after her, her whole body trembled, her regrets turned into a desire to repent. She had no strength left but to cry like a filly who had just been scolded, unable to look up from her hooves.
There were three knockings at the door, all but Sunset turned their attention to the entrance. Bitter Truth was standing there, carrying a travel pilgrim, a travel saddle with two saddlebags, the whole thing was of a sober black. "As soon as I get home, I have to tell Shining Armor not to worry about hearing you scream through the palace. Should I conclude that the surprise is not to your liking, Your Highness? She came with the best of intentions, but if you really want to punish her, I brought here something to teach her a lesson," he said, pushing the door to show what was behind.
The sun princess' gaze went from Bitter Truth to Sunset Shimmer. Seeing the idea he was proposing to her, she could not help but agree. She took a deep breath to refocus herself before speaking. "Guards, leave this room at once, I will personally take care of this proscribed mare's case," she announced in a firm tone, her horn haloed with golden magic as she moved the object of the punishment behind Sunset.
As the guards left the room, Bitter Truth watched the scene with a slight wedge smile. His gaze was only on Princess Celestia, who moved slowly to face Sunset Shimmer, and he could see how cold the alicorn was, so much she crushed the unicorn that had been crying all that time with this icy and distant look. Bitter Truth then closed the door to leave them alone in the room.
The princess used the first of the primary feathers of her right wing to force Sunset to lift her head and plunged her magenta eyes into this foggy look of tears, but she remained frozen in front of this vision. "Sunset Shimmer, despite your banishment, you have on this day entered the castle grounds without prior authorization. As a result, I, Princess Celestia, command you to turn around and face your punishment."
Sunset looked at Celestia's face through all those tears she had been repressing for years, she had trouble not looking at her, she had so much to say to her, but even now she was convinced that the slightest attempt to start a conversation would hit a wall. She was docile, and turned around, and when she saw the object of the punishment, she had a gesture of retreat, shocked to see again the mirror that was the origin of her exile. This mirror mounted on a two-storey pedestal, was as high as Princess Celestia, its frame was shaped like a horseshoe, the nail holes were lined with spinels, a small crown at its top, all coloured with shades of mauve, the outlines decorated with simple arabesques, from the first floor of the pedestal to the top of the crown.
"Look in that mirror, and tell me what you see," ordered the white-coated alicorn in a neutral tone, turning her face to the left, so she could hide it behind her mane. The latter had four light colours, two shades of blue, one green and one pink, which pulsed naturally as the alicorn had magic in it, imitating the eternal flow of the waves, just like her sister Luna's.
The scene made them go back fifteen years, and for Sunset, nothing was more cruel than this question. She laughed nervously, tears running down her golden yellow coat. "What I see? I see a pathetic mare, she had everything, potential, talent, and the best tutor. I see a stupid mare, who ruined everything, because she was impatient, unable to understand the lessons her tutor was trying to teach her. I see a mare eaten away by regret. A failure."
Celestia placed her hoof on the mare's shoulder, then in a gentle gesture and with the help of telekinesis, embraced her in the hollow of her legs, played against her cheek. "Hello, my faithful student."
Sunset instinctively passed her legs around the neck of the alicorn, while clenching her teeth so as not to crack any more. "I'm sorry." she whispered. Only these simple words were like salt on an old wound that had been reopened. "I'm really sorry," she added. In the sweetness of that hug and moment, she let herself go, repeating that she was so sorry, over and over again, shaking more and more as tears flowed more and more quickly.
Celestia had difficulty containing the unicorn's agitation without hurting her with excessive force. So much sadness and regret did not leave her indifferent, she too had her share of regrets, silently she began to cry too, trying to comfort that filly she had seen grow, her tears rolling down her cheeks to vanish into Sunset's red and yellow mane.
"Princess, please, for the love of Equestria, don't disappear. Your sister Luna, Twilight, and even I can't bear to know you're dead. You still have time to change that. We all need you," she begged.
"Let me look at you." Celestia whispered before resting Sunset on the ground. For a brief moment, she looked into hers, then further detailed her appearance. "Such a long mane. How old are you in your time?"
"Thirty-three years old," she replied, sniffing. "Please, you can't leave this Pep-" She could not finish her sentence, Celestia's hoof on her nose imposed silence on her.
The princess took off her hoof. "You have matured so much, a life of wandering on the roads of this world will have taught you the lessons that I have not taught you in this castle. In the end, you didn't need me. And I doubt you need me in your time."
"But you are important for the good of Equestria!"
"One thousand and fifty years ago, my sister Luna and I were important for the good of Equestria. We, who were born alicorns, were the link between pegasus, earth ponies and unicorns. Starswirl the Bearded introduced us to the founders, Princess Platinum, Major Hurricane, and Chancellor Puddinghead, promising them that we would be impartial if we became the princesses of that country they had founded. After all this time, the three tribes are one, and they live in harmony in this country."
"You are the princess of the sun."
"Luna will be able to take over this function. I was in charge of controlling the Moon for a millennium."
"It's not possible, it can't be real, I come to dissuade you and you react as if it doesn't matter, how can you be so indolent?"
Celestia smiled kindly. "You're not here to talk me out of it, Sunset Shimmer. Didn't you hear Bitter Truth? This meeting is a gift, an opportunity to say goodbye, that our last meeting was not the one we had eleven years ago."
Sunset had trouble containing his frustration. "I don't want it to be the last time!" she shouted in a sudden excess of anger that didn't last. "Please, what do I have to say to change your mind?"
The alicorn lowered its head to the height of its pupil, and offered her a caress to play against her cheek. Sunset hung onto her neck again, this time in order not to lose her, which made Celestia smile compassionately. "What a thick headed one you are. Whatever you say, whatever you do, you can't change my future, it would have repercussions that I can't accept."
"I beg you, princess. Nothing could be worse than-" Celestia used magic to muzzle her mouth.
Celestia looked up at the mirror. "Princess? I look in the mirror, I see only one mare like the others, certainly much older. Once proud, I thought I was the best, yet I couldn't see my sister become jealous because of me, to the point of wishing my death, forcing me to banish her. To make amends, I took it upon myself to raise the moon during the banishment. Over time, Equestria forgot Luna, only Nightmare Moon remained, but even the mare on the moon became a legend as generations followed one another. I don't know what my life expectancy is, my faithful student, I could have lived a thousand years knowing that I would see my sister again one day, but I couldn't live a single day knowing that ponies dear to my heart died because I refused this fate that awaits me. I couldn't stand it." She stopped using magic now that she had presented her point of view.
".....please..."
The time allotted by Bitter Truth's spell was coming to an end. A half sphere appeared several metres above their heads, traversed by clockwise rolling gears, within it a powerful vortex tried to send Sunset back to her time, creating a current of air that played on the mares' manes, but Celestia firmly held the unicorn in her hooves just in time to prolong the conversation a little more.
"If I'm so important to you, I'd like you to do a few things for me. Don't live in the past, don't live in regret. I want you to have a happy life. Give the lessons you have learned in your life to those who are lost, offer your help to those in need. Can you try to do that? Can you try to become the sun that Equestria will need in my absence?"
The unicorn did not have the strength to answer, she could not give up so soon the idea of saving her, it was beyond her strength. She just nodded her head.
"Good luck Sunset." said the alicorn, offering a kiss on her student's cheek.
"See you later Princess Celestia," replied the mare, swearing to herself that this was not the last time they saw each other, while Celestia released the embrace and vortex, immediately closing on the unicorn before bursting.
The princess of the sun found herself alone in the throne room, she cried for a while longer, this brief encounter relieved her of a burden on her conscience. She turned her gaze to the entrance, amused by the behaviour of the male standing behind the doors. "Since when have you been waiting to make your entries?"
One of the doors opened, but Bitter Truth remained hidden behind the other. "I'm making an exception for the occasion. It is not every day that you receive a visit from the future. It takes time for a mare your age to recover from such emotions," Bitter teased.
Celestia had a light laugh. "Are you kidding? I was travelling back in time and in alternative dimensions with Starswirl and Luna a few years after getting our cutie marks, long before Discord appeared. I didn't expect to see Sunset, though. Than- " She changed her mind. "...It was beyond my most fanciful dreams."
The stallion entered the room without a word, closing the door behind him and his attention focused on the princess' face.
"Why such a look?" Celestia asked.
"I've thought of ten different ways to change your mind, and yet every time you sweep it away like a straw."
The princess suddenly had a little idea, and a mutinous gleam in her eyes, she took a lighter tone. "Don't be so bitter about it, my friend."
Bitter winced. "Could you be serious at least for a moment?"
A mischievous smile was born and she followed. "Don't you see it? I'm dead serious!"
The oracle sighed, he felt the need to sit down for a moment. He looked at the mirror, embittered. "I should have broken my four legs and this mirror the day I came to warn you of the danger that this human will pose to you." He took a deep breath and then sighed briefly, looking to the corner in the direction of Celestia. "There's no need to ask, the answer is yes. I'll help you round out the angles for the transition. I can't refuse you anything."
Celestia, grateful, came to sit beside him. She simply offered him her simple presence to comfort him, she knew how much he hated receiving thanks from her.
The time bubble appeared and Sunset was back in her time. She had not been able to convince Princess Celestia, but with a time travel spell, she had the opportunity to fix things in a different way. No longer seeing the unicorn, she turned around and had a gesture of retreat when she found herself face to face with the earth pony mastodon in butler's costume. So imposing and that intimidating electric blue look that he was pointing at her distracted her, preventing the mare from seeing Bitter Truth at the end of the corridor, turning into another gallery.
When he saw her face, Reynaud pulled the yellow sunflower silk square from the pocket of his suit and undertook to make the unicorn presentable. "Miss Sunset, it's good to see you again. Look at the state you're in. Shall I summon the beautician who used to take care of you?"
Sunset stepped back to get out of reach of the old butler. "Where is he? Where's Bitter Truth?!"
"I am sorry Lady Sunset, and I quote, not being able to leave you in possession of such a spell, it would be too dangerous between your hooves, what you intend to do, is not worthy of a student of Princess Celestia. The latter offered you a second chance, don't waste it."
Sunset's gaze fell like a leaf from a tree, twirling as her thoughts flowed to her hooves. She was there, walled in silence, thoughtful, considering her options. If Bitter Truth took this scroll with him, it meant that it was unique, or that he had already taken care to confiscate the other copies. The opportunity to warn Princess Celestia was a pathetic failure. This opportunity was a poisoned gift, she had lived fifteen years away from her mentor, and she was convinced that it had detached her from the princess' death. But it only took her less than fifteen minutes with her mentor to suffer from losing her forever. Now the poison was running through the veins, to better undermine her will. The worst thing was probably the still warm feeling of this shared embrace on her coat. She sighed tiredly, then got up and nodded to Reynaud as she walked past him, walking towards the exit. There was nothing holding her back at the castle. There was nothing keeping her in Canterlot. She walked through the streets, like a shadow in the middle of the crowd at the beginning of the afternoon, yet she felt alone in the world. She walked to the edge of the cliff, south of the city. One more step and it was the big void, a fall of several hundred metres. Right there in front of her was Ponyville. She had come here to rid herself of her old regrets, but instead she had won new ones, with some promises. But for the moment, she didn't want anything. For the moment, she didn't feel anything. She needed to feel something.
With a slow exhale, she closed her eyes and stepped forward, bracing herself as gravity took hold.