Epilogue
The four door car came to a stop and Sunset Shimmer pressed the button that engaged the parking brake. The radio stopped, but only two of the four passengers seemed to notice they had reached their destination. Sunset turned from the driver’s seat to look at the two girls in the back seats. The older one was typing at the air and swiping occasionally, the device around her ears and next to her eyes had green LEDs indicating the Augmented Reality Mobile Device was on and still mostly charged. The younger girl had nodded off and was leaning against the window and was about to drool on her shoulder. Sunset glanced to Twilight.
“Do you want to do the honors or shall I?” Twilight smirked and pushed a button on her wrist mounted screen. In an instant, the ARMD unit shut off.
“Hey! Mooooom, a little warning, please? I could have been working on a project and I hadn’t saved. That would have been totally bog down.”
“Watch the tone, Aurora,” said Sunset, her voice calm, but stern, “I still can’t believe you don’t get car sick wearing that thing in here.”
Aurora shrugged, folding and stashing her device. “I think that only happens when people read dead tree format. The ARMD still lets me see what’s going on around me.”
“We’re here, wake your sister. Gently.”
Aurora gave her sister a shake. “Wake up, Sunna, we’re… where are we again?”
Both Twilight and Sunset stepped out, which prompted the other two girls to follow and do the same. They took in the scenery of the empty school parking lot, unsurprising given that it was early Saturday morning. The quiet neighborhood that surrounded the school was still waking up with the occasional jogger or dog walker passing along the sidewalks. Sunna took it all in with child curiosity, having never been to this part of Canterlot City.
Aurora groaned, her blue eyes turning to her mothers, filled with indignant rancor. “A school? You brought us to a public high school on a Saturday morning at the butt crack of dawn, seriously?”
“Hey, we graduated from this high school,” said Sunset, taking Twilight’s hand and nuzzling her cheek to her wife’s. “Those last two years with all our friends were still some of the best moments of our lives. The first time I ever saw your mom was right over there. I was sitting on the steps, she was being nosey and curious, like usual.”
“Awww,” said Sunna.
“Gaaaaag,” said Aurora.
“You say that now, sweetie, but pretty soon, you’ll understand.”
Aurora froze, eyes going wide. “Oh God, you are not making me go to this school next semester, are you? I mean, I know I’m not getting all Level 4s, but my grades are still good enough for the Academy, plus all my friends are there!”
Sunset, taking Sunna and Twilight’s hands, began to walk towards the statue near the front. Twilight reached for Aurora’s hand, but she refused. Teenagers, Twilight thought with an understanding eyeroll.
As the group approached the stone plinth that was topped with a rearing unicorn with wings both girls’ curiosity became piqued. They had seen similar figurines and art all throughout their Mama’s work studio. The motif of the winged unicorn had been repeated a few times, if tastefully through their house. Neither girl ever took much interest in it beyond admiring the fantasy aesthetic of the imagery. They both knew their mama could draw and paint, having created most of the art that hung around the house, but now Aurora wondered if there was more to it. Had Mama created the statue as well? Upon closer inspection of the uni-pegicorn statue, Aurora spotted her mama’s artistic signature, a yin yang inside a radiant sun on the horse’s flank.
“Mama, did you make this uni-pegi-corn?”
Sunset smiled, pleased that her oldest was using her keen sense of observation. “I didn’t make the statue myself, but I did help in the design and pay to have it commissioned. By the way, I know I've said it before, but it’s called an alicorn when the pony has a horn and wings.”
“She’s beeeeeautiful,” said Sunna. “You can tell she’s a she, because she doesn’t have the dangly boy parts.” Twilight and Sunset burst out laughing while Aurora sighed and shook her head with a hand over her face.
“Now," Sunset said after her laughing subsided, "as for why we are here.” Sunset set down the shoulder bag she had grabbed when they had exited the car. With great care she removed an old leather-bound book both girls had seen their mama write in on rare occasion. Aurora knew it was some sort of diary or note journal, but never had an interest in reading it. It used to scare Aurora when she was little because she could have sworn she had seen it glow. “Today is, hopefully a very special day. If my friend is correct, you might finally get a chance to meet your grandmother.”
“But we saw Grandma Velvet last month,” said Sunna with a confused expression.
Sunset smiled and ran her fingers through the young girl’s indigo and red striped hair. “No, baby girl, I mean MY mother, Princess Celestia.”
Aurora’s eyes widened and her jaw hung open. “Wait, we’re related to a princess?”
Twilight placed an ink pen into Sunset’s outstretched hand. “You’ll see.” Sunset finished scribbling a note and closed the book. She turned her eyes to the western sky where the moon was receding towards the horizon. Both younger girls looked about as if something was supposed to happen. They looked at each other and shrugged while their parents just stood holding hands in front of a polished stone face that was so smooth it looked to almost be made of mirror glass.
“Um,” Aurora began, “are we waiting for a car or hover taxi or something?”
Sunset closed her eyes and reached out with her free hand to the stone but not quite touching it. The silent minutes passed and then she smiled, her eyes beginning to water. “I can feel it. The lunar cycles are connecting.”
“Amazing, even after all this time without your magic you are still sensitive to magical flow changes.” said Twilight in awe, wishing she had brought some recording devices to collect data with.
“Because magic is a part of me, Twi,” Sunset said, brushing the tears away before they could fall. “They really did fix it. They’re coming.”
“What are you talking about? Who is co-“
Both Aurora and Sunna jumped back as the polished stone began to glow. Twilight and Sunset took a step back, Twilight taking a hand of both children as two figures stepped out of the stone face. The newcomers both fell to their knees, but Sunset was ready for them and extended a hand to each, helping them steady and regain their equilibrium. After a moment both women stood and they all just stared at one another, smiles creeping up until they pulled each other into a group hug that Twi wanted to join, but let them have their moment.
The pale, slightly pinkish woman stood slightly taller than Sunset, her long flowing hair was a blend of pastel pink, blue, and green with strands of grey mixed in. She wore a yellow sun dress with spaghettis thin shoulder straps that ended just above her knees. Her magenta eyes sparkled with moisture as she managed to fight down her tears, enveloping Sunset in another tight embrace that the fire haired woman gladly returned.
The second woman, who stood slightly to the side had Aurora and Sunna stunned beyond words. She wore an expensive looking, dark blue women’s dress suit that looked sophisticated and yet also comfortable. But the dress suit was nothing compared to the face. The girls stared, jaws slacked, at the visitor’s lavender face and indigo and magenta stiped hair, which hung loose halfway down the woman's back. She looked just like their mother except without the glasses. The twin smiled at Twi and gave a gracious curtsey bow. Twilight returned the gesture.
“Professor Twilight.”
“Princess Twilight.”
“I AM SO CONFUSED RIGHT NOW!”
Twi placed one arm around Arora’s shoulders and another around Sunna’s and brought them forward. Sunset took a step back so Celestia could see the children. Celestia began to choke up and had to bite down on her finger to keep ahold of her composure.
“Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight,” Sunset said with a wave of her hand, “I would like to officially introduce you to our oldest, Aurora Shimmer, and our youngest, Sunna Sparkle.”
Celestia beamed at the two girls. She could see much of Sunset in Aurora, from the red stripes in her mostly pink, untamed hair, pale yellow skin, as well as the shape of her face. Most of all, Celestia could see the fire in Aurora’s posture and body language. So much like a fourteen year old Sunset even in a human form.
Sunna stepped forward and smiled at Celestia, holding out her hand in greeting, “Hello,” Celestia gladly took it and gave her a gentle shake. Sunna’s skin was a burgundy color with shoulder length hair that was dark blue with strands of red and yellow when the light hit it just right. The little girl’s eyes were just like Twilight’s a deep purple and full of wonder.
“They are… oh, little sun, words did not do justice with how beautiful your girls are.”
“And smart,” added Twilight with a raised finger and proud smile. “They are both very well read. Even at nine years old, Sunna is well above her recommended reading level. And don’t let Aurora’s attitude fool you, she is in the top percentile of her class.”
Both princesses smiled knowingly, Celestia looking at Sunset with loving motherly pride. “I would have expected nothing less considering their parents.”
Sunset gestured for the group to follow as she began strolling down the sidewalk. “Come on, we have a brunch reservation at the Skybox and traffic into downtown can be a pain even for the automated carriers on a Saturday.” Princess Twilight looked to her doppelganger for a clue of what was said, but only received a mischievous smile.
“You’ll see,” said Sunset before she tapped a few buttons on the thin piece of glass that appeared strapped to her wrist. A minute later a seven passenger van stopped in front of the group, the side doors sliding open with a pleasant jingle and as a digital voice greeted them. Sunset climbed into what was traditionally the driver’s seat, but made no move to take the controls. Princess Twilight noted that the steering wheel on this vehicle appeared to be retracted away from the driver.
“Uhhhh, I’m confused, who is driving this thing?”
Sunset gestured to her wife who sat in the second row with Princess Twilight while Celestia took the other front seat next to her daughter. Twi was practically vibrating to have a chance to explain all that had changed in the last twenty-two years since the portal’s closure.
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The locks clicked and turned and finally Sunset opened the door and held it open for everyone to enter. With a grand gesture of her hand she said, “And welcome to our home.”
Celestia, ignored most of the architecture and well thought out open spaces, the beautiful stone façade fireplace, the amazing kitchen with dark countertops and a large island in the middle by the breakfast bar. Having lived in a castle with every possible luxury Equestria had at its disposal had spoiled her to such amenities over the centuries. Instead, she went straight for the wall of photographs.
Like any grandmother of any universe she wanted to see baby pictures and admired each framed photo as if they were precious works of long lost art, committing each image to memory. Sunset had suspected she would be more interested in her now expanded family and did not bother with a tour of the house. “The photo album on the coffee table has more, when you are done with those, and there is a second book for you to take back with you since I know we only have three days.”
Celestia smiled, hearing every word Sunset had said, but her eyes were enamored by the picture of a very pregnant Sunset Shimmer with a huge grin on her face and Twilight pointing at her wife’s swollen belly, followed by one of the couple both holding a new born baby Aurora. Sunset hated how she looked in both pictures, but Twilight loved them so they stayed where everyone could see them.
Turnabout had been fair since there was also a picture of a pregnant Twilight Sparkle with Sunset doing her best impression of Twilight from their first picture. The last in that set had been Twilight holding baby Sunna with Sunset and Aurora crowding around the new mother welcoming the new arrival to the family.
“Is it too bold to ask who the girls’ father is or fathers if that’s the case?”
“We can talk about that later after the girls are in bed, but yes, two different ‘fathers’ as it were,” Sunset said, making air quotes with her fingers.
Celestia nodded in understanding. “I’ve missed so much of your life, again. Maybe, maybe I should just stay here for the next two and half years?” Twilight led her princess counterpart along with the children on a tour of the house to let the two have a private conversation. Sunna was eager to show the princess her room and personal art collection of crayon drawings.
Sunset gave a nervous chuckle at the thought of her mother suddenly and unexpectedly moving in. “That’s not a bad idea, but maybe not on this trip. I don’t have anything set up for you, plus my work at the studio keeps me busy and sometimes I have crazy inspiration hours. I honestly don’t know how we would have survived if not for Twilight basically being able to make her own hours as the boss of her company and the many last minute saves by her parents.”
“Don’t let your work become more important than your family. If you learn nothing else from me in your life, please learn that.”
Sunset nodded and hugged Celestia again. She led her mother to the couch next to the photo albums and set one of the copies in Celestia’s lap. “Come on, we have a lot to talk about and literally hundreds of pictures to go through.”
Celestia smiled warmly. “There is nothing else in the world I would rather do.”
End