The brief excursion to Ponyville came to a rather uneventful end when all was said and done. As reigning monarch and the primary overseer of Equestria’s most prestigious school for learning and studying magic, Twilight could not afford to prolong her stay any longer. Her duty and her people demanded as much from her. So, regardless of her own emotions, Twilight returned to Canterlot exactly one week after her departure.
Once it had been confirmed that Canterlot was still standing and the castle had not burned down in her absence, she once again donned the golden regalia of royalty and shifted back into her role as the wise level-headed leader of a great nation. The agenda after such an emotionally taxing and draining week? Business as usual.
The days after were thoroughly ordinary, as though the week prior had never happened at all and life simply kept moving forward. Sunset, having accompanied Twilight all the while, was amazed at her friend’s ability to hold her head so high after scarcely looking any sturdier than glass just days before, returning from her final day alone with Pinkie Pie on the verge of crumbling to pieces.
It was an act, of course, but it was convincing enough that Sunset doubted anypony that didn’t know better could manage to see through it. It was certainly not something Sunset could ever imagine the Twilight she once knew being able to pull off. Not with how she had worn her emotions on her sleeve, instead of burying them in her heart.
It was all just a part of the job, Sunset understood that better than most ponies, but one had to wonder what sort of toll it took on a pony. To never really be yourself to the world.
Then again, maybe it helped to keep busy at times like these. Sunset had always found that worked for her at the very least. It was how she found herself cooped up in her room with several projects on standby.
“Let’s see, today we have a modern Equestrian history textbook for study on recent world events, The Canterlot Chronicle for current events, a book on quantum magical theory for recent developments in the understanding of magical energy, and a Neigh York Times best-selling fantasy epic…for fun,” Sunset chuckled, laying all four items open on her bed in front of her for what she liked to call, “optimized speed reading”.
Reading just one book at a time was terribly inefficient, especially for a pony that had several decades of missed advancements to catch up on. This way, she’d be caught up by Hearth’s Warming…assuming that was still a thing. Apparently, they had completely replaced the Summer Sun Celebration, so anything was possible at this point.
Sunset turned to the first book in line and flipped to a point in history that was relatively recent. “Okay, so, on the tenth year of Princess Twilight’s reign the inaugural Equus games were held in the Crystal Empire. This event marked the first time in recorded history all neighboring major kingdoms came together to pit their best athletes against one another in friendly competition. This was another major turning point in Equestria’s relationship with foreign nations and is often seen as a key factor in the subsequent mass immigrations,” Sunset recited off of the page, quickly memorizing the information and turning her attention to more recent news. Generally, it was never anything particularly exciting, but the human world had taught her that a slow news day was usually a good thing.
A steady knock on her door brought Sunset out of her midday information crunch session.
“It’s open! Come in!” Sunset called, swapping over to the next piece of written information in line.
Sunset’s door creaked open to reveal a familiar blue changeling advisor, as stiff and dignified as she had ever seen him.
“Hello, Cercus,” Sunset greeted
“Ms. Shimmer,” Cercus nodded in return.
Aside from a slight eye twitch, Sunset managed to suppress her offense at once again being denied the respect of the title she had rightfully earned through years of grueling study and work. She had learned that every time she gave him a reaction, he won, and Sunset Shimmer did not lose.
“I’m sort of busy right now. Does Twilight need something?” Sunset asked, already knowing that Cercus never stopped by just for a simple visit.
“I’m afraid not. I’m actually here on behalf of…good heavens! What happened in here!” Cercus exclaimed, for the first time expressing legitimate disbelief.
Sunset had almost assumed that Cercus’s face simply wasn’t capable of doing emotions, making his shock come as a shock to her. “Uhm, are you okay? Cercus? Is something wrong?”
Cercus, to his credit, quickly shook off the brief lapse in composure. “Is something wrong? Well, I do say something is most definitely wrong with the completely disastrous state of your chambers, Ms. Shimmer.”
“What? It’s not that bad…is it?” Sunset argued or at least tried to. She hadn’t actually paid much attention to her surroundings, far too engrossed in her work.
“Shall I start with the tower of books scraping the ceiling in the corner, threatening to collapse at any moment, the copious amounts of paper, quills, and ink scattered about, or that monstrosity of wires currently perched upon your desk as a starting point for why it is indeed, ‘that bad,’” Cercus admonished, certainly having a way of making a grown mare feel like a filly.
Sunset had always been a touch unstoppable when she really got going. It wasn’t like she meant to be so disorganized; it just always kind of happened.
“Seeing as you share so many of her majesty’s interests, I had hoped you would also share her impeccable penchant for cleanliness and organization, but it seems that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Cercus sighed
“Okay, I get it. I’m a bit of a mess. I’ll clean it up later,” Sunset pouted. So, she wasn’t as organized as Twilight. What pony was? Sunset knew only one person that came close, and she was also named Twilight.
“Indeed, you will. We can hardly have somepony in the same wing as her highness living in such an uncouth manner,” Cercus said, basically ordering her to clean her room in an overly verbose fashion. “However, that will have to come after you have fulfilled your obligations.”
“Obligations?” Sunset thought. If Twilight didn’t need her for anything, what other obligations did she really have?
Noticing Sunset’s perplexed look, Cercus decided to clarify.
“Ms. Shimmer, Princess Flurry Heart is expecting your presence.”
Okay, so it wasn’t as though she meant to let Flurry Heart’s promised magic lessons slip her mind. She had even written out some, admittedly rough, ideas bought some supplies, and brushed up on some older material.
It had just been a rather exciting week was all, and there was just so much going on, and, in her defense, she had never actually established any sort of schedule to work off of. How was she supposed to know Flurry Heart would pick today to drop by and expect her first lesson?
Apparently, she was rather excited about it, at least according to her changeling friend, so postponing it now was likely not in her best interest. It was never a good idea to get on a Princess’s bad side, and Sunset was trying to kick her nasty habit of doing just that.
More importantly, however, was that this was most likely her best chance to really connect with Flurry and build upon the relationship she literally fought to establish. Sunset couldn’t quite explain why, but something in her deeply wanted Flurry to like her and to help her, at least in some way.
So, Sunset decided to keep doing what she had already been doing with Flurry Heart. She’d wing it.
She found a nice quiet unoccupied lab in the lower levels of the castle, sent Cercus to direct Flurry Heart over to her, and tried to form a game plan while she waited. How hard could teaching be anyway? Surely, she must have picked up something from all those years in school.
“Oh, who am I kidding,” Sunset sighed, slamming her face down on the table she was sitting at. “I don’t know the first thing about being a good teacher. I’ve always been a student. I don’t know how to teach magic to little foals, let alone a Princess!”
Had she really managed to fail before she even began? It had just seemed like the right decision at the time. Something to get Flurry to open up to her. Somehow, she hadn’t prepared for when she’d actually have to make good on it.
“Okay,” Sunset thought, trying to evaluate her situation. “You can’t go Twilighting now. There’s still time to figure this out.”
Suddenly, the door to the lab sprang open to make way for Equestria’s newest Princess who was practically bouncing with every step.
“Aunt Sunset, I’m here!” Flurry practically sang.
“Aaaannnd, time’s up,” Sunset internally mourned
“You would not believe what it takes to commute here from the Crystal Empire, but it’ll all be worth it soon,” Flurry Heart said, making her way to the lab table to stand opposite to Sunset. “I’m so excited! I can’t believe I’m finally going to learn some real sorcery! So, what are you going to teach me first? Maybe, how to turn stone into gold? Or, how about, how to summon a giant cupcake!? No, wait, how about, how to punch a hole into another dimension!?” Flurry rambled, now leaning on the table with both hooves and getting closer to Sunset with each idea.
Sunset gulped. “Well, actually, Flurry, I think it would be best if we started a little smaller than that. I don’t know if you’re ready for anything quite that…intense,” Sunset settled on. Apparently, the assertion that Flurry was “excited” was a rather large understatement.
Flurry Heart backed off; her excitement contained but still incredibly apparent in her eyes. “Okay, what can you teach me?”
That was an incredibly good question. What could she teach Flurry Heart? Certainly, she knew plenty of magic. Tons of it, in fact. Sunset found that with a little refreshing all of her magical knowledge remained relatively intact despite being cut off from the means of practicing it for so long. Now she had been back long enough to pick up some new things and craft some new spells in addition to all the old ones.
Yes, she had knowledge of transfiguration spells, energy manipulation spells, illusion spells, spatial distortion spells, magical construct spells, and even some black magic pilfered from Celestia’s restricted section, though it was safe to say she probably wouldn’t be needing those.
She knew the spells, but how did she pass that on? Where to even start? Perhaps the same place she had started? But that was a lifetime ago, and Flurry was no filly.
Sunset was beginning to regret not thinking about asking Twilight for advice at some point. She had plenty of experience teaching. Probably learned all about it from…
“Celestia!” Sunset internally shouted, her old teacher and guide’s name bursting into her brain.
It wasn’t much, but it was a start. If she wanted to be a teacher, she’d have to think like one. She just needed to think like Celestia. What would Celestia do? Probably assess her student. Find out exactly what she was working with.
“Flurry, before we try anything, maybe you could tell me some of what you already know about magic. It might help to gauge where you currently stand,” Sunset suggested.
“Oh, yeah. I can do that,” Flurry said, taking a few steps back and taking a moment to think about it.
Sunset internally breathed a sigh of relief. If nothing else, at least she didn’t fall apart right out of the gate.
“Well, I guess you already know I’m pretty good at blasting things. I’m pretty good at making shields, not that I ever really need them, and, uhm, I guess I can throw some pretty heavy stuff around…Oh, and I can teleport!” Flurry listed off after a decent amount of thinking.
Sunset blinked. “…That’s it?”
“Well, yeah?” Flurry Heart responded unsure what to make of Sunset’s reaction.
Sunset knew Flurry wasn’t exactly a scholar, but she hadn’t expected…well, this. Flurry’s knowledge of magic would have only barely gotten her through magic kindergarten. Cadenza may not have been much of a mage, Celestia being more interested in training her for her duties as a princess which tended to focus more on etiquette than sorcery, but she still must have had more to offer than this. And, even if she hadn’t, surely, they could have found some other pony to teach her something. The Crystal Empire may not have had many unicorns, but there was no reason a tutor couldn’t be found for Flurry Heart given the connections they must have had. Sunset just couldn’t think of any good reason for Flurry to be so inexperienced after all this time.
“Is…is something wrong, Aunt Sunset?” Flurry Heart asked, becoming concerned by Sunset’s silence.
“Well…Flurry, that’s not really a lot to go off of,” Sunset confessed.
The spark in Flurry Heart’s eyes finally went out and she sunk towards the floor. “Yeah, I know.”
“Well, what sort of magical schooling have you had before this?” Sunset tried, almost afraid of the answer.
“Well…my dad taught me some stuff. Enough to protect myself, if I needed it. Not that I usually need it,” Flurry nearly murmured.
“So, you’ve never really had any sort of formal education in magic?” Sunset asked, not really needing an answer anymore but holding out for something.
Flurry Heart chuckled a broken sort of sound that was laced with something Sunset couldn’t quite identify. “Are you kidding? Who would teach me? No pony who isn’t living under a rock would want the job of trying to train the Princess of Explosions.”
Flurry Heart began pacing back and forth, working herself into a fervor that reminded Sunset of the first time she had seen the Princess. “I mean, good luck getting somepony to travel all the way out to the Crystal Empire just to try their hoof at a ticking timebomb with wings! Just come on down and see if you can so much as survive the Princess who’s most widely known for nearly destroying her own kingdom while she was still in diapers,” Flurry Heart vented.
“Uhm…what?” Sunset muttered.
“Oh? Didn’t anypony tell you? I kind of destroyed the ancient artifact that the entire Crystal Empire depends on for survival right after I was born and came closer to wiping it and all the other Princesses out than Sombra ever did. I mean, I was so young I don’t really even remember it, but that’s okay because no pony else will ever let me forget!” Flurry explained with a smile that would have been sweet were it not unbelievably strained.
Sunset at this point knew that she probably needed to do something to help calm the Princess down. “Flurry, maybe-”
“Okay, so it turns out that normal unicorns just aren’t qualified to teach magic to an alicorn that had enough magic to level a castle when they were a newborn, and Dad tried but he was a soldier, not a wizard,” Flurry continued, cutting Sunset off. “But that’s okay, because your Aunt is the literal embodiment of magic, so if anypony could help you, she can! Oh, no, wait…she’s the ruler of all Equestria. That means it’s her job to raise the sun, lower the moon, babysit snotty nobles and bureaucrats, pass laws, oversee finances, and basically look after every tiny little thing in Equestria so that everything doesn’t fall apart, and whatever little free time she wrestles from that she’ll spend teaching magic to a new generation of foals that aren’t you!
“Then, that just leaves Mom…” Flurry Heart sighed, finally winding down. “Yeah, she’s pretty busy too. Ruling the Crystal Empire is a big job, and every year there’s more love, which means the Empire gets bigger, which means more love, which just means more work. But really, I just don’t think she wants to teach me, and I don’t really know why,” Flurry finished her tirade, her excitement spent, leaving her in a melancholic state.
Sunset listened to the entire episode from her seat, processing all that she had heard. Flurry Heart certainly didn’t hold anything back once she got going, and, just like her Aunt, she must have kept it bottled up inside until it all just spilled out.
“It’s okay though, I guess,” Flurry began, once again pulling Sunset back to the present. “It’s not like it really matters whether I learn magic or not. Equestria’s already got all the Princesses it needs and it’s not like those are going anywhere. It’s been years since a real bad guy popped up, and they didn’t really need me for those either. All I really do is show up for a few festivals or summits and look pretty. Manage things like the Trader’s Exchange.
“I guess, maybe I just…” Flurry started, now looking hopelessly dejected completely by her own doing. “maybe this was a mistake,” Flurry sighed and simply turned around to leave.
Snapping to attention, Sunset made her move, igniting her horn and warping herself right between Flurry and the exit.
“Flurry, wait!” Sunset shouted.
Aside from a startled look, Flurry immediately complied and ceased her movement.
Sunset realized she really needed to stop getting herself into situations without any clear idea of what she was going to do once she got there.
“Okay…I’m not going to pretend I completely understand what you’re going through,” Sunset slowly began, practically stretching it out as long as possible in hopes the right thing to say would come to her.
“Come on Shimmer, think. Clearly, this kid needs somepony right now. You may not be worth much as a teacher or anything else, but after all this time you have to know at least something about being a good friend,” Sunset internally lectured herself.
The human world may not have had the most magic to study, but it did teach her how to understand people. Sometimes what someone needs the most is for someone to be there and just try to understand, to empathize.
“…but,” Sunset finally continued, “I want you to know that there’s nothing wrong with wanting more out of your life.”
Flurry blinked, unsure what to make of that statement.
“So, maybe you don’t necessarily need to learn magic, but it’s something you want for yourself. I get it,” Sunset finished.
Flurry Heart shifted uncomfortably in place. “I don’t know. Where do I even start at this point? I don’t even really know what I’m doing.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Flurry,” Sunset smiled, her own confidence building, “I almost never have any idea what I’m doing.”
“Really?” Flurry Heart asked in awe as though she had just been let in on some great truth.
“Really,” Sunset nodded in confirmation. “And that’s okay because we figure it out. Just like I’m going to figure out how to teach you magic and when we’re done, you’re going to be one of the greatest spell casters Equestria has ever seen.”
Flurry Heart's eyes began to once again sparkle in excitement. “You really mean it?”
“Absolutely,” Sunset said with complete confidence that she was actually beginning to feel. If nothing else, it had given her an idea of how to go about this. Flurry Heart was special, it didn’t take a genius to figure that out. That meant it would take a special approach to really bring out the best in her. An approach that she was actually somewhat familiar with.
“Just follow me, Flurry, and we’re going to begin your very first lesson,” Sunset announced turning around to head for the door.
“So, why are we in the kitchen now?” Flurry asked in bewilderment as she watched her newly appointed teacher raid her Aunt’s cupboard, setting aside what looked to be some very expensive china.
“Well, assuming some things never change, nothing is more flimsy than expensive porcelain,” Sunset offhandedly responded, not really clarifying anything for the Princess.
“I don’t really see what that has to do with magic,” Flurry said in complete confusion.
Sunset finished her task of placing the most decorative and delicate dishes, glasses, and cups she could find on a nearby counter-top and turned to face Flurry Heart.
“Alright, so as best as you can, tell me what you think magic is?”
“Oh, uhm, well…” Flurry Heart stuttered, not expecting to be put on the spot so soon, “It’s like…an energy, right? Some sort of force inside me that I can use to…do stuff?” Flurry Heart summarized to the best of her ability.
Sunset gave Flurry an encouraging smile. It was a bit of a rough explanation, but that was to be expected. All things considered; Flurry was on the right track.
“That’s right. In its most basic form, magic is just energy. All ponies possess some form of that energy and they can manipulate it to do all sorts of different things. Now, before we can do anything with that energy you need to be able to control it.”
“I can control it!” Flurry Heart interjected defensively.
“You can manage it,” Sunset corrected. “Trust me, there’s a difference between suppressing your power and controlling it. Now, for most ponies control isn’t an issue. They’re born with the magic they need to coincide with their talents and rarely run into any issues. Some other ponies though…well, they get a bit more than that. And you, well, you’ve got a lot more. That means it’s extremely important you can control your magic. Out of control magic can be dangerous and unpredictable. You could hurt somepony else or yourself if you let it get away from you,” Sunset laid out for the sake of being clear. It was unlikely Flurry Heart didn’t know some of this, but it would help build-up to what she was getting at.
Flurry Heart simply nodded to show her understanding.
“However, it’s also important to remember that that magic is still a part of you, just as much as your horn or tail. That means that you can control it and, when you do, you’ll be able to do amazing things, so let’s get started,” Sunset finished
Sunset’s motivational speech seemed to have successfully invigorated the Princess who flared her wings out in excitement. “Alright, let’s do this. I’m ready for anything you can throw at me.”
Sunset grinned at her student’s excitement. “Well, okay then. Flurry Heart, for your first lesson, I want you…
“to pick up that teacup!”
“Alri-wait, what!?” Flurry Heart began only to quickly stumble in shock.
Flurry did a quick double-take, first at Sunset and then the plain teacup she was pointing her hoof at.
“Seriously? You want me, with all my magic,” Flurry Heart said pointing at herself, “to pick up… that teacup,” shifting her foreleg to the offending china, “and that’s it?”
Sunset just nodded her head in response.
Flurry Heart squinted her eyes in suspicion. Was Sunset just messing with her? After all that build-up, all that was expected of her was to lift a simple cup? What would that accomplish? What was she honestly expected to learn from that? That she could pick up a cup? Big deal, she did that every breakfast. Okay, sure she didn’t know how to turn water into cider, but she could certainly lift a dinky little cup. She wasn’t that inept. Heck, she could lift a lot more than one cup. Something like a large boulder or a train. Not just some cup!
Honestly beginning to feel somewhat insulted, Flurry ignited her horn in a gentle yellow glow and plucked the cup off the counter and brought it over to herself before turning to Sunset.
“There, happy?”
Sunset nodded. “Yes. Now catch.”
“Catch wha-Gah?!” Flurry Heart began to question before she had to leap to catch a plate that flew off the table and narrowly missed colliding with the floor, bringing it back up with her magic alongside the cup she already held.
“What are you doing!? You can’t just throw around Aunt Twilight’s things like that, and I am NOT going to take the blame for breaking her expensive tea sets…again.”
“Then you better not drop these,” Sunset called out, tossing another few cups and glasses her way.
“Yah! Cut it out!”
“Alright, now these.”
“Wah!”
“Good. You think Twilight needs this kettle?”
“Grrr! Would you just-!”
“Now these are just tacky.”
Flurry Heart could actually feel sweat beginning to drip down her forehead from having to quickly focus on so many different delicate little objects at once, now having the better part of the kitchen cupboards floating around her like some sort of table set solar system. What was even the point of this?
“Just one more,” Sunset announced, a single teacup in her magic which she casually tossed like all the rest in Flurry Heart’s direction.
Time seemed to slow down as the cup hurled towards Flurry Heart, a final meteor looking to destroy the delicate balance of her world.
No big deal though, right? It was just one little teacup? She could hold that, no problem. Did it every day. She just had to hold one more insignificant little teacup.
Flurry’s horn pulsed with power as she extended her magic to stop the falling cup in place saving it from a grizzly fate and preserving her Aunt’s pristine kitchen. Nothing to it.
Then, Flurry lost it. Her horn sparked with a surge of power and, even as she felt it getting away from her, she could do nothing to stop it. A force greater than any normal unicorn could possibly muster went out to each object Flurry Heart held in her magical grip. The noise of shattering glass and porcelain practically encapsulating her as everything she held instantly gave way to her immense force.
Hundreds of sharp jagged shards hung above her, just waiting for gravity to bring them down upon her, and, with her concentration already broken, there was little chance she could stop them. And so, Flurry instead chose to simply shut her eyes and brace for the inevitable unpleasant sensation of being rained upon by the razor-like pieces.
Seconds passed and the feeling never came.
Flurry carefully opened one eye to see why she wasn’t currently an alicorn pincushion and was mesmerized. Each individual piece of broken glass and china was completely suspended in mid-air in a bright red aura.
Flurry looked to Sunset who stood calmly to the side, her horn bathed in magic, and an almost confident look on her face, not a single hint of strain anywhere.
The pieces began to float away from her and with very little fan fair started piecing themselves back together. It took less than a minute before every shattered item was restored to its full glory and gently rested back onto the table.
“Wow,” Flurry Heart breathed, unable to find any other words to describe the pure feat of magical precision she had just witnessed.
“That’s why it’s so important for you to learn how to control your magic. You’re stronger than most creatures could ever dream of, but that also means a single lapse in power could be all it takes for something to end up in pieces,” Sunset lectured now that her demonstration was over.
“Okay, that makes sense,” Flurry huffed, finally finding her own voice once again now that the majesty had passed. It also gave her a chance to find her ire. “But you really couldn’t get that point across without chucking dishes at me!?”
Sometimes, Sunset forgot just how large of a pony Flurry Heart really was. Her attitude generally didn’t do much to enforce her stature and Sunset generally hung around with larger creatures. When Flurry got up and personal like she currently was, however, it was tough to ignore just how much she towered over her.
Sunset gave a nervous chuckle. “Well, I just thought it would be a more impactful lesson. Besides, you were completely safe the entire time. I’d never let anything hurt you.”
Flurry took on a rather deadpan expression. “You blasted me with a laser not two weeks ago.”
“Hey, that was completely different! Fine, so I’m still figuring this teacher thing out, okay? The important thing is you’ve learned something.”
Flurry Heart conceded and nodded her head. However it happened, there was no denying that she had lost control, and over simple levitation no less. If the same thing were to happen in the midst of performing an actual spell…well, the specifics were probably best left to the imagination. She just didn’t have the control over her magic that she needed, especially when compared to Sunset. It seemed to be practically second nature to her.
“So, I need to get better control over my magic. How can I do that?”
Sunset glanced back over to the countertop supporting the newly repaired china.
“You know what they say. Practice makes perfect.”
Several hours passed as Flurry Heart performed simple exercises with Sunset sitting by, honing her focus until it would eventually take no focus at all. The goal being to finally claim absolute mastery over the incredible power that resided within her. It was tedious work, but it gave ample time for casual conversation.
“So basically, she spent the entire trip mapping out local wind patterns, which would have been fine if the windsurfing competition hadn’t ended over an hour ago. Dash still won first place though,” Sunset wrapped up, sitting behind Flurry and filling the silence with stories from a different world.
“So, Aunt Twilight being a huge nerd is like some sort of universal constant?” Flurry Heart commented in the middle of stacking everything in the kitchen into a sort of pyramid.
“At least in the universes I’ve seen, which is admittedly only two, but nothing’s contradicted it yet.”
“Say, there’s gotta be a me in that world too, right? What’s she like?” Flurry asked out of curiosity, rearranging her pyramid into more of a statue.
Sunset pondered the question. “I don’t really know. I didn’t see Cadenza in that world very often. I remember Twilight babysitting you a few times, but you were just a year old at the time. Even now she can’t be that old.”
“Well, I sure hope her mom is less overbearing than mine was,” Flurry muttered.
Sunset raised an eyebrow at Flurry’s apparent bitterness. Even back when she despised Cadenza with a fiery passion, she couldn’t deny that she had a way with foals. Sunset may have never acknowledged her as Princess material, but she was practically born to be a mother. It was just a wonder how Cadenza could have ended up with such a rocky relationship with her own flesh and blood.
“Say, did everything work out okay after you went home?” Sunset asked.
“Yeah, sure. We just did our usual routine. I got back, she hugged me, I got grounded for a few days, and then it was back to business as usual,” Flurry Heart responded offhandedly.
“How much did you tell her about what happened here, exactly?” Sunset couldn’t help herself from asking.
“Not much. We didn’t talk too long when I got back. Royal duties and everything. We had dinner together that night though. That was nice.”
“So, you didn’t mention our little, you know…” Sunset prompted with a wave of her hoof.
“Oh, no way! Mom would freak if she knew I got into a real fight over here. It’s bad enough when I chase off a bunch of timber wolves or something. ‘Oh Flurry, what am I going to do with you. It’s like you can’t even leave the castle without getting into trouble,’” Flurry said, presumably doing her best Cadance impression.
“I’m sure she’s just concerned,” Sunset tried to reassure her.
“Maybe, but it’s gotta be the most suffocating thing in the entire world. Most of my old friends are playing bingo and I’m still getting sent to my room for staying out too late. Who knows how she’d react if I told her I finally found a real magic teacher?” Flurry stated, rearranging her statue into yet another different form.
“So…you haven’t told her about me?” Sunset said with a mix of emotions that was hard to identify.
“No, I…oh? OH!” Flurry Heart said in realization, nearly ruining her craft as a result before quickly recatching it in her magic with a small amount of strain. “You haven’t seen Mom in a really long time, have you? I didn’t even think about that. I’m really sorry. I’ll bring it up the next time I see her, I promise,” Flurry reassured.
“Uhm, well, thank you, Flurry, but maybe we actually should hold off on that for a little while?” Sunset stuttered with no small hint of shame, tapping her hooves together.
Flurry glanced back at her, perplexed. “So, you don’t want Mom to know you’re finally back after spending so long in that weird mirror world?”
Sunset suddenly found it difficult to keep a straight gaze and averted her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want her to know I’m back. I’m just not so sure how well she might take the news that…I’m back.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Aunt Sunset.”
Sunset sighed. “Right…well, remember how I told you that I wasn’t always a very nice pony?”
Flurry, at last, put the finishing touches on her makeshift sculpture and turned around to properly face Sunset. “Yeah. But you said you’ve changed. What’s the big deal?”
“Well, I never really got the chance to apologize to her for…everything,” Sunset confessed.
It wasn’t like she had meant to completely bury her past transgressions against the Princess of Love. The opportunity to make amends had simply never presented itself on a silver platter like her chance to apologize to Celestia had. Okay, it sounded pretty horrible when it was worded that way.
Sadly, it was just something that was easy to forget about, what with her return trips being so infrequent and Cadenza taking up residence all the way in the mythical Crystal Empire, and it was easier to simply make peace with leaving well enough alone than it was to attempt to make things right. The last piece of the old her that remained in any world.
“Come on, Aunt Sunset. It couldn’t have been that bad,” Flurry offered as a way of comfort.
Sunset gave Flurry a face that was all the alicorn needed to doubt her own words.
“Could it?” Flurry asked.
“I was a bully, Flurry. I used all the power I had to step all over everypony else because I was just that insecure. Anypony I felt even slightly threatened by or jealous of I’d do my best to knock them down. There was no pony I was more jealous of than your Mother…at least not for a while,” Sunset admitted, all of the shame and regret she had spent years banishing coming back to her in a single instant
“You really bullied a Princess?” Flurry Heart asked, the concept almost foreign to her. Plenty of ponies over the years may have had some less than flattering words to say about her and the tabloids and newspapers gave her their fair share of slander, but no pony had ever been so brave as to actually pick on her.
Sunset gave a sad chuckle. “It actually wasn’t very hard. She didn’t know the first thing about that horn she had on her head when she first moved into the castle, and she wasn’t the type of pony to sink to my level anyway. Besides, I may not have been a Princess, but being ‘Celestia’s pet’ offers you a lot of protection. I took advantage of that and did my best to make your mom’s life as miserable as possible.”
“What’d you do?”
Sunset sat back and ran through the long list of mean-spirited pranks she had put Cadenza through over the years, picking out her “greatest hits”.
“When she first moved into the castle, I tried to get her to leave by scaring her with some dumb ghost story about an old groundskeeper that prowled the halls at night for Princesses to eat. It was just some old bed sheet and a rake, but it still got her to run all the way to Celestia’s room.
“There was also that time I filled her saddlebag with fish, so all the swans attacked her during the Royal Swanifying.”
“That does explain why she shivers every time she hears a honking sound,” Flurry Heart commented
“I cast a truth spell on her once, when she had to give a speech in front of every student at Canterlot Academy. Turns out matchmakers have some opinions that you shouldn’t say in front of an entire student body.
“Also, one time at the Grand Galloping Gala I hooked her dress onto a catering cart when she wasn’t looking. Ripped the entire thing off, right in front of every high society member in Canterlot. To be honest, I still don’t really get why she was so embarrassed about it, but she wouldn’t come out of her room for nearly a week afterward.”
“Okay!” Flurry Heart interrupted, having heard enough. “I’m starting to understand why Mom might be less than thrilled to have you back in her life.”
Sunset thought that was an understatement. Of course, Flurry didn’t know any of the cruel things she had said. The doubts and insecurities she had sowed and abused for years.
Facing Celestia again all those years ago wasn’t easy, but she had her will to save her friends giving her the strength to overpower her own cowardice, and, for as strained as their relationship had become in the end, there were a lot of good times too. Moments that were irreplaceably special to her and she dared to hope they were special to Celestia as well.
She and Cadenza had nothing like that. Nothing Sunset could remember as even so much as a positive interaction. She had absolutely no one to blame but herself, of course. Cadenza had practically been a saint, dealing with her for so long without absolutely snapping and she always tried to at least be cordial, even in the face of all her torment when her only crime was existing. She was simply her first and most tortured victim.
How could she even begin to approach her after all this time? How would Cadenza even react? Just imagine the little devil who antagonized you at every opportunity and vanished decades ago suddenly reemerging to pick up where she left off like some sort of curse, and the first thing she does upon her return is assault your daughter. At this point, maybe the right thing to do was to have the decency to stay out of Cadenza’s life altogether.
Sunset was brought out of her inner conflict by Flurry Heart walking over to sit next to her.
“My mom’s a pretty forgiving pony. I can’t remember a time she ever really held a grudge,” Flurry Heart put out there in a thinly veiled attempt to ease Sunset’s worries.
Sunset nodded in agreement. That’s just not the type of pony she knew Cadenza to be either.
“Besides, if I’m gonna call you ‘Aunt Sunset’ then that makes us all kind of like family…right?” Flurry Heart asked.
Sunset looked over to her new student at the sudden personal question. True, she had agreed to that nickname, yet another thing she didn’t think very hard about at the time, because it seemed harmless enough. She hadn’t really given much thought to the meaning of it.
Looking into Flurry’s hopeful eyes was all it took to know that the youngest Princess took such matters to heart.
“Yeah…I guess it kind of does,” Sunset conceded, not having the heart to say otherwise and any doubt being eased the second she saw Flurry’s face light up.
“Right! And family shouldn’t avoid each other…or fight…so, I’m sure you and mom can still smooth things over if you give it a chance. Plus, I’ll make sure she doesn’t execute you or anything,” Flurry promised in a way that, bless her soul, she must have thought was reassuring.
“Well, we’ll see…just, give me some time…and thanks,” Sunset said, some part of her feeling touched.
Flurry Heart leaned over and gave Sunset a light nuzzle. Sunset was past making a fuss about how affectionate Princess’s seemed to be and just let it play out, maybe even returning the motion somewhat.
“Huh? I have to admit, that’s pretty impressive,” Sunset commented finally seeing the finished version of Flurry’s work. It was an alicorn constructed out of nothing more than materials found in the kitchen with nothing holding it together aside from careful balance.
“Yeah, I had to get creative at some points, but I think it adds charm, y’know?”
“Who knew you could make wings out of those?” Sunset marveled at what seemed to be a physical impossibility by all accounts.
The gently fading light that poured through the window served as a reminder that it was getting late.
“That’s probably enough practice for today. Do you feel like you’re any better at controlling your magic yet?” Sunset asked, getting to her hooves.
As though it was meant to be her response, Flurry’s horn ignited and the meticulously constructed alicorn statue disassembled itself and quickly returned all its parts to their proper residence leaving only a smug Princess as the sole alicorn in the room.
“Okay, then. That’ll be all for today. We’ll pick up where we left off the next time you’re in Canterlot.”
Flurry Heart stood up to follow Sunset out of the room. “Oh, I’m not leaving yet. It’s kinda been a while since I’ve been here on good terms. I thought I might stick around for a bit.”
Sunset nodded as the two of them walked into the castle hall. That would give them a little more time. Scheduling was probably going to be a bit of a hassle given just how far away the Crystal Empire was.
“In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow. Twilight’s going to need me, so we’ll have to start a bit late. Speaking of which I should probably track her down,” Sunset said, noticing she hadn’t actually seen Twilight at all today. Taking a vacation from ruling a kingdom meant you came back to a sizeable workload, but she should have been fairly free at around this hour.
“If you’re looking for Aunt Twilight at this time, she’s probably in her garden,” Flurry said, still keeping step with Sunset as they aimlessly walked down the castle halls.
“Which one?” Sunset asked. The castle had plenty of decorative gardens on just about every side of the castle, each meticulously maintained by diligent staff.
“Her garden. It’s the little one she keeps up herself.”
“Twilight gardens?” Sunset asked in surprise. That was certainly news to her. It wasn’t really the sort of hobby she would have imagined her taking an interest in.
“Yeah. She keeps a little space in the castle just for her. She says it helps her to destress. I guess it must work. She’s in there almost every day. Personally, I don’t know how you could relax with that freaky statue around. Maybe I don’t really get art, but I just find it really creepy.”
That certainly explained where Twilight disappeared to around this time every day. You would think Equestria’s largest alicorn would be easier to keep track of.
“Could you take me there, Flurry?” Sunset asked. It was a perfect time and place to touch base with Twilight. She had started making it a point to make more time just for the two of them ever since they had returned to Canterlot. It wasn’t much, but it was what she had to offer right now.
Flurry nodded casually. “Sure. It’s not that far from here actually. Just follow me.”
Sunset stepped back to let Flurry lead the way to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s secret garden. Sunset still couldn’t quite picture Twilight as a gardener, but maybe it was just one of those things you picked up over the years.
Flurry stopped briefly to look back at Sunset just after they began moving.
“Oh, Aunt Sunset. It’s probably only fair I tell you now, when Aunt Twilight is in the garden she gets kind of…weird.”