“And you’ll set up a time with my secretary on visiting our music department for a presentation?” said the elder plum colored unicorn. “I’ve seen telekinetic appendages before, but never with such fine artistic control.”
Sunset nodded adding just a hint of shove to the superintendent so as to usher him out of the dining hall. “I promise I will contact your school, however, you should know not everypony will be able to replicate that spell, it takes years of practice to understand the application of fingers let alone use them with precision.” The old unicorn nodded and mumbled something, Sunset just waved and closed the door behind him. She let out a breath that blew at the tuff of red hair that often curled across her forehead next to her horn. Sunset turned back to find the staff busy clearing the table and Princess Twilight moving to the balcony. Sunset paused, but shook away her hesitation. She was here to apologize and that was what she was going to do even if it meant Twilight yelled at her afterwards. It was no less than she deserved.
Sunset let out a sigh and strolled over to the open balcony doors. Twilight was at the end of the perch looking up into the early evening sky that shared her namesake. Her eyes were on the sky as her mane and tail waved and sparkled with a mesmerizing rhythm. Twilight had paused right before the gathering had concluded to set the sun and raise the moon and now the stars were making themselves known in all their twinkling glory. Okay, so what’s the protocol here? Do I stay a respectable distance away, do I just throw myself at her hooves and beg for forgiveness for ruining her dinner yesterday?
Sunset paused her mental ramble to truly examine the large mare before her. Physically, Twilight had not changed much in the last sixty to seventy years. As far as they could tell she had finally stopped growing about then, becoming just as large and intimidating as Celestia in her prime. But if one had lived as long as Sunset had, you could see that her wings hung lower than before, her shoulders heavy and subdue, there were subtle, dark lines under her eyes that her crown and height did well hiding from the common folk. They were not signs of aging however, they were signs of day to day wear and tear. When was the last time she took an entire day off?
Sunset saw the same thing every time she dared examine herself in the mirror. As rough as the last two and a half years had been on Sunset, she had to remember that Twilight had been the sole ruler of a bustling nation for the last one hundred years. Much of that time bearing the weight of the crown without Luna and Celestia by her side… and without her best friends to help hold her up. While on the other side of the mirror, Sunset had been traveling, relaxing on beaches, trying new and exciting things, all with a loved one by her side. As far as she knew Twilight had not had a relationship last longer than a few months. How long had it been since Twilight had been touched? Held? Kissed? Sunset had to slam the breaks on that train of thought before it derailed at awkward station.
“Look,” Sunset finally said, “Twilight, I’m sorry about yesterday and-“
“Come stand by me, please.” Sunset stopped talking and did as she was asked, joining the princess on the balcony looking up into the night sky. There were better lookouts in taller towers, but this one over the maze garden was not bad. The company made it better.
Twilight placed a wing over Sunset and pulled her into a hugging embrace, nuzzling her mane. “I’m sorry too. And thank you for stopping by. It was wonderful to hear you play again. Has anypony told you lately how amazingly talented you are, Sunset Shimmer?”
“Well, not today at least.” The mares exchanged giggles and smiles, all the previous tension forgotten. “So, still best friends? A fresh start tomorrow?”
Twilight inhaled the crisp night air and her waving hair took on a revitalized shine and glimmer. She smiled more genuine than she had all night. “I would very much like that.”
----------
Sunset and Twilight had talked for about another hour before the princess had retired to her room. It had been nice to catch up with Twilight, just standing together stargazing and talking about whatever came to mind. The physical closeness with Twilight’s wing draped across her had been pleasant, more so than Sunset had feared it would be. Upon leaving, Sunset had raided the kitchen and found the ice cream from the night before still in a frozen stasis field and liberated it. There was just something about fresh churned Equestrian ice cream that even the best human ice cream parlors could not replicate. Maybe it was magic or just simply made with love. Who knows?
Afterwards, Sunset had found Luna in her tower and sat nearby while the dark alicorn watched over the dreams of ponies everywhere. Once Luna took a break to also take part in the commandeered ice cream the two talked about how they had been without hanging too long on the sad details that need not be spoken. Sunset had then tried her hoof at dream walking again, finding the power came to her much easier than it had the first few times time. She still required Luna to get started down the path, but those training wheels would come off soon if she wished it. It was past midnight when Sunset had returned to her room and fell into a blissful, dreamless sleep.
The next morning Sunset was met with a great, disastrous horror. An affront to modern society itself! In all the fuss and rush to apologize she had forgotten to inform the staff to restock her personal kitchen with fresh coffee grounds. A pathetic, whiney groan escaped her throat that sounded like something out of a low budget zombie movie.
“Ah, I know that sound.” Sunset glared at her PAAL siting on its inductive charger. “You want coffee and none is on hand… or is it hoof now?”
“How could you possibly know that by the sound of my groan?”
“Sunset, I have been by your side listening and studying you constantly for the last two and a half years. I may be impaired visually now, but my audio receptors can still hear you just fine. Also, it is part of my intuitive interactive learning protocols to learn your mannerisms. People and apparently ponies as well, communicate a great deal through non-verbal means. While I now have to relearn many of your body language gestures, I know your sounds well. I can tell the difference between your, ‘I forgot to wash that’ groan all the way to your ‘orgasmic pleasure’ moan.”
“OKAY! GOT IT!” Sunset said louder than she intended, her face turning several shades closer to a tomato. “Wow, you really do listen to everything.”
“Unless specifically ordered not to of course.”
Sunset sighed. She was going to have to go to the kitchen and get coffee for herself and that came with the risk of running into other ponies BEFORE she had her coffee. Not the most ideal way to start the day. Sunset groaned again.
“I have a request before you leave.” Sunset glanced at her PAAL through her disheveled mane. “I would like to accompany you today. My purpose is to learn, to serve and I cannot do that constantly staring up at the same stone ceiling for another day. I can only count the pebbles in the stone so many times while shuffling through your playlists. If we are truly stuck here then allow me to see and learn of this world so that I may better serve you.”
Sunset pondered that a moment. Raven had been extremely helpful and very possible had kept Sunset sane the last thirty moons as well as being a good friend. Plus, Sunset was unsure if an A.I. could die of boredom, but would not put it past Twi to make it so.
The difficulty would be how to carry the PAAL. She had no jacket pockets, no pants pockets, no pocket pockets! Even Rarity’s cloak lacked pockets. Note to self: come up with some sort of carry sash for Raven. The PAAL had been designed with a static grip feature that could grip to the back of a user’s hand, or any skin with sufficient surface area, which sounded more uncomfortable that it actually was. It was like static cling, but with an active electromagnetic charge. Regardless, Sunset also had no hands now and the thought of it gripping to her fur was… unpleasant. Maybe somepony could tailor her a new jacket that accounted for the wings or something? Sunset sighed, there was no getting around it this time.
“Okay, I know I’m going to regret this, but,” Sunset levitated Raven over to her and engaged the static grip, pressing the PAAL to her right shoulder. The small glass device generated a small static field that allowed it to grip onto her goldenrod fur. Sunset winced for a moment as the hair was gripped tight. She walked a few steps and made a few stomps to ensure the device would not shake free.
“It would appear I am secure.”
Sunset nodded. “Good. Then it’s coffee time.”
----------
Canterlot Castle was always busy first thing in the morning. Twilight would raise the sun and proceed to have breakfast, sometimes with friends, other times with dignitaries. When in session, court would begin with an address of the state of Equestria followed by grievances and open floor discussions with the nobility, the elected council, and any scheduled notable visitors. Usually following that daily nightmare, as Sunset usually called it, was a small recess before the throne room opened to the public for a few hours for the crown to hear from ponies who were allowed to speak before the throne for needs or various other requests.
Depending how things went with the screening process, some ponies only had a short wait while others were told to come back weeks later, it was a shady process, Sunset thought, always had been. Not to mention it always made things a bit tense with the open sessions, having so many ponies in the castle even with all the guards, armed, armored, and at the ready. Things usually went smoothly though.
Sunset usually did not take notice of the morning hustle and bustle, mostly because she was usually still asleep or nursing her coffee with a book or local newspaper in her room until just before lunch. However, it was hard to miss so many guards, Solar AND Lunar guards rushing about. She paused half way to the kitchen to sit and watch. There was a precision to their movements, drilled, practiced, they were moving swiftly and with a rare professional calm that said something big was coming, but not a surprise attack… or maybe her brain was just processing everything slower due to the lack of caffeine.
Sunset then heard the Captain of the Guard even before she saw her. Tempest Fury rounded the corner at the end of the hall, barking orders as she walked with a unicorn guard beside her taking notes on a floating clipboard as she told her what to write down.
“After C company has finished escorting the remaining visitors out, I need them stationed along the south campus lawn. No doubt as soon as word of this hits the free press the grounds will be crawling with paparazzi reporters trying to get that first sneak peek for photo ops. I won’t stand for it until the princess, the head mistress, or Ambassador Spike has given them permission. Pass on those orders to Lieutenant Commander Gauge immediately, Private.”
“Yes, Captain!” the guard saluted and trotted off.
Sunset raised a hoof and very eloquently said, “Uhhhhhh…”
Tempest stopped walking and examined the alicorn up and down like she was conducting a parade inspection of her guard, her eyes locking for a moment on the glass rectangle stuck to her fur. Tempest had no idea what it was, but it didn’t look like it would explode so she ignored it. “You’re up and out earlier than usual. I was going to send a guard later to collect you after I had ensured the rest of the castle was secured.”
“Are we under attack? Do you need help repelling enemies? I’m really good with fire and would be very good at burning things down right now since I haven’t had my coffee.”
Tempest blinked, smirked for half a second then returned to her normal dour expression. Tempest pointed towards the stairs with her head to indicate Sunset should follow. “That’s right, I keep forgetting you were away when we started running drills for Operation Green Spots. Come on, you are not going to want to miss this and I know Princess Twilight would want you there too.” Tempest paused and gently placed her hoof on Sunset’s shoulder, a rare gesture of appreciation. “Thanks for speaking with her last night, by the way. She had a bounce in her step this morning I haven’t seen in years.”
Sunset pointed back to the direction of the kitchen with a desperate plead in her voice, “But, coffeeeeee?”
“Quit being a baby yak, I’ll send someone to get you a cup. Now trust me, this is more important.”
“Clearly you have not seen how cranky she can get without her morning cup,” said Raven.
Tempest turned back to Sunset with her jaw hanging slightly open eye brow arched under her helmet, “Who said that?”
It was Sunset’s turn to grin for a second. “That was my friendly, if occasionally pestering assistant, who is trying to get me in trouble.” Sunset pointed to the device on her shoulder. “I’ll explain on the way as best I can. Where are we going, by the way?”
“Assistant? That is quite the improvement from your usual title for me as nagging pain in the ass.”
Tempest lead on, shaking her head. “Riiiiight.”
Sunset had always appreciated how much of the castle had been rebuilt to its original layout after Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow had severely damaged it. It came as quite the shock when Twilight had mentioned the destruction. The castle, after all, had been her home since the day she was born. She had known every hallway, every back corridor, even quite a few of the hidden passages. Sunset had spent part of her extended stay a few years ago wandering the castle halls to see what had changed and to admire things that she took for granted for decades on her shorter visits.
Knowing she did not have the best eye for interior design, Twilight had hired a team of redecorators led by Rarity to oversee the restoration following her coronation. Though Sunset was not as personally familiar with pony Rarity as she was with her human counterpart, there was no mistaking the similar eye for details in how the colors moved and flowed from hall to hall and stained window to decorative leaded glass. Even decades later it was beautiful, tasteful, and exactly as it should be.
When Tempest led Sunset to the third floor, the distinguished guests wing that was down the hall from Twilight’s and Celestia’s rooms, it was unsurprising. However, Sunset noted she had never been in the room they were now standing outside of. There were no wards or defenses that she could detect, not even a sign or marker to indicate who or what the room was for.
“Huh, even after all this time I am still seeing new things.”
Tempest removed her helmet, running a hoof through her pink and white mane. “That’s not surprising. You were always focused on your own work and concerns last time you stayed. However, the current resident of this room had not moved in yet.”
Before Sunset could ask, Tempest opened the door with her magic and gestured for Sunset to step inside. The first thing the alicorn took note of was how spacious the room was. The room walls had been removed and replaced with two extra stone columns with some exquisite open concept buttress work to hold the ceiling above while maintaining that extra space.
The second thing Sunset took note of were the other ponies and two dragons that were talking around the center of the room, all standing or sitting in a circle around the third thing that Sunset noticed. A large white egg with green spots on the shell. There was also a faint, but significant hairline crack running down the side of the shell.
“Is that… a dragon egg?”
The ponies, griffon, and dragons turned to look at Sunset. She waved lazily, forcing a sheepish smile to make up for her interruption.
Twilight’s smile was bright and genuine quickly waving Sunset over. “Sunset! I’m glad you’re up!”
Sunset gestured with her hoof. “Eh, more or less. Still need my coffee, but yeah, I’m here.” Celestia laughed politely, Luna shouted, “Here, here!” Isabella shook her head and rolled her eyes, Smolder snorted, and Spike… Spike’s eyes went wide in a way Sunset had never seen before. Was he having a panic attack? Spike rushed over to Sunset and crouched down a bit so he could look her in the eyes.
“Sunset, thank Celestia! I… I’m freaking out here! I… I don’t know what to do! I don’t know anything about being a parent!”
Sunset’s brain kick started and sputtered to life like an old motorcycle crank at his words. Spike was a dragon… a married dragon. There was a dragon egg in the center of the room surrounded by pillows and blankets and all sorts of creature comforts. “OH! Wow! Yeah, sorry, I’m not awake yet, but no one told me you were expecting! Congratulations to you and Smolder!”
The orange dragon a few feet away nodded and smiled. “Thanks. But if you really want to help can you please calm my goofball mate down before he sets the room on fire or explodes his heart right out of his chest cavity.”
“But I don’t know the first thing about being a dad! I’ve read every book Twilight gave me and I’m still freaking out! Is it normal to freak out? Because I am totally freaking out!” Spike turned back to Sunset grabbing her shoulders and shook the goldenrod alicorn a few times. “You were a mom, that’s kind of like being a dad, tell me what I’m supposed to do!”
Sunset chuckled and rubbed both of Spike’s meaty arms with her hooves to calm him. “Technically I was a dad too. My second daughter, Sunna, was born using DNA from one of my eggs and they inserted it in… you know what, it’s complicated. I’ll explain some other time. Look, I totally get it. The first time is scary, like super, super scary. Some doctor walks up to you and hands you this little wiggling lump that is utterly reliant on you to keep them alive and they say, ‘now it’s your responsibility to take care of this new life and to not screw them up’ and trust me, that is the first thing that comes to your mind is how you are going to mess this little one up. But, you will look down and say a little prayer to… whoever dragons invoke to not mess this poor kid up and no matter how many books you read or seminars you attend nothing is going to prepare you for the first time you hear that life cry out for you and you are forever changed. Your heart will explode with so much love you will feel like you are dying and being reborn at the exact same time. In time that kid will eat all your personal time, your sanity, most of your money, and your secret stash of snickerdoodle cookies, however, look around you. Look at all the friends and family you have ready to help you. At the end of the day this is what it's all about. Family growing together.”
Sunset felt Spike take a deep breath and calm considerably. She looked around Spike to see Celestia smile serenely at her, eyes shining as if she were about to cry at any moment, but instead just nodded knowingly. Sunset nodded back. Nothing else needed to be said. Then Sunset felt herself being lifted and squeezed in a near bone crushing hug. She endured it and the possible bruises that would likely show later.
Spike immediately dropped Sunset when a loud crack reverberated throughout the room. Sunset groaned and stumbled back to her hooves, double checking that Spike’s powerful dragon hug did not damage Raven. She shook her head and returned to the circle around the egg, turning so Raven could see as well and whispered to her PAAL to record the event.
Every creature was fidgeting with anticipation as another crack split the egg shell again. Smolder and Spike held one another, slipping their claws together with their eyes wide in anticipation. Two seconds later, a small, muddy red claw smashed through the shell, followed by the other.
“When, when do we help?” Spike asked his wife desperately.
“Just wait, they have to get through the shell themselves. It’s a dragon tradition. Shows the strength of the new life.”
Twilight leaned forward and whispered to the egg, “C’mon little dragon, every creature is here ready to meet you, shower you in the magic of love and friendship.” The sound of the princess’ voice was enough to spur the dragon on and shatter the top off the egg. Smolder and Spike moved forward and lifted the rest of the shell away just as the small dragon looked up in awe at the creatures before him and let out his first cry. Every heart in the room melted with awe. Smolder and Spike picked up the dragon that fit perfectly in their claws, clearing the last of the mucus and egg membrane. The newborn snuggled into his mother’s chest scales, letting out a loving chirp call.
“Congratulations to you both. Do you have a name picked out yet?” asked Celestia.
Smolder nodded, stroking her new son’s tiny head bumps. "We decided on Smoke for a girl or Grunt for a boy. So please say hello to our son, baby Grunt!”
Sunset raised her hoof and gently touched the baby dragon under the chin, causing the dragon to gurgle and drool happily down her hoof. She smiled warmly at the child, wiping a rogue tear away. New born creatures, no matter their origin always reminded Sunset of the first time she held her daughter, Aurora.
“Hey there, little guy. Welcome to the amazing world of Equestria. You are sooooo adorable!” Sunset’s glassy eyes turned back to the room and noticed that Princess Twilight was smiling not at the new born, but at her. Their eyes met and held each other’s gaze for several seconds, smiles spreading across both their faces. Sunset felt her heart flutter and beat faster, her cheeks warming up. She was not sure why Twilight was staring so intently at her, but it felt… good.
The door burst open, nearly flying off its hinges. “Sorry everypony I’m late! I had to wait until the last of the students had been sent home for the day after the word reached the Friendship school that it was happening. I flew so fast I thought I might unleash my own Sonic Rainboom. Did I miss…” Flurry Heart stopped abruptly and locked her shining blue eyes on the goldenrod alicorn and Sunset could have sworn she felt the temperature drop at least ten degrees in the room. It had to be the only explanation to the sudden chill that ran from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. Those blue eyes that had been shining and bright moments before hardened to icicles.
“What in the depths of Tartarus is SHE doing here?!”