“Come in,” Sunset Shimmer invites following a knock on her door. Right after she says that, she pauses for a brief moment to admire how calm she was able to keep her voice despite feeling very flustered.
But her eyes focus on her door when the doorknob starts to glow. Based on the magenta aura color she sees, she figures that this must be Twilight.
Sure enough, it is the tall Princess of Equestria that enters into her room. That is to be expected, but Sunset is more surprised to see Twilight float in two cups of something. Whatever they are, they are steaming.
“I had a feeling you'd still be up,” Twilight figures while passing her friend a wise look. “Mind if I join you?”
“Please do,” Sunset welcomes as she floats a stool out from under the desk in order to offer it to her friend. A desk upon which she was trying in vain to study up on her arcane spells.
“I brought you something,” Twilight notes as she floats the cup in front of Sunset who proceeds to grasp it between both hooves. Looking down upon it, she notices that it is brown liquid with a swirl of white at the top. It smells like chocolate, but Sunset still looks at Twilight for an explanation, to which she shortly supplies one. “It's hot coco made with warm milk. I figured you'd need something to help you sleep tonight, else you'd probably be up, stressing the night away.”
A coy smile sinks into Sunset's expression as she says, “You know me only too well, Twilight.”
Twilight's expression melts into concern as she says, “Well, it wasn't hard to guess given your current circumstances. I know you have a lot of issues with your mother. I begged you to patch things up with her for years, but now that you finally are . . . it's being done under one of the worst circumstances. For that, I am sorry.”
Sunset sighs as she looks down at her steaming cup, then says, “Well, we know that all of us are not immortal. Even the few of us immune to aging can still die of other causes.” Her look shifts to her side but her face remains directed downward. “That's true in the human world too. The concept is something I've long grown accustomed to, but . . .”
There is silence between them for a moment, broken first by Twilight.
“It's one thing to be aware of the concept, and quite another to face it,” Twilight figures. She looks to the desk sadly as she goes on to say, “That's something I've been dreading to face with my friends, and it already started several years ago. Some of the older ponies I've known passed away.”
Sunset regards Twilight with a shake of her head, then asks, “How are you going to cope? You're not like your mentor. She'll probably still be around at least. She, her sister, any other alicorn, and Spike will be around for a very long time . . . but you are the Princess of Friendship. You're more dependent on your friends than any other princess who came before you. I worry for you, Twilight, when the source of your strength fades away little by little.”
Twilight passes Sunset a soft look along with a bittersweet smile as she says, “I've thought about that a lot, and the conclusion I've come to is the same that several of my other friends said to me, most especially Starlight. My bonds are not just limited to my fellow Elements of Harmony. I have plenty of other friends. It may not feel like a worthy substitute, but I'll cope by reminding myself of that. For every friend I lose by whatever means, ten more will take their place.
“Plus, it's become clear to me that the mantle of Elements of Harmony will find new champions in every generation to follow. That, in itself, doesn't mean I stop being the Element of Magic, it simply means there will be others ready and willing to champion whatever cause is necessary.
“I've gradually come to realize that the spirit and magic of the Elements of Harmony is like a plant that was first seeded by the Pillars. The Tree of Harmony is both literal and symbolic of that; a plant. Even as crystal, that is the form it took. Well, plants have one other special property. They grow seeds of their own, and eventually it spreads into yet another tree.
“As the message of friendship spreads across our great land, more and more creatures of all kinds will rise to the call. As that occurs, our land becomes more and more secure and prosperous, for such powers bring Harmony to us all.” Twilight places a hoof on her chest as she goes on to say, “I'll still be around to nurture and guide that new strength, but over time, I'll be less and less necessary because there will be others to teach the cause when they pass on the mantle to the next generation, and so on.
“I think this power and responsibility will bear some resemblance to a cutie mark, for the champions that are chosen in each era will depend upon the needs during that time. Onward the cycle will spiral.”
Sunset tilts her head as she looks at her desk thoughtfully, then says, “Princess Celestia believed that was my destiny as well.” Her eyes shift to look at Twilight. “She thought that I would become the Element of Magic. Eventually I've come to realize that I actually have taken up that mantle, but not in the form that she expected.” Sunset floats up her geode on her neck for emphasis as she goes on to explain, “In my world . . . Um, excuse me. I mean in the human world, I found this magic crystal in a place that's the human-world counterpart of the Everfree forest. Using this, both my friends and I have channeled this magic and became champions of the human world. If you are right about what happened in this world, then . . .” Sunset pauses for a short moment as she regards her crystal, then goes on to say, “. . . eventually these crystals will be reborn in the hands of new champions since my friends and I cannot hold up the torch forever.” She looks back at Twilight. “As long as there is a need for these, it shall be passed along to whoever is worthy.”
“Does that bother you?” Twilight checks with a slight tilt of her head. “The idea that you may one day be replaced?”
“No. Not at all,” Sunset assures as her crystal floats down and hangs on her neck again. “Rather than that, I feel comforted by the fact that my new world will remain secure even if my friends and I can no longer be around to protect it. In the meantime, I am proud of my role to serve and protect that land.”
“My counterpart and I worked hard to limit access between our two worlds,” Twilight reminds. “In the long gallop, your duties might not be as necessary in future generations.”
Sunset shakes her head as she says, “I'm not so sure about that, because we keep finding more portals over time. We even found some in places that we know we already checked. They weren't there the first time, but they popped up later when we checked again. It's almost as if the attempt to close some of the portals is causing them to open someplace else.”
Sunset pauses for a brief moment as she collects her thoughts, then goes on to say, “I believe that both of our worlds are inexplicably tied. The magic between our worlds might operate like a river. Damming up the river may simply divert the flow somewhere else.”
“If you're right, it may be better to simply monitor those portals instead of shutting them down,” Twilight figures. “Because at least then we'll know where they are at. If closing one portal opens another, we'd have to keep finding the new one each time. In the long gallop, the effort is pointless. Better to increase security over the ones we do know of rather than chancing it opening someplace less convenient.”
“Like in the middle of a highway,” Sunset proposes. “If a portal opened there with no warning, quite a number of cars may drive through at high speeds before the government finally puts a safe barricade around that portal. By then, quite a number of residents might have crashed on this side of the portal quite violently.”
“I think we'll need to runs some further tests on your hypothesis,” Twilight figures. “That, and carefully examine the data we've already collected and compare it on both sides of our worlds. Based on that, we might be able to decipher a pattern.”
“Worth a shot,” Sunset agrees with a shrug.
Twilight sighs as she looks down at her steaming cup of coco.
“What's wrong?” Sunset querries in concern. “Something else is on your mind.”
Twilight lifts the cup to her lips to blow on it for a moment. After that, she sips it before floating it to the desk.
“It's about my daughter,” Twilight brings up. “I've known for a while, ever since our talk with Sombra, that it is necessary for my daughter to go on a journey.” Twilight focuses on Sunset as she goes on to say, “But, honestly, the necessity doesn't just stem from the needs of the moment. Cozy needed a change for a long time now, for you see,” she looks down sadly, “Cozy is stuck in the past. She just can't get around the trauma of her time of being stuck in stone. She honestly did think she'd be trapped that way forever, and now . . .” Twilight trails off for a moment as tears rise in her eyes. She proceeds to speak again eight seconds later, but with a less steady voice.
“She doesn't trust joy,” Twilight goes on to say. “Not happiness, not friendship. All of it. Instead, she clings to hatred, bitterness, and misery because, for many years, that's all she had. She may acknowledge the existence of positive emotions and experiences, but she doesn't embrace them because she fears growing attached to them.”
“If she grows attached to something, that would simply be another thing to lose in the long run. At this point she’s so pessimistic that she always expects that,” Sunset realizes. She sips her drink, then goes on to say, “I see what you mean.”
“This is a foal, Sunset,” Twilight wails a bit as she looks at Sunset with tears starting to stream down her eyes. “She grew up a slave in captivity and surrounded by so much misery. When she got locked in Tartarus and then in stone, it compounded the problem of her already damaged mind and heart.” Twilight lifts her hooves to her eyes. “I feel so ashamed for contributing to that. The longer she's been with me as my daughter, the more I've grown to love her . . . but that love has been very painful to me. I see, in her eyes, some twisted sense of satisfaction over that fact but, for the most part, all I see in her is emptiness.”
“Oh, Twilight,” Sunset says sympathetically. She floats her drink to the desk as well then crawls forward to hug her friend. While doing that and patting Twilight's back affectionately, she says, “I'll do everything in my power to help her. You know that, right?”
“I know,” Twilight says sadly. “I just wish it could be me. Many of my friends, counselors, and I have tried to get through to her, but it's like her heart is encased in a hard shell of ice. I really wanted to be the one to get through to her, but she keeps holding me at a distance. She spends every moment she can reminding me that she's just a pet on a leash with me. Not a friend . . . and certainly not her mother.”
Twilight is silent for a moment, then continues with a slightly more steady voice.
“Many times I have seen a distant gleam of love for me in her eyes, but every time that happens, I think she just sees my human counterpart in me. She has her counterpart's memories, after all, and they have become a lot closer.”
The two mares pull away from each other. Sunset regards Twilight's face while the alicorn princess continues to look down.
“It feels so awkward to feel jealousy over my counterpart for that, especially considering the fact that she's essentially me who was born from another world, but she has something with her daughter that I dearly want, yet cannot have because of our history together in this world, and there is another problem.” Twilight looks to her side in shame. “I can't be with my daughter as often as I like because I have many other royal duties to perform. I can delegate, but in the end, I end up needing to do that far more than I care to admit. I hate the feeling of having to choose between my daughter and my country. I hate having to compare what's more important to me all the time . . . because they are both vital to me! They are both things I need to have in my life.
“Whenever I look into her eyes, I see the distance between us. Not much progress has been made to close that gap. Because of that, I feel like I've failed her. That I really have chosen my citizens over her. I hope you'll never have to know such agony, my dear friend.”
Sunset looks down as she thinks on this carefully. There are many who had come to her for advice, but it never was her official duty.
Not yet, at any rate.
“I have spoken with children with traumatic pasts before,” Sunset brings up. “I've spoken to full-grown adults who had their issues too. I can add myself to that category in multiple ways.” She focuses on Twilight. “Pain, fear, and rage rarely remains focused. Instead, it branches and lashes out all over the place. It tends to target things that are even similar to what caused their distress. Cozy Glow, from what I can tell, grew accustomed to seeing you as an obstacle keeping her from greater power at one time. Since then, she saw you as the jailer who condemned her to an unbearable fate.”
Sunset pauses for a moment when she witnesses the chin of her friend wrinkle in pain at that declaration. Seeing Twilight hurt by those words almost made Sunset lose her train of thought. In an effort to reclaim it, she closes her eyes for a second and shakes her head, then opens her eyes again as she continues.
“My point is, it seems to me that you've been trying to get through to her by repeating the same tactics. Extending your hoof in friendship, being patient with her, presenting many opportunities to her, having her experience many positive things as an incentive to learn further. You have done all of this for years, and she has resisted you for just as long. Now, I'm not claiming that this tactic might not work eventually. You might wear her down, but I think it is time for a different strategy. Cozy herself is a strategist. It's just in her nature to seek every advantage at every opportunity, but being locked in the same situation for so long . . . it sounds like she's given up trying to assert her destiny.”
“But I've been doing that all along!” Twilight objects. “I’ve been encouraging her to come out of her shell so that she could claim her destiny.”
“I know,” Sunset agrees with a lift of a hoof. “The trouble here is she sees you as an insurmountable obstacle. One which she fears the mere attempt to surpass you might result in the unbearable fate she suffered from before. Instead, I think she needs to spend some time apart from you where she can face her own choices on her own. That includes her own rewards and consequences. At the same time, the journey may broaden her perspective. It may help to teach her why harmony is preferable by showing her the other places that have it, and the places that don't! I know she came from such a place. There may be others, too. Facing those things may help to give her a balanced perspective.
“I think she needs some time of her own to practice just being a regular pony again, and eventually maybe even a princess. Both of these things have their layered challenges. Facing them on her own and with those she considers a friend will help guide her on her journey.
“She faced pain before, so she'll recognize it when she sees others going through the same thing. Gradually she'll realize she's not alone in this process, and that the burden is eased by sharing it together,” Sunset says as she presses both of her forehooves together. “The more she shares her experiences with others as friends rather than tools, the more her heart will open up naturally on its own. In time, she may even see herself in you. She may understand why you are not her enemy anymore, but rather a friend, a mentor, and a mother.”
Twilight smiles with happy tears in her eyes this time, then asks, “When did you become so wise? This is the kind of stuff I used to teach you.”
“You still do all the time, which is also the answer to your question,” Sunset returns. “I got this wise by having great teachers. That includes you, but also all of my other friends. No pony is perfect, not even the Princess of Friendship.”
For a moment, Sunset reaches forward to playfully nudge Twilight's shoulder, then goes on to say, “The truth is, both of us is ever the teacher and student. Life itself is the classroom. That won't stop us from making mistakes, but we get a little better each time.”
“Ooo!” Twilight leans forward to hug her friend again, this time in pride and gratitude. “Thank you, Sunset! Thank you for everything you have taught me tonight.”
“Don't worry about Cozy, either,” Sunset advises. “I'll do my best to guide her. I promise.”
Twilight gives Sunset one last squeeze before pulling back, after which she passes her friend a coy smile as she says, “That's going to be harder if you don't get some sleep tonight. Believe me, I know what it's like to pull an all-nighter. It can sometimes be very difficult to avoid the necessity, but I also know it's not fun or optimal. Tonight, there is little else you can usefully do, so take this time to sleep while you can. You are very likely to need it tomorrow.”
Twilight stands up from the stool. In doing so, she now towers over Sunset, especially since Sunset is still sitting down.
“Since time is of the essence, and delaying things any further will simply give you more time to stress yourself, I'm going to arrange the pegasus chariot very early in the morning. You,” she points at Sunset, “are to join me for breakfast before setting off, and that's an order. I'll let the others who are going know the same thing.”
“Thank you, Twilight,” Sunset says gratefully but also tiredly. It is now a struggle to keep her eyelids open. That warm coco seems to be doing the trick. “I look forward to joining you in the morning.”