//------------------------------// // Familiar // Story: Who we really are? // by FieryUnicorn42 //------------------------------// After leaving the animal shelter, Sunset is in front of the school's statue (or what remained after the friendship games) taking some breaths before crossing the portal. She received a message from princess Celestia days ago inviting her to spend the weekend at Canterlot castle. After some hesitation, she stepped on the portal and was on Twilight's castle seconds later. "You're early." Said Twilight walking and hugging her sister. "Nice to see you too, Twilly." "So, how are the girls?" "They are fine, is movie night and they all go to Fluttershy's house." "Cool. You could invite your little sister to one of these, you know?" "Don't worry, I will. Well, I'm better to go to the train station, there's a long way from here to Canterlot." "If you wish, I can go with you." "Thanks, but I'll be fine. I have to walk with my own feet, not counting that is a little weird depend on my little sister to solve my problems." "If you say so. At least let me escort you to the train station." Sunset shimmer approaches the Canterlot castle gates, and looking at the guards, she recognizes two of them, they are the ones she knocked out before jump into the mirror for the first time, and for the expression on their faces, they recognized her too, after all, is not every day that you are attacked while escorting the princess prized pupil outside the castle. "Identify yourself." "Hi, I'm Sunset Shimmer, Princess Celestia is waiting for me." "Seems that is true." said the guard on the left after looking at a clipboard that he grabbed with his magic. "Proceed, another guard will meet and escort you to the princess's presence." commanded the other. She spotted a guard walking in her direction and stops waiting for him. They resume to walk and Sunset thought about the last time she was in the castle with Twilight, the guards not even once stopped them, just bowed their heads in Twilight's presence without a single question. "I remember when all the castle doors were open to me..." A voice woke her from her memories. "Your highness." She looks and saw that the guard stopped with his head down. "Sunset?" In front of her stood princess Luna and Sunset bowed her head in reflex. "What's your name, guard?" "My name is Northwind, your highness." "Well, you did a good job bringing my sister's former student to the throne room, Northwind. Now leave Sunset with me." "As you wish, my queen." Northwind leaves the hall of the throne room and Sunset fell a touch on her shoulder. "Sunset, you don't need to bow to me." "Sorry, was a reflex. Where she is?" "Considering that the afternoon is almost over, she's probably in the kitchen eating something." Luna and Sunset walk for some minutes and reach the castle's main kitchen. "Sister, are you here?" "Yes, Luna? Oh Sunset, you came earlier than I expected." "I hope I wasn't interrupting." "Nonsense, I was just baking some cookies for when you arrive." "You don't need to." "Is the first time you enter this castle as my daughter, so I think that would be good to cook something to show that I care. You still like cookies with chocolate chips?" "Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? Especially when is homemade. Mind if I help?" "Okay, but don't dare to eat all the chocolate chips, Luna stays in a terrible mood if she doesn't eat some chocolate." "Hey, that was a one-time thing! You ate the seven-layer chocolate cake that Pinkie send to us." "I thought you don't want, you leave it on the fridge for a whole day." "I was saving for my midnight snack! Watching over the dream realm makes me really hungry!" They continue to chat with Celestia and Luna telling Sunset some of her childhood memories until the sunset. "I really enjoyed our time together, but the duty calls me. See you in your dreams Sunset." "Yeah, was fun baking cookies and chatting with both of you. See you later, auntie Luna." Luna leaves the kitchen leaving Sunset and Celestia alone. "Well, the evening is only beginning, what do you want to do, Sunset?" "I dunno, usually that time I was home, doing homework, or hanging with the girls." "What about you tell me more about your life? I wanna know everything I can about you, I mean if you wanna tell me, of course." "Nah, we already passed the worst part so, so I don't have any reason not to talk about my life, you are my mother after all." "How is the school on your side of the mirror?" "Normal, I guess, Canterlot high isn't so different from the CSGU, a part of the magic, of course, but now we have that there too. Schools are pretty similar no matter what part of the multiverse you are, I guess." "Twilight told me about all the problems equestrian magic caused to your world." "Yeah, I and the girls passed some risky moments, but is not something that we can't deal with." "She said that you are the leader of your friends." "I'm not a leader, we are all equals. I mean, sure, sometimes I take the lead, but is almost always when comes to dealing with magic, but just because I have more experience with that." "Your friends trust in you, they know that you are a better person than before, a person who will stand with them." "I try my best to be worthy of that confidence." "And this makes me think that you are a good leader. A true leader in any world leads not by forcing others to bow before her, but by inspiring others to stand with her." "Principal Celestia said the same to Twilight after my defeat at the fall formal." "She appears to be a clever mare, I mean, woman." "I guess so." "Luna said that you and principal Celestia are pretty close." "We are good friends," Sunset thought about telling Celestia that the principal adopted her on the human world, but decided that is too soon yet, "she even let me stay with her and Luna for a while, and helped me find an apartment." "I'm glad that you found someone like her." "Me too."