“What?” Sunset asked again.
“Well, Sunset,” Celestia started. “I hadn’t realised that you had gained a mother and father in the other world.”
“Yea,” Sunset nodded. “But not until after what happened at the Battle of the Bands.”
“Really,” Twilight asked raising an eyebrow. “How did that happen?”
“Well,” Sunset cleared her throat, getting ready to tell them the story. “It all started about a week after the battle of the bands…”
(Flashback)
Principal Celestia looked up from her paperwork when she heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” She called, feeling her sister, who had been photocopying more paperwork in the corner, stand next to her. She was surprised to see the Rainbooms all come into her office. It did not take long for her and Luna to notice that they were one short.
“Where is Miss Shimmer?” Luna asked the girls.
“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Rarity started before looking at the others, not sure how to explain.
Applejack stepped forward. “Well, you see VP Luna. A little after the Battle of the Bands, we realised that we didn’t know where Sunset lives.”
“We’ve tried to ask her, but she always manages to change the subject,” Fluttershy timidly continued.
“Yea,” Rainbow nodded. “And we were wondering if we can borrow the new security cameras. Just to find out which way she goes after school, so we can follow her and try to figure out where she lives.”
“Hmm,” Celestia thought for a moment, looking over at her filing cabinet where a certain file sat, before turning back to the girls. “While normally I wouldn’t allow it, we will make an exception just this once.”
“To tell you the truth,” Luna said, knowing where Celestia was going with this. “We also want to know where Miss Shimmer lives. After hearing that she was from another world, we realised that some of her student information might be false. And the address we found, along with other things, was indeed false.”
Celestia gestured for the girls to follow her over to the new security room. They all gathered around one of the monitors, as Luna put in the passcode.
“Now,” Luna started. “I assume Miss Shimmer normally goes out the front at the end of school?”
“That’s right,” Pinkie confirmed.
After a minute of going through footage, they found a good bit. They watch as the screen showed Sunset Shimmer walking out of the school. They were surprised when, after looking around she hid behind a nearby bush. Luna fast forwarded the footage, it seemed that Sunset remained behind the bush for two whole hours.
After everyone had gone home, Sunset moved from the bush and walk back towards the school. Luna turned the footage to one of the other cameras. Sunset walked around to the back and the girls gasped in horror as Sunset jumped into the school dumpster and start sorting through it.
“Oh, sugarcube,” Applejack muttered sadly, as Sunset came out of the dumpster with a couple of half-eaten apples, a container of mystery meat and half a tub of day-old chocolate pudding. She then walked over to a slightly opened window and climbed through it. Luna shifted the focus to the cameras inside the school.
Sunset walked through the school auditorium and into the sports storage room. She pulled out one of the sports mats and one of smaller punching bags. After setting everything aside, she started eating what she got from the dumpster. After finishing eating, she took her boots off, the punching bag at one end of the mat, and laid down, using the bag as a pillow. Luna turned the monitor off after Sunset had gone to sleep.
Everyone looked at each other, still in shock. Pinkie suddenly gasped as a realization came over her. “I just realise,” she said, getting the others attention. “You know when Sunset was a meanie pants, she would take people’s lunch money. Do you think, along with be mean, she also did it to feed herself?”
“Probably, darling,” Rarity answered.
“I think the big question here is, what are we going do?” Applejack asked. After thinking, they all put their heads together to plan.
(End Flashback)
“Oh, Sunset,” Twilight said sadly. “If I had known you were sleeping in the school, I would’ve invited you to stay in the castle. You would have only needed to go through the portal to get to school.”
“It’s ok, Twilight,” Sunset assured the purple pony. “It all worked out in the end.”
“Yes,” Luna nodded. “I would like to know how you gained parents out of this.”
“Well,” Sunset explained. “A few days after the girls found out about where I was living, I was called into Principal Celestia’s office…”
(Flashback)
Sunset knocked on the office door. After hearing “come in”, she walked into the office to find Principal Celestia at her desk, with Vice Principal Luna standing just behind her.
“You wished to see me,” Sunset said, slightly nervous.
“Please, take a seat, Sunset,” Celestia gestured to the seats in front of her. “You’re not in trouble. There’s just some things we wish to discuss with you.”
“What sort of things?” Sunset asked, afraid of where this was going.
“We been having a closer look at your school records,” Luna started explaining. “And we’ve notice that things like your address are false.”
“Well, um,” Sunset tried to think of an excuse, but Celestia held up her hand to stop her.
“We now know it’s because of the fact that you are from a different world,” Celestia said. “But after installing cameras in and around the school recently, we’ve seen you bunking down in the auditorium.”
“Oh,” Was all Sunset could say.
“Now,” Luna continued. “We’re not going to call on Child Services, mainly due to the lack of legit paperwork. However, we did contact an old friend of ours to produce that paperwork.”
“You mean…” Sunset looked at the sisters hopefully. “Actual paperwork. That says I’m an actual person.”
“Yes,” Luna nodded.
“Thank you so much,” Sunset said gratefully.
“That’s not all,” Celestia said. “The paperwork may take a while, so until then, I would like to offer a room at my house with my husband and me.”
“At your house?” Sunset asked. “As in permanently?”
“If that is what you want,” Celestia smiled at the teen.
“Are you sure you want me there?” Sunset was doubtful. “Especially with my past and everything.”
“Oh, Sunset,” Celestia assured. “Of course, I do. My husband Discord does too. When I suggested it, he immediately started cleaning out and decorating one of the spare rooms, just for you.”
After spending a few more minutes going over everything they needed to know about Sunset, what food she eats and the like, Sunset finally left the office with a big smile and a slight spring in her step.
(End Flashback)
“After settling into Celestia and Discord’s home,” Sunset said, taking a drink of water, after all that talking. “It just kinda went from there. When Christmas, kinda like Hearth’s Warming, came around, Mom’s friend came through with the paperwork. Among the it was an adoption form. After discussing it, I agreed to be adopted and signed the form.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful, Sunset,” Twilight smiled at her. “So, when you said mom and dad before, you meant the human counterparts of Celestia and Discord.”
“Yep,” Sunset nodded. “It took a while for the adoption to become official, but by the time the Friendship Games came around, I was officially Sunset Shimmer de Lancie.”
“De Lancie?” Rarity wondered about the weird name.
“Yea, that’s Dad’s family name,” Sunset explained. All the ponies commended her on getting a new family.
“I’m so very happy for you, Sunset,” Princess Celestia smiled at her. “I had hoped for you to find friends and family. Though it was done in a different world to this one, but you eventually did it.”
Sunset smiled back. “I sure did.” She then spent the night talking about some of the experiences she had shared with her new family so far.