Approaching the doors to the Silver Shoals retirement home may have been one of the most mortifying thing I have ever done in my life. Knowing on the other side of those glass doors was family I hadn’t taken the time to visit or at least write to in a while was a horrifying thought. Who knows how they would react? I had really on met Aunty Luna on one or two occasions.
“Okay Sunset,” I calmed myself, “It’s now or never.”
The hand lit up with a blue aura as I slowly opened the door, flickering only from the fear of seeing old family. At the desk sat a grey maned pony with a white coat. She couldn’t have been much younger than some of the people living here, yet she sat the writing away on a piece of parchment.
“H-Hello there,” I broke the silence, “I’m here to see my mother.”
“And who might that be?” The old mare spoke up. She didn’t quite have a rude tone, but it wasn’t a very friendly speaking voice either. She clearly had to have been working here a while.
“Princess Celestia” I replied. The mare stiffened. I awaited a response but to no avail. Maybe she hadn’t hear me?
“Princess Celestia” I repeated. This time the mare looked up from her parchment, With her face more visible, I noticed that her deep purple eyes were surrounded by either bags or wrinkles, I couldn’t tell what was worse.
“Oh no, I heard you,” She stated flatly, “I just can’t believe you expect me to think that your the daughter of the Equestria’s ex-ruler.”
“But I am!” I responded, “You got to believe me!”
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” She spoke up, “If you refuse to vaca-”
“Now, now, little pony,” A voice spoke from across the room, “I wouldn’t be so quick to disbelieve.”
“Pr-Princess!” The mare froze up, nearly clearing the bags from eyes, “Apologies, ma’am, it appears this mare here has come to visit you!”
Out from the shadows stepped a tall, white, godlike being with a flowing pastel mane. It was Princess Celestia. It was my own mother.
“M-Mom!” I froze up. She had barely aged since that last time I saw her. Her flowing still as bright and pastel as ever, The regality alone would make one question why she would have ever retired from the throne. Yet something seemed off about her. She seemed more rugged and tired. Almost as if she really was aging.
“Sunset,” She smiled, “It’s so good to see you! Why it’s been eons since you last wrote me! Why don’t you come with me to my office?”
“Office?” I tiled my head, confused.
“You think I stepped down to live here?” She chuckled, dragging me along to her office “No no, I came here to run this place.”
Swiftly shutting the door, she sat down and motioned me to follow. Her office was neatly decorated with images of friends and family. Aside from a few items scattered here and there, the office was relatively clean. But the most outstanding thing about the office was the large window that allowed the sun to peak through during later hours of the day. You could probably watch the sunset from this office.
“My dear,” She smiled, “It is so good to see you! How have you been? What’s life been like in the human realm? I hear that you and your friends across the way have had a great many adventures.”
“Actually,” I spoke up, “That’s what I came here to talk to you about.”
I froze in my seat. If she’s really running this place, should I really stress her out with this? It wouldn’t be fair to come to her like this after not even sending a single message in years! I thought, But I really do want to get back to my friends...
“What is troubling you, my little pony?” My mother looked at me worriedly, " I can see the trouble on your face. It’s okay to talk to me about it.”
“It’s-” I choked, “I- I can’t get back to the human realm. The portal shut down and refuses to open up, no matter what we do. Even Twilight’s getting stressed ov-”
I froze again. I really messed up last time I talked to Twilight. I shouldn’t of left without apologizing to her. I should probably go back. God dammit, Sunset why do you have to be such a fu-
“Hey, hey,” She consoled me, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
I hadn’t even noticed that tears began to drip down my face. God I was such a sucker. I couldn’t even face my own stupidity. I don’t get what’s with her. One moment I’m angry with her and next I’m crying about her. All I can think about is her.
“Now, now, Sunset,” My mother held my hoof, “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”
“I-I” I choked, " I really fucked up. Like bad.”
“What happened?” My mother tilted her head.
“I g-got into a fight with T-Twilight,” I sobbed, “I yelled at her when all she did was try to help me. I treated her like trash and pushed her aside.”
“Hm,” She thought, “That is quite the issue... Maybe you could go back and apologize to her. Even if did take her awhile to accept, I doubt she would ever hold a grudge against you.”
“B-But-” She cut me off, pulling me into a hug.
“No buts!” She put her hoof down, “As your mother, and ex-ruler of Equestria, I demand you to march back down to Ponyville and apologize to Twilight immediately!”
I didn’t deserve this. Who would? I was just a cheap friend who treated their friend’s like trash. I can’t even write my own mother, and here I am asking for her advice and help. I really don’t deserve all of this support.
“Thank you, mom” I closed the door behind me as I walked out of the office.
“Tsk tsk tsk,” The old mare from before stood behind me, “You come to visit and you don’t even recognize me?”
Within a flash the mare transformed into a tall dark figure with a blue flowing mane resembling the night sky. I stood frozen in shock.
“You really should visit more,” She chuckled, “Your Aunty Luna does love to play games.”