Seven Days in Sunny June, Book I

by Shinzakura


December 14: Once Upon a Wintertime

“SPIKE! GIVE ME BACK MY BOWTIE!” Sunset raced down the hall, chasing after the young boy running off with a maize-colored bowtie in his hands.

“No!” he shouted back. “Not until you give me back my 3DS!”

“No, Mom said she could keep it for a week to teach you a lesson about knocking, squirt.” Twilight took the bowtie out of his hands and gave it to Sunset.

“Hey, I said I was sorry,” he muttered.

Twilight looked fit to be tied. “Spike, it’s very rude to walk in on a girl while she’s taking a shower, especially since you know we have to fix that door handle!”

“But I had to use the bathroom!”

Twilight scowled at him. “And you couldn’t use the one downstairs? Or the one in Mom and Dad’s bedroom?”

“No – too far.”

The purple-haired teen groaned, shook her head, and just pointed towards his bedroom; Spike got the message and started walking. As he did, she turned to her foster sister, shrugging. “Sorry.”

“He’s just a kid, Twily. He’ll learn someday.” Sunset walked up to the hallway mirror, adjusting her tie, then double-checking both the tuxedo shirt and black pants she was wearing. Twilight was dressed similarly, save for a magenta bow. As Sunset was satisfied with her appearance, she asked, “Are you ready for this?”

“Not really,” she admitted. “Tavi’s better at crowds than I am. But if Pinkie’s family needs help, well, we should help our friends, right?”

“Plus, it’s for a good cause,” Sunset pointed out. When the Sugarcube Corner Café was asked to assist with the county’s homeless shelter’s annual Christmas party for needy families, the Cakes immediately jumped in to help. Knowing the job would be big, Pinkie then asked her friends if they could help; without any hesitation, all the girls volunteered to waitstaff with the exception of Octavia, who offered to gather up a bunch of people she knew to play chamber and holiday music for the whole party.

“Don’t worry, Twily, you’ll be fine.” But as the pair walked down the stairs to get their jackets, the flame-haired teen looked at the clock and said, “So when is Tavi supposed to get here?”

“Well, my uncle and aunt – Evening Sonnet and Ballad – should be here any moment now; they’re running late because Tavi had to restring her bass. Fortunately, AJ called an hour ago and said that she picked up everyone else early and that they’re already there at the community center.” Just as Twilight finished her sentence, a horn blared from outside. “That’s them.”

“Kinda nervous about this,” Sunset admitted.

“Don’t worry about it! Uncle Evening and Aunt Ballad are great,” Twilight assured her. “They’re even more laid back than my parents, if that’s even possible. Besides, they’re just dropping us off on the way to the airport; either Mom or Dad’ll be picking us up tonight.”

As she placed another group of plates in front of a grateful family, Sunset looked at her friends and thought how oddly out of place they all looked; when they were trying to come up with a matching attire for the night, Octavia had suggested they base it off of what she usually wore at performances: black pants, tuxedo shirt, and a colored bow, in her case lavender, for just the right mix of comfort and style. Rarity had agreed, and since she worked at a bridal and formal boutique, coming up with the ensembles for her friends was easy.

The actual execution was a bit harder, however and in retrospect Sunset felt they all looked a bit on the comical side. Twilight and Fluttershy were trying to both help and hide from the crowd, but for different reasons; in Twilight’s case it was her social awkwardness, while in the latter girl’s instance it was both that and the fact that her shirt was just a tad too tight – Fluttershy’s green bow looked like it could pop off at any moment, followed by many other buttons on her shirt. Rainbow, sporting a red bow, looked completely at ease in the outfit, but for all the wrong reasons; Applejack, wearing an orange tie, looked good in hers as well, but kept complaining that a bolo tie would’ve been “more proper.” Pinkie, with her baby-blue tie, had to be talked out of matching it with a neon yellow shirt and hot-pink pants – and where she actually managed to dig those up no one wanted to know. Lastly was Rarity, wearing her purple tie, who complained constantly that perhaps wearing little black dresses would have been a better choice; knowing her, she just wanted to look elegant as always – pure functionality was never her strong suit.

As she picked up some empty plates, Sunset opted to take a break. Heading towards the kitchens, she looked around at the holiday decorations that she and the other girls had spent the last couple of nights putting up in order to get the center ready; in the past, she wouldn’t have really cared much about doing any of this – she certainly had never volunteered on any of the planning committees for any of the school dances – but this time, it felt like right thing to do, and she’d been rewarded by seeing the smile of happy faces, families down on their luck just glad to see young teens helping to make the world a brighter place during the holiday season.

Thinking about that, however, made her realize how much her life had changed in a few short weeks. Part of her felt as if it was still a dream, and the next blink would end the rapid eye movement sequence, allowing her to open her eyes to the bleak grayness of the old Flim-Flam Bros. warehouse. It would mean that everything that she’d been living the past few weeks would be nothing but a fantasy, and in the end she’d be the same damned unicorn-in-a-human’s-body that she’d been before this all started. But if her life of the past two months was just a dream, she thought, she never wanted to wake up.

Of course, not everything was perfect: Spike, for example, seemed to be a bit resentful of the fact that he wasn’t the newest member of the family anymore and was possibly hell-bent on making her life miserable; she was, however, sure that he’d come around. The big thing that had bothered her was the argument she and Twilight had a week after her stabbing; the girls didn’t speak to each other for a day and by the end of it Sunset had feared that it was the end of her time there, but instead Velvet and Night got the girls together to talk things over and by the end of that evening it had been long forgotten and life had gone back to normal.

And now that this was becoming her sense of normal, there was an additional undercurrent to it all: when would it all end? Admittedly, in her first couple of days, she’d actually considered running away for good, taking her chances in another city or state, perhaps even running up to Canada. But as the march of days continued, she found herself inexorably bound to her foster family. She now had parental figures that genuinely cared about her, an “older” brother who thought well of her and two younger pseudo-siblings, three if Octavia was added into the mix. And though Sunset was in truth three years older than Shining, she found herself more and more wanting to embody the teenager her ID said she was: a girl just three weeks older than Octavia and five more than Twilight.

For the first time since her days under Princess Celestia’s wing, she felt she had something truly precious and far more valuable than the power she’d once craved. Finally, Sunset Shimmer had something to lose…and that thought filled her with dread.


As she entered the kitchen area, she saw Rarity, seated at a table hidden from the main area’s view, nibbling from an éclair and drinking sparkling grape juice from a plastic flute. As she saw Sunset come in, the teen fashionista said, “Sunset, is everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine. Why?”

“Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this quiet. And if I may, you look like the time I told my sister she couldn’t borrow my favorite camisole – I swear, thirteen-year-olds can be so melodramatic at times.”

“Sweetie Belle’s that old already?”

“Yes, and while I admit she still acts as though she’s ten sometimes, I suspect that’s more to do with the rather rambunctious influence of her friends,” Rarity replied, patting the seat next to her, insisting that her friend join her. Sunset took the hint and sat down, and as she did, Rarity whispered, “Plus, you look like you did shortly after you were purified from that…you know. And so I know something is wrong, Sunset. I’m always here if you need me.”

“Thanks, Rarity,” the ex-unicorn replied, wondering if she should say anything to her friend. A second later, she knew that was fine; the teen fashionista was probably the one Sunset was closest to since her defeat and the one knew her best. “Would you believe me if I told you that now that I have something that means the world to me – really means everything to me – I’m afraid of losing it?”

“My, my, my, so you really are only human after all…in a manner of speaking, of course,” Rarity said with a playful wink. “But seriously, dear, I suppose you’re just getting used to having the same kind of normal life the rest of us lead, aren’t you?”

“I’m just getting used to having a life, period,” Sunset answered. “I had a nightmare the other night where they all found what I really am and abandoned me.”

“I don’t think that would ever happen, Sunset. You are a part of their family now, and seeing you without Twilight or Octavia is, well, a bit like a matching ensemble missing the proper purse, to use an analogy.”

“And yet neither of them know about….” Sunset then raised her hands up towards the sides of her head, in imitation of pony ears. “To be honest, you and our friends are only a few of those who know the whole thing…and you’re the only person on this world I’ve ever shown what I really look like.”

Rarity gave a slight smile. “I’m touched that you have such confidence in me, Sunset, I really am. But it sounds as though you need to get this off your chest. If I may, I suggest telling our friends, if only so that we may continue to help you.”

“Maybe you’re right. Can you get the girls together on Monday and we can talk about it at lunch?”

“Of course, dear,” Rarity said, finishing off her éclair. She then looked at the crowds still at the tables, listening to the music, and as she rose from her chair, she said, “Now, I think we should get back before the others think we’re goofing off…though I daresay that if goofing off were a sport, Pinkie would likely be the all-time grandmaster.”

Sunset laughed as she rose from her chair, glad to have a friend in her former rival. “No argument there, Rares.”


As the pair stepped out, they were surprised to see Ms. Cheerilee, Canterlot High’s English teacher and school librarian, walking around the front of the kitchen, looking agitated. “No, I’m glad you’re okay!...Look, just take care of yourself, sis and we’ll figure something out. You know where I keep my spare house key…Yeah, I’ll see you tonight, then…Love you too, Toola. Bye.” Cheerilee shook her head, muttering something other her breath.

“Ms. Cheerilee? Is there something the matter?” Rarity asked.

The teacher nodded. “My sister, Toola-Roola, was driving in from Los Angeles so she could entertain the kids – she’s a performing magician – but she hit a patch of black ice on the Interstate just short of Colton and skidded off the road. She’s fine, but her car’s totaled. And now we don’t have anyone to keep the children busy.”

Rarity thought for a second, then said, “Maybe we could get that one girl from the drama club, Trixie Lulamoon. She says she wants to be a stage magician for a living.”

Sunset shook her head. “Not a good idea; for starters, this would be a last second thing and Trixie’s probably got something planned. Second, do you know how to get a hold of her?”

“Not really, no, though I’m sure Pinkie—”

I’ll do it,” Sunset said. “I’ve, um, studied magic tricks in my spare time.”

Cheerilee looked at her curiously. “Really?”

“You’re missing The Blue Man Group Guide to Magic, Stage Magic for Dummies and Abracadra! The Illustrated Book of Prestidigitation,” Sunset rattled off. When Cheerilee’s eyes narrowed she said, “I stole them, I admit it, but I also gave the money to replace them to Principal Celestia back in October as part of my restitution.”

“Okay, if you can do it,” the teacher said, as her anger receded. “Those children are more important than the books. I’ll go gather them by the stage. Think you’ll be ready in ten minutes?”

“Make it five,” Sunset boasted.

As the teacher walked away, Rarity asked, “Are you sure about this? And I thought you knew that human magic isn’t real—”

“I didn’t steal them,” Sunset told her friend. “Snails did. He was trying to figure out how to ask Trixie out and he thought that if he was a magician as well, that would do it. After the whole ‘event’, I found out about it and told Celestia I stole them so he wouldn’t get in trouble. I was already in a world of shit, and he was doing it because he was sweet on her – I thought I’d give him a break.” She shrugged. “Of course, somehow Celestia found out, but I agreed to pay for the missing books if she let Snails off the hook.”

“I see. But how are you going to….”

“It’s almost a full moon, which means my magic will be at its strongest. It’ll leave an afterglow, but I can mask that with an obscurity charm. Besides, with what I have in mind, it’ll look more like stage magic than anything else. Trust me.”

“If you insist,” Rarity said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yeah. Let the other girls know and have them run interference for me so Tavi and Twily don’t see. Either of them might ask about it and I just want to make sure that we’re all on the same page.”

“Understood,” she said, heading off to talk to Pinkie, who was the closest.

As the kids gathered round, Sunset checked her pockets to make sure that she had everything that she needed from Pinkie – though why Pinkie had any of it on her was incomprehensible. I really have to wonder if she carries confetti, sparkle powder and snap caps with her on a regular basis. Finally, as the last of the children sat, she found all of them looking at her with rapt attention; many adults were as well – and certainly her friends and both Twilight and Octavia, the last two with a proud look on their faces.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the obscurity charm first, letting the magic flow through her fingers, as she had no horn. It was weaker, given that it was through ten outputs instead of a single fount and that she couldn’t draw from Equestria’s leylines, but it would suffice. As she cast the spell, she intentionally left her friends out of the spell so that they could see.


“Wow! Her hands are totally glowing and that looks soooooooo cool!” Pinkie chirped. “It’s like she’s got LEDs attached to her fingertips!”

“Pinkie, what on Earth are you talking about?” Octavia asked.

“Can’t you see that, Tav—”

“Uh, Pinks?” Rainbow interjected, “Did you go off your meds again?” Looking at Octavia and Twilight, Rainbow lied through her teeth to cover for Sunset. “I think she’s had too much sugar again.”

“Probably,” Twilight laughed as they focused on Sunset’s performance on stage.


Thanks, Rainbow, Sunset mused as she began.

“Long ago, there was a far-away world filled with unicorns and pegasi and small ponies. They lived in a magical land—” waving her hand, Sunset drew the sparkle powder out of her pocket via magic, creating a dazzling arc of twinkling brilliance, “—and they lived under a gentle and wise ruler, a great alicorn princess.”

A little girl’s hand shot up and she asked, “What’s an acilorn?”

Sunset smiled. “Alicorn, little one – they’re like winged unicorns, but much more beautiful, graceful and powerful.” And somepony to fear when you’ve hurt the one who loved you most. “The alicorn princess was so special, she was responsible for raising the sun and the moon, so her little ponies could enjoy both the day and the night. But she was lonely and felt she had much to teach her little ponies, but couldn’t do it all by herself – even someone as great as a princess has other duties.

“One day, the princess decided that she would take a special pony of her own as a student, so that pony would someday be a great help to her.” Sunset triggered another spell, bringing forth a simulated image of herself as a filly, and a copy of Princess Celestia, colored with the dawn-pink mane her mentor had said she’d had when she was younger. She left it long enough for the crowd to see, then pulled the images behind her and dissipated the spell, to look like she’d used paper cut-outs and was folding them into her back pocket. “She chose a young filly from a nearby orphanage—”

“What’s a filly?” a boy asked.

“A filly is a little girl pony,” Sunset answered.

“Why didn’t she choose a boy pony?” another asked.

“I really don’t know,” Sunset said, trying to keep the emotions welling up inside her out of her voice. “Maybe she felt the orphan would never fail her.” She paused to take a breath and said, “The princess found the orphaned filly, a unicorn, during Hearth’s Warming: it’s like Christmas, but a little different – otherwise, it’s the same. The princess asked the orphan if she wanted to live in the palace and be her student, and the orphan, who was a special little filly because she was filled with magic and love, hugged the princess and was glad to be chosen as the princess’ special student.

“As the years passed, the filly grew up to become a young mare, which is kinda like a teenager,” Sunset said, conjuring a copy of the image she’d shown Rarity a few weeks back, “and she grew up to be the princess’ finest student. But more importantly, she loved the princess as though the alicorn was her mother, and the princess loved her back like the daughter she never had. Many other ponies were wondering if someday the princess would adopt the unicorn and make her a princess as well,” Sunset said, putting away her self-portrait. “And if you asked the unicorn, at the time, she would have wanted that. Very much.”


Rarity blinked away tears, knowing now was not the time. While there was a smile on Sunset’s face, her eyes shone differently. You don’t have to do this to yourself, dear, the fashionista wanted to shout aloud. Looking at her friends out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the same stoic masks on their faces as well. She knew that Monday would be a long discussion.

“I didn’t know Sunny was that good an actor,” Twilight said, unaware of what was really going on. “She’s keeping her voice even, but I can see something in her eyes.”

“I guess she picked up some kind of stage training, Twily,” Octavia said, agreeing. “In my music class, they teach us how to have a stage face, how to keep your feelings off your face so you can perform without it affecting you. But I wonder where she learned all of that from.”

“Well, despite her grades, she is well read, dears,” Rarity pointed out. “Maybe she’s learned through that way?”

“Maybe,” Twilight agreed.


“Then one day, the princess decided to show the unicorn a valuable treasure, one of the most wonderful things in the world, a magic mirror.” This, Sunset knew, was where fantasy diverged from reality. The unicorn of the story would have a Happily Ever After, because that’s what happened in these stories, whether in Equestria or on Earth. But the real unicorn in question’s story ended when she betrayed her mother figure, and four years later, was still paying the price.

Here’s hoping the rest of the story doesn’t sound too much like I’m lying to them; I already know I’m lying to myself.

“The unicorn looked in the mirror and saw herself as an alicorn, just like the princess she loved so very much,” Sunset began when she heard a woman’s frantic cries.

Everything stopped as the woman frantically shouted, “Viney? Viney? Has anyone seen my daughter, Grapevine?”

Cheerilee ran up to the woman and asked, “What does she look like?”

“Fair skin, purple hair and rose eyes,” the upset mother answered. “She’s never done anything like this before! Oh, Viney,” the woman said, starting to break into tears.

Sunset jumped off the stage and ran to her friends. “We gotta help,” she told them, though from the looks in their eyes, they’d thought the same thing.

To Sunset’s surprise, Twilight took charge; somehow, the girls all looked to her as a leader because of her pony counterpart, though she didn't know it, but the determination in the teen’s eyes was entirely her own. “We’ll split into pairs of two and search outside; we can assume that everyone will be looking inside the community center.”

Mrs. Cake, overhearing them, said, “Good idea – we’ll have everyone look in the building; it’s a big enough one, but it’s snowing outside and we should be looking out there as well.”

“Right,” Twilight said, nodding. “Each person can run down the opposite direction of the other; we’ll use Skype to keep in touch so we can talk in multiples at once. You all have Bluetooth?”

“Ah forgot mine at ho—”

“No worries!” Pinkie said, pulling a bunch of Bluetooth earsets out of her pocket. “I always keep emergency Bluetooths in case of emergency Bluetooth situations. And they’re already fully charged!”

“How did you—” Octavia began.

“It’s Pinkie,” Sunset said, as if that explained everything.

“Oh…kay,” Twilight said. “Anyway, me and Tavi will search Saddleback Avenue. Fluttershy, you and Pinkie take 17th Street. Rainbow, you and Applejack take 16th. Sunny, you and Rarity have Fairvista Boulevard. She can’t have gone far, but it’s snowing out there and she could be in danger.”

“Then let’s get a move on, girls!” Applejack said as they raced to grab their jackets.

About ten minutes later, Sunset was two blocks west of the community center, looking around the brownstones around the intersection of Fairvista and 14th. “I’m on Fairvista and 14th and I don’t see anything,” she said into her Bluetooth.

“Ah’m over at 16th and Nutley Drive, and there's nothing here!” Applejack answered.

“Nothing here on 17th and Avenida de la Merced,” Fluttershy replied, tripping over the street’s Spanish name.

“This is crazy! I’m approaching Saddleback and 18th and I don’t see anything! And the snow’s getting worse!” Octavia cried.

“Just keep searching,” Twilight said. “Mrs. Cake, have the police arrived yet?”

“Nothing yet, Twilight,” Pinkie’s aunt replied, “but the 911 dispatch operator said they’re on their way.”

“Okay. We’ll keep looking,” Twilight said. On her end, Sunset took that as a hint and continued looking around the area, desperate to find the child. She’d remembered when, as a filly, she’d gone out on a Hearth’s Warming Eve the year after she’d been taken in by Princess Celestia. Escorted by one of the maids and given some money so she could buy a Hearth’s Warming present for the princess, she’d been separated from the escort and wandered the streets alone for who knew how long in the falling snow, so much so that she caught poneumonia. She later found out years later that the maid had been paid by a noblepony to intentionally lose her in the hopes that she would never be seen again and that Celestia had dealt with the issue, but at the time she’d heard it she was already in her decline.

But now, looking for a little girl, she was suddenly reminded of her own situation back then, and how lonely, cold, and afraid she’d been – and worse, unloved, as if she’d been abandoned.

That’s not going to happen to anypony else if I can help it, she thought, subconsciously using her native pronoun. We have to find that little girl and fast!


It was on the other side of Fairvista and 14th that she saw the half-covered footsteps. Following them, she traced the tracks into a park, only to find the little girl, sitting under the relative protection of a plastic playground structure. “Grapevine?” Sunset called out.

“I don’t wanna go back!” the little girl cried out. “Don’t make me go back!”

Instead of telling the kid otherwise, Sunset asked, “What’s wrong?”

Grapevine looked forlorn. “Daddy hits Mommy all the time because he says he didn’t want me,” she said, rubbing her eyes; it was clear that she’d been crying. “So if I run away, then Mommy can go back to Daddy and everything will be better.”

“Oh, sweetie, no it won’t,” Sunset said, her heart falling at the child’s words. “It’s not your fault. Your dad…it’s a long story, but it’s not your fault.”

“Can you fix it then?” the little girl asked, eyes full of hope. “You’re a magic lady and Mommy always said that only magic will fix things.”

“Grapevine, I wish I could. But I don’t have that kind of magic. If I did, I’d have been like the unicorn in the story I was telling you. But running away won’t make anything better, Grapevine,” Sunset said. “Trust me, it won’t. It didn’t make things better for the unicorn.”

“Really?”

Sunset nodded. “I didn’t get to finish my story: after seeing the mirror, the unicorn became bad. She misbehaved and made the princess that loved her very much sad. And then one day, she ran away, never to return. It wasn’t fair what the unicorn did to the princess, because the alicorn loved the unicorn as if she were a daughter, but by the time the unicorn realized what she’d done, it was too late. She was far away, unable to say how sorry she was, and how much she loved the princess for raising her.” By this point, Sunset’s voice had become a soft whisper and her eyes became filled with tears.

Grapevine, not noticing, asked, “Did the unicorn ever go back to her mommy?” When Sunset looked at the little girl, the youth said, “The princess was the unicorn’s mommy, right? And if you said that running away is bad, did the unicorn realize and go back to her mommy?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset lied. “I…I never heard the end of that story. But I do know that you running away from your mom will only make her sad,” the teen said, embracing the little girl. “And your mom needs you more than ever, Grapevine. She’s probably going through a hard time right now, but she’s doing it for you – and just running never makes things better in the end.”


“She’s right, you know, little one. Hurting people isn’t much fun.” Both females looked to see a woman standing there with a flashlight, dark skin, and salt-and-pepper hair. “You may not know the rules of this park,” the woman said, her teal eyes radiating warmth, “but it is closed after dark.”

“Sorry, ma’am,” Sunset said to the strange rhyming woman. “It’s just that the girl—”

“I overheard part of your words; your reasoning is quite assured.” The woman reached into her pocket and held up a cellphone. “I’ve taken the time to call for a hand; but you’ve done a great deed – an action quite grand.” At that point, sirens rang in the distance, and within seconds a cop pulled up, and Grapevine’s mother raced out.

“Mommy!” the child shouted as she rushed into her mother’s arms. “I’m sorry, Mommy, I was trying to—”

“It’s okay,” the mother said, holding her child and crying tears of joy. “It’s okay.” Looking up at Sunset as though she were an angel, she said, “Thank you, miss! I can’t say enough.”

“I’m just glad to help,” Sunset said, feeling both relieved and troubled at once: relief, that she’d done a good deed, but anguish that she’d relived her horrific treatment of Princess Celestia once again.

“I see you are as described,” the African-American woman said, nodding in approval. “You do your foster family proud, young one.”

Sunset blinked. “Wait…you stopped rhyming. And you know me?”

“Only by reputation,” the woman said, offering a hand. “Zecora – I’ve been the family physician for Night Light, Twilight Velvet and their family for nearly two decades now,” the lady said, as Sunset shook her hand. “Velvet told me about you during her last physical and the description was very accurate: flame-haired girl, somewhat tough, but with a heart of gold.”

“I…see.”

“Also that you don’t take compliments very well,” Zecora added with a smile. “As for me, my townhouse is just over there—” she said, pointing to a lit home just on the other side of the park, “and as for my rhyming, well, I found it tends to soothe young children. Picked it up from my grandmother back in my native Kenya, but never thought it would be of any use until I started treating kids.”

“Well, I’m glad that this has been solved,” Sunset said, “things could have been so much worse.”

“But it sounds as though you averted that, and that’s something to be very proud of,” Zecora told the teen. Then, turning to the mother, she said, “If you’ll allow me to go get my medical bag, I’d like to check the child to ensure she’s okay.” The mother nodded, and with that, the doctor sprinted back to her townhouse.

Ten minutes later, Sunset felt she’d practically been hugged to death. And between her friends – especially Pinkie – and her foster family, she was basking in adulation she didn’t really feel right now. And as the dinner wound down and Grapevine and her mother Sangria profusely thanked her, Sangria promised the teen that she would find a way to make a better life for her and Grapevine.

“You did a good thing today, Ms. Shimmer,” Ms. Cheerilee told the teen as Sangria and Grapevine departed. “I’ll be sure to let Principal Celestia know about this.”

“Thanks,” she said, yawning as the last vestiges of adrenaline vacated her system. The one thing she wanted to do now was just go home and deal with her personal demons.

“Sunny, got a moment?” Applejack asked her.

“We’ll be waiting by the car,” Twilight assured her as she and Octavia went off to meet up with Twilight’s parents.

Applejack waited until the cousins departed before speaking again. “Since the café’s closed, we all decided to meet tomorrow at the Panera over on Baker Street. Rarity says it’s usually empty and we can get a secluded booth. Noon work for ya?”

“Sure, but what about Twily and Tavi?”

“Rarity already talked to them and they said it’d work out so they can do Christmas shopping for what they’re getting ya.”

“In that case, noon’s fine, AJ,” Sunset said weakly. “Though really, you don’t ha—”

“Ah mean it, Sunny,” the former farmgirl said. “What Ah saw tonight…Ah just want you to know…we’re always here for you.”

“Thanks,” she said to Applejack, then looked at the others. “I’m just going to go home and get some sleep. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Sunset faced Princess Celestia. She was a filly once more, standing on the snow-covered streets of Canterlot – the pony capital, not the city she currently lived in. Around her were throngs of ponies, going about their daily lives, not really caring about the princess and her student as they sat in the middle of the white-coated road. Sunset had yet to determine whether that was a good thing or not.

“Do you think this makes up for all the hurt you’ve caused me, Sunset?” Celestia asked, the look on her face even and flat, not full of anger or rage. In many ways, that hurt worse than the earlier dream. At least that dream-Celestia she could face off against; the angry alicorn that Sunset last remembered. But the Celestia she looked at now was the one of the past, the one who had been practically a mother to her, the one that had been before Sunset had ever set her eyes on that damn mirror.

“I don’t know,” she said in a foal’s voice. “I don’t know if it does, or if I can ever change what’s happened. I will likely never see you again, and maybe that’s for the best. Maybe there’s a part of you that thinks that exile is preferable to my death, and if so, count me lucky.”

“Maybe is a long time, Sunset Shimmer,” the dream alicorn said. “You may return to Equestria someday, possibly even of your own volition. You cannot discount that. And if you return to Equestria, you will have to face me once more.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Sunset replied. “But to answer your question, no, what I did for that child today may never make up for it. And it was never meant to. I did it because a mother pined for her child and a child needed her mother. Nothing more, nothing less.”

The alicorn arched a delicate eyebrow. “And you mean to tell that none of it was influenced in the least by your past? As if none of it matters and you think you can start with a blank slate?”

Sunset had no real answer to that; anything she said would probably make her a liar one way or the other. So instead, after a couple of uncomfortable minutes, she replied, “Probably not.”

“Of course not!” Celestia replied angrily. “You are damned – you damned yourself, and you know that the only reason that you still live is because it’s not worth my time to head there; I sent Twilight merely to reclaim her crown, nothing more than that. Speaking from the point of view of a ruler, you have solved the issue of punishment for me and that’s all that needs to be done.”

But then she leaned closer to Sunset and whispered in a quiet yet dangerous tone, “But you hurt me, when you knew how much I loved you. You took that love and spurned it for power, belittling a princess – a goddess – and there is a price to pay for that. You know that no matter where you run to or how far you run will never protect you. Someday I will find you, Sunset Shimmer, and you will face your true punishment then.” Celestia’s eyes became solar furnaces of anger and animosity, and as Sunset could feel the blistering heat radiate from them, there was nowhere she could run, not while as a mare.


“And you call yourself just and wise,” a voice said venomously as she felt gentle fingers scoop her up. She looked to see the face of Octavia looking at the alicorn with eyes of anger. “She need never worry about redemption; her friends have helped her with that. She need only worry about her family now, knowing that she’s loved.”

Octavia then faced the filly, her eyes much warmer now. “You’ll always be safe, Sunset. We are family and we will go to hell and back for you, because you know you’d do the same for us.”

“But I….”

“…should always remember that,” Octavia said, placing a gentle kiss on the filly’s forehead. “Whether you’re awake or not.”

Feeling eminently safe, Sunset snuggled into Octavia’s arms.


Opening her eyes, she was somewhat surprised to find that she was alone in her bed. Maybe I have gotten a little too used to having Tavi and Twily here, she thought, chuckling nervously. While it was completely innocent, the last thing she needed was for anyone to suggest otherwise.

A quick shower and a change of clothes later, she was downstairs, noting that everyone else in the house had departed to go shopping. There was also a quick note from Velvet and Night, indicating that the doctor had called them earlier in the morning to explain everything that had occurred, and that alongside a quick explanation from Twilight and Octavia as to what had transpired, both adults now had the full story and were exceedingly proud of what she’d done.

Sunset blushed at that; maybe Zecora was right in that she didn’t take compliments well or often.

Grabbing her jacket and a scarf, she headed out the door for the six-block walk to the subway.

“You look fried, sugarcube,” AJ said to Sunset the moment she sat down with her hot apple cider. Sure enough, the restaurant was empty, likely because it was in the middle of the town’s Financial District, to which almost no one ever came during the weekend save for foreign traders and the hard-charging round-the-clock businesspeople. As such, the Panera on the corner of Baker Street and Longtail Trail Road was open, though rarely patronized – and thus perfect for a quiet conversation.

“The events of last night just really took a lot out of me,” she admitted.

“The part about you telling everybody about your past, or chasing after that kid?” Applejack asked.

“That obvious?”

“Only to us, Sunset,” Fluttershy said, giving her friend a warm smile. “But I think everyone else thought it was a wonderful story.”

“Yeah, well I had another nightmare last night. Really, really fun and I’m glad Twily or Tavi didn’t poke their heads in to hear me talking about being a little filly or stuff like that. My life is awkward as is,” she groaned.

“Well, couldn’t you say that it was just a weird dream or something?” Rainbow asked. “Like, the month before we all became friends again I had this weird dream where I was the lead singer of a Canadian pop band. Fuck, I don’t even like pop music!”

“You know, I just noticed something,” Fluttershy said as she drank her berry smoothie. “Ever since you began your current living arrangements, you’ve referred to the princess we knew as just ‘Princess Twilight’ or ‘the Princess’ rather than by her last name. And you’ve always called your foster sister Twily.”

“Yeah, it just helps me keep them apart in my head, I guess. Why?”

She shook her head, pursing her lips. “Oh, no real reason – I just thought it was cute, that’s all.”

“Well, I think it’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” Pinkie chirped, carrying a quintet of trays from the pick-up counter, each holding a steaming sourdough bowl of soup. “Okay, french onion for Rarity, chicken noodle for Rainbow, tomato bisque for Fluttershy, aaaand the cream of mushroom and wild rice for AJ! Eat up, girls!” Pinkie then looked at Sunset. “I’m still waiting for mine. Want me to grab yours?” Sure enough, Sunset’s pager went off and before she could answer, Pinkie yanked it out of her hands and rushed back toward the counter.

“So, you were saying?” Rainbow prompted.

“Just thinking about all of it just made me realize that I’m lying to people that I care about on a regular basis. I mean, they opened their house and lives to me, taking me in with open arms, and yet I’m withholding something from them, something that really makes me feel like I don’t belong.”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, my sister had the same issues when she found out she was adopted.”

“Ah didn't know Scoots was adopted,” Applejack said.

“Well, you know my parents are always talking about having another kid, but in their case they mean biological – Scootaloo came into our lives in a…somewhat special manner.” She took a drink of her Mountain Dew, then continued. “I was about eight – it was the year I went to summer camp and met Fluttershy.”

“Camp Youngflier, woo-hoo,” Fluttershy said, waving her hands like a butterfly in an attempt to be comical. Everyone chuckled at that.

“Anyway, while I was at camp that summer, Mom and Dad were having issues with the next-door neighbor, I guess she was mentally unbalanced or something. I dunno what the deal was, but I guess after the whole thing with Gilda and her dad a couple of years before was more than enough for my parents, so they tried to stay clear. Anyway, she told me that one day she was headed to her car one morning when she heard a crying in the woman’s apartment, and the door was wide open. As she walked by, she noticed that the apartment was completely empty…save for a little kid. Mom looked around, but the neighbor’s car wasn’t there, and the apartment was already a craphole and in the middle of it was an abandoned girl.”

“Oh, my, Scootaloo was abandoned?” Rarity asked, floored.

The look on Rainbow’s face was one of disgust. “Cops later arrested Scoots’ birth mom that night for child abandonment; the bitch said she was glad she left her behind, because otherwise she would have just dumped her off on the freeway somewhere.” The table was silent for a few and Rainbow added, “Scoots was too young to really remember anything. Anyway, County Services let us take her in as a foster kid and she lived with us until the courts stripped the mother of her parental rights. After that, Mom and Dad petitioned to adopt Scoots, and we got the go ahead the year after. Then shortly after that, Dad got the job here in Canterlot and we moved.

“Scoots always wondered why she had much lighter skin than we did, and we just told her that she took after Mom’s side, which I guess is sorta true, since most of the people on that side of the family have lighter skin and darker hairtones. But finally, when Scoots turned thirteen this year, Mom and Dad decided to tell her everything.” Rainbow was quiet for a second before she said in a soft voice, “It…it didn’t go very well.”

“And?” Sunset asked as Pinkie set her order in front of her, then plopped down in the chair next to her.

“What can I say? She was totally devastated – she thought it meant that she really wasn’t one of us, that we weren’t her family. But Mom, being the totally cool mother that she is, took Scoots in her arms and said that we had her in our lives not because there was an obligation or any of that bullshit, but because we wanted her there. And honestly? I can seriously say that having my little sister in my life makes things at least twenty percent cooler.” Rainbow tried to hide daubing a tear from her eye, but she couldn’t quite pull it off.

Only twenty percent?” Rarity teased.

“Well…Scoots will never be as cool as yours truly,” the rainbow-haired athlete boasted, “but somebody’s gotta show her the ropes on being completely awesome!”

“And humble, too,” Applejack jibed, to which Rainbow responded by sticking her tongue out at her. “But what Ah think Miss Modesty over there is trying to say is that your family will love ya no matter what, Sunset. And we know ya love them too.”

Sunset gave her friend a lidded look. “You think so?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Oh, puh-leeze – you just can’t pull off that tough-girl thing anymore, Sunny; it’s just not you! Besides, seeing you smile looks waaaaaaay better! Leave the frowning to meanies and baddies; you’ve got better things to do with your life!”

“Like what, Pinkie?” Sunset seethed. “Like lying to the family that’s taken me in? Or convincing them that I’m something I’m not? Maybe even telling the people that I’ve grown to care about a line of bullshit when there others who know the truth? And every time I feel like I’m finally where I belong, I keep seeing Celestia’s eyes on me, just practically telling me what a fuckup I am!”

“I’m curious, though: what does our principal have to do with your issue?” Rarity asked.

“Not Principal Celestia, Rarity – Princess Celestia!” Sunny said, getting up from the table before she flipped it. Had she been her old self, she knew she would have, then left the mess there and not given a fuck about anything else. But she wasn’t that Sunset Shimmer anymore – yet all she could see in the mirror was the admonishment and hurt of her old mother figure.

Rainbow nearly did a spit-take of her drink. “Wait, wait, wait – back the fuck up, Sunset. Princess Celestia?”

“Yeah. Princess Celestia.” And with that, she began to explain. The girls sat there, curious at first, then one by one they started to look at their friend with a mixture of sympathy and sorrow. For her part, the story was gut-wrenching and painful, but Sunset needed to get this off her chest. She’d lived with the guilt of hurting Celestia for so long, and there was no way for her to ever make up for it – even telling her human counterpart would raise more questions than answering them.

“So that’s why Celestia was always able to control you,” Rainbow said. “Always thought a girl like you back then wouldn’t give a damn about what the principal thought. I guess when your principal looks like the woman…er…horse? that raised you, yeah, I can see where that’d be one fuckton of an issue.”

“Alicorn,” Sunset said softly. “Princess Celestia’s an alicorn. And while there’s some differences between the two, when I see the face of one, it’s hard for me not to see the face of the other. Maybe it’s just ingrained in me, or maybe it’s just a need within me to see the Princess and apologize for the mare I was. But I know if I do that, all I’m going to do is just end up in a dungeon, or exiled, or in a dungeon in the place I was exiled to.”

“Does she know? Principal Celestia, I mean,” Fluttershy asked.

“No, and how am I supposed to tell her? ‘Oh, say, Principal – have I told you that you look like the goddess-empress of all ponydom who nearly adopted me and I pissed it all away because I went on a power trip? So yeah, only reason I listen to you is because you look like the horse with wings and a horn who was going to be my mom!’ Yeah, that’s going to go over real well, Fluttershy.”

“Hrm….” The look on Pinkie’s face was thoughtful, and then she suddenly blurted, “Well, if Principal Celestia’s got a version over there, does that mean there are others? Could there be other versions of…us?”

“Pinkie dear, I don’t see that happening, as you’re one of a kind.” With a smile, Rarity then whimsically added, “Besides, I’m sure the multiverse isn’t ready for multiple Pinkies – who knows what would happen then?”

“Well, if you want my advice, I think you should be honest with them,” Rainbow said. “It really hurt Scoots and I’d hate to see anyone I know go through that kind of crap again.”

AJ shook her head. “Normally Ah’d say honesty’s the best policy, Sunset, but…Ah’m not sure this is the best time. Don’t get me wrong, Ah’m not saying that ya should lie to them. Ah just think ya need a better way to explain all this. ‘Cause this is weird, even if we, Principal Celestia, and Ms. Luna can back ya up on it.”

“Well, I think…I like the french onion better,” Pinkie said, finishing up her soup and starting to tear her sourdough bowl into pieces for eating. “But I also think that you should tell them when it’s time – but only you know when that is.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Pinkie just said some very wise words, Sunset,” Rarity added. “Only you can really know when it’s best to tell them. And it’s not as though you’re lying to them or living a falsehood, but instead just waiting for the proper moment for something – a girl has to have her secrets, after all.”

“Well, I know that Mom’s been afraid to tell Angel that our father left us after he was born. She’ll probably wait until he’s a teenager, since he’s fragile when it comes to that. So I know I would caution you to be careful, if only because Twilight is so sensitive.”

“Thanks,” she told them. “I just wish I had a clue as to what the hell to do.”

“Well, you can always, smile, smile, smile!” Pinkie practically sang.

That was the final straw for Sunset. “SHUT THE FUCK UP, PINKIE!” she yelled. “What, just keep smiling and lying to the family that cares about me? Just continue to treat them like shit when I know I should be straightforward with them?” The moment from last night, combined with the nightmare, finally got to her and she broke down. Tears streaming down her face, she said, “I just can’t do this anymore! I just can’t take this anymore!”

The group was quiet for a while as Fluttershy immediately got up from her chair to hug the distraught teen. Pinkie’s hair deflated, feeling like she was the cause of her friend’s breakdown, and Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack felt a bit self-conscious for having brought their friend to a public place and inadvertently hurt her in the process.

After a few minutes of Fluttershy’s tender ministrations, Sunset was finally able to recompose herself. “Thanks, Flutters. And Pinkie, it’s not your fault. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

Pinkie’s hair practically repermed itself in a split-second. “Okay!” But she looked at her seriously as she said, “But I know how you feel, Sunny. I really do!”

“Do you?”

Pinkie nodded as her normally near-perpetual smile disappeared, and everyone save for Sunset wondered what was about to happen; Pinkie was rarely this serious. “Have you ever wondered why I live with my aunt, uncle and cousins instead of back home on the rock farm in Arkansas?”

“‘Rock farm?’” Applejack, also from a farming family, wondered.

Pinkie gave her friend a sad smile. “The Pie Family Rock Farm’s near Eureka Springs, which is just east of Bentonville; it’s been in our family since before the Civil War. And technically, it’s not really a farm, it’s a sandstone quarry. Rhubarb Pie, my great-times-whatever-grandfather got the land for something or other, I really don’t remember. But turns out the land was right on the Ozarks and useless as a farm. So he made a quarry instead, but as a joke, he named it a ‘rock farm’ and it stuck.

“Anyway, my Mom and Dad live on the farm, as do my sisters Marble and Limestone. My older sister, Maud, used to, but she’s currently studying geology over at Texas A&M. I’d be living there as well, but…something went wrong when I was born and I got a neurological disorder. Doctors said I could have a relatively normal life, but for the first few years I’d need extensive treatment, so I had to live near a major medical center that had the right equipment, and though Washington Regional was kinda advanced, at the time the only hospitals in the country that had what was needed were in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Dad didn’t want to sell the farm; it had been in the family forever. Fortunately, my mom’s sister – Auntie Cup – had just married Uncle Carrot and they were living in Santa Cruz at the time. Mom and Dad asked them for help, and even though my aunt and uncle were just barely out of college at the time, they took me in.

“The doctors declared that I was cured of my disorder when I was about six or seven, but by that time, I’d lived for so long with my aunt and uncle that Mom and Dad just thought it was best that I keep living with them. And when I was about nine, Uncle Carrot inherited some land and money here in Canterlot and we moved.” She looked at Sunset. “I go back to Arkansas twice a year – Christmas and for a week in the summer – but I never feel like I belong. They’re my parents and my little sisters, and I feel like a complete stranger when I’m there. Honestly, if it wasn’t for my sister Maud, I’d probably never want to go back.”

“I’m…sorry to hear that, Pinkie,” Sunset said.

“Don’t be. I have Auntie Cup and Uncle Carrot and my cousins, and I always feel like I’m loved. And I know my parents and sisters love me, even if they don’t really know how to relate to me at times. But the reason I’m mentioning all this is because your family loves you, Sunny – and just like Rainbow’s family with Scootaloo, they want you there. You belong.”

Sunset was still thinking over Pinkie’s words later that night while she was finishing up her Geometry homework. Fortunately, as lots of geometric formulae were used in spellcasting, it was a class she had an easy time in. Unfortunately for me, I still have to study for my Spanish test tomorrow and I am horrid in that. Oh well, maybe I can get Rainbow to give me a quick brush-up during lunch since she grew up with it.

There was a knock on the door, and Sunset said, “Come in.” The door opened, and Twilight poked her head in. “Oh, hey, Twily, what’s up?”

“Heya, Sunny. You’ve got something downstairs for you; Mom wants you to come see it if you’re not too busy.”

“Yeah, well, thankfully I need a break from the books, so sure.”


As the girls descended the stairs, they found Twilight Velvet standing there, a beatific smile on her face; standing by her was both Tavi and Night. “Sunny, someone dropped this off from my office about ten minutes ago, and it’s for you,” she said, handing her both a folded piece of paper and a square package.

“Well, the suspense is killing us, Sunny!” Octavia said, grinning. “Okay, not really, but I want to see what you got.”

Nodding, Sunset first opened up the letter, reading it:

Setting the letter down, Sunset opened the package to reveal a simple picture frame, couldn’t have cost more than a dollar over at a cheap discount store, but that wasn’t the point. The point was the picture in the frame, on school construction paper, drawn in the sloppy style that only kids could do. While the pictures were more stick figures than anything else, it was clearly meant to be a picture of the alicorn princess and the unicorn from the story, with a pink heart over them both. At the bottom, over some lines that looked like grass were the scrawled words MOMMY AND DAUGHTER.

“That’s sweet,” Velvet said in appreciation. “Need help hanging it in your room, Sunny?”

The ex-unicorn said nothing, instead looking at the image that was supposed to be an ersatz version of her with an equally roman à clef version of Princess Celestia. “Yeah, that’d be nice, thanks,” she finally voiced, in what she hoped was her best faked tone. It wasn’t as though she didn’t appreciate the sentiment from Viney or her mother; quite the contrary.

It’s just that there are no happy endings to this fairy tale, she thought to herself as she carried the picture back upstairs to her room while Night went to go get the toolbox.