//------------------------------// // Bienvenidos a Casa de Twilight // Story: Let the Sun Shine // by LightningBass94 //------------------------------// At the utterly regal sight before her, Sunset felt it was not only expected, but necessary to bow; after all, Twilight Sparkle was a princess, and Sunset Shimmer currently stood in her throne room. Sunset knelt down, eyes closed and head bowed in respect. "Your majesty," Sunset greeted. She didn't hear an immediate response; instead, the only sound to grace her ears was the familiar POP of teleportation magic. She was more than a bit surprised to feel Twilight's hooves tug at her shoulders, lifting her once more to a standing position. Sunset had expected nothing more than a quick dismissal of the customary action. "No, no, no, no!" Twilight said frantically, almost pleadingly. She disdained being treated differently, just because she was a princess now. She'd been socially awkward before as it was. It was terribly difficult to make new friends when no one acted as themselves around her. If not for the friends she already had, it would be quite the lonely life. Twilight was unsure how Celestia dealt with that crushing loneliness for a millennium. Sunset's eyes shot open at the intrusion of her personal space, ready to bite somepony's head off, but she found herself staring back into the most gorgeous set of amethyst eyes she'd ever had the pleasure to gaze upon. Those perfect eyes divulged to Sunset the embarrassment and concern Twilight felt at that moment, and the smallest of blushes accented them from below. Briefly, Sunset couldn't help but admire how much more attractive Twilight was as a pony, though the thought barely crossed her mind before she quickly dismissed it. She hadn't come all this way to ogle Twilight Sparkle, after all. "There is absolutely no need to bow to me... ever!" the alicorn insisted. It was apparent Twilight detested her status, though Sunset hadn't the slightest clue why. Dumbstruck, Sunset nodded her head slowly. Twilight's sudden shift in attitude and insistence to be treated as any other pony was off-putting. Such a thing was a foreign concept for the unicorn. She highly doubted that in Twilight's position she would do the same. In hindsight, that was most likely the underlying reason that she was not in said position. She wanted attention, but she lacked the humility and grace that warranted any. With that agreement settled between them, Twilight let go of Sunset and composed herself. However, she remained silent for several moments longer, unsure where she should begin. Should they catch up? Perhaps a tour of the castle was in order? The silence between them was already awkward, but before it could become unbearably so, Sunset broke it, snapping Twilight from her thoughts. Much to the unicorn's chagrin, her mouth moved before her brain could process the words she spoke. As such, she breached a subject she had previously intended to approach tactfully and gracefully, waiting for the precise moment while conversing. Nay, it seemed her mouth deemed it best to make a fool of herself. Surely, that was the best way to approach such subjects. "I'm so sorry, Twilight! You have every right to hate me! I was so cruel to you, and I had the losers take pictures of you, even though I know how hard adjusting to that world is. Then I had them post that nasty video, and I tried to frame you for ruining the decorations! Don't even get me started on the things I said to you, much less at the dance! I'm so, so sorry!" Sunset had planned her apology to Twilight for a long time, but it seemed she'd not taken into account that actually in doing so, the night everything changed for her would come rushing back like an emotional typhoon. She kept on rambling about all her shortcomings, but they deteriorated into nothing more than a string of nearly incoherent babbling after time. The unicorn melted into a puddle on the stone floor as she apologized. Caught up in her sobbing, she barely registered the hooves wrapping around her neck as Twilight pulled her into a tender embrace. Their fur mingled easily, and Twilight's tickled Sunset's skin ever so slightly. It sent shivers down her spine. "Oh Sunset Shimmer, I don't hate you. I wasn't exactly happy with you, and I was unsure about this situation as a whole, but seeing you like this after all this time gives me hope that this might actually work..." Sunset fought to catch her breath between sobs. "Look at me!" she cried into Twilight's shoulder, "I'm an emotional wreck! I did this to Mom too!" Twilight began slowly releasing Sunset from her grip as the mare calmed down, allowing her to cry all she needed. Something Sunset said had triggered a smile upon the alicorn's face, and an excitement twinkled in her eye. She hadn't heard any word about Sunset's family previously. "You went to see your mom before you got here? That's great! Was she happy to see you? Does she live in Canterlot?" Sunset wiped the tears from her eyes with an already damp forehoof, suddenly missing the versatility of sleeves. "Well, sort of," She started, "When I was three, Celestia adopted me as her daughter." Twilight stared back at her, eyes growing ever wider. Her mouth opened and closed itself several times before she actually managed to form words with it. "C-C-Celestia is your... She's your mother?" Twilight's flank promptly hit the ground as Sunset nodded her head confusedly. The alicorn continued to stare forward in a catatonic daze, even as Sunset waved a tan hoof in her face. "T-Twilight? Are you a-alright?" No response came from the alicorn. She didn't even blink. "Nah, I'm pretty sure you broke her," a voice called down from the stairs. The voice was all too familiar to her, but when Sunset turned to see who she'd been addressed by, her own flanks hit the ground. Her jaw dropped at the sight of a dragon before her. She stared up at him with an expression that walked a fine line between confused shock and terror. Spike smirked teasingly at her reaction. He was leaning on the staircase's railing and gazing down at the mares from above. "What's wrong? Never seen a 'mutt' before?" He made air quotes with his claws and chuckled. "Y-y-y-you're not a...dog," Sunset Shimmer stared up at Spike in much the same catatonic state she'd placed Twilight in just moments before. Spike rolled his eyes. Sliding down the railing, he said, "Sheesh! You two are so similar, it's eerie!" Coming-to much quicker than Twilight, Sunset shook her head to clear it of the millions of thoughts running through her mind at astonishing speeds. "Sorry...it's just, I never met a dragon that didn't want to bite my head off before," she explained. "Don't test me," he warned with a light chuckle. Sunset wasn't sure if he was joking or not, but he passed her by as if he'd said nothing at all. Walking up to Twilight, he cleared his throat before leaning in and whispering something in her ear. She did nothing at first, just an ear twitch. That changed in a hurry. She burst to her feet and shouted, "I'M WHAT?!" Sunset could have sworn that in her shock, Twilight had hovered in the air for a second without the use of her wings. With a loud POP, Twilight left the room in an instant. Sunset blinked at the spot where she'd been standing several times before turning her gaze confusedly to the young dragon sharing the room with her. "What did you just say to her?" Spike shrugged noncommittally. "I just told her she was late for the test. It gets her every time." He walked past her again, back toward the stairs. "C'mon. I'll show you to her room." Sunset followed without question, though she was still finding it difficult to get used to climbing stairs on four legs after the years she spent on the other side of the mirror. Though, as she climbed, she became increasingly enamored with the castle. It was huge, and at least three of the floors they passed had massive libraries in them. From the outside, the thing had looked to be a massive, gaudy crystal tree with an offensively purple castle stuck in its branches, but on the inside it was actually a classy, white marble with the occasional lavender accent. The stairs winded chaotically through the building to allow access to each branch and tower. Before she knew it, Sunset had arrived at Twilight's door. She had spent so much time admiring the décor, she'd barely taken note of how she got there. She was sure that would have proven to be valuable information. The castle was enormous! Spike walked off, but seeming to read her mind, he told her, "Don't worry; if Twilight doesn't show you around, my room is just down the hall." The dragon had barely looked at Sunset at all the entire time she'd been with him, and she was about to ask him about it, but he had already turned a corner. She suspected he was still upset with her about their previous encounters, and that was a conversation to have later. She didn't have an opportunity to think on it any longer, because she heard an exasperated groan on the other side of Twilight's door, and that piqued her interest. Curious as she was, Sunset knocked three times. The door swung open at alarming speeds, startling the unicorn. If she had been wearing pants, she was sure she'd have jumped right out of them. Twilight was laying on her bed, several meters from the door, with her head in her hooves. "Ugh!" She groaned again, "I can't believe he got me with that again!" Sunset walked in and shut the door behind her with her magic. The room was spacious. In it was a princess size, four-poster bed, three massive bookshelves, a spotless vanity, and a cluttered desk with what looked like several months worth of notes scattered across its surface. The room would have been overbearingly large if not for the piles of books that littered most of the empty floor space. Sunset took note that their rooms, though differing greatly in size, were actually extremely similar. "Maybe Spike was right about how much alike we are," she thought before addressing Twilight directly. "Well, it's better than staring into space and waiting for your brain to work, right?" she teased. Twilight blushed brightly. "O-oh... yeah. Sorry about that." Sunset chuckled. "Oh, it's alright. I did the same thing when I found out Spike was a dragon," she admitted. Twilight barely stifled a giggle, and receiving a glare from her guest for it, she decided to change the subject. "So," she started. She gave a pause, unsure how she should readdress the subject that shocked her so much. "You're Celestia's daughter? She never mentioned that before..." When Sunset hung her head, Twilight cringed, knowing she'd managed to go about it the exactly wrong way. "Y-yeah," Sunset whispered. She was barely audible, and he voice wavered dangerously as she spoke, "She was p-probably ashamed of me...or s-s-still hurt..." When she looked up at Twilight again, she smiled, despite the tear running down her cheek. "She told me she loved me though, and I think...I think she meant it." Twilight smiled back kindly. "I'm sure she does. How did she end up adopting you?" She patted a spot beside her on the bed, and Sunset got up from her place on the floor to fill it. Once comfortable, she went about answering the question. "Well, I don't know much about my parents. Apparently, my mother died in childbirth, and my father couldn't handle the pressure. He ended up putting me up for adoption at the orphanage just across the street from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I was told he died shortly after that regardless, but the actual circumstances of his death were never revealed to me." Sunset paused to take a breath, and Twilight used that time to respond, "That's terrible! That must have been quite the ordeal..." The redhead shrugged the comment off, replying, "It's not all bad, really. My earliest memories are of looking across the street from the playground and into the courtyard. There, I watched students at the school practicing their magic. I picked up on what they were doing pretty quickly, and I started to practice on my own. Apparently, Celestia noticed me. One day, she came to the orphanage to adopt me. She told the nanny I was some sort of 'savant.' It wasn't until later that I found out the students I'd been watching were fourth-year students." Twilight's eyes grew wide. "That's...that's amazing! You were three years old, attempting fourth-year spells!? Being six years advanced is amazing! I was never farther than three!" Sunset nodded, seeming to brush such compliments aside. After all, she'd just spent quite some time in a world devoid of the only thing she seemed to be good at. "The rest, I'm sure she told you the gist of. I grew up in the castle, studied under her, got greedy, and eventually left through the portal..." Sunset's voice did a poor job of hiding the regret that she felt as she spoke the last sentence. She didn't want to go into any more detail about that right that second, and she wasn't sure if Twilight would pry. She cringed at the thought, then gasped as a delicate, warm wing wrapped around her back in a quick side-hug. Twilight jumped off the bed and motioned for Sunset to follow. "Follow me," she said gently, "I have something to show you."