//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns Chapter 8 Spike yawned and turned over in bed, hugging a pillow. Realizing the bed next to him was empty, he sat up and looked at the open door to his room. "Twilight?" He hopped to the floor and pushed his door open to look down the passage to the main hall. Seeing nothing he came out further and looked down either way. The doors to the throne room were open, but when he came closer the room was empty. Spike headed to the stairs to the second floor and heard movement from above. When he reached the top he saw the entrance to the library under Twilight's bedroom. Sunset was moving around the library rapidly as stacks of books floated back and forth in her magic. She saw Spike approaching to the door and smiled. "Good morning, Spike!" Her eye twitched and she turned back to her work. "Uh, hey." Spike came inside and looked around. Several brooms and dusters under the glowing effects of come-to-life spells were cleaning as Sunset moved stacks of books around out of their way. She was humming to herself and not even looking at what she was doing, keeping the books suspended in the air for the cleaning utensils to pass under them. Spike looked at her closely. Her eyes were puffy and her mane looked frazzled. "Did I miss something?" "Oh, I was just finishing up the alphabetizing from the other day." Sunset turned her head to look over a dozen books floating past her head. She lifted one out of the formation and slotted it back further down the line as the books kept passing her. "I thought I was doing that." Sunset rolled her eyes. "You were sleeping. I'm not gonna wake you up for something like this." Spike realized something, and tilted his head. "Wait… how long have you been up?" "A few hours. I decided I wanted to see the sunrise and then after that I got bored and needed something to do." Sunset's eye twitched as she continued. "So I noticed there were all these books lying around from the other day and figured I might as well finish it up." "Uh-huh…" Spike rubbed the back of his neck. "Say, Twilight, um… where's your Smarty Pants doll?" "Hm? Dunno, why?" "No reason, I was just curious." Spike cleared his throat, and ducked as a trio of books floated over his head to land on a shelf. "Anything I can do to help?" "As a matter of fact, yes. I've been busy and haven't eaten yet. Can you grab me a sandwich?" Sunset smiled. "Sure, no problem." Spike nodded and backed out of the room. "I'll be back in a bit." "Take your time!" Sunset waved at him as he reached the stairs and turned to go down them. She looked back at the books around her and her eye twitched. Sunset's smile vanished and she grunted angrily. "Freeze it!" At her command the books, brooms, and dusters, stopped in place and floated silently. Sunset stalked to the stairs to the bedroom and took them two at a time, and then rushed over to the mirror. Her eye twitched again as she looked at her reflection. She seized it with her magic and the lid glowed violet. "Stop. Twitching!" She growled and tried to think of some spell to stop it, but none came to mind. She shook her head and clenched her eyes shut. "Get a grip, focus! It was a dream, nothing more! It doesn't mean a thing!" Sunset looked down and pulled open a drawer. She pulled out Twilight's crown and set it on her head. "Calm down. What happened back then is over, it's in the past. I'm in a better place now, I'm a princess, just like I always wanted. I am a princess now, so stop looking at me that way!" The crimson red alicorn in the mirror smirked and winked. Sunset's eye twitched in response. She growled and looked away. "Keep it together, Sunset. You've done too well to lose it over a stupid dream! You are not a monster!" After several seconds of panting, she slowly turned to look back at the mirror. The now-familiar visage of a lavender face with a dark purple mane looked back at her. Sunset let out a sigh and fully turned around to look at herself. She opened a drawer and pulled out a hairbrush. She set about grooming himself, and one by one she brushed down the out-of-place hairs emerging from her mane. There were far too many for her liking. I look ridiculous, even by casual standards. Sunset paused her brushing and peered closer at her reflection. Her eyes didn't look right. When did I go to sleep last night? I had the dream, and then I went into Spike's room… Did I sleep after going to Spike's room? I remember laying in the dark… Sunset opened another drawer and pulled out a make-up sample Aloe had given her when she'd left the spa the other day. She twisted off the cap, squeezed some of the light blue gel into an aura of violet magic, and rubbed it into her flesh under her eyes. As promised, the gel shimmered and shifted colour to match her natural skin tone. Sunset stopped rubbing and smiled; the bags under her eyes were gone. Even a pony who knew to look for them wouldn't be able to tell. "Okay, calm down," she told her reflection. "You had a stupid nightmare, it means nothing, and nopony else ever has to find out about it so just forget it even happened." She nodded to confirm the instruction and her reflection followed suit. "Good." Sunset tilted her crown slightly to adjust its centring and turned to head to the stairs. When Sunset reached the library and touched on the floor, she looked back at the books. "Go ahead." They resumed their shuffling, another trail coming around Sunset's head for inspection. She saw one of interest and pulled it out, tossing it behind her. Finishing Spike's task had not only kept her mind occupied, but it let her screen the books for any last potential of finding something about the stone. By this point she didn't have much faith in the prospect, but it gave her something to focus on. She heard steps and looked at the door. Spike rounded the stairwell and entered the room with a plate holding three sandwiches. "Here ya go, Twilight." He set the plate on the table and Sunset quickly picked one up, biting into it and chewing. It was technically a bit too early for lunch, but she was hungry now. As she ate, Sunset watched Spike approach a stack of books and look over them. She still hadn't finished looking through her assorted materials to find out more about the stone she had stashed upstairs. "Spike." Sunset called out to him softly and he turned his head. "Could you do me a favour and… um…" Sunset's mind blanked. She needed a way to get rid of him and get his mind off her behaviour, but there was nothing she could think of that needed doing. "Make me some… tea?" Did Twilight drink tea? Would that be abnormal? "You got it, Twilight." Apparently not. Sunset turned back to her sandwich as Spike approached the door. Suddenly, his cheeks bulged and he clutched his stomach. Sunset frowned and came closer. "What's wrong?" In response, Spike belched loudly. In a shower of sparkles and green flames, a scroll popped out of his mouth and landed on the floor. Sunset made a face and pulled her hooves away. Spike closed his mouth and saw the scroll. "Were we expecting any letters?" He burps them back out? Sunset remembered Twilight wrote about Spike sending and receiving letters, but she didn't think it worked like that. She rolled her eyes. Sure, why not? It makes more sense than some other lifestyle choices she's made. She picked up the scroll in her magic and unfurled it. "Dear Twilight. I apologize for the suddenness of this, but I was unaware of what had happened until just a moment ago. It seems Princess Luna is on her way to Ponyville to speak to you about something. I'm uncertain what is amiss, but she apparently left some time ago, so you may expect her any moment. Again, my apologies for this short notice, as she left without notifying me. Sincerely, Princess Celestia." Confused, Sunset lowered the scroll. "What the hay would Luna want with me?" "Step lively. The sooner we arrive the sooner we can leave, and you have studying to do." Twilight groaned from the weight of the saddlebags she was carrying up the stone steps. Rosen was leading her up a secondary passage in the mountain that branched off from his home and turned into a staircase up the mountain. "Are you sure…" she strained up to a landing and saw a hallway stretching before her, "you can't take some of this?" "Absolutely." Rosen's voice echoed behind him as he walked down the hall. A rectangle of light marked the exit and he vanished beyond it. Twilight groaned and staggered towards it, a bead of sweat rolling down her muzzle. She reached the end of the passage and emerged on an outdoor cliff. The shadow of the mountain fell over her and clouds filled the air. Twilight realized why she was out of breath; judging from the distant speck of Canterlot below, the path went high enough that the atmosphere had grown thin. She turned and saw stone steps leading up. Twilight sighed and struggled up them. Fortunately they didn't go very far before she found Rosen at a small plateau setting up his instruments. The saddlebags lifted from her back in an aura of blue magic and Twilight collapsed in welcomed relief. "Can you carry them back down?" "I will consider it." Rosen continued preparing equipment, and a chemistry station took shape on the bare stone. "You will have time to rest before we depart. We will be having a lightning storm in a few days, presuming there are no further unexpected changes to the promised weather schedule. I will prepare the equipment needed for that date today and protect it in a force field. Your task now is to stay out of my way and let me work. Some of these instruments are quite delicate." "… Really?" Twilight made a face. "You made me drag them up here and then just want me to do nothing?" Rosen murmured in the back of his throat. "Sunset, doing nothing is perhaps the most altruistic act you could perform now." Twilight had no response for that. She fell silent and looked out at Equestria stretching below. Rosen had been colder than usual all day, mostly only speaking to bark orders or make a snide remark. She didn't need to ask why. Clearly reading the journal last night had torn open old wounds. I can't blame him for hating me… Sunset. Twilight thought back to how Sunset had written about Celestia. I've kept diaries about my studies with the Princess, but never like Sunset. My entries were formal reports, but Sunset's are like personal anecdotes. Maybe they were closer to each other than Celestia and I are now? Twilight adored her mentor like a second mother, but in her darker moments of self-doubt, she felt it was one-sided on her part. Celestia loved her, of that there was no doubt, but clearly she had loved Sunset more deeply. I always thought of her as a teacher and a mentor, but to Sunset she was more like a mother. And then everything she had tried to teach Sunset got thrown back in her face. For Sunset to betray Celestia and then leave her alone, Twilight almost felt like joining Rosen in hating her rival. Can I hate her? The idea tumbled in Twilight's head, but it rested uncomfortably. Even after all Sunset had done to her and Celestia, Twilight couldn't bring herself to actively hate her. As cruel and malevolent as her past enemies were, Sunset seemed to pale against them. Then is this sympathy I'm feeling for her? Pity? That didn't sound right either. Sunset had stolen her body, her identity, and her life, and then cast Twilight aside to wallow in misery in servitude for Rosen. No. I can't sympathize with her, not after what she's done to me… but I can't hate her either because I know why. Twilight realized her inner musings had only succeeded at confusing her further. I can't hate her, and I can't pity her. So, what do I feel for her? "Sunset." Twilight turned at Rosen's voice. He had set up some sort of tall metal stand with a spire that rose high over her head, and was now looking over other instruments, some of which she didn't recognize. "Yes?" A mortar and pestle floated out of one of the saddle bags and came towards her. Several dried herbs were in the bottom. "Grind these up promptly." Rosen returned to focusing on his work and the mixing tool dropped at Twilight's hooves. She took hold of it and began crushing, the herbs snapping and crumbling under the stone. "What are they?" she asked. She had to try to make conversation, get him to warm up to her again. "Ginseng roots from the Crystal Mountains. I will be needing them for my experiment." Twilight turned her eyes up from her work. "What is it you're attempting, anyway?" Rosen examined a hygrometer and jotted down some notes in a journal before answering. "In a few days we will be having a lightning storm. I have wished to try a particular compound out for some time, but lacked suitable weather to attempt it. I believe an alloy of silver, with the proper supplementary compounds, can harness the power of a lightning strike to induce a powerful surge of magical energy. Handling electricity of this magnitude is a dangerous affair, though, thus I am preparing medicines to ensure my health should things go awry." "I see." Twilight looked back at the mortar and raised the pestle to crush a larger piece of the ginseng. As the root crumbled beneath the impact, she froze. Rosen's words echoed in her head. "Wait… could you say that again, please?" Rosen rolled his eyes and scoffed. "If it is too complex for you to grasp then do not strain yourself attempting so. Just make yourself mildly useful crushing herbs." Twilight glanced up, and her mouth slowly curled into a smile. She had understood every word. Sunset paced back and forth in the doorway to her balcony. Her eyes darted up to the sky and swept across it. She found nothing and resumed pacing. Relax, it'll be fine, just fine. According to the journal, Twilight and Luna don't know each other all that well, so I can fake my way through this. Sunset stopped and looked at her reflection in the polished crystal floor under her hooves. She had put on a crown, hoofguards, and a necklace in preparation for Luna's arrival, and had picked out silver pieces including a necklace with a gem in the shape of a star set in it. She frowned at her reflection's crown sitting crooked and raised a hoof to nudge it into place. Sunset looked up at the sky again. This time a speck of dark blue caught her eye. Sunset gulped and moved towards the table and chairs she had set up with a cold pot of tea and two cups sitting on the table. She focused her magic on the pot and reheated the contents. The dark blue form came closer and she could soon make out the distinct shape of wings and a horn with an ethereal blue mane. Princess Luna swooped over the balcony, circled over Sunset once, and descended. She folded in her wings, smiled, and nodded. "Good morrow to you, Twilight Sparkle." "Princess Luna." Sunset returned the gestures. "Would you care for a drink?" "That would be lovely, thank you." Luna approached the table and sat down beside the chair. Sunset climbed into the other chair opposite her and lifted the tea in her magic, and filled Luna's cup. "It is good to see you are well," Luna said. "Of course." Sunset poured into her own cup and set the pot down. "What brings you here? Is there something amiss?" "I was hoping you could answer that question for me." Luna's cup lit up silver-blue and she took a sip, not breaking eye contact. Sunset fidgeted in her chair. "What do you mean?" She doesn't know. She can't know. How could she know? Luna set her cup down and shook her head. "I was attempting to show tact, but I see you are still skittish, so I will be straightforward." Luna looked at Sunset evenly for a moment before continuing. "My position as princess of the night affords me certain abilities to aid in watching over the night and my subjects, in the same manner as my sister guards the day. One such ability is the capacity to perceive the dreams of ponies." Sunset froze in her chair and her eyes widened. No. She can't… She began rapidly forming plans to escape, to subdue the enemy alicorn and flee before Luna could take action. If she could get away then maybe she could get to Twilight before Celestia and Luna could, she could use her and Rosen as leverage… "I am certain you now understand what I speak of?" Luna asked. Sunset slowly nodded. "I believe I do, yes." Sunset couldn't make the first move until Luna made it clear she knew. She stayed on edge, her body tensed to leap across the table at a word. "Then please explain to me, Twilight Sparkle, what haunts you so about Sunset Shimmer that you would have such a vivid nightmare." Sunset thought she had misheard. "Excuse me?" "Obviously something about her has shaken you, that you would dream such things. I had presumed when you left Canterlot your heart was at ease with this, but clearly I was mistaken. I pay the proper mind to respect the privacy of most ponies, and so did not peer closer into the dream, but one so frightening as yours was as a beacon to me in the dreamscape. So, I ask again, what happened with Sunset Shimmer that you would dream of her in such a manner?" When Luna finished explaining herself, Sunset almost collapsed, the tension leaving her body in a rush. She doesn't… she thinks it was just Twilight having a nightmare! She grinned. What a crock. Luna's the alicorn ruler of the night and her dream magic is this bad? Luna tilted her head. "Did I say something to amuse?" Sunset's grin faded and she quickly clamped down on her self-control. She shook her head and thought quickly. "No, I'm sorry. It's just… it's such a relief to finally have somepony to talk to about it." "Are your friends not willing to hear you out?" Sunset almost rolled her eyes. Forgot that. "Oh, they are. But, they're all leading such peaceful lives now. I don't want to burden them with my fretting over silly things like this." "I am sure they would hardly consider them silly if they knew it troubled you, but I understand." Luna bowed her head. "I would hope you consider me unafflicted by such concerns, so please feel free to speak to me now if it will be of benefit to you." Sunset considered the idea. I've been able to fool Twilight's friends, and Luna doesn't know her half as well as them. But that doesn't mean I can let down my guard. Anything that Luna heard might find its way back to Celestia, and then Celestia might find her way to Twilight. I can't just keep my muzzle shut, though. Luna knows I had that stupid nightmare and she isn't gonna let me off the hook for it, and if I don't do something she'll definitely tell Celestia… That was the key. "If I tell you the truth, can you promise me you won't tell Celestia?" Sunset gave Luna a hopeful look. Luna smiled softly. "Twilight Sparkle, I love my sister as dearly as anypony has ever loved a sibling. There is little I would not do to safeguard her from anything that would harm her, including herself. She has suffered enough due to thoughts of Sunset Shimmer weighing on her mind. I assure you, I've no intent to go out of my way to make that burden heavier." Sunset nodded. I thought Twilight wrote Luna got over that style of talking. "Okay." She hesitated, carefully thinking over what to say. "I… when she came back, Sunset said it was my fault things fell apart on the other side. When I left, the friends I made abandoned her, and with everyone else turned against her, she had nowhere to go. She had to fend for herself in a world that hated her. When the portal's re-opening approached, she came back because there was no reason to stay there anymore. She attacked me in the night because she blamed me for ruining her life." Luna was silent through Sunset's speech, taking a moment to sip her tea in the midst of it. Sunset finished and looked at her for a response. Luna looked at her evenly and dipped her eyes for another drink. When she set the cup down she raised her eyes again. "And?" Sunset raised an eyebrow. "And… what?" "What else happened with her?" "I'm not sure what you mean." Luna shook her head. "Twilight Sparkle, accusations such as that may hit a pony hard, but they do not produce nightmares as vivid as the one you conjured for yourself. Surely there is some other matter that was an influence? I was particularly interested in that rather vile alicorn that attacked you." "Ah, yes. When Sunset put on the Element of Magic in the other world, she was… transformed. I don't fully understand it." Sunset paused to think. She had known the power of Magic would respond to her in the other world, but she hadn't been expecting that transformation, and she hadn't given it much afterthought. Now that Luna had put her on the spot, she found herself pondering an explanation. When I took foreign magic into another world… maybe it got corrupted. Yes, that makes sense. Equestrian magic didn't react properly with my altered body, and it changed me into that… thing. "Sunset became some sort of strange creature, with red skin and wings. I think the dimensional travel distorted the power of the Element of Harmony, or perhaps it didn't respond to her transformed body like it does to pony bodies." Luna kept looking at her expectantly and Sunset tried to think of something else to say. "And, well… I guess, maybe… I'm a little worried that…" The idea came to her and she seized it. "Maybe someday I could end up transforming like her." Sunset mentally patted herself on the back for coming up with such a good lie on the spot. Luna nodded. "I see… that is an intriguing theory…" She sipped her tea again. Sunset shifted in her seat. "It makes sense, doesn't it?" Luna set her cup down and looked up. Her eyes had a strange look to them Sunset didn't like. "I confess, your words when you departed us after the attack surprised me. I had my suspicions, but thought too highly of my sister to entertain such things as possible truth. Now I see I was not mistaken after all." Sunset tensed again. "Not mistaken about what?" "My sister never did tell you why Sunset Shimmer fled to the other world, did she?" Sunset quickly thought. I didn't read anything in the journal about me. Did Twilight never find out, or has she just not gotten to those scrolls yet? No, the former was more likely, based on Luna's questioning. She had clearly already presumed the answer so it would be best to go along with it. "I know she was Celestia's former student that wanted power and authority. If Celestia ever told me anything else about her, I guess I've forgotten." "Allow me, then." Luna assumed a more poised position. "Sunset Shimmer and my sister met when she was just a foal. My sister sensed great power in her and took her under her care. She lived a peaceful childhood in Canterlot, or so I've been told. My sister had grand plans for her. The same plans she would later shift to you." Tell me something I don't know. "Go on." "The ancient spell Star Swirl the Bearded was working on that transformed you into an alicorn was not complete. He designed it this way, so when a truly noble and great pony understood the last part of the spell and could finish it, they would be proven worthy to become an alicorn. His intent was that we could transform ponies we meet in our lifetimes that were worthy of such a great gift. My sister breached this when she used a similar spell herself to transform Princess Cadance, but she was a special instance for her connection to the ancient Crystal Empire. With Sunset Shimmer, she exercised more discretion. Sunset Shimmer would need guidance – tutelage – before she was ready." Sunset's hooves began to shake as Luna kept talking. "Then, my sister met another pony with great magical potential. You, Twilight Sparkle. She saw the mark of Magic on your flank and took it as a sign that you would fulfill the ancient prophecy of the Elements of Harmony and Nightmare Moon. Thus, my sister took Twilight as her personal student and began to train her to prepare her for that day." Sunset gritted her teeth and tried to keep calm. "Sunset couldn't have appreciated that." "I am afraid not. My sister and Rosen Cross hoped to instill in her the qualities of a good ruler: temperance, humility, and compassion." Luna shook her head. "I'll not deign to presume the reasons, but their lessons fell on deaf ears. Sunset Shimmer grew prideful, arrogant, and ambitious. She returned from Rosen Cross after several years in his tutelage and proclaimed to any who would listen that she was a princess-in-waiting. It was all my sister could do to shield you from her existence, to keep the same pride and jealously Sunset carried from afflicting you as well." Sunset took a drink of her tea, using the cup to hide a furious scowl. "So what happened?" "The mirror happened." Sunset's eyes darted up from her cup. "The mirror?" Luna nodded. "The spell Star Swirl gave us was created using the results of his studies on cutie marks. The spell exposes the true worth of a pony's heart and transforms their body into a reflection of that worth. He built numerous mirror portals using the same research. The spell looks into a pony's heart, calls forth their deepest desires and dreams, and opens a portal to a world where they can become reality. For my lonely sister after my banishment, it took her to a world where she could find love, but for Sunset Shimmer, it offered her a world where she could achieve the power and authority she craved. It is the cruelest of temptations a pony can face, but one that makes their true character clear." Sunset's mouth hung open as Luna continued. "When my sister heard Sunset Shimmer explain she saw herself as a princess in the mirror, she knew it was a sign Sunset Shimmer was not yet ready. Her heart was too corrupted by greed and pride to be suitable for the transformation. Were Sunset Shimmer to undergo the ritual with that mindset, it would twist her into a monster." "I'm not a monster!" Sunset snapped before she could stop herself. Luna turned to her, surprised by the outburst. Sunset blinked and shrank back. "I mean… I didn't turn into a monster. So…" Luna nodded. "I cannot say what you would have seen if you looked into the mirror, Twilight Sparkle. But my sister knew the strength of your heart, and we have all seen it brought forth. That the ritual transformed you into an alicorn is proof you are worthy of it." "And… Sunset Shimmer… isn't." "You saw what she became when she received the power of Magic." Sunset looked away, her tail flicking in her chair. "My sister did not give up hope, however. She loved Sunset Shimmer like her own foal. She thought that with more time, more lessons, she could be turned into the kind and loving pony my sister had wanted by her side. But Sunset Shimmer's ambitions only intensified now that the image of herself in power was in her mind. She began to study ancient magic, alicorns, and the mirror. My sister tried to keep the materials away from her and keep her focused on her studies, but she could not shelter Sunset Shimmer forever. Then…" Luna paused and a troubled look came over her. "There was an argument. You, Twilight Sparkle, were somehow mentioned. My sister… she only described it as a 'slip of the tongue'. I do not know the specifics –" "She said she would make Twilight a princess instead of me." Sunset's eyes narrowed. Luna looked at her. "I mean…" Sunset blinked and looked away. "Sunset Shimmer told me Celestia was going to make me a princess instead of her." Luna's face clouded. "I see. That makes sense, with what my sister claims happened as a result. Sunset Shimmer attacked her and fled. My sister eventually heard from witnesses that she had run to the storage room where the mirror was kept, and from there Sunset Shimmer's fate was obvious." Sunset nodded. "She was gone." "Yes. Hoping against hope, my sister sent all the guards in her command into Canterlot to patrol the streets. Perhaps Sunset Shimmer had teleported out of the room, or the witnesses saw a different pony, or mistook where they saw her going. My sister…" Luna sighed. "She took up post sitting in front of the mirror. She waited until the portal closed on the last night before she would move. The guards I asked of it tell me she would take no food and would not sleep, not even when they offered to stand guard in her place. She vowed that if Sunset Shimmer were to return, she would be waiting for her." Sunset's mouth suddenly felt dry. "She… she really did that?" "So those who saw it tell me. My sister did not tell me of her waiting. She merely said…" Luna closed her eyes. "She was having so much trouble telling me the tale, that I thought she would break down. I was ready to run to her and hold her if she did. But my sister held strong. I asked what happened after Sunset went into the mirror. She… Celestia merely looked at me and whispered 'I should have gone after her'." Sunset had no response but to stare. Luna lifted her head. "When the portal closed, my sister was inconsolable. I understand for a time Equestria was without a princess. Celestia shut herself in her room and would not receive any visitors save for Rosen Cross. It was several weeks before my sister found her strength again. She moved on and focused her efforts on other things, including your tutelage. In time, her heart mended itself. She confided that her proudest day in recent memory was when you finished Star Swirl's spell and became a princess." Luna looked at Sunset closely. "Do you know why I have told you all this, Twilight Sparkle?" Sunset slowly shook her head. "You fear you may one day become a demon like Sunset Shimmer did, but this transformation was her own doing, not the Element of Magic's. It is merely her true self brought to the surface, manifest from the festering hatred and jealousy in her heart. Yet her circumstance is also her own fault. It was she who fled to the other world, she who turned herself into a tyrant to rule it, and she who fled back to Equestria when her plots crumbled around her. She has acted cowardly and selfish, choosing to flee when she cannot have her way and growing proud when she does. You and Celestia shoulder no blame for her fate, no matter how you may declare otherwise. Sunset Shimmer is simply an unfortunate example of when a pony lets their greed and ambition consume their life." Sunset turned her eyes down and looked at her tea. The murky brown reflection of a lavender alicorn with a crown looked back up at her. "Yeah… that sounds about right." Luna tilted her head. "Are you feeling well? I know this is much to take in. Forgive me if I've said something to concern you, it was my hope this information would comfort you." "No…" Sunset shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine, really. It's just, as you said. There's a lot to take in." "I hope that once my words settle and you have time to reflect on them, you can find peace with what has happened. You are a better pony than you realize, Twilight Sparkle. That is why it is you who stands here with me and not Sunset Shimmer." "… Right." "I am glad." Luna crossed the table and draped one of her wings over Sunset's neck. "I consider you a dear friend, Twilight Sparkle. If there is anything more I could do to help you through this difficult time, please do not hesitate to speak now." Sunset looked up at Luna. The lunar alicorn was smiling widely, her dark green eyes shimmering. "… No. I'll be fine." Sunset bowed her head. "I appreciate your concern, Princess Luna. But you have done enough. Thank you." "But of course. Should you continue you be plagued with such dreams, there are certain spells one could cast to repress them. I would normally recommend against them as their side-effects on a pony's mind are unpredictable. But you have more than enough mental discipline to use them properly if you feel you need them." "I'll keep that in mind." Luna withdrew her wing. "If there is nothing else then, I would take my leave. I left at the break of dawn without informing Celestia and I am certain she will want an explanation. Worry not, I'll have time on the flight back to Canterlot to come up with some convincing lie." She winked at Sunset, and she nodded back. "Fare thee well, then. Pass along my regards to your other friends." Luna stepped away and spread her wings, and then leapt into the air to take fight. Sunset watched as she vanished on the horizon, a dark blue speck against the bright blue sky. Spike came out from the doors into the castle and approached her. "So, Luna left, huh? What did she want?" Sunset turned and walked towards the entrance, brushing past him. "Uh, Twilight? Is something wrong?" Her eyes fixed ahead, Sunset's hooves stepped slowly and carefully, carrying her to the library and the stairs to the bedroom. Behind her, Spike was keeping pace, claws padding on the floor in time with her hooves. Sunset reached the stairs and ascended. Spike bumped into a magic field that had risen in her wake and cried out. "Twilight! What's going –" the barrier rippled with soundproofed reinforcement and his voice was silenced. Sunset reached the top of the stairs and turned. Staring into the mirror over Twilight's dresser, she sat down and looked at her reflection. Purple eyes blinked in time with her own, her dark purple and pink mane streamed from below her silver crown to brush against the matching necklace. "Greetings. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, of Ponyville." "Hi, Princess Twilight. I'm Sunset Shimmer." Princess Twilight's crown was sitting crooked. Sunset didn't fix it for her.