Celestia had never felt more relieved in her life than when she saw Twilight Sparkle return from the mirror world with the Element of Magic on her head. She had been gone for so long that it took all of Celestia’s will to not rush in herself, especially when the portal was beginning to close. She didn’t want to lose two precious ponies in her life to the mirror, not after what had happened with Sunset.
And now Twilight was safe in bed, sleeping after her long adventure. While she was overjoyed that Twilight was safe and sound, she couldn’t help but worry about her previous student, one who didn’t return as Celestia had hoped. Twilight had said that Sunset Shimmer was in “good hands”, but that wasn’t good enough for her, she needed to know more. She needed to know everything.
It hurt to know that after so many years of hoping and praying for her return, Sunset Shimmer chose not to come home. Perhaps she has yet to forgive me? Maybe she feels ashamed? Oh my little sun, I would forgive all your sins if it meant holding you in my embrace one more time.
She glanced at her clock and saw the late hour, but Celestia couldn’t find it in herself to fall asleep as thoughts of her former student continued to plague her mind. The talk she wanted to have with Twilight could wait until morning, but every second that passed drove her crazy. Is Sunset really alright? What had she been doing in that other world? Does she still hate me after so many years? Unable to take anymore, she ordered a guard to summon Twilight Sparkle at once. It was time to put this curiosity of hers to rest.
After she put up a powerful anti-sound barrier around her room, Celestia glanced over at one of the many pictures she brought with her whenever she traveled. Some were of family and friends long gone. Others were of those still alive like Twilight, Luna, and Cadance. But one stood out among all the rest. She levitated the picture to her face and smiled at a younger Sunset Shimmer right next to Celestia herself as they posed right next to her former student’s birthday cake. The Princess of the Sun had surprised her apprentice with a party so big it made her jaw drop all the way to the floor. Celestia could still remember the games, the fun, the love they once had for each other. It was one of the happiest moments in her life. Yet the photo also brought pain; pain because it was the last time they were happy together as student and teacher. All before the accident, revealing the big secret to Sunset, their falling out, and her apprentice running off into that strange world. Celestia’s thoughts were pushed away when she heard knocking at her door. She put the frame down and said, “Enter.”
Twilight Sparkle opened the door and entered the chamber, trying her best to keep her eyelids from closing while a yawn escaped her mouth. “You summoned me, Princess Celestia?”
Celestia frowned as she started berating herself from keeping Twilight from a good night’s rest, especially after her ordeal. Forgive me, Twilight, but I have to know. More than anything. “I did. I know that this seems like an unusual time to discuss matters now, especially with all that has happened.” Celestia sighed and looked at her student with pleading eyes. “Twilight, I beg you, tell me everything that happened between you and Sunset Shimmer. Leave nothing out, no matter how small it may seem or how much it might hurt to hear. I need to know what has become of my former apprentice.” Twilight’s stunned face wasn’t a surprise to Celestia. Rarely had she ever begged Twilight for anything so desperately. If only Twilight knew the truth...
After gathering her wits, Twilight proceeded to tell Celestia everything. Celestia knew it wasn’t going to be a warm story, but she had underestimated just how much her former apprentice had fallen. Listening to every horrible act Sunset Shimmer had done for power and control plunged the dagger of guilt deeper into her heart. The harm she had done, the lives she had ruined, and the friendships she had broken. Never before had she felt her heart broken since the time she banished Luna. Near the end, when she heard her apprentice had become a demon of all things and tried to kill Twilight and her new friends, Celestia couldn’t help but break down in tears.
Oh, Sunset... my little sun, thought Celestia, burying her face in her hooves. How could you have fallen so low? How could I have failed you? If I had known...
“Princess, it’s okay!” urged Twilight, now wide awake. She rushed to her mentor and hugged her. “After we hit her with the power of our magic, she was purified. The magic of friendship I had formed with my new friends unleashed the same power as my pony friends can with the Elements of Harmony. She apologized and everything went back to normal, just like it did with Princess Luna. It took some convincing, but the others will watch over her and teach her what friendship really means.”
This only made Celestia cry harder before she whispered, “Twilight, do you know what the power of the Elements do when they purify somepony?”
“N-no,” answered Twilight. “I only know what it’s like to use their power... not be on the receiving end.”
“For a long time I wondered such as well. At first, I thought they were only about turning those with evil in their hearts into stone. I assumed that Luna’s banishment was a result of me using only half of its power. After Luna was freed, she told me what happened when they hit her. It was not something even I would wish done to me,” whispered Celestia.
“Wait a minute,” Twilight began to back away as her eyes widened, “you mean to tell me that when you sent me to stop Nightmare Moon... you were expecting us to turn her to stone like you and Luna did with Discord?”
Celestia, closing her eyes, nodded. “Believe me, Twilight. I had to live with the fact that I was very likely sending my sister to her own stone grave, but I had to put Equestria first and my own feelings second. The only reason it couldn’t work the first time was because the bond my sister and I had was broken, thus the Elements of Harmony were at half power.”
“So, what do they do?” asked Twilight.
With a shiver, Celestia said, “They force you to feel the pain of everypony you have ever hurt with your actions. All the lives she had ruined or ended during her attempt to bring eternal night my sister was forced to feel. What seemed like minutes to us was likely a thousand lifetimes for her. A split second where there was no time: only endless pain. To feel their fear, their despair, knowing all the pain that she had caused all directed at her made my sister realize the wrong she had done and filled her heart with regret.”
Celestia remembered the restless nights Luna had after being purified. She had to hold her sister as Luna cried into her shoulder, unable to dream because she could still see the faces. The faces of the ponies that had been forced through the terror that was Nightmare Moon. Every pony she ever brought fear to, enslaved, or even killed, she had felt their worst and sometimes last moments all at once. No matter how much she tried to plead and beg for those faces’ forgiveness, she couldn’t stop them from haunting her. It took an entire year until Luna was finally was able to leave the castle and visit Ponyville, later dreaming peacefully when she returned with the knowledge that she was no longer feared or hated.
“It forces you to regret your actions,” muttered Twilight, rubbing her chin before snapping her head up. “But wait, what about Discord? He was turned to stone! Twice!”
“I believe when Discord was hit, despite all the pain he felt, he didn’t feel regretful for his actions, thus the Elements had no choice but to petrify him,” said Celestia, looking downward. “It is knowing this that made me have some... pity for him, I guess. This is also the reason why I asked Fluttershy to reform him. Only time will tell if he truly changes for the better or not, but I think, after finding something to care about more than chaos, he shall.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. “So when we hit Sunset Shimmer with the Elements...”
“She, just like Luna and Discord, felt all the pain she caused,” muttered Celestia, a tear dripping down her face. “Perhaps it was necessary, but I cannot help but wish I had a chance to comfort her. To let her know that I still loved her. Now she will have the same terrors that Luna faced, and I cannot help her! Even now, after all these years, I am a failure to her!”
“Princess Celestia...” whispered Twilight as her mentor burst into tears again. “Why didn’t you ever tell me of Sunset Shimmer? I knew you had apprentices in the past, but you never told me much about them. What happened between you two?”
Taking a few moments to calm down, Celestia shut her eyes and debated if Twilight deserved to hear the truth. She had ordered that Sunset’s name never be spoken again. Not out of anger, but out of regret. Nopony else, except a few sworn to secrecy, knew the truth. Not even her sister knew of the apprentice she had failed until recently. And yet it was a single secret that had ruined everything we had between me and Sunset, thought Celestia. Have I not learned from my mistakes? Perhaps if I had the truth known then things would have been different. Celestia made up her mind.
It was time for the truth to come out at last.
“I suppose you of all ponies, Twilight, deserve to know everything,” muttered Celestia as she levitated the frame with her from its place in the cabinet and looked at it. A small smile graced her lips before she turned to Twilight with a stern glance. “But you must promise me that you will tell nopony this. When she comes back to me, my little sun, I will be the one to tell the world and finally do what I should have done in the first place.”
Twilight nodded and leaned forward. Ready to hear what Celestia had to say.
Celestia closed her eyes and gulped. “Sunset Shimmer is my daughter.”