//------------------------------// // Home Is Where The Heart Is // Story: Flash Sunset // by Georg //------------------------------// Sunset Flash Home Is Where The Heart Is Wherever you go, there you are. —Buckaroo Bonsi Sunset Shimmer shifted uncomfortably as the rough hospital sheets rubbed across her skin and against the number of bandages she had wrapped around several limbs and her head. The faint beep and hiss of medical machinery was a quiet comfort to her ears, and since somebody had turned up gravity in the immediate vicinity to an uncomfortable degree, she decided it would be best to simply lie in place and not move, not pee, and most of all, not think. At least until the approaching click, click, click of a pair of high-heeled shoes walking across tile caused her to open one eye in curiosity. The hospital room was just as she had expected, with a flaccid bottle of some unidentified fluid hanging above one arm and more wires and tubes than anyone should have to endure scattered across her body. Her human body. A tall woman with her usual disapproving expression and her lips drawn into a thin line stood a few feet from the end of her bed, looking down at Sunset Shimmer. Vice Principal Luna had never approved of her sister’s coddled student in Canterlot High, and had made her opinion known quite verbally at times. Now she seemed to be torn between anger and tears as she nodded and spoke. “Sunset Shimmer. You have caused us much concern.” “I’m—” Sunset coughed and cleared her throat, taking the glass of water that Luna handed her and drinking half of the cool liquid before continuing. “I’m sorry, Vice Principal Luna.” She lifted one hand up to touch at the bandages surrounding her hornless head before lowering her eyes to stare at the floor and the rather odd sight that greeted her there.. There was a familiar young girl curled up in a blanket at the side of her hospital bed. Her tangled blue hair and rumpled clothes indicated she had been there for some time, and she did not move other than a quiet breathing as Sunset stared at her in shock. “Your friend, Twilight Sparkle, hath been at thy side since your retrieval.” “I-I don’t understand,” said Sunset, holding a hand to her head as the hospital room seemed to swim around her. “I was with Flash in Eques—” She cut off with a sudden gasp for air. “Flash! Is he—” “Your friend is recovering far more rapidly than yourself,” said Luna, picking up a clipboard from the foot end of her bed and observing it dispassionately. “You must rest now, and not be concerned. We shall watch over you.” “Thank you, Miss Luna.” Sunset Shimmer sagged back against her pillows while trying to make sense of it all. “Everything seemed so real. Until now.” Clues tumbled around Sunset Shimmer’s ears like snowflakes in a blizzard. “I’m not in the human world, am I, Princess Luna?” Vice Principal Luna looked up from her inspection of the clipboard and favored Sunset with a dry look, which Sunset Shimmer met with as much determination as she could manage. “If I’m dying, I deserve to know, Princess.” “Arrogant. Forceful. Perceptive. You are much as my sister told me.” The woman floated the clipboard back to its resting spot in a soft indigo magic that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. “You have caused her great pain, young one.” “I know.” Sunset lowered her head and looked down at where Twilight Sparkle was sleeping beside her bed. “When I first heard about Nightmare Moon, I thought Twilight and myself were both just tools that Princess Celestia was willing to use and throw away in order to save you. It made me angry and want to hurt her the way I felt. Twilight saved me from that part of myself and made me look at people… that is ponies and people in a new light.” “She is a remarkable young mare,” said Luna. “As are you, Sunset Shimmer. Twilight Sparkle has spoken with us of your willingness to seek redemption, and your ability to make friends from those whom you once treated with such contempt. I scarcely believed it myself, but…” The disguised princess trailed off with a shake of her head. “No, I shall allow you to discover that for yourself. You shall live, Sunset Shimmer. Your companion was quite astute to treat your injuries with such… innovation. Other than its initial injuries, your horn was protected from the elements by the plastic sheath and shall heal over the next several months. As for your treatment of our guard’s injuries, I must give you similar credit for innovation. I doubt that ants shall become a part of the Royal Guard medical kit in the future, but in this case, they saved his wing from infection and possibly his life. His father—” and Luna put specific emphasis on that word “—was overjoyed to receive his son back in any condition, and asked to pass along his sincere thanks for your actions.” “What about Principal Celest— I mean Princess Celestia?” asked Sunset Shimmer, trying not to look Luna in the eyes. “I shall allow my sister to express her feelings as to your return in person. Suffice it to say I believe she was as pleased to hear of your return as she was to find out that you had not actually eloped with young Flash Sentry.” When Sunset looked up to protest, she could see little crinkles at the corner of Luna’s dangerous teal eyes and a suspicious upwards turn at the corners of her lips. She chuckled instead, taking a deep breath of the dream hospital air and shaking her head slowly as not to have it fall off. “He was the very model of a Royal Guard during our trip, Princess. Hard-headed, loyal, and about as deep as a sheet of paper. He, uh…” Sunset checked to make sure Twilight Sparkle still seemed ‘asleep’ before continuing. “He has a ‘thing’ for Princess Twilight.” Luna nodded. “Quite obviously, even if you have never seen his dreams. The feeling appears not to be mutual. Fortunately.” “Good.” Sunset Shimmer looked towards the hospital room door, from behind which the sounds of restless hooves could be heard. “I guess it’s time for me to face the music.” The hospital room shimmered slightly, with human analogue medical instruments being replaced by their pony equivalent, and a dark alicorn slowly fading into view as Vice Principal Luna faded away. Really, it seemed less of a transitional shock than she expected, although the spell-muffled pain of healing injuries and the slow motion of stellar material through the mane of the Moon Princess was an unnerving reminder of her actual location. Twilight Sparkle remained curled up on a blanket at the side of her bed, only with hooves and wings instead of a miniskirt and boots. She looked tired and stressed, but more beautiful than Sunset could almost stand at the moment. Were it not for Sunset’s own foolish pride and greed, it could have been her in that position, a yellow and orange alicorn at the side of Princess Celestia, with loving pony friends and respect from all of Equestria. Sunset managed to tear her gaze away from the young sleeping princess in order to look back up at Luna, who simply nodded again without changing her tranquil expression one iota. “Regrets?” she asked. “Yes, obviously.” Sunset took another breath. “I would not be who I am if I had not made those mistakes. The important thing to do now is to learn from them. Go ahead and let Princess Celestia in. I’m ready for her now.” “First things first.” Princess Luna’s magic swung the hospital room door open and five colorful ponies stampeded through. All of them promptly crowded around her bed, except for a bright pink earth pony who was towing a dessert cart. “Hiya, Sunset,” announced Applejack, taking her hat off and holding it over her chest as if she were trying to figure out if this was a celebration or a wake. “You look like you’re in pain,” whispered Fluttershy. “Do you want us to go away and come back later?” “This place is awesome!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she hovered around the light fixture. “Did you see us come zooming out of Twilight’s castle and swooping down on you? Twilight caught you just before you hit the ground and had you off to the hospital so fast I could barely keep up!” “Your poor hairstyle,” gasped Rarity. “They almost cut out half of your hair, darling. And they’ve got your magnificent horn all plastered up in some sort of cast! Are you going to recover?” “They took away the awesome party cannon I found,” said Pinkie Pie, giving the stuck dessert cart an extra tug to get it out of the doorway. “I could barely get all of the cake and the punch for the Get-Well party on this cart.” The close press of affectionate ponies warmed her heart despite the number of painful tugs of medical monitors and needles through her battered hide, although something about them seemed awfully familiar all of the sudden. These were Twilight’s friends, but they were treating her just the same as her human friends. Then enlightenment hit her like a hammer. “What did you do?” gasped Sunset Shimmer. “You’re all on this side of the portal at once! Twilight! Wake up! You have to get my friends back through the portal before they unbalance the two worlds!” “Wha—” Twilight Sparkle jolted awake and sprang to her hooves, managing somehow to catch her horn on the hospital bed, knock over the pitcher of water, and unplug two of the medical monitors all at the same time. “What is it? Is Sunset going to be all right?” Behind the panicked young alicorn, the upset pitcher righted itself, the spilled water vanished, and the medical devices were plugged back in before they even managed to beep, all the while Princess Luna looked on with her own enigmatic smile and a faint glow to her horn. “Breathe, Twilight,” said Sunset, putting a clumsy hoof on the young princess’ chest. “I’m fine, but you need to get my friends back through the portal right now! You’re going to cause multiple deep sympathetic resonance nodes that will stress the interdimensional—” “—parallelism mechanism and cause cross-phasic tears in the thaumic substrate,” finished Twilight Sparkle. “I know that. Don’t worry. We fixed it.” “We traded places,” said Applejack. “Twi came to our world, but she was all tore up ‘cause of you runnin’ off like that, an’ we all wanted to help look for ya, but she started talking all technical—” “I suggested it!” said Rainbow Dash with her chest pushed out as far as it would go to the point where she started floating backwards with every flap of her wings. “Me too!” said Pinkie Pie. “I knew the other Pinkie Pie didn’t know anything about you, like your favorite musicians or places to eat or your bra size only here you don’t need a bra—” “Or anything else, for that matter,” interrupted Rarity with a shiver. “I don’t know how you can go through life without any clothes! I mean, I think I’m catching a chill just from this hospital. Oh, and I brought you a scarf, and some socks.” “So you took Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie’s advice?” said Sunset very slowly and deliberately as she turned to look at a suddenly nervous Twilight Sparkle. “Really?” “You gotta admit it were one heck of a good idea, Sunset.” Applejack waved her hat at the sunlight beaming in the hospital window and the small town spread out beyond. “Besides, you talked about wanting to visit Ponyville at least a couple dozen times after Twi told us all about it, and I didn’t believe that durned fool story ‘bout you runnin’ off with Flash neither. Ah don’t think there were no corner of Canterlot that didn’t have somebody poking their nose into it and lookin’ for ya, so we weren’t doin’ no good there until Pinkie’s tail started acting up.” “Yep!” chirped Pinkie Pie, displaying the appendage in question proudly. “It started twitching and switching, and we followed it all the way to Ponyville. On the train, of course.” “You followed Pinkie Pie’s tail.” Sunset Shimmer favored Twilight with a very dry look. “I always thought you were supposed to follow your head, or even your heart, not the other end.” “Ah’m startin’ to think that’s the smart end,” drawled Applejack as Pinkie Pie leaped around the room, tail first. Rarity cleared her throat, seeming determined in her vain attempt to bring the conversation back to normality. “When we arrived in town, we searched positively everywhere for you, darling. Twilight even took us out into that dreadfully dark woods to meet with Zecora, her herbalist friend.” “The forest isn’t all that bad,” whispered Fluttershy. “Some of the cutest animals live there.” “Don’t worry, Sunset,” said Rarity with an additional shudder. “We made her put them back.” “And then we went back to Twilight’s awesome castle and jammed most of the day until you showed up!” said Rainbow Dash, playing her mid-air air guitar. “It was amazing. She’s got this magical amp that goes up to this little squiggly sideways eight, but she wouldn’t let us turn it up that high.” “I was fighting my way through that carnivorous forest and the six of you were playing music?” Sunset Shimmer looked between the compassionate eyes of her friends and tried to continue when Fluttershy of all ponies interrupted. “When I can’t find some of my little animal friends, I sing so they can find me. But it was Rarity who suggested it,” added Fluttershy. Sunset Shimmer tried to suppress a tremor at the memory of Fluttershy dancing around the house singing while she had slumped onto the couch to watch television, only to find that ‘Silky’ was actually a ten foot python who had decided to curl up inside the couch cushions for a nap. “Well, it only stood to reason,” said Rarity while looking out the window, unwilling to meet Sunset’s eyes. “I mean every time we ever had one of our little jelly sessions— “Jam, Rarity.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes by making a slow roll in the middle of the room. “—Jam sessions,” corrected Rarity, “you always seemed to show up. And you did.” “I suppose it’s hard to argue with results.” Sunset Shimmer. “I’m just glad I found you, no matter how it happened, Pinkie’s tail or not.” “Yeah!” said Pinkie Pie. “Only I really was worried that we wouldn’t find you, and now that we found you, I’m sad again, because you’re going to stay here and study with Princess Celestia again and we’ll miss you so much.” She hooked the overloaded dessert cart with one hoof and drew it up next to the hospital bed. “There’s not enough cake in the world to make that feel any better.” Sunset Shimmer took the huge slice of cake that Pinkie Pie pressed into her hooves, but sat it carefully on a nearby tray instead of digging in like she wanted. “Look, girls. I really don’t know how to tell you this. It’s going to be hard enough to tell Princess Celestia… who’s probably waiting right outside the door, isn’t she, Applejack?” “No! Of course….” The farmpony hunched her shoulders and stuck her ratty hat back on her head. “Yes. Why you always gotta go and do that?” “Because you’re my friend,” said Sunset, “and I know you. It’s the same reason why I let Rarity do my nails and never step on a bug when Fluttershy is around. Or when she’s not around too,” she added rather quickly. “Would you like me to bring Princess Celestia in?” asked Twilight. “Can we do her hoovsies and braid her mane and play party games?” asked Pinkie Pie. “Ahh…” said Sunset, momentarily at a loss for words at the mental image of the ruler of all Equestria, Princess Celestia, Sol Invictus, with pink hoof polish and a braided ribboned mane. “No,” she finished with some reluctance. This is something I need to talk about with her privately. If I could just get you all to step outside for a moment? That means you too, Dash,” she added at the colorful pegasus who was trying to find some inconspicuous corner of the ceiling to hide. “You’re sure you don’t want us with you?” asked Fluttershy in such a low whisper that Sunset could barely hear. “I want you all with me, but I need to do this by myself. Now go on. This will only take a minute.” It took a while for her friends to be gently herded out the door by Princess Luna, and thinking about the pun helped lighten the mood some, particularly when Pinkie decided to bark and chase Applejack when the stubborn farmer tried to stay behind. She sat in the resulting silence, trying not to look at the door and finding the single slice of creamy cake a much better focal object. After prodding it listlessly a few times with the fork, she took a deep breath and called out, “Princess Celestia? May I please speak with you?” The hospital door swung open in perfect silence and there she was, an expanse of pure white crowned in gold that Sunset could not see beyond a bright smear from the tears in her eyes. The sharp clip, clop of golden-clad hooves grew near as Sunset attempted to blink away the tears, only to find more of the traitorous drops flooding her face in a battle for control that she could not allow herself to lose. “Sunset Shimmer.” The royal voice was just as calm and loving as she had remembered and did not hold a speck of anger, although there was a tiny tremble in it that she had never heard before. “I am pleased that you have returned, although I was hoping to have this conversation a few days ago, and in a somewhat different place.” “I’m sorry, Princess,” blurted out Sunset Shimmer. “It’s my fault. Don’t blame Flash. If I hadn’t bolted, he never would have chased me and we wouldn't have wound up—” “I’m not blaming either of you, Sunset.” Celestia moved closer to the bed where Sunset could see her better despite the intervening tears. “I’m just glad you’re both s-safe.” To Sunset’s shock, there was a trickle slowly working its way down Celestia’s cheek as tears of her own began to flow. “I was afraid I had l-lost you again. I was a-afraid—” Sunset opened her forelegs and put them around Celestia’s neck as her ancient teacher leaned forward, and for the longest time, student and teacher simply remained in a silent embrace, dampening each other’s neck with their long-suppressed tears. Through all the years she had been Celestia’s pupil, Sunset Shimmer had never shed a tear in her presence, no matter how painful the burn from a failed spell or whatever teenaged angst had tied her heart up in knots. She had thought those tears long past and forgotten, but every one of them seemed to pour out in a soundless flood to be absorbed by Princess Celestia’s warm neck even as she could feel the princess’s own tears of sorrow splash against her own neck in return. There should have been anger on both of their sides, or blame for disputed wrongs, shouts of recrimination for insults previously forgotten and hasty words flung in spite, but instead there was only a flood of forgiveness and regret for opportunities passed, never to happen again. They held each other for the longest time amidst the beeps and clicks of the hospital machines, gradually and reluctantly pulling away from each other in exchange for gently applied tissues removed from the hospital tissue box and turned into giant rough wads of soggy paper. After the longest time and continually mumbled apologies, Sunset took a deep breath in order to meet Celestia’s eyes. “I’m glad Twilight was here when Luna returned. I never would have been able to make friends like she did, and I never would have been able to use the Elements of Harmony to free your sister.” “Don’t sell yourself short, my former student.” Celestia stole a glance towards the hospital door, which glowed both golden and indigo from a shield spell, although the quiet thumps and thuds of five ponies trying to peek through the cracks was still evident. “You seem to have made more friends than you realize.” “I never would have been able to do it without Twilight. Which reminds me.” Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath. “When I took my entrance exam, did you really try to fake me out with Philomena playing dead?” Celestia managed to look slightly guilty while using the last wad of hospital tissues to wipe her face. “Actually… that was Philomena. I had this magnificent millennium floribunda that had not bloomed in years, and since you seemed to like plants so much, I thought it would work as your entrance test. Then when Philomena started dropping her last feathers, I forgot all about it. I think she missed Luna more than I did, and sometimes I think she’s smarter than all of us.” “Oh.” With a girlish giggle, Celestia added, “She did the same thing to Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy last year.” The laughter seemed contagious, and Sunset Shimmer giggled along with Celestia, at least until she looked back, using the most serious Princess face. “I’ve missed you so much, Sunset. I wish that you could stay and be my student again.” “I do too,” admitted Sunset Shimmer. “Those were some of the best years of my life, but you’re the one who taught me to finish one lesson before I start another. I may have failed at making friends in this world, but I think I’ve got a good start in the other world. I’m looking forward to finding out what we can learn together.” “I agree,” said Celestia. “You have much to learn and to teach your new friends.” “True, but right now, if I can get out of the hospital, I need to hobble back to the human world as quick as possible.” Sunset winced as she pulled back the hospital sheet and sat up. “Shouldn’t you perhaps stay for a few days while you recover?” said Celestia. “Luna would love to show you around Canterlot, and I believe Philomena has a few tricks she was planning to use on us.” Although she could not help chuckling a little, Sunset shook her head. “No, I need to get my friends back before Twilight’s friends wind up burning down the mall. I may come back and visit later, once I’m feeling better, and if you can tie up Flash. Who knows, maybe I’ll even talk Principal Celestia into swapping places with you for a few days sometime.” “Oh, Sunset,” said Celestia with a twinkle in her eye. “Who says we don’t?” ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ Luna’s brilliant moon spilled a silver curtain over the castle gardens and lit the area with an intensity that still brought Sunset Shimmer’s heart up into her throat whenever she looked up into the night sky. The Equestrian night had been Celestia’s domain for her entire life, and now that it had been returned to the pony who truly belonged with it, the stars and moon seemed to compete in their attempts to bring awe to their watching audience. Despite Sunset’s protests, it had been several days since she had staggered out of the Everfree Forest, and only near hourly reports from the enchanted notebook that spanned the two worlds had kept her calm enough to enjoy her brief time with her friends in Equestria before they all had to go home. And it was home, now that she thought about it. A strange place with fingers and motorcycles and cheeseburgers that she had adapted to far more than she had ever fit into Equestria. Someday she might return and pick up with her magical studies, but for now, it was the magic of friendship that was going to be her subject to study for the immediate future. She looked out across the Royal Gardens with the mirror sitting so innocently in the middle of a patch of short grass, almost exactly in the same spot as when she had come through, and considered just what other worlds might be only a reflection away. “Regrets, my former student?” Princess Celestia had come up behind Sunset with no more noise than a cat while her five friends were playing some strange game in the taller grass that involved a lot of running and very few rules. “No. I learned more from my mistakes than I ever would have otherwise. I just wish I hadn’t hurt so many ponies and humans in order for me to learn my lessons.” “As do I, my former student.” Celestia held herself very still as Sunset Shimmer rubbed up against her neck, the rough patches of bandages and missing mane making it more of a scratch than a caress. “I shall be looking forward to your letters as you learn more about friendship in this new place. Twilight Sparkle has promised to forward them on to me, after reading them, of course.” “Of course.” They held close to each other for a long moment in the moonlit garden until Sunset looked away with a displeased scowl. “I see they let Flashlight out of the hospital too.” The Royal Guard was standing alone by the side of the mirror, his wing totally encased by a white cast and one leg completely covered in bandages, but still holding his precise guarding pose despite his injuries and a complete lack of armor. “I thought you would like to say a few words to him before you left. Go ahead, and I’ll bring the rest of your friends when you have finished.” As Celestia strode away, Sunset got the distinct impression of a setup, even though she had planned for this possibility and had even been looking forward to it. Princess Celestia had centuries of experience reading ponies, and although Principal Celestia ran a close second, it would be a relief to go back to trying to get out of a tardy slip or drinking a soda in the hallway. “Hey, Flash.” Sunset strolled up to the impassive guard and looked over the creamy white bandages that wrapped most of his side and held his wing completely immobile. “Your outfit looks a little loose. Want me to tidy it up for you? I think there are some ants around here somewhere.” Flash Sentry remained perfectly immobile, not even glancing in her direction. With a plaintive sigh that Princess Celestia would have been proud of, she leaned forward and kissed him right on the lips. Hard. “Sunny!” Flash spluttered, backing up into the edge of the mirror and then lunging forward as if it were red-hot. “I’m supposed to be guarding that!” “Relax, nitwit. Princess Celestia put you here so I could talk to you before I left.” She reached back into her sidesaddle and rummaged around among the medicines and potions she was going to take back to the human world for the rest of her recovery. “I brought you a little something for when I’m gone.” “It’s not poisonous, is it?” Flash eyed the small card that she pulled out and read it while she held it out in front of him. “Le Creux? That’s a restaurant, isn’t it?” “The most expensive in the city. I know how much you appreciate a powerful unicorn mare, and I paid for a date.” His eyes flickered in Princess Twilight Sparkle’s direction, and Sunset fought ferociously keep a straight face as Flash’s ears perked up. “Really?” “Not Twilight. Somepony else that I think you’ll fit well with. You have no personality and she has more than enough to share.” He eyed her suspiciously, but picked the card up and tucked it away behind his bandaged wing anyway. “Thanks, Sunny. Are you sure about this?” “Trust me, Flash. She’s great. Just… don’t take her out in the forest. It’s a lousy place for a date.” * * * Six colorful ponies gathered together in the moonlit garden for one last moment before they trotted forward and vanished into the mirror. There was a brief pause, and five ponies tumbled out in a big pile with a small purple dragon landing on top. “Twilight!” shouted Spike as he picked himself back up and leapt into Twilight Sparkle’s embrace. “It’s so good to see you again.” “It is good to be back, girls, but could you please get off my back,” said Rarity’s voice from the bottom of the pile. “Wow!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie with a bound that took her over to Princess Celestia. “The human world is full of amazing things! I’ve never seen so many flashing lights.” “I had no idea Rainbow Dash had a Mustang,” gasped Applejack after getting her hooves underneath her and wobbling upright. “I kept expecting that thing to explode in rainbows as fast as we were going.” “A mustang?” asked Celestia with a peculiar tilt to her head as she regarded the ruffled pegasus climbing out of the pony pile. “I was unaware your alternate had a coltfriend in the human world. Congratulations.” “Not a colt,” scoffed Rainbow Dash with a happy flap of her wings that took her straight up. “It’s a car! A convertible even. It could have fit through the portal if a wheel hadn’t come off in the parking lot.” “And it goes really, really, really fast!” said Pinkie Pie. “Faster even than all those other cars with the blinking lights!” Princess Celestia exchanged a look with her sister that had both of them shaking their heads. “I’ll get the bail money,” said Luna. Picture: I’m Sorry by mrs1989, used with permission. (One last picture for the road)