After an uneventful ride in the carriage, Princess Celestia, along with little Twilight and Luna, arrived at Ponyville at noon. As the carriage descended, the trio of princesses noticed the welcoming committee that, even with the short notice of their arrival, managed to do something fitting for royalty. Not that Celestia really cared about protocol.
When the white alicorn exited the vehicle, she was received with the bursts of several trumpets, courtesy of Ponyville’s party pony, Pinkie Pie. Strangely enough, she was playing all six trumpets by herself.
“Welcome to Ponyville, Princess Celestia!” Ponyville’s mayor welcomed her enthusiastically, albeit a little nervously, extending her hoof for a formal greeting. “I see you brought the little princesses with you, what an… unexpected surprise! I’d like to apologize beforehand for the lack of preparation for your visit. We didn’t know that you were coming, and—”
“At ease, Mayor,” Celestia chuckled, raising her hoof to stop the mayor’s rambling. “I decided to visit my student to see how is she faring. My, er, little ones decided to come as well, as they missed Sunset at the castle,” she explained, calming the distressed mare slightly.
“Oh, well… we had some things prepared for Your Highnesses, so if you could please follo—”
“That won’t be an necessary, Mayor. I simply wanted a casual visit with my student and her friends, but I appreciate your plans nonetheless,” Celestia said with a smile, walking towards the pink mare who was waving her hoof excitedly.
“Hiya, Princess!” Pinkie greeted, stepping in front of the dumbfounded mayor. Looking down to the fillies, she said, “Hiya, little princesses, you surely have grown!” Pinkie ruffled the little alicorns’ manes as they laughed at the pink mare’s cooing.
“Pinkie!” Twilight and Luna both shouted, buzzing their little wings to hug her. Celestia felt something inside her stir at the sight of the two little alicorns smiling. Nostalgia, love, and various other feelings filled the turmoil of the princess’s heart, as times long past flashed before her eyes.
She cleared her head of those feelings, as she walked beside Pinkie and her daughters. “So, Miss Pinkamena, it was terribly nice of you to come and welcome us, but if I may ask, how did you know we were coming? Did the mayor tell you?” Celestia asked, curious about the young mare’s antics.
Her visits, even the impromptu ones, were always notified to the authority of the city destination, standard protocol for the royal guard. Even so, there was no possible way that Pinkie had known about the visit— not even Sunset knew! So you can imagine Celestia’s surprise when Pinkie Pie responded with a mere shake of her head.
“Nope, the mayor doesn’t tell me anything, ever since that accident with the pop tarts and the cats. Anyways, I had a combo this morning: twitchy-tail, floppy-ears, itchy-nose, and flamey-hair, which means that the princesses are coming to town!” Pinkie explained happily, earning a confused frown from the Princess of the Sun, which in turn earned a few laughs from the pair of fillies, who found Pinkie’s eccentric nature amusing.
“Auntie Pinkie, you’re so random,” Luna said, before Pinkie ruffled her mane once more.
“Don’t worry your little filly head over it,” Pinkie said, waving her hoof dismissively. “Now come on, Sunset’s waiting.”
As they arrived at Golden Oaks library, Pinkie finishing her exciting tale of the biggest ice cream ever, Princess Celestia was suffering from an unexpected memory assault. This would be the first time she had seen Sunset since her disappearance into the magic mirror. Sunset Shimmer, one of the most brilliant and sharper students in her school— unfortunately, one of the most disappointing students, too. And it was all Celestia’s fault.
If she had been more careful with Sunset’s education, if she had paid more attention to her student, if she hadn’t been so concentrated on her sister’s fate, she wouldn’t have passed over Sunset’s life.
It was true— she had been so focused on teaching Sunset every possible spell, believing that she was without a doubt the element of magic, that Celestia forgot the heart, the most important part of a living being. Sunset turned treacherous and vile, and by the time Celestia found out of her student’s doom, it was already too late.
Seeing Sunset Shimmer again was a rare, if not special occasion. How much would have she changed? As Pinkie knocked on the door, Celestia’s muscles tensed, and she silently prepared for whatever destiny planned to throw at her.
“Coming!” a cheerful, yet muted voice called through the library door. Celestia cringed at the familiar sound. It seemed slightly different, though— more mature, more grown.
The door handle lit up in a teal-colored glow and turned slightly. When the door creaked open, the figure of a yellow-coated unicorn with red and gold stripes through her mane stood on the threshold. Both Sunset’s and Celestia’s eyes widened, the first in surprise and the latter in sheer shock; fortunately for the alicorn, the awkward moment was interrupted by two tactical cuteness missiles aimed directly at Sunset’s midsection.
“Sunny!” the couple of fillies yelled excitedly. Crashing loudly into the building, they were promptly joined by Pinkie Pie and her infectious laughter as she too jumped into the pony pile.
Taking advantage of the sudden interruption, Celestia composed herself, wiping away the few tears that managed to escape her emotional dam. Fixing herself up with a generic smile, she entered the building, lowering her head to avoid hitting the ceiling with her horn.
She shook her head upon seeing the familiar building; so many things were the same, yet so many of them were completely different. The mess of books usually found on the library’s floor was noticeably smaller, as Sunset lacked Twilight’s bookworm-like characteristics. Sunset’s design of the space also contrasted Twilight’s minimalistic use of furniture; the library now sported a couple of antique-looking sofas and a few chairs, probably for the residents of Ponyville that understood the concept of a public library.
Moving past the obvious differences, Celestia walked into the main room of the library, where she found two little fillies and a couple of mares rolling with laughter on the floor. A small smile graced the princess’s lips as she gazed upon the warm scene, remembering times long gone… when her students used to play with her like that… when she used to be a part of their lives. Celestia sighed sadly, repressing the oncoming wave of feelings attempting to overtake her. We all have to grow up someday, she thought, I only wish I’d really enjoyed every moment with them before they did.
Pulled from her thoughts by the cease of laughter, she looked down to see both Twilight and Luna panting softly, probably exhausted after a savage attack of the still untamed ‘tickle monster.’ Pinkie and Sunset straightened themselves up, the unicorn combing her mane with her hoof and the earth pony shaking herself like a dog.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Celestia gulped down her fears and decided to break the ice with a standard greeting to her student. “Hello, Sunset. I hope our presence hasn’t startled you much— the girls just wanted to pay you a visit.” Damn! Was that too cold? Too formal? Was she suspecting something? Did she—
“Oh, not at all, Princess— just surprised, that’s all. I didn’t expect these two little troublemakers to jump on me as soon as I opened the door,” Sunset explained, directing a mock glare towards the fillies, who in turn lowered their heads in shame.
“We’re sorry,” Twilight and Luna said in unison.
“Ah, I’m just messing with you girls— you know I love your visits,” Sunset said, ruffling the little princesses’ manes with her hoof.
Both fillies perked up immediately, jumping in excitement as they made their way through the library. “Careful, girls!” Celestia called to the departing fillies, while Sunset stifled a laugh.
“I don’t know how the castle can manage those two; they’re a ticking time bomb!” Sunset joked, chuckling at her own remark. Sensing that her joke wasn’t being followed, she looked up to find the Princess staring off into the distance, her eyes glistening with tears.
Concerned by her mentor’s behavior, Sunset lifted a hoof to Celestia’s chest in a soothing manner and asked, “Princess… are you alright?” Recoiling from the touch, the princess shook her head, blinking away the sadness of the moment. Gazing down at Sunset’s troubled frown, she returned an uneasy smile in reassurance.
“Y-Yes, don’t worry about me, Sunset. I was just thinking about… a sudden assault of memories,” Celestia explained, making Sunset hum in deliberation.
Deciding against inquiring further into the Princess’s personal affairs, and noticing Pinkie’s presence in the room, the unicorn nodded softly and hugged her mentor in response, with the unsaid promise of asking about that later.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Sunset said, still tightly holding Celestia’s barrel. She felt the Princess’s muscles tense under her touch. Afraid of doing something wrong, Sunset retreated slowly from the hug, before her back collided with Celestia’s wings wrapped around her. Realizing this, she looked up to see the Princess’s eyes closed in satisfaction, rejoicing the embrace.
The tense atmosphere now calm, the warm moment was completely perfect, until Pinkie’s perky voice interrupted the loving mood. “Aww, how sweet! Can I join?” Pinkie asked, hugging Sunset from behind.
Separating from their embrace quickly, and after an awkward cough, all three mares shared a wholehearted laugh.
Hearing a loud scream and a crash, their laugh was disrupted by the couple of fillies running downstairs, giggling madly. Turning their heads around, the mares found themselves face-to-face with Twilight’s and Luna’s eager eyes.
“Sunny! Mommy! We wanted to ask you…” Twilight started, motioning to her sister to continue.
“…if we could go and…”
“…hang out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders because we want to get our cutie marks now!” both fillies chorused at Pinkie Pie speed, their little wings buzzing with uncontained energy.
“What?!” Sunset exclaimed, managing to step out of the confusion first..
“We wanted to go with the crusaders to find our cutie marks! They invited us the last time we visited you— they named us the Regal branch of the Crusaders!” Luna explained, at a normal pace this time.
“Royal,” Twilight corrected.
“It’s the same, Twilight! Can we go?! Please?!”
Sunset looked uneasily at the pair of hyperactive fillies, choosing her next words carefully.
“Uh, girls… you might be able to go. I mean, maybe my friends and I can organize a picnic later this afternoon— I don’t see why we couldn’t invite the crusaders,” she said, cringing at the foals’ joyful expressions. She knew that the next thing she’d say wouldn’t be as easy to swallow for them. “Nonetheless, you need to understand that crusading may not be the best way you get your cutie marks.”
“What?! Then how else are we supposed to get them?” Luna asked, hints of anger present in her question, while Twilight just stared sadly at the floor.
Celestia hated seeing the fillies’ angered and saddened expressions. Deciding to intervene, she cleared her throat, attracting her daughters’ attention.
“Girls, what Sunset is trying to say is that cutie marks appear through time and experience—in what you’re good at already—not by trying everything in your heads,” Celestia explained, trying, but failing, to soften her words.
“B-but—“ Twilight sniffed and looked up at her mother dejectedly, with a glint in her eyes that made everyone flinch at the ultimate display of cuteness. “What if they don’t? What if they never appear?!” she yelled, her wobbly voice making Sunset cringe. Cutie marks were always a sore subject to deal with when it came to children. Knowing that an explanation was due, she spoke up.
“Has your mother ever told you my cutie mark story?” Sunset asked the fillies, sitting on her haunches to be at the girls’ eye-level.
Luna and Twilight blinked at the sudden straightforward question. Looking curiously at Sunset, Luna asked, “Your cutie mark story? Yes, she has, but—”
“Actually Sunset, I think that it would be better for them to hear it from the mare herself,” Celestia said as she sat on the floor, where her daughters snuggled next to her, all of them looking at the unicorn expectantly.
“From the mare… B-but Princess, I—”
“Oh c’mon, Sunny! Tell us the story!” Pinkie interjected, using her best puppy-dog eyes on the unamused unicorn.
“Pinkie, you’ve already heard it… and do NOT call me ‘Sunny.’ The girls are the only ones who can call me that,” Sunset said, frowning at Pinkie’s mock-sad expression.
“Aww, how ‘bout ‘Shimmy’ or ‘Sunshine’ or—”
“Fine, fine, I’ll tell it,” Sunset conceded, causing Pinkie to cuddle next to the fillies and the Princess, all of them cheering with excitement.
“Let’s see… it all began twelve years ago…”
“Oh Sunshine…” a male voice called mockingly. “Come on, Sun-ass, come over here!” his annoying voice called again. Sunset sighed from behind her book. She hated him; she hated when they called her names. “Hey Sunny, I’m talkin’ to you!” he yelled, his muzzle inches away from her.
Ignore them, she thought. ‘Ignore them,’ Miss Minty always says, ‘They won’t hurt you if you ignore them, Sunset.’ She always lies. Her train of thought was interrupted by a hoof colliding with her book, making it plummet right to the ground.
Sunset recoiled from the sudden assault, before lowering her head and sighing again. Such was life at Tender-Heart orphanage— even being hit repeatedly formed part of her daily routine in that awful place. Life is just awesome being here.
As her inner monologue continued, the trio of ponies in front of her grew impatient, so she received a punch to the stomach. She fell from the pain, her eyes leaking with freshly formed tears. Gazing up, she saw the face of her tormentor sneering at her.
“Are you deaf AND useless? I said come over here!” the pegasus colt yelled, making Sunset cringe.
“W-What do you want Blizzard?” Sunset coughed, trying to rise from her spot on the ground.
Blizzard chuckled at Sunset’s weak voice. In turn, the couple of colts behind him laughed, too. “Don’t bother, I don’t need you to stand up. We’re going to see if that horn of yours is worth something,” he explained rather sweetly, given the situation.
Sunset’s eyes widened in fear. Trembling, she simply said, “My horn?”
She wanted to escape, to walk away from all the pain and sadness, but she knew she couldn’t— she was trapped here forever. She didn’t have a mother, a father, not even a brother or sister to take care of her. She was alone in this dark and painful world. Blizzard’s voice reverberating in her ears brought her back to her current situation.
“You don’t use that horn of yours, Sunny. You’re useless in magic, so why do you need it? Miss Minty said we need a new coat hanger; we thought your horn would be perfect for the job,” he said, as his friends surrounded Sunset from her sides.
The unicorn trembled, looking frantically around for someone, anyone who could save her… but to no avail. She was alone once again.
She wouldn’t give up so easily, though. She had to stand up for herself, even if it meant she had to fight. Sunset’s face took a determined frown, then she turned around and lifted her hind legs, kicking Blizzard with all her might, accompanying her kick with a fierce yell.
The colt howled in pain, retreating from the yelling filly. He glared at her, his eyes glowing with unadulterated rage. Blizzard flared his wings as he grabbed Sunset by her neck, droplets of blood falling to her coat from his nose. “You are going down!” Blizzard shouted, as his friends grabbed the filly by her legs and midsection.
Sunset tossed and squirmed, trying to escape from the colts’ hold on her. She screamed in pain, feeling her horn being pulled from her skull. Tears matted her fur, and through her pain and torture she silently begged for someone to find her and take away the pain. She wanted a mommy, she wanted a daddy; she needed someone who loved her.
… and then she saw it.
The explosion, the colors— the ground shook as a rainbow-colored wave pulsed through the sky. Then her world turned into fire.
Power flowed through Sunset’s whole body. She opened her eyes, and she only saw white. Screams of colts and fillies alike were muted by her own crying; all she could feel was pain, pain and fire. She would’ve prefered being Blizzard’s punching bag any day instead of this agony.
Can you hear me? A soothing voice resounded inside her mind. Sunset wanted to say yes, to keep hearing the calm voice that had somehow managed to take the pain away.
I know you can. Listen to me— do you know what’s happening to you?
“No,” Sunset answered quietly, trying to follow the conversation with the strange, yet kind voice.
This is happening because you are a very special filly. You have a great future ahead of you, but first you need to be strong; you cannot let your emotions control you like that. You are meant for bigger things.
“B-Bigger things? But I’m not special. Blizzard said I’m useless, that I—”
Don’t ever say those things again. You’re not useless— not to me and not to anybody. I need you to believe this: you are a very strong and special filly. There is nothing in this world that you can’t do.
“I’m scared, I’m alone,” Sunset cried, hoping that the voice wouldn’t abandon her either.
Don’t be— I will always be with you. Now come, follow me.
A soothing warmth surrounded Sunset from the tip of her horn to the edge of her hooves, replacing the fiery agony. In an instant, all the pain, anger, and sadness vanished from her mind. She soared, floating in the comforting glow, and just as soon as it had started, the warmth subsided, and her senses slowly returned.
Sunset first felt soft fur wrapping around her, then she heard a quiet and gentle voice, soothing her like a foal’s lullaby. She cautiously opened her eyes and saw a large, white figure, with a few burnt patches in its coat. Sunset wiggled out from the embrace, afraid of the unknown pony hugging her. The figure complied, and as it retreated, Sunset could see more of the pony’s body— a shining, multicolored mane that waved in a seemingly unseen breeze; wide, calming pools of magenta made up the mare’s eyes; and most importantly, both horn and wings adorned the pony’s frame.
Out of panic, Sunset scrambled to her hooves. Moving away from the princess, she gazed around at what used to be the Orphanage's park; she saw the scorched grass and destroyed trees behind her, and promptly burst into tears.
“I’m sorry I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to I-I just—”
“Calm down, little one— I’m not going to hurt you,” Princess Celestia said, stroking Sunset’s mane affectionately.
Sniffing, Sunset looked up to see the Princess’s warm eyes smiling at her. Shaking her head, she walked past the Princess, sitting on the grass where the burn marks ended. Confused at the filly’s behavior, Celestia sat beside her, wrapping a wing around the distressed unicorn.
“Princess?”
“Yes?”
“What’s gonna happen to me? I’m a danger, look what I did to the—”
“Don’t say those things. You are a very special little filly— magic flows through your veins as I’ve never seen before. Magic is your destiny.”
“Special filly… “ Sunset gasped in realization and rushed to her hooves, hugging the Princess’s large frame with her little hooves as best as she could.
Startled by the sudden show of affection, Celestia stroked the unicorn’s mane. “What is it, my little filly?” she asked sweetly, feeling the warmth of foreign tears matting her fur.
“Y-You were the voice…” Sunset cried, hugging Celestia even tighter. “You saved me, I-I… thank you.”
Both ponies rejoiced at the embrace; not even the murmur of far-away guards arriving at the scene, or the crying children in the distance, could disturb their happy moment. Only the quiet sniffing of the filly over her barrel mattered to Celestia.
Sunset tensed for a brief moment before looking up at the Princess with watery eyes. “Princess, are you… are you going to leave me?”
“Never, Sunset. You’re never going to be alone— not now, not ever,” Celestia stated firmly, tightening her hold on the filly.
“And what about the orphanarium? I-I hurt them, they don’t want me back…”
“You are not going back to the orphanage tonight,” Celestia said simply, confusing Sunset further.
“What?! Not going to—”
“You are coming with me,” the Princess said, cutting Sunset’s exclamation short. “From now on, you are Sunset Shimmer, personal student of Princess Celestia.”
Speechless, Sunset closed her eyes in contemplation. After a few moments, she looked up, and with a wobbly smile she asked, “For real?” Receiving a nod from Celestia, she leaped into the air, jumping with all the might she could muster (which, considering the amount of energy expended in her recent explosion, was not much).
“Oh! Another thing— look,” Celestia noted, pointing at the filly’s flank. The mark of a yellow and red blazing sun, with six fierce rays coming from it, occupied the place once blank.
“M-My cutie mark! How? I-I can’t believe it… What is it about, Princess?” Sunset asked, alternating between looking at the Princess and her own flank.
“The mark of the sun— the mark of magic. You are destined for great things… my faithful student,” Celestia explained. Rising from the ground, she motioned for Sunset to follow her.
As both mare and filly walked through the park’s open field, the warm, orange light of dusk shimmered behind them, signaling the end of the day, the end of suffering and sadness, and the beginning of new adventures to come.
“—And that’s how I got my cutie mark, and became the Princess’s student in the process,” Sunset Shimmer said, sighing to herself as her story ended. It always elicited various reactions among those who heard it.
Pinkie Pie rubbed her puffy, red eyes, as little Luna and Twilight did the same; they had obviously been crying for a while. Strangely enough, Princess Celestia seemed to have a stronger reaction than her own daughters, and she had actually been there!
“I-I’m sorry, I just need a moment. Sunset, may I please use your bathroom?” Celestia asked, sniffling as she stood up. Her matted fur, red eyes, and tangled mane confirmed that she was the worst for wear among their little group.
Startled by her mentor’s extreme reaction, Sunset only managed to utter a simple ‘yes’ in response, as the Princess had already made her way upstairs.
As Celestia’s frame disappeared from the stairway, Sunset took advantage of her absence to inquire about her mentor’s well-being.
“Twily, Lulu, what’s wrong with your mother?” the unicorn asked, not quite certain which word to use to describe the Princess’s behavior. “She’s acting a bit… melancholic.”
“I dunno,” Luna said. “She fainted this morning, and she was acting a bit strange, but—”
“Fainted?! What do you mean she fainted? Is she okay? What happened?” Sunset yelled, interrupting Luna’s explanation.
“Umm, well, the doctor said it wasn’t anything important— he looked kinda bored, too. And we wanted to visit you so badly… so she didn’t say anything about it,” Twilight finished for her sister, wiping the leftover tears from her cheeks.
“Do you think that a party could cheer the Princess up?” Pinkie asked hopefully, already coming up with several ideas for one of her trademark ‘Cheer-up parties.’
Sunset frowned, deep in thought. She didn’t want to make public what could have potentially been one of the Princess’s private matters. Hmm, but I do need some time alone with her…
Determining the best course of action for the situation, Sunset spoke up. “I think you’re right, Pinkie. Go talk to the girls and tell them whatever you’re planning in that head of yours.”
“Oh! Oh! Can we go with her?” Twilight asked, jumping in excitement. Sunset rolled her eyes, but complied nonetheless.
“Of course you can. Be careful, though,” she said, causing the fillies to cheer in delight.
As they made their way to the door, Sunset pulled Pinkie aside to give her some very important advice. “Pinkie, I beg of you— don’t let your guard down! I don’t want anything to happen to these two. I know first-hoof how overexcited they can get, so keep an eye on them at all times.” Despite the warning, much of Sunset’s threatening tone was lost on Pinkie, who held her ever-cheerful smile.
“Don’t worry about it, Sunny! I know how to take care of a couple foals— I’ve taken care of Pound and Pumpkin, remember?”
“Pinkie…” Sunset sighed, face-hoofing. “Where are Twilight and Luna?” she remarked, making the pink pony’s eyes widen.
“Oh, right!” Pinkie yelled, running towards town. “Bye Sunny!” she called out from the distance.
“That mare…” Sunset chuckled, shaking her head.
Regaining her serious frown in a disturbingly short amount of time, Sunset stated, “Something fishy is going on here, and I intend to find out what.”