//------------------------------// // VICE Principal Luna // Story: Shimmer of the Sunset // by Thunderhalk89 //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer stood outside the door to Principal Celestia's office. She paced back and forth for the better part of ten minutes as she tried to work up the nerve to enter. This was the closest she had come to the door in four days, and even then it had taken her till the end of classes to make it this far. Her heart raced and threatened to burst from her chest. She feared what it might look like, but would not have been surprised if it were a shriveled up black husk. She waved awkwardly as three students walked past. They flinched, but slowly followed suite. Taking a breath, she approached the door and prepared to knock for the fifth time. She stumbled and nearly fell forward as the door suddenly opened. Vice Principal Luna reached out, catching her shoulders and steading her. "Sunset Shimmer, what a pleasant surprise," her voice came out unemotional and unsurprised by her guest. "If you were hoping to see my sister, then I regret to inform you that she stayed home ill today." "Right…" She slowly backed away, "I think I made a mistake coming here." Luna stepped aside and beckoned her to enter. "Sunset Shimmer, please come in." Sunset Shimmer took several hesitant steps backward before sluggishly entering the office. Luna closed the door and stepped behind the desk. The shades were partially closed, letting only a sliver of sunlight enter the office. The lights overhead had been left on, an oddity for the normally reclusive Vice Principal whose own office was often shrouded in shadows. Rumors often circulated about how she was secretly a vampire. The thought always seemed absurd to her. Before the Dazzlings revealed themselves, she had thought the idea of Equestrian creatures following her into this world was just as absurd as a dragon working at the local pizzeria. "It is no secret," Luna began, "that I was never a fan of you." Sunset stared dumbfounded at her. She knew Vice Principal Luna could be overly blunt at times, but this… "However," she continued, noting Sunset's expression, "I suspect it may be because I see much of myself in you." Sunset recovered enough to respond, "What do you mean?" This might not have been who she was looking for, or even close to the topic she needed to discuss, but she recalled Princess Twilight telling her once that at her stage, she should be open to hearing what everyone had to say, no matter how much it may hurt. Luna sat down behind the desk and gestured at one of the wooden chairs on the other side. She waited for Sunset to take her seat before answering, "I was not always the respected authority figure I am today. Back in my youth, I too was a trouble maker." Sunset Shimmer continued to stare at her. She wondered what Luna meant by "trouble maker", until she recalled Twilight's revelation about the stories of Nightmare Moon being true and that she had once been Princess Luna. She knew that the people of this universe were duplicates in appearance more than anything; nevertheless, there were enough similarities between personalities that the differences were often blurred. "I would often play pranks on my fellow classmates. I recall one such occasion where I drew an… let's say an unflattering picture of one my least favorite teachers at the time in permanent marker on the whiteboard before covering it up with another drawing done with dry erase markers." Luna smiled, almost pleased with herself. "How is that related to turning into a monster and trying to use a brainwashed army to take over another world!" she snapped. She knew Twilight had wanted her to listen to everything others told her, but this could not possibly have been what she meant. Harmless school pranks were nothing compared to what she had done. She had manipulated the entire school into doing her bidding without even using magic. Moreover, once she had magic, she nearly destroyed the entire building. Luna let her catch her breath before responding coolly, "I was not finished." Sunset Shimmer realized that she had stood up and was leaning over the desk that separated the two. She quietly leaned back and slumped back into her seat. "It merely started as harmless pranks before escalating. I will not bore you with everything I had done, but I will say that I ended up getting into the kind of trouble you should be lucky to not have been subjected to." Sunset looked up at that. "Destruction of property is a very serious crime. I am sure enslavement and enrolling in a school under false pretense would also not be looked at very favorably by the courts." Sunset slumped further into her chair. She did everything in her power to avoid Luna's gaze. "My parents refused to pay for my bail," Luna continued. "They believed that it would improve my character. Of course, at the time I believed that it was because they just wanted to get rid of me." Sunset Shimmer looked up when she realized that her tone had dropped. Luna's expression was melancholic as she reminisced. "I spent nearly a week in that cell." Luna had picked up a picture from the cabinets behind her of a younger version of herself and Principal Celestia when they had first graduated college. "It felt like a thousand years before I was released. My sister had been saving the income she received from her summer jobs to purchase a car." She put the picture back and turned around to look at Sunset, "She used everything she had been saving to pay for my release." "…I had no idea." Sunset did not know what to say. She had always seen Celestia as the type of person to let people learn from their own mistakes and live with the consequences. "Celestia cares for every student that comes through those doors and, though it may not seem like it, she does everything she can to help make them better people. Much like she cared for a young troubled girl all those years ago. Perhaps…" she paused and smiled softly. "Perhaps, that is why she chose to look the other way when a strange girl who did not appear to know much about how our society operated appeared and began living in the clock tower loft." She raised an eyebrow as she looked as Sunset Shimmer. "…You know about that?" She had been so careful and meticulous. Her new friends were not even aware of where she spent the night. "Indeed," she answered. "When it became evident of your unfamiliarity with our world my sister took… several liberties. Many doors would remain unlocked at all times: in particular the cafeteria and library." Her eyes rolled to the ceiling in thought, "I believe she even printed out basic instructions on how to use the computers." Sunset Shimmer was silent. Her mind raced through her first few months in this strange new world. She had taken every coincidence or event of good fortune as just how this world worked. She recalled an event during the beginning of her second month that nearly forced her to find a new home. "The 'restoration' of the clock tower dome?" "She felt that you would like to have heat for when the winter months approached and the installation of the shower was because Coach Spitfire was tired of finding the locker-room unlocked every morning…" "…And the soccer camp for incoming freshmen was about to start," Sunset added. "Precisely. I think they would have found it very suspicious if a girl who was not on the team was found using the showers; although, that might have given you the opportunity to become friends with Rainbow Dash. I do not think CHS would have survived as long as it did if you had received her as your accomplice, as opposed to Snips and Snails." "Hehe. I suppose not." Sunset Shimmer stood up with Vice Principal Luna and made her way for the door. "One last thing…" She turned around, her hand still on the knob. "I did not become the person I am today by receiving forgiveness from my parents, or even my sister." Sunset nodded as she began to open the door. "I became a better person by forgiving myself." She froze and looked up at Vice Principal Luna. Her normally resolute expression was one of compassion. Sunset Shimmer leaned against the railing as she watched the sun as it began to set. A tome emblazoned with what was once her cutie mark sat open in her grasp. Vice Principal Luna's final words echoed through her mind. "I need to forgive myself," she mouthed. She could still not make much sense of it. Was the fact that she no longer wanted power at the expense of others not good enough? She shook her head as she resumed her vigil of the alien world's sun. Her friends were just as confused as she was about Luna's parting remarks. How can people forgive themselves? It seemed wrong and counterproductive. While, she knew that she had no one to blame but herself, she could not just ask herself for forgiveness. "Hey, Sunset, I'm sorry you tried to take over all of Equestria. It's okay, I'm sorry you became an evil power hungry monster." She groaned. It sounded even worse when she said it aloud. She turned her attention to the blank page she had turned to in her book. "Maybe Twilight can make sense of this? Or at least help me figure out how to tell Celestia how I feel about the past." She lowered and rested her head face down in the open tome. "Gwah! I'll never figure this out." She let her mind wander as she stayed like that for the duration of the sunset. She began writing when she finally decided what to tell Twilight. She was not certain if it was the right thing at that moment, but it would have to do until she was ready to relay her true feelings to Princess Celestia. Twilight, I know it seems like I just wrote to you, so this will be quick. I want you to know that things at school are getting better. Many of the students still look at me like I'm that same monster from the Fall Formal, but they also seem more open to accept that I've changed. I'm trying to repent and tell everyone I've hurt that I'm sorry and I'm trying to do right by them. I knew this was not going to be easy when I started, but my friends here are helping in ways I never could have imagined. Now, I need your help. Out of everyone I've hurt, those in Equestria suffered the worse. I tried talking to Principal Celestia today, but she wasn't there. Her sister seemed to help me, sort of. Apparently, she thinks I need to forgive myself. Maybe, she's onto something. But right now, I just feel the need to speak with Celestia, or write to her. I turned into a monster when I thought she was keeping me from my true potential. I just need her to know the truth: she was right about me not being ready for the kind of power I wanted. I originally was going to have you convey a message for me, but Fluttershy brought up a good point: maybe I should tell her directly. I've struggled with what to say for so long now. Will she forgive me? Do I even deserve forgiveness for my past transgressions? The more I think about it, the worse off I am. I should just get it over with, but I think I'm so concerned with what will happen that I just freeze up. Hopefully, you're having a better time than me. Your faithful stud Your friend, Sunset Shimmer When she awoke the next morning the tome on the crate next to her was glowing and vibrating. Quickly disentangling herself from her sheets, she reached out and grabbed it before it could fall to the floor. She took a breath and began to flip through the pages. Twilight rarely responded to her messages that quickly and she did not expect her to have written to Celestia on her behalf. Even in the unlikely scenario that she had, why would Celestia even respond? She had betrayed her trust and thrown the love she had given her right back into her face. Twilight's response was uncharacteristically short, but the words struck her all the same as she closed the tome. She felt even more drained about the situation than before. She pulled her pillow over her face and groaned as loud as she could. She continued to lay like that until her phone began screeching at her. She slowly moved the pillow to the side so she could glare at the offending device. She never set an alarm to wake her up on Saturdays; at least not now that she no longer had to worry about meticulously planning how to take over a school so that she could one day take over Equestria. She groaned again, this time at her past self. She picked up the device and studied the text-message that was flashing on the screen before she pulled herself out of bed and began to get ready for the day. Apparently, Pinkie Pie wanted them all to show up at her place to test brownie recipes, or something. Either way, it would give her an excuse to get out and improve her "social interactions skills", which according to Rarity, could still use some improvement. She originally thought she would be capable of interacting with others, but Rarity had taught her that there were subtle differences between trying to be someone's friend in order to manipulate them, and just being friendly. On a more positive note: Pinkie Pie always made the best brownies.