//------------------------------//
// Maternal Connections-Twilight Sparkle 
// Story: A Sparkling Sunset 
// by Ferhog 
//------------------------------//

You'd think that with the ability to teleport naturally fused with the body and soul of Unicorns and Alicorns alike that the arrival from a Princess would take little more than a few seconds. Sadly, there was some kind of unwritten rule from days long past that Princesses had to arrive at a location in a display of power and splendor, meaning that it always involved a long chariot ride.

And this made it all the more uncomfortable to wait for Celestia's arrival. As the seconds and minutes passed, Twilight couldn't stop thinking of more and more horrible situations that ranged from Celestia banishing Sunset to some other plain of existence to the appearance of her former student driving her to such levels of anger that her opinion on the meeting is twisted to the point where she declares bloody war on the Griffon Kingdom.

But while Twilight was having a hard enough time dealing with the concern that she was feeling at the present time, she could hardly imagine how Sunset was feeling.

After Sunset had declared her intention to be there when Celestia arrived, they had decided to keep her waiting in the library until Spike was sent to fetch her. Twilight wasn't very fond of this plan, wanting to stay by Sunset's side as Celestia's arrival drew closer, but they had agreed that it wouldn't be a good idea to have Sunset present at the moment that Celestia arrived. It would be better if the reunion of the former teacher and student was slowly eased in to the meeting.

'But it will only be a reunion of teacher and student to Sunset.' Twilight thought. 'To Celestia, it will be a reunion between mother and daughter.'

That was another thing that bugged Twilight. Sunset likely thought that Celestia saw her as a close student that let her down years ago. She had no idea that Celestia also sees her as a failed attempt to give Equestria a new ruler. Another member of her family who had once betrayed her. A mistake from her past.

It certainly made it seem impossible to mend the relationship between the two, but after all that she had been through in the events that led to her ascension to princesshood, Twilight knew that no obstacle was impossible to overcome when it came to friendship and love.

The bright sun shining in the clear sky made the strong winds that Twilight was experiencing on the balcony feel unusual. Wind was usually prominent on cloudier days, yet she kept having to move her fringe out of her eyes every few seconds in spite of the open blue sky above her. A possible explanation was that the pegasi of a distant town or city may have had to create a small storm for whatever reason, and the winds had managed to reach Ponyville. Whatever the cause of the wind, it was likely the reason why Celestia's journey had taken long enough for them to organize everything.

Staring into the open sky, waiting nervously for her mentor's arrival, Twilight was reminded of Celestia's last visit around a month ago. The day she had first brought up the idea of reuniting her and Sunset. It was strange to think that at the time she saw Sunset as little more than a close friend.

'Did I though?' She wondered. 'At one point could I really say that I was in love with Sunset?'

There were many moments that Twilight had saved in her memory that could be classified as the moment where she had really fallen for Sunset, from the night they had first kissed to the intimate conversation they had shared in Pinkie Pie's kitchen before they faced the Dazzlings. This question in itself brought up the question of how the process of falling in love worked. Was there a particular moment when it happened, or was it a process that spread over a variety of time?

Why did love have to spawn so many confusing questions?

Twilight's eyes were struck by a spontaneous bright flash in the distance, forcing her eyes to squint for a second. When she focused her sight again, she saw that the flash had come from the sun reflecting off the gold of Celestia's chariot, which was coming closer into view. With the vessel approaching her castle, Twilight realized that her heart rate was increasing along with sweat dripping from her pores. Celestia's appearance was causing the nervous feeling she was already having to grow even further.

A few minutes later, the royal chariot finally descended towards the castle. While the balcony was quite large, to the point where it could barely be considered a balcony, the chariot still had to slow down before making contact with the floor. Upon hitting the surface the carriage moved a few feet across the stone as the four Pegasus Guards piloting it skidded to a halt.

The individual Pegasus Guards themselves, though trying their best to give off an impression of strength, certainly looked like they were tired from the journey. The mixture of wood and metal on the carriage itself looked shiny and polished as always, the beauty and majesty of it very fitting for the transport of the high ruler of Equestria.

"Good evening Princess Twilight." Celestia greeted her, gracefully stepping out of the carriage before bowing. In spite of the wind, her hair seemed to be completely unaffected, flowing as it normally did.

"... uh... hi... I mean... good evening to you Princess Celestia..." Twilight stuttered as she bowed in return.

'Put your act together Twilight! You're not going to be able to hide anything if you're cracking like this!'

At the moment it seemed that Celestia didn't have any suspicions, simply turning around and excusing her Guards from the castle. Now permitted to leave, they simultaneously thrust themselves into the air, flying off with the chariot following them.

"So how have you been lately Twilight?" She asked kindly.

'I HAVE SUNSET HIDDEN IN THE LIBRARY WITH THE INTENTION OF BRINGING HER IN ON OUR MEETING AND TRYING TO MEND YOUR RELATIONSHIP! WE ALSO HAVE A ROMANCE GOING ON BEHIND YOUR BACK AND THE BACK OF THE WHOLE OF EQUESTRIA PLEASE DONT KILL US!' Was the answer that was trying to break out of Twilight's mouth.

"Great! Never been better! How are you!?" Twilight replied, a lot louder than she intended.

This time Celestia clearly noticed something, her right eyebrow rising. "Is everything alright?"

"Ofcourseitiswhywhouldyouask?" Twilight answered, once again mentally berating herself for lacking control of her own mouth. "So... Spike should have set up some refreshments in the dining room by now. I was hoping that we could discuss the situation over that."

Celestia smiled cordially. "Twilight, this is your castle. I listen to you here, not the other way around."

"Sure..." Twilight replied, though it was definitely going to be a long time before she would ever try and tell Celestia to do anything.

The two alicorns left the balcony and entered the castle through two large double doors that Twilight opened telekinetically. She shifted the hair out of her eyes one last time as she closed the doors behind them, preventing the wind from bothering her any further.

They made their way to the dining room, Celestia asking various friendly questions on how things had been in Ponyville lately. Twilight answered them all as best as she could, but the closer they got to the dining room, the further the stress inside her built up. There was now a question lingering in her mind on whether she would crack and spill the beans on everything sooner or completely break down into a weeping mess later.

Entering the dining room, Twilight was relieved to see that Spike had prepared everything correctly for the occasion. In truth, the room itself looked no different from usual, but the food and cutlery that he had set up was all that was necessary. Each one of the six chairs at the table had a plate, cup and saucer, and a variety of knives, forks and spoons. Looking at it now, Twilight was starting to feel that it was a bit overkill, especially since only three people were going to be at the table. If things went well that was. The food itself was simple, but fitting for a visit from other royalty. Next to the small sculpture at the centre of the table was a large pot of tea, and at other spots around the sculpture were plates of small snacks like crackers, biscuits and cakes, along with various condiments.  

"So... is there... any particular seating arrangement you'd like?" Twilight nervously asked her mentor. 

Celestia looked at the table for a moment. "I think that just sitting next to each other would be perfectly fine."

Twilight nodded, and as they approached the table she wrapped a set of chairs in a violet glow and pulled them outwards. Celestia sat on the right chair while Twilight sat on the left. Stage one, getting Celestia to the dining room, was complete. 

Stage two, setting the right mood for Sunset's appearance, was a go.

At this point it felt like there was a thunderstorm going on in Twilight's chest. And to match the energy of her thumping heartbeat, the rest of her muscles appeared to be suffering from an electric current running through them.

'Pull yourself together Twilight.' She thought, engaging in Cadance's breathing techniques. 'This isn't the time to lose your cool. Sunset needs this.'

"Now..." Celestia started. "To begin, we should discuss how we are going to physically aid the Griffon kingdom."

"What do you have in mind?" Twilight asked, her breathing continuing to calm her nerves.

One of the many small cakes on the table was surrounded in a yellow glow as it flew over to the plate in front of Celestia. "I can be sure that we will be sending ponies over to the Griffon Kingdom. Soldiers, Senators, ponies that can help the current state of the Kingdom. However, we need to make sure that we don't inadvertently send a large militarised force that runs the risk of scaring the Griffon population into hostility, nor should we just send a large number of our people into possibly dangerous territory with a lack of security defending them."

"Do you intend on having any of the Equestrian Princesses going to the Griffon kingdom?" 

"Possibly, but after what happened the last time we went there, I'm thinking that it may be a while before any Equestrian royalty sets foot on Griffon soil."

"But if the insurgents have been dealt with, why do we still need to worry? Shouldn't the tensions have died down?"

Celestia smiled in amusement, taking a bite of her cake.. "Your optimistic thinking is admirable Twilight, but you must make sure that it does not evolve into naivety. Even with Princess Geràki and her own insurgents in captivity, its doubtful that there aren't any other rebellions active in the Griffon Kingdom at the moment. Even then, many innocents have lost much in the past few days. They will be hateful towards their new ruler, along with many others amongst royalty and their fellow citizens alike."

"Oh..." It was a hard enough time thinking about what the people of the Griffon Kingdom had to go through in the past couple of days, but to think that they were to go on hating each other was making it a lot harder for her to keep calm. "I see... "

Celestia swallowed a second bite of cake. "That is another issue that has to be addressed. The Griffon Kingdom may not be a part of our territory, but as guardians of harmony it is nothing less than our duty to ease the tensions amongst them. Not only must we send physical aid, but we must also make sure that the Griffons don't start making enemies of each other."

"That sounds like the kind of thing me and my friends can get to fixing." Twilight brought up, thinking of how many lives they had changed with their actions.

Celestia nodded, but there was a look in her eyes as if she wasn't very sure. "I agree, but that brings us back to the problem of sending Princesses over their borders, and the security issue that comes with it."

Twilight pondered on the issue, looking back on her own trip to the Griffon Kingdom. The troop of Guards accompanying her had barely been enough to hold back an attack party of around forty Griffons. She certainly hadn't noticed anyone looking intimidated or hostile towards them, but she might have been too distracted by the suffering she was seeing at the time to acknowledge any of it that might have been present.

"I wouldn't call myself an expert on this subject, but maybe a troop of about a hundred Guards would do?" Twilight suggested.

"That's certainly a possibility, but still... even that number could be enough to concern the Griffons."

Twilight continued thinking about the situation she had been in, trying to compare the ability of her Guards in comparison to the attacking rebels. She would wager that on average, a single Pony had managed to defeat five Griffons by the end. But at the same time, some of her Guards had been injured before they had even fought a single Griffon. And then there was Flash. In comparison to the others, Flash must have taken twice, if not three times as many Griffons. He moved so fast and hit so hard he could probably have made up for a whole squad. It was no wonder he held the rank of captain...

There was an idea.

"If we're looking for strength, but a lack of numbers, maybe what we need to do is put together a group of higher ranking soldiers. Or at least... soldiers with a lot of experience and decorations. Soldiers that are skilled enough to protect a Princess or two without requiring large numbers."

Celestia nodded slightly. "That sounds like a step in the right direction, though it isn't a perfect plan. Even the wisest and most powerful soldiers can be helpless against a stealthy foe. I'll consult the commanders in our military,and your suggestions will be put into account."

"So what about the possibility of me and my friends going over to the Griffon Kingdom?"

The cake that was once on Celestia plate had been replaced by three buttered crackers, which the white alicorn was currently munching through. "It shouldn't be a problem if we manage to set up a good security force. Now, you and the other five have certainly succeeded in seemingly impossible tasks, especially those that involved restoring harmony between people. Even so, I'm not sure if you could manage something on the scale of the Griffon Kingdom, especially since these events were so recent."

"I'm sure we can do it. The six of us..." Twilight then realised that there was an opening here. "Actually, maybe we could use some help."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

'Okay... here it is...' 

"Well..." Twilight started "I was wondering..."

"You wish to organise a reunion between Sunset Shimmer and I."

This sudden remark left Twilight temporarily speechless. "W... What..."

"Twilight, I have have lived over the lifetimes of countless ponies before you." Celestia explained. "Its not difficult for me to see something like this coming, especially when the plan being executed is immediate."

The lavender alicorn realized that her jaw was currently hanging slightly open. Even after she shut it closed again, she knew that it had to be blatantly obvious that she was both shocked and incredibly nervous. She then took notice of the fact that she was both shaking and breathing rapidly.

Not only was the jig up, but she was clearly going to break down in seconds. The only option left was to calmly settle the matter out.

"IMSOSORRYISHOULDNTHAVEMEDDLEDWITHYOURPERSONALLIFEPLEASEDONTSENDUSTOTARTARUSILLNEVERDOITAGAIN!" Twilight exclaimed, putting her hooves together in a pleading position.

For the next couple of seconds, Twilight remained in this position, unable to muster the strength and courage to look upon her clearly outraged and dissapointed teacher and maternal figure.

That was until she heard the chuckling.

Looking up, her eyes confirmed Celestia was indeed laughing. It wasn't exactly hysterical laughter, but it was enough to show that she found amusement in the situation.

"Um..." At the current moment Twilight was nothing if not confused. "Shouldn't you be... I don't know... raining heavens wrath upon me or something?"

Celestia let out her last few chuckles before smiling softly. "Don't think so extreme, Twilight Sparkle. I know you well enough to understand that this was inevitable."

"So you're okay with it?" Twilight asked, her voice still showing confusion but now with a hint of a sort of hope.

"I hold nothing against you particularly." Celestia insisted, her expression becoming more serious afterwards. "However, I am still not comfortable with the thought of facing Sunset, not now at least."

Before Twilight had a chance to respond in any way, a third voice hit the dining room.

"That makes two of us."

The two alicorns looked away from the table and towards the doorway, where they found Sunset standing. Two seconds later, Spike appeared from behind her.

"I'm sorry Twilight, I tried telling her to stick to the plan, but she came here anyway!" He apologized.

Celesia's deduction and breaking down of the plan, along with Sunset's sudden appearance was causing the organizer in Twilight to have a mental breakdown. Despite this, she kept a calm demeanor. Or at the very least a sane demeanor.

"Its fine Spike, nothing here is your fault." She told him.

"Yeah, I think the plan went out the window anyway." Sunset commented, her eyes locked on Celestia.

Twilight looked to the face of Princess Celestia, a mentor and mother figure to her, then to the face of Sunset Shimmer, the first person she could ever say she was in love with. They were two ponies she knew so well, yet she was currently finding it impossible to read either of their faces, especially with Sunset standing a few meters away. They were both so stoic, but at the same time there were signs of various emotions as well. It was like a complex mathematical equation of feelings on their faces that she just couldn't solve.

For what felt like countless minutes there was a passive silence between the four. It was so quiet that one could practically hear the tension in the air.

"I'm... just gonna go... brush some... bananas... " Spike stated, scurrying off.

'Don't just abandon me here!' Twilight mentally screamed at him. Now, he didn't really have a reason to be present during this, but his presence was certainly comforting, especially since she still had to make sure everything went smoothly by herself.

Looking at it in person, the situation seemed even weirder than she imagined. For Sunset, the person she was meeting was nothing more than her teacher and mother figure, unaware that this was her actual mother. For Celestia, and even Twilight in a way, there was a lot more going on than there was to Sunset. And then there was the  added layer of the fact that Celestia was unaware of the fact that Twilight was aware of the fact that Sunset was Celestia's daughter. Fact.

Looking at everything now, maybe it would have been better if Luna had just kept her mouth shut on this secret, then this little web of dishonesty wouldn't be nibbling into Twilight's soul.

"Hello Sunset Shimmer." Celestia finally spoke, her voice as hard to read as her face.

"Hi." Sunset said back in a similar tone, though there was something a little... different in her voice.

'Well this is an... okay start.' Twilight thought, then realizing that Sunset was still standing in the doorway. "Sunset, why don't you have a seat over here."

Sunset looked at her, seemingly like she had just discovered her presence, before nodding and walking over to the table. Twilight was then struck by the question of where Sunset would sit, but before she could say anything Sunset was already sitting on the seat next to her left side. This made sense since Sunset and Celestia probably wouldn't feel comfortable sitting next to each other, but it also left Twilight sitting right in the middle of the two, a spot she was finding unspeakably uncomfortable.

"So... anything you want to eat, Sunset?" Twilight asked in a shaky voice.

"I think I'll help myself, thanks." Sunset responded politely, yet in a voice that sounded on some level of upset.

"Its certainly been a long time, Sunset." Celestia stated.

"Don't give me that." Said Sunset, her voice as stoic as before, but that other little something else in her voice more prominent. "Compared to how long you've lived its probably been no time at all. Come to think of it, it hasn't even been that long for me either."

"I see the intellectual part of you hasn't changed." Celestia responded. "That was certainly something I was expecting."

"So you're going to stick with this idea that I'm no different than I was back then?"

"You're the one who just said that it hasn't really been that long, so why should I expect any different?"

During the next period of silence that followed, Twilight looked at Sunset, whose eyes were closed as she breathed heavily through her nostrils. Twilight was afraid that Celestia was still unconvinced that Sunset had changed while at the same time it looked like Sunset was starting to get angry.

'At this rate they'll be at each others throats in seconds. What do I do?!'

Twilight began to nervously speak. "Maybe we..." She then cut herself off at the sight of Sunset opening her eyes...

Which were now much redder.

"You really want to see evidence that I've changed?" Said Sunset, her voice cracking while light reflected off her watering eyes. "That I've learned my lesson? How about the fact that your disappointed voice has haunted me since the day I left. How about the countless nights I've stayed up thinking about what I've done. How about the pain I've gone through, the tears I've shed, because I let this happen to us, and I've wanted nothing more than to fix all that I've done since Twilight showed me how wrong I was about everything!"

By the end of her speech she was almost screaming, and it was certainly enough to surprise, if not shock Twilight. Looking at Celestia, it was clear to see that her reaction was the same. Evidently the only two outcomes of Sunset's emotional outburst would be that Celestia would either understand what Sunset had been through after seeing this sudden release of emotion, or she would have the opposite reaction and do who knows what to her. And if this and everything else wasn't already pushing Twilight to the breaking point, there was something else.

'It doesn't look like Sunset will be able to hold back her other side, if it isn't already breaking out.'

But if there was anything that Twilight could do to help her with it, she couldn't do it at the moment. Not with Celestia present. The last thing they needed now was for Celestia to learn about what had happened to Sunset's mind.

As for Celestia she was currently looking at Sunset with a surprised look. But aside from the fact that her gaze was strictly locked on her daughter, it was still difficult to tell how she was feeling or thinking. There were just confusing hints of all kinds of emotions like sadness, rage, disgust or...

She then sat herself up straight, lost the emotions in her eyes, and looked at Sunset in a way that projected control and regality.

"Sunset..." She began to say calmly. "Of all the ways I imagined a reunion between us, this is... not what I was expecting. I now realize that I let my emotions get in the way of myself being open minded, and for that I am sorry."

Some of the sadness that Sunset had been expressing was replaced with confusion.

"However, there is still a lot more that I will have to see before I can trust you again. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to hear more from you. But first..." She then looked at Twilight, which caused the younger princess to jump as the attention suddenly shifted to her. "I've now realize that Twilight has been watching us this whole time, likely stressing over the desire to make sure everything goes smoothly between us, and it looks like its putting a strain on her."

Twilight was surprised that the subject had suddenly changed from Sunset and Celestia's reunion to her own current feelings. Ironically this just made her feel worse.

"I'm fine... really..." She lied, her heartbeat and breathing going into overdrive. "I don't want to bother you two."

She looked at Sunset, who was now looking back at her.

"Twilight... I... I didn't realize..." She said, her expression of sadness and regret now directed towards her instead.

"I think its obvious that we haven't been considering her feelings at the current time." Celestia explained to Sunset, before smiling at Twilight kindly. "I appreciate your concern for both of us, but I think you've done all you needed to do. You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"I don't?"

Sunset closed her eyes again, shook her head slightly, and looked at Twilight with a new look of confidence. "Shes right Twilight. I should have taken your feelings into account. You don't have to be here for me anymore."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked, worried of what could happen if she left her alone. "But..."

Sunset smiled at her. "I'll be fine, Twilight."

Twilight turned to Celestia. "So I can go?"

She nodded endearingly.

"Thank you." Twilight quietly said to both of them. 

She then fainted on the spot.


***


The first thing Twilight noticed when she began to stir was the familiar feeling of being in her bed. Opening her eyes, she found that was exactly where she was. Turning her head to the left, she then found that there was a chair placed next to the bed. One that Sunset was sitting on.

There was a smile on her face. It was a small smile, but it portrayed indescribable affection.

"Hey."

"Hey." Twilight quietly said back.

Sunset's horn glowed for a few seconds as she magically shifted her chair closer.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Tired I guess. A little dizzy." Despite having woken up by herself, she felt like immediately going back to sleep.

"Well, that's what happens when you stress yourself out too much." Sunset told her. "But what else was I to expect from the princess of overreacting."

"Hey..." Twilight protested weakly. "I was just worried for you. Both of you."

Sunset took one of Twilight's hooves in both of hers. "And I appreciate it. All of it. But you do really need to work on the whole keeping calm thing."

"Why would I? I have you to do that for me."

Sunset let out a giggle. It was the kind of laughter someone makes that just fills the hearts of those who care about them with burning electricity, in all the best ways.

"So what happened exactly?" Twilight wondered.

Sunset's face became very neutral. "Well... after you... passed out, I got over my shock from it, and we put you to bed... surprisingly... not much. In the end all that really happened was that she asked a lot of questions regarding my newer life."

This had to be harshly processed in Twilight's mind. "That's it?"

"Pretty much. Once I explained everything to her she told me that it was time she went back to Canterlot. Then she said that she looked forward to speaking to me again."

That was really it? No long emotional speeches about how much they missed each other shared? Or violent magical battles that left half the castle in ruins.

"That sounds... really underwhelming." Twilight admitted.

"I'd imagine it does in context, but honestly... I think after what happened and how long its been, nothing could have been underwhelming for me." Sunset told her. "I think my little... outburst made that clear."

Twilight remembered the moment when Sunset's emotions had overflowed, and the concern it made her feel.

"Was that just you... or..."

Sunset's eyes squinted shut. "Both of me."

"Are you okay?"

The closed eyes opened again. "Right now? Yeah. What worries me is what this could do to me and Celestia. To me and everyone really. I've worked so hard to fix my relationships with them all, I don't want lose them again."

Twilight wanted to comfort Sunset with a pat or a hug or something like that, but the strength to do so was hard to muster with how tired she was. All she could do was passionately squeeze Sunset's hooves with her own.

"Sunset, I promise I'll find a way to fix this. I'm not going to let your mistakes ruin your life." Twilight assured her.

A little smile formed on Sunset's face. "You just don't stop trying to help your friends do you?"

"You're more than my friend Sunset."

The little smile on Sunset's face expanded into a larger, more loving one. And Twilight smiled back. For whatever period of time lost in the vortex of love, they just smiled at each other. Somehow, despite what little was going on, there was something incredible about it that seemed to bypass space and time. 

But no matter how wonderful a moment could be for them, it didn't stop the sigh that inevitably escaped Sunset's mouth. "Its getting late. I should get going."

To say that this made Twilight feel sad was an understatement was in fact its own understatement. But that didn't change the fact that Sunset had a life in the human world. One that clashed with her one in Equestria. And this was to be accepted.

"Should I see you off?" Twilight asked, not exactly wanting to get out of bed though she wanted to be there for Sunset.

"I'm fine. I know how the portal works." Sunset responded kindly. "I can get myself home on my own."

Leaning over, she brought her lips over to meet Twilight's with a kiss. Like the moment they spent smiling at each other, it seemed to last a lot longer than it really could have.

"I love you Twilight." Sunset said once their lips separated.

"And I love you." Twilight whispered back to her.

Sunset then got off her chair before walking over to the door. Taking one last affectionate glance at Twilight, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

There was nothing left to fill Sunset's absence but the empty silence and the darkening light coming through the window. With the tire that Twilight felt overtaking her entire body and mind, she lay against the soft mattress and pillow beneath her and closed her eyes.

'Let Sunset find peace. Please.'

It wasn't long before the Princess found her own peace in the depths of sleep.