//------------------------------// // A dream in Canterlot // Story: Kingdom of Harmony // by Stegi //------------------------------// The carriage with Princess Luna and Sunset Shimmer arrived at Canterlot Castle. It was a rough flight. The wind seemed to get stronger the longer the journey lasted. Sunset Shimmer was not afraid of flying however this trip had her on the edge. It was indeed a bumpy ride. “Quick, let us go inside. I will talk to the guards if there is any news on Princess Twilight” Luna said. Both ponies went inside. Canterlot Castle was as beautiful as Sunset Shimmer remembered. The decoration on the walls, the story telling art crafted stained glass windows, and the checkered floor partially covered by red carpet. A chill went through the yellow Unicorns body. She felt ashamed and sad for leaving so many moons ago, on not so good terms. Sunset knew she had to make things right with Princess Celestia. However, her priority was to find her friend Twilight Sparkle. “Wait here. I will talk to the royal guard.” the Alicorn said. Luna went to Celestia's Royal Guard. Two white Pegasus ponies where guarding the throne room. They bowed down to the Princess of Night as she approached. “Princess Luna” the high ranking guard addressed the dark pony. The white ponies in their gold metal uniform seemed nervous. “Royal guard ponies. Is there any word on Princess Twilight?” Luna asked. “No Princess. There is no word on Princess Twilight or Princess Celestia.” the high ranking guard replied. “My sister has not returned?” the Alicorn was confused. “It is unlike my sister to stay away from Canterlot without letting me know.” she added. “She was heading south following a lead. She was accompanied by four of our best guard ponies.” the lower ranking guard pony said. “Thank you, I will take it from here.” Luna turned around and went back to Sunset Shimmer. “Sunset Shimmer, we have much to discuss. Come follow me.” requested the dark pony. Both ponies walked down a long hallway. The light was dimmer here as in the main hall. Sunset felt the full force of the darkness and exhaustion, she was tired. They must have passed four or five doors before they stopped at their final destination. “Do you remember this place?” Luna asked. The Unicorn was worn out. It had been ages since she was here. Sunset had a hard time remembering. “I’m not sure Princess. It’s been a long time.” Sunset replied. “This is your old suite, the one you stayed in while you were my sister’s student.” the dark pony explained. “Oh.” the Unicorn was too tired to comprehend. Princess Luna opened the door and both entered the room. “I will leave you to it Sunset Shimmer.” the Princess turned away and left. “Thank you!” Sunset yelled after her but Luna was gone. The Unicorn dropped her bag on the floor unopened. Her curiosity was overcome by exhaustion. She used her horn to close the door and climbed with her front hooves onto the bed. She was so tired she didn’t even cover herself with a blanket. It only took a few seconds and Sunset was asleep. Teenagers were running across the hallway at Canterlot High. Loud noises echoed from all sides as Sunset Shimmer made her way through. “Hi Sunset.” she heard from the left, then from the right. “Hey Sunset.” “How are you doing Sunset?” her face started to light up with a smile. She was recognized, liked, even loved by some of the students. It was a very different feeling from what she experienced when her dark side reigned at this school. “Sunset Shimmer, over here!” a loud high pitched voice yelled. It was Pinkie Pie , sitting with her good friends on a table in the school’s cafeteria. A feeling of happiness brightened her mood when Sunset saw all of the girls together. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Apple Jack, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle waved her to their table. “I missed you guys so much!” Sunset said when she arrived at the table. “We missed you too.” Rainbow Dash replied with her scratchy voice. Rarity pointed at an empty chair right next to her. Sunset took the invitation and sat down. “How was your visit to Equestria?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “It was… I don’t remember. Hm. How odd.” she replied. But before Sunset had a chance to think about it she was interrupted by the intercom. “Sunset Shimmer, please go to the Vice Principal Luna’s Office”. “Looks like I have an appointment. I'll see you girls later?” Sunset seemed surprised. “Ya, we’ll be here Sugarcube.” Apple Jack replied and the other five girls nodded. Sunset Shimmer got up from her chair and headed to the Vice Principal’s office. It felt like she was just walking a few seconds but the way from the cafeteria to Luna’s office is pretty far since it’s located on the other side of the building. It usually takes a few minutes. Something just did not feel right. Sunset knocked on the Vice Principals door. “Come in.” the girl heard a voice and entered the room. It was dark in Luna’s office, blinds covered the windows and only a dim light made it possible to see. The Vice Principal sat behind her desk, her attention focused on a book. “You called for me Vice Principal Luna?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “Yes Sunset Shimmer. Please take a seat.” Luna replied. “Do you know where you are?” the Vice Principal asked. “Uhm. Yeah. I’m at Canterlot High.” the girl replied. “Are you sure?” Luna stared into her eyes. Something seemed off. Sunset saw the Vice Principals eyes come closer and closer. The room suddenly started to spin. Everything was moving around her. She felt dizzy her eyes started to spin too. Everything was moving the chairs, books, the desk, windows, and even the floor. She realized what she saw was in the reflection of Luna’s eyes. Sunset shook her head and closed her a eyes for just a second. “And what about now?” asked the Vice Principal. Sunset Shimmer looked around. Red carpet, banner hanging from the sealing and the walls, windows crafted in stained glass. She was in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. Vice Principal Luna was standing in front of her. That didn’t make any sense. “I must be dreaming” Sunset said. “Indeed you are, Sunset Shimmer.” the Vice Principal replied. A light blue glow surrounded her, Lunas shape was changing. The human transformed into an Alicorn pony. “Princess Luna.” Sunset Shimmer was confused. She took a look at herself and realized she wasn’t a human girl anymore but a yellow Unicorn. “I told you we had much to discuss, but I also realized how tired you were. So I chose to talk with you in your dream.” Luna said. “I’m dreaming, I get that, but how do you expect me to remember anything when I wake up?” Sunset asked. “I can let you remember everything or forget everything all together as I did in your past.” the Princess replied with a very sad face. “What do you mean in my past?” the yellow Unicorn got curious. “Many moons ago, when I was Nightmare Moon and you a student of my sister, I turned you cruel and impatient. My power was growing so close to the end of the thousand year cycle. I wanted to take revenge on my dear sister and the only way I was able to do so was in your dreams. I used your dreams to turn you against my sister. After every dream I made you forget about the dream, slowly changing you one step at a time. Finally you ran off into the other realm.” “Somehow my sister found out it was me, though there wasn’t anything she could do for you. However, she protected her next student Twilight Sparkle using a spell.” while Princess Luna explained she projected all she said in picture with a projection from her horn. To Sunset it was like a movie where she played a lead role. She began to understand. “You made me steal Twilights crown. I remember now. I dreamed of every little detail, where to be, what to do, and how to escape. I remember even dreaming how I could rule Equestria with this crown.” Sunset said. “Yes Sunset Shimmer. I made you steal the crown. It was not Nightmare Moon. Once I realized how much damage I had done to you, I knew I could not just simply change you back to the Sunset Shimmer you used to be. So I had to think of some way to get rid of the bad seeds I had planted in you.” Luna replied. “It was ultimately Twilight Sparkle and her friends who freed me from being Nightmare Moon. Though I wasn’t sure how exactly to do that for you, I started to observe your dreams and kept an eye on Twilight and her friends. It wasn’t until Twilight transformed into an Alicorn and became a Princess that I was inspired enough to create a plan.” she added. “I knew Twilight was special, but I had no idea how special and what all she had accomplished here in Equestria.” the Unicorn seemed surprised. Princess Twilight and she had talked a lot about Equestria when they were in the human world, but she never talked much about herself and what she did. “She is not the only special one Sunset Shimmer. You are special too and my sister saw that very early on. I have seen how you transformed and tapped into the magic of friendship. But the magic of friendship wasn't responsible for your transformation. I’m not quite sure yet but I think it has something to do with your cutie mark.” the Alicorn implied. “My cutie mark? I never could figure out what it meant. Even Princess Celestia wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me. She said it would reveal itself in time.” Sunset said. “My sister might be able to help solve this puzzle but she is missing too.” Luna said. She looked worried something the yellow Unicorn had not seen from her Princess yet. Actually the dark Alicorn didn’t easily get worked up. Luna had a strong and persuasive appearance, you wouldn't want to get on her bad side. “Princess Celestia is missing?” Sunset asked, worried. “My sister was following a lead deep to the south. She has not returned yet. I’m not sure what happened.” the Princess answered. “I will have to rely on you Sunset Shimmer to find Princess Twilight and my sister. I will not be of much help, raising the moon is one thing but raising the sun in the morning will take everything I've got. I never had to perform this task before. It will be difficult to say the least.” the dark pony Princess seemed even more worried. “I will do whatever it takes to get them back Princess Luna. But I’m not sure if I can do it alone.” the Unicorn didn’t doubt her own abilities but she knew for the best results she has to get some help. “I think I know a group of ponies who are eager to help you with this task Sunset Shimmer.” the voice of Princess Luna got more and more quiet as she finished her sentence and slowly moved away. The Alicorn disappeared in the distance. Sunsets eyes opened after a long night of sleep. Daylight came in through a big glass window and brightened up the room. She remembered every little detail about last night's dream. Her feelings about it were mixed. Regardless of that, Luna had told her the truth and she had to deal with it now. She got out of bed, a little magical fix up and she looked a lot better than yesterday. Sunset's worries eased up a little knowing she would not be alone in the search of Princess Twilight. She walked down the long corridor to the main hall. She had to find Luna. In the main hall she encountered what seemed to be a large group of Royal Guard Ponies. One of them stood out. A white Unicorn colt with different shades of blue mane and geared with what looked like royal armor. He turned around and walked towards Sunset Shimmer. “You must be Sunset Shimmer. My name is Shining Armor, Prince of the Crystal Empire and brother of Princess Twilight. I’m glad you are up.” Shining Armor sounded very official. “Yes that’s me. Nice to meet you too, Twilights brother.” Sunset smiled. After a few seconds of silence passed. “I’m sorry, I meant nice to meet you Prince Shining Armor.” She added and bowed. “Shining Armor is just fine. I’m not that kind of Prince. Twilights friends are my friends too.” The colt smiled at her. “Is there any news on Twilight or Princess Celestia?” The yellow Unicorn was hoping for good news. “No, I’m afraid not. I have been on search parties since the day I learned she disappeared. The problem is, we don’t even know where she and Spike disappeared. She was here in Canterlot meeting with Celestia, Luna, and my mare Cadance. She was not seen again in Ponyville after the meeting. She could have made it back to her castle or not, we simply don’t know.” The Prince explained. “Wait. Exactly how long has she been missing?” Sunset asked. She remembered Pinkie Pie telling her she had been missing for days. “It has been eight days now.” Shining Armor replied. “Eight Days? I got Twilight's message for help yesterday.” The yellow pony said. “What did her message say?” the Prince asked. “She wrote one word. Help. I don’t even know how she did it since Celestia's Journal was still connected to the portal. I have to go back to Ponyville and take a closer look at Twilight's castle and the Journal. Things don’t add up here.” Sunset was determined to solve this case. “Princess Luna called the castle of limit cause she is worried that whatever happened might repeat itself.” Twilight’s brother added. “I know, she told me. But if we are to find out what happened we can’t leave any stone unturned.” The yellow unicorn replied. “No stone unturned? How is that going to help us?.” The Prince asked. “Hehe. It’s a human expression. It means we have to look at everything if we want to find out what happened.” Sunset grinned. “That makes sense.” Shining Armor understood now what she meant. “Do you know where Princess Luna is? I need to let her know that I’m going back to Ponyville to start my search for Princess Twilight and Celestia.” The yellow pony asked. “Princess Luna is resting in her Chambers. After she lowered the moon and raised the sun she was exhausted. I will let her Guard Ponies know to tell her when she wakes up. I have to go back to the Crystal Empire and check up on my pregnant mare. I’m sure Cadance is worried since I haven’t talked to her these past few days.” The Prince had a worrisome look on his face. “Then it is settled. I will grab my things and take the train back to Ponyville.” Sunset said. “You don’t have to take the train. I can provide you with a carriage and have some of Canterlot's Royal Guards fly you over there. It would be faster.” Shining Armor offered. “That won’t be necessary. I'd rather stay on the ground and in this cold I think prefer the train actually. It will give me some time to think things through.” She had a lot on her mind to go over. “Sunset Shimmer, it was good meeting you. I’m very pleased to see that my sister has so many good friends who care for her. I just hope we can find her as soon as possible. We planned to spend Heart’s Warming Eve together this year and it’s coming up in a few days. Please let me know if you find out anything.” The Prince looked sad. “Will do. It was good to meet you too, Twilights Brother.” Sunset smiled. The yellow Unicorn went back to the suite where she spent her night. On the floor was the bag she'd gotten from Rarity. Sunset took a long look around the room. It looked exactly the same as she had left it, like nobody had used the suite since she left. Memories over memories went through her head. Good ones, bad ones, happy and sad ones. Using her horn's magic, she lifted her bag up and left her room to walk to the train station.