Sunset woke up with a yawn, just before dawn. At least her internal clock was working fine. She looked at the purple alicorn next to her, pulling herself out from under twilight’s wing without disturbing her. She walked up to the balcony of her bedroom, there she could have wondered what to do, but she knew what to do.
She didn’t know if she was powerful enough for this, but she didn’t need to be, she would after all just be helping. She could feel magic, not the magic of harmony but her magic, the familiar yellow light coursing across her body and gathering at the top of her horn. Any use of magic was an investment of self, and powerful magic was thus a powerful extension of the self. She could feel the pride, and light, and fire that was her birthright as her magic mingled into the spell, as she withdrew from the spell one thought was burned into her mind ‘Morning my little sun’.
Sunset shimmer turned around to see Twilight Sparkle’s looked on at her in awe. “Did...you just raise the sun?”
“What?” Sunset shook her head. “No, I just helped a little. It felt right you know? Reminding myself I’m still me.”
“And to remind yourself that you are you, you decided to raise the sun.” Twilight facehooved.
“Yeaaahhhh.” Sunset responded.
“Do you have any idea how hard that spell is?” Twilight sighed.
“OH! OH! I get what you are getting at, I don’t use that spell.” Sunset turned around and waved her flank at twilight. “Cutie mark magic.”
“I…..have no retort to that one.” Twilight gave a shrug. “So morning Sunset, how’d you sleep?”
“Pretty well Twilight…..by the way Twilight….” The purple Alicorn raised her head to hear Sunset. Two pillows encased in a shimmering yellow aura slammed into the alicorn knocking her off the bed. “PILLOW ATTACK!”
“ACK!” The alicorn said falling off the bed before grabbing two pillows off it in her purple aura. “You think you can beat me?!” Twilight shouted from behind the bed as she chucked the pillows.
“I DO!” Sunset said wrestling the projectiles from Twilight’s aura and hurling them into the air before letting go to fall on her head.
A purple barrier was erected above the alicorns head. “HA! I Pillow spar with Rarity! You can’t beat Rarity at telekinesis not any day of the week!” She stated before grabbing all the pillows and hurling them around the room. “NOW DODGE THIS!”
“Don’t have to!” Sunset replied confidently.
“Wah?” And before Twilight could blink the yellow furred mare in her face holding up a single pillow. “Melee Combat? No Fair!” Wham, wham, wham Sunset slammed Twilight with the pillow. “Ok, Ok, I give.” Twilight collapsed panting.
Sunset dropped down next to her and looked at her hoof thoughtfully.
“So Sunset?”
“Yes Twilight?”
“I know you want to put the mistakes of your past behind you, but I don’t think you can avoid your past much, can you at least tell me something. What was it like that made you leave.” Twilight asked.
“Twilight I told you yesterday.” Sunset continued to stare at her hoof thoughtfully.
“You shouted really.” Twilight turned to look at Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset sighed. “Wouldn’t you rather we figure this out?”
“I’d love to figure that out Sunset, but you are just using that to distract me from what I asked I think.” Twilight rubbed her temple.
“Maybe.”
“Don’t Maybe me, You ARE! I know it’s painful, but It would help If you told me.” Twilight sighed at her friend’s obstinance.
“It’s not that it’s...painful.” Sunset let out the last word softly. “It’s just that it’s complicated. Hard to deal with, things I thought I’d put behind me being dragged up and shoved in my face.”
“Is it me?” Twilight asked herself as much as Sunset. “I Know you came back and I had everything you wanted-”
“Was groomed for.” Sunset responded flatly.
Twilight blinked. “What?”
“I’m her CHILD, Do you have any idea the amount of pressure I was under to grow a pair of wings? I was being trained my whole life for alicorn hood, it wasn’t something that maybe I might get if I was ready, it was something I was told I could obtain and was actively pushed to work towards.” As Sunset started to let it out it began to flow easily. “And for all her niceness about it, the pressure was still incredible.”
A young Sunset Shimmer sat at a balcony overlooking the schoolyard from Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. Celestia looked over the child fondly a smile on her face. The child however looked over the unicorns intently.
“What are you looking at my little sun?” Celestia of course knew exactly what sunset was looking at, she was watching the students use magic. Celestia had provided the young filly endless tomes and spellbooks, but she ignored those outside lessons. Again and again the young Sunset would come to the balcony, to watch the young unicorns.
“I’m watching what not to do.” Sunset stated confidently, as she watched the unicorns older than her attempt spells.
“Hmmmmm, what not to do?” Celestia asked inquisitively. “Those are very advanced Unicorns for their ages, most of them are learning spells adults will never learn.”
“That’s just it, they are learning spells.” Sunset nodded.
Celestia raised an eyebrow “Explain, I’m curious what is going through your mind.”
“When I create fire or light, use telekinesis, or help to raise the sun I don’t cast a spell. It works more intuitively like you explain how Earth Pony and Pegasus Pony magic works. What’s more you’ve stated that unification grants a form of ‘Alicorn Magic’, which I expect works most like Pegasus magic as it sits at the middle ground of Earth Pony or Unicorn Magic.” Sunset explained excitedly trying to impress her mother.
Celestia blinked for a moment in shock, then returned to her stoic smile. “That is very astute of you my little sun. Still you are a Unicorn, and use Unicorn magic, which as it happens it is time for your magic lessons.” Celestia turned around and walked out of the door.
Sunset sighed, she was certain she was correct, and the secret to Alicorn Magic was to turn away from the formulaic spells of Unicorns. Which is why they had been stumped by it for centuries, they didn’t want to think the other ponies were closer to how magic should be wielded.
Couldn’t mommy show just….a little pride in her? So she stealed herself, she would show her then, she gathered the magic not in her horn but around her, let it flow through her like when she conjured fire and blinked!....about six inches. She could have done better with a teleport spell, she bet mommy didn’t even notice, she sighed as she followed behind her mother to magic lessons.
“Sunset shimmer, this is Cadence. She just recently ascended, I was hoping you could be her magic tutor.”
Sunset glared at the pink alicorn, Sunset had worked her whole life to ascend, and this Cadence comes out of nowhere one day and she just expects to be let into the family.
“Sunset.” Celestia stated in her ‘I’m not mad i’m disappointed tone’. “I Know how disappointed you feel, but consider that you and her will both be ruling alongside each other for a very long time it’s important you get along.” Sunset sighed, Celestia was right, as always.
“Yes Mother. So how much do you know about Unicorn magic?” Sunset spoke with authority.
“Well I know it’s done through practice and study….” The pink alicorn spoke somewhat meekly.
“Right, throw that out.” Sunset stated plainly as cadence raised an eyebrow. “You’ll learn better if you treat Unicorn magic just like you treated your Pegasus magic, which will mean you won’t have to unlearn anything to use your Alicorn Magic.”
“Really?” Cadence asked incredulously.
“Sunset’s methods may be unorthodox Cadence, but I assure you, they work, and for a former Pegasus I would expect them to have the best results. Now I will leave you two girls to meet.” Celestia turned and left the two young mares together.
“I….don’t feel welcome.” Cadence sighed once Celestia left.
“Well, imagine if you wanted something all your life, have worked on it as hard as it could, and someone waltzed in and took it without even trying.” Sunset forced out.
“You know I have no intent to get between you and your mother right?” Cadence replied.
Sunset ignored the comment. “Do you want to start learning to channel weather manipulation through your horn or Unicorn magic?”
“You know that right?” Cadence stated again.
“Cadence, Let me be absolutely clear. You are an Alicorn, yes. A Princess, yes.” Sunset stated with no sentimentality. “You are fooling yourself if you think you have the slightest hope of ever really being part of her family. I am not remotely afraid of you coming between me and my mother. I just dislike that you bumbled your way into the horn and tiara.”
Cadence didn’t say anything and silence pervaded the room at the bluntness of the comment.
“Weather through horn or Unicorn magic?” Sunset repeated breaking the silence.
“Unicorn Magic.”
Sunset saw Cadence and Celestia walking, she was about to walk up and join them but stopped herself for some reason.
“When are you going to tell Sunset?” Cadence asked Celestia.
“When am I going to tell Sunset what?” Celestia responded.
“What you keep dangling in front of her, The secret to becoming an Alicorn.” Cadence sighed. “She keeps thinking all she has to do is understand Alicorn magic enough and it’ll come on it’s own.”
‘Secret? There was some secret? And...her moth….Celestia was holding out on her?’ Sunset started hyperventilating, she didn’t understand, why would Celestia do that? She listened closer.
“Because If I told her, she would go off on some fool’s errand to find it.” Celestia frowned. “And she would fail. Her talents simply make it Impossible.”
“THEN TELL HER THE TRUTH!” Cadence snapped.
Celestia’s frown deepened “I can’t do that, It would crush her. Some truths are too painful to share Cadence.”
Sunset bolted she didn’t care when she tripped over things, or that Celestia and Cadence must have heard her. She just ran to her room, and flung the doors open.
Tears streamed down Sunset’s face, her whole life had been a lie. She couldn’t be a real Princess, everything she had been groomed for, Celestia had been lying.
There was a knocking on her door. “GO AWAY!” Sunset shouted.
“It’s me, Cadence.” Replied the voice on the other side.
“You KNEW!” Sunset shouted.
“Yes...I Knew.” Cadence sounded defeated. “But it’s for Celestia to explain, not me. Can you at least accept I want her to?”
“I Guess.” Sunset mumbled out half heartedly.
“For what it’s worth….I’m sorry.” Cadence said.
For several minutes there was no sound except Sunset’s sobbing. “It’s not your fault.”
“What’s the point?” Sunset looked over the lessons, nothing had changed since the revelation. The exact same princess curriculum as before.
“What’s the point of what my little sun?” Celestia asked a smile on her face.
“What’s the point of continuing this farce, I can’t become an Alicorn. You know I overheard you and Cadence talking.” Sunset glared at Celestia.
Celestia walked over to her daughter and held her in her wings. “It is true that the method that Cadence used would not work for you, and that is why I have never told you how to achieve it.” She pushed sunset’s head under her own and nuzzled her. “But It was not my intention to rely on such a method for your ascension anyways. There are other methods, methods I can take a more direct hoof in, and when you are ready Sunset, I fully intend to ensure your ascension.”
“Then WHEN Will I be ready?” Sunset looked up at her mother.
“When you are ready my little sun.” Celestia sighed.
“How can I trust you? Are not some truths too painful to tell?” Sunset Looked at Celestia.
“Because I’m your mother, and I want you to be a Princess.” Celestia frowned. “And yes, there is a painful truth to my intended method, which I will tell you…”
“Let me guess, When I’m ready?” Sunset sighed.
“Yes, when you are ready.” Celestia's smile returned. “Shall we continue the lesson now?”
“Might as well.” Sunset pulled open the first book.
“WHEN DAMNIT!” Sunset hurled another book at Celestia which bounced off her shield. She didn’t expect it to do anything else but it felt good.
“We have gone over this Sunset, When you are ready.” Celestia replied yet again.
“When Am I going to be ready?!” She demanded again hurling more books.
“Not for awhile with an attitude like that.” Celestia responded in an annoyed tone, an equally annoyed look now plastered across her face.
“Why don’t I just leave and go find the secret, prove you wrong, prove I CAN do it that way.” Sunset decided she would chuck something a little more satisfying….a 20ft. ball of fire exploded on Celestia’s shield.
“You know what?” Celestia’s voice started to rise. “MAYBE YOU SHOULD! I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOU ANYMORE!”
“FINE THEN! I WILL!” Sunset said leaving the study, slamming the door behind her.
Sunset shimmer walked around the room grabbing her saddlebags, the ones she brought when she went out with Celestia, but this time she was going to go alone. She began to pack things up, slower than normal for an outing, despite the ostensibly longer length of this one. ‘But where to go?’ she wondered to herself.
As she was about to leave the room, she looked at the shared diary on her desk. She should just leave it, she was going to prove she didn’t need her mot….Celestia’s help. She stepped away for a moment then turned back and looked ‘What if I’m making a mistake.’ Sunset sighed, she really could get in over her head, ‘Well if she did she would get herself out, she was Sunset bucking Shimmer’. Sunset ran a hoof along the book, still there were other reasons to bring it.
Then a smile crossed her lips. She knew where to go, that portal Celestia kept in the archives. An entire world that Celestia didn’t know about, now that would be a place to learn. The book levitated in a yellow aura, and Sunset Shimmer headed for the archives.
“And well, when I had the good sense to jump back through the portal….” Sunset finished up her tale.
“It was too late?” Twilight said between sips of her drink.
“Yeah, it was too late. So I was stuck on the other side of the portal, and when I was able to use it again, it seemed like three years for me. So it seemed like you had been given everything in such a short time and I had been trivially replaced.” Sunset sighed.
Twilight considered for a long time while slowly sipping. “Well, it’s pretty clear I can never replace you Sunset. I just find it odd that Celestia & Cadance didn’t bring you up more.”
“Well you know, not wanting to make you feel inadequate.” Sunset giggled.
“Well when Celestia met me she called me the most talented Unicorn she’d ever met.” Twilight stuck her tongue out.
“Number one, Celestia is a known liar. Number two, more to being a princess than magic. Princess.” Sunset popped a sugar cube in her mouth.
Twilight took another sip of her drink. “Speaking of Princesshood, what was it to you anyways?”
Sunset tapped her hoof on her chin before replying. “Besides the whole Pride & Birthright thing? Power, I wanted the magic of being an Alicorn, and I wanted the respect and political power of being a Princess. They just happened to come as a package deal. Don’t really care now I guess.”
“Kinda ironic isn’t it?” Sunset raised an eyebrow at Twilight. “I mean, you not caring about the power of being an Alicorn anymore, and here you are with Rainbow power all the time.” Sunset said nothing. “When we had that power. Tirek had absorbed all the magic in equestria, even the Princesses, and we trivially vanquished him” Sunset started hyperventilating. “...and the tree was weak.” Twilight noticed finally. “SUNSET! Are you ok?”
“I have THAT kind of power?” Sunset screamed.
Twilight grabbed Sunset in a hug. “Calm, breathe, count to 10.”
Sunset continued shouting. “ANSWER ME!”
“Well we can’t be sure...but the only comparable example we have of your state did.” Twilight’s tone remained calm and focused. “Sunset you need to calm down.”
Sunset started to breathe and calm down. “Twilight, please let go, I need some time to think.”
“Then don’t go, think right here with me.” Twilight continued to remain surprisingly calm.
“Twilight, please.” Sunset begged.
“Alright, but please don’t do anything drastic. Ok?” Twilight lightened up on Sunset, who immediately erupted wings of fire and sped off. “Okkkk, Breathe Twilight, Calm, Count to 10.” Twilight immediately cracked. “Oh sweet Celestia! I lost Sunset, The Princess is gonna kill me!”
Sunset was flying, she wasn’t sure how, or why, she remembered being with Twilight. Then it struck her, why she was flying, what she just realized. “I can't possibly be...that.....powerful, can I?”
“Well yes and no, you aren’t, but the power is yours. But really is it that surprising?” A sing song voice asked.
“More powerful than Equestria combined?” Sunset replied to the voice.
“You were able to rebuild reality after it was torn apart at Canterlot High.” The voice’s tone cracked into playful laughter. “But only now do you begin to comprehend what you are capable of?”
Sunset snorted, her flaming wings flapping rapidly in agitation. “Well maybe I had more important things than contemplating my power. Who are you anyways?” The cloud bank around her dissipated, and there hovered a smiling pink furred Pegasus with a purple mane, her eyes closed. “YOU!” The Pegasus waved. “You….sent me here.”
The Pegasus shook her head. “I merely show you the path, it is you who followed the path.”
Sunset said nothing, lost in thought. The wind blew around them. Sunset continued to think, in the light playful music it didn’t quite fit the tone but silence would have been awkward. The pegasus began to stretch, revealing toned and practiced muscles. Finally after what seemed like an eternity Sunset spoke up.
“Where do I go from here?”
“I am not the one who answers that question.”