Wherever You Find Love

by EchoWing


Epilogue - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

“So, did you have fun?”

A familiar laugh sounded from the other end of the line. :“Yeah, even if I didn’t do too much skiing. Still, Basey had a blast, and no one broke a leg, so I think things went okay.”: His tone shifted as he added, :“Still not sure if it’s a good thing that we didn’t have wi-fi.”:

Sunset smiled reassuringly. “The whole storm around Anon-A-Miss blew past you without you knowing it. Trust me, you’re lucky.”

:“Yeah, but I didn’t enjoy being confused when Cherry gave me that big apology once I got back. Small comfort her being my neighbor.”: She could easily imagine Flash Sentry’s worried look as he asked over the phone, :“Are you sure you’re okay?”:

A sigh. “I will be. But don’t be too hard on the girls once school starts up again, huh?”

:“I’ll try. I mean, I’m glad they all apologized, and I think it’s good that you forgave them, but…”: A pause, and Flash continued, :“If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that you don’t hurt the ones you love.”: A small laugh, and he added, :“Still, all’s well that ends well, right? Hopefully, tomorrow will see things change for the better. Happy New Year, Sunset.”:

“Same to you, Flash. See you when I see you.” The call ended, and Sunset checked the time and date again; six thirty, New Year’s Eve. And she was spending it alone, just as she had the last two that she’d spent in this world. This year, she’d had the option, but after spending several days with her friends after Christmas, well, a little time to herself would be a good thing.

A gentle knock at her door broke her out of her reverie, and Sunset rose from her chair and swiftly answered it. She looked upon her guests in surprise. “Hello. What are you doing here?”

Principal Celestia smiled. “We didn’t see much sense in letting you bring in the new year alone. May we come in?”

Vice Principal Luna held aloft a bottle and assured her, “We do not come alone.”

The fire-haired girl smiled. “No, you don’t. Come on in.” They entered, and she closed the door behind them as she remarked, “It wouldn’t be smart for me to try and stop you anyway. You both have a key. So, you planning on staying the night?”

“Unless you’ve been renting out those two bedrooms upstairs or want us to get tickets for DUI, yes.”

Sunset laughed. “Well, I was about to start on dinner. Shouldn’t be a problem to make extra.”

-

With a small mass of spaghetti wrapped about her fork, Celestia raised her food to her mouth and ate. She chewed and smiled with approval, then swallowed and noted, “I probably should have taken you up on that offer a while ago, Sunset. This is very good.”

“Thanks, but I still haven’t quite gotten my mother’s recipe down.”

“Are you certain it’s the recipe and not your tastebuds?”

Sunset shook her head at Luna’s suggestion. “Everything else I’ve eaten here and in Equestria tasted the same, which means I either don’t have the recipe right, or my perception’s altered by nostalgia. Still, at least all my attempts so far have been edible.”

“That’s something, at least.” The vice principal set her utensils down and steadied herself as she asked, “Forgive me, I know you’ll be sick of hearing this soon, but are you alright?”

“I am, yes. And I’m really looking forward to putting all of this Anon-A-Miss mess behind me.” She sighed and looked to Celestia as she realized, “But something tells me it won’t be that easy, will it?”

What pleasure from the food faded from her face as the elder of the two sisters addressed her. “You almost took your own life, Sunset. Even if I wasn’t your legal guardian, or didn’t know about your origins, I’d have to do something about that.”

The teen nodded. “I thought so.” She gently pushed her plate forward and explained, “Things haven’t been the best for me since the Fall Formal, but they’re a lot better than they could have been, thanks to the two of you and my friends. You could have tossed me aside and left me to fend for my own, but you didn’t, and I’m grateful for that.”

“However?”

A sigh. “But everything that happened? That just tells me I still have a ways to go.” Some bitterness was clear in her voice as she closed her eyes and continued, “I thought they trusted me. I mean, more than they did. I understand why they acted the way they did, that’s why I forgave them, but still, it hurt the way they acted.” She opened her eyes and eyed her reflection in the silverware. “I still see it sometimes, if I’m not careful. The monster that I turned myself into. It’ll be a long time before they don’t see it, and even longer before I don’t see it either.” Sunset heard Celestia push her chair back, and shortly afterwards felt the older woman’s arms wrapped around her in a gentle hug. “Don’t you think this is a little improper?”

“There’s nothing improper about providing comfort to someone who needs it.”

Sunset looked up to find her principal looking upon her with a smile, not unlike those she’d received from Princess Celestia over the course of her studies. She smiled back and held a hand up to the principals’. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Celestia released her embrace and noted, “Sunset, I think you know as well as anyone that trust is something that takes time to build. As understandable as their mistake was, it was still a mistake on the part of your friends to think you were behind Anon-A-Miss. They won’t forget it anytime soon. That they realized their mistake and came to find you, however, says a great deal.”

“And something else that says a great deal is the fact that you forgave them. You could have just as easily yelled at them or cast them aside, just as they had done to you.” Luna gained a proud smile of her own as she added, “That speaks of much maturity for one your age.”

A shrug. “Well, what good would more anger do? Besides, I could tell they regretted what happened.” A half-smile. “I developed something of a knack for reading others after I arrived here. That hasn’t really left me.”

“Regardless, that doesn’t make us any less proud of you.” Celestia shared a smile with her charge, though it turned sad as she admitted, “However, as much as I want to put the matter behind me, I can’t do it either. Sometime during the first week of the next semester, I want you to talk with a professional about this.”

Sunset looked at her as though she’d just grown a duck’s bill on her face. “Wait, you want me to see a therapist over this? I’m sorry, I know that’s probably policy for something like this, but don’t you think that might be a bad idea?” As Celestia regained her seat, she continued, “I mean, any shrink worth their degree’s going to be able to tell that I’m not being completely truthful about what I’m saying, and if I give them the whole truth, well, they’d think I was really crazy.”

“That depends entirely upon the shrink, doesn’t it?”

Sunset couldn’t help but notice the conspiratorial grin that had been shared between the two sisters, and she laughed and shook her head in defeat. “Alright. The two of you have trusted me since the Fall Formal, and I’ve trusted you. No reason to stop.” She turned to Celestia and noted, “But the less I get of this cryptic mentor stuff, the better. You don’t have to be exactly like your counterpart.”

“And it’s probably just as well that I’m not. Running a school is enough trouble for me, thank you. I’d rather not run a nation.” She turned somber as she noted, “And that’s ignoring all the loss she’s known.” The elder woman looked to Sunset and noted, “Do you know how tempted I was to outright adopt you after the Fall Formal?”

Sunset looked upon her in surprise. “Really? What stopped you?”

“The need to keep you out of anyone’s attention as much as possible, given your counterpart’s existence.” Celestia gestured about her at the apartment and noted, “I thought of this as a good compromise; you’d still have some freedom, and I’d still be able to check on you when needed. But perhaps, if I had…”

“Celestia? It’s alright.” Sunset smiled and assured her, “I’m touched that you’d consider going so far as to take me in and call me your daughter, but I’m okay that you didn’t. It would have been kinda weird anyway, considering I’m a full-grown adult back home. I’m glad for my space, my independence, and for the trust you had in me to look after myself.” A shrug, and she noted, “Cloned phone notwithstanding.”

“Trust but verify, Sunset. But it’s just as well that she didn’t take you in with us, given she would have smothered and spoiled you with affection.” At her sister’s glare, Luna grinned and noted, “What? You would have done it, Celie.”

“Still, you didn’t have to just bring it up so casually.” Luna teasingly stuck her tongue out in reply, and Celestia sighed before turning to Sunset and explaining, “Unlike your Celestia, I never really got a chance to be a mother. No marriages arranged for the sake of political convenience for me, thankfully, but the one time that I thought it would work out, well, it didn’t.” A smile graced her face. “Still, that doesn’t stop me from being proud of the progress you’ve made, and from looking forward to what’s to come.”

Sunset smiled. “Thanks. And thank you, for trusting me with that. I’m sure you would have been a great mother.”

Celestia sighed. “Perhaps.” She shook her head and noted, “Anyway, back to what we were talking about. None of us want a second Anon-A-Miss incident. If you have ideas, I won’t object to listening to them.”

The young teen grinned as she went back to her meal. “As a matter of fact, I did talk a little about that with the girls. They think my ideas are sound. Hopefully, you’ll agree.”

Luna smiled as she went back to her own meal. “We’re all ears, Sunset.”

The three continued to talk over dinner, and Sunset found herself glad not only for the company, but for the continuing chance to move forward. She had love and support, from her friends and her family. It had been shaken, yes, but it would only grow stronger from here. A new year meant a new beginning, and maybe a chance to show that her past was not all there was to her.

And she couldn’t wait for it to start.