//------------------------------// // Sunset Shimmer: Forgotten - ultra1437 - March 14 to 21, 2015 // Story: The Sun and Stars: Lightning Round // by JKinsley //------------------------------// By Ultra1437 She walked despondently down the empty street. What city she was in wasn’t important. Neither were any of the houses or stores she trod past. All she saw was a broken-down town to match a broken-down mare. As she approached a half-destroyed fountain in the city’s square, she looked up to the moon. It hung almost limply in a corner of the sky, casting long shadows off the buildings. She sighed and sat down heavily next to the fountain. She eyed the ruins. “How long has this town been forgotten? Probably a lot longer than I have…” A flash of alabaster in the corner of her eye drew her attention to a particular building. Heaving herself to her hooves, she trudged over to where she’d sworn she saw the flash. Sitting against the building was a single feather. The mare’s horn lit, a bright cyan glow cast about her, and the feather lifted to her eyes. As her eyes widened, she dropped the feather against her yellow-orange hoof and nudged it with her nose. ‘It can’t be…’ The feather’s scent was faint, but unmistakable. It was ‘her’ scent, bringing memories back both good and bad. Fearfully, her ears pinned back against her head, against her red and yellow mane, and she dropped the feather and scampered away, back to the fountain. As she rounded to the fountain’s opposite side, a spot of lavender caught her vision much like the white feather had. She straightened up in fear, thinking, ‘I already found one of their feathers. What’s the chance that this is one of the other’s?’ Slowly, she made her way over to the spot of lavender. It wasn’t a whole feather, just a tip, but it was enough. The mare smelled this feather too, and recoiled worse. She veritably screamed and took off at a gallop, previous direction forgotten. At the edge of the town, she tripped before breaking down into uncontrollable despair where she lay. Princess Luna stood on a nearby hill overlooking the town. She could clearly see the mare, Sunset Shimmer, weeping fearfully where she’d fallen. ‘Is she truly so scared that even a hint of them sends her into a spiral of fear?’ As the mare’s sobbing died away, she made her move, teleporting. Luna materialized behind a building, away from Sunset’s line of sight. She was content merely to observe for now, but she did know something wasn’t right with her quarry. Usually Celestia’s previous students were ecstatic to see something that reminded them of her, not send them into a crying fit. As Luna crept closer, Sunset was speaking. Truthfully, she was moaning in despair, but quietly. “Please, just forget about me.” Sunset hiccuped. “I’m not worth worrying over. Just forget I even existed.” She sniffled this time. “It will be better for all if I just disappeared forever.” Luna was moved to action at these words. She softly strode up behind the crying mare and knelt down. She made her presence known when she wrapped a wing around Sunset. Sunset jumped and tried to pull away, but the wing only wrapped tighter. Sunset screamed, “No! Let me go!” “Calm yourself, Sunset Shimmer,” Luna instructed her simply. “You have nothing to fear from me.” Sunset struggled harder, forcing Luna to wrap a hoof around her and hold the mare against her chest. As the minutes passed, Sunset’s struggling slowed until she was reduced to panting for breath. Fearfully, she turned to face Luna. “W-Who are you?” she asked, noting that Luna was an alicorn. “Who I am is unimportant, Sunset Shimmer. I have watched you for some time now, and come to offer help.” The wing trapping Sunset lifted to wipe the tears from her eyes, and the hoof loosened its grip slightly. “You fear the Sun-Princess and her pupil, yes?” Sunset could only nod. “I ask you, why? Why are you so afraid of them? They are nothing if not benevolent. If you fear their wrath for some perceived slight or attack, then your fears are unfounded,” Luna winced at how she ended her statement. Sunset shook her head. “No! I… I just can’t face them!” Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away. Luna shook her head softly and the wing returned to clean Sunset’s eyes. As the mare calmed down, she looked into Luna’s eyes. There was no malice, no threat, only genuine care. “I-I’m afraid of them.” One of Luna’s ears perked upright. She said nothing, but tightened her grip slightly, leaning around the smaller mare just a bit. “I ran away from one, and nearly killed the other with my own hands.” Luna knew the stories from both parties well. She’d seen their occasional dreams, after all. “Now… now they want to speak with me. I…” Sunset started crying again. She spoke incoherently as she sobbed. Luna tightened her embrace, cooing softly. After another few minutes, Sunset calmed down some. Unprompted, she continued, “I know they just want to get rid of me! I’m nothing but a failure and a threat to them!” She hiccuped once more. “So, I’m just going to go away and stay away. Permanently.” The mare’s voice took on a steely edge that set off a few warning bells in Luna’s mind. “Sunset Shimmer. You are not, and never will be, a failure to Celestia.” Sunset winced at the name. “You are a strong pony who has made mistakes, yes, but these mistakes are not the kind that cannot be forgiven. I am sure that Celestia and Twilight–” another pair of flinches, “–will forgive you. They only want to make sure you are alright.” “How do you know that?” Sunset questioned, leery of the mare that helped comfort her. “You truly do not know who I am?” Sunset merely shook her head. “I am Princess Luna, formerly known as Nightmare Moon, the Mare in the Moon. I am also Princess Celestia’s sister.” Sunset’s ears pinned back and her pupils shrank. “Twilight Sparkle and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to free me from Nightmare Moon’s possession.” She leaned in and nuzzled against the top of Sunset’s head. “Trust me, Sunset Shimmer, when I say that they bear no ill will against you.” Sunset would have none of it. “You-You’re lying! You’re just trying to help them get rid of me!” she shrieked, her struggle to get free renewed. Luna’s grip became like iron. Her voice echoed, “Sunset Shimmer! I am nothing if not truthful! Why would you think that Celestia and Twilight would want to be rid of you?” Sunset struggled as she yelled. “Because! I saw them kissing on the night before I stole Twilight’s crown!” Luna spoke softly, “Is that all?” “Is that all? Is that all?! Their relationship was clearly a secret and they want to silence me!” Luna chuckled. “No, Sunset Shimmer. Their relationship is not secret. While they have not announced it openly yet, they do not hide it from view.” She released Sunset, standing tall. Leaning over Sunset, she whispered in her ear. “They probably want to help you to readjust to Equestria again. That and… likely they want to surprise you with a gift of sorts. You are the reason they got together.” Sunset’s voice cracked as she asked, “W-What?” “Celestia told me, and you will be the only soul I will have told this to.” She took a calming breath. “When you ran off and disappeared, Celestia fell into a deep depression. For years she thought that there was no hope of finding one of the final Element Bearers, and would have to slay me.” “Then came Twilight. The little filly that nearly destroyed the tower her test was taken in.” She sat down next to Sunset. “After Celestia rescued her from the magic surge she’d been overcome with… the rest was, as you might say, history.” Sunset was crying again, but the smile she wore proved they weren’t fearful tears anymore. “You really mean that? That they want to help me?” Luna stood, a wing helping Sunset to her hooves. “I do. Come, Sunset Shimmer. Let us leave this place for happier grounds.” Together, the pair strode from the long-forgotten town, toward a brighter future.