//------------------------------// // The Glass Wizard 01 // Story: The Many Destinies of Sunset Shimmer // by ratedoni //------------------------------// The Glass Wizard 01 In the middle of the city, when the sun comes down and night starts one may think that everybody goes back to their homes, and that may be true in her home back in Equestria, but human kind never stopped. Bright lights and neon signs dominated the streets while the lone purple haired woman walked through it, watching humans celebrate, meet friends and loved ones and on occasion raise their glasses for something or another, but instead of stopping and join them in her usual human interaction observations this time she had a specific place in mind. Among the street lights, a heavy glass and oak door stood with a plaque that showed the name of the place; a pristine, well cared for and inviting entrance to The Unicorn’s Glade Bar. With a heavy push the door let her enter into this carefully lighted building and Twilight took in the sense of calm and for some reason she felt as if the whole bar had welcomed her back, as if she was an old friend, but the feeling was probably due to the one behind the counter. With her long crimson and yellow hair on a low ponytail and in the combination of a striking white button shirt, a black vest, bowtie and simple but well-tailored black slacks stood Sunset Shimmer, a friend that Twilight Sparkle haven’t seen in what seemed like eons but knew that it had been close to 4 years. “Welcome Princess to my new bar, The Unicorn’s Glade, what is your heart’s menu for this night?” Sunset said slightly bowing in Twilight’s direction, the princess in return slightly blushed at that kind of reception, even after all the time in which she had been part of the Equestrian government and royalty she was still uncomfortable with that kind of treatment, Sunset must have noticed how she was feeling because she simply gave her usual smirk and shrugged her shoulders “sorry Twy, guess I went all out on you there” Sunset said with the same relaxed and confident manner that Twilight remembered very well. “Is okay, you just took me by surprise” she said finally stepping fully inside the bar and noticing all the little details in the decoration, from the polished stone flooring making it look as if she really was walking in dark grass, the soft cream walls with beautiful frames holding paintings that represented forests and landscapes, that alongside the clear lights and bar stools made her feel as if indeed she had entered a glade “now I understand why Rarity sounded so happy when she told me how impressed she was about this place, this place is fantastic” she said sitting down on the stool directly in front of Sunset. “Thanks Twy, your opinions mean a lot to me, if I impressed Miss Socialite herself and also a true Princess then it means I did a superb job” it was obvious how proud Sunset was right now from Twilight’s words and it made the princess giggle at the reaction “so what’s the occasion?” “There is none, I just wanted to see you again, I mean, we talked through the diary but… it wasn’t the same, everybody in this world was so busy with their lives and with you being gone for so long” “Yeah, sorry about that, is just that… there was so much to learn in Europe” Sunset said with a face clearly indicating how much she had enjoyed that learning. “Isn’t it bartending just serving drinks?” Twilight immediately put her hands over her mouth after saying that, she had just blurted those words without realizing it but Sunset simply chuckled at the words. “Don’t worry Twy, serving drinks IS part of the job, but there are other things that I do… Twilight, what’s behind me?” Sunset spread her arms indicating the whole wall behind her and Twilight put her whole attention on the myriad of bottles of every shape and form, of different colors and interesting labels, all of them arranged in a haphazard but strangely pleasing way. “A lot of bottles” “That’s right, and every bottle is their own unique liquor, each with their own properties and flavors, their own way to be drink and not only that, but they also have partners to which they can be mixed, so, do you stir them or you shake them? Do you serve them straight or in layers? Hot or cold? Should you serve them with a solid ice cube or shaved ice? And finally, what kind of glass will they prefer to be served?” Twilight at that point had realized all the possibilities for each kind of bottle, just to remember all the name of them must have taken a while, but to think of the combinations and all the presentations? That was mind boggling even for the Princess of Friendship. “Wow… no wonder they call you ‘The Glass Wizard” Now it was time for Sunset to blush intensely at that name. “Oh Celestia, who told you that?” she asked in a highly embarrassed tone of voice. “Rarity told me a couple of hours ago when I had lunch with her and some co-workers of her” Twilight said remembering the smiles of the other women accompanying the highly successful fashion designer, it was obvious they had visited The Unicorn’s Glade before. “Leave it to Rarity to spread that stupid name around; I cannot believe she can say that with a straight face” Sunset said wanting to hide her face under the counter but she wasn’t Fluttershy; she will keep her head high against the embarrassment. “Why would she call you that?” “Do you remember that Rarity spend most of her apprenticeship in Paris? Well, we found out each other since at the time I was working on a high class bar lounge in the city” “Really? That sounds amazing” Twilight said quickly forgetting what was the real reason she came to the human world looking for Sunset, and quickly got absorbed by the tale. “Yeah, you can imagine our surprise when Rarity sat down with her date and I was left in charge of the counter” Sunset said remembering Rusty Nail and how much like a doting grandfather he usually behaved with his employees “anyway, after the whole plethora of hellos and all I was ready to get their orders, sadly, the poor boy that was Rarity’s date have never went into a bar before and didn’t know what to order and said the first thing he remembered from a movie, a Martini!” she said smiling at the faux pas “that cocktail can be a little dry and strong for someone not used to liqueurs so I did what I do best and changed his order, apparently both of them were so impressed with what I did that Rarity called me the Glass Wizard, saying that I have worked my magic to make that night perfect” “That sounds amazing, what happened to them?” “Well, for what Rarity told me they later on decided to keep being friends since Rarity finished her apprenticeship and she had to come back to the States, last I knew he asked the big question to his new girlfriend two months ago, all in that same bar” she said with a huge smile on her face knowing well her hand at creating special memories linked to Rusty Nail’s bar. “That is quite unbelievable! But how did you know which drink to serve him? Not only that, but why did you change it? I mean, I’m not an expert and the closest pony that I know that knows about liqueur is Berry Punch, so, isn’t it the bartender’s job to give the client his exact order?” “I suppose you can think that, but what I have seen in many bars is that when you think about a client is not ‘What drink does he or she wants’ but ‘Which drink he or she needs’” Sunset said looking directly at Twilight once again with the calm look on her face like when she first arrived “will you let me show you Twilight?” “I… have never drank anything alcoholic before, I mean, even Applejack’s cider was non-alcoholic” “Like I said, let me give you the drink you need right now” Sunset said effortlessly moving around behind the counter quickly grabbing bottles, glass, and just a couple of seconds there it was. A glass filled with a drink that was yellow at the top and became darker at the bottom becoming orange and finishing it all was a pure red cherry inside the drink “hope you enjoy your heart’s menu” Sunset said presenting Twilight with the glass. The Princess stood watching the beverage with a slightly nervous look in her face, but watching the serenity in Sunset’s she took the glass on her hand and put it on her mouth, a second later Twilight’s eyes became rounder as if surprised by the flavor. At that moment, Twilight could remember vividly the times she had spent with Princess Celestia drinking tea and talking about nothing important, just relaxing with each other away from the pressure of their jobs; she could remember the days she spent on the Golden Oak library’s balcony, a good book in front of her and a tall glass of lemonade prepared by Spike at her side. It was as if the stress that she had felt all week had disappeared replaced by the feeling of summer, as if the bubbly liquid had washed them away. “How?” she said almost in tears to the woman behind the counter. “The bags under your eyes, how frizzed your hair is even thought you tried to keep it under control, how you were playing with the napkin while we talked, it was obvious the kind of stress you have been lately” “But how? I mean, the flavor, it taste like…” “Like the lemon on Princess Celestia’s tea whenever she takes time to unwind, like summer when all we wanted to do was to sit outside with a book in our hooves and enjoy peace and quiet, I changed the recipe slightly, I put lemonade alongside the ginger ale” now Twilight’s tears were falling down her cheeks, a smile playing on her face “this is a Shirley Temple, it is a non-alcoholic beverage, it was named after one of the greatest actresses in this country’s history, she started acting when she was young but instead of disappearing or becoming a mess she grew up to become not only a great actress, but also a politician, an ambassador, she battled cancer and won… and just like her, you have been the recipient of so many responsibilities since you were young, but you never gave up, not even now, you have become an inspiration for many ponies, including me” she said with a huge smile. “She was right… you truly are the Glass Wizard” this time Sunset didn’t feel embarrassed, she just felt proud at making her friend feel better, at that moment the heavy door was once again pushed and three men in suits quickly came inside the bar. “Welcome to the Unicorn’s Glade, what is your heart’s menu this day?” she said in the well-practiced line making Twilight smile even more seeing Sunset take on her role as a bartender. “Ah my dear Sunset, I will let you choose for us this night” the man with a grey suit said before the three of them took a seat not too far from Twilight, they all seemed so formal, so stoic, it reminded Twilight of Fancy Pants. “Of course, just wait a moment” and just like that Sunset began to work mixing and preparing everything for this group of businessmen quickly finishing the last touches and presenting everyone with a different glass with varied colors “for Hard Numbers an Old Fashioned, for Stock Market his preferred Whiskey Sour and for the man of the night, mister Closed Deal, a Manhattan, congratulations on the contract” the three men stood frozen, surprised at Sunset’s words ”last time you were here you all talked about what had happened at work, how close the deal you all wanted was, but you all had lines of worry. Today you all seem as if a huge weight had been lifted, so that’s why I brought you all these whiskey based cocktails, a little bit of class and a little bit of life, the best liquor to celebrate this night” Sunset told them before all pretense of seriousness was thrown aside as the three obvious good friends raised their glasses and laughed loud and long. Twilight and Sunset’s eyes met and a smile found their place on each face, the night had barely started for the Unicorn’s Glade, but the magic had already found its way inside, so tell me, what’s in your heart’s menu for tonight? Maybe a strong flavor to give you strength for tomorrow or maybe a mellow liquor to make you think of the good times. Either way, you can be sure that The Glass Wizard will be there for you behind the counter.