The sound of waves crashing against the shore and the permanent smell of salt on the air made Sunset return to days where the only thing she had to worry about was what she would have for lunch. Back when the only thing she needed in her to feel perfectly fine was the hand of a pink haired woman on her shoulder. Back then it was the only thing Sunset needed to know that the future was as bright as Rose Quartz's smile.
Sunset sighed at the memories assaulting her as she continued to look at the shore and the way it never changed. The sea was unchanging as the other members of her family. Or at least that was what she once thought, before Rose Quartz had the brilliant idea of creating new life. It had ended so well for everyone living on the temple in front of the sea.
The redhead knew that returning home was a gamble after bottling up so many of her feelings. It was a volatile mixture of good and bad memories conglomerating themselves on her head that left a sour sweet flavor on her mouth. It was the mixture of every good memory she had of her family and of Steven growing up -his first steps, his first words, how much he enjoyed taking a bath and how much he loved to throw himself into mud before those same baths- that Sunset didn't even need to take the photo albums that she personally compiled so long ago from the bookcase. Every memory was inserted on her mind in a way in which she would never forget those moments, not the people on them or the situations. But on the other side of the coin she also remembered every bad moment she had in the temple.
She remembered the last time she gazed upon those star filled eyes and how much it hurt to say goodbye. All the moments where she had to held Pearl those first few years in which the thin gem took a look at the portrait of Rose Quartz, how she crumbled down to her knees and began to bawl her eyes out. Of how many times Amethyst took a hold of her while she was faking sleep just so she wouldn't be alone. Of the many talks that she had with Garnet -and even Ruby and Sapphire on occasion- and how in the end the fusion and the lost girl ended up being the pillars of the Crystal Gems. Sunset snorted at the memory, she herself one of the leaders of the Crystal Gems, a lost girl with no home or idea of what she was suddenly taking the reins of a dysfunctional family.
It took everyone so long to adapt to a world without Rose Quartz in it, so much that the first missions they had ended up being complete failures. Every single one of those missions ended with Pearl and Amethyst screaming at each other. It was so bad that Sunset had forced both gems to hold Steven and show them one more reason to protect the world, and who would have thought? It had worked so well that it had surprised Sunset, but she was sure Garnet had seen that coming -damn Future Vision- and simply gave her usual thumbs up.
Even now her heart ached for the loss of the woman she had grown up to call mother, but now she felt that same longing had become bittersweet and that maybe one day she will gaze into those star filled eyes once more, hopefully not soon. In the meantime, she will keep her eyes on her very crazy and strange family and will keep on protecting it to the end. And at the end she still ran away, just like she did from Equestria, all because she wanted Earth education and a degree. Even to this day she wondered if she had taken the right choice by taking that path, of changing the day to day gem hunting for the halls of Canterlot High. The redhead wondered if Rose Quartz felt disappointed for leaving the city.
Sure, it was only three years, but still felt as if she had run away from the pressure of constantly fighting and the stress of thinking about Equestria after living for so long in Earth. In the end, she caved and finally took the last step into opening the portal alongside her friends back in Canterlot High and take the plunge onto the last part of her old life, and lo and behold, first person she had met was none other than her ‘almost’ cousin Mi Amore Cadenza.
After several misunderstandings -and proof that her gem could work in another dimension- the worst was over and Sunset decided to go back home at last. The last surprise came with the decision of the newest princess -and boy, did that sentence hurt- asking Sunset to explore and research her new home. Sunset may have said no but just one look at those eyes full of wonder and excitement, Sunset felt like every time Steven used those same eyes on her. In the end she said yes and now she was back on her turf. Back at Beach City with its old town feeling and calm harbor that always helped Sunset relax.
The redhead had already taken a tour around several stores, just like The Big Donut shop in which she found Lars and Sadie working there now. Although she wasn’t against sugar and everything frosty like Pearl who basically counted every calorie that Steven ingested -she was sure that haven’t changed since she left- Sunset herself was more in favor of the salty snack variety and there was nothing like a good cheese ball while watching the waves and the beautiful sky. So it was at this point were both Steven and Twilight found her, sitting down at a conjured chair with her feet on the railing at the harbor.
“So let me guess; Pearl gave you the whole ‘Petal Dance’ back at her room?” the redhead said throwing another cheese ball into the air before munching on it when it came down.
“Yep.”
“And Amethyst was ‘oh you don’t need to practice’ and simply summoned her whip?”
“Yep.”
“And you also got the whole, ‘gather the power of the universe’ thingy from Garnet?”
“Yep.” The completely lost eyes of the chubby little boy made Sunset sigh knowing exactly how his mind had simply exploded trying to comprehend all the crazy stuff from the rest of their family. Looking at his side was the princess trying to write with her mouth as if she were an Earth Pony, although thinking about it, it probably was logical since she didn’t know how to write like a human.
“Well, I want you to forget everything that they told you”
“Done.” He said without even a second of delay making Sunset laugh at how similar he had acted to her own experience trying to summon her weapon.
“It was quite an experience isn’t it Steven?”
“It reminded me of how Princess Celestia used to guide me when I was learning how to control my own magic… although I’m pretty sure she also did that with you.” The princess said immediately blushing at the small faux-pas she had committed but Sunset simply smiled at the other girl.
“Wait, is she also a unicorn?”
“Yes Steven, she comes from my home dimension.”
“That is so cool! Can she transform like you?”
“Transform?”
“No Steven, she is a regular human being in here.” Sunset said placing her cheese balls’ container on Twilight hands before stretching her arms ready to show Steven her own weapon “Steven, what you have to understand is that every gem is different, we all have different ideas and tastes, that affects the way we look at the world around us and also our own abilities,” she said taking off her black leather jacket, she loved the thing and didn’t want to see it transform, after all, all of her clothes except the jacket were gem constructs “Our weapons and abilities are tied to what we feel, to what we want, what makes us… well, US, that’s why what they told you is right, that’s how they summon their weapons.”
“Ohhh, so that’s why I couldn’t summon my weapon like that, I had to do it my own way… but, how do you summon your own weapon?” She knew he was going to ask her that, cute little boy he was, just as curious as her.
“Let me show you” Sunset said extending her arms at her sides and slowly moving them up and down as if a slow wave traveled through her body, her hips moving along the rhythm in her head. Soon she was moving her feet and hands in a dance that seemed to be contagious by how Steven was nodding his head in rhythm with her. And just like that her mini skirt and spaghetti strap blouse changed to a full body black, red and yellow leotard with several stars on her chest as if they were moving at high speed through space.
The leotard went up to her hands completely encasing every finger except the middle and index. A choker necklace with a yellow star appeared around her neck to connect with the leotard as it left her shoulders and neck exposed and in top of them a black and neon red biker jacket with Sunset’s cutiemark stamped on the back. But the most striking thing were the thigh high metal boots that seemed to have made of metal plaques and moved as if they were leather instead of metal “I haven’t danced in a while but still got it.” Sunset said fixing the collar of her jacket as Steven grinned with the usual stars appearing on his eyes. At his side, Princess Twilight stood with her mouth open and her face completely burgundy due to her skin being naturally purple. Yeah, she still got it.