June 27: I Could Be Happy
The alarm clock chimed, and Sunset woke up, sitting up and stretching her arms in a different way so that she wouldn’t wake up….
Crap. I forgot, she sighed. Octavia had a music recital in Klamath, Oregon, and Twilight had gone with her. Looking at the bed, it felt a little lonely, but they must’ve left early an—
She sighed. Today was her birthday – well, it was the human Sunset Shimmer’s birthday, truth be told. Admittedly, the former unicorn still had no idea if her actual birthdate corresponded or not – if so, she’d turned thirty in pony years today – but it was her birthday regardless, in a manner of speaking. This was the first birthday that she’d planned to spend with others that didn’t involve her making dumb decisions she’d regret the next day; the previous ones she’d stayed overnight at Flash’s place, and there had been a lot of drinking and other stupid things involved. Now, she just wanted happiness with her family. She didn’t care what the plans were, just to spend time with her loved ones.
Unfortunately for her, it had already started off on a bad footing for the supposedly now seventeen-year-old: two of the people she loved most in the world wouldn’t be present today and she wouldn’t see them until Monday evening. It was already going to be a rough day since she had to go to school even though it was a Friday; plus she had to work today and Fridays were always busy. It didn’t help also that now that Blossomforth had entered her final trimester, her doctor had recommended that she stay off her feet whenever possible, so she was now on permanent cashier duty, leaving Pinkie and Sunset to handle waitress duties. Pinkie had even overheard her aunt and uncle consider hiring another employee to fill the slot that Blossomforth would likely be leaving once she had her child.
Well, maybe Pinkie has something planned for today, Sunset thought with a soft smile. Given the large party she threw for Rares’ birthday back in April, there’d be no way she wouldn’t have something planned. Well, I guess I’d better go shower, head downstairs and get hugs and attention from the parentals.
Clambering off her bed in order to make it, she couldn’t help but sigh in contentment. Here she was, a thirty-year-old mare and a seventeen-year-old girl at the same time; the daughter figure of the immortal goddess-princess of the most powerful nation on Equus, a baroness in her own right – since Celestia had restored her given title – and an official grand mage of Equestria – a title bestowed on her by Princess Twilight, since she was technically now the most powerful unicorn in existence. But none of that mattered to her. No, what truly mattered to her were the folks downstairs who would hug her, wish her a happy birthday and let her know she was loved – her parents in spirit, if not in blood or even legally.
I wonder if Razz feels that way about her foster parents, Sunset thought. Well, maybe when she was older and had her own apartment she could have the black mage unicorn come for a visit. In any case, that was for some day in the future.
Her bed now made, she grabbed a change of clothing from her dresser and wandered off to the bathroom to shower, shampoo and shine.
Thirty minutes later, Sunset was seriously considering if she could get Princess Luna to see if she’d somehow slipped into a waking dream. As she descended the stairs, the house was quiet and empty, not at all normal for the household at this time of morning. By the time she’d reached the kitchen table, she saw Velvet’s handwritten note:
Sunset looked at the note as though it was a refutation of her whole life. If not having Twilight or Octavia present was a disappointment, being alone in the house this morning was a bigger one. Is this supposed to be normal? Not having anyone care about my birthday? She remembered all the lavish birthdays that the sun alicorn had thrown her year after year when all she wanted was just to be called a daughter. Meanwhile, the birthday parties for her friends that they’d all celebrated over the course of the year – initially Pinkie’s own, back in December; then Fluttershy’s, back in January, followed by Applejack’s in March and Rarity’s the month after – there’s no way that she’d be forgotten in all that, right?
I mean, Pinkie even asked two weeks ago when Tavi and Twily’s birthdays were so we could start planning.
As Sunset walked over to the microwave to start the machine, she heard some keys jiggle in the door and a smile came to her face…which immediately fell as she saw Cadance walk through the door.
“Morning!” the young woman called out, brushing her cream, violet and fuchsia locks out of her eyes. “Something wrong, Sunny?”
“Oh, ah, no, Cady, sorry,” Sunset replied. “I just thought that it’d be Mo—I mean, Mrs. V coming in. She took Spike to an early doctor’s appointment.”
“I know; she called me and Shiny last night to tell us,” Cadance replied before looking at the teen with a critical eye. “You look a little down.”
“I just didn’t sleep well last night,” Sunset lied, not wanting to explain the whole thing. As it was, she knew that Cadance had a good sense for reading peoples’ emotional states, so she left it at that. Changing the subject, Sunset asked, “What brings you here?”
Walking over to the coffee machine and grabbing a cup, Cadance answered. “I figured you didn’t want to take the subway or bus to school, and since I have to go up to the North County prison to profile a case I’m working on, I thought I’d give you a lift.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Sunset said with a smile as she pulled her breakfast out of the fridge. “Want one?”
“Thanks; I forgot to grab a yogurt out of the fridge on the way here,” Cadance replied, taking one gratefully. After a few bites, she said, “You really look down this morning. You sure you’re okay?”
Sunset nodded as she finished her burrito. “I’ll be fine. Just couldn’t sleep, is all.”
“Okay. In any case, we gotta go soon,” the lawyer replied as she looked at the clock. “I have to be at Northco Jail by 8:30, and the freeway’s always busy this time of day.”
“Okay,” Sunset replied, gulping down the last of her coffee. “Let me go brush my teeth then we can go.”
As Sunset raced upstairs, Cadance reached into her purse, pulling out her phone. Quickly, she hammered a message out to a preset list: She looks like the world’s fallen down on her. Hope this is going to be worth it, gang.
It will be, a response returned. It will be.
Feeling the rays of the sun gently strike her eyes as though it was a hint that it was time to get a move on, Twilight Sparkle sat up in the sleeping bag she slept in. Quietly rising from the plush cream carpet of the chiffon-haired girl’s room, Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was still asleep, as was Octavia, who had also stayed over as well. Given that Fluttershy and Rarity were the best choices to stay over at, and that the latter was holding onto the various items for tonight, the oldest of their circle was the final decision.
Stretching to get the kinks out, Twilight heard her phone chime the indicator tone for an incoming text. Reaching over to the phone, she looked at it and smiled softly, seeing both Cadance’s initial comment and the reply from Twilight’s mother. Part of Twilight’s heart broke when she heard how disconsolate Sunset was to wake up to an empty house, but at the same time the plum-haired academic had to remind herself that it was all a part of the plan; surprise parties were a surprise for a reason.
Nevertheless, she typed in her response. We’ll get things going on this end, don’t worry. Think we can keep Sunny away from home all day?
A few seconds later, she got a response from her father: I talked to the Cakes and they plan to keep her busy tonight until about seven. From that point, they’ll drive her home, and then that’ll be a surprise. You’ve got until then to get everything ready.
Will do. I’ll remind the girls to park over by Mrs. Mountain’s house, so Sunny doesn’t recognize any of their cars.
Turning off the phone, she had a girlish giggle come to her throat. Now’s the time to get plans in gear.
“Oh no, she’s giggling – that can’t be good,” a wry voice replied. Twilight looked up from her phone to see Fluttershy and Octavia looking right at her.
“Morning,” she said with a smile.
“You look happy,” Fluttershy observed.
“Ecstatic,” Twilight admitted.
“Hey, I’m even excited for what’s going down tonight, and I’m not as impacted as Twily is,” Octavia said.
Remembering what it was, Fluttershy nodded. “I’m happy for you both. You both and Sunny. She needs this.” Getting up from her bed, she started to make it and added, “I’ll make breakfast for us, and then we can head to your place, Twily.”
“Well, you’ll have to park around the block so Sunny doesn’t see your car—”
Fluttershy grinned as she said, “Already thought of that; Mom took my car to work today so I could borrow hers. Anyway, you girls freshen up and I’ll go start making breakfast downstairs. Pancakes okay?”
As Cadance drove off, Sunset briefly watched her drive down the street before turning her attention back to school. Normally she’d meet up with Rainbow or Lyra, but Rainbow sent her a text during the drive to school that she had a team summer season meet down south at Whitehaven High, so she wouldn’t be at class today and to remind Ms. Raven of that.
“Heya, Sunny.” Sunset turned her head to see Lyra catching up to her. “Wow, you look like shit. You okay?”
“Yeah,” the flame-haired girl sighed. “Just…you ever have one of those mornings where you think that everyone you know forgot something important?”
Lyra nodded. “Yeah. Back in December I nearly unintentionally broke Trixie’s heart, because I got so tied up with Bonnie that day that I lost track of time and nearly forgot my best friend’s birthday. Goddess, I’d hate to be the idiot who forgets a friend’s birthday, you know?”
“You don’t say,” Sunset deadpanned.
“No, serious – and I think I’d be toast if I ever forgot my gal’s. Oh, speaking of which, Bonnie’s birthday is July 8th, and we’re throwing a party for her. Nothing major, just some of her friends and such. Want to come?”
“I’d love to,” Sunset said, giving her friend a Pan-Am smile. Part of her wanted to strangle Lyra for her insensitivity, but Sunset reminded herself that it was just as likely that Lyra hadn’t intended to twist the metaphorical knife in Sunset’s back. After all, how many people knew her birthday? She was a changed person now and she couldn’t just count on anyone just remembering it out of the blue, even amongst her circle of friends.
“Ms. Shimmer, a word, if you please.” Sunset turned and saw Ms. Luna approaching her, a serious look on her face.
“Don’t know what you did, but I don’t want a part of it,” Lyra joked.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, delinquent,” Sunset replied. “Talk to you after class.”
“Tell you what, let’s go to lunch this afternoon – it’s on me,” Lyra said, waving as she walked off.
“Deal,” she said to Lyra as she turned her attention to the summer school principal. “Can I help you, Ms. Luna?”
“No, if anything, I should be asking you that, Sunset,” the educator replied. “I got a call a few minutes ago from Cadance, who said you were looking under the weather. I wanted to follow up on that to see if you were okay.”
“I just…didn’t sleep well last night,” Sunset replied. “I’m not sick or anything.”
The smile on Luna’s face was genuine. “Forgive me for being a little concerned. As an educator, I have to make sure all my students are hale. And as your mother’s best friend, obviously the matter of your care becomes a little more personal, if you understand.”
“I do,” Sunset yawned, a bit involuntarily. “Just….”
Luna looked around. “Sunset…I would very much appreciate it if you went and took a nap in my office. Feel free to use the couch, and I have a small blanket there that I use occasionally myself if I need it. The secretary called in sick herself today, so there won’t be anyone in the admin office to bother you.”
“Ms. Luna, I….”
“Just humor this old woman, okay? I’ll tell your teacher I excused you.”
Sunset yawned again. “Okay, if you insist.” Maybe I do need a little more sleep. With that, the teen headed off to the principal’s office.
Luna watched her walk into the building before calling out, “Okay, you’re clear to come out.” From the building’s other wing, Rainbow, Trixie, Bon-Bon, Minuette and Lyra all came out. The fact that only two of the five were summer school students would’ve tipped anyone off that something was amiss; fortunately, Luna had already covered that issue over smoothly.
“Well, Trix and I can keep her busy during lunch,” Lyra explained, to which Trixie nodded her head.
“AJ and Pinkie are meeting me at my parents’ chocolate shop,” Bon-Bon replied. “We’ll make the cake there.”
“That leaves you and me to take care of things, Colgate,” Rainbow said. “This is gonna rock!”
“Hey, don’t forget that we have to pick up Blossom as well,” Minuette added. “No way she’s going to miss this one.”
“You know, this would look very good on you, Coco,” Suri Polomare said to her future freshman apprentice. The two were at Tender Sigh’s Treasure Box, an intimates store that served a very special clientele. “Any guy who saw you in this would be very smitten,” she commented.
Coco looked at the sheer, lacy number and tried not to blush the color of her purse. “It’s…very, ah, seethrough,” she stammered.
Suri gave a soft smile. “Trust me, I’ve worn less around my boyfriend. That is, after all, the point.”
“Well, what about me, sis?” Crackle asked, eyeing the thing with a lot more certainty than Coco did. Suri gave her friend Vanity Fair, the one who would oversee Crackle, a slight glance, but it was more than enough to get the message across.
“Crackle, you’re more the adventurous type, right?” Vanity said with a knowing smile. “I think they might have just want you want this way.” Leading the girl over to another section of the store, Vanity gave her friend clearance to do whatever it was they had planned.
Suri looked down at the girl. “Coco, can I be frank with you? You are not going to survive some of the more, ah, ‘public’ events at Zacherle’s if you don’t relax.”
The girl animatedly gasped, “But I…but they…but that!” She finally pointed at the outfit, turning completely and utterly red. “I can’t wear that! My parents’ll kill me!”
Suri smiled patiently. “My dear…when I was up for the freshman lingerie contest? I had to wear a lot worse. Actually, you should ask Fleur what she had to wear.” In the time that she’d gotten to know the girl, she learned that she was the sister of Fleur’s boyfriend, which made breaking her all the sweeter when it occurred. “Trust me, it’s all in good fun, both to allow you to get used to some of the more, ah, unique parts of womanhood as well as just the harmless razzing that comes with this sort of thing. I assure you that when you’re a senior, you’ll probably be doing the same thing to a sweet thing like yourself, wondering why you ever got worried about it.”
Coco looked at Suri oddly. “You sure about this?”
She laughed. “Tell you what: we’ll have dinner over at my place tonight. You can wear that and I’ll wear mine, okay?”
“You promise?”
“I absolutely promise.”
“Can we have Crackle and Vanity join us?” Coco added.
“I’m sure they might have other plans, but we can ask them,” Suri said, making a mental note to make sure that Vanity and Crackle make other plans. As Coco nodded and headed off to the cashier, Suri pulled out her phone and texted Vanity to arrange that.
Suri smiled maliciously. All it would take tonight would be getting Coco relaxed in that oh-so-revealing suit, and when she least expected it, she’d find something in her drink. Five minutes later, Coco Pommel would rue the day that she ever tried to work her way up the social ladder using Suri’s sister.
Plus, I’ll have a very happy fiancé. And happy marriages make for perfectly controlled ones, Suri thought as she wandered over to the body gels and other accessories. Let’s see…I wonder how the edible ones taste?
Trixie took a sip from her shake, then eyed Sunset critically. “Sunny, you really don’t seem to be yourself today? Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Trixie, have you ever felt that someone you know forgot something important?” Sunset asked, twirling a fry in a small ketchup cup.
“Oh, yeah, that I do,” she said with a grin. “Goofball here almost forgot my birthday this past year.”
“I didn’t forget, okay? I just…I got tied up with other things,” Lyra said, blushing. “Besides, the only reason we meet on the 20th is because your birthday’s on Christmas and I felt sorry for you when I was nine!”
Sunset was taken aback by that. “Really?”
Trixie nodded, putting her arm around her best friend. “Yeah, and it was really sweet of her to do that.” She then grumbled to Lyra, “Too bad you were too busy with Bonnie to make time for the person who’s like your sister!”
“Are you forever going to give me grief for this?” Lyra muttered.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie never forgets a slight,” she said with a laugh.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie’s cruisin’ for a bruisin’,” Lyra mock-growled, shaking a fist.
Meanwhile, Sunset looked at her phone, ignoring her two friends. They were weird; she knew that and they’d come back to reality anyw—
“So, do you want to?” Trixie asked.
Sunset looked up from her phone and blinked. “Sorry, I missed that.”
“Lyra and I were thinking about going to the movies in an hour and wanted to know if you wanted to come.”
In reply, Sunset looked at her phone. “Sorry, girls, but I have to work this afternoon, so I’ll take a raincheck, if that’s cool with you.”
“Yeah, sure,” Lyra replied.
Sunset rose from her chair. “I guess I gotta get going. Thanks for lunch, Lyra.”
“No problem,” the celeste-haired girl added. “Need a lift?”
“Naah, Sugarcube Corner’s not that far away, and besides, you guys probably want to get going soon anyway.” Sunset gave her friends a grin, picked up her backpack, then headed out the door.
“Man, she looks rough, like nobody loves her. And did you have to twist the knife like that, Trixie?” Lyra accused.
“I didn’t mean to do it; I was just answering her question and by the time I realized what I’d said, it was too late,” the Alice-blue-haired girl admitted. “I’ll apologize to her tonight, okay?”
“That works. Now, let’s go meet up with Rarity so that we can help her with the stuff to decorate.”
Cadance was looking over some paperwork in her office when she heard a knock at her door. She looked up to see Shining Armor standing there in a suit. “So, what can I do for the FBI, Agent Armor?” she asked with a smile.
He walked in with a grin. “Oh, I’m here to investigate a thief,” he said as she rose from her desk and walked over to him.
Putting her arms around him, she asked innocently, “No thieves here, Mr. G-Man. We’re lawyers – we’re swindlers, not thieves.” She then leaned forward and kissed him.
“Yeah, found my thief,” he said. “The one that stole my heart.” She grinned then gently elbowed him in the stomach, making him say, “Injury, injury! Anyone know a good lawyer who can help me sue my attacker?”
“Keep it up and you’re sleeping on the couch, mister,” she teased as she went over to get her purse. “So, ready for lunch?”
He nodded. “Yeah, and my parents are already downstairs, picking up the documents – they said they’d meet us at the café across the street.”
“Can’t believe it. Hasn’t even been a year and already….”
“I know. But Mom and Dad looked it up, so….” He shrugged. “Besides, Sunny deserves this. We love her and she belongs with us.”
“Well, let’s go meet your parents, then,” Cadance said with a smile as they departed her office.
Sunset sighed. It was a busy day at the Sugarcube Corner Café, and it hadn’t helped that Blossomforth had a medical emergency related to her pregnancy. Worse, given that Sunset hadn’t shown up yet, Pinkie – Pinkie, of all people! – had gone along with the floral-haired girl in an attempt to get her to relax while they went off to see Blossomforth’s doctor. That was bad enough.
But somehow they’d managed to have a busier than normal day here, and as a result of that, Sunset had run herself ragged getting orders to and fro. Usually on a Saturday afternoon she’d have time to joke with any of her friends who came in or get to know any other CHS students who came in better, and generally improve her reputation, not that it really needed much more improvement after all the changes of this past school year. Yes, there were some students who would never forgive her – Sweet Surprise, Dazzle Dance and Dusty Road all came to mind – but she’d learned, even before her reformation, there were people that would never love her.
Still, sucks to be the hated one, she knew as she dropped off an order with a customer with a smile, then rushed back to the counter. “Okay, I think that covers it,” she exhaled with relief.
“Sunset, take a break,” Cup told her. “I think I can handle it from here in case one of them has an issue.”
“Are you sure, Mrs. Cake? It’s not a problem,” Sunset replied.
The older woman gave the teen a kind, patient smile, the kind that a proud, loving parent would. “You’re fine, dear – you’ll want to pace yourself today, given that you’re the only one here.” The then added with a grin, “Besides, I’m not so old that I can’t spend time on the floor myself.” Seeing one of the customers with an empty glass, Mrs. Cake then went over to take care of the issue.
“Sunny, do you have a moment?” Carrot asked. Sunset nodded and went over to the back end. “I wanted to tell you ahead of time, but there’s going to be some changes coming in the near future and I wanted you to be aware of them when they start on July 1st. Do you remember about that other café you told me about? The Knickerbocker?”
Sunset nodded. “I remember them; our stuff is much better, but the owner there knows his stuff, why?”
The look on Carrot’s face was pensive. “Premium Roast…he’s owned the Knickerbocker for decades, but he’s getting on up in years, and he’s looking to move in with his daughter’s family in Tucson. So…he asked us to purchase it. We’ll have to take out a loan, but that’s not the problem. The problem is….”
Sunset sighed. “I’m fired?”
Carrot chuckled. “No, not at all. Actually, what it means is increased responsibility for you. When you and Pinkie get back from San Francisco, I’ll be taking over the running of the Knickerbocker. Because she can handle the tables pretty well, that means Pinkie will come with me, as well Blossomforth – since she’ll be taking off a few months after she has her baby, having her at the smaller location will be easier. But what it also means that until Cup can hire someone to help take the slack off you for a while, you’ll have the run of this place by yourself. Think you can handle it?”
“I suppose I could,” Sunset admitted. “I mean, Pinkie ran all this by herself when it was just you three, right?”
“True, but I think it’s more than fair to say that you’ve been responsible for bringing in a lot of the business since you started working here,” Cup added as she returned to the counter. “Besides, we’re also going to give you a raise to go along with the new title of Head Waitress here.”
“Really?” Both Cakes merely nodded in response, and the smile on Sunset’s face grew to Pinkie-levels of size. “I think I can live with that.”
“Good,” both adults said with a smile on their face, as another person came into the café. Even though Sunset didn’t know the either girl, her time back in Equestria revealed the two to be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the latter having come in immediately after her friend. Both teens sat down at the nearest table, chatting on about various things.
Fortunately, her brief conversation with the pony Diamond Tiara had helped her to plan for this: “Hiya, and welcome to Sugarcube Corner Café. Let me guess: you’ll have a chocolate peanut butter shake,” she commented to Diamond, before asking Silver, “And you’ll have a iced caramel mocha? Let me get that for you while you look at the menu.”
Both girls looked at each other in surprise before asking, “How did you…?”
Sunset winked. “I’m just good like that,” she said, before walking off to go put the drink orders in.
The scene back at the house on Golden Oaks was, for lack of a better term, controlled chaos. Pinkie was pretty much redecorating the whole of the house to accommodate the large number of visitors and as the other girls worked, and at one point Twilight had to assure the party teen that nobody who lived there would like a house garishly painted in shades of pink, purple, and soft yellow.
“Twily, do you think she’ll be okay with this?” Blossomforth asked. Seeing as how she couldn’t do much due to her pregnancy, the floral-haired teen had offered to help set up the table displays and help wrap any gifts that the purchasers needed help with. In particular was Rainbow Dash, who admitted to having gone through a whole roll of giftwrap before fruitlessly giving up on that.
“Hey, what can I say? Giftwrapping’s an egghead thing,” she said, ignoring the scowls from Twilight, Octavia, Rarity, Minuette, Trixie and Bon-Bon. Blossomforth merely sighed.
“Well, Ah don’t know about you girls, but Ah think we outdid ourselves,” Applejack told the others as the keys in the door jangled, as the adults came in.
“Wow,” Velvet commented, genuinely impressed. “You girls really outdid yourselves this time.”
“It’s for Sunny, Aunt Velvet,” Octavia said with a smile. “Of course she deserves all this.”
“Besides, Mom,” Twilight added, as the girls gathered around her, “Sunny’s meant so much to us all since she’s come to live here. She’s touched all of us, and she deserves this moment in the sunlight.” The other girls nodded in agreement. “All of us, to some degree or another, know about the person she was in the past and have seen her move beyond that – and that’s the person we know and love now.”
From where he stood, Shining Armor said nothing, instead watching his sister as she spoke and how the girls naturally seemed to flock to her. She had changed much in the year since Sunset had come to live with them, and Twilight had changed in a way that not even their cousin Octavia had been able to engender. Whereas before Twilight had been a nebbish, bookish recluse rarely comfortable in her own skin, these months had not only brought the plum-haired scholar out of her shell, but she’d done things that Shining never would have expected his sister to be capable of. And now, here she was, leading these girls as though it was nothing. The caterpillar had emerged from its cocoon not as a butterfly, but possibly as a lioness-in-training.
And none of that would’ve been possible without Sunset’s appearance in their lives. Furthermore, it hadn’t been entirely one-sided; some time back in late February, he’d had a talk with her and she’d confessed her whole past – it was bad enough that had she not been somehow protected from the results of her consequences, she likely would’ve had either ended up a student at The Blanks, or likely in juvenile hall. He’d accused Sweet Pea months ago of being a worse version of Sunset, only for the latter to admit that she’d probably been a far worse version than Sweet Pea could have ever been.
And yet she was a part of their family now, undeniably so. His mother, father, sister, cousin, aunt and uncle loved her. Even Spike begrudgingly admitted, in his own way, that he didn’t mind having her around. As for Cadance, she absolutely adored Sunset, and despite everything, Shining had come to see her as a younger sister as well.
“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” Cadance said as she looked at him. “Sweetheart, you need to stop feeling guilty about what you thought the day you met her. It was an innocent mistake, and once you realized, you got her the help she needed.”
Shining smiled softly. “Yeah, and I got a new kid sister out of the deal. I guess it’s not bad.”
“Trust me: when she gets here and sees the whole plans that we’ve all made? She’s absolutely going to flip,” Night said to his son. “And we wouldn’t have her if it wasn’t for you, Shiny. You’ve always made us proud, and this is just another sign of that.”
Sitting in their bedroom, bored as could be, Adagio looked out the window at the night sky. She, like her sisters, was grounded for two weeks following the incident that had happened at her workplace that the triplets had confused for possible Les Scars activity. And while their grandes sœurs were satisfied with the report the trio had given, it still meant that they were in a world of shit for disobeying Madrigal, who was acting as their immediate guardian during this mission.
The last three days of her life had given her something to think about, something unexpected. Now that she no longer had her job, something in her life felt incomplete. That, and the grounding – instead of something along more military lines – also stung for some reason. If it had been their grandes sœurs’ idea to make them feel like normal girls…well, in Adagio’s mind, it was working.
It was only eight o’clock and as she looked out the window that faced the front of the house, she watched as a trio of teenagers her age chatted and laughed about something. She wasn’t sure what it was, and even if she was there, she might not have understood anyway, but the way that they seemed so happy about the likely unimportant, trivial issue as though it was the most important thing on the planet. Maybe it was shoes, or maybe it was fashion. Perhaps it might have even been about a solid, dependable M-14 battle rifle, but she doubted that. However, there was one thing for sure that Adagio knew she felt:
Conflict. Part of her wanted to ignore the girls. After all, they weren’t a part of her world. They wouldn’t likely know what it was like to fire weapons, use explosives, much less take lives, and that latter part was something that Adagio had become very skilled at. But at the same time…there was also the strange need she’d had in the past few days, especially after meeting Shim and Sham, a need she never felt before.
A shudder went through her body. What if I’m really not cut out for this life? I feel like I am, I know I am, but…. With a worry, she turned to look at Aria and Sonata, reading over military publications, slightly disinterested. What if I’m separated from them? From Mezzo? She remembered Intermezzo and Madrigal’s respective biological sisters. Both had left the SIRENs, and both had little contact from their sisters. Without a doubt, sisters were important to the SIRENs. It was the reason the group was informally referred to as the “Sisterhood”, why the mentor-mentee system was called grandes and petite sœurs, why Intermezzo and Adagio were as close as Aria and Sonata were to their sœurs. Sometimes it even felt that Intermezzo was more her sister than Aria or Sonata; that wasn’t their fault, but rather how tight the bond was.
And yet, here I am, watching those three, wondering if that might be my fate. For a second, she imagined herself, Sonata and Aria as that other trio, joking and laughing and dressed as far from military life as could be. They weren’t talking about guns, killing or operations. They were talking about whatever trifles and trivia filled the mind of a Canterlot girl their age. And the three would laugh, because that’s what normal girls did – normal girls by the world’s standard, not by theirs.
Somehow, that didn’t seem bad at all, as far as Adagio was concerned. And she couldn’t quite voice how horrifying that concept was to her.
“Hey, you okay?” Aria asked. Adagio had been staring at the window for so long, she hadn’t noticed either of her sisters looking up from their manuals. In fact, the eldest sister really hadn’t realized until Aria tapped her on the shoulder.
“I’m thinking….” She pointed out the window at the three girls. “What if we were like them? Are we meant to be like them? Is that what Mezzo and the others are trying to say?”
Aria smirked. “You’re still stinging from the chewing out you got earlier today, I see. That, or you liked working at that pizza place.”
“Yes, yes, I did – why, don’t you like yours?” Adagio accused.
Aria flinched as though she was punched in the chest, before she admitted, “I…. The instructor I work with? He’s in college. He…asked me out. I had to come up with a dozen reasons why I couldn’t go out with him, but….”
“But?”
An unexpectedly soft, girlish smile came onto Aria’s face. “I wanted to, okay? There was something about him that….”
“That you wanted to know if something would spark?” Sonata asked as she finally joined in on the conversation. “I have to admit? I kinda like cooking. We’ve been doing things way out of our comfort zone since we got here, and I’m farther along than either of you. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that sometimes? I’ve thought about leaving the Sisterhood and not coming back.” She then looked towards the bedroom door and added softly, “Maddie wants me to leave as well. I think she’s worried about what’s going to happen to me – to all of us – once we beat Les Scars and have to deal with what happens next.” The youngest of the trio scrunched her face in thought. “Well, I’m guessing that the skipper figures that we’ll return to the RCN, but if you ask me, that’d be suicide.”
“Oh, I’m sure that Captain Blast hasn’t thought about that at all,” Adagio told her sister. “The SIRENs have taken out numerous members of Les Scars and the CANSOF people assigned to them. If we turn ourselves in now, we’ll probably end up all behind bars, if not worse. I think that she plans for us to go merc after this, but that’s a hard kind of life even for military folks. They’re not like PMCs.”
“I wouldn’t want to go merc, personally. Too much gray area there – sometimes you don’t know who the good guys or bad guys are,” Aria sighed. “Maybe there’s a reason we got this mission for our final test and not one of the other scouting ops.”
Sonata looked at her sisters with worry. “Girls, promise me something? That even if one of us quits, that we’ll still be family? I love you both and I would be heartbroken if I never got to see you again.”
Aria hugged Sonata. “We’re sisters – true sisters – so of course we’re never going to be apart. No matter what, we’ll always be together.”
Adagio hugged them both. “You couldn’t keep me away from either of you even if you tried,” she said softly.
“Thanks for giving me a lift home, Mr. and Mrs. Cake,” Sunset said as they pulled up in front of her home.
“Oh, it was no problem, dear,” Cup replied, trying very hard to keep the smile on her face a secret. “Carrot and I had plans to go see a movie tonight and your home just happened to be on the way to the theater. Besides, you’re our best employee, Sunset, and we wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, even on a summer afternoon.”
“Yeah,” Sunset said, trying to hide the disappointment out of her voice. So far the day had been a bust. Nobody had remembered her birthday. They’d celebrated everyone’s so far, save for hers. And while she knew she should be used to it, not having celebrated once since her move to this world, it still stung her that her parents, her friends, and now even her employers had forgotten.
“Well, we’re here,” Carrot announced as they pulled up in front of Sunset’s home.
“Thanks for the ride again, Mr. and Mrs. Cake,” Sunset said somewhat morosely as she stepped out of their van.
“Is something wrong, dear?” Cup asked.
“No, just…tired,” Sunset said, faking a yawn lest Mrs. Cake worry about her. Stretching, she said, “I’ll see you two tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Sunset.” As they drove off, the smile on Cup’s face grew larger. “She has no idea what she’s in for, does she?”
Carrot shook his head. “Nope.” Now let me drive around the block so that we can let her go in and then we’ll park, okay? Her gift is still in the trunk, right?”
As she watched the Cakes drive off, Sunset fumbled in her backpack for her keys. There was a light on in the window; the living room lamp closest to it. But that wasn’t necessarily an indicator that anyone was home. Furthermore, with her better-than-normal-human hearing, she could tell that if anyone was home, they weren’t in the living room. Besides, the way she was feeling right now, she’d just do her homework, then lock her door, cast a warding spell so that no one would disturb her. Then she could light the dragonfire candle, and see if Celestia had sent her something. If there was a pony that wasn’t likely to forget, it was her mentor and mother figure.
Sticking the key in the door and turning the knob, she hoped that at least someone would remember that it had been h—
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
Sunset dropped her bag in shock. There, standing in front of her and carrying a cake was…all her friends. Her family. Principal Celestia and Ms. Luna. And Spike, taking pictures with his phone, commenting, “These are gonna make great blackmail items.”
A second later, Cadance pulled his phone out of his hands, looking for the delete function. “Sorry, squirt – not going through all that again.”
Meanwhile, Sunset continued to stand there, a look of complete and utter shock on her face, clearly indicating that she hadn’t expected this.
Pinkie gave Lyra a wink. “See? Toldja she wouldn’t have expected this.”
Lyra laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Still, Sunset didn’t move from her position, barely breathing or blinking. In another place and time, she might have been considered a painted stone statue in the royal gardens. But this was here and now, she was in her house looking at all the people gathered that she had in no way, shape or form even remotely planned for a situation in which practically everyone she knew was here.
The doorbell behind her rang, and Night answered it, letting the Cakes in. And with that, Sunset’s completely and utter confusion grew.
Standing together, Rarity almost felt pity for her friend. “Oh, my, it seems Sunset is a little out of her bailiwick, Twilight, dear. Perhaps you should go save her?” Twilight wordlessly nodded towards her friend and moved off. Octavia, also by the two, didn’t move, however.
“Octavia, darling, I’m quite surprised you didn’t go with Twilight to recover Sunset before the poor dear passes out,” the fashionista told the musician, who had been chatting with Fluttershy. “You two are family, correct?”
“I….” Octavia hesitated, both because she didn’t know how to express what she had to say next as well as the fact that if there was one person that she’d talked to about her current problems, it had been Rarity – the eminence-tressed girl had figured out the rift between Octavia and Sunset while no one else seemed to see it. Rarity in turn gave Octavia a look that seemed to say it all without saying anything, and the other girl sighed. “This…this is their night, Rarity,” Octavia replied, hoping it would be enough of an answer. “Sunny’s my cousin, but…Twilight…. Twilight loves her more than anything. Sunny…she fills the niche that I used to.”
“Oh, Tavi, you’re not being forgotten,” Fluttershy replied, just hearing about this for the first time and looking at Rarity with concern. Rarity gave a slight nod that indicated that they would talk about it later, and the chiffon-haired girl nodded. Determined to help her friend regardless, Fluttershy gave Octavia a hug and said, “You’re her cousin, Tavi. Sunny relies on you.”
“No. Sunny relies on no one,” Octavia said in a surprisingly cold tone that made Rarity and Fluttershy pause. “We all rely on her – and that’s the problem.”
“Sunny?” The older girl flinched as Twilight reached her. “You okay?”
“I…you…you all did this for me?” Sunset asked, astonished.
“We’re family, Sunny – or did you forget that we like to celebrate birthdays around here? I mean, yeah, Spike’s birthday back in March was a little different, but….”
“I…I don’t…. I don’t know what to say,” Sunset replied, looking completely shell-shocked.
Velvet went over and embraced Sunset. “Well, Sunny, instead of just saying something, why don’t we let the birthday girl blow out all the candles on the cake, shall we?” Taking the younger girl’s hand, Twilight took Sunset over to the cake and sat her down before Applejack placed a weirdly-colored birthday hat on the girl.
As the group within began singing while Sunset still sat there, stunned, she didn’t know what to say. Her mind was literally aswirl with excitement and confusion. She never would have expected this from her friends and family and it had hurt to even think that they would have forgotten her, but she should’ve known better. This was her family and friends, and she was a very long way from the Sunset Shimmer that none of them would have wanted anything to do with.
As she blew out the candles, they seemed to transfer their warmth to her: a good, clean kind of warmth that she felt was gone from her life for the longest time. She’d known that warmth before, being Princess Celestia’s student and daughter figure, but it had disappeared when they split and Sunset moved to the human realm. But over the last year, she’d slowly moved to this moment, the time when everything in her life would bring her that warmth once more. She never had expected it to come from this human family she was now a part of, this group of loving humans that had taken her in and made her a part of their lives. She loved them more than she could ever say and today, if nothing else, was alongside their friends, their way of saying that they loved her just as much.
“Okay, birthday girl, time to open the presents!” Night said, as Rainbow was first in line to give the birthday girl her gift.
The next few minutes went by in joy, because it wasn’t the gifts that she’d been given that counted, it was the love behind those trinkets that mattered most. Friend or family, each one given made Sunset feel like a million dollars, each a treasure:
Rainbow had been first and had gotten her friend a little something that she’d spent the year working on: a collection of Discord CDs from around the world with alternative covers or names. Looking at it, Sunset had noted with amusement that the Japanese edition of Q Who You? had been renamed Wild and Crazy for that market. There were also bonus tracks on some of them, songs that Sunset had never heard before. She hugged Rainbow for the gift and promised to make copies for her.
The gift from Applejack had been well-meaning: a year’s subscription to her dojo and classes from her instructor. Given that Sunset had actually enjoyed the brief sparring sessions that she’d had with Applejack in order to prove her “prowess” at the martial arts she’d “showed” in Horseshoe Bay months back, it would come in handy. Applejack got a hug for her efforts as well.
Rarity’s gift was…ironic, given their shared past, but something, Rarity admitted, that Sunset would need someday: a tiara, gorget and clothing to match. Though she said it was for the prom next year, the look in Rarity’s eyes indicated that it was for something else, possibly for the next time Sunset returned to Equestria to reclaim her baronial lands, maybe. In any case, Sunset happily thanked Rarity for the gift and hugged her friend repeatedly.
Fluttershy’s gift, though homemade, was no less precious for it: a combined photo album and scrapbook, with everything from the moment that they made up until now. It was heartfelt, loving and so very Fluttershy, and Sunset couldn’t help but hug her friend.
Pinkie’s gift had been one that she’d gotten with concert with her aunt and uncle. Given that Sunset had shown a little more than a casual interest in cooking, the trio had gotten the teen an expensive La Creuset cooking set, along with a few dozen cookbooks. If it had been anyone else that had done that, it would have been a bizarre gift, to say the least. But to Pinkie, Carrot and Cup? It was just another day in their lives and another three people that Sunset was glad were there for her.
And so the gifts continued, much to Sunset’s joy and surprise: a Gematria-to-English encyclopedia set from Lyra. A combined gift from Trixie and Bon-Bon, an old book of magic tricks from the antique dealer over in Everfree Glades. Minuette, not sure of what to get her friend, settled for a gift certificate. Blossomforth, ever grateful for Sunset being there for her through thick and thin, bought her friend a golden charm pendant that she could adorn later with all the trinkets and décor of her life.
Then came her family’s presents: as Evening and Ballad would be moving overseas and would have no need for two cars, they opted to give one of them to Sunset – after she got her driver’s license – because Octavia would need the minivan for her contrabass. As for Octavia, she got Sunset a guitar, as Sunset had made enough jokes about it that the raven-haired musician swore she was going to teach her pseudo-cousin even if it meant killing her. Cadance, Celestia and Luna had gone in together to order new furniture for Sunset’s bedroom, as the old stuff was still a little too male, having been Shining’s old furniture. When asked, Cadance cryptically said they were going to take Shining’s old furniture for their spare bedroom, while Luna and Celestia were a bit more honest and told Sunset how proud of her they’d become since her change.
Finally, Twilight came in hand, the rest of the family behind her, with a small, flat gift. “This is from us, and last but not least,” Twilight said, handing her the clothing-sized box. “This is heartfelt from all of us, and something we’ve wanted to give you for the longest time.” Sunset looked up towards her family. Other than the slightly annoyed look on Spike’s face, there was something just a little odd about all her immediate family standing right there, waiting for her to open it.
Taking the box and looking at everyone, who in turn seemed to take a very interested gaze at Sunset, made her feel self-conscious, almost as bad as the day where she took her official test to be Princess Celestia’s student. While she hadn’t brought life from a dormant egg like Princess Twilight Sparkle had, there were probably more than a few who still talked about the unicorn filly who tried to levitate a ton of coal…and in the process had a magical misfire that turned about a sizeable portion of Canterlot into fast-melting milk chocolate. This was, of course, nothing she could tell her family.
“So…are you planning to open it?” Velvet asked, the smile on her face both sincere and clearly an indicator that something was awaiting.
Not knowing what else to say, Sunset carefully undid the wrapping, revealing a small white paperboard box within, the kind usually used for clothing boxes. So it was clothing, she figured, no biggie – she was a teenager (at least in this form), and so sooner or later, she was going to get this kind of gift. But then her analytic mind kicked in and she began to wonder: if all her family got her was clothing, then why did everyone else – Luna, Celestia and Cadance, especially – put out for pricey presents for her? That made no sense at all, and if there was anything that Sunset cared about, one way or another, it was that things made sense. It was one of the things that made her equivalent to Princess Twilight Sparkle, mindwise, and part of the reason she got along with the human Twilight Sparkle.
None of this makes sense at all, she thought, giving her family a silent, awkward smile, then pulling the top off the box, revealing its contents.
Looking down into the box was a small stack of papers. Sunset picked up the first one…and nearly dropped it with a shock.
Sunset’s eyes started to sting with tears and a warm feeling as strong as Celestia’s sun started to well in her chest. Turning to look at her family, she was at a complete loss for words.
Velvet looked at Sunset with a loving, maternal smile. “I think it’s time we made it official, don’t you?” Night put his arm around his wife, and the family stepped closer.
Tears flowing freely and not giving a damn what she looked like at the moment, Sunset stood up from the chair and got up to hug her family – the one that wanted her for good and now wanted to make it official. She melted into the group hug, and though she couldn’t tell, there was not a single dry eye in the house as everyone cheered for Sunset’s good fortune.
Sunset held her sister, brothers, and parents, truly that to her, and wept tears of joy. Less than a second later, her aunt, uncle and cousin joined in, giving Sunset what she’d craved more than anything in her life: a family to love and would love her in return.
“We have sixty days before it becomes official,” Night told her with a smile, “and I know that every single one of those days is going to be a long slog. But for you, Sunny, it’s worth it.”
Sunset barely heard any of that. She was too busy happily crying.
A few hours later – and the whole of the living room having been converted into a large sleepover location for all the girls – Sunset still couldn’t process any of it. More than anything, it felt like a dream that she feared she would awake from, and though this school year had been nothing less than a rollercoaster for her, it had paled in comparison to her misadventure back in Equestria. And now there was this. This, just prior to the trip they would take next week to San Francisco to see Fluttershy make up with her father (or at least that was the plan.)
But she had never, in her life, expected this. She knew she was loved. She knew she was a part of the family, no matter what happened. But there was a difference between being a part of the family and actually being a part of the family. Cadance, despite the fact that she had yet to marry Shining, was family. Celestia and Luna, by dint of their long friendship with Velvet, were family. But for Sunset, it had always felt that there was this barrier between her and her loved ones, no matter how much they insisted it didn’t exist. That she was a part of them and they her, and they loved her as much as she loved them.
Today had proven that, and it was both thrilling and terrifying to Sunset.
“Sis?” She felt a tap on her shoulder as she heard Twilight’s voice. “Are you awake?”
Sunset turned around and looked into Twilight’s violet eyes, illuminated by the moonlight. “Can’t sleep. Too antsy, or nervous, or….”
“Afraid?” Twilight asked. When Sunset nodded, Twilight giggled. “Rainbow told me you’d probably react like that. Sometimes her little sister does, and Rainbow says that’s just natural. There’s always going to be a part of you that’s going to call out for your natural family, and we know that.”
“No, it’s not that, sis,” Sunset replied, glad that in just a few weeks, she could say that without a care in the world. “It’s that…I never thou—”
“My parents – sorry, our parents – have wanted to do that since January. Mom actually started the paperwork back in March, while you were gone. If anything, they were afraid that you didn’t want to be adopted.”
“No, never that! You guys are my family – the only family I have ever known!” Part of the back of Sunset’s mind railed at that lie; she knew there was a mare on the other side of the mirror who loved her like a daughter and who Sunset in turn loved like a mother. Though Princess Celestia had never adopted Sunset, the unicorn would always think of the alicorn as a mother figure to her, someone she loved dearly. Nevertheless, Celestia had not taken the steps that Velvet had, and though Sunset loved the former, it would be the latter she called mom.
“I don’t know what to say to that, Sunny, except that I promise you’ll never be alone again. You have friends and family. You have us. You have me.” Twilight reached out and kissed the flame-haired girl on the forehead, a sign of affection if there was any. “I said it long ago and I meant it: you are my sister, and I am yours. We were meant to be together, Sunny. I love you dearly and I couldn’t ask for a better older sister than the one I have.”
“Not even Cady?”
A soft grin came over Twilight. “Don’t tell her that, okay? You know she’s not the jealous type but I’m never going to hear the end of it if she finds out.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Sunset replied, laughing. In response, Twilight snuggled closer to her sister, Sunset threw an arm around Twilight, and with that, the two sisters fell asleep in each other’s arms, feeling the love they had for one another.
Sleeping just feet away, Octavia tried not to cry from what she’d just heard. All her life she had been Twilight’s “older sister” and Twilight had said so more than once. And now a usurper, a girl they barely knew and had been one step from being a who—
Stop that! Tavi screamed at her subconscious. You know what Twily meant!
But if that were true, her subconscious reminded her, Octavia would have been included as well. Even just a few months ago whenever something was going on with Sunset, Twilight made sure that Octavia was involved. They were a trio, part of their circle of friends and they all belonged together, right?
Right?
Or am I like Trixie? During the planning for the party, Octavia had been introduced to Trixie, Lyra and Bon-Bon. She quickly learned that Lyra and Trixie had grown up together and were best friends, just like Twilight and Octavia. But then Bon-Bon had entered the scene, and Lyra had definitely shown more of a penchant for being with her girlfriend than her best friend. Certainly Bon-Bon didn’t mean it on purpose; on the contrary, she acted as though Trixie was a part of Lyra’s family and they were friends as well. But Trixie was in a position of outside looking in, and unless Octavia was reading the teenage magician absolutely incorrectly, Trixie ached for the loss of someone she saw as a sister.
Just as Octavia now felt for her loss of Twilight.
Sunset woke up with the first rays of the sun on her face. She got up, stretching, then stepped around the morass of female teenage bodies that littered the room. She sighed in contentment, knowing how perfect the previous night was. Today would be different: though it was a Saturday, she’d spend the day starting to work on driving practice, since she wanted to get used to that as soon as possible. She didn’t have to work today, and that meant that was plenty of time to go down to the DMV and get her learner’s permit; Luna had said she’d talk to Iron Will about making sure that the flame-haired teen would be able to get into the last driver’s course, which started the week after next.
Quickly using the restroom, she then came back downstairs to find her mother cooking. “Looks like I’ll have to feed a small army,” Velvet said with a smile on her face. “Oh well, I’ve dealt with Spike’s little league team, and Shiny before that. I think I’ll manage. I guess I’m the kind of woman who likes having lots of children…though don’t tell your father that,” she said with a chuckle.
“I won’t. I Mrs. V…no, I mean, Mom, or….” Sunset’s face scrunched in confusion. “Am I allowed to call you that yet?”
“Technically not until it’s final,” Velvet said, cracking some eggs into a bowl, “but I promise that neither I nor Night will be offended. This is an adjustment for you, Sunny, and I know it’s not easy.”
“No, it’s not. I’m just….” Sunset bit off what she was going to say, mainly because she wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence.
Velvet took her eyes away from the bowl to look at the teen. “Sunny, nothing will happen. You are my daughter now, as far as I’m concerned, and I will fight to the gates of hell itself to protect you. I don’t care if your biological parents show up at the last second of the court appointment, we are not giving you up. You are family and we do not give up on family.”
Sunset leaned against her mother. “Thanks for being there for me…Mom.”
“No,” Velvet said gently, putting her arm around her daughter-to-be. “Thank you for being there at all, dearest one.”
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IT'S HERE! IT'S FINALLY HERE!
I love Sunsetdoption fics~
DUN DUN DUN!
HOW WILL THEY RESPOND WHEN SHE USES MAGIC!?
OH MY GOD SHIN I DID NOT KNOW I COULD GET THIS DAMN HAPPY AT COLOURFUL HORSE FANFICTION
One thing you should think about is that referring to every single character as "the x-haired girl" renders it redundant. At the moment it doesn't break up the monotony, it IS the monotony.
I was worried that the Sirens were going to crash the party for a second.
5811288 quickmeme.com/img/3c/3c09d14adcdd6626599b630020298af374a0fd836295a829a62c17c45770fd64.jpg
So, having a bit of a bleh day. Work was meh, allergies acting up something fierce. Then I saw this, and everything just brightened up 200%.
Thank you so much for sharing such wonderful, beautiful stories with us; this one and all the others.
woohooo great chapter.
You know, the whole "Viberape" is getting overused.
in the almighty words of Rodin: beautiful!!!
5841063
Intentional to my fanfics; I'm making fun of LUS.
5841387
Eye hef ebil plenz.
Loved the chapter. And I really do foresee Nightmare Octavia soon making an appearance and Sunny and friends having to stop her. I suppose about that time is when and where Sunny's past, will fully come to light to her new family. Either way keep up the amazing work you do so well. It is a true pleasure to read your (And BlueBastard's) brilliant story trilogy. Each time a new chapter is posted I give a cheer and dive right on into reading it. Again Keep up the amazing work!
5841387 It was a previously established plot point from Book I. The irony is that Coco isn't using Crackle as a means to move up the social ranks. Crackle honestly thought Suri could help Coco because she's her friend.
5841603 What's LUS?
Also, these appear to be part of the theme of the story, if not the series.
5842296
Lavender unicorn syndrome. Some people think it's a sign of a bad author; I think it's awkward and confusing to repeatedly use only names and pronouns.
Fun fact: Today's my birthday.
So thank you Shin for this wonderful birthday present. I enjoyed it thouroghly
now that I"m your daughter I have something to tell you,
5842591
I'm adopted
5842713
well its good to see the great encryption has not damped your snark
5842739
Well, she is adopted now, isn't she? Or will be in two months, at least.
What is it with you and making me feel things? I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS, DAMMIT!
But for real I almost started crying. You bastard.
What about her parents and the real Sunset showing up wondering why the hell their daughter is suddenly being adopted?
Reading this chapter was like climbing a tree... there was a lot of sap.
Fortunately, I loved every second of it! Also, as your part-time editor, I feel the need to point out something that stuck out to me:
Either Lyra practices Shinto or some other obscure religion in which the primary deity is a goddess, or this is a mistake. I guess you've gotten a little too comfortable with writing ponyisms!
5843896
Don't worry, there's still plenty of time for you let the waterworks flow - story isn't done until that tag says complete....
5843925
I wouldn't worry about Sunset Shimmer's biological parents showing up, given they were ponies and Sunset never even knew what either of them looked like until Faust showed her the moment she was placed on the orphanage's steps by her mother in a dream during Book 2, the odds of them suddenly becoming a problem aren't that high.
5844158
Well, Lyra also works at a Wiccan shop run by Trixie's mother who is convinced Sunset is utterly devoid of magic and, as mentioned by Trixie in an earlier chapter, Lyra might actually believe in the same things as Trixie's mother. She also believes that unicorns exist, which is of course impossible as unicorns do not really exist in the human world. You'd think she'd notice if there was a unicorn around Canterlot, wouldn't you?
5844277
I was referring to her human counterpart and her human real parents. They may get a letter asking them to finalize the adoption and wouldn't that throw a wrench in the system.
5844158
No, that was intentional. Remember that Lyra works in Trixie's mother's store, and Harmonic Convergence is likely a Wiccan/pagan (if only because she's a New Age flake), so references like that probably rubbed off on the mint-haired teen. To compare, note that Sunset has made Christian comments throughout 7DSJ despite not being Christian herself; she picked it up from her adoptive family.
Alternatively, Lyra might actually be a goddess worshipper. Blue would have to decide that.
5844380
Given that Velvet and Night have been planning this for a while, human Sunset Shimmer's (HSS) family would have been contacted by this point if available; remember that is part of what Velvet does for a living. However, given the statement that HSS ran away and is possibly dead for nearly a decade now, her parents likely no longer live in the Canterlot metro area.
Was reading this in the middle of my class and I was starting to cry near the end/
5844437 5844437 I'm still hoping human Sunset Shimmer is an undead vampire instead of just being dead.
You guys already did werewolves on this.
Please do vampires on it next alright?
5845360
Can't. Magic of the human variety has been dead on Earth until Twilight awoke it in the Humane Five.
5845360
Cadance is a lawyer, so the quota for blood-sucking parasites has already been met, unfortunately.
Oh Sunny needed this, so badly.
I'm really worried about Tavi though, I can totally understand her position and how she feels totally like she's been replaced by Sunny, the poor dear needs a bit of love and reassurance.
Shin, once again you deliver gold. Thanks for the update and as always, looking forward to the ongoing saga to continue.
This is my third time in the last while that I have read this chapter IRL I know how Sunset feels minus being a unicorn the whole not really knowing her real family and having been adopted as a child.
This was amazingly great !!! How much longer do you think till next chapter?
Just curious what did princess celestia get her?
5845384
Hold on. Did you say "awaken" rather than "bring"?
5866137
Why, yes I did - fancy that.
5866146
So humans in this universe aren´t magically dead, but more like a dried soil which can be watered and fertilized under certain circumstances .
You know, that could be a plot point for a recursive fic. Mysterious character approaches Trixie (or another OC) and offer her to awaken her potential and learn the ways of true magic. What would she give up in return of such opportunity?
5866164
That's assuming any of that is true - Blue has the final call as it's his universe.
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Now watch as it turns out the Human Sunset Shimmer turns out to be an international terrorist (be it Sirens or other), and the FBI comes down on Pony Sunset Shimmer like a ton of bricks.
Also, three updates in one month has appeased my purely justified rage over the April Fools Day post. Consider your upvote, Fav, and Follow restored.
Love this ch and was in tears and hay for Sunny.
Given that I actually live in Southern Oregon, Klamath is right next to the middle of nowhere (and by that I mean middle of nowhere) so somehow I doubt Octavia would end up there for a recital.
Unless she's playing at the air force base they have over there (and I have no idea why she would go there either) or up at the Crater Lake lodge, I don't really see why she would leave a large city to go there for a recital...of course, Sunset doesn't know that...
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With the exception of some obvious tweaks, that is the actual California state adoption petition.
There's also a joke on there that I'm surprised no one's caught yet.
Damn it Spike
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it--didn't see anything when I skimmed a few later comments--but Velvet's letter is broken. It just says Invalid Image.
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No, it's actually there; for some reason, Fimfic's CDN seems to regularly break it. I've already had to change the link once and I'm not sure what the problem is. It will probably pop up later, but here's the direct link if you want to read it.
https://megami-studios.dreamhosters.com/Fimfic/7DSJ/letters/Book3/velvet's_2nd_note_to_sunset.png
Somehow you managed to double encode the html string for the note so uhh...here have it fixed: megami-studios.dreamhosters.com/Fimfic/7DSJ/letters/Book3/velvet's_2nd_note_to_sunset.png
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It seems to hate spaces in image links. At least the loader does.