Student Becomes Teacher
I touched the two gold bangles around my neck, a gift from Zecora in recognition of my continuing education with her. They always made me feel better. She’d proven to be a better teacher than Celestia, in some ways. She never lied to me, or kept a secret, and even explained things without asking just because she thought I’d be curious. There were things I’d never really learned, like how to pass through thick plants without disturbing them, or her astounding sense of where plants and animals were around her.
I was making do with magic, and she encouraged me. She liked it when I came up with my own solution. It was why I respected her, and why she was my friend. She didn’t judge me.
A pony across the street glanced at me. I suddenly felt self-conscious, turning away and walking quickly. I hated going into town.
I pulled my cloak more tightly around my body. It was ragged after years of living in the forest, and even with the sewing lessons Granny Smith had given me, the thick material was worn through in places until it was almost like cheesecloth. I wasn’t a vain pony, and I was starting to get more comfortable coming into town, but I really didn’t want other ponies looking at me.
Today was special, and I’d have to put up with it. I knocked on the door and glanced at the building I’d come to. It might have been the strangest place in town, like a giant version of the gingerbread castles ponies would make around Hearth’s Warming Eve. The door opened wide, quickly enough to surprise me.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” I found myself looking down at a bouncing pink pony, whose exuberance quickly drained as she looked at me. She squeaked and bolted, running away. I could hardly blame her. I was a scary witch, after all.
I let myself in and looked around. The party was in full swing, and everything smelled like sugar. I didn’t plan on staying for long, but I’d promised that I’d show up. Applejack had grown a lot in the last few years. She was nearly as tall as I was, and she’d only just become a teenager. I trotted over to where she was laughing with a few other foals, probably from her class at school.
Ponies had started to notice me. I heard the chatter die down as I stalked across the brightly-lit room like a living shadow.
“Applejack,” I said, using a minor spell to give my voice echo and depth. I saw ponies start to cower. “I have come for you.”
“It’s the Pony of Shadows!” Screamed the pink one, running upstairs.
“Oh, hey Sunset,” Applejack said, totally unperturbed. She held out a cup. “Want some punch?”
I snorted with laughter and dropped the voice spell, lowering my hood so I didn’t look quite so much like the pale pony of death.
“Nothing scares you, does it?” I took the cup, and put a wrapped box in her hoof. “Here. Happy birthday, Applejack.”
“You didn’t have to get me nothin’, Sunset,” she smiled. “I’m just glad we got you to come outta those woods for a spell.”
“For a spell? Nah, mostly I do my spells in the woods,” I retorted. “Besides, it’s your birthday. I didn’t want to be the pony who shows up with empty hooves and gets free snacks out of it.”
She started unwrapping the box. It had taken me a while to get everything together - I don’t exactly do a lot of shopping these days. Inside was a sealed wooden box, the edges coated in wax.
“It’s a Zebrican harvest charm,” I explained. “I know you don’t like mixing apples and magic, but this is more like a tradition for good luck. If you plant it in a field, it’ll help protect the trees from rot and insects.”
“That’s a mighty thoughtful gift,” Applejack smiled. “But it wouldn’t have nothin’ to do with when you took an apple from the wrong bushel and found a worm in it, would it?”
“I can still taste it,” I shuddered. It had almost put me off apples, until Granny Smith had made her famous apple butter and peanut brittle sandwiches for lunch, after which I found I rather liked apples again.
“Thank you, Sunset,” she said, hugging me for a moment. “We’re just about to cut the cake. You wanna stay and do th’ honors?”
I shook my head, looking at the candle-lit cake. I didn’t want to be anywhere near cake. Too many bad memories. “Sorry. I should go before I scare the rest of your guests off. You enjoy yourself, Applejack.” I gave her a quick hug in return before turning to leave, replacing my hood as I walked towards the door.
I heard conversations start again as I walked outside. It didn’t hurt. It wasn’t like they were ponies I knew. It was just a reminder that I wasn’t like them. I was almost a decade older and an outsider.
I sighed and tried not to think about the pink pony that had run away from me. I should have enjoyed it. I was trying to cultivate the image of a big, scary witch after all. I shook my head and trotted quickly, pulling shadows around myself to try and hide as I made my way out of town and back towards the safety of the Everfree.
It didn't hurt.
Four years. I’d been imposing on Zecora for almost four years now. I needed to find my own place. Zecora had explored more deeply into the woods than I had. There was a dense core to the Everfree, a center where all the twisted leylines and chaotic magic centered. I’d gotten close a few times and seen the ruins of a castle, but had stayed away.
Today, I was going to overcome that fear. I wasn’t going to build some shack in the woods if I could find existing shelter to use, and the old castle might just be what I needed. With all of the strange magic around the place, though, I was going to have to be careful.
Being careful, today, meant finding my way through the brush without burning it down. A few firestorm spells would definitely had made it easier, but in this case maybe easy was going to take a back seat to caution.
One thing it would have helped with, though, was seeing more than two hooves in front of my face. I growled and tried to push through the thick fronds of the ferns in front of me, got my bad hoof painfully tangled in vines, started cursing, and lost my balance when I tried to pull myself free.
I twisted and rolled, having hit a downslope, tumbling down the incline and fighting to slow myself as rocks and branches bruised me. Then I was abruptly free. Free-falling, I mean. I squeaked as I realized I was falling into a deep gorge, started to panic, and decided I’d rather go out with a bang than a splat.
I charged up a teleport spell and flung myself towards a rickety-looking bridge strung across the ravine.
I wasn’t sure what surprised me more - when the spell worked or when the bridge held my weight. Teleport spells failed too often for comfort in the Everfree. I’d appeared a few hooves above it and landed so heavily on my back I was sure I was about to go right back down into the gorge I’d escaped. Somehow, the wood and ropes didn’t break, and I was left holding onto them for dear life as the unbalanced bridge swung back and forth from the force of my impact.
“Why can’t I ever catch a break?” I whispered, as I waited for the oscillations to cease. The pendulum-like movement slowed, and I nearly felt safe, though it still creaked and twisted slightly in the wind above the steep drop.
“Okay, Sunset. It’s just a bridge,” I said, taking a deep breath and standing. Everything shifted and moved, and I squeaked and threw myself down again. I edged along, almost crawling, and made a critical mistake. I looked over the edge.
It’s funny - I don’t remember being afraid of heights before I left Canterlot. Maybe a long fall and a near-death experience does that to a pony. I felt dizzy as I looked at the drop into darkness, the bottom too far away to make out in the gloom.
I squeezed my eyes shut and grabbed the guide rope.
“Just keep moving,” I told myself. “You’re more than halfway across, the only way out is through. You’re the strongest unicorn. Even if you fall, you’ve got plenty of ways to save yourself. You can use a feather spell. Or summon a bunch of pillows! Or even use a precisely timed fireball to break your fall-” My hoof slipped as I tried to step onto a board that had gone missing.
I screamed.
“Why did I ever want stupid bucking wings in the first place?!” I yelled, to no one in particular. I gave up on the bridge, vanishing in a burst of light and reappearing on the other side. Unfortunately, I had been upset and not thinking too clearly when I cast the spell. I came out on the other side upside-down and covered in soot.
I landed on my face.
“Ow,” I said, softly. All my major organs seemed to be in place, and I was across the gorge. Two good pieces of news. “Note to self: replace old bridge with something sturdier. Made out of stone.” I shook myself and looked back at the bridge. Now that I wasn’t busy being terrified, I could see that it was incredibly old. If it wasn’t for the enchantments I could see on it, it would have fallen to dust long ago.
Seemed like a sign that I might be on the right track. You didn’t build a bridge like that unless it led somewhere.
“Speaking of tracks…” I mumbled, digging at the ground. The undergrowth here was different, all moss instead of grasses and ferns. I found out why very quickly. The moss was a thin layer over cobblestone. I smiled and followed the path, the moss making a clear trail. It was actually surprisingly pleasant. There weren’t any signs of huge predators here, and there was a certain sense of quiet contemplation.
As the castle came into view, though, I shivered. I wasn’t afraid of it. I wasn’t afraid of anything (excepting the Princess, and the various ways the Princess might find me). But the way it was ruined, that sense of serenity… it suddenly felt like I was walking through a graveyard. Maybe I’d learned more from Zecora than I’d thought. She’d often spoken of a spirit world, a place of dreams and death, and if there was such a place it felt like it was very close at hoof here.
As I walked, I saw other paths branching away, stones and heaps of rubble around me and hidden among the small trees. Had it all been a city once? I didn’t remember hearing anything about a major city here.
I scanned the area for magic as I made my way to the castle. There were traceries of old magic, more like ghosts of titanic spells than anything still active, lingering traces of what must have been apocalyptic sorceries.
Getting into the castle was easy enough. There were no guards, the doors were open and unused, and even if they hadn’t been, the roof had crumbled away long ago. There was a complex network of wards stretched across it, mostly spells of preservation, the more powerful wards having worn away over time until their strongest effect was to push dangerous animals away.
Things were looking up. If the wards would keep me from being eaten in my sleep, this was definitely the place to be.
I pushed a door open, the hinges giving out. It crashed to the ground with a sound like thunder, raising a huge cloud of dust.
“Home sweet home,” I said to myself. It was some kind of foyer area, dominated by an odd stone orrey. Amazingly well-preserved, but I couldn’t tell what it was supposed to represent. Maybe it would make sense to a classical art scholar. I walked past it and through a hallway almost entirely open to the elements, the wall having crumbled to nothing.
When I pushed the next door open, I started laughing. I couldn’t help it.
“Of all the places to go…” I snorted, walking inside. It was a throne room. And hanging from the walls were images of a bright sun and a white horse. Of course. It was just my luck. Try to escape from Celestia and end up in her old home.
“It’s probably the last place she’d look,” I muttered, looking at the ancient tapestry. Even the spells hadn’t preserved it perfectly, the colors starting to fade and the edges turning ragged. I was so absorbed by melancholy thoughts that I didn’t notice something strange until I turned around.
There were two thrones. And for every image of Celestia, there was one of another, her equal and opposite. Lunar images instead of solar symbols. I trotted up to the thrones and looked at them. They were nearly equal.
“Two thrones… two princesses?” I muttered. “What does that mean?”
It wasn’t something I was going to solve staring at rocks. I explored the rest of the castle and quickly found something that made me almost faint. A library. Thousands of books, impossibly well-preserved. And they’d been abandoned for ages. They were mine. All mine.
“I might just be the luckiest pony alive,” I said to myself. I started looking through the books, not taking any yet. I’d have all the time in the world for that. “There’s the Ponype Scriptures! And the Book of Megan! They’ve even got the Clover Manuscript!” I grinned widely as I danced down the aisle.
There was nothing that could ruin my day.
Or at least that’s what I thought, until my saddlebag started buzzing. I reacted with the appropriate grace of a mighty sorceress, apprentice shaman, and scary witch. That is to say, I made a choked squeaking sound, threw my saddlebags across the room, and ran for cover like they were about to explode.
Look, it made sense at the time. I’d been mixing a lot of potions lately, and when your potions started shaking and glowing and you didn’t expect it, you either reacted quickly or you ended up turning green for a week. Or into a stallion. I didn’t want to even think about that incident if I could help it.
When I realized what the noise actually was, I got even more worried. I’d kept my journal because, well, it was one of the few things that was really mine. It was stupid, sentimental, and if I wasn’t in the Everfree, Celestia probably could have used it to find me in seconds. She hadn’t written to me since I’d left, either.
Had she found me while I was in town? Had I made a critical error? Why would she try to contact me now?
I didn’t move for long minutes, watching the sky and the doors. If it was the precursor to an ambush of some kind, I was going to be prepared.
Sweat dripped down my face and neck. My saddlebag still vibrated and buzzed softly. No sign of any teleportation. No alerts being sent from the ancient castle’s broken wards. There was nothing to do but see what the Princess had written.
I kept my guard up and dragged the book out of my saddlebags from as great a distance as I could manage. I opened it to the last page and… there was nothing there.
Was the book broken? Had the strange magic of the Everfree messed up the enchantment somehow? I flipped through it, confused. That’s when I saw it. Notes written in the margins, in hoofwriting I didn’t recognize.
It seems this is the journal of a previous student. Possible study guide?
Pyrokinesis? The princess hasn’t taught me any fire spells yet. These notes on proper usage should be useful for independent study.
This only happened a few years ago! Where is this ‘Sunset Shimmer’ now? Why didn’t the princess ever tell me about her?
There were a few other technical notes, mostly around where I’d copied useful information scavenged from different books together into easily-referenced tables. It was pretty obvious what had happened. I’d been replaced. Again. And this time she wasn't even pretending it was something else, like when she'd tried to make Cadance and I get along.
I guess it had to happen sooner or later. I just thought it would take more time. I rubbed at my eyes. Yeah, I was starting to cry. I mean, I knew I’d messed up, but I still thought it would take more time than that. So much for when Celestia had told me that power like mine only came around once in a generation.
I admit, part of me still cared. I mean, the Princess was the closest thing I had to a family, and now that she had a new student it was like… like I’d lost even that. Maybe I’d just been paranoid because I still wanted to think I mattered to Celestia. Clearly that wasn’t as close to the truth as I’d like.
I put the book down, watching as more notes appeared. What to do? Throw the book away? It’d be the smart thing to do. If the Princess had a new student, it had to mean she wasn’t looking for me anymore. I could make a clean break of it.
I tried to get back to cataloging books, but it wasn’t helping. That feeling kept nagging at me, the sense of loss and resentment. I went back to the journal. Part of me wanted to hate this nameless replacement. It would be easy. She’d taken what should be mine and- and…
I groaned and collapsed onto the floor.
“What’s the point?” I mumbled. “She doesn’t even know who I am. It’s Celestia’s fault, not that new student’s. She probably kicked me out because she already had a replacement in mind.” I rolled onto my back and looked up at the sky.
I couldn’t ignore it. I had to do something.
I pulled the book over and flipped back to the blank page I’d checked before.
“It’s been a long time since I did this…”
I wouldn’t use this as a study guide. You’ll just make the same mistakes I did. And don’t tell her about this. - Sunset Shimmer
I sighed and closed the book, immediately regretting it. It was stupid to think that the Princess wouldn’t find out about it. She’d probably given her new student my journal in the first place. I’m sure she’d be telling her all about how I’d gone into dark magic and that I'd been so disappointing that she'd ordered everypony to forget about me.
I was surprised when there was a reply a few minutes later.
I didn’t know this was a communication tool! I’m sorry for writing in your journal. I took it from the Princess’ room without asking. I thought it was a spellbook but then I started reading and it was a journal and I thought it would be a way to actually get ahead of the Princess in lessons and I’m sorry!
I snorted. At least she’d taken it without permission. It meant the Princess might not find out for a while. I was starting to calm down when another message appeared.
Are you another student? I didn’t know the Princess had other students. My name is Twilight Sparkle.
I could have just ignored her. Should have, really. I was kind of amused, though.
I was. She kicked me out after I failed a test. If you don’t want to get kicked out, you probably shouldn’t tell her you contacted me.
That was actually solid advice, as far as I was concerned. Celestia seemed to like her students to stay in the dark. The less this Twilight Sparkle wrote to me, the more likely she wouldn’t be thrown out onto the street.
Just because you failed a test? Why would she do that? What happened? I promise I won’t tell her I just have to know!
Her hornwriting was becoming more and more scratchy. I could barely read it towards the end of that message. I was in pretty deep now. A second message came in while I was deciding what to do, another almost indecipherable plea for help. Seems like I’d have to give her at least something to go on.
I’m a bad pony who did bad things. We had a fight. If you want to stay on her good side, just take whatever she gives you and never ask for more. I wanted things I wasn’t allowed to have, and she kicked me out just like that, and she hates me enough that she wouldn’t even tell ponies about me. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.
There was a long delay after that. I put the book down. Maybe she’d finally come to her senses. I didn’t feel much like reading today, though. I tried to think about other things I could do. Should do. I needed to let Zecora know I’d found a place to stay, I needed to start sorting the books, I needed to get a bunk together.
All I could do right now was just sit, though. I didn’t want to do anything but curl up and not do anything. A message came through the book. I glanced at it, and my lip curled into a smirk.
If you’re a bad pony, does that mean you’d give me answers to test questions?
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im loveing this more and more with every chapter its so GOOD!
Wow, you are just pounding out these chapters! Awesome! Can't wait to see where it's going!
Heh, nice twist there with the message book. I see a little more where this is going, but still not entirely sure what the final outcome will be.
And that final line cracked me up.
Not cheating if you don't get caught
Celestia might notice if Twilight's answers resemble Sunset Shimmer's. How Celestia reacts to it is another matter.
Ha! This is going to end in flames
fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/185/0/e/twilight_sparkle_is_on_fire_by_sly__fox-d55v973.png
fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/186/5/1/flamming_sunset_shimmer__fire_brush_test__by_digiteku-d7pb3v1.png
Great chapter
I'm sure being told that she could be kicked out into the street at any moment won't do anything to make Twilight even more neurotic and crazy than usual, right?
Seeing Lesson Zero? Not really.
5801040 I suspect that Twilight at least heard rumors about Sunset Shimmer, even if she never knew Sunset's name. Sunset Shimmer as a cautionary tale would explain a lot about Twilight's attitude towards Celestia.
So Sunset's the reason Twilight's horrified if she ever disappoints the princess. Makes sense. Nice going, Sunset.
I'm torn as to whether you nailed Twilight here or if it's OOC! Just how much of a goodie two shoes is Twilight really? Is she like younger me who followed the rules nearly religiously, or is she the kind of person who knows to bend the rules when she can get away with it? The show seems to imply the latter, but is that just because she's afraid of Celestia or because thats really how she is? You've even got me questioning just how well I know my favorite character! Definately favoriting this
5857319 But isn't this story an alternate universe? In canon Sunset was on the other side of the mirror through that time, so there must have been something else to cause that.
Not where I'd want to take it, but interesting plot twist. I'm still after a story where Sunset really goes off the deep end. Might have to write it myself, probably do a horrible job though. Kind of curious to see what Twilight makes of this.
Good job telling Twilight that, Sunset.
Is it even possible for her to be more neurotic about tests than canon?
6223434 Have you tried Albinocorn's Sunset through time? It doesn't look like it at first glance and it isn't the central conflict, but the theme can be found in a part of the story.
Umm... Question, how did Twilight not know it was Sunset writing to her the first time when Sunset wrote her name on the first message?
Twilight, cheating. heh heh. Hahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
(Drug dealer voice)
Hey kid u wana learn some dark magic
6786327 (in Palpatines voice)
Good. GOOOOOD!
Hahahaha that last line was pure gold.
I swear, just a few generations and suddenly you're an eldritch monster to write books about. Ungrateful ponies.
Ohhh-ho-ho, I like where this is going.
Well, this is going to be hilarious. *cackles in Palpatinian glee*
Don't do it, Twilight. She'll teach you DOUBLE NECROMANCY. Not. Even. Once.
"I know you don't like mixing apples and magic..."
FACEPALM TO END ALL FACEPALMS.
Their very first cash crop was ZAP APPLES. For which they perform FOLK MAGIC RITUALS.
WRITER HAS CRITICAL RESEARCH FAILURE.
7998597 In the show there is a big distinction between controlled unicorn magic as Twilight uses and all those other weird inexplicable phenomenons in equestria falling under folk magic.
The apple family doesn't seem to want to employ the former but has no issues with the later.
I wouldn't call this a research failure.
WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE TWILIGHT WE HAVE COOKIES
7998597
Suspension of disbelief, my good sir. Suspension. Of. Disbelief.
ROFLMAO!
Twilight, it's not a good idea to talk to a journal. It could be a Horcrux! :P
8118996
Cookies and extra credit *evil grin with mustache*
What you did there, I see it.
Sunset lies to herself a lot, huh.
SNERK
That explains why Twi is a bit of a nervous wreck.
This is the beginning of a bueitiful relationship.
But I think this was the only one!
Oh man. Castle of the Two Sisters? Meeting Twilight via journal? Man oh man.
Honestly, I hate Sunset's addiction to fire magic. It makes her seem like a tiny, rebellious Celestia. And her fear of using dark magic?
Please, there is no evil knowledge or evil magic, only evil practices. There are safe ways to perform dark magic. And seriously, what's the friggin' difference between dark magic and battle magic designed to kill and maim!?
9682741
That’s what every evil warlock overlord says. Then you’re telling yourself there’s no harm in an evil cackle or two. Pretty soon, you realize you’re up to three virgin sacrifices a week, and at that rate the nearby villages start running short really quick, I’ll tell you. Then you conquer the neighboring barony to get more, and it’s all downhill from there. By the time the torch and pitchfork crowd shows up you’ve already sold your soul to the Old Ones and you haven’t done anything but gibber for the last three weeks.
9682741 And exactly what actual Dark Magic have you successfully performed?
It's quite easy to pretend everything's A-OK with things that don't actually exist.
Now, COMMUNISM, on the other hoof. THAT'S always evil! (take that China!)
And that was how Twilight Sparkle was lured to the Dark Side.
9682741
Aight. Looks like we need to help clear something up for you. Like you said all magic is the same, just weapons and tools to be used, as such, nothing wrong with using them as it all depends on the user. Well, you’ll be right, if magic was a conventional weapon like a sword or a nuclear middle.
Thing is, magic is often written as something linked to a person’s psyche, and more often than not, tend to have an impact on their casters. Now Dark Magic were often classified as such because they tend to have the greatest influence on their caster, and often in a negative way( like madness) or somehow breach morals and ethics( like mind reading, cause are you okay with someone reading your mind?).
So what examples are there? Say we have a form of shadow magic that has no detriments whatsoever. That’s not dark magic. On the other hand, say there was another brand of shadow magic even more powerful than the first, but has a tendency to drive its user into a fit of murderous frenzy and you will be as likely to kill your friends as you would your foe. Now that’s dark magic, because it not only endangers yourself, but those around you.
As such, dark magic is classified as such not because they are useful or anything, but because of a multitude of factors, like a price too high to pay, a side effect that will change you for the worse and all that other stuff.
Hope this helps.
Never gives those to Pinkie, she might explode from the sugar rush
Twilight! Cheating on a test! What would Shining say?
5857319 In Sunset's defense, she was trying to protect Twilight ... but Road to Tartarus and all ....
Silly Pinkie! New ponies should be welcomed, not ran away from!
Meanie
So thoughtful. No selfish reasons at all
Sure. Sure. We believe you
Heh. That's the center of the whole mess? That explains a bunch.
Because then you can just fly away instead of plummeting to your death
Luckily she's got a basis of masonry training
Dun dun dunnnn!
It means she kept stuff from you. Again. How surprising!
Ha, Megan. Dem old dusty legends about hu-mons
Hoofwriting? Not only seems writing with hooves completely unfeasible (I'm fairly sure the few instances we've seen used their mouths), but unicorns like Sunset will probably not even associate writing with hooves at all, since they use telekinesis
Whoops, Twilight found the journal on the other side
Write her back. Tell her the Princess is in a habit of not telling her students a great many things. See what the person on the other side figures out from that
Hey, that's on average. She just got lucky, okay?
That's a bit presumptious, especially given the clear and obvious cause of you getting kicked out
Oh no. Twi is gonna go absolutely neurotic over that
Ah, little Twilight has a practical side
Remarks and corrections:
> “It’s the Pony of Shadows!” Screamed the pink one, running upstairs.
I've seen this one a few times throughout the chapters... there should not be a captital letter on the part behind the quote here, since it's a "s/he said" construction.
> I shook my head, looking at the candle-lit cake.
> I groaned and collapsed onto the floor.
Missing paragraph split before these.
BA-DUM TSSS!
I always imagined the Everfree to be in it's state because of some spell going wrong. I really like what this is implying.
9769075
Considering for someone who says that she a scary witch she hasn't exactly done anything to anyone besides the critters in the everfree and they probably do the same to her.
gasp little miss perfect is cheating on a test?! This is the end, discord will return too early to reform and groger will come back to end the world! Lolz this can't possibly bite her in the flank later on...
ohhh my god Twilight
Twilight's here!
It's fascinating, if obvious in hindsight, that even Sunset didn't know about Luna. She must've had a hell of a shock when she started talking to Twilight and realized she had an aunt.
Poor Celestia, honestly. I mean, she likely encouraged ponies to forget Luna on purpose so she'd have as peaceful a return as possible, but it's still sad how somepony so important is forgotten, when the Pony of Shadows of all insignificant upstarts is remembered.
EYYY TWILIGHT IS HEREEE
Right next to The Book of Darkness and The Neighcronomicron, too...
And twenty different cookbooks about cake...
I mean, four years is a pretty good break to grieve before taking on a new student, i hate to side with Celestia here. Cause she's a terrible mom and Sunset has very justified mommy issues