• Published 29th Sep 2015
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Sunset Reset - LordBrony2040



After the Friendship Games, Sunset Shimmer decided it's time to return home. It's just that she comes back a bit earlier than expected.

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Chapter 9: The Trial and Tribulation of Sunset Shimmer

Hushed murmurs spread amongst the crowd, and Sunset’s mouth dropped as if her jaw were made of lead. To accuse another pony of being a changeling was just about the most life-destroying thing that one pony could do to another! Even those that were able to show that they were indeed ponies became emotionally scarred by the experience in ways Sunset had only heard about.

While nobody wanted to talk about it, Sunset knew that there had been more than one pony in the history of Equestria that used such an accusation to remove a political rival. But the fact that someone had dared to try something as stupid as that with her quickly brought Sunset’s emotions to a boil. When she found out the idiot responsible, she was going to roast him alive in front of all of his little friends!

And the fact that Celestia was leading the charge it was...just...wrong!

Really, wrong.

So wrong in fact that it made the alicorn stop for a moment and frown. Okay Sunset, calm down a second, she told herself as both scowled at and scanned the crowd. This...isn’t right. Take a look around. Think for a second and figure out what this is all about.

Somepony accusing her of being a changeling, Sunset might be able to understand. She didn’t exactly have many friends in the Canterlot political arena, and such an accusation was death to such ponies. So...some idiot using such a tactic against her wasn’t completely out of the question.

But Celestia going along with it? That idea was so absolutely preposterous that it made Sunset want to laugh, which also helped to get what was left of her anger under control. So instead of lashing out, she looked around for clues to help her see what was really going on.

Although she had been away from Equestria for several years, Sunset's memory had a few names to go with the faces she could pick out in the crowd of important ponies. However, other than the fact that both members from the house of nobles and commoners were present along with at least three stallions with some military history in their family, Sunset couldn’t see anything else connecting them besides the fact they were all ponies of high political rank or influence.

Celestia looked...unreadable. Which Sunset supposed was a clue in and of itself. Usually, Celesta wore her heart on her sleeve and was genuine to a fault. She wasn't a pony that didn’t let others who knew her know exactly what she was thinking at a glance. It was how Sunset could remember her displeasure so clearly despite all the time they had spent apart. The fact that she wasn’t outright telling Sunset she also bought into this foolishness with a glare, or was treating this whole spectacle like the idiocy that it was with a little smile told the amber alicorn that there was something else going on when it came to her mother.

Then there was Sunset herself. Even though she was surrounded by guards, her horn was still free to cast magic. A dangerous pony like her should have had her horn disabled and her wings bound. But she was still completely free and mobile.

So, a bunch of important ponies and a stupid accusation they can’t really prove, Mom acting all semi-tyrannical, and me being...antagonized without being restrained, Sunset told herself as she remembered the trip to the throne room. Although she couldn’t really see the point to such a farce, Sunset decided to play along for the moment while she worked out what was going on in her head.

The first thing she needed to do was meet with her accuser. That could very well provide another clue. At the very least, she would know who to go after in revenge later on down the road. “Who says that I'm a changeling?” the alicorn demanded with a lot less force than she had meant to. With most of her attention on the crowd as she tried to read it, Sunset had to admit that she wasn’t putting her all into the performance. “If somepony is going to accuse me, then I have a right to know who they are!”

Although the second half of her performance sounded better, Sunset felt there was still something missing. Next time, maybe she needed to add an indignant stomp of her hooves. Making a small earthquake to shake the room and rattle some of the ponies around her would serve them right for all the glares they were giving her.

Unless, all of this really was a test on Celestia's part, and keeping her cool was what Sunset really needed to do to pass it. Ugh, I really hate playing mind games like this.

Above her on the throne, Sunset saw Celestia blink as her expression wavered for a second before she spoke. Although if she tried to form smile, or a frown, Sunset couldn’t tell. “Several ponies have reported strange behavior since you...grew wings,” the princess told her, making Sunset frown on that last part. “In the past week, Dust Bunny, the maid that cleans your room says that you’ve been picking up after yourself much more than usual, and have offered to assist her on multiple occasions when she found you still inside. Numerous guards and outdoor staff reported that you have been practicing lower level spells in the gardens that are well below your skill level for entertainment instead of passing the time reading high level spellbooks as you usually do. Even I have noticed certain…oddities in your behavior over the past several days, such as your fast friendship with my niece, the Princess of Love.”

As the reasons behind all the accusations mounted, Sunset found her sense of self-control slipping bit by bit, until….

“Hehehe Ah hahahaha!” she laughed uncontrollably as ponies around her reacted with nothing but fear and worry.

“She’s laughing!” a noble mare cried out in horror.

“That means we’ve fallen into her insidious trap!” some heavyset stallion to Sunset’s left shouted.

“Guards quickly! STOP HER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!” another stallion Sunset couldn’t see yelled from the back of the crowd.

The sound of a heavily shoed hoof shifting around on the floor brought Sunset back under control as she looked to see that some of the pegasi around her were actually taking the bystander’s panicked shout as an order! But before she could even move to defend herself, Hard Line let out a shout. “Calm down you idiots! If anypony makes a move towards the accused without my order, you’ll be cleaning the barracks bathroom for the next year!”

“Wha-What the-” Sunset stuttered as she stumbled around, her wings twitched, telling the alicorn to somehow get away from the danger that was all around her. It also allowed the mare to realise something. Whatever was going on, it wasn't some kind of test, or a really bad joke that Celestia was playing on her.

All of the ponies in the hall, they really thought she was a fucking metamorphic bug!

“On you have got to be kidding me!” she shouted at all of the ponies around her. “You think I'm a changeling because I've been NICE FOR A FEW DAYS? ARE YOU ALL COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MINDS?”

A second later, the crowd erupted into a mass of responses.

“The real Sunset Shimmer would never act the way you’ve been!”

“We know what you really are changeling!

“Don't try and confuse us with your words monster!”

Sunset did her best to ignore the taunts. Her time at CHS had been much worse than the crowd of self-important ponies glaring at her across the line of guards. Back in the human world, those had been her friends and other people Sunset had wanted to accept her. The ponies in front of her now, she didn't much care what they thought.

Except for one.

Sunset looked up at her mother. “And you?”

“Pardon?” Celestia replied evenly, her mask still in place.

The fact that she had spoken so...coldly started to make a worry churn in Sunset's gut. “Do you actually think I’m a changeling?” she asked, her voice betraying her and showing the mare’s unease. “After everything that’s happened? You’re supposed to be the one judging all this, right? That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? Well I’ve been with you and Cadance every day for the past week! All you have to do is say not guilty and end this stupid farce!”

“My personal beliefs have no bearing on your burden of proof,” Celestia said evenly before her wings fidgeted, and she moved her eyes ever so slightly away from the smaller alicon without turning her head. “And your time is down to two minutes. So I would suggest you show us something that no changeling can do.”

The big alicorn’s body language told Sunset all she needed to know.

Not wasting a second, the amber alicorn set her mind back on task. Okay so...a crowd of politically important ponies. Sunset may not have known just what connected them all, or their exact reason for being in the throne room, but it was obvious that the show being put on was for them in some way.

No restraints on my magic, she went on as she looked up at her horn. It was another oddity that stood out. Even if Celestia was sitting right in front of her, Sunset knew that her mother would have never allowed something as dangerous as a changeling to walk around unbound. If our magical restraints would even work on one of them. Sunset shook her head to clear out the stray thought. She needed to keep her mind focused.

And a time limit, she finished.

It was the time limit that made Sunset certain about what was going on.

It was a test. Sunset was sure of that. It wasn't the usual kind of test that Celestia tended to administer, but it was a test nonetheless. She didn’t know why, but Sunset could see that clearly. Only...the guards and the crowd were real as far as she could tell. And they weren’t acting.

BUT A TEST OVER WHAT? Sunset mentally yelled. Was she really supposed to prove to them that she wasn’t a changeling? Or was there some deeper purpose? Did Sunset need to refuse to play their game at all? Tell them all how stupid this all was?

“Time's up,” Celestia said.

Sunset's anger boiled over at her mother’s words. “Oh give me a second here!” she shouted before rearing up and stomping her hooves for effect. The room shook from the impact, and became little more than a mass of chaos as the ponies reacted to her outburst. The pegasi surrounding Sunset took to the skies before she heard Hard Line shout in surprise as he fell.

Then, with a cry of “SHE’S ATTACKING!” everypony in the room that wasn’t a member of the military screamed in panic before stampeding towards the direction of the double doors.

As for the guards, the unicorns that had lined the carpet on found themselves trampled by the more important ponies that didn't want to wait for them them to get out of the way. Above, the pegasi were a mess as a few flying officials tried to make their escape into the air like their instincts told them to.

On the ground, Sunset found herself frozen by the reaction her outburst had caused. Despite the fact they had just finished calling for her proverbial head, Sunset winced. Well...that could have gone better.

“ENOUGH!”

Celestia's earsplitting shout that Sunset could feel in her teeth was accompanied by a blinding flash that left every pony in the room surrounded by the golden glow of the white alicorn’s magic. All of them, except for the amber alicorn standing at the center that was surrounded by a gaggle of pegasi in mid-flap.

Then the Princess of Equestria looked down at the other alicorn. “Interesting defense daughter, if a little overboard,” she said before looking up at the rest of the ponies, and frowning. “And as for all of you, I agreed to let you all into this room because as the ponies that help to run this country, I thought you could conduct yourselves in a manner befitting of your station!” she said sternly. Although Celestia’s voice no longer had a deafening level of sound to it, all the ponies in the room could obviously hear her speak. “Instead, you panic over an angry mare putting her hoof down.”

Up on her oversized throne, Celestia sighed. “Sunset, I am sorry that this is what has become of what I thought would be a simple matter to end,” she said sadly before raising her voice. “Now that you have all had a chance to settle down, I would like to direct your attention to something.”

Everypony in the room aside from Sunset were pulled closer to the amber alicorn, thanks to the glow of Celestia’s magic. Most didn’t seem to like it. In fact, several ponies screamed in terror as she did.

“EEEEEEEK!”

“We’re all going to die!”

“Princess Celestia is a changeling too! EQUESTRIA IS DOOMED!”

“I SAID FOR YOU TO BE QUIET!”

Once again, Celestia’s impossibly loud voice made all the ponies in the room shut their mouths, and the princess glared at them while her chair smoldered. “When one of you came to me with your evidence of Sunset Shimmer being a changeling, I was willing to indulge your fears, because simply burying our heads in the sand from such a threat that had existed since Equestria was founded is nothing but foolishness!” she said with a frown. “But what I see before me now makes me wonder if the solution to the threat you all rally against is not nearly as bad as the problem!

“You accuse Sunset of being some kind of monster, the newest princess of Equestria, for what reasons? Because she has become a better pony? Or is it that a single one of you accused her for foolish reasons, and the rest simply followed suit out of fear and more selfish reasons?

“And for those of you that truly think becoming a better pony is reason for suspicion, then I fear for the future of our world, because if any of you should try and act like the ponies you're supposed to be instead of a fearful mob, then anypony who brings himself out of your ranks and decides to think differently must be a changeling in disguise according to your own logic!”

“But-but she was attacking us Princess!” a female voice from the crowd shouted.

Sunset winced and looked down at the spiderweb of cracks in the stone that originated from where she was standing.

A stallion’s voice let out a rough cough, and Sunset looked back to see Hard Line getting back up. “Actually Councilmare Bridle, it appears to me that she was doing exactly what you all wanted her to do,” he said.

Thankfully, all of the ponies remained silent as Celestia paused to make them all face Sunset with her magic. “Thank you Captain. Now, I know you are all quite aware considering your...political company, a changeling may be able to mimic the magic of a unicorn and abilities of a pegasus to some extent, but the strength of a changeling is nothing compared to that of a normal earth pony. Hence why they usually take one of those forms instead of the stronger tribe,” she told all of the assembled equines. “And from the broken floor beneath her, I think that it is obvious that Sunset is far stronger than an average earth pony! Proving that she is not a changeling.”

Even with her name cleared, albeit accidentally, Sunset didn’t feel any better. Once again, there was no vindication of the fact she had proved herself innocent of a crime that she didn’t even commit. It anything, the fact that Celestia was pointing out proof that only appeared because of her anger made the amber alicorn feel...heavy. It was as if the princesses words had placed a weight on Sunset’s back that the strength she had gained since her ascension had no effect on. “Great, I’m not a changeling,” she grumbled. “Can I go now?”

Celestia looked down at her for a moment. “Yes, now that we have ended this little farce. Go to my quarters and wait for me to get done here. There are some things that I need to discuss with you, my daughter.”


It was nearly an hour after Sunset had left that Celestia finished with the last of the assembled ponies she had been needing to have a few extra words with in regards to Strong Withers and his rather inane accusation. Although foolish, Celestia had managed to turn it into something Sunset would find advantageous in the coming years.

Although, the reaction of the ponies to just the perceived threat of a changeling infiltrator disturbed her. Thirty years, and her little ponies were still willing to take up pitchforks and torches at even the hint of the creatures. If the fact that Chrysalis was free became public knowledge, the panic it would create would make what Celestia just witnessed look like nothing.

Thankfully, she knew that Equestria wasn’t the changelings' target this time. They didn't intend to cause chaos or disrupt the daily lives of her ponies. Chrysalis was after Celestia herself. So she could afford a modicum of secrecy. Although, some ponies in the military would need to be informed. Ones far more discreet than the ponies that come before her today. Celestia wasn't about to simply pretend the greatest threat to her nation didn’t exist after all.

The princess sighed at the mess of a situation she had found herself in as she got down off her throne and walked across the red carpet to make her way through the doors of her throne room where her escort was waiting. She took a second to look at Hard Line, and frowned. “Walk with me Captain. The others are dismissed.”

As the pegasi saluted and the stallion fell in line just a head short of Celestia's position, the princess continued to speak. “I understand that you interacted with the ponies that gathered information on my daughter’s recent activities for Councillor Withers, Captain.”

Hard Line nodded. “Yes Princess Celestia,” he said.

“Did you know this was going to happen?” she asked bluntly as she looked back to frown at him. She knew that the stallion had...issues with her daughter. If such thoughts had made him act out against Sunset...

The old guard flinched. “N-No Your Highness. I thought that it was just another personality probe, much in the same line as when Princess Cadance first appeared,” he said. “I apologize for allowing this mess Sunset Shimmer has stirred up with her antagonistic actions to cause you such trouble.”

Celestia looked away from the old stallion to hide her displeasure from him. Cause you such trouble, she repeated in her head. Although the stallion did his job without letting his personal feelings get in the way most of the time, he always had a problem of talking about them to her in private when it was best to keep his mouth shut.

It was just another thing to take care of on the long list of things Celestia had to do to make way for her daughter’s eventual takeover of Equestria. If Sunset was going to carry on in Celestia’s place one day, Hard Line would need to be replaced.

“I remind you that I was the one that had allowed it to go that far and keep Princess Cadance away from the proceedings,” she told the stallion. Testimony from her would have had the crowd turning on its head inside a few minutes, and Sunset needed to learn to stand up for herself without exploding at whatever pony cheesed her off.

Letting it all happen was something Celestia had regretted doing, but...Sunset would benefit from it in the long run, and Celestia was afraid she didn’t have time to teach her how to be a princess properly with as little time as they had left together, waiting for real trouble to make its way to Equestria. A few minor political problems that Celestia could control in case things turned bad would have to do as lessons in experience.

They turned a corner, and the stallion nodded. “Yes, Princess.”

“Did you ever talk with Strong Withers directly?” she asked.

The guard nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. Shortly before the...audience, he came to me and asked if I might help him expose Sunset for what she really was.”

Celestia looked back at the stallion with a raised eyebrow. “You mean he actually believes what he’s saying then?” That came as a bit of a surprise. Celestia didn’t think that the stallion would have been such a pony...even if most of the political support from the more outspoken council members that had been demanding an increased vigilance against the changeling threat for years.

Hard Line took a second, and then shook his head. “He’s an elected politician Highness. What he believes changes more often than the direction of the wind out of the Everfree,” the stallion told her. “And their vision for the future doesn’t go further than the end of their current term. In my opinion they’re all petty, short-sighted fools.”

Being reminded of her guard’s stance on non-noble members of government brought another frown to Celestia’s face. “Yes, I am well aware of your personal beliefs Hard Line,” she told him as they reached her door and she turned around. “What I’m asking you is if you think he really believes that my daughter is actually a changeling, or is it all a poor means of hiding his wishing her gone?”

Put on the spot as he was, the stallion tried to appear as if he was looking at her while his eyes shifted just a tiny bit to the right. It was an old trick for not meeting a superior’s eyes, or looking past something you didn’t want to pay attention to. “In all honesty, Your Highness? I’m not sure. The way he talked about Sunset Shimmer was emotional, but...in a detached way, I suppose. It sounded rehearsed, like a speech.”

“I suppose that makes sense. You are dismissed,” Celestia told him. Then, as the stallion turned to walk away, she called out to him again. “Oh, and Captain, I know that my daughter’s coronation is still a bit off, but you had best get used to calling her Princess Sunset Shimmer, don’t you think? I would hate for a breach of etiquette to further the rift between the two of you.”

The stallion tensed, but looked back to Celestia and nodded. “As you command, Your Highness.”

Once Hard Line was down the hall and around the corner, Celestia looked to her for with trepidation. After an hour of being left alone, Sunset had either calmed down a bit...or had worked herself into a boil.

“Well, no use putting it off any longer,” Celestia told herself before she opened her door and stepped inside her quarters.

As always, the entry room to Princess Celestia’s apartments helped relieve the stress that had been building up after a day of running Equestria, even though there was a good four hours left in it. Even after being alive for so long, the soothing atmosphere of her white walls and paintings that had hung in her room longer than most ponies had been around still made her feel better by being in their presence.

Flames danced in the fireplace on the far wall as the magic in its bricks removed the smoke without a chimney. A few books were strewn out on the floor by the white couch to the right of the fireplace, placed there haphazardly by the amber alicorn currently reading from one of them as she lay down on her belly.

When Celestia shut the door behind her, Sunset looked up from the book she was reading with a frown. It was a Treatise on Ancient Equestrian History, unless Celestia missed her guess. “Oh, you’re here,” the amber alicorn said in a grouchy tone with a half-lidded eyes. “Finally remember I was waiting for you?”

Although not a boil, it seemed as if Sunset’s anger was still simmering. Not that Celestia could blame her. “I had to deal with a few of the more excitable ponies you left in the throne room,” Celestia told her gently.

“Well if you’re looking for an apology-”

“No,” Celestia told Sunset before her daughter could get started on some tirade. “But I’m afraid you won't be getting one from me either.”

Sunset outright frowned at her, and Celestia sighed. “Although...I am willing to give an explanation,” she said before tilting her head just a tad. “Providing you actually need me to explain to you what was going on.”

After getting nothing but a few seconds of silence, Sunset let out an angry growl of a sigh. “So, it was some kind of stupid test after all.”

“Are you sure that’s all it was?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sunset snorted. “What else could it possibly be?” she demanded. “You were sitting there on your throne. You knew I wasn’t a changeling, you sent Cadance away, and you had your stupid guards poke me all the way to the throne room to piss me off so I’d be off guard! To what? See how’d I react? See if I’d go off on you in the middle of a crowd?”

Part of Sunset’s explanation made Celestia frown. “I didn't tell Hard Line to antagonize you like that,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, like your little toy soldier would be stupid enough to pull something like that without you telling him to!” Sunset shot back at her. “Whatever happened to me not being your student anymore, huh?”

Celestia’s mask of serenity broke at the question, and she gave her daughter a pained expression. “Sunset, I…” The Alicorn of the Sun took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She couldn’t let herself get emotional. “Alright. What happened in the throneroom served three purposes. It was a test for you, a test for the leaders of Equestria, and a trap for your enemies.”

Although Sunset continued to scowl at her, the anger in her eyes lessened just a bit. “What do you mean a trap?”

“It has been a week since you’ve become an alicorn Sunset, and ponies in positions of power are taking notice,” she told her daughter before looking around the room for a second and began to return the books Sunset had tossed onto the ground back to their shelves behind the white alicorn. “While you’ve been busy spreading your wings, other ponies have been forming opinions about you. Some apparently didn’t like what they saw, and decided to get rid of you before you started to take an interest in politics.”

Sunset shot to her hooves on the couch. “Then why didn’t you stop them!” she exclaimed. “I remember you saying plenty about Princess Cadance when she first showed up and ponies started asking questions about if a nobody from the sticks was fit to help rule Equestria! Why did you defend her and not me?!”

Oddly, Celestia found that she was glad the anger in Sunset’s tone had increased. Although she supposed because it was good that her daughter had become furious instead of emotionally hurt. “Because Cadance’s anonymity helps protect her from the more...foolish Equestrian politicians. Nopony wants to pick on the poor pink princess that very well may be in over her head,” Celestia explained. “But Sunset Shimmer? She’s been making ponies involved in politics angry since she discovered it.”

The amber alicorn drew in on herself just a tiny bit, and a little sneer appeared on her face. “If this is going to turn into a speech about how I should have been making friends-”

Celestia let out a sniff. “Oh, those fools, I don’t blame you for not wanting to know,” she said. If Sunset had made headway into that crowd, Celestia was certain she would have only gotten worse. At least her daughter had only been hungry for personal power that she could channel through her horn. “But snubbing them completely did give them a reason to distrust and fear you. Thus, they acted against you.”

Some of them, at any rate. Celestia knew that a good many of them had also been reeled into the mob by simple fear of the possibility of a threat to Equestria. But sorting through those would be her job, not Sunset’s. Celestia could at least do that for her daughter.

“In a way you could have stopped,” Sunset added in a loud grumble.

After taking a second to see if Sunset had anything else to say, Celestia nodded. “Yes. But would that have truly helped you in the long run, for ponies who so openly and foolishly call out for your removal to cause you to hide between your mother’s legs?” she asked. “I know throwing you into that mess was harsh Sunset, but the area of Equestrian politics is not as harmonious as the rest of the land it governs. That is something you need to learn if you are to rule over it one day.”

Sunset let out a snort. “Says the princess that’s really going to be running things!” she shouted before jumping down to the floor. “Give me a break Celestia! You talk about all of that crap like it's going to be all beneficial to me, but it’s all just a bunch of stupid nonsense! You’ll still be around long after I’m dead and gone! So why the hay should I get thrown to the wolves and learn to stand on my own four hooves, if all I’m ever going to do is pick up your slack?”

With the conversation taking a dangerous turn, Celestia licked her lips. Part of her wanted to be honest with Sunset on the coming danger of Nightmare Moon’s return, but...Cadance had hardly reacted to the news well, and she wasn’t even Celestia’s heir. “You are my equal Sunset, not my underling,” she said while fighting to keep her voice steady. “You will make your own decrees, and you will stand on your own four hooves.

“But...you’re right in saying that it will not be today,” Celestia told her. “I will deal with the ponies that attempted to manipulate matters in a poor attempt to banish you from Equestria for a time.”

Sunset’s frowned lightened a bit more, becoming one of confusion. “Banish me? I thought changeling suspects had to go through a lot worse than that.”

The question made Celestia raise an eyebrow. “What? You didn’t think that Strong Withers and the rest of his ilk were calling for...physical proof, did you?” she asked. “I would have thrown them off the edge of Canterlot myself for suggesting such a thing. What they called for was your removal from Equestria for five years in order to prove your...intent not to do anypony any harm. Although I’m sure if you had accepted the request, they would have known they could trot all over you when you came back, or simply attempted the same trick again at a later date.

“So when Strong Withers approached me for a second time today with all of his supporters in tow, I decided to give them enough rope to hang themselves,” Celestia told her daughter. “And...I needed to see how the the ponies that thought he spoke the truth would react to the threat of the changeling’s return to Equestria.”

“But why-”

Celestia didn’t let Sunset finish. “Because shortly after my first meeting with the councilor, I visited the place where I imprisoned the changeling queen, and found that she has been free for over a year now.”

The statement stopped whatever Sunset was going to say for a few seconds, if not made her replace it completely. “WHAT?” she shouted, her anger swallowed up by surprise. “You mean those idiots were actually right about something?”

“Yes,” Celestia told her daughter before she sighed and lowered her head to shake it sadly. “And after what I have just seen, such knowledge must be kept from the general public. If word were to get out that Chrysalis is once again free, the panic it would cause would be a disaster unto itself. So, I must ask you to keep this information hidden for the moment.”

Sunset’s expression shifted around as she mulled what Celestia said over. A few seconds after she started, the amber alicorn raised an eyebrow. “You ask me to keep it quiet?”

“I told you that you were my equal Sunset,” Celestia said with a little smile. “If you don’t think my actions are right, then you can always tell me so...not that you ever needed a pair of wings to do that before, mind you. And if you truly don’t think that my actions are for the best, you are well within your authority to act against them. You and Cadance could even outvote me if it came to it.”

“Then why not tell everypony what’s going on?” Sunset demanded. “Panic or not...I mean, not everypony is like that crowd of idiots that wanted to kick me out of the country! And if there is a boogeyman out there somewhere, don’t you think other ponies need to know if their lives are in danger?”

Celestia sighed and nodded her head. “All good arguments.” At least she thought they were if this boogeyman creature was a replacement for changelings. “But at the moment...the only advantage we have over the changelings are twofold. The first of which is that because of this foolishness, I now know that Chrysalis is free much sooner than she expected me to. Perhaps she isn't even aware that I know of it.” Ponies had theorized that the changelings shared a mindscape, but...Celestia knew of no definitive proof of such a thing.

“The second is that I know Chrysalis plans to come after me personally. Knowing that, I can predict her movements and make preparations to counter her actions,” she explained. “And I do not believe that Equestria is in as much danger as you think. If the changelings were to move en mass, they would easily be discovered, disguises or no. I have heard of no such thing as a mass migration in the past year. More than likely, Chrysalis has placed herself outside our borders somewhere, waiting for the perfect moment to strike as she slowly gathers her strength.” The bug was just as long-lived as Celestia after all. What was five, ten or even fifty years to a creature such as her?

Although...she didn’t have time to wait for the changelings to strike if they intended to wait for over a decade. Celestia did not want to leave her daughter an Equestria that was still under the threat of a hostile force. She needed to find them, and quickly.

A thought occurred to the ancient alicorn as she thought of possible hiding places. “Perhaps they have even infiltrated some other country. While I do not know if changelings can mimic griffons, zebras are very much like ponies in appearance,” Celestia said more to herself than to Sunset. She had never known the parasites to trouble other lands, but...that didn’t mean it wasn’t a possibility. Perhaps Celestia needed to meet with some of their tribal leaders to see if they had been experiencing the problems changelings tended to bring.

“Ugh,” Sunset grunted before she fell down on her plot with a frown. “So now you’re saying I’ve got evil bugs to worry about on top a bunch of stupid ponies chomping at the bit to get rid of me, plus...you know I start high school on Monday, right?” she demanded as she looked up to Celestia with a frown.

The other alicorn smiled down at her student. “Oh Sunset, nopony ever said being an alicorn was easy,” Celestia told her. “And life isn’t some silly story where all the problems you’re supposed to face just line up and wait their turn. Half a dozen come at you all at once, while another five are always waiting in the wind. But your friends and family will always help you bear your burdens for as long as you need them to.”

Sunset groaned. “Speaking of which, does Cadance know about all of this...stuff?”

“Not yet,” Celestia said with a shake of her head. “I was thinking the two of us could break the news to her together.”

After taking a moment to rub her head with a hoof, Sunset stood back up and slowly walked to the door Celestia was standing in front of. As she came next to the bigger alicorn, Sunset looked back up to her mother. “One question though...did you ever...believe I was a changeling, like they said?”

The question of such a sensitive topic made Celestia fight to hold her composure. She looked and saw the fear in her daughter’s eyes, and took a moment to steel herself before looking back to the fire dancing in its place. “Fear is a powerful thing Sunset. More ponies than you can ever imagine will believe a lie out of the fear that it is true. It dulls the mind and causes brash action the likes of which you have not seen,” she said before giving her daughter a guilty look. “And when faced with the fear that I might have lost you...yes, I did allow my fear to dictate my perception of reality. It was only for a few short minutes after I found Chrysalis's cage to be empty, but it I did let it cloud my faith that you could be you, Sunset. For that, I am sorry.”

Sunset’s face scrunched up for a few seconds, and Celestia watched as the anger, pain, hurt, and a dozen other emotions played out in her daughter’s eyes. Then she closed them, and let out a sigh before dropping her head. “You really know how to take the fight out of me, don’t you?” she asked rhetorically. “It’s okay Mom...we all do stupid things sometimes. And...I guess I can let the stupid throneroom thing slide too...long as that’s the last time you try and use me as bait.”

Celestia nervously licked her lips, and gulped. “Of course, Sunset,” she told her daughter before hiding her nervousness behind a smile. “Now let’s go see Cadance, shall we? I’ll probably need some help with her though. Something tells me she’s not going to be as forgiving as you.”

“Uh...you know you’re talking about Cadance, right?” Sunset asked in confusion. “Pink pretty pony princess that’s practically made of candy?”

The memory of the pink princess shouting at her for being a poor mother came to the forefront of Celestia’s mind, and the ancient alicorn winced. “Oh, you have no idea.”