• 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 13: Troubling Realizations

The classroom that Sunset sat in was just about as featureless as such a room could be. The only desk was the one she sat in, an annoying thing with the desk and chair that was all part of the same piece rather than something she could just pull out and make the proper length for writing. But, she sat still with her hands resting on the wood as the teacher trotted into the room.

She was a pink alicorn pony in a green sweater and plaid skirt combination that didn’t quite cover her crystal heart cutie mark. It went well with the pair of white glasses on her face. As soon as she got to the middle of the board, Cadance picked up a pointer in her magic with perfect skill, and slapped the center of the chalkboard that depicted a pair of pictures that showed two ponies each, separated by a chalk drawing of a large heart. “Class, today we will be discussing how falling in love works. There will be a test afterwards, so note-taking in your journals is recommended.”

Sunset nodded, and looked down to the backpack next to her feet. She reached in, and dug around until her fingers found the book with her cutie mark before placing it on her desk. After which, the girl unzipped the back of her pack to grab a pen and clicked it to get ready for the writing.

“Now, while there are hundreds of ways to fall in love, they all boil down to two different categories,” Cadance began. “Both of which revolve around the ignition of a spark of burning passion, if you will, and its ability to light a continuous flame.”

Cadance slapped her pointer on the board where the first picture was located. It showed a big strong unicorn standing atop a dragon that has Xs for eyes, with a princess on his back. “The first is what as known as the moment,” the pink alicorn teacher said. “In this scenario, the stallion performs an impressive, brave, heroic, or some other attention-grabbing feat that the mare finds so endearing her heart practically leaps out of her chest. This causes the spark to ignite, and starts the period knowing as ‘the falling’. During this period, the mare then learns everything she can about the stallion in an attempt to keep the spark going, usually going on dates to spend time with the guy in the hopes of finding enough kindling to turn the spark into a raging fire that can weather the bad moments and eventually become a warm flame in a pony’s heart that will continue to burn for the rest of her life. However, if enough fuel cannot be found during this time, or the stallion turns out to be a total douchebag, the spark quickly dies.”

Then, the teacher pointed over to the other picture, one of two ponies sitting on a bench and holding fetlocks. “The second method is usually between two ponies that have known each other for awhile and thus already have all the information they need to fuel their love, but lack the spark until something happens. This is usually the case with the childhood friends hitting puberty, and noticing certain things.”

Sunset raised her hand. “Excuse me, Professor Cadance?”

“Doctor,” Cadance corrected her.

Sunset nodded. “Um, what about if you meet this stallion on the street and just...know. Like, love at first sight?”

After putting down her pointer, Cadance turned her attention back to Sunset. “That is what we in the love doctor profession call bullshit!” she explained with an angry shout at the end before going back to a polite, but detached tone. “You don’t really love Shining Armor. He’s just the first nice stallion you met now that you’re back in Equestria, and you’re just a whore that wants him to stick that thing between his legs into your privates because that’s the closest thing to male companionship you’ve ever really known.”

Sunset looked down to her notes and began to write. “I’m just a whore.”

When she looked back up, Sunset saw Shining Armor standing next to the other pony. “Yeah, Cadance really would be better for me,” he told her. “She’s nicer, more compassionate, understanding, loving, and about ten times more beautiful than you could ever hope to be. Plus, she’s not a thief like you.”

“Yeah, you really don’t deserve him.”

The new voice coming from behind her made Sunset twist around to get the third pony in the room in sight. Standing just a foot behind and off to the side of her desk was Princess Twilight Sparkle the alicorn in her royal regalia. The disapproving frown on her face made Sunset flinch. “But...Twilight…”

“Don’t try and give me excuses!” she shouted at the human sitting in front of her before pointing a hoof a Sunset. “Just look at yourself! You know where you REALLY belong!”

A pair of double doors at the back of the room slammed open revealing another nearly bare room. Its only decoration was a single, free-standing mirror that looked to be made of crystal. The sight of which made Sunset recoil in horror. “N-No.”

She couldn’t go back there, not after experiencing Equestria again for so long. She had a mother. She had a friend. She had her magic back after all this time. Even if she didn’t deserve any of it, the idea of having to give it up and become human again filled Sunset with terror.

Twilight snorted as only a pony could. “Every day you’re here is another nail in the coffin of my future! So get out! GET OUT BEFORE YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!”

Another pair of hooves walking on the wooden floor drew Sunset’s attention to her left, where Princess Celestia stood. “All these lies you’ve been telling. You know I’m going to find out, and when I do, I’ll just throw you away like I did the first time. The least you can do is leave before I get dissapointed in you again.”

“It really would be better for everyone if you left Sunset,” Shining Armor added as Cadance kissed her way up his neck.

Cadance threw her wing around the white stallion’s back and pulled him in close enough to get her hooves on him. “I’ll take care of Shiny better than you ever could.”

“Leave,” Twilight commanded her.

“Get going now,” Candace encouraged her.

“You don’t want to disappoint me, do you?” Celestia asked her.

“I’ll be fine!” Shining Armor assured her.

Sunset looked around at the four most important ponies in her new life. She put away her notes, and slid out of her seat. Then, she slowly to walked into the other room with the four pairs of eyes that followed her. As she got to the edge of the mirror, Sunset looked back.

The four ponies in the room looked back to the human as she spoke. “But...isn’t there any way for me to stay?”

All four looks on the pony’s face turned to a frown. “No!”


Sunset’s eyes shot open and she let out a gasp as her nightmare ended and a light burst of air tickled her nose.

The alicorn sucked in a deep breath as her eyesight adjusted to the darkness better than it ever could have as a human, or even a unicorn in all likelihood. It seemed a pair of wings wasn't the only part of her body with a pegasus’s nature. She also had their higher senses.

After a minute, the muted shapes and colors of the night came into view, and Sunset’s vision was filled with the image of Cadance's sleeping face as the pink princess snored lightly. Ugh, she even looks perfect when she’s asleep, Sunset told herself with a jealous frown before letting go of the petty thought with a sigh as her mind slowly shifted back to her nightmare.

It had been...disturbing, and not just because Cadance had been in a sexy school teacher outfit that looked like something a human from Crystal Prep would have worn. The real bad part had been when all of her friends and family offering reasons for Sunset to return to the human world.

The words the representation of Celesta had spoken made Sunset's heart ache, but it was what Princess Twilight said that stuck with her the most. The purple alicorn had espoused a truth that Sunset had done her best to deny to herself since returning home: No matter what she did to try and keep things on track, Sunset being in Equestria would affect Twilight's life, and not for the better.

And Cadance...Sunset sighed at the memory of her friend’s love lecture that her dream had taken inspiration from in the most disturbing way by turning the pretty pink pony into a hot teacher sex object, and the assurances that followed them.

So you see Sunset, while I do like Shining Armor’s personality and can’t deny he’s cute as hay, until he does something like sing me a love song in front of the entire student body, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Sunset’s memory of the smiling mare said as she remembered how Cadance had looked her in the eyes before smiling just a little. “And even if he did, there’s no way I’d do anything about it unless you two didn’t work out.

And as much as it galled Sunset, she couldn’t bring herself to be upset at the thought of Cadance falling for Shining Armor, or at even be simply miffed about it. After all, how could Sunset be angry at the pink princess for doing the same thing the amber alicorn had done herself?

She might even be better for him than me, Sunset told herself reluctantly.

Even reformed, Sunset knew she wasn’t the best pony. She was bossy, and had a short fuse combined with a penchant for violence that no decent pony possessed. In contrast, Cadance was kind, gentle, loving, amazingly supportive...and practically perfect in every way. If the two of them actually had a princess contest, there was no doubt in Sunset’s mind who would win.

After everything Cadance had said, Sunset had to wonder if something had in fact developed between her and Shining Armor the first time around. The pink princess had more than enough of an attraction towards the young stallion to justify going out...with…

Okay, yeah...maybe that’s going a bit much, Sunset told herself before her thoughts could get too far away from her. While adorable and sweet, Shining Armor wasn’t exactly the type of stallion that got noticed by girls like Cadance. He just didn’t stand out enough, and didn’t have the balls to take that dreadful leap out of anonymity. Mostly likely, the guy would just have ended up Princess Twilight Sparkle’s nerdy older brother that she didn’t really talk about all that much.

But that didn’t mean Sunset had to deny him the best possible future for him now, did it?

As Sunset tried to figure out what kind of change having Cadance around Twilight at such a young age might do to the filly, she found herself just ending up with a headache since every question she asked herself eventually ran into the same problem: there just wasn’t enough data to form a good theory. Plus, even if Sunset managed to cut all ties with Shining Armor that very instant, she knew that Cadance considered him a friend. The pink princess would definitely continue to see him no matter what happened to the amber alicorn.

Sunset let out a groan. Looking back at things, the amber alicorn felt as if she had stepped in manure nearly a week ago and was just now noticing she left a mess anywhere she went. A mess that was already all over the place.

“Well, this sucks,” she mumbled to her fellow alicorn.

In response, Cadance let out a sleepy moan and scooted just a little closer, nearly touching her muzzle with Sunset’s.

The amber alicorn turned her head to look at the ceiling before Cadance could get close enough for a slumbering nuzzle or a-Sunset blinked when she felt the pink princess latch onto one of Sunset’s ears and begin to chew it with her lips. “Okay...yeah...I think I’m gonna need a drink,” she told her unconscious friend before casting a spell to make sure Cadance stayed asleep, then levitating her into the air so Sunset could make her escape.

Once her hooves had touched the floor, Sunset looked back to Cadance with a frown. “We are so going back to spooning next time,” she told the alicorn that was either eating or making out with their pillow. Then, after surrounding the bed in a weak shield that would trigger an alarm if anything popped it, Sunset headed out into the hallway and towards the kitchens.

Thankfully, the palace was only slightly darker at night than it was in the day. Sunset nodded to several of the cleaning staff that we busy doing the work that was best done when the nobles wouldn’t be getting in their way. Most of them bowed to her, which put Sunset’s mood back to feeling uneasy.

When she got to the kitchens, Sunset’s mood worsened at the sight of what waited for her. Standing in the center of the operation that fed the entire castle, Princess Celestia was pouring a cup of coffee as more than half a dozen cooks ran around, preparing the morning meals for both the staff and the guard that would be coming off duty with the dawn.

The sight of her mother made Sunset’s legs lock. “M-Mom?”

“Sunset?" Celestia asked as she held what most ponies would consider an oversized mug in her magic. “What are you doing here? You’re not usually up before the sunrise.”

“Me? What’re you doing here it’s-oh,” Sunset mumbled as she looked over to a clock that hung high on a wall and found it to be just five minutes past six in the morning. “I...just woke up a little early is all.”

Celestia nodded before a smaller cup floated over to where she was standing, held aloft by a golden glow, and she poured a normal-sized cup of coffee. “Well, it looks like we’re in luck then,” she said before motioning towards the dinning room door. “I can make up for the time we lost last night. Now, come with me.”

Although she said it gently, Sunset understood the command and nodded her head before following her mother out the door. Well, this isn’t as bad as it would have been last night, the amber alicorn reassured herself. Cadance’s preening lesson had been over an hour long. Celestia wouldn’t probably have less than half that time to ferret out any of Sunset’s hidden truths.

Sunset could lie to the pony that took her in and raised her as if Sunset was her own flesh and blood for that long at least.

“I see your wings are looking better,” Celestia told her after a brief examination when Sunset caught up with her. “You know, traditionally, it’s the mother’s responsibility to show her foal how to take care of her wings.”

Sunset winced. Even though Celestia hadn’t sounded hurt when she spoke, the amber alicorn couldn’t help but feeling bad for her mother. The mare had been reaching out to Sunset, and her stupid daughter had just thought about her own mess of secrets instead of Celestia’s feelings. “I...I’m sorry,” she apologized pathetically.

The white alicorn slowly shook her head before smiling at her daughter. “It’s fine Sunset. I can’t just expect a bond I neglected for years to suddenly dominate your decision making when I’ve been going on about friendship for weeks,” Celestia said before her expression became a little guarded.

When her mother didn't keep talking as they walked through the halls of the palace, Sunset quickly made an effort to distract herself from her growing guilt of hurting Celestia’s feelings. “So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about last night?” At the very least, Sunset could make up some ground on that front.

A guilty look crossed Celestia's face for a fraction of a second before she shook it off as they continued to walk down the hallway alone. “Oh that,” the sun goddess replied as if it were an unimportant matter. “The new griffon ambassador will arrive in Canterlot at the end of the week. I want you to be with me when I meet with him.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow at the rather reasonable, if a little nonsensical request. “Uh, don't you usually meet with foreign officials by yourself?”

One of the benefits about having an immortal ruler rather than someone who was replaced every four years or a royal that got old and picked up all the problems that came with an advanced age before dying so he didn’t have to live with the problems his decisions caused was that deals made with Celestia tended to last longer than the creatures she made them with. And to cut down on any communication problems, the white alicorn met with all representatives of a nation whether that creature was the leader or just the mouthpiece of whatever was in charge rather than using another pony. So the fact that her mother was wanting to sit in on a meeting with a foreign power’s speaker didn’t make sense to Sunset.

“Yes, well...you won’t actually be doing any of the negotiations, but it’s important for you to be there to greet foreign dignitaries,” Celestia explained.

So...she just wants me there to...what? Smile and wave? Sunset asked herself. While she could understand that it was important for her to be there as a Princess of Equestria, part of her didn’t see the point of it since she would just be glorified eye-candy.

A thought occurred to her. “What about Cadance?”

“She’ll be there for the greeting, but you and I will be the only ones dealing with the ambassador directly,” Celestia explained.

Sunset didn't know what rubbed her the wrong way more: that Cadance didn't have to be at the meeting Celestia was making Sunset attend, or that Celestia was shoving the pink princess to the side again despite the fact that Sunset’s friend was the only real princess out of the two of them. Even if she knew her mother wasn’t trying to be cruel to Cadance, the thought still irked her.

“Is something wrong?” Celestia asked with a little bit of worry.

After thinking about it for a second, Sunset couldn't stop herself from asking the begging question. “Why isn’t Cadance attending the meeting too?”

Celestia finished another sip of her coffee and looked down to her daughter. “While Cadance is a wonderful pony, she lacks the political experience you do and...well, I have to admit that her personality isn't the best type when it comes to dealing with griffons.”

The two mares walked out onto the Dawn Balcony, and Celestia hesitated instead of walking up to the edge of what was her usual spot for raising the sun. Instead, she looked back to Sunset for a few more seconds. “Sunset, are you...angry at me?”

Sunset shook her head. “No. What makes you say that?”

“Maybe I’m just reading too much into one incident,” the white alicorn replied before she let out a tiny sigh. “But...after what happened with the nobles, and I know you didn’t appreciate having to deal with all the reporters either...I was just worried that you might be holding a little grudge against me for putting you through all of that.”

There was a small temptation to agree with Celestia, if just to help hide her guilt about not coming clean to her mother about Twilight and everything else, but Sunset simply shook her head. She couldn’t do that to her mom. “No.”

“I just...well...I always thought I would have been the pony to show you how to take care of your wings when you got them,” Celestia went on before giving her a guilty smile. “I know it’s selfish of me to think that way, but...I am a mom now. Wanting to spend a little personal time with my daughter is allowed, right?”

With the conversation once again getting into something Sunset would rather not talk about, she found her mind sliding back in the direction of its usual defenses. If you wanted me to be an alicorn so badly, THEN WHY DID YOU KICK ME OUT? Sunset mentally yelled before countering that thought with how she had acted like a spoiled brat and worse when she was a human at CHS. “Sorry,” she apologized.

Celestia shook her head. “No, Sunset. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who should apologize for dumping all of this guilt on you,” she told her daughter before bending down to nuzzle her. “I’m sorry.”

For her part, Sunset pushed her thoughts of guilt to the side and simply basked in the physical contact of her mother. It was a wonderful thing. Something she hadn’t known how much she had needed until Celestia met with her upon her return. “I love you Mom,” she said to Celestia to try and cheer the bigger pony up. At the very least, Sunset could give her that.

As soon as Celestia stepped away, much too soon for Sunset’s taste, the amber alicorn thought back to her dream, and the moral dilemma it demanded be addressed. Sunset couldn’t talk about it with Cadance, she had already heard her best friend’s answer on that particular topic and it just seemed too...incorrect.

But talking about the root of what was weighing her down would be impossible with Celestia.

Unless of course, it was done in a very vague way…

“Mom, can I ask you something?” Sunset spoke up after thinking about how she was going to once again hide the truth from the pony that loved her more than anything.

Celestia turned away from the eastern sky. “Of course, Sunset.”

After a few seconds of thinking, Sunset spoke. “It’s just...well, Cadance wasn’t the only pony who...became aware of a problem that needs dealing with recently,” she said. “A-And I know what I need to do to solve it, but...I don’t think it’ll be a pleasant experience for any of the ponies involved. Me included.” Just the thought of becoming a human and going back to CHS again made Sunset feel sick.

“And that’s all you’re going to tell me about it?” Celestia asked, to which Sunset could only give a little nod. She was more than a little ashamed for not opening up more to her mother, but Celestia still gave her an answer. “Well, since it seems you already have your solution and just need some encouragement. The best advice I can give you is that if you’re sure what you’re doing is right, then do it. Even if it is the harder choice to go through with. But once you begin, you need to remember to be steady and follow through with your solution.”

Feelings of panic that Sunset had been hoping would dissipate with Celestia’s encouragement only increased as her mother finished speaking. “Yeah,” Sunset agreed softly as her mother turned to begin the daily process of raising the sun. The light of the dawn made her eyes water. “Thanks...Mom.”


Breakfast at the household of Twilight Velvet wasn’t what Shining Armor called a relaxing affair. Although his father was busy reading the paper and his mother was content to hide in the kitchen, his little sister was...currently in the middle of an energetic high that the new cereal called Sugar Bombs their mother had bought the day before put her in.

“Hey Shiny, when’s your next flugelhorn recital?” the little purple filly asked as she trotted in place.

The mention of that infernal instrument his grandfather had left the family and Dad insisted he learn to play only continued to lower Shining Armor’s mood. “No idea,” he mumbled before Twilight actually climbed up onto his back to look over his shoulder at the oats on his plate. “And why do you want to know? The last time Mom and Dad dragged you to one, you said your ears were in danger of bleeding and they had to take you home.”

“Because they said that they’d hire a foalsitter for me next time, and that means Princess Sunset will come and see me again!” Twilight said in an excited tone.

After using his magic to set her back down on the ground, Shining Armor swallowed the oats in his mouth and looked down to her. “Okay first off, she’s already going to be coming over to tutor you at least twice a week,” he reminded her. “And two, it was Cadance that came to foalsit you.”

“True,” she agreed before holding up a hoof as if she were fixing to lecture Shining Armor about his own...whatever Sunset was to him. “But if Cadance comes, then there’s also a high probability that Princess Sunset will accompany her...and solve mysteries.” Then Twilight frowned so hard her face became extremely scrunched up. “Although, I'm doubtful about my research material's accuracy on that last part.”

Shining Armor couldn't help but smile at his little sister and reached down to ruffle her mane. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to wait until Sunset shows up with Cadance to ask her.”

A second after Twilight calmed down, Shining Armor heard a loud popping sound from outside the front door that sounded far too much like a mystical relocation for his liking.

“Wait,” Cadance's voice sounded from the outside. “What’re we doing at Shiny’s house?”

“What? I can’t pop in to check on our favorite guy?” Sunset’s voice replied before the door magically opened, despite it being locked, and an amber alicorn popped her head in on a rather surprised family of unicorns. “Hey everypony, mind if we come in?”

As Night Light recovered from his morning coffee going down the wrong way and Twilight Velvet quickly moved to bow to the royals, Shining Armor could only watch as Twilight dashed forward with a squeal of delight. “Princess Sunset!”

“O-Of course Your Majesties! My home is always open to royalty!” Twilight Velvet assured them as she spoke into the carpet.

However it didn’t look like either of the alicorns noticed the older Twilight as the younger mare with the same first name practically collided with her idol. Then, as Twilight Sparkle hugged the foreleg of the tallest mare in the room, Sunset put on an almost motherly, but somehow wistful smile before she reached down to stroke the purple filly’s mane with her fetlock. “Hello Twilight,” the princess with the sun on her flank said softly. “How are you this morning?”

As the filly began rambling off about this new cereal and its ‘immense sugar component that was causing an increased level of energy’ Shining Armor blinked while Sunset Shimmer conversed with the little filly. Although he had seen the older mare talk to Twilight before, something had changed Sunset from a pony that seemed to soak up Twilight’s awe like a sponge to...something almost Celestia-ish in the way she interacted with his little sister.

It was...Shining Armor didn’t know what to think of it, really.

Sunset Shimmer was the embodiment of an action novel’s main character. She was both bigger and stronger than Shining, without an ounce of hesitation and massive amounts of confidence. Intimidating only began to describe what it was like to be in the presence of the demi-goddess. But as Shining Armor saw her speak with Twilight Sparkle, it was like he was seeing a completely different side to the warrior alicorn that had pinned Shining Armor to his bed just yesterday evening and...done more with him than he had ever expected to do with a girl.

“Too much energy, huh?” Cadance suddenly said as she broke into the conversation before walking between the purple filly and the amber mare to grin mischievously at Twilight. “Well, I know the cure for that.”

A second later, Twilight’s back was on the ground and the pink princess assaulted her with an onslaught of feathers that left the little filly crying out in laughter as Cadance brushed her feathered appendages across Twilight’s stomach. “P-Princess Cadance! That tickles!”

Sunset rolled her eyes at the exchange, and then looked over to the breakfast table to finally notice the rest of the family. Although Shining Armor gulped nervously when her gaze fell on him, Sunset didn’t look at him very long before she fixated the mare that was still touching her muzzle to the floor and became concerned. “Oh no, Missus Velvet please!” she said before quickly trotting over to the prostrating mare and offering her a hoof. “Y-You don’t need to that! I-I’m a guest in your home.”

After the amber alicorn had managed to yank Shining’s mother back to her hooves, the older mare blushed and lowered her head. “Your Highness, I would never disrespect you or Princess Cadance!” Velvet assured Sunset before looking to the floor instead of meeting the royal eye-to-eye. “Especially with what you have given my family.”

“N-No...Twilight....she deserves it,” Sunset replied before looking back to where the pink princess was accepting Twilight’s surrender with a hug and a kiss to the top of her head.

The older stallion in the room cleared his throat, and then lowered his head when the amber alicorn’s attention focused on him. “Pardon Your Highness, but what do we owe the honor of your visit?”

Sunset became uneasy again as she looked over to Shining’s father, and Cadance ended up answering the question. “Isn’t it obvious? Ms Shimmer here just wanted to trot to school with her Shiny in tow.”

“Hey!” Sunset snapped at the pink princess, her head spinning around to face Cadence as the amber alicorn went from uneasy to annoyed. “I just want to go to school with my two best friends! I zapped you over here too, didn’t I?”

As Cadance rolled her eyes, Sunset looked back to Shining Armor and took a moment to put the frown on her face away. “So, uh...Shiny,” she said a little nervously. “You ready to go?”

Ten minutes later, Shining Armor managed to finish his breakfast thanks to Sunset and Cadance keeping Twilight busy with a few fancy-looking spells that created different colored fires and restraining moves disguised as hugs from Cadance. The three ponies started making their way down the street, with Shining and Cadance flanking the taller pony. A minute into the journey, Sunset slowed down and repositioned herself so that Shining Armor was the pony in the middle. Then she looked down at the stallion. “So Shiny, what’re your plans for this weekend?”

Shining Armor nearly tripped over his own hooves from hearing Sunset’s question. He gave her a once-over and decided she was being serious. “Are you kidding me? This Friday’s when Solar Battles Episode Five is due in Canterlot! Me and the guys are gonna go see it as soon as we get out of class!” he said before getting an idea.

Unfortunately, that idea also came with a hefty amount of uncertainty. While the very definition of cool, Sunset didn’t really seem the sci-fi type. Most magic scholars didn’t really like the lack of real science that went with the series, like how any unicorn that was actually able to make their horn produce a contained energy projection capable of melting through metal would boil their brains in less than a second. Plus, there was the slight curl of her lip and frown on her face that tipped Shining off to her opinion of the whole genre.

But still, Shining Armor had sort of faced a dragon to fight for his princess, and Sunset had pretty much thrown him onto a bed before doing a hay of a lot more than any mare before her. So...he couldn’t not ask her… “So uh...Sunset,” he said before pushing down his hesitation with a gulp. “I-If, you...uh...I mean, if you don’t really have anything else to...you know...do. I uh...I wouldn’t...you know...mind you...um...tagging...along?”

An odd chill ran down Shining Armor’s spine, and he looked to his left to see Cadance giving him a judging glare. The prettiest pony alive arched an eyebrow at the stallion. “Seriously? That’s how you’re asking her out on a group date?”

On the other side of Shining Armor, Sunset spoke in a slightly less angry tone. “What was wrong with that?” she asked before looking back to the stallion with a smile. “And I’d be happy to see a movie with you and your friends Shiny.”

The strange word in Sunset’s response threw Shining’s attention off track. What’s a movie?

“Don’t you dare say yes to that!” Cadance exclaimed sharply before she trotted ahead of them a bit and suddenly spun around to face the other two horned ponies with the frown still on her face. “Okay, first off...Shining, while I do think going to see the latest installment of Solar Battles is a much better date setting than your O&O game, I’m afraid I can’t let Sunset accept such a lackluster invitation.”

Sunset gave Cadance a half-lidded frown. “You can’t allow it?”

After sticking her muzzle up into the air a bit and closing her eyes, Cadance nodded in a regal manner. “Princess of Love,” she said before looking up to meet Sunset’s eyes. “Means I can do that sort of stuff.”

“Okay Cadance, I think you’re missing something here,” Sunset said before she threw out her wings, stopped slouching to show off her full height, and stepped forward with enough strength in her step that it actually made the ground shake to look down at the pink princess, leaving Shining Armor to stand in her shadow as her horn lit up. “Alicorn. Big and intimidating, with enough magic to lay waste to pretty much all of Canterlot in ten seconds flat. The fact that Shiny can ask me out at all is pretty fucking impressive.”

As the tiny tremor caused by Sunset’s outburst subsided, Shining Armor glanced around at the other ponies that were making themselves scarce. Not that he blamed them. The amount of magic that Sunset’s horn displayed made Shining’s magical centers feel pushed down upon by the sheer weight of her presence. While the fiery alicorn’s physical strength had been...impressive, the level of mystical power she was putting made that look like almost nothing!

And in response to Sunset Shimmer’s overwhelming power, Cadance merely rolled her eyes. “If he can face certain death, then he can at least ask you out without stuttering. And cut that out! You’re scaring everypony,” the pink princess said before she reached up and smacked Sunset’s horn with a light bop that left Shining Armor wincing.

But the despite the amount of magical power running through her head pointer, Sunset barely seemed to notice the touch as her magic disappeared in a flash of energy that dissipated into the air harmlessly. “Oh,” the solar alicorn said before slouching even more than she did normally and looking around at the nearly empty street. “Sorry...everypony.”

If any of the fleeing crowd heard the princess’s apology, they gave no sign.

“Now Shining Armor,” Cadance spoke up, making the white stallion look over to the pink pony as she gestured to Sunset. “Don’t you have something to ask Sunset?” She moved closer to mumble in his ear. “And go through it in your head first before you spit it out your mouth. That, and knowing she’s going to say yes will make it easier.”

The two ponies that were having to follow Cadance’s commands met each other's eyes, and Sunset smirked before rolling hers. “Okay fine. Hey Shiny, you doing anything this weekend?”

“Um…” he said before Cadance’s encouraging smile turned into an encouraging glare at the pause. “M-Me and my friends were going to see the new Solar Battles, if you want to come along…” Shining Armor gulped as Cadance’s frown intensified. “That’d be...nice?”

Sunset actually giggled. “Yeah, it would, wouldn’t it?” she agreed. “Okay, and I’ll bring Cadance and Cheerilee too. The more the merrier, right?”

Off to the side, Cadance let out a sigh and hung her head before shaking it in disappointment. “Well, it wasn’t the best, but I suppose it’ll have to do,” she said after focusing back on the couple. Then she stuck her hoof out. “Now kiss!”

Once again, Shining Armor found all of his joints locking up as hesitation overpowered his mind. “W-Whjugeba?”

Sunset swung her head around to frown at the pink princess standing beside her. “Cadance!”

But the other alicorn was unmoved by the angry shout. She stuck her muzzle up in the air again and held up a hoof before going on in a lecturing tone. “After a date has been arranged between two ponies that already know each other, it’s best if the asker kisses the pony he asked on the cheek to seal the agreement,” Cadance explained. “It shows that he’s still interested in her physically, but not to the point where he can’t control his lusts.”

“...You know, if that didn’t make so much sense from a scientific viewpoint, I’d probably be a lot angrier with you right now,” Sunset told her with an annoyed frown.

Thanks to the silence beforehand, Shining managed to muster up his courage, and seeing an opening as the amber alicorn looked down at the pink princess, he quickly trotted forward to steps to reach up a little bit and touch his lips to Sunset’s cheek for about half a second before withdrawing them and taking a step away.

Sunset froze, her eyes wide. A tiny bit of red appeared on her cheeks, and she looked over to Shining Armor. “Y-You actually kissed me.”

“I um,” Shining got out before Sunset looked back to Cadance.

She let out a sigh. “Okay fine...you win,” she said to Cadance before her horn lit up and both ponies were snatched up into the air by Sunset’s magic. “Now, no more barking orders,” Sunset added before she dropped the two smaller ponies beside her and used her wings to hold them both close. “And thanks to that stunt we’re going to have to teleport if we want to make it to class on time. First timers always have trouble, so just lean into me.”

Cadance struggled in Sunset’s grip. “Wait Sunset! Don’t-!”

The world disappeared in a bright flash of light that blinded him for a few seconds. The next thing Shining Armor knew, he was standing in front of the school. Several of the ponies that hung out before the start of the day on the steps were there, seemingly waiting for them. On top of which, every last one of them was looking at the trio, most likely thanks to their rather flashy entrance.

On the other side of the amber alicorn, Cadance struggled to get Sunset’s wing off of her with the pair she owned. “S-Sunset! Would you let me go already?!” she demanded.

“Okay,” she mumbled in a confused tone before releasing the flustered alicorn and doing the same to Shining Armor. “Hey, I’m going to walk Shining to class. I’ll talk to you about Cinch at lunch, okay?”

“R-Right!” Cadance agreed as she quickly galloped away from the pair.


Cadance was never more glad that she was a pony with a pink coat. Thanks to that, nopony was able to see the blush that felt like it covered her entire body. So at least it would be sometime during second period that the whole school would know that Sunset had put Cadance under her wing.

Just thinking about it made the pink princess groan as she sat down on the cushion in front of her assigned desk and pulled the alchemy book for her first period class out of her saddlebag. And...as embarrassing as letting everypony see them like that was, Cadance couldn’t exactly be angry with Sunset over it. Even the Alicorn of Love had been ignorant of pegasus dating customs thanks to being found and raised in an earth pony village. It hadn’t been until she had gotten interested in each particular tribe’s mating rituals that Cadance learned the importance of such an action.

Back before the Unification, the pegasus tribe had been the warriors of ponykind. Even though they were generally antagonistic towards each other, they still defended the territories held by all the three tribes. As such, they created a very defensive subculture that taught its foals to always be on guard and never let another creature in close. For a pegasus to put another pony under his or her wing was the ultimate sign of trust.

But since the all the ponies had come under one flag and opened up, the primary showing of trust among pegasi had changed over the years. Unlike before, it was no longer a sign of trust or guardianship. Instead, being placed under another pony’s wing of near equal age was the Pegasus Tribe’s strongest physical declaration of love. A declaration that Sunset had literally made in front of the whole school!

Already, Cadance could imagine the rumors…

My dad works at the palace, and he says they sleep together!”

The two princesses are doing it?”

As if something of the like could ever happen between the two of them...in a romantic way, at least. And since casual sex wasn’t something Cadance went for, then it couldn’t happen that way either!

But when it came to their practical sleeping arrangements, Cadance actually found sharing a bed with the bigger alicorn quite pleasurable. Sunset was the perfect mix of muscle, coat and fat, with legs that looked like a normal pony’s even though they were nearly a fourth longer instead of the thin things that most of the mares who underwent alchemical beauty treatments ended up getting, like Fleur. Not to mention how gentle the amber alicorn was whenever the two of them cuddled. On top of that, the firm grip she held Cadance in for the past few nights also let the pink alicorn know she was safe.

But, that didn’t mean anything! Just that Sunset was thoughtful enough to share her bed, and strong…and kind. Not to mention powerful. The amber alicorn wouldn’t have offered herself to Cadance in such a way if Sunset didn't think she couldn’t stop Chrysalis’s spawn from abducting the pink princess.

Which of course means she’s also intelligent, Cadance told herself. A given for anypony who could sling spells with Sunset’s level of skill. Although, her academical magic skills were actually surpassed by her pony/people skills if she was right about the mirror and how she kept an entire school under her power without an ounce of magic.

Not that she would do anything like that again! Cadance knew Sunset had become a better pony than she had been a few weeks ago. It was something the pink princess was not only glad of, but admired the amber alicorn for a great deal. Turning one's life around wasn’t the easiest thing to do when it required a shift in a mare’s outlook on life.

“Princess Cadenza!”

Cadance shot her head around to look at the old unicorn stallion that was at the front of the class. “Yes Professor Slughorn?” she asked before realizing that he was simply calling roll. “Oh! I’m here.”

Glad that class was finally beginning, Cadance put the thoughts of her best friend out of her mind with the help of the somewhat easy but lengthy process of balancing alchemical equations. Even if the math involved was simple, it kept her from thinking about anything else.

That is, until the bell rang to signal the end of class and she trotted out into the hall.

Nopony said anything while she was in earshot of course. All the ponies she saw were much too polite to even gossip in her presence, or give Cadance the judgemental glares she so richly deserved for what they all ‘knew’ to be true. But...the pink princess could still feel them, the entire student body, looking at her from behind her back.

So, Cadance quickly dashed into her next class and sought the sanctuary of her desk as she worked on that other problem that had been dancing on the edge of her consciousness all throughout her first period class: the growing admiration she had for Sunset Shimmer.

The problem was, Cadance couldn’t exactly stop admiring her best friend. Especially considering the fact that Sunset was pretty admirable, and for good reasons.

But...the Princess of Love could see where such thoughts would eventually lead. Admiration was one thing, a good thing even. It was one of the things that let friends improve upon themselves in each other's presence. But it could also quickly lead to feeling of affection that were not of the friendly kind with the addition of certain sensations…

Cadance blinked as she felt the larger pony crawl into bed behind her. Using the gentlest touch of magic and control that the pink princess could only wish she had a fraction of, Sunset lifted Cadance an inch off of the mattress to slide one of her giant wings underneath the pink alicorn before a wall of the softest coat ever touched Cadance’s back. A pair of strong and powerful forelegs wrapped around Cadance’s barrel, and held her tight as Sunset leaned in close to completely cover the back of Cadance’s neck.

Breaths from the amber alicorn’s muzzle skated across Cadance’s mane as one of the pink princess’s ears positioned close to Sunset’s neck could feel the rush of blood flowing through the amber alicorn’s body with every strong beat of her heart. At the same time, with Sunset pressed up against her, Cadance could feel the firmness in her body that laid just an inch below a layer of skin, fur and a tiny bit of fat that allowed the bigger pony to keep her girlish figure.

Being held in such a way by Sunset, Cadance felt something she hadn’t since Celestia’s announcement about the invisible threat that lay just outside the pink princess’s range of vision. She felt safe, protected, and calm.

It was...wonderful.

Cadance took a moment to reduce the air intake that she was pulling in through her nose as her heart hammered away in her chest thanks to the memory of the first time she slept with Sunset Shimmer. No...it wasn’t like that, she tried to tell herself.

There had been that feeling of safety, of course. Cadance wouldn’t have been able to get to sleep without that. But it hadn’t been wonderful, just...safe.

Safe and comfortable.

And that was all.

Cadance knew she had no business thinking it was anything else and developing something for Sunset beyond some basic, friendly admiration.

After all, Sunset was interested in an admirable colt of her own.

Even if they weren’t exactly the best match for each other.

Cadance’s mental train went off the tracks at her last thought, and she stopped in the middle of retrieving her book, that little realization causing all of her motor functions to freeze. Say what? the alicorn asked herself with a frown before thinking back to the pair of ponies.

Thanks to the week of training sessions before Sunset and Shining’s first date, Cadance knew Shining Armor rather well. Not the trivial things about his life, but the more important things involving the type of pony he was. And...Shining Armor was a nice, gentle and loving colt. He was an all around wonderful catch for anypony lucky enough to scoop him up.

On the other side of the equation, Sunset Shimmer was an exceptional pony. Out of all the ponies in Equestria, she was the one that Princess Celestia had chose to be her successor. A pony of boisterous fury and fiery passion with a beautifully endearing vulnerable side that she had shown to Cadance the night before, when Sunset had asked her if she liked Shining Armor in the romantic kind of way.

Cadance shook her head at the comparison, or rather, the fact that she was making such a comparison at all. Love wasn't something that could be determined by just listing such thing as personality traits in her head.

To figure out if Shining Armor and Sunset would do well together, Cadance would need to make a full spreadsheet.

So, the pink alicorn put the thoughts away to concentrate on something less important, but more pressing: school.

But then the class ended, and luckily, Cadance’s third period class was the type that only did work when the teacher was in the mood for it, which she found out wasn’t today as she came in and saw him hiding behind his desk with a book in his magic. So, as the other ponies talked and goofed around, Cadance dug through her saddlebags for some paper and-“Princess Cadance?” a refined mare’s voice said from behind her.

The pink princess pulled out her paper to set it down on her desk, then looked over to the pony standing behind her. The colorful mane and long sharp horn combined with her height jogged Cadance’s memory more than the blue coat or sewing cutie mark. “Sassy Saddles?” she asked. “You’re one of Fleur's friends, right?”

Although they had met when Cadance had come to the academy and shared a class, the tall unicorn had more or less kept her distance from the alicorn after their initial meeting. So it took some effort to recall the pony even with her odd mane helping the princess.

“Ah, yes Your Majesty,” she said, making Cadance want to sigh. The pink princess didn’t like it when the other students referred to her by her title. “She and I would like to talk to talk to you, if that’s alright.”

A quick glance at the teacher told Cadance that he didn't care, so she followed Sassy out into the hall to find Fleur de Lis standing there and...although Cadance couldn't put a feather on it, something seemed off with the tall white unicorn with the pink mane.

As soon as their eyes met, the Princess of Canterlot Academy became panicked and fell to the ground. Not in respect with a prostration like most ponies did, Fleur hit the ground in an outright grovel. “I’m sorry Princess! I’m sorry,” she said as tears started to appear in her eyes.

Cadance blinked. “W-What?” She asked. “Fleur, what’s-”

“I didn’t mean to make you upset!” Fleur said before adopting a begging position with her hooves clasped together. “Please don’t let Princess Sunset turn me into a mule! My family would disown me, and my future as a model would be ruined!”

Cadance looked up to Sassy. “Um...what’s going on?”

The other unicorn bowed her head after meeting Cadance’s aze for a second. “Well Princess Sunset and Fleur share some of the same classes. And last period, I’m afraid Her Majesty was a bit...aggravated at something we...might have said in regards to the two of you after hearing a rather false bit of gossip that said she had gotten tired of that toy colt Armor...and...well...Princess Sunset had a word with Fleur and myself when the bell rang before ordering us to appologize for a minor...problem that we might have caused you in the past,” Sassy admitted. “Or she’d use her magic and turn us both into donkeys.”

If it wasn’t for the fear on Fleur's face and her own confusion, Cadance would have laughed. Sunset might have had made the threat, but the pink princess knew the amber alicorn was just bluffing.

Well, Cadance was pretty sure Sunset was bluffing. Although the amber alicorn hadn’t ever done anything to hurt the pink princess during the time they had known each other, there was no doubt in her mind that Sunset would have destroyed Buck the day before if Cadance hadn't stopped her. So, actually hurting another pony wasn't completely impossible for Sunset to do.

But instead of getting into an internal debate about Sunset's…bullying nature, Cadance focused more on what had set her off. She looked down at Fleur and offered her a hoof with a smile on her face. “Fleur, what is she talking about? What problem?”

The pony with the nearly-impossible good looks took Cadance’s hoof and stood back up, but stooped just a bit so that Cadance was still looking down at her; much in the way Sunset had been doing recently to try and hide her unnatural height. “Um...well...you see…”

Cadance blinked as Fleur explained to the pink princess that she and her group of friends had been acting as social bodyguards to the royal alicorn ever since Cadance had come to Canterlot Academy. “We thought we were doing you a favor Princess!” the pony quickly said as Cadance frowned at her. “You weren’t from Canterlot and we thought that it would be best if you had some help when it came to dealing with some of the more common ponies that ended up at this school.”

“But you didn’t really want to socialize with us either,” Sassy Saddles quickly added before also putting on a half-pout that also showed her guilt. “So we decided to respect your privacy rather than trying to...ahem, stick our muzzles up your plot and pucker up, as it were.”

After waiting a few more seconds to make sure that Fleur and Sassy were done, Cadance quickly voiced her thoughts. “So you're the reason that nopony wants to talk to me.”

When both of the ponies cringed, the pink princess let out a sigh. And after what happened last night, Sunset decided to fix it, she thought while remembering her outburst at dinner. And as much as she tried to be mad at Sunset over terrifying the poor unicorn senior in front of her, Cadance couldn’t help but feel...strangely warm.

Once again, the creature of her nightmares had rushed to the pink princess’s rescue to defend Cadance’s honor. It wasn’t exactly a one-hit-kill on a dragon followed by a lustful shoving of a tongue down another pony’s throat, or shouting at a goddess in anger, but...it did give Cadance a warmer feeling in her cheeks.

“It’s alright Fleur,” Cadance finally told her, making the white unicorn sigh in relief. “I’m not mad. But, if you want to get on my good side again, there is something I could use some advice on. Could you and your friends meet me and Sunset on the roof during lunch so we could have a talk away from prying eyes?”

She would also need to have a word with Sunset about frightening ponies just because they ticked her off. It was odd that one of the things the amber alicorn felt so bad for when it came to Cadance was also her first line of defense when it came to dealing with anypony who had messed with the pink princess. She had to wonder how Sunset dealt with the guilt.

At least, Cadance hoped she felt guilty over frightening Fleur and Sassy.

The news that she wasn’t going to be transmogrified into a mule, something Cadance wasn’t entirely sure Sunset could actually do, cheered the diva up immensely. She looked at the pink princes with wide, hopeful eyes, and nodded gratefully. “Of course Princess. Of course! I’ll bring Sassy and Upper Crust with me. Thank you Princess. Thank you very much!”

After the two unicorns departed, Cadance made her way back to class and looked down at the sheet of blank paper in front of her. Thanks to the...distraction that Fleur and Sassy had provided, it actually took a moment before Cadance remembered what she was supposed to be doing.

Right...compatibility ratings, she thought before getting out a pencil to do the math.

To anypony who was looking on, it would have seemed like nonsense. Even Cadance would have thought that being able to predict the future of a pony’s romance was impossible before her epiphany that led to her enlightenment. But from the perspective of an alicorn that had found her calling, being able to tell which ponies belonged together was almost...easy.

At least in comparison to when she had been a village matchmaker back home.

So, Cadance put pencil to paper as she got to work. She matched Shining Armor’s willingness to help others to Sunset’s self-appreciation, and the amber alicorn’s defensive drives to the unicorn’s current vulnerability. Her dominating personality to his submissive one. His attractiveness to her lack of contact with another pony for three years and so on until the page was filled with every fact Cadance knew about both of the ponies that would allow them to bond, or push them apart.

And...Cadance didn’t much like the results.

Although the interactions between the two had gone well, and would continue to be mostly compatible, Sunset would continue to overshadow Shining Armor in every way as the years went by. While Cadance knew this was to be expected with the future goddess of Equestria, she also knew that Sunset’s protectiveness of her friends would mean that there was a 86.3673% chance that Shining Armor would forever remain...stunted in his growth as a stallion, and thus never obtain the self-confidence he would need to show Sunset she could love him with all of her passionate heart.

Then, after a few seconds of studying the spot where their relationship would begin to take a turn for the worse, the Alicorn of Love watched the projected timeline of events as Sunset buried herself in work to avoid Shining Armor’s increasing melancholy over his lack of self-worth, followed by a sharp decline in his health as opposed to what would be Sunset’s eternal lifespan. Sunset would then see what being with her had done to him over the years, and put up barriers around her heart shortly after Shining’s passing, which would in turn bring about an eternity of loneliness for the amber alicorn as she would think it better to not get involved with another pony since her love would ultimately end up hurting Sunset’s important other in her eyes.

The finale of the love ballad of Shining Armor and Sunset Shimmer made the pink princess cringe. While it wasn’t projected to end badly, per se, the long-term side effects of their union were...rather horrifying to Cadance.

So much so that it made her want to rip the paper to shreds.

But...

Maybe I’m wrong about this, Cadance told herself as she looked at the information again while keeping down her bile. It had only been a few weeks since she had met Sunset, and the drastic change in the amber alicorn’s personality could have been influencing Cadance’s read on her love life. Plus, there was the rest of Shiny’s family to consider when it came to their relationship. After learning about Twilight Sparkle and her strange connection to Sunset...Cadance understood that any connection between her friend and the white colt would be affected by the filly.

A factor she hadn’t bothered to include in her latest prediction of the couple.

Plus, there was Princess Celestia’s effects on their relationship, and Sunset’s unwillingness to admit to the goddess that she had a coltfriend.

Cadance couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed by the fact that Sunset believed her romantic life would have been trampled all over by the biggest pony, but if the Alicorn of Love were to get a boyfriend, then Auntie Celestia wouldn’t have been interested in him it at all.

Even if it was kind of expected when it came to the Alicorn of Love.

In fact, Celestia probably didn’t think it was worth getting involved in because Cadance obviously knew what she was doing, whereas Sunset was...well...Sunset Shimmer.

Not that Celestia’s trust didn’t stop the pink princess from feeling annoyed about the whole thing.

Although...if the big princess did take a look at the colt, Cadance had to wonder what she would see. A pony as old as Celestia had to know all the ends and out of personal relationships too. What if she looked at the fake couple and saw right through the lie?

Cadance...didn’t really know how she felt about that.

On one hoof, it would force Sunset to tell her mother the truth, and hopefully work through some of the lingering fear and animosity she held towards the bigger alicorn. But on the other hoof, if Celestia were to look at the paring of Shining Armor and Cadance to see it was a horrible idea, then Cadance’s reputation as the Princess of Love would be completely destroyed and Celestia might never trust her again!

Oh...that’s...not good, the pink princess told herself as her eyes widened at the realization.

But what could she do to avoid it?

Making Sunset talk to Celestia about Shining would mean Cadance would have to go back on her word to give the amber alicorn some time to get things straight in her life. Plus, Cadance really didn’t want to have Sunset be angry with her again. The fear of losing Sunset as a friend was even worse than what she had experienced under the amber alicorn’s anger back when Sunset had just been a unicorn.

Of course, that was all assuming that Celestia would see that Cadance and Shining Armor weren’t meant to be together…

Cadance looked down at her relationship figures with a frown. Even though she may have used some of the wrong figures for Sunset, Shining Armor was an exceptionally straight forward colt. The pink princess knew she hadn’t gone wrong with any of his information.

So… she thought before reaching out with a free hoof to turn the paper in front of her over so she could work on another completely theoretical couple that had no real chance of ever ending up together for any plausible reason. Thanks to the fact that it was her own information, Cadance finished with the outline of such a relationship’s destiny a few seconds before the bell rang.

The results were...troubling.

Perhaps even more so than Shining and Sunset’s failed, and probably flawed, love prediction.

After all, Shining Armor was Sunset’s stallion.

He didn’t have any business being, according to Cadance’s predictions, the stallion that had a 98.7859% chance to grant the pink princess eternal happiness as they spent the rest of their blissful lives together in a crystal palace.

“Well…” Cadance mumbled as she frowned at the perfect relationship that could never be, printed on the back of the uncertain love that could only end badly. “...that’s just great.”