• 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 2: Truth and Lies

A concerned curiosity filled Celestia’s mind as she exited her quarters, intent on finding just where Cadance had run off to. With Sunset indisposed until at least…well… sunset, the Princess had set aside some time to address Cadance’s budding feelings surrounding the crazy belief that she was unwanted in Canterlot by Celestia. Just a pony to be put aside, as if being inducted into the royal line wasn’t proof enough for her.

But after switching out the time she usually spent in private instruction to Sunset for her other student, the little pink princess was nowhere to be seen. The idea that Cadance had forgotten to come after Celestia had made sure to keep the hour clear might have miffed her a bit, but the alicorn was quick to remind herself that ponies were creatures of habit. It was entirely possible that Cadance had simply trotted off to her usual lessons with Shooting Star, because that was what she always did.

“Okay, okay! Just balance out the mana application,” Sunset’s voice sounded from the other side of the door, making Celestia freeze in mid-trot. “Good, good, good! Now just guide it through. Careful...come on, you’ve got it…come on…you-more underneath! More underneath!”

“I’m trying!” Cadance’s voice came through the door in an exasperated tone.

Surprise flooded Celestia, and she did her best to remember what the clock in her room had said about the time. Even if her memory of the hour was off, Sunset shouldn’t have been up for several hours yet. On top of which, she and Cadance were talking and…neither of them was shouting at the other.

Something was going on.

Not wanting to interrupt the moment, Celestia gently pushed open the door to the room and wrapped herself in a minor misdirection spell. While not true invisibility, it would allow her to remain hidden as long as she didn’t draw too much attention to herself by talking, or moving, or doing much beyond breathing. But she could still watch.

And the sight before her filled the ancient alicorn with surprise.

Inside the room, three hoops big enough to fit around a pony’s head floated in Sunset’s magic as a balled up piece of parchment wrapped in Cadance’s barely controlled magical aura uneasily zipped around as Cadance tried to guide it through the stationary hoops.

It was an ancient exercise meant to help teach control and horn-eye coordination to foals. Although, there was a minor difference to the usual displays and what Celestia was seeing play out before her. The amount of magic Cadance was using to hold her paper was beyond what even most adult ponies could accomplish. There had to be at least a tons of pressure crushing down on the giant spit wad from all directions.

The raw display of power might have been a little intimidating, if the alicorn holding onto the magic didn’t have her tongue stuck out just a little in concentration.

“No,” Sunset seemingly lectured Cadance as she sat down on the floor with a straightened back and voice that sounded more reserved than Celestia had ever her student use when faced with failure. “No try. You either do, or you do not. There is no try.”

As Cadance’s piece of paper barely zipped through the middle ring, she looked back up to Sunset with a frown. “What the hay does that mean? How can I do something if I don’t try to do it?”

Sunset’s instructive stance broke, then she gave Cadance a little giggle and smiled back. “Yeah, it took me awhile to figure that one out too,” she said before her face became more stern. “But what it boils down to is, when you only give something a try, that means you don’t truly believe you can succeed. You either succeed, or you fail.”

A second later, the compacted ball of paper Cadance was floating around zipped up in a blur and impacted the ceiling, becoming stuck in a hole it created. She looked up at the ceiling, and then lowered her head in a sigh. “Well, looks like that’s failure number twenty-seven.”

“What’re you talking about?” Sunset asked before she tore another page from an old notebook and crumpled it up in her magic. Then, she tossed the paper towards Cadance. It landed on the table, and the pink alicorn frowned at it for a few seconds while sparks began shooting from her horn.

While the pink alicorn concentrated, the amber one spoke. “You only fail if you give up. All of that stuff up there? That’s what you call setbacks.”

Celestia found herself studying Sunset as she walked around the room, coaching and instructing Cadance.

“Forget what that old mare’s been telling you. You’re not a foal. Don’t worry about how much magic you put into it. You’re not going to get tired. Just focus on the balance right now. You’ve got enough magic to lift half the castle,” Sunset reminded Cadance as she trotted up behind the alicorn to give her a reassuring smile. “We’ll get to fine tuning later. Right now, just move the paper.”

When it came to her body, Sunset seemed…almost too perfect. Usually, when a pony ascended, there was always one tribal trait that didn’t quite get the boost the others did. But Sunset didn’t have such a flaw. The amber alicorn with the fiery mane had the fit physique of an earth pony showing through her coat, with newly developed muscles that were the equal to any pony who had seen hard farm work for her whole life. Her wings were thick and looked strong enough to carry several ponies through the air, not a feather was out of place. And the magic of her horn sung with a power and grace Celestia had never felt from her student before.

She had gotten taller too. Whereas before Sunset had been on the short side for a mare, her alicorn body stood the equal of any stallion in height. A fully grown mortal alicorn.

But what made Celestia’s heart swell with pride wasn’t how Sunset looked.

Cadance’s paper ball of destruction slammed into the table beneath the rings hard enough to put a hole in the wood and carpeted floor. “I…I did it!” Cadance said in a breathless whisper before Sunset nearly tackled her from behind in a hug.

“And it only took you twenty-seven tries!” she said as her wings poofed up in what any pegasus would consider an embarrassing display.

A snicker came from Cadance. “I thought you said there are no tries.”

Sunset backed away from the alicorn and stood on her hind legs for a few seconds more before she dropped and rolled her eyes. “Yeah well…just…shut up and help me with my wings,” she ordered Cadance in a heatless grumble.

“I don’t know. Looks like you’re just trying to keep those things down,” the pink alicorn teased as she reached over and began helping Sunset get her new appendages under control.

The groan that came from Sunset was indicative of her quickly dying good mood. “You know, I had a good mentor line thing going, and you just had to ruin it, didn’t you?”

Cadance giggled. “Well…I try.”

As Cadance continued to poke Sunset right in her patience, the amber alicorn rolled her eyes and then smirked. “And if you’re trying to get a rise out of me, then all you’ve done is fail.”

Back in the doorway, Celestia watched the two girls give each other verbal jabs before Sunset rolled her eyes and pulled the physically weaker alicorn into a hug as soon as her wings were set down. The display of love, friendship, support and guidance Sunset had given Cadance made Celestia feel prouder than any pair of wings on a unicorn's back ever could. It all showed that Sunset didn’t just look like an alicorn. She acted like one too.

It was a realization that made Celestia put her rump on the floor for the added balance before she raised her hooves up to offer a slow applause while her student hugged Cadance for another time to show her there weren’t any hard feelings. Whatever had happened to Sunset, it seemed to have washed away all the unhealthy ambition to succeed and pressure that came with it, as well as her growing anger to reveal the pony Celestia had lost track of not too long ago.

“Auntie!” Cadance cried out in surprise a second before Sunset’s wings unfurled once again in what had to be a rush of blood and adrenaline. “What’re you-ugh! Uh…Sunset? That’s a little tight. C-Can you let me go? Um…I’m sorry about the Auntie thing, I know you don’t like it when I call Princess Celestia that.”

News Celestia found interesting, if confusing. Why would Sunset be angry at Cadance over something so minor as that? She loved them both just as…well…no. If she was going to be honest with herself, she did love one of them more than the other. No matter how unfair such an emotion was, Celestia couldn’t deny it to herself.

“Sunset? You there? Umm Princess Celestia, little help here?” Cadance asked, drawing Celestia out of her introspection.

She looked up and sighed at the alicorn that still had Cadance in a hug and her back to Celestia. So, she began walking over to the pair of smaller ponies. “Sunset, as happy as I am to see the two of you getting along, I think you really should let go of Cadance.”

Although the amber alicorn did as instructed, the moment she let go of Cadance and turned around, Sunset curled in on herself, and even her wings folded down as if to shield the pony as if she were in mortal danger. The sight of Sunset cowering as a frightened filly might before a predator made the warmth in Celestia’s heart turn to a cold dread. “Sunset?”

The little alicorn sank deeper into her protective huddle and looked up to the larger pony with tears in her eyes. “I...I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry Princess! I’m sorry for everything!”

The verbal assault of apologies combined with the pain on Sunset’s face made Celestia retreat a step in surprise “W-What?” she asked before catching herself and trotting up to stand over her student, who broke from her crouch to actually scamper away a few steps.

The fearful response froze Celestia in her tracks. “Sunset, what’s wrong? Why are you apologizing?”

“I’m a bad student!” she blubbered on as tears began to form in her eyes.

“Sunset, you’re not-”

“Oh not again,” Cadance mumbled.

“You tried to show me the right way, but I didn’t listen!” she continued on so quickly Celestia was certain the mare hadn’t heard a word she said as water formed in her eyes. “I was selfish, and jealous, and cruel…a-and I…I’M A HORRIBLE PONY!” And then, the dam broke. A waterfall of tears fell from Sunset’s eyes while her words became nothing more than incoherent sobs.

As the young mare in front of her began crying in earnest, Celestia surged forward and grabbed her student up in her forelegs to pull Sunset close for a nuzzle as the giant alicorn’s wings completely cocooned the smaller in a hug. “No, no Sunset, you are nothing of the kind,” Celestia assured her while she searched for more than basic platitudes to give the distraught alicorn.

But as she held her student, Celestia registered something else that was very wrong with Sunset. Her legs trembled, her wings twitched, her heart raced against Celestia’s coat, and her breathing was much too fast and shallow. All of these things quickly added together in Celestia’s mind to come to an extremely disturbing conclusion.

Sunset Shimmer, the mare Celestia loved like no other, she was afraid of the princess.

The realization of such a fact had the alicorn at a complete loss. Celestia wracked her brain, but she couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible.

She raised her head to look at Cadance, and found the other alicorn looked even more confused at the situation than Celestia was herself.

“Sunset, talk to me,” Celestia asked before she took a step back and bent the mare’s face up to meet her eyes with a hoof. “Tell me what’s wrong. What has gotten into you?”

The little alicorn winced. “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly before the volume drastically increased. “L-LOOK AT ME!” Her wings spread wide. “This is what’s wrong! I-I don’t deserve this! It-it’s a cheat! I didn’t earn these wings! I didn’t-I didn’t-”

Seeing that she wasn’t going to get anywhere being gentle, Celestia summoned a bit of her magic and clamped Sunset’s mouth shut before standing to her full height. “Now you listen to me my little pony,” she told the mare sternly. “I may not know the reason that you have undergone an ascension, but the fact that you stand before me as an alicorn is proof that you deserve it!”

Although it went against years of personal training to follow rules older than any living pony, Celestia found herself speaking long forgotten knowledge, if just to quiet the fears of the child in front of her. “When I first met you long ago, I felt that you had the potential to become an alicorn,” she told the pony that now looked up at her with wide eyes. “I had hoped to guide you along this path until you were ready. Now, I will admit that over these past few months, I have feared you had turned down a path that was more selfish than selfless. But if there was any darkness within your heart, then whatever magic that ignited your transformation would have turned you into a monster the likes of which Equestria has only seen twice before in its history.

“I do not know what happened to cause this, and at the moment I do not care,” she went on before releasing Sunset’s muzzle. “Seeing you before me like this, I am just so…proud of you, my little Sunset.”

It seemed that those were the magic words. Sunset quieted down, and simply stared at the other alicorn. A thought that made Celestia nearly grin with pure joy. Sunset Shimmer, the alicorn. The coronation colors would be ruby and gold, and she could finally tell Sunset of her destiny!

Grlargh!

A strange sound interrupted her thoughts, and all the ponies in the room looked down to the amber alicorn’s stomach.

“Well, that explains a lot,” Cadance said as she trotted up to the two other alicorns. “Celestia knows I’m pretty scatterbrained before breakfast, and you’ve been out for nearly twelve hours. Come on, let’s get you something to eat.” She looked over to the bigger alicorn. “Maybe some tea to calm your nerves.”

“F-Food…right,” Sunset said in an emotionless tone. “Sounds…prou-g-good! That...that sounds...good.”


I’m just so proud of you, Sunset.”

For maybe the fortieth time, the words Celestia had spoken only moments ago ran through Sunset’s head, keeping her in the daze that she had entered since they were spoken. The first time she had ever heard such words from the white alicorn.

It was foolish.

Stupid.

Illogical.

But…

I’m just so proud of you, Sunset.”

…something about those words made it impossible for Sunset to think of anything else. She couldn’t concentrate on the present, the past, or the horrible future that threatened to come about thanks to her interference. All she could think of was…

I’m just so proud of you-”

“Sunset, aren’t you going to sit down?”

The question snapped the new alicorn out of her daze, and she looked over at the empty chair. Then she turned her head to face Celestia and Cadance, who had already sat down across from her on the long dining table big enough for forty odd ponies. “Oh…right,” she said before climbing up into her chair and sitting down. It was a little higher than she was used to, but in Canterlot Palace everybody made adjustments for Celestia’s height, not the other way around.

After getting situated, she set her pony-arms up on the table. It helped with the balance. For some reason, sitting in the chair just felt strange. It was putting pressure in all the wrong places.

“Sunset?” Cadance asked. “Why are you sitting like that?”

“What’re you talking about-ahh!” she replied when her precariously balanced butt slipped off the edge of her chair and sent her sliding down until only her head was on the cushioned seat. It did give her a view of their hooves though. Oh, right…ponies sit doggy style.

Grumbling at her idiocy, Sunset slowly pulled herself back up and sat in the correct style, carefully adjusting her tail as not to do something to mess that up as well. After not having the rear appendage for so long, it felt more than a little weird to have it back for more than five minutes.

You idiot, she berated herself. You’re a human for just short of three years and your forgot everything you used to know? Why don’t you just go and blab to Celestia about everything and create a time paradox that destroys all of existence!

Although a few seconds of consideration made Sunset uncertain such a thing was possible. After all, the Starswirl Wing had some time travels spells in it, and reality was still around. Sunset wasn’t foolish enough to think there hadn’t been another unicorn that tried to mess with the flow of time already.

Perhaps that really was why her past self was nowhere to be found. Time had some kind of failsafe to prevent a pony from meeting herself. So on top of betraying her friends, stealing from royalty, attempted regicide while under the influence of dark magic, and magical theft, she was also a murder/suicide. The list of crimes just kept on growing.

“Sunset?”

What?” she snapped at the idiot that had drawn her attention in a moment of anger. Then, Sunset realized that she had just yelled at Princess Celestia. Her eyes went wide, and she tensed.

Across the dining table, Celestia let out a reserved chuckle. “Now there’s the Sunset I remember from yesterday,” she said with a smile. “I was afraid something might have happened to you because of your transformation, but it looks like you’ve just been a little shaken up. By the way, the chef is waiting for your order.”

The amber alicorn looked back at the stallion with a sandy mane and dark brown coat standing behind her in his palace livery and blushed. She hadn’t even heard him approach, or speak. “Oh…um…” Sunset paused, unsure of what to order. It had been so long since she had been in the palace, reduced to eating fast food and whatever the parents of whatever boyfriend she had for the month cooked. “I’ll have a ham-ay! Burger. I’ll just have a hay burger,” she said before looking away and blushing at her own idiocy.

She couldn’t keep screwing up like that!

“A…hayburger…” the royal chef said after a view moments. “You want me to make you a…”

“Is that going to be a problem?” Celestia cut in, her tone a little unnerving to Sunset. It lacked some of her usual…motherliness. “I thought you told me once that you could cook anything in Equestria Chief Ram See.”

The pony taking their orders flinched. “Of course, Your Majesty. Pardon me for questioning…uh…Princess Shimmer's wish to… be adventurous and… go slumming with her palate.”

“A little early with the title,” Celestia said. “And she’ll be having two burgers with some fries on the side.” With the order placed, Celestia turned to Sunset, who couldn’t help but tense under Celestia’s gaze. “You’ll find that your appetite has increased greatly as an alicorn. Especially in these first few weeks.”

Cadance cleared her throat. “Oh garcon, I think I’ll have four carrot dogs, if you don’t mind,” she said before looking over to Sunset. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve had any real food since I came here.”

With the other two alicorns done ordering, Princess Celestia took on a thoughtful look. “Well then…I guess I shall have a pizza. Oats, mushrooms, and artichoke if you would my good stallion,” she said before smiling. “Sorry, but they got the commoner classics already.”

As the stallion made his way out of the dining hall, making rude comments under his breath all the way about the insult to his skills all of that was, Sunset fought the urge to sigh in relief. They had only thought her slip was some odd desire to slum it, thank Faust. She needed to be more careful to make sure she wasn’t caught…doing...what?

Sunset looked down at the table with a frown as her thought process went off the tracks.

She knew that what she knew needed to be kept a secret. If Celestia were to find out everything about her, how Sunset had spent years mentally torturing children, taken Twilight’s crown, nearly killed a Princess of Equestria, betrayed her friends, stolen their magic to protect them, and everything she had done…her punishment would be severe.

But Celestia not finding out meant…

I’m just so proud of you Sunset.”

…Sunset shook her head fiercely to get rid of that thought.

Celestia wasn’t proud of her, not really. She was proud of a lie. And that lie was going to keep lying to Celestia because she needed to protect…herself. Not the future, not the world. Sunset knew she was too cowardly for that. She would lie to Celestia out of a need to protect herself.

“So,” Celestia spoke up, making Sunset raise her head. “We need to plan your coronation and design your crown. I was thinking something gold and rubies, or would that be too much with your mane? Maybe something blue to go with your eyes? Perhaps something green when it comes to the dress.”

“Coronation?” Sunset asked. “What’re you talking about? I…I don’t deserve to be a princess!”

After a few seconds of silence, Celestia shook her head a little before talking. “Sunset, while I am glad you’ve finally decided to show me you actually listened to my lectures on modesty, there is something I should tell you. There is a time and place for everything, and too much of a good thing is bad. This is not the time for you to be modest, nor should you be after ascending. Part of being a princess is showing Equestria how amazing a pony can be to give them hope for a brighter future.”

If Sunset could have sunk in her chair without falling out of it, she would have.

“Is this about what you saw in the mirror?” Cadance suddenly asked.

Celestia looked away from Sunset, and over to the mare sitting next to her. “Saw in the mirror?”

The question made Cadance give Sunset an uneasy look before she turned her head to face Celestia all the way. “Well it’s just…after I accidentally woke Sunset up when I was dropping off some flowers and a get well card, she told me that when she looked into it…well,” she looked back to the other alicorn in the room. “Tell her Sunset.”

With both of the alicorns looking at her again, Sunset tensed. “Right…the mirror…” she said as her brain tried to piece together the lie she had told Cadance.

A lie she now needed to tell Celestia.

Just one more little lie.

All she had to do was lie to Celestia, and she would be safe.

At least until she needed to lie again.

But she lied to me too…right? Sunset told herself as she tried to work up the reasoning to commit the deed. Celestia had lied about the mirror. She had held Sunset back, she had lied about Cadance’s origins. The pink alicorn was about as much Celestia’s niece as Sunset was.

But then…Sunset knew she had deserved it. Celestia had lied to her because she couldn’t handle the truth. Sunset had lied to Celestia because…she was afraid for herself.

You’re such a coward, the newly risen alicorn told herself before she looked back up at the real princesses in the room. “Can I go back to my quarters? I’m not feeling very good.”

That at least was the truth.

“Well, you are up much earlier than I thought you would be,” Celestia said in concern. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for lunch? You really should get something to eat Sunset.”

The mention of food made her stomach ache. The last thing the alicorn could remember eating was breakfast, and a small piece of Pinkie’s masterpiece the girl had snuck all her friends after the baking competition. But an ache wasn’t a rumble, and so her deception wasn’t endangered. “Just have the servants send it back to my rooms, if you would.”

“Of course,” Celestia told her softly. “Get your rest, I’ll see you when you’re ready.”


As soon as Sunset left the dining hall, Cadance found herself under the bigger alicorn’s frowning gaze. All of sudden, she thought she understood Sunset’s onset of terror when Princess Celestia came into her living room. Having Celestia frown at you was really unnerving.

“What did Sunset see when she looked in the mirror?” Celestia asked evenly.

Cadance had to remind herself that the pony she was seeing now was the same one that had welcomed her with open wings and hooves just a few short weeks ago. “Well…shouldn’t you ask Sunset about that?”

After a few more seconds under Celestia’s intimidating gaze, the alicorn sighed and looked towards the door. “I did,” she said before looking back at Cadance with a much less scary expression. “You saw her Cadance. Whatever has happened to her has shaken my little pony to her core. And I want to help her, but I also want to make sure that I do not hurt her while trying to do so. If Sunset told you anything that can give me a little bit of insight to what is bothering her, please tell me.”

The request made Cadance’s conscience fight with itself. She understood that Celestia wanted to help Sunset, but talking about the other alicorn behind her back concerning such a sensitive subject just seemed…wrong. Especially since Sunset had run away rather than speak to Celestia about it. But not doing something to help her was…exactly what Cadance had confessed to Sunset was her own flaw in their relationship just a short time ago.

Should she try and help Sunset, even if it was at the expense of the other pony’s trust?

“Um…just what is this mirror she was talking about?” Cadance asked to buy herself some time to think.

Celestia slumped a tiny bit at the mention of the thing that had hurt her student, but she recovered quickly enough. “The mirror was created by Starswirl the Bearded many centuries ago, and serves two purposes. The first of which is that it acts as a portal to an alternate reality, much like another mirror he built earlier. But this one has certain…additions that allows the pony who goes through it to adapt to whatever was on the other side of the portal. And before you ask, I’m not sure what it's like. Starswirl went through it once, and then returned fifteen minutes later. He warned me that no pony should ever venture through it again.

“Its other use was something I found much later, when I had one of my earlier students examine it,” Celestia went on. “Apparently, the mirror also has a tiny bit of temporal magic in it so it can align itself with the world Starswirl connected it to. But when the connection is disabled, the magic is altered, and the mirror reflects the future of the pony who looks into it. I had thought it would give Sunset something to strive for, to let her see how much further she had to go to help counter her growing arrogance.”

The information didn’t help Cadance understand the situation. If anything, it only made her more confused. But, it did help her make a decision. At the very least, Celestia would have a little more information.

“All Sunset told me was that when she looked into the mirror, she didn’t like what she saw. Then she started beating herself up for how she acted towards me these past couple of weeks,” Cadance explained hesitantly. Seeing Sunset do that to herself was not a thing that brought Cadance any joy. If anything, it only reminded the princess just how much she had failed her new friend by not continuing to reach out. “It was a little like how she acted around you, just…not as bad.”

From the way Celestia had explained things, and what Cadance had heard from the new alicorn, it didn’t seem as if Sunset saw her future at all. Unless, what she saw was so horrible it made her reevaluate her life to try and avoid it. But…if the mirror really showed the pony that looked into it her future, then would anything Sunset do really matter? Wasn’t she meant to end up there anyway?

A headache that threatened to form on her made Cadance want to groan. Things were so much simpler when she was a glorified matchmaker for her home village.

When Celestia didn’t continue to conversation, Cadance shook off her hesitation. “So…what did she see?” she asked the alicorn. Celestia had been there with Sunset after all, she had to have seen what was reflected as well.

“Only Sunset would know the answer to that,” Celestia replied before hesitation made her tense. She looked back down at the table. “But…I will admit to having plans for her, and…if she were to have seen them in the wrong context, it could very well cause her to break. Even questioning her self worth wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.”

As she felt herself heading into uneasy territory, Cadance wondered if talking about this with Celestia was such a good idea. While she was an alicorn, the pink princess knew that she didn’t have the skills necessary for dealing with any real problems just yet. She was still going to Canterlot Academy and taking remedial magic lessons for pony’s sake!

But not trying to understand the pony next to her…it just felt like running away again. “What do you mean?” Cadance asked.

Celestia looked over to Cadance with sad eyes. “How much do you know about the legend of Nightmare Moon?”

The question caught Cadance off guard, but not unprepared. She had entertained plenty of colts and fillies on Nightmare Night, and knew the story well enough. “She’s another alicorn, like you, only…evil,” the smaller princess replied as she saw a little flash of pain in Celestia’s eyes. “The legends say she’s locked away in the moon, and comes down once a night to gobble up little foals, but will leave them alone for a tribute of candy.” A smile crossed the alicorn’s face at the ridiculousness of it all. “But that’s just a story.”

“Nightmare Moon is real,” Celestia told Cadance, making the younger alicorn’s eyes go wide in surprise, and a tiny bit of fear. Before Cadance could start asking question, Celestia went on talking. “And the truth is a little different than the stories. Even at her darkest, I do not think that she would have ever eaten another pony. However, she is far from gentle or harmless. Even imprisoned, Nightmare Moon has the ability to reach into the dreams of ponies. For most, she is only able to fill their nights with terror and make their sleep offer no rest. But every now and then, a pony is born that is closer to the dream than others, a pony that can still trot while sleeping. These, she can dominate and play with like puppets.” The bigger princess paused for a moment to shake her head. “But as I said, they are rare. In over nine-hundred years, there have been less than one-hundred such ponies that I have found and dealt with.”

A cold chill ran down Cadance’s spine. “Why are you telling me this, Princess?”

Celestia gave her a little smile. “Don’t be afraid Cadance. You need have no fear of Nightmare Moon while near me. While I am nowhere near her equal in dream magic, but these past thousand years have enabled me to at least construct a defense. Nopony that lives in Canterlot need to fear her power thanks to my presence,” she said before her face became sad again. “And I am telling you this because things will not be this way for much longer. Even though her agents were few, Nightmare Moon was able to put a plan into motion centuries ago that will free her in just a few short years.”

The goddess took a deep breath, and Cadance watched as she steadied herself before continuing. “The first time we battled, I used six artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony to seal her on the moon. However, such an action is no longer an option. When she breaks free, I will not have any weapons or artifacts capable of locking her up again.”

“So, that’s what me and Sunset are for?” Cadance asked nervously. “To help you fight Nightmare Moon?” The prospect didn’t sit well with her at all. Sunset…Cadance could see the other pony as a warrior. She had certainly demonstrated her ability to put Cadance in traction several times before with her mastery of magic, even if the mare never went through with the threats. “You want it to be three alicorns versus one?”

Celestia shook her head. “No,” she said gently. “You were meant to bring joy to the lives of other ponies, and while I have taught Sunset the skills to defend herself and Equestria, I would never endanger her life in such a way. Even if I did, the battle would take its toll on the two of you. The both of you could even die. Nightmare Moon is not a normal alicorn. Like me, the heavens give her more power and an increased lifespan, and…she has something within her that I do not. Using the two of you like weapons against her is something I would never do.”

Although the fact she wouldn’t be placed in danger gave Cadance a little relief, the concern for her own life soon turned to worry about Celestia’s. “But what about you?”

“I will die, but not without taking Nightmare Moon with me into whatever comes after this life,” Celestia explained in an even tone that was obviously forced. “And Sunset Shimmer will be given the duty of raising the sun, and rule over Equestria in my stead.”

As Cadance stared at Celestia, frozen in shock from the announcement, there was a slight realization in the back of her mind. Hearing the sorrow in the alicorn’s voice, seeing her act the way she did, listening to her talking about her death along Nightmare Moon’s not with fear, but with relief…it all came together to illuminate a fact as clear as day. “Nightmare Moon…you love her.”

“She wasn’t always the mare she is now,” Celestia replied in a soft voice as she visibly wilted. “She used to be so kind and gentle, so full of life and joy. And I…I crushed her with my foolish self-righteousness and pride. Always telling her what to do, always thinking I knew what was best for everypony. I pushed her into a life of isolation and pain with words like duty, always thinking I knew better than her because so many more ponies came to me for advice, because I was the elder, because…b-because…” The goddess cut herself off with a sob before her entire body trembled.

The sight before her made Cadance freeze. Seeing Celestia in such a state was something that the younger alicorn hadn’t even thought was possible. A large part of her wanted to give the big alicorn a show of emotional support and a physical presence with a hoof to the shoulder, or perhaps a wing but…

This was Celestia! The idea of trying to comfort the being that had existed before Cadance’s great-grandparents were in diapers gave her pause. Would she appreciate the sentiment, or be insulted that a pony who was less than a foal in comparison to her in wisdom and age actually thought she could offer some relief?

Cadance’s head spun. I am way out of my depth here, she told herself.

“Majesties, lunch is served!” Ram See’s voice from the doorway that led to the kitchen called out a second before they opened and the stallion came in with three trays wrapped in his magic.

Worry crept over Cadance at the thought of another pony seeing Celestia in such a fragile state. She looked back to the goddess for some inspiration for an explanation and…found one wasn’t needed. In the second Cadance had looked away, Celestia had returned to looking as cool as she always did.

“But-”

“The first lesson in being a princess, my little niece, is how to hide yourself in front of everypony else,” she said before looking over to the food. Celestia eyed the plate of hay burgers for a few seconds as the tray was set down, and Cadance caught just a flash of worry in her eyes that she could only recognize thanks to what had happened moments ago.

The pink alicorn frowned. “If you don’t take that food to her, then I will…and they’d probably be hay balls wrapped in silver by the time my magic’s done with them,” she threatened before looking down at her carrot dogs. They were certainly the most dressed up carrots she had ever seen. Still, Cadance was willing to ignore the fancy if it made the cook happy. At least on the condition that they tasted normal.

“Thank you for understanding,” Celestia told her with a nod.

As Celestia quickly left to chase after Sunset, Cadance rolled her eyes. Something told the little princess that she understood things better than even Celestia did on the subject of Sunset Shimmer.


COWARD! Sunset berated herself as she laid on her bed, trying to get used to doing so as a pony again. As a human, sleeping on her back was the usual option thanks to the misplaced mammaries the human species possessed. But now that wasn’t an option because of her unfairly acquired wings!

So now she was back to sleeping on her belly. Her empty belly that felt even worse with all the pressure on it.

Then there was everything else that was wrong that she couldn’t help but mentally shout about. You’re such a fucking coward! Celestia just shows up and you crack like an egg!

The alicorn shook her head in disgust at herself. She’s not proud of you. She was NEVER proud of you! YOU’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING FOR HER TO BE PROUD OF YOU FAKE!

Memories of Sunset’s past time with Celestia came to the forefront of her mind. Not the happy early years that she knew had been ruined forever. What she remembered were her final months with the princess. Every lesson that Celestia had taught had been tossed aside, and by the time she had found something she wanted to learn…Sunset remembered the real alicorn’s expressions as she asked for information that she wasn’t ready for. The frowns. The eye rolls. And the look of anger on her face the final night that they saw each other…nearly a month from now.

The memory of that night cooled her anger, but not her guilt. You were so horrible, even Princess Celestia couldn’t stand to be around you, Sunset told herself.

You are no longer welcome in this castle!” Celestia’s voice rang out in her head as she remembered the alicorn telling Sunset to pack her bags and get out.

I’m just so proud of you-”

“NO!” Sunset shouted at the memory of the phantom Celestia as she shook her head to try and dislodge it. “That’s a lie. You were never proud of me!”

“Yes I am.”

Despite the softness of the voice, Celestia’s words rang clearly in Sunset’s ears, and she looked up in surprise to see the princess standing in her bedroom’s doorway. A pair of platters were floating in her magic, and her face looked as if it was about to break. “Since the day I met you, I have watched you pass every test beyond all expectations, seen you read a book of the most advanced theories just once and still assimilate the information in its entirety, wield magic at a level I have not seen since Starswirl, and continue on despite all of the difficulties you have faced since you were a foal,” she as she approached the mare to look down on her. “Oh my little pony, how could you possibly think that I did not feel pride in you every single day?”

Sunset looked up at the other pony, although not as much as usual thanks to being on her bed.

Still, even with her brain telling her Celestia should have looked a little smaller, Sunset still saw the towering titan from her memories. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know if there was anything to say. “You…”

“I’m sorry,” Celestia apologized, completely stopping Sunset from talking in shock at hearing such words from the goddess. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you again. I just…after Cadance said you woke up just from her walking into your sitting room, I wasn’t sure if the same thing wouldn’t happen with me. I do weigh a lot more than her.”

Sunset continued to stare at the bigger alicorn in shock as Celestia gave a hesitant smile at her poor joke. When the smaller alicorn didn’t smile, the larger became downcast again. “And I am sorry if I ever made you feel unappreciated, Sunset. As if I wasn’t proud of you.”

The second apology had Sunset shaking her head. Guilt welled up in her heart. Celestia shouldn’t be the one apologizing to her. “N-No! I just read books and slung spells! That’s not-I didn’t-it’s…you don’t need to tell me that!”

Especially since none of it was true. Not that Sunset didn’t believe Celestia was just humoring her, but…what she was truly proud of was nothing but a lie. If she learned the truth, then Sunset knew that Celestia would be ashamed of her. Disgusted with her. She would throw the Alicorn of Stolen Magic into the deepest pit Tartarus had.

“You’re right,” Celestia told her, still with an air of sadness about her. “There is something that I think you need to hear from me so much more right now. Something I should have told you years ago. Something I should have told you since the day you became my responsibility after your parents passed away. Something that I should have told you every day since then, and I will do so every day beyond this one.”

Celestia moved.

Sunset tensed, and she found herself in a world of white as the larger alicorn enveloped her in legs and wings once again. A breath of warm air tickled her ear, and Sunset gulped a second before Celestia spoke. “I love you, Sunset Shimmer.”

Time froze as Sunset heard Celestia whisper those words into her ears. “What…?” the smaller alicorn whispered as she pulled in on herself. What she had heard, it couldn’t have been real.

“Shhhhh,” Celestia hushed her. “It’s alright.”

Words that she had wanted to hear since before she could even remember.

Words that made everything seem to stop.

Words that were…

“N-No,” Sunset went on as she tried to find what she wanted to say, tried to pin down the swirling emotions in her heart.

“Have I truly neglected your heart so much that you find it impossible that I love you?” Celestia asked in a dreadful whisper.

Sunset shook her head as shame came to the forefront of her mind once again. “Stop,” she managed to get out in a tiny breath of a voice.

“Oh my little pony, I am so sorry,” Celestia apologized again, driving another dagger in Sunset’s heart at how meaningless it all was.

Because…it was all just an illusion.

Celestia’s pride, her love, it was all based on a lie. If Celestia knew the truth, none of those words would have never passed from her lips. If she knew the truth, she would have been disgusted with Sunset.

“I love you so much.”

“Please stop,” Sunset begged in a whining whisper that Celestia didn‘t seem to hear.

“And while you may be my student on paper, the truth is that in my heart...”

NO, Sunset’s mind screamed in-between the seconds as it formulated what was coming next. Not this! Anything but this.

“…I think of you as my-”

Sunset couldn’t let Celestia complete what she knew was coming. It worse than anything that came before. A wish she had possessed since before she could remember, now a weight she knew would crush her under the weight of guilt. The amber alicorn closed her eyes, and cast the same spell Celestia had used on her minutes ago, clamping the princess’s mouth shut.

The action made Celestia step back, and Sunset looked into eyes that were full of surprise, with eyes full of guilt and shame. Emotions that she couldn’t bear to carry anymore, no matter what Celestia did to her. “I went through the portal,” she said without emotion while Celestia’s eyes widened. “And found a world a lot like this one. And there, I cheated, and lied, and spread misery wherever I went. Then one day, a real princess came by, because I stole magic that belonged to her, wanting to use it for my own selfish desires. And then I stole more, this time from my best friends, who accepted me despite everything I had done, and I…and then I...came home, and you were there in front of me, and you said y-you were p-proud…”

Sunset’s void of emotion cracked, and she looked back down onto her bed to let out a shuttering sniffle. “You said you were proud of me!” she yelled before sobbing. “But there’s nothing to be proud of! I’m a thief, and a cheat!” She spread her wings wide. “These are stolen!” And then she looked up at Celestia with a frown. “And Twilight Sparkle is the real princess!”

With everything finally out in the open, Sunset cowered down on the bed, ready, if afraid to be roasted alive as Celestia passed her judgement. Although the logical part of her mind said that Tartarus would be a much more likely punishment, with its mystical draining properties that would leave her a withered, magicless husk for the rest of her short life.

But, as the seconds, and then minutes passed with no punishment coming, Sunset opened her eyes, and slowly looked up to Celestia. The alicorn’s face wasn’t twisted in anger or disappointment, or even covered in one of her emotional masks that Sunset had learned to see past years go.

She didn’t even look disappointed.

Instead, Princess Celestia looked down at Sunset with nothing but confusion covering her features. “Sunset,” Celestia spoke with a confused frown. “Who in the hay is Twilight Sparkle?”