Chapter 4: Sunset Meets Celestia
Neither Princess Celestia nor Princess Luna could not believe what they had just heard: Sunset Shimmer, the pony who abandoned Equestria for her own selfish reasons had returned with Twilight Sparkle leading her through the gates of Canterlot. Almost immediately after being notified of her return, Celestia ran down the steps to the front door of Canterlot Palace as fast as her legs would carry her.
"Open the doors!" Celestia shouted to the two guards at the front door as she ran. "I demand you to open them, now!"
Doing as they were told, the guards used their magic to open the doors and Celestia stopped dead in her tracks when she saw two students of hers that stood before her: one who was now an Alicorn Princess and the other, a student that abandoned her studies for more ambitious goals and dreams. Sunset Shimmer gasped at the presence that was Princess Celestia, the pony that took her under her wing. Sunset didn't know whether to cry or scream angrily at Celestia, but she knew that there was wounds that needed to be healed between the both of them.
"Sunset," gasped Celestia, still trying to catch her breath from all the running she did. "You've come back to Equestria after so long. Do you realize how many ponies you have worried?"
Sunset didn't have an answer for Celestia and Twilight knew very well that Celestia was not very patient when it came to demanding answers. Still, this was a matter that didn't need her involvement in any way.
“Sunset, please answer my question,” Princess Celestia said, as fresh tears were now beginning to form in her eyes. “Do you have any idea how much I and many other ponies have worried about you? I thought my only chance at ever being able to hear from you again was lost forever when I misplaced the magic journal.”
It took a moment for Sunset to pull herself together and summon the courage to face her former teacher after so long. Taking in a deep sigh, Sunset walked up to Celestia with her head lowered in shame while Celestia waited for her ex-student to speak.
"I do, Princess," Sunset Shimmer said sadly, still looking down at the floor. "I know of the pain and misery I caused those who love me dearly, even those that I do not love."
"Do you realize of how much guilt I have carried since you left Equestria?” Princess Celestia carried on. “I tried to do everything in my power to make you see sense of what you were trying to do was wrong, but it was all for naught. I can't rule Equestria forever, Sunset and neither can Princess Luna. My goal was to prepare you, to teach you everything that a princess is known for. And now, now it seems that you have learned well. But at the same time, my intentions for you can never be fufilled. You were like a daughter to me, Sunset Shimmer. True, you were not my own flesh and blood, but I loved you as if you were! Every day after your departure, I could feel the hole you left in my heart. A hole that was only filled when I heard of your heroic deeds against The Dazzlings and the other world’s Twilight Sparkle, corruputed by forces beyond her control."
Sunset could see that tears were beginning to form in Celestia's eyes. They weren't just ordinary tears, they were tears of pain, of sadness. Not every mare in Equestria had the honor of having Princess Celestia herself as a teacher. Sunset was one of the very few mares to have the chance before Twilight and well, she decided to force herself to achieve the goal on her own terms.
"If you have every right to be angry with me, Princess," sighed Sunset, her head lifting up slightly. "Then I will let you be angry with me. What I did was wrong and I was too impatient to get what I want."
She wanted to say more, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She was convinced Princess Celestia wouldn’t believe her. She’d just now gotten back on good terms with her former teacher, why would ruin it with something that wouldn’t even excuse what she’d done?
“Sunset, I could never stay angry at you, no matter what!” Princess Celestia said seriously, opening her wings, and embracing her former student in a warm hug “After all these years, you are just like the sweet little filly I met one faithful day at my school. I could sense you had the potential to achieve what even Starswirl The Bearded himself could not, and it grieved me to think that somewhere along the line I lost you. Perhaps I put too much pressure on you, in hopes that you would learn the magic of friendship in time to defeat my sister, and free her from the evil forces corrupting her.”
“You didn’t fail me, Princess,” Sunset Shimmer said sadly, tears welling up in her own eyes “I failed you. I should’ve trusted your judgement in not making me an alicorn, I should’ve known that you had a reason for not granting me what the mirror said I could become. But all I could think about was myself, and by the time I realized this mistake, I had already destroyed the bond we had. That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to come back, because it was myself I couldn’t forgive.”
“It sounds to me like we have a lot in common,” an unfamiliar voice called out, as an alicorn similar in size to Celestia (albeit a bit smaller) but with a dark blue coat, and a mane and tail that appeared to capture a starry night sky emerged from the hallway “You are not the only one who has blamed themselves for past mistakes, and struggled to confront them in the present.”
“Who are you, and how do you know me?” Sunset Shimmer asked the alicorn.
Twilight smiled and let out a small laugh.
“This is Princess Luna, Sunset. She’s Princess Celestia’s sister. She used to be the wicked Nightmare Moon, but my friends and I defeated her and turned her back to good with the Elements of Harmony, just like I did with you when you were that raging she-demon.”
“Delighted to meet you at long last, Sunset Shimmer,” Princess Luna greeted warmly. “And I warn you, self guilt can be a very destructive force if you let it control you. You must learn to be able to forgive yourself for your past mistakes, or they will consume you in one way or another. But know this, you do not have to face your past alone. You have friends now from what I understand, and now that you are back in Equestria, I can enter your dreams if you are in need of assistance. You no longer need to hide from your past, the time has come for you to accept it and move on, as my sister and I have done.”
There was no doubt in Sunset's mind that the damages she had caused in Equestria needed to be repaired by learning the magic of friendship. Soon, her chance at redemption and her challenges that would come with it would soon begin…
Stats
Page generated in 0.016 seconds
Total duration
1,005 users online
267,262 hits today, 2,156,967 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Sounds to me like Sunset Shimmer quickly moves from feeling remorse about her actions, to playing the "My father pressured me into becoming nasty and a she-demon" card. But that does not excuse her behavior. She could've easily told Princess Celestia, and as the princess' faithful student I'm sure Celestia would've looked into the matter. Plus, after fleeing through the mirror, Sunset Shimmer should've delighted in the fact that she was free from her father's influence, but it's obvious when she arrived she was bent on conquering it.
Also, Princess Luna seemed to suddenly flip-flop from being way too untrusting of Sunset Shimmer, to giving her the benefit of the doubt just from hearing Sunset's own words.
This story started off so promising, but I'm really starting to worry about the direction it's going in. I hope it will improve, because I don't want to give up on it.
How is someone who is a "Pushover" Pushing someone and the driving force of crulty? This seems like a poor word choice.
Once again this is going downhill fast and the rushing isn't helping.
Why is Celestia so angry and cold? That really doesn't fit for someone who was supposed to be so super worried. Not to mention she should know acting like that would do nothing but make Sunset not want to stay and in fact leave again.
"My father was a pushover!"
Bit concerned with this. pushover implies he was easy to push not the other way around. Maybe "My father was pushy & overbearing!" would be better.
7008995 I've sent you a couple of PM's about maybe collaborating to this story. Check them out when you have a chance.
7009996 I've made the necessary edits you spotted. Let me know if you see any more in my other stories. Trust me, there are quite a few of them.
7009931 The pacing of the story has always been my Achilles heel as a writer and something that I have always been trying to work on.
7009731 I've sent you a PM about recommending an editor and a proofreader. Check it out.
7009943 Given that one of those trips involved a possible threat to Equestria in the sirens, and her friends knew all that, there is no way she wouldn't have contacted Celestia after taht though. So yes she would know about the portal being able to be opened anytime.
Sorry but I'm out. It is an interesting premise but the whole story felt very rushed. The characters aren't really fleshed out so the dialogue and the feelings feel flat and unatural. It just didn't connect to me. But aside from that the story is pleasant to read (from a grammar/technical point of view) and gets an upvote from me.
She's right, it's time to let go.