Chapter 3 - A Mother's Regrets
Sunset ran, she ran like never before in her young life. Not from fear, but to get away. Away from the ones who disowned her as a friend, who banished her from their lives. She ran until the unicorn in disguise reached the Canterlot Park, completely out of breath.
It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore to the girl, she just wanted to be alone for now. Thinking about what to do next.
Sunset sat on the closest bench to the Canterlot Lake. A small nearly invisible smile graced her features. She remembered how this place looked during the summer. So full of life, with many different flowers. It reminded her sometimes of home, parts of the Royal Garden in Canterlot Castle to be precise.
She would lay on a pillow surrounded by Sunset Orchids, her favourite flowers.
Not because they shared her name, but because of their special and magical life circle. They only started to open and displayed their beautiful vibrant red and brilliant golden colors during the beginning of the sunset and closed themselves when the first rays of dawn touched their blossoms.
Until the sunset of the next day started a new cycle.
And Princess Celestia would sit behind her, testing her knowledge. Or she would talk with her pupil about the most mundane things. But most importantly, during this time they would deepen a very special bond. And smiles on their muzzles only shared by foal and mo... no. The princess disowned her as well.
"Am I truly alone now?" Sunset asked herself in an emotional whisper.
Sunset Shimmer wore nothing else than black short boots, blue jeans, a white top with her Cutie Mark upon it and her favourite jacket made of false black leather. Rarity repaired her garment after the Fall Formal for free to show her that she was forgiven for everything. She didn't have the money for a winter jacket, that was much too expensive for her.
"Forgiven my flank," Sunset thought in deep sadness. Tears were building up behind her closed eyelids, waiting to be released upon the cold earth beneath her.
The unicorn-turned-human used the bench as a wooden bed, trying to fight her upcoming emotions. The feelings of betrayal, pain, suffering, bitterness, sorrow pulled at her mental state.
And then the memories. Oh, how they tormented her.
Rarity...
"But here you are, spilling others' secrets, no matter how damaging they might be for everyone and destroy relationships as you desire. And all that for what, hm? Do you want to show and prove to us how superior you are? How much you had us in your hands?"
The honest expression of sheer disgust on the fashionista's face. It hurt more than words could describe it for Sunset.
Fluttershy...
"BE QUIET! STOP LYING TO US!"
Never did she witnessed such anger from the usually shy and timid girl. Not even when she had bullied her.
Applejack...
"Ya have the guts to blame our sisters, our KIN, for yer sins? Ah can't believe ya! Get out. Ah don't want to see yer disgustin' face no more!"
To think that she wanted to invite Sunset to the Apple household over the holidays. An experience nothing more than an everlasting dream.
Rainbow Dash...
"You don't know a thing about loyalty, Shimmer. Just go away and leave us alone. We don't need someone like you in our lives. We are better off without you. Heck, the entire human world is better off without you, She-Demon."
Was it true?
Pinkie Pie...
"Have you already forgotten what we did for you?"
No, but what difference would it make for her? She was all alone, no friends, no family, no support.
Then a new feeling made itself known. Fury.
"HOW DARE THEY?! Don’t I deserve forgiveness after everything I’ve done for them?! I-" It was too much.
Sunset Shimmer didn't know how much time she spent on the hard bench. Her awareness faded ever so slowly. Why? Oh, right. The coldness of winter ate away at her warmth. Piece by piece all this time she cried and screamed in despair, alone.
"I should write Princess Twilight about how the meeting went," the teenager mumbled tiredly. Sleep sounded like a good idea, yes, soon.
Sunset took her backpack with trembling hands and pulled out her only connection to Equestria, a pen and started with a shivering voice. "D-dear Princess Twilight..."
"Tia, why can't we accompany thee rather than have to stayeth behind instead? We could just put Twilight Sparkle on the throne for the duration of our absence," Luna inquired with a pouting face. "We should go together to punish these insolent mortals!"
She dismissed, unwillingly, her battle armor and stood with a deathly silent Celestia and a grim-looking Spirit of Chaos in front of the now activated magic mirror.
The lunar princess saw in her sister's chambers what happened with Sunset Shimmer and was furious that one of her loyal subjects was treated in such an atrocious manner. Luna asked her sibling very politely, at ear-shattering volume, if she should bring her Thestrali with them to, in her words, ‘storm the bastion of the enemy’ in response to what happened.
The request was denied, but Celestia considered for about five seconds. It was a very tempting idea.
Shortly thereafter, Discord found himself pressed against the wall once more, accused of wasting time and told that he should bring them to the mirror immediately. The draconequus could have sworn that the midnight blue alicorn enjoyed it way too much when she used her magic on him in such a violent way.
Maybe she was still sour about the thing with Tirek? How dull, Moonbutt was always so resentful. Always living in the past. Perhaps little Woona needed simply a change of pace? Or a change of color?
Yep. He had an idea for his next prank now.
Celestia sighed fatefully and locked eyes with her beloved sister, "No Lulu, I'm sorry. One of us has to stay behind in the case that Twilight learns that we are both gone before she returns to Ponyville on her own. I ordered Raven to inform her about our whereabouts should the need arise. I want you both here. You to calm down Twilight as well as the rest of our little Ponies should they notice my disappearance and start asking questions. Discord needs to be here to share his memories with her, it will make explanations shorter, and he can inform you instantly should something happen in the human world, because he can look into the plane without actually being there himself. I doubt that anything there could harm me, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."
"We knowest that thou likest to keep thy cards close to the heart, as the saying goes these days, but we needeth more information!" the Princess of the Night demanded with a stomping hoof.
The older of the two alicorns looked urgently at Discord. He knew what she wanted to know and closed his eyes in strong concentration. After the God of Chaos opened them again he answered the unspoken question. "Shimmy is fine for now. I saw her run into a park. The moment she leaves it, I will inform you," he said truthfully.
The Princess of the Sun sighed regretfully. She really wanted to reach Sunset as fast as possible, but first she had to make her sister understand, "There is so much to tell, but not enough time to cover it all. It is just... this is something I must do on my own. I entrusted Twilight with everything concerning Sunset and the human world, because I didn't want to give her the feeling that I had no faith in her abilities as the newly declared Princess of Friendship after Tirek's defeat. Or that I would just overrule her own judgment. My once faithful student managed to attain her crown and trusted her heart to decide which course of action would be the wisest in the aftermath."
Celestia found a true purpose for herself, a way to correct her past mistakes. "Worse, I never found the courage in all these years to search for my former student myself or at least to write to her in my own copy of the journal. A mistake I mean to correct. I never followed her because of my own pride and the excuse that Sunset would return to me on her own when she so desired or found out that she was no longer capable of using magic in the other world."
The Alicorn of the Sun walked up and down in front of the duo, fearful for her former student, "The situation has changed dramatically for the worse and a new, much... firmer approach has to be taken. When Twilight returned with her Element I believed my Little Sun could finally find happiness in her life with the help of her new friends at her side. But now I have to step in personally. No more excuses."
She shook her head in an attempt to clear it for her upcoming task. "I deluded myself every night, since the day of her disappearance, that she would be fine with thought up excuses. How I couldn't follow her as the only ruler of Equestria and needed to stay here. I thought I lost everything that day, my Little Sun... as well as you, Lulu."
Luna felt her eyes moistened, feeling touched, while Discord mock-gagged dramatically.
Celestia ignored the mad god's antics, "Until the day I met a certain young filly. Twilight Sparkle; studious, intelligent, eager, if very neurotic at times, and years ahead of her peers. I recognized it as a new and final chance. Only this time with patience, love, and understanding instead of force and emotional pressure. And from the moment she had a Magic Flare of the greatest magnitude and gained her Cutie Mark I put my entire focus on Twilight's education. So I was preparing her for the moment of proving herself worthy of becoming the Bearer of Magic and freeing you from the influence of the Nightmare with the help of her friends."
A smile of pride could be seen upon the princess' face for a few seconds before it was replaced by a thousand-yard stare. It looked like she saw events of another time, things beyond a mortal's eye, solely known by her. "I'm truly proud of Twilight. She achieved so much and managed to exceed my expectations time and time again. I couldn't have wished for a better student. But of course, my... daughter could never be replaced. To think that all this could have been Sunset's doing as well and it wasn't, just because I was too impatient, it hurt."
Luna nuzzled her sister's side, which earned her a thankful nod from her sibling, "I was so blinded and consumed by my one wish to save you that I reacted much too emotionally with anger, fear, and disappointment. I never considered what kinds of possible outcomes my careless decree of releasing her as my student could result in. I was such a fool."
"Oh Tia, tell us something we don't know," Discord commented recliningly.
After she gave the Spirit of Chaos a short glare, Celestia continued, "I thought that she would lose these misguided ambitions of becoming a princess through questionable means after I dismissed her as my student. That such a harsh course of action would teach her humility and respect for others. That Sunset would understand that her actions had consequences. My plan was, if she calmed down enough and saw the error of her way, I would find her a position in Ponyville for the next few years, forcing her to interact with other ponies, and by extension... into finding and making friends. Starting to understand the Magic of Friendship despite detours, you might say."
She frowned at nobody particular, "I had such a great fear that she could be consumed by Dark Magic when I saw her that fateful day in the forbidden section, reading books about the most twisted arts of spell casting known by ponykind. I hoped that sending her away from the Magic Mirror, sending her away from her studies and preventing her from reading any more books about Dark Magic would do the trick and clear her mind. Oh how wrong I was. I planned everything out in my head to the last detail, but never considered her own feelings, nor involved my little pony in my stubborn schemes." A horrible thought came to the ancient ruler's mind, her eyes widened. "I should have said something to Sunset, tried to explain it to her. She must have thought that I not only released her from her position as my personal student but disowned her as my daughter as well. Lulu, d-do you think... I'm a bad mother?"
Dark wings hugged gently the taller of the two princesses and the reply came in form of a comforting voice. "We hath all done things in our life we are not proud of. Sins of the past, dear sister. Believe us when we say that we knoweth how it feels like to ask thyself such questions. Were we always a good sister? We say neigh! We failed thee and our subjects over 1000 years ago and hast to liveth with this knowledge. But as it happened with us, young Sunset is not beyond thy reach. Though we still demand to know why we have to babysit the nobles in thine absence! Why can we not come with thee?"
The Princess of the Sun chuckled in amusement at the pleading expression on her little sister's face, "I know you just want to help, but-" both Alicorns were suddenly drenched in waterfalls of tears.
Indeed, the God of Chaos cried streams of water, starting to fill the room at high speed. When he was finally finished, he summoned Luna in his arms, blew his nose with her mane. She looked positively disgusted and disturbed at Discord after he put her down and pulled a giant plug, which shouldn't even exist in the first place, to drain the room in a matter of seconds, ending up perfectly dry.
After the Spirit of Chaos dried his eyes for the last time with a handkerchief, what earned him a short death glare by the lunar ruler, he looked down at a twitching Luna and a completely unamused Celestia. "What? I'm emotionally unstable."
Truer words have never been spoken.
He snapped his claws and returned the siblings to their former glory, "There. As good as new. Did you really think I would let you go the human world like that? All... wet?" The draconequus gasped, scandalized. "What would the humans think?! And what would Sunflank Junior think?! Just imagine the potential gossip you would cause about yourself! I can already see the headlines of the newspapers,” a copy of the Trottingham Tattler in his paws suddenly, the headline declaring: 'Principal shocks students with wet hair look! Has science gone too far?!'"
"Discord!" Celestia shouted in annoyance.
"Oh, I see how it is. Typical. How ungrateful you are, after EVERYTHING I did for you! Only Fluttershy appreciates my true genius." The Spirit of Chaos turned his back, playing insulted.
"Thou wanted to say?" Luna asked the older princess neutrally. But she continued glaring at the draconequus.
The day would come when he was unprepared. A moment of weakness was all she needed. And then she would pounce. Revenge would be hers!
"For one, there is the problem that we have to consider the existence of our own human counterparts as well. It would cause a lot of confusion and unwanted attention when there were suddenly two Celestias and Lunas. We have to lay low and I have a better chance of doing so on my own. Otherwise, such a development could potentially put the local authorities on our tracks and endanger Sunset. Besides, who said that I would be defenseless, sister?" Celestia asked innocently.
"Thou takest a weapon with thee? And here we thought thou hast become soft," the Alicorn of the Moon replied jokingly. "Or art thou aiding her in reaching the enemy's land with her might intact?" She looked questioningly at the draconequus.
Discord rolled his eyes at the battle-eager lunar princess. "Cakeflank here just knows apparently that the mirror's will can be overpowered with the right spells and the necessary amount of magic behind them. It WAS once created by a unicorn. Powerful maybe in comparison, but a unicorn no less. These-" he stuck his tongue out in a repulsive manner. "-rules are only for beings who are not powerful enough to overcome the enchantments he once placed on the mirror. And even if I wanted to, I can't. Not because it's impossible, after all, that word doesn't even exist for me, see?"
He let a dictionary appear and showed the Princess of the Night the page where under ‘I’ the word ‘impossible’ would be. The letters started to disappear like dust in the wind, literally.
He tossed the book away and continued. "No, perish the thought! The problem is that Chaos Magic, as the name implies it, can be very... unpredictable. Even for me sometimes and I know that's VERY hard to believe! We can't know how my magic would affect Star Swirl's mirror if I placed a spell on Tia to let her reach the human world with her powers intact. She has to do it all alone."
"Is this true? Thou hast found a method of overcoming the mirror portal?" Luna inquired critically.
"Star Swirl said to me that I shouldn't enter the human world, but that didn't stop me from testing the mirror's limits later on. What can I say? I was always curious if it was somehow possible to make someone's own magic still accessible despite the problem that it was sealed inside of the new body, since humans couldn't use it. And I succeeded."
Energy of a nearly divine level illuminated Celestia's horn and shortly after her entire body until her golden colored magic faded away. It looked like nothing happened, to Luna, but she felt that a very powerful spell was just cast.
"This is a spell that protects me to some degree from the mirror's magic. To be more specific, it protects my soul and mana reservoir from being altered. I will be able to use my magic now, but still transform into a human to fit in," Celestia explained with a smile that made Luna nearly feel sorry for whoever tried to stand in her way.
But only nearly.
The older sibling took a few more steps, nearly entering the mirror, before she turned around one last time. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... thank you, Discord. And Luna? Language."
"NEIGH! The foals love it when we speak in the royal tongue, sister. We are their favourite princess, not thou!" the smaller alicorn boasted pridefully. She looked to her left and saw the God of Chaos floating in front of a window, having humongous binoculars in his hands while staring outside. The draconequus looked frantically around. "Is something wrong, Discord?"
The sincere shock was visible in his eyes when he turned around to answer the question. "What do you mean?! Sunflank just thanked me! I expected that the Gates of Tartarus would have opened when this day came! That darkness and insanity would consume these lands and worst of all... cotton candy would be declared as unhealthy. But nothing happened!"
Luna mock-gasped, "No?!"
Celestia could only laugh at the duo's antics before she mentally prepared herself for the upcoming task. Determination was filling her being.
"Tia?" Discord started quite... concerned? The solar princess wasn't sure what to make of it. Normally the Spirit of Chaos took nothing seriously, if he didn't deem it necessary. "She stood up from her bench and is on the move, but something isn't right. A great blizzard is heading the city's way and there is clearly something magical about it. I can't say for sure what its true nature is without being on Earth myself. You should hurry. I think you know about what I'm talking about"
The solar princess' eyes widened, "B-but how?"
"I think the rising magic level and the amount of created negative emotions are like a beacon for them. It was naive and very foolish of you to banish them to the human world in the first place," Discord lectured quite harshly.
Luna gasped and exclaimed pleadingly, "Thou mean...! SISTER! We beseech thee, be careful."
Celestia sighed fatefully. It seemed she had to enter a battlefield without the possibility of holding back for the first time in over a thousand years. So much for trying to be subtle. The Princess of the Sun didn't need an invitation and stepped through the mirror portal with one last thought in mind: leaving the other two immortals alone with the task of holding the fort until the she returned with her daughter.
"Wait for me, Sunset! Mom is on her way.”
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or just Cadence, as she clearly preferred to be called, never flew as fast as she did at this very moment. Not even before she ascended to alicornhood after she defeated a unicorn named Prismia in her old village; when Cadence managed to turn a spell, fuelled by hatred and jealousy, into a love spell during her younger days as a Pegasus.
Prismia became a well-respected member of her home village from what she heard.
Cadence just minded her own business, thinking she could finally relax for a change after court. Since the former foal-sitter of Twilight Sparkle was declared ‘Crystal Empress’ by the Crystal Ponies she couldn't save herself from ponies and yaks, as their neighbors, who wanted to talk with her. At least at first.
Suddenly the adopted niece of Princess Celestia felt how her aunt summoned high amounts of alicorn magic.
It hit her like Shining's morning breath.
Court, an affair more akin to Luna’s than Celestia’s, one where the ‘empress’, as the crystal ponies insisted on anointing her, relaxed in her throne room, listening to her subjects, answering their questions, offering advice, had been winding down. A place where the crystal ponies could bring to her their concerns and the fruits of their efforts, hoping to please their empress.
Suddenly she sat up straight, eyes wide, ears twitching, her body tense. Calling to her guard, “Fetch the commander immediately!” Turning to her seneschal, “Please reschedule the remaining petitioners, court is canceled. Clear my schedule until further notice and announce that court is closed for today, perhaps even longer.”
Shining Armor arrived in a rush, catching the last part of her order, “What is happening, Your Highness?” Maintaining his professionalism despite the fact that he was addressing his wife.
“Something happened in Canterlot, I just felt Princess Celestia call forth a large volume of magic. I need to leave immediately in case they need assistance. Inform the Crystal Council that you are in charge until I return.” Thankfully the nobles who made up the council were nothing like the nobles of Canterlot, so she needn’t fear a coup occurring during her absence.
“It might be dangerous, let me send some guards to see what has happened,” Shining Armor insisted vehemently.
She shook her head, “There’s no time for that, even our fastest won’t be back for at least two days, depending on how much rest they’ll need before returning. Increase the guard here, and I’ll go straight there.” Holding up a hoof to silence his protests, “You may send guards along with me, but I won’t wait for them, they can try to keep up or catch up with me in Canterlot.”
He continued to protest feebly, but knew there would be no changing her mind, so he’d sent for his two fastest guard.
But Cadence refused to wait when her aunts, Twilight or Equestria as a whole could be in greater peril every moment they spoke and she flew ahead. Perhaps she was the Princess of Love by title, but she refused to be a pushover ever again since she was so easily captured by the changelings when the preparations were made for their wedding.
Her pride suffered immensely that day.
The pink alicorn never saw herself as Wonderbolt material, but she deemed herself a good flyer, still. The guards couldn't keep up with her, which was to be expected. Her alicorn body would be much stronger and faster than the one of a typical pegasus.
Well, Twilight's friend Rainbow Dash was most likely an exception when it came to speed. How the mare pulled off the legendary Sonic Rainboom was more than impressive. Or why the rainbow mare hadn't ascended already was quite beyond Cadence.
She was sure that the guards should have arrived in Canterlot by now. Obviously they couldn't know so it wasn't their fault, but her own destination changed shortly after her departure as the divine magic of Celestia spiked a second time. It came from Ponyville, of course.
"Finally! I hope I'm not too late!" Cadence exclaimed in great worry, seeing Twilight's castle from the distance.
The pink princess chose an open window as her entrance and landed directly in the room where her aunt should be, panting heavily. One day she would have a much needed conversation with her sister-in-law about selecting her own guards, no matter if she wanted it or not. An unguarded castle was like an open invitation for the strangest of ponies.
OK... THAT wasn't really what she expected to see upon her arrival. Auntie Luna and the Spirit of Chaos himself, playing Coltopoly.
"Dearest niece, it is wonderful to see you! Discord and I were expecting your arrival!" Luna greeted with a waving hoof. The monarch looked back at the playboard, calculating her chances, "Huzzah, thy income hath been doubled!" she shouted joyfully.
"Bah! How can you have so much luck?!" the draconequus asked sourly.
Suddenly his token, a manticore, came to life, ripped Luna's playing piece, a phoenix, brutally apart before falling lifelessly to the side, once more nothing than a mere meeple. He grinned evilly in victory at the shocked Guardian of the Night.
"You fiend! I demand a rematch! My phoenix wasn't prepared for the upcoming slaughter!" Luna challenged indignantly.
Discord cleared his throat, "I think Heart Flank wants to say something to you, Lulu."
The midnight blue alicorn looked at her niece in sincere confusion, "Is that so? Did something happen to the Crystal Empire?"
Her brain finished its reboot, "I-YOU-BUT-WHAT?! ARE YOU BUCKING KIDDING ME?! I came here, left my husband and kingdom behind, because I thought Equestria was UNDER ATTACK! Two times, once from Canterlot and the second time here in Ponyville, I felt how Auntie Celestia drew upon so much magic that I feared the Gates of Tartarus itself had opened and what do I find?! MY OTHER AUNT and the GOD OF CHAOS playing a BOARD GAME! Where IS Celestia?! Why are you not surprised to see me? And then I want to know... since WHEN do you speak the modern language, Auntie? You always talk old-fashioned!"
Discord and Luna looked, completely unfazed by the tantrum, at the pink pony princess until the midnight blue alicorn asked seriously, "Are you sure you are not related to Tia somehow?"
Cadence's eye twitched dangerously, "Please, just answer my questions," feeling a strong headache fast approaching.
The Princess of the Night left the board game and Discord, but not without sticking her royal tongue out at him in a most mature and royal manner of course and looked at her adopted niece. "As you wish. I'm not surprised to see you as Discord here felt you approaching a long time before you arrived here. I am delighted to see that your magic has matured to a degree that you are able to feel when your fellow alicorns draw heavily upon their magic, to a certain point. And the fact that my sister's former student didn't come onto us like Tia on cake tells me that she hasn't developed this ability yet."
Luna cleared her throat awkwardly, "As for my speech pattern. I learned the modern tongue, yes, but I choose on my own when I use it or not. And NOPONY can or will tell me otherwise! Did you know that the foals love it when we speak in the old dialect? 'Tis most interesting."
"Oh Woona, I didn't know that you are capable of the art of trolling," Discord complimented with a smug grin.
"Don't call us 'Woona'! 'Tis a most embarrassing nickname and we decree that it shall not be used by thee! Besides, our sister would have informed us if Equestria had a troll problem! And it makes no sense, they normally never leave the Macintosh Hills." Luna had furthermore the habit of slipping automatically into the language of old when angered or being highly emotional.
The God of Chaos looked the shouting princess into the eye. She truly meant what she said, he could see it.
The draconequus facepalmed, hard.
"Now, where is Celestia?" Cadence asked a second time, glancing over to the now deactivated mirror portal.
Wasn't that the same mirror she saw in the Crystal Empire when Twilight's crown was stolen by Sunset Shimmer? She thought her aunt took it to Canterlot, not Ponyville.
The Princess of the Night looked suddenly very angry when reminded of where her sister was at this very moment. It scared the younger alicorn a little bit. "Discord! Show her!" Luna ordered.
The draconequus in question grumbled. If he got tossed into another wall again...
Before the Princess of Love could ask what her aunt meant her mind was already filled with memories about the Anon-a-Miss shenanigans. Cadence was normally very docile, but after her mind was clear again the air around the ruler of the Crystal Empire began to vibrate and pink magic thinly covered her body in a foreboding manner.
She gnashed her teeth. "HOW COULD THEY?! They were supposed to be Sunset’s friends! And what these other humans dared to do to her is despicable!" For the first time in her life Cadence used her version of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
The Alicorn of Love wasn't sure when last she felt such anger in her life.
She knew Sunset Shimmer. She met her when the Unicorn was still under Celestia's care as her student. Their relationship was... tense. Sunset always tried to show the pink pony how much better she was in using magic. And Cadence had to admit, she truly was. The concept of being suddenly able to use magic on her own like a unicorn was very strange and foreign for the former pegasus in the first few years.
She could easily use her alicorn magic for her love spells, which were connected to her special talent. But beyond that? She couldn't even teleport more than 50 meters without losing feathers!
Besides, she understood Sunset's behaviour and reasoning very well. If she was in her place and was groomed and trained her entire life for a certain goal and out of nowhere an unfamiliar pony of equal age came into her life and had already achieved her greatest dream without actually working for it in the slightest? Yes, Cadence would probably react in a similar way.
She didn't even want to become a princess at all. It just... happened.
But what the alicorn saw greatly enraged her. The former bully didn't exist anymore, she saw it in Discord's memories. No, this was an entirely new pony who was trying her best to better herself. A new mare who wanted to earn forgiveness, somepony who needed love in her life.
The Crystal Empress made a decision. When she met Sunset the next time she would try to become friends with her!
"Cadie? Are you with us?" Luna asked, a little worried. Her niece just stared silently at the ground before her, still illuminated by her own magic.
Touching her shoulder did the trick. "W-what? Oh! Sorry! I spaced out a little bit. I... grr... HOW DARE THEY?!"
Luna nodded her head grimly. "Indeed. Our sister entered the human world alone in order to save young Sunset. We would have aided her, but one of us had to stay behind. We had the idea of putting Princess Twilight upon the throne during our absence. She would surely have been able to rule accordingly."
Her little ladybug? Sole princess of Equestria, because the co-rulers were both on a mission? Cadence feared what would have happened. She loved her to bits, but Twily tended to be very neurotic at times.
How would something like that have played out?
She shivered just thinking about it.
"Wait. You let Auntie Celestia leave all alone? Without any support?! What if something happens to her?! I heard about these 'sirens', who knows what else she may encounter there?!" The Alicorn of Love had to calm herself with breathing exercises.
What is when something happened to her?! Equestria needed Celestia! Without her, who would raise and lower the sun?!
She interrogated her aunt further after she calmed down enough, "What is if she meets a foe like the Sirens?! Or worse! Queen Chrysalis?! I-why are you laughing at me?"
Luna was laughing openly. "So-sorry Cadie. W-we just find it hilarious that so many of our subjects think since the Royal Wedding that our sister was defeated by Queen Chrysalis, because this giant bug was supposedly 'stronger' than her. We fear you all labour under a huge fallacy. We shall never let Tia live that down!" She continued snickering, slipping into the royal vernacular again.
Discord grinned mischievously. He was still imprisoned when this happened. He saw that there was an invasion, but the changelings caused so much chaos that his senses couldn't fully focus on the confrontation between Tia and Chrysi. That should be interesting to hear.
"W-What do you mean?" Cadence wasn't sure what her aunt wanted to tell her.
"Let us explain. As you surely know by now, the Changeling race absorbs emotions to live; mostly 'love'. There exist many kinds of love, but we are sure that some forms grant them more power than others. Now, what was the source of love for the enemy's leader? The love between Prince Shining Armor and the very Princess of Love herself; an alicorn, no less. Thou, dear niece, likened to a living feast for the queen. She could gorge herself on your feelings for thy husband and, as was the case, his feelings for thee.”
Cadence raised an eyebrow, so Luna elaborated. "This foul being reached, in this way, a level of power beyond her wildest dreams. We were told that the queen was even surprised herself that she could overpower Celestia. The answer to this mystery is simple: she would never have had a chance of challenging our sister on equal grounds. We alicorns, especially the ones who are as ancient as Celestia and ourselves, are connected to powers beyond the mortal imagination. Dost thou understand?" Luna asked patiently, like a teacher.
The pink mare's eyes widened. "Do you really want to tell me that Auntie Celestia... held back?"
Luna laughed in amusement, "Thou receivest the full points! Indeed, our sister couldn't overpower Chrysalis, because her Solar Magic is of divine nature. As it is the case with our Lunar Magic. If Tia would have gone 'all out', as modern ponies would say, to eliminate the enemy herself, the price would have been much too high. Her connection to the sun can easily cause damage and casualties if carelessly used or released. She could have beaten the leader of the invasion without fail, but her magic would have burned or turned to glass everything around her for furlongs if she didn't take the necessary precautions prior. Our sister wouldn't have been able to create these necessary spells in the heat of battle."
A grave tone dominated the lunar monarch's voice, "To put it bluntly, she would have killed every changeling and pony around her. Destruction of the throne room included. Thou would have survived, as an alicorn yourself, but... Twilight Sparkle? Shining Armor? Our Element Bearers? No. They all would have perished. Doomed to suffer a horrible death." Luna finished her lecture somberly.
Tears came to Cadence's eyes. Alone the thought of seeing all her beloved dying in front of her, just because her aunt's hoof was forced. "So Auntie Celestia had to decide between hoping that somepony else would fight the queen in her stead, because she couldn't prepare herself for a fight of a higher scale, or defeating her and by extension killing many innocent ponies?" She felt ill when horrible images invaded her mind.
Luna nodded her head with closed eyes.
The door to the room opened, the owner of the castle having returned.
"CADENCE?! PRINCESS LUNA?!" Twilight Sparkle screamed in shock and worry.
A very baffled Spike stood beside her. They finished the preparations much earlier than originally planned because of a very organized checklist. In fact, the young dragon had to check the checklist of the checklist of the checklist.
He knew he would feel the pain in his claws the next morning.
"Discord!" the Spirit of Chaos screamed, suddenly appearing behind the Princess of Friendship. He scared the living ponyfeathers out of her, causing her to jump high into the air.
"What are the scores?!" Discord asked the jury.
The baby dragon and the two older princesses suddenly found themselves behind a big table, numerous cards in front of the trio. With the numbers zero to ten on them.
Spike and Cadence were just confused, but Luna pulled out a card with her magic, "We choose the eight!"
Twilight's mane began to look more and more frayed, single hairs sticking out of it. "WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HERE?! I mean, welcome Princess Luna and Cadence and... Discord? OH MY GOSH! Did I forget something important?! Are the preparations not how you wanted them?! I can fix this! Please! I-" A giant rolled newspaper hit her on the head, "Ow!"
"Bad alicorn!" Discord scolded the youngest princess. He had a wig upon his head which looked exactly like the mane of Twilight Velvet.
"Discord! Why-" Another hit.
"I said: 'BAD'! Don't object, young filly!"
"What are-" And another for good measure.
"You will go to the 'Bad purple alicorn corner'! Now! And no books for the rest of the week!"
Luna and Cadence just watched in morbid curiosity as the scene in front of them unfolded.
Spike had no such foolish restrictions, he fell over, laughing.
There weren't many people wandering around Canterlot High at the moment, because most were in class.
A big white horse statue stood proudly in front of the school entrance. Ripples of unknown nature appeared beneath the statue, and a tall, nigh on Amazonian woman with skin of the purest white and multicolored hair stepped calmly out of from its plinth.
An aura of judgment surrounded her.
Her attire was worthy of royalty, starting with her long elegant golden colored cloth slacks, made of the finest silk. A royal purple chemise and a golden, perfectly shaped, blazer upon it covered the princess' upper body. She wore closed white velvet shoes, only the smallest hint of heels shown.
Celestia observed her environment with magenta eyes. As Twilight reported it, humans had no fur, only bare skin, and were able to walk on two legs without the help of a tail to keep their balance. Which also led to the necessity for wearing thick clothes to protect their bodies from the temperature.
Not that it truly mattered to her. The monarch's connection to the sun made her immune against hypothermia anyway.
She walked purposefully in the direction Discord had told her. Hopefully she would reach her Little Sun in time. It took much of her will to stop herself from showing these humans the fury of the sun there and then.
No, she had much more important matters to attend. Her judgment could wait. For now.
She overheard a lot of conversations about this ‘Anon-a-Miss’ on the way to her destination. Of course, whoever that was, would never be able to escape her wrath either. Especially the ones responsible. It wasn't rare that the same people talking connected Sunset with everything that happened. Oh, how it made her blood boil! She let the humans feel the heat of her inner anger.
"Whew! Did you feel that? Why is it suddenly so hot here? I thought it was winter?" one female asked her fellow student.
"I know, right? It makes no se-Oh! Principal Celestia! I didn't see you! And what's with these clothes?! They must have been super expensive!" the other female student asked in shock.
"Melody! Sorry principal. She... Principal Celestia?"
The ancient woman ignored them. They weren't important right now, Sunset needed her. Her daughter needed her mother.
And the wrath of the sun would consume all who dared to challenge her.
A goddess had arrived.
Edited version uploaded: 03/14/18
Proofreader: Javarod
Greetings my avid readers! 
I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
In case people are wondering why I mixed scenes of such different nature... well, I didn't want to make the fic 100% dark. There will come more than enough such scenes.
I hope you enjoyed chapter 3.
Thank you very much for reading and stay tuned! 
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*slow clap*
Let's do the checklist:
Pissed Off Princess of the Night with the powers to dreamwalk: check
Pissed off Alicorn of Love and Crystal Empress: Check
Pissed Off Chaos God: Check with sprinkles on it
Soon to be Pissed Off Alicorn of Checklists and Books: Check
Pissed Off GODDESS OF THE SUN!: Check
Man, those Crusaders and huMane 5 are BUCKED. And that's not all, if Sunny comes to any more harm, well...we may see the emergence of Daybreaker :)
Oh man, now Princess Celestia has arrived int he Human world, say by chance will she melt all the snow that is around her as she walks around trying to find Sunset, that would be cool to see that happen, maybe she could even melt all the snow in town if she gets angry enough.
One word: EPIC!
Especially discord
8299485
She didn't do it immediately, to lay low for now. Would be suspicious if all the snow around the "principal" melted away.
Okay, I'm loving this fic so far, but there are a few minor issues that I feel I should tell you about. First, the character dialogue goes on for so long that it's hard to tell where it begins and where it stops. Just think about condensing the dialogue, maybe to one or two sentences per character. Second, you spend a lot of this chapter trying to cover loose ends that are unrelated to the main story. Not to mention that you spent another good chunk bringing the rest of the alicorns up to speed. It wasn't bad, but it just seemed like an unnecessary distraction. Other than that, this fic is amazing and I do appreciate you trying to bring some comedy into it despite it being a dark-genre.
8299495
For this chapter I was just thinking that it wouldn't make so much sense to toss in a "character reaction" or a "question" to interrupt the flow when Celestia spoke.
Yeah, I know that with the dialouge.
I wanted to let it looks like nobody wanted to break her concentration to many times, because Celestia didn't want to waste to much time with satisfying others' curiosity.
But thank you very much for your feedback.
8299478 Most likely it won't happen, but I would love to see the rainbooms get proper "punishment". Specially Rainbow Dash.
res.cloudinary.com/teepublic/image/private/s--9uLL6ahC--/t_Preview/b_rgb:191919,c_limit,f_jpg,h_630,q_90,w_630/v1446240082/production/designs/279104_1.jpg
And I mean the execution kind of punishment
8299504
Fair enough. It just seemed disjointed to me because you split up her dialogue into separate paragraphs.
8299504
I hope she doesn;t kill anyone, but scared the living day lights out fo them and makes them wallow in guilt for years to come, paticularly the Rainboom.
Now I'm guess she may take Sunset back with her...understand that bit and before would supported it 100%.
But then what happens to Sci Twi? She still be traped at Crystal prep being bullied and hurt by her fellow students and all alone.
Plus don;t trust the rainbooms to help her they jsut screw it up.
8299542
Yeah, because I personally made the experience that people (obviously not all, but most from what I gathered) can read better if there are breaks at some points and not one giant text wall without a single paragraph. It would be so... chunky. ^^
img10.deviantart.net/9a1d/i/2014/213/d/4/cellyprime_by_fshydale-d7t2gvk.jpg
Well, I guess there won't be the humane 6 and the crusaders much longer. If they thought they fucked up in any other AaM story, they should see this to know how lucky they were
8299478
I think the term "InhuMane" 5 is more suitable
8299530
'Elements of Harmony' my ass. If Celestia/Daybreaker/Solar Flare/Nightmare Star doesn't rip them a new one, Twilight will.
We can speculate everything that could happen, but I am willing to wait to see what happens to the Crusaders/inhuMane 5. I have my own opinions on what should happen...especially to certain humans.
Why do I get the feeling that the storm Discord mentioned is something FAR more sinister that the Siren's from Equestria's Past? Why do I get the feeling that the Windigo's were somehow banished beyond the mirror as well and the CMC's idiocy has FINALLY woken them due to magic being in the human world now. And the only reason they didn't show up with the Sirens is because they gorged themselves on the negative emotions leaving none for our ice spirits.
8299530 8299556 8299563 Myself, as much as I want to see Karma (who can be a bitch, as we all know) come to the Rainbooms AND the Crusaders, I'D say that execution is JUST a bit much.
Or, to put it ANOTHER way, see here: 8299551
You know, I can understand everyone wanting to see the Rainbooms and Crusaders punished for their utter stupidity in this matter (I'm not real happy with them, either), but, for those who DO want to see them die at Celestia's hooves (hands?), I'll just leave you all with THIS:
Food for thought.
'Course... you can't always expect an angry mother to be rational in times like this.
I know my late mom wouldn't have been if someone had hurt me or one of my younger sibs like this.
Especially back when we were kids.
8299553
That is true that there are people who take in information better when it's in chunks. I should know, I'm one of them. But maybe when your dialogue continues into another paragraph, put some form of indication that the character is still speaking. It's a bit difficult to judge it solely based on the quotation marks.
8299593
OK. I will look maybe into it to shorten the dialogues then or something like that to make it better to see. Thanks.
Celestia and Luna seem to be rambling a lot in this chapter. Also, a technical nitpick... if you have multiple paragraphs of dialogue from the same character, start each paragraph with a quotation mark. Like this...
".....
".....
"....
"...."
8299618
Oh, ok. Thanks for the tip.
I'm hyped for Chapter 3 when it's ABOUT TO GO DOWN. Everyone's SO SCREWED.
8299618
Well I like the back ground stuff, give details and tighten loose ends.
While i normally bash Celestia for screwing up things with Sunset, she admits her mistakes and is taking action.
she not sitting on the sidelines like some stories, she going to get ehr hands dirty so to speak...and not in blood i hope, thou since she so mothery, sure she can give the CMC firm spankings.
...then move on to the Rainbooms.
I wish it was darker because then my music would actually fit properly in here!
but at least the wrath of celestia is comeing, it will be interesting to see how you write that scene!
Hope we soon get to the bit were everyone sees evidence of they admit themselves that CMC was behind it
Well, CHS, Rainbow, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy and the CMC. I hope you all prepared yourselves because, you have abused and tortured the daughter of a Goddess.
Play it at 0:13
8299704
I belive this song actually fits better now that I think about it.
8299556
Indeed, they have all absolute fuck up.
Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun
Looking forward to the next chapter!
heard
morbid
Oh boy, things about to get intense for Canterlot High.
I wonder if you're going to point out that some of the people who are accusing Sunset of being Anon-A-Miss probably sent in secrets themselves.
8293581
To be very honest, I think my 12 year old Chihuahua could've done a better job writing this lousy excuse of a "Holiday Special" comic.
Heck, my 6 year old GRAND-niece could, and SHE isn't even in kindergarten yet!
8299491
Try not to overdo it on the Mane 5.
They may be idiots, but that's all they are. Idiots.
That being said however, do make sure that "The Reason You Suck" Speech is EPIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~C!"
Honestly, this chapter was a mess. All it was was a bunch of headcanons and justifications for elements of the story with next to nothing actually happening. More time was spent on Luna's old speak than actual plot or character relevant information. The worst part of them was that the ones that weren't completely irrelevant or misplaced (like the old speak or the Cadance Sunset backstory) contradicted canon hard without any real justification (at least some that actually cover more than one spot). It felt like you wanted a way for Celestia to go on a rampage so there was this overly long bit on how she and Luna are actually super powerful goddesses whose full power would glass all of Canterlot (never mind that apparently she has no control besides 0 or 100) and tried to justify the Chrysalis loss, while completely failing to cover for Tirek or the vines (or Celestia vs Nightmare Moon). Heck, she managed to release enough of her power for Cadance to feel it, but couldn't do that much against Chrysalis for Luna to be alerted, which happened earlier in anger.
This one felt like a huge step back from the first two. They had some problems in a large amount of unnecessary exposition and some weird/clunky bits plus some grammar issues, but also had a lot going for them in the set up and emotions. Here, the grammar plummeted and all of it felt like clunky bits and poor exposition with almost nothing getting done. The deviations from canon both ate up a lot of space and were poorly justified as well. Still, this story does have potential, especially since the exposition should be out of the way for now.
That...was alot of text for very little to be happening. It was a big exposition dump, and alot of it was trivial and contributed very little. This was pretty much an episode of Alicorns React, with the reactions being the exact same thing.
Which is a shame, because I really liked the first chapters. Still gonna continue.
8299730
Thanks!
8300063
8299904
Thank you very much for your feedbacks. Yeah, I feared that some wouldn't like it that there is so much exposition without much story progress. But I always tend to fill in a little bit more stuff than to less to try myself in a little world building for the story in question.
And YES. Some things were more trivial than others (The Luna thing with her speech pattern was very trivial, yes, it was more planned as funny meant explanation that Luna is proud on her "Royal Tongue" and loves to annoy her sister to no end with it to lighten the mood a little bit). But that the only time that such a chapter was there.
In general... I just wanted to bring relationship explanations between Cadence/Sunset and Celestia/Sunset mainly into it + Discord comedy to make the chapter a little lighter. "Dark" scenes come enough in the upcoming chapters.
And I always use for this reason the AU Tag so that this "canon / non canon" thing is not such a problem. But I know what you mean.
But thanks that you still want to give it a try.
I'm sorry, but I had the hardest time getting through this chapter. Honestly, nothing got done. There was so much unnecessary exposition, needlessly long speeches (as a tip, if a speech spans several paragraphs, you need to put an open quotation mark at the beginning of each paragraph to make it easier for the reader to know that someone's still talking), and jokes/antics that go on way too long. I mean, Sunset's having a serious breakdown here, and we're busy joking around about Monopoly and spending forever explaining Luna's older tongue (on that note, please have someone look over Luna's dialogue; some of the thees and thous were fine, but too often have I seen someone using Luna's old dialect without fully understanding the pronouns, and this was no exception). And the explanation for Chrysalis's victory was beyond unnecessary; all it does it tell us what we already gleaned: that Celestia is super duper powerful.
Not only that, but the narration was very "telly". Like, it tells us a ton of information instead of shows us or lets us figure it out, which got kind of old after a while.
Mind you, all this criticism is about this chapter alone (except the "too telly" part; that's kind of overall). The other two chapters were good reads, which made this chapter all the more disappointing.
On a last, more petty, note, it's enemy, not enemie.
8299889
Honestly? The very first time I read this Anon-A-Miss "Holiday Special" I seriously got the impression that some Brony wanted to write a grim dark fic, but couldn't go to far, because it wouldn't have been approved otherwise by Hasbro or whoever approves all these MLP comics before they are published and can be found on Youtube.
I mean this was certainly much "darker" than your usual MLP comic brand. In RL people harm themselves because of such things like extreme bullying. Just saying.
So I'm at work and had to skim through the chapter is Discord not going with Celestia or will he join later?
8300103
Thank you very much for the feedback. Yeah, I know that this chapter was more exposition as maybe healthy, but that was the only one. Form now on it's much more story progressing what all happens.
I wait for my proofreader to send me his version, he has a lot on his plate, but has such things better down like the old speech. Then the grammar should be much better to understand.
Thank for your sticking with it and sorry that this chapter didn't, well "Wow-ed" you like the first two.
8300110
He will be more on the lookout for now, because he should stay behind to update Twilight on her return. Celesta goes solo for now.
I now so turn on about next chapter and i really hope that Celestia will go all out here
(in most of story with Anon-a-Miss is what I missing and need....Celestia/Twilight [or both] smiting/punishing {verbally or physically} all who betrayed Sunset
)......and I would not mind some collective damage to mirror world
Finally! The next chapter has come! Sorry just excited with what I read and I loved the idea of Celestia still having her magic and how she was able to keep it after studying the mirror and using certain spells to keep her magic while human. I enjoyed the dialog that was used for this chapter as it showed that while Celestia has lived for over a millennia she is still pron to mistakes. I also liked how you added that she let Chrysalis beat her as she didn't want to end up destroying everyone she cared for which is a lot better than what happen in canon.
The expression on Cadence face was awesome. But like the others she is seriously pissed off at what happen to Sunset and I can bet this will not end well for those brats the Crusaders and the Rainbooms.
Poor Sunset is going through so much pain right now and I'm worried for her right now. Also when Discord mentioned that the weather there was starting to become magical I'm thinking the Windigos have made their way to the Human World. Looks like they are going to freeze their ass's off forever and serves them right.
I noticed some of the others sharing videos when they read the ending to this chapter. A goddess had arrived, and this song came to mind after seeing the other videos.
Also I couldn't stop laughing at this part.
That was just awesome!
This is getting good and I hope to see the next chapter soon. Also if Princess Celestia runs into the Rainbooms, please have her back hand Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. They deserve it. Same with Pinkie and Fluttershy.
Good Luck Anachronon.
8294030
Here you are.
Ok, I think a select few people are gonna have a bad time.
8300117
Thanks for answering
8300115 I'm glad we're done with the big exposition. Honestly, it isn't the exposition per se that bothers me; I'm fine with exposition as long as it fits in well. My problem is the fact that it's exposition about things not important to the story. Like, why is it important that we know that Luna only sometimes speaks in the olden dialect or why Chrysalis beat Celestia? How is Cadance important at all? So far, her only role was to trigger exposition and go through the same process Celestia and Luna went through (rushes in in shock, gets Discord's memories, "HOW DARE THEY!?"). It seems like we could take her out of the story, and nothing would change.
I don't wanna beat a dead horse here, though. You already know how I feel about this chapter. I just wanna give a bit more reasoning to my points. And despite my dislike of this chapter, I do like the story overall so far and am looking forward to more.
8300694
I agree. Some exposition is good but to much can bog down a story. Either way I can't wait to see what happens
8300694
And to the pink one, I wouldn't give Cadence a tag on her own in this story if she wouldn't be important at one point. 
Thanks.
Lots of sidetracking with the board game scene and all other alicorns arriving felt like watching a boring filler episode from a show most of the dialogue could be removed and wouldnt affect the story at all. other than that nice chapter