Sunset the Seventh

by SmilesPerHour

A Warm Welcome

Several minutes later, Sunset arrived in Downtown Canterlot, and found herself surrounded by finely dressed horses and designer stores selling clothing, spell books and other goods and services. For a few moments, Sunset stood and took in her surroundings, reunited with a city that she was born and raised in, but never thought she would have seen again. She wanted to stay longer, but she knew that she had a mission: she galloped up to the massive white castle at the center of Canterlot, but was stopped at the gates by two tall, white stallions in golden armor.

“Halt! Who goes there?” barked one of the guards.

“What is your business here?” barked the other. Sunset sighed, and cleared her throat: she could just barge past these guards or throw them aside with her magic, but she knew she needed to behave herself if she wanted to get back on good terms with Princess Celestia.

“My name is Sunset Shimmer. I am a former student of Princess Celestia, and I would like to speak with her.” Sunset explained to the guards. The stallions looked up and down at Sunset, inspecting her for weapons or suspicious items, and upon seeing none, decided that she was not a threat.

“Well, you don’t seem to be a terrorist,” said the first stallion, “but we still can’t invite you to meet the Princess without an appointment. I’m sorry, but those are the rules.” Sunset sighed in defeat, but before she could walk away, the second stallion spoke up.

“Actually, I think I remember the Princess mentioning your name in the past, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind a surprise visit from an old friend. I will inform the princess of your arrival, Ms. Shimmer, while my partner waits out here with you.” The stallion galloped into the castle and several minutes later, returned to the gates, panting and exhausted.

“The Princess will…” began the stallion, before taking a moment to catch his breath, and continued “The Princess will see you now. The Throne Room is just down the hall through the big double doors.” Sunset smiled broadly and thanked the guards for their time before entering the castle and galloping down the hallway. After a few seconds, Sunset’s gallop turned to a trot, then to a stop as she noticed her surroundings. Flawless stone architecture, flawless tapestries and iron torches blazing on the walls, all crafted by the most skilled artisans and blacksmiths in all of Equestria, and Sunset shed a tear onto the rug beneath her hooves at the reminder of what she had left behind in her escape to Canterlot High. For a moment, Sunset stood alone in the hall, unable to move or speak or do anything at all, other than stare at the classical architecture around her, architecture that she thought she would never have seen again. A minute passed, and then Sunset composed herself before trotting down the hall once more and opening the massive wooden doors before her.

“Hello?” Sunset called into the room. No answer. Sunset cleared her throat and called again, louder this time, “Hello?”

“Hello, Sunset Shimmer. Please, come in and sit down.” came the response from the end of the room, in a feminine voice that was loud and clear, stern but not unkind. It was the voice of Sunset’s former mentor, Princess Celestia, who sat in a massive golden throne at the other end of the room, staring at her former student with a face that was more surprised than upset. While she was a kind and gracious ruler, Princess Celestia was still an intimidating figure on first meeting: she was twice as tall as the average citizen of Equestria, had a long white horn protruding from the center of her forehead and a pair of heavenly white wings tucked to her sides. In addition, Celestia had a long, multicolored mane and tail that flowed in the wind, even when she was indoors, and the image of a sun on either side of her flanks was even more impressive than the sun on Sunset’s flanks. Finally, Celestia’s garments were at the height of royalty: while she seldom wore clothing, much like the other denizens of Equestria, Celestia wore elegant golden slippers inlaid with precious purple jewels, as well as a golden crown upon her neck and a priceless golden crown upon her brow.

Sunset galloped to the end of the room and bowed graciously to the Princess before sitting down on the carpet and looking up at Celestia, who looked back at Sunset with a look of disappointment rather than anger.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia began, “It has been many years since you have visited Equestria, ever since your… unfortunate outburst.” Sunset cringed at the reminder of her former actions in Equestria. “Frankly, I had not expected to see you ever again, and I trusted that when you left Equestria in favor of Canterlot High, you would have learned your lesson and learned to make friends instead of seeking power.” The Princess sighed, and continued, “I was wrong. Even without the ability to cast magic, you continued to seek power untold in Canterlot High, and when that didn’t work, you returned to Equestria. You stole a magical crown owned by Twilight Sparkle and returned to Canterlot High, where you attempted to use the crown to turn all of the students and faculty into your mindless slaves. If not for Twilight Sparkle traveling to Canterlot High and defeating you with her own magic, you would have led your army to Equestria and enslaved us all. I was very disappointed in you.” Upon being reminded of her selfish and cruel actions in the past, Sunset hung her head and began crying all over the pristine red carpet. Before Sunset could speak up and plead her case, a tremor shook the castle.