Alternative Origins

by TalkingToMyself

Chapter 22

After getting her first useful leads in weeks, Sunset Shimmer made an effort to spend as much time as she could in Princess Celestia's private study.

Sunset Shimmer felt a familiar flare of frustration as the chalkboard turned into a mess of lines, connections and crossed out words with no clear answer in sight. However, at this point, the door behind her opened. Sunset turned around with a smile, expecting to see Princess Celestia. Her smile turned sour when she saw who had just barged in
“What are you doing here, Cadance?”

Sunset just rolled her eyes and turned towards the chalkboard, her back towards the wannabe-princess
“You should leave. If Princess Celestia finds you here, she will…”
“Princess Celestia left for an urgent meeting in Cloudsdale. She won’t be back before tomorrow night and asked me to inform you she has to cancel her study session with you.”

Sunset Shimmer clenched her teeth together, seething with anger she was barely able to hold back
“And she had to send you to do that? She couldn’t even tell me HERSELF? She didn’t even have two bucking minutes to spare before she left for some stupid whiny pegasus who…”
“That’s enough now, Sunset.”

She spun around and glared at Cadance who stood tall now, mimicking a stance she had seen from Princess Celestia so many times, just like Cadance mimicked the princess’ commanding tone of voice. She even faced Sunset Shimmer’s glare head on, like Princess Celestia would.

At another time, Sunset might have actually been impressed by the act. Right now, it only fueled her anger more
“You little wannabe, I’ll smack your plot all the way back to your little backwater village and then I’ll…”
“Sunset Shimmer! Princess Celestia left me in charge of all business in the royal palace while she is in Cloudsdale. Therefore, I expect you to treat me with proper respect until she returns.”

Sunset Shimmer sucked in her breath through her teeth, ready to unleash the volcano of rage inside her, until her brain caught up on what Cadance said, especially the emphasis on one word. Princess. She never calls Celestia ‘Princess’, it’s always ‘Auntie’.

She threw another, closer look at Cadance and noticed the difference. While Cadance perfectly mimicked the royal stance, she was tense. If Sunset only noticed it on second glance, it would be enough to fool everypony else in the palace. But what gave Cadance away were her eyes.

Cadance couldn’t copy that light in Princess Celestia’s eyes that came from centuries of wisdom and unrivalled authority. Instead, she had a fire in her eyes that was supposed to get her the same authority with the passion of a young ruler, eager to take her first hoofsteps in ruling a kingdom. It worked, but not with Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset saw that behind those eyes, Cadance was close to a full-blown nervous breakdown. She was playing a charade for everypony, but what she was trying to do was asking Sunset for help. And she was desperately hoping that Sunset would notice quickly.
Sweet Celestia, this is wrong on so many levels. Out of all ponies, Cadance would never run to me for help. How big of a mess is this to make her go so far?

Sunset’s mind ran at the speed of light, going through all the possibilities. Nearly all of them ended with Princess Celestia or all of Equestria in dire danger, and she didn’t like that at all. Even if Cadance was overreacting, Sunset couldn’t turn down her plea for help even if she wanted to. What a mess. But if anypony can solve this, it’s got to be me.

Sunset dimmed down her anger to a bearable level. Cadance believed that somepony would be watching them, so she couldn’t drop the act. Sunset Shimmer would never openly agree with Princess Cadance. Sunset Shimmer would never treat Princess Cadance with ‘proper respect’ without Princess Celestia around. So Sunset did what was expected of her.

She gritted her teeth together and bowed her head, but just barely enough. Her eyes didn’t lower accordingly and she kept shooting daggers at Cadance. When she answered Cadance’ demand, her voice was a dangerously low growl
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
Her voice dripped with venom, more than usual. She was exaggerating, and as she expected, Cadance noticed it. Her eyes widened slightly in realization, before she uttered another command.
“Very well. Now, I didn’t come to just pass a message to you. I wish to address some important matters between the two of us. Please make sure we won’t get disturbed, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset, despite her current rage, was impressed. Cadance played her part almost perfectly. She gave any on-listeners a good reason for why she was looking for Sunset, despite their well-known animosity. She also didn’t try and mess up with privacy spells, instead she commanded Sunset to do so, which was clever because it was what a princess would do. Of course, Sunset would never admit any of this.

Sunset Shimmer pressed out something through her teeth that sounded something like an affirmation and her horn flared up brighter than necessary. Like any of the audience rooms, Princess Celestia’s study was equipped with magical wards and protective spells that only needed a little magic to activate. As soon as the door slammed shut from Sunset’s magic, there was no way anything that happened in this room would ever get out.

Cadance sighed in relief as the door bolted closed and slumped down from her regal pose. She didn’t see the book Sunset flung at her until it hit her right in the face
“Ow, Sunset! What the buck?”
Cadance rubbed her cheek with her hoof, but Sunset was right in her face, no longer hiding any of her anger as she pushed the princess backwards
“Don’t you ever think any of that would actually work on me, Cadance. I’m warning you, don’t push your luck.”

Cadance stumbled a step backwards and shouted out
“I didn’t know what else to do! I panicked! I’m sorry!”

“Um.”
A third voice chimed in, softer than both of theirs. Sunset and Cadance both spun their heads towards the other mare in the study, which they had both completely forgotten until now.

Crystal Note lowered her eyes and cowered on the floor, trying to make herself as tiny and unnoticeable as possible
“I’m sorry I’m intruding on your private matters, Your Highness. If you allow, I will take my leave now so you may continue undisturbed.”
That’s what her words said, but what Sunset heard was more like ‘Oh dear stars I’m so sorry I got into this, please don’t hurt me.’ Crystal Note had not noticed any of their non-verbal communication and bought their act to the tee. Sunset just now realized that Crystal Note still had no idea that Cadance and her were actually working together, since during their last meeting they spent most of the time bickering.

Sunset sighed, at the same time as Cadance. They looked at each other, Sunset confused and Cadance with a timid smile, which told her that Cadance must have told Crystal Note at least something. Before she could ponder whether this was good or bad, the princess addressed Crystal Note
“It’s okay, Crystal Note. You can stay if you like and Sunset and I will stop arguing now.”
Cadance immediately threw an unsure glance at Sunset Shimmer, hoping that what she just said was actually correct.

Sunset didn’t need much convincing as soon as she saw Crystal Note’s scared face and the shades of grey that coloured her coat. Sunset took a deep breath and pushed away her anger, with some effort
“Yes, we will. It was all part of the act.”

Crystal Note looked up between the two ponies, hesitating for another few moments before she nodded and carefully stepped closer to them
“I don’t understand, but if you do, that’s okay.”
Cadance smiled to encourage Crystal Note, but Sunset Shimmer just rolled her eyes
“We don’t have time for this now! Cadance, what in the name of Celestia happened?”

Cadance slumped down into a sitting position as her smile faded into a desperate expression
“I don’t know. I asked Auntie Celestia about the mirror, as you said, but she didn’t give me a clear answer. She kept dodging any questions I had, just like she did before. I called her out on it, and she apologized and told me she couldn’t give me answers right now. I asked her if she was worried about something and if she needed help, and then she just left. She teleported out of her own room so she didn’t have to answer. And a few hours later, Kibitz tells me Auntie has left the palace and will be back soon and that he needs me to fill in for her tomorrow.”

Sunset listened, but with each word her frown darkened further. Princess Celestia has been acting weird recently, but this? That tops it all.

“We’re running out of time. She’s clearly preparing something and we still have no idea what it might be.”
“You’re right. I didn’t believe you at first, but I can’t deny it anymore.”

Sunset Shimmer frowned, since the princess was out of reach
“Maybe if we could go after her. You can ask for a carriage and I’ll find out what kind of emergency called her to Cloudsdale and then…”
“Sunset, she’s not in Cloudsdale.”
“What? But you said…”

Cadance shook her head
“Kibitz told me Auntie Celestia would go to Cloudsdale, but the guards didn’t notice any messenger from there at all. There was no carriage prepared for her, not even a personal escort if she flew by herself. Shiny told me, as far as he knows, nopony even saw her leave the palace.”
“Shiny? And who is that?”

Cadance suddenly blushed in a bright red
“Um, you remember the lieutenant you teleported away during our first, um, practice session? I went to apologize for what had happened, and we ended up talking for a while. His name is Shining Armor and he’s the youngest pony to ever rank lieutenant in the history of the royal guard. He’s actually very nice to hang around with and, um… he might have a little crush on me.”
Cadance looked away bashfully and by that told Sunset that the feeling was mutual.

Sunset Shimmer stomped her hoof on the floor
“Cadance, we have a crisis at hoof and no time for some paper-deep romance story.”
“I know, I know, it just kind of happened. I didn’t plan for this.”
Sunset pressed her hoof against her forehead. We have a problem we don’t know anything about and instead of real help, I’m stuck with the princess of love and a violinist with amnesia. What did I do wrong to deserve this?

“Okay, can we ignore your bed warmer…”
“Coltfriend.”
“WHATEVER! Can we ignore him for a moment and focus on the potentially important things he said?”
Cadance nodded and waved her hooves, like always when she thought she had something important to say
“The guard knows about everypony who gets in our out of the palace, even Auntie Celestia. If they haven’t seen her leave, she still has to be around somewhere.”
“Or, the royal guard is a bunch of incompetent morons who couldn’t even keep their eyes on a foal for more than ten minutes.”

Cadance looked grumpy since she obviously didn’t like Sunset talking bad the guard now that her love interest was one of them, but Crystal Note chimed in
“They always know where I am, and I’m usually really good at getting in or out of places.”
“You are?”
Both Sunset and Cadance looked at Crystal Note who looked very embarrassed suddenly
“It’s, um, it’s not something I advertise a lot. For, obvious reasons.”

Sunset sighed and rubbed her temple
“Okay, let’s assume the guards really know what they’re doing. Princess Celestia could have used a secret passage to get by unnoticed”
“Don’t you think the guards know about those secret passages as well?”
“Maybe some, but all of them? Princess Celestia has been living here for centuries, I think she knows the castle better than anypony else ever could.”

Sunset Shimmer frowned even more
“So we don’t know where Princess Celestia is. She might be anywhere by now and even if she’s still in the palace, we wouldn’t be any wiser.”
Cadance let her wings drop to her side, equally frustrated.

“Um, I don’t know Princess Celestia as well as either of you, but wouldn’t Sir Kibitz know? He is her most trusted confidant… um, besides Sunset Shimmer of course.”
Crystal Note backed away when Sunset shot a glare at her, but she couldn’t deny it was the best chance they had. Cadance thought so as well
“Okay, but how do we get Kibitz to tell us?”
Sunset and Cadance looked at each other. A moment of understanding passed between them, and they turned their head at the same time, towards Crystal Note
“Um, why are you looking at me like that?”

---

“Sir Kibitz? A moment of your time? Please?”
Kibitz turned her head, clearly surprised somepony would even be in this part of the castle this late into the night. The unicorn stallion sat down and lowered the tray he was carrying when a familiar pony trotted towards him
“Miss Crystal Note? Whatever are you doing here in a time like this?”
“I… I need to talk to you, please.”
Crystal Note reached him and panted a little from the running. Kibitz noticed her fearful expression and offered her a calm smile
“Well, then I advise you first catch your breath and then talk away, Miss Note.”

Crystal Note sat down in a polite distance and tried to get her breath back to a normal level, Kibitz could also see that she was trying to get her words in order just as much
“Be calm, Miss Note. Whatever it is, I will do my most to help you.”
“Thank you, Sir.”

Crystal Note closed her eyes and took a deep breath
“I’m worried about Sunset Shimmer.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“She’s… she’s not behaving like herself.”
Kibitz tried to keep his posture calm, but Crystal Note didn’t look at him, a clear sign of her worry

“I’m sure she just had a rough day with her studies.”
“No, that’s not it. She just stares at the same books over and over again. She’s not like that, she always has a clear direction, but right now, she seems so lost.”
A deep breath broke out of Kibitz
“Ah, yes. I can see how that would be worrying. When the ponies who you’d like to rely on lack a certain direction. It’s not easy for those who watch from the sides.”
“But, Sir Kibitz, what can we do?”
Kibitz shook his head, lost in his own thoughts
“What can we do, indeed? We need to stay supportive, of course. I’m sure she can see something that we wouldn’t understand as well as she does. So that’s what I do, I offer my support and, occasionally, some form of comfort.”

“Is that why you carry a large slice of cake and the princess’ favourite tea through the palace in the middle of the night?”
Kibitz chuckled
“You might think that, right? Wait, how…?”
He jumped on his hooves and spun around, suddenly facing Cadance and Sunset Shimmer who had just appeared behind him moments earlier.

He turned back to Crystal Note, then the two mares
“What is the meaning of all this?”
“You know where Princess Celestia is! You know what’s wrong, and you’re going to tell us, now!”
“Sunset, please.”

Cadance interrupted Sunset’s outburst with a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder, then faced Kibitz calmly
“Sir Kibitz, you’re worried about Princess Celestia, so are we. We want to help her, but we can’t do that when Auntie avoids us all the time. Maybe together, we can find a way to support Auntie Celestia in a helpful way.”

Kibitz looked between the mares and Sunset could see his hesitation in his eyes. After an endless minute of pondering, he gave a deep sigh
“I’ve been in Princess Celestia’s service for almost four decades now. I’ve faced political crises at her side, diplomatic difficulties and even revolts from within our kingdom. I’ve even watched her take in a young filly and teach her like none of her students ever before.”
He took a small break for a fond smile at Sunset, which made her feel weird. She pushed the feeling away when Kibitz continued
“However, I’ve never seen her like this. I’ve noticed how she would occasionally talk to herself at night, usually after a stressful day. I took it as a coping mechanism, Princess Celestia had seen centuries pass after all and nopony could stay at her side forever. But recently, it got worse. She talks to the moon every night now and she barely sleeps.”

Sunset’s mouth hung open when she received the implications behind Princess Celestia’s behaviour
“And you just do nothing?”
“Sunset Shimmer, I am not doing nothing. I support my Princess in the little ways I can, but if Princess Celestia struggles with whatever this situation is, what can an old stallion like me hope to do?”
“So you’re not even trying?”
Sunset and Kibitz both turned to Cadance who now jumped to Sunset Shimmer’s assistance.

Kibitz remained silent for another minute, but then broke into almost manic chuckling
“You know what else I’ve never seen before? Princess Cadance and Sunset Shimmer, burying the hatchet to help another. Maybe I’m really getting too old for this.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and stomped her hoof on the floor
“Enough of this, Kibitz. Can you show us where Princess Celestia is?”
“Yes. She’s in a hidden chamber, below the archives. I’ll show you how to get there.”
“Wait, just like that, all of a sudden?”
“Sunset, I did what I can do, but it’s not enough. Who am I to deny the princess’ prized student and trusted confident the opportunity to do the same? Who am I to deny Princess Cadance the right to speak with her elder princess?”

He put his hoof in Sunset’s shoulder, his eyes glanced between Cadance and Sunset
“I think, you two might be who she needs right now. And I hope you will be able to snap her out of this.”

Sunset nodded and smirked
“If anypony can do it, it’s going to be me.”

Comments

[JMP]

Hmm....the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration coming up soon? Is that what's got Celestia checking the moon constantly?

[Velvet-Fresh]

9490139
No, its not for another decade or so if the timelines correct.

One another note, i'm surprised Sunset didn't think of going to the room storing the mirror since i was sure thats where Tia would go when Cadence confronted her about it

[TalkingToMyself]

10908935
From what I've seen in the comics, it was mostly Sunset Shimmer who was obsessed with the mirror. To Celestia, it was just another old artefact. But I could see her going to check the mirror. Huh, missed opportunity I guess.