Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Morning arose, and Twilight yawned as she climbed out of bed, ready to begin her day.
As she passed by Sunset's room, she heard a loud thud, and saw that the door was already open just a crack. Peering in, she saw the bedspread laying on the floor, a rather unamused Sunset still tangled up in it, and had to stifle a snort of laughter.
"I warned you," she heard Spike say. "If you didn't get up, I was going to get you up."
Sunset's response was low enough that Twilight couldn't quite hear it, and very likely unprintable, but whatever it was, Spike was evidently unimpressed.
"Breakfast is ready," he said. "Come on or you'll miss out."
Then he waddled over to the door to open it, and was clearly surprised to see Twilight. "Hey, Twi."
"Hey, Spike," she said. "I heard the sound and..."
"And thought you'd see if something was wrong?" Spike chuckled. "Nah, just me and Sunset going through her usual not-a-morning pony routine. Gotta drag her out of bed most days so she won't miss out."
Twilight nodded and moved back so he could come out of the room, following him downstairs. Onyx was already sitting at the table, and Sunset managed to stagger into the room, still yawning as she headed directly for the massive coffee pot in one corner, poured herself a cup and drained it in one swallow, then refilled it before she made her way to the table.
"Does she do this every morning?" Onyx asked, eyebrow raised as he was served.
"Yup," Spike replied.
Sunset growled as she sat down and started nursing her second cup. "My name is Sunset, not Sunrise, for a reason," she grumbled.
Twilight smiled, then dug into the plate of food she'd been served. "Mm!" she said happily.
Spike chuckled as he took some for himself. "You know, I've never had any complaints about my cooking," he said.
"And with good reason," Sunset said as she lifted her fork, finally looking properly awake. "You're one of the best. I think the only pony who ever would complain about your cooking is that one snooty critic back in Canterlot." She waved a hoof. "You know the one, that mare we heard Guston complaining about in the kitchens last week when he was reading the latest restaurant reviews in the newspaper? The one whose motto is basically 'the blander the better'?"
"Oh yeah, her," Spike recalled. "Eh, I don't pay any attention to that type. They just don't know what they're missing out on."
"No offense Sunset, but as fast as you drink your coffee, I can't help but wonder how you can taste anything yourself," Twilight noted.
"Eh. With my magic, and some of the spells I've worked into myself, I'm basically immune to heat," Sunset told her. "And I came up with a spell to regenerate my taste buds a long time ago, just in case."
"Really?" Onyx looked surprised. "That is impressive."
Sunset nodded. "I've always been good with magic related to fire and heat," she said. "The examiners at Celestia's school said I was the only unicorn they'd ever seen who could generate enough heat to hatch a dragon's egg all on my own - normally it takes a volcano's output worth of it, and nopony's ever been able to do that with just their own magic; the last time it happened, it took half a dozen of them working together to get the temperature up high enough."
"Quite a feat then," Onyx said. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Well..." Sunset considered. "Preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration are pretty much all done except clearing the sky, and that's scheduled for later. I don't really have anything that needs doing today." She tilted her head and looked at them. "How about you two, what are your plans?"
Twilight blinked, and traded glances with Onyx. "Well..."
She knew what she was supposed to be doing, but at the same time she couldn't help wanting to stay indoors, going through all the books in the library with Sunset to see what they had. She could only hope that Onyx was able to read her expression, and the simple request it was trying to direct at him: Help!
Thankfully, he understood. "I don't suppose any of you would object to going out and doing some ponywatching, would you? Twilight and I are interested in seeing more of what the ponies outside our village are like, and while last night's celebration was certainly entertaining, I would like to see more of what the locals are like in their daily lives."
"Well, actually, I was wondering if you would like to do more research Twilight but if you made plans with Onyx there," Sunset began with the stallion shaking his head.
"Nonsense, if you two want to spend more time together in your books, then go ahead," Onyx said. "I can manage on my own for a while." He flashed Twilight a look. "Besides, Twilight's teacher is always encouraging her to make new friends, and far be it from me to discourage her when she's found one right here."
"Princess Celestia is the same way for Sunset," Spike offered with a chuckle.
Both Twilight and Onyx blinked. "Wait, Princess Celestia?" they asked simultaneously.
Sunset nodded, a rather resigned look on her face. "Yeah... I'm kind of her personal student," she said.
Twilight and Onyx again traded glances, then Twilight turned to Sunset. "What's she like?" she asked. "As a person, I mean."
Sunset looked surprised. "I don't think anypony's ever asked me that before," she said. "She's... well, sometimes she's the kindest, most understanding pony you could imagine. Other times, she's really... intense, I guess. And sometimes, she'll go to the wall for a pony if she feels they need it." She sighed. "Even if they were really rotten to her before."
Twilight had a feeling there was a story there, but decided not to push. Instead, she said, "I see."
There was silence for a while, as everyone present ate and thought, and then Onyx rose. "Twilight, Sunset, I will leave you to your studies," he said. "Spike? Would you care to come with me while I explore the town? That is, if Sunset doesn't mind."
Sunset shook her head. "Go ahead," she said. "Twilight and I can take care of cleanup, and I'll see you both later."
Spike thanked her, and then he and Onyx left.
While both Twilight and Sunset had wanted nothing more to start reading, they had also agreed it was far too nice of a day to stay inside. They had gathered several books they had started going over last night and headed towards one of the many parks available, and settled in for a lively discussion.
Sunset couldn't help but smile as she saw the look on her new companion's face as they reviewed things. It was so rare that she met anypony who enjoyed learning as much as she did, and Twilight... well, she'd seen it before, but the sheer joy on the other mare's face and knowing what brought it on still made her happy.
Sometimes, other ponies would pass by, some peering at them curiously, a few chuckling in amusement over their behavior. Sunset didn't mind, tuning those types out. She'd learned to ignore such ponies long ago.
At least one looked eager to stay and listen, though she also looked hesitant to interrupt them and ask for clarification on some point or another, and seemed rather disappointed when her friends finally urged her to move on with them right as Twilight seemed about to ask if she had a question.
"Hey, Twilight," Sunset said quietly when the three little fillies had left. "Do you teach, back home?"
Twilight shook her head. "It's something I wouldn't mind doing sometime," she said. "But I haven't had the opportunity yet."
"Too bad." Sunset looked at her. "I think you'd probably do a good job of it."
"Yeah..." Twilight gazed in the direction that their watchers had gone. "If I stay long enough, maybe I can talk to Sweetie Belle about what she wanted. She certainly seemed interested there for a while."
"Well, who is to say you can't move over here?" Sunset offered. "I mean, Equestria is a large country but you could always go back home to visit your friends and family, right?"
Twilight blushed. "Maybe... it's kind of a long commute," she said. "That was actually one of the things I was worrying about before I agreed to come out on this whole thing." She then blinked and giggled. "That and I kinda already do have a job back home that I couldn't in good conscience just leave behind."
"What kind?" Sunset asked, curious to learn more of this mare's life.
"Some... very specialized work, for one of our local government's big projects," Twilight said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to talk about it any more than that general description. Let's just say that I enjoy my work, and there really isn't anypony who can do it the way I do."
"Ah." Sunset nodded. "So, what about your family? What do they do?"
"Oh. Well, Shiny works in security, and Mom's in charge of housing for our village," Twilight said. "Dad's in the village's lighting department."
"So he is a candle maker or something?" Sunset asked.
"Or something," Twilight said. "We have a more... modern lighting system."
Sunset let it slide, but it made her wonder. "Must be some amazing village that you have a modern lighting system. The only place I could think that would be would be Manehatten or something along those lines; even Canterlot hasn't truly moved on from candles and more traditional lighting materials."
"It's wonderful back home," Twilight told her. "The view is spectacular, everypony works hard to make things better for us as a society..." She sighed. "It's not perfect, there've been a few hiccups over the years, but we've really done our best to move forward together."
"You have to tell me where your village is so I can visit one day," Sunset said. "It sounds like a great place."
"I'll... see what I can do," Twilight said. "I'm sure our Head Director wouldn't mind letting you visit, if I vouch for you."
"Head Director?" Sunset said with a head tilt. "I don't think I've heard that term before."
Twilight nodded. "Our governmental system is kind of different from-" she hesitated, and for a moment Sunset thought she was reconsidering what she was about to say, but then she continued. "The rest of Equestria. Instead of one mayor, we have a twelve-member Board of Directors, with each of them running their own department. The Head Director runs the Department of State, which is kind of like the mayor's office here in that they confirm and uphold the local laws, but all the Directors get their own say in decisions that affect us all."
"That's very unique," Sunset said with a frown. "I'm really surprised I haven't heard of it before."
"Yeah, we don't exactly have much contact with everywhere else," Twilight said. "That's one of the things we're hoping to change, and... well, it's part of why I'm here. We've been isolated for so long, and our Head Director wants to make stronger ties with the rest of Equestria-" and again Sunset caught that narrow slip. "She sent Onyx and I out to see what the ponies in the rest of the country were like."
Sunset blinked. Before she could even begin, she heard a cough. Turning around, she saw Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity looking at her. It was Applejack who spoke first. "Well... Ah hope we've made a good impression."
Twilight nodded. "You have with me," she said. "Ponyville's been so welcoming so far." She looked down. "There are a few things I've heard about some ponies' attitudes that worried me, but they were all about ponies outside of Ponyville."
Applejack laid a hoof on her shoulder. "Well, Ah hope ya don't hold them ponies' actions against the rest of us," she said. "Ponyville tries to be welcomin' to others, unless'n they act hostile to us first."
"Like that one creepy mare who always paws at the ground whenever she comes into town," Rainbow Dash muttered.
"That kinda sounds like a zebra to me," Sunset said. "They don't leave their homeland too often, so most ponies aren't familiar with them." She looked at Rainbow Dash. "Her coat - was it all white and black stripes?"
"Yeah, that's it exactly," Rainbow Dash said.
Sunset nodded. "Then she must be a zebra," she said. "They live in Farasi - it's really far away from Equestria. And I can get why her pawing the ground would seem threatening, but it isn't, really - it's a zebra's way of looking for water."
All three mares stared at her. "Ya mean..." Applejack said slowly. "She wasn't tryin' to show she was angry? She was just sayin' she wanted a drink?"
"Exactly," Sunset said.
Applejack shook her head. "Now Ah feel sheepish," she muttered. Then she straightened. "But there's more to it than just that. She lives in the Everfree, an' that place scares the bejeebers out of all of us."
"Why?" Twilight asked.
"Well," Applejack said. "The Everfree Forest just ain't natural. The plants grow, the animals care for themselves, an' the clouds move all on their own. Out here, we gotta encourage the plants with our magic. The animals can't migrate without help. An' our weather's all done by hoof." She shook her head. "But the Everfree does all that by itself. Besides, it's got some pretty nasty beasts out there. Ah don't know how Zecora keeps 'em from goin' after her."
Sunset shrugged. "That sounds like how things happen in Farasi," she said. "Or pretty much anywhere else outside of Equestria. They don't move the seasons along or control the weather over there. They just let nature take its course."
All three mares blinked, and then Rarity shook her head. "You are surprisingly calm about such things, darling," she said.
Sunset sighed. "I spent some time living in a place like that myself, outside of Equestria," she said. "I had to get used to it in a real hurry."
"So where did ya go Sunny?" Pinkie asked, the mare suddenly appearing by their side. Sunset and Twilight both jumped back in shock at her unexpected appearance, and Sunset laid a hoof over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
"How did you do that?" she asked, still stunned.
"Do what?" Pinkie asked.
Sunset opened her mouth as if to say something, changed her mind, and sighed. "Right."
"So where was that place you stayed for a while?" Rarity asked.
Sunset shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it," she said. "I was in a really, really bad place mentally and emotionally when I went there, and... well, it's not something I like thinking about."
"Then you don't need to say anything," a soft voice said, and Sunset looked up to see Fluttershy standing over her, having joined the others when she wasn't looking.
"She's right," Twilight said, placing a hoof on her arm. "You don't have to talk about it if it upsets you."
Sunset smiled at both mares' kind words. "Thank you," she said. "Maybe someday... just not yet."
Then she looked around. "So, what's up?"
"Just gettin' the last stuff ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, thought we'd run it by ya," Applejack said.
"Like what?" Sunset asked.
"Last few dishes an' such," Applejack said. "Rarity's helpin' me set everything out, an' makin' sure they have everything set up for Fluttershy's birds."
"And I'm helping them reach the higher stuff," Rainbow Dash said.
"So if you want some samples, come on over," Applejack added.
Sunset smiled. "I'd love it," she said. "Twilight?"
Twilight nodded. "I could go for some," she said.
Applejack smiled back. "Then let's do this," she said.
It took the two unicorns only a short time to pack up their books and then follow the five locals over to where Applejack had been setting up for that night. A stallion, Applejack's big brother as she recalled, was unloading the food from the wagon with other ponies from the Apple clan helping him.
"Boy, your family are very good cooks," Sunset said, taking a few offered samples as she helped finished setting up the area.
Applejack beamed happily at the compliment. "Well thank you," she said. "Twilight, what'd you think?"
Twilight swallowed what she'd been eating before she answered. "I don't know how I've gone so long without being able to try anything like what you've got here," she said. "This is great!"
"Thank ye kindly, sugarcubes," Applejack said. "We do our best."
"This is beyond doing your best, I don't think we eat this good in Canterlot," Sunset said as she flashed them a smile.
"Awe, shucks," Applejack said. "You mean all them rumors about the fancy eats they got up there ain't true?"
Sunset chuckled. "Depends on what you've heard. In my opinion, a lot of it's an acquired taste that I don't know why you'd want to acquire. I'd take good home cooking over most of the fancy stuff they served at the last dozen 'galas' I had to go to." She made a face. "Thankfully, the pony hosting insisted on also including some dishes that were more to hers and my tastes then."
"You get invited to a lot of those, huh?" one of the Apples, whose name she hadn't caught yet, asked.
"The hostess was also my teacher," Sunset said. "It's... well, she liked having the company of somepony who wasn't trying to suck up to her or stand around talking about how much they care when it's clearly just an act. It is one of the reasons why she enjoys my former foalsitter's company so much; Cadance doesn't pretend to care, she genuinely does. And if she does have an issue with my teacher, she's not afraid to say it."
Applejack nodded. "Sounds lahk a mare Ah could get along with," she said.
"Yeah, most ponies would agree with you on that," Sunset said. "Except for certain snooty jerks of our unfortunate acquaintance."
Applejack chuckled. "Ah can guess the type," she said. "Though Ah'm a bit proud ta say that we don't have much of them in our clan. Ah do have an aunt and uncle in Manehatten who have deal with that sort as part of their business, but they don't act lahk that themselves."
They all went back to work then, and soon everything was all set up and ready for the next morning.
It had slowly become night, with the group of seven talking among each other and the other ponies arriving in the town hall, including a couple of new visitors.
"Shiny, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked the stallion of the group of four ponies that walked into the town hall, moving in to hug him. Along with Shining and Vinyl, they seemed to be with a gray Earth pony mare and a pink pegasus.
"Well, Love here kinda asked me out, and one thing led to another," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "And we know that Vinyl here is bad with directions, so I brought her along so she won't get lost."
Vinyl glared at him, with the mare by her side snickering. "Very funny, Shining," she said completely deadpan. "I'm not that bad."
"So who is this fine stallion, Twilight?" Rarity asked, tilting her head at him.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Girls, Spike... meet my big brother, Shining Armor," she said. "And apparently, his date for the evening..."
"Love Hearts," the pegasus said, giving Twilight a studying look, before smiling at her. "It's nice to meet you, Twilight. Shiny's told me quite a bit about you."
Twilight smiled back. "Nice to meet you too," she said, before gesturing to Vinyl. "And this is our mutual friend Vinyl Scratch; her brother and Shiny hang out a lot."
"As I've heard; they are in a little band as well as gathering to play some tabletop game together," the mare next to Vinyl said. "Hello, my name is Octavia Melody."
After Twilight had greeted her, she saw Applejack grinning. "Good to see ya again, Octavia," she said. "How's it goin'? We haven't seen you down here in a while."
"Yes, one of the reasons I was looking forward to visiting today," Octavia said.
Vinyl cocked her head, and then Twilight could almost see her eyes lighting up. "This must be one of your cousin's cousins," she said.
Octavia nodded, and Vinyl stuck out a hoof. "Nice to meet you then," she said.
"Likewise," Applejack said, returning the hoofshake as Sunset smiled at Love Hearts.
"Good to see you taking a break, Love," she said in a teasing tone.
"You know one another?" Rarity asked, looking between the two.
"Love here and my old foalsitter Cadance are real close," Sunset said. "I've spent a lot of time with her too."
Applejack had a strange look on her face at Sunset's words, but shook it off. "Welcome to Ponyville then," she said. "Ah hope ya enjoy yer time here."
Love Hearts smiled. "I'm sure I will," she said, looking at the stage where Princess Celestia would soon emerge. "And I am certain it will be very memorable." She then nuzzled Shining, pointing his head towards a buffet table. "Come, let's go get a bite, Shiny."
"Sure thing," Shining Armor said. "Catch up with you in a bit, Twily."
"Wow," Sunset said to Twilight as the two walked away. "They're really into each other, aren't they?"
Twilight nodded. "I don't think I've ever seen him like this around anypony before," she said. "They must have only met yesterday too."
"Well, I guess that is how true love works, darlings," Rarity said as she passed them, giving the two a coy wink. "If you know, you know." She then giggled, trotting away.
Both Sunset and Twilight stared at each other before laughing. They then turned their heads to Shining and Love Hearts, smiling at the pair.
"You know," Twilight said to Sunset, who had got closer to her. "They seem so natural like that. Like they belong together."
"They really do," Sunset said with a happy sigh, leaning against the lavender unicorn before a hush began to run across the crowd.
All eyes went to the stage as the curtains began to pull back. And as they did, Twilight had a sudden feeling that something big was about to happen. Something much more than just Princess Celestia arriving...
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I would greatly prefer to see the reaction if nothing unordinary happens and Luna just leaves a message that is just a review of Celestia's behavior towards her over the past ten centuries.
I get the feeling Luna is going to crash the celebration
Very good story and look forward to more. Hmm was this by any chance inspired by The Thousand Year Change story?
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/85123/the-thousand-year-change
I'm kind of hoping Luna will appear around the crowd talk with ponies then stage center dramatics like everyone expect just casual Alicorn in the crowd would throw anyone off most of all her sister~!
And so it begins...
AHHHHHH!!! The suspense! The buildup! IT'S KILLING ME HERE!!!! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?!?!?!?!?
oi
Definitely did a great job on this chapter. Immensely enjoyed the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Definitely enjoyed Twilight's reaction to Sunset and Spike's morning routine as well as Twilight and Sunset's similar-but-not-identical reactions to the other enjoying studying as much as they did, Twilight telling Sunset as much as she could without technically lying or revealing too much, Twilight respecting Sunset's privacy enough to not pry into her thoughts regarding Celestia, the chat with the rest of the canon Mane Six (particularly the stuff with Zecora and the gang realizing their thoughts about Zecora were an extremely unfortunate misunderstanding) as well as Twilight's first face-to-face meeting with "Love Hearts".
VERY certainly looking forward to more of this (especially since it seems like the next chapter is where the action will really start to pick up). .
Drumroll
SunLight confirmed! Rarity always knows. ^^
10798286
im hoping for luna to show up to talk with celestia and then for that cult that hates the night to show up and attack. celestia allowed such a cult to rise and continue operations and if it is the reason she looses her sister all over again mabey she will actualy take action insted of leaving them to cause issues
10798720
That could work, but with everyone in the know expecting action, inaction would be the best subversion of expectation. Also given that the moon is a republic and the time slot; it would take at least two days after the SSC before any public action could be taken on Equus
10798286
3/10 "Didn't even let me stay up to paint the stars"
10798914
Of that, I have no doubt
Now then, let's see if the teachers can behave themselves
ho ho with how fast things are going with are lovestruck couple will there be a lil baby alicorn coming a lil sooner then expected~?
10798720
imagine if it turn out the cult origins was celestia fault like by mentioning her worries like her sister becoming nightmare moon or the doomed timelines by accident to the wrong pony? or her actions coloring her response to events or treatment of certain groups? I could see that starting a cult and gaining members or inspiring groups to "prepare" for the worse
And now that all of the players are together, we can begin.
So Sunset went through her rebellious, power-hungry phase ... did she go through the Mirror, or just to another country? And if it was the Mirror, who (or what) caused her redemption? (I'm leaning towards Spike, personally).
10799526
Oh, believe me... that fic's concept inspired this one, but we are very definitely doing a different take.
Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.
Did anyone catch the in-passing mention of Zesty Gourmand (not by name, but by description) in this chapter?
Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.