Sunset Shimmer returns to Equestria... with a dream of being Princess Twilight Sparkle's prized pupil and hopes to discover her own destiny.
Sunset Shimmer finds it hard to leave her friends in Canterlot High to restart a life in Equestria. As she prepares for the new adventure she takes on, she realizes that if it weren't for Twilight Sparkle and the lessons she learned, Equestria and the human world would be in a state of unhappiness. Sunset becomes Twilight's new pupil in hopes of discovering her own destiny... no matter what she faces.
Canterlot High- The girls are standing in front of the portal to Equestria.
"I can't believe you're going to live in the same world as Princess Twilight!" Fluttershy squeaked. Sunset Shimmer smiled modestly. Her backpack for Equestria was so heavy, she stumbled as she walked. She opened Princess Celestia's book and began to write a quick letter to Princess Twilight, and wrote the precise details about when and where she will meet Twilight-- Just like she had the last 20 messages she'd sent.
"You're so lucky, Sunset Shimmer. Can you say hi to her for us?" Rarity exclaimed. "But of course, it will be... different, not being able to see you everyday."
"It's not so bad! I'll use Princess Twilight's portal occasionally and visit you guys for a couple of days. And besides..." Sunset replied, with a tight smile, "...I'll be figuring out who I'm supposed to be... in the world where I was destined to live in the first place." She frowned and looked down at her feet. The other students exchanged looks.
"Why so upset, Sunset?" Applejack asked as she put her hand on Sunset's shoulder.
"When I left Equestria, I may have... disappointed some Canterlot royalty. I just hope that they'll forgive me for being so..."
"I love guessing games!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly. "Ooh, I know! Disloyal?"
"Pinkie!" the students yelled in unison.
"No, no... it's okay, girls. She's right. But I've changed, and it makes me feel better knowing I'm not..."
"Ridiculous and disloyal?" Pinkie finished.
"Exactly," Sunset said with a smile. She looked around at the tall building of Canterlot High. She sighed. "I'm sure gonna miss this place, even if I don't have the greatest reputation here. This place may not be connected to me, but it's a bigger part of my life than Equestria has been." The students stood in silence. "And now I'm going to go to the person-- er, pony who solved all of the cold conflicts here and turned me around-- Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Alright, so you're gonna be Twilight's student in some other dimension called Equestria where a bunch of colorful horses, unicorns and Pegasi live. Makes perfect sense," Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, adding in a chuckle. The students glared at her. "I mean, yeah! Makes perfect sense! But have you thought this through?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie said out of nowhere. "Where are you gonna live? What kind of job are you gonna get? Does Twilight even have her own school?"
"Well, I, uh, haven't come up with the answers to those questions, but I have thought about them," Sunset replied after a pause. "I think Princess Twilight has it all in hand-- er, hoof. And she doesn't really have an official school, but she agreed to be my own mentor despite the fact that she is very busy running her own kingdom now. I really need to remember to speak in Equestrian instead of using human phrases..." Sunset paused and smiled. "Wait a minute. You know what this means, right?"
"What... does this mean?" Fluttershy asked, barely audible. She stood very still as she stuck her hand out into the air as a butterfly landed on her index finger. Pinkie suddenly hopped towards Sunset's direction.
"You're gonna start up a restaurant in the other world?" Pinkie guessed. "If they don't have restaurants, then you'll be the very first horse to 'invent' one in your world!"
"That's kind of what I'm saying," Sunset replied, "but without the restaurant part, as there are already restaurants in Equestria. I can team up with Princess Twilight and write maybe a little book about humans." Sunset twisted a lock of her red-and-yellow hued hair and frowned. "Just as long as other ponies aren't as cynical as they probably will be once they hear about some new creatures discovered in a different dimension."
"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you'll do fine!" Rarity said. Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky as if she were thinking something, then at Sunset Shimmer.
"I have a different theory," Rainbow interrupted. "If somebody suddenly came out of that portal and told us they were from a magical world with unicorns and magical powers and princesses, we probably would have laughed at them and walked away."
"I agree with Dash," Applejack said. "The ponies in the other world probably have their own feelings as well. Twilight and Sunset have demonstrated just that. And although I don't see anything relatively horse-like about them..." Applejack stopped herself and looked at Sunset. "Uh... no offense."
"None taken," Sunset said, adding a little giggle.
"Right, well, as I was saying," Applejack continued, "was that although I don't see anything relatively horse-like about them, they're definitely human-like. The ponies in this other world would probably feel the same way if Twilight and Sunset claimed that they saw these different creatures called 'humans' in a different world."
"Exactly!" Sunset said. "It would just seem awkward if that came up in a conversation, unless it was a discussion with Princess Twilight. But I don't know what we could tell each other about this world that we didn't know already." Sunset grabbed a pebble from the ground and tossed it into the portal as a test. It went right through the portal, meaning that it was ready. "Although, of course, there are definitely stories that I could tell her."
"I'm guessing they're from old Sunset Shimmer's times?" Rarity guessed, smiling kindly so she didn't accidentally hurt Sunset.
"Uh... pretty much." Sunset smiled. She checked her watch. "Guess I'd better get going. I'm supposed to meet Twilight on the other side of her portal soon."
The girls group-hugged and waved Sunset Shimmer good-bye. Sunset stumbled while she was walking in the direction of the portal.
"You'll make sure to come back sometimes, won't you?" Fluttershy asked.
"And make sure to dress well for the Grand Gala thing you were talking about!" Sunset opened her mouth to reply to the two, but she was interrupted by a "Wait!"
"Make sure to drink some root beer too!" Pinkie called after Sunset, who was about a foot away from the portal. Sunset and the other students looked at Pinkie in a confused way. "What? Everybody deserves to drink root beer." The other students chuckled or face-palmed.
Sunset waved good-bye as a mixture of "Bye!"s and "See you soon!"s followed her into the crystal-clear, brightly-colored portal, home to the detailed horse statue.
Through the portal, into the Equestrian world...
Sunset Shimmer let out a yelp as she tumbled out of the historical portal. Confused, she heard a crash. Upon realizing that the sound she heard came from her crash-landing, she looked guiltily at the scattered papers and books. She heard the sounds of galloping drawing near, and heard a female voice through her ringing ears, "Sunset! Are you alright?"
"Princess Twilight?" Sunset asked as she teleported to the purple Alicorn mare standing tall in front of her. She wasn't wearing her crown, but her wings were stretched and ready as though she were about to fly. "Sorry I'm a little late. I got caught up in the exciting but depressing state--"
"--of goodbyes," they both said in unison. They giggled and hugged. Sunset had learned when to do that after she'd discovered friendship.
"Now that you're here, why not let us give you a tour of my castle?" Twilight asked. Sunset looked around the room uncertainly.
"Who else will be assisting you?" Sunset asked. Twilight giggled.
"Oh... yeah." The purple mare excused herself and flew into the hall. Sunset heard the distant calling of "Spike!" A minute later, Twilight was shoving a small purple dragon, Spike, through the entrance to the portal room. "You... remember Sunset... Shimmer!"
"Twilight!" Spike complained. "Why do you always ask me to give tours of your castle? I don't even know this place as much as you think I do!"
Twilight smiled sheepishly at a giggling Sunset Shimmer. "Sorry, Sunset. I guess Spike accidentally left his manners at the entrance of Donut Joe's place." Twilight frowned and looked at Spike. "And all of those 42 donuts are coming out of your allowance, pal!" Spike looked like the donuts were about to come right back up again.
"Twilight! Should I get a paper bag? Where are they?" Sunset asked in a panic. Twilight smiled.
"No need to worry, Sunset. Spike normally does this when he's about to receive--" A blast of fire hurled out of Spike's mouth as the two ponies ducked. A scroll with an elegant bow dropped into the magical grasp of Twilight's magic. "--a message."
"Fascinating!" said Sunset. "A baby dragon who can talk and works as a mailing system!" Spike face-clawed. "So what kind of messages are these? Where are they from?"
"Well, they're normally from Princess Celestia..." Twilight said as she unrolled the scroll. "Like this one!" Twilight cleared her throat and read the scroll out loud:
My dearest, most faithful Princess Twilight, I understand that Sunset Shimmer is now interested in finding a home in Equestria. Please ask her to visit me as soon as possible.
-Princess Celestia
"Oh dear," Sunset said with a sigh. "With all the excitement today, I almost forgot about my past. Almost."
"Looks like we'll be heading to Canterlot then. Come on, Sunset! We need to get to the train station before we miss the train to Canterlot."
"Twilight, it's so nice of you to accompany me on the train to Canterlot," Sunset Shimmer told the purple Alicorn mare with a smile. "It's nice not to be alone anymore." Sunset shuffled her hooves and looked at the ground of the moving train.
"Well, why wouldn't I? Wouldn't be much of a good friend and mentor to a bright unicorn, would I?" Twilight Sparkle said in response, putting her book down. She looked to her left to see a small filly, holding up a picture of Twilight's head. Twilight smiled and took a nearby quill to sign it, to the filly's happiness.
Sunset looked at Twilight with twinkly eyes. "Well, Princess Celestia gave you these." She tapped Twilight's wings. "She wouldn't have given them to you if you weren't supposed to use them... right?" Twilight stared into space for a second, thinking of all the times ponies have mentioned her wings at irrelevant times. She looked into Sunset's eyes.
"A pony holding both wings and a horn is the description of an Alicorn. Being made one is meant for a sign of authority and magic. With them, they grant the pony the wisdom and heart of an Earth pony, magic of a unicorn, and the wing power of a Pegasus." Twilight thought for a moment. "And having all of these qualities stands for equality between all races of ponies. Having all of these qualities means a fit leader for Equestria."
"But that's not what I mean," Sunset interrupted. "Why didn't you just use your wings to fly to Canterlot?"
"That would mean I'd have to carry you with my magic, which could bring harm to you. And besides..." Twilight chuckled. "I did fly with Rainbow Dash and other Pegasi at the Canterlot Contest of Wings and Aerobatics last night. I'm pretty exhausted... I guess that makes me a "weakling", as the hardcore Pegasi from Cloudsdale would say."
"Why would they disrespect a Princess of Equestria that way?"
"Oh, Sunset!" Twilight giggled. "I'm not a Princess of Equestria. I'm the leader of Ponyville now. Maybe someday I'll get to that point." Her smile faltered. "I think the Mayor is working as a Ponyville grocery store employee now."
"Really?" Sunset thought for a moment. She didn't think that somepony could actually drive an authority figure to a different job that quickly and easily.
"Yep. It's not my fault though. The Tree of Harmony, which has kept Equestria safe for thousands of years, seemed to think that I was ready for a leadership. It gave me my own castle!"
"A tree did that? Sorry, but that's kind of hard to believe." Sunset smirked.
"This is no ordinary tree. This is where the Elements of Harmony came from. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used them to turn Discord to stone, and Celestia used them to banish Nightmare Moon... to the moon. My friends and I also turned Nightmare back to Princess Luna, and Discord back to stone after he escaped. It's a shame that we had to give the elements back to the tree, or it wouldn't have survived."
"Discord? Nightmare Moon?" Sunset seemed as confused as a cactus in a desert filled with snow. Not that cacti really have emotions, or that deserts are filled with snow. "I know of Nightmare Moon, but wasn't that just an old Mare's tale? And who's Discord? His name sounds rather disharmonious."
"Yeah... many ponies thought Nightmare Moon was real, but honestly, where could Celestia's sister have been? Discord was the spirit of chaos and disharmony. You should have seen all the damage he'd done during the 4 hours after he'd escaped from his stone prison. Maybe after our appointment with the Princess, we can go see him."
"See him? I thought you'd turned him to stone again!"
"That's how I thought it was going to stay, but one day, Celestia came to us, asking Fluttershy to encourage him to use his powers for good instead of evil."
"Fluttershy?!" Sunset's eyes were wide.
"Whoops. I haven't told you about my friends yet..."
"Tell me!" Sunset spoke in a very loud and excited tone of voice, causing many heads to turn their direction. "Uh... sorry. Carry on."
Ten minutes and two bagels later...
"...and then there's Pinkie Pie. You know her. She's a big party pony with the positive attitude, and is an employee of a sweets shop with possibly the best sugar-coated sweets in Equestria."
"Hmm." Sunset paused. "I guess I really shouldn't be surprised if there's alternate versions of everything. Heck, there's probably a different human version of me back somewhere near Canterlot High. 'This place is ridiculous!' I thought. 'A principal Celestia? Is that a coincidence or what?' However, I'm pretty sure the vice principal Luna was not banished to the moon, nor is she over 1,000 years old. But hey, living in a confusing universe? You never really know." The two laughed. They heard a loud voice ahead of them.
"Train to Canterlot has arrived at the proper destination. Please remain seated until the train comes at a full stop."
"Well, here we are. We gotta get to Canterlot Castle and find Princess Celestia," said Twilight excitedly. Sunset sighed. "Sunset? What's wrong?"
"Sure can't wait to go over with Celestia all of the rules I've broken in the past. It's rather depressing, thinking about the trouble that awaits you." Sunset looked out the window at the castle standing tall. "Or rather, the trouble that you have caused before. But as I once told Celestia, you know, before I turned cold and corrupted, 'I think you may want to teach me how to make friends. I've been alone with my studies. It could be making a bad influence... on me.' And you know what she told me? 'I may be a Princess and your mentor, but I need you to know that, just like a true friend, I'll always be there for you.' And Celestia was the only pony I accepted as a friend, until I turned into the rotten little snowflake that..." Twilight gave her a look of concern, stopping Sunset for a mere few seconds. "...that I once was. I guess friendship teaches you that you can't always think about yourself."
Twilight froze, looking into space again.
"Y-you know what, Sunset?" Twilight said in a light tone of voice. "If it weren't for Celestia assigning me to make some friends, I would have still been the ignorant and careless pony I once was for the rest of my life." Twilight looked at her wings. "And, might I add, not capable of meeting all of the qualities of an Alicorn princess."
"Did Celestia ask you to meet some friends because of how cold, lonely and selfish I was when I had no friends to offer me love and affection?"
"There's one way to find out."
Canterlot Castle...
"Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia said, joyfully. "Did Sunset Shimmer come with you?" The young orange unicorn mare walked into Celestia's eyesight from behind Twilight. "Sunset Shimmer."
"Princess Celestia!" Sunset Shimmer said, running towards Celestia with a smile. "Oh, Princess! Would you ever forgive me? I'll take my punishment! From now on--"
"Sunset Shimmer," Celestia said with a smile, "I have already forgiven you. No punishment is necessary. This meeting is about something different." Celestia looked over at Twilight. "Princess Twilight, I understand Sunset is now going to be your pupil."
"That's correct, Princess," said Twilight. "Whoops! Is this an official meeting? Where's my crown? Where's my crown?!" Twilight dug into her saddlebag frantically.
"No need for your crown. This is a casual visit between three ponies."
"There's nothing informal about a meeting with royalty!" Twilight said.
"Need I remind you that you are, in fact, Equestrian royalty now? A meeting between two royal ponies doesn't have to be so formal. Unfortunately, the public is convinced that royalty is the definition of 'fancy' and 'formal'. I've tried my best to convince ponies that royal ponies aren't just snobby serious ponies, but do they listen to me?" Celestia smiled as Twilight continued to dig into her saddlebag. Sunset Shimmer smiled, rolling her eyes. Typical Twilight, Sunset and Celestia thought alike.
"Aha!" Twilight levitated her crown out of her bag and gently placed it on her head. She sneezed, knocking the crown off her head again. "Sorry! Sorry! Pollen counts high this season. Hope you'll forgive me for being so crude and inconsiderate at this meeting."
"Did she listen to anything you just said?" Sunset whispered to Celestia, both smirking.
"You know Twilight," Celestia whispered back. "Once she's frantic, she won't give it a rest." Celestia now spoke in a normal tone of voice. "Excuse me, Princess Twilight, but we need to discuss Sunset's future if she chooses to take your generous offer as a mentor." Celestia smiled. "Follow me."
She led the two younger ponies into a room full of stained-glass windows. They stopped in front of a brand new one. It featured Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, shaking hooves. They were surrounded by what looked to be books representing studies, magical sparkles representing magic, and what appeared to be dancing and laughing ponies, and did not have any identity, as they were all the same color: blue. Possibly symbolic of friendship.
"This represents the outcome if you choose this path," Celestia said. "You've both made me proud, one pony taking the same steps as me being a mentor, and another taking the same steps as the other once had that had led her to success. I hope you realize that you're doing the right thing." Celestia looked at Sunset. "But remember, you need to be willing to take the advice of your mentor. Encouraging yourself to learn how to be successful properly will lead to success."
"Princess," Twilight said, "I have a question. I've been wondering, you know, ever since Sunset mentioned her past, was she the reason you encouraged me to make friends? So I wouldn't be lonely and self-centered?" Twilight quickly turned to Sunset. "Uh... no offense!"
"None taken!" Sunset said.
Celestia smiled. "That is a question I will not answer, but for you to answer yourself. Tell me, Princess Twilight, how do you imagine yourself if you didn't have any friends to love or to love you?"
"I'd be..." Twilight thought about it. "To this day, I'd be sitting in the Canterlot Castle library reading dusty old books, without the knowledge I've learned while experiencing friendship, like that you can't always think about yourself, and that you can't always have things the way you want them to be."
"You'd be just like I once was," Sunset said.
"So, Sunset..." Celestia said, "...what's your decision?"
"I want..." Sunset said. "I want... to be Twilight's student. It sounds like her studies and experiences have made her a better pony, and I want to compensate for the guilt I've kept inside since my old Sunset Shimmer times."
"All right then," Celestia said. "You'd better get teaching and studying, then! There's a lot to learn. You'll see." And with that, Twilight and Sunset said their goodbyes and walked out the castle doors.
Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle walked through the entrance of Twilight's new castle, a crystal beauty that shadowed over half of Ponyville. The reflection of the crystal texture was met by the light of Celestia's sun and cast a magenta and indigo hue over several of the buildings neighboring the castle.
So focused on the scenery that the castle made behind her, Sunset continued walking, yet still stared through the door.
"Oh, uh, watch your step here, Sunset!" Twilight said. "I was gonna ask Spike to add a couple extra stairs here, and--" CRASH! Twilight gasped and lifted the now stunned orange mare with her magic. "Sunset! Are you alright?!"
"And the stars gleam there for kittens and spoons..." Sunset said clumsily, feeling a small lump on her head.
"How many hooves am I holding up?" Twilight held up both of her hooves. "Do we need to take you to Ponyville Hospital?" Sunset shook her head and teleported back up.
"That was unexpected," Sunset replied. "I was just so focused on the hue that your castle cast over us. It would make a great painting. Would you happen to know any artists?"
"That's beside the point. But don't worry! Some of my thousand lessons will help you with focus." Twilight squee'd.
"One... of your... thousand lessons?" Sunset stammered. Twilight giggled.
"Oh, I'm just pulling your tail. I'd say at least two thousand lessons will be covered." Sunset face-hoofed. "There's just so much for you to learn about the mystics of Equestria! But I'm sure you're already familiar with powerful magic, as Princess Celestia told me. So we'll be starting on something different today."
From a nearby reading desk, Twilight pulled from it a purple leather book with six bookmarks, each a different color representing the pony who wrote there. Her magenta aura grasped the book and pushed it in front of Sunset's legs. Looking down, Sunset grabbed the book with her aquamarine aura and flipped through it.
"What's this?" Sunset asked. "You're assigning me to learn more about friendship? Already?"
"Princess Celestia sent me to study friendship all on my own, as I didn't feel like socializing was important. Now I want to see how much of an independent learner you are, and see how well you'll meet other ponies. Princess Celestia tells me you weren't one to socialize." Sunset continued to look at the book. "And since you told me about how you were when you went through the mirror for the first time, I'm not so surprised that a pony like that didn't see the need to make friends-- because I was once like that myself." Sunset looked up. "Tell me, Sunset: What did you think you'd be when you were older?"
"I thought I'd be ruling Equestria by Celestia's side. I thought because I was her prized pupil before you came along, she'd understand how bright and powerful I was and give me the opportunity to be somepony important for once. Princess Sunset Shimmer is who I would have liked to be... but deep down, I guess I thought I wasn't ready for that yet. I realize that now."
"But you were important, Sunset. Princess Celestia needed her prized pupil. Just like how I need you now. The Princess of Friendship means nothing without her friend."
"Wait--"
"First friend! Check!" Twilight marked something on a long list of check-boxes, all others unchecked. "Now then, let's see how well you'll do in making other friends."
"Other friends? Where?" A loud knock on the door sounded through the halls.
"Why, here, of course!" Twilight opened the door, Sunset at her side, to reveal five ponies. One unicorn, two Pegasi, and two earth ponies. Twilight's best friends had gotten Twilight's message to meet Sunset Shimmer.
"Gah!" Sunset was struck with surprise, before realizing that there were, in fact, doubles of everypony in the two worlds. "Uh... hi. My name's-"
"We know exactly who you are, Sunset Shimmer!" said Pinkie Pie as she suddenly popped up. "You're the pony who swapped Twilight's crown and took it through the mirror!"
"Easy, Pinkie," said Applejack. "We need to get to know Sunset Shimmer here before you, uh, go into that stuff."
"Sunset," Twilight said, "this is Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy! They're gonna join us for a picnic."
"A picnic? Where? When?" Sunset asked.
"At the park. Now," Twilight said, smiling. She levitated a basket covered in an eye-catching cloth, covered in nine individual sewn-on pictures of the six ponies' Cutie Marks, plus Celestia's and Luna's Marks. That made eight ponies. But Sunset saw something sewn on that looked... new. It was a picture of a sun split into two colors, much like the yin yang symbol. Red and yellow. Her Cutie Mark.
"Oh, you like that? I added it on myself based on a picture of a younger version of you and Princess Celestia. I do love your Cutie Mark, very elegant and colorful," Rarity said. "And it looks like Princess Celestia's Cutie Mark as well. Maybe you'll become a Princess one day, just like our friend here. Wouldn't a Princess be just magnificent? I'd look so beautiful! My wings, my mane! And I'm wondering if I wouldn't add just the slightest bit of rainbow on my hooves..." As Rarity kept on talking and talking, everypony smiled and started walking towards the park.
"Don't mind her. Rarity's just a bit... what's the term? Imaginative today," Rainbow Dash whispered into Sunset's ear. She quickly realized that Fluttershy was walking right next to them and most likely heard Rainbow speaking. But Fluttershy just smiled and nodded.
"Um... not to be offensive or anything, but she's always like this," Fluttershy added. Sunset smiled, remembering that the Rarity in the human world was practically this Rarity's dimensional twin... literally.
"Once you get her started on an intriguing conversation, she won't take a break on her part," Applejack added. "Except when she finally takes a breath." The ponies knew that Rarity couldn't hear their conversation, as she was still talking and was focused on what she herself was saying, thinking that the other ponies were still listening.
Rarity finally ended her fascinating topic about what she'd do if she were a princess. Rainbow was getting more irritated by the minute as the ponies paced in a slow speed.
"Come on, girls! I think there are snails here that are moving faster than we are," Rainbow said. Rarity frowned.
"Well, we're so sorry that not all of us bear wings, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. "What are you expecting us to do? Run to the park?"
"We could hop to the park!" Pinkie suggested.
"So how would that be any faster than how we're going right now, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked the pink mare.
"I don't know. I just thought it would be relevant to add."
After about five minutes of silence, the ponies arrived at the park and found a nice place to lay down the picnic blankets. Rarity gasped in horror as she opened her own basket.
"Oh no! I forgot the plates again! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the--" Rarity started, but was interrupted by the ponies' pointing to Applejack, holding up the plates that she'd brought. "...Oh."
"Yeah, after you forgot them the last time, we decided that AJ would be responsible for the plates," Rainbow said as she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah..." Sunset said. "I've just been very shy when I meet new friends. And it appears that it's quite easy in this world to be offered friendships, in a place where I haven't caused... quite as much havoc and there are people-- I mean, ponies... who forgive me for the mistakes I made in the past."
"Twilight always tells us you're from the world behind the magic mirror," Rarity said. "but you were originally from Canterlot. Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, to be precise. Is this true? I bet you have quite the number of interesting stories to tell us." Sunset giggled.
"Quite."
Later...
"...and the Rarity from that world says, 'that isn't a dress, Rainbow Dash, those are a bunch of dead animals that crawled up onto your clothes!'"
"Wha? Why would I... I mean, my counterpart, say something like that?" Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but burst out laughing. She agreed with her counterpart that the appearance of dresses didn't really matter that much... especially for a school dance.
"Nah, that's not really what she said," Sunset said, giggling. "She told Rainbow Dash that she wouldn't allow Rainbow to wear her regular clothes to the Spring Fling dance and that she'd put something together just for her." Sunset rolled her eyes. "Because she couldn't just let Rainbow try on one of the other million dresses in her shop." The other ponies, besides Rarity, laughed.
"Hmph! Dresses should always be fresh and brand-new," Rarity said. "But I'm glad she made something fabulous for her friend."
"Well, Sunset, instead of telling the others stories from Canterlot High..." Twilight started, "...why don't you tell us a story from your Canterlot days?"
"I should have started on that first instead of diving right in on my Canterlot High stories!" said Sunset. "I'll tell you the story about how I got my Cutie Mark, but I won't remember everything..."
"I do love a good Cutie Mark story!" Fluttershy said. Sunset smiled.
"It all started in my days of Canterlot Elementary... fourth grade, to be exact..."
"It started in my Canterlot Elementary days... fourth grade, to be precise," said Sunset.
"The Summer Sun Celebration was nigh. The days seemed to get longer as summer passed by. Everypony in that city was incredibly excited, except for one pony. That's right-- yours truly."
"Hey, Sunset Shimmer! You going to Celestia's celebration?" one little filly asked a young Sunset Shimmer.
"Oh, please," young Sunset churlishly replied. "I have much better things to do than celebrate something... natural. The Princess probably doesn't care much, but some ponies seem to."
"Huh, I thought maybe you'd enjoy yourself sometime, Sunset," the filly replied serenely, careful not to make Sunset blow a fuse.
"I do enjoy myself. I enjoy reading books. The books that help shape me who I am. That's why I'm so smart. Because reading books help your future. Everypony should just read books instead of this solstice crud that everypony is buzzing about."
"Maybe you should burn those books sometime," the filly muttered and walked off.
"Yeah, that's right. Walk away! Ugh, I can't believe I just wasted my time socializing." Sunset kicked a rock at the ground. The Summer Sun Celebration was gonna take place that very night, and ponies talking about it constantly was enough. But imagine how crowded the streets of Canterlot would be. Sunset decided that she needed to stay in her house during the event while her father, mother and younger brother went. And speaking of her family...
"Hey, kiddo! There you are," said a Unicorn stallion named Glint Gleam, carrying a small Unicorn colt on his back. "I was hoping to see you while you were walking home so I could take you to town. The decoration committee for the Celebration needed some volunteers, and..."
"Come on, Daddy! You know I don't have time for this sort of sunrise celebration business." Glint Gleam sighed. "And can't Mom do the decorations? She gets paid to do these sort of designer things." Glint pushed Sunset to the left direction, toward where they needed to get started. They started walking.
"Your mom is in Saddle Arabia for a business trip and will be back in time for the Celebration. She'll meet us at the event. And besides, you know your mom doesn't design for celebrations." It was true; Sunrise Twinkle was indeed not a designer of events, but rather a designer of jewelry.
"I can't wait to see the princess in person!" exclaimed the young colt on Glint's back named Summer Shimmer. "I've only seen her in pictures. What do you think she's like?"
"Well, you both appear to have something in common!" Glint said.
"That's a first," Sunset said. "I already said that I'm not the type of pony who's excited for this sort of thing!"
"I wasn't talking about the Princess," Glint said, "as I seriously doubt that you're willing to meet anypony new. But neither of you have seen the Princess in real life. Maybe you've heard about her in stories or seen some drawings of her, but you need to consider yourselves lucky to see her so early in life, especially when some ponies don't stay in public longer than they have to." He chuckled. "Unless they're reading a book the whole time."
"Books are an efficient way to lucubrate and build your vocabulary."
"I get that, but Sunset..." Glint stopped and looked into Sunset's eyes, so she knew that this was important to him. "There is more to life than books. There are different methods of learning. It's great that somepony is interested in learning, but if there isn't anything else there, then you can't be quite as happy as you think you are."
"I'm happy! I'm very happy! I'm actually reading this fictional novel about a stallion who works at a peanut butter factory--"
"Sunset, this isn't a joke. You never go outside unless you have to."
"But why would I need to?"
"Because it's common for a pony your age to make some friends! Socialize a little bit!" Glint paused. "Tell you what. You come with me to the Summer Sun Festival and I'll..." He thought for a bit before continuing. "...I'll get you that expensive series of books you want with the pirates."
"They're not pirates, Dad! They're warriors! On a boat!"
"Whatever you say, Sunset. Is it a deal or not?"
"Um..." Sunset thought for a moment and sighed. She really wanted to save up her allowance for that box set, but it was gonna take a while to get enough bits for it unless she went with her family to this one little event. She felt as though she might regret it later, but she just went with the plan. "Okay... it's a deal."
She looked down at the ground as she followed her dad. She eventually heard the excited chatter, and at the corner of her eye, saw some boxes full of streamers. This was the place. Full of ponies. And not even close to how many would even be at the event.
"Where's the Princess? Where's the Princess?!" little colt Summer said.
"She's in the castle," Glint replied, "getting ready for the festival, I presume. Her niece Cadence is helping out though. She's a Princess too."
"All right!" exclaimed Summer. "I get to see another Princess!" Summer looked at the castle. "I wonder if Princess Celestia has any siblings?"
"She did," Sunset said in response. "But she was banished to the moon."
"Why?"
"I guess her sister got jealous and turned into some villain who brought with her eternal night. Celestia defeated her with--"
"Well, you two can talk," said Glint, "while you're putting up the flowers." He levitated a few boxes of flower necklaces and strings in front of them. "You can just put them on the windows and rooftops. I know you both aren't very familiar with magic, so you can't levitate, but you can use the boxes to stand on while you wrap the flowers around everything."
"Okay. Fine," said Sunset.
"I'll be over by the gardens if you need me."
"Yep." Sunset watched him and waited until he was out of site. Maybe she could ditch this place. But then her younger brother would see her and tell her father exactly what happened. If she could just distract him... or maybe get him to tag along...
"Hey, Summer!"
"Huh?" the colt said, nearly toppling over the boxes he was standing on. Sunset caught him before he hit the ground.
"Summer, you're supposed to put the biggest box underneath the other boxes..." Sunset waited for him to get on his hooves again. "But that's beside the point. Come with me." She dragged him in the direction of the exit.
"Uh, sis?" Summer followed her hesitantly. "Where are we going?"
"Home. We're bailing from this place. I can just save up my allowance for the dumb box set. Nothing is worth going to this lousy six-hour celebration."
"But I thought it was five hours!"
"Whatever! Do you think that watching the moon go down and the sun go up is gonna benefit you?"
"But isn't Daddy gonna notice that we're gone?"
"Eventually. He'll figure out where we went, though." Summer sweat anxiously.
"You can go... I'll stay here." Summer walked the other direction, only to bump into their father.
"Miss Sunset Shimmer!" Glint bellowed. "Do you have no respect for the Princess?" Sunset looked guiltily at her father. Then gave a loud hmph!
"Dad, I have tried and tried again to tell you that I don't want to go to this thing! What is the point? Who actually wants to watch some Alicorn make... the moon go down and the sun go up!"
"It's magic!" Sunset stopped. "You know-- the magic that you can learn to do anything you want. The type that you learn... in books."
Sunset chucked. "Anything?"
"Yes!"
Sunset looked up at the sky. "Okay. I'll go to this thing. As long as right after she raises the sun, we'll go home."
Glint rolled his eyes. "Sure."
Later...
Everypony crowded in the streets of Canterlot, waiting for Princess Celestia to raise the sun. Sunset's mother Sunrise Twinkle joined the family. When the Princess came into view, Sunset couldn't stop looking at her. The ruler of Equestria... was Sunset really seeing her in person? Maybe this going to this thing wasn't such a bad idea.
What's this? The Princess' horn was lighting up in a yellow and orange aura. Little swirls and specks of light rotated around her horn as a bright glow, similar to lightning, shot up from Celestia's horn to the sky. The moon slowly lowered from the sky, and the sky turned a hot-pink color as a very bright glow slowly rose up. An eclipse occured while the sun and moon crossed over each other. The crowd oohed and ahhed while the Princess smiled. But something felt new to Sunset. She could see her reflection in the magical field that engulfed the sun and moon, but no one else saw it.
She had to admit, this whole magic thing was actually... fascinating. But why? And thus... this revealed her nice and thoughtful side. She felt a spark in her, like deep down she felt that maybe how her attitude about things was just not cool, and that she shouldn't judge a book by the cover.
The sun slowly continued moving up while the moon disappeared from sight as it went down. A loud, roaring cheer blasted out of the crowd. Even Sunset seemed proud of what the Princess could do. The family walked out of the crowd, but Sunset's parents stopped in awe.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah, why are you looking at her like that?" Summer asked.
Sunrise Twinkle pointed at Sunset's flank. Once Sunset saw a symbol, a red and yellow sun evenly split, she knew exactly what that spark she felt in her meant... she'd earned her Cutie Mark.
"But... what does it mean?" Glint asked. But Sunset had a pretty good idea of what it meant.
Sunset had displayed two sides of her personality, one kind and thoughtful, and the other needlessly selfish and rude. She'd discovered something sapient... that for something to thrive, you can't have the good without the bad.
Present time...
"But that didn't show my special talent!" Sunset said. "I think it's pretty clear that I was interested in magic, just like Twilight. So why did I get my Cutie Mark as this instead?"
"We don't know, dear," Rarity said. "What if this mark is related to your destiny? You said you haven't found yourself yet... is that correct?"
"I don't know what I'm meant to be," said Sunset. "Maybe it could be. Maybe if the magic of Cutie Marks saw my future waaaay before I did?"
"If it's a mystery to solve, I know that you can't solve it alone," said Princess Twilight, smiling.
