Life is about to be turned upside down for two former students of Princess Celestia.
Life is grand for Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle. Sunset is being accepted by the school and Twilight has a sweet new castle.
When Celestia requests the presence of both of her former students, little did they know that it would forever change their lives and realities. More than one surprises are in for these two ponies.
This is based on my headcanon that Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and Starlight Glimmer are all related.
Sunset Shimmer was wishing that the bell would ring. After all, who wouldn't be excited that school was going out for the Christmas season. Sunset felt a little relieved that she wouldn't be sleeping in the school, like she had every time before. Pinkie Pie had offered her a place to stay after the whole 'Battle of the Bands' incident. When the final bell rang, Sunset raced to her "room" and packed what few belongings she had. She rushed on over to Pinkie's house, and knocked on the door. Pinkie Pie opened the door and wasted no time in giving Sunset a bear hug that nearly choked her to death.
"It's nice to see you too, Pinkie," Sunset said in a barely audible voice. 'Although we saw each other at lunch.' Sunset thought to herself. In Pinkie's wacky mind, lunch was an eternity ago, so she would hug Sunset even tighter if she said that aloud. "Would you mind letting me go?", Sunset asked hopefully. "You're sorta cutting off the oxygen to my head."
"Oh, sorry Sunset. It's just so exciting that we'll be roommates, well..sorta!", Pinkie exclaimed in her usual cheery self when she let go.
Being the ever so random person, Pinkie pulled Sunset in her house and seemingly out of nowhere, grabbed a basket of cookies. Sunset ate two cookies while Pinkie showed Sunset her room. Sunset quickly unpacked her things and set up her room like she wanted it. She was about to crack open her books when a brown leather-bound book with a yellow and orange sun on it vibrated and caught her attention. She opened the book to the last page with words and read the message Princess Twilight Sparkle had sent her.
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
Princess Celestia has requested to see both you and me. If you could find a time to come to Equestria, I'd appreciate it.
Your Friend,
Twilight Sparkle
Sunset felt sweat running down her face. 'Princess Celestia wants to see me??!!', she thought. 'Calm yourself. I was going to do this sooner or later. Might as well go now.' She made up her mind; she was going to Equestria. She quickly wrote, Expect me there tomorrow.
************
"Wait a minute.", Pinkie said. "So you're telling me that you can't stay!? You have to miss Christmas!?"
Sunset stared dumbfounded at Pinkie and tried coming up with a response. She just told Pinkie about the message and she wasn't taking it very good.
"Pinkie, I don't think I'll be gone that long, so no need to worry."
"Okie-dokie-lokie", Pinkie said enthusiastically, as if nothing had happened.
Sunset just rolled her eyes. She was more or less used to Pinkie's randomness by now. While Pinkie was rambling on about what type of desserts they might have in Equestria, she took out her cell phone and called to each of her Rainboom friends, informing them of her situation. By the time she finished calling all of her friends, Pinkie was panting from all of her rambling. As soon as Sunset put away her phone, Pinkie brought out a giant cake, that was at least four feet tall. 'Where does she get this stuff from?!' Sunset exclaimed in her mind. The cake didn't look very sturdy, so Sunset backed up, only to bump into the only person who could scare the demons out of her.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Sunset screamed, that is until she realized it was only Maud, Pinkie's older sister.
Unfortunately, her screaming caused Pinkie to lose her balance and the cake fell...right on Sunset. 'It's gonna be a long night', she told herself.
"Mmm", Pinkie said, stuffing her face into what was left of the cake on the table. "This is good! You should try some, Sunset!"
'It wouldn't hurt' she thought. She tried some and found that Pinkie was right, it was good! She would've tried more if not for the fact that she had cake all over herself. She took a shower to get rid of what the paper towels couldn't get off. 'At least I wasn't wearing my jacket' she thought positively. That was something she didn't want cake all over. After the cake incident, she wore clothes she didn't care much about in case of another incident. Surprisingly though, dinner was normal, something no one would ever expect of Pinkie's house.
************
It was midnight. Sunset couldn't sleep. She would go have a midnight snack, but last time that happened, Maud had scared the demons out of her. And it wasn't unlikely that the refrigerator would be filled with whipped cream. 'What would Princess Celestia need to see me for? What about Twilight? Is this about my attempt to steal Twilight's crown? If so, why now, months after the Fall Formal?' These questions bombarded her all night. She finally fell into a nightmare filled sleep. In each one of them, Princess Celestia banished Sunset to one place or another for her crimes.
Sunset woke up feeling tired and beat. She wished she hadn't wrote to Twilight that she would be in Equestria that day. 'No turning back now' she thought and sighed inwardly.
Sunset and Pinkie were waiting by the statue for everyone to come. Fluttershy was the first to come, Applejack second, Rainbow Dash third, and Rarity last. Each said their goodbyes to Sunset.
"Bye. I hope it's nice there.", Fluttershy whispered.
"Y'all have a great time there, Sunset!", Applejack said.
"See ya. And if you see the pony me, tell her how awesome her human half is.", Rainbow said.
"We'll see you soon, darling.", Rarity said.
"We'll never forget you. Take care!", Pinkie exclaimed. No one explained to her since it would be useless, although Applejack and Rainbow facepalmed.
'Well, here goes nothing.' Sunset stepped through the portal and it instantly felt like her body was going through a rainbow smoothie. She saw a light at the end and knew she was coming back to her homeland, to her world, and to Equestria.
Something poked Sunset in her side, stirring her. "Five more minutes.", she groaned.
Whoever poked her was giggling. "Twilight, I think she forgot where she was!"
Sunset's eyes shot open. She recognized that voice! But how??
She finally looked up to see a pink, curly-maned pony staring at her. "Pinkie Pie!?"
The pony in question gasped and started talking very fast, but Sunset caught half of her gibberish. "Oh my god, you know my name!...Oh wait, Twilight told me how there was another me where you were! Still, it was surprising to see you say my name since I don't know you...although I guess I do since there's another me!..." The rest was incomprehensible.
A new, familiar voice interrupted Pinkie from her rambling. "Pinkie, I think I should take care of Sunset. Why don't you tell the others she's here?"
"Okie-dokie-lokie!" With that, Pinkie hopped out of the room.
"I'm sorry if Pinkie was a little too much for you, Sunset."
Getting to her hooves, Sunset replied, "It's okay, Twilight. She's like the Pinkie back in the human world."
It was only then that she noticed that Twilight was looking at her funny. "What? Why are you looking at me weird?"
Walking up to Sunset, the alicorn gestured with her hoof and said,"I'm looking at you weird because you have wings!"
Sunset looked at her flanks to realize that it was true! Other than the bags she had brought with her, two feathered wings were folded at her sides. 'What!? How did this happen?' she thought bewilderedly.
"It's okay, Sunset", Twilight said as she placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "I felt the same way when I first got my wings too."
Sunset was still trying to understand how in the name of Celestiashe, Sunset Shimmer, had gained wings and become an alicorn. She looked into a mirror on the far side of the room, which was a library, and spread her wings. 'I shouldn't have these wings. I don't deserve them! I'm not a worthy alicorn! Not when I when went against Celestia and stole Twilight's crown!'
"I don't deserve it!" Sunset said dejectedly.
"Of course you do", Twilight reassured her. "What I'm concerned about is why do you have wings after coming through the portal? As far as I'm concerned, becoming an alicorn is earned, not just when you walk into another dimension. It doesn't make sense!"
By now, Twilight was pacing the floor. Suddenly, her senses came back to her and she scolded herself for not being a better host. "We'll discuss this later. How about I show you your room?"
Sunset was glad to get the topic out of her head. "Sure."
************
Sunset gaped at the massive room before her. She never expected her bedroom to be this big! She knew Twilight must have put a lot of effort into making Sunset feel welcome since the crystals that made the room were the colors of her mane and cutie mark. The door itself had her cutie mark on it. She felt tears of joy rising and she quickly brushed them away with her hoof.
"So, how do you like it?" Twilight asked, turning to Sunset. "It was all Rarity's idea. She said that your room should reflect you. It was a lot of hard work too. It's not easy to find a spell that could change a crystal's color!"
"It's perfect, Twilight."
Gazing around the room again, she noticed a full length mirror in the corner and a desk as well. She used her magic, however hard it was, to move her bags over to the desk and walked over to the mirror. She stared at her newly gained wings and sighed. She wasn't as confused as she was before about the wings, but she still had questions.
Twilight noticed Sunset's demeanor and said, "How about I introduce you to the rest of my friends and then we can have Spike send a message to Princess Celestia about your new...development?"
"Sure, why not? I do want answers about this." Sunset said as she gestured to her wings.
************
"Wow, you sure have a large castle" Sunset said as Twilight led the way.
"I don't think I've even seen all of the rooms!" Twilight joked. "Here we are. This is the map room as we call it. It's also the throne room."
Sunset expected Twilight's throne room to be similar to Princess Celestia's throne room. She was in for a surprise. Twilight's throne room wasn't even half the size of Princess Celestia's, and in the middle of the room, there were six thrones, seven if you count the small one, in a circle with a glowing projection of Equestria in the center. Each one of Twilight's friends were in a throne with their cutie mark at the thrones' peak. Even Spike had a throne!
"Everyone, this is Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, these are my friends", Twilight introduced.
The first to speak up was Applejack."Well, howdy there Sunset. Name's Applejack. And any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine."
Rainbow Dash spoke up next, of course with the same ego human RD had. "Nice to meet ya, Sunset! Name's Rainbow Dash. Also known as the fastest flier in Ponyville!"
She was followed up with Rarity. "Hello dear. My name is Rarity. Sunset, darling, we heard so much about you from Twilight. It's fabulous that we could finally meet you in person."
Fluttershy, staying true to her name, murmured a few words of welcome. "Hi Sunset. My name's Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you."
Pinkie Pie, of course, happily welcomed Sunset. "Hiya Sunset! I'm Pinkie Pie, but of course you already know that! We already met and you were like..."
Twilight interrupted Pinkie's long introduction by clearing her throat. "I'm glad that everyone has met Sunset and she'll be staying here for about two days."
Pinkie gasped and said, "Two days! I need more time if I'm gonna host a 'Welcome Back to Equestria' party!" With those words, she practically leapt over everyone and hurried out the door.
"Is she normally like that?" Sunset asked.
Everyone in the room nodded their heads. Twilight then broke the silence by telling them of Sunset's new wings, which everyone in the room gawked at. 'How did they not see them before?' Sunset wondered. Twilight then instructed Spike to write a letter to the Princess concerning when their meeting with the Princess would be and that she had some questions about 'something new that came up', obviously talking about Sunset's wings. Spike sent the letter and a few moments came and went before Princess Celestia replied.
"Dear Twilight,
Sunset, you, and I will have our meeting tomorrow. For today, I want you to show Sunset around Ponyville and for you two to catch up with one another. Concerning your questions with what came up, I would like to hear that when we have our meeting.
From,
Princess Celestia"
Twilight finished reading the letter and noticed that Sunset was looking rather nervous. She knew Sunset had to be worried about her wings and how she could appear in public with them. She used her magic to create an illusion spell that hid Sunset's wings.
"Thanks, Twilight. I don't know what I would've done if I had gone out in public with wings." Sunset said in a rather relieved voice. Then, her voice quickly changed to a more annoyed tone. "You could've told me first before casting that spell, y'know."
"You're welcome. It was no problem. Do you want to see Ponyville now?"
"Hey, why not? It has been years since I saw Equestria."
Applejack left for Sweet Apple Acres, Rarity left for Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy left for her cottage, and Rainbow left for her cloud mansion. Twilight and Sunset travelled around Ponyville, meeting different ponies. While they went around the quaint little town, each shared their most recent adventures. Neither of them spoke of Sunset's new status as an alicorn and the illusion never faltered all day.
************
The sun was readying to set when the two alicorns returned to Twilight's castle. The two alicorns admired the sunset before going inside. Oddly enough, none of the lights were on.
"Huh. That's odd. There's usually at least one light on. Where's Spike? Spike!" Twilight wondered aloud.
"Don't worry. I think I saw a light-switch somewhere," Sunset said as she fumbled around.
Suddenly, the lights flashed on. Sunset and Twilight were blinded momentarily by the sudden light.
"Surprise!" A chorus of voices cheered.
Sunset's eyes adjusted to the light and she realized at least half of Ponyville was in Twilight's castle! She noticed all of the party decorations and realized Pinkie must've put together that 'Welcome Back to Equestria' party she mentioned earlier.
Pinkie bounced up to Sunset and excitingly asked,"Were you surprised? Were you? You must've been surprised since you looked so surprised when we said 'Surprise'!
"Yes Pinkie, I was surprised. I didn't expect you to throw a party today," Sunset answered.
A confetti cannon shot another round of confetti, causing Sunset to jump and spread her new wings. The illusion spell broke. Luckily for her, no pony noticed. Sunset backed away from the crowd, making sure she didn't draw undue attention to herself. Once she was on an empty hallway, she galloped down the corridor, trying to reach her room. 'Horse apples! Where is my room?!' she thought to herself.
************
By sheer luck, she found her way to her room and quickly slammed the door behind her. She looked into the mirror. Her wings were no longer concealed. She was glad no pony had seen her wings. She had enough worries about her relationship with Princess Celestia. She didn't need another problem.
"That was perfectly normal. No need to worry. No one saw you and that's what's important. Right?" Sunset muttered as she climbed into bed. Hopefully, no one would go and try to find her in her room. Sunset fell into a nightmare filled sleep for the second time. This time, however, it was about her new alicorn status. 'This is natural. You're an alicorn, big deal. It has nothing to do with your past. Stop worrying!'
She tried to convince herself of this all night through her nightmares, but she failed every time. What had started as a dreaded meeting with Princess Celestia was turning into a web of nightmares for Sunset Shimmer. And no one could stop it, except her.
'I wish I could turn back time!' Sunset thought for the thousandth time since waking up to find her sheets drenched in sweat. 'Then, I wouldn't have made the choice to go! Ugh! Why does life hate me?!' She knew wishing and complaining wouldn't help, but it was better than panicking about her first meeting with Princess Celestia since she abandoned her studies.
On the other hand, Twilight was psyched to go. She had so many questions about the quickly planned meeting and about Sunset's new wings as well. She kept on staring at the clock and the front doors, awaiting the chariot Princess Celestia had insisted they take. The usually patient princess was impatiently waiting.
"Ugh! If I wait any longer, I'll go crazy!" Twilight complained as she paced in front of the doors.
"I think you already did," Spike muttered under his breath.
"Huh? What was that, Spike?"
"Nothing!"
"Okaay."
Finally, she heard the sound of hooves. She practically threw the door open on poor Spike. If the door had regular hinges, they would have been torn off. Luckily, the hinges were made of crystal, like the rest of the castle.
"Oops. Sorry, Spike."
Twilight's attention was taken from Spike as the royal guards bowed and one of them began to speak.
"Princess Twilight, we are ready to depart to Canterlot whenever you are ready."
"Thank you, gentlemen. We'll be right out."
Twilight checked Sunset's room only to find it locked. She tried using her magic to open the door, but to no avail.
"That's peculiar," Twilight said to herself. "Sunset, are you in there?"
A distracted Sunset answered from inside the room. "Yeah, I'm here. What is it?"
"The chariot is here to take us to Canterlot."
Sunset sighed. "Okay. I'll be right out."
"I'll be up front if you go to look for me."
Sunset finally dragged her gaze from her new wings. 'I'll never get used to these things.' She double checked herself in the mirror. She didn't want Princess Celestia to think that her former student lacked dignity and respect. She made her way to the front. Twilight had helped her learn the illusion spell, so the guards didn't notice anything unusual about her as she got in the chariot. The chariot took off, and Sunset wondered about what Princess Celestia's reaction would be to her wings. Sunset wondered why Princess Celestia even wanted to see her. Hopefully, it wasn't to punish her. Sunset tried to have hope, but she couldn't get the nagging feeling of dread and foreboding out of her mind.
"Have a nice trip!" Spike called as the chariot lifted into the sky.
"We'll try," Sunset murmured.
************
Meanwhile, Princess Celestia stared out the window of the throne room, awaiting her two former students. She was grateful no one saw her, for a tear fell to the floor while she was lost in thought. She heard a light knock on the throne room's doors. The princess almost didn't notice, that is until a second knock followed the first.
"Enter."
Princess Celestia's gaze never left the window. She didn't need to turn around to see who it was, for she already knew. "What are you doing here, Luna?"
"Is that any way to greet your sister?" Princess Luna asked with fake indignation as she walked over to her sister. Luna spoke again, but this time, she spoke with seriousness. No playfulness remained in her voice. "To answer your question, I am here to ask you something."
"What is it, Luna?"
"Are you sure this is the right time to tell them?" Luna asked quietly.
Celestia stiffened at the question, but her voice betrayed none of her emotions. "Yes, I believe this is the perfect time to tell them." Luna noticed her sister's emphasis on the word 'perfect'. Celestia paused and sighed. She resumed, but with none of her previous hardness. In fact, to Luna, it seemed sad and desolate. "Even if they hate me for lying to them, I must tell them the truth sooner or later." Celestia was no longer facing the window and Luna could see a depressed look in her eyes. Luna wished that there was a way she could help lighten her sister's mood, but she knew it was best if Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer knew the truth sooner. Suddenly, she had an idea.
"Tia, if it's okay with you, can I join you in this meeting?"
That did the trick. Celestia smiled at Luna and nodded. Celestia felt better, knowing that Luna would be beside her when the confession was out. Their moment of peace was shattered when somepony knocked on the door. This time, it was Luna who answered.
"Enter."
A guard entered and bowed. "Your Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer are here for the meeting."
Looking at Celestia and seeing the stiff posture she put herself in, Luna answered, "Would you send them in here please? And make sure no one disturbs us?"
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Turning to her older sister, she asked, "Are you sure this is what you want, Tia?"
Celestia's voice was full of pain, but it also held a firmness. There was no reasoning with her to make her turn back. "I'm positive, Lulu."
As much as Luna wanted to smile because her sister had used her nickname, she couldn't when she looked at Celestia's depressed state. She knew it wasn't going to be easy for her sister to confess her secret to Twilight and Sunset, but that was why she was there. Luna wanted to spare Tia some of the pain and be the one to tell them. Of course, there was bound to be accusations and questions. Luna wanted to answer those questions, if only for her sister to be spared the pain. In truth, she wanted Tia to be in a different room and for Luna to be the one to confess the secret. Tia helped Luna get past her fear of turning back into Nightmare Moon, and this could be her way of saying 'thank you'. However, Celestia already made her stand and Luna knew she wouldn't be inclined to do as Luna wanted. Luna stared out the window along with Celestia and what they saw was...shocking, to say the least.
The two normally composed alicorns, more or less in Luna's case, looked on with bewildered faces. What made the two immortals gawk in surprise was Sunset Shimmer. Or more specifically, that she was running away from the castle with Princess Twilght and a dozen Royal Guards on her tail. Both alicorns stared at the scene and shared a glance with each other.
Both had the same thought. 'What in the name of Equestria had happened in the few minutes we talked together?'
Without a second thought, the alicorns spread out their wings and launched themselves out the window.
************
5 minutes ago,
"Look, Sunset! There's Canterlot!" Twilight exclaimed. "Aren't you excited?"
"Yeah. Excited to get it over with," Sunset mumbled. She didn't mean to sound blunt, and truthfully she was having an army of emotions battling the anticipating meeting.
They landed in front of the palace in the next minute. The guards escorted them to the throne room and one of the guards knocked on the door. Sunset expected Princess Celestia's calm, quiet voice to answer. Instead a brisk (and rather loud) voice answered. Sunset felt like she knew that voice, and then it struck her. 'Princess Luna! Wait, why's she in the throne room? Is she going to be in the meeting as well?'
Sunset couldn't help her curiousness, so she turned her back to everyone and tried casting an eavesdropping spell. To her surprise, she found it easier to cast the spell than before she left this world. 'Probably because of my 'new development'.'
She focused her attention on the interaction between the guard and Princess Luna.
Sunset heard the guard first. "Your Majesty, Princess Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are here for the meeting."
She was surprised to hear Princess Luna answer for her sister. "Would you send them in here please? And make sure no one disturbs us?"
Sunset cut off the spell right then, not hearing Princess Luna's words to her sister. A flurry of questions filled her head. 'Why does Princess Luna want to be in the meeting? It was only supposed to be me, Princess Celestia, and Twilight! Why can't we be disturbed?'
These thoughts were bothersome, but one question terrified her. 'Did Princess Celestia intentionally let Princess Luna enter the meeting at the last minute?! So I would agree to go and they could carry out some punishment for me?' It was a distorted thought, but Sunset had already succumbed to her fears. She was so lost in thought, she barely noticed that she was slowly backing away from the throne room.
"Sunset! Where are you going?" Twilight asked with concern.
Sunset didn't hear the concern. She answered hotly, "Anywhere but here!"
With that, she ran toward the castle's front doors, her fear making her run faster...and lose concentration on the illusion spell. Sunset didn't notice as she burst through the doors and ran in a random direction. What she also failed to notice was Twilight on her tail.The guards at the castle's doors looked at the scenario bewildered and gave chase. Even in her frenzied state, she turned her head back once in a while to fire a spell. None of them hit their mark. After a few misses, she curved around a bend and was met face to with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. She turned back to see Twilight and the guards.
'Horseapples! I wished I'd taken my time to learn using these stupid wings! Good thing I'm an expert in magic.'
She saw a row of rooftops in the distance, offering a good getaway. She charged her magic and let loose a force field that pushed back the other ponies, including the princesses. She teleported to the rooftops and ran across them. She kept running, not caring if she was crying her eyes out. She didn't care about anything except getting far away from Canterlot and the princesses. A midnight-blue wall-like force field appeared in front of her and she was running so fast, she couldn't stop or change direction. So she blasted it. It didn't work and she was covering up the distance between her and the force field.
Seeing no other option, she spread her wings and tried to take off. She flapped them and kept running. At the last second, she managed to get over the force field with the momentum. She still flapped her wings as her pursuers gained on her. The wind from her running served her well in taking off, but she had barely flown a few meters before a gust of wind knocked her out of the sky.
In her panic, she couldn't use her magic. She would probably die when she hit the ground. Sunset closed her eyes, anticipating the feeling of broken limbs.
It never came.
Sunset cautiously opened her eyes to see herself enveloped in a golden light. She couldn't take anymore, so she did what she felt like doing.
She fainted.
************
"Is she okay?"
That was the first thing Sunset heard when she woke up. 'Why was I asleep?'
And then it all came back to her. 'Oh horseappples.'
"Sunset! You're awake!"
Sunset got to her hooves and looked around. It seemed like they were in the castle garden. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were behind Twilight, who was anxiously staring at her.
"Yes, Twilight. I'm awake and okay."
All three princesses released a sigh of relief.
"You had us very worried, Sunset Shimmer," Princess Luna said. "If I may ask, what made you so agitated?"
Sunset flinched. She was still wary, but her mind was no longer clouded. She took a deep breath before answering. "I overheard you tell the guard to make sure no one disturbed us and I panicked, thinking you and Princess Celestia were about to punish me for my misdeeds in the past."
Sunset was eyes were downcast. Princess Luna lifted Sunset's chin and said softly, "I have done worse deeds than your own and it was only when I forgave myself that I stopped worrying about such things."
Sunset felt more at ease. But she still had doubts. "If it is fine with you and Princess Celestia, could we have the meeting out here?"
Princess Luna looked surprised, but after a nod from her sister, she also nodded. The four alicorns each took a seat on the grass and Princess Celestia made a sound proof barrier around them. Princess Luna cast an anti-eavesdropping spell on the barrier and ordered the guards to leave them in peace.
Princess Celestia started it off. "It seems that the 'something new that came up' was about Sunset's new wings, am I correct?"
Twilight made sheepish face and told the princesses everything starting from when Sunset first came through the portal. "...And I thought that you might know about why this happened," she concluded.
Princess Celestia was as ridged as a stone. The two younger alicorns noticed this and exchanged a glance with each other. Princess Luna quickly filled in.
"We both may know why this has happened to Sunset and it concerns why we had this meeting in the first place...You remember your families, correct?"
Sunset and Twilight were both baffled. Sunset asked, "With all due respect, Princess Luna, but what do our families have to do with my wings?"
Princess Luna sighed and glanced at her sister before continuing. "Because...they're not you're real families."
The silence that followed was so thick that one could've heard a pin drop in the grass.
Sunset broke the silence as she asked in a wavering voice, "Th-then who's our real families?"
Princess Luna started to answer. "Your moth-"
She only made that far before Princess Celestia stopped her.
Her voice was quiet and filled with sadness. "I think I'd better tell them, Luna...Sunset, Twilight, I'm your mother."
Sunset mind was reeling and she felt as if somepony had dropped a ton of bricks on her. 'Princess Celestia.....my mother? Twilight's mother?! Then....we're-'
Twilight and Sunset exchanged a glance, coming to the same conclusion. They then looked at Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They both opened their mouths, but no sounds came out. Neither could comprehend what they had heard.
Princess Luna wore an expression of understanding while Princess Celestia wore an expression of pure sadness and grief. Princess Luna was surprised that neither Twilight or Sunset was shouting accusations, or questions in the former's case.
Twilight snapped out her shock first. Seeing Princess Celestia's expression, she knew it was true. And to think, she had been looking forward to this meeting! In spite of her confusion, she found her curiosity getting the better of her.
Sunset couldn't believe it. She felt anger well up in her. All this time, she had trusted Princess Celestia! She thought she was the one at fault coming into the meeting, but Princess Celestia was at more fault than her! And to top it off, she had even had both of them as her students! Couldn't she have had said something then instead of now?!
"Princess Luna, i-is it true?", Twilight asked shakily.
Princess Luna opened her mouth to answer, but Sunset cut her off. "Of course it's true, Twilight! Think about it! She had both of us as her students! She acted like our mother! She saw us as her daughters the entire time! Even after she abandoned us! I don't she even thought about our feelings!"
"SILENCE!" Princess Luna yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice, fanning out her wings for emphasis. If not for the sound-proof barrier, the glass within 100 meters would've shattered. Unfortunately for Twilight and Sunset, the Royal Canterlot Voice nearly burst their eardrums and Sunset was stunned by the intensity of Princess Luna's command.
Princess Luna continued, but without the Canterlot Royal Voice. "This is why I came along. I knew there would be some....difficulties explaining this to you two. Ask ahead, but no accusations or insults about my sister." She glared at Sunset at that last part.
Princess Celestia had not moved from her spot and it didn't seem like she had heard anything. But as Princess Luna finished her instructions, (if you could call them those) she looked over at Sunset and Twilight, the former wearing an expression of anger and the latter an expression of pain.
Their expressions reminded her of how much she had kept from them and also events she would rather forget. Sunset's expression matched her mood back when she was denied ascension. Twilight's expression reminded Princess Celestia of Cadance's wedding rehearsal where everyone abandoned her to comfort Cadance, who was Chrysalis in disguise. She had failed them so many times before, yet her biggest mistake was not telling them sooner.
Her heart twisted with regret at the sight before her. She couldn't hold back the waterfall of tears any longer.
Sunset's and Twilight's expressions changed to disbelief as they saw Princess Celestia crying. Sunset had never seen the regal diarch cry before while Twilight had only seen her cry twice before, and one of those instances was the result of a flashback potion. Never had either seen Princess Celestia so grief-stricken.
Sunset almost felt sorry at what she had done, but then the image of her and Princess Celestia standing side by side when she was a mere filly slipped its way into her mind. 'I'm not wrong. She did always see us as her daughters! Even though, we didn't! Obviously, she didn't care for us enough to take care of us herself!'
Twilight gazed hesitantly at Princess Celestia, her supposed birth mother before opening her mouth to ask a question that bothered her very much. "Prin-"
"Twilight, I don't think it's appropriate to address her by 'Princess' any more," Sunset said sarcastically with a sneer. Twilight recoiled at the venom in the remark. Sunset was sounding like the bully she used to be at CHS! She composed herself and gave an uncharacteristic smirk.
"Well, if you have any problem with it, why don't you be the one to call her by the appropriate title?," Twilight retorted before turning to Princess Celestia. Sunset scowled at the comeback, unable to come up with anything else. The smirk disappeared from Twilight's face as she asked, "Princess, why did you send us away? Couldn't we have grown up in the castle by your side?"
Princess Celestia flinched slightly, as if Twilight had attacked her. She said in a barely audible voice, "My daughter, I was afraid for your safety. If I had raised you myself, many enemies would see it as an opportunity to attack Equestria. And also because of all the turmoil it would cause in the country."
Twilight wasn't satisfied with that answer, and she felt that Princess Celestia was hiding something. She didn't push it though. It would eventually come up. Sooner or later.
Sunset had no such qualms. She asked in a loud, demanding voice, "Why can't you tell us the truth?!" She stomped her hoof, not caring that the pony in front of her was the co-ruler of Equestria. "You've kept this secret from us for far too long. Even when you didn't raise us yourself, we were your students! How were we supposed to be in any less danger than if you did raise us as your daughters?!"
Sunset's words infuriated Princess Luna. No pony had ever dared to yell at her sister. But in her somber state, Celestia gave her a glance that warned her not to use the Royal Canterlot Voice again.
While Sunset was still fuming, Twilight asked uneasily, "Princess, why did you send me on so many dangerous missions if you truly cared for my safety?"
Princess Celestia hesitated slightly before answering. "I sent you on the missions to see whether or not you were ready for ascension, my dear daughter. I would never let you truly get hurt. I was always watching from the heavenly dimension you were given ascension."
"So...you would've intervened if I was in danger?", Twilight asked hesitantly.
"I would have," Princess Celestia said as she nodded solemnly.
Visibly relieved at that statement, Twilight asked another question that had been nagging her. "Princess, who's our father?"
There was a stone silence.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna seemed to be rather on edge with the question while Sunset merely raised an eyebrow at the question.
Finally, Princess Luna answered for her sister. "Ahem. You see...your father is well...uhm...the ruler of another...well...Equestria."
Twilight nodded and closed her eyes, putting two and two together. Her eyes shot up as she realized what Princess Luna was getting at. Her mouth gaped, but no words formed.
Meanwhile, Sunset was immensely confused. Another Equestria? What?!
"Could somepony explain to me what's going on? And how this relates to our father?", Sunset asked confusingly, unable to hide the curiosity of her voice.
Twilight turned to Sunset, apparently getting over the shock of...whatever she was thinking and delved into the adventure they had through the mirror and into the alternate world.
"....we returned to this world, the mirror pieces were destroyed" Twilight wished Princess Celestia wasn't there so that she could tell Sunset "and everything more or less returned to normal," Twilight concluded.
One could practically see the gears turning in Sunset's mind. She obviously must've come to the same conclusion as Twilight, for she wore the same bewildered blank look Twilight had. She exchanged a glance at Twilight, who nodded, and they looked at the two diarchs.
Sunset started off. "So you're telling us that our father is-"
"-King Sombra from the alternate universe?!", Twilight finished.
Princess Celestia merely nodded. The two young mares gaped. Sunset nearly forgot about her anger at Princess Celestia in the light of this information.
"Er...can I ask something?" Sunset asked warily.
"Of course, my daughter. Now, what is on your mind?"
"First of all, don't call me your daughter. As for the question, do our families know about us being your daughter?" Sunset stated hotly.
Twilight stiffened. No. If Princess Celestia says that they knew, I have some harsh words to say to Shining! Princess Celestia's voice brought her back to reality.
"Well, your parents knew that you were adopted, but that's all. I had disguised myself as a young unicorn mare when I gave you away, so they wouldn't know that you are royalty. And no, Twilight, your brother doesn't even know that you were adopted." She had said that last statement with a hint of knowingness.
Twilight didn't even ask how Princess Celestia knew about her thoughts. She wouldn't be the co-ruler of Equestria if she didn't know about such things.
Sunset merely snorted and said in a rather disgusted voice, "Oh, so you had to disguise yourself when you abandoned us. Shame that even the ruler of Equestria hides her secrets."
Princess Celestia flinched. Princess Luna could barely take anymore nonsense from Sunset. If not for the fact that her sister had specifically warned her not to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, she would've used it a long time ago.
She composed herself and glared at Sunset before speaking. "I know that you must feel like your life is a lie, but that is no reason to have such a demeanor towards my sister. She did what she thought was best for you two. Believe me, it came as a shock to me as well."
Sunset had an expressionless face. Her voice was quiet but it held all the venom in the world. "The best thing she could've done for us was tell us the truth."
Deciding to cease the eerie mood, Twilight had one last question to ask. "Princess, you've said that we're your daughters......But you never said if-"
She was cut off as out of nowhere, a sky-blue flash signaled a teleportation spell.
Princess Luna had been aware of rustling in the bushes, but she had thought they were merely rabbits or squirrels. She was proven wrong when she noticed the sky-blue flash of a teleportation spell. The problem was that the flash receded inside the barrier.
She turned to the three other alicorns and said in a grave voice, "It seems that the secret is out."
The four alicorns stared at the spot where the eavesdropper had listened in on their conversation. All of them had a sense of dread building in them and each had the same thought.
'The secret's out.'
************
In the Canterlot Library, a unicorn with a hooded cloak was inconspicuously looking through a book of magic spells.
'Hmm...temporary wings, no...potions, no...illusions, no but might come in handy...aha, appearance altering spells! 'In order for a unicorn to cast this spell temporarily, they must think the words 'change' and 'shift' while imagining the image of what they wish to take the appearance of. The guise will wither away exactly 24 hours after the spell is cast if the caster does not strip away the guise beforehand. Caution: Requires Intense Focus and High Level Magic. Do not attempt if you are not experienced enough.' Interesting. Might want to keep this book on hand.'
The unicorn walked to the front counter where a cream-colored unicorn with glasses was reading a book. The red-maned mare with purple streaks in her mane was so engrossed in the book, she didn't notice the hooded unicorn coming up to the counter. It was only when the unicorn spoke that the mare noticed.
"Excuse me dear, are you the librarian?"
"Oh...no, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," the mare said apologetically as she sat up looking startled.
"No need to say sorry dear. I can see you're quite the reader. So, where is the librarian? I wish to check out a book that has caught my interest," the hooded figure asked.
"She called in sick. I'm in charge for today," the mare said as she magically scanned the book and gave it back to the unicorn.
"Oh. She must trust you a lot to allow you to manage the library on your own. What's your name, dear?"
"My name's Moondancer. It's not that she trusts me to manage the entire library, but she trusts the pony who allowed me access to the east tower...Princess Twilight. She managed to get a word in for me and here I am," the mare said.
The hooded figure questioned further with a bit of surprise. "Oh, are you a friend of the princess?"
"Well, yes."
If not for the hood covering the unicorn's face, Moondancer would have seen the devilish grin and twinkle in the eyes of the figure.
"Well, thank you kindly, Moondancer. I hope we meet again soon," the unnamed unicorn said. 'You've given me more valuable information than this book could ever give me! Imagine! The princess of friendship's friend! Oh, this tidbit of information will certainly help me!' The figure was absolutely giddy on the inside, but showed no sign of it in their expression or words.
The unicorn rushed away before Moondancer could ask for their name. Moondancer simply shrugged and continue reading.
************
The four alicorns headed back to the castle in stone silence, each lost in their thoughts.
Sunset groaned inwardly as a thought crossed her mind. 'If that was a journalist, this will be all over the newspaper by tomorrow.' She still felt angry at Princess Celestia. In fact, if she hadn't had that meeting with them, everything would be blissful. No wings, no revelation, nopony snooping on them, and no worries. 'I wish. Why does fate hate me so?'
Twilight, on the other hand, was far less...enraged at the revelation. Her heart was rather saddened though. She wasn't mad at Princess Celestia like Sunset was, but she was rather heartbroken to hear such a confession. On the other hand, she was having a difficult time accepting Princess Celestia as her mother. She had always saw Princess Celestia as her mentor and second-mother, but not her actual mother. And what of the mysterious eavesdropper that had listen in on their conversation? Who was it? What could they gain from that knowledge? The only reasonable answer she could think of was a journalist that was desperate for a story. After all, it was risky to spy on the princesses.
They had tried picking up a trace of the magic. Alas, whoever it was, they had cast an anti-tracking spell on their magic. It was rather high-level magic as well. The Royal Sisters eventually could break the spell, but it was only faintly traced back to the hustle and bustle of Canterlot. They lost the trace as it became more crowded.
Sunset barely even bothered to cast the illusion spell, but Twilight convinced her otherwise. Just because one pony knew Sunset was an alicorn didn't mean that everypony knew. And she intended to keep it that way for as long as she could.
The guards at the gates let them pass into the throne room. They came looking for a solution to their problem, but none of them had any good ideas on what to do. They locked the doors and this time, they made sure no pony was inside the sound-proof barrier besides themselves.
As the four alicorns got comfortable, Luna cleared her throat and began to speak. "We are all aware of the current situation. Somepony is in possession of valuable information that was revealed during that meeting in the gardens. Whatever we must do, we must act quickly. We have no idea of their intentions with that information. Putting that aside, does anypony have any ideas?"
When no one answered, Luna's posture slumped. Letting out a sigh, she glanced out the window to avoid the eyes of her sister and nieces. 'If the media gets wind of this, who knows what might happen tomorrow or the day after?
The silence was broken as Twilight cleared her throat to speak. "All we know so far about the unicorn is that their aura is sky-blue, and they have high-level magic. Not much to go on. I propose that we continue on normally and turn down any accusations should the unicorn tell the public."
Turning to Sunset, Twilight said, "I think you should stay in Equestria a little while longer, Sunset."
"But-" Sunset was cut off by the stern look in Twilight's eyes. "Ugh. Fine."
************
'Time for my plan to play out. Soon, I'll have my revenge and nopony will stop me!'
The unicorn's hood fell back, revealing a light pink unicorn mare with moderate persian blue eyes. The mare's mane and tail were two shades of purple with streaks of pale turquoise.
The mare cast the appearance altering spell in a dark alley. She discarded the cloak and walked out of the alley looking completely different. Her once pink fur was now cream-colored and her mane and tail were red with purple streaks. To finish it off, she had bought a pair of glasses from a nearby store before casting the spell. Placing the glasses on her muzzle, she summoned a mirror from the saddlebags at her sides. 'Perfect. I've got a good chance of getting behind enemy lines with this disguise. Now to make sure that there aren't two Moondancers running around. Just need to cast a simple memory transfer spell from her to me. Then the rest will work itself out.
She teleported inside the Canterlot Library in a flash of gray-pink energy. Carefully, she made sure that nopony had noticed her entrance. It seemed that everypony had already left. The real Moondancer was still reading her book behind the desk. 'Great. No witnesses.'
Moondancer didn't notice the doppleganger as she read her book. All of a sudden, her head felt weird. She snapped her head up to see a hooded figure using their magic to do something to her head. She was just about to launch her own attack when she noticed that her horn wasn't responding. She realized that she couldn't move. She panicked.
"Oh, is something wrong, Moondancer?" the figure asked in mock concern.
The hooded figure threw off her cloak and Moondancer found herself gawking at her impersonator. She found her voice and glared accusingly at her mirror-twin. "Who are you and why do you look like me?"
The 'other Moondancer' merely smirked and the real Moondancer found herself feeling light-headed. She noticed that her head had stopped feeling weird, but she was getting sleepy really quick. Right before she lost consciousness, the doppleganger released her disguise to reveal her true form and whispered quietly into Moondancer's ear, "I had hoped that we would meet again, dear."
Moondancer's eyes widened and then drooped lower and lower. 'The mysterious figure with no name?!' That was her last conscious thought.
The unicorn stared at the unconscious Moondancer as she cast the appearance altering spell once again and mumbled to herself, "Now to stuff her into some never-used closet. Time for stage two. Good job, Starlight."
Sunset had thought that same sentence over a million times after Twilight said she should stay longer. She had stayed in her room for a few hours (which seemed like days). She finally left her room when her stomach rebelled against her mind.
Dinner was quiet. Sunset didn't make eye contact with anypony, Twilight couldn't make a meaningful conversation, and Spike felt like he missed something. Sunset excused herself after eating half her dinner and trotted to her room.
Twilight sighed. A few hours. That was all it took. Yesterday, they were happy and enjoying Sunset's visit. Now, they were separated by Sunset's wall of despair and were barely talking to each other.
A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts.
"I'll get it!" Spike volunteered.
Spike barely opened the door when it slammed open on him. "Ouch."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Spike. I didn't mean to hit you."
"It's fine. This happens all the time." Spike said while rubbing his head and shooting a glance at Twilight.
Twilight grinned sheepishly at Spike and turned to her visitor. "I didn't expect to find you here, Moondancer. Why aren't you in Canterlot?"
'Moondancer' rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof. "Well, I don't know if you're going to confirm this or not, but- never mind it isn't that important. You'd still be my friend. Anyway, it's nice to see you again." 'Moondancer' stared at the ground in front of her, refusing to meet Twilight's unwavering gaze.
Twilight swallowed the bile in her throat as sweat trickled down the side of her face. 'She couldn't be trying to tell me that! I hope not, anyway. Please, Celestia. Let it be something else.'
"Spike, could you leave us for a moment?"
Spike was perplexed, but he shrugged and left the room.
Despite of her internal turmoil, her voice was calm as she spoke. "It's okay, Moondancer. You can tell me what's going on. I won't judge or anything."
'Moondancer' hesitated, looking up slowly at Twilight. Meeting the alicorn's gaze, she relaxed visibly. "Well...you see, I was locking up the Canterlot Library when I heard some of the elites gossiping."
'Moondancer' hesitated with the next part. "I overheard them saying something about you so I sort of...eavesdropped."
Her ears flattened against her head in shame and her eyes flickered. "They were saying that they just couldn't believe that Princess Celestia would ever do that. How she'd been tricking them for years. Something about you being involved. I didn't really understand, but then...they said it blunt and simple. 'I can't believe Princess Celestia is Princess Twilight's mother! We never even knew of such.' was what they said. I stopped listening because I couldn't really believe it. I got tickets to Ponyville as soon as I could. I-I didn't want to believe it. In my head, I was thinking 'Princess Celestia has been playing us as fools the whole time.' But then, I remembered that you spoke of her so fondly. And here I am."
Twilight simply stared.
Finally finding her voice, she cleared her throat, and said solemnly, "Moondancer, don't tell anypony else about what you heard. It's a good chance that ponies won't exactly listen to what the elites say, but they might listen to you. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."
'Moondancer' looked baffled. In a hushed voice, she asked, "So you're telling me that it's true? It's not just gossip. Th-That you're really Princess Celestia's...daughter?"
Twilight nodded solemnly. "Yes. But I need you to Pinkie Promise not to tell anyone."
'Moondancer' had a confused look on her face. "Pinkie Promise?"
"Yeah, 'Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.' Didn't Pinkie teach it to when we last visited?" Twilight did the motions of the promise as she said it.
"Uhh...yeah. I remember now." 'Moondancer' said with a guilty grin. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She did the motions, copying Twilight's earlier example.
The tension in the room faded away. Both mares sighed in relief. For different reasons, however. Twilight broke the silence as she asked, "Moondancer, would you like to stay here tonight? I know it's awfully late, and Canterlot is a good two hours away. Not to mention it might be harder to get tickets now that it's almost Hearth's Warming Eve."
'Moondancer' smiled. "Thanks, Twilight. You're a great friend."
"Okay, now then. Let me take you to your guest room. Oh, and before I forget, your room is across from...another friend of mine's. She's been a little...traumatized by an incident. So, don't take any of her ruder comments to heart if she insults you."
'Moondancer' was slightly confused, but she nodded in understanding. They walked down the hall in silence, mostly because 'Moondancer' kept gawking at the crystalline structures.
Then, she asked, "So, is there a library here?"
Twilight glanced confusedly at 'Moondancer' before answering. "Yes, there is. Why do you ask?"
"I wanted to do some research on something before I left, but then I heard the elites and you know the rest." 'Moondancer' said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.
"Well, from your room, take a right at the end of the corridor, and it's the third door on the left."
"Thanks, Twilight." 'Moondancer' said with an appreciative smile.
"You're welcome."
************
"Wow. This is so amazing! And this is only a guest room?!"
'Moondancer' gawked at the guest room she was given. It was huge and had a beautiful crystal structure in general.
"Well, I'll leave you now. You remember the way to the front, right?"
"Yeah, I remember. And thanks again, Twilight."
"No problem." And with that, she closed the door behind her.
Making sure Twilight had left, 'Moondancer' chuckled darkly. "No problem indeed, Princess. And soon, you and your little friends will pay the price."
Starlight released her disguise and took off the ugly sweater she wore as part of it. Inside the black sweater, a single gem gleamed. Her eyes flashed a momentary purple before fading away.
"How easy is it to fool you, Princess. Buying my little lie just because it's simply rational. Well, I hope you're ready to be surprised again." Starlight chuckled to herself. She grinned evilly as she remembered a slight comment Twilight had made. 'Now, let's go and 'visit' our little princess's sister, shall we?'
