Sunset Shimmer has made many mistakes. She's been rude to others. She's been completely oblivious to the power that friendship has. And she's turned into a massive, flaming demon of rage and attempted to enslave a small group of teenage students.
Sunset's had plenty of time to learn from her mistakes in the human world, but home is where the heart is, and Sunset Shimmer is ready to see it again.
I've been sitting here for weeks. I've sat around my room just pacing about, looking out the window to see the rush of cars fly by. Those people have lived here their whole lives; they're conditioned to hop in their vehicles and drive to work, and when they're done for the day, they hop in their car and they drive back home. To them, it feels so natural that they don't even realize it; not that you'd know what a car is or anything, but that isn't the point.
I don't feel natural here. In fact, I never have. And now that the whole Friendship Games fiasco is over, and the whole Battle of the Bands ordeal, I've been thinking a lot lately. A lot, and I have something I need to say and I know I'm having a hard time saying it, so let me just back up to the beginning.
Do you remember way back, when you first swept me away from magic kindergarten? I know it was a long time ago, but you're a goddess, so I'm sure you can recall eons of Equestrian history and replay it like a movie. Anyways, we would go through magic training, and you would teach me about all the great magicians like Starswirl the bearded and all those guys. And then we would try some spells that they wrote about in their journals, and at first, when I didn't have nearly the magic capacity to do any of them, I would try SO hard, and I'd come up short. I'd cry, because I wanted to cast those spells SO bad, and you'd do that adult thing and break out the clichés. "It's OK, Sunset, you're doing great!" you'd say. "We'll get 'em next time for sure". After that, you'd take me to the palace kitchen and the baker would make me ice cream.
I could really go for one of those right now. I always wanted mint chocolate chip, and I'd stare in fascination with how he made it. I'd watch him get the ice cream, and use the mint leaves to make the flavor, and then I'd watch him mix it all up. He'd hand it to me, but I wouldn't eat it yet, because he'd go over to the cabinet and grab the chocolate chips and sprinkle them all over in front of me. Man, I really want one of those. I've tried to order them here in the human world, but they taste hollow.
The point I'm trying to make is that, well, everything here is hollow, not just the ice cream. I'd be laying in my bed, staring across the room at a pencil, and I'd spend all day thinking about how if I was over there, I could lift it straight up and bring it over without moving an inch. there's no magic here, Celestia; well, I mean, there is SOME, but not what I'm talking about.
I'm having a bad time right now. I feel like Atlas. Atlas is a mythological figure here in the human world, from a place called Greece. He is said to be doomed to hold the up the sky all for eternity, as punishment for siding against the gods of Greece during a great conflict. I feel like every bad thing, every slur, every damned word that every came out of my mouth is pushing down upon me. My reputation precedes me here; I'm "reformed" now, but I can't go down the halls without someone whispering into the ear of another, and I know my venom has seeped through the school and will never come out again.
I hop in my car. I drive to school. I go to classes now (I didn't beforehand) and I hop back in my car to go home. It doesn't feel automatic.
Celestia, I want to come home. My REAL home. I want ice cream again.
I'm going to tell you a story I have not told anypony else.
I was once in Griffonia on political business about 300 years ago; at the time, there was a minor conflict going on between the Equine and Griffon villages near the border of our nations, and I was hoping to get it all sorted out. I met with the Griffon Emperor at the time, His Excellency Volatus Talon the III. He was a very kind man, and I knew we would eventually get a settlement worked out; we did, but that is of no importance.
We were in the middle of negotiations when one of Talon's generals stormed into the palace. His name eludes me, unfortunately, but more important was what he brought with him; a small griffon who I knew couldn't have been over the age of seventeen. He was filthy, his white feathers the color of the earth, and his tail seemed to have lost a few feathers here and there. I watched in curiosity, because I knew that this griffon had been brought to the palace for good reason, though based on the tide of red that washed across the general's face as he violently jostled the boy to the front of the room, I'm guessed it wasn't for a very GOOD reason.
The general threw him to the floor, and the boy cried out. It was then I knew he wasn't some criminal hardened by the cruelness of the streets, but he was exactly what he looked liked, a confused and scared child who knew he had done something wrong.
"This scullion here was in your wife's quarters, and thought he could make off with all of her valuables. I brought him here so you could look at this thief's eyes and lay upon him judgement yourself," said the general; something of the sort, anyways. Now this was intriguing; I was about to see griffonian justice, and just the type of man Volatus was. What he did next still lasts with me today.
He knelt down, as calm as the eye of raging storm, and he spoke. "What is your name?"
Volatus did not treat this griffon like a common street thug, or like the "scullion" the general claimed he was; he treated him like a griffon. The griffon said his name--I fear I don't remember that, either---and then told his story. He was living on the streets with his mother and four siblings, and he explained that a crime lord in the area promised to get them housing and shelter if they had delivered to him the jewelry of the Queen herself. To me, as an onlooker, it seemed like a typical thief spiel, but Valotus Talon the III did not seem to think so; he sat silent for a moment, and then declared the young griffon free to leave. He was shocked, but scattered out of the palace as quickly as he could, before anyone's mind could be changed.
The general was furious. He raised his voice to ear shattering decibels, and demanded an explanation as to why the King had let him go when the general had clearly caught him in Queen Talon's quarters. The King walked back to his throne and sat upon it, giving a long sigh, before making his case.
"Because I believe, general, that there is almost always a second chance. I looked into that boy's eyes, and I saw that he meant ill upon no one; what would throwing him in jail do? Perhaps he is bright and strong, and will one day contribute greatly to my empire. Perhaps he will always stoop to crime to make his way through life. If I catch him again, then I will see to his punishment...general, I do have one question, if you do not mind me asking." The general was red with anger, though he managed to get a passive aggressive "Yes, your highness?" out through his teeth.
"You are not a guard of this palace. What were you doing in my wife's bedroom?"
I still laugh at that, after all these years, though that last line is of no importance, I assure you. King Volatus Talon the III saw something in that young griffon, and as a result, forgave him for what he had done. I saw something in you, Sunset, the day I took you from your class in magic kintergarden. I saw the best of you. I saw you say the cruelest things, and I saw you do acts I know you regret, but I've also read your letter. Eight times over, in fact, because I miss your friendship letters so much, in the same way that you miss that mint ice cream.
I believe, Sunset, that there is always a second chance. Come home. I'll have everything ready when you step through the portal.
Dimensional travel, despite the romanticized accounts often presented through the science fiction medium, is not an effortless task equitable to snapping one's fingers or taking a step. It was painful; your molecular structure being taken and suddenly reformed in a world entirely different than the one you came from was by no means pleasant. It wasn't something done for kicks; if you were traveling from a one dimension to the other, it was something you needed to do.
I needed to do this. I'd been away from home too damn long, and after all these years, I was ready. I knew that much will have changed, but then again, so have I. In reality, Equestria and I were perfect for each other.
The room was as ordinary as I remembered it. It wasn't lit up, as usual. The walls were dark grey, and I remembered an old wooden bench pushed up against the left side wall; it looked to have been rotting for a little bit, though I wouldn't have expected any less. The mirror I had just entered the room through managed to gleam and shine beautifully, despite the fact that there wasn't a light source to do such a thing. Magic would be magic, I learned, and besides, I had seen this mirror before. I had seen this mirror before, and what I had seen in it before wasn't a reflection; it was a perversion.
That mirror ruined everything.
I laughed to myself at that thought. I had ruined everything, but it had all started with that damn mirror. I saw a beautiful pair of wings sprouting from my back, and promptly convinced myself that I was going to become Equestria's next great ruler. I attached myself to that dream, to that fantasy, and throughout my days as Celestia's protégé, I never let it go. I saw a picture in a damn mirror, and it drove me insane. So insane, in fact, that I actually decided to hop through it to obtain my goal; that's a story for another time, however.
"Miss Shimmer?"
The world catapulted back into view. I blinked twice rapidly, taking in the surroundings of the room once more; I must have been staring at the mirror and zoned out. I rapidly turned around, only to see a problem I didn't believe I was going to run into during my time at the castle.
It was one of Celestia's royal guardsmen, but it was a particular one I knew all too well; Dawning Spear, one of the two ponies guarding Celestia's throne room. Whenever Celestia and I would get into these arguments, verbal shouting matches that seemingly went on for hours on end, I would usually storm out of the room by flinging the door open with my magic, causing the double doors to fly outwards at rather high speeds. I always knew I hit the two guards every time I did it, but one time, Dawning Steel pulled me aside upon my exit. He, calmly asked me to be careful when I opened the doors next time, and that they were hitting him and his friend on the way out.
I must have been having a worse day than usual, because I don't think I've ever unloaded on anypony more than I did Dawning that day. I told him he was nothing, and that if he was destined to be important to this planet he wouldn't be staring at a door for twelve hours straight. It wasn't really different from any other rant; the only reason I remembered it so well was due to the fact that the incident had taken place on my last day in Equestria before hopping through the portal.
"Princess Celestia is waiting for you out on the balcony. I'm to take you there," he said, in his usually gruff voice. It was hard to tell if he was getting old, as his fur was light grey already, though I could just barely make out a few grey streaks in his dark orange mane and tail.
"Dawning..." I began, in a slow voice. I could almost feel the red flooding across my face at the moment. "There's something I gotta tell you--" Before I could finish, Dawning lifted a hoof in the air, signaling me to stop. He gave a reassuring smile to go along with the gesture, and I felt a wave a relief encompass me.
"There's time for that later," he began. "Your mentor longs to see you again."
I expected many things to change during my time in the human world, but the Canterlot Royal Palace was exactly how I remembered it. The long, soft carpet that I knew must have cost a fortune still lined the floor. Artifacts from Equestria's past still adorned the off white walls; Commander Hurricane's sword was positioned on the wall at just the right angle so that the light from the window would always catch the blade. Sure enough, as we walked by it, it still managed to blind me for a split second after all these years; this time, though, I wasn't mad.
We finally reached the maroon velvet stairs that led to the balcony. I had been here before, but none of the memories were pleasant; especially in the days leading up to my departure. I took two steps up, but noticed that Dawning did not ascend with me. I turned to him, his uptight stance still remaining at the bottom of the stairs, and gave him a quizzical look.
"This isn't my climb, Sunset. It's yours. Go on," he said, gesturing upwards. I nodded, and began the slow ascent where all my fears would finally accumulate. With each step, I felt a lump in my throat become more apparent.
It took forever. My vision was flooded with maroon, and every time I turned a corner it greeted me again and again. It should have all made sense; the palace was absolutely massive, and it would logically take about five minutes to reach the top balcony, but to me it seemed as if my nerves were mocking me at the moment, prolonging the flight to the balcony just to see the sweat slowly drip down my face. I could feel it; I could feel everything. Some sort of hypersensitivity was beginning to kick in, and I was certain not to make it happen. I stopped at the stairs, took a few deep breaths, and slowly, my nerves began to calm.
I looked up, and the door to the balcony ominously stood right in front of me.
It was simple. A brown wooden door, although there was a tree-like pattern on it that appeared to be crafted from gold. There was no door handle; it had fallen off long before I had come to the castle, and I never really bothered to ask about it. I looked through the hole where the doorknob used to be, but the only thing I could see was the bright blue Canterlot sky I had missed so dearly.
I breathed in. I breathed out. I Looked at the door one last time, and with all my power and might, I opened the door.
The balcony had always been small. There was a singular, round table, exquisitely crafted from granite, with a mural in the center of it depicting Celestia and Luna rising to the sky amongst the sun and moon. The Princess of the Sun herself sat at the end opposite of me, and, much like everything else here at the castle, she hadn't changed a bit.
Her unfathomably long mane, bursting with colors of pink, teal, and blue, was flowing and swaying in a wind that wasn't there. She still had that huge, imposing figure, even when she was sitting down, and the fact that her horn was almost 3/4ths the size of a baseball bat did nothing to consel me. However, her wide, beaming smile, just like I remembered from my youth, did. My eyes fell off her for just a second, and I caught a glimpse of two small objects on the table, immediately causing my stomach to drop.
Ice cream. Not just any ice cream, but Mint Chocolate Chip. There were two little spoons dug into the middle, just like the kind I used to get when I was little.
I made a promise to myself before I entered the portal. I would not, under any circumstances, cry. I was never fond of showing my emotions too much in public, and I had already done so after my transformation back from that corrupted demon form the elements had created. I promised myself, right before I walked through the mirror, that I would be strong upon meeting Celestia for the first time in years.
It was very sudden. I remembered every cruel, horrid thing I have ever done and said, to everyone, all at once; the slurs, the humiliation, the shouting, all of it, at the mere sight of mint chocolate chip ice cream. An army of emotions violently coursed through my body all at the same time, and I fell to the stone floor and broke down sobbing, tears flowing from my eyes like an Everfree waterfall. I didn't see Celestia's initial reaction--water wouldn't let me see much of anything--but I felt her giant wing wrap around me.
She didn't say anything. That was probably best, now that I think about it, because any words she had for me would have went through one ear and right out the other. I recovered fairly quickly, though I'm sure it was hard to tell whether the red all over my face was from the tears or an extreme case of embarrassment. Either way, I got up from my prone position and slowly made my way to the chair she had laid out for me. Celestia followed closely behind, and took the opposite chair where she had previously sat.
It was my turn for silence. I dug into the ice cream, taking a bite and leaving it in my mouth for quite sometime. It had been so long since anything truly reminded me of Equestria, and at the moment, I couldn't be happier. I knew it couldn't last, though; I had some words to say.
"I had this whole thing planned where I'd say I was sorry," I began to Celestia, who had been silently watching me, in an uneven voice. "But I really don't think it'd be enough. I've done, and said, some horrible things, and there was a time in my life not too long ago that really wouldn't have cared less," I said. Celestia didn't change her expression, though I knew she was still listening.
"It wasn't until your current--former--student showed me what I was missing that I finally understood. I want to stay, Celestia. A few months ago, I know I wasn't ready. But now, I am, and the first thing I need is your forgiveness. Not for you, but for me. So I can finally know."
Slowly, Celestia brought that grin she had back, and reached across the table to once again wrap a wing around me.
"You've been forgiven for quite some time. Welcome home." she said softly.
We talked over ice cream for hours. I told her all she wanted to know about the human world, and what I learned while there, along with describing events like the Friendship Games in vivid detail. She was quite fascinated by some of their customs, but I assured her that they were very much like us. I asked her about Equestria, and what I had missed since I left; she told me I haven't missed much, save for some riveting invasions from a motley crue of dastardly villains, including Chrysalis, Discord (I would have loved to see that) and even King Sombra, ready to take Equestria. Judging by the current state as I saw it, they hadn't succeeded.
It took a while, but there came a topic that I had dreaded once I fully realized my situation.
"I'm delighted you're back, Sunset," said Celestia, still laughing at one of my human world stories. "But I'm not entirely sure where you're going to live. You're old room has been converted into a ballroom, further asserting my point that it did not need to be that big," said Celestia with a smile. I matched it and rolled my eyes; that was one of many tantrums I was glad to put behind me.
I did come up with a living plan before I stepped through the portal. It took a few nights of frustration before I realized how simple the solution was, but dove back into a sea of frustration once I realized that it may not go down very well. I reasoned that it didn't hurt to ask, and I wasted no time once the question was posed.
"Well, I could live with Twilight for the time being," I stated.
Celestia had been taking the very last bite of her ice cream. She stopped dead, leaving it in her mouth for about two seconds, and then slowly finished the process of eating it. She magically levitated her spoon back into the cup which previously contained the ice cream before sitting in an uptight posture and cocking her head to the side in confusion. She only had a word to offer.
"Why?" she asked. I sighed, knowing that the lighthearted nature of the conversation had just tipped his hat and left.
"I don't think I'm done yet, Celestia. You've forgiven me, and that's more than I could ever hope for, but...I think there's more to learn, to understand. It was this world's Twilight that helped me understand the error of my ways. Of course, that was after I turned into a demon--" I got the chuckle from Celestia I was hoping for. "--but it still meant the world to me that she helped me. Listen...I fell real far, Celestia, and I'm only beginning to realize that there's a ladder. I can't climb it alone."
Celestia was looking towards the sky, deep in thought. I couldn't guess what she was contemplating, but whatever it was, it meant that my proposition wasn't as easy as I hoped. I was bracing for impact when she spoke, but the words that came out of her mouth were completely unexpected.
"Sunset, I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of what you've been doing lately," she began. "I've seen countless good natured ponies fall from grace, alienating their friends and becoming mean spirited for the rest of their life. You've not only corrected your errors, but you've understood them, and are taking an active role in becoming the mare I know you truly want to be. It's incredible...but then again, I expect nothing less from a student of mine."
I managed not to cry this time, only giving a sheepish smile. I was about to express some sort of gratitude, but my mentor wasn't quite finished yet.
"Twilight is one of the most genuinely pure hearted ponies I've been lucky enough to know; she'll be glad to have you. How long you stay is entirely up to her, you must understand," she said. I nodded in approval, and she nodded back before reaching to the side of the table. I followed her movement, and saw a simple cardboard box that I hadn't even noticed had been there the entire time.
"Before you go," she began, putting the box up on the table with a thud, "I managed to track down some of your things from a few years back. Let's see..." the first item she pulled from the box was an item I had instantly recognized; and long missed.
Sunglasses seemed mundane to other ponies. They could get lost, stepped on, and broken, so it wasn't an item that many grew attached to. These were a very particular pair, however, because it was the first thing I'd ever bought with my own money, and there was a time in my life where I would scoff at the very idea; knowing what it meant after all this time made me ever happier to see them. Of course, that was mostly a bonus; they looked also looked really cool.
I slipped them on my face, and noticed that they were perfectly preserved; there were no scratches on the lenses, just how I liked to keep them. I looked up at Celestia again only to see a particular item that was far more important; my ukulele.
I was given the ukulele for my sixth birthday. I learned how to play it pretty quickly, and during the time in my life where I was a colossal bitch, I would lock myself in my "room" and play it for hours after Celestia and I had an argument. I would usually pick up things from Equestrian Radio, but on the last Hearth's Warming Eve where me and Celestia were in remotely good graces, she gave me a book of sheet music and chord charts for the instrument. I immediately grabbed it from her levitation and strummed a few chords, noting that, unbelievably, it was still in tune.
"Perhaps I'll play a different song now," I muttered under my breath, though unfortunately, my former mentor heard me. She gave that reassuring laugh I had long for so much, and mechanically I laughed with her.
"I'll let Twilight know that you're coming. She's a little busy today, but she'll know the whole situation before you arrive at the house," said Celestia after the laughter died down. Without even thinking about it, I ran up and hugged her, gripping her tighter than was probably comfortable. I don't know how long it stayed that way, but eventually, we split, and I offered my parting words.
"Thanks, Princess, for everything. I...I'll see you around."
* * * * * *
I knew that Twilight had a moved into a "new place", according to Princess Celestia. I hadn't really heard anything about where Twilight lived during my infiltration (how stupid that seemed now) of Crystal Palace, but I wasn't nearly ready for the colossal structure before my eyes.
It was absolutely massive. It was crafted from this crystal tree of some sort; whatever it was, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It shone and glimmered in the sunlight so perfectly that I had to touch it to see if it was real, and the other part of the house that wasn't the crystal radiated the same way. There were these giant, golden double doors that greeted me upon arrival, which looked taller than some of the trees in the surrounding landscape. On those giant double doors, rather ironically, was a small sheet of notebook paper pinned to the door.
Sunset,
Princess Celestia just told me the news. I'm delighted to have you here, and I would be glad to take you in the castle! It gets considerably lonely sometimes, and you can only take so much of Spike. I have to attend to a civil matter on the outskirts of town (fun!) but I should be done around five thirty. There's a really good restaurant down the street from the old library called the Hay Burger. Meet me there at six for dinner and we'll head back down to the place from there.
See you soon!
Twilight
I looked back up at the palace again, and took a deep breath of Equestrian air. An old quote of Celestia's ran through my head as the golden doors swung inwards; a lesson about Phoenix's that inevitably became one of the Princess's words of wisdom.
A Phoenix, majestic as it is, must be burned to live again.
My mentor once told me that what you did didn't matter, but rather how you reacted to it.
That quote, to me at least, is one of Celestia's most important, based on the fact that I had thought of it so many times throughout my life. Trixie Lulamoon knew that her actions during both her visits were not only mean spirited, but harmful to others. Gilda the Griffon learned from her mistakes, and as a result not only helped herself, but countless other members of her kin. My new student, Starlight Glimmer, had seen what she had wrought upon the world and was horrified at it. Even Discord, the Lord of all Chaos, was able to truly understand the scope of his destruction, and became a better being because of it. I had seen it countless times.
And now, I was about to see it again. Sunset Shimmer was not what I would deem a villain during her time of misconduct, much as I would not call my student a villain during her time of misconduct. A villain, by definition, is "the pony or thing responsible for specified trouble, harm, or damage". I hate that definition, because as we do bad things, we are sometimes not bad ponies. King Sombra is a villain; he is filled with pure hate and darkness, and relished and treasured every vile act he ever committed. Sunset and Starlight are not villains; they were mislead and confused, respectively, and they did a bad thing.
When we first came back from the whole dimension fiasco, Starlight Glimmer was wrought with guilt. No one antagonized her; she antagonized herself, and came to the conclusion that she was this utterly deplorable pony that deserved to rot in Tartarus. It's taken a bit, but Starlight has finally realized that she had always been a good pony, but her hurt and confusion over her friend clouded her mind. The real Starlight Glimmer, once you get to know her, is kind, understanding, and, above all, absolutely hilarious. She's a wonderful pony, and I know that Sunset Shimmer is a wonderful pony as well.
Celestia had sent me the letter earlier that day, and of course, I was rather shocked. Sunset Shimmer was back! I had a conversation with her at one of her favorite human diners, and there was a point in our conversation when she mentioned being homesick. It wasn't a long talk--we laughed it off, even--but I suppose it had overwhelmed her. I've already heard many stories of the "good" Sunset from Princess Celestia, and that was exactly why I was so nervous about this meeting.
To me, Sunset Shimmer, or the one I was about to have dinner with, was a legend. I had know her for a good long while as a cruel being filled with malice, but once she reformed, I'd hardly even talked to her. Sure, there was that time we ate lunch, but that was only a hint, and even then, she wasn't a pony. I was going to meet Sunset Shimmer, the real, authentic Sunset Shimmer, for the first time tonight. And then I was going to live with her.
I had no problem with that. I've done this with friends before, and having Sunset stay until she got back on her hooves was fine by me. I'll meet her tonight, and over the next few months, I'll get to know her well.
So, of course, I needed to be familiar. This restaurant was much like the one we met at back in the human world, the old red booths and checkered walls all around, and while that was the reason I kept telling myself I picked this place, it's really because the Hay Burger was my favorite place to eat on the entire planet and I would use literally any excuse to end up here. Also, now that I've become one of the most powerful beings on the planet, I can eat whatever I want and not get fat. It's wonderful.
I'd been sitting at the table for about ten minutes when I looked up to see my new roommate trotting to the table. It'd had been a pretty long time since I've seen her as a pony, but she was sporting a different look than I had previously seen her in.
She was wearing a black pair of sunglasses that looked really nice; they were the modern shape, and very hipster looking, but I could tell they weren't new. She was wearing a grey scarf that paired perfectly with the shades, giving me my first fact about sunset; she had at least a modern interest in fashion.
At least she'll get along with one of the elements, I thought as I slowly rose from my seat. She beamed upon seeing me, and as soon as she got to the table we she quickly wrapped me in an embrace. We stayed like that for a few seconds before moving to our seats at our small, two pony table near the back on the restaurant.
"You don't know how happy I am to see you. Before we talk about anything, I just...really wanted to thank you for doing this," she said as she removed her sunglasses via magic.
"It isn't a problem at all, Sunset; I'll be happy to have you. I really love the shades, by the way. Where'd you get them?" I asked. She looked down at them fondly, and I could tell already that they were a personal item.
"I bought these seventeen years ago at a shop in Canterlot called "the Lens of the Earth"." I chuckled at the pun, prompting Sunset to do so as well. "Yea, I know, comedy gold. It isn't there anymore, but this was the first item I've ever bought with my own money, back when that mattered to me. That isn't important, though--I'm starving." Sunset looked down at the table before looking back up at me and raising an eyebrow.
"Only one menu?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow.
"Sunset, I practically live here," I answered, which once again prompted us both to break out in laughter. I felt a wave of relief wash over me; this was starting off well. Just as the laughter began to die down, a waitress made her way to our table. She was very young unicorn, and had bright pink fur and a blonde mane the exact color of Applejack's, which she styled in a simple bun.
"Hello, and welcome to Hay Burger! I'm Daisy, and I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you both off with anything to drink?" this was a new waitress, so I'd have to actually put in my orders; a minor inconvenience, and probably for the better in this case.
"I'll have a regular Dr. Sweet," I answered, looking over to Sunset. She didn't need much time to decide.
"Same. I think we're ready to order," said Sunset. I nodded, and the waitress nodded back, flipping a page from her notepad and levitating a pen right above it.
"I'll have a triple hay burger with extra ketchup and a large order of fries, please," I said. The waitress didn't write anything down at first; in fact, she was staring at me oddly, and when I looked over to Sunset, she was doing the same, though she looked even more taken aback. The waitress eventually snapped out of it and wrote the order down, proceeding to turn to Sunset. The mare in question just raised her eyebrows in looked down at the menu.
"I'll take the regular hay burger with nothing on it. That'll be it," she said. The waitress nodded and began to walk back towards the kitchen. Sunset looked back at me in amusement.
"Damn, Twilight! Did you starve yourself before you got here?" she asked with a smile. I had been anticipating the question.
"Since I became a Princess, quite a few things have changed. My magical power has increased considerably with the addition of Pegasi wings and Earth Pony strength, and my metabolism has increased rapidly as well, along with my appetite. I was kind of a big eater before, but now, its been increased ten-fold. If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to answer them," I said. Sunset nodded in understanding before raising her hoof.
"I just have one more question," she said. I replied for her to go ahead, and she asked me a question that gave me yet another look into the personality in Sunset Shimmer.
"Do you still go into heat?" she asked.
There's a part Dash will like about her, I thought. I rolled my eyes with a grin.
"Yes, Sunset, I do. Anything else?" I asked. Sunset leaned back in a chair with a mischievous look on her face not unlike some of those I've seen from Rainbow Dash over the years.
"No, that's it," she said. I gave an eye roll again before asking a much more serious question.
"Enough about me, then. Is there anything in particular I should know about my new roommate?" I asked. With that question, Sunset looked up to the roof in thought.
"Well, I've been told that I snore, when I can actually sleep," she began. "I'm a massive hoofball fan, so I'll want the radio on Sunday's. Hmm...I love table top games; Chess, card games, Property, Monsters and Magic, you name it. Oh, and I play the ukulele. That about covers it," she finished. She had this twinkle in her eye, and I knew that she was actually grateful and excited she was back in Equestria. I decided to continue with a pleasant subject.
"Do you have a favorite band?" I asked inquisitively. Sunset nodded.
"I'm literally obsessed with the Ants. Yourself?" she asked. I raised my eyebrows in amusement, and tried to hold back a smile; I couldn't, and as a result, Sunset cocked her head to the side in confusion. This was certainly not something I was planning on, but this was something I rarely did for anypony; I leaned to the side of my seat and levitated my purse from it's place at the side of the chair onto the top of the table.
"Let me show you something," I said. Sunset was still suspicious, but watched intently as I unzipped the bag with magic. After feeling for it, I pulled from the bag one of my most prized possessions, and a family heirloom; an old photograph of the Ants themselves, signed by all four members of the band. I levitated it over to Sunset, who upon realizing what it was, immediately gaped in shock.
"No way!" she said, feeling the photo with her hoof. "How did you get this?" My smile must have turned to a radiant beam; I loved telling this story.
"Well, as you know, the Ants broke up years and years ago, and stopped playing concerts even before that. BUT, my father, Night Light, went to go see them at the Canterlot Coliseum right after they released their second album and took Equestria by storm. He was in the lawn area where there were no seats, and he was right at the front row. It was there, at this Ants concert, that my father sat right next to a lovely mare by the name of Twilight Velvet." Sunset Shimmer gave a silent "aw" and put a hoof to her chest.
"Well, Twilight was a photographer, and so as the Ants began to play "I Wanna Hold Your Hoof" she took a picture. It was one of those instantly developing polaroid cameras, so she grabbed it and put it in her bag she had brought. When the song was coming to an end and the Ants hit their last chorus, my dad...well, he grabbed her hoof." Sunset's "aw" was not silent this time; I gave her a nod signifying that I, too, thought it was adorable.
"Well, they went to dinner that night at a classic pizzeria, and they hung out at the entrance for a pretty long while. As they're talking, lo and behold, Star Ring, their drummer begins to walk up to the place, followed by the rest of the band. My parents told them how much they loved the concert, and the band signed this polaroid photo. It's become a family heirloom of sorts, and the reason I got it was because the Ants are my favorite band, too," finished. Sunset looked back down at the picture in awe.
"That is so cool! And adorably sweet..." once she said that last line, I noticed her smile faded for just a moment before coming back.
That's interesting. Why would those phrases bother her? I asked to myself as I levitated the photo back into the purse, which in turn was put back at the side of my chair. Impeccable timing, as the waitress promptly arrived at the table with our food, and carefully set it down in front of us.
"One...triple hay burger with extra ketchup, and one hay burger plain. Enjoy!" said the waitress before quickly scurrying back to the kitchen.
It was delicious, as always. I made sure to warn Sunset that I wasn't exactly excellent when it came to table manners, but she asserted she was the same way, and I quickly found out that she was, in fact, the same way. I could almost hear Rarity's ancestors turning in their graves, and probably, now that I thought about it, my own Canterlotian ancestors. Sunset appeared to enjoy the food, as she didn't talk at all during the whole meal; in her defense, I didn't either. It wasn't until both of us had devoured everything on the plate that the conversation started up again.
"Ugh, wow. I'm starting to regret not getting that Triple," said Sunset. I closed my eyes and shrugged in a "your loss" gesture, causing the both of us to laugh for what had to be the thousandth time that night. It was, in a word, fantastic. Not only did I have a great time, but I saw something in Sunset Shimmer that night that made me enjoy it even more; Sunset Shimmer was elated at the fact she was home.
The waitress collected our plates, and I paid the bill (Sunset insisted she do it, but I told her it was not a problem). After a some small talk with the pony running the register up front, we grabbed our stuff and headed out the door.
We'd been there for about two hours, making it around eight when we left. The streets of Ponyville were nearly empty, save for a few ponies here and there, and the brash song of the crickets could be heard echoing throughout the town. I turned to Sunset only to see her looking upward, her mouth agape in amazement. I looked up with her to see what she was seeing, but I couldn't quite make out anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't until Sunset spoke that I realized why she was so enchanted.
"The Equestrian night sky...Celestia, it's been so long..." she muttered under her breath, stopping in her tracks. I nodded, and walked over to a nearby section of grass and sat down on it, gesturing for her to join me. She gave a wide smile that stretched ear to ear and quickly trotted over and made her way next to me. Once she had settled down, I took my hoof and pointed towards the stars.
"Secretariat...Seabiscuit...Aristides...Ruffian..." I said, pointing out the Equestrian Constellations. Sunset followed my hoof with her eyes, as I spoke. She didn't look like she was going to say anything, so I decided now would be a good time to get all of the awkward talk out of the way before we arrived at the palace.
"You know, my father, Night Light, was the royal astronomer for thirty seven years," I began. "That's why I'm so familiar with the night sky. He would let me read all his books, his research papers, his letters...that was a while ago. Anyways, I was sitting in his laboratory one day, And he was working on making a model of a planet he had believed he discovered. He was drawing it out on paper, and displaying how big it was, what the surface may have looked like, and then he would finally color it in. He was working on it all night, and I was fascinated, but I couldn't quite get a good look at it because I was so tiny. He couldn't have me up in the chair with him, because it was far too small, but he told me that I would get to see it when it's finished.
At one point, one of the royal guards gave him a letter, and he had to step out for the moment to deliver something else to Princess Celestia. He left the room, and suddenly, without anypony to talk to or watch, a massive wave of boredom washed over me. I looked to his desk, and I knew his drawing was all the way up there, and I knew that the chair could fit me now, and so I hopped up on the chair to look at what he was drawing." I paused for a second to chuckle.
"Well, I was a little eager, and when I hopped up on the chair, I hit the bottom of a shelf right above me with my horn. All the items on the shelf fell down, and one of those items happened to be a bucket of bright red paint; which, naturally, spilled all over my father's drawing. Now, not only did my horn hurt like Tartarus, but I had just ruined my dad's project he had been working on all night. I cried, and I hoped that he would never come back to the office to see what I'd done. Well, he did, eventually, and found me a sobbing heap curled up in one of the many comfy chairs around the room. He should have been angry at me, for ruining everything, but to my absolute surprise on that day, he wasn't.
He leaned down to reach my height, and he told me something that I still have not forgotten. He said that as an astronomer, he had to become used to the process of finding patterns in the sky before he became good at his job. There were steps on steps to finding a new planet and studying it, and sometimes, he made mistakes. But by making those mistakes, he could learn from them, and then the next time he went to see these patterns, he would be more knowledgeable about it. He told me that I had just made a mistake, and asked me if I would ever make that mistake again. And to this day, Sunset, I have never bumped my head on a shelf with paint on it ever again," I finished. I was hoping to get a laugh from that last line, but I only got silence.
"I'm not a bucket of paint," Sunset finally got out, in an irritable tone. Luckily, I'd been planning on resistance.
"No," I began, "But you made a mistake. You made a mistake, Sunset, but I don't particularly care about that; what I care about is the mare you've become since then. You showed to me tonight that you're kind, funny, and compassionate; not the girl I met at Canterlot High a few years back. I can't say I've been in the same situation as you, but I do know somepony else who has, and...I admire what you've done all the same. Please, Sunset, don't beat yourself up about it," I finished. Sunset turned to me.
"I'm not the first person you've said all that to. I can tell," she said. I nodded again.
"A lot has changed since I left Canterlot High, Sunset. I have a student now; her name is Starlight. You'll meet her, along with the rest of the girls, tomorrow." I slowly got up from the grassy area and quickly dusted all the stray grass from my fur before turning to Sunset once more.
"Speaking of tomorrow, we should go. It's getting a little late." Sunset got up as well, and we began to make our way back to the castle. The entire way back, she had that look on her face, the one that let me know there were thoughts bouncing around her mind constantly. I didn't blame her, after what she went through, and I had fully assumed that the way back would be silent. However, once the castle was barely in sight, Sunset proved me wrong.
"Thanks, Twilight," she said softly. "I really appreciate it."
Dreams are weird. Your mind just kind of makes up this landscape around you, a construct of your very imagination; you're living in your mind. The subject had always intrigued me. So much, in fact, that I wrote my final paper on them to graduate from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. So, naturally, having spent so much time on the research and science of dreams, I knew when I was in one.
It was Canterlot Palace, at the foot of a stairwell I had climbed only a day ago. It was probably the most lifelike dream I've ever had, but the deception only ran so deep; the stairs in the real world were a soft, burgundy color, but these were a subtle navy blue. The walls were the same color as well, and while the rail that ran all the way up the stairs was gold back in Equestria, this dreamworld depicted them black as a raven. Despite there being no sources of light anywhere near me, I realized, the railing still seamed to gleam as if it were gold.
"This must be some sort of side effect from the dimension switch..." I muttered to myself. As I looked around the area again, I heard a voice call from above me; I was so surprised that I jumped.
"I assure you, Sunset Shimmer, it isn't," came the voice. It was definitely feminine, and it had a silky and musical quality beyond which I had ever heard; it was so smooth it may have lulled me to sleep, had I not obviously been sleeping already. It paused for a moment, letting the air grow still, before quickly adding, "though that's a rather intelligent guess."
"I'm assuming you brought me here?" I asked, my head pointed upwards. When I got no reply, I questioned the mystery mare further.
"Why?"
"Journey up those stairs and you'll find out," she replied. I waited for further instruction, and when I got none, I gave a short shrug and began the ascent up the stairs.
It was much like the last time I did it, except this time, my eyes weren't assaulted with maroon; actually, the navy blue color was rather pleasing to the eye. As I walked up the stairs, and took in my surroundings a little closer, I noticed another interesting detail; I could barely see it, but there were stars infused within the texture of the walls, and it almost looked like they were doing a slow, synchronized dance routine. I grinned, as it was, for some reason, an entertaining sight. Eventually, I made my way to the door, and that, too, was not the same.
While the door to the balcony in the real world was infused with a golden tree, this door was infused with that same black metal that the railing was made of, and instead of the tree, it depicted a crescent moon. If another pony were looking at me, I'm sure my eyes would have lit up, because I knew then who had brought me here.
I had never met Princess Luna. I'd met Principal Luna, in the human world, but that was not the pony; the pony was serving a thousand year prison sentence on the moon, and I never knew during my apprenticeship that she was even remotely close to finishing it. Celestia told me stories, of course, but I never had anything concrete on the Princess. If she was anything like Principal Luna, she was very reserved, a little bit shy, and didn't like to talk too often, but when she needed to, could rain Tartarus upon you with an everlasting volley of words that clearly stated she was not to be trifled with. I was hoping she wouldn't show that side of her, but none the less, my confusion I had been experiencing early quickly became that of excitement.
I opened the door very cautiously, prepared for the worst and hoping for the best, and sure enough, a figure sat in chair with it's back facing towards me, slowly sipping on what I knew was tea; the aroma was magnified a thousand times through this dream world, and it was almost overwhelming. I was about to extend my greetings when she got to it first.
"You're back," she said quite simply. I waited for her to add something, but the only thing I got was the continuous sipping of tea.
"So are you," I finally replied. Once more, Luna opted to be silent. I leaned to my left a bit and spotted another chair directly across from her, and then I understood; she wanted me to sit. I casually trotted to the chair and sat down, and when I looked up, I finally got to see Princess Luna in her true essence.
Her mane was the first thing that caught my attention, because it was the night sky. Since it was night time, her mane actually looked translucent, and if not for the dark purple outline upon her hair, I wouldn't have even known she had any. The stars twinkled and shone just like the ones in the sky, and for a second I thought about the possibility that there was a whole other universe within her mane. Upon the quick assertion that the notion was absolutely ridiculous, I inspected the rest of her, though I did not blame myself for the thought.
Her fur wasn't the exact color of the night, unlike her mane, because I could still see her; however, it was close. Her eyes were much a much lighter blue, and reminded me of the ocean when the sun hit it just right during the day time. Even her cutie mark was beautifully unique; a crescent moon cast upon a splotched black.
I quickly realized that I had been staring for a long time, but I was comforted by the fact that the Princess appeared to have been doing the same thing. Once her inspection seemed to be complete, she looked directly at me for the first time that "night".
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sunset," she began. "My sister has told me plenty of stories about you." She paused to take another sip of her tea. "Although I'm sure she's told you plenty of stories about me as well." Luna held up the cup with magic as a silent offering. I declined with a shake of the head, and she shrugged.
"I'm honored you wanted to meet me," I started, "But we could have met in the real world. You didn't have to do this." Luna gave an elongated sigh and turned her gaze towards the stars.
"I'm far more comfortable here. Let me tell you, Sunset; I'm still trying to shake off my reputation as an essence of darkness with a lust for blood. When I'm here, in the dream world...I don't have to worry about that. I can be here, all alone, and not remember the other mare. Every atrocity she's ever committed does naught to weigh me down in this dream world. Plus--" Luna gestured with her hooves to the surrounding area. "--I get to change the décor." That got a quick chuckle from me, but I didn't stay to jovial for long.
"Living with a marred past," I began, my smile fading. "I know what that's like."
"I know you do," replied Luna, directing her attention back to me. "That's why I brought you here. When Celestia told me about you, and how you were looking for help, I could only think of how much I could have used it all those years ago. Although, by now, you must have heard a thousand stories. Of redemption, lessons learned, from others that have gone through what you have. You must grow tired of them." I shook my head before she finished the sentence.
"It isn't like that at all, trust me. I've always been a sucker for a good tale," I said. For the first time that night, Luna smiled, and her eyes roamed once again to the sky. She stayed silent for a moment, and I could hear the faint whisper of wind coursing through my ears.
"Would you like to hear another?" she asked. I immediately nodded, as I found that in regards to stories in the verbal medium, immortals told them best. Luna gave a deep breath and, looking out amongst her vast domain, began.
"When I first came to my senses after the other mare was defeated, I spent most of my days in Ponyville Hospital to recover. I had grown so weak from my time on the moon, and so drained from the other mare, that we simply couldn't afford to take me back to Canterlot for treatment; I had to be attended to immediately. They shipped me off to the hospital, and for the next three weeks, my only friend was the white on the walls." Luna took a sip of her tea, which I now realized wasn't getting empty, and chuckled a bit before continuing.
"You know, Sunset, when you're alone, and largely incapable on moving your body, you do a considerable amount of thinking. I still held every memory, Sunset. Every pony she murdered, imprisoned, and verbally abused, was fresh and burning in my mind. Oh, my entire body was aching with the pain of post possession, but those thoughts? Those hurt worse than anything. I felt absolutely awful. I was sick to my stomach--literally, in a few cases--and when my sister came to retrieve me and bringing back to Canterlot when the doctors cleared me...I didn't want to go back," she said. I raised my eyebrows at that statement.
"You wanted to stay in the hospital?" I asked quizzically. Luna turned to me, a very grim look on her face.
"No, Sunset Shimmer," she said curtly. "I wanted to go back to the moon."
My jaw dropped. Back to the moon? I had gotten homesick in a world with others, where I had friends; how anypony would want to go to a desolate desert with naught another soul to be found, when you had already been there once, was an incomprehensible thought. I looked up at her, my shocked expression still blaringly apparent, and whispered a word.
"Why?"
Luna looked back to the sky.
"Because I couldn't live with what I'd done," she answered simply. "Because I hated myself. Because I wanted to die, but I couldn't so I asked for the next best thing. As you can clearly see, my sister did not, in fact, send me to the moon," she said with a smile. She paused, as if awaiting a question or two from me, but the silence hung in the air even still, and so the story flowed onward.
"Instead, she told me to come with her one night. She was supposed to be long asleep, and she had this look on her face...I have seen my sister determined. I have seen her determination on the field of battle, blood gushing through the air and whizzing past and through her mane. I have seen her determination in peace, during political negotiation to preserve the well being of this great nation that only she could carry. I had never, ever seen the look on her face that night, and still today, I have never seen it again. With that commanding a countenance, I could not refuse her, and we went into the night."
"Where did she take you?" I asked. Luna, if nothing else, was a wordsmith; every sentence locked me deeper and deeper into her tale, binding me like the pages of a book. Once again, Luna turned to me. She studied my face for a moment before once again turning to face the stars and letting off a long, deep sigh.
"She took me to a cemetery, filled with those the other mare killed," she answered. My jaw dropped for a second time, once I comprehended what she had just said, but I wasn't feeling shock; boiling anger was a better word. I was about to say something, but Luna had already been expecting a comment, and she held her hoof, motioning for me to hold the thought. Reluctantly, I did, and a few minutes later, I was glad for it.
"She told me to read their names. I begged her, pleaded her, to not make me do this, that I just couldn't do it, but my sister, being my sister, would have none of it. So...I did. Graceful Shield. Dusky Ward. Starry Dust. Violet Petal. Rose Spring...I read every last one, and later, learned to remember them. I got to the last tombstone. Her name was Morning Haze. She wasn't a very particular pony, not anypony I had known, but when I saw her name scrawled upon the tombstone, a pair of brilliant red flowers laid peacefully by her grave, I lost it. I sat down, looked to my own night sky, and wailed in agony, every built up emotion bursting open like a raging river through a faulty floodgate.
"My sister watched me for a few moments, and then walked over to me, put her wing around me, and waited for me to stop. I don't know exactly when I did, but I knew it was a while, and when she finally got my attention, she pointed towards the cylindrical monument in the center of the courtyard. It read "Here Lie the Victims of NIGHTMARE MOON. As the Moon Rises, So do They." She turned to me, Sunset, and asked me what my name was, and only then did I understand why she had brought me here."
"Your name isn't Nightmare Moon," I remarked, nodding my head in understanding. Luna grinned.
"I can see why Celestia likes you so much," she began. "No, it isn't. It was my jealousy and hatred that brought her to this planet, and made her do what she did, but she is still a different mare; the other mare. She told me, that day, that these ponies were not slain by my hooves, but by the other mare's, but she also admitted that her creation was of my doing. She told me, Sunset...that I can never do it again. That she, in turn, could never do what I have done. I still visit that cemetery every Sunday night. So my advice to you, Sunset Shimmer--" Luna once more took a sip of her tea.
"--is to leave the past where it belongs. Do not focus on erasing bad times, but creating new ones. The bad times shall erase themselves, in due time."
I couldn't tell you a time where I had been more utterly captivated. Maybe it wasn't the smooth tone of her voice, or the charms of her words that only immortals seem to have. Perhaps, I think now, it was because I finally met someone who knew exactly what it was I was going through, even if it was magnified a thousand times. After a long period of silence, the Princess of the Night still gazing upon her beautifully dark domain, I spoke.
"Princess, I...thank you. I don't really know what to say after all that," I remarked. Slowly, Luna rose from her chair and began walking to the door where I had arrived. The very last thing I remembered was a sentence.
"Then don't say anything, Sunset Shimmer. But when you ever meet someone like yourself...like us...you cannot say enough."
Sunlight slowly flooded the room, as if it were a parasite infesting itself in it, slowly crawling across every surface until, finally, it had taken over the whole room. I knew better than that, though; sunlight was no parasite. In actuality, sunlight would be better compared to a messenger from a far away land, who with all its speed had come to me to deliver a mere two words.
Get up!
My eyes fluttered open. It took a few tries, as it always did, but eventually, I was awake, staring at the extravagant ceiling above me. Yes, even the ceiling was extravagant; two chandeliers hung from the walls, but they weren't identical; one, to the right of the room, reminded me of an ice cave, as icicle-looking pieces fashioned an abstract but beautiful pattern. The one closest to the door was clearly meant to be an ode to the forest, as the lights hung from glass branches. It was all very pretty.
The rest of the room did not disappoint. I had a king size bed, to begin, which was about twice as big as my old one, and the added room was a nice addition. The color was pleasant, too; a shade a blue just a bit darker than the midday sky. Upon a quick inspection during my first day in the palace, I realized that all the rooms were this color, except for one, but that's another story. I had two huge wardrobes that were eloquently carved from a wood I didn't recognize, their frame reaching almost halfway up to the ceiling. I had a closet, and it was half the size of my old room; I didn't even know what to do with it. I had considered using it as a guest bedroom or a game room, but for right, now, it remained styled for its original purpose.
After taking in the scenery for what had to be the thousandth time, I looked to the center of the room to find the clock on the wall; after reading the time, my eyes widened and I let out a quick gasp.
One o'clock.
That was an hour later than usual. I tried to recall what time it had been when I retired for the night (it was likely morning by then), but I couldn't. I let out a frustrated sigh and meandered my way out of the bed before proceeding to walk towards the bathroom. It had been getting later and later these days, I knew, but one? I'd usually schedule appointments and meetings for one in the afternoon; waking up at that time simply wasn't comprehendible.
My steps were laughably slow. Tank the Turtle could have beat me to the bathroom if he really wanted to, and what was worse, I knew it; I woke up at one in the afternoon, and I was still tired. Eventually, I was able to make my way to my intended destination, and, embarrassingly sluggishly, I hopped into the shower and turned it on via magic, letting the warm water slowly careen down my entire body.
I had always stayed up late. When I was a foal, I would huddle under the covers with a candle and a good book and read long into the night, usually until my body forced me to rest. I was caught plenty of times, but then again, I wasn't caught plenty of times, and so the practice has continued ever since. I usually was able to make my way to bed during my Unicorn days, but there were occasions when I would wake up finding myself slumped uncomfortably in a my chair with an open book on my lap. Being the young mare I was, this schedule wasn't taxing in the slightest.
Recently, however, the nights became much, much longer. I would restlessly stay up for HOURS on end, without truly knowing why I was doing so. I assumed that being a princess, I could get away with doing this--I had become significantly more powerful, after all--but I quickly found that it was the precise opposite. As Cadance explained to me one day, Alicorns very much need sleep, as it allows the massive pool of magical energy to be able to properly replenish in an Alicorn. I knew I wasn't getting enough of it, and after a while, Spike did, too. I couldn't remember how late I had stayed up last night, but could recall that it was a few hours after Sunset retired.
As the water trickled down my face, I really realized how terrible I felt. Every muscle in my body felt as if it were being weighed down by a massive object that wasn't there. I sighed and stood there for a few minutes, in a bit of a haze, and I could only think of one word.
Why?
It was a simple question, but in my life I've found that it's the simple questions that have the most complex answers. I tried to convince myself that this was one such question, that there were many scientific factors behind this, that it was going to go away soon, but that simply wasn't true, no matter what way I spun it.
You know why.
There were many Equestrian citizens who would dream of becoming a princess. The fame and fortune that came with it, the immense power coursing through your very veins, the ability to live for an extraordinarily long time, almost to the point of immortality. I, in my youth, had dreamed of such things as well, although they were merely fantasies; I had never expected such notions to be realized.
And then they were. Just like that, I Twilight Sparkle, an unremarkable filly from Canterlot, had been granted power beyond imagining and had been thrust straight into the politics and madness of the world as one of four leaders that made up the Equestrian Oligarchy. Whenever Celestia would ask me how I was doing, if I liked being a princess, I would respond that it was everything I'd ever hoped for and that I was absolutely honored to be in the position. I would tell her that I was doing just fine.
I knew that wasn't true.
I lived every waking moment in utter terror. Suddenly, I was the Princess of Friendship, completely responsible for maintaining and spreading the concept in question. One wrong word, one slip up, and the results would be catastrophic (or so I had believed at the time). I like to use Hoofball as the best example; if you're a rookie quarterback in the league, you have to prove yourself to your peers in order to earn their respect and establish yourself as worthy of playing at a professional level. That's constantly how I felt, like I needed to somehow prove I was supposed to be a princess, as if I hadn't already.
After a while, I got out of the shower and quickly dried myself off with a heat spell, while simultaneously grabbing a manebrush from the counter. I stood in front of the mirror and styled my mane how I usually did it, and once that was finished, I looked into the mirror for just a little while longer.
You look like a Princess, came a voice in my head. I saw myself frown in the mirror.
I don't feel like one, I answered back. With that, I walked out of my room and into one of the many halls of my new home.
I had planned on going down the stairs for breakfast, but, as I had been brought up to understand, plans change on a whim. I heard rumblings from down the hall; specifically, from Sunset Shimmer's new room. Curious, I began to make my way to her quarters; she had certainly put something on the record player, but it wasn't music. It wasn't until I got about halfway there that I was able to recognize just what it was she was listening to.
I opened her door to see her lying on the bed, a little crooked to face the record player at her bedside. She was absolutely captivated, starting in excitement at the spinning vinyl, as she listened to the radio broadcast emanating from it.
Sixteen seconds left, 4th and Goal, Canterlot has the ball on their own twenty-sixth yardline, in dire straits; they're down by four so they'll need to score a touchdown here. Baltimare lines up in the Nickel, looking to stop the high octane Monarchs offense, and they've been doing a good job of it so far...The ball is snapped, Quarterback Canter Magnum rolls out to his right, he's sacked and that's gonna...no, wait, he's still up! He fires a pass to the endzone and HE SCORES! TOUCHDOWN AS TIME NEARLY EXPIRES! CANTER MAGNUM CONNECTS WITH JENNET GALLOWAY FOR THE TOUCHDOWN! BARRING A MIRACLE, THE CANTERLOT MONARCHS ARE GOING TO THE MEGABOWL!
I sat down next to her on her bed, smiling in amusement at her reaction. I had almost forgotten that Sunset had missed quite a lot during her time in the human world, and the fact that she'd mentioned she was a massive hoofball fan at dinner the other night was coming back to me.
"It was incredible," I began. Sunset seemingly paid no mind to me, but I knew she was listening.
"I wasn't that big of a fan at the time, but I had the entire family down at the old place to listen to it. We had the radio in the center of the room, the food all around it, the whole deal. The game was captivating from start to finish, and once that happened...I got this feeling of pride. I didn't feel like the Canterlot Monarchs had won that game; it was like all of Canterlot did. And in that moment, I got what the big deal was. How about you?" I asked. Sunset didn't answer for a moment, letting the record play a bit longer before turning it off with her magic.
"My dad," she answered simply. "My mom always thought it was silly, but me and my dad loved it. I always had this competitive streak in me, so I love the game, but really, it was that time with my dad that I loved the most. I...I never told you what happened to them, did I? Has Celestia?" asked Sunset, looking up to me. I recoiled a bit in confusion and shook my head no. At that, Sunset sighed, got up from her previous position and sat on the edge of the bed, mimicking me exactly.
"They're dead," she explained. "They were taking the carriage to work as they always did, and it crashed. Everypony was injured, but out of the ten ponies that were on said carriage, they were the only two that died." The surprise must have been very apparent on my face.
"When did this happen?" I asked. Sunset looked to the ceiling.
"I was in fifth grade. Celestia must have been like a mother to you," she said. I nodded. "She was a mother to me." At those words, Sunset slowly fell backwards from her seated position, sending herself careening into the bed, causing it to slowly bounce up and down.
"This is stupid," said Sunset. "Every five minutes feels like a visit to the psychiatrist." I laughed at that, which in turn caused Sunset to laugh as well. After the laughter had died down, I moved a little closer to her.
"I know. It must suck to have it be like that, but your aren't ever alone, Sunset, I cannot stress that enough. It really must have felt like that, though, once your parents died. Applejack was faced with a very similar situation in her youth, you know," I said. Sunset nodded before I even finished the sentence.
"Yep. I spent many hours in discussion with my Applejack. Which brings me to the second thing that's been bothering me," said Sunset.
"You're homesick," I replied. Sunset let out a short chuckle.
"I mean, isn't that crazy? I've been bitching to Celestia over letters for the past month about how much I miss her, Equestria, the magic, everything...and there's still hesitance! After all this time away, and the sleepless nights thinking of home...I didn't want to leave my friends. It was you in the first place who helped me make them, and then I understood that I...didn't wanna leave," she said. She looked up at me with a look of defeat on her face. "I don't think I even wanna see the girls, Twilight. It'll remind me too much of the ones back there." Sunset quickly removed herself from the bed and began pacing around on the carpeted floor.
"I mean, I know they're exactly alike," she began, "but they aren't. The stories, memories, inside jokes, none of those are there. I'm afraid I'll get this feeling that I'm talking to a bunch of copies, even though I know they're the real ones! I...I don't even know if you understand me..." she finished.
"Of course I do," I replied immediately. "But there's always time to make new stories, new memories, and new jokes, and we will. I was actually going to go to Sweet Apple Acres tonight for dinner with all the girls. Come with me, Sunset; we have to start somewhere."
Sunset stared at her hooves for what seemed like an eternity, and I think it was there that I actually realized the extent of Sunset's plight; she had lived here for a large majority of her life, and now, coming from a different dimension, she was a complete and total alien. Everything in her homeland had changed, and she effectively couldn't call her home her home. She recognized Equestria, but it didn't recognize her; I couldn't even imagine what that was like. I got up, too, and stuck out my leg in wait for a hoof bump.
"How about we go to dinner tonight," I said, "And put everything in the mirror. No more visits to the psychiatrist, no more looking back. Sound good to you?" I asked. Sunset looked at my hoof, her eyebrows raised, before bumping it with her own. She looked up to me with a smile.
"Sounds good to me, Twi," she said. I returned her grin before looking over to the record player. With magic, I took the record and flipped it to other side before pressing play.
"You thought THAT was a good game," I said, turning back to her, "You're gonna love this one."
Of everything I had to really adjust to upon my return to Equestria, it was certainly the weather. During my time in the human world, I had almost completely forgotten that ponies could control it, leaving me completely astonished when I saw it for the first time upon my arrival. I remembered then that the Everfree Forest did not adhere to those rules, as the weather had it's own free will; after spending so much time in the human world, it amused me to think that tons of ponies found that deeply unsettling.
Twilight had told me it was going to be cold, so I grabbed my scarf as well as my sunglasses and applied both via magic, which was unbelievably fantastic; there would be not another day where I'd have to spend an hour getting ready in the morning. I called out a "goodbye!" to let Twilight know I was leaving, but I didn't stick around to hear a reply; I quickly opened the large double doors of the castle and began on my way to the town square. I didn't particularly have a plan to go to a specific place, but I reasoned that I would find something cool to do, which in turn would allow me to get to know the town a bit better.
When I opened the doors in question, I was immediately greeted with the sight of another pony, much to my surprise. She was a unicorn, her fur an extremely light shade of purple that couldn't quite be considered pink. Her mane was two different colors, much like mine, although hers was dominantly dark purple with streaks of teal; it was done up like a middle aged mom's, and although I would never say it to her face, it looked stupidly out of style. Her eyes were just lighter than the purple in her mane, and her cutie mark appeared to be some sort of eight pointed star with two teal wisps of light trailing from the top. I didn't know who she was, but at the same time, I knew exactly who she was.
"You must be Twilight's student," I said. She raised a singular eyebrow at me. In response, I gave a very exaggerated medieval bow in her direction.
"Sunset Shimmer. Proud to meet your acquaintance," I said. I saw a wave of understanding wash across her face, followed by a short chuckle.
"So this is the mare I've been hearing so much about? I'm sure Twilight has told you she's been using you as an example of redemption during our lessons?" she said with a smile. I recoiled in mock surprise before looking back towards the door I had just exited.
"Using me as an example? Not without paying me royalties," I said, which caused the mystery mare to laugh out loud. I laughed with her, and once that died down, she finally introduced herself.
"Starlight Glimmer," she said, holding out a hoof. "I took over a small village and stole their cutie marks in the name of total equality, as well as creating numerous time rifts through an ancient spell. And you, if I remember correctly, turned into a massive, flaming demon of rage and attempted to enslave an entire high school. Do I have that right?" She asked. I chuckled again whilst nodding my head to confirm.
"Yes, you have that right. Aren't we just a lovely pair?" I stated, and after breaking out in laughter for the third time, I knew I'd take a liking to this Starlight Glimmer.
"Well, I'm gonna take a look around town so I can't talk for long, but it was certainly nice meeting you, Starlight. Are you coming to that dinner tonight? At Sweet Apple Acres?" I asked her. Starlight nodded her head.
"I will. I suppose we'll further acquaint ourselves there." Starlight looked down to my neck to see my scarf. "That thing looks a little worn out, don't you think? I'm sure Twilight mentioned the Carousel Boutique. You can grab a brand new one for a nice price," said Starlight. I looked down at the scarf and raised in to eye level via magic, and I could make out Starlight's form through the various holes that had long ago found themselves across the scarf.
"Yeah, I think I will do that," I said, putting the scarf down again. "Thanks for the tip! I suppose I'll see you tonight, then?" I asked her. Starlight nodded once more.
"It's a date. I'll see ya," said Starlight. She waved and began to head towards the door, not stopping to see if I had returned the gesture; I shrugged and began making my way towards the center of town.
Numerous time rifts? Taking over an entire village? Mare's as crazy as her mane. Good luck with that one, Twilight, I thought to myself as the quaint town of Ponyville entered my field of view. I stopped for a second and took a nice look at it; it was a beautiful day, and to see the sun shining brightly over all of the ponies moving about really reminded me what was great about Equestria. It was during my observation of the scenic view that I quickly had another thought.
I have absolutely no idea where this Carousel Boutique is. I would have to ask ponies for directions, which I would normally be adverse to, but I quickly realized that this would be a great time to get to know the ponies of Ponyville. I pressed forward, this time with a smile on my face.
* * * * * *
I had expected the Carousel Boutique to be a small, quiet little place connected to other stores through the same building, kind of like a strip mall. As I found out, I was never more incorrect in my entire life.
I was given the directions to the place by a mare who introduced herself as Bon-Bon. She made candy, she had told me, and even pulled one out of her bag she had been carrying for me to try; it was rather delicious. We talked for a while; she was a very nice mare, but there was something odd about her. She had this air of paranoia around her; she would occasionally scan the environment mid conversation, as if she were some sort of secret agent monster hunter waiting for an Ursa Major to jump out of the bushes. I shrugged it off as nothing. She gave me the directions and told me I'd be very happy with the service, and once I'd actually gotten to the location, I was stunned.
The place was absolutely massive. It looked exactly like a historical building in Canterlot; it was two stories, and had cone-like shape to it; whoever ran this place had to live there full time, because I couldn't possible imagine a clothing store needing that much space. I could easily see where the "Carousel" part came in, as extremely well crafted pony statues adorned the center of the building as well as both sides of the spire at the top. It was the most extravagant building I had seen in Ponyville besides maybe Town Hall, and that's a pretty big maybe. It also happened to be in the middle of nowhere; it was on the very edge of town, only surrounded by a few tents that didn't really look like they were occupied and an oak tree that actually managed to be smaller than the actual building itself.
I stood in front of the door, marveling at it for a bit longer, before finally moving to open it. Even the door was amazing, the window being diamond shaped, and the paint a pleasant shade of purple. I twisted the handle and walked in, and upon seeing the two ponies that were in the center of the room, became immediately petrified.
There was a pony on what appeared to be an elevated platform whom I did not recognize. She had pink fur and a blond mane and tail, with bright purple eyes. She was currently trying on a blue dress that was absurdly stunning, crafted expertly, though it looked a bit too small, and upon inspecting the rest of her, it was easy to tell why. She was in the best shape I had ever seen as far as ponies went, subtly muscular and powerful, and her wings were larger than the ordinary Pegasus. The last thing I noticed about her was probably the strangest; she had a necklace with the number 84 dangling from the end, made completely of diamond. I looked to her flank for an explanation, but her cutie mark was completely blocked by the dress. She had been looking at the other pony, but she had turned to me when I opened the door.
The other pony was Rarity Belle. As soon as I saw her, I wanted to punch myself in the face; I was a fool for not recognizing that this had Rarity written all over it. The door, the building, even the location. I was absolutely not ready to talk to her, as Twilight and I had planned this whole thing out where we would have me introduced to everyone at the dinner. Thankfully, she was turned around doing something on a desk, and had yet to see me.
"Hold on just a minute, Darling, I'll be right with you!" she called out, not turning around. In a moment of shock, I yelled out a word, and once I had done so, immediately bolted out the door as fast as I could manage.
* * * * * *
Having worked with many of Canterlot's elite, along with countless high profile fashion designers, I had learned to expect absolutely everything, as I quickly discovered that a large percentile of my wealthy clientele were a rather odd bunch. Despite this, I was still surprised at the one word answer I was given in response to my greeting I had extended to the pony who had just opened the door.
"Shit!"
I turned around in alarm, but there was no one there; the door was wide open, swinging back and forth in the wind. Extremely confused, I turned to my client, who I found was looking at the door with an astonished expression as well.
"Um...who was that?" I asked. My client leaned forwards a bit to get a better look out the door.
"I have absolutely no idea. Red and Yellow hair, tannish fur, was wearing sunglasses and a very old scarf. I couldn't catch her cutie mark, but as soon as she saw you, she freaked out and ran." She turned to me with a smile. "Come on, that can't be the weirdest client you've ever had," she said, beginning to chuckle; she quickly cut herself off with a wince. "Okay, this is still a little bit too tight," she proclaimed. At that remark, I gave a sigh.
"Well, I never even saw her, let alone do business with her, so I'd hardly call her a client. And it's supposed to be worn tight, Darling. I swear, if you weren't the only pony in town that could possibly afford this..." I said, walking over to her and studying where it was constricting too tight. My client gave me a smug look in return.
"Oh, come on, Rares, I've known you forever. Don't look at me as a wealthy client, look at me as your dear friend! Besides, I'm even coming to that dinner tonight to meet the elements!" she replied. When she said the word "elements", her face lit up, letting me know that the prospect was very exciting to her. I chuckled a little bit at the notion, knowing that the rest of the elements would be just as excited, maybe even more, to meet her, considering she was a household name throughout the entirety of Equestria.
"I suppose I can loosen it up just a bit more. Hold still," I said. My client rolled her eyes, having been doing that already for about an hour, though that was understandable; her entire job description relied on her speed, so I had already known she hated staying still for prolonged periods of time. As I went back to my desk to get out the measuring tape, there was one thought in my mind I just couldn't shake off.
I had heard the word "dinner". Typically, when a you go to another person's house for dinner, it's a very small gathering of no more than a few individuals where the main focus is to have food, and maybe talk a little bit afterwards. As such, I hadn't done anything superbly special for the occasion, as I had it in my mind that I was just going to be formally meeting the rest of the Elements of Harmony.
So naturally, upon seeing Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, three children whom I could not identify, a group of individuals who I'm assuming belonged to the Apple Family, a rather attractive stallion in formal guard clothing, some blue mare with an ice colored mane, and even the mare I saw for a split second at the boutique just a few hours prior, along with the Elements of Harmony, I was very confused.
"Twilight," I muttered, leaning to the my left side as we headed towards the gate. Me, Twilight and Starlight had been walking in a straight line formation, with Twilight on my left and Starlight on my right; the walk to the farm had been rather pleasant (Starlight Glimmer was hilarious; she could easily do stand up if she wished), but at the sight of literally everyone, my nervousness that had been fading away came back with a vengeance. Twilight looked towards me and gave a questioning "Hmm?".
"This is not a dinner. This is a large, large gathering, and it raises a ton of problems," I told her. Starlight looked at me curiously.
"How so?" she asked. We got to the gate, and Applejack, who had been chatting to one of her family members, saw us arrive; she waved and began to head in our direction, which gave me just enough time to explain the absolute Charlie Foxtrot I had just been placed in.
"Well, for starters, that's the mare I had the really awkward run in I told about because you neglected to tell me that Rarity ran the Carousel Boutique," I whispered angrily. Starlight seemed to not care at all about the fact that I had directly called her out, instead opting to nod carefully, so I continued.
"And see the fancy pink princess, Cadance? She hates me, with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. I was hoping I could settle that privately, but here we are at a massive party," I finished. At that particular remark, Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Oh, come on," she began, "Cadance is one of the nicest, most forgiving ponies I could possibly think of. There's no way she's held on to that grudge for this long." Coincidentally, Cadance saw me from across the field where the party had been set up; her entire expression immediately switched from the very relaxed and carefree expression she had come to be known for to an angered surprise, her eyes clearly alight with rage. Twilight saw it, too, and gave a silent "ooh".
"Okay, yea, she's pissed," Twilight quickly whispered before standing upright with a smile. I quickly did the same, as Applejack had finally made it to the gate to greet us.
"Well howdy! I'm glad y'all showed up tonight!" Applejack quickly directed her attention to me.
"Sunset, I've already told all the other girls what's goin' on. I reckon they'd love it if ya'd introduce yerself formally," said Applejack. I nodded, keeping my smile; the nervousness was once again starting to fade away again.
"Absolutely, Applejack. And...thanks. I appreciate you accepting me, even if it isn't a big deal to you," I told her. Applejack held up a hoof in front of her face.
"Don't mention it. Now get along now; you've got some ponies to talk to! Dinner 'll be ready soon, too!" She said, clearing the way for us to enter. I bowed my head a bit as we walked on through, and I knew then that I'd have a good time; however, as I had previously stated there was a particular matter that I needed to clear up with a certain somepony.
The party was being thrown in the area right in front of the barn, in a very large open field area. There were tons of small tables, mainly with party snacks and various drinks, with the large number of ponies at the event stationed at all of them, socializing to their heart's content. After a quick scan, I found exactly what I was looking for; there was an area to the side of the barn where nobody was, and where nobody was likely to go.
Cadance was right near it, at the far side of the party; the very attractive stallion in the guard uniform was right next to her, so I assumed that he was her coltfriend or husband; I mentally cried on the inside for about a second before directing my attention back to the princess. Her face was still fixated on me, although this time, she had been whispering to her husband during her stare. I began to walk over in her direction, and when she recoiled as a result, I waved my hoof towards the secluded spot I had picked. She leaned over to look at the area in question and, thank Celestia, got the message; I needed to talk to her alone.
Out of all the rants I've ever been on, focused on either a human or a pony, I probably hit Cadance the hardest. She had walked into my room one time without knocking on the door accidentally, thinking it was one of the castle staff's (my room was positioned directly to left of where the staff rooms began). I wasn't even doing anything unsavory at the time, and it was only the third time I had even interacted with her in my entire life. I don't remember what happened on that particular day, but I was absolutely pissed, and for whatever reason, I immediately unloaded on her. It makes me uncomfortable to even think about what I said to her that day, and even when I was still the supreme bitch of the universe at Canterlot High, it was the one thing I had always regretted. It was burned fresh in my mind the second after she had left my room overflowing in tears, and the worst part that had always made me feel guilty was the fact that I had never gotten to say sorry before I had gone through the portal. Tonight wasn't exactly the most ideal of conditions, but this was something that absolutely had to be done.
She met me at the place I had pointed out to her, and, lucky me, she was the first one to speak.
"What in Tartarus are you doing here?" she asked, malice dripping from her tone. I sighed and closed my eyes; this was gonna be a tough one, because I wasn't entirely sure I'd win her forgiveness.
"Okay, look, I was going to take a train to Canterlot and do this, but here we are, and so here I go. I'm going to start by saying that I am truly, absolutely sorry for what I said to you, but I know that the words that came out of my mouth were so horrible that saying I'm sorry just isn't enough. I...I was homesick, and s-so I came back here, and part of my whole deal about coming back here was to b-be a better person--er, pony. I've made numerous apologies while I've been here, but when it comes to this one, I just...I'm lost. I'm going to ask for your forgiveness, Cadance, and if you don't forgive me, I would completely understand. I'm so, so sorry, because no one deserves to hear what I said that day. I think you're beautiful, talented, and obviously a great mare if you've earned those wings, or horn, or both, I have no idea..." I had been looking at my hoofs the entire time because I couldn't look her in the eyes, and so I was very surprised to feel a wing wrap around me.
Upon looking up, I was greeted with Cadance smiling down at me. I felt a tsunami of relief wash over me, as well one of the massive weights upon my back I had carried for a very long time lift off of me.
"The apology could never win my forgiveness," she began, "but that fact that you meant it does. Thank you, Sunset; I very much appreciate it. Now go have fun; don't let me ruin the night." gladly, I smiled back to her, nodded my head, and headed off to where the party was.
I had a choice again. I could introduce myself to the Elements (properly), talk to the princesses, or acquaint myself with one of the ponies I didn't really know all too well. I scanned the field, and upon seeing a particular pony by one of the snack tables eating alone, made my choice; my curiosity could not be sated.
Because I had left in such a hurry, there was something new I got to notice about the pony that had seen me at the shop earlier. Besides the fact that, without her dress on, I could clearly see her absurdly in shape, well defined body, her mane style was rather out of place with the rest of the crowd. She let it grow all the way down on one side, but she had completely shaved off the other side. It was a style that I had normally equated to the punk-rock style students at Canterlot High, so I had seen it before; to ponies who had lived here a very long time, it must have been very awkward. More pressingly, though, was her necklace; her cutie mark was blocked one again, this time by the edge of the table, so I still had no idea why she was wearing the number 84 around her neck. I walked towards her, and as I was approaching her, she turned and spotted me; to my relief, her face lit up.
"Well, well, well," she began. Her voice was almost the exact same high pitch as Rainbow Dash's, but completely smoothed out and just a tinsy bit lower. "It's the "Shit!" mare from the shop earlier. You get over your Rarityphobia?" she asked. I rolled my eyes in response.
"Yes, I have, as a matter of fact. I'm sorry about that, by the way; it's a long story. Sunset Shimmer," I said, holding out hoof in greeting. She brought hers out to match, and it was actually frightening how powerful they looked.
"Jennet Galloway. It's nice to meet you, Sunset Shimmer."
For the second time that day, I was at a loss for words. It was as if I had a thousand piece puzzle in shambles in front of me that had instantaneously solved itself; she was Jennet Galloway, wide receiver in the Equestrian Hoofball League. 84 was very obviously her number, and the reason she was so in shape was because she pushed her body to the limits and had to work out constantly to be a major player in the league. I leaned over the table to catch a glimpse of her Cutie Mark, and low and behold, three footballs (hoofballs, now) arranged themselves in a triangular formation on her flank. I recoiled when she said her name, causing her to laugh.
"The Jennet Galloway? The mare that caught the pass to win the championship game for the Monarchs? That Jennet Galloway?" I said, still in disbelief. Jennet rolled her eyes.
"I also broke the Mega Bowl record for most yards from scrimmage in the following game, but nopony seems to care about that," she remarked. She took a sip from whatever she was drinking before continuing. "But yeah, that Jennet Galloway. I gotta tell you, now that I'm here in town full time, it's very nice. Not so crowded like it was in Canterlot. But anyways, I'm curious; how do you know Rarity?" she asked me. I gave her a smile.
"Well, actually, I don't really know her all too well, but I'm friends with Princess Twilight," I began. As soon as I mentioned Twilight's name, Jennet's widened in excitement, which was followed by a childish grin somehow even more exaggerated than the last.
"You know Twilight? That's crazy! It's been insane so far to meet the Princesses formally, aside from visiting the castle back when I won the Mega Bowl when I still played for the Monarchs, but of course, Twilight wasn't even a princess then! Is she here? I've been dying to meet her!" she said, bouncing around in excitement. I looked behind me to see Twilight talking to Cadance and that blue stallion I had kept seeing; I pointed them out to Jennet.
"There she is. Go talk to her; she doesn't bite, I promise," I told her. Jennet rolled her eyes at that.
"I've encountered much, much worse out on the field," she replied. She took a few steps towards Twilight but, to my surprise, turned her head back to face me.
"You know, I just got traded a week ago. I know the first game of the season is on Sunday, but I still don't know the town all too well. Would you mind showing me around tomorrow? I supposed to do it with Rarity but she's got one of those snobby rich dudes from Canterlot coming in," she said. Still kind of shellshocked that I was even talking to her, I nodded my head in the affirmative.
"Yeah, of course," I replied. She smiled in response and began trotting away in the direction of Twilight.
See, Sunset? You're already making new friends, I thought to myself as I watched her go. As I was just about to scan the party for something else to do, I heard Applejack project her voice louder than I had previously believed was physically possible.
"DINNER'S READY Y'ALL!"
* * * * * *
Apples were to be expected, of course. This was the Apple Family, and they were going to feed you the particular fruit until you had grow sick of it, which, trust me, happened frequently. I was ready for them tonight, however, and was able to enjoy them to the fullest extent possible; and so I did, and they were delicious.
Applejack had moved everypony to the inside of the barn to eat, on a very long table. I had found myself sitting in the exact middle of it, right between Princess Celestia and Luna at their request; across from me was Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie Lulamoon, who I had no idea was even here until she sat down. Applejack had told me earlier in the night that she had not expected the event to be this packed, but she had welcomed it none the less.
There were about fifty different things going on at the same time during the course of the dinner. Starlight, Sunset and Trixie were getting along very well, and at the moment Starlight was telling a very politically incorrect joke about a Griffon and a Donkey; I scolded her as she delivered the punchline, but that didn't stop everypony from laughing, including (to my absolute shock) Celestia and Luna. On the very left end of the table was Rainbow Dash, Jennet Galloway, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders (who were no longer crusading); based on her hoof motions, she was telling a story about a particular game, as Rainbow and the Crusaders were absolutely captivated. Finally, the right end of the held the rest of the elements and my brother Shining Armor, along with his spouse, Princess Mi Amore Cadanza. Cadance was telling a story, too; I wasn't following it very well, but it had something to do with a Canterlot noble visiting the Crystal Empire.
None, of that, however, mattered; I had only come here for a singular reason, and it was clear to me that I had accomplished my goals; Sunset Shimmer was, for the first time since coming home, happy. For the past few days, I could see her past weighing her down, but tonight, it was as if the burden had been lifted. She was telling stories and jokes, and laughing at other ponies stories and jokes, having a genuinely good time.
I must have been staring at her, because both Celestia and Luna leaned the ear on their side, creating a very awkward position and leaving me very conflicted. Celestia looked over to her sister with a smile.
"You first," she said, causing Luna to smile back.
"I was just going to say that I noticed it as well. I'm not sure you've realized it, but she's made a major step in the recovery process because you took her here tonight; well done," said Luna, who proceeded to lean back to her normal position. Celestia, however, stayed where she was.
"I can't express how proud of you both I am. It warms my heart to see you two, my former students, striving to help each other, especially now that you have a student of your own in Starlight Glimmer; who, I might add, is quite the personality," said Celestia. I smiled back, and knew myself well enough to know that I had to be red all over at this point from embarrassment.
I had been paying so much attention to Celestia and Luna that I hadn't really taken in what was happening in front of me, but a soon as Celestia leaned away and I had a clear view of it, I couldn't help but laugh.
Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie Lulamoon were all magically levitating a salt shaker about five feet above their heads, staring at it intensely. I knew precisely what this was; they were going to see who would be the last to keep their salt shaker up in the air before they grew tired and had to drop it. What made it even funnier was that everypony at the table immediately stopped eating to watch it transpire.
"Trixie is superior," said Trixie very quickly as she continued to stare intently at the salt shaker.
"We'll see about that, Abracadabra," said Starlight, causing everypony to laugh. Sunset stayed quiet, opting instead to focus all of her concentration on the shaker. It was hard to say whether Starlight or Trixie would drop out first, but I knew for a fact that it wouldn't be Sunset; she had gone very far under Celestia's tutelage, something the other two mares simply could not compete with.
By the three minute mark, I could clearly see the pain in all three faces, and knew one of them was about to drop it very soon. Sure enough, Trixie gave a sharp grunt and let the shaker go; it hit her head with what had to be a painless impact before cascading to the hay floor below.
"And then there were two," said Sunset. They both gave devilish grins at the prospect, but there a slight twist that indicated the extreme discomfort they were both in. Quietly, I leaned over to Celestia.
"What are you thinking here?" I asked her. Celestia was silent for a few moments before she spoke.
"Sunset's going win this, but just barely. Starlight's good, but she's putting just a bit more effort in it than she should be, something I've trained Sunset to control," explained Celestia.
The minute I leaned back to an upright position, I saw the contest come to an end. Starlight gave the same grunt as Trixie did before dropping the salt shaker; Sunset waited just a second before doing the same and immediately proceeding to raise her arms to the ceiling in victory. The other two defeated ponies merely slouched in their chairs and both rolled their eyes at the exact same time. It didn't help their pride that the entire table began to cheer, including myself. After a few moments, Starlight and Trixie both grabbed ten bits each with their mouths (their horns were certainly sore) and threw it in Sunset's direction.
"Aw, guys, don't get salty," she said in response, with a massive emphasis on the pun. Both of the defeated mares reached their hooves out for a shove, causing Sunset to recoil to the side and throw up her hooves in defense.
As the dinner went on, both Starlight and Trixie wandered off to other ponies for discussion, leaving just her across from me, Celestia, and Luna.
"So, Sunset, how are you? You seem to be having fun," I told her. She looked up at me and gave a large sigh of relief.
"You know, Twi, for the first time since arriving back home...I feel alright."
It took about thirty seconds after leaving the castle in the morning to realize that I was human.
I looked down in absolute shock, and immediately convinced myself that I had found myself in a bad dream. I had everything back, too; the worn leather jacket, the cutie-mark t-shirt I had custom made, along with the boots and skirt; all the sudden I was human again, with absolutely explanation or formal reason.
I looked around frantically, searching for something, anything that could possibly explain what in the hell had just happened, but there was nothing. It was rather ordinary day in Ponyville, with Celestia's sun shining bright as it always did, the grass swaying slightly from the soft breeze. I took off running back toward's the castle; if anypony could know how to fix this, it would be Twilight. Just as I was about to reach the castle doors, however, I heard a rather chilling voice speak up from behind me.
"Hmm, I think this look suits you better. Oh, but those boots are so tacky! You're telling me that no one told you that?" said the voice. I whipped around, only to be greeted by a figure I had only seen in greyscale.
Well, that was half true; I had seen what Discord looked like in color from illustrations, but when I saw him physically, he had been petrified completely. Naturally, his color scheme was just as chaotic as he was, with green, brown, red, and a whole slew of other colors patterned across his body with his mismatched limbs from a variety of animals. Despite the mangled abomination that he was, it was his eyes that were the most disturbing to look at; they had this glint that clearly displayed Discord's nature; his cruelness, his cunning mind, and, most terrifying of all, his reckless abandon.
"Discord, I'm only going to say this once; change me back. I have a pony I need to meet," I explained clearly. At those words, Discord rolled his eyes.
"Who, Jennet? Jennet can wait; she's still waiting for proper recognition from all the sports analysts around Canterlot. They put Canter Magnum on the cover of the newspapers while she was catching all of his horrible passes. And besides, what are you going to do if I don't, hmm? A human girl with no more magic vs a god of chaos?" he asked mockingly. In response, I pointed (I had fingers again) towards the double doors of the castle.
"I'm not going to do anything, but the mare inside will," I told him. Instead of the fearful response I was looking for, I was met with a very devious grin.
"Twilight is sleeping. What is it now, one thirty? She stays up later and later every night, and I'm not entirely sure she knows why. Your friend is a wonderful actress, Sunset; so good, in fact, that she doesn't even know she's playing a part. She'll do nothing to me," he finished. I raised an eyebrow at the cryptic comment, but after idly looking down, I realized that I was still human.
"Change me back!" I shouted, more forcefully than the last. Discord chuckled.
"You said you wouldn't say it twice, and here we are; the world is full of hypocrites. Ugh, if you insist," he said, snapping his fingers.
The good news was that Discord, did, indeed, turn me back into my equine form; the bad news was that he had placed me on the balcony of the castle and completely removed the door behind me. I looked down to see him staring back at me; he gave me a very friendly looking wave, but I wasn't about to be as friendly with him; I gave a long sigh of annoyance.
"Put me down!" I shouted. Suddenly, I felt a chill crawl across my spine. Discord was still on the ground below me, but his voice, as I came to find out, was not.
"No, no, no; you only get one wish," came his voice behind me. I turned around to see him lounging on a lawn chair, a drink in his hand. I turned back over the balcony below to see that "Discord" was still down there, continuing to wave at me. I was absolutely certain that when I turned back around to see the Discord on the balcony, I was donning a look of murderous intent. Discord looked up at me and turned his smile a hundred and eighty degrees.
"You know, it takes a lot to impress me," he began. "Well, actually, it doesn't; "impressive" and "not boring" go hand in hand as far as I'm concerned, but I've been told I'm not a man of conventional tastes. You, Sunset Shimmer, you don't bore me, and that, to me, is very impressive; only one other mare holds the honor," he said.
"Twilight? Or Celestia?" I asked. Discord gave a look of mock offense.
"Celestia? Please. Celestia's the student who asks the teacher if she's going to collect the homework when the teacher forgets; Celestia's the mare that can't hang out on Saturday because she's too busy studying for a test that's a week away. I could carry better conversations with a piece of cardboard, and yet...Twilight Sparkle would die for her without a second thought. If Celestia was tied to the train tracks, Twilight Sparkle would jump in front of the train. That is why Twilight isn't boring; she'd sacrifice herself for a mare who cares far more about her job than anything else. And the reason you aren't boring is that you wouldn't die for Princess Celestia; if you could jump into a pit of acid to save her life, you wouldn't." Discord snapped his fingers, causing what appeared to be a yogurt snack to appear in his hands in a cloud of smoke. "Parfait?" he asked me, holding it out.
"You're wrong about that one, Discord," I told him, anger rising in my voice. "I don't think you quite understand how much Celestia cares about Twilight. It's motherly connection; even I can see that," I told him. Discord gave a sigh that mirrored my own before snapping his fingers once again.
The entire scene changed. I was no longer on the highest balcony of Twilight's castle in Ponyville; I was in an extravagantly decorated room, sitting in the front row on the right side of a carpeted walkway. The moment was completely frozen, but it was quite easy to tell what it was; Twilight stood upon a podium with Luna and Celestia beside her, addressing the large crowd of ponies before her.
"Twilight's coronation," I muttered to myself. Discord was sitting right beside me, eating the yogurt parfait he had offered me earlier. I turned to him, an eyebrow raise, silently demanding an explanation. He stared at me blankly.
"What? I thought you didn't want it," he said with the food in his mouth, mangling the sentence. I narrowed my eyes.
"Why are you showing me this?" I demanded. Discord's face lit up, as if a metaphorical lightbulb went off over his head.
"Oh, that!" he said, rushing over to the podium. He stood right next to Twilight and pulled a handkerchief from nowhere before proceeding to dab the tears from the frozen Twilight's face.
"Of course Celestia cares for this one! Twilight is her legacy. Everything Celestia has ever done as the ruler of this nation will all be inherited by the very mare she taught everything she knew; Princess Twilight Sparkle. Celestia is going to pass the torch, and Twilight Sparkle will receive it, and you damn well know that she's going to rule the exact same way that Celestia did; meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I mean, look at Equestria now! You all have been a peace for how many years? Well, peace is a loose term, when you consider all the preventable attacks on your soil, including mine; why oh why would you leave my petrified body displayed in public? It's rich!" he exclaimed. I gave a laugh of disbelief.
"The monologue is cute, Discord; you sound like a Bond villain," I said. As soon as the words came out of my mouth I realized that, for the first time in Equestria, I had made a reference to human culture that nopony would understand; however, this was Discord, and faster than the eye could comprehend, Discord was dressed in an all black suit with a deck of playing cards in his right hand and a scar over his right eye, which now appeared to be blinded with a milky, white texture.
"But that's where you're wrong, 007! I know the way you think; there's the majority of your mind that's telling you that everything I'm saying is ridiculous, but there's that small minority, the tinsy bit in there that has a singular thought; what if he's right?" Discord quickly flew from Celestia's side to Luna's.
"Luna had that streak in, her, too. She's actually not so different from you, is she? It's almost like we have another pair of royal twins! Twilight is Celestia, the Mrs. Perfect who's done no wrong, and you, my dear Sunset, are Luna, the redeemed villain who finds herself having to get used to a world she's been away from for a very long time, although you weren't responsible for thousands of deaths. Well, you almost were, but that only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," At that last remark, I'd completely had it; I stood up from the chair I'd been sitting in and marched over to him, an amused look on his face.
"So what's the point, huh? All this talk of Twilight and Celestia, and whether I'd die for them? The talk of my past, and Nightmare Moon? Where in the hell are you hoping to get with this? What's the purpose of it? I'd like for you to cap this bullshit off, because as I explained to you earlier, I have somewhere to be," I said, malice clearly dripping from my voice with every word. With those words, Discord snapped his fingers, and we were gone once again.
The familiar scenery of the castle greeted me, though, thankfully, I wasn't on the balcony this time. We were right where I had started, just a few feet away from the castle door, ready to go and meet Jennet at the town square.
"Absolutely, nothing, Sunset; I'm messing with you. It's the nature of my game; nothing brings me more enjoyment and self fulfillment than a ponies reaction to utter, nonsensical chaos and disorder. Well, I think it's time to leave you alone; I've certainly given you plenty to think about. Oh, and one more thing," he said. I stayed silent, deciding to just let him do his thing at this point.
"Twilight is supposed to give a short speech at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns today at three o' clock. If I were you, I'd do my best to convince her to cancel. Ciao!" he said.
"What's that supposed to--" I began, but before I could finish, he was gone. I looked around for any sign of him, but it had appeared he had teleported somewhere. I began pondering his last words whilst looking around the area for any sign of him.
He's just messing with me, I thought. He can't possibly predict the future...can he? It was hard to even take in; in a span of about ten minutes, Discord had questioned the establishment of the nation of Equestria, pelted me with hypothetical questions for no reason other than personal enjoyment, and, before he left, seemingly hinted that Twilight, one of the toughest, sweet, and kind mares that I knew, was in danger.
Even I have to admit, her sleep schedule is getting out of hand; I'll need to talk to her about it. I knew one thing was for certain; all of his hypothetical questions, stupid and useless as they were, were certainly doing their job; it would be good for me to get my mind off things by meeting up with Jennet. As the town of Ponyville came into view, I could only think one thing.
This won't be the last time we meet. And the next time we do, I'll be asking the questions.
Public speaking terrifies me. I was never, ever one to do it, though I've been told I'm extremely good at hiding it. It took about an hour for everypony to convince me to play Clover the Clever in the Hearth's Warming Eve play, and I was absolutely scared out of my mind the entire time I was doing it; thankfully, talking to some college students wasn't too bad, and I had done it before, albeit with a little interruption (Starlight jokingly asked if I'd like her to menacingly stare at me in the crowd during my speech for support).
This time, though, the subject wasn't Friendship; it was a history lecture on Starswirl the Bearded. When Celestia first asked me to do it, I had refused her; there was a hesitance because of my fear of public speaking, but it was mainly because I felt that every mare and stallion at the school had to have been pelted with Starswirl day and night. She managed to convince me in two ways; one, by saying that I held a unique understanding of the stallion, having done what he could not, and two, by mentioning that both she and Luna would be making a speech as well. That, above everything, was what convinced me to do it.
I was juggling my notecards with magic backstage; it was a nervous habit I had always been prone to. I don't know when I'd started it, but whenever I was nervous, I take an object and juggle it, watching the circle go around and around and around. My brother had tried to make me stop it when we were young, but obviously, his attempts were unsuccessful.
I could hear Celestia ending her speech. I had proofread it for her (four times) and had thus memorized the entirety of the speech in question, and I followed along with it as she spoke in that graceful voice that could only belong to her.
And that, my little ponies, is why this stallion was so important. We can learn from him in more ways than one. Not only was he a brilliant mind, his works on spell theory still relentlessly studied by all of you today, as I'm sure you'll know very well by now... as she had hoped, she got a chorus of laughs for the joke. ...but he was also a lonely stallion. A stallion that could not, and did not, understand the true power that friendship has. We can learn, this way, to not be like Starswirl, as preposterous as it sounds; he accomplished so much, but had he understood friendship, he could have accomplished so much more. To talk a little bit more about that, I'd like to introduce my former student, a very special mare; the one and only--
"Princess Twilight!" I heard as I came out from the curtain and on to the main stage. I was awarded with a chorus of clapping; I turned red very easily, I had been told, and I would bet a million bits I was blushing now. When I got to the podium Celestia had just left, I cleared my throat on the microphone, signaling for a halt of the cheers. I got what I wanted, and I took a look back at Luna and Celestia, who were standing on both sides of me at the back of the stage, before delivering my first line.
Starlight had suggested that, to quell my nerves, I start off with a joke to lighten the mood. That's precisely what I did, and it was a joke that Starlight herself had written into my speech; she had also wrote many more of them in, arguing that it would make me more relatable.
"What are you all doing here? You should be studying," I told the crowd, which got them laughing. I smiled at that; this was certainly going to be easier than I had imagined. I brought my notecards forward a bit on the podium.
"Well, I suppose this counts. Okay, so we're going to talk about Starswirl the Bearded today! If you all don't know already, he's one of my favorite ponies, and an idol I look up to when studying magic. He was absolutely brilliant, but it wasn't too long ago that I did something he could never do; create magic. Now, it wasn't because he wasn't smart enough, or magically inclined enough, or talented enough; it was because he lacked the fundamental concept that is essential to the magic of Equestria; friendship. I think I've already discussed that with you all, so I'll spare you the details on all of that. I'd actually like to begin the discussion with a pony who deserves more recognition," I began. I felt a very strange, rising, and a little bit painful feeling in my stomach. I shrugged it off as nervousness and continued.
"I actually played Clover the Clever in a Hearth's Warming Eve play a few years back; for anypony who saw it, I'm very sorry," I said, which caused more laughter. I looked for Starlight in the crowd to see if she was admiring her work; sure enough, when I found her, she was staring very ominously at me just like the day I had seen her before the time travel mess; I smiled at her, and she smiled back before waving at me, failing to withhold a chuckle.
"Well, here's the thing; she understood that which Starswirl did not. Was she the better mage? No, but she understood the concept of friendship, and that actually made her a considerable force in comparison to her mentor, who did not. She was the only friend Starswirl ever had; of course, he met Celestia, but when you've known her as long as I have, you'll understand why he didn't befriend her." That drew massive laughs; I turned back to Celestia, who gave me a very playful "really?" face. Luna, on the other hand, was laughing harder than anypony in the building, completely unremorsefully. When I turned back to Starlight in the audience, she wore a smug look, admiring her handiwork.
That feeling in my stomach spread to my legs; I looked down for a quick second in curiosity, but, one again, shrugged it off as nervousness. It was bothersome, but I could definitely still speak, so I immediately centered myself at the podium; the sooner it was done, the better.
"Clover wrote a book after Starswirl died called the Art of Magic; you all had to read it as first year students. It's actually loosely based on Starswirl's Equestrian Wizardry and Charm, but it was far more comprehensive." I pulled out the book in question and placed it on the podium.
"Friendship is absolutely the most essential thing a pony can posses, especially if it be true the pony is a unicorn. I hath found it to be the driving force behind all charm, be it Pegasus, Unicorn, or Earth, a concept mine own mentor, as cunning as he was, could not comprehend. I have that quote hung up in my laboratory, as nerdy as it sounds, but only because it's true! I can tell you now that I would not be in the position I am today if it weren't for all the...the..."
The entire room began to spin. My vision was slowly blurring into nothing, and I felt my knees buckling under me. I took a step back, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to save myself from falling.
"Twilight?" I heard Luna say from behind me.
"The, um...the, uh, spell...doesn't..." I muttered. The last thing I remembered before blacking out completely was very inelegantly falling backwards, careening to the stage's hard wood floor. I didn't feel the impact, because seconds later, I was out like a light.
* * * * * *
I woke up in a hospital. I knew this because everything was white, even the bed I had been seemingly been sleeping in. It took a while to fully get my vision back, but once I did, there wasn't too much to see; just some medical equipment I had been hooked up to, a monitor, and a calendar; I wasn't too impressed with the scenery until I took a closer look at the calendar.
It was not Saturday, it was Sunday; the day after the speech, or what was supposed to be the speech. I stood, my mouth agape, in shock; I had been sleeping for an entire day! It wasn't until a few seconds later that I realized there as a noise behind me; I turned around from my position, but I felt a wave of pain shoot through me. I grunted, but it wasn't passing quickly. It slowly burned away, and once I had taken my concentration off of that, I could clearly tell what had been making the noise.
It was a radio, turned to the hoofball game; the Ponyville Express were playing the Cloudsdale Thunder for their opening game, I had remembered.
Second and five, ball at their own forty six yardline. Rookie quarterback Steel Heart drops back, looking for an opening; he fires the hoofball all the way down the field, and that's gonna be tipped away--no! It's caught! Jennet Galloway makes a leap and grabs it, taking it to the house! That's her first receiving touchdown as a member of this talented young Ponyville squad, and that's Steel Heart's first passing touchdown, a fifty four yard bomb! She is living it up in the endzone! Unbelievable!
I smiled at those words; I see Jennet was making her mark on the league as usual. I sighed and laid there for a few moments before I heard the door open. I instinctively turned towards the sound, and once again winced as pain shot through my body. It was a doctor, that was to be sure, and when she saw me, she immediately frowned and walked towards me. She was very cold looking, but all the same reassuring to look at, in a way that only doctors were. She had the same cutie mark, fur color, and mane style as Nurse Redheart, but her mane and tail color were a very deep red as opposed to the light pink Redheart had.
"Don't turn over again, for obvious reasons. My name is Red Cross, though my friends like to call me Red, and of course I'll extend the same courtesy to you. You've been sleeping for about a day, if you haven't been able to tell; how are you feeling?" she asked me, walking over to me.
"Not too hot, with all the pain from moving. What exactly happened to me? I remember passing out..." I told her. It was just for a moment, but I saw an annoyed look flash across her face.
"It has something to do with your Alicorn Magic and, as a result, I have positively no idea. Celestia is here, though, with the rest of your friends, so I'll go and get her so she can explain it all. From what I do understand, you're going to be here for quite a while, Princess Twilight. Stay put," she said before leaving the room.
Quite a while? That's impossible! I'm not dying or anything, I said to myself, though it quickly became apparent that I didn't actually know what was happening. I didn't get a long time to think before I was greeted by Princess Celestia herself, closing the door behind her with magic as she entered. Her normally regal presence was, to my surprise, just a bit lax.
"Still in pain, huh?" she asked me as she sat down next to the bed, pulling up a chair. I nodded my head in the affirmative.
"Princess, what happened to me?" I asked her. Her light hearted demeanor instantly changed to a grim one, which did a wonderful job of worrying me immensely before she spoke.
"Do you remember what Cadance told you a while back? About Alicorns needing rest to properly regulate their magical pool?" She asked me. A look of understanding had to have dawned across her face, as Celestia nodded before continuing.
"Then you know. You haven't been sleeping, Twilight, and as a result, your magical pool hasn't had a chance to refresh itself faster than it's being used. It got to frighteningly low levels during that speech, and as a result, it couldn't retain you. You aren't going to die, just so you know, but you're going to have to get some sleep to heal yourself fully. The reason you're in pain is because you're magical pool is still at the capacity it was when you fainted, it's just now you're awake; when you move, your body is begging you to stop moving, effectively. With all that said, I'm going to have to ask you a question; why?" she asked, I stared at her blankly.
You know why, came a voice in my head. I knew precisely why, but I wasn't going to tell Celestia. Celestia had expected greatness from me. Celestia trusted me with the position I now held. Celestia brought me up to conquer any and every problem I encountered. Celestia could not see me fail.
But I knew a mare who could.
"Is Sunset here?" I asked her. I got exactly what I had been expecting; a raised eyebrow, a slight recoil, and confusion spreading across Celestia's face like a gentle current. I was dodging the question, something Celestia had not come in here prepared for.
"Yes. She's in the waiting room. Would you like to see her?" she asked me. I nodded, but Celestia didn't get up immediately. Instead, to make it worse, she stared at me for a few more seconds, seemingly looking for something; she must have found it, because she quietly got up and headed towards the door. Before she opened it and left, however, she turned her head to me.
"You can tell me anything, Twilight. I want you to know that," she said. I gave her nothing in response but a blank stare; at that, she'd left the room.
* * * * * *
When Sunset walked into the room, she had already caught me off guard.
She had this look on her face of subtle rage. It was very hard to tell, but her eyebrows were just ever so slanted downwards, and her lips were pressed together just a bit too tight to be normal looking. She was mad, but unless you looked very, very closely, you wouldn't be able to tell. An old Equestrian saying came to mind upon seeing her face. Not a mare in the world plans misdeeds aloud.
"You look angry," I said simply upon her arrival, with a confused tone. She calmly sat in the chair Celestia had been occupying only moments earlier before looking up at me.
"I am angry. You should have told somepony about this, Twilight. I've told you everything, and I was hoping you'd trust me enough to do the same," she said simply. I shook my head at those words.
"It wasn't about telling you, Sunset. I wasn't going to tell anypony. Don't take it personally, I trust you completely," I told her. That subtle anger was flaring up now, much to my surprise.
"Well, obviously, you don't! If you had trouble with this whole princess thing, or if it's about a stallion or a mare, whatever the hell was keeping you up at night, you could have told somepony about it! From first hand experience, I can tell you, it does wonders. So I'm going to ask you now, Twilight, to stop hiding. What's up? What's on your mind? What's troubling you?" she said.
I didn't consider myself to be an angry mare. I tried to be the nicest I could be, and I tried to never act in an overtly aggressive manner unless I absolutely had to. I tried to limit profanity, and most of all, I tried not to lose my cool and forget all of those things; in the following moments, I would come to break absolutely every rule I had ever set for myself.
"I'll tell you what's wrong, Sunset. I'm a princess now. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, all of these ponies are expecting me to become this highly efficient, super regal, flawless ruler in what really seems to me like an absolute instant. The problem, Sunset, is that for the past year, I've had no idea what is happening, and none of this princess shit is making any sense to me at the moment! Oh, but it must! Because you're the element of magic, you've handled far, far worse! Being immediately thrust into the national spotlight as the Princess of Friendship, the most singularly powerful force in Equestria, should just be easy! Nopony, not Celestia, not Luna, not Cadance, not my friends, nopony, not even Spike, had ever asked me how I was feeling about it, or if it was too stressful. It's like nopony ever even gave a damn that Twilight Sparkle might not be comfortable with all of this just yet, but I'm not supposed to have problems! Ponies...ponies don't think I'm a pony; they think I'm some sort of magical being who can do no wrong. After all, she saved us from Discord, from Tirek, from Nightmare Moon; she's infailable!...I'm not, Sunset. I'm a pony. And late at night, into the early hours of the morning and even the crack of dawn, I'm remembering what it was like to be a pony. Not a goddess! Not an element of magic! Not a prodigy from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns...a pony. With feelings, with worries, with problems." I had began crying hard at that point. Sunset had a look of understanding on her face, and slowly, she put a hoof on my shoulder.
"I want to go home," I cried. After a few seconds of staring at the ground, Sunset nodded.
"Then you will. I'm not going to let you be cooped up in here. you can get your rest at the castle, Twi. I'll let the doctors know," she said. As I continued to cry, much to my embarrassment, looked up to the ceiling.
"I'm sorry you feel like that," she said, "but you should really tell Celestia. She'll understand, I know it. Twilight, I can't begin to tell you how good of a job you've been doing as a Princess, from what I've been told. It seems to me that nopony is asking you if you're okay because you very much seem like you are; you're doing such a great job, it doesn't seem like there is reason to worry. Now, that's no excuse, mind you, but I just want you to know that we all think so highly of you. Not as a goddess, or an element of magic, but as a pony, Twilight; you're one of the greatest mares I know, and I've known plenty," said Sunset. I looked up at her, and, for the first time that evening, I smiled.
"Thanks, Sunset," I said. "I should have told somepony, instead of waiting for them to figure it out." Sunset returned my smile readily before slowly getting up from her chair.
"I'll tell Celestia what you said. We'll help you, Twilight, I promise you that, but for now, you need to go back to sleep. We'll put you back in the castle soon enough, okay?" I nodded, and like that, she was gone.
The first visit was going to be the hardest, I knew. However, with Twilight sleeping for entire days on end, I had absolutely no other present engagements in Equestria, so if I was going to do it, well, it'd be now. And so I did; I had stepped into the portal, and I had returned to that old establishment called Canterlot High.
It was interesting to see it again, knowing that I wouldn't be staying. School was still in session at the moment, but it would be over very soon, I knew. For now, there weren't many people walking out of the place, except for those who were leaving a period early for virtual classes; despite being completely out in the open after many days away from the school, not one of those students came to talk to me. I didn't particularly care, of course, but it was an interesting phenomenon. At the moment, I was sitting on a bench by the school, idly swinging my legs in wait for the bell; the longer I stared at them, the more an unpleasant thought came back to me.
These boots aren't tacky...are they? I thought as I continued to swing them. It was funny, actually; out all the things Discord had talked about, the one comment about my human boots being tacky may have been the one to bother me the most. While the boots may have been tacky (I still really didn't think they were), my sunglasses were able to go through the portal, meaning that I was now wearing a wicked pair of shades that would inevitably cancel out the boots. I chuckled at the thought, and as soon as my laughter died down, the bell rang. With glee, I hopped up from the bench and entered the school, ready for the traffic of teenagers coming out.
There were a few passing comments as I made my way back into the school, bustling through the crowd. Nothing huge though, mostly consisting of "Sunset?" and "Hey, I thought you graduated!" and stuff of the like. I didn't answer any of them, though, knowing that I wouldn't be around tomorrow, so I kept walking towards a very specific destination; the band room.
It was their hangout destination after school, and it always had been. Back when I was in the band, we would usually play for about an hour and a half, although we occasionally didn't feel like it and did something else. I knew for a fact that they still hung out there after school, and I specifically told them that whenever I came back, that would be where I'd meet them. I was very excited for the surprise, more than anything, and as I got to the band room door, I was already smiling.
I heard some instruments inside, clearly hearing Applejack warming up on the bass. She was easily the most talented player out of the whole group, being very good at the guitar and banjo as well, and she knew it, too; I had gotten into many arguments with her regarding how loud she turned herself up, because she wanted to be heard more than was practical for the sound of the band, subconsciously trying to show off. Of course, when I opened the door, I made sure to remind her of it once again.
"You're still too loud, AJ," I said as I entered the room. Everyone stopped dead upon seeing me, and I held out my arms to signal for the group hug; I was not disappointed.
"SUNSET!" they all screamed as they rushed towards me. They did, indeed, pounce upon me, and we stayed in the group hug for a considerable amount of time before breaking. I had heard that the Rainbooms once again became a six-piece, with this world's Twilight Sparkle (dubbed "Sci-Twi", apparently; it's a badass nickname, that was for sure) joining the band. As a result, all six of them were at practice, which meant that all of them were ready to talk all at once, at a rapid fire pace.
"How is home? Is it good to be back?" asked Pinkie.
"Did my pony counterpart get awesomer when you came back?" asked Rainbow.
"You said I was a fashion designer, right? Who are my clients?" asked Rarity.
"I am not too loud!" Applejack said angrily, though there was a smile on her face.
"Umm...hi," said Fluttershy.
"So, how's the super important Princess me?" asked Twilight. I held up my hands, signaling that it was just a bit too much, and I began to systematically answer all of the questions I had heard in the last five seconds.
"Home is fantastic, and I'm beyond glad to live in Equestria again, Pinkie. I haven't really talked to Rainbow, but from my understanding, yes, she's still pretty awesome. Yes, Applejack, you are still too loud; you need to lower the volume by one, I'm telling you, especially because those Fender Amps are pretty loud. Hi, Fluttershy! Rarity, you've got a professional athlete who plays the equivalent to football back in that world; her name is Jennet Galloway. Twilight--" I was quickly interrupted by Rainbow.
"Wait wait wait, Jennet is a professional football player? No way! She'd get a real kick outta that," Rainbow said. I recoiled in surprise.
"You know Jennet?" I asked. To my further surprise, everyone in the room nodded.
"The whole school knows who she is! She just made a bet with the captain of the football team, Steel Heart, that she'd make the team at tryouts tomorrow. Nopony believes her, but I actually think she could get on as a backup; our receiving core is terrible," said Rainbow. At those words, I shook my head.
"If she's anything like her Equestrian counterpart, she'll start." I turned to the human Twilight.
"So I hear they're calling you "Sci-Twi" now?" I asked her. She rolled her eyes and gave a long sigh, which conveyed to me that she wasn't too big of a fan.
"Yes, that is what they're calling me. I hate it, but I have a vague feeling I'm not gonna be able to do anything about it, so I've given up on being mad at it. So anyways, how's Twilight? The other one, I mean," she said. I dropped the smile, which also took away the light-hearted atmosphere from the room completely, much faster than I had anticipated.
"Twilight had a little accident, but she's recovering from it now, so she couldn't make it, unfortunately. I'll talk to you later about that, Sci-Twi, but for right now, I have a ton of human money left over and nothing to do with it, so who wants to go out to eat? Obviously, I'll buy," I said. The group's universal beaming smiled returned to their faces, and they eagerly nodded. I motioned them to turn off the amps and hang up the instruments. I made my way towards the door, but before I opened it, I turned back to the group.
"Oh, and who's car are we taking? Because I no longer own one."
* * * * * *
I, much like the Twilight from my world, was not a particularly fancy eater. No, like the Twilight from my world, I liked the old fashioned burger joints despite the fact that I didn't eat meat, and so the restaurant I had chosen for the reunion with my human friends was none other than the very diner where I had first told my Twilight that I wanted to come home; a very simple 50's style diner called the 4th Street Grill, as it could be found, coincidentally, on 4th Street.
The scene laid out before me was eerily reminiscent of Applejack's party just a few days prior, but it obviously didn't have as many people at the table. Our food had already arrived, and so everyone was just beginning to dig in to their meals, which generally consisted of a cheeseburger and French Fries; I, the vegetarian of the group, was the only one that didn't order one.
I had arranged it so the there were six on each side of the table with a seat at the head of it, which I had gladly taken. I had Sci-Twi to my left and Applejack to my right; Pinkie and Rainbow completed AJ's side, while Rarity and Fluttershy completed Sci-Twi's.
"So, what is it about the Twilight in Equestria? You said you wanted to elaborate on it," said Sci-Twi as she took another bite of her burger. I nodded.
"She used up her magical pool, and wasn't getting enough sleep to regenerate it. She'll be fine. I just thought you might like to know because Equestria interests you so much, and well, she is your counterpart. By the way, if there's anything else you like to know about Equestria, I'm open to answering anything you may ask me," I said. That certainly got Sci-Twi's attention; she must have been expecting the question, because she fired it off immediately.
"Are you the only sentient race in Equestria?" she asked. I was impressed; that was a fantastic first question.
"Not in the slightest. Let me tell you about a different race we have back home; the griffons. Yes, they're very much like the mythological creatures of Ancient Greece, but like ponies, they are sentient. They're a very proud race, and they differ from us in many ways; they are typically more aggressive, much like humans, and they are rather untrustworthy. Not xenophobic, mind you, but untrustworthy. if they make a deal or a promise to a particular individual, they will only honor that promise with that particular individual, and not anyone else; it is their custom. They're like us, being a monarchy, but they have a king or queen ruling by themselves; there is never a king and a queen at the same time. The husband or wife of the current monarch is referred to as the socius, or partner. Where as Equestrian is equivalent to the English here, Griffonian is equivalent to Latin," I explained. Sci-Twi was absolutely fascinated, and, to my surprise, so was Applejack.
"Do they have a queen or a king now?" Applejack asked me.
"A King. Sanguis Talon the I. He's very much loved by the griffonians, but although Equestrians would never admit it, he makes us nervous. He's the son of the previous ruler, Amicus, and he was the Excubitor of Griffonia, their military leader, before becoming king upon the death of Amicus. He's got a pretty frightening appearance, too; he's massive, with a long scar running across his left eye. I'm just finding all this stuff out, by the way, so I'm not exactly the best source," I explained. Sci-Twi raised her eyebrows.
"So his name is Blood Talon? He sounds like a corny villain in a really cheesy fantasy movie," she said, which made me chuckle.
"Yep, and that's another reason he kinda scares us, because I assure you, his parents didn't name him "blood"; they named him "Aurora", or Dawn. He took that name during his coronation ceremony. Sounds like a pleasant dude, huh?" I asked; this time, the girls were the ones laughing.
"It's crazy! It's like some sort of fantasy book come to life! I'd love to see it one day..." she said. My smile grew even bigger.
"Well, when is spring break? I'd love to take you. Plus, if I do it without telling Twilight, there's plenty of opportunities to mess around with her, which means we'll both be happy," I explained. Sci-Twi's eyes lit up at the thought, and I knew immediately that she'd be on the other side of the portal soon.
"That...that would be amazing! Spring break is in two weeks; will you visit then?" she asked. I chuckled a little as I nodded my head.
"Yes, I will. I'll take anyone that wants to come, too, though I'm not going to bring all six of you at once; wouldn't want the Equestrian Inquirer to flip their shit about another set of elements, would we?" I asked, which garnered more laughs from the two girls.
"I'd be pleased as punch, sugercube, but maybe next year; I got a lotta stuff goin' on durin' spring break. It is funny to think that we'd look exactly like the ponies there, though, ain't it? Imagine two pinkie's running around!" joked Applejack.
Try fifty, I thought, remembering an old story Twilight had told me only a week ago. That, however, wasn't important, because there was another point about the portal I saw I needed to educated the girls on.
"That isn't necessarily true," I began. "For instance, you ever notice that your hairstyle was different from Twilight's when you saw her? When you hop through the portal, you'll have a different mane style, so you'll look a little different. Also, you wear glasses here, and your vision isn't going to be repaired by going through the portal. That's gonna happen to a few of you, but there are some of you who will transfer over exactly the same. Rainbow and Pinkie come to mind, along with you, AJ. Rarity and Flutters are toss ups, though," I explained. Twilight and AJ nodded in understanding.
"We'll let the girls know. How long are you staying here, exactly? Are you going to leave tonight?" They asked. I shrugged.
"That was the plan, but I think I'll stay one more night; I'd very much like to see Jennet absolutely embarrass the football team." Pinkie, who had been talking to Rainbow and Rarity, overheard that particular sentence; she immediately stopped and quickly turned her head towards me, her mouth agape.
"You're staying! YAY! PARTY AT MY HOUSE, EVERYONE! With a special guest; the one and only Sunset Shimmer!" she shouted. That was met with large amounts of cheers, and I couldn't help but laugh. I was so glad I had found my place in Equestria, but even I didn't realize how much I needed this visit. I gave a sigh of relief as the conversations moved away from me. As I took a sip of my drink, I took a look down to my boots once again.
Stepping through the portal was always hard. It was hard going to the human world for the first time, it was hard going back to Equestria, it was hard for the first visit, and it was hard leaving after the visit in question. I hated the damn thing, but I had always been drawn to it like a moth to a flame, because even though Equestria was where I truly belonged, I knew very well that every time I would come to leave that portal after the monthly visits, a piece of me would stay behind.
We had a great time. We watched Jennet's football tryout; she absolutely made a mockery of the entire Canterlot High School Broncos' secondary, and got the starting job without a problem, making her the first girl to ever make the team. Of course, with the gender ratio, there were plenty of mares in the Equestrian Football League with the stallions, but in the human world, it wasn't at all a common occurrence; we congratulated her afterwards before heading back to the band room to practice for old time's sake. I was very rusty on the guitar, although I was able to get into rhythm eventually; Sci-Twi had already far surpassed me skill wise, however, so my presence among the newly formed Rainbooms did more harm than good.
I also saw Flash Sentry again. It was rather awkward, of course, but we said hey and chatted for a few minutes about absolutely nothing before departing. His band was doing really well, of course, and he even invited me to one of their shows out of what I had assumed was pity; I declined, naturally, as I would be in a completely different dimension by the time it actually occurred.
The goodbyes were bittersweet, naturally. I would see the girls again in two weeks, I had promised, and I swore I would take Sci-Twi to visit Equestria. She was very excited, of course, and as a result, I was as well. It wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be, though, knowing that the next visit would not be far away.
When I came out of the portal, I had two thoughts; the first being a mental note to buy new boots the next time I went to Equestria, and the second being that there was someone--something--I needed to see.
To see the being in question, I went to the front yard (more like the front valley) of Twilight's castle, where I had first met him. Starlight Glimmer was currently living in the residence with me in order to watch over Twilight, who had been sleeping for about a week now, so we were very much getting to know each other a lot better. She was a very cool mare, and one that I was glad to call my friend; she was also as funny as ever, so it served as a nice relief to have her around while worrying about Twilight.
I sat down on in the yard in front of the castle. The sky was exceptionally blue today; maybe that was because I had spent two days in the human world. The grass looked greener, too, but I had shrugged that off as a figure of my imagination at this point. After admiring the scenery of the landscape around me, I shouted as loud as I possibly could into the air.
"DISCORD!"
I had no idea if that would actually work, as I had only met him one other time, but sure enough, in front of me appeared the very being of chaos I had been looking for. He, for whatever reason, was wearing what looked to be a very expensive full suit, the navy blue gleaming in the sunlight above him. He looked very annoyed with me, but that was perfectly okay because I didn't care one bit at the moment.
"What in Tartarus do you want? I was just at Rarity's getting a new suit fitted, so this had better be quick, Shimmer," he said. I gave him a deadpanned look.
"Well, it won't be. Rares can wait. You knew what would happen to Twilight, and so that's why you told me to tell her to cancel; I want to know how," I stated simply. Discord rolled his eyes and begrudgingly sat down on the grass himself, doing a very bad impression of the way I was sitting.
"That's about the only thing I don't like about you, Sunset Shimmer; everything is straight forward with you. It's yes or no, black and white, day vs night, Son of Krypton vs Bat of Gotham--oh, sorry, I just got back from the movies. My point is that you need to know how everything works, when there's one thing you have to fundamentally understand; a magician doesn't give secrets. And thus, neither will I," he said, smiling. I gritted my teeth and fervently shook my head.
"No! I am NOT doing this again! You're going to tell me how you knew, or I'm going right to the Princesses and telling them that you had prior knowledge of the event and failed to do anything about it," as soon as I said those words, Discord raised an eyebrow and snorted with a smile on his face.
"Um, excuse me? I did warn you beforehand; I told you that she should probably cancel the speech. But did you tell her? Obviously not! Or if you did, she wouldn't listen; the newspapers and Bards hardly tell tales of the stubbornness of Twilight Sparkle. But if you truly must ruin the joke, I I suppose I'll let you sleep at night; I have the ability to properly gauge the magical pool of any pony, griffon, or zebra that has one. As soon as I took a look at her in recent days, it was clear to me that something was wrong. Are we done with this now? I mean, come on, nopony died! Yet!" he said, putting his hands up in defense. Once again, with a piercing stare, I slowly shook my head.
'We are not done. I have another question, and you are going to answer it; what do you know about my time in the human world? You turned me into my human form effortlessly," I explained. Discord smiled and, instantly changed outfits with a snap of his hand. His nay suit became purple, and his face was now completely white with red lipstick smeared across his lips; the very little hair he had turned a sickly green.
"Memories can be vile, repulsive little brutes...but can we live without them?" he asked me, cackling wildly as he said it. I gave him a "really?" look, which prompted him to roll his eyes and immediately undo everything he had just done to himself, save the suit; it was still purple.
"You're the only one I can make these pop culture references to, and you don't appreciate them. Ugh, whatever. It's your memories of that place that fascinates me; memories only few on this planet have. It's easy to see why that particular aspect catches my attention; it's simply different, and I love different. As for how I knew what you looked like, you'd be a fool to think I wouldn't hang out in the human world from time to time! They're constantly at each other's throats with every turn, and they're greedier than a horde of dragons! How could I resist, Sunset? They're so juicy! But, I must admit...there is some sort of purity to them all. They're technologically advanced light years ahead of us, and yet, in so many ways, they're so far behind! Oh, there I go again with the rant..." he began. I didn't say anything at first, because I had come to a realization I had thought I'd never reach.
"No, I...I get it. You're right," I told him. He recoiled in mock surprise, holding a claw to his mouth in feign shock.
"Wwwwhhhhaaattt? You didn't come here just to ridicule me? I--am--shocked! Oh, by the way, I don't think I've met that apprentice Twilight's gotten yet! What is it, Twilight Shimmer? Sunset Glimmer? Starlight Sparkle--what is it with you all and your alliteration and equal-syllable names? And why do you all know each other? Is the universe just trying to spite me?" he asked. I got up from my seated position and began walking back towards the castle door.
"I have nothing more to ask you Discord. Go get your new suit," I told him, magically levitating the doors open with my magic. As I was about to leave him, Discord spoke once more, and what he said stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Of course! The Grand Galloping Gala only deserves the best! And to think it's only two weeks away..." he said.
The Gala! I had completely and utterly forgotten all about it during my time in the human world. It was the best, most entertaining, genuinely fun night in the whole year, and as Celestia's protégé, I got to go every year. Well, I used to be able to, but that was a long time ago; I'm not even sure how the selection process went. The only thing I knew was that Twilight had passingly mentioned that she had gone with the rest of the elements one year, only for it to be a complete disaster. At any rate, just hearing the words made me excited, but as I turned to face Discord, I certainly didn't show it.
"How in the hell did you get a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala?" I asked him, an exaggerated look of disbelief. He gave me a smile.
"First of all, Sunset, we don't say "hell" over here; it's "Tartarus". But, to answer your question, it's because I'm reformed now! Just like you, just like Starlight, just like Trixie, though it took her a few tries. Took me few tries too, but that's beyond the point. At any rate, what are you worried about? Nothing could be as much of a trainwreck as the time the elements showed up; let me tell you, if I had even been there, even I couldn't have made it more chaotic. You'll get your tickets in the mail, I'm sure, though if Twilight happens to even wake up during that time, I'd be surprised. Parfait?" he stated. I looked in his claw to see, once again, a yogurt parfait levitating with it. I sighed in defeat.
"You're gonna ask me if I want one of those every time we meet, aren't you?" I asked him. He gave a very content nod with his eyes closed.
"Indeed I will. You'll take it eventually, Sunset, however long into the future that may be. Everyone else around you did; now I'm just waiting on you. Oh well, no matter; Rarity is going to be absolutely infuriated at my absence. I'm totally blaming you for it, by the way. Oyasuminasai!" he exclaimed before immediately disappearing. I stared at the spot he had occupied only seconds earlier.
Everyone takes it...what's that even supposed to mean? I asked to myself. It wasn't long after that another thought promptly came to mind.
Oyasuminasai? Isn't that Japanese for "good night?" It's one in the afternoon! I wasn't going to pin down Discord for an expert on foreign languages from another dimension, but at that point, I'd stopped analyzing him. I had only just turned around to make my way back into the castle when the door was quickly opened by none other than Spike the Dragon, with Starlight in tow. They both had big, goofy grins on their faces, and it was easy to tell what had happened before it got out of their mouths.
"She's up!" they both exclaimed, at the precise same time.
Light. Some are drawn towards it, hypnotized by its radiance, artificial or natural. Some, however, are repulsed by it, comforted by the black embrace of darkness. The latter is all I had known for the past two and a half weeks; my sleep was dreamless, but at the same time, I could just make out some visions. They were never in reach; they were a blur, forever encoded to me. And on a random day during the beginning of the week, I met an old friend again, and Celestia, was I drawn to it.
That was unfortunate, because when the room was first full of it when I woke up, it felt like my retinas were on fire. I hadn't the slightest clue why, but the last thing on my mind was figuring it out. I quickly stumbled over to the blinds in my room, shielding my eyes the best I could, and clumsily shut them; the relief was immediate.
And so, in the almost complete darkness of the room, I stood.
I was breathing heavily, and sweating, I had realized. It wasn't hard to tell that I still had a bit to go when it came to recovery, and I wasn't quite feeling up to standard as a result. It wasn't too bad, though; Sunglasses would effortlessly solve the light problem, and walking around a bit more after a very long time sleeping (I didn't know exactly how long at this point) would solve that problem. For now, though, I could just do some thinking.
That little incident I had was almost very, very bad; not only that, but I passed out in front of an entire class of ponies at Celestia's own school, none the less. That was regrettable, but not nearly as bad as that time I made up my own friendship problem; that day will always sit on my own personal wall of shame as the absolute worst day of my entire life. That particular day at the school, however, certainly made a strong case for joining it. At any rate, I was very glad that I was up again, and the only thing I could think of was seeing my friends once more; I certainly needed it.
As I was heading towards the door to walk out of the room, I was surprised to find that it had opened up without me. Into the room came Starlight Glimmer, and when she saw me up, her eyes widened in surprise. Mine did, too, and the very first thing I said to her upon her seeing me awake for the first time became one of our running jokes.
"What in Tartarus did you do to your mane?" I almost shouted. I didn't mean for it come out like that, but I was genuinely shocked. While she used to have a mane that reminded me of my fourth grade teacher's or my grandmother's in her youth, she had it drastically changed. It now resembled Rainbow Dash's, but whereas Rainbow Dash's was very rough and unkempt, this one was unnaturally straightened and well maintain, gleaming in front of me when there was no light to make it shine. It looked fantastic, of course, rivaling even that of Rarity's, but it was just so...different. For now, however, Starlight completely ignored my remark and ran to me full speed, locking me in a hug.
"You're up! Celestia, I was so worried!" she exclaimed, holding on tight. I laughed a bit and gladly returned it, and we held on for quite sometime before releasing. Starlight's smile was contagious, and I couldn't help but grin back at her.
"And as for my mane, I got asked by a little foal standing behind me for an interview for what I presume was his school newspaper while he was standing behind me. When I turned around, he told me he thought I was older and walked away. As it turns out, he was trying to interview older ponies for an assignment from Cheerilee about what life in Equestria was like in the past. I knew then it was time, Twilight; it was time," she said, the last line causing me to laugh.
"Well, it looks fantastic. Hey, you, uh, got any Sunglasses? I could very much use them," I told her. Starlight's eyes widened again.
"Oh! Celestia said it would take a little bit to adjust to everything when you got back up; Sunset left you these to put on," she said. She levitated a pair of glasses on the counter towards me, and I was grateful for them, until I saw the specific pair that was suspended in the air.
It was the first thing Starlight had ever bought with her own money; her pair of sunglasses. They were really cool looking, I had to admit, but I couldn't ever bring myself to wear them; it seemed like a very personal item, and I didn't plan on tainting anything like that. I held my hoof up and shook my head.
"Absolutely not. I'm sorry, but those don't belong to me," I said. Starlight rolled her eyes.
"Sunset thought you might be a bitch about it. She told me specifically that she really wanted you to have them, and she's more stubborn than you, unbelievably. Take them. She's gonna whine about it if you don't wear them," she said. I stared at them for a few more seconds before grabbing them with my magic and donning them. I never wore sunglasses a lot, but whenever I did, I felt like a total badass; I made a mental note to start wearing them more often.
"I'm gonna go tell Sunset you're up; she's just outside talking to somepony. Celestia told me to tell you when you woke up so she could come see you, but...I wanted to leave that up to you," she said. I immediately nodded my consent for the action, as Sunset was right; I needed to talk to her, and desperately. Starlight nodded and ran out the room, and, very slowly, I followed her.
She shot down the stairs in excitement, but I casually walked down them. It was nice to be awake again; The daze I had been in during my sleep wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but not an experience I would recommend partaking in again. When I was halfway down the stairs, I saw another very friendly face; Spike the Dragon, my extremely faithful assistant, reading a comic book with his back to the edge of the stairs. It wasn't until I got to the base of the stairs that I realized exactly what comic it was in particular, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't I tell you you weren't allowed to read The Poison Joke?" I asked. When he heard my voice, he jumped, but after really comprehending what had just happened, he turned around, a grin wider than Starlight's.
"Twilight!" he shouted, before hopping out of his seat and running towards me. He embrace me as well, and I wrapped both my wings around him; when he looked at me, I raised my eyebrows once again.
"You still haven't answered my question," I told him. He looked down to the floor, something he had always done when he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.
"Well, I mean, you were asleep for two weeks, a-and I had just finished the Matterhorn v. Radiance: Dawn of Friendship series, a-and Starlight recommended these to me, and I kinda didn't tell her that I wasn't allowed to read them..." he said. I looked over to see Starlight, who had stopped by the door to witness our touching reunion, recoiled in betrayal.
"Dude!" she exclaimed, directing her voice at Spike. When I gave her the very same look, she held a hoof up in defense before pleading her case.
"It's the graphic novel of our generation, Twilight; he'd be ashamed to call himself a fan of Batmare if he didn't read it! And of course, Spike mentions that you've been asleep for two weeks and that doesn't freak you out?" she said in her defense. I processed her words and then looked to the ground, giving off a long sigh.
"I suppose it's fine, though this doesn't mean you get to read The Dark Horse Returns, you hear me?" I told him. Spike looked at me very awkwardly, as did Starlight, and they both stared at each other, beginning a long silence; I turned back to her again, giving her a "really?" look that, despite my sunglasses, was not held back in the slightest.
"Oh, come on! You can't read Poison Joke and not read Dark Horse! They're quintessential to the Batmare universe! And besides, like, only a few ponies die." At that statement, I held a hoof up in defeat.
"...alright, fine! You can read all of the Batmare comics; I suppose you're old enough now. But I do not want to see you reading any of the Reprimander comics, you hear me? This isn't a free pass," I told him. Grateful that he wasn't in trouble, he nodded eagerly, and with those words, Starlight went outside to go call Sunset in; Spike came up right behind her, and they didn't even call her name before they announced my presence.
"She's up!" they both exclaimed. It took a few seconds, but they moved out of the way, and sure enough, out came Sunset.
I was expecting a third hug, of course, and it started out the same; she ran towards me, said something, and wrapped her front hooves around me. There was something different about it, though, and it probably stemmed from the speech she had given me when I first saw her in the hospital during my extremely momentary period of being awake after the incident. She held on longer than Spike and Starlight, maybe both combined, and when she left go, I saw something I had never expected to see from Sunset; tears. Just a little bit, of course, but they were there, so I gave her a reassuring smile.
"Thanks for the sunglasses, Sunny. I really appreciate them," I told her. She quickly erased all evidence of the water on her face before nodding.
"They look better on you, I promise. Now, we need you to get to Rarity immediately; we don't have a lot of time," she said. I looked at her quizzically, and she smiled even wider.
"Uh, the Grand Galloping Gala is on Saturday! We need to get you ready for it because, well, you're a princess now! Of course, I'd totally get it if you wanna stay here for a while, you know, work on getting back into the groove, but the sooner the better," she remarked. I chuckled and nodded before turning to Spike.
"Spike, take a letter," I told him. I jumped with glee on the inside; I hadn't gotten to say that in a while, and for some reason, hearing it from my own voice gave me a pleasant feeling. He walked over to a nearby counter and grabbed the paper and parchment, waiting for my instructions.
"Tell Celestia I've awoken, and to meet me in my chambers. We have much to discuss."
* * * * * *
Equestrian historians have long debated what made Celestia a good ruler. They've broken down every decision she's ever made, the foreign and domestic policies, the tactics behind battle, and the diction and body language during her most famed speeches; but I'll be the first to tell you that all of it became irrelevant when she was towering above you in the flesh. Her eyes were light with serene joy but hardened from the wisdom of the ruler; he posture relaxed, yet ready to snap into action at a moment's notice. Her frame was serene and graceful, but strong and powerful; in a simple word, perfection.
As a result, there was this stigma; because she was perfect, she'd expect the very same. Perhaps that was the reason I never told her anything; because I, in my mind, was supposed to be perfect like her, when, in reality, Celestia was anything but. Wise, yes. Graceful, yes, but not perfect, and it was only when her behemoth of a frame was towering over me that I finally realized it. Thankfully, she was the first to speak.
"Sunset told me what you said. I did ask you, Twilight, many times, and every time you assured me you were fine. I suppose I was a fool not to see the truth, but...how could I? You've been fantastic," she told me. Her eyebrows were slanted downwards in disapproval, but her face was not tense; it was softened, creating a largely mixed signal. I wasn't sure what my countenance revealed when I spoke back, as I was still wearing the sunglasses, but I'm sure she knew none the less.
"...I know. It was all me. I didn't want to think so, but it was, and it turned out worse than anything I could imagine, even after "lesson zero". I promise it won't happen again," I told her, looking straight into her eyes.
She smiled, and that was the end of it.
She could do that; end something on such a large scale with a smile. When you live forever, you get to practice being a leader for a long time, and oh, how far she had come. I'd like to think I could get half as good as that in a thousand years, and make everypony just instantly trust me with a mere gesture. I hated it, sometimes, but it was true; historians never give Celestia credit for her charm. It was something that, I'm ashamed to say, Luna just didn't have, but it's impossible to blame her for that, of course.
"I'm sure you will. I got what you asked for, by the way," she said. She used her magic to levitate nine objects in my field of vision that I instantly recognized; tickets to the Great Galloping Gala. The sunglasses dulled my vision considerably, but they still managed to gleam like a long lost treasure.
"I'm sure five of them will go to the rest of the elements, and two more to Starlight and Sunset, leaving two left; if any of you have dates or anything, I thought I'd be generous, though I'm sure that won't apply to you," she told me. I looked up at her with a smile.
"Actually, Princess, I am taking a date," I began. "Well, that's the plan, anyways; I haven't exactly asked him yet," I said. Celestia recoiled a bit in surprise, her eyes widening, and gave me a grin that I could only describe as an eight year old filly's upon finding out her friend had a crush.
"Oh, really? Well, I trust your judgement. Does he live here?" she asked me, a mischievous glint in her eye. I shook my head.
"Uh, no, he lives in Canterlot. But I have another question; who's the other one for? I only asked for eight in the letter," I told her. Celestia nodded her head.
"It was Sunset's personal request, actually. I'm curious, too, but I suppose we'll see," she said. I nodded back in understanding, and it was then that another thought came to mind.
"Oh, I have to memorize the greeting for King Sanguis when we meet him at the Gala! I know he shows up every year, and the princesses all have to say the words in Griffonian, and it'll be my first time; oh, what were they? "It est honorem summi, regis Sanguis?" I think that was it," I said. Celestia's cheerful demeanor immediately turned grim, and my face twisted in confusion.
"Well, those are the right words, but I'm afraid we won't be needing them; Excelsi Regis Sanguis Talon will not be attending this year, the first Griffon King or Queen not to do so in my memory. It's very strange; he's come the last three years in a row, merry and happy as he can be, and now, this year, he declines. Not even his staff or any nobles are coming; they've refused outright. They didn't give a reason, and I've written to the king to ask if he's okay; no response," she said. I looked up to the ceiling in thought.
"Well, I'm not surprised," I began. "Sanguis is an odd one, that's for sure. If there was any Griffon King to not show up, it'd be him. It just begs the question of why he wouldn't do so," I said. In response, Celestia merely shrugged.
"Oh well. At any rate, I really should be going back to Canterlot. You said your date was there? Would you like to come back with me?" she asked. I thought about it for a little bit, and determined that Sunset and Starlight could do well without me. I nodded in agreement, and Celestia gave me a warm smile for what had to be the thousandth time in the last five minutes;
Carousel Boutique was once again directly in my field of vision, towering over me; although this time, I was glad to say, my time spent in it would be significantly more than three seconds and on much friendlier terms.
Rarity had sent me a letter today that indicated my dress was ready, and wanted me to come try it on to make sure everything fit okay. She was extremely excited about it, she had written in the letter, and after asking both Twilight and Starlight if they had gotten the same reaction, they shook their heads in the negative. I didn't know if I was going to take that as good news or bad news, but I was certainly about to find out, at any rate.
I opened the door and, this time, stepped through the doorway completely. The bell by the door in question gave a pleasant chime as it always had. Rarity was doing the exact same thing she had been doing when I first (almost) walked into the shop; her back towards me, stitching up something I took a step before she called out to me.
"Is that you, Sunny?" she asked, not turning around. Although she couldn't see it, I smiled.
"The one and only," I replied. In response, she turned around, and on her face was not only the happiest, beaming look I'd ever seen on Rarity, but on anyone. Her smile almost reached her ears on both ends, and her eyes were opened wider than Luna's moon.
"Oooh, you're here! Excellent! Come, quickly!" she shouted, running to her right. Surprised by her enthusiasm, I followed, and she began to speak as I turned the corner to meet her.
"If you're wondering why I'm so elated, Darling, it's because this is, and I'm being completely honest, perhaps the best dress I have ever made; my magnum opus, as the Griffons would say. I've been dying to show it to you," she said. As I came to face her, I found her standing next to a pink curtain draped across a circular stage, and Rarity's magical aura pulsing around what I assumed was the rope to pull it open. My normal smile quickly turned to a rather sheepish one.
"Well, thanks, Rare, but I'm sure I'd be satisfied with it if it was your worst dress," I told her. Rarity, still donning a mischievous grin, violently shook her head.
"You'll be the talk of the party, Darling. Observe," she said, before pulling the curtain. What greeted me once it had fully been removed from view was an absolute work of art that was almost beyond my comprehension.
It was completely orange, for one, but a burning, bright orange that was spectacularly subtle. Within it, red and yellow flakes were scattered across the dress like some sort of galaxy, giving it a beautiful landscape without overdoing it. It was in a feathered pattern, like the wings of a bird, and the dress seemed to ripple from the neck area to the bottom. It would leave my front hooves visible, but it would completely cover the back two, I noticed, and when I went up to the mannequin it was displayed on to touch the fabric, it had to be the smoothest material I had felt in any dimension. It couldn't get any better, in my mind, but hanging on the mannequin's neck was yet another gift; a necklace displaying my cutie mark emblazoned in colored steel, hanging from a gold chain. It wasn't until I stepped back a bit after closely examining it that I realized what it was trying to represent.
"A Phoenix," I whispered, just loud enough to hear; I realized I was tearing up. I tried to inconspicuously get rid of them (probably unsuccessfully) as Rarity began her explanation.
"Yes indeed! I try to make every dress personal, darling, and so I thought a bit about you coming back to Equestria. I admire your change in character, Sunset, but admire even further your will to initiate it, and to start again once new; thus, the phoenix. I asked Celestia via letter if you liked the animal, because I wouldn't want to make the dress if you didn't; I was delighted to find that not only did you like them, they were your very favorite. They simply won't be able to keep their eyes off of you, Sunny!" she exclaimed.
I stared at it for just a bit longer. I said nothing; instead, I carefully walked over to Rarity and locked her in a tight embrace. She appeared not to be expecting it, but she gladly adjusted to it after a few seconds.
"Thank you," I whispered. She gave a little laugh as we broke apart.
"Oh, don't mention it, darling; it was fun to make. I also got that second dress for you know who, to your exact specifications. I have a feeling she'll like it," said Rarity. She turned to a curtain right next to her and drew it back, revealing a dress that I had come to expect when walking in; a simple teal color and fabric, not at all fancy, but elegant enough for the Gala.
"I tell you, digging up Unicorn Twilight's old measurements was a trial, but I think it turned out alright. I have the hair dye as well; I'd bring her here as soon as you possibly can, because it takes about a day to really set in. So, with all of that out of the way, would you like to try on your dress, Darling, so we can make adjustments?" asked Rarity, turning to me. In response, I gave her a look that very much mirrored her own when I had walked into the store.
"I'd love to," I said softly.
* * * * * *
Normally, Flash Sentry was stationed in the Crystal Empire, ever diligently guarding the throne room for most of the day, ready for any sort of threat to come across him so that, as he was trained, he could immediately dispatch it with relative ease. However, I knew his schedule; this was the one week where he was relieved of duty, and he came back to his home town of Canterlot to spend some time with his parents.
He had a temporary place he rented out near the center of the city for this very occasion. I had only been there once, because I needed to borrow a book on combat techniques for Shining Armor and he sent me to pick it up, but we'd always talked during my visits to the Crystal Empire for one reason or another. It was a nice little apartment; obviously bland, because it was temporary, but it would certainly be accommodating if it weren't.
I was currently standing in front of the door, which was emblazoned with a simple number 221. I had teased him about the number, asking him if he would solve some mysteries for me, but I was only ever met with an eye roll. Knowing he was a fan of the stories, I had a suspicion that it was part of the reason he picked that specific apartment, but of course, I never said anything to him. After staring at the gold plated number for a little while longer, I rapidly knocked three times on the door.
As I had come to expect, he answered the door almost immediately. He had a sort of bored look plastered upon his face, but as soon as he saw me, I was delighted to see, his face immediately lit up.
"Sparks! It's good to see you! Nice shades, by the way" he said. I nearly had a heart attack; I had completely forgotten I was wearing them. I calmed down, however, when it was apparent he liked them; Sunset would be happy to know it. When I walked past him into the apartment, he closed the door behind me and began walking towards the bookshelf at the back of the room
"So what brings you here? Got another book the Captain won't pick up himself?" asked Flash. I rolled my eyes.
"Shining could have you suspended for that," I told him, a playful grin on my face. Flash returned it, and motioned outward with his hoof.
"Shining isn't here, Sparks, so I think I'll be alright." He leaned upwards to look over my shoulder. "Unless he actually is here and I'm being tested, in which case I deeply apologize for my behavior and it won't happen again, Sir," he said. I started laughing, and he did the same; I felt the little nervousness I had coming here slowly fade away.
"No, you aren't being tested, as far as I know, and I don't need a book this time; I just came to chat. How are your parents?" I asked him. Flash quickly sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Ah, they're fine, as usual. We're going out to dinner tomorrow night, and we're probably gonna do something on Saturday, but I don't have anything in particular planned; and then on Sunday I leave for the Crystal Empire. It's nice here, Sparks; you can only stand around doing nothing for so long once you've been trained for action," he said. I was secretly excited that he had nothing to do on Saturday, but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to mock him.
"Uh, "trained for action?" I recall my brother telling a story about an opossum scaring the daylights out of you in the Everfree Forest," I told him. He looked up to the ceiling in annoyance and sighed before I'd even finished the sentence.
"Celestia, can we please drop that? It was significantly larger than the average opossum and I thought it was something else. You of all ponies should know the reputation that place has," he said in defense, although his efforts were in vain; I still began laughing in remembrance of the event.
"No, that one isn't going away, sorry. So, the Grand Galloping Gala is this Saturday," I said, turning the conversation in the right direction. Flash shrugged and twisted his head to the side in response.
"I'm not too big on parties. I'm assuming you're going, because you're a princess now? I don't know, I'm just not really interested in that type of thing," he said. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly pulled out one of the golden tickets and hung it in the air in front of me with my magic.
"Not even as my date? We'll have fun," I asked him with a devious smile. His countenance quickly flooded with shock, which was precisely what I expected; Flash gave the impression of a laid back stallion, but he was easily embarrassed and surprisingly reserved. Flash quickly looked around at nothing before finally answering me.
"Um...yeah, I suppose. When should I be ready?" he asked nervously. I chuckled and put the ticket at the ledge of the bookshelf where he had been leaning.
"Seven thirty sharp. I'll pick you up. See you there!" I said quickly before opening the door and exiting the building.
Once I was outside, and knew there was nopony around, I did I silent cheer of victory. I had been talking to Rarity since the beginning of the year about asking Flash to the Gala, and, in my opinion, it had gone rather smoothly. It was interesting that it all had to be the day I woke up from a two week coma, but none the less, I had a date to the Gala; everything had turned out okay.
As I began to walk down the stairs of the apartment complex, I remembered that Sunset was going to go see Rarity today about her dress. Whatever it was going to look like, it would be spectacular, I knew; I couldn't help but wonder what she had planned for everypony else as well, because she had started making everything right when Sunset came back and absolutely would not let any of us see the works in progress.
And then, of course, there was the Gala. For whatever reason, whenever me or any of my friends showed up to the party, it became an absolute disaster; first with our individual incidents, and, more recently, the whole Smooze deal with Discord, or, as Celestia liked to call it, "The best Gala in years". I was deathly afraid of taking Flash to yet another disaster, but I had a feeling everything would work out correctly. And of course, if it didn't Celestia would be happy, so I supposed it was a win-win.
As I began to walk towards the castle so Celestia could take me back to Ponyville, I looked around at the scenery; ponies of all types waltzing around the city, the medieval architecture towering high above me, making me feel rather small. Nopony seemed to recognize me; either they didn't look hard enough, or they preoccupied with something else. In that moment, walking down the street, a singular thought ran through my mind.
I don't feel like a Princess, and I couldn't be happier.
To many, the Gala was not merely a party held every year in Canterlot. It wasn't just a place for the elite of Equestria's capital to socialize and have fun, and it wasn't just the place to see the hottest live music acts perform one after another. No, it was a symbol; it was a goal many sought to reach. If you stepped a hoof inside that palace on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, you were either a staff member or a very, very important pony. A select few got tickets to the event; it was considered a once in a lifetime (if even) affair, and here I was, attending it once more. I had never really thought about how fortunate I was for being able to go, but then again, nothing ever really happened at the Gala, even though I always had a great time whenever I went; it was only in recent years, apparently, that it became known as a universal trainwreck that Canterlot nobles now feared to attend. Naturally, I was absolutely thrilled.
So it was kinda crazy to think that I had gone to it so many times, but I liked to think on that (at the time) quiet evening was that I had never gone with friends, with people whom I could enjoy the party together, so, in reality, this was my true first time at the Gala, because now, I wasn't alone; I was packed into a carriage meant for six with ten other ponies and a dragon, and that's what I call friendship.
I stared at the window as the carriage got inevitably closer to the Gala. I was always extremely nervous in carriages after what had happened to my parents, but tonight, my nerves were calm. The scenic suburbs of Canterlot flew by my vision as the carriage moved on, and despite the fact that it was night out, everything came in clear; the towering trees, the deep blue night sky, and the twinkling stars to cap it off. Everypony else on the carriage ride was doing something; Twilight took a liking to her human counterpart, who had been effectively disguised with die, now bearing a lime green mane and white fur; Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Glimmer were playing a card game of some sort; the elements were all playing a game of "I Spy"; and, finally, Jennet Galloway and Spike the Dragon were arguing about whether the Cloudsdale Thunder or the Baltimare Minotaurs historically had a better defense. Not me, though; I was perfectly content with just looking out the window.
It seemed that everypony had some sort of reason to be at this event. The championship hoofball team of the previous year always attended, and so, for one more night, Jennet Galloway was a Canterlot Monarch again. Starlight Glimmer had never gone, and wanted to make a good impression. Trixie Lulamoon was actually scheduled to perform at the event, and so tonight she donned her wizard hat and cape (heavily modified by Rarity, of course). Pony Twilight wanted to make a better impression after last year's Smooze debacle, and Human Twilight was always eager to know about our world. The elements, quite frankly, just wanted a normal Gala, as boring as they had heard them to be.
Me? I would suppose I was there to have fun, but I knew that wasn't right. I suppose it was a means to an end; some sort of true sign that I could end this crusade of redemption I had set upon myself. What I was really thinking, that whole carriage ride, was how ridiculous that sounded; that Crusade ended long ago, and it was high time I had to convince myself of the fact. In truth, I was happier than I've ever been, and tonight...tonight, I wasn't going to care. About anything. I was there to have fun, dammit, and that would happen either way, normal Gala or hectic one. I broke away from the window to quickly scan the many conversations of the carriage.
"That's a full house! Trixie wins again!"
"So, how do you feel the language barrier has affected diplomatic relations with Griffonia?"
"That's absurd! The Cloudsdale Thunder had forty sacks that year, and that was without their All-Star linebackers!"
"No, Pinkie, we're not going to light anything on fire."
I couldn't help but smile. It was different, that was for sure--I was getting flashbacks to the Canterlot High proms when I ruled it with an iron fist--but it was a good different, the kind I'd be more than happy to get used to. I didn't have to be the center of attention, have all eyes on me; I could just have fun. Simple, I know, but for me, important.
"We're here!" I heard a voice say. I looked out the window again, and sure enough, saw a wave of gorgeous mares with their equally fancy coltfriends and marefriends walking forward towards a brilliant source of light. Both the doors on the carriage opened, and when I hopped out of it, a very familiar sight greeted me.
The Castle itself was a living fossil. It was constructed a long, long time ago, in the very beginnings of the Royal Sister's reign, and yet it always amazed me that it looked perfectly in place with everything else. Canterlot was old, too, but even in the modern age, it all made sense, even having seen the advanced marvels of human architecture. Under Luna's night, it seemed even more welcoming; the bright lights inside it emanating from the windows, the slight breeze running through my fur as I continually gazed at it. I could understand, now, why the elements were so disappointed everything had gone wrong; the castle itself gives off the impression that everything is right.
"Incredible, huh?" I heard a voice behind me speak. Since there were two Twilights with me now, I had to turn around to see who it was; it was Equestria's, and she was beaming at me. "You look lovely, Sunset."
"As do you. And yeah...I have a good feeling about this Gala, Twi. Can't say why, just do," I told her. Twilight chuckled.
"Celestia will be sad to hear it. Let's go!" she said, and with a cheer, we all headed towards the castle.
The nobles were all looking at us. It made sense--there was a princess in our midst--but I couldn't help but feel cruelly fantastic about it; here they were, all high and mighty, the richest in Equestria, and they were staring at us. I couldn't help but smile at that; I may have been reformed now, but my distaste for the Canterlotian Elite would always last.
Eventually, we entered the castle, and, of course, were greeted by the royal twins upon entry immediately. They smiled for every guest and gave a hearty "welcome to the Gala!", but upon seeing us, their smiles now touched ear to ear. Surprisingly, Luna was the very first of the sisters to speak.
"Goodness, Sunset, you look fantastic. I'd kill for that dress," she said, Celestia nodding in agreement. I turned my head towards Rarity, who had a smug look on her face.
"Well, it wasn't me who made it. You can thank Rarity for the dress. Well, you can actually thank her for all the dresses," I said. Rarity gave an exaggerated bow, which garnered laughs from everyone in the vicinity.
"Well, you've done a fantastic job. Now..." began Celestia, hushing to a whisper. "Could you spice things up again? The Gala has really been on a hot streak the last two years!" Twilight rolled her eyes and was about to answer her, but Celestia turned over to the mare next to her; it was Sci-Twi, of course, but in her green mane and white fur disguise. Celestia narrowed her eyes.
"And who is your friend here?" she asked. Sci-Twi began to turn red, but the Equestrian Twilight quickly came in with the save.
"Her name is Moonlight Butterfly, and she's an old friend of mine from the School of Gifted Unicorns. Isn't that right, Trixie?" she asked, turning to the mare in question, who had also attended the school with Twilight. In a way only she could, Trixie gave what had to be the most devious and knowing grin I had ever possibly seen before answering the question.
"Oh, yes! Trixie and Moonlight are great friends. Well, I should get ready for the show!" she said before strutting off past the rest of the group. I gave a bit of a scowl under my breath; I wasn't the biggest Trixie Lulamoon fan. Thankfully, no one really noticed, so as we walked forward into the main hall of the Grand Galloping Gala, I did not suffer a reprimanding.
It had not changed. Like the castle itself, the Gala was exactly as I'd remembered it; mostly reserved and quiet, the nobles all standing at the opposite ends of the room as they talked in order to preserve the purity of their ancient bloodlines. I could easily see where Celestia was coming from, but at the same time, there was a certain charm to it. Before I could think about it any further, Jennet Galloway trotted up next to me. When I looked at her face, I had to stifle a laugh; I don't think I'd seen anypony as unimpressed as she was in that moment.
"...This is it?" she asked me, turning towards me. The laugh could be stifled no longer.
"What, did you expect DJ Pon-3 or Guns and Roses to be playing as everypony gathered around in a mosh pit?" I asked her. Jennet's face twisted in confusion at the mention of the second musical act, and it was only then I realized that I had made yet another reference to the human world. I waved my hoof in dismissal before she could ask questions, and she seemed to have understood; I had told her everything the day she asked me to show her around town.
"Well...yeah! I mean, I was hoping it'd be at least a little bit more exciting, but I guess seeing my team again is nice. So, are you--" she began, though she was quickly cut off by a voice coming from behind her.
"Jennet!" it called. We both turned around, and we were greeted with the sight of professional hoofball quarterback Canter Magnum about ten feet away from us, a dumb grin on his face. Jennet's eyes lit up with and excitement, and just like that, the conversation was entirely over.
"Canter! Celestia, It's been so long..." she said as she waltzed towards him. I smiled as they began to walk off before turning to the general ballroom once more. I spotted a lonely table for two at the edge of the room and trotted over to it, sitting down one of the insanely comfortable fancy chairs with a sigh. It couldn't have been three seconds before a waitress rushed over to me and asked me if I wanted anything to drink; I told her to send me a glass of the best wine they had and she was on her way.
I had been sitting there lost in thought for a few minutes before none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle came over and took the empty chair right next to me.
"Thrilling, eh? It's a damn shame. Celestia's right," she began. I looked over to her and nodded.
"Yeah, it's a little dull, but it feels nice. Wait a minute...didn't you ask Flash to accompany you? I haven't seen him," I said, an eyebrow raised. Twilight's cheery demeanor immediately turned to disappointment, giving me the obvious hint that he either stood her up or could not attend the event.
"His got some sort of flu and he couldn't come. That's what he said, anyways; I doesn't matter all that much, because he's probably having more fun in his bed than he would be here," she said, causing the both of us to chuckle. The waitress came back at that moment, giving me the wine, and upon seeing Twilight next to me, nervously asked if she would like some as well; Twilight nodded the affirmative and the waitress hurried off. I took a sip of it and, as expected, it was absolutely fantastic.
"I think it's over," I said aloud. Twilight turned to me, a confused look on her face.
"What's over?" she asked me. I took another sip of the wine before my explanation.
"I had this whole quest of redemption; a crusade, if you will. This mentality that in order to be deserving of living in Equestria, I had to redeem myself of my past sins. And I've met your friends, and thus they've became mine; I met new friends in Jennet and Starlight, too. I've talked with the Lord of Chaos twice, and I've watched over you in a comatose state. I've been forgiven by everypony I've wronged, and now, in this moment, I'm at Equestria's biggest event casually chatting with royalty. I think...I think it's over. I've done it. I've won, if that makes any sense. I like to think I started this whole redemption thing when you told me that story under the stars the first night I came back, and I liked to think that it ends with us talking at the Gala. It's fitting," I told her. Twilight nodded thoughtfully, and the waitress came with the second drink; Twilight took a taste of it and immediately stared at it with curiosity.
"WOW. What is this?" she asked, turning to me. I shrugged.
"The finest they make," I replied. Mirroring my actions from earlier, Twilight took a sip from the glass before beginning her response.
"Luna told me about her visit to you, you know," she began. "I chastised her for coming to you so soon after your return, but she told me you had appreciated it, and I understood why; you both are very much alike, but at the same time, you both are very much different. Luna hasn't come out of her shell yet; as much as it may seem, she is nowhere near her true self in the eyes of the public. We started making steps during Nightmare Night a few years back, but she still has this part of her locked away, a part of her that we won't be able to see for a while. You, though? You've unlocked everything. I can tell when I look at you, Sunny, that you're back; it was in the past that you had locked yourself away. So yes, in that sense, you've won. You've also learned to help others...thanks for that, by the way," she said, turning to me. I gave her a warm smile.
"No problem, Twi," I told her. It was then that a shattering of glass caused a complete diversion of my attention, and as soon as I looked up to see what had happened, every fiber of my being told me that it wasn't going to end up very well.
It was Sci-Twi, and she had just bumped into one of the Canterlot Nobles, causing him to drop his beverage. He had this hardened look to him, surprisingly; light grey fur and blue mane and tail, with these piercing yellow eyes I couldn't quite explain. Naturally, Sci-Twi was currently cowering before him, and I immediately removed myself from my seat and began to head towards the area; I knew this wouldn't be pretty.
"Hey, watch where you're going, idiot!" he screamed, causing Sci-Twi to draw back further. In a throwback to my old ways, I felt a rising sense of anger boil through me, but I wasn't going to quell it this time; I had the full intent of letting it fly.
"I'm...sorry..." she muttered, but I knew perfectly well that it wouldn't be enough. The noble's face twisted even further into rage.
"Sorry isn't gonna fix my broken glass, filly!" he screamed again. My eyebrows narrowed, and it was clear to me now that another Gala will have been ruined, and likely by my own causation.
"Hey," I said forcibly; the stallion turned around. "Why don't you go back to one of your little tea parties with your nose in the air and leave this girl alone, huh?" I told him. I didn't think it was possible, but the stallion's face turned even more red than it previously had, and he turned around completely to face me.
"And what are you going to do?" he said, in a snarky tone. I gritted my teeth.
"You wanna see?" I said, anger rising in my voice.
He didn't get to see, because it was actually him who made the first move, which entailed shoving me into the statue directly behind me. It didn't really hurt all that much, because the statue fell over upon the impact; that, unfortunately, was not good for the rest of the Gala. The statue careened into one right next to it, causing a bit of a domino effect; that statue landed on the food and beverage table, causing the plates and everything on it to fly everywhere. This included a small chocolate fountain, which careened into a mare who had been holding a very small baby filly; this caused her to let go of the baby filly in question, causing the baby filly in question to be launched into the air at moderate speed.
Since the Ponyville Express were now an undefeated 4-0 at this point in the season, and Jennet Galloway currently led the league in receiving yards, she was finally getting the recognition she deserved. Because her 40 Yard Gallop was faster than anypony's in the league, the announcers had taken to calling her the "Fastest Mare Alive", and in this current moment, she absolutely proved it.
She had been at the complete other side of the room when the baby flew in the air, but as soon as she had a visual on it, she bolted towards it. I know this can't possibly be true, but it almost seemed like only a mere second when Jennet had made a dive and safely caught the filly in her two hooves as she slid across the floor. The baby began casually laughing at the excitement of what had just happened, and Jennet grabbed her shirt collar by the mouth and equally casually trotted to the mother. As she gentle gave the filly back, she uttered two words that would end up being the front page headline of the Canterlot Times the following day.
"Bad pass," she remarked as she trotted away back to her teammates. Of course, there was still quite a shock over what had happened, but once that wore off, everypony immediately directed their attention towards the stallion who had shoved me, including, much to my own amusement, the security guards, except they took it a step further by trotting over to him.
He quickly looked around and, seeing no other option, begin to run as fast as he could. Approximately four seconds after he had started running, a magical bar shot out from the wall next to him. He tripped, and sprawled into the floor face first. A jail cell promptly fell on him, much to my confusion; when I turned to my left, however, I saw Trixie Lulamoon and Discord standing next to each other, seemingly admiring their handiwork.
"Wombo Combo!" Pinkie yelled as she ran to the pair for some high hooves. They gladly obliged and it wasn't until I turned back the way I had been facing when I saw Jennet, Sci-Twi, and Twilight standing over me. I was still on the ground, so Jennet quickly brought me back on all fours as I began to dust myself off.
"Oh, Celestia's gonna love this one. Are you okay, Sunset?" Twilight asked me. I turned to her and gave her a sly grin.
It was not special. I was not eyecatching. It was FAR from perfect. But it was mine.
A quaint little apartment right around the bend from Sugarcube Corner was now mine. It had a plain, dark colored wooden door, with the apartment number, 013, plastered on it in gold plate. It wasn't too big, naturally, but it would certainly suffice for my current needs. That all really wasn't important, though, because I had earned this apartment, and after a while saving up for it, it was now finally in my hooves.
Finding the right job was difficult. As my cutie mark displayed, I was rather good at anything having to do with magic, so I decided to go with that field. As it turns out, there were not a lot of options for the field in question that didn't involve going through the educational system, and as a result, I became the youngest pony to ever teach a class at the University of Ponyville. Yes, I was Professor Sunset Shimmer, teaching Advanced Magic 1 and 2, and it was certainly interesting, as many of my students were only a little bit younger than I was. I didn't worry about that, because that wouldn't be a problem as I grew older, but that wasn't the important part. The important part was, having gotten a job, I had finally assimilated myself into Equestrian Society to the fullest extent, and nothing could have made me happier.
The Real-Estate agent who had only seconds ago sold me the apartment, a mare by the name of Rose, was seemingly lost in thought. I stared at her until she realized I was doing so, and she quickly turned to her side and began fumbling for something.
"Oh, I'm sorry Miss Shimmer, I was just thinking about the wind. It was supposed to be blowing hard, according to the weather schedule, but it's dead silent," she said. Finally, out came the item she had been looking for; a regular old pair of keys. She threw them in the air in my direction, and I caught them with my magic. Rose gave me a warm smile.
"Well congratulations, Miss Shimmer! If you have anymore questions about the property, don't be afraid to ask!" she said before waving and walking off. I turned back to face the door and, with a sigh, opened it and walked inside.
I had already seen the inside, of course, so I wasn't expecting it to be lavish; I also wasn't expecting eight different ponies to scream "SURPRISE!" at the top of their lungs when I entered. I leaped backwards in shock, which, of course, caused everypony to laugh; after realizing what had happened, I looked around the living room.
It was no longer completely barren; there were tables for food and drink, and even some party games set up. Twilight and the rest of the elements were there, along with Jennet and Starlight, all smiling at me and waiting for me to react. To add to the horrible cliché this already was, I began tearing up, and was only able to utter a word.
"Guys..." I began, giving a short chuckle. Among the group, it was Pinkie Pie who spoke up first.
"I give a party for every single newcomer to Ponyville; it's a little tradition of mine! This is your place, Sunset, and since you're moving in here, you're officially a brand new citizen of Ponyville! I was gonna have even more stuff because Starlight lives here now too for a DOUBLE party but Twilight went blabbing on about something called "Monetary Constraints" but all I gathered out of it was that we couldn't throw two parties and so there's only one party and HAPPY PONYVILLE SUNSET AND STARLIGHT!" said Pinkie, finishing off the rapid sentence with a large breath. Starlight, now becoming a household name due to her heroism in the Crystal Empire, gave a bit of blush, causing me to smile; as funny and snarky as she was, she always had that bashful side to her.
I don't particularly remember what happened during that party, because it was overshadowed by what happened on that day. What I do remember is that, at some point during the festivities, Spike the Dragon, who had been tasked with going to the market to pick up some more soda, violently ran into the room. He shouted Twilight's name louder than I'd ever heard anyone, this dimension or the human one, and ran up to her. The party completely stopped, naturally, and before Twilight could react, Spike had already been explaining what had happened.
"A bunch of Griffons flew over Ponyville and dropped these letters! Do you...do you think it's true?" he asked, an extremely worried tone to his voice. Twilight immediately grabbed the letter, and the words she read aloud are burned into my mind to this very day.
To the Citizens of Equestria,
The Griffon Kingdom will proceed with the Annexation of the Northern Territories of Equestria in one week's time. We fully expect all citizens and the Equestrian Government to cooperate with this request, as my armies are stationed outside of your cities and have been instructed to take them by force if necessary, and I assure you, they are absolutely more than capable of the job.
With Pleasure,
Sanguis Talon, First of His Name, Grand Excubitor of the Griffonian Empire, Excelsi Regis
