Home for Hearth's Warming
Sunset Shimmer smiled as she looked out towards the mid-day sun from the second-story window of her fourth block algebra class. The trees outside were barren, the sky overhead was bleak and gray, and yet there was a feeling of anticipation in the air.
It was, after all, the final day of class before Winter Break. The finals had been taken and the subjects reviewed, and now all that was left to do was to kick back and savor the sweet rewards of success.
Sunset gently let a candy-cane hang ajar in her mouth as she twirled the end with her tongue – doodling on her notebook paper as she casually listened in on other conversations around the room. The topics were wide and many. Some talked of grades, and others of the prospect of presents that were to come on the holiday known as 'Christmas'. Many would be travelling to see relatives and family in other cities. Yet still others talked of something far more personal, and something that caused Sunset to frown: home.
Sunset let a sigh escape her lips as her mind wandered, back through the weeks and years, far through the distance of space and time and reality, to a place that she once knew. A land of meadows and rolling plains, of high crested peaks with snow tops and blue skies. A land as ancient as it was mysterious, yet whose memory still endeared itself to her. The land where she had been born and raised – the place that she once called home – Equestria.
She shut her eyes and, from her memories, she pieced together the realm she had once known. The sounds she once heard, the sights that were once common, the world and all those inhabited – their faces, personalities, and souls.
In a blink, she was back in Canterlot; inside of its high walls and majestic towers -- the marble houses and store that glistened proudly with royal banners around the regal presence of the palace where she had learned her magic.
If she thought hard enough, Sunset still could hear the echo of foal's laughter as they played in the street, the running water of the city's fountain, and the soft twitter of birds overhead.
It must have been the same, she thought , as she remembered it. There wasn't a time that she didn't remember Canterlot that way. So full of joy and satisfaction, hope and optimism, peace and serenity...a paradise. Or at least, the closest thing Sunset could come to when she envisioned one.
The memories of her youth filled her with a glimmer of happiness and remorse; remorse for everything she had left behind, for what she had thrown away.
At the time, it seemed like she had an entire world to gain... If only she had realized how much she loved the world she was born in, compared to the world she had come to. Though she couldn't deny that she had made friends – friends who she truly cherished and cared for – she still longed for comforts of her native land and the things that she left behind there.
Sunset sighed as the bell rang and dismissed the class. She trekked down the hallway to her locker, in a dream-like state, as the crowd of students and faculty brushed by her. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't sense the presence behind her until a hand was softly placed on her shoulder.
Sunset turned around to be greeted by a familiar face.
“Twilight!” she exclaimed as she clasped her in an embrace. “You came!”
“Well yeah, why wouldn't I?” Twilight replied, returning her gesture.
“I hadn't received any messages from you...”
Twilight's purple face turned red.
“Oh, yeah, right... Sorry about that,” Twilight said, scratching the back of her head. “I've been busy you know. What with Hearth's Warming coming up and all... Have you been crying?”
“What?” Sunset asked, surprised.
“Yours eyes... They're all red and puffy...”
“Oh...”
Sunset traced her finger along edge of her eye lid to find the moist aftermath of her recollections.
“I guess I must have been.”
“What's wrong, Sunset?”
Sunset looked down, grasping her arm.
“I've just been thinking, is all.”
“About what?”
“Well, about a lot of things. About the old days when I still lived in Equestria – when I was still Princess Celestia's personal student. I've just been homesick, I guess.”
The purple girl nodded and gave a knowing smile.
“It has been a while, hasn't it?”
“Three years now, going on four.”
“Time does have a way of getting away from us.”
“Yeah, well, I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'd really like to go back. I mean, if only for a little while. Maybe just for the Holiday? That wouldn't be too much to ask, right, Twilight? Just to visit? It's been so awfully long, after all.
Twilight pursed her lips thoughtfully before tilting her head off to one side.
“Well... There's nothing that says you can't. The question is, do you think you're ready?”
“Yes...” Sunset replied, a slight smile on her lips. “Yes, I think I am. I've changed since I came here – I'm not the same person I was when you first showed up.”
The young girl looked out the window to the school's statue below where the portal lay, her heart heavy in her chest.
“So much has changed, and I have you to thank for that, Twilight. If you had never come here, had I went on... Nothing would have changed. I'd still be cruel and bitter and carry resentment in my heart. All that resentment is gone though... The only thing I feel now is remorse for what I've done and for the ponies I've hurt... Especially the Princess.”
Sunset felt a warm trickle run its way down her cheek as her vision blurred, only to feel Twilight's hand grasp her arm as she turned around to face her.
There seemed to be compassion in the way she looked at her. Was it those eyes of hers, wide and idealistic, that now gazed upon her? Or her quiet, unassuming touch that seemed to reassure her? Either way, Sunset felt it hard to look at her. She had been the embodiment of everything she had not been. Where she had been vindictive, Twilight had been magnanimous, where she had been arrogant, Twilight had been humble, and where had been cruel and remorseless, Twilight had been kind and forgiving.
Her short-comings had never been so readily apparent as when she compared herself to Twilight. But even now, there was no malice or animosity... Only understanding.
The girl said nothing as Sunset leaned on her shoulder, unable to speak for a long time. When Sunset had finally gained enough composure, she stood again, only to find a handkerchief waiting for her.
“Thank you...” she said, wiping her eyes.
“No problem,” Twilight replied. “I always carry a few anyway. You never know when you might need one.”
Sunset smiled at the other girl's excessive over-preparedness.
“Truly...” she said, nodding.
“Feel better?”
“Yes... I must have been carrying that for longer than I thought.”
“We all make mistakes, Sunset. But those are in the past. What's important is not who you were then, but who you are now. The choices we make determine what we will become, and you've become something greater that what you were before.”
“Yes, but I stole the crown... Even if I did go back, there's no place for me there anymore...”
“Sunset,” Twilight said, a sternness in her voice now. “The crown means nothing. It's metal, shaped into a head-piece. Sure, it's enchanted, but it's power is meaningless unless ponies believe in what it represents – friendship. And at the end of the day, there is no real magic, in our worlds or this, that can compare to the power of the magic of friendship. What's important is that we learn to forgive others, and to forgive ourselves.”
“Do you think... Do you think the Princess has forgiven me?” Sunset asked.
“I'm sure she has,” Twilight said. “But why don't we go and find out... Together.”
Sunset looked up.
“You would do that? For me?”
Twilight placed her hand on Sunset's shoulder.
“For a friend, I'd do anything.”
~
A few hours later, after Sunset had set her few affairs in order, she stood before the portal beneath the bronze statue, with Twilight by her side.
“Are you ready?” Twilight asked.
Sunset remained silent – the chilly, winter air nipping against her cheeks as she stared vacantly at the empty slab.
Was she ready? Was she truly ready for this? Physically? Emotionally? She really didn't have the faintest idea. How could one even tell? It was the sort of thing that one could only gauge by a previous experience, and she had none to speak of.
Sunset took a deep gulp, her body trembling slightly. Not from the cold, but from fear. Fear of what lay beyond this portal – of whatever destiny had in store.
For a moment she hesitated, nearly stepping away in intimidation before a reassuring hand clasped its fingers with hers. Sunset looked to Twilight, who stood ready by her with a firm resolve, and Sunset found courage in the Princess of Friendship stood by her side.
“Yes... I'm ready.”
The two companions walked in tandem with each other and crossed the threshold without breaking pace. Through the abyss of space-time they flew, in a swirling vortex of light and sound. Sunset had almost forgotten the sinking, almost free-falling feeling of inter-dimensional travel and almost regretted having taken this leap of faith again; but with Twilight's hand firmly pressed with hers, she closed her eyes and waited as they descended...
~
Sunset paced nervously as she waited in the atrium of the Royal Palace.
It had been nearly a week now since she had returned and, through her friend Twilight Sparkle, she had managed to get an audience with the Princess, and now... Here she was.
It all seemed so unreal. Here she was back in the palace, just as she had been before. The same halls, the same pictures... The same Princess.
Sunset's hoof shook nervously as she swooned slightly at the thought. She knew that perhaps, right through those double doors, Celestia was waiting for her...
She had no idea how this meeting was going to go. She had spent many of the previous nights, as she lay in Twilight's guest room, contemplating what she would say and how the Princess might react. Every time she thought she had something down – something perfect – she found a thousand reasons to pick it apart.
Sunset sighed.
No amount of mental reassurance seemed to help. All she could do was wait, with a sort of nervous anxiety which she guessed was close to what a prisoner must feel before his execution. The whole thing was tormentingly painful as it was, but this waiting? It was unbearable.
After a few more minutes of pacing though, the double doors swung open and Twilight stepped out.
“The Princess will see you now, Sunset.”
Sunsets heart leapt. The young mare took a deep breath, as she composed herself the best she could. She felt secure, yet her hoofs still trembled.
'Here goes nothing', she thought as she followed Twilight into the throne room.
The first thing Sunset noticed as she entered was how quiet it was – unnaturally quiet. The only sounds were the soft echo of her and Twilight's hoofs against the stone, and then she saw her – the Princess.
Sunset gulped hard as she proceeded down the corridor – guards flanking either side of her. She continued , slowly and deliberately, stopping every so often to curtsy; as was the court courtesy.
All the while she tried not to look the Princess in the face. But every so often, as she knelt, she would peer out of the corner of her eye and see her sitting upon her throne, like some majestic statue – as hallowed and as dignified as the marble around her. But what she saw also disturbed her.
From atop the precipice of those steps, looking down at her, was an expression that Sunset couldn't read. An indecipherable, emotionless wall that merely sat there and stared – the evil eyes.
Sunset's stomach squirmed as she ambled the rest of distance. When she was within ten paces of the Princess, she stopped. For a moment, she was frozen in place, unable to move, knowing that those eyes were still staring at her.
She looked off to one side to see Twilight, who stood further back. Twilight returned her gaze and gave her a nod, motioning with her eyes downward.
Sunset remembered what she had rehearsed and gave a solemn nod before kneeling once more – her eyes to the ground. A long silence ensued, as she finally summoned the fortitude to speak:
“Princess...”
Her voice nearly cracked.
“I have come... to say...”
Her voice was slow, and well-tempered. Cautiously treading over each syllable.
“To say...”
Sunset swooned a bit, her head felt light, but from the recesses of her soul she could feel a light burning hotter than it had ever done before, and she felt a new courage rising within her.
“I'm sorry...”
A whisper, barely audible, yet precisely tempered.
“I'm sorry for everything I've done. For the ponies I've hurt. But to you most of all. I'm sorry because you put so much trust in me and I betrayed you. I realize that you may not be able to forgive me for what I've done, but I...”
In one breathless moment, she at once felt herself whisked into the air as two powerful hoofs wrapped themselves around her, and Sunset felt the warmth of the Princess's embrace.
“I... I don't understand...” she said, her eyes misting. “I thought... I thought you would be upset...”
“I was,” the Princess's tender voice answered her. “But mostly at myself. I was upset because I thought I had failed you... You were my best student, and it broke my heart when you went away, because I feared you'd never return. But now you have, and you have learned so much along the way and I'm so proud of you... So very proud.”
The Princess held her close, as the tears flowed unabated from them both.
“Oh my Sunset, my precious Sunset... Welcome home.”