Setting the Sun
Cold rain lashed against the windows and roof of the struggling wartrain. Voracious winds blew the heavily armed and armoured train cars around on the tracks, making the wheels screech as they tore across the wet iron rails. Meanwhile, amorphous black thunderheads obscured any sign of the wide blue sky beyond. And for one weary Unicorn, she could see many miles ahead. She could see the hanging city of Canterlot. Equestria's crown jewel and her home.
The lighting in the train car was bare, light crystals flickered with every shake and bump of the train car. And with their erratic movement came fleeting shadows and creeping shapes against the bare steel walls of the train car.
Dancing shadows twice removed from their hosts played tricks on the walls, tricks on the mind and she shivered. Memories of dark and chaotic nights bounced around her head vying for recognition. But she refused to give them anything of the sort.
She would not give into- “Princess?” -any of them.
“Princess...”
A dark room. She shivered under her armour and tried to curl into a ball.
“Ppprrrincesss-” The sharp clack of armour shod hooves on crystal floors echoed around the throne room. “-is that how they see you?”
A faint silhouette paced around her, it's shape cast into a blurred and indistinguishable negative against the smoky backdrop of the vast, airy chamber paced around her. She could not move.
“How can they not see the monster you have become?”
She lay spread, her hooves wrapped in chain, her horn chipped and scratched. Her armour lay bent and ripped on her body. She could not feel her magic.
“I wonder-” The pacing stopped “-how can you stand to look at yourself in the-”
“-Mirror! I need the mirror!”
She felt big sweaty, meaty hands haul her upright onto her hooves and found herself staring into the polished surface of her mirror. Blinking away sweat from her blood tinged eyes she drew in a breath but violently blanched as the stench of rotting meat and festering blood assaulted her nostrils.
Gasping for fresh air, she backed away from the mirrors twisted visage and the stench faded. Now wide awake she became aware of the minotaurs surrounding her. Many of their faces held looks of concern, some looked apprehensive, but the one holding the mirror, his eyes were fixated on something inside it.
Lighting her horn in a sickly crimson glow thief commander quietly spoke, her nose crinkling at the rising stench of death.
“Turn off and block all the lights then get back to your stations.”
The crimson glow faded and her minotaurs did as she asked. They lumbered about, drawing shades, extinguishing all light that permeated their train car. But through all the commotion that one pony saw that one minotaur holding her mirror. He hadn’t moved. In fact, his eyes were locked on the mirror and whatever he saw in it terrified him.
Slowly she maneuvered her way to him. She reached him just as the last curtain closed over the caged crystal light at the front of the train car. All her loyal soldiers stood at rest. All of her soldiers except for her Captain stood at rest. Instead, he ignored everything else and focused on the mirror. Her Mirror. And she couldn’t have that.
Lighting her horn she drew energy from the dark, swirling entities in the mirror and shocked her Captain. He flinched, and the jagged mirror came to rest inches above the metal floor, surrounded by a crimson glow.
“Captain. Why are you not at your post?” Sunset sweetly inquired.
Her Captain blinked, his eyes locking with hers,
“Princ-”
“-No. I am no Princess. However; you are my Captain. Again I'll ask: why are you not at your post?”
The minotaur blankly stared at her, lost in thought, as a small sound reached the armoured Unicorns ear.
‘Plop-plop-plop’
Her gaze traveled down to her Captain’s right arm to his bleeding hand.
Sighing, she released the dark energies swirling around her horn and the mirror clattered to the floor. Then it igniting it once more she concentrated and an opaque ball flew from her horn to the floor of the car and was consumed by shadows. The only ‘light’ came from the generals cruel, bladed horn. It emitted a watery crimson light that bathed the faces of her guards in shadow and blood.
“Captain.”
One step forward and her Captain took a knee. Lowering The light of her horn, she focused it on her Captain’s pupils. Even with his head bowed. The Captain was taller than her.
“You have served me for eight long years.”
She cast a halo of light upon the crown of her Captain’s head and continued.
“You were with me when we broke the Empire’s back”
Dark tendrils snaked down from the halo. They moved over his head, coasting through fur parting it like a ship would the sea.
“You were the first to aid me in my greatest time of need.”
Reaching the floor, the shadowy tendrils wriggled around, forming glyphs, runes, and circles around him.
“You have been ever loyal to me in life.”
The dark chains tightened around his body, drawing him down onto the smoky silver surface of Sunset’s mirror. He was below his master.
“Now.”
Smoke poured from the mirror and gathered around the master. Muzzles and hooves, faces and hands from many creatures reached out to her.
“You shall be ever loyal to me in death.”
Her shadows deserted her. They flowed en masse to the bound Captain and piled upon him, binding him with shadows of burning rope and cold chain. Together they pulled the Captain down into the slick silver surface of Her Mirror. As the crown of his head was about to go under, his lord took the shed blood of her Captain and dropped it into the halo. Without a sound or protest he vanished under the raging surface. Stalking forward until she was at one end of her rampant mirror, the sorceress intoned.
“I now bind you in shadow and blood to this mirror from which you have bled.”
The seething surface froze. All the waves were still. She placed her hoof onto the pointed crest of the closest wave and pressed. The wave parted and she pushed until her hoof was fully consumed by the mirror, then spoke.
“I bind you in spirit and soul to my will.”
With a concentrated effort she pulled her silver hoof back, and from the silver storm rose a being indescribable to the naked eye. It’s form flickered and shifted but Sunset like a parent to a child, guided it with a firm hoof. As her hoof descended towards the jeweled facet of her mirror, her servant rose; silver flowed from the body, binding with the liquid surface of the mirror. The hoof touched the inlaid gem and it glowed, drawing the silver liquid from her hoof and consuming it.
“Now rise and take your place at my side forever more.”
With a crushing finality, the glow from the gem spread across the mirror, smoothing the crests, filling the valleys. And Sunset’s Captain was reborn.
Blueblood stood alongside many of the ‘reformed’ Canterlot nobility. Although now he was no longer ‘Prince’ Blueblood. He was just Blueblood, nephew to Princess Celestia and cousin to Sunset Shimmer the ‘heroine’ of Equestria.
Sunset Shimmer. Blueblood had not seen her in a long time. Last he had seen her was when she and Celestia had left Canterlot twelve years ago and nearly razed it to the ground in the process because of a few uncooperative and rebellious nobles. Though to the temporary relief of every pony, Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer had straightened each other out. Unfortunately, at the same time, Sunset had managed to get Princess Celestia to disband the noble houses and pledge all the resources of said houses to Equestria's growing war machine.
Many of the nobles protested at the news that they were to be nothing more than commoners. But then Sunset came back with the wounded soldier bucks and colts; all protest died out overnight. She was back on the front lines four days later with thousands of fresh recruits. Many of them had families. The week after that, the Royal Guards were out in force, delivering death notices and conveying the condolences of the crown. And for the next eleven years the notices didn’t stop coming.
For that year and several more, the Royal Guard had pulled double and triple shifts just to deliver the death notices. Many of the guards had found the names of their fathers, brothers and sisters. The early months of the war were called the ‘Darkest Months in Equestrian History.’
If only that were true.
Eventually the first year ended and the second one began, that was the darkest one.
The economy finally went under and starvation grew as the usable farmland shrunk. The Royal Guards were stretched too thin. Crime was rampant and it was only a matter of time before something big happened.
The word came with the setting of the sun.
The Element Bearers had taken the Elements of Harmony; they were last seen heading into the frozen north. Their bodies--and their Elements-- were never found.
Word swept in with the tide of the darkest of nights.
Princess Luna had been assassinated; her body could never be recovered.
Whether in grief or in rage Princess Celestia took to the front lines for the first time in two years of war; her protegee behind her. And over the next year Celestia led the Equestrian armies to victory after victory leaving nothing but smoldering piles of ash and melted puddles of metal in their wake. Leaving nothing in Canterlot except her regent, Blueblood.
Even as news poured into the Equestrian Capital about the great victories that Princess Celestia was making. News came that Sunset had vanished and left no traces behind except one note; the contents of which were never shared. Princess Celestia continued burning the armies that Sombra sent south. With each victory Princess Celestia came closer to Sombra, she came closer to killing him. And that’s when Sombra took to the field.
In hindsight, it would’ve happened eventually. Celestia could fight as a one Alicorn Army. She could take thousands of ponies and melt them off the face of Equestria. But she couldn’t melt Sombra because she couldn’t melt shadows.
For the first time in 3 years since the newly named ‘Crystal Wars’ began, Sombra took to the field. And he didn’t hold back.
It was no contest.
Sombra pounded Celestia into the ground. He buried Equestria’s Warrior Princess under the blood and bones of the fallen. In the time it took one to blink, Celestia was struck down by Luna.
Celestia did not fight. She could not fight. She could not fight her sister. Instead-- while her wings were ripped off and her horn was shattered like glass-- she begged. She begged Luna to come back to her, to come back to Canterlot where they would go back to how things were, to how things should’ve been.
The demented, twisted image of Luna didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. As she reared over the broken body of her sister, preparing to deliver the final blow, the sun fell onto the battlefield.
Celestia, being the sun incarnate, survived, for a price. But the thing that pretended to be Luna, the thing that pretended to be the very soul of the moon; melted and died beneath the sun’s furious assault.
When the blinded soldiers could see and the ash clouds settled, there in all it’s incarnate glory stood the sun; and it burned. It blasted, it melted, it showed no mercy, gave no quarter. In the space of an hour the blood soaked grounds of the battlefield were glassed by the heat and force of the rising sun.
Sunset, on the glassy fields of her own making, burned the dead, then burned them again, forever dispelling them from all realms. She finished the battle.
Sombra had disappeared.
Sunset, the ‘runaway’ prodigal student, had surpassed the master.
After that fight Celestia was never the same. Mentally she was shattered; physically she was broken; magically, she was impotent.
After that fight Sunset had come into her own. But she didn't stop there. She continued where Celestia left off and pulled her out her ace in the hole.
From the East came the nigh infinite Griffon flocks.
From the South came Changelings, and Diamond Dogs.
From the West across the sea flew glorious hordes of dragons.
From the North came the spectres of Death itself.
For ten more years Sunset fought against Sombra seeking his ultimate destruction.
In the eighth year of the war; the fifth year of Sunset’s campaign, she broke the backbone of Sombra's armies. The souls that Sombra had so carefully collected and harvested passed peacefully onto the next life where they would no longer be used for war. In the tenth year of the war; the seventh year of Sunsets campaign, she assaulted Sombra's stronghold. Sunset and her armies broke through the walls and made their way deep into Sombra’s Citadel. Sunset and a hooful of her Honor Guard were the only ones to make it out of there.
For the next three years Sunset licked her wounds and gathered every creature she could, from the vilest and most hated to the most exonerated and revered. She was their master and commander. Her troops were utterly devoted to her and would follow her past death itself.
In the twelfth and final year of the war; the ninth year of Sunsets campaign, she crushed Sombra's Citadel under her hooves.
Its walls, turrets, and towers shattered under her furious assaults. She carved a path of chaos and destruction the likes of which had never been seen since the first year of the war. Regardless of the loss of life, Sunset and her vanguard pressed the attack, they broke through walls, overwhelmed garrisons, and finally reached Sombra.
No one knows what transpired between Sunset and Sombra but it was clear that after that fight, Sunset was changed. Her armour had changed. It was not the same, she was not the same. She grew cold and distant from everyone except for her closest advisers, whom she locked in her quarters for a week. No food nor drink was brought to them during that time.
After Sunset’s victory over Sombra, whatever spell he had used on his people was lifted. Sunset was exonerated and worshiped as the saviour, the herald; one who would lead her loyal followers into a golden age.
Sunset stayed in her new empire for a year as she fixed the city and brought down the monolithic structures Sombra had built; restoring the Crystal City to its former glory. During all that time she never stepped out of her armour. She would lift her visor for various events and speeches. But not once was she seen out her armour, many speculated that it was her way of coping after what she had gone through. For she was close friends with Luna, Celestia, and the Element Bearers. Perhaps that was why she had jewels cut in caricatures of the Elements embedded in her armour. Who knew what horrors she had gone through while in Sombra’s inner sanctum.
But one thing that everypony knew was that Sunset Shimmer had won the war. Not Princess Celestia. Sunset Shimmer raised the Sun, lowered the Moon attending to the birthright of the Alicorn Sisters.
And Sunset Shimmer was coming home. To Canterlot.
With her approach, many in the city of Canterlot wondered what Sunset would be like. The rumor mills had churned non-stop for ten years.
Some had Sunset pegged as a Alicorn with wings of fire and a horn of pure magic.
Other painted her as death itself, come to reign in those who through themselves to be gods.
Most painted her as a Unicorn who had control over every aspect of magic, that was how she could control the Sun and Moon.
Others wondered what Celestia would do now that her power was seemingly usurped by her student. Would she denounce Sunset and imprison the pony who and saved Equestria? Would she step down and let Sunset rule in her place? Many other questions swam through the gutters of Canterlot and even in the new Merchants Guilds which had helped to supply Sunsets armies as they marched further and further north.
Earlier in the day, flocks of battle armoured Pegasi and Griffons had broken through the Storm Ring surrounding Canterlot. They had landed at Canterlot Station and secured the area, while more patrolled the skies above and below Canterlot.
Everypony expected Sunset, but they didn’t expect the sunset.
As twilight filtered down to the crowds surrounding the Canterlot Train Station, many were curious. Some were panicking but were quickly calmed down. Sunset’s grizzled guards explained what was happening.
Sunset had made it so that Twilight would exist as the result of the Sun and Moon being in the sky at the same time, a nod to the princesses and to Twilight because after eleven years, Twilight was home. When the guards were done explaining, there was not a dry eye in the crowd.
An hour later the skies above Canterlot slowly sparkled as the stars were brought out. Twilight’s favorite constellation was brought out first, then ones that fit the other bearers, then as Sunsets train pulled into the station and stopped, the Sun slipped under the western horizon bathing Canterlot and her ponies in a soft and fading light. And rising from the east, pulled up by her sister's disappearance came the moon in all her glory.
She didn’t blot out the stars nor blind anyone to their radiance, instead she complimented each and every constellation.
A long way away, up at the top of Canterlot Mountain sat an aging couple on a picnic blanket, a basket of food shared between them.
Night Light and Twilight Velvet clung to each other and cried tears of joy as their darling daughter Twilight was brought home.
Dozens of miles away, on a barren rock farm, Maud Pie sat on her last rock of the day in the western field, Boulder in hoof. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the brooks were laughing. That day was a day that Pinkie Pie would have loved.
In front of a boarded up Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle, no longer a young blank flank, sat in the dirt gazing up at the tattered and worn flags that adorned the broken and holy turrets of her sisters shop. A small trolley sat next to her, multiple bags and portfolios lay on it. A single rolled scroll sat open on the top,
Deed to Carousel Boutique
Nurse Redheart sat on her swivel chair as she looked at the stack of papers in front of her. She made to get up only to fall back in her chair as her back cramped again. Practicing breathing exercises to relax her she calmed down. Looking up she saw a displaced paper, straightened it, and looked at it again.
Fluttershy Memorial Hospital and Veterinary Center
The Element of Loyalty. As one could guess, Rainbow Dash was loyal to the end. She refused to leave her friends. But among all those who followed her to the grave none so were more devoted to her than Scootaloo. Now, far into the frozen north, alone among the nameless glassy graves of thousands can be found wandering shades, forever without a grave; such was their loyalty.
Alone among the gentle leafy giants of his farm Big Mac lay crippled, his back legs made useless by a spinal injury he suffered during the war. Many times he felt as if he was alone in his suffering, his family was dead and gone, his friends dead or away and changed by war. But there was one who could relate, her friends were dead and gone or changed by the war.
Babs Seed lay next to her gentle giant, his steady breaths calming her, lulling her to sleep under the shade of an apple tree. Big Macintosh smiled as he saw his cousin, worn and hurt by war finally pass into sleep.
With a scream of metal on metal and the continuous hiss of steam, Sunset’s war train jerkily came to a stop in Canterlot, her final destination.
The crowds were wild, cheering and yelling boomed from around the city, fireworks exploded in the sky, obscuring the gently twinkling stars throwing gaunt faces and hung frames into sharp relief.
As one, the Pegasi and Griffons at the train station came to attention, their armour and weapons gleaming silver under the moon’s gaze. The crowd’s roaring doubled as the train doors shuddered and slid open accompanied by a hiss of steam as pistons slid the doors into position.
Blueblood and his entourage winced at the increase in noise, he motioned to his unicorn aide and the sound was dampened. He could finally hear himself think.
Far above the cacophony and swirl of emotions in Canterlot proper; Celestia sat on her plush velvet cushions, drinking her chamomile tea. She gazed languidly down at the spectacle that had become Sunset Shimmer.
For the past 32 years she had been kept in the dark, kept away from the light. And now that her daughter was home she would waste no more time. She had one final lesson to teach Sunset and nopony would stop her, not her maids, not her ‘advisors’; not even Sunset in all her obstinacy. No one would stop Celestia from teaching her daughter one final lesson.
The cheering had built up from a dull roar to a pounding, grating vortex of sound that beat the ever loving thoughts out of his head. And his unicorn aid tried, but he couldn’t help everypony in the party.
Blueblood, past due consideration lit his horn and cast the charm himself. The crowd’s fervent roar dimmed but did not do more than that. It was still too loud plus the strain of having to contend against so much noise was putting stress on his not so insignificant magical reserves. The sound of the crowd rose in his ears despite his efforts, and then the train doors opened. And Blueblood could hear again.
It wasn’t his magic defending his pounding ears drums from the crowd, he couldn’t place it, the magic seemed so familiar yet incredibly different from any other type he had encountered. A rumble of armour, chain, and weapons came from the breadth of the trains cars. The first few rows of ponies quieted and peered forward.
From out of the train cars came ponies clad in the traditional Celestial white and gold armor of the Royal Guard. They proceeded towards Blueblood and the security line of Pegasi and Griffons. Each new guard took the place of one Griffon or Pegasus.
But what caught Blueblood’s eyes was what follow after the Royal Guards. Sunset’s minotaurs. It was rumored that a whole clan had sworn to be her Honor Guard, they would only wear her colors and obey her direct command. For a minotaur, there was no greater honor except death in defense of their sworn commander.
The lumbering beasts’ stomped out of the train cars, their bloody crimson armour was accented by light gold outlines and insignias on their pauldrons. The crowd went silent as the Honor Guard filled the train platform. The stomping and shuffling of a hundred feet silenced the crowd as the Honor Guard settled into their positions.
After they were all set and done silence reigned over Canterlot and an oppressive blanket hung over the train station seemingly bearing the weight of ten years of war and countless horrors.
With a final monotonous beat Sunset took the first step back onto Canterlot soil since her departure twelve years ago. The crowd drew back at her presence. Her honor guard turned and opened a path for her to walk through. And walk through it she did.
Her hoofbeats echoed over the awed faces of the fillies and colts, stallions and mares. Her presence lay over them like a steel blanket. She cleared the train car, stopped and cast her gaze about. Everywhere she looked, ponies trembled and their front knees bowed. Sunset took another step forward and the front ranks of the crowd were brought to their knees.
Blueblood gazed confusedly at the actions of the surrounding ponies but as he heard Sunset begin to walk again he looked up and saw a monster stalking towards him. The Sunset Shimmer he knew was dead and gone. The thing in her place, the thing that called itself Sunset Shimmer was Death.
The flagstones that were touched, blackened and crumbled away to dust. A rose that was brushed aside by one of her armoured hooves withered and died.
The very air of Canterlot stilled and the smell of death and decay filled Blueblood nostrils, he visibly blanched and the smell receded.
Blinking tears away from his eyes Blueblood shook his head and looked up. He looked up and saw Sunset staring down at him. Her bright cyan eyes that bespoke power and intelligence were now deep pools of cracked cyan and black light, there was no end to them nor was there a beginning, they just were. Sunset blinked and Blueblood felt his head clear and the deathly presence abated. Sunset lit her horn and her visor fell down covering her eyes.
They stared at each other for what seemed like eons.
“Sunset Shimmer, welcome ho-” Sunsets head rotated as if she were peering at Blueblood in a new light, then she spoke “-Blueblood. You’ve grown up.”
Blueblood’s eyebrows raised in surprise, Sunset had just complimented him. And her voice, her voice had predominantly remained the same, it had just gained a rougher, more commanding quality. He snuck a quick look at Sunset before staring at a point above her head.
“Compared to you, I’ve not changed at all.”
Sunset didn’t respond for a couple seconds so Blueblood spoke again.
“Sunset, welcome home. We’ve missed you. Celestia’s been asking about you since you sent word about your homecoming. Equestria owes you it’s life, or at least that’s what the ponies say.”
Sunset was silent. Her head had lifted and she was staring at the distant moonlit silhouette that was Canterlot Castle.
Blueblood noticed the subject of her gaze,
“Yes, Canterlot Castle. It used to be such a nice place, but with all the capital put into your war effort, the castle’s taken a turn for the worse and yet Celestia still insists on living there. A truly dreadful decision if you ask me.”
As Blueblood finished speaking, Sunset swept her helmeted head past him and gazed out into the crowd.
“I was mistaken. You haven’t changed. Now, by your leave.”
Sunset turned away from Blueblood, his procession, and his carriage.
She turned towards her Honor Guards and raised her visor with an armour shod hoof and began her speech, her voice echoed around Canterlot.
“Soldier of the New Crystal Empire! Here you stand, hundreds of miles away from home at the heart of Equestrian civilization. This city was my home. Respect it! These ponies are my ponies. Respect them! Hold true to your oaths and they will see you safely through the coming days. Stray from your oaths and there will be no mercy from me... ATTENTION!!!”
Sunset’s echoey voice reached into the deep, dark gutters of Canterlot, it projected clear into the throne room and Celestia’s ears twitched in annoyance.
“She was always one for drama.”
Celestia mumbled into her tea. One of the passing servants heard Celestia’s mumblings and paused,
“Milady, is there anything you wanted to talk about before Sunset gets here?”
Celestia peered over the rim of her teacup and gently shook her head, her one good eye focused on her tea. The maid, now dismissed resumed her cleaning duties without another thought.
The parade through the city was one that would be told throughout history. The conquering heroine Sunset Shimmer, Scourge of the North, Empress of the Crystal Empire, walked like any commoner would through the streets of Canterlot. The crowds did not press her, they did not mob her, they respected her and she respected them. Sunset walked at the head of her minotaur Honor Guard the moonlight and torchlight lit her path to Canterlot Castle.
Widows and widowers lined the street, they followed the procession as it moved closer to the castle. Sunset, one hoof on the bridge to the castle gateway paused then turned to the crowd.
She stood there for a minute, slowly swaying in the gentle night breeze. The crowd watched her, the moonlight itself lending its beauty to Sunset. After a brief minute of contemplation Sunset began and her voice projected through all of Canterlot.
“Here I stand, having just walked through a boulevard of broken dreams and I can’t help but remember what this city of ours was like fourteen years ago. I can remember the laughter that poured from the houses, I can remember the music that poured from the street corners. I can see your colts and fillies, happy, carefree and innocent of the world around them.
“I look out here today and I see none of that. Instead I see a people who are beaten and downtrodden by the rigors of a war we never wanted to fight. But know that while the war is over, there is still work to be done. Our great nations will have to rebuild. But know this, you owe your lives to those brave peoples who gave their lives to keep you free.
“I remember walking through camp one day and passing by the tent of a stallion who had been with us for a couple of months, he was crying. I asked him what was wrong but it turns out he wasn’t sad, he was crying with joy!
“His wife had delivered two healthy bouncing baby pegasi there even pictures included, if I remember correctly, their names were Cloud Cover, he, well let’s just say I could pinch his wittle chubby cheeks all day. And his sister! My goodness! She looked like she was a bundle of energy, her name was Lightning Bolt. I made sure he got home safely. But I haven’t heard from him in a while. I guess kids are a handful if they keep you busy for that long!
Some of the crowd smiled and chuckled while others cried as memories of their husbands and children came to mind. Sunset saw many different faces in the crowd,
“But there is one thing that I have learned from all that.”
Sunsets voice and face grew cold and hard a chill swept through the crowd, many of them started shivering.
“War never changes. But ponies do.”
Finished, Sunset turned around and with her Honor Guard in tow, marched on Canterlot Castle.
As the last line of Sunset’s speech faded from the throne room, Celestia set her empty teacup down with a sharp ‘clink’. Raven, Celestia's secretary, flinched.
Celestia turned to her teapot and lifted it with her jaw then put it back down. She motioned to Raven.
“It’s empty. Could you get two more tea kettles one with and one without, another teacup and the book that I left on my desk? Thank you.”
Raven bowed and left the throne room leaving Celestia to stare at the throne room doors as Sunset approached.
The throne room was quiet except for the soft breathing of Celestia as she waited, seeing who would get to her first, Sunset or Raven.
Raven trotted back into the throne room balancing a tray with two tea kettles, a teacup and a large canvas bound book on her aging back. Celestia took the book from the tray and placed it on the right side of her thrones side table. Next she removed the teakettles and placed them on the left side table along with the two teacups. She sat back and waited with baited breath.
“Will you ever forgive me?”
Celestia didn’t have long to wait for within a minute of the conclusion of her preparations the herald spoke up,
“Now announcing Suns-”
The gilded throne room doors banged open and Sunset strode in, her Honor Guard piled into the throne room spreading out along the walls taking positions next to Celestia's Royal Guards, the entrances and the exits. Celestia glanced around in concern and confusion.
"Well I see you haven’t lost your flair for the dramatic. But, nonetheless; welcome home Sunset. Or should I call you Empress Sunset Shimmer of the Crystal Empire.”
Sunset had not stopped walking forwards until she was at the foot of Celestia’s throne. Celestia's eyes tracked Sunset the entire way. When she reached the dias, Sunset swept her forelegs into a bow, her armoured head was bent low, touching the first step on the way to the throne.
“Sunset? Sun-”
And there, atop the crown jewel of Equestria, the sound of Canterlot Castle’s golden throne room doors being slammed shut echoed throughout the night.