As part of allowing Sunset Shimmer to stay, Celestia requires her to pass her missed exams.
Sunset has decided to return to Equestria, but Celestia - ever the teacher - requires her to complete the exams she’s missed out on during her exile. Fortunately, she is given time to prepare.
Please report to the Palace in Canterlot at ten in the morning on Monday, fourteen weeks from today for the first test.
Yours truly,
Princess Celestia
I sighed and put it back down on the desk in front of me and glanced at the stack of books that Twilight had leant me.
“Don’t worry about it, Sunset!” she had said as she dropped them off. “I’m sure you’re be back in the swing of things in no time!”
“Easy for you to say,” I said to myself as I brought the topmost book over and settled in to read.
The magic from the world I had lived in for years was completely different from Equestrian magic, so much so that trying to take a book from that brief trip a few years back had been a disaster. I’m surprised that Starlight hadn’t teased me even once since then. How do you forget how to use your own horn?
The words in front of me seemed to speak in a foreign language, and I slammed it shut in frustration. I tried to run my hand through my hair, remembering at the last moment that I had hooves now and lowered my head before giving my mane a toss.
“Only one thing to do, it seems,” I said to myself.
I grabbed my scarf and bag from the peg by the door and stepped out into the night.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Sunset?” Celestia asked as the guard that admitted me withdrew.
“Have to admit,” I said, nervously. “That I don’t believe that three months is going to be enough time for me to get up to speed on all of the lessons I’ve missed out on.”
“I seem to recall a young filly that was rather ahead of her studies once upon a time,” she said with that good natured smile I recalled from my youth.
“Yes, well,” I said, lifting a small clay knick-knack in my magic. It wavered as my aura flickered and flashed, obviously not as strong as it once was. “The magic in the other world is vastly different, and I’ve been using it so much I’ve sort of forgotten half of what I used to do by habit.”
“So shall we allow you more time, then?” she asked, tilting her head.
“No, I don’t think that is it,” I said, nerves flaring up again. “Rather, could I re-enroll into your private study program again? Just start from scratch, rather than try to remember what might be a little erroneous?”
Celestia smiled and spread her wings out.
“I think that would be quite acceptable,” she said as I stepped forward to accept the feathery embrace. “Perhaps replace quite a few unpleasant memories as well as missed lessons.”
“Remedial studies?” Twilight asked, the words seeming to leave a sour taste in her mouth.
“After a fashion,” I said as I shakily brought the tea tray to the table in den of the small home I had managed to purchase in Ponyville. I had forgotten about the account I had in the Central Trust of Canterlot the years I had been in self-imposed exile, and it had accrued a rather beautiful interest, enough to buy a humble little cote not far from the borders of the Whitetail Wood.
“But…but you’re so well versed in magic!” she stammered.
“Of the other world, Twilight,” I reminded her. “I’m years out of practice for the school-level magic that you’ve lived and breathed for near to a decade. I’d rather start over than try to dredge up things that I might not remember properly due to tainted memories. Besides, she’s already given me a pass on the Friendship lessons based on her review of the journal, so each lesson is going to be started off with a brief review, like your letters when you first moved here.”
The Princess of Friendship pouted slightly and sipped her tea. “Ok,” she said. “But why start in a month instead of right away? Why put it off?”
I tilted my head forward, mane sliding forward.
“Besides getting used to being a pony again?” I asked. “My magic is all over the place when I try to levitate things. The first couple nights I was back I could’t even use a fork to eat! And I need to find a nice balance between lessons and life. I can’t very well be a good friend if I shut myself away in a room and get all sullen again, now can I?”
Twilight smiled. “So…”
A knock on the door sounded just then, and I perked up and smiled.
“So,” I said standing and heading to the door. “Hopefully, this will allow me the chance to get used to being home again.”
I opened the door to find a trio of ponies standing outside, all grins. A set of wrapped packages floated in the aura of the lead Unicorn.
“Welcome to Ponyville, Sunset!” Starlight said, her grin threatening to split her face. She swept in and set the gifts down on a side table as the other two ponies stepped in.
“Thank you, Starlight,” I said, glancing at the other two ponies, Fluttershy and another Pegasus I didn’t recognize. “And this is?”
The Pegasus shuffled shyly, and I caught a glimpse of the ties in her long mane, paired film reels.
“Juniper?”
“Hi,” she said, a little quietly.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, looking over at Starlight.
“Well, she sort of wanted to see this place we were always talking about,” Starlight said. “And considering that she was known as the girl that terrorized the mall, I thought she could do with a bit of a holiday.”
“Well, then,” I said, a little surprised. “I suppose we’ll both be getting used to the place together then?”
She nodded. “Starlight said she’d show me around the town for the duration of my stay,” Juniper said as her wings fluffed a little. “Provided I don’t stay shut in.”
“Which brings us to the next matter,” Fluttershy said. “I originally offered to let her stay with me, but I’m afraid Harry has come down with a nasty case of the flu, and he’s not quite himself, so I’m hoping that Twilight would let her stay at the castle.”
We all turned to the Alicorn, who smiled.
“Just don’t let Dash find out there’s a new Pegasus in town,” she said. “Otherwise we’ll have to teach her how to fly so she can race.”
“A little to the left,” Starlight said. “Just a skootch.”
I nudged the painting to the left and sat down. “I think that’s it,” I said, looking around.
It was amazing how long it took to set up such a small home. Between airing it out, cleaning the nooks and crannies - and relocating a family of badgers - it had taken three days just to get it where it felt like me.
“So, when are you going to open these things?” The other Unicorn asked, floating over the packages she had brought over the other day.
“Well, I guess I was waiting for me to have a house to have a housewarming in,” I murmured. “I’m still having trouble believing this is my place at times.”
“No better way than to have a housewarming party,” she said. “And nopony does a party better th...”
“I heard the word party!” Pinkie cried out as she burst in through a window. “Whose the lucky pony? Where can I set up?” She reaches out and cupped Starlight’s cheeks and shook her slightly. “Does this call for marzipan or mascarpone? I need to know!”
I giggled as Pinkie went on being Pinkie. “A housewarming party, Pinkie,” I said, levitating the pony away from the confused mare. “To celebrate the fact that I’m finally done moving in.”
The party planner gave a squee and bounded away, waving. “I’ll have it all ready for tonight, Sunset!” she sang as she went along.
I smiled faintly and turned back to the packages.
“I guess I open these tonight, then.”
“Princess Celestia will see you now,” the guard said, stepping aside from the opened door. Inside the study, Celestia was sitting at a table, scanning some document as she sipped tea. A slice of carrot cake sat to the side, a fork resting on the plate with a few crumbs attached. She glanced up.
“Ah, Sunset,” she said, a chair sliding out in her aura. “Please, be seated. Tea?”
“Please,” I said as I sat. Soon a cup was settled before me and tea being poured in. “You wanted to see me?”
The Daytime Diarch nodded. “I wanted to discuss a few things about your re-enrollment,” she said. “I want you to understand that I won’t go easy on you just because you were my student before.”
“I wouldn't want you to,” I retorted.
“But I also want to let you test out of any session if you feel up to it,” she continued. “No point in wasting time in basic levitation or history of Equestria.”
I lifted my teacup, my grip sturdy and stable. “Of course.”
“So all that remains is to come up with a course load and schedule,” Celestia finished, setting the parchment down and smiling at me. “I understand you purchased a home in Ponyville?”
I nodded as I sipped my tea. “It’s not much, but it’s mine,” I said. “Pinkie is throwing the house warming tonight, so I hope it’s still standing in the morning.”
The ruler laughed. “I’m sure she can contain herself that much,” she giggled. “I understand that you’ve taken somepony under your wing, so to speak?”
I blinked. “How did you know about that?”
She levitated a rolled up scroll. “Twilight is rather vociferous in her letters to me,” she said. “I think you and Starlight Glimmer would be good friends to this Juniper Montage, and the two of you can acquaint yourselves to Ponyville rather well, for however long your stay may be.”
“I’m fairly certain I’m back to stay, Princess,” I said. “I may go back across to visit, but that’s just not home, no matter how welcome I am there. Plus, when my counterpart transferred to CHS, things got a little complicated anyway. The girls know how to get up with me.”
“Ah, yes,” Celestia murmurred. “I wondered what had become of your copy of our journal.”
I blushed a little. “They are still my friends,” I whispered shyly.
“And I will have no issue with you visiting them.” She took a bite of her cake. “I believe, Sunset, that the best curriculum for you would be one of independent study. That way you are under no pressure to choose between living and studying. We will meet each day to track your progress and to test your skills when you feel ready. I may even throw a few pop quizzes at you along the way.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for flying scrolls,” I chuckled.
She laughed too, and for a few moments, it felt like it had when I was her student the first time, laughing over silly things.
I sat down at the table and put my face on the cool surface.
“Long day?” Juniper asked.
“I feel like my horn is going to fall off,” I said. “Magical burnout is not something your want to feel. Be glad you’re a Pegasus. And speak softly, please.”
“Lessons going ok?” Starlight as she joined us at the table at the bistro.
“She’s got what I guess is like a magic hangover,” Juniper said.
“Your voice is loud,” I grumped. “Sit down and hush up. Please.”
Starlight giggled softly. “Burnout?”
“And how,” I said. “I must have done five hundred transmogrifications and object point-to-point teleportations. I doubt I could lift anything bigger than a teacup right now.”
And sure enough, that’s when the waiter showed up and deposited several tankards on the table.
“I apologize, ladies,” he said. “But we had an incident with our washer, so at the moment we will be serving you in these until the issue can sort itself out. Please excuse the inconvenience.”
I lifted my head and looked at the window of the bistro and saw a light blue and wall-eyed Pegasus covered in suds trying to wrangle the out of control soap.
“Oh, Thestrals take my horn,” I groaned into the table as I set my head back down.
Lunch had been a little frustrating, but after the food and drink had settled, I felt the burnout start to fade and my mood to lift.
“So, what do you two want to do tonight?” Starlight asked as we trotted down the road.
“I’m the new gir…mare in town,” Juniper said. “So I’m not sure what all there is to do.”
“Anything besides books, scrolls, reading, or magic exercises,” I said. “Something nice and relaxing.”
“They are running a special at the spa,” Starlight mused. “And Trixie is setting up for a charity magic show at the schoolhouse later this evening.”
“A magic show?” Juniper said. “Isn’t that a little ironic?”
“Show magic is a little different than what Unicorns use all the time,” Starlight said. “Sunset, Twilight and I tend to focus on multi-use magic, where Rarity focused on fine control telekinesis and detection spells. Trixie got her cutie mark in stage magic and her spells run that route. Though she has been asked me to teach her more that she could work into the show.”
“So Twilight’s student has a student?” I joked. “Interesting.”
“She’s a friend and I offered to show her a couple of small bits of prestidigitation,” the pink mare protested. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Cutie marks show talents?” Juniper asked as we approached the spa.
“Special talents or areas of particular expertise,” I said. “I got mine when I was able to shift magic from one type to another. In particular, I used fire magic to do an imitation of Celestia raising the sun for a school play. I got my cutie mark on stage the first night when I got the spell right.”
“That sounds cool,” Juniper said. “What about you, Starlight?”
“I…would rather not talk about it,” Starlight said, blushing a little. “It brings up some bad memories.”
“Say no more,” I said. “We all know what its like to have past events we want to move past.”
We checked into the spa and shuffled into the steam room. I eased back onto the bench and sighed in relief as some taut muscles started to relax.
“What else are we going to do?” I asked into the steam.
“I still want to figure out how to use these,” Juniper said, extending her wings. “Might as well since I’ve got them.”
“We have been pretty lucky not having Dash around,” Starlight said. “But the current Wonderbolts tour is over and she’ll be back soon. Won’t take long for her to spot a new Pegasus in Ponyville, especially one hanging out with us.”
I nodded. “I heard what happened when she heard you could do a flight spell,” I agreed. “How many laps was it?”
“Thirty,” the Unicorn sighed. “My horn ached for an hour after that.”
“Wait,” Juniper said. “She’ll really make me race her?”
We both gave her a significant look.
“Remember how the other Dash chased you around the movie set?” I asked. After her nod, I continued. “Dash bases everything on how determined a pony is. From what I understand, she gave Princess Twilight a chance based on her losing a soccer match against her.”
Starlight frowned. “She helped her because Twilight lost?”
I shook my head. “Because she never gave up. She’s the Element of Loyalty remember? Steadfastness is a way to earn her respect. Especially if you are just as stubborn as she is about winning.”
Juniper leaned her head back against the bench and groaned.
“Is there any way to change me to an Earth Pony instead?”
Starlight laughed.
“Doubt that’ll help,” she said. “She challenges Applejack more than anypony else.”
Her repeated groan made us all chuckled, tension washing out of all three of us.
I looked at the teacup, its simple design and color belying the purpose of its presence. It sat in the exact center of the stone table, no saucer or other item nearby.
“Now, remember, Sunset,” Celestia said, a teapot hovering in her magic grip. “You must keep your mind clear and focus not just on the cup, but on the tea itself.”
I sighed, shaking a few damp strands of my mane out of my face. I had managed to almost complete the transposition spell twice. And both time, I managed to dump a teacup worth of cold tea on my head. My horn lit up with a teal light, and I closed my eyes, picturing the cup before me and the tea in the kettle. I felt the sensation that I had come back to being familiar with, a sense of weight at the base of my horn as I took something in my grip. I grunted as I sunk deeper into concentration, hearing the teacup rattle slightly.
My magic began to waver, and I felt my tongue poke out as I relaxed slightly, allowing more mana to flow. With a slight sloshing sound, I felt the spell fade and I gasped for air as it did.
And the teacup was full with a dark brew.
“Very good, Sunset,” Celestia said, sitting down by the table. “Now, I’m afraid cold tea isn’t exactly proper for the day.” We both looked out the window, watching the rain pelt down in sheets.
“Join me,” she said, a second cup appearing and filling with tea, both cups steaming as they were enveloped by her yellow magic. A moment later, a small platter of teacakes appeared as well. “It has been some time since I sat at tea with a student.”
“Probably since Twilight sat here, I wager,” I returned, taking a cake and dunking it in my tea. “Have you decided if you would take on another student one day?”
Her wise head nodded. “I have thought about it,” she admitted. “I have come to enjoy the look on a pony’s face when they get a difficult spell down. I also admit that having you here again, I feel a sense of pride in you, Sunset. You are much more like the filly I once took under my wing.”
I smiled at that, the surge of warmth in my cheeks causing me to duck my head for a moment before meeting her eyes.
“I have missed this,” I whispered. “More that I ever realized. Even after Twilight came after me, I couldn’t sit at tea with anyone without a small bit of grief.” A tear slid down my cheek. “I know I apologized once for my words and deeds, but I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like I’ve earned your forgiveness.”
A white wing slide over my shoulders, covering me with its warmth.
“I never doubted you,” the whispered words came. “You may have lost your way, but you did find your way not only back to the light, but to the lessons I had tried to teach you.”
She slid sideways a little and leaned down to nuzzle me. “I missed you, my shimmering sun.”
I was awoken the next day by a knocking at my door, and I stumbled slowly out of bed to answer it.
I found a grinning Twilight Sparkle on the other side of the portal, a small package floating in her magic. I blinked sleepily a few times then stepped aside.
“Good morning, Sunset!” she chirped as she stepped in. “How are your studies going?”
I looked at her for a moment before turning for the kitchen.
“Coffee,” I grumbled, plodding that way.
The Alicorn hesitated in her exuberance. “Is it really that early?” she asked.
I shook my head as I sent my kettle over to the stove and lit the burner. “Not overly,” I told her. “It’s just I’m still worn out from yesterday’s lesson. I think I was a few spells away from another burnout.”
The princess sat at my table, frowning slightly. “Are the lessons that hard?”
“No,” I sighed as I hunted in my cabinets for the bag of coffee beans. “It’s just that I have a perfectionist streak in me. Something I’m sure you know nothing about.”
She blushed a little at the rib. “Not really,” she giggled nervously.
I located the bag and inhaled it’s rich aroma. Saddle Arabian blend, perfect. I poured some into a grinder I had on the table and glanced at my friend. “Want a cup? I make it kind of strong.”
“I’m fine, thank you,” she replied, setting her package down.
As I ground the beans and threw them into the boiling kettle, I looked at her and smiled.
“So what brings the Princess of Friendship to my door this morning?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, lifting the package again and holding it out to me. “This is for you. Happy Valentine’s Day!”
I took the package and looked at her. “Don’t you mean Hearts and Hooves day?”
“No!” she shouted, her grin blossoming again. “I talked about it with the other Twilight, and she described what Valentine’s Day is like, and it’s almost two weeks sooner! So, I made you this. I hope you like it.”
She had a shy blush on her face as I opened the box and saw a square, somewhat unevenly iced piece of cake inside. I floated it out and set it on a plate, digging out a pair of forks as the kettle started releasing the life-giving aroma of black coffee.
“Why two forks, Sunset?”
“Well,” I replied as I poured a mug of coffee. “I’m not going to deny a friend a slice of what looks like a delicious cake. And it’s a bit much for me to eat in one go, and you may notice my lack of an icebox.” I set the plate and my mug on the table and sat, offering one fork to the lavender pony.
She took it but didn’t sink it in. “You take the first bite, Sunset,” she said softly. “It’s for you, anyways.”
I shrugged as I sipped my coffee and speared a corner of the cake. As I closed my mouth around it, my mind exploded with flavor as hints of honey and cinnamon burst across my tastebuds. It was quite possibly the best tasting cake I had ever had. My eyes rolled back in my head as I let a small moan of enjoyment out.
“That is amazing, Twilight,” I said after I swallowed the bite. I noted that the cake was red and yellow streaked under the chocolate. “Where did you get the recipe?”
“I modified one of Pinkie’s” she said as she took a bite as well, her eyes flutter closed for a moment. “A few spices swapped out to give it an appropriate color, and just a bit of myself as well.”
I paused with the fork halfway to my mouth for another bite. “Huh?”
Her horn lit up for a moment, and I saw sympathetic glows sparkle through the cake, remaining lit even after she killed her horn.
“Tiny pockets of magic,” she said, blushing as she stood. “They will keep it fresh and helped give it the rise it has.”
“Twilight,” I said, standing.
“I have some important princess stuff to do,” she said hurriedly, turning and walking into the wall as she tried to leave.
“Twilight, wait,” I called, only to be blinded by the flash of her teleporting out.
I looked at the cake, the tiny lavender sparkles dying gently.
Taking the bite and enjoying it, I sighed.
“She put some of herself in the cake,” I whispered to myself. “So why am I more interested in her than the cake?”
I smiled as Juniper flopped to the ground, panting. “I…didn’t know…how hard it would be!”
Twilight alighted near her, her lavender wings furling behind her as she smiled. “I thought so at first too,” she said, one wing sliding forward so she could pluck a frayed feather. “But then I found that I was relying too much on the strength of my wings and not enough on the Pegasi magic that came with my wings.”
Juniper managed to climb up to her hooves, not quite as awkward as she had been when we first came over. She gave her wings a fluff, and I had to turn away slightly to hide my grin. Some of her feathers were heavily misaligned, which would affect her ability to catch updrafts.
“Magic?” the pigtailed Pegasus asked.
“Pegasus magic lets them sense wind currents and lets them be lighter against the wind,” I said. “I don’t know more than the bare basics of it since I’m just a Unicorn.”
Twilight nodded. “It’s an interesting sensation,” the Alicorn said. “I still don’t fully understand it myself, because I didn’t just get Pegasus magic, but I also wound up with Earth Pony magic as well, so I had asked another Pegasus to be here today.” Her face screwed up with a little confusion. “She’s late.”
I was about to ask when I heard a set of hooves on the cobbles behind us. Turning, I saw Starlight trotting up with Fluttershy. The Pegasus looked a little abashed as they reached our little grouping.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Fluttershy said. “Angel gave me a little trouble during the lunchtime feed.”
“That little furball still trying to run things?” I asked.
The shy mare nodded. “I’ve started disciplining him,” she whispered. “But it doesn’t seem to work.”
“You’re a bit gentle on it, Shy,” Starlight said as she leaned over and bumped her shoulder into her friend. “If you hadn’t agreed to make him a new parfait we’d have been here on time.”
Twilight looked at Starlight. “I’m surprised you hadn’t stepped in before then,” she said, tilting her head forward.
Starlight shrank down a little, cheeks coloring slightly. “I’ve been trying to do better about that,” she squeaked.
Juniper turned, her brow furrowing. “What am I missing?”
“Starlight had a bad habit of using magic to fix her problems,” Twilight said. “Not always with favorable results.”
“Something that we all understand,” I said with a smile at my friend, winking as the pink Unicorn lifted her head a bit. “Even you, Twilight.”
“What?” Twilight sputtered. “I never…”
“I heard about the ‘Want-It-Need-It’ spell from Mom,” I said, freezing as I suddenly realized what had slipped out of my mouth.
“Mom?” Twilight asked, brow furrowing. “But the only other Canterlot resident that knew about that that you would know is…” Her face flushed full red, her mouth gaping open and her face paled.
“Princess Celestia,” Starlight finished for her.
Twilight met my eyes, and realization slowly draining color from her face.
“I have…” she squeaked. “On Celestia’s…ohnoohno!” She teleported out suddenly, leaving me blinking in confusion.
“Does she do that often?” Juniper asked, gazing at the spot the Alicorn had stood just moments ago.
Fluttershy nodded. “She’s getting better about it, though,” she asserted, walking up and nudging Juniper’s left wing out a bit, tsking. “When was the last time you preened your wings?”
Juniper ducked her head. “Never?” she said bashfully. “I’ve only had them a week.”
Fluttershy slid her wing across the other mare. “Such a shame,” she sighed. “We’ll start there before we even attempt to fly. Come on, I’ve got a pincomb back at my place.”
“Um, Shy,” I asked. “Don’t you hesitate to fly in the first place?”
“I have to have a good reasons,” she told me as they walked by. “And seeing Dashie happy to have someone else to fly with is a good reason.”
I blinked. “Uh,”
Starlight slid up to me. “She and Dash started dating a few weeks before you came back.”
I nodded, mind catching up to the information rather swiftly. But my minds eye flashed back to Twilight’s face a few moments ago and to the way she had acted two days ago at my house.
“You think she has a crush on me?” I asked almost to myself.
“Duh,” Starlight said, throwing a forelimb over my withers. “You should have seen her before you came back when you would write her.”
I stared at her in surprise. “Are you serious?”
She nodded, then gave me a tug. “C’mon,” she said, turning to trot away. “Let’s go fly a kite while we wait for her panic attack to die down. I can introduce you to Maud.”
But even as we moved, my mind kept roving over to the glittering spire of her castle.
Juniper hesitated as her wings kept her aloft. She had managed to get the hang of flight, but the next stage made her dubious.
“Come on,” I said, laying down. “Is it really that difficult to believe?”
“Yeah,” Starlight said from nearby. “You have become a pony, after all. This should be a snap.”
She looked at us, then at the cloud we were comfortably resting upon. I could understand her doubts. If not for a cloudwalk charm, Starlight and I would have just fallen through the clouds. I had learned it in my studies earlier in the week and today I had decided to test out some of the alteration charms I had gone over with Celestia.
I was also wanting to talk to the girls about Twilight and her odd behavior lately. She seemed to be overly busy as of late, but I couldn’t quite believe that she wasn’t actively avoiding me.
Juniper drifted over to the cloud and gingerly set a pair of hooves down on it, then folded her wings as she shut her eyes. When she didn’t start plunging to the ground, she opened her eyes and looked down at her hooves.
“This is so weird,” she said, almost more to herself.
“Yeah, it takes a little getting used to,” Starlight said. “As much as I enjoy cloud-watching, I still prefer to have solid ground under my hooves.” She turned to me and raised an eyebrow. “So what’d you bring us out her for, anyway? I’m sure there are others that are better qualified to teach Juniper cloud-walking.”
I fidgeted with my hooves for a moment. “I kinda want to talk to you about Twilight,” I whipsered.
“What about her?” Starlight asked, trying to unsuccessfully fluff the cloud up.
“I get that she was shocked to find out I was Celestia’s filly,” I said. “But is she avoiding me?”
Starlight grinned nervously. “Ah, well, heh…”
Juniper tried laying down, still not trusting the cloud under her completely. “Why does it matter?” she asked.
I stretched out full length and sighed. “Besides living in the same town she does?” I asked. “She’s a really good friend, and if she hadn’t been who she is, I doubt I’d have the friends I do. What she did for me was even more impactful to me than what Starlight did for you. I just don’t want who my mother is to impact our friendship.”
Starlight sighed. “She just needs to get used to the idea,” she said. “As a filly, she practically adored Celestia, being her faithful student was a badge of honor to her.”
I frowned, the sound of that nickname sour in my mouth. “I know, but I’ve tried to go and talk to her and Spike just says she’s busy.”
“She is,” my friend said, idly poking small divots in the cloud with her hoof. “She spent one day just rocking back and forth in denial.”
Juniper blinked. “Is she really that nervous over a crush?”
Starlight nodded. “She never acted on it when Sunset lived through the mirror because she felt it would be unfair to force her to choose a world.” She swirled her hoof around. “What was she going to do, just visit on the weekends?”
I nodded. "And then I come back,” I whisper. “Making it possible to her maybe get to admit to it.”
“Ah,” Juniper said as realization dawned on her. “And the thought of trying to date the daughter of her childhood idol - and ruler of the land - triggered one of her panic attacks.”
Starlight blinked. “How did you know about her panic attacks?”
“I am friends with the other Twilight, you know.”
“Right…”
I blew a wisp of my mane out of my eyes and sighed. “What do I do?”
“About Twilight?” Starlight mused. “I don’t know. I don’t know how you feel about her and I don’t really have a lot of experience in this.” She shrugged and glanced at Juniper.
The woman-turned-Pegasus shifted, even her wings ruffling in nervousness. She looked for a moment like she wanted to say something but held back.
“Juniper,” I said, smiling wanly. “If you’ve got an idea, I’m willing to hear it.”
She fidgeted a bit, wings fluffing as she looked away, a blush tinting her cheeks. “When I heard that a boy I liked liked me,” she whispered. “I went and just kissed him.” She looked away again. “That didn’t work so well for me.”
I felt a blush rise in my cheeks at the thought of kissing Twilight. “Uh,”
The Pegasus waved a hoof. “Feel free to ignore that idea,” Juniper said. “I’ve only ever had the one crush.”
A flutter of wings brought Fluttershy up to us. “Sunset,” she said softly. “Twilight wants to see you when you’re free.”
I reached up hesitantly and knocked on the door to the library. The entire way here, I kept going over everything Twilight could possibly want to say to me. Things had not gone well in my mind, and the possibilities were frightful.
The door swept open, the knob surrounded by a yellow aura. “Come in, Sunset,” I heard Celestia say.
I froze. Why was my mother here?
I walked in, and I saw the two princesses sitting across a table, a pot of tea settled between them. Twilight’s mane was frazzled and she had some matted spots on her coat, but she looked calmer now. She gave me a sheepish smile.
“Hi, Twilight,” I said quietly. The fact that Mom was here made things a little more tense that I had thought it might. “Hi, Mom,”
“I understand that the two of you have been avoiding each other,” Celestia said, looking directly at Twilight. The other Alicorn shrank a little in embarrassment. “I thought I had taught you better than that.”
“I’m sorry,” I said immediately, head tilted down a little.
A hoof reached out and touched my chin.
“I didn’t mean that just towards you, daugter,” my mother said softly. She stood, the teaset vanishing with a slight pop. “I want you two to talk this out. I’d hate for two of my favorite little ponies to be so uncomfortable around each other they couldn’t be friends.”
She stepped out, and I was left in the room with Twilight. Neither of us spoke for the first minute or two, then Twilight fluffed her wings and sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“No,” I said immediately. “I should apologize. I should have realized how shocking discovering who my mother was and told you from the start.”
“No, not that,” Twilight cut in. “I’m sorry for avoiding you. I just was so surprised and I don’t know what I thought.”
“So," I said, hesitantly. “Are you good with the knowledge now?”
She pinked in the cheeks. “I think so. It may take some time getting used to though.”
“It’s not like I’m leaving tomorrow, you know,” I said, some of my confidence rising again.
“Yeah,” Twilight agreed.
“And that will give me time to get used to the idea of you having a crush on me,” I said with a shy smile.
Her eyes shot open. “What? Where did you hear that?”
“You kind of babbled it before your teleport,” I told her. I figured leaving Starlight’s confirmation out would help the ensuing panic attack end quickly.
“Eh hehehe,” Twilight giggled softly. “I guess I did.” She turned away slightly, glancing back a little. “Are you ok with that?”
“I think I can warm up to the idea,” I said, walking over and draping a forelimb over her shoulders. “I haven’t exactly had a lot of dates before, though.”
“Neither have I,” the alicorn admitted. “You’d… Be my first. If we went on one, that is.”
I looked at the blushing pony beside me and I felt a warmth sprout in my chest. I had left my geode in a drawer in my bedroom to avoid random flashes, but I could sometimes pick up strong emotions. And I think I was picking up excitement from Twilight.
Either that, or that jalapeño cupcake from earlier. I really need to stop trying Pinkie’s inventions.
“So,” I said softly. “What’s stopping you from asking?”
“I’m not sure.” I felt her wing flutter between us. “I’m probably just scared.”
“I can understand that,” I said, stepping away. “I should probably get going. It’s getting late and I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
I was almost to the door when I heard a soft question.
“Do you want to have dinner here?”
I thought for a moment, turning to see Twilight’s wings twitching as her ears folded back. I winked at her.
“Sure,” I said. “But can I run home and take a quick shower? I’ve been cloud walking and I can still feel some in my hooves.”
She smiled, ears pointing straight up in excitement. “Yes! Is six ok?”
“Sunset, calm down,” Starlight said, watching me pace.
“What am I going to do?” I said, spinning around to face her and Juniper. “We were supposed to go to dinner at the diner tonight, but I can’t do it now, and all the other places are booked!”
“It was kind of sad that the kitchen caught fire,” Juniper said. “But they’ll be up and running again in two weeks. Maybe you can postpone it?”
I shook my head. “This is Twilight we’re talking about,” I said. “You both know how she gets about things not going according to schedule!” I started pacing again.
“Well, what about a picnic?” Starlight asked. “It’s supposed to nice tonight, and If my calendar is right there’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight.”
“She does like astronomy,” Juniper agreed. “She’s got enough telescopes.”
I felt my heart start to calm down. “That might work,” I whispered, mentally calculating what I would need to get. “Starlight, can you let her know that we’ll be meeting later? We were going to meet at the castle at six, but I need some time to set this up.”
The Unicorn nodded, trotting out. Juniper tossed her mane to get her bangs out of her eyes, using a wing to nudge her glasses back up her face. She was getting pretty good at using those, I thought idly.
“What can I do?” she asked. I smiled at her.
“Can you go get Fluttershy and ask her to come here while I go gather some groceries?”
“Oh, that sounds lovely,” Fluttershy said as I stirred the mixture of vegetables in the pot. “I think she’ll love it.”
I smiled. “I hope so,” I said as I levitated a spoon out to taste the broth and vegetables. Just a little under al dente, so I moved the pot off the heat to let them finish cooking from residual heat. “I really want her to enjoy this since I had to alter our plans from what they were.”
“I’m sure she’ll be ok with it,” the butter-yellow Pegasus said softly with a smile. She ruffled her wings a bit and I noticed that her coat shone a little more than normal and her mane was carefully brushed.
“You're rather dressed up tonight,” I said, giving her a soft smile of my own. “Big plans with Dash?”
Fluttershy blushed a little and ducked her head a little. “We’re going to Cloudsdale tonight for her parent’s anniversary,” she admitted. “Hopefully they won’t get overly excited about their daughter bring back a date.”
“Well, you are worth a little excitement,” I told my friend.
“You’ve not seen her folks excited,” she shook her head. “From what Dashie’s told me, they get carried away sometimes.”
I tried to imagine what Dash would consider carried away. I pulled out a basket and a thermos and began to spoon the soup into it. “Well, I hope I don’t make you late for this,” I said as I began to set the other foods I had made into the basket.
“Oh, it won’t take anytime at all to get this ready for you,” the animal-tender said quickly. “I know some skylarks and nightingales that would be happy to help out. I’ll just let them know before I go meet Dashie.”
I walked over and hugged the Pegasus. “Thanks so much, Shy,” I told her. “I hope your night goes ok.”
She flushed a little again. “I do, too,” she said, waving a little before she left. I turned and levitated the picnic basket over and headed for the door, stopping as I spied myself in the mirror.
“Yikes,” I said, setting the basket down and rushing to my bedroom and pulling out a brush to tame the mess my mane had become.
I don’t know how she did it, but Twilight was almost glowing when she came down the stairs. Her mane no longer lay hanging in the straight, simple styling she preferred, but tied up in a way that the ends seemed to bounce and curl with her steps. Her coat shone in the lights of the castle and her wings looked freshly preened.
“Wow,” I stammered. Nice one, Sunset. Real classy.
But instead of being put off by my monosyllabic response, she blushed and ducked her head. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked Rarity for a little help.”
“I don’t mind it at all,” I said, brain working again. “I feel a little sorry that all I did was brush my mane.”
“Oh, don’t be!” She walked shyly up next to me and her bashful smile caused my nerves to calm a little. “I’ve always kind of liked how your mane looks”
It was my turn to duck away a little in embarrassment. “Thanks, Twilight.”
She blushed a little and pulled out a short length of parchment. “So, what’s first? I have a list of things we could do, like…”
I put a hoof on her shoulder, my head tilting slightly. “Actually, I don’t know if Starlight already told you, there is a slight change in venue. We’re going to have a picnic instead.”
She nodded. “Yeah. It’s such a shame about the café. I really liked their eggplant.”
“They’ll have it up and running again soon, I’m sure,” I mused.
“Where are we going for the picnic, Sunset?” Twilight inquired. I merely smiled cheekily.
“You’ll see.”
We started out from the castle and headed for some fields just out of town. Being later in the evening, there wasn’t a lot of others having a meal there. It was something I was glad of, since I’d figured that if I was nervous, then Twilight was likely just as nervous. The fewer eyes watching us, the better.
The twittering of birdsong snapped me back to reality as we approached the little spot I had planned. Under a maple tree, a blanket and basket had already been laid out, and a flock of Fluttershy's songbirds singing cheerily." A rather large box sat next to the tree, adorned with a tag showing Starlight’s cutie mark on it. I stared at it, wondering for a moment just what it could be.
Twilight looked at the birds. “Aren’t these some of Fluttershy’s chorale?”
I nodded as I opened the basket, levitating out the contents. “I asked if she could help with a little entertainment until the main event started.” I glanced up at the birds. “I’m surprised she was able to get them set up so quick. She seemed eager to get to Cloudsdale for that dinner with Dash.”
The Alicorn settled down on the blanket across from me. “It was nice of her,” she said. “And I’m curious as to what you have going there. It smells amazing!”
I giggled. “I wish. It’s just a simple vegetable soup.” I felt a blush creep up my face. “I, um...really didn’t have time to come up with anything more elaborate or romantic or…” I shook my head quickly, trying to get back on track. “But it’s warm, it’s tasty, and I have a couple of good crusty loaves to use as bowls. I hope dessert is good. I’m not quite the baker Pinkie is.”
Twilight reached over with a wing, touching me on the shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
I looked at her and smiled before I had a thought. “You’re awfully calm, Twilight,” I said. “Considering you’re on your first date ever and with your mentor’s daughter, too.”
I almost didn’t catch the eye twitch.
“Why shouldn’t I be calm?” She tittered nervously. “We’re just friends enjoying dinner. Under a wonderful sky. With birds singing. And a slow change from day to night…”
I smirked at her. “You did something, didn’t you?”
Her practiced calm look cracked. “Noooooo?”
“Delayed emotion spell?” I guessed as I poured soup into the two bread bowls. “Calm charm? Share with me, because, honestly, I’m nervous as all Tartarus right now.”
Twilight blinked. “You are?”
I nodded as I passed the dish over. “I’m on a mostly improvised dinner with one of the princesses of the realm who also single handedly saved me from myself,” I smiled at her blush. “Not only that, but she happens to be one of my best friends and more than a little pretty. Even when frizzed out from panic.”
She chuckled nervously as her horn lit momentarily. “I may have used a stress charm,” she admitted, her breathing already starting to speed up. “I mean, this is my first date! And with Celestia’s daughter? This is such a huge thing that I almost hyperventilated once already. What if I say something wrong, or do something incorrectly? Or what if I -“
The spoonful of soup landed in her mouth, cutting short the panicked rant.
“Twilight,” I said as I released the spoon. “Relax. It’s just me. I’m no different now than when you and I talked that night at the sleepover. I’m the same girl… er, pony.”
I grinned sheepishly and took a spoonful of my own dinner, using the food as a way to not have to speak for a moment.
Twilight smiled as she pulled her spoon from her mouth. “I know, it’s just…”She sighed. “Did you know I read a book about slumber parties while trying to navigate my first one?” She shook her head. “I mean, it made sense at the time, but looking back now, I should have known that my friends would have been able to share ideas.”
I nodded, not quite sure where this was going. I knew from experience that she would ramble a bit before getting to the point.
“And short of writing Cadence for advise, I don’t have much literature on dating or crushes outside of some novels Rarity leant me,” her face turned a deep crimson. “I don’t think those are much help in this situation.”
Twilight ruffled her wings. “I don’t particularly know how to act in a lot of social situations,” she admitted. “I was sheltered a bit growing up, I suppose. But I also know that sometimes a faux pas can ruin something fun…”
I smiled sadly as she trailed off and stirred her soup.
“You’re a silly mare, Twilight Sparkle,” I whispered.
Her raspberry eyes met mine.
“Despite all the times we’ve spent as friends,” I said, tilting my head forward. “Meetings at the café, writing back and forth til all hours some nights, or even the silly jokes shared because only another Equestrian would get them. We’ve been closer than I am with the girls, the other girls.”
I pointed my spoon at her. “I tried to fry you with a fireball,” I felt a lump in my throat. “And you still tried to help me. You were a friend when I didn’t have too many. I’m not going to let something silly like using the wrong spoon ruin a good night.” I smirked. “Besides, I only brought one kind of spoon anyways.”
She laughed. I liked that sound more than her nervous giggle. It was rich, and alive. It was beautiful.
The tense mood broke as we ate in bursts. We talked about things that had happened in the last few days, my lessons and how they were faring, or the latest friendship mission she had been called for. As the sun sank behind the horizon and the moon began to rise, I glanced at the box set aside by Starlight.
“I wonder what this is,” I mused aloud as I pulled it open. Inside was a long cylinder, wider at one end than the other. As I lifted the telescope from the box, I heard Twilight coo in amazement.
“This is a fixed focus telescope,” she said, settling it onto a tripod that was also in the box. “It’s great for general observation! I have one just like it, I didn’t know you did too!”
“Neither did I,” I quipped as I saw a bit of paper in the box. Pulling it out, I read over it quickly.
Sunny,
Don’t forget that the meteor shower starts not long after moonrise. If the two of you aren’t kissing or anything at that time, enjoy the show!
Oh, and I kind of borrowed this telescope from Twilight without double checking, so try not to let anything happen to it?
Starlight
I covered my face with a hoof as Twilight looked around for something to view. She seemed oblivious to the existence of the note, so I tucked it into the picnic basket. I’d deal with Starlight another time.
It was at that moment that the sky split open, dazzling lights flying across the nighttime air. Telescope forgotten, she just stared upwards as I went over and sat beside her.
As the show continued, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw the wing closest to me flutter slightly before tucking in tight against her body again. After the third repetition of the motion, I smiled, took a gentle grip on the wing with my magic, and pulled it over my shoulders. I felt her breathing hitch for a moment, but it returned to normal soon. I sighed contentedly as the warmth of her body seeped imnagainst the growing chill. There was something comforting about this.
Something right.
We sat there long into the night, not really speaking in words but in tiny little shifts of the body. I turned to ask a question only to find myself looking at her eyes.
An eternity passed. Then I felt her lips press against mine, and I lost track of time.
“You seem unusually relaxed, Sunset,” Celestia said as I broke off from channeling an illusion, panting a little. “Would this have anything to do with your outing with Twilight the other day?”
I tossed my mane out of my face and smiled. “Maybe,” I hedged. “It’s nice having someone to connect with like that. I mean, Starlight and the rest of her friends are great, but I can’t discuss magical theory with them the same way I can with Twi. And…there are other things.”
My mother smiled in that way that made ponies think she knew all. “I’m happy for you two,” she said, leaning forward to nuzzle me. “And maybe you’ll see more than a few unexpected benefits as well.”
I frowned as I lifted my teacup to sip. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if I know Twilight as well as I think I do,” she smirked. “You might wind up having quizzes even when not at class.” She lifted her own teacup and held it out slightly.
I rolled my eyes and topped off our tea. “I already had a teleport session with her today,” I mumbled. “Seems she’s eager to have me out of these ‘remedial classes’ as soon as possible.”
“Speaking of that,” my teacher said, horn flaring up. “Let’s take a look at where we stand with your tests.”
The clipboard containing the missing classes we had agreed on back when I returned floated over in her magic. I moved to sit next to my mother, her wing slipping over me as I did. It was warm and comforting, but in a different way from Twilight’s wings.
On the clipboard, I saw that several items had already been checked off, including Friendship Studies, Transfiguration, Evocation, and Potions. Today’s session focused on Thaumaturgy and Enchantment, and I was proceeding rather well in those. Which meant that I had two fields of study left, my two weakest fields: Divination and Diplomacy.
I tried to stifle a groan as I saw what was left, but the gentle chuckle from my mother made it clear that I failed at that.
“I’m certain that we can take our time with those two particular subjects, Sunset,” she whispered, leaning down. Her ethereal mane drifted across my back and I felt the tingling of the magic contained within soothe my tight muscles. “After all, Diplomacy isn’t something one learns over a few days. It takes years of actually exercising the skills you do learn in a classroom. This is something even Twilight and Luna have difficulties in.”
“But what about Cadence?” I asked. “She hasn’t been a ruler as long as Luna.”
“Cadence has a way of reading ponies that is a little different from what Luna and I can do.” She put the clipboard down. “Being able to understand ponies as my sister and I do is something we learned over years of learning. It wasn’t easy in the beginning, but it is something that gets easier with time.”
She gave me a squeeze with her wing. “You’ve done very well the last few weeks. You haven’t forgotten nearly as much as you thought you had.”
“I suspect you're a little biased in that opinion,” I giggled.
“Well, you haven’t set anything on fire this time around,” she mused. “It’s a step forward.”
“It was one time!” I exclaimed. “And I fixed the carpet afterwards.”
A chuckling trill sounded from the cage at the far end of the room. I turned and stuck my tongue out at the brilliant red bird within, cleaning her feathers a little too innocently.
“You have no right to talk, Phil,” I said. “After all, you were the one that forgot to cool off before sitting on Blueblood’s back.”
The phoenix gave an indignant squawk and turned away from us. If she could have, I’m sure she would have crossed her wings in a huff. The laughter that poured from my mother’s mouth was more musical than any I had heard since my return.
“Do you mean it?” Twilight gasped, leaning forward over the table slightly. “You’ve almost finished the make up tests?”
I nodded, chewing the raspberry in my mouth quickly. “Just got two things left, apparently. She is about to go on a visit to Neighpon, so I’m essentially on term break for the time being.”
Twilights wings were almost buzzing at her sides with her excitement. “This means we can start with advanced studies!” she gasped. She teleported in a scroll and quill and started jotting down notes, her eyes wide in excitement. None of the other ponies at the open air cafe seemed to view this as odd.
Starlight giggled. “You’re in for it now,” she stage whispered. “Make sure she doesn’t spend all your dates quizzing you, now.”
I looked straight at the other Unicorn. “You’ve a lot of room to talk, Star,” I said as Twilight continued to mumble to herself and scratch out notes. “What’s this I hear about you and Maud?”
She turned a bright red and hurriedly brought her mug to her mouth, looking away. I grinned and reached out to pull the scroll away from my marefriend. She blinked and looked up as my red aura surrounded the scroll and rolled it up, keeping it just out of her reach.
“I know that this might be a foreign concept to you, Twi,” I grinned. “But being on a term break means I don’t want to learn anything new. I want to take the time and relax, hang out with my friends, one in particular, and see what all there is to see around here. I’ve got some ideas that even you might like.”
“Oh?”
“Mmhmm,” I purred, moving to sit a little closer, and passing the scroll over to Starlight. “There just happens to be a new bookstore opening in Seaddle next Tuesday. I happen to know that they claim to specialize in rare and out-of-print books.”
I leaned over and put my head on her shoulder, looking up into her eyes that were open in excitement, though I wasn’t sure if it was the prospect of new books or my proximity. That was a little discouraging, but that’s what you get when you date an incurable bibliophile, I suppose.
Before she could respond, a loud thud came from around the corner of the building. Turning, we saw a somewhat bedraggled Juniper walk up to us, using her wings to brush dirt off her body. A few leaves and twigs were in her mane and she looked a little embarrassed.
“Another rough landing?” Starlight asked, pulling the detritus from our friend’s mane.
Juniper nodded, pushing her glasses back up. “I still don’t quite have it down,” she sighed. “I can get up and stay up, but landings…” she sighed.
Twilight smiled. “You’ve only been here a couple weeks,” she said. “Trying to adjust to a whole body and a set of limbs you’ve never had before can be tough. You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to get reliable use out of my wings.”
“I’ve heard you crashed rather spectacularly, if Rainbow is to be believed,” I teased. I turned to face Juniper as the purple Alicorn turned beet red. “Nervous about heading home?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Not especially,” she said, poking the tabletop with a hoof.
“Well that’s good,” Starlight said. “I knew taking a vacation would help ease your worries. How much longer are you going to stay, so we can plan a big going away party for you?”
The pegasus shook her head. “I’m not.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
She glanced down for a moment. “I don’t know when.”
Starlight tilted her head in confusion. “I’m not following, Junie.”
Juniper looked at me and I saw a little bit of conflict and shame in her eyes.
“What do you mean, you don’t want to go back?” Starlight sputtered. “If you want to stay longer, we would be glad to have you. I for one would like to see you finally try to race Rainbow. She seemed bummed when you -“
“No! Not for a few more days!” Juniper proclaimed. “Ever! While I’ve been here, not one single, solitary soul has looked at me in fear or reminded me of what I’ve done. And even with you all using magic around me, I haven’t had one flash of guilt or self-loathing the entire time.”
I shook my head. “Juniper, you have to go back sometime,” I soothed. “What about your family, your friends?”
“You’re one to talk,” she bit out angrily. “You haven’t so much as thought about your so-called friends since you came here!” Her wings flared out as she glared at me, and I felt a small flash of guilt. “So what right do you have to lecture me?”
“Because this isn’t your home,” Twilight interjected softly. “Now, I’m willing to let you stay longer, but eventually, you’ll have to return, if only to take care of your affairs.”
I spun and looked at the princess, surprised. Juniper’s wings slipped down a little, her posture turning a bit unsure.
“Y-you mean that?” Juniper whispered.
Twilight nodded. “As long as you agree to go back once to keep your family from worrying, I won’t force you to return.” Twilight assured with a soft smile.
Juniper stared at the Alicorn in amazement. So did Starlight and I.
“Are you sure about this?” I whispered to my marefriend.
She nodded. “I think this is the best course for now.”
Starlight stood and looked at Twilight incredulously.
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” she said before she turned and walked away.
Juniper watched her go then ran off on her own, a small weight seemingly on her shoulders.
“What are you thinking, Twi?” I asked as we sat alone. “You know she can’t stay here permanently.”
“I know.” Her teacup rose in her magic as she quietly drank. She seemed perfectly comfortable with her choice. Normally the calm confidence she held was something I was starting to find alluring, but now it was a maddening mask.
“But why…?”
“You can’t force this, Sunset,” she told me simply. Her teacup settled on the table and she smiled. “She isn’t ready to face the things she’s done, not quite yet. You were in a very similar place once upon a time, you know.”
I smiled a little sheepishly as she reached out and gave me a little nudge with her wing. She and I had talked about the things that had led to my flight from Equestria often since the Battle of the Bands.
“So you’re letting her acclimate, then?”
My marefriend nodded. “Let her get a little homesick,” she told me, sliding the sugar over. “And I think you and Starlight should start spending some more time with her.”
I frowned at that. “Why us, if you don’t mind my asking? I know Starlight and her are friends, but I barely know her.”
The Princess of Friendship gave me a smile that looked eerily familiar to the one my mother gave me when she was giving me a new assignment.
“You’ll know, Sunny,” she breathed as she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
Juniper was waiting for me at my house when I got there later that night, shifting her wings a little nervously. I stepped up and unlocked my door, setting the books I borrowed to the side and looking at her.
“Wanna talk?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Want something to drink?”
Another nod. As she followed me in, settling onto one of the chairs as I went and fixed a bit of wine for both of us. Today’s lesson had been a bit hard to focus on with Juniper’s declaration fresh in my mind.
I hated international law, I decided.
“So, what’s on your mind?” I asked as I set her glass down and settled into my favorite chair.
“Do you think Starlight is mad at me?”
I wasn’t surprised at the question, but I wasn’t sure how to answer. “She’s probably confused a little. Someone announcing that they’re moving into an alternate world is a rather big shock.”
“Did it shock your friends when you came to my world the first time?”
I took a sip of the wine to give my mind time to shift past the momentary pang of memory.
Make me a Princess!
“I…didn’t really have a lot of friends back then,” I told her softly. “And I wound up there by pure accident. I was running away from a punishment.” I glanced down. “It turned out ok for me, but it could have just as easily gone hopelessly wrong.”
“It’s so peaceful here,” Juniper mumbled. “Forgiving and nobod— nopony here knows me as anyone but a bit of a clumsy flyer.”
“You can’t run from your problems forever, Juniper,” I said. “Eventually you do have to face them. It took me years before I had to, but they always catch up to you in one way or another.”
The pony across from me screwed up her face as she lowered her glass. “I didn’t come here for platitudes, Sunset,” she spat.
“No,” I responded before she could continue. “You came here to ask about a friend. I’m not going to sugarcoat things for you. If you do decide to move here permanently, there’s likely going to be a lot of strings attached. Passage through the portal will probably have to be scheduled with Twilight in advance, you’d have to undergo a massive number of lessons just to figure out how to fit properly in pony society, and possibly have to swear and oath of fealty to the Diarchs."
I took a step towards her, gently reaching out and placing a hoof on her shoulder . “But I can tell you this much: you won’t be alone, and we’ll all help you as best as we can. I know I can teach you what you need to know to fit in without too much trouble, we could even have Twilight give us a test guideline.”
“You think she would be ok with that?” Juniper asked with an arched eyebrow.
I looked at her and smirked. “It’s Twilight,” I chuckled. “She’d probably be so excited we’d have to dodge as she bounces off the walls.”
I drained my wine and got up. “Trust me, Juniper,” I told her. “It’s your decision, and Starlight and I will support you either way. We’re your friends, and we really can’t do anything less.”
“You really think she will?” came the quiet voice, Juniper’s eyes looking forward at nothing.
“She’ll have to calm down a bit first,” I mused. I felt fatigue growing quickly and bed was sounding more and more like a winner. “But for now, just really think. I’m heading to bed. You can stay here if you want to avoid her for a few more hours. I’ve got spare blankets.”
“Thanks,” she whispered. “Sunset?”
“Hmm?”
“When… when you ran...” She hesitated. “Did you ever regret it?”
“Every day,” I said, not looking towards her before leaving to answer the siren call of my bed.
“Morning, Sunny!” a chipper voice broke through the haze of sleep. “It’s the first day of your break!”
I cracked open an eye and saw Starlight standing there, her horn glowing as she lowered a mug of coffee to me.
“How did you get in?” I asked, rubbing some sleep from my eyes. The coffee smelled good though, and I took it from her.
“You gave me a key, remember?”
“And that gives you the right to come in whenever?” I asked, taking a sip of the coffee. It wasn’t as strong as I brewed, but it was decent.
“Wow, you are not a morning pony,” she giggled. I slipped out of bed and yawned, moving for the kitchen.
“I had a bit of trouble sleeping,” I grumbled as I pulled some oats from a cabinet. “Someone brought up some bad memories.”
“Who?” the other mare asked, sitting at my small table.
“Juniper,” I said. “She was here last night when I got home. I think she stayed the night.”
“Nopony here but you when I came in,” Starlight offered. “There were a few folded blankets on the couch though.”
I stirred the oats as they cooked. “I’m not sure she knows what she wants, Starlight,” I muttered. “She says she likes the peace here, but I don’t think that’s what she’s after.”
“I still can’t believe Twilight said she could stay! It seems out of her character to allow bad choices.” Starlight shook her head.
“But it is in letting others make their choices,” I reminded her. “She wants us to spend some time with her. Well, more time.”
“Why?”
“If I had to guess,” I said, setting the pot to the side and pulling out a pair of bowls. “It’s because we’ve both done this sort of thing before. Having to face our own demons, so to speak.”
“And she wants us to what, share our stories?” Starlight harrumphed. “I don’t think she’s open to us talking about how we overcame our pasts right now. She seems set on staying.”
“I’m not so sure,” I mused as I set a bowl of oats in front of her and settled behind mine. “She asked me if I regretted running. I think she knows deep down that’s what she’s doing.” I took a bite and chewed.
“Then what do we do?”
I pointed at the bowl before her. “Eat first,” I mumbled around a mouthful of oats. “Plan later.”
“Yo! Red!” a voice shouted. I spied the speaker as a Pegasus dropped from the sky, her white mane fluttering as she furled her aqua wings. “What’s shaking?”
“Hey, Slipstream,” I waved after closing the book I had been skimming. “What brings you to Ponyville?”
“Dropping off a set of clouds for tonight’s storm. Dash seemed a little peeved that Flitter didn’t fill out any requisition forms while she was on tour.” The mare ruffled her mane before cracking the joints in her wings. “It was a pretty good sized load, I thought I’d grab a bite before heading back to Canterlot.”
“I was heading to get something myself before meeting some friends for kite flying, why don’t you join me?” I turned back to continue towards the new restaurant in town.
“So, how’s your brother doing?” I asked as we walked. “Last I heard he was heading up his own research lab.”
“Yeah, the nerd got himself a spot in the Crystal Empire to look into using crystals as mana batteries for airships.” She shook her head. “Mom and Pop were so proud when he told us he got the spot.”
“I’m sure they were,” I giggled. “I remember him being kind of awkward back when we were both in the SGU.”
“What’d you expect, him coming from a family of Pegasi?” Slipstream grinned and fluffed out her wings. “So what’s this I hear about you and Equestria’s newest princess?”
“Flurry Heart’s a cute little tyke, I’ll give her that.”
“You know what I mean, Red.” She smirked a little, her eyes twinkling in amusement. “Twilight Sparkle. What’s the story with that?”
“You know I’m not the type to gossip, Stream.” I couldn’t fight off the smile though. “And it’d take a while to explain everything.”
“I don’t have any plans.” Slipstream grinned. “The way things were when I heard you were back, I was sure be locking yourself up in that tower again.”
I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t a tower,” I huffed. “It was a solarium.”
“What’s the difference?”
I smiled as we reached our destination. “A solarium has a lot of windows. A tower is stone, usually.”
There was a rolling of her eyes, one navy and one gold. “Your room. Luna’s moon, you’re silly. But I’m glad you’ve actually moved out and are being social for once.”
I laughed as I pulled the door open to the restaurant and gestured for Slipstream to go in first. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a short trip. I had a few rocky turns and more than one false start. If you promise not to ask for specifics, I can get you up to speed.”
The pegasus grinned. “No promises.”
I sighed.
Slipstream slurped the dregs of her milkshake and looked at me as I finished the story. I sighed again as thoughts of Juniper rose again.
“So she’s running away,” the Pegasus across from me said simply. “It’s just a little rogue magic, no big deal since nopony got hurt. I’m sure nopony will hold it against her. Doesn’t Twilight and her friends deal with that something like twice a month?”
I twisted my hooves. “It’s… a little more complicated than that, Stream. There are details that I can’t reveal because of a promise to Twilight, but trust me when I say that Juniper is probably frightened beyond reason.” I glanced down.
“I know I was,” I whispered, half to myself.
Slipstream chewed on her lip for a moment, then tossed her forelock out of her face and stood.
“Send her to me.” she announced.
“What?”
“Send her to me,” she repeated. “I’ll help her get a hang of her flying. Can’t have a Pegasus living around here that can’t fly to save her life.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure Fluttershy would take offense to that.”
Slipstream waved her hoof before she turned to leave.
“She’ll surprise you,” the aqua mare said, dropping a few bits down. “She can move it if she thinks it’s needed.”
As she left, I sighed.
“She’s going to kill me,” I whispered as I got up as well.
“You had her do what?” Starlight asked as I poured water into a glass next to me.
“I had Slipstream take her for a more focused round of training,” I said as I returned to my book. A.K. Yearling had added seven volumes to the Daring Do series while I had been gone and I couldn’t wait to dig into them. “After all, Dash is too busy with the Wonderbolts and Fluttershy already taught her the basics. I figure that a few days under Slipstream may make her realize just how much she has to do to acclimate to life here.”
“Which might just increase her desire to stay, Sunny!” Starlight whirled around and started pacing in the library Twilight had dedicated to fiction. “We’re supposed to get her to move on and be willing to go home. This was supposed to be just a vacation, a short trip! I never should have suggested this to her in the first place.”
“Why not?” I asked, putting a bookmark in place and focusing my attention on her.
“What do you mean, ‘Why not’?” Starlight sputtered. “She’s clearly just hiding from her problems if she stays!”
“What possible reason do you think she would have been better off not getting away for a while?” I pushed some of my mane back to keep it out of my face. Really should have grabbed a ribbon or something before leaving my house. “Technically, she would have hidden in some way regardless. I know I did after the Fall Formal. If Rarity hadn’t dragged me out of my apartment to go shopping with her and Fluttershy, I doubt I would have ever showed my face again.”
“You’re a special case, though,” the pink mare stated, her two-toned mane flipping around as she continued to pace. “You —“
“And from what Twilight tells me,” I cut in, glancing down at a hoof. “You were somewhat antisocial for a while, too, Star.”
“That’s different!” Starlight huffed. “I was already antisocial and you know it.”
“You seemed to have recovered from it rather well,” I couldn’t hide the smirk. “You and Maud get along well, and Trixie seems fond of your company as well.”
“We’re just friends!”
“So were Twilight and I.”
The look of panic on her face was precious, and I had to egg her on a bit. “You might want to be careful there, Glimmy.”
She turned beet red at the name. “Who… how did… Sunset!”
“Trixie talks in her sleep sometimes, not such a secret. What she dreams about, though?” Starlight sputtered as I shrugged and broke into giggles. The look of utter mortification drained away to be replaced with derision as the mare turned back to me.
“I thought it wasn’t proper for Celestia’s protege to eavesdrop.” Her glare might have been painful if Starlight had any bite in it.
“Technically, Princesses aren’t supposed to.” I grinned and winked at her. “You see any wings?”
Starlight finally laughed, the tense mood seemingly broken for a moment. She came and sat across from me, her mirth slipping away slowly as she stared at the table. Refracted light filtering in through the windows danced across the surface, seeming cheery against her somber mood. I sipped my water while I waited for her to gather her thoughts, remaining silent.
“I’m actually worried I might have caused this, Sunset. I haven’t always thought things through. More of a ‘go with my gut’ mare.”
I nodded as she spoke. “And it’s not always gone well for you in the past,” I agreed.
“The one time with the Celestia and Luna turned out ok,” she admitted. “But every other time had some pretty bad consequences.” She shook her head.
“I doubt you used magic to influence Juniper, Star,” I said, moving over to put a hoof on her shoulder. “She probably came over originally to just get away and her guilt made her think she could get away for good. Give her a few days working with Stream and the rest of her weather team and Juniper’ll be begging to go back to where she doesn’t have wings.”
We both laughed a little at that. As a weather team coordinator, Slipstream was notorious for being a hard taskmaster. Even Rainbow was considered easy going compared to her.
“She’s going to kill you, Sunset,” Starlight said, looking me dead in the eyes.
“Nah,” I said. “I’ll be fine.” I picked up my book and opened it back up, a smirk growing.
“I doubt she’ll have the energy to chase me down for a while.”
“You are evil,” Starlight chuckled as she turned to leave.
I shook my head, sharing in her laughter as I picked up my glass of water. “Not anymore, Star.”
As my friend was slipping through the doors, I heard her fire off a parting shot.
“Not any less, either.”
If it wasn’t for me being turned to the side while sipping the water, I would have spewed it onto one of Twilight’s precious books.
“Harmony blast it, Starlight!” I shouted as I wiped my muzzle. Her only reply was a snicker as the doors clicked shut.
“I’m going to kill you,” Juniper said as she dragged her way into the dining room that night, wings loose and dragging slightly on the crystalline floor.
“I doubt it,” I said, setting a pot of tea down on the table in the center of the room. “You look too tired to kill a fly.”
“Please,” she groaned. “Do not say fly.”
Twilight trotted in, a tray with a few dishes floating along in her raspberry aura. “I see you got a workout.” She set the tray down and sighed in contentment.
“Since you were joining us for dinner, I fixed something with a high protein content. It’s also good for recovering energy and cuts down on the soreness.” Twilight lifted a dish that looked like some sort of vegetable medley with dark brown noodles in it. “And it’s also tasty! I couldn’t help but try some the other day.”
I smiled at Twilight as she continued to expound on the wonders of the dish she had made. Anything that got her fired up like this made me think of how she must have been as a filly, back before she had read half of the books in Canterlot, when everything was practically new to her. I wanted to find a way to bring that sense of joy out every day, no matter how hard.
I shook my head slightly and went over to help Juniper into the low-backed dining chair and wrangle her wings.
“Harmony,” I said to the Pegasus as we started to pass food around. “It hurts just looking at you.”
“It hurts on this end too.”
“It gets easier with time,” Twilight said, arranging flatware at the four settings at the table. I frowned for a moment before speaking.
“Who’s the fourth place for?” Juniper asked, a little slurred with fatigue.
“Starlight’s going to join us tonight.” Twilight replied as she also passed out some napkins.
“Spike’s not joining us?” I asked.
“He’s out with Rarity hunting gems.” The Alicorn paused and nudged a fork a few degrees clockwise before nodding. “They’ll likely be gone til morning. Again.”
“That sounds like a story in the making,” I commented, giving a final nudge to Juniper’s wings, getting them more or less behind her and out of the way. Once finally maneuvering her fully into the chair, I sat at my place next to Twilight just in time for Starlight to trot in and spy the Pegasus.
“Hey, Junie,” the Unicorn whispered, head down slightly. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for not being supportive the other day… your decision just came from nowhere. I should have talked to you about why you wanted to stay instead of just calling it stupid.”
There was no reply from the Pegasus. Well, there was, but it wasn’t anything intelligible. It was, in fact, a soft snore. I glanced over to see her sleeping, head tilted back against the comfortable dining chair.
“Well,” Starlight said. “At least she’s not yelling. I’ll get her to bed then join you two. Give you some time to get any displays of affection out of your system.”
“Better take your time, Glimmy,” I snarked with a smile. I couldn’t help enjoying the sudden blush on my friends face and the shocked look on Twilight’s.
“Oh, I’m going to have a long talk with Trix,” Starlight muttered as she lifted the slumbering Pegasi in her mint green magic and left, pulling the door shut behind her.
“How did you find out about Trixie and Starlight?” Twilight asked, giving me a skewed look.
“Trixie was mumbling in her sleep the other day when you asked me to get her to help with a demonstration for the Crusaders.” I poured a bit of wine in three glasses and set them out. “As frustrating as she can be, I’m glad somepony finally broke her of that whole speaking of herself in the third-pony perspective.”
“Yes,” the princess agreed. “She’s easier to get along with now with Starlight tempering her and giving her some new tricks to work on. OH! I nearly forgot!”
I blinked as my marefriend clapped her hooves excitedly. “Forgot what?” I asked.
“I found out that tonight is a late concert at the auditorium.” She grinned so widely I thought the top of her head might fall off. “I thought maybe we could go take in the show?”
I furrowed my brow and put a hoof up to my chin in a show of thinking it over. “I don’t know, Twi,” I said hesitantly. “A late night concert with my marefriend? What if they play something romantic and you’re overcome with the urge to kiss me or something? I’d be powerless before you.”
Twilight laughed as she began setting servings out on the plates before us. “Like you’d be powerless,” she teased. “You’d probably be more like to kiss me, overtaken by my brilliant mind and thoughtfulness.”
“Don’t forget beauty,” I reminded her. “That has to be a factor, too.”
She blushed furiously, glancing away for a moment. “You really think so?” she whispered, her ears lowered in bashfulness. “I’m not anything special.”
“Oh, I’d have to disagree with you there, Princess.” I turned in my seat to face her directly. “You have a simple charm about you. Sure, Rarity has a glamour about her, but if her routine is anything like the human version, it’s that takes a long time to enact. You seem to just roll out of bed and you’re ready to go with just a brushing. I’m not even that lucky.”
“You don’t take a lot of time on your mane,” she said, her cheeks still pink from the conversation.
“No,” I admitted. “But some mornings, I’m sure that the only reason I get the brush through my mane is part luck. I’ve had some gnarly snags in the past and broken a brush or two.”
Twilight giggled, covering her mouth daintily with a hoof. “I’ve always thought my mane was rather plain. I thought about trying something different off and on.”
“Well, don’t do anything like that punk look,” Starlight said as she entered. “I’m surprised Rarity was able to pull it off.”
“Thank you, no,” Twilight said. “I was actually thinking of something short and flirty, easy to manage.”
“You realize that you might get two of those three, right?” I told her as images of her with pixie cuts and bobs floated up in my mind.
“I’m sure Rarity can keep me up to date on how to care for them.” She gave me a small smile and a wink hidden from Starlight’s view.
I’m not sure why, but my heart started racing. But the warmth I was feeling also had nothing to do with the wine or the spices in the food.
Celestia was silent as she looked over the paper I turned in. Well, not entirely silent. Every now and then she would make a little “Hmm” noise, then silence would return. Ever since I had gone from her little filly to her student, that had been the noises made on my tests or essays.
I was actually starting to get nervous after the fifth one and fidgeted on my cushion. Philomena would glance up from her perch every time Mom made a noise, but would return to her preening when she saw it wasn’t meant for her. I had to admit I had missed the bird; she had been a superb partner in the mischief we would pull off before I started getting all ambitious and uppity, as AJ put it.
I sighed at the thought. Even here, I still got the rare mention of my past misdeeds. I knew they didn’t mean anything by it, but I could understand where Juniper was coming from when it came to getting away. If not for the fact I thought myself banished, I might have slipped through to ride out the short term memories myself.
I might have made things right with Mom sooner. I missed this, I truly did.
Celestia put the report down and gazed at me for a moment before speaking.
“Do you have anything to add to this?” Her voice was warm and clear, no trace of any disapproval or displeasure.
I shook my head, the braid I had tied my mane up in tapping against my barrel. “Not right now,” I said, sitting up in reflex. She had always insisted I sit up proper during lessons, even if they were just in her chambers. The habit had stayed with me, apparently. “She feels like everything is reminding her of what she did while under the sway of the rogue magic. I understand that, even if my experience were by my own misguided efforts. But I think she feels that if she emigrated here, she’ll be able to avoid coming to grips with it. Twilight agrees, and we’ve started getting her set up to experience pony life as much as possible.”
“That doesn’t sound like something Twilight would do,” Celestia said, bringing a tea service over.
“Well, I think her purpose is to let Juniper get homesick,” I told her as I accepted my cup. “I don’t know how well that’s working, though. She’s been getting training from Slipstream for weather duty and gets back too tired to even make it all the way to her room. The last three nights one of us had to carry her there.”
“Mmmhmm.”
I quirked an eyebrow at the sound. “I know what that means, Mom,” I said. “What would you suggest we do differently?”
“I think it is a well-thought out plan,” she said simply. “Just not one that addresses the root of the issue. Juniper Montage will not look closely at her own deeds without a reason to do so. By thinking she is getting prepared to live in Equestria she is merely getting a second barrier to coming to grips with it.”
“I’m starting to think that as well,” I nodded. “As indicated in my report.”
“Which brings up another question,” she announced, holding up the friendship report I had handed in. “Several, actually, but I’ll start with the teacher questions first.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
“Firstly, I know you’ve been gone for a while and have only been back four months,” she said, eyes skimming the paper. “But your hornwriting is simply atrocious, Sunset.”
“You’re going to lecture me about legible hornwriting?” I snickered.
“Well, no,” she admitted. “Just an observation. I am more interested, however, in why you wrote a friendship report during your semester break and turned it in personally.”
“I couldn’t think of how else to do it,” I admitted. “I asked Twilight and she suggested we ask you. Since we have tea regularly when you’re not on diplomatic trips, I thought I’d just, well, give it to you when I saw you.”
The Princess of the Sun nodded. “Sensible. And do you feel you need any advice beyond what we’ve discussed? I feel you know the answer already.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I think I may have been dodging the issue too.”
“Which brings me to my next question.” she announced with a sly tilt to her voice. “How are things going with Twilight?”
I looked at her. “Really, you’re going there?”
She sipped her tea and gave me one of those smiles that you couldn’t be sure if it was amusement at what was said or knowledge of what was left unsaid.
I sighed, but couldn’t overcome the smile growing on my face. “It’s been interesting,” I answered. “There’s been some awkward moments, mostly from neither of us knowing just what in the hay we’re doing. Mostly, we’ve been doing pretty much what we would have normally done when hanging out. Just with bad flirting attempts and more cheese than a luncheon buffet.”
“So…..”
“So?” I grinned. “It’s been great. We can debate magical theory or fiction, without having to explain things like I would to Fluttershy or Applejack. And there isn’t any of that weird distancing some couples get when they start dating. All our friends are happy for us. Well, Dash seemed a little shocked, but she’ll come around.”
I saw memories flashing up in my head. The picnic dinner that had been our first date through the antiquing we had done to fill out some of the vacant spots in my home two weeks ago, and even the somewhat unnerving (to me) trip to the rare book shop in Hollow Shades just the other day. Don’t get me wrong, I like shuffling through books as much as the next mare, but something about a town completely underground and founded by batponies that worshipped Luna during her exile gave me a little bit of the shivers. Having finally getting to know my Aunt eased a lot of the fear I had of her as Nightmare Moon, but it still seemed off having grown up with everyone looking at Mom as the end-all-be-all of all Equestria.
But they did make good fruit smoothies, and their restaurant booths allowed for more privacy than most places.
“Sunset,” Celestia sing-songed, bringing me out of my trance.
I grinned as I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t fret,” she replied. “I’d rather see the two of you get lost in good memories than fights. You’ve both had enough of those in your lives, I feel.”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t help but see the conflicts wrought by the introduction of Equestrian magic flash before my eyes. The Sirens, Twilight from the human world’s transformation at the Friendship Games, Gloriosa Daisy and the Everfree incident.
And Juniper. “More than enough.”
“So, to keep an old mare from pestering you more about your love life,” Mom said with a titter. “How about we discuss your classes for when they resume?”
“I’d rather not,” I said. “I still technically have two weeks left in break with you heading to Griffonstone to finalize some of those trade deals the day after tomorrow.”
“That’s what I wanted to speak to you about,” Celestia said. “Seeing as how there is only so much you can learn about diplomacy from a book, I was thinking that when I come back you sit in on some court sessions. You’ll be out of the way and won’t need to do anything but watch. I just think it will be more in line with your hooves-on preferences.”
I rolled my eyes. “But I hate court,” I whined in an imitation of my fillyhood voice. “It’s so stuffy and boring and all they ever want is more money.”
“Sounds like your Auntie is rubbing off on you,” she intoned with a serious face. “Might have to have a talk with her.”
I met her eyes and she couldn’t keep up the façade. We both broke out in laughter, then noticed Philomena looking at us with her head tilted as though we had gone cracked. She cooed once in confusion.
Despite understanding the question, the look on her face was enough to have us laughing again for several minutes until Raven, Mom’s secretary, poked her head in to remind her of her schedule.
“Ah,” Celestia said, wiping a tear from her eye. “You have no idea how much I have missed these talks, Sunset.”
I smiled as I rose to leave.
“I think I might, Mom,” I said. “If it’s anything like I missed them.”
“Yaahoo!” came the shout a few moments before a blue shape dropped into the pond, sending up a fountain of water. I laughed and shielded my face from the spray as Rainbow Dash surfaced, flapping her wings and flinging droplets of water every which way. Though I’d never mention it to her, she looked a little like a giant blue duck the way she was acting.
“Ah, this is perfect!” she exclaimed. “Great day to chillax with my friends and a weeks leave from the squad.”
Fluttershy smiled from the shore where she was relaxing on a blanket with Rarity, teapot sat between them. “Is that the only thing you’re looking forward to?” the shy mare asked.
Rainbow flashed a wide grin at her marefriend. “Well, at the moment, yes. I have some ideas for later, though.”
Fluttershy blushed a little and glanced away coyly. “I look forward to it.”
I sighed and dove under the water for a moment, reveling in the cool temperature. As I surfaced, I shook my mane out and heard a squawk of surprise from behind me. Turning, I saw Pinkie giggling as she wiped some water from her face. Her mane, somehow, was still standing up in its signature poofiness.
“Sorry, Pinkie,” I said with a shy grin. “I didn’t see you.”
“It’s ok, Sunny!” she chirped. “Wow, your mom really made it a hot one today, didn’t she?”
I nodded. I didn’t mind my friends knowing who my mother was, but I also didn’t like it being mentioned in casual conversation for some reason. “Well, it’s a perfect day for a swim at least.” I splashed a hoof gently and looked back towards the shore. “Wish Twilight had managed to make it, though.”
“She and Applejack will be back from that friendship problem in no time!” the baker said, backstroking. “They’ll figure it out and everything will be okie-dokie!”
“It’s positively adorable how you pine for her, darling,” Rarity said, lifting a hoof to her chest. “But you’ll find that in time, even though you miss them while their gone, you’ll enjoy welcoming them back that much the better.”
“Sounds like you have some experience with that,” Rainbow smirked.
“You should know that a lady never kisses and tells,” the fashionista scoffed.
“AJ is my best friend!” the flyer protested. “I just want to make sure you aren’t turning her all fru-fru.”
“I hardly think that anything I could do would make her any less practical than she already is. In fact,” Rarity tossed her mane behind her shoulder. “She happens to have a more refined taste than I originally gave her credit for.”
“Surely that’s not the only reason you’re with her,” I teased.
“Quite right. She is a wonderful, wonderful mare and she has managed to keep me a little more grounded as of late. I doubt I could have opened the Van Hoover store without her helping me plan, or repair the damage to Rarity for You after that horrid mess with the Storm King.”
“Wish I could have been here for that,” I whispered, feeling a bit of anger inside. “I’d have given them a taste of righteous wrath.”
“Which is probably why it was best you weren’t.” Starlight came around the bend with a kite and a towel in tow. “I know they happened to be prepared for Unicorn magic. Trix and I barely managed to get off a shot before they had us in those cages.”
“Still,” I gritted. The thought of my mother and aunt, turned into statues just to harness their magic burned inside me whenever I thought of it.
“Well, in any case, it’s in the past,” Starlight said. “And look who I got to join us.”
As she stepped aside, I saw Juniper step forward, her head a little low in bashfulness. This was probably the largest gathering she had attended since coming here, and with all of us sounding the same, I was sure she’d be more than a little uncomfortable.
“Hey, Junie!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing over. “You’re going to have some super-duper fun today!”
“T-thanks, Pinkie,” she stuttered.
“Indeed, it is good that you’re not holding yourself apart any longer,” Rarity offered. “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” The Pegasus wandered forward and was stopped by a sudden blue blur. Rarity gasped as water sprayed across her from Rainbow’s dart from the water.
“So, you got those wings ready yet?” the Wonderbolt asked. “I’m just itching to see how you hold up.”
“Rainbow,” Fluttershy warned. “We talked about this.”
“What?” the blue mare asked. “It’s not like I’m challenging her here and now. I’m just asking if she’s ready. If not, I could probably show you some tips.”
“I’m working with Slipstream,” Juniper said. “I think I’m getting to the point where I don’t have to think about it as much.”
“Pssh, Slipstream?” Rainbow scoffed. “Sure, she’s a great weather pony and a precision flyer, but she isn’t going to help you understand the thrill of speed, of feeling the air shatter before you as you break the sound barrier.”
Junipers eyes widened in surprise. “You can fly that fast?”
“Faster.”
I smiled. “You’re looking at the only pony in recorded history to have pulled off a Sonic Rainboom on multiple occasions.” My smile became a smirk. “Even though sometimes it was more a nuisance than anything.”
“I’m telling you, I didn’t mean to blast by you that day!” she protested. “And I paid you back for the drink you spilled.”
“What’s a Sonic Rainboom?” Juniper asked.
Rainbow looked to the shocked, bordering on horrified. “You’ve never heard of it?”
“That sounds familiar,” Starlight muttered.
“I’m not exactly from here.” Juniper reached forward with a wing and adjusted her glasses.
“Only one way to explain,” Rainbow said as her wings flared out.
“Dashie, no,” Fluttershy began. “You can just…”
The stuntmare vanished with a sharp rush of air.
“…explain it to her with words.” The gentle mare covered her face with a hoof.
“Still not getting her to understand subtlety, I see,” Rarity commented.
“It’s a work in progress.” Fluttershy ruffled her wings in a way I was starting to understand as annoyance.
Juniper was about to say something when a cracking sound made us all look up, seeing the rainbow contrail of the Pegasus high above. As we watched, a haze of white light formed around her. Suddenly, with another shuddering boom, a wave of rainbow light shot out from the plummeting mare, spreading out from her flight path. Her contrail was a little wider and more brilliant.
“Wow,” Juniper said, her eyes locked on the spectacle.
Rainbow screeched to a halt before her after skimming the water.
“That,” she crowed. “Is a Sonic Rainboom.”
“That was pretty awesome,” Juniper whispered, looking at the still trailing colors in the sky.
“Don’t encourage her,” I said. “Or she’ll never be done talking about it.”
“Hey, just because I’m 20 percent cooler than the rest of you doesn’t mean I’m going to brag.”
“You just did, Dashie,” Fluttershy countered.
“It’s ok,” Juniper said. “I’ve got time off from working with Slipstream, and I’d be glad to learn from you.”
“Then get ready kid,” Rainbow said, swiping a hoof across her nose. “I’m going to work you so hard your wings might fall off.”
If there was one thing I had discovered since being back, it was just how much I missed everything about being a pony. The feel of magic thrumming through my horn, the subtle taste that oats had that a human tongue just couldn’t grasp, and the feel of lush grass tickling your hooves and fetlocks.
If there were two things I had discovered since being back, it was how much I missed everything about being a pony, and how I absolutely, positively, completely loathed court.
I sat slumped over in an alcove hidden by tapestries, supposedly to be unobtrusive to the actual proceedings. My assignment for today was to take notes on the various expectations of the ruling bodies when the local magistrates were unable to suitably solve a problem.
It was long.
It was ardorous.
And it was mind-numbingly boring. If not for Philomena being perched nearby I might have gone mad. She was not above being a little mischievous, and helped me pass notes to Twilight during the lulls in between petitioners.
As the leader of the farming delegation from Baltimare left, Philomena squawked and gave a strong flap of her wings. A burst of fire flew forth and formed into a scroll; Twilight’s reply from my latest note.
I grinned and went to pull it close as the red aura surrounded it. For some reason, it wouldn’t move. I frowned and tugged harder with the same result. Then, as a voice tutted from behind me, I realized that it wasn’t my magic that had enveloped it. And there was only one pony that knew where I was that had a red sheen to their magic.
Turning, I tossed a sheepish smile toward Raven, Celestia’s aide. She gave me a long suffering look over the rim of her glasses.
“Honestly, Miss Shimmer,” she said as she walked up to me. “Passing notes as though you’re a grade school filly? I thought you would have grown past that in the time you’ve been gone. I certainly expected more given the admirable performance reports your mother had me file about you lately.”
I felt my ears wilt as I looked down.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, a little embarrassed.
“Problems, Raven?” My mother’s voice was filled with a twist of humor under the curiosity. I groaned as I realized she probably knew I had been writing anything but notes on the events of the court.
“No, your majesty,” the Unicorn replied, keeping a tight grip on my confiscated note as she walked forward. “Just a bit of inattention on the part of your student.”
“Sunset, would you come here please?”
I stood and turned to look at Philomena for support, but all I saw were a few red feathers beneath her perch.
Traitor, I thought as I went and stood before Celestia. Her eyes were warm, but filled with a hint of reproach.
“Having trouble staying on task, my little pony?” She was at once both ruler and Mother, but she couldn’t let one interfere with the other.
“I just…” I couldn’t think of the right way to explain myself. “Bored isn’t the right word. Bored implies disinterest, and I am interested in diplomatic matters, but so far there hasn’t been any diplomatic issues brought to court. I find it hard to care about farm subsidies or import taxes on silver.”
“Diplomacy isn’t always for border disputes and foreign relations, Sunset,” Celestia explained as she glanced over the agenda Raven held out. After signing a few forms, she took the note in her magic and held it up. “It may not be exciting, but unless you wrote to Twilight asking for the definition of a term, I hardly find it to be a fair use of your class time.”
I winced as she opened the scroll and read it, a small smile cracking through her impassive demeanor.
“Raven?” she called. “Take a letter please.”
The white Unicorn nodded, clipboard hovering before in a red aura so similar to my own. As she dictated, I saw her soft smile grow, and the light twinkle appear in her eye that I remembered reminded me of Celestia’s eyes when she would foalsit me.
“My faithful student, I am pleased to hear that your relationship with Sunset is going well. It makes me happy that two of my little ponies are so content and full of love for one another.
“If you want, may I suggest a walk through the royal gardens this coming Friday? The two of you might find it wonderful, as the plants are in full bloom right now. I’ll make sure the weather teams keep it sunny until after your picnic. However, I would like to request you refrain from sending notes to Sunset during her lessons. It is a tad bit impolite.
Your teacher, Princess Celestia”
Raven rolled up the scroll and with a spark of red magic sent it along its way.
I’m sure all three of us heard Twilight’s head implode just a few minutes later.
Fifteen years later, I slowly dragged myself out of the throne room and into the office of my mother. She walked solemnly alongside, head still held high and seemingly unaffected by the decades long court session.
She glanced at me before pulling a pair of large cushions over. As we settled on them, she closed her eyes and the mask of the ruler slipped away, leaving only her own tired expression. A tray with a pair of cups and saucers floated in, buoyed by a red aura.
“Thank you, Raven,” my mother said as she took the tray and settled it between us. “You may retire for the evening if you wish. I think I’ll spend the night with my daughter.”
As the mare bowed her head and left, I felt myself begin to nod off in my seat.
How long had it been since I had slept? Court had only lasted thirty years, but…
“Sunset, I know you dislike court,” Celestia’s voice cut through the haze in my mind. “But it’s important that you understand the principles. They may come to play a more important role than just regulating land borders between two families.” She pushed one of the two cups towards me. “This will help. I know that I need it after a day like this.”
I took the cup and sipped from it, expecting one of her soothing teas within. The sudden, bitter bite of coffee was what assaulted my taste buds instead.
“It’s a touch strong, yes,” Mother sighed as my face screwed up in surprise. “But it’s effective for snapping me out of the doldrums to handle things like afternoon teachings.”
I swallowed the bracing draught and cleared my throat.
“I think it works,” I croaked. I had never really liked coffee. Not without a lot of sugar or cream, though. My friends liked to joke that I took my sugar and cream with a touch of coffee.
“Now, I think we can skip ahead and just call this lesson over,” Celestia said, setting her cup aside. “Because though you fought to stay attentive, you survived.” She put a hoof under my chin and tilted it to face her. “And just maybe, I’ll waive the test. I’m sure you’ll find a use for what you observed today.”
I put my head on my hooves. “I’m not so sure, Mom,” I sighed. “I’m not sure how this could possibly be applied to life outside your court.”
“So you’re not going to be present when Twilight eventually begins to hold court?”
“That’s not what I meant,” I said. “I’m willing to help her if I have to, but everyday life won’t need nearly as much diplomacy as I had just seen. I won’t be the one in the big chair dictating rules and responsibilities.”
“And what about your friend Juniper?”
I fell silent. “I still haven’t decided what to do about her,” I admitted. “I thought between training to work as a weather pony and Dash working on her speed she’d be glad to go home, even just for the respite.”
I buried my head under my hooves, groaning.
“Not going how you imagined?”
I could hear the smile in her voice.
“She’s actually going to be paid for next weeks weather work!” I groaned again, sitting up. “And Dash says she’s not that bad a flier. I’m not sure what else I can do to make her understand that this isn’t her home.”
“Have you tried telling her that?”
“No,” I sighed. “I know to tell her to go will only make her angry. We already have a tenuous enough friendship as it is.”
Celestia smiled at me.
“Sometimes,” she whispered. “You have to force a broken feather free to allow a new one to grow.”
I tilted my head to the side.
“You know I don’t always get your wing analogies, right?”
Her wing slipped over me and pulled me into a hug.
As I returned the gesture, she whispered in my ear.
“I think you’ll get some mileage out of that one if you take some time and learn how to preen.”
My face turned red as the connotation hit home.
“Mom!”
We were sitting at the table that night, just having small talk as dishes were stacked off to one side. Twilight passed the pitcher of cider around the table, topping off our mugs. Sweet Apple Acres had started holding a few barrels back just for the seven of us, mostly because of Dash’s constant whining when they started running short. But for me, it was something to nurse, not guzzle. I had slowly gained a deeper appreciation of pony life since being back. I’m not sure why, but I savored meals, drinks, even the increase in debates with Twilight over differing ideas in who was a better magical theorist.
Haycarte, honestly! Mistmeadow had conceived of several good theories about the Law of Artifice Decay, the rate at which creating an artifice drew on magic relative to the strength of the spell being laid upon the device...
“Sunset,” a voice drew me from my navel-gazing.
“Sorry, thinking.” I looked up to see Juniper looking at me expectantly.
She had filled out rather well in the month and a half she had been here, the muscles along her sides that moved her wings were taught and toned, and she had lost a bit of the early fatigue from all the flying she'd been doing. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was a native just looking at her.
“I asked if you wanted to come to the race tomorrow,” she repeated. “I know I probably won't beat Rainbow Dash, but it’ll be fun to see how far I’ve come.”
I sighed and put my mug back on the table. “Honestly, Juniper? I probably won't.”
She looked like I had just broken her uncle’s favorite camera. “Why?”
I stood and glanced away for a moment. “Because I think that I’ve been giving you too much support for staying. I know what it feels like to want to hide from horrible things you’ve done. You heard what I did when possessed by magic. You heard what Starlight did, and the other Twilight. I think I’ve excused away this trip as far as I can.”
“Sunset,” Twilight eased in. “Maybe —“
“No, Twilight,” I interrupted. “She needs to hear this. I’m not saying it to be cruel. We all knew she couldn’t stay permanently.” I looked at the Pegasus across from me. “Even you, Juniper. I wish you all the luck in the world for tomorrow, but don’t look for me.”
I turned and left the dining room. Twilight teleported into my path a few moments later.
“What were you thinking?” she hissed. “She’s looking forward to this and wants her friends to be there!”
“That’s just it, Twilight,” I said as I hung my head. “Even we’re starting to think of her as just another pony. But she isn’t. She came here to let things die down a bit and now just doesn’t want to go home. I can understand where she’s coming from, but even with my friends at CHS I still longed for home, for Equestria. And I know that she feels it too, she just doesn’t want to face the possibility that someone might remember her for what she did.”
I turned slightly as I heard her wings rustle. “I don’t think we can encourage her anymore. Not if we want her to heal properly.”
A wing slid over my shoulder and I felt her head rest against my withers.
“I understand,” she breathed. “And I suppose you’re right.”
I turned into the hug, running my cheek up the back of her neck.
“You’re going to watch the race anyway, aren’t you?” It wasn't a question.
“Of course,” I said.
“Just from a distance?”
“I did tell her not to look for me,” I chuckled. “I spent two weeks relearning scrying spells. Might as well use them.”
