The Tale of Two Sunsby CroakerGamerChaptersThe Forgotten SunEve of Opportunity RekindlingSunriseSolar FlaresFlammableFrictionShining BrighterNight and DayCaught in the CrossfireStoke the FireFight Fire With FireThe Setting SunThe Eternal FlameBurning MemoriesThe Forgotten SunThe day started like any other. First block, Chemistry, Second Block, Algebra. A boring morning as usual. But what could she expect? It was High School after all, not Equestria. Sunset Shimmer had occasionally gotten home sick. She caught herself dreaming of being a pony, learning lessons of magic under Princess Celestia’s wing. It saddened her that she couldn’t even visit. Life wasn’t too bad. After Twilight left Sunset approached the other five, apologized, and, over the course of the year, became good friends. Sunset was forgiven, for the most part. Of course, not everyone forgets when demons and angels attack their school. Or, at least that’s what most people thought it was. It was almost funny, considering it was really a fight between two dimension traveling ponies. Sunset’s secret was kept by her new five friends. She could barely keep from laughing. A pony in a world of humans? She couldn’t help but trudge through these thoughts during her lunch period. “Hey. What’s wrong, Sugar Cube?” Applejack asked. Sunset shimmer looked up from her fruit salad. If she said what was on her mind it might offend her friends. She thought of a well thought lie. “Just wondering what to do after High School, you know? Should I take up a job? Should I apply to Everfree University?” “Oh, please stop lying, Darling,” Rarity interrupted her. “You can tell us.” “Oh! Me! Me! Call on me!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She raised her hand as if some teacher would appear to give her permission to speak. “Uh, you do realize we’re not in class. Right, Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash asked with a bit of humor. “Oopsies. Sorry, Dashie!” Pinkie Pie apologized and cleared her throat. Here we go, Sunset Shimmer thought to herself. “Sunset Shimmer is home sick because she’s the only pony here at Canterlot High and she’s learned her lesson about friendship, so she should be accepted when she goes back, but in the process she has made friends in us and would be sad to leave us! But it’s okay cause we all understand, so we should help her get home because tomorrow’s the last of the three days she can move between our worlds!” Well, that’s Pinkie for you, Sunset Shimmer thought. Silly one moment, the super psychic the next. “Is this true?” Fluttershy whispered. “Every word.” Sunset confessed. “I’m sorry. I’ve learned a lot. It’s just…” Sunset felt tears run down her checks. “It’s okay, Partner. We understand. We can’t keep you away from your kin.” Applejack said. Full of wisdom, Sunset thought. She looked around the table. Each one of her friends, marked with an attribute of friendship. She was supposed to learn only one thing from each of them. But in reality, she had learned so much more. It didn’t matter though. The statue that contained the portal was taken away. Some of the students felt they should take actions into their own hands and express how they felt about the whole destructive scene. The statue was broken and vandalized, so it was replaced with a new one. It cost the vandal’s parents quite the pretty penny. A strange voice interrupted her thoughts, “Excuse me, are you, by chance, Ms. Shimmer?” She twisted herself in her chair. It was an elderly gentleman, wearing a black suit and a black bowler hat. He carried a cane and had gray skin and gray hair protruding from under his hat. He had a symbol on his apparel, just as everyone else had, like a cutie mark. It was a picture of a balance, like one of those old time balances where you placed an object on both sides to even out the position of the items. She averted her eyes from the symbol. It only reminded her of home, ever mark she saw on the students. Cutie marks: that’s what they really were. “Miss?” The old man asked again. “Sorry. Yes, I’m Sunset Shimmer. Did you need something?” The man chuckled, “No, no, my dear. I need to talk to you about your future.” The six girls looked confused at the strange man. Sunset knew she hadn’t applied to any colleges, that part hadn’t been a lie. The elderly man spoke again, this time addressing the other five. “Might I have a moment of privacy with Ms. Shimmer?” The girls nodded, picked up their trays of lunch and left. Rainbow Dash leaned over to Sunset Shimmer and whispered, “If this guy causes you too much trouble, I’ll take care of him.” Sunset gave a half smile, “Thanks Rainbow, I’ll remember that.” The man in the suit sat down across the table from her. His whole demeanor changed. He glared intensely at Sunset. He opened his mouth, “Did you truly believe you could stay in this world forever?” Eve of Opportunity Eve of Opportunity Sunset Shimmer opened her mouth, not to answer, but out of awe. Could this man really be a pony like her? If so, how did he get here? Was he a spy for some secret government organization? What did he mean by ‘staying in this world’? Would she have to return. She had to know more. Sunset gathered the courage to continue the conversation, “Who are you?” The gentleman leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table, continuing his stare. “I am Mr. Regicide. I'm here to bring you back.” “B-bring me back?” Sunset asked. She had stumbled on the sentence. Had there been a way to return this whole time? “Look at shirt, my dear. The answer lies there.” She looked down. Nothing was out of the ordinary. It was just the same old purple T-Shirt with a beautiful sun on it. “I don’t understand.” Sunset replied. “Don’t be daft!” Mr. Regicide scolded. “Everypony knows that their cutie mark represents their destiny. And you, my dear, are no exception.” “My destiny?” Sunset had almost forgotten the basic fundamentals of Equestria. She took another look and the fiery symbol on her chest. What did a sun have anything to do with her destiny. How could the sun play a part? By now Sunset had realized Mr. Regicide was pinching the nerve above his nose, as if that pain was more bearable than the ignorance she had for her homeland. “Yes, Dearie. Your destiny. It’s a trifling matter, really. Let’s see how do I start.” Mr. Regicide scratched his chin as if that helped him find the answer. “Surely you remember Celestia. I am correct to assume this, yes?” Sunset nodded. “Then you know,” he began again, “that she is in charge of raising the Sun. Her Cutie Mark resembles her daily task, because it was her destiny to raise the Sun.” “But what does this have to do with me?” Sunset interrupted. “If Celestia rules the Sun, what is my part in all of this?” Mr. Regicide’s glare heightened. He opened his mouth to speak again, but he was interrupted by the lunch bell. Sunset was shocked. Had it really been forty-five minutes already? “Hopefully I have peeked your interest and curiosity to continue this chat further. Rendezvous with my in the library after school. You have a big decision to make. I’ll be waiting.” Mr. Regicide walked off. Sunset turned to walk to her next class to find herself face to face with Pinkie Pie. “So who was he? Did he have awesome news? How do you know him? What’d you two talk about? I bet it was really important, huh?” Pinkie was able to say all of this is one breath. Wasn’t she the one who was able to read her like a book just a few minutes ago? Sunset knew better to answer with a ‘Nothing, don’t worry about it.’ “I’ll tell you girls later. It wasn’t very important.” She hoped she would get the chance to talk to them. The way Mr. Regicide made it sound was as if she had less than a day to return to Equestria. Now that the option had popped up, could she really abandon her new friends? Could she trust Mr. Regicide enough to go back to Equestria? What did Celestia have to do with any of this? Sunset didn’t know how she would be able to focus in English class. Rekindling“Well that was a mess,” Sunset said aloud. She was right about not being able to focus on school work. A pop quiz didn’t help the matter one bit. She was walking the hall towards the library now. She shot a quick text to her friends explaining the situation. She would give them a full hearted explanation later. Right now she had to get to the bottom of this. She opened the doors to the library. Barely anybody was there. Even the ‘nerds’ and ‘geeks’ had gone home. I guess they hate school as much as the rest of us, Sunset thought. She found Mr. Regicide at a computer, clumsily typing with the knuckles of his fist. It was funny to see a man of such age act in such a way. She couldn’t help but laugh at the poor pony. Mr. Regicide turned to see he had an audience of one. He stood from the computer to address her. She could tell he was blushing behind the shadow his hat made. “Please, follow me, ma’ am.” He gestured to a table, free of clutter and books next to the computer. Sunset walked towards him. On her way over she glanced at the screen of the computer he used. She cracked one more smile at the foreign language that was presented to her. It read: msdfj[nsdf sdljkdf sdhbksd’ wer9ui.l Mr. Regicide pulled a chair out for her and took his own seat. “Now where did we leave off, my dear?” “Mr. Regicide…” Sunset started. “Please, I insist you call me Reggie.” Mr. Regicide had proposed. “Um, sure. Reggie, How am I linked with Celestia?” “Ah, yes. Well, you both have the same Cutie Mark symbol: the Sun. Those ponies born with the same Cutie Mark have intertwined destinies.” “Yes, I know that,” Sunset replied. She told Reggie about her time as her student. Celestia had told Sunset that her destiny was to be one of Celestia's students. “A royal lie!” Reggie exclaimed. “And you believed her? Don’t answer that. Do you know why she allowed you to leave?” “Allow me to leave? I left because I was a spoiled brat back then wouldn’t take no for an answer. I ran away to get what I wanted by myself.” “Naive, Dearie, naive. Celestia purposefully rejected your requests, even the rational ones, to force you to leave Equestria.” This news stunned Sunset, “W-why would she do such a thing?” “She was afraid. Celestia saw your potential and couldn’t risk sharing any more of her wisdom with you.” Sunset was frustrated there was something Reggie wasn’t telling her. “Why would she do that to me? What was her motive?” She yelled. Reggie looked down, all of the frustration was replaced with pity. “You were never in the wrong, my dear. Your heart was in the right place. She deceives everypony, lies to everypony.” “Reggie. Tell me now. Why are you here and why has Celestia done this to me?” Reggie’s pity now soured. A psycho little smile spread across his face he glanced at Sunset just below the rim of his bowler cap. “I’m here to bring you back…” Reggie started. “Princess Sunset Shimmer.” Sunrise“I think you’ve been misinformed.” Sunset started to explain. “I’m just an unicorn.” “Oh, but, my dear, that’s where you are wrong.” Reggie started. “From what I’ve gathered from the events that occurred at this High School, you used the Element of Magic to gain power.” “I’m not proud of it, but yes. I did.” Sunset defended herself. “Sorry, Dearie. I didn’t mean to accuse. However, you transformed into what people described as a demon or gargoyle, correct?” “Y-yeah,” Sunset admitted. She had tried to move on from that day. Remembering it frightened even her. Despite that, he has really done his research. Where was he going with this? “And Twilight. She had wings, because the students described her as an angel.” Sunset started putting the pieces together, but just to be sure… “Are you implying…” “My dear, you both had wings. Last time I check, unicorns, like the one you believe you are, don’t have wings, even as a demon, or angel for that matter.” Sunset couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Had she really become and alicorn? But, she had learned the Magic of Friendship after the event. How could she have transformed into an alicorn through misguided hatred? “The Element of Magic,” Reggie started, as if he had read Sunset’s mind like a book, “is what transformed you, darling.” “O-okay,” Sunset stammered, still recovering from the news, “even if I am an alicorn, what does all of this have to do with Celestia? Why was she afraid of me?” Reggie smiled again, “She was afraid you may overthrow her. Take her destiny away from her. And by that I mean raising the Sun.” “What? Is that even possible?” Sunset asked. “Like I said. Cutie Marks are a ponies destiny. When two ponies have the same Cutie Mark they must compete for their destiny. Celestia tricked you into continuing her destiny being forcing you to run away to this world.” Sunset couldn’t believe it. What he said so far had made so much sense. “How can I trust you?” “What do I have to gain for lying to you, Dearie?” “What do you have to gain for telling me anything?” Reggie met Sunset’s eyes, then motioned towards the symbol on his suit. “This is why I must help you. Even if I must go against the ruler of Equestria.” “Your Cutie Mark?” “My destiny is to keep balance in the world. The wrong that Celestia has done must be given a chance to be decided by both ponies in this destiny. To tell you anything but the truth would go against my destiny.” “Oh. I see. Why has this not happened to Princess Luna?” “A good question. Believe it is because she has been trapped on the moon for one thousand years. That or she has just been lucky no pony else has been blessed with an identical Cutie Mark.” Sunset looked at Reggie with a bewildered face. So much information in such a small amount of time. “So, my dear, you have a choice. Either stay here with your friends, or come back with me and gain your old life back, exposed Celestia or the liar she is, and become a legend for raising the Sun for everypony in Equestria.” “Wait, how would we get back? The statue is missing. In fact, how did you get here?” “Ah, yes. It surprised me that the statue had moved. It seems to be in a trash yard out by Humanville. Also, you should know the portal shall only stay open through to the next day. I suggest you tell me your answer by then. That is if you don’t have any more questions.” Sunset was stunned she couldn’t move or even speak now. Reggie seemed to understand this, nodded and walked off. It took some time for Sunset to grasp reality and actually move from her paralyzed state. She looked at the clock. She had stayed past the library’s closing time by and hour. Luckily the doors were left unlocked. What was she to do. She had been right all along. She was meant to be the next Princess of Equestria. Could she really shirk her destiny to stay with her new friends? What would they think? She had to get their opinions before she made her decision. Either way, looking back on today, the questions that had popped up due to Reggie were way harder than the English pop quiz. Solar FlaresIt was Saturday now, no school. Sunset Shimmer sent out an emergency meeting text to the others: “Meet me inside of ‘Sugar Cookie Corner.’ I need to explain what happened yesterday.” She couldn’t help but predict how her friends would react. Pinkie Pie would ask hundreds of questions, Rarity would be overly dramatic, Rainbow would be offended by the thought of leaving, Applejack would stop at nothing to convince her to stay, and Fluttershy would apologize for not being a better friend. They all entered the parlor at the same time. They seemed deep in conversation. They were probably mulling over what news Sunset had for them. Sunset waved her hand to signal her friends of her location. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought. The six friends exchanged greetings, the usual “Hi”, “Hello“, and “Howdy.” “So, what’s up Sunset?” Rainbow Dash was the first to ask. Sunset explained her whole situation. No one interrupted. They sat there in awe as the news of princess-hood had been bestowed upon them and became glum at the fact that she may leave. She finished her experience with a sigh. Looking around the group of friends, she read mixed feelings on their faces. Rainbow Dash was the first to pipe up, “How could you even think of leaving!” Sunset didn’t know how to take this comment. Had she made such a good friend is such little time that Rainbow would feel so badly if Sunset was missing from her life? Or was it the fact that they had done so much for her, reformed her into a believer of the magic of friendship, and decides to leave. “Rainbow! How could you say something like that?” Applejack retaliated. “I-I thought we were friends. And you… You just decide to leave?” “Rainbow Dash, I have a choice.” Sunset tried to explain. “You know what, no, you go.” Rainbow tried her hardest to hold back her tears. “I’m out of here.” “Dashie wait!” Pinkie Pie called out to her friend, but she was already gone. “I’m sorry everyone, really. I just… It’s not a decision I wanted to make on my own.” Sunset explained. Rainbow Dash’s reaction had shaken her pretty badly. I was hard to talk without choking on her own words. “Don’t let Rainbow upset you, Sugar Cube. She’s more loyal than a farmer to his crop. She just feels a little-” Applejack stopped herself, wondering if her next word would help or hurt the situation. “-a little betrayed.” “Well, Dearie, if you ask me, I’d say go’” Rarity started. The way she said ‘Dearie’ reminded Sunset of Reggie. “Don’t get me wrong, I would love for you to stay, but really, when does an opportunity like this one come around very often?” “Umm, sorry, but, I’d like to see you stay, if that’s okay with you. But, I understand if you need to leave.” Fluttershy whispered timidly. “Aww, C’mon Sunset! If you leave I’ll have one less friend and one less friend means a smaller party and a smaller party means less fun!” “Pinkie Pie! Can’t you see we’re here to help Sunset feel better about making a decision. Think about being in her shoes for a change.” Sunset couldn’t help but look at her friends. None of them had reacted the way she had thought. Had she learned anything from them? If she couldn’t even predict what they were going to say to her, could she really call them friends? ‘Stop thinking this way,’ Sunset scolded herself. ‘They are your friends.’ She could stop thinking about them though. This one choice had caused a flurry of emotions to boil over. What could she do? Sunset turned to face a clock on the wall. Time was running out. She had to make a decision, now. “Girls, girls,” Sunset spoke. They all stopped their bickering and looked at her. Sunset took the time to look into the eyes of each one of her friends. At that moment, she knew she was making the right choice. FlammableSunset was walking in the outskirts of Humanville, around where the dump was. That’s were Reggie would be. Sunset looked down at the ground as she walked. She kept playing that scene in her head over and over again. Rainbow Dash seemed so upset. Sunset wanted to turn around and talk to her in person instead of having the news trickle down the grape vine to her. This wasn’t the only thing troubling Sunset, however. She knew she could always return, that’s how she convinced her friends to all agree. She would confront Princess Celestia about the matter and learn the truth, but what after that? Several options filled her mind. She could take over as a just ruler of Equestria, exposing Princess Celestia for the fraud she was. She could set Celestia straight, once again exposing the lie and hope she could persuade… or even threaten Celestia to rule properly. What am I thinking, Sunset thought. This was a princess she was dealing with! The ruler of Equestria! Sunset’s simple minded strategies caused her to lose faith in her decision. Now in a depressed state, she quickened her pace to Reggie. Maybe he could give her some reassurance on traveling back to Canterlot. On her way, she crossed paths with several people. No one seemed to give a second thought to a teenage girl walking into a garbage dump as strange. After a half hour of searching, she found Reggie standing next to a pile of junk. She wondered how long he had stood there, as if her were the statue they were looking for. He looked up and made eye contact with Sunset. She shivered. Why did he have to be so ominous and creepy. “My Dear, you’ve made it! Congratulations. Putting your mind to a task is the first step.” Reggie started. “I take it you are ready to depart?” “Mr. Reggie,” Sunset started to reply. “I have some concerns.” “Concerns, eh? Well, I can clarify any cloudy topic. But do hurry, our window of travel in to close soon.” “Right.” Sunset took a deep breath. “You want me to confront Princess Celestia about this lie she told to keep her destiny. The same one I should have. What if I don’t want to raise the sun?” Reggie’s stare transformed into a harsh glare. He remainded silent until Sunset finished. “Princess Celestia has raised the sun for hundreds of years, right? I wouldn’t know where to begin if I took over. And ruling Equestria?! That’s a really big responsibility to just drop on some one.” “This isn’t about your inabilities, is it Sunset.” This was the first time since they had met that Reggie used her real name and not a nick name. It chilled her. “I’ve told you, Equestria would rather have a just, pure ruler and shall remain patient with the raise of Princess Sunset Shimmer. You have the power, Dearie. You’ve learned the same lessons of friendship as Twilight has. It may be hard to believe but you are Twilight’s equal. Now tell me what is really stalling you.” Reggie’s words had such strength it was hard to respond. He could read Sunset like a book. “Reggie, I… I’ve made friends that mean the world to me. If I leave now, I may lose them. I can’t do that to them. I can’t do that to me. They are worth more than some silly old destiny. I’ll gladly swallow my pride and let Celetia continue to reign over Equestria. I suggest you do the same Reggie.” Reggie was stunned. Had he not planned for such resistance? Her glare softened. He smirked his psychotic grin. “I’ve put you through too much Sunset. Your overwhelmed by vast knowledge over a small period of time. I gave you a choice, but in reality there is none. You ARE coming with me, Dearie!” Reggie assumed a stance, ready to attack. Sunset didn’t know how to react, she was petrified. What had just happened? Reggie’s attitude had done a compete one eighty! Reggie used all the might he had in his frail old body to swing his cane. It made contact with Sunset’s skull with a sickening “Thunk.” Sunset fell to the dirty ground and blacked out. FrictionSunset awoke in a closet. She knew this closet, it seemed familiar. She identified a mirror in the room, the portal to Equestria. Wait, she thought. The portal to Equestria is the statue, the mirror is… “Oh no,” she said aloud. Reggie must have dragged her through the portal after attacking her! She opened her mouth to scream, but her lips were caught by a gray hoof. “Dearie, hush now. We can’t let the guards know we’re hear now can we?” She didn’t care if all of Canterlot knew she was in that closet, she just wanted to get away from Reggie. She bucked him in the gut. She faced Reggie. He was a gray unicorn with a bowler hat. An image of a balance was printed on his flank, his Cutie Mark He was doubled over in pain due to her blow. Payback, she thought to herself. “Why’d you do this. This isn’t what I wanted. I’m going back.” Sunset started towards the mirror. “Ah,” Reggie grunted. “I’m afraid you can’t. You see, the portal has closed. You are stuck here. for the next month.” Sunset stopped in her tracks. She was trapped like a mouse, played like a pawn. All her emotions left her she was a hollow shell. “How could you?” Is all she could manage to utter. “Destiny waits for no ponies, My Dear.” Reggie started. “Since you are here you might as well confront Celestia, hmm?” There was a sort of happiness in Reggie’s voice. As if he had succeeded. “You really will come to my terms. Don’t believe me? Look at you back.” Sunset turned. She hadn’t even realized a pair of orange wings were attached to her torso. They felt weird, as if she had grown two more legs that were light weight and feathery. Flying isn’t going to come easy, she thought. Her thoughts progressed futher, to her friends. All of a sudden her emotions came back with the force of Reggie’s cane. She started to sob. “How could you take me away?” Reggie’s happy attitude faded. “Dearie, we were running out of time. If we were to leave we would have had to do so in less than a minute after our disagreement.” “Why should I help you. In case you didn’t know, you don’t beat someone up to help you.” Sunset stated crossly. “Erm, somepony, Dear. Knit-picking, sorry. But this land is at peace, you are right. But you can do such a better job, it is laughable. Let me teach you have to control your new powers, your wings, your persuasive skills. You can be a better Princess than Celestia, I know it.” Once again, his words were powerful. But flattery could only get him so far. “I still have friends in the Human World, Reggie. I can’t just leave them.” “You are not listening, Sunset. You have thirty days until the portal opens again. Until then what are you going to do? If you follow me, I can train you to deal with Celestia. After the thirty days I promise to let you choose what to do, stay or go back. But please, don’t be selfish. Think about everypony else. You could supply them with a better world. Can you really deny them that?” Curse Reggie! Why was he so clever. Sunset had no other options to pursue. That day, in that closet, she vowed that no amount of royalty or power would ever corrupt her. She would return to Humanville and live life as a human high school student. Shining BrighterOnly one week had passed since their arrival, and Sunset was learning at an alarming rate. Since their escape from the closet in the Canterlot Castle, Reggie tasked himself to hone Sunset’s new skills. They stayed far from Canterlot, near the Everfree Forest in fact. Reggie could travel to Ponyville for supplies and Sunset could practice her magic without drawing too much attention. A very strategic camp site. Reggie was a great teacher with all of the right characteristics. “With age comes wisdom” they say, and he had a lot of both. He could explain things in terms Sunset could understand, like how to fly. It was funny though, he wasn’t a Pegasus, but he knew exactly how it felt to fly, mechanics and all. Reggie was patient, not getting overly frustrated with Sunset when she complained or lacked focus in her practices. Yet he didn’t baby Sunset, giving in to every demand she made. A well balanced pony, to say the least. One of the only problems Sunset had was believing she could raise the sun. Reggie said that the potential was in her and in theory the exercises helped, but it would never compare to actually raising the sun. Sunset’s sanity snapped back like a rubber band. What did she care? She wasn’t going to raise the sun. She had friends to return to! How could she even forget such a huge detail of her life in a week? Reggie, she thought. Again the old stallion’s plan was decoded. Through strenuous training, Sunset’s primary goal was improvement, not survival until the opening of the portal. She couldn’t deny it though. She felt a certain familiarity as a pony. Her human body had limitations, where as her filly form flowed with energy and freedom. Becoming an alicorn, to put it simply, increased her senses even further, as if a lingering sense of euphoria existed at all times. She still had twenty three more days to live as a pony. She couldn’t lie, she would enjoy them. But she would have enjoyed her friends company more. * * * Something unexpected took place in the second week of training. A Timber Wolf attacked the camp site. Sunset thought she could handle it, but was thrown off by the wolf’s agility. It gave Sunset shivers just recalling it. The Timber Wolf had pounced on Sunset, pinning her to the ground. She was paralyzed by fear and couldn’t focus to repel the beast with her magic. The wolf opened its maw, ready to sink its fangs into her orange hide. Sap dripped like drool and it’s breath smelt of manure. Reggie came to the rescue, firing a strong burst of condensed light to stun the creature. Blinded, the Timber Wolf ran in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Sunset was to shaken to move for a very long time. After that brawl, Reggie decided to begin teaching Sunset how to battle with magic. Sparring was the only way to further Sunset’s magical abilities. She didn’t have any objections after that little episode. To Sunset, it felt like another form of magical usage all together. Instead of being calm and collected you had to be aggressive and forceful. Reggie explained that having an overall grasp of magic can tie the concepts all together and make her well rounded. Sunset had learned so much from Reggie in such a little time. He reminded Sunset of her friends back in the Human World. She actually started considering to stay. She knew she could return at any point, but that wasn’t her. She wasn’t meant to live the life of another animal, no one should. She could always visit her friends every thirty days, right? That would be nice. She wondered if other pony’s could teach her even more than Reggie could. Her friends in the Human World had taught her about friendship, but was there something else that other’s could teach her? Reggie had taught her only the basics of flight. Could a Pegasus teach her move techniques and tricks? She still had a few more days to make a decision. Nothing was set in stone, but with ever passing day, Equestria started to bring back fond memories of when Sunset was Princess Celestia’s apprentice. And with every fond memory returning to her, the memories of the human world faded. * * * Reggie came back from Ponyville today with train tickets to return the Canterlot. “We leave in the morning, Dearie. Are you ready?” Susnet had learned how to read Reggie now, instead of the other way around. His question was rhetorical. He knew his training had been effective from the confidence Sunset expressed. Also, buying the tickets before asking her gave her only one answer. It was hard to believe twenty seven days had already passed. The end of the fourth week would be tomorrow. Nerves started to plague Sunset. She doubted herself and started to worry what would come from her accusation. The Princess could do anything from admitting her guilt to banishing her to the moon. On top of that, what would she do afterwards. In her mind, she knew that Equestria was her home, but could she leave her friends? Was it selfish of her not to return, even if she visited? Sunset had previously thought she was incapable of raising the sun and was going to let Princess Celestia continue her destiny. All Sunset wanted was the truth. After all that had occurred though, she felt capable. Reggie had done a fantastic job at training her into a princess. Tomorrow was judgment day for Sunset. She knew the importance of it. Destinies were to be put on the line. Friendships rested in the result. One princess would be leaving tomorrow, and Sunset was determined to try her hardest so that princess wasn’t going to end up being her. Night and Day“All aboard!” The pony declared. Sunset and Reggie were seated in the coach headed for Canterlot. Sunset had to wear a bulky overcoat to cover her wings. She couldn’t have the world know there was a new princess running around Equestria, not yet. It wouldn’t be long now until Sunset had a little reunion with her old teacher. “Hey, Reggie,” Sunset started, “How should we present ourselves to the Princess?” “Well, the guards won’t take lightly to our company. We’ll need to prove you are worth Celestia’s time.” Reggie answered. Once again, Sunset would have to pry all of the information out of him. “And to that I would have to…” Reggie sighed. “I wanted it to be a surprise. This train won’t reach Canterlot until Luna and Celestia are trading occupation of they sky. At sunset, you will push the sun back into the sky, behind the moon.” Such a thing had only happened in the human world. Sunset recalled astronomy she had studied in one of her science classes. She was going to have to cause a solar eclipse. “Yeah,” Sunset chuckled. “That’ll grab their attention. But don’t you think it’s a little rude?” “We mean business, My Dear. The only way to prove a point is with evidence. If you can move the sun, you have proven you are worthy of your destiny. If you can not, then there is no reason to continue and we may leave. Actions speak louder than words, My Dear.” “I understand,” Sunset complied. She realized there was no other way. She just hoped that this first impression would leave the mark Reggie wanted and not the one Sunset feared. * * * The pair arrived at the station thirty minutes before the transition. They started trotting towards the castle, the destination where the plan should start execution. That was the closest they could be to attempt to intercept the sun. When they arrived the guards looked as cross as ever. They crossed their spears, as if to warn Sunset and Reggie they weren’t allowed in. “Wait for the princesses to leave. Fly towards the horizon, that’s where Celestia will be taking the sun. You’ll make it there by sunset. Push the sun back with all you’ve got. We’ve got one shot at this. You’ve got one shot at this.” Reggie repeated the plan. The princesses flew from the highest tower of the castle, one in the opposite direction of the other. Show time, Sunset thought to herself. She threw off the heavy overcoat and spread her wings. She looked around at the faces of everypony around her. Even the guards had dropped their jaws. “Stop basking and start working, Sunset. Your window for opportunity is limited!” Reggie warned. And with that she took off. As Sunset flew towards her target, she realized that she had no idea how she was going to catch a sun. In the human world the sun was far away from the Earth and didn’t move. Sunset tried not to think logically. Her only goal was to push the sun back into the sky, not worry about where it would go if she didn’t. The farther she flew from Canterlot the bigger the sun got. Instead of just appearing like the sun was traveling with constant size, it actually appeared to be heading towards the planet! Sunset landed with a skid, pushing up grass leaving four streaks of mud in her wake. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sun, its movement, and its size. She began pushing back, creating a beam-like grip around it. As soon as she made contact, the metal grip snapped. Her eyes flew open by themselves. This was a bad omen. I must have underestimated the sun’s power, she thought. Once again she tried pushing on the sun. Sunset could feel herself being pushed backwards, the ground moving beneath her hooves. “I can’t give up!” Sunset screamed, trying to convince herself she could do this. Her flank bumped into a solid object. Perfect, now she had leverage. However, even leverage couldn’t help in her situation. She started losing hope. Her thoughts raced. She thought of her friends she had made. They would be cheering her on right now. She could hear them calling out to her. Apple Jack‘s voice enter first, “Give it all you got, Sugarcube!” “Don’t you quit on me!” Rainbow Dash pushed. “You look fabulous, keep going!” Rarity chimed in. “Um, don’t give up. I mean, if that’s okay with you.” Fluttershy managed to whisper. “Oh that looks like fun! Come on Sunset, you don’t need a party to beat this bad time.“ Pinkie Pie blurted out, trying to be helpful. Reggie was the last to speak. “My Dear, it’s all up to you. I know you have the talent to do this. Prove to Equestria you are the new princess!” Sunset drifted towards her training. The strategies involved in flying, magic, and combat filled her mind. The past twenty eight days blended together. All she had learned, all she had felt. She needed to put it all in her focus and her magic. She opened her eyes, fearing that the sun had nearly reached her. To her surprise, the sun was shrinking. She noticed that the magic that radiated from her horn as like nothing she had ever cast before. She hadn’t added any physical or mental strain on her grip on the sun. She realized now the piece of the puzzle she had missed: An input of emotion. Sunset trotted away from her clenched position. Soon she was able to walk with the sun, which broke into a gallop. Galloping prepped her for flight. Soon, she was flying with the gaseous orb. As she flew, she couldn’t help but cry tears of joy and chuckle. She had done it. No pony could stop her. She couldn’t help but continue her thoughts of her friends. How proud would they be? What could Reggie see back in Canterlot? It didn’t seem long to Sunset, but in reality it probably took near an hour to place the sun back into the sky, behind the moon. Exhausted, Sunset glided bad down towards Canterlot. I hope that got Princess Celestia’s attention, Sunset thought. Suddenly, Sunset felt a swift, strong push no her back. Her flight turned to a fall. Sunset couldn’t correct her fall. She had lost too much energy from creating the solar eclipse. She tried to move with the last little strength she could. Sunset managed to wriggle around so her back faced the ground. As her vision started to faded, she noticed a dark figure hover high in the sky. As Sunset approached the ground, everything went black. Caught in the CrossfireWhen Sunset became conscious, she found herself laying on a cold stone floor. Her snout faced a stone wall. In fact, there was a stone wall to her left and right as well. She tried to stand but was too weak and collapsed suddenly. She managed to turn to look behind her. A grid of iron bars separated her from a royal guard. Great, she thought, looks like Reggie was wrong for once. She was in a prison. She took another look around the small cell. No windows, no toilet, no bed. That was a good sign. This meant they didn’t plan to keep her here very long. Sunset trotted over to the guard, “Hey, what’s the deal. When can I talk to Princess Celestia?” The guard didn’t answer. Looks like she wasn’t going to learn anything from this guy. All she could do now was wait. As she went to sit down another guard entered the room. Sunset stared at the royal guards, but neither one said a word. The one guarding Sunset’s cell nodded at the other and opened the door. “You will follow us to the princess’s chambers.” The guard spoke in a very rough tone. Sunset was escorted by four guards to the throne room. Sunset guessed the guards thought there was no reason to tie her up or restrain her. After all they were taking her to where she wanted to go. The group reached the doors to the throne room. It took two guards to open, one on each door. The other two followed Sunset into the room. Sunset glanced around the room. Stained glass windows of different colors and stories filled the walls to the left and right. Princesses Celestia and Luna were on the far side of the room. “Leave us,” Princess Celestia ordered her guards. The princesses’ brash attitude caught Sunset off guard. She knew she was in trouble now. The guards left, leaving only the princesses to talk. “Why have you come back?” Princess Celestia asked. She wanted to get straight to the point. Before Sunset could answer her, a tiny ball of light sprouted between them. It grew until it was big enough to block Sunsets view of the princesses. When it reached its maximum girth, it burst into rays of light. A pony stood where the light ball had been. A closer look revealed it was Reggie. He must have cast a teleportation spell. But why was he here? “Hope I didn’t miss anything, my Dear.” Reggie spoke. Sunset wasn’t sure who he was talking to. He turned and faced each princess while speaking. “You!” Both Princess Celestia and Luna shouted. “It’s been a while hasn’t it, Celestia. Luna.” Reggie replied. “How dare you not address us by our royal titles!” Princess Luna started. Princess Celestia, however, stopped her. “It’s fine Luna. He may not show his respect now, but he will. I’m sure we must prove something to him on this day.” Princess Celestia glared at the pair who had come into her life just seconds ago. Her expression made it seem like she had a bad history with Reggie. “Reggie,” Sunset started to speak, “How do they know you?” “I believe it is up to them to disclose that information, Dearie.” Reggie started. Sunset’s gaze shifted towards the princesses. Princess Celestia sighed and began to explain. “It feels like it happended only yesterday. But in reality, it happened over one thousand years ago.” Stoke the FireLuna snapped, “How darn you threaten us! We shall not stand for such treason.” Sunset noticed Luna was using her ‘royal voice.’ What wasn’t obvious was if she was addressing herself with the ‘royal we’ or just both of the princesses. “We have no reason to attack you, Luna. Our quarrel is with Celestia’s lies.” Reggie attempted to calm princess Luna. “None the less, we shall teach you manners! You threaten our sister, you threaten us!” Yep, she’s using the ‘royal we,’ she’s lost it. “En Garde, Reggie!” Princess Luna lunged at Reggie and tackled him to the ground. Sunset could only watch in horror. Soon, Celestia may do the same to her. Princess Luna swung her horn at Reggie’s head, but he blocked with his own horn. Sparks flew from the crossing horns as Reggie tried to overpower Princess Luna’s magic. Losing the battle, Reggie ditched his efforts with a teleportation spell. However, since Luna was making physical contact, she traveled with him. Maybe that was what Reggie wanted all along. Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer. No, Princess Sunset Shimmer. They stood facing each other in silence. Sunset feared to talk with her, but she wasn’t getting anywhere with her current actions. “So, I guess you won’t let me control the sun, huh?” “I’m afraid not.” “And I’ll have to prove myself more capable to do the job to have any chance of convincing you?” “You’ll have a slim chance, yes.” Sunset had to stay positive. She was determined now. She would get her destiny back! “Well, better work with what chance I have!” Sunset rooted herself in a stance and let lose a ray of condensed magic towards Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia’s horn ignited with light and the beam dissipated. “Interesting. It looks like Reggie could only teach you so much.” Celestia mocked. This was very unlike her. Then again, Sunset had stumbled upon one of Princess Celestia’s darkest secrets. It should only be fitting that this was Princess Celestia’s true personality. “Let me demonstrate my power to you.” Celestia stood from her throne and spread her wings. She looked intimidating. She was much bigger than anypony Sunset had ever seen before. Sunset focused on Princess Celestia’s horn, waiting to counter any attack. However, she did not attack. Sunset scanned her new opponent quickly, but what she found made her heart drop. The tips of Princess Celestia’s wings had caught fire. Soon, both of her wings were engulfed. The fire spread to her mane and tail as well. By the end of her transformation she looked like a mix between an Alicorn and a Phoenix. “This, child, is my true power.” Princess Celestia began. “I give you one more chance to yield. Do you accept?” Sunset’s shock and awe soon turned into a nervous laugh. “So you’ve proved to me that you can light your self on fire. This proves your stronger than me?” Sunset was trying to keep a strong will by bluffing. Deep down she was frightened. Every instinct she had was screaming, ‘Run!’ “So be it.” Princess Celestia looked disappointed. “Burn my student!” And with those words, the princess launched a volley of fire orbs towards Sunset. Sunset could feel the impact of the shots and was pushed back. She stumbled out of her position to catch herself from falling. She checked her body. Not a single burn mark. Sunset thought this was strange. How had she not light up like a birthday candle? She looked at the princess. Her expression confirmed her suspicions. Princess Celestia’s big eyes stared at her, almost in fright. It was strange indeed. Princess Celestia was the first to break from her shock. She launched a continuous beam of burning magic at her student. Sunset fought back with a ray of her own. The two beams collided resulting in a stalemate of flying sparks, flares, and smoke. The princesses beam was gaining on Sunset’s. She tried her hardest to keep it from advancing. The memories of her friends filled her head again. The force of her magic increased. The size of the beam was now larger, but Princess Celestia’s was still gaining ground. Sunset closed her eyes to focus further. Her muscles burned from the prolonged use to so much magic. She flapped her wings to cool herself off, but it only spread the burning. Sunset dared not look at her teacher’s progress in the battle, but she took a peak. To her surprise, Princess Celestia’s face was in a state of shock. Both Alicorns ceased their stalemate, the princess to observe her student and Sunset to catch her breath. She could believe the pain she was in. Sunset’s lungs burned with every deep breath, her wings still flapped veraciously to cool herself. She didn’t blame Princess Celestia for staring, Sunset thought she might have done the same if her student started dancing in the middle of a sparing match. Sunset used this time to check herself again. First she noticed her breath was visible. Wait, what? It wasn’t cold out, how was her breath visible? She smelled it to see if she just had really bad breath. With one sniff she realized it was smoke. She looked at the rest of her. Sunsets hooves had charred the ground under them, her wings had embers sprouting from them, and her hair had patches of fire in it. Sunset looked to Princess Celestia for answers. Had she gotten hit with some atack that caused her to start combustion? All the princess could muster was, “I didn’t do that. You have learned much about your power. Too much.” Fight Fire With FireSunset couldn’t understand. A few attacks ago she was inflammable, but now she was catching her self on fire? The more she focused on the fire the better she felt. It was almost like a jacket, warming and protecting. Within minutes she was able to bring her smoldering body to a wild fire. Princess Celestia couldn’t help but watch in awe. How long did it take the princess to learn this, Sunset thought to herself. Could Sunset have really surpassed Princess Celestia? As Sunset gathered her thoughts, Princess Celestia charged up her next assault. By the time Sunset noticed, it was too late. The Alicorns clashed in a second magical duel. The princess had the upper hand, using her reserved magic, where Sunset, with her new inflamed form, was able to keep up. How was this possible, Sunset thought. Her mind drifted to when she raised the sun. She was only able to move it with the magic of friendship. Had those thoughts increased her power this far? With a distracted mind, Princess Celetia’s power overcame Sunset, overlapping her students ray of magic. Sunset, once again, was pushed back. Sunset lost her balance and fell over. I have to focus, she thought as she got back up. Her friends had gotten her this far, now it was up to her to finish her task. She charged up a blast, but Princess Celestia followed her lead. The princess’s orb of magic, however, was built of fire. If Sunset was going to stand a chance, she would need to ignite her magic as well. She filled her head with thoughts of fiery things: campfires, hearths, forest fires, the sun. The ball of magic forming around Sunset’s horn wasn’t filling with fire at all. She was missing something. She looked over at her teacher to see her place at the throne was completely covered with a ball of fire! At first Sunset thought she was adding more and more flames to the sphere, however, upon closer analysis, it was actually coming closer! Fine, Sunset thought. If I can’t ignite my own magic, I’ll borrow yours! She griped the orb with her own magic, fighting for control. This seemed familiar to her, like she had already done this before. The sun! She felt the same way when pushing the sun back. But it was strange, this time it was easier. It should be more difficult though. Princess Celestia was pushing against her now. She thought again about pushing the sun. Wait, Celestia was pushing back when Sunset raised the sun back into the sky! Why else would the sun be moving behind the horizon? If Sunset had already over powered the princess, she could do it again. Now more determined than ever, Sunset pushed the fire ball towards her teacher. Now Celestia was the one under fire. As the fire got closer Princess Celestia’s face became more hurt. Was she not immune to heat as Sunset was? Princess Celestia let out a cry of pain as the orb made contact. The princess lost focus due to the pain of the heat and the ball burst. Princess Celestia was thrown backwards onto her throne. Sunset observed her work. A huge scorch mark was made on her teachers chest. The princess’s flame was dulled due to exhaustion. A closer look at Princess Celestia’s face showed that she was unconscious. Sunset took the opportunity to catch her breath. It wasn’t an easy battle. One last time, she looked herself over. With every calming breath her own fire died down. She couldn’t help but start laughing. The student had surpassed the teacher. A sharp pain went through her mind. Where had Reggie gone? Was he okay? Like clockwork, a familiar ball of light appeared nest to Princess Celestia. Reggie and Princess Luna emerged from it. The princess was slumped over Reggie’s back, passed out. Reggie tossed Princess Luna with her sister, with little effort for comfort. Looks like that student couldn’t surpass her teacher. This thought caused Sunset to grin even more. The collision of the sister caused them both to awake. It took them a couple moments to regain total awareness of their situation. Reggie took this time to observe his three students. He gave the sister a pitying look, as if he knew he could have trained them better. He then adverted his glance from them, looking a Sunset. His expression changed to one of complete approval. “Well done, My Dear.” The Setting SunReggie explained how his fight with Princess Luna had gone. Basically Princess Luna had the power advantage being an Alicorn, but Reggie had background knowledge. He had taught her everything, so he knew her strength and weakness. Her uncontrollable rage at the fact that Reggie wouldn’t call her ‘princess’ helped, too. It helped keep the princess in a inaccurate rage, launching magical blasts in every direction. While Reggie explained his story, the sisters started to stir. “You think you’ve won?” Celestia started, continuing her self absorbed tone. “You may have proven that you are more capable in raising the sun, but you know nothing for ruling an empire! You efforts are fruitless.” Princess Luna’s ears perked up at the sound of her sister admitting Sunset was superior. She was truly shocked by this news and her face revealed it. It twisted and scrunched with distaste. “Our actions were not to over throw you, Celestia.” Reggie answered. This was news to Sunset. From what she could remember, it was Reggie’s destiny to keep balance. This whole journey was to restore order to Equestria. Wasn’t it? “Our objective, Dearie, was to point out your flaws. Your lie to Sunset couldn’t go un noticed. This was the only way to resolve the problem.” In a way, Sunset was relieved. She did not want to rule Equestria. But she wouldn’t mind raising the sun for a living. “So you are here for my destiny only?” Princess Celestia asked. “I’m afraid you can’t have one or the other.” She smiled as if she had one. “The task of raising the sun and the moon are associated with the power of ruling Equestria. To rule without expressing power would lead to a topple of our current government. Furthermore, if Sunset Shimmer does decide to take my spot, a change in power will not come peacefully. A rebellion will surely break out. War, even!” Sunset looked at Reggie. His face was just as scrunched as Princess Luna’s. “Your trump card, I pressume?” Reggie asked. Princess Celestia’s only response was a smirk. “Then it’s up to you, My Dear.” Reggie said facing Sunset. “They have played the political battle the best they could, now the decision is your’s.” Sunset sat down and stared at the ground. This was too much to handle. She had the chance to rule Equestria! But was she ready? Would the ponies really rebel like the princess predicted? Could she just leave Princess Celestia in charge after she lied to her? How many more lies had she told everypony? How many more will she tell? After all that had occurred, could she just give up her destiny to the princess just to avoid change? There had to be a compromise some where. It was up to Sunset to find such an answer. Sunset met the eyes of everypony in the room. Reggie’s face was worn from age and experience, but held a warm heart. Princess Celestia appeared tired and defeated, as if she were actually willing giving up the throne. Princess Luna’s face held worry and fear. She must have been thinking of all of the possible futures that were in store for her based on Sunset’s decision. After a few more minutes of mulling the situation over, Sunset spoke. “I’ve made my decision.” The Eternal FlameSunset’s plan was a brilliant one to say the least. The princess’s agreed to the terms. Reggie was proud of her problem solving and compromising skills in the matter. So that no pony could ever break such a deal, Sunset had the compromise documented. Then document was written as the following: By the power of Princess Sunset Shimmer, Princesses Celestia and Luna are pardoned for any and all previous discrepancies within their ability to rule and cast judgment upon the citizens of Equestria. Furthermore, Princess Sunset Shimmer will over see the actions of both princesses by monitoring their progress within Equestria. However, this does not limit Princess Sunset Shimmer’s residency to only Equestria. By this document, Princess Sunset Shimmer is also given the inalienable right to access the portal to the Human World as she pleases. With this right, Princess Sunset Shimmer shall be given jurisdiction over all Human World interactions by studying the Magic of Friendship within the Human World. By no means may her access to of from the Human World be halted. As in the past, Princess Celestia will continue ruling over Equestria with a just mind and a warm harm along side her sister Princess Luna. Princess Celestia may continue to control the sun and Princess Luna may continue her control over the moon. However, every year, up to five challenges my be issued between Princess Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia. The challenge will be conducted by the position of the sun in the sky. If Princess Sunset Shimmer wins, the result shall be the sun and moon having the same position. This shall be referred to as an Eclipse. If Princess Celestia is to win, then no Eclipse shall occur. Challenges shall commence at sunset. Princess Sunset Shimmer’s duty from this day on is to now study the Magic of Friendship in the Human World. By no means should Princess Sunset Shimmer be labeled as the student of Princess Celestia, but as an equal. Princess Sunset Shimmer’s duties are subject to change only by her own will. At any point, should anypony break any agreement made in said document, an attempt to fix any problem can be made. Whether it be as simple as an amendment to this document, or as harsh as Regicide. Signed by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Sunset Shimmer, and Mr. Regicide. Sunset Shimmer knew it would be hard to give up her destiny, but at least she could have a shining moment of glory when creating an Eclipse for all the fillies and colts to stare in amazement. Sunset also couldn’t just leave her friends back in Humanville. She was content with her decision. She had learned much on her journey. The strength her friends had given her was something she wanted to look into more, but this meant saying good by to a dear friend. “Reggie,” Sunset started, almost tearing up. “Will I ever see you again?” Reggie smiled, “My Dear, isn’t that the beauty of friendship? You don’t need to see me to continue to enjoy my company. We’ll always share the time we’ve spent together. Now trot along, you have one hay of a story to tell your friends. Am I right?” Sunset put on a strong face, “You always are,” she whispered. Reggie walked Sunset to the portal. She took one last look at Reggie before returning. At that moment she knew she was making the right choice. “Goodbye, Dearie.” Burning Memories“Reggie is the reason we are in power,” Princess Celestia started. Sunset didn’t dare interrupt her. She decided to try and ask questions at the end of the story. She continued, “Reggie trained Luna and myself to over through Discord’s rule, just as I believe he has trained you.” Sunset wanted to protest. All Reggie had done was teach her how to control her Alicorn powers, not to rule Equestria! Sunset glanced at Reggie. He had an evil smirk on his face. What was he planning? Only time would tell, Sunset thought. Luna piped in, “He focused on making our Alicorn magic more potent. In the end, he did not believe that we could over throw Discord. He had to disclosed the location of the Elements of Harmony to us: the Tree of Harmony.” Tree of Harmony? What was Luna talking about? Was it the Origin of the Elements of Harmony? Celestia picked up the story again, “After Discord was turned to stone, Reggie’s job was finished, his destiny finished.” “You know darn well my destiny does not end there!” Reggie but in. “I am to keep a balance as long as I live. I doubted a student of mine would cause my interference again, but I was wrong.” “Either way, Reggie, being an unicorn, could not live for over one thousand years on his natural life cycle. Since he helped both of us gain the throne, we rewarded him with an increased life span.” “A curse if you ask me,” Reggie interrupted again. Celestia shot Reggie a nasty glare. “I’ve had to live hundreds of years with this old body. The aches and pains are dulled by my magic, but magic can only do so much.” Luna was ticked by this comment. “How dare you! We saved your life! Gave it priority over all others! If your going to complain, I can take it back.” Sweet Celestia, Sunset thought. Luna is furious. “Calm yourself my sister. I believe Sunset has the back ground to this heated topic. So, I have my hunches, but humor me. Why are you here?” Celestia said, staring at Reggie. Reggie answered for the both of them. “Let me put your guesses to rest. I believe my name has everything to do with today’s events. You do remember it don’t you? Not my nick name, my birth name. It’s Regicide, My Dear.
The Forgotten SunThe day started like any other. First block, Chemistry, Second Block, Algebra. A boring morning as usual. But what could she expect? It was High School after all, not Equestria. Sunset Shimmer had occasionally gotten home sick. She caught herself dreaming of being a pony, learning lessons of magic under Princess Celestia’s wing. It saddened her that she couldn’t even visit. Life wasn’t too bad. After Twilight left Sunset approached the other five, apologized, and, over the course of the year, became good friends. Sunset was forgiven, for the most part. Of course, not everyone forgets when demons and angels attack their school. Or, at least that’s what most people thought it was. It was almost funny, considering it was really a fight between two dimension traveling ponies. Sunset’s secret was kept by her new five friends. She could barely keep from laughing. A pony in a world of humans? She couldn’t help but trudge through these thoughts during her lunch period. “Hey. What’s wrong, Sugar Cube?” Applejack asked. Sunset shimmer looked up from her fruit salad. If she said what was on her mind it might offend her friends. She thought of a well thought lie. “Just wondering what to do after High School, you know? Should I take up a job? Should I apply to Everfree University?” “Oh, please stop lying, Darling,” Rarity interrupted her. “You can tell us.” “Oh! Me! Me! Call on me!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She raised her hand as if some teacher would appear to give her permission to speak. “Uh, you do realize we’re not in class. Right, Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash asked with a bit of humor. “Oopsies. Sorry, Dashie!” Pinkie Pie apologized and cleared her throat. Here we go, Sunset Shimmer thought to herself. “Sunset Shimmer is home sick because she’s the only pony here at Canterlot High and she’s learned her lesson about friendship, so she should be accepted when she goes back, but in the process she has made friends in us and would be sad to leave us! But it’s okay cause we all understand, so we should help her get home because tomorrow’s the last of the three days she can move between our worlds!” Well, that’s Pinkie for you, Sunset Shimmer thought. Silly one moment, the super psychic the next. “Is this true?” Fluttershy whispered. “Every word.” Sunset confessed. “I’m sorry. I’ve learned a lot. It’s just…” Sunset felt tears run down her checks. “It’s okay, Partner. We understand. We can’t keep you away from your kin.” Applejack said. Full of wisdom, Sunset thought. She looked around the table. Each one of her friends, marked with an attribute of friendship. She was supposed to learn only one thing from each of them. But in reality, she had learned so much more. It didn’t matter though. The statue that contained the portal was taken away. Some of the students felt they should take actions into their own hands and express how they felt about the whole destructive scene. The statue was broken and vandalized, so it was replaced with a new one. It cost the vandal’s parents quite the pretty penny. A strange voice interrupted her thoughts, “Excuse me, are you, by chance, Ms. Shimmer?” She twisted herself in her chair. It was an elderly gentleman, wearing a black suit and a black bowler hat. He carried a cane and had gray skin and gray hair protruding from under his hat. He had a symbol on his apparel, just as everyone else had, like a cutie mark. It was a picture of a balance, like one of those old time balances where you placed an object on both sides to even out the position of the items. She averted her eyes from the symbol. It only reminded her of home, ever mark she saw on the students. Cutie marks: that’s what they really were. “Miss?” The old man asked again. “Sorry. Yes, I’m Sunset Shimmer. Did you need something?” The man chuckled, “No, no, my dear. I need to talk to you about your future.” The six girls looked confused at the strange man. Sunset knew she hadn’t applied to any colleges, that part hadn’t been a lie. The elderly man spoke again, this time addressing the other five. “Might I have a moment of privacy with Ms. Shimmer?” The girls nodded, picked up their trays of lunch and left. Rainbow Dash leaned over to Sunset Shimmer and whispered, “If this guy causes you too much trouble, I’ll take care of him.” Sunset gave a half smile, “Thanks Rainbow, I’ll remember that.” The man in the suit sat down across the table from her. His whole demeanor changed. He glared intensely at Sunset. He opened his mouth, “Did you truly believe you could stay in this world forever?”
Eve of Opportunity Eve of Opportunity Sunset Shimmer opened her mouth, not to answer, but out of awe. Could this man really be a pony like her? If so, how did he get here? Was he a spy for some secret government organization? What did he mean by ‘staying in this world’? Would she have to return. She had to know more. Sunset gathered the courage to continue the conversation, “Who are you?” The gentleman leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table, continuing his stare. “I am Mr. Regicide. I'm here to bring you back.” “B-bring me back?” Sunset asked. She had stumbled on the sentence. Had there been a way to return this whole time? “Look at shirt, my dear. The answer lies there.” She looked down. Nothing was out of the ordinary. It was just the same old purple T-Shirt with a beautiful sun on it. “I don’t understand.” Sunset replied. “Don’t be daft!” Mr. Regicide scolded. “Everypony knows that their cutie mark represents their destiny. And you, my dear, are no exception.” “My destiny?” Sunset had almost forgotten the basic fundamentals of Equestria. She took another look and the fiery symbol on her chest. What did a sun have anything to do with her destiny. How could the sun play a part? By now Sunset had realized Mr. Regicide was pinching the nerve above his nose, as if that pain was more bearable than the ignorance she had for her homeland. “Yes, Dearie. Your destiny. It’s a trifling matter, really. Let’s see how do I start.” Mr. Regicide scratched his chin as if that helped him find the answer. “Surely you remember Celestia. I am correct to assume this, yes?” Sunset nodded. “Then you know,” he began again, “that she is in charge of raising the Sun. Her Cutie Mark resembles her daily task, because it was her destiny to raise the Sun.” “But what does this have to do with me?” Sunset interrupted. “If Celestia rules the Sun, what is my part in all of this?” Mr. Regicide’s glare heightened. He opened his mouth to speak again, but he was interrupted by the lunch bell. Sunset was shocked. Had it really been forty-five minutes already? “Hopefully I have peeked your interest and curiosity to continue this chat further. Rendezvous with my in the library after school. You have a big decision to make. I’ll be waiting.” Mr. Regicide walked off. Sunset turned to walk to her next class to find herself face to face with Pinkie Pie. “So who was he? Did he have awesome news? How do you know him? What’d you two talk about? I bet it was really important, huh?” Pinkie was able to say all of this is one breath. Wasn’t she the one who was able to read her like a book just a few minutes ago? Sunset knew better to answer with a ‘Nothing, don’t worry about it.’ “I’ll tell you girls later. It wasn’t very important.” She hoped she would get the chance to talk to them. The way Mr. Regicide made it sound was as if she had less than a day to return to Equestria. Now that the option had popped up, could she really abandon her new friends? Could she trust Mr. Regicide enough to go back to Equestria? What did Celestia have to do with any of this? Sunset didn’t know how she would be able to focus in English class.
Rekindling“Well that was a mess,” Sunset said aloud. She was right about not being able to focus on school work. A pop quiz didn’t help the matter one bit. She was walking the hall towards the library now. She shot a quick text to her friends explaining the situation. She would give them a full hearted explanation later. Right now she had to get to the bottom of this. She opened the doors to the library. Barely anybody was there. Even the ‘nerds’ and ‘geeks’ had gone home. I guess they hate school as much as the rest of us, Sunset thought. She found Mr. Regicide at a computer, clumsily typing with the knuckles of his fist. It was funny to see a man of such age act in such a way. She couldn’t help but laugh at the poor pony. Mr. Regicide turned to see he had an audience of one. He stood from the computer to address her. She could tell he was blushing behind the shadow his hat made. “Please, follow me, ma’ am.” He gestured to a table, free of clutter and books next to the computer. Sunset walked towards him. On her way over she glanced at the screen of the computer he used. She cracked one more smile at the foreign language that was presented to her. It read: msdfj[nsdf sdljkdf sdhbksd’ wer9ui.l Mr. Regicide pulled a chair out for her and took his own seat. “Now where did we leave off, my dear?” “Mr. Regicide…” Sunset started. “Please, I insist you call me Reggie.” Mr. Regicide had proposed. “Um, sure. Reggie, How am I linked with Celestia?” “Ah, yes. Well, you both have the same Cutie Mark symbol: the Sun. Those ponies born with the same Cutie Mark have intertwined destinies.” “Yes, I know that,” Sunset replied. She told Reggie about her time as her student. Celestia had told Sunset that her destiny was to be one of Celestia's students. “A royal lie!” Reggie exclaimed. “And you believed her? Don’t answer that. Do you know why she allowed you to leave?” “Allow me to leave? I left because I was a spoiled brat back then wouldn’t take no for an answer. I ran away to get what I wanted by myself.” “Naive, Dearie, naive. Celestia purposefully rejected your requests, even the rational ones, to force you to leave Equestria.” This news stunned Sunset, “W-why would she do such a thing?” “She was afraid. Celestia saw your potential and couldn’t risk sharing any more of her wisdom with you.” Sunset was frustrated there was something Reggie wasn’t telling her. “Why would she do that to me? What was her motive?” She yelled. Reggie looked down, all of the frustration was replaced with pity. “You were never in the wrong, my dear. Your heart was in the right place. She deceives everypony, lies to everypony.” “Reggie. Tell me now. Why are you here and why has Celestia done this to me?” Reggie’s pity now soured. A psycho little smile spread across his face he glanced at Sunset just below the rim of his bowler cap. “I’m here to bring you back…” Reggie started. “Princess Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunrise“I think you’ve been misinformed.” Sunset started to explain. “I’m just an unicorn.” “Oh, but, my dear, that’s where you are wrong.” Reggie started. “From what I’ve gathered from the events that occurred at this High School, you used the Element of Magic to gain power.” “I’m not proud of it, but yes. I did.” Sunset defended herself. “Sorry, Dearie. I didn’t mean to accuse. However, you transformed into what people described as a demon or gargoyle, correct?” “Y-yeah,” Sunset admitted. She had tried to move on from that day. Remembering it frightened even her. Despite that, he has really done his research. Where was he going with this? “And Twilight. She had wings, because the students described her as an angel.” Sunset started putting the pieces together, but just to be sure… “Are you implying…” “My dear, you both had wings. Last time I check, unicorns, like the one you believe you are, don’t have wings, even as a demon, or angel for that matter.” Sunset couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Had she really become and alicorn? But, she had learned the Magic of Friendship after the event. How could she have transformed into an alicorn through misguided hatred? “The Element of Magic,” Reggie started, as if he had read Sunset’s mind like a book, “is what transformed you, darling.” “O-okay,” Sunset stammered, still recovering from the news, “even if I am an alicorn, what does all of this have to do with Celestia? Why was she afraid of me?” Reggie smiled again, “She was afraid you may overthrow her. Take her destiny away from her. And by that I mean raising the Sun.” “What? Is that even possible?” Sunset asked. “Like I said. Cutie Marks are a ponies destiny. When two ponies have the same Cutie Mark they must compete for their destiny. Celestia tricked you into continuing her destiny being forcing you to run away to this world.” Sunset couldn’t believe it. What he said so far had made so much sense. “How can I trust you?” “What do I have to gain for lying to you, Dearie?” “What do you have to gain for telling me anything?” Reggie met Sunset’s eyes, then motioned towards the symbol on his suit. “This is why I must help you. Even if I must go against the ruler of Equestria.” “Your Cutie Mark?” “My destiny is to keep balance in the world. The wrong that Celestia has done must be given a chance to be decided by both ponies in this destiny. To tell you anything but the truth would go against my destiny.” “Oh. I see. Why has this not happened to Princess Luna?” “A good question. Believe it is because she has been trapped on the moon for one thousand years. That or she has just been lucky no pony else has been blessed with an identical Cutie Mark.” Sunset looked at Reggie with a bewildered face. So much information in such a small amount of time. “So, my dear, you have a choice. Either stay here with your friends, or come back with me and gain your old life back, exposed Celestia or the liar she is, and become a legend for raising the Sun for everypony in Equestria.” “Wait, how would we get back? The statue is missing. In fact, how did you get here?” “Ah, yes. It surprised me that the statue had moved. It seems to be in a trash yard out by Humanville. Also, you should know the portal shall only stay open through to the next day. I suggest you tell me your answer by then. That is if you don’t have any more questions.” Sunset was stunned she couldn’t move or even speak now. Reggie seemed to understand this, nodded and walked off. It took some time for Sunset to grasp reality and actually move from her paralyzed state. She looked at the clock. She had stayed past the library’s closing time by and hour. Luckily the doors were left unlocked. What was she to do. She had been right all along. She was meant to be the next Princess of Equestria. Could she really shirk her destiny to stay with her new friends? What would they think? She had to get their opinions before she made her decision. Either way, looking back on today, the questions that had popped up due to Reggie were way harder than the English pop quiz.
Solar FlaresIt was Saturday now, no school. Sunset Shimmer sent out an emergency meeting text to the others: “Meet me inside of ‘Sugar Cookie Corner.’ I need to explain what happened yesterday.” She couldn’t help but predict how her friends would react. Pinkie Pie would ask hundreds of questions, Rarity would be overly dramatic, Rainbow would be offended by the thought of leaving, Applejack would stop at nothing to convince her to stay, and Fluttershy would apologize for not being a better friend. They all entered the parlor at the same time. They seemed deep in conversation. They were probably mulling over what news Sunset had for them. Sunset waved her hand to signal her friends of her location. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought. The six friends exchanged greetings, the usual “Hi”, “Hello“, and “Howdy.” “So, what’s up Sunset?” Rainbow Dash was the first to ask. Sunset explained her whole situation. No one interrupted. They sat there in awe as the news of princess-hood had been bestowed upon them and became glum at the fact that she may leave. She finished her experience with a sigh. Looking around the group of friends, she read mixed feelings on their faces. Rainbow Dash was the first to pipe up, “How could you even think of leaving!” Sunset didn’t know how to take this comment. Had she made such a good friend is such little time that Rainbow would feel so badly if Sunset was missing from her life? Or was it the fact that they had done so much for her, reformed her into a believer of the magic of friendship, and decides to leave. “Rainbow! How could you say something like that?” Applejack retaliated. “I-I thought we were friends. And you… You just decide to leave?” “Rainbow Dash, I have a choice.” Sunset tried to explain. “You know what, no, you go.” Rainbow tried her hardest to hold back her tears. “I’m out of here.” “Dashie wait!” Pinkie Pie called out to her friend, but she was already gone. “I’m sorry everyone, really. I just… It’s not a decision I wanted to make on my own.” Sunset explained. Rainbow Dash’s reaction had shaken her pretty badly. I was hard to talk without choking on her own words. “Don’t let Rainbow upset you, Sugar Cube. She’s more loyal than a farmer to his crop. She just feels a little-” Applejack stopped herself, wondering if her next word would help or hurt the situation. “-a little betrayed.” “Well, Dearie, if you ask me, I’d say go’” Rarity started. The way she said ‘Dearie’ reminded Sunset of Reggie. “Don’t get me wrong, I would love for you to stay, but really, when does an opportunity like this one come around very often?” “Umm, sorry, but, I’d like to see you stay, if that’s okay with you. But, I understand if you need to leave.” Fluttershy whispered timidly. “Aww, C’mon Sunset! If you leave I’ll have one less friend and one less friend means a smaller party and a smaller party means less fun!” “Pinkie Pie! Can’t you see we’re here to help Sunset feel better about making a decision. Think about being in her shoes for a change.” Sunset couldn’t help but look at her friends. None of them had reacted the way she had thought. Had she learned anything from them? If she couldn’t even predict what they were going to say to her, could she really call them friends? ‘Stop thinking this way,’ Sunset scolded herself. ‘They are your friends.’ She could stop thinking about them though. This one choice had caused a flurry of emotions to boil over. What could she do? Sunset turned to face a clock on the wall. Time was running out. She had to make a decision, now. “Girls, girls,” Sunset spoke. They all stopped their bickering and looked at her. Sunset took the time to look into the eyes of each one of her friends. At that moment, she knew she was making the right choice.
FlammableSunset was walking in the outskirts of Humanville, around where the dump was. That’s were Reggie would be. Sunset looked down at the ground as she walked. She kept playing that scene in her head over and over again. Rainbow Dash seemed so upset. Sunset wanted to turn around and talk to her in person instead of having the news trickle down the grape vine to her. This wasn’t the only thing troubling Sunset, however. She knew she could always return, that’s how she convinced her friends to all agree. She would confront Princess Celestia about the matter and learn the truth, but what after that? Several options filled her mind. She could take over as a just ruler of Equestria, exposing Princess Celestia for the fraud she was. She could set Celestia straight, once again exposing the lie and hope she could persuade… or even threaten Celestia to rule properly. What am I thinking, Sunset thought. This was a princess she was dealing with! The ruler of Equestria! Sunset’s simple minded strategies caused her to lose faith in her decision. Now in a depressed state, she quickened her pace to Reggie. Maybe he could give her some reassurance on traveling back to Canterlot. On her way, she crossed paths with several people. No one seemed to give a second thought to a teenage girl walking into a garbage dump as strange. After a half hour of searching, she found Reggie standing next to a pile of junk. She wondered how long he had stood there, as if her were the statue they were looking for. He looked up and made eye contact with Sunset. She shivered. Why did he have to be so ominous and creepy. “My Dear, you’ve made it! Congratulations. Putting your mind to a task is the first step.” Reggie started. “I take it you are ready to depart?” “Mr. Reggie,” Sunset started to reply. “I have some concerns.” “Concerns, eh? Well, I can clarify any cloudy topic. But do hurry, our window of travel in to close soon.” “Right.” Sunset took a deep breath. “You want me to confront Princess Celestia about this lie she told to keep her destiny. The same one I should have. What if I don’t want to raise the sun?” Reggie’s stare transformed into a harsh glare. He remainded silent until Sunset finished. “Princess Celestia has raised the sun for hundreds of years, right? I wouldn’t know where to begin if I took over. And ruling Equestria?! That’s a really big responsibility to just drop on some one.” “This isn’t about your inabilities, is it Sunset.” This was the first time since they had met that Reggie used her real name and not a nick name. It chilled her. “I’ve told you, Equestria would rather have a just, pure ruler and shall remain patient with the raise of Princess Sunset Shimmer. You have the power, Dearie. You’ve learned the same lessons of friendship as Twilight has. It may be hard to believe but you are Twilight’s equal. Now tell me what is really stalling you.” Reggie’s words had such strength it was hard to respond. He could read Sunset like a book. “Reggie, I… I’ve made friends that mean the world to me. If I leave now, I may lose them. I can’t do that to them. I can’t do that to me. They are worth more than some silly old destiny. I’ll gladly swallow my pride and let Celetia continue to reign over Equestria. I suggest you do the same Reggie.” Reggie was stunned. Had he not planned for such resistance? Her glare softened. He smirked his psychotic grin. “I’ve put you through too much Sunset. Your overwhelmed by vast knowledge over a small period of time. I gave you a choice, but in reality there is none. You ARE coming with me, Dearie!” Reggie assumed a stance, ready to attack. Sunset didn’t know how to react, she was petrified. What had just happened? Reggie’s attitude had done a compete one eighty! Reggie used all the might he had in his frail old body to swing his cane. It made contact with Sunset’s skull with a sickening “Thunk.” Sunset fell to the dirty ground and blacked out.
FrictionSunset awoke in a closet. She knew this closet, it seemed familiar. She identified a mirror in the room, the portal to Equestria. Wait, she thought. The portal to Equestria is the statue, the mirror is… “Oh no,” she said aloud. Reggie must have dragged her through the portal after attacking her! She opened her mouth to scream, but her lips were caught by a gray hoof. “Dearie, hush now. We can’t let the guards know we’re hear now can we?” She didn’t care if all of Canterlot knew she was in that closet, she just wanted to get away from Reggie. She bucked him in the gut. She faced Reggie. He was a gray unicorn with a bowler hat. An image of a balance was printed on his flank, his Cutie Mark He was doubled over in pain due to her blow. Payback, she thought to herself. “Why’d you do this. This isn’t what I wanted. I’m going back.” Sunset started towards the mirror. “Ah,” Reggie grunted. “I’m afraid you can’t. You see, the portal has closed. You are stuck here. for the next month.” Sunset stopped in her tracks. She was trapped like a mouse, played like a pawn. All her emotions left her she was a hollow shell. “How could you?” Is all she could manage to utter. “Destiny waits for no ponies, My Dear.” Reggie started. “Since you are here you might as well confront Celestia, hmm?” There was a sort of happiness in Reggie’s voice. As if he had succeeded. “You really will come to my terms. Don’t believe me? Look at you back.” Sunset turned. She hadn’t even realized a pair of orange wings were attached to her torso. They felt weird, as if she had grown two more legs that were light weight and feathery. Flying isn’t going to come easy, she thought. Her thoughts progressed futher, to her friends. All of a sudden her emotions came back with the force of Reggie’s cane. She started to sob. “How could you take me away?” Reggie’s happy attitude faded. “Dearie, we were running out of time. If we were to leave we would have had to do so in less than a minute after our disagreement.” “Why should I help you. In case you didn’t know, you don’t beat someone up to help you.” Sunset stated crossly. “Erm, somepony, Dear. Knit-picking, sorry. But this land is at peace, you are right. But you can do such a better job, it is laughable. Let me teach you have to control your new powers, your wings, your persuasive skills. You can be a better Princess than Celestia, I know it.” Once again, his words were powerful. But flattery could only get him so far. “I still have friends in the Human World, Reggie. I can’t just leave them.” “You are not listening, Sunset. You have thirty days until the portal opens again. Until then what are you going to do? If you follow me, I can train you to deal with Celestia. After the thirty days I promise to let you choose what to do, stay or go back. But please, don’t be selfish. Think about everypony else. You could supply them with a better world. Can you really deny them that?” Curse Reggie! Why was he so clever. Sunset had no other options to pursue. That day, in that closet, she vowed that no amount of royalty or power would ever corrupt her. She would return to Humanville and live life as a human high school student.
Shining BrighterOnly one week had passed since their arrival, and Sunset was learning at an alarming rate. Since their escape from the closet in the Canterlot Castle, Reggie tasked himself to hone Sunset’s new skills. They stayed far from Canterlot, near the Everfree Forest in fact. Reggie could travel to Ponyville for supplies and Sunset could practice her magic without drawing too much attention. A very strategic camp site. Reggie was a great teacher with all of the right characteristics. “With age comes wisdom” they say, and he had a lot of both. He could explain things in terms Sunset could understand, like how to fly. It was funny though, he wasn’t a Pegasus, but he knew exactly how it felt to fly, mechanics and all. Reggie was patient, not getting overly frustrated with Sunset when she complained or lacked focus in her practices. Yet he didn’t baby Sunset, giving in to every demand she made. A well balanced pony, to say the least. One of the only problems Sunset had was believing she could raise the sun. Reggie said that the potential was in her and in theory the exercises helped, but it would never compare to actually raising the sun. Sunset’s sanity snapped back like a rubber band. What did she care? She wasn’t going to raise the sun. She had friends to return to! How could she even forget such a huge detail of her life in a week? Reggie, she thought. Again the old stallion’s plan was decoded. Through strenuous training, Sunset’s primary goal was improvement, not survival until the opening of the portal. She couldn’t deny it though. She felt a certain familiarity as a pony. Her human body had limitations, where as her filly form flowed with energy and freedom. Becoming an alicorn, to put it simply, increased her senses even further, as if a lingering sense of euphoria existed at all times. She still had twenty three more days to live as a pony. She couldn’t lie, she would enjoy them. But she would have enjoyed her friends company more. * * * Something unexpected took place in the second week of training. A Timber Wolf attacked the camp site. Sunset thought she could handle it, but was thrown off by the wolf’s agility. It gave Sunset shivers just recalling it. The Timber Wolf had pounced on Sunset, pinning her to the ground. She was paralyzed by fear and couldn’t focus to repel the beast with her magic. The wolf opened its maw, ready to sink its fangs into her orange hide. Sap dripped like drool and it’s breath smelt of manure. Reggie came to the rescue, firing a strong burst of condensed light to stun the creature. Blinded, the Timber Wolf ran in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Sunset was to shaken to move for a very long time. After that brawl, Reggie decided to begin teaching Sunset how to battle with magic. Sparring was the only way to further Sunset’s magical abilities. She didn’t have any objections after that little episode. To Sunset, it felt like another form of magical usage all together. Instead of being calm and collected you had to be aggressive and forceful. Reggie explained that having an overall grasp of magic can tie the concepts all together and make her well rounded. Sunset had learned so much from Reggie in such a little time. He reminded Sunset of her friends back in the Human World. She actually started considering to stay. She knew she could return at any point, but that wasn’t her. She wasn’t meant to live the life of another animal, no one should. She could always visit her friends every thirty days, right? That would be nice. She wondered if other pony’s could teach her even more than Reggie could. Her friends in the Human World had taught her about friendship, but was there something else that other’s could teach her? Reggie had taught her only the basics of flight. Could a Pegasus teach her move techniques and tricks? She still had a few more days to make a decision. Nothing was set in stone, but with ever passing day, Equestria started to bring back fond memories of when Sunset was Princess Celestia’s apprentice. And with every fond memory returning to her, the memories of the human world faded. * * * Reggie came back from Ponyville today with train tickets to return the Canterlot. “We leave in the morning, Dearie. Are you ready?” Susnet had learned how to read Reggie now, instead of the other way around. His question was rhetorical. He knew his training had been effective from the confidence Sunset expressed. Also, buying the tickets before asking her gave her only one answer. It was hard to believe twenty seven days had already passed. The end of the fourth week would be tomorrow. Nerves started to plague Sunset. She doubted herself and started to worry what would come from her accusation. The Princess could do anything from admitting her guilt to banishing her to the moon. On top of that, what would she do afterwards. In her mind, she knew that Equestria was her home, but could she leave her friends? Was it selfish of her not to return, even if she visited? Sunset had previously thought she was incapable of raising the sun and was going to let Princess Celestia continue her destiny. All Sunset wanted was the truth. After all that had occurred though, she felt capable. Reggie had done a fantastic job at training her into a princess. Tomorrow was judgment day for Sunset. She knew the importance of it. Destinies were to be put on the line. Friendships rested in the result. One princess would be leaving tomorrow, and Sunset was determined to try her hardest so that princess wasn’t going to end up being her.
Night and Day“All aboard!” The pony declared. Sunset and Reggie were seated in the coach headed for Canterlot. Sunset had to wear a bulky overcoat to cover her wings. She couldn’t have the world know there was a new princess running around Equestria, not yet. It wouldn’t be long now until Sunset had a little reunion with her old teacher. “Hey, Reggie,” Sunset started, “How should we present ourselves to the Princess?” “Well, the guards won’t take lightly to our company. We’ll need to prove you are worth Celestia’s time.” Reggie answered. Once again, Sunset would have to pry all of the information out of him. “And to that I would have to…” Reggie sighed. “I wanted it to be a surprise. This train won’t reach Canterlot until Luna and Celestia are trading occupation of they sky. At sunset, you will push the sun back into the sky, behind the moon.” Such a thing had only happened in the human world. Sunset recalled astronomy she had studied in one of her science classes. She was going to have to cause a solar eclipse. “Yeah,” Sunset chuckled. “That’ll grab their attention. But don’t you think it’s a little rude?” “We mean business, My Dear. The only way to prove a point is with evidence. If you can move the sun, you have proven you are worthy of your destiny. If you can not, then there is no reason to continue and we may leave. Actions speak louder than words, My Dear.” “I understand,” Sunset complied. She realized there was no other way. She just hoped that this first impression would leave the mark Reggie wanted and not the one Sunset feared. * * * The pair arrived at the station thirty minutes before the transition. They started trotting towards the castle, the destination where the plan should start execution. That was the closest they could be to attempt to intercept the sun. When they arrived the guards looked as cross as ever. They crossed their spears, as if to warn Sunset and Reggie they weren’t allowed in. “Wait for the princesses to leave. Fly towards the horizon, that’s where Celestia will be taking the sun. You’ll make it there by sunset. Push the sun back with all you’ve got. We’ve got one shot at this. You’ve got one shot at this.” Reggie repeated the plan. The princesses flew from the highest tower of the castle, one in the opposite direction of the other. Show time, Sunset thought to herself. She threw off the heavy overcoat and spread her wings. She looked around at the faces of everypony around her. Even the guards had dropped their jaws. “Stop basking and start working, Sunset. Your window for opportunity is limited!” Reggie warned. And with that she took off. As Sunset flew towards her target, she realized that she had no idea how she was going to catch a sun. In the human world the sun was far away from the Earth and didn’t move. Sunset tried not to think logically. Her only goal was to push the sun back into the sky, not worry about where it would go if she didn’t. The farther she flew from Canterlot the bigger the sun got. Instead of just appearing like the sun was traveling with constant size, it actually appeared to be heading towards the planet! Sunset landed with a skid, pushing up grass leaving four streaks of mud in her wake. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sun, its movement, and its size. She began pushing back, creating a beam-like grip around it. As soon as she made contact, the metal grip snapped. Her eyes flew open by themselves. This was a bad omen. I must have underestimated the sun’s power, she thought. Once again she tried pushing on the sun. Sunset could feel herself being pushed backwards, the ground moving beneath her hooves. “I can’t give up!” Sunset screamed, trying to convince herself she could do this. Her flank bumped into a solid object. Perfect, now she had leverage. However, even leverage couldn’t help in her situation. She started losing hope. Her thoughts raced. She thought of her friends she had made. They would be cheering her on right now. She could hear them calling out to her. Apple Jack‘s voice enter first, “Give it all you got, Sugarcube!” “Don’t you quit on me!” Rainbow Dash pushed. “You look fabulous, keep going!” Rarity chimed in. “Um, don’t give up. I mean, if that’s okay with you.” Fluttershy managed to whisper. “Oh that looks like fun! Come on Sunset, you don’t need a party to beat this bad time.“ Pinkie Pie blurted out, trying to be helpful. Reggie was the last to speak. “My Dear, it’s all up to you. I know you have the talent to do this. Prove to Equestria you are the new princess!” Sunset drifted towards her training. The strategies involved in flying, magic, and combat filled her mind. The past twenty eight days blended together. All she had learned, all she had felt. She needed to put it all in her focus and her magic. She opened her eyes, fearing that the sun had nearly reached her. To her surprise, the sun was shrinking. She noticed that the magic that radiated from her horn as like nothing she had ever cast before. She hadn’t added any physical or mental strain on her grip on the sun. She realized now the piece of the puzzle she had missed: An input of emotion. Sunset trotted away from her clenched position. Soon she was able to walk with the sun, which broke into a gallop. Galloping prepped her for flight. Soon, she was flying with the gaseous orb. As she flew, she couldn’t help but cry tears of joy and chuckle. She had done it. No pony could stop her. She couldn’t help but continue her thoughts of her friends. How proud would they be? What could Reggie see back in Canterlot? It didn’t seem long to Sunset, but in reality it probably took near an hour to place the sun back into the sky, behind the moon. Exhausted, Sunset glided bad down towards Canterlot. I hope that got Princess Celestia’s attention, Sunset thought. Suddenly, Sunset felt a swift, strong push no her back. Her flight turned to a fall. Sunset couldn’t correct her fall. She had lost too much energy from creating the solar eclipse. She tried to move with the last little strength she could. Sunset managed to wriggle around so her back faced the ground. As her vision started to faded, she noticed a dark figure hover high in the sky. As Sunset approached the ground, everything went black.
Caught in the CrossfireWhen Sunset became conscious, she found herself laying on a cold stone floor. Her snout faced a stone wall. In fact, there was a stone wall to her left and right as well. She tried to stand but was too weak and collapsed suddenly. She managed to turn to look behind her. A grid of iron bars separated her from a royal guard. Great, she thought, looks like Reggie was wrong for once. She was in a prison. She took another look around the small cell. No windows, no toilet, no bed. That was a good sign. This meant they didn’t plan to keep her here very long. Sunset trotted over to the guard, “Hey, what’s the deal. When can I talk to Princess Celestia?” The guard didn’t answer. Looks like she wasn’t going to learn anything from this guy. All she could do now was wait. As she went to sit down another guard entered the room. Sunset stared at the royal guards, but neither one said a word. The one guarding Sunset’s cell nodded at the other and opened the door. “You will follow us to the princess’s chambers.” The guard spoke in a very rough tone. Sunset was escorted by four guards to the throne room. Sunset guessed the guards thought there was no reason to tie her up or restrain her. After all they were taking her to where she wanted to go. The group reached the doors to the throne room. It took two guards to open, one on each door. The other two followed Sunset into the room. Sunset glanced around the room. Stained glass windows of different colors and stories filled the walls to the left and right. Princesses Celestia and Luna were on the far side of the room. “Leave us,” Princess Celestia ordered her guards. The princesses’ brash attitude caught Sunset off guard. She knew she was in trouble now. The guards left, leaving only the princesses to talk. “Why have you come back?” Princess Celestia asked. She wanted to get straight to the point. Before Sunset could answer her, a tiny ball of light sprouted between them. It grew until it was big enough to block Sunsets view of the princesses. When it reached its maximum girth, it burst into rays of light. A pony stood where the light ball had been. A closer look revealed it was Reggie. He must have cast a teleportation spell. But why was he here? “Hope I didn’t miss anything, my Dear.” Reggie spoke. Sunset wasn’t sure who he was talking to. He turned and faced each princess while speaking. “You!” Both Princess Celestia and Luna shouted. “It’s been a while hasn’t it, Celestia. Luna.” Reggie replied. “How dare you not address us by our royal titles!” Princess Luna started. Princess Celestia, however, stopped her. “It’s fine Luna. He may not show his respect now, but he will. I’m sure we must prove something to him on this day.” Princess Celestia glared at the pair who had come into her life just seconds ago. Her expression made it seem like she had a bad history with Reggie. “Reggie,” Sunset started to speak, “How do they know you?” “I believe it is up to them to disclose that information, Dearie.” Reggie started. Sunset’s gaze shifted towards the princesses. Princess Celestia sighed and began to explain. “It feels like it happended only yesterday. But in reality, it happened over one thousand years ago.”
Stoke the FireLuna snapped, “How darn you threaten us! We shall not stand for such treason.” Sunset noticed Luna was using her ‘royal voice.’ What wasn’t obvious was if she was addressing herself with the ‘royal we’ or just both of the princesses. “We have no reason to attack you, Luna. Our quarrel is with Celestia’s lies.” Reggie attempted to calm princess Luna. “None the less, we shall teach you manners! You threaten our sister, you threaten us!” Yep, she’s using the ‘royal we,’ she’s lost it. “En Garde, Reggie!” Princess Luna lunged at Reggie and tackled him to the ground. Sunset could only watch in horror. Soon, Celestia may do the same to her. Princess Luna swung her horn at Reggie’s head, but he blocked with his own horn. Sparks flew from the crossing horns as Reggie tried to overpower Princess Luna’s magic. Losing the battle, Reggie ditched his efforts with a teleportation spell. However, since Luna was making physical contact, she traveled with him. Maybe that was what Reggie wanted all along. Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer. No, Princess Sunset Shimmer. They stood facing each other in silence. Sunset feared to talk with her, but she wasn’t getting anywhere with her current actions. “So, I guess you won’t let me control the sun, huh?” “I’m afraid not.” “And I’ll have to prove myself more capable to do the job to have any chance of convincing you?” “You’ll have a slim chance, yes.” Sunset had to stay positive. She was determined now. She would get her destiny back! “Well, better work with what chance I have!” Sunset rooted herself in a stance and let lose a ray of condensed magic towards Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia’s horn ignited with light and the beam dissipated. “Interesting. It looks like Reggie could only teach you so much.” Celestia mocked. This was very unlike her. Then again, Sunset had stumbled upon one of Princess Celestia’s darkest secrets. It should only be fitting that this was Princess Celestia’s true personality. “Let me demonstrate my power to you.” Celestia stood from her throne and spread her wings. She looked intimidating. She was much bigger than anypony Sunset had ever seen before. Sunset focused on Princess Celestia’s horn, waiting to counter any attack. However, she did not attack. Sunset scanned her new opponent quickly, but what she found made her heart drop. The tips of Princess Celestia’s wings had caught fire. Soon, both of her wings were engulfed. The fire spread to her mane and tail as well. By the end of her transformation she looked like a mix between an Alicorn and a Phoenix. “This, child, is my true power.” Princess Celestia began. “I give you one more chance to yield. Do you accept?” Sunset’s shock and awe soon turned into a nervous laugh. “So you’ve proved to me that you can light your self on fire. This proves your stronger than me?” Sunset was trying to keep a strong will by bluffing. Deep down she was frightened. Every instinct she had was screaming, ‘Run!’ “So be it.” Princess Celestia looked disappointed. “Burn my student!” And with those words, the princess launched a volley of fire orbs towards Sunset. Sunset could feel the impact of the shots and was pushed back. She stumbled out of her position to catch herself from falling. She checked her body. Not a single burn mark. Sunset thought this was strange. How had she not light up like a birthday candle? She looked at the princess. Her expression confirmed her suspicions. Princess Celestia’s big eyes stared at her, almost in fright. It was strange indeed. Princess Celestia was the first to break from her shock. She launched a continuous beam of burning magic at her student. Sunset fought back with a ray of her own. The two beams collided resulting in a stalemate of flying sparks, flares, and smoke. The princesses beam was gaining on Sunset’s. She tried her hardest to keep it from advancing. The memories of her friends filled her head again. The force of her magic increased. The size of the beam was now larger, but Princess Celestia’s was still gaining ground. Sunset closed her eyes to focus further. Her muscles burned from the prolonged use to so much magic. She flapped her wings to cool herself off, but it only spread the burning. Sunset dared not look at her teacher’s progress in the battle, but she took a peak. To her surprise, Princess Celestia’s face was in a state of shock. Both Alicorns ceased their stalemate, the princess to observe her student and Sunset to catch her breath. She could believe the pain she was in. Sunset’s lungs burned with every deep breath, her wings still flapped veraciously to cool herself. She didn’t blame Princess Celestia for staring, Sunset thought she might have done the same if her student started dancing in the middle of a sparing match. Sunset used this time to check herself again. First she noticed her breath was visible. Wait, what? It wasn’t cold out, how was her breath visible? She smelled it to see if she just had really bad breath. With one sniff she realized it was smoke. She looked at the rest of her. Sunsets hooves had charred the ground under them, her wings had embers sprouting from them, and her hair had patches of fire in it. Sunset looked to Princess Celestia for answers. Had she gotten hit with some atack that caused her to start combustion? All the princess could muster was, “I didn’t do that. You have learned much about your power. Too much.”
Fight Fire With FireSunset couldn’t understand. A few attacks ago she was inflammable, but now she was catching her self on fire? The more she focused on the fire the better she felt. It was almost like a jacket, warming and protecting. Within minutes she was able to bring her smoldering body to a wild fire. Princess Celestia couldn’t help but watch in awe. How long did it take the princess to learn this, Sunset thought to herself. Could Sunset have really surpassed Princess Celestia? As Sunset gathered her thoughts, Princess Celestia charged up her next assault. By the time Sunset noticed, it was too late. The Alicorns clashed in a second magical duel. The princess had the upper hand, using her reserved magic, where Sunset, with her new inflamed form, was able to keep up. How was this possible, Sunset thought. Her mind drifted to when she raised the sun. She was only able to move it with the magic of friendship. Had those thoughts increased her power this far? With a distracted mind, Princess Celetia’s power overcame Sunset, overlapping her students ray of magic. Sunset, once again, was pushed back. Sunset lost her balance and fell over. I have to focus, she thought as she got back up. Her friends had gotten her this far, now it was up to her to finish her task. She charged up a blast, but Princess Celestia followed her lead. The princess’s orb of magic, however, was built of fire. If Sunset was going to stand a chance, she would need to ignite her magic as well. She filled her head with thoughts of fiery things: campfires, hearths, forest fires, the sun. The ball of magic forming around Sunset’s horn wasn’t filling with fire at all. She was missing something. She looked over at her teacher to see her place at the throne was completely covered with a ball of fire! At first Sunset thought she was adding more and more flames to the sphere, however, upon closer analysis, it was actually coming closer! Fine, Sunset thought. If I can’t ignite my own magic, I’ll borrow yours! She griped the orb with her own magic, fighting for control. This seemed familiar to her, like she had already done this before. The sun! She felt the same way when pushing the sun back. But it was strange, this time it was easier. It should be more difficult though. Princess Celestia was pushing against her now. She thought again about pushing the sun. Wait, Celestia was pushing back when Sunset raised the sun back into the sky! Why else would the sun be moving behind the horizon? If Sunset had already over powered the princess, she could do it again. Now more determined than ever, Sunset pushed the fire ball towards her teacher. Now Celestia was the one under fire. As the fire got closer Princess Celestia’s face became more hurt. Was she not immune to heat as Sunset was? Princess Celestia let out a cry of pain as the orb made contact. The princess lost focus due to the pain of the heat and the ball burst. Princess Celestia was thrown backwards onto her throne. Sunset observed her work. A huge scorch mark was made on her teachers chest. The princess’s flame was dulled due to exhaustion. A closer look at Princess Celestia’s face showed that she was unconscious. Sunset took the opportunity to catch her breath. It wasn’t an easy battle. One last time, she looked herself over. With every calming breath her own fire died down. She couldn’t help but start laughing. The student had surpassed the teacher. A sharp pain went through her mind. Where had Reggie gone? Was he okay? Like clockwork, a familiar ball of light appeared nest to Princess Celestia. Reggie and Princess Luna emerged from it. The princess was slumped over Reggie’s back, passed out. Reggie tossed Princess Luna with her sister, with little effort for comfort. Looks like that student couldn’t surpass her teacher. This thought caused Sunset to grin even more. The collision of the sister caused them both to awake. It took them a couple moments to regain total awareness of their situation. Reggie took this time to observe his three students. He gave the sister a pitying look, as if he knew he could have trained them better. He then adverted his glance from them, looking a Sunset. His expression changed to one of complete approval. “Well done, My Dear.”
The Setting SunReggie explained how his fight with Princess Luna had gone. Basically Princess Luna had the power advantage being an Alicorn, but Reggie had background knowledge. He had taught her everything, so he knew her strength and weakness. Her uncontrollable rage at the fact that Reggie wouldn’t call her ‘princess’ helped, too. It helped keep the princess in a inaccurate rage, launching magical blasts in every direction. While Reggie explained his story, the sisters started to stir. “You think you’ve won?” Celestia started, continuing her self absorbed tone. “You may have proven that you are more capable in raising the sun, but you know nothing for ruling an empire! You efforts are fruitless.” Princess Luna’s ears perked up at the sound of her sister admitting Sunset was superior. She was truly shocked by this news and her face revealed it. It twisted and scrunched with distaste. “Our actions were not to over throw you, Celestia.” Reggie answered. This was news to Sunset. From what she could remember, it was Reggie’s destiny to keep balance. This whole journey was to restore order to Equestria. Wasn’t it? “Our objective, Dearie, was to point out your flaws. Your lie to Sunset couldn’t go un noticed. This was the only way to resolve the problem.” In a way, Sunset was relieved. She did not want to rule Equestria. But she wouldn’t mind raising the sun for a living. “So you are here for my destiny only?” Princess Celestia asked. “I’m afraid you can’t have one or the other.” She smiled as if she had one. “The task of raising the sun and the moon are associated with the power of ruling Equestria. To rule without expressing power would lead to a topple of our current government. Furthermore, if Sunset Shimmer does decide to take my spot, a change in power will not come peacefully. A rebellion will surely break out. War, even!” Sunset looked at Reggie. His face was just as scrunched as Princess Luna’s. “Your trump card, I pressume?” Reggie asked. Princess Celestia’s only response was a smirk. “Then it’s up to you, My Dear.” Reggie said facing Sunset. “They have played the political battle the best they could, now the decision is your’s.” Sunset sat down and stared at the ground. This was too much to handle. She had the chance to rule Equestria! But was she ready? Would the ponies really rebel like the princess predicted? Could she just leave Princess Celestia in charge after she lied to her? How many more lies had she told everypony? How many more will she tell? After all that had occurred, could she just give up her destiny to the princess just to avoid change? There had to be a compromise some where. It was up to Sunset to find such an answer. Sunset met the eyes of everypony in the room. Reggie’s face was worn from age and experience, but held a warm heart. Princess Celestia appeared tired and defeated, as if she were actually willing giving up the throne. Princess Luna’s face held worry and fear. She must have been thinking of all of the possible futures that were in store for her based on Sunset’s decision. After a few more minutes of mulling the situation over, Sunset spoke. “I’ve made my decision.”
The Eternal FlameSunset’s plan was a brilliant one to say the least. The princess’s agreed to the terms. Reggie was proud of her problem solving and compromising skills in the matter. So that no pony could ever break such a deal, Sunset had the compromise documented. Then document was written as the following: By the power of Princess Sunset Shimmer, Princesses Celestia and Luna are pardoned for any and all previous discrepancies within their ability to rule and cast judgment upon the citizens of Equestria. Furthermore, Princess Sunset Shimmer will over see the actions of both princesses by monitoring their progress within Equestria. However, this does not limit Princess Sunset Shimmer’s residency to only Equestria. By this document, Princess Sunset Shimmer is also given the inalienable right to access the portal to the Human World as she pleases. With this right, Princess Sunset Shimmer shall be given jurisdiction over all Human World interactions by studying the Magic of Friendship within the Human World. By no means may her access to of from the Human World be halted. As in the past, Princess Celestia will continue ruling over Equestria with a just mind and a warm harm along side her sister Princess Luna. Princess Celestia may continue to control the sun and Princess Luna may continue her control over the moon. However, every year, up to five challenges my be issued between Princess Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia. The challenge will be conducted by the position of the sun in the sky. If Princess Sunset Shimmer wins, the result shall be the sun and moon having the same position. This shall be referred to as an Eclipse. If Princess Celestia is to win, then no Eclipse shall occur. Challenges shall commence at sunset. Princess Sunset Shimmer’s duty from this day on is to now study the Magic of Friendship in the Human World. By no means should Princess Sunset Shimmer be labeled as the student of Princess Celestia, but as an equal. Princess Sunset Shimmer’s duties are subject to change only by her own will. At any point, should anypony break any agreement made in said document, an attempt to fix any problem can be made. Whether it be as simple as an amendment to this document, or as harsh as Regicide. Signed by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Sunset Shimmer, and Mr. Regicide. Sunset Shimmer knew it would be hard to give up her destiny, but at least she could have a shining moment of glory when creating an Eclipse for all the fillies and colts to stare in amazement. Sunset also couldn’t just leave her friends back in Humanville. She was content with her decision. She had learned much on her journey. The strength her friends had given her was something she wanted to look into more, but this meant saying good by to a dear friend. “Reggie,” Sunset started, almost tearing up. “Will I ever see you again?” Reggie smiled, “My Dear, isn’t that the beauty of friendship? You don’t need to see me to continue to enjoy my company. We’ll always share the time we’ve spent together. Now trot along, you have one hay of a story to tell your friends. Am I right?” Sunset put on a strong face, “You always are,” she whispered. Reggie walked Sunset to the portal. She took one last look at Reggie before returning. At that moment she knew she was making the right choice. “Goodbye, Dearie.”
Burning Memories“Reggie is the reason we are in power,” Princess Celestia started. Sunset didn’t dare interrupt her. She decided to try and ask questions at the end of the story. She continued, “Reggie trained Luna and myself to over through Discord’s rule, just as I believe he has trained you.” Sunset wanted to protest. All Reggie had done was teach her how to control her Alicorn powers, not to rule Equestria! Sunset glanced at Reggie. He had an evil smirk on his face. What was he planning? Only time would tell, Sunset thought. Luna piped in, “He focused on making our Alicorn magic more potent. In the end, he did not believe that we could over throw Discord. He had to disclosed the location of the Elements of Harmony to us: the Tree of Harmony.” Tree of Harmony? What was Luna talking about? Was it the Origin of the Elements of Harmony? Celestia picked up the story again, “After Discord was turned to stone, Reggie’s job was finished, his destiny finished.” “You know darn well my destiny does not end there!” Reggie but in. “I am to keep a balance as long as I live. I doubted a student of mine would cause my interference again, but I was wrong.” “Either way, Reggie, being an unicorn, could not live for over one thousand years on his natural life cycle. Since he helped both of us gain the throne, we rewarded him with an increased life span.” “A curse if you ask me,” Reggie interrupted again. Celestia shot Reggie a nasty glare. “I’ve had to live hundreds of years with this old body. The aches and pains are dulled by my magic, but magic can only do so much.” Luna was ticked by this comment. “How dare you! We saved your life! Gave it priority over all others! If your going to complain, I can take it back.” Sweet Celestia, Sunset thought. Luna is furious. “Calm yourself my sister. I believe Sunset has the back ground to this heated topic. So, I have my hunches, but humor me. Why are you here?” Celestia said, staring at Reggie. Reggie answered for the both of them. “Let me put your guesses to rest. I believe my name has everything to do with today’s events. You do remember it don’t you? Not my nick name, my birth name. It’s Regicide, My Dear.
