The Two Between

~~~~~The Crystal Empire~~~~~

The moon above was shimmering with an elegance that always had surprised Sunset Shimmer since she had first stepped through the portal all those years ago. Even without Princess Luna to care oh so loving for it, the moon of this world still managed to be a beautiful guiding light for the night sky. And yet, at times, it was also a herald of… sadness, melancholy thought? Sunset had never been able to nail that down even she had been sure of its beauty from the first night onward.

And just like the confusion she had felt seeing this world’s moon, Sunset Shimmer now found herself a tangle of emotions. She stood outside the school building that had become, for lack of anything better to call it, home. A home that was now forcing her to leave. None of the others back inside understood. They were still partying the night away: their last time in the place they had grown up in before they scattered away to the wide opportunities their world held. But they had been born here - Sunset hadn’t. As much as they had accepted and helped her along after her (admittedly, ridiculous) plan to thwart Equestrian power, she had always known she wasn’t truly one of them.

That point was hammering home now, and only two options stood before Sunset. The moon was just about at its peak in the night sky, and once it reached it, the choice would be hers. She could follow in the footsteps of the ones here: run off to that bigger school they all called ‘college’. Or… or she could go to her real home. She could make proper amends. Make the apologies she ought to have made a long time ago.

In reality, the choice wasn’t really all that hard, especially as there would be uncertainty at the ends of both. She would place herself under the authority of Celestia, the one she had defied and the one to whom she needed to repent. Besides, in this world, there was a higher level of scrutiny when it came to officialdom. Faking signatures, thumbprints, and official ledger was far more difficult, and if Sunset were being honest with herself, rejection from these ‘colleges’ would be the least of her problems if her forgeries were detected.

The moon completed its arch through the darkening, deep blue night sky, and Sunset noticed with a practiced eye the subtle change in the statue from stone to ethereal magic. Her hand reached out and brushed the new surface, a shining and rippling effect responding to the presence of one ready to enter its domain. Hands. She wouldn’t have them anymore. She’d have a horn… and hooves… and a tail. Sweet Faust, she would definitely have to read up on how to take care of one after all this time. At least clothing would be an optional thing again. Though, she might have to see if ponies understood how a skirt worked, or at least, how the shorter ones worked. She would definitely have to show them. Of course, that was a lot of ‘ifs,’ and really, they would all hinge on if…

Sunset stopped herself. She was stalling, and it was not the kind of thing she did… ever. She pressed harder against the magic barrier, her arm falling through. And squinting her eyes in a gut reaction, she threw herself forward, doing everything she could to keep herself from thinking too hard about what waited on the other side.

With her eyes shut so tight, Sunset was only momentarily blinded by the flashing hues within the portal’s magic; but they snapped open instantly when she quite literally found herself falling out the other side. Unable to control her momentum, she landed ungracefully on her chin, butt in the air. It was hardly the way she would have liked to come back to Equestria, but there were far worse ways. Luckily, there were no ponies present in the small chamber, and with lidded brows and a huff to blow her small curl of mane out her eyes, Sunset righted herself.

She shivered a bit as the sensation of fur over fabric settled in and began testing her magic. She lit her horn with a light first thing, casting ugly shadows over whatever else the crystal ponies had decided to store in the place. This working properly, Sunset levitated a few boxes, teleported a short distance and back, and practiced producing a spot of fire. Satisfied all her skills were intact after so long without use, Sunset eased her way to chamber’s entrance.

With a delicate touch of magic, Sunset grasped the ring on the door and cracked it open. “Ahhh!” she squealed, falling back on her rump and pulling the door open wide in surprise. Her hoof went over eyes instinctively as the brilliant yellow glow of Celestia’s morning sun streamed into her unprepared eyes. And while she trying to blink to adjust her pupils to the assault of light, her ears were buffeted by the incessant clamoring of palace staff. The hay? she grumbled in her head, getting back to her hooves for the second time and poking her head out into the corridor. Breakfast? she thought. But… but… What?!

“ ‘Scuse me, miss! Coming through, miss!” somepony shouted in her direction, and Sunset jumped into the hallway proper to avoid being rolled over by a maid pushing a cart stacked with fresh, steaming pancakes.

“Oh, sorry, um… could you…” she started to ask the maid, but she was already gone before Sunset could string a proper sentence together. She wheeled around, spotting a guardspony. Dodging around a hall apparently filled to the brim with bustling servants, Sunset managed to reach him and ask, “Sir, I’m respectfully - ”

“Kid, I don’t got time to chat,” the guard snapped at her before she could finish. “Watchin’ these servants is bad enough without fillies tryin’ to grab my attention.” Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she whipped around and flicked her tail in mild annoyance. Deciding it would be better to find somepony not so desperately occupied with the morning routine, she spied around for any of the servants whose trays were not filled with plates of food. In all honesty, she felt it took longer than it should have to find such a pony, but when she did, it was at least an elderly stallion moving at… well, moving at his own pace.

She didn’t even have to trot to catch up to him, and he gave her no odd looks when she settled into his pace beside him. “Hey, I’m Sunset Shimmer, and I’m here to turn myself over to royal custody.” Nothing. “I said, I’m Sunset Shimmer, and I’m here to give myself up to the law.” Still nothing. Now nothing short of frustrated, she raised her voice and shouted, “I’m Sunset Shimmer, and I want to be arrested!”

“Oh, yes I do agree, the sun is looking very nice to today, and I probably will take a nice rest later,” the old stallion replied with a grin that only served to drain away what little calm Sunset had left in her.

“Celestia damn it! Who do I have to threaten to get arrested around here!?" she yelled to the hall. None of the servants seemed to notice her outburst as the world rolled on without her, seemingly uncaring for her declaration… except that a shadow was cast over her from behind. A very tall shadow for a pony.

“Well, you could try me on for size,” came a brusque male voice behind her, thick with authority and a surprising amount of strength. Sunset slowly turned around to look into the bright blue eyes of a white coated unicorn wearing a…. ball cap? With a Wondercolts emblem on it!? Was the mirror broken, or was there some deeper magic at work? Was she… dreaming? Just to be sure that wasn’t the case, Sunset went to pinch herself except, she couldn’t. Instead, she just ended up standing there with her hoof on her cheek looking outright ridiculous. So much for respectability.

“Shiny, don’t be mean,” came a much lighter voice from her right, and her head whipped around only to have her heart drop into the pit of her stomach at the sight of the pink coated Crystal Princess. Except…. she was smiling, quite slyly in fact. There was a definite twinkle of mischief in her eye as she strode to the side of the white coated pony. “She’s just spent five years in an entirely different world. I think we can forgive her a little bit of confusion, even if she is technically a criminal.”

Cadenced turned on her heels with an enviable grace that no mortal pony could replicate. Even as Celestia’s personal student, Sunset’s contact with Princess Cadence hadn’t been extensive, but she had a…. reputation. Cadence arched a delicate eyebrow at her, still smiling in that mysterious way. “Well, allow me to at least welcome you back to Equestria. Can I presume, given the lack of an army of demonic schoolfillies, that you’ve come in peace?” There was a hint of good humor in her tone, utterly lacking in the sting or accusation that Sunset might have expected from her. It was almost like she was trying to… put her at ease.

“Peace is a little nice,” Sunset replied, reigning in her aggressive tones only at the end. “But like you said, I’m technically a criminal. If by peace you meant I won’t put up a struggle, then you’re right. Take me into custody.” She leaned her head out, expecting a magic inhibition ring to be slid over her horn. When nopony did anything she raised her voice again, “Take me! Arrest me!” Her voice cracked, desperate for them to do exactly as she thought they should. Why would she deserve anything but a sentence from them?

But to her surprise, the white unicorn the princess had called ‘Shiny’ gave a smile. “Much as I would enjoy that after what I heard you put Twily through, we’ve got higher orders.” He shook his head slowly, looking vaguely amused. “We’re to place you under light guard until the Friendship Express can take you to Canterlot. Celestia wants to speak with you herself.” He turned and gave off a curious little whistle, and a pair of armored ponies trotted up from behind her wearing some odd silver armor.

“Really?” she couldn’t help but ask, almost hopefully. She had not a few bones to pick with Celestia, but that would never be able to overturn the fact that the princess had, a long time ago, been her teacher. Despite her pride quite often telling her otherwise, she missed doing research with her mentor. Even if that research had led to their ultimate fight. She’d paid for being wrong, paid dearly. And now, she had come back, and if she was ready to be punished for her crimes in the aftermath, she could admit she had been wrong then too. She hadn’t been ready. She probably still wasn’t.

But to her mild shock, when she finally came back to reality she found a gentle pink hoof on her shoulder. “Yes, Sunset Shimmer. Really.” She smiled gently, almost a mirror image of the same quietly proud smile that Celestia had worn for her once upon a time. “She told me herself. And actually…” She did a little gesture to one side, where a pair of crystal pony maids were carrying a simple wooden chest. “She had your things sent from your rooms in Canterlot. She wanted you to have the things you left behind when you first left…” And a sly smile appeared on the Princess’ face again. “And the things you left behind when you left the second time.”

The ponies carrying the chest clearly were to follow the three of them to wherever this room was Princess Cadence had set aside for her, but Sunset couldn’t stop her mouth moving, even though she knew in her head it was better to just keep it shut. “Could… could you set it down here?” she asked, motioning to the servant ponies. They looked to their princess for confirmation, and when Princess Cadence nodded, they serenely placed the chest at her hooves.

She wasn’t even thinking as she tapped open the locks, forgetting even that she had a horn on her head that would do the job much more efficiently. Inside was very little, the top mostly a dusting of spare pages of parchment, quills… and her old letters. She absently took them out, rifling through them. They weren’t in the specific order she’d left them in, that was for sure, and judging by the fact that her fold lines were worn away, somepony had read them recently. She held back the sting in her eyes at the thought of the only pony who would - the only pony who would even know where the look for them.

In an effort to distract herself from the letters that bled of her past, she looked back into the chest where they had been, and noticed a small patch of black fabric. Odd. She knew for a fact that she hadn’t owned any clothes in Equestria… Her hooves reached out, brushing away the, frankly, useless junk to pick up the bundle. It was unmistakably her cloak. The one she had run away in, and the one she had accidentally teleported out of to evade Twilight Sparkle. She shook it out, and before it had fully fanned, Sunset found her attention grabbed by a light tinkling of metal bouncing against the crystal floor.

She glanced to the side, and there it was, having dropped out from the cloak it had been wrapped in. The fake crown. The crown she had helped make back in Canterlot High, and the one she had attempted to use as replacement for the Element of Magic. As she grabbed it off the floor, she found herself no longer caring what the ponies around her thought. Her hooves were shaking, and the tears were becoming harder and harder to fight. Holding both, cloak and crown, Sunset gave way. She supported her head on the chest, trying to suppress the low sobs and seemingly making them louder for it.

Why was everypony being so nice to her!?

~~~~Canterlot Castle, Four days later~~~~

Sunset Shimmer considered herself an academic. And an accomplished, well-versed academic at that. And it was perhaps for this reason she had never quite understood military procedure, namely, the universal rule that all soldiers never spoke. Ever. Not unless answering a direct question from a superior. Pony Guards did it, Griffon Centurions did it, and even the dragon Knights. She knew it was better than the excessively chatty types, but at the moment, she would rather have at least somepony to talk to.

Canterlot Castle hadn’t changed in the slightest in the five years she’d been gone. She swore even the hanging banners were the same. But Sunset had taught herself in her studies that what was different was always more important, rather than what was constant and the same. But as she swung her head from side to side, looking for something, anything to show some kind of change… some kind of response to her flight and return, but she could find none.

A peek in the library’s open doors showed all the tables and chairs were still exactly where she remembered them (she even thought she saw her favorite), the castle’s servants still waved cheerily to her or gave a pleasant ‘Good morning, Sunset,’ and while she was certain the military types hadn’t and wouldn’t ever change, she had to wonder. Princess Celestia hadn’t altered their positions or patrol patterns one iota. She was only being escorted by a single guard, and not even a senior guard at that. It was as if she was merely being called out of her room and away from her books to see Princess Celestia like it was any other day.

Still, it gave her some idea of what to expect. Or not. “Hey!” she called out to her guard as he turned away from the corridor which would end with the Royal Hall. “Hey! I’m talkin’ to you!” she said again, bopping him on the back of his helmet. She immediately regretted it, wincing silently and mentally reminding herself that similarities aside, hoodies and armor were not the same. But even if her hoof would be a little sore for a while, it still got the attention of her escort.

“What?” he turned to face her, a scowl on his face.

“You new here or somethin’?” she asked him, waving her hoof in the general direction of the correct corridor. “The Hall’s that way.”

“My orders aren’t to take you to the Royal Hall,” the guard answered stolidly. “We have several staircases to climb first, then I’ll leave you at the Princess’s personal quarters.”

“Wait… wait…” Sunset shook her head. “That doesn’t make any… I’m a prisoner…”

“Look, I don’t get it either and, don’t care to, and don’t want to be chewed out by my CO. So let’s book it. You can take it up with Her Majesty if you want,” the guard said, and without waiting for her to answer, resumed his pace.

Celestia’s personal chambers? Why? It made no sense. She had come to be arrested, tried, and thrown in some dark dungeon under Canterlot. That’s what the law books said would happen. But all of it was for some reason being turned on its head. First Princess Cadence, then the castle staff, now Princess Celestia too. Were they trying to rub it in, to make it that much more obvious how much she had needed what Twilight Sparkle had shown her. Now at least, she already knew how important friendship was.

But before she could really wrap her head around what they all might mean by all of it, the guard pony was gesturing to a door Sunset had seen on no few occasions. Behind it was the one mare she admired more grudgingly than anypony in the world. Gingerly, she pushed in the door with her magic.

The room was hauntingly familiar, the same spicy-sweet scent that permeated the very floorboards rose up to greet her like an old friend. The room itself was a textbook example of controlled clutter, filled with mementos, books, wall tapestries, and the oddest collection of cushions and chairs she’d ever seen anywhere. And as predictably as the sunrise, Princess Celestia was tucked into a little nest of cushions by the gently crackling fireplace. A simple cast iron kettle was nestled against the flames, giving off the occasional spout of steam, and a large book was resting in front of her.

It was a scene she’d seen more times than she could count, a flashback from a lifetime ago that had somehow wormed its way into the present time. After a single moment, Princess Celestia turned her gaze up to Sunset, and all the world came to a freezing halt. Five years after being dismissed as Princess Celestia’s student, five years after she’d muttered dire threats of revenge and sworn she would find more power on her own… five years, and Princess Celestia still smiled at her. “Thank you, Guardspony,” she said quietly, in that gentle but firm tone she used with all her guards. “Please inform the Royal Guard we are not to be disturbed.”

“Ma’am,” he answered with a stalwart salute before swinging the door shut with nothing short of a slam. Sunset winced visibly. Loud noises in quiet places were never a good sign. Princess Celestia gently closed whatever book she had been reading and lifted the thing up to it’s place on the shelf, perfectly sliding in as though it belonged there. She turned her head back to Sunset a moment later and tapped the ground in front of her with her gold glad hoof boot, the unspoken message as clear as day.

But… Princess Celestia refused to be the first to speak. She wanted Sunset herself to be the first to… do what exactly? She’d already apologized via Twilight Sparkle, so why was Celestia looking at her like she expected something. Sunset rubbed her her leg with her hoof, refraining from taking up her old habit of wringing her tail. Perhaps she had missed something, and now she was being tested on having recognized it. Only, she was sure she hadn’t missed anything! What was there to miss when everything was the same as the day she had left!?

Then it hit her, and she prostrated herself as deeply as she could, saying, “I submit! Whatever punishment you deem necessary I accept as my d-” A hoof hit her mouth as gently as a butterfly, instantly silencing her words as she only belatedly realized just how close she’d ended up to Princess Celestia. She dared in that moment to look up, to see her once teacher’s face filled with complex emotions, many of which even she had no words for. Only in that moment of confusion did her self-consciousness break, and she spoke softly around the hoof, her tone oddly detached. “Princess?”

Princess Celestia’s face lit up with a smile, and only then did she notice the gentle glitter of tears in her eyes. “Oh, thank the goddess,” Celestia half whispered, leaning down to tug her off the ground with both hooves. “There you are, Sunset Shimmer. At long last, there you are again,” Celestia said in the most heartfelt tones she’d ever heard her teacher speak, and without prompting found herself wrapped in a tight embrace, Princess Celestia’s head pressing into her shoulder and her words half muffled. “I had feared I would never see this you ever again… and yet, here you are. The greed is gone from you, thank Harmony.”

Sunset could only hold tight at first. The princess… her teacher had never hugged her before. It was more comforting than anything else she’d ever had happen to her, and Sunset grasped that much harder with the realization. Princess Celestia didn’t just want to see her to pass judgement. She’d wanted merely to see her again - see her without the ego she’d built up before running away. The castle was still the same, she had been treated the same… To Princess Celestia, she wasn’t a criminal returning from guilt, but a prodigal daughter coming home. And she had endeavored to make it still as much like home as Sunset could remember. So she would feel like it was still home… that she belonged. That she was ready to come back and be taught again. But, why the cloak and crown? Well, if Sunset thought even a little bit about it, Twilight Sparkle had probably told her about all that had happened and had probably wanted to give them back to her...

The princess gave off a little cough, and then another… and it took a moment before Sunset realized she was gripping onto Princess Celestia tight enough to probably cause a little bruising. She would have thrown herself off, if it were not for the firm foreleg keeping her from doing so. “Ah ah… No. You stay right here,” the princess said in a firm if humorous tone. “Look at you… you’ve grown considerably from when we spoke last. In mind, and in spirit especially.” There was a mischievous twinkle in Celestia’s eye - a familiar look she got when she was up to something. “Which is good. You’ll need every bit of that growth for what is to come.”

“I’m… I’m ready,” Sunset replied, hushed. Nothing really has changed I guess, she thought to herself, a smile splitting her lips. I may have… done things, stupid things, but Twilight showed me back, and I can still be Princess Celestia’s student. Yes, she would make her teacher proud, show her she was still worthy of living a life of Harmony in Equestria. Whatever this test was - and it was bound to be a great, challenging feat requiring no small amount of skill - she would meet it head on, horn blazing.

Celestia gave off a soft chuckle, “Oh, I have no doubt. So much has changed here.” Celestia looked up toward the single window in her private study and half smiled. “More than you’d realize at first glance, but it provides me with the perfect opportunity for you.” She refolded her hoof daintily in front of her and lifted her head imperiously. “I have always believed in making use of the most effective lessons I’ve managed to teach, and this is no exception.”

Celestia’s eyes twinkled as she spoke, her lips curling in a warm smile. “I’m going to send you to a town called Ponyville… where you will study the magic of friendship under it’s most capable teacher, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Sunset Shimmer was sure the golden color in her face drained to white then. Her open mouth certainly thought so. Princess! Princess! Surely not. This was a little joke. “Princess Celestia, I know you hold Twilight Sparkle in high esteem. I… she is a good pony. But, princess? What’s my real assignment please?”

Celestia’s smile grew even wider, and that mischief had seeped down into it. “Oh, but that very much is your assignment, Sunset.” She tilted her head to one side and gave Sunset a coy sort of look. “It is, after all, the very same assignment I once gave Twilight on the path to becoming a princess herself.” Celestia flared out her wings and took on a much more firm and commanding tone, her eyes narrowing just a touch. “Consider this an opportunity to prove to me that my faith in you is not misplaced. I shall remind you, my once student, that for all of your knowledge, there is much about the magic of Friendship you have yet to learn.” Her voice softened, and so did her gaze as she carefully folded her wings back. “While I am certain there is much you have learned in the other world, I must see and hear of the results myself. You will be travelling to Ponyville immediately, and I shall expect regular letters on your studies.”

Celestia paused for a moment, her lips opening but not forming words, as she gently sunk her chin into her awaiting hoof. “Sunset… I ask you to believe me, this time, that I would not set you a task that was not vital to your future. All you have experienced here…” she gestured around them, “was the truth I wished you to see about how I regarded your return. I must ask you now to have the same faith in me that I have kept in you. Now, hurry along. I’ve already sent your things ahead of you, and Princess Twilight will be expecting you.”

Well, she was serious, that was for sure. And just when Sunset had thought everything would be returning to the way she remembered, Princess Celestia moved her to a new town, gave her a new teacher, and nearly gave her a stroke trying to comprehend it all. This was going to be one Tartarus of an assignment.

~~~~~Ponyville, The Golden Oaks Library~~~~~

“TWILIGHT!” Spike hollered from up on the ladder. “LETTER FOR YOU! AND IT TASTED WEIRD! COULD BE BAD NEWS!”

Twilight almost… almost dropped the phial, but fortunately she had finally gotten used to being interrupted at the worst possible moment in an experiment. Years upon years of explosions had finally trained her mind to reflexively hold on to the thing she was manipulating rather than dropping it. So she carefully swirled the sparkly blue liquid and resettled the thing in its appropriate stand. She sighed heavily and rubbed at her temple. The last thing she needed right now was some other crisis to be solved. She had been enjoying her time off, darnit!

But of course, letters from the Princess - and it had to be from her given what time it was - weren’t the sort of thing she could put off no matter how exasperated she was. “Leave it on the table!” she called back up the stairs as she doffed the custom made lab coat. “And what do you mean it tasted funny?” she continued a moment later, hoping to Faust that Spike wasn’t becoming ill with anything. The last time that’d happened he’d ended up regurgitating copies of every letter she’d ever sent, ever. And nopony could figure out how it’d happened.

“I’M PUTTING UP YOUR BOOKS, PRINCESS!” Spike’s voice roared through the library. “AND IT JUST TASTED WEIRD! YOU WANNA KNOW MORE, YOU CAN COME AND LICK IT FOR YOURSELF!”

Twilight huffed out a sigh and tossed the labcoat over a chair, glaring at the concoctions on her bench. “Nothing explode until I can get back,” she commanded and began stomping up the stairs. “Spike! I told you, you don’t have to yell that loud!” Her steps clomped up the stairs, and she swung the door to her basement lab open a moment later. “What’s gotten into your craw today, Spike? Surely the letter couldn’t have been that strange tasting,” she asked with a gentle, genuine concern as she hunted across the familiar expanse of the library’s main room until her eyes hit upon the bright golden seal and red ribbon tied around the familiar parchment Princess Celestia had always used. It only took a moment to fetch it and… she sniffed a little, and had to admit the thing smelled more than a little off. It was almost floral and spicy and… musky. Odd. Very odd.

“Did you lick it for real?” Spike asked, almost ecstatic. “You know, Twi, I always knew you’d come around.”

“No, I didn’t,” Twilight replied flatly. “Now hush.” She snapped open the seal neatly, carefully unwinding the scroll to examine what the Princess had written to her, her eyes methodically travelling down the lines of text.

My dearest Princess Twilight,

As I have long believed would happen, Sunset Shimmer has returned through the mirror portal and at long last sought out my guidance. There is much that has changed in her, Twilight. And I must admit that you were right to leave her in the good hooves of your friends in the other world.

With that wisdom now proven, I have decided the best thing I can do for her is to send her once again into your care. There is nopony alive with as great a knowledge of Friendship as you, and that will be the most difficult thing for her to finally learn in full. There remains a great potential in her Twilight, even if her original destiny has long been since supplanted.

She will be arriving this evening by chariot, and shall be staying with you in the library. I must ask that you teach her everything you can about the magic of Friendship, and that you help her finally find peace in her own soul with the new life she has chosen.

I shall expect regular friendship reports from both you and her. Just remember - send them when she has learned something, and not just because it is Tuesday. If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask.

I look forward to your next visit to Canterlot, and maybe with a new friend.

Love,

Princess Celestia.

For a few long moments, Twilight was almost certain she’d misread Celestia’s words. So she re-read them twice, just to be certain she hadn’t been hit with a bafflement hex. When the words proved to be immutable, she felt her rump hit the ground as her mind ranged back to that altogether strange episode beyond the mirror portal, and the confrontation with the once student of Princess Celestia.

Then she felt her resolve swell, and her heart beat with a firm determination. After everything she’d been through, even after all the insane stuff she’d had to deal with the last few years, there was no doubt she truly had become an expert in the magic of Friendship. If there was anypony in the world who could help Sunset Shimmer, it ought to be her.

“Spike!” she called out through the library, her horn flaring to life as she grabbed up a stack of books and began hurriedly, but accurately, organizing them. “We’re going to have company!”