The Unwilling Sunrise

by Highlord Langslock

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Princess Luna, Drama, Equestria Girls, Princess Celestia, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 13350

Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia finally reunite after so many years apart, with Celestia bearing a wonderful surprise for her prodigal student. Unfortunately, the outcome is something no one could have forseen.

After so many years, Sunset Shimmer is finally ready to return to Equestria. At long last, she will be able to reconnect with the land she was born in and feel the magic flow through her body once more. Most of all, she’s ready to face the mentor she betrayed, to apologize for everything and beg for her forgiveness.

Princess Celestia is eager to see her old prodigal student as well. Finally, she will have the chance to forgive her and reaffirm her love for her. What’s more, she will finally be able to give Sunset Shimmer what she has earned for herself and fulfill all the dreams she had since she was a filly.

At least, that’s how it was supposed to go.

Cover art by Bluse

Published 2015-12-11 01:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-04 02:52:04 UTC

The Unwilling Sunrise

The Canterlot High horse statue had once been a masterpiece of stone crafting that had been the pride of the school. Unfortunately, thanks to the crazed misuse of otherworldly magic committed over a year ago, it had been reduced to a mere stump of rock. Fortunately for Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle, what mattered wasn’t the statue itself but rather its base, which served as a portal to their homeland, Equestria. Years ago, Sunset had used that same portal to escape to the human world in her efforts to attain power and glory that she did not deserve.

Now, on an early Saturday morning, with the sun just coming up over the horizon, Sunset, now older and much wiser, was prepared to use the portal once again to return to the land of her birth and face the consequences of what she had done.

“Do you really have to go?” asked Fluttershy sorrowfully.

Sunset turned to face all her friends who had come to see her off. There was, of course, Fluttershy, the kindest, most timid, and in her own strange way, strongest girl Sunset had ever known. Then there was Applejack, one of the most reliable people in either world, always happy to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed her. There was Rainbow Dash, who would always have your back no matter how hot the fire got, Pinkie Pie, who would do anything to put a smile on your face when you were feeling down, and Rarity, who thought nothing of sacrificing her time and resources to help someone look their best with no thought of reward. There was also Flash Sentry, once Sunset Shimmer’s bitter ex-boyfriend and now one of her most trusted friends, a guy who would gladly risk everything to defend those in need. Finally, there was perhaps Sunset’s strangest friend, the human world’s Twilight Sparkle, or SciTwi as her friends had come to call her; once a lonely and fragile girl, now thanks to the help and support of all her friends, she had evolved into a bright and strong young woman.

All of them were Sunset’s most precious friends in the entire world, and it broke her heart that she had to say goodbye to them, even if she knew it wasn’t forever. But this was something she needed to do.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back,” she said, cupping Fluttershy’s cheek in a comforting gesture. “Besides, you knew that this was going to happen sooner or later.”

“But why couldn’t it be later?” whined Pinkie Pie, her expression just as sorrowful as Fluttershy’s, if not more so. “Sooner is just so…SOON!”

“I’ve already put this off for more than a year, Pinkie Pie,” said Sunset,

“But it was such a short year!” cried Pinkie Pie, tears gushing from her eyes in literal water spouts.

“Oh pull yourselves together already you guys!” snapped Rainbow Dash, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like she’s going to be gone-gone, she just won’t be here.”

“I think what Rainbow Dash is trying to say is that instead of being all weepy fer ourselves, we should be happy fer Sunset finally going home,” said Applejack. “Even if that don’ make it no easier fer us,” she added glumly.

SciTwi stepped forward. “Honestly, Sunset, I’m not sure what I’m going to do without you,” she admitted.

Stepping up close to her, Sunset grasped SciTwi’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You haven’t needed me for a long time now, SciTwi,” she said emphatically. “You are more than capable of standing on your own, and even when it gets to be too much for you to handle, just remember that you have plenty of friends who’ll help pull you through.”

Smiling, SciTwi pulled Sunset into a hug, which she returned. When they parted, Sunset turned to Rarity.

“Well darling, we’ve certainly had our ups and downs together,” said Rarity warmly. “It may not have always been pleasant, but I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change a thing. Except for one; I regret that I was never able to beat you for the title of Princess of the Fall Formal.”

Sunset laughed awkwardly. “Sorry about that. I swear, I was so sure that I wouldn’t win,” she said.

Finally, Sunset turned to Flash. “Well Flash, I guess I’ll be seeing you in my nightmares,” she said with a smirk.

Flash smiled as well. “Just get yourself and your pony smell out of here, it’s making my eyes water,” he quipped, brushing away what was obviously not a tear from his eye.

Rolling her eyes, Sunset grabbed Flash and pulled him into a hug, which he returned.

A jolt of pain tore through Sunset’s body, causing her to jerk back and grunt.

“Sunset, what’s wrong? I didn’t mean to!” cried Flash frantically.

“It wasn’t you,” said Sunset, waving him off. “This happened earlier this morning. I guess I must have slept in a bad position and pulled a muscle or something last night. Don’t worry, I’m fine now.”

A hand on her shoulder called Sunset’s attention to Princess Twilight Sparkle, Sunset’s last and dearest friend, the one who opened her eyes to friendship and saved her in more ways than she could count. Although outwardly she looked exactly like SciTwi, Sunset Shimmer knew better than most how different they really were.

“We should get going Sunset, Princess Celestia is waiting for us,” she said.

Nodding, Sunset moved to let Twilight and Flash say goodbye to each other while she said her final goodbyes to everyone else. There were even more hugs and tears until she came to Rainbow Dash.

“Well then, see you around,” said Rainbow Dash as she held out her hand for a shake.

Sunset tried not to feel hurt by Rainbow Dash’s attitude, reminding herself that she just wasn’t into “all that touchy-feely crud” as she called it. Grasping Rainbow Dash’s hand with her own, she shook it firmly.

“See you soon,” she said before turning to leave-only to be stopped by Rainbow Dash who hadn’t let go of her hand.

“What is it?” she asked.

“What are you talking about?” asked Rainbow Dash innocently.

Sunset frowned and tried to walk away again, only to be stopped once more when Rainbow Dash pulled her back again.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

“Never better,” said Rainbow Dash. She had a casual smile on her face, but her grip on Sunset’s hand was getting tighter.

Getting annoyed, Sunset tried to pull away, and this time Rainbow Dash let go, only to drop to the ground and wrap her arms around Sunset’s legs.

“Sunny, don’t go!” she wailed.

Sighing, Applejack knelt down and attempted to pry Rainbow Dash loose from Sunset, but the other girl held tight.

“Um, a lil’ help here, please?” she asked.

It took the combined efforts of Pinkie Pie, SciTwi and Flash to help Applejack pull the distraught girl off of Sunset. Once it was done, Rainbow Dash seemed to immediately regain her composure, standing up and dusting herself off.

“Ahem, sorry about that thing that DIDN’T happen just now of which we will NEVER talk about,” she said.

Rolling her eyes, Sunset turned back to the portal and walked up to stand beside Twilight. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into it.

The sensation of having her entire being liquefied, altered, and reconstructed before being violently spat out was just as unpleasant as Sunset remembered it. When asked, Twilight had assured her that it never got better.

Once the room stopped spinning, Sunset took a moment to take in her equine body. It felt both strange and comforting to stand on four hooves again. Lifting a hoof to her head, she sighed in relief when she felt her horn on top of it. While she had mastered the ability to use her unicorn magic while in her anthro form, having an actual physical appendage to channel it gave her a sense of security.

Turning her head, Sunset saw Twilight, also restored to her true equine form. It hit Sunset at that moment that she had only seen Twilight as a pony once before on that fateful day she had stolen her crown. While there was no mistaking that purple mane with a violet streak, it still took Sunset a moment to register that the alicorn beside her was her friend. To her dismay, Twilight now stood a good inch taller than her.

Sunset then noticed two figures standing before them. The first was an alicorn mare like Twilight, except she towered above both of them. She had a dark blue coat and a long sapphire blue mane that twinkled like the night sky and rippled as if it was floating on a wind nopony else could feel, and was ornamented in royal regalia. Sunset immediately knew who she was. In the human world, the existence of Luna and her status as the sister of that world’s Celestia had baffled Sunset for years, until Twilight told her the story of how she became the element of magic and restored Equestria’s long-lost Princess of the Night and co-regent. Since then, Sunset had been eager to meet Equestria’s version of Luna.

At the moment, however, Sunset’s attention was focused on the final pony in the room. Another alicorn mare who stood even taller than Luna, with a pristine white coat and shining rainbow mane that rippled just like Luna’s, and the warmest eyes Sunset had ever seen, although at the moment, they were completely unreadable.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Sunset walked up to face Princess Celestia, the mare who had given her everything, and whom she had repaid with nothing but spite and treachery. She tried to think of what to say to her; that she was sorry; that she was wrong; that she should never have left.

Taking a deep breath, Sunset began to speak, “Princess Celestia, I…”

She was cut off when Celestia swooped down and enveloped her in the biggest hug she had received yet, wrapping her wings around her like a warm, feathery blanket.

“It’s so good to see you again,” she said in a trembling voice.

Just like that, something inside Sunset broke, and she buried herself into Celestia’s chest and bawled her eyes out.

Twilight Sparkle wanted nothing more than to join in the heartfelt reunion taking place before her, but she forced herself to keep back. This was a personal moment between the two of them, and she already felt like she was intruding on it simply by being there.

After several long moments, Sunset and Celestia pulled away from each other. Tears continued to flow from their eyes as they gazed lovingly at each other.

“I’m so sorry, Princess Celestia,” whimpered Sunset. “I screwed everything up! I should never had left you, or treated you the way I did! I-I don’t deserve…”

“Hush now, my little pony,” said Celestia gently. “I have forgiven you for everything long ago, and you have more than redeemed yourself. But above all else, I am simply happy that you have finally returned to me.”

Smiling, Sunset wiped her eyes and nuzzled Celestia. “I missed you so much,” she whispered.

Returning the gesture, Celestia then stood up straight, a smile on her face as well. “We have much catching up to do, Sunset,” she said. “But first, allow me to introduce you to my sister, Luna.”

“Hello, Princess Luna,” said Sunset, bowing low. “Princess Twilight told me all about you. It is an honor to meet you.”

“Rise Sunset Shimmer,” commanded Luna. “The honor is mine. Twilight Sparkle has spoken to me of all the great deeds you have performed.”

Sunset blushed. “Your too kind, you highness,” she said bashfully.

“Nonsense; if anything, my words are insufficient to describe your valor,” declared Luna. “You have protected an unsuspecting world from the countless threats Equestria has, regrettably, dumped upon it over the centuries; the sirens, Grogar, the Witchweed, and so many more. Furthermore, you have made advancements in magic that even Starswirl the Bearded himself never imagined possible. Truly, your deeds are of the variety that shall change the course of history.”

By now, Sunset’s face was as red as a tomato. “You give me far too much credit, Princess Luna,” she said. “I couldn’t have done any of it without my friends.” Despite her modest words, Sunset’s smile nearly reached her ears.

“Then I shall be certain to sing them their praises as well when I finally meet them,” said Luna. “Now then, I believe I have kept you from my sister for long enough, but perhaps we could talk more later over tea?”

“I’d like that,” said Sunset.

After Sunset and Celestia left, Luna turned to Twilight. “You have done a wonderful thing today, Twilight Sparkle,” she said.

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m just glad those two were able to patch things up,” she said.

Luna nodded. “Yes, and now, at long last, Sunset will finally receive her just reward.”

“Oh? Celestia never mentioned that she was going to give Sunset a medal or anything,” said Twilight.

“I didn’t say that she was,” replied Luna.

“Than what did you mean?” asked Twilight, her curiosity piqued.

Luna simply flashed Twilight a grin and cantered away.

“Where are you going?” Twilight called out, trotting after her. “I asked you a question. What’s going on? Do you know something I don’t? Luna!”

For the next few hours, Sunset and Celestia walked through the palace gardens, talking. Sunset vaguely noted that there had been some changes since she had been there, but she was far too busy listening to Celestia as she regaled her with stories about her younger sister to really think about it. She nearly passed out from excitement when Celestia promised to speak to Luna about teaching her spells even Celestia herself did not know. Once she was finished, Sunset started talking about all of her friends.

“Seriously, I think SciTwi may be smarter than me and Twilight combined! I never thought about combining magic with technology, even after everything that happened during my experiments. Luckily she managed to figure it out, or we’d all be Catrina’s chew toys. And did Twilight tell you about what Flash did? The guy actually created an entirely new kind of magic out of nothing but bits and pieces of the Elements of Harmony and saved all of our butts! It was amazing! Honestly, I’m a little disappointed that he and Twilight actually managed to make their inter-dimensional relationship work. …You CAN’T tell Twilight that I said that.”

“My lips are sealed,” Celestia assured her, drawing a hoof across her lips. She smiled fondly. “Honestly Sunset, I can hardly recognize you from when last I saw you,” she said.

“Really?” asked Sunset, examining her body. “I guess I have grown a little over the years, but not that much.”

“That is not what I was talking about,” said Celestia. “When you left me, you were filled with so much anger and hatred. You looked down on everypony and expected everything to be handed to you on a silver platter.”

“A golden one, actually,” said Sunset dryly.

“But look at you now,” Celestia continued. “You are using your gifts to help and empower others rather than abuse them for own gain, and you have finally opened your heart to true friendship.

“When I took you as my personal student, I had such high hopes for you; and when you turned away from the path of harmony in favor of pursuing your own selfish goals, I feared that the bright future I had foreseen for you was lost forever. But in the past year alone, you have proven to me how wrong I was. You have not simply met all of my expectations; you have surpassed them completely. And now, at long last, you are finally ready.”

“Ready for what?” asked Sunset, right before another wave of pain hit her. This time it was so intense, she fell to the floor, clutching her sides while moaning in agony.

“Sunset, what’s wrong?!” asked Celestia frantically, kneeling down beside her.

“I’m fiAUGH!” Sunset shrieked as yet another surge of pain tore though her body. “A-Actually, I think there’s something wrong with me,” she admitted. “I need to see a doctor.”

“That may not be necessary,” said Celestia as she examined Sunset. “Has this happened earlier today?”

“Yes, twice,” grunted Sunset. “Do you know what’s happening to me?”

“I do, and we haven’t a moment to lose,” answered Celestia.

Before Sunset could ask her what she meant, Celestia’s horn began to glow, and everything turned black.

When Sunset could see again, she found herself in an endless void filled with nothing but stars, as if she was standing in the night sky itself. Even her hooves hovered over an endless abyss, yet it felt like she was standing on solid ground.

“Sweet Faust, I’m dead, aren’t I?” she moaned.

“I assure you Sunset Shimmer, you are not,” said Celestia, appearing out of nowhere.

“Princess Celestia, where are we?” asked Sunset.

“We are in a twilight realm of existence and oblivion, a space between all that is and that from whence it came,” explained Celestia.

“OK, pretending that I understood any of that, why are we here?” asked Sunset.

“It is because…” Celestia started to say before Sunset cut her off with another scream. This time the pain lasted even longer and was particularly bad along her backside.

“What’s happening to me?!” cried Sunset, fear tearing at her heart.

“I’m sorry Sunset, I had a new song prepared for you and everything, but we are out of time,” said Celestia quickly.

“For what?!” demanded Sunset.

“Your destiny,” proclaimed Celestia as she reared back on her hind legs and began to glow.

A streak of golden light emerged from Sunset’s chest and began to circle around her. In an instant, her pain disappeared and she began to rise up into the air, or whatever passed for it in this strange place. As she tried to process what was happening, a strange warm feeling filled her chest, growing stronger and stronger until it felt like it was enveloping her entire being.

Then everything burst.

Out of respect for Celestia’s privacy, all of Twilight’s friends had stayed behind in Ponyville rather than travel to Canterlot with her and the mirror. As such, she and Luna took the opportunity to spend some time together. In between conversations about friends, family, and the differences between spatial compression fields and mass-reduction based transfiguration spells, Twilight tried to trick Luna into revealing what she knew of Celestia’s plans, only to be evaded every time.

They were in the middle of having brunch at an outdoor café when without warning, a brilliant ball of light appeared in the sky, shining like a second sun. The effect was instant bedlam. Ponies everywhere began to run around in circles while screaming their heads off, proving that a big city like Canterlot had more in common with a small town like Ponyville than one would think.

“The end is neigh!” wailed one pony.

“All is lost!” cried another.

“Half-off on all items this Friday…I mean; Faust help us all!” shouted one rather confused pony.

“BE SILENT!” roared Luna, pushing the Royal Canterlot Voice to new heights. Twilight’s eardrums nearly ruptured from the thunderous boom, but it did have the effect to silencing the panicking mob and making everypony freeze in place.

“Listen well all of you,” commanded Luna at a somewhat quieter yet still deafening volume. “What you are witnessing now is no catastrophe, but a joyous moment for Equestria.”

“What’s happening Princess Luna?” asked Twilight, her anxiety causing her to slip into old forms of address. When Luna did not answer, she watched as the sphere of light descended, coming to a rest at the center of the café, where it faded to reveal Sunset Shimmer, who looked tired and disoriented, but otherwise fine.

For a moment there was absolute silence. Then Sunset unfurled a pair of golden wings.

Twilight’s gasp was lost in the chorus of them that filled the air. With a flap of her own wings, she flew forward to wrap her forelegs around the newest alicorn.

“Ugh, Twilight? What’s going on?” asked Sunset as she came out of her stupor.

“Sunset, you have wings!” Twilight cried in glee.

“Wings?” echoed Sunset. Turning her head, she gasped when she saw new wings for the first time. Raising a hoof to her head, she tapped her horn as if to confirm that it was still there.

“I have wings and a horn,’ she whispered. “But that means…”

“You’re an alicorn now,” Twilight finished for her. “This means that you’re a princess!”

“I’m a princess,” whispered Sunset.

Twilight turned to Luna. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” she asked in a faux accusing tone. “This is the reward you were talking about.”

“Indeed it is, Twilight Sparkle,” said Celestia as she descended from above, much the same way she did after Twilight had become a princess herself. “I had wanted to tell you at first, but Luna convinced me that it would be more fun to surprise both of you.”

Sunset was like a deer caught in the headlights, to borrow a phrase from the human world. After a moment, she found the ability to speak again.

“I don’t understand, I thought you said that I couldn’t become a princess,” she said.

“What I actually said was that the right to become a princess had to be earned," said Celestia. “When you chose to follow your own selfish ambitions over harmony, you strayed from the path to the very thing you sought. But now, you have finally earned the right to stand amongst…”

“Change me back!”

For a moment, Twilight thought she had imagined what she had just heard. However, there was no mistaking the horrified expression on Sunset’s face.

“I-I beg your pardon?” Celestia stammered, taken aback.

“You heard me,” said Sunset as she got in Celestia’s face. “Take away these wings and everything else and make me a normal unicorn again right now!”

“Hey, you can’t talk to a princess like that, even if you are one yourself!” cried a stallion from the crowd.

“SHUT UP!” roared Sunset, giving the outspoken pony a furious glare.

“Yes your majesty, sorry your majesty, please don’t banish me to the moon your majesty,” he whimpered as he backed away, his boldness forgotten.

“Sunset, please just calm down,” pleaded Twilight. She tried to place a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder, only to have it smacked away.

“I will NOT calm down! Not until she fixes this!” snarled Sunset, jabbing a hoof at Celestia.

“Fix what?!” cried Celestia. “I don’t understand, this is what you wanted your whole life!”

“And it ruined my life!” shouted Sunset.

She began to pace back and forth frantically. “Ever since I was a filly, all that mattered to me was becoming a princess,” she said. “I thought that I deserved to become a princess more than anyone else, and I’d lash out at anypony who said otherwise.

“When everything fell apart, I ran away like the brat I was to a place where I could hide from my problems. And what did I do while I was there? I proved just how much I DIDN’T deserve to become a princess! I cheated at contests, tore apart friendships, and hurt everyone, and for what? A cheap sense of empowerment and a stupid plastic crown that meant nothing, that’s what!”

Sunset stopped pacing and turned to face Celestia again with tears in her eyes. “When my friends finally stopped me, when they saved me, I swore then and there not only to change my ways, but to let go of my dream so that I would never make the same mistakes again. It wasn’t easy. Every day I had to remind myself that I would never become a princess and that I was better off for it. And it worked. One day I woke up and realized that I didn’t need to become a princess, that I could shine just as brightly as one my own way. And now, after all that, out of nowhere you tell me ‘Oh, guess what? You get to be a princess after all!’ No, I will NOT accept that! Change me back right now!”

For the first time since Twilight knew her, and perhaps for the first time in centuries, Celestia was at a loss for words. She just stood there stammering. Twilight couldn’t blame her, for that would require the ability to think coherently, and Twilight’s mind was stuck on a loop of what Sunset had just said. Sunset herself, meanwhile, continued to glare at Celestia, her chest heaving with anger.

In the end, it was Luna who spoke up.

“I’m sorry Sunset Shimmer, but I’m afraid that even if Celestia were willing to do so, changing you back is beyond her power.”

“I don’t believe you,” snapped Sunset, turning her glare to Luna now. “She turned me into an alicorn, so she should be able to turn me back.”

"That is where you are mistaken,” said Luna. “Celestia did not turn you into an alicorn. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that you turned yourself into one.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Sunset.

“For ever few generations, there is born one or two, or on an extremely rare occasion, even three ponies with a special kind of magical spark inside of them,” explained Luna. “As these ponies grow in knowledge and wisdom, that spark grows as well until it reaches its peak and transforms the pony into an alicorn. My sister and myself posses the ability to sense this spark within ponies and have made it our mission to help them realize their potential. It is one of the reasons we started our tradition of taking personal students.”

“But if that’s true, than what was the spell Celestia cast?” asked Sunset desperately.

“That was meant to make your ascension faster and smoother, nothing more,” answered Luna. “Without it, the process of becoming an alicorn takes much longer and is much more…traumatic. The bottom line is that becoming an alicorn was always your natural destiny, and barring the use of the foulest of magic, it is no more possible to change you back than it is to change a butterfly back into a caterpillar.”

Sunset clenched her teeth and breathed heavily through her nose. After a few minutes, she seemed to have calmed down a bit. “Am I immortal now or anything?” she asked carefully.

Luna shook her head. “The great power and longevity my sister and I posses stems from our connections to the sun and the moon respectively,” she explained. “It allows us to draw upon the primordial magic within them, greatly amplifying our own. Only true, original alicorns such as ourselves posses this quality. Your life expectancy has increased by several decades thanks to your new Earth pony constitution, but you remain as mortal as you ever were.”

Sunset sighed. “Alright, in that case, I guess I can live with this,” she said, emphasizing her point by extending her wings. “But I still refuse to be a princess.”

“I’m sorry Sunset, but Equestrian law is absolute on this matter,” said Celestia, finally regaining her composure. “Only alicorns can ensure equal representation for all three tribes, thus all alicorns are to be made princes or princesses.”

“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not staying in Equestria,” sneered Sunset.

Celestia gasped. “Sunset, I know you are upset, but you cannot simply abandon Equestria again just because you do not wish to be a princess!” she insisted.

“What are you talking about? Didn’t Twilight tell you?” demanded Sunset. She turned her glare at Twilight. “Didn’t you tell her?”

“I’m sorry, I tried to tell her,” Twilight insisted. “But she was so excited about you coming back that I just didn’t have the heart,” she finished, hanging her head in shame.

“What are you talking about?” demanded Celestia.

Sunset sighed and turned back to Celestia. “I’m sorry Princess Celestia, but the truth is that I was only planning on staying here for a month or so before going back,” she explained. “I’ve decided to live out my life in the human world.”

“B-But Equestria is your home!” cried Celestia desperately.

Sunset shook her head. “A part of me will always think of it as home, but I’ve thought about it long and hard, and I’ve realized that the other world is my real home now. It’s where I discovered the magic of friendship. It’s where I found my way. It’s where I belong! And you can’t take that away from me; I don’t care what Equestrian law says.”

Celestia looked like she wanted to object further, but she just sighed and hung her head. “Your right,” she admitted. “I cannot force you to leave your chosen home, no matter what the law says. And if this is truly your decision, than I cannot force the title of princess on you either.”

“I’m glad we understand each other,” said Sunset dryly. “Now, I think I’d like to go home now.”

“But Sunset, what about…” Twilight started to say before Sunset cut her off.

“I’m sorry Twilight, but…I just can’t stay here right now,” she said mournfully.

“I understand,” said Celestia, sounding just as sad.

Nopony spoke a word during the trip back to the castle. They just trotted through the streets, Celestia, Luna, Twilight and the dispatch of Royal Guards they had summoned doing their best to shield Sunset from the onslaught of media vultures trying to get either a picture or a quote from Equestria’s newest would-be princess. No doubt tomorrow’s papers would be preaching all about the scandal of Princess Celestia “forcing” the mantle of royalty upon unsuspecting ponies.

Sunset remained silent even when she stood before the portal that would take her home…her real home as it were. She just gave a quick half-glance back at everyone, and then jumped right in.

“I should go with her,” said Twilight glumly. “She’s going to need all the support she can get.” Walking up to the portal, she stopped at the edge and turned back. “I’m sorry, Celestia,” she said softly.

“So am I, Twilight,” answered Celestia in a hollow voice.

Sighing, Twilight walked into the portal and disappeared.

“Are you alright, sister?” asked Luna gently, although she already knew the answer.

“No, Luna,” said Celestia, shaking her head. Tears were dripping down her cheek. “This was not how things were supposed to go,”

“I have not the stars in the night sky to count how many times things didn’t go the way they were ‘supposed to’,” lamented Luna. She then draped a wing across Celestia and nuzzled her. “I know things seem bleak now, but take heart,” she said soothingly. “Sunset is hardly the first princess to object to her new status.”

“Perhaps not,” admitted Celestia. “But none of them have ever been so vehement before.”

“Just give her some time,” said Luna. “Once she understands her what her true destiny is, she’ll come around. They always do.”

“I hope you’re right, Luna,” said Celestia, gazing at the glowing portal. “The world needs Princess Sunset Shimmer-both this one, and the other.”

Author's Note

This is not my headcannon for when Sunset ultimately becomes an princess, just a theory on how she might react to it. All the bad things she did in the past basically boiled down to her wanting to become a princess, so it's not hard to imagine that she has become poisoned against the idea by this point. It would certainly make for a killer cliff-hanger in a future movie.

One more thing; could someone tell me how to find editors and/or proof-readers for my future stories?

The Uncertain Sunrise

After Sunset and Twilight had left, the rest of the gang spent some time wandering around the school, reminiscing over all of the magical incidents that had occurred there and how much their lives had changed because of them. Afterwards, Rarity suggested that they all go out for brunch together.

The restaurant, Homestyle’s Home and Kitchen, was a cozy place with a soothing green color scheme, old fashioned wooden tables in the middle and comfortable booths along the wall. A popular place to eat at in the morning and afternoon, the place was already packed by the time they got there. In spite of this, they were immediately seated at their favorite table, held perpetually in reserve for them courtesy of the owner and head cook, Homestyle, as thanks for helping his niece during a magical incident.

Nobody spoke a word as they waited for their food. When it arrived, they remained silent as they ate. Finally, Rarity set her fork and knife down and folded her hands together.

“I think it’s time we addressed the elephant in the room and discuss what we are going to do if Sunset decides that she wishes to remain in Equestria permanently,” she said.

“She wouldn’t do that!” snapped Rainbow Dash, slamming her hands on the table, startling sever people seated nearby. “I mean, she wouldn’t just abandon us like that!” Her voice was beginning to quiver.

Flash started rubbing his step-sister’s shoulder. “I know how you feel,” he said gently. “None of us want that to happen. But we have to think about this realistically. You remember how homesick she could get.”

“THIS world is her home!” Rainbow Dash insisted desperately.

“That’s for her to decide, not us,” said Flash.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “Oh my gosh, what if Sunset doesn’t just decide that she doesn’t want to come back, but that she HATED it here?!” she asked frantically. “What if she decides that she never wants to come back, not even to visit? What if she decides that she didn’t like us as much as she thought she did, and that she’s happier with whatever friends she makes in Equestria? What if another magic crisis comes up, but she refuses to come help us?! What if we manage to handle it ourselves the first, second, or even third time, but things just keep getting worse, and we beg and beg and beg Sunset to come back, but she keeps saying ‘no’ and we…”

Pinkie Pie’s rant was cut off when Applejack shoved a flapjack into her mouth.

“Now let’s all calm down a spell,” she said. “Yes, we’re all worried that Sunset might wanna stay in Equestria, but like Flash said, it’s her decision, and whatever she decides, we need to support her. An’ besides, even if she does decide to stay, would it really be that bad? Heck, so long as they’re able to keep th’ portal open, it won’ be much different than if she moved to th’ next town over.”

“Plus, if she wants, I could easily create another ring for her like I did for Flash and Princess,” said SciTwi, emphasizing her point by grabbing Flash’s hand and holding it up to display the metal band on his finger.

“Ya see? Sunset ain’t gonna stop being our friend jus’ cause she moves away, so there’s no reason for us to get all worked up,” said Applejack.

“I guess you’re right,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “It just sucks that we have to wait a whole month to know for sure.”

At that moment, everyone’s cell phone began to beep. Pulling them out, they all saw that they had gotten the same text:

Sunset and I came back early. Meet me at her apartment.

-Twilight

“Wow, it’s true, time really does go by faster as you get older!” said Pinkie Pie in awe.

“Ha! So much for her staying in Equestria!” said Rainbow Dash smugly. “Guess she just couldn’t stay away from awesome friends like us.”

“I don’t know, something about this doesn’t feel right,” said Flash in concern.

“Well, we can just ask them about it, let’s go,” said SciTwi.

“I can’t believe it! Sunset is really a princess now?!” cried Rarity.

By the time everyone had arrived at Sunset’s home, she had already shut herself in her bedroom and refused to come out. When Twilight told everyone about what had happened in Equestria, their reactions had ranged from shock, delight, and in Pinkie Pie’s case, commanding Applejack to “pay up” on their bet.

“I already told you, she rejected the title of princess,” said Twilight patiently. “She’s just an alicorn now.”

“Why on earth would anyone object to becoming a princess?” Rarity demanded. “Why think of the prestige; the privileges; the adoration of everyone!”

“I’m with Rarity, I don’t really see what the problem is,” said SciTwi, rubbing her chin. “From what you have described to us, Sunset’s transformation was all but inevitable, and neither it nor the position of princess has any real negative consequences for her. So why is she reacting like this? It’s not like her.”

“Apparently, she’s come to associate her old desire to be a princess with all of the bad things she’s done in the past,” Twilight answered.

“Now that’s just plum silly,” said Applejack. “Being a princess or whatever ain’t gonna make her go back to her old ways.”

“Maybe not, but that seems to be how she feels,” said Twilight with a sigh.

“Well we cannot simply stand by and allow Sunset to suffer like this,” Rarity declared, standing up. “I’ll go have a talk with her.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Twilight said. “She’s not in a good place right now.”

“Nonsense, just give me a few minutes alone with her,” insisted Rarity. With that, she walked down the hallway to Sunset’s room. A few minutes passed, and then…

“AIIIEEEEE!”

At the sound of Rarity’s shriek, everyone jumped up and gathered at the end of the hallway just as she came running out, looking absolutely horrified.

Her hair was also seaweed green and done up in dreadlocks.

“I just knocked on her door, and this happened!” she wailed, pointing to her cursed scalp. “Don’t look at me!”

Pushing past everyone, Rarity ran out of the apartment, her hysterical cries fading away.

Sunset continued to isolate herself all through the weekend. After Celestia and Luna returned from their business trip and heard the news, they tried to talk to Sunset themselves, but every attempt to enter her room simply activated another booby-trap spell she had placed on the door. After cleaning the shrimp from their hair, they decided to leave her alone for the time being.

The next day, everyone made several attempts to get into contact with Sunset. When calling her cell phone proved useless, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy tried flying up to talk to her, only to discover that she had rigged her windows as well. After that, Rainbow Dash kicked a soccer ball with a note attached to it through one of the windows, only for Sunset to throw it back at her and for the apartment manager to inform Rainbow Dash that she would be paying for a new window, despite it immediately being repaired by magic. Pinkie Pie even attempted to throw Sunset a “Please come out of your room party” from the street, only to be arrested when the neighbors complained about the noise. Fortunately, Flash’s mom was able to get her off the hook.

Monday came, and Sunset still showed no signs of coming out of her room, not even to get anything to eat or drink. After school ended, everyone met up at the Sweet Spot to discuss their next move.

“So, does anyone have any new ideas?” asked Twilight.

“Nope,” said Rainbow Dash, slumping in her seat.

“I’ve got nothing,” said Flash, shrugging his shoulders.

“Me neither,” Rarity sighed.

“Brain’s empty,” said Pinkie Pie, knocking on her skull, which produced a peculiar hollow sound.

“I can’t think of anything either,” Fluttershy sighed. SciTwi didn’t say anything and simply hung her head in shame.

“Dang it all, why can’t we just bust our way inta her room?!” demanded Applejack, slamming a fist on the table. “Heck, one or two of us ought to be enough to bust through whatever spells she’s still got on that there door of hers’ if we give it everything we’ve got.”

“That might not be a bad idea,” said Twilight.

“Wait, really?” asked Applejack in surprise. She had expected Twilight to object to the idea, or at the very least put up a stronger resistance against it.

“I hate to say it, but the time has come for some drastic measures,” Twilight admitted. “Sunset needs us right now, one way or another. The only problem is that even if we manage to get through to her, the only one who can truly help her is Princess Celestia herself, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to get her to go back to Equestria to talk to her.”

“Then let’s just bring Princess Celestia here instead,” suggested Pinkie Pie.

Twilight shook her head. “We’ve already talked about this, Pinkie Pie,” she said patiently. “Princess Celestia’s responsibilities are different from mine. She can’t just leave Equestria, let alone Equus itself, just too…”

Wordlessly, Pinkie Pie held up her hand, flashing the back of it in Twilight’s face and wiggling her ring finger.

Twilight’s eyes widened in comprehension and she looked down at her own ring finger and the metal band on it.

“Of course, how could I have been so dense?!” she cried, pulling the ring off of her finger. “Someone can just take this to Princess Celestia and…”

“Dibs,” said SciTwi quickly, snatching the ring from Twilight and racing away.

“Alright, that’s taken care of,” said Twilight, standing up. “Let’s go talk to Sunset.”

Princess Celestia shifted through the pile of written requests that were strewn across her desk as opposed to their usual neat stacks. Picking one up with her magic, she read over it to see that it was a request to ban certain products being imported from the Griffon Kingdoms. With a grunt of disinterest, she tossed it away and picked up another sheet. This one was a petition to build a memorial to some obscure noble who lived a hundred years ago. Tossing that one away as well, she picked up a third document which detailed a complaint about the tax code, which she had reminded everyone a hundred times was the responsibility of the Night Court, which meant this one should have gone to Luna. Snarling in frustration, Celestia crumbled the letter up and threw it away before sweeping all the documents off of her desk with a foreleg.

For a moment, Celestia gazed at the mess she made on the floor with her childish tantrum before sighing and rubbing her forehead with both hooves. She was better than this. As a princess, she had to be. The duties of running an entire country did not stop for one pony’s broken heart. Loosing Luna had taught her that the hard way. But no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, her mind kept wandering back to that awful morning when Sunset had lashed out at her once again. What made it so much worse than before was the fact that this time she did so because she had actually received what she had always wanted; or at least, what Celestia had thought she still wanted. The cruel irony of this tore at her heart.

Is this my destiny? she thought to herself. To lose those I love over and over again? Is it only a matter of time before I have to endure another thousand years without Luna? Or before Twilight and Cadance abandon me as well?

A knock on her office door interrupted Celestia’s dark thoughts. “Enter,” she commanded.

The door opened and a Royal Guard entered the room. “Begging your pardon your majesty,” she said, bowing low. “But the Twilight Sparkle of the human world is here and has requested to speak to you in regards to Sunset Shimmer.”

“Send her in,” Celestia commanded eagerly, silently praying for good news.

The guard stepped back out and ushered in a purple unicorn with a pair of saddlebags on her back. Although she had seen her a few times before, Celestia was still amazed at how SciTwi looked exactly like Twilight prior to her ascension, save for the thick glasses she wore and how she kept her mane tied back in a ponytail.

At Celestia’s command, the guard closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.

“Good morning your majesty,” said SciTwi formally as she bowed low.

“Please rise SciTwi,” Celestia urged her gently. “As I have told you before, there is no need for you to stand on ceremony with me. Now, what do you have to tell me about Sunset Shimmer?”

“She’s not doing well, your highness,” said SciTwi, standing up. “She’s locked herself in her room and won’t speak to any of us. The others are going to try and talk to her, but we think the one she really needs to talk to right now is you.”

Celestia sighed. “I would love nothing more, but unless Sunset is willing to return to Equestria, I’m afraid that may be impossible,” she said.

“Unless, of course, you went to the human world yourself to talk to her,” said SciTwi. “And before you say that you can’t, I have something for you.” With her magic, SciTwi pulled out a metal band large enough to fit around a pony’s hoof out of her saddle bags. “Do you know what this is?” she asked.

“If I’m not mistaken, this is the ring you gave Twilight Sparkle that supposedly allows her and the Flash Sentry of your world to visit each other without actually leaving their own worlds,” said Celestia. “Unfortunately, Twilight has yet to explain to me how it works.”

SciTwi nodded eagerly. “Well your highness, I made this ring and the one Flash has out of a combination of my own technology and several different kinds of Equestrian magic, including magic extracted from the Mirror Pool.”

“I see,” said Celestia, frowning. That would explain why Twilight always avoided explaining how it worked.

If SciTwi noticed Celestia’s slight displeasure, she chose to ignore it as she continued on with her explanation. “Now in order to activate the rings, you just have to press the button mechanism and hold it for three seconds. The ring will then scan your DNA and send its readings to its partner, which will then use that information to create a clone of you in its current location. However, at the same time, the rings will switch your mind, or rather your soul, essence or whatever you want to call it, with your clone’s imitation of it so that you will actually inhabit in your clone’s body while it will reside in your own.”

“That’s amazing!” Celestia said in awe.

“Of course,” said SciTwi with a smug expression that Celestia had never seen on her former student’s face. “Both Princess Twilight and Flash Sentry have used this method to visit each other hundreds of times while their clones handled their affairs in their place, and with it, you’ll be able to go see Sunset without actually leaving Equestria.”

Celestia licked her lips as she gazed at ring. SciTwi’s proposal was certainly tempting, and for more reasons than one. She had been curious about the world on the other side of the mirror ever since her late mentor Starswirl the Bearded had introduced it to her, and her desire to explore it had increased tenfold after Twilight had described her own experiences there. And SciTwi was handing her what seemed like the perfect solution to all the things that prevented her from making a trip just when she needed it the most. However, she still had some concerns.

“What about the tendency for a Mirror Pool replica’s mind to degenerate?” she asked.

“That only happens when multiple copies of the same pony are made and the magic becomes too strained,” said SciTwi confidently. “I can explain how that works at a more convenient time if you wish, but I assure you that there won’t be any problems so long as the clone doesn’t feel compelled to make more copies.”

“Alright then, what do I do when I wish to return home?” asked Celestia.

“Simply recite the phrase ‘I am ready to return home’ in your mind three times, and the magic that gives your clone body form will be reabsorbed back into its ring while you yourself will be sent back into your own body, causing the clone mind to break down and be expelled from your brain,” explained Twilight.

“And what should happen if my replica should remove the ring connecting us before I attempt to return?” Celestia asked pointedly.

This time, SciTwi’s confident demeanor shifted to a nervous expression. “If that happens, you will be stuck in your own ring,” she admitted. “But you won’t be completely powerless,” she added quickly. “You’ll be able to broadcast your thoughts to any ponies that are within a certain range to call for help, and you’ll also be able to possess anybody in physical contact with the ring to a certain degree. Once the ring touches your own body, you will immediately be restored to your proper state of being. Now I know the risks are serious, but Princess and Flash have been using this method to spend time together for months with very few incidents, and unless you wish to simply use the portal, this is the best way for you to visit Sunset. So what do you wish to do?”

It took Celestia less than a minute to decide.

Sunset jumped out of her bed when her bedroom door was busted right off of its hinges and sent crashing into the wall. In the doorway stood Applejack and Flash Sentry, their legs raised in a high-kick position and their feet crackling with magical energy. Standing behind them was everyone else.

“What’s the big idea?” she demanded as they all filled in, Twilight pausing to fix the door with magic. Sunset noticed that SciTwi was absent, but dismissed it in favor of more pressing issues.

“Well, you weren’t coming out of here any time soon, and we need to talk,” said Twilight. Looking around the room, her eyes fell on the stack of take out boxes in the corner. “I’m glad to see that you’ve been eating, but I’m curious about how you managed it without leaving your room.”

“I ordered out and teleported it here while the delivery guy was coming up the sidewalk,” said Sunset. She had spent a bundle on tipping the poor boy to make up for how their “arrangement” kept freaking him out. “So what did you want to talk to me about so badly that you felt the need to destroy my room?”

“You know perfectly well what we wish to discuss, darling,” said Rarity primly. “It’s time for you to end this little temper tantrum of yours and start dealing with your problems like a lady.”

“Temper tantrum?!” cried Sunset indignantly. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”

“Sorry sugar cube, but that’s exactly what yer doing and you know it,” Applejack said sternly. “Seriously, hiding yerself away in yer room, not talking to nobody, makin’ all of yer friends and family worry. Yer behaving like a five year old! Yer better than that.”

Sunset felt her anger give way to shame as Applejack’s words sank in. As much as she hated to admit it, Sunset knew that she was right. Groaning, she sat back down on her bed and ran her hands through her hair.

“I’m sorry guys,” she said softly. “It’s just that everything is so messed up!”

“I know Sunset,” said Twilight gently as she took a seat next to her. “But I want you to stop and think for a moment; now I know that you’ve formed a sort of association between your past and being a princess, but ask yourself, is that really any reason to be angry with Celestia, or to leave Equestria forever?”

Sunset thought about it before shaking her head.

“No, it really isn’t,” she admitted. “It’s just that it’s so frustrating! I mean, why me? What possible reason is there for me of all people to become a princess?”

“It is your destiny,” said Twilight.

“Well destiny should just make up its mind already!” Sunset cried, throwing her hands up in the air.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Twilight.

Sunset took a deep breath as she tried to think of how she could explain herself. “Princess Celestia told me that a pony had to earn the right to become a princess. So how do I qualify for the position?”

“I just said that it was your destiny,” said Twilight. “Luna explained that…”

“I’m not talking about the alicorn spark or whatever it is,” Sunset interrupted her. “I mean, how can Princess Celestia or anyone else believe that I have the right be a princess? A princess is supposed to be a leader. How can I be any kind of leader?”

“Are you kidding me?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Have you forgotten about all the times you’ve led US to victory? All the times we were able to save the world thanks to you? This past year alone has proven just how much of a leader you really are!”

“And what about before all that?” asked Sunset. “After everything the old me has done, how can you say that I’m any kind of leader?”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to the punch by Flash.

“I always thought that you were a leader even back then,” he declared.

Everyone stared at Flash as if he had just suggested that they stuff their clothes full of raw meat and go swimming in a pool full of piranha.

“Just how many paint chips…” Sunset started to say before Flash raised his hand to stop her.

“Sunset, just once, could you shut your trap and listen to me?” he asked gently.

Sunset felt irked at Flash’s words, but simply motioned for him to continue.

“We all remember what you were like back in the day. You were a bully, a cheater, a backstabber; and those were your GOOD qualities,” said Flash with a light chuckle. “Yet I willingly went out with you, despite knowing full well what kind of person you were. Do you know why?”

Sunset turned to Twilight, but instead of the look she usually got on her face anytime anyone brought up the fact that Sunset used to date her boyfriend, she actually looked curious, as if she genuinely wanted to know the answer herself.

“I just assumed it was because I’m a smoking hot vixen,” she said airily with a toss of her hair.

“Yeah, ok, that was part of it,” Flash admitted, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “But the main reason was that I admired your strength and power. You were always a true go-getter; you always knew exactly what you wanted and you never ever let anything stop you from getting it. And you always had this aura around you that pulled everyone’s attention towards you without you even noticing them, and whenever you talked, everyone listened. To be perfectly honest, I could never understand why you felt that you had to cheat or fight dirty to win at everything you did because I always believed that you could have just as easily won fair-and-square every time.”

Sunset felt her cheeks heat up. “You…you really think so?” she asked shyly.

“I really do,” said Flash. “I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that the reason that I stayed with you for as long as I did was because I was hoping I could get you to change for the better. I understand now how dumb that idea was at the time, but I clung to it because I had built an image in my head of the amazing person you could become if you started using your talents to help others instead of tearing them down. I’m just glad I was right about one thing."

Flash knelt down to look Sunset straight in the eye as he continued. “What I’m trying to say is that you’ve always had what it takes to be a leader, or a princess, or whatever you prefer. You were just misusing it, that’s all.”

“Wow, I never thought of it that way,” Sunset admitted.

“It does make sense if you think about it,” said Fluttershy.

“Heck, Ah can’t say Ah disagree,” added Applejack.

“Darn it Flash!” cried Twilight.

“What?” Flash asked, taken aback.

“I was just about to give Sunset a big speech about her catchphrase of her past not being today, and you’ve ruined it! Why did you have to give a better one?” Twilight demanded in mock outrage.

Once everyone was finished laughing, Twilight turned back to Sunset. “He’s right of course. Whether you choose to walk the path or not, you were born to be a princess.”

To hear that from Twilight Sparkle of all people, the one who redefined what being a princess meant for her; Sunset suddenly felt much bigger than before.

“So, what do you want to do now?” asked Twilight.

“I guess I should go back to Equestria and apologize to Princess Celestia for ripping her head off,” said Sunset, standing up. “That means I’m going to have to deal with the wings,” she added ruefully as she rubbed her shoulder.

“That may not be necessary,” said Twilight.

Before Sunset could ask her what she meant, Flash’s ring began to glow. This confused Sunset, seeing as Twilight was already there, but then a multi-colored blob of magical energy she had never seen before emerged from the ring. It formed the outline of a human being and then in a flash of light, it transformed into Principal Celestia, who fell face first into the floor with an undignified yelp.

“She could have warned me about the landing,” she groaned as she pushed herself up. When she saw her hands, she gasped and stared at them as if it was the first time she ever saw them.

“Oh my goodness,” she whispered. Pushing herself up to a kneeling position, she wiggled her fingers for a bit before patting herself all along her body. “Oh my goodness!” she said again. “So this is what a human body feels like.”

Things quickly clicked into place for Sunset. “Princess Celestia?” she asked in amazement.

The now-human princess turned to stare at Sunset and then Twilight. “Oh my,” she gasped. “I still have the pictures you gave me, but to actually see you two like this in real life…”

“Is everything alright in here?” asked the real Principal Celestia as she entered the room. “I heard that everyone was coming over to talk again, so Luna and I let ourselves in, but…”

She trailed off when her eyes fell upon the other Celestia, who stared back at her. For several long moments they simply gazed at each other. Then, in an almost synchronized movement, they both pointed a finger (or in Princess Celestia’s case, a rather awkwardly closed fist) at each other.

“You stole my hair!” they cried in unison.

Rainbow Dash snickered and elbowed Flash. “Remind you of anyone?” she asked playfully.

“Shut up,” Flash deadpanned.

After introductions were completed, Twilight herded everyone but Sunset and Princess Celestia out of the room to give them some privacy. For several long minutes they simply sat next to each other on the bed. Sunset twiddled her thumbs, desperately trying to think of something to say.

“So, Twilight lent you her ring,” she finally said simply to break the painful silence.

Princess Celestia nodded. “She felt, as I did, that it would be better if we talked on your terms. I must say, you were not exaggerating when you spoke of SciTwi’s brilliance. To think she would be able to create such an amazing device after only knowing of magic for such a short time.”

“Yeah, she’s something special all right,” Sunset said with a light chuckle. She then swallowed hard. “Princess Celestia, I’m sorry for yelling at you the way I did. I don’t really blame you for anything. I was just shocked and angry, and I took it out on you. I guess that’s the only thing I’m really good at.”

Sunset hung her head in shame, but looked up when Celestia pulled her close for a hug.

“I forgive you Sunset,” she said. “After working as hard as you did to let go of your old ambitions, I can understand why you were so upset.”

Sunset shook her head. “That’s no excuse for what I did.” She struggled to hold back her tears. Now was not the time to start crying again. “Honestly, after I calmed down a bit, I realized that things weren’t nearly as bad as I was making them out to be. It’s just that I’ve been convinced that I didn’t deserve to be a princess for so long now that hearing you say I was one was just too much for me to handle.”

“Have you spoken to your friends about your feelings of unworthiness?” asked Celestia.

“I did, just before you arrived, in fact,” said Sunset. “They helped me see things a little differently. But even so, I’m still not sure if I’m cut out to be a princess. The way Twilight talks about it, it sounds like an unbelievable responsibility, and she doesn’t even have her own kingdom! What if I do decide to go through with it and it turns out I can’t handle it?”

“Sunset, you are far from the first pony to have doubts about being a princess,” said Celestia. “Let me tell you the story of how Luna and I become the rulers of Equestria.”

Sunset felt a jolt of anticipation pass through her. All of the stories she had read about Equestria’s early years had been extremely vague about how Princess Celestia had come to power. It was as if one day she had just appeared out of thin air, and nopony had thought to question it. Sunset didn’t even know how the history books had been revised in order to account for the existence of Princess Luna.

Celestia’s eyes took on a faraway look as she began her tale. “My earliest memories are of living in a cottage in the middle of nowhere with my mother and a father who passed away before my little sister was born. I don’t know where we alicorns originally came from, or why we’re so different from the little ponies. For all I know, Luna and I could truly be the daughters of the goddess Faust. It’s not as if we ever learned our mother’s true name, and at the time it hadn’t mattered. For centuries, she was our entire world. But she was always such a mysterious mare. She would spend hours every day standing outside our cottage simply staring out into the distance, her horn glowing as if she were casting a spell, and her expression was always angry and frustrated. Whenever Luna and I asked her what was wrong, she would always tell us that it was none of our concern, and eventually we simply gave up.”

Celestia’s voice began to crack. “Then one morning we woke up, and mother was nowhere to be found. There had been no warnings or goodbyes, she simply disappeared overnight. To this day, I have no idea what happened, or how she could have…”

Celestia paused, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her hand against her mouth to muffle some soft sobs. Sunset could only stare in amazement. Never could she have imagined the Princess Celestia, a virtual goddess to her subjects, acting so vulnerable.

Sunset thought of Flash, whose father had abandoned his own family in a similar manner, and of Rainbow Dash, who saw her own mother so rarely that for years she had barely felt like she even had one. She wondered how being abandoned like that could be so painful that it could still be felt so keenly after thousands of years.

After a moment, Celestia regained her composure. “Sorry about that. In any case, once we realized that mother wasn’t coming back, we decided to go search for her. So we left our little home, never to return. For many years we wandered in the wilderness, searching for clues that we would never find. Survival was difficult, to say the least. We had yet to gain our cutie marks and fully establish our connections to the sun and the moon, so we were little more than regular ponies with abnormal life-spans. What’s more, much of the lands we traveled across were like the Everfree forest in that the forces of nature completely governed themselves; they weren’t as volatile, but they were still dangerous in their own right. Even in lands that operated normally, there were rarely any pegasi, leaving control of the weather to wild animals that had no care for the precautions we use to avoid death and destruction.

“Every now and then, we’d come across a settlement or town. However, we always kept our distance from these places. Up until then we had never known any other beings besides ourselves, and the little ponies seemed so alien to us, lacking a horn or a pair of wings or both.

“Then one day, without warning, the clouds turned into mashed potatoes that rained gumdrops and the fields became plaid quilts. This was, of course, the beginning of Discords reign, although we ourselves had no idea what was going on, of course. As frightened as we were, however, it was at that time that we began to feel an irresistible pull deep within our hearts compelling us to forge deeper into the madness. I don’t know how much longer we continued to travel, as time itself seemed to be bent and twisted, but eventually everything went back to normal as suddenly as it had all begun. But just when we thought it was all over, the sun and the moon both began to race across the sky, completely out of control. We would later learn that Discord had decided to go torment other lands for awhile, and that this was his idea of a goodbye present for Equestria.

“Strangely, instead of feeling afraid as I should have, I felt angrier than I had ever felt before in my life, as if messing with the sun was somehow a personal and vile insult against me, and it just so happened that Luna felt the same way in regards to the moon. So without even thinking about what I was doing, I closed my eyes and began to channel my magic. Within a minute I felt myself connect with the sun, and for the first time ever, I commanded it to rise.

“When I opened my eyes, the sun was high in the sky and Luna was just lowering the moon under the horizon. The first thing I noticed was that we had both gotten our cutie marks and that our manes and tails had changed from their original pale pink and light blue to what they are today. What’s more, I could feel this incredible power inside of me, as if I could flatten the entire mountain range with my bare hooves.

“It was then that I noticed a small group of little ponies approaching us. They were, of course, the founders of Equestria who, as fate would have it, happened to be nearby to witness what we had done, and before we could flee or anything, they bowed down before us and proclaimed us to be their new rulers.”

“Really, just like that?” asked Sunset.

“They were very impressed with our display of power,” said Celestia. “Plus the fact that we embodied the characteristics of all three tribes provided them with the perfect means to ensure equal representation for all ponies in their new kingdom. In any case, if you think you were upset when you learned that you were to be made a princess, than I was absolutely terrified. My sister and I had been nothing more than homeless vagabonds up until that moment, and now we were being asked to become the rulers of an entire country? What did either of us know about running a government or anything? Were it not for the food, I would have simply grabbed Luna and ran.”

“The food?” Sunset echoed incredulously.

“You have no idea what it’s like to go from surviving on nuts and berries to having grand feasts three times a day,” said Celestia wistfully. “The first time I tasted spiced celery soup, I knew that I could never go back.”

“So what changed your mind about becoming a princess?” Sunset asked.

Celestia smiled. “I simply discovered that I did have what it takes to be a princess. It wasn’t a single big event that convinced me. I just consistently made good decisions that benefited Equestria. After Discord was defeated, I went to the old kingdoms and convinced the ponies that had chosen to remain there to merge their lands with Equestria, making it into what it is today. I negotiated trading relations with our neighboring countries. Whenever our young country was invaded, I helped lead our armies to a swift and decisive victory. Of course I made some mistakes, but I managed to keep them few and far between, and with each new success, my confidence grew until I realized that I was truly meant to be a princess. And I know, Sunset Shimmer, that you have it in you to be an even greater princess than I…that is, if you ever change your mind about being one.”

Sunset thought about it. “Well, I’m a bit more open to the idea,” she admitted. “But I’m still not sure if that’s what I really want for myself.”

“I understand,” said Celestia. “How about this: during your stay in Equestria, you can serve as an “assistant princess” to Twilight. You can accompany her as she performs her duties as a princess and help her in any way you can. This will help you understand what a princess’ work is like and provide you with experience. Then, if you decide that you do wish to accept the mantle of princess, you will be better prepared.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Sunset agreed. “But keep in mind that even if I do decide to become a princess for real, I’m still going to live in this world.”

“But Sunset, do you really think-“

“Look Princess Celestia, my personal feelings aside, I need to stay in this world. The magic here is growing faster every day; just last month we had to deal with an incident in a country overseas, and we still haven’t figure out how it managed to spread that far. Also, there’s still a lot I have to learn about human technology if I want to integrate it with Equestria. You’ve seen what SciTwi’s ‘magitech’ can do; imagine what we could accomplish if we did that on a national scale. I’m sorry, but there’s still too much for me to do here to leave just yet.”

“Fair enough,” Celestia conceded. “Now then, why don’t you let the other me inside?”

It only took Sunset a moment to understand Princess Celestia’s request. Rolling her eyes, she ponied up and used her magic to yank her door open, causing Principal Celestia, who had apparently been leaning against it, to fall to the floor, followed by everyone else. All of them looked sheepish as they picked themselves up.

“Really you guys?” Sunset asked, although she realized that she should have expected this to happen.

“Um, well, we just…” Fluttershy stammered.

“It’s alright, I expected this,” said Princess Celestia. Standing up, she turned to face Principal Celestia and Luna. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you both from the bottom of my heart for taking such good care of Sunset Shimmer this past year,” she said, bowing at the waist.

“There’s no need to thank us,” said Principal Celestia, bowing as well. “It has been wonderful to have Sunset in our lives. Will you be staying for long? If you would like to come over for dinner…”

“Sadly, I’m afraid I must decline,” Princess Celestia said. “Although I trust SciTwi, I’m feeling quite anxious about leaving both my real body and my kingdom in the hooves of an imperfect clone for too long.”

“I understand,” said Principal Celestia. “But if you could spare just half an hour, there’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I heard of you.”

“What would that be?” asked Princess Celestia.

Mrs. Harshwhinny bit back a groan when she heard a knock on her classroom door. When she looked up, she had to suppress an even bigger groan when she saw that it was Principal Celestia, who was supposed to have gone home already. Harshwhinny could only assume that she had come back to dump even more work onto her lap, as usual.

“Principal Celestia, how may I help you?” asked Harshwhinny, standing up.

“I just wanted to drop by and see if you’ve completed the list of students you would like to recommend for the next exchange,” said Celestia.

“I have it right here, as a matter of fact,” said Harshwhinny, opening a desk drawer and retrieving her list, which she handed to Celestia. “I must admit, however, my heart really wasn’t into this task. You know how I feel about this program…”

“It’s helped us make great strides in improving relations between schools,” Celestia insisted. “I hope one day you can see that.”

“Is there anything else you need from me?” asked Harshwhinny, choosing to disregard Celestia’s last comment.

“That’s all for tonight,” said Celestia. “But tomorrow I would like to speak with you about helping with our new distance learning program.”

“Alright then; goodnight Celestia,” said Harshwhinny.

“Goodnight Mrs. Harshwhinny,” said Celestia, turning around and walking out.

As soon as the door was closed, Harshwhinny let out the aggravated groan she had been holding down.

“Of course you would want me to run your latest little project,” she grumbled as she sat back down, glaring daggers at the door Celestia had left through. “Your day isn’t complete without dumping even more work onto my lap.”

“I heard that.”

Jumping in her chair with a startled shriek, Harshwhinny turned to find Celestia glaring down on her, arms folded across her chest.

“Principal Celestia! How did you…I mean, I was just…” Harshwhinny stammered, unable to comprehend how Celestia could have gotten behind her when she had just seen her leave.

“Mrs. Harshwhinny,” Celestia said in a clipped tone. “If you have any issues with how you are being treated, I would appreciate it if you discussed it directly with me in a mature and civilized manner rather than spit and snarl behind my back.”

“Y-Yes Principal Celestia,” Harshwhinny said, quivering beneath Celestia’s stern glare.

Nodding, Celestia once again exited through the door. Once she was gone, Harshwhinny took a deep breath to calm her nerves and began rubbing her temples.

“Don’t tell me we’re getting another freak at this school,” she muttered.

“Mrs. Harshwhinny!” Celestia’s voice came again, louder and more severe than before. This time, Harshwhinny was so shocked that she actually fell out of her chair. Looking up, she once again saw Celestia glaring down on her.

“I thought that I made it clear that we would never refer to our magically enabled students as ‘freaks’ under any circumstances,” Celestia said fiercely.

Harshwhinny could only stammer as Celestia walked away. This time, she paused at the door to look back at Harshwhinny. “Don’t let it happen again; remember, I’m always watching you,” she said before walking out.

The moment the door closed, the other door to the room that adjoined Harshwhinny’s classroom opened, and against all odds, Celestia poked her head through to glare at Harshwhinny yet again.

“I’m always watching you,” she repeated before retreating back through the door.

As if that weren’t enough, one of her desk drawers opened up by itself, and the upper half of Pinkie Pie’s torso popped out to glare down at Harshwhinny as well. “Always!” she hissed, giving Harshwhinny the “I’ve got my eyes on you” gesture several times before retreating back inside, the drawer closing itself behind her.

Unable to take it anymore, Harshwhinny simply curled up in a ball and whimpered.

Unbeknownst to her, just outside her classroom, two identical women were sharing a laugh.

The sendoff for Sunset was far less emotional than the last one had been. She simply went through another round of goodbyes before following Twilight through the portal.

Sunset immediately noticed there was something different about the portal, but it spat her out before she could contemplate it. Picking herself up off the ground, she dusted herself off, pausing for a moment to examine the wings that were now a permanent part of her body. Nodding in acceptance, she turned to face Princess Celestia, who stood there waiting for her.

“So did your clone cause any trouble while you were away?” Sunset asked playfully.

“On the contrary, she actually managed to finish all of my paperwork before I got back,” Celestia said happily. Turning to Twilight, she said, “You need to lend me that ring of yours more often.”

Sunset laughed, but then her thoughts turned back to the mirror. “By the way, did you do anything to the portal while I was gone?” she asked.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Of course not; why do you ask?” she inquired.

“Well, it’s just that going through it seemed slower and smoother than it did before,” Sunset admitted.

“Really?” asked Twilight. “I didn’t notice any difference.”

Sunset scratched her head. “Also, I can’t be sure, but I think I saw something when I was halfway through,” she said.

“Oh really, what was it?” asked Celestia.

Sunset squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to remember. “I can’t be sure, but I think it looked a little like a castle.”

Opening her eyes, she saw that Celestia’s mouth had turned up in that knowing smile that Sunset knew and loathed so well.

“Well now, that is interesting,” Celestia said lightly.

Sunset frowned, sensing something amiss. “What’s going on Celestia?” she asked.

“There’s no point in asking me,” Celestia answered as she turned to trot away. “After all, it’s not my mirror.”

As Sunset followed her, she thought about pressing for answers, but decided that it could wait. Whatever changes came her way, she knew that she would be ready for them.

Author's Note

Now for a word on my upcoming fics:

Some of you suggested that I should write a prequel to this story. Well, I've decided to do exactly that. Truth be told, I've come to regret writing this story first for fear of how much I may have given away. But what's done is done. In the future, be on the lookout for my own version of the fourth Equestria Girls movie (and no, it has nothing to do with Secrets of the Everfree); a story involving Crystal Prep; another focusing on SciTwi; and some shorter, lighter stories anywhere in between. Provided that these are successful, I'll then start on some sequels that I hope will blow your mind. I'm also going to try and write some stories that involve actual ponies.

One last thing: my apologies if anyone took offense at how I portrayed Harshwhinny.

That's all for now; thanks for everything!