“Dear Princess Celestia,”
Sunset Shimmer let out a dreamy sigh as she scrawled out the greeting in their two-way diary. Her quill floated lazily through the air in her telekinetic grip, scribbling little hearts on every ‘i’.
“I’m happy to report that the mission was a success. These podunk ponies have been feuding for so long that they can’t even remember why they were fighting. They all refused to listen to reason, so, using the authority you granted me, I’ve annexed their land in the name of the crown, and I plan to set it up so both families are relocated to opposite ends of Equestria. After all, I know there were some sparsely populated areas you wanted to encourage settlers towards, and this place would make for a great ski resort. I don’t even know why they were attached to this frozen wasteland. This way, everypony wins.”
At the very least, it certainly felt like the right solution. There weren't really any other options, were there? Princess Celestia had allowed Sunset to exercise crown authority on a limited basis during her missions, and she felt it a mark of pride to be trusted with such a great responsibility. Sunset always worried about whether she was going too far, but she had to believe that the Princess’s trust was well-placed.
“Unless there’s another mission you have for me while I’m in the area, I’ll be returning to Canterlot soon. I look forward to seeing you and drinking tea with you as I tell you everything I’ve learned. <3”
Sunset let out a long sigh and walked away from her desk, dragging her diary through the air behind her. She flopped onto the dirty straw bed of the hovel she was staying in and buried her face in her pillow.
It made for a suitable mission report, but that wasn’t all she wanted to say to the alicorn princess.
Sunset giggled and rolled over, raising her quill to the page as the diary floated above her.
“Oh, Celestia, the tea you make is the finest in the world, but rather than this dingy teacup, I’d rather taste its sweetness directly from your lips. Our twin souls are destined to be as one, dancing together in brilliant radiance as the day wanes and you hold that celestial orb low in the sky, so that our moment may last forever.”
“What absolute dreck,” Sunset muttered, cheeks burning. There was no danger of Princess Celestia actually reading any of it, of course. The message wouldn’t be sent until she signed it with her name. This was just a game, a fantasy to indulge in. She would pour her heart onto the pages and toy with the idea of actually baring her soul to Princess Celestia, only to erase it all and hide those feelings away once more.
“The first time I saw you lower the sun—when I was but a filly—it sparked something in me. Suddenly I knew who I was, and I knew that I was destined to be by your side. You took me in as a student, but as I enter my fifteenth year, I know I am a filly no longer. I have a dream, sometimes. In it, I am tall and beautiful and majestic, just like you, with a set of wings to match. My mane burns with the fire and fury of the sun itself, and we sit in thrones side by side. You make a small joke, I laugh, then we touch our horns together and our power rules over all the stars in the heavens.”
Sunset groaned, her face burning. It was dumb, she knew. Princess Celestia was an immortal alicorn who had lived for over a thousand years, and Sunset was just a kid with a crush. Sure, Sunset was special—nopony else was Princess Celestia’s personal student, after all—but the Princess had students before Sunset, and she would have students again after. As much as Sunset loathed to admit it, she probably wasn’t the best student Celestia had ever had. There was no way Princess Celestia would ever think of her as an equal.
Growling, Sunset threw her pillow at the ceiling and wrote so hard she almost snapped her quill.
“I love you, Princess Celestia. There, I said it. And I also hate you. If I had fallen in love with any other pony at the academy, they would be going out with me right now. I’m at the top, so of course I could pick anypony I wanted, but you’re above it all. The top of the food chain. The Princess. Nopony could possibly stand at your level. Do you even see us all from up there? I know you saw me, saw greatness in me. I know you want me to do something, even if you won’t tell me what. Please, raise me up, look me in the eyes, and we can do it together! What are you scared of? What am I scared of? I, Sunset Shimmer, can become the pony who is worthy to be your bride.”
Stabbing the final period, Sunset dropped the diary onto the bed and it snapped shut. She sighed, her anger draining away. It was a stupid exercise. She was just torturing herself. She had always dreamed of things far grander than the average pony. It only made sense she would shoot for the impossible in the realm of love as well.
In any case, it was time she scrapped this rubbish and finished her actual report.
Sunset sat up, but as she turned to retrieve the book, it flashed with a yellow light.
That was impossible, right? That light meant the message had been sent, but there was no way it could have…
Sunset’s eyes widened, and her heart began thundering in her chest. She had written her own name in the last paragraph. That wasn’t a signature though, there’s no way it should have counted. Why would anyone enchant something with such an obvious design flaw?
Her hooves trembling, Sunset opened the diary back up. A small dot in the corner marked that it had been sent. There was no way to take it back. Even if she tore the page to pieces and burned it, the copy would still exist in Celestia’s diary.
Sunset fired up her own horn, frantically scanning the intricate weaves of magic that made up the enchantment on the diary. There had to be some sort of loophole, right? Some sort of way to take it all back.
If there was one, Sunset wasn’t skilled enough at picking apart the enchantment to find it.
It was simple, then. Celestia might have stepped outside of her quarters for a moment. All Sunset had to do was make it all the way to Canterlot in the next five minutes and destroy the diary.
Sunset smacked herself in the face with a hoof. She was being stupid. There had to be some other way she could attempt to salvage this catastrophe.
Biting her lip, Sunset quickly began scribbling on another page.
“Ugh, sorry about that. One of the villagers snuck in and nicked my diary while I was writing the report, and apparently decided to conjure up some gross fantasy about us. Please disregard everything on the previous page. Your faithful student, Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset stared as the diary flashed again, then after several moments of silence save for the blood rushing through her veins, she forced herself to take a deep breath. That was a good excuse. It was believable, and delivered in a calm and non-panicking manner that gave it an extra air of credibility.
Although it was still written with Sunset’s horn. Crap.
Maybe Princess Celestia wouldn’t be able to tell the difference?
Even as she hoped for something so pathetic, the idea made her a little sad—that Princess Celestia wouldn’t even recognize the horn strokes of her prized pupil.
The diary flashed again, this time vibrating slightly. This was it. She was doomed.
She could always run away, disappear, and never speak to Princess Celestia again. If she never even checked the page, in her mind's eye it could say whatever she wanted it to, as long as she refused to face reality. She could still hold onto her hopes and dreams.
Her eyes filling with tears, Sunset slowly turned the page.
“We need to talk.”
Sunset’s eyes snapped open, and she drew in a sharp breath.
A loud voice chimed over a speaker system somewhere. “We will be arriving in Canterlot Station shortly. Please have your luggage ready and disembark in an orderly fashion.”
Twilight looked up from the newspaper she was reading, then folded it and set it aside. “Oh, you’re awake. Good timing. You, uh, doing alright, Sunset?”
Sunset yawned, rubbing at her eyes with a hoof. “Yeah, I’m fine, I guess. I just… had a bad dream, that’s all.”
Twilight smiled, and put a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “Relax. Princess Celestia has been looking forward to seeing you again for such a long time now. She misses you a bunch, and I think the both of you need this reunion.”
“I know that, Twilight, all too well. I’m here after all, aren’t I? But... a lot happened between us.”
“She’s not as scary as you might think,” Twilight said with a giggle. “I mean, I’m the last pony who has a right to say something like that, but still, I’ve learned my lessons. Did I ever tell you about the time I freaked out because I didn’t have a friendship report to give her?”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”
Twilight blushed, rubbing at the back of her head. “Well, it all started when…”
As Twilight launched into her anecdote, the two of them packed their bags and started making their way off the train. It was an interesting story to be sure, but Sunset found herself tuning the princess out, her thoughts focusing inward instead.
That dream was filled with far too many painful memories. It was only natural, of course. This would be the first time she’d be seeing Princess Celestia in over five years.
Celestia had been cool and stern when Sunset had returned from her trip, and at first had refused to even address Sunset’s faux pas, trying to focus the conversation around Sunset’s mission instead. Any other filly would have slunk away, cried into her pillow all night, and let the both of them pretend it had never happened when the morning came around.
But Sunset had been stubborn, proud, foolish. She demanded that Celestia face her and not ignore the issue. When pressed, Celestia rejected her politely, laying out a number of rather obvious reasons as to why an adult could not return the romantic feelings of a child.
It quickly devolved into a shouting match. It was hard to remember what exactly was said anymore, but it ended with Sunset storming off in tears, swearing that she would become a princess on her own so that Celestia would find her worthy.
And everypony knew just how well that had turned out.
Sunset sighed and shook her head, trying to clear away the embarrassment that set her cheeks aflame. No matter the circumstances under which she had left, it was nice to be back in Canterlot again. The old streets were all too familiar underneath her hooves, and she yearned to wander around the city, visiting street stalls and searching for old hangouts.
That would all have to wait, of course. She couldn’t run away any longer.
Sunset took a deep breath, raised her hoof, and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” came an all too familiar regal voice from inside.
As the door swung open, Sunset stopped dead in her tracks. Celestia sat at a table on the veranda, her figure framed by the setting sun streaming through her ethereal mane. She was just as radiant and beautiful as Sunset remembered.
Swallowing and lowering her head to hide a blush, Sunset mumbled, “Princess, before I say anything else, I want you to know that I am so, so sor—”
A golden telekinetic grip lifted Sunset’s head up to meet Celestia’s eyes, cutting her off. Celestia chuckled, and shook her head. “I did not invite you here to hear your apologies, Sunset Shimmer. I invited you here because I wanted to see you. I do not need to hear your words. Your heart speaks clearly enough.”
Sunset opened her mouth to object, but found her lip trembling, and she realized she was on the verge of tears. “I…”
“Ssh.” Celestia pulled out one of the seats at the table with magic, and beckoned towards it. “Come, have some tea with me.”
“Right.” Sunset swallowed, then sat down at the table.
Celestia filled their teacups, and the heavy scent of cinnamon filled the air. The familiar odor sparked a thousand wisps of nostalgia, of too many evenings spent sipping tea as they discussed magic theory or politics together.
“My, how you’ve grown, Sunset. In some ways, I hardly recognize you,” Celestia murmured, taking a sip of her tea.
Sunset closed her eyes for a moment, rooting through her psyche to get over her nervousness and regain her charisma. “Funny; you don’t look like you’ve changed at all,” Sunset said with a weak grin.
Celestia giggled. “Appearances can be deceiving, Sunset. The mare you once knew was crushed under a thousand years of loneliness and driven by a desperation to do everything she could to stop what was coming. In that, I’m afraid I may have failed you. But now my sister has returned to me, the kingdom is safe, our greatest enemy is now a close friend, and I have Twilight Sparkle to solve problems I never could. It’s easy to forget how much a burden weighs until it has been lifted from you.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. She took a closer look at the ancient alicorn and found that, beneath Celestia’s radiance, she looked younger, more vibrant, more alive than Sunset could ever remember seeing her before. “Princess… I’m sorry, I never even considered that you—”
“And there you go with those apologies again,” Celestia said with a sigh, clicking her tongue. “And please, just refer to me as Celestia. I do not wish for you to treat me as a ruler, nor as a teacher, but rather as a friend.”
Sunset bit her lip, frowning as she stared into her tea. “You say that, but… P—I mean, Celestia, there’s still so much I need to learn from you about the magic of friendship. You tried to teach me so much more, but I wasn’t willing to listen back then, because I was an arrogant fool.”
“No,” Celestia said, and sipped at her own cup. “You are learning well enough on your own, what with your friends in the human world, and with Princess Twilight to turn to should you need assistance. She’s kept me well informed of your progress. Indeed, as I understand it, you have another Twilight that you’ve been teaching yourself. Fascinating. I’d love to meet her.”
“But—”
“And,” Celestia continued, setting her teacup down on the table and lifting the tea pot once more, “I am tired of being a teacher. With Luna, Twilight, and Cadance, I no longer have to be in charge of everything all at once. I can sit back and relax. I am tired of imparting my wisdom to the younger generation. Figure it out yourself for a change.”
Sunset stared at Celestia for a few moments, blinking several times before she burst out laughing. “You know, I was expecting this reunion to involve a few more tearful apologies and hugs.”
Celestia grinned. “See, there’s the wit I remember. I’ve had enough of those too. Well, almost.” With a soft sigh, Celestia stood up, made her way around the table, and pulled Sunset into a tight embrace. “I’ve missed you so much, Sunset Shimmer. Welcome home.”
Sunset felt her eyes brimming with tears, but she flicked them away with magic and smiled, burying her face in Celestia’s mane. “I missed you too. I’m glad to be back.”
Celestia pulled out of the hug and ruffled Sunset’s mane with a hoof. Behind her, through no intervention of Celestia’s, the moon rose into the sky. “There. Now then, tea parties are wonderful and all, but a lot has changed since you left. How would you like to meet my sister?”
Sunset grinned. “I’d love to.”
Sunset let out a groan as she slumped into the plush bed of her former chambers. The room had been cleaned and redecorated in the years since she once resided here, of course, but it still felt nostalgic to be sleeping here again.
More than just nostalgic, it felt… right.
With a giggle, Sunset rolled onto her side, staring out at the night sky. Princess Luna had been an absolute delight. Rather than imperious and majestic, she was a laugh riot, if a bit old fashioned. Sunset suspected she would get along well with Pinkie Pie, given the chance. To her considerable surprise, Sunset and the three princesses—Twilight had joined in later—had embarked on a rather spectacular contest of ‘who could pull the biggest prank on the royal guards.’
The guards, for their part, seemed used to it.
It was amazing. The Celestia that Sunset had once known would have never let her mask down like this, to do something so uncouth and base. And the Sunset that she once was would have never let herself be distracted by such frivolity.
But enough regrets. That was all in the past now, and now that she had reconciled with her former teacher, she could drive the final nail into the coffin that contained her old shame. Sunset Shimmer was a reborn mare, free to look forward to the future, to build new friendships and rekindle old ones.
Sunset raised a hoof into the air, staring past it. In some part of her mind's eye, she could see fingers instead. It really was amazing. She’d spent so long in the human world, it almost seemed an innate part of her. But being here, being home again, and her reunion made her think she might finally be able to pick her life back up where she had left it off.
No, not where she left off. Something entirely new. With Celestia’s new outlook on life, it was like getting to know a whole new pony. Somepony fun, and playful, and charming, and sometimes even bashful. While the majestic alicorn ruler was still there, it was now so much softer, tempered with a healthy zest for life.
She tried to think back on just what had driven her misguided youthful attraction. It all seemed so distant and silly now. Sunset had been in love with the idea of power. Celestia was the poniification of that power, so Sunset had been in love with her. It was twisted and dark logic, but it had made sense to her as a hormone riddled teenager.
Sunset didn’t know a lot about love. Flash had been a… a mistake, on multiple levels. But she knew better now, at least in theory. Love was something that required patience and understanding. It required common ground and sacrifice. It required forgiveness. All things Sunset hadn’t been quite capable of back then.
With a sigh, Sunset rolled over and buried her face into her pillow. Both of them had changed so much over the past couple years. Ponies truly were capable of amazing things. Between the two of them, they...
Sunset’s heart fluttered, and she felt herself swoon a little. Celestia really was—
A chill ran down Sunset’s spine and she sat bolt upright.
“No,” Sunset muttered to herself. “It was just a childhood crush. I got over it. I’m an adult now.”
So you are, her own voice whispered in her mind. And so is she. It might actually be possible this time.
“No no no no no,” Sunset said, shaking her head furiously. “It’s not even worth considering.”
But it was no use. Try as she might, thoughts began to flood Sunset’s mind, memories of the hopes and dreams she had carried in her infatuation. But they were quickly overwritten with new ones. No desires for power or control—just of simple walks in the park next to the ancient alicorn, listening to Celestia tell stories of her past. Snuggling up together under a blanket, reading books that Sunset brought from the human world. Holding hands as Sunset showed Celestia around Canterlot High, and then the amusement park, where the Princess could experience her first roller coaster.
Sunset let out a wail, banging her head against the wall. No. She couldn’t do this. She wasn’t going to let her idiocy ruin everything.
Not again.
If there was one thing Sunset was good at, it was running away from her problems.
“Good afternoon,” Rarity said as she slid into the seat across from Sunset, setting down her lunch tray.
“Hey,” Sunset mumbled, yawning and looking up. “How’s it going?”
“Quite well, darling. I’ve just had a wonderful new idea for a fashion line, though I haven’t even gotten started on the sketches yet. How about you?”
Sunset shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” She grabbed an apple off of her own tray and bit into it.
Rarity pursed her lips. “Sunset… look, I’ve prodded you gently about this a few times now, but since you’re not saying anything, I’m going to have to push further. You’ve seemed really out of it ever since you came back from Equestria a month ago. You finally reconnected with your old teacher again, right? If something’s bothering you, I’d love to hear it. You know this already, but your friends will always be there to help when you need it.”
Sunset grimaced and looked away. “It’s nothing, really. I’m just having a hard time in some of my classes, that’s all.”
“Is that so?” Rarity crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “You’re a genius, Sunset, and a horse besides. Do you even care about your classes here?”
Sunset let out a long sigh. Rarity was right, of course. But this was one her tightest secrets. She’d never even told Twilight. “Okay, fine, something happened there, but… I don’t think getting into it will help. There’s nothing I can do.”
Rarity frowned, tapping her finger against her chin, then her eyes lit up. “It’s love, isn’t it? Is it Flash?”
“What? No, of course not. The whole Flash thing is done and over with, there’s nothing more to say there.”
Rarity leaned closer, her chin resting daintily on her fingers, “But it is love?”
Sunset smacked herself in the face with her palm. She had walked right into that one. “Maybe it is. Please, don’t make a big deal out of this, okay? It’ll never work out. I just have to get over it on my own.”
“The heart isn’t so easily tamed, Sunset,” Rarity said, wagging a finger. “But a forbidden love, perhaps? I wonder who could…” Rarity’s eyes grew wide, and her cheeks colored. “Oh my, I can see why you’d be torn over something like that.”
Sunset groaned and slammed her head into the table. Was it really that obvious? Well, there was only one pony she went back to Equestria to meet. It wasn’t that hard to put two and two together.
“I had a crush on Princess Celestia when I was a filly,” Sunset mumbled, not looking up. “It was just a dumb, one-sided infatuation that led to our relationship falling apart and my eventual defection to the dark side.”
Rarity reached out a hand and cupped it over Sunset’s. “So you saw her again, and realized that some part of you still loved her.”
Sunset nodded, her face still mashed against the table. “I ran back here as soon as I could, and I’ve been avoiding all contact. I can’t bear to push myself on her like that again.”
“Oh, Sunset,” Rarity said, squeezing her hand. “Do you really think the situation is the same, or that things would end the same way? I’m not saying that she would return your feelings, but if you talk to her, well—you’ve changed so much. I know you could handle it.”
Sunset gritted her teeth, untangled her hand from Rarity’s, and pushed herself up off the table. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’m scared, okay? Even though I know it’s not possible, a part of me still wishes it were. If that question is never answered, can’t I keep pretending?”
Rarity drummed her fingers across the table. “Come now, is Sunset Shimmer really the type of person who would avoid facing something just because she was scared?”
“Actually yeah, it’s kind of my modus operandi,” Sunset said, rubbing at the back of her head. “I know I’ve been able to step up to the plate when you girls needed me, but there have been way too many times in my life where I just ran away, or foisted responsibility, or blamed someone else.”
“Maybe.” Rarity shrugged and picked up her fork. “Well, it’s up to you. I can’t force you to do anything, but if you need any help at all, you know where you can turn.”
Sunset took a deep breath, and shook her head. “Thanks, Rarity. It means a lot, really.”
“Mmmhmm. So, about that fashion line I mentioned…”
Sneaking into Canterlot Castle was surprisingly easy.
For reasons unknown even to herself, Sunset didn’t want anypony to know about her visit. As such, she had snuck through Twilight’s palace in the dead of night and made her way to the capitol shrouded in disguise. Lucky for her, she had been given the spellcode to the castle’s teleport wards during her last visit, and it didn’t seem like they’d bothered to update it.
After a few short hops through rooms in the castle she knew were likely to be empty, save for one that had contained a rather terrified maid, Sunset teleported into the tea room where she had met Celestia a month before.
Celestia sat there once more, staring off the balcony into the setting sun. “Good, Sunset, you’re finally here. We need to talk.”
Sunset grimaced, wiping the sweat off her brow. “You knew I was coming?”
Celestia turned around, and Sunset winced. The immortal alicorn loomed over her, her face every bit the mask of the aloof ruler, eyes alight with distant omnipotence. “I knew you were coming the moment you stepped through the portal. There is no way for you to hide from me.”
“That’s…” Sunset gritted her teeth, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn’t afraid. “You’re right, we do need to talk. Please, let me say my peace, alright?”
Celestia’s face remained impassive, but she nodded ever so slightly.
Sunset scraped her hoof across the floor several times, then swallowed all of her courage. “When I was just a filly, I had a crush on you. You know that. I admired you, envied you, wanted to be you. I had a delusion—a dream that the only way to be like you was to be your lover. I’m sure I had some sort of logic for it at the time, but my feelings were misguided and empty. I know that now. You were right to reject me, and I’m sorry to have burdened you with that sort of imposition.”
Celestia gave the slightest of nods once more. “I’m glad you can reflect on this and acknowledge your mistakes.”
Her heart pounded in her chest, the adrenaline in her veins screamed to just pack up and run away, but Sunset forced herself to keep speaking. “But I’m afraid it seems some mistakes aren’t so easily forgotten. Celestia, you’re a beautiful pony. My feelings as a child may have been misaimed, and I don’t claim to have gained any great wisdom that suddenly makes them okay now, but seeing you again made me realize that they had never left me.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
“Seeing you last month… it felt like I was seeing you, who you really were, for the first time. And, I dunno, I liked what I saw. Maybe I’m just a sucker for older mares or something,” Sunset muttered, coughing as her cheeks burned. “I know it’s wrong of me to impose on you like this yet again, but please, I just wanted to get this off my chest.”
Taking a deep breath, Sunset looked up into Celestia’s eyes. “I think I’ve fallen in love with you again, Princess Celestia. It’s driving me crazy, because the idea of being with you sounds amazing, but I know it’s not possible. It hurts, so please, just reject me so that I can get it over with, and we can start over again as friends.”
The sun slipped below the horizon, and a soft darkness enshadowed Celestia’s face. “You want me to reject you?”
Sunset winced. “The heart wants what it wants, but I know the difference between reality and fantasy. All I’m searching for now is closure.”
Celestia snorted. “Pathetic.”
Sunset’s eyes went wide. “What?”
“Forget me for a moment, Sunset,” Celestia said, taking a step forward, casting a shadow over her. “If you had given that speech to anyone else you know, some random mare you were interested in—Blossomforth, let’s say—do you think she would go out with you?”
“I…” Sunset frowned, then rubbed at her chin with a hoof. “Well, I mean, obviously what I was just saying was specifically tailored to you, and would sound crazy without that context.”
Celestia rolled her eyes. “So if you wanted to date Blossomforth, what would you say to her?”
Sunset grit her teeth. “I told you, I just want—”
“Humor me.”
A part of Sunset wanted to snap back, the part of her that always resented this sort of patronizing teaching, but Sunset took a deep breath and calmed herself. She had already put herself out there. She could at least let Celestia speak in kind, however roundabout it was.
“I’d tell her I thought she was cute, that I’d love to get to know her some more, and ask her out for coffee sometime, or maybe a nice picnic. Although to be honest, Blossomforth is a little too vapid for me, not really my type.”
Celestia nodded. “So why haven’t you asked the same from me?”
“Because I…” Sunset sighed. “Because I still see you as a teacher, as somepony above me. Not as an equal.”
Celestia nodded again and put a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “I’m not trying to crush your self-esteem or anything, Sunset, but it’s important that you see these things for yourself. Even now, even after I said I’m tired of being a teacher, here I am, doling out another lesson.” She chuckled. “You are quite the trying student, Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset stepped forward into the embrace, burying her face into Celestia’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I really am an idiot.”
They held each other for a time, the moon rising higher into the air as it bathed them in its silvery glow.
Celestia pulled away from the hug, turning around to sit down and stare up at the sky. “Just why would you want to be with a mare like me, anyway? You know I’m over a thousand years your senior, Sunset.”
“I don’t care about that,” Sunset quickly countered, then coughed, blushing. “But, I mean, besides all the obvious reasons, you’re amazing, you’re just, well, a pony with a good heart. And I’d love to get to know that mundane, ordinary side of you a little better.”
“Really?” Celestia tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “If we were dating, just what would you want to do?”
“Ah, well…” Sunset rubbed at the back of her head with a hoof. “Go places with you, I guess? Do stuff. Not adventures or anything grand like that. We could see a play together. Watch a hoofball game. Maybe you could go in disguise so you don’t get mobbed or anything. Or we could tailgate. Well, it’s not so much a thing here, but it’s a human tradition with their sports games that I think is pretty fun. Speaking of, I’d love to show you the human world. It’s not perfect, but there’s some really great things there.”
“I see.” Celestia’s eyes sparkled, and her smile held a hint of mirth as she looked down at Sunset. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it for myself, in truth. Now, tell me, Sunset, from my end. What would a pony like me get from dating you? And no self-deprecation.”
Sunset opened her mouth, but her voice caught in her throat. Her redemption and subsequent humility had left her hesitant to speak her own praises, but it wasn’t like she didn’t know herself. “Well for starters, I’m smoking hot.”
Celestia threw back her head and laughed. “Is that so? Well, there’s far more to a relationship than physical attraction. What else do you have to offer?”
“I don’t,” Sunset said, shaking her head. “I don’t know a lot about relationships, but they’re not a transaction. It’s not about what two ponies can offer each other. They’re about forming a connection, a bond. It’s the kind of thing that takes effort, fueled by a spark of attraction, nurtured by tender care and compatible personalities. The only way to know if something like that can blossom is to try.”
“I see.” Celestia stared down at her for several long moments, before she turned her head away. “I’m not just old, Sunset. I have seen kingdoms rise and fall. I have known so many wonderful ponies in my lifetime, and I have watched them all wither and die. I have, on some occasions, allowed myself to find love. Brief as they have been, I devoted myself to each relationship as fully as I could in the moment, and I treasure the memories I shared with those ponies now and forever.”
“I’m glad to hear you were able to find bits of happiness,” Sunset said, smiling weakly. “I’m afraid I can’t understand what your eternity has been like for you.”
Celestia turned back to Sunset, the silver moonlight playing across her face. The mystical shimmer of her mane was gone, replaced with a dull pink, and the alicorn’s face was worn and ragged, dark bags under her eyes along with quite a few sets of wrinkles.
“Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia breathed. “Perhaps this may drive my point home. I’m old, Sunset.”
Sunset swallowed. “I don’t care. I don’t know you as well as I’d like, and but I know your heart is still as bright as the sun, and I’d love a chance to help it shine.”
Celestia’s smiled wide, and the luster bled back into her form. She leaned down and offered Sunset a nuzzle before pulling back and scratching at her chin with a hoof. “In that case… Would you like to get coffee with me sometime, Sunset Shimmer? I won’t promise you anything, but the world can be quite surprising. It might just be worth a shot.”
Sunset’s breath caught in her throat. “I…” She stopped, swallowed, rubbed at her eyes, and tried again.
“Yeah, sure.”
Author's Note
Originally an entry in the January 2016 writeoff "Look, I can Explain".
Thanks to Kalan and Dubs Rewatcher for editing, and thanks to Heir-of-Rick for the coverart.
Honestly, the biggest reason this exists is because, despite the massive popularity of Twilestia as a ship, I don't think I've ever seen any fics that attempt a Sunlestia romance.
This could probably use another 20k words or so to really explore the potential relationship dynamics, but eh, I'm lazy. Someone else do it.
