We're not so Different

As the minutes turned into hours Starlight and Sunset spent the majority of their time just chatting and getting to know one another as they waited for Shining Armor to show up with the baby. Sunset had decided to take her time to get to know Starlight first since she seemed to know the least about her thus far and Starlight spent quite a bit of time detailing her past in a very somber manner trying to stay upbeat and positive but clearly showing her disdain for the mare she'd once been due to her own bitter and lack of try for fear of failure or rejection.  She recounted how she'd gotten her cutie mark, Sunset having taking particular interest since Starlight used to have a bias against them.

"So wait...explain your special talent to me again..." Sunset said in astonishment

"I have the ability to harness pure starlight...of course I can only really do it at night  and I have to focus super hard but once I do it my magic reverses get shot through the roof! If i concentrate hard enough I can reach alicorn levels of magic but...well, my body can't handle it...that's why I was trying to get all those cutie marks..."

"I don't understand..."

"Well more specifically the cutie mark of an alicorn...when Twilight came to my village I was ecstatic! I knew I needed her cutie mark so I could reach my full potential...I would've used that power to become an alicorn princess...have my own kingdom...a kingdom where everypony could be the same and live in 'true harmony' like I thought I wanted back then." Starlight snorted in annoyance at her old way of thinking and flipped her mane. "I was...not right in the head...I felt so isolated and driven to make a change that I let my ambition drive me to do things i wish i never did... I made ponies give up who they were and what made them special...I denied them any kind of real happiness because I wasn't happy myself...I often feel like I don't deserve this cutie mark." Starlight admitted somberly and sighed looking at her flank . "You know I've thought about just using that spell I learned to take off my own cutie mark? but well then...I wouldn't be able to get it back unless somepony else cast the spell and put it back..."

"Starlight you shouldn't think like that...no pony should want to get rid of their cutie mark..." Sunset said her ears folding back as she sighed and looked at her own cutie mark. "But...I do understand though."

"You do?" Starlight asked

"Yeah...I got my cutie mark not too long after i became Celestia's student during the summer sun celebration.  I was enthralled with her and her magic, I wanted to learn everything I could about her and her connection to the sun...heheh lo and behold that very same day while I'm practicing a new spell in the flower gardens, Celestia was setting the sun right around where I was and with me being so close to where the Sun was, I felt so much magic pouring into me at once I made the spell i was casting far stronger than I wanted and at first the field of phoenix flowers looked amazing but the spell got too strong and quickly they all caught on fire..."

"Whoa..."

"Yeah I know right? So then I'm freaking out, Celestia teleports in, sweeps all the fire away and had left the sun in it's set position  and used her magic to level out mine until I calmed down from the intense amount of power rushing through me...she told me that I had a very special gift that was much like hers but a lot wilder. I can harness energy from the sun via the sunlight but I can't take in too much otherwise i'll burst into flames and be covered in third degree burns for the rest of my life if it doesn't kill me."

"Geez..."

"Yep and then she pointed to my flank and I saw my cutie mark..."

"Was your reaction similar to Twilight's?" Starlight asked knowingly.

Sunset blushed as she thought back to her younger self as a filly bouncing around the scorched flower garden  on the hillside of Canterlot chanting 'yes' over and over to the amusement of a grinning princess Celestia. "Pft...No." She turned her nose up.

"You know Applejack trained me well to tell when somepony is lying." Starlight said smugly as she gave Sunset a knowing smirk.

"Whatever...point is, I was excited and I know she was proud but...for some reason I couldn't shake the feeling she felt only a slight bit disappointed, I always thought maybe it was because I torched the gardened and it was a section she really liked but she always told me it wasn't about that and that she felt nothing but happiness for me..."

"I sense there is a 'But' in there..."

"Yeah...but...I  found out after I left that she got a new student and one that was destined to become a princess...'the one I've been waiting for' she said...I was so hurt...I felt used...and I took my hate out on innocent people...I couldn't use my magic there so I just resorted to making life a living Hell for everyone I felt lower than me...and back then...I felt EVERYONE was lower than me...and I was cunning and underhanded so I always got away wit the things I did..."

"Whoa..."

"Yeah...you name it I did it...blackmail...extortion...bribery...theft...assault...verbal abuse...cruel pranks and recording ones humiliation and exposing it...the list is as long as Starswirls beard..." Sunset downcast her eyes and sighed. "When Twilight beat me...for awhile I always looked at my cutie mark and wondered 'what does this mean anymore?' Is it worth anything anymore? I have no magic in this world...why should I bare a cutie mark anymore...what special talent do I have in this world now?" She smiled a bit then.  "But it was when the girls took me in and made me their friend...and i made them my friends was when I truly understood what my cutie mark meant...the fire of the sun can be dangerous and destructive...but it can also be majestic and pure...two sides of one great whole...I started out on the golden path but drifted into the red path...and Twilight helped guide me back on the right track."

"She really is amazing...I'm still surprised she took it so easy on me when we fought though..."

"She fought you? Sheesh she just blasted me with a rainbow..."

"Really? I mean I did kind of cheat and put her in a time-loop but she was holding her power back quite a bit..."

"But quite a bit you mean...??"

"So much if she'd gone a fraction of her full power she'd have completely wiped me off the face of Equestria..."

"Oh...so...how did she stop you anyway?"

"She showed me an alternate timeline that was just....nothing...nothing but dust...everything was gone...not a pony in sight but me and Twilight and Spike was there too...would you believe that even seeing that I was still in denial that Twilight and her friends were important to the timeline?"

"Yeah that sounds pretty extreme...I mean, first rule of time travel, smallest change causes big change...which is more often than not disastrous..."

"I think somewhere in the back of my sick little head back then I knew that...but didn't care..."

"I can relate...when I was plotting my coup of Equestria never once did think 'hey, celestia has as an army...and so does Cadence...and the other elements of harmony actually have their elements there with them to use and there was nothing really stopping Twilight from following me into Equestria...not to mention these humans probably won't be able to hold their own in a fight.' so I was willing to get innocent people killed but didn't care as long as I got what I wanted...only after Twilight shot me down did i see how truly wrong I was...all that power corrupted me and turned me into something ugly....something no one would look at and see as a princess as they saw Celestia...Luna...Cadence....or Twilight...I wanted so bad to be a princess and rule that I forgot why I truly wanted to in the first place and went on a mad power trip...but I'm thankful for that...if only for the fact that I know I'll never fall again now that I found the magic of friendship..."

"I know the feeling...when Twilight extended her hoof to me...I didn't know whether to take it or not...could I do it? Doom all of Equestria by denying Twilight her friendship? In that moment I thought to myself...'what would Sunburst think of you if he saw you now' and that's when I finally gave in-"

"Wait whoa...Sunburst..."

"Yes?"

"I...Have a cousin with that name..."

"Really? Well that's-"

The castle began rumbling and the two mares were startled right away.

"What was that?!" Starlight asked

"Either some big magical threat, a thunderstorm or Shining Armor's airship..."

"Please be an airship" Starlight repeated this several times as she made for the front door of the castle and upon opening it looked up to see it was indeed an airship. "HI SHINING ARMOR!"

"Hey there Starlight!" Shining Armor said from the intercom of the ship. "I'll be teleporting down with Flurry in a bit, I also brought along a friend!"

"Huh?" Starlight wondered what he was talking about.

Suddenly Shining Armor teleported down in front of Starlight, on his back was baby Flurry heart  and standing next to him was Sunburst the royal crystaler.

"Hiya Starlight" Sunburst said.

"Sunburst! Oh it's so good to see you!" She playfully punched him in the shoulder. " You never told me you had a cousin..."

"Whuh? I mean yeah I never mentioned her because she's-"

"Hi Burst..." Sunset said coming out of the castle front door with a sheepish smile on her face.

"S-Sun-Sun-Sun...Sunset Shimmer?!?! What...When....Who...Whuh...How...Uuuuuh." He passed out and Starlight panicked a bit.

"Well...that wasn't as bad as i thought it might have been..." Sunset deadpanned. "Let's get him inside..."

"Hey...haven't I seen you somewhere before..."

"Yes I broke into your castle, stole your little sisters crown and tried to overthrow Celestia...but don't worry...reformed."

"Huh...so she's two for two? Good work Twilight..."

"Four if you wanna count Trixie & Luna..." Starlight added with a slight grin.

"Goo!" Flurry Heart blabbered giggled happily at the display.

"Awwwwww! She is so CUTE!!!!!" Sunset gushed over the little foal on Shining Armor's back and Flurry took well to sunset, simply eating up all the love she was giving her. "Awww who's a pretty little princess? You are! Yes you are! Eeeeeee Shining Armor seriously if I wasn't such a good mare now I'd steal this little angel from you! She's so precious!!"

"Heheh trust me...something tried..." Shining Armor rolled his eyes thinking back to a small incident where changelings foal-napped his daughter.

"Well don't you worry little one, you're safe and sound with your auntie sunny." Sunset said in a sweet motherly like tone as she nuzzled the excited little filly who promptly floated herself into Sunset's hooves with her larger than average wings and Sunset nuzzled her some more and blew raspberries on the fillies tummy.

"She's in good hooves...and so is he..." Starlight said picking up an knocked out Sunburst  with her magic and taking him into the castle along with Flurry heart's baby bag which he'd been carrying.

"I trust you, say...wheres Twi-"

"Shiny!! C'mon we have to go!!!" Cadence said from the ships intercom

"Argh, Coming honey...pft...mares..." Shining huffed and teleported back up and the ship took off for its next destination, leaving the two mares alicorn foal and geeky royal crystaler all alone.

"Well this certainly got interesting rather quick-" Sunset began to say.

There was a series of knocks at the door of the castle

"Hm...You think Shining forgot something?"

"Starlight Glimmer? You there??" A familiar voice called

Starlight gave an excited gasp and put Sunburst down while he was still knocked out and dashed to the door and opened it to see none other than her great and powerful best friend.

"TRIXIE!!!"

"STARLIGHT!!"

"Trixie?!" Sunset said

"Um...Does Trixie know you?" Trixie asked tilting her head and then looked to see Flurry heart and her eyes became stars. "AND JUST WHO IS THIS LITTLE BUNDLE OF ADORABLE!!" She teleported over and gushed over the little foal and she was eating it up again. "Awww is she yours?"

"Eehhehe no...she's Twilight's niece..."

"Ah yes I do remember Twilight saying her big brother and former foal sitter had a foal...whats her name?"

"Flurry Heart..."

"Funny story behind that..." Starlight said with a giggle

"And you are?" Trixie looked at Sunset.

"Sunset Shimmer, student of princess twilight and former evil unicorn and student of Celestia" she extended her hoof "Nice to meet you." 'Again' she thought with a smile

"Ah...I see...Well ahem...I am the..."

"Great and Powerful Trixie..."

"How did you know? Are you physic?!"

"Maybe..." Sunset grinned

"And who in Tartarus is that? And why is he knocked out?"

"My cousin Sunburst and her fillyhood best friend who passed out after finding out I wasn't dead after being gone over for five years."

"Whoa now that sounds like a juicy little story"

"You have no idea...so what are you doing her Trix?"

"Trixie had decided to take up living here in Ponyville and came to deliver you the good news!"

Starlight's smile almost split her face in two and she fainted promptly after that next to Sunburst.

"Hehe guess they have that in common too" Sunset quipped.

"I knew that news would knock her off her hooves...ha-ha! Still got it Trix"

"Geez your puns are almost as bad as the other Trixie..." Sunset deadpanned under her breath

"What?"

"Oh nothing...funny pun, heheh" Sunset smiled sheepishly.