If you were to look at the day before you, one would never think that anybody could think anything negative about it. Bright sun, clear skies, a gentle breeze, and everyone with a smile upon their faces. And yet, in the midst of it all, one person was not smiling. Sunset Shimmer, standing in front of the still-ruined horse statue before the doors of Canterlot High. She gazed up at the thing, her expression one of determination, but also of fear. Within one hand was, to her, a very precious book, marked with a familiar sun symbol. A book that she now looked down to with apprehension. She had already read it, and yet, she now found herself looking to it again, flipping through the pages until she found the latest entry. The latest message.
She's ready.
Sunset read the words, over and over, almost not believing them. But, in the end, she closed her book, letting out a deep sigh. Again she gazed to the statue, to its base, and took a deep breath. This was the threshold, the point of no return, and she approached it with all of the nervousness one would expect of such a moment. Through the portal she went, the fierce magic of the thing sending her spiralling, as if out of control. She had experienced this many times, and yet, she still couldn't get used to it. But she held on as well as she could, until, finally, she found herself being flung from the other side, landing on hard ground.
"Ugh," was all she could say at this point.
Reaching up, Sunset attempted to nurse a sore spot on her head where she'd emerged, only to stop with a look of realisation upon her face. The limb before her was not a hand, as she'd become accustomed to, but rather, a hoof. Slowly, she got up, standing on all fours, which was something she had not had to do in many a year. Naturally, doing so resulted in numerous moments of wobbly knees for her, but, in a few seconds, she soon got the hang of it again.
"Yeah, it was difficult for me too."
The familiar voice caused a smile to form on Sunset's face, and she turned to see none other than Princess Twilight approaching her. Taking a few steps forward, Sunset embraced her friend, which was eagerly returned.
"Twilight, thank you so much for letting me come here."
The young Princess smiled wider.
"It's no problem, Sunset. But..."
Slowly, her smile started to fade.
"...getting to see you wasn't the only reason you're here, remember?"
Sunset nodded, her own expression a serious one. No words were spoken from Twilight, but, in time, she slowly turned her head, looking to something on the other side of the room. A chill crept up Sunset's spine, for she knew what her friend must have been looking at, and when she too turned to see, her fears were confirmed. For there, standing beside the nearby cutie map at the centre of the palace, with her back to the new arrival, was Princess Celestia. Sunset stood there, and for a time, seemed frozen, but, after a gentle nudge from Twilight, she soon shook herself out of it. Taking a few calming breaths, Sunset began to approach her former mentor, her steps growing heavier every single time. Eventually though, she stood just a few feet behind the elder Princess and, out of pure reflex, gave a bow to her.
"...Princess Celestia."
No response came from the alicorn, and as Sunset kept her head bowed, she waited for ages for something, anything to be said to her. When nothing happened, she looked over her shoulder, seeing the uncertain look Twilight bore, before turning to Celestia once more. She wracked her brain, trying to think of what to say.
"It...it has been...quite a while...hasn't it?"
Again, no response, and all Sunset could see of her teacher was the back of her flowing ethereal mane. In the end, the unicorn knew what had to be said, what had to be done, though it gave her little joy to consider it. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, before finally looking up to her elder with an honest and sincere expression.
"Princess...we haven't spoke in...in years. And I know that we...didn't exactly part on the best of terms."
Sunset frowned.
"No...that's nowhere near close enough. What happened was...I was terrible!"
Looking up to her, Sunset looked both angry and sad at the same time.
"You gave me everything! Everything! And what did I do? I was selfish! Childish! Ungrateful! I betrayed you! I spat in the face of everything you tried to teach me...and for what?! For Power?! For greatness?!"
Though Celestia again said nothing, Sunset carried on, with tears now forming in her eyes.
"I did terrible things...to Equestria...to the human world... but most of all...to you. You were my whole life. My family. And I...I...I..."
She shut her eyes tightly now.
"I know I don't deserve to ask for your forgiveness...and if you want me to leave and never come back...then you only have to say so. But...I am...so...so sorry, Celestia! I wish there was something I could..."
But, Sunset didn't get the chance to finish her words, for the moment her guard was down, a hoof grabbed hold of her shoulder, pulling her forward. Before she even knew what was going on, she was in the embrace of Celestia, who held her tightly. Sunset had no idea how to react to this, but could feel, trickling down her back, drops, which she now knew were tears. Celestia's tears. The unicorn panted as all of this sank in for her, and while she could still not see her teacher's face, she nevertheless tried to speak to her.
"But...I don't...I don't understand."
Celestia held her tighter, speaking in that soft and motherly tone that Sunset had so known her for years ago.
"Oh, Sunset...you truly believe I was angry at you? I could never be angry at you. There was a time when you were my greatest pride. And your actions...were just as much my blindness as it was your ambition."
Naturally, Sunset had no idea how to answer to that. But, as before, she didn't get the chance, as she now felt Celestia pull away from her. Finally, after all this time, Sunset could look up to her face. There was warmth there, and joy, but above all, tears, flowing from her eyes just as they did for Sunset's. And in the end, the elder Princess spoke softly to her.
"Welcome home...my beloved student."
And in that moment, the floodgates opened. All the years of self-imposed misery and regret, all of it came pouring out, with Sunset now finally buckling, falling to her knees. As her tears came thick and fast now, Celestia knelt gently beside her, nuzzling the top of her head as if she were her own child. Through it all, Sunset just kept on repeating the same words, over and over again.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..."
In the midst of this whole moment, Twilight looked on, tears of joy now dotting her own face. And she slowly backed away, letting the two have their time together, while sill bearing a happy smile upon herself. But before she finally left in earnest, she saw Celestia looking to her, smiling and mouthing in silence the only words the Princess needed to express.
"Thank you."
Twilight smiled to this, giving a slight nod in response, before quietly starting to back away once more. Celestia watched her go, and waited long enough for her fellow Princess to finally leave the palace, before looking down to Sunset yet again. She waited for as long as it took for the latter to finish crying, which, given the circumstances, was quite a while. But, in the end, the tears finally stopped, and as Sunset wiped them away from her cheeks, she gazed up at her teacher with disbelief in her eyes.
"I...I don't know what to say right now."
A slight giggle escaped Celestia to that, and she raised a hoof, gently placing it upon the top of Sunset's head, before speaking in that calming tone of hers.
"Well...how about we start from the beginning? By my reckoning...we have a lot of catching up to do."
Sunset let out an involuntary chuckle to those words, and gave a nod of agreement, her voice still somewhat wobbly from her prior crying.
"Yeah...we do."
As before, she gave her teacher a glance, bearing a genuine smile as she began to speak with greater confidence.
"In that case...I'd like to tell you about my new friends..."
