The Last Conversation
Canterlot
Many Moons ago
“A tax on horse shoes? Who comes up with these?”
Celestia sighed. The rigors as the presiding ruler of Equestria seemed to have yet another long boring day of filing paperwork ahead of her. She vetoed the bill, gave a quick summary as to why and threw the paper in with the rest of her morning work. If there was any downside to being a Princess, it was the bureaucracy for sure.
Celestia motioned towards yet another sheet when the doors to her throne room were flung open. Celesita’s prized pupil, Sunset Shimmer walked in, a scowl on her face.
Ever since the Sunset had been accepted she had been an exceptional student. Able to go out and study in the field for hours on end, always improving, she was a natural prodigy. However that talent had led to cockiness. She was in many ways extremely gifted but because of that she flaunted herself as superior to many a pony, though she wasn’t always like this. Celestia remember a time when she was a sweet innocent young filly always excited to learn something new. Those days were well in the past though. Usually she entered with a smug smile and an arrogance in her step, not with anger and a frown.
Celestia looked out the window to check the time. “My, how time flies.” She said as she motioned the paperwork aside. “I guess it is time for a lesson.” Celestia noticed her student’s foul mood. “Is something the matter Sunset?”
“Oh nothing, just knowing that I’m being replace!” Sunset snapped at Celestia. The anger in her voice took Celestia back for a moment.
“What do you mean? You’re not getting replace.” Celestia said shocked at such an accusation.
“Oh really? Then tell me who this is?” From her saddle bag, Sunset magical drew out a photo of a young purple unicorn filly smiling at the camera. Celestia grabbed the photo of Twilight Sparkle.
“Cadence must have told Sunset”, Celesita thought. “She’s dating Twilight’s brother so it would be only natural for him to tell Cadence all about Twilight’s acceptance. Cadence had probably just bumping into Sunset and started up some small talk. ‘Hi Sunset, so are you excited to have a fellow classmate?’ or something like that,” Celestia imagined Cadence saying to Sunset in passing.
But it really didn’t matter where Sunset had gotten her information, the point now was to calm Sunset down.
“Twilight is an incredibly gifted unicorn,” Celestia replied to Sunset. “In a single magical surge managed to turn several ponies into plants and grow a newly hatched dragon to a fully grown size without any control of it at all. She is a pony that would greatly benefit from more guidance.”
“So she is my replacement then,” Sunset spat back.
“No she’s not Sunset,” Celestia calmly answered back. “And she can’t really be a replacement either since I will have a position to fill, what with you going on to the next level of your training.” She smiled at Sunset
“Wait, next level?!” Sunset’s anger immediately disappeared as a grin of joy rapidly appeared on her face.
“Yes indeed,” Celestia chuckled, able to bring a smile to Sunset’s face. “I’m sending you down to Ponyville for an extended stay to learn about the magic of friendship.”
Sunset’s beaming smile was gone as soon as it appeared. Her face contorted with anger. “Oh so that’s your plan then!” She yelled. “Just send me to the Boonies so I’m out of your way, is that it?!”
“Sunset, that’s not true at all,” Celestia said. What had gotten into her student today to make her act like this, Celestia wondered?
“Then explain this,” Sunset tossed a book out of her pack onto the marble floor, the pages opening onto a six pointed star surrounded by five other ones, the chapter title called The Elements of Harmony
“Where did you get this?” Celestia asked as she looked at the book.
“From the Starswirl the Bearded section of the Canterlot Library,” Sunset answered back.
“I need to have that place under better security”, Celesita thought to herself.
“So any excuse for this then, Princess as to why your newest student just ever so happens to have the same cutie mark as one of the Elements of Harmony?” Sunset asked, the venom dripping off of her words.
“Sunset, you’re looking at this all the wrong way,” Celestia counter back. She needed to regain control and calm Sunset down.
“No, I’m finally seeing clearly for once!” Sunset snapped. “You just want me out of the way so you can nurse and cherish your precious Chosen One!”
“Sunset you know that’s not true at all. You’re my student I would never replace you,” Celestia said trying to comfort Sunset.
“Fine then, if that’s really how you feel, make me an alicorn,” Sunset declared.
“What?” Celesita asked, not expecting that responds.
“You heard me. If I’m not being replaced, then make me an alicorn.” Sunset’s eyes were hard with determination.
“You’re not ready yet for that level of power Sunset,” Celestia replied.
“Oh, I’m not ready, is that so?” Sunset mocked. “Cause if I recall correctly, not ten minutes ago you were saying I was ready for the next level in my studies, but now you're saying I’m not ready yet. I guess the next step just ever so happens to be me getting sent out of the castle.”
“Sunset, you’re taking this all wrong, that’s not what this is about at all.”
“Am I really?” Sunset asked. “Cause the way I look at it, it seems I’m being laid out to pasture all so you can free up your hooves and spend your time with the ‘Chosen One’ so as to get back your banished sister.”
Celestia was stunned. She was speechless.
“Oh yes dear Princess,” Sunset said, her confidence mixing with her anger, turning her rant into a mocking sneer. “I know all about Nightmare Moon and how the evil bitch is your sister. My my, what shame that must cause you, knowing your own sister is such a wicked evil thing. No wonder you suppressed all information on her. I mean just imagine what would happen if every pony knew that Celestia’s sister was in fact the evil Nightmare Moon? Why there would be quite the scandal wouldn’t there?”
While Sunset had been getting cockier and cockier with her tirade, Celestia had grown more and more somber.
“Her name is Luna,” Celesita whispered.
“What was that Princess, I couldn’t quite make that out?” Sunset smirked.
“Her name is LUNA!!!” Celestia’s wings flared out as she yelled, her entire body wrapped in a golden orange aura. Her eyes narrowed. It felt like she was crying but no tears were streaming, the felt like they were evaporating in the intense energy of her aura.
All of Sunset’s cockiness and anger vanished instantly, replaced by a look of pure fear. She took a couple of steps back, shocked by the ever glowing Princess in front of her.
Seeing Sunset’s face managed to snap Celestia back a little. Regaining herself slightly she addressed Sunset. “Sunset we are going to have a long and in depth conversation about all of this. However I’m not in a very particularly talkative mood at the moment,” She said, almost seething. “So for the moment I’m asking you to leave. Now!”
Celestia’s voice seemed to have snapped Sunset out of her fear induced shock. Recomposing herself, she managed to get her contempt back. “Fine, if you want me to leave, I’ll leave,” she shot back in disgust and barged out the doors.
As the doors shut, Celestia was alone. She powered down and took a deep breath. Her entire body shook. She looked at the stain glass picture of Nightmare Moon. She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing if she tried.
It had been a long night. Celestia had stayed awake for several hours, thinking about what next to say to Sunset. After thinking it over and over, she knew what she needed to say. She went back to her throne the following morning and continued on with her routine, waiting for their next session to talk with the orange mare.
The day went on and on, but Sunset never came. As it was just about time for Celestia to lower the Sun, she called in the Royal Guard and asked them to search for Sunset at her home apartment. When they came back reporting she had left, Celestia ordered a city wide search for her pupil.
A week passed yet there wasn’t hide nor hare of Sunset to be found anywhere in the city. There hadn’t been any reports about her appearing anywhere else in Equestria either.
Celestia went to go check up on her student room to see if there were any hints about where she may have gone. Looking over Sunset’s rather unorganized living space, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat. A book on interdimensional travel by Starswirl.
“No Please not there,” Celestia thought in horror. She raced through the halls of the Castle before coming across an old storage room in which contained a rather ornate mirror inside it. There was, much to Celestia’s dismay, a note at the foot of it. She picked it up.
Dear Princess Celestia,
So you want me to leave? Fine I’ll leave, I leave farther than anypony has ever before. Since I was going to be replaced anyways think of this as a going away present. This way I won’t interfere with your new pupil. I hope she’s the perfect little toy you want her to be. As for me, I’m done being your student. But I’m not finished with my studies, you were only holding me back. I’m going to become stronger than you or any princess, mark my word Celestia and one day I’ll come back and show you just how wrong you are.
Until then your highness.
Sunset Shimmer.
PS Since you already have your new prized pupil I doubt you’ll mind if I took all the student application letters. I mean it’s not like you’re going to need them anymore what with the destined Chosen One by your side and the like.
Celestia put the letter down.
“No not again,” She whispered under her breath and for the second time in a week, Celesita cried.
Several Weeks Later
Celestia walked through the halls of the castle, regal as ever. Most of her guards hadn’t noticed anything strange with the Princess at all over the last couple of days. They had heard rumors that the Princess’s prized student Sunset Shimmer had got in an argument with the Princess but Celestia clammily stated that Sunset had simply moved on with her life and that there was no need to worry.
However the caretakers and cleaning staff told a different story. While Celestia appeared a noble and happy as ever, they noticed the Princess was not acting her like her normal self. She ate less, only seemed to talk when she had to, and spent long hours alone, wheather in her room, the library or the throne room. Some of the staff had even claimed to have heard crying from her bed chambers, but no one had dared ask her if that were true.
“I was too close to Sunset,” Celestia thought to herself as she walked down to her throne room. “I got to close to her and she became jealous and arrogant because of our connection. I won’t make that same mistake again. I think it’s time for a more hooves off approach.”
The doors of the throne room opened and a purple mare stood in the center of the room.
“Hello there Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle said, awaiting the Princess of the Sun. “I’m ready to begin my first lesson.”
Author's Note
So a short little headcanon on what the last conversation between Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer was like. Kind of ignores the IDW comic and fills in a couple of ideas left out from the show.
This is my first time really writing a more "dramatic", seeing out how different styles work.
Edited by Brock Lesnar. Thanks for all the help!
Constructive criticism welcomed.
