Chapter 11: Revalations and Lullabies

After they played for a while, had lunch and an early dinner, Twilight decided that she was going to get some more reading in. Sunset took the opportunity to have Cadance teach her some more magic.

"I see you've been practicing," Cadance said.

"Yeah, I mean, it's really cool being able to use actual magic. The best we had back where I'm from were stage performers, at least I think so. All their magic was really slight of hand," Sunset said.

"Hand?" Cadance asked confused.

"Remember, I changed species? I used to be human, we were bipedal and had hands, much like the minotaurs you have here, but closer to an ape, I guess, but no one likes being compared to an ape, it's just the closest thing that I can think of."

"Oh, right. How do you know about minotaurs?"

"My new sister is probably the nerdiest pony in Equestria, she has tons of books. I read about them. We actually had mythologies with minotaurs in them where I'm from, though they are slightly different."

"Okay..." was all Cadance could say.

"Anyways, I should probably get back to learning about magic. I did some reading on it, so that helped," Sunset said, leading them back to the task at hoof.

"Well, if Twilight is the nerdiest pony in all Equestria, you might be the second nerdiest," Cadance said with a laugh.

"Hey! This stuff is new to me! It's pretty exciting," Sunset tried to defend herself.

"Magic is pretty new to me, as well, remember? And you don't see me going off and reading everything I can find," Cadance countered.

"Well, well, okay, I got nothing," the amber unicorn admitted.

"My point exactly. Now, as I was saying earlier, it is not simply enough to want to do magic, you must actually do it. You must allow it to flow through you, and not let it overpower you. You must let it come naturally. Many think that great concentration and wanting to do magic is the basis, but it's not, magic is natural, so you must allow it to work through you. Emotions can make magic behave different ways, so clearing yourself of emotions, especially negative ones, is important," Cadance said.

"So, basically what I'm hearing here is, 'you must unlearn what you have learned,' 'try not, do or do not, there is no try,' and 'fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.' Am I right?" Sunset said with a smirk.

"Um, basically. Did you pick that up in one of the books on magic you read?" Cadance asked.

"I saw it in a movie, well, a set of movies. Star Wars. One of my friends was obsessed with it. Now, time to use the Force!" Sunset said, as she proceeded to levitate the pillows in the living room. Fortunately Shining decided to go work on a game in his room, though she couldn't quite remember what it was called.

"Very good," Cadance said. "For a while I had trouble with the amount of force I was exerting on things, I constantly crushed them. Also, what is a movie? And the Force?"

"Well, a movie is a motion picture I guess. Human society is more advanced technology-wise than ponies. We are able to record actors making scenes, and put them together into a movie. Also, the Force is another reference to Star Wars. Basically Star Wars is a science fiction story with even greater technology shown than even human technology. It is set in space, because back where I'm from, no one controls the sun and moon, they move on their own, we've even gone to our moon. Basically the Force is, in the words of a great Jedi master, the Force is 'an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.' The us being the people in that fictional world," Sunset explained.

"So basically it's like Equestria's magic. The magic is not just what you see in unicorns. Earth ponies and pegasi also have their own magic. The earth ponies' magic is what makes them so in tune with the ground and with nature, while the pegasi magic is what allows them to fly and control the weather," Cadance said.

"Yeah, I suppose it's similar. Just thinking about the comparison has helped me," Sunset replied.

"Well you're learning a whole lot faster than I did. I was always..." Cadance stopped herself from finishing her sentence.

"You were always what?" Sunny asked.

"I shouldn't say," Cadance said.

"It's about the other Sunset, isn't it?"

"Yes," Cadance admitted.

"You can tell me. We're different people, I mean ponies. See, she never would have made a slip like that," Sunset said with a smile.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she's making the exact opposite slip actually. But I do see your point. What I was saying was that I was always jealous of her natural ability. Her talent was magic, specifically light magic, and I don't mean light versus dark light, I mean actual light. She could manipulate it. In fact, she had the highest teleportation range due to that, she was somehow able to use the light around her and in the area she wanted to teleport to, well, I don't know how to describe it, but it allowed her to teleport outside of even her visual range, to places she could feel certain types of light shining. Sunlight was the easiest, but it was still impressive," Cadance said.

"Okay, that is impressive, from what I've read about teleportation. Except in freak accidents, ponies could only teleport inside their visual range. If you didn't know what you were doing, it did not turn out well," Sunset recalled.

"Yes. But I do have a question, a bit less magical, and a bit more personal. Your mom said that they found you in Manehattan. How did you get there, even though the mirror was in Canterlot. How did you even get out of the room where the mirror was? It looked like you teleported," Cadance explained.

Little did they know, Twilight had finished yet another book and had snuck back downstairs. She was wondering what the hay they were talking about. A mirror? Another Sunset? People?

"I don't remember, when I woke up in the hospital, they told me I just appeared in there, I don't even remember leaving the mirror room. Could it be that I teleported? But from what I saw Manehatten is pretty far from Canterlot," Sunset said.

"That sure sounds like a teleport, but having just become a unicorn, you would have little to no power, but there did look like there was something flowing from the mirror to you," Cadance said.

"Yeah, there was this blinding light, I screamed and passed out, but why would magic flow from the mirror to me?" Sunset pondered.

"Yes, that is confusing. You said that there was essentially no magic in the, what was it, human world?" Cadance asked.

"That's right, and the other Sunset went to it. How would a land without magic react if it suddenly had magic? Could the portal have taken away her magic? And then give it to me?" Sunset continued.

"But why would that cause a long range teleport?" Cadance asked.

They were talking magic now, and Twilight knew magic, so, she just had to jump in. "I have no clue what you were talking about before, but from what it sounds like a sudden influx of mana can cause a great amount of power to be release, and do things that ponies can't normally do, such as a long range teleport. But that far would already need a lot of power, especially in teleportation, and, since there was somehow another Sunset, who could already do long range teleportation, that could explain it. Now, what was this about another Sunset, a mirror, and another world?"

Both Cadance's and Sunset's mouths hung open.

"What, I read a lot? Now could someone please explain to me what all this about? I don't like not knowing things," Twilight said.

"Well, um..." Cadance started.

"I'm actually from another world, without magic," Sunset cut in. "I wasn't lying about my parent, they truly are gone, but I'm actually not supposed to be here. There was another Sunset Shimmer, who ran away from Equestria for reasons I don't know, and I went through the mirror portal at the same time. I'm not even a pony where I'm from, but describing what I was again today would be a bit much. I know it's unbelievable, but it's true. I didn't even know there was another Sunset until Cadance told me about her."

"I can believe in other worlds, supposedly Starswirl the Bearded meddled in portals some, but what didn't he meddle in?" Twilight said.

"So you believe me?" Sunset asked.

"Well, since Cadance is part of the source information, then yes. Though I would like to know about this other world. What's it like? How is so-" Twilight started.

"I think that's enough questions for her for now," Cadance interrupted. "Besides, it's almost your bedtime."

Twilight put on her cute pouty face. "But Cadance," she said.

"No buts, you two need to get ready for bed, then maybe I'll sing you a lullaby," Cadance said.

"Okay Cadance," Twilight said, before turning to her sister. "And I expect to hear everything you remember about this other world soon enough."

"Later, Twi," Sunset said with a yawn. "This practicing magic has taken a lot out of me. Let's go get ready for bed," she said as she got up to go upstairs, and Twilight followed. Cadance smiled at the two fillies, thinking about how those two really did seem like sisters.

Meanwhile, at the Castle of the Two Sisters, Celestia had read through her and her sister's journal. She thought about her sister and her daughter.

As the day was coming to a close, Celestia knew that again she would need to lower the sun. She thought back to the last time she was at the castle, and of what her daughter must be going through. As she activated her magic, she began a lullaby, reminiscent of the one that she sung for her sister right before she left the castle last time.

"You became cruel and oh so unkind
And I only sent you away.
I loved you so, but I showed it not
And now I miss you today

But now it is time to sing you a song
And I will try not to weep
Till you see the light, and come safe home
Only then can I truly sleep

Once did a Princess who was all alone
Did find a pony like her
The young pony lost much, and had no one
To love, so the Princess made her a daughter

So great was her strength, so wondrous her power
That she thought that she was so great
And that power filled her and pushed all away
Until she was consumed by not love, but hate

Lullay dear Sunset, goodnight daughter mine
And find now and rest in new place
Hear now my lullaby, Shimmering light
E’en now though I can not see your face

Get now the serenity and beauty of the sun
And set not in days but be kind
Sunset, you’re loved, no matter what you may think
For again I have been so blind

Soon did that Princess take notice that her daughter
Became haughty and away friendship threw
And neither had she shown her the love she needed
She could only watch as her daughter’s bitterness grew

But such was the path that they both chose, and swiftly
The mom showed in her panic
A mirror of greatness that showed nothing good
And only spread rifts and made it more quick

Lullay dear Sunset, goodnight daughter mine
And find now and rest in new place
Hear now my lullaby, Shimmering light
E’en now though I can not see your face

Get now the serenity and beauty of the sun
And set not in days but be kind
Sunset, you’re loved, no matter what you may think
May this new world yourself again find
For again I have been so blind

The moons now before you
Now in realm unknown
Without a mentor
We’re now both alone

May these thirty moons
Help you not want to stay
I love you, I miss you
All these worlds away

May this world keep you safe tonight
Even though you’re no longer under my light
And through all this sadness, I still care
And in my dreams, I’ll think of you and hope well you fare
Sleep… "

As Celestia finished her song, she finished lowering the sun, ending the sunset. She then turned away, and flew back to Canterlot.

As the sun set, Twilight and Sunset had made their way to bed.

"What lullaby are you gonna sing tonight, Cadance?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"This one I actually haven't sung to you. When I was found as a filly, this was with me. I was given the copy I was found with when I found out I was adopted. I feel as if it a special night tonight. This one is about what could have been my ancestors, from long ago," Cadance explained.

"Really? That's awesome!" Twilight exclaimed.

"That does sound pretty cool," Sunset said.

"It is the Lullaby of the Crystal Empire," Cadance said. "And this is how it goes." The princess then began singing,

"Once there was a caravan
Which traveled from land to land
Many a tribe they could be
And the only of the Crystal Ponies

They wander’d throughout the cold
During the long days of old
Till one day they did depart
And found the great Crystal Heart

Even though they were far north
It still provided much warmth
And thus the journey did retire
And they did form the Crystal Empire

As they settled their new home
For once all they did was roam
Their families then began to grow
And they loved with hearts aglow

And now we are all together
And we make each other better
With the Crystal Heart we now keep
All can have a good night’s sleep"

As Cadance ended, both Twilight and Sunset had fallen asleep. Cadance smiled at them, as she turned away and exited their room, closing the door. She knew when she was next here, she would be berated by Twilight with questions of the Crystal Empire, though she herself knew very little of it. She made a note to ask Celestia about it later.

Author's Note

Two songs? What is this, a special MLP episode?

Well, no, this is a chapter, and this whole fic is pretty much like a special or something.

Lullaby for a Princess by Ponyphonic is indeed canon in this Rising Universe. Yes, that is what I'm calling it, and I'm sticking with it. Though I had to change this chapter due to not actually being able to use Lullaby for a Princess because it's copyrighted, It turned out just as good if not better than I hoped. Lullaby for a Student is to the same tune as Lullaby for a Princess, and I changed almost every single line, to avoid copyright stuff, and to stick to the rules of the site. I made sure to ask about the rules so there would be no issues.

The Lullaby of the Crystal Empire was completely of my own making. It's a short and sweet lullaby.

I also now have explained why Sunny wound up in Manehattan, that had always been my answer, I was just waiting for a good place to put it in the story.

Twilight knows now??? I didn't see that coming either, the story chose to do that on its own.

I hope everyone enjoys reading this, as I have writing it!

Also, author everyone should read works from: Allykitty. She was one of the authors whose works inspired me to write. Her Homecoming continuity is absolutely brilliant! Though I have a feeling if you follow me, you already follow her, she's much bigger than me.