An Orphan's Greatest Desire

Chapters

Prologue - Of namesakes and siblings
You've Got Mail
Reaching out, tentatively

Prologue - Of namesakes and siblings

Twilight Velvet's heart hurt seeing her husband looking so forlorn. She was so glad that Shining was willing to take Twilight along for his date with Cadance. She had been the one to receive the message from the mail pony this morning, and she was able to get them all out the door before waking Night Light up and giving him the tragic news.

Night Light was sitting in the living room, paging through an album that hadn't been pulled out in years. It was something he got from his parents after they had passed a few years ago. His parents had had their children later in life, so it hadn't been a surprise. He actually had been somewhat estranged from them, after they turned out his younger sister. No, what seemed to have him so sad was the little mare that showed up in half the pictures of the album in his forelegs.

She was a red maned filly with a white coat. As he flipped the pages of the dusty album, she grew up picture by picture, until there was just a single photo of her as a young mare, still with some youthful roundness to her face, holding a diploma with her name barely legible on it, 'Shining Dawn'.

"When she left... well, by then I was just starting my career and we'd just gotten married, remember? We didn't even find out she was gone until we went to my parents for Hearth’s Warming months later, remember? I think you were madder at them than I had been, and it totally ruined our surprise for them. Hah, I think that might be why you proposed to name our boy after her." Night Light murmured to his wife as she sat down next to him, hugging him and letting him lean into her.

"I never had the chance to really be close to her, but she always seemed a bright young mare. I'm so sorry Nighty, I always hoped that... well, that she would have met our children..." replied Twilight Velvet. Her husband slowly nodded his head, slowly closing the album before picking the letter up again. It was from the mayor of a little village called Ponyville.

From what Night Light's parents had told them, Shining Dawn had wanted to find her former coltfriend who had broken up with her to move back to some remote village. It escalated to an argument where things were said that couldn't be taken back, and she left the very next day on a train out from Canterlot. They had thought she would come to her senses and return in a few days, then in a few weeks, and then too much time had passed and they were sure she didn't want to return.

A year later, they had taken some weeks off and looked for her in the village she was heading to, only to find that the stallion she was going to visit had already rekindled a previous relationship with his village sweetheart and had a foal of his own named Sunburst. With no other clues as to her whereabouts, they had returned to Canterlot and simply hoped she would reach back out to them.

"Oh Velvet dear, if only she had sent us a letter, even once! To tell us what happened... or for help, or anything... I know we could have done something." Night Light groaned as he gripped the letter. For a long time Night Light had thought to himself that she must be out there just making her life. The letter stated otherwise.

Dear Mr. Night Light:

Please let me begin by apologizing for being the bearer of this tragic news. I must first inform you of the death of Shining Dawn. As per our records you are the only surviving relative above the age of majority, for which reason we have sent you a detailed report below on the findings of the investigation made.

Shining Dawn's remains were found near the bottom of a place called Ghastly Gorge. We were able to confirm her identity by her belongings in her saddlebag. It is believed that she had been trying to look for gems in the gorge for some extra money when some rocks collapsed and from what they could tell she died instantly from a blow to the head.

While I offer my condolences for the tragic death of your sister, I must also continue with a further critical piece of information that I believe may have been unexpected for you.

You see, based on clues with the remains we were also able to date when this tragedy occurred to 13 years ago. Around that same time, we had another important case in the area. A pony fitting the description of your sister had arrived the day before, and used a pseudonym to rent a room. She arrived with a little 2 year old foal.

When the mare did not return, nor could she be found anywhere in the nearby area, the village authorities thought the abandonment of the foal had been intentional, and as we had no clues as to other relatives at the time. Her mother had disappeared without a trace, and she hadn't mentioned her intent to go to the gorge to anypony.

Please understand that the village did its best for the interest of the foal. She was transported to Canterlot, where she was remanded to the Greater Canterlot Orphanage. They should have further information for you if you provide the following information:

Case No. 8-1278-9634

Name: Sunset Shimmer

Description: Amber coat, red and yellow striped mane

My Condolences,

Mayor Mare

Mayor's Office - Ponyville

Night Light had a niece his own son's age, that grew up in the same city, without any family. Well, Twilight Velvet would let her husband have his tears for a bit longer, but soon she would drag him to that orphanage to find her niece. They would make sure that filly knew she had family willing to open their doors and hearts to her.

"Ma'am, I understand you want that information, however I am not permitted to just give out the address of adoptions or wards of the state," the bureaucrat in front of her said again in the same droning voice he’d been using throughout their meeting. They had now spent the last couple hours finding someone at the orphanage that could provide more information on the whereabouts of their long lost niece.

"Look, we aren't looking to rip her away from a loving family if she has been adopted! We just want the chance to meet her and let her know she has family if she wants to get to know us, or if she ever needs anything. You won't tell us who adopted her, or how long ago or anything!" Velvet replied, getting more and more fed up with the unhelpful attitude. Her husband was quietly letting her take the lead on this venture, still under a cloud of grief.

"Ma'am, look... To be honest this is a very unusual case. I get that. I'm also not really allowed to make exceptions since these rules are to help protect the foals, alright? Here is what I can do. I want you two to write a letter for her. I will send a letter from the orphanage, with yours attached, and she can decide if she will approach you," the onsite administrator capitulated to the couple.

"Yes! I mean, yes, that is fine. We will write it out immediately if you don't mind lending us the paper? Thanks." Twilight Velvet leaped at the chance, which was their best and only shot at making contact.

She quickly wrote out a letter, having already gone over what she wanted to say in her mind dozens of times on the way over to the orphanage. She then passed it to her husband, who took a lot longer to write something out, but in the end they had a heartfelt letter asking for the chance to get to know her, as well as offering the chance to meet the rest of her family.

They sealed the letter and addressed it to Sunset. The administrator took it and laid it down on his desk while he finished writing up his own letter. Then he placed both into a larger envelope before looking up to the couple. "I'll mail this out immediately. Now if that concludes our business, have a good day." He dismissed them.

The couple slowly walked back home. Now all they could do is wait and hope for a response.

Author's Note

This idea just wouldn't leave my head. It's a bit of a trope that Sunset is secretly related to Celetia / Twilight / etc... Well a lot of them go almost too aggressive in premise. Then I started thining about how Twilight was named after her mom, but Shining Armor wasn't named for anyone... but what if he was? What if he was named after an aunt?

I had originally thought of waiting until later on in the story to make the reveal, but then realized that for that to work I would have to really push back a lot of scenes I wanted to write, so instead I decided to have the premise in the prologue.

The prologue actually happens the same day of Sunset Shimmer's midterm in the IDW storyline 'The Fall Of Sunset Shimmer'. Shining Armor is at the park with Cadance and Twilight that day. The reason for that here is that they needed all the kids out of the house. Sunset/Shining Armor/Cadance are 14, Twilight is 5 1/2.

You've Got Mail

The park surrounding Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was truly a haven for the overworked students, an island of relaxation in the spring. The weather was great, the shade from the trees making plenty of ideal picnic spots for ponies of all ages to enjoy. This particular afternoon was specially enjoyable for Sunset Shimmer, thanks to having aced her latest midterm practical. She was enjoying some outdoor reading in the park for a bit, as her own personal celebration. Usually she'd be in a corner of the library, or hiding in one of the personal rooms in the castle, but she just passed her midterm exam earlier, and wanted to treat herself by rereading 'Advanced Elemental Magical Practices' in the sunshine. There was time enough later for her to get back to reviewing her casting for her final midterm, before her evening lesson with Princess Celestia.

It did help that the school was closed until they could repair the damage from the overgrown vine she created as part of the practical section of the exam. Thankfully the curriculum this year focused on magical strength or she'd have lost quite a bit of points for the lack of complexity of her selected spell. Bluffing through it was easy, but she would make sure to practice her detail work later.

She'd been studying how to modify the Growth spell to better control how the vines would grow. A giant plant by itself would not be enough to let her make the present she was planning for the princess for the next summer day celebration. She wanted to get enough mastery on it until she could shape how the vines grew into intricate statues of shrubbery on command. She had actually sketched out the scene she wanted to create, which she planned to grow in one of the more private corners of the royal Gardens. It was actually a little secret of hers, that she had a bit of an artistic side, which she would add to her magical displays once in a while. It would be a pair of pegasi, one looking down with affection, her wings unfolded as if just landing, with smaller pony laying on the ground, with youthful proportions looking up. She got her inspiration at this very park, when she saw a pegasus mother land to join her daughter for a picnic.

She hoped to show it to her mentor at the next Summer Sun Celebration. while Princess Celestia put up a smile around others, she always looked a bit melancholy the night before and after the sun celebration . Sunset had tried for years to cheer up, or at least bring her out of her funk. Sunset knew that it would cheer the princess up, even though she would inevitably fall back into her funk, just like every year.

*sigh* 'Cmon Sunset, focus on what you succeeded in doing today, not on how you always fail in getting the attention you deserve from the princess.'Sunset always struggled with her own thoughts. The park suddenly wasn't as pleasant as a moment ago, the breeze was irritating, the sunshine migraine inducing, and the laughter and teasing of fillies and colts was distracting instead of soothing. She hated how hard it was to just be content with herself for any decent period of time.

Actually, as she tried to focus again on her surroundings, one of those voices from a group of ponies picnicing behind her sounded familiar, a quick glance confirmed her fears.'Crap it's the pink tattle tale. What's she doing here, and with a little squirt? Ugh just ignore her Sunset, you're not doing anything wrong'.Seeing Cadance having fun right by HER favorite spot in the park was the final nail in the coffin of her good mood.

Lately, it felt like the pink alicorn was souring everything in Sunset's life, first by taking Celestia's attention, encroaching in all her spots in the castle, like the library, being so talkative with Celestia at every meal, and now even at the park. Always looking prim and perfect and proper. If she weren't such a failure in the magic department, Sunset probably would have packed her bags and moved to the badlands to escape her own sense of inadequacy. She even had a really cute stallion hanging out with her! Passing that bouncy ball back and forth to the adorable little purple filly, those three could have modeled for a postcard of all the family friendly Canterlot tourism commercial.

'I should just go back to the palace, the mood's ruined.'She began packing up her saddle bag with her book and notes. Hopefully the walk to the palace would help her clear her mind before her evening session with Princess Celestia. Sadly, it was jut her luck that some classmates noticed her and went up to speak with her.

"Sunset Shimmer! The vine you made was amazing!" She looked up, noticing Minuette and a group of four other unicorn mares from the freshman class walking up to her. These five have tried to hang out with her a couple times, probably trying to get help with their own studies or boost themselves in the eyes of the school.
"Really exquisite!" piped up the unicorn behind her.

'Crap! These air heads... why can't they leave me alone, I've told them a million times! Geeze have some self respect why don't you? Just cause I'm Celestia's student doesn't mean I'm going to let social climbers like you use me to boost your own popularity!'Outwardly she tried to control her reaction, though she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. You'd think half a semester worth of stone walling them would have put them off, but it seems she would need to get even nastier to get this group to stop harassing her.'Only problem, if I'm too blunt princess tattles over there may notice and tell Celestia'Lately the princess of the sun always lectured her for hours after each of her latest antisocial episodes, and she somehow always found out. One would think she didn't have other responsibilities.

"Would you like to have lunch with us?" Asked a third member of the possee taking up her limited downtime.

'Ok, this is ridiculous. Time to put my griffon face on! I am not letting them waste what little time I've got to myself!'Sunset made sure to copy the traditional Canterlot noblemare's practice of tilting her head to the sky with her eyes closed as she walked away. "I have better things to do than socialize. I'm going to re-read 'Advanced Elemental Magical Practices' and then practice for my advanced summoning spells exam. What are you studying for? Nothing, that's what." She couldn't be any more clear in her rejection of their overtures of friendship if she wrote her feelings on a sign and waved it in their faces.

Sadly the one downside of looking upwards was it made it very inconvenient to walk quickly so she was still near enough to hear their last exchange, said loud enough that it was obviously meant for her ears.
"Well, she wasn't very nice." , "She's right full of herself, that's what!" , "Her loss. I'm awesome."

Those last few comments actually stung a bit, they were getting much better in their subtle jabs. she continued onward and began trotting quickly as soon as she was out of sight however. She would never let anyone see their words get to her. Her afternoon was officially ruined, she knew she would be spending the time before her evening lesson sulking about things. At least she would get a bit of time with Princess Celestia this evening, which would help her feel better'well, as long as she doesn't nag me about my attitude again'. It was getting harder and harder for Sunset to keep her thoughts up, and not bring herself down.

Sunset was pacing her room, in front of her mirror. Lately, she had been trying to externalize her negative thoughts, and her reflection helped her do that. Sometimes though, it didn't work that well. On her more difficult days, such as today, she couldn't see the strong mare she showed everyone beyond her bedroom doors. Instead she focused on all her imperfections. Her puffy bloodshot eyes, from studying too late this last week. How messy and uneven her mane looked compared to the Perfect Pink Pony Princess (P4) from tartarus. The fact that lately, she seemed to only disappoint her mentor, or that 4 months ago Celestia halved their lesson time to every other day, to share her valuable wisdom with the newly found pink alicorn.

Sunset could have accepted that, if it weren't the fact that when she did get to see her, Celestia would bring up all the ways she fell short. She wasn't nice enough, she didn't make friends fast enough, her temper was too short, she was too prideful, too arrogant, not humble enough, she was being mean to Cadance, she needed to go make friends and have fun...

Well, she was too busy trying to keep her edge in the few things she outshone her new rival for the Princess's attention. Cadance, after winning the Alicorn lottery, had huge magical reserves. Once she actually learned how to use them, she would easily be able to catch up with Sunset. She already had everything else going for her, the looks, personality, luck. She even had Celestia calling her niece within 2 weeks of moving in! Celestia didn't even use anything but Sunset or 'My student' when speaking to her! All Sunset had was her current mastery of her own magic power, her years of studies in magical theory and whatever potential Celestia had seen in her all those years ago.

There was the rub though. Lately it felt like Celestia looked at her with less and less affection each day. Maybe Sunset wasn't living up to her potential? Sunset knew that she could meet and exceed Celestia's expectations, she would be the best. She would show her princess how irreplaceable she was.

After a couple frustrating hours of trying to suppress the afternoon's fiasco in the park from her mind, and failing to stop herself from spiraling into melancholy and self doubt while in her chambers, it was finally time to go see Princess Celestia. This evening she was directed to a seldom used wing of the palace, an unusual location for their lessons, which actually excited Sunset. A surprise like this usually meant she would actually learn something new and interesting, instead of getting another lecture on friendship. With that thought, she finally got herself a bit under control.

As she skipped towards her teacher and saw her face however, she began to reevaluate her hopes for how the night's lessons would go. From the look she was getting, it seemed that somebody had spilled the beans on what happened at the park. 'Why couldn't she let me have one day of Celestia time without ruining it for me?' She took a quick breath, let it out slowly, and put on her cockiest smirk. Wouldn't due to show any weakness. When she was within a couple feet, the princess silently turned to walk further into the hallway and nodded her head for Sunset to walk with her.

After passing the last archway Celestia began her latest sermon, "Sunset Shimmer, I have heard you're not getting along well with the other students. We've talked bout the fact the fact that personal relationships-"

"Personal Relationships? Who needs anypony? The most important thin in life is to be the best." Sunset interrupted, frustrated. She didn't need to cater to the fake ponies at the school. She had seen how they competed and one upped each other, or gave up and wallowed in mediocrity like the mares from earlier. She was not going to get pulled down by anyone. They were all distractions anyway. She would make her dream come true, and Celestia would have to acknowledge her. She couldn't just foist Sunset on random other ponies!

"We've talked about friendship and its importance before, and we've discussed hat you need to start opening yourself up to new friends, and remember that talk we had about humility?" Celestia continued, with an exasperated face.'Why couldn't she have just told me she was proud of my achievements today? What do I have to do?!'

"I remember how boring it was" Sunset knew she was digging the hole even further, but couldn't help herself from making one more snarky comment.

Hearing the princess sigh and slowly breathe out made her feel somewhat guilty, but Sunset kept hold of her frustration.'I deserve- I deserve better than this right? I wish.. I wish she could just be proud of me, I am the best the school has seen, I've learned everything she's put in front of me... Hah! Maybe if I were an alicorn like Cadance, she'd actually look at me how she used to...'

Celestia seemed to notice Sunset's growing agitation, and gently bumped her side with her wing. As Sunset looked up, her mentor looked down at her and gave her a big wide smile. Sunset responded with a sheepish smile back. It didn't fix the growing issues, but at least it broke her from her spiraling mood. "Sunset, today we will look at some of the artifacts I've accumulated in the years of my rule of Equestria."

Sunset followed along, getting excited once again as she focused on the upcoming lesson. This was exactly what she had been hoping for, something new and mystical to study. Maybe the princess would ask for help in uncovering the secrets of some of these artifacts? Soon enough they reached an antique mirror, over sized enough to compete in height with Celestia herself.

"Well? Look into this mirror and tell me what you see." Princess Celestia smiled mysteriously towards her student, seemingly fully aware of her student's anticipation. The princess's grin was a bit infectious, and Sunset found herself smiling as she studied her reflection. Well, if the princess was in a humorous mood, maybe she could tease a bit.

"I see... A beautiful pony that has nothing but power and potential." She grinned and preened a bit, looking at the princess's reflection in the mirror. However, instead of getting a grinning riposte back as she had expected from her compliment, the princess just looked exasperated and annoyed.

"Care to try that again with our talk about humility taken into account?" It seemed she had completely misread the situation again, and the princess wasn't in the mood to joke around. Sunset was a bit hurt that princess Celestia would get so stern over a simple comment. So maybe she had hoped for a compliment back. Well if the princess wants honesty, she would give her honesty. She glared at the mirror, thinking about how she saw herself. The fact that the princess seemed to be giving up on her, taking her to pasture by asking her to find 'friends', probably to slowly ween her off of her apprenticeship. All she had was her drive to prove her self, to have everyone acknowledge her.

"I see... a pony that isn't powerful enough. Somepony who could be great, powerful..." As she ruminated on that thought she began to see her reflection begin to warp, with light glowing from her head and her back. Was this what she needed to do to be accepted? There would be no denying her worth, no way to forget about her. Her mind was close to an epiphany, watching as the light grew, and begun to take shape. A hint of feathers here, jewels there. The rest of the room seemed to darken, as the light was sucked into her reflection. Yes, if she became powerful enough, she could take charge. Sunset knew Celestia hated ruling by herself. She alone had to raise the sun, the moon and stars, then manage court, never having a moment's rest. Sunset knew how much Celestia chafed from the pedestal she found herself in. She could never take a rest, never be anything but the Princess.

But, if she could share her burdens... If Sunset could rise to take some of the responsibility... Celestia would surely welcome some reprieve from her daily burdens. She would have to acknowledge Sunset at least as much as she had done Cadance.

"She'd have to...she'd have to... right?" Sunset murmured, inaudible to the princess beside her. for a moment Sunset's mind shied from completing that thought, from breaking her trance, but it betrayed itself with a whisper of a memory, of nights before her time at the palace, of her last thought every evening before falling asleep, a wish hidden deep in her heart, a desire for family.

Sunset's eye's widened as it seemed like the reflection began to warp again. Now her reflection was showing an out of focus mare over her shoulder, who looked on with a face of such pride and affection, as she showed off her wings. It was the closest thing to a motherly expression Sunset could ever imagine being directed at her.

Sunset knew what she would be willing to do for that to become a reality. She would do anything to become that pony, to become "... somepony that could rule Equestria."

It seemed princess Celestia heard her last comment, taking her response in the worse possible way as usual. It was fine, Sunset thought to herself as it she was shuffled out of the room. She finally knew exactly what she needed to do. She had some doubts about the lonely path she had chosen, but this vindicated all of it.

It was late by the time Sunset returned to her room. As she entered she noticed she had some mail delivered. It seemed it was her latest school report, a couple invitations to events organized by the different interest groups looking for favor at court, and one from her old orphanage? It was the thickest of all, and she wondered if it was some paperwork for her records or something. She really hoped it wasn't something crazy like a fundraising mailer. They were barking up the wrong tree if they thought she would have anything to do with that old place. To be honest, she tried to forget she was ever there in the first place.

Opening it, she saw that it was another envelope along with a single page letter in it. As she read the first letter, her insides suddenly felt like ice. She looked at the envelope. It held answers to questions she had refused to ask herself since she got out of the orphanage, and into the graces of Celestia's personal mentorship. She'd told herself that her desire for family and love, none of that mattered more than showing the princess that Sunset had been worth raising from the muck.

Now though, this distracting temptation fell right in her lap. Sunset read it all again, and again. The words on the pages didn't change. There was someone out there, looking for their niece.

Reaching out, tentatively

Sunset laid the contents of the stuffed envelope onto her bed. She’d already read the short explanation page from the Orphanage that had wrapped around another pair of letters within the original envelope. One had an official letterhead, apparently copies of the proof that her supposed relatives had shown the Orphanage administrator. The other was a blank envelope, with the front simply having For Sunset Shimmer written in cursive.

She looked at her name on that unopened envelope she had pulled out. It apparently held answers to questions she had refused to ask herself since she got out of the orphanage, and into the graces of Celestia's personal mentorship.

And why should she have? Before, she had simply been another unloved filly, apparently abandoned by her own mother. Any dream of her real family coming to save her paled against the reality of being picked by Princess Celestia herself to live in the palace and be her personal student! She wasn’t her first student ever, but she was by far the youngest.

She hadn’t thought much about the details of her apprenticeship in the beginning, simply being grateful to be chosen to live with the princess. However after a while, she realized that while it was a great honor, she hadn’t really gained a family, unlike the other fillies and colts that got adopted. She was still cared for by staff, who made sure to keep a distance, and Celestia was kind but formal. Sunset had been satisfied, though lonely, at least at first. It was what drove her towards trying to show her worthiness in fact, as with each of her accomplishments, she had been rewarded with extra time and attention from Princess Celestia.

Now this letter forced her to remember those dreams she had for family, for unconditional love and acceptance. She was grown enough to know that she wasn’t likely to ever truly receive a mother’s love, but maybe an uncle and aunt’s affection would be nice. Cadance’s appearance had shown her that at least this would be possible.

Honestly, when she first became aware of Cadance, Sunset had fallen to pieces. Within less than a month, Celestia had crowned a second princess, and adopted her as a niece. How could Sunset compare to another alicorn? She couldn't, and there was nothing she could do about it, or at least she had thought so. Celestia had always been coy about where Cadance had come from, and everyone's assumption was that she had been born an alicorn, and simply grew up hiding in the boonies.

However, if what Celestia said earlier was true and the mirror truly showed a future, then there was a way to become an alicorn somehow. It would explain all the oddities around Cadance, like her incompetence with magic.

Sunset finally picked up the unopened letter that the Orphanage had forwarded from her newly discovered family. As she opened the letter, she mused at how odd it was that fate would have it arrive the same day she was presented with the mirror. Both gave her a glimpse of a path to gain something she dearly wanted.

The letters from her uncle and aunt weren’t very long, though her aunt’s was well written and heartfelt, in a way more so than even her biological uncle’s had been. Sunset had cousins. Twilight Velvet let her know that they wanted to have a relationship with her and be there for her, but she understood if her niece was hesitant to build one with her new family. She had ended the letter gently, with a request that Sunset give them the chance to meet with them and get acquainted with the rest of her family. She had also given their home address and invited her to send any mail there or at least let the orphanage know she had received her message, in the case Sunset did not want to meet them.

Sunset also read through the copy of the investigation report from Ponyville that was attached, and felt ambivalent. On the one hand, it seemed she was orphaned thanks to her young mother’s stubborn stupidity rather than being abandoned intentionally by a whorse.

Sunset felt relieved, yet angry at the same time. The teen mother had spent two years apparently raising her on her own and barely eking out a humble living. Sunset wished she could remember anything about her. She forced herself to put that regret aside for now, as that dead mare was beyond her reach in either case.

Sunset tried to distract herself with some other reading from her textbook but her eyes failed to continue down the page, as her mind mulled over her aunt’s plea at the end of her letter. Soon enough she gave up and took out some parchment to write a reply.

=======

The next day, Twilight Velvet was surprised to find a reply in the mail. She quickly shared it with her husband. Her niece had mailed it from the post office and had decided not to share her address yet, but had let them know she would be free all day tomorrow afternoon, which she would spend in a nearby cafe. If they wanted, they could meet her there and take it from there.

“Shiny! Twily! Breakfast! Come downstairs please!” Velvet shouted up the stairs as her husband finally left for work.

"Coming Mom!/Mommy!" The siblings greeted her as they came down, and the usual whirlwind at the breakfast table took off.

Velvet took the time to let the siblings get settled and eat for a bit as she organized what she was going to tell them.

"Children? I have something to tell you both this morning," She began. "I'm not sure if you knew this yet Twily, but your father had a sister that disappeared a long time ago, right around when we got married. We finally found out what happened."

Velvet let them know about how they had found out what had happened to their missing aunt, and the fact that they had a surprise cousin. She fended off her daughter's barrage of questions, though honestly both kids looked shocked more than anything.

"Wait a second mom, why are you telling us this now? Wait, are we meeting Sunset Shimmer?! When?! Oh gosh, I need to find reference material on how to make a best impression on long lost family members!!!" Twilight Sparkle finally blurted out the question that Velvet had been waiting for.

"Twilight, I'll be meeting her this afternoon while you two are at school and your father is at work. I'm not sure when she will feel ready to meet the rest of the family, but I'm sure she's also excited to meet you and your brother too." Velvet replied.

Soon enough Shining left for school, taking his sister to deliver her to her preschool on the way. Velvet sighed out. It was a shame she couldn't respond quickly enough to her niece in order to schedule for a time that the whole family could have made it, but at least this was quick.

Velvet took some time cleaning the house before trotting into her office. She knew she wouldn't be able to focus on her novel writing or editing for the day. Instead she grabbed the old album her husband had pulled out the other day as well as a few other family pictures she had made copies of in the past. Velvet took them to the nearby photography store and had all the pictures with Shining Dawn in them copied and a new scrap book purchased.

Once home Velvet took the rest of the morning putting together the photo album. She also tried to list out questions to ask her niece. Finally it was lunch time, so Velvet left for the cafe after she made sure to pack her camera in her bag.

===============

"What am I doing here?!" Sunset whispered to herself as she kept fidgeting in her seat. She hadn't really let herself think through what she had been doing till after she had sent her reply yesterday. This morning she had woken up frazzled from the nightmares she had about this meeting.

What was worse, the way Sunset had set it up, she had no clue when or if they would show up. So now Sunset had accidentally tricked herself into a stressful wait, possible for the entire afternoon. Sunset had even made it to the cafe 20 minutes before noon, which was an hour ago.

Everytime the bells above the door chimed, Sunset would flinch before trying to spy on the new ponies entering the restaurant from the corner of her eye. With how distracting this all was, it was a surprise that the book she was trying to read was even the right side up.

The door opened again, letting in a mare on her own, with a light grey coat and lavender and white mane. Sunset let out a breath. That wasn't the couple that she was waiting for. The mare spoke with the Pony behind the counter, before looking around and beginning to walk to the back of the cafe where Sunset was sitting alone. Sunset ignored her as she heard the door chimes tinkle again, before sighing as she saw a group of Fillies walk in and order coffees at the counter.

"E-excuse me? A-are you Sunset Shimmer?" Sunset jerked, nearly dropping her book as turned to stare at the mare that was now beside her table.
"Oh sorry for startling you!" The grey mare stated, reaching her forehoof out before pausing and thinking twice of touching her. "I'm Twilight Velvet."

"... oh." Sunset let out, staring at her before finally shaking herself awake. "Oh! um, yeah I'm Sunset Shimmer," She looked back towards the entrance. "Where's my... uh... I mean, where's your husband?" Sunset asked. She'd have expected her actual biological uncle to be the one to come to the cafe, not his wife.

"Your uncle Nightlight couldn't make it till after five, but I thought it would be better to let you know rather than leave you in suspense all day." Velvet replied as she sat down at the table. "You're not here by yourself are you? I hoped to meet your adopted parents."

Sunset was a bit miffed and confused, though she tried not to let it show on her face. Clearly this lady didn't know anything about her current situation.

"I actually have a scholarship to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and I've lived on the student housing for years. Don't know why you thought differently, but I was never adopted. I suppose the school head may technically be my guardian, not sure. I'm not immature like other students there, so they give me lots of independence and even a stipend." Sunset defended herself.

Velvet looked at her, surprised and a bit askance to find out her niece was alone this whole time. Calm down Velvet. Now's not the time to over react. Don't scare the filly off. She couldn't believe the orphanage hadn't been willing to let them know even that much.

"I-I see dear... Well, I suppose you're a smart pony then! You know, Shiny- I mean- your cousin, Shining Armor is also very studious, and Twilight Sparkle, my youngest daughter, is still in preschool but she already loves reading. Seems like you three have that in common!" Velvet deflected instead of asking the questions she truly wanted with the new information that Sunset had provided.

"So what do you and your husband do Mrs Velvet?" Sunset replied back, taking the chance to get more information from the older mare.

"Oh, well funnily enough, Night Light's cutie mark is a pair of moons. Most people think it's related to Astronomy, but it actually is related to Optics, or making things look bigger and closer. He actually works on specialized equipment like telescope lenses for the Canterlot Observatory and microscopes for labs." Velvet paused to give the waiter her order, before continuing wistfully, "I'm an adventure novelist actually, though lately I have picked quite a bit of work editing for other authors as well. It lets me work from home and be flexible for the kids."

Sunset frowned, "Wait, but how does your cutie mark tie into writing?" she asked a bit rudely. She'd already noticed that Velvet's cutie mark was a trio of five pointed stars, which she would usually have connected with a talent in some form of magic. It was a bit aggravating that neither grownup relation shared her passion for magic.

Velvet took a moment to think about how to respond. "Well, I gained my cutie mark at a filly guides camp out. The rest of the fillies in the troop decided to organize a competition for best storytelling while we were at the campfire, and I got so into it that it was almost magical. Next thing I know, everypony votes for my story, and I got three candy apples as my prize. I realized how fun it had been to imagine going on adventures, and next thing I knew I had my cutie mark!"

Velvet paused to drink her tea, mulling something, "I wasn't sure what it meant for years though. I actually figured out what I wanted to do after I started babysitting actually. It was so fulfilling to make up bedtime stories for foals, or reading them stories about pirates or far off places."

They ended up spending a couple hours simply talking, with Sunset mostly prodding to know more about the other living family she had, while Velvet tried to be as open as possible. It was a bit odd that Sunset hadn't asked much about her mother, though Velvet assumed it was likely because she had assumed she'd have to wait for Night Light to get those answers.

"Sunset? I was actually hoping you'd be willing to meet the rest of the family. Twily will be out of preschool soon, we could pick her up and walk to the house and continue there? If that is too much for today we can always set up a better time for you however?" Velvet finally asked the other unicorn.

Sunset looked undecided but thoughtful. "Fine. Let's pick up your daughter. I'll think about staying for longer though."

They set off after paying for their drinks and snacks.