Philomena

by sunsetsjournal

Rating: everyone
Tags: Drama, Equestria Girls, Comedy, Princess Celestia, Sunset Shimmer, Slice of Life
Length: 8429

Everypony has their own potential, but sometimes they need somepony to remind them of that.

The warmth of the summer finally fills the air and every filly and colt in the city of Canterlot is looking forward for the Summer Sun celebration, especially a little pony, called Sunset. Little does she know that very occasion would be the beginning of a new life for her.

Published 2018-06-21 08:10:08 UTC
Last updated 2018-06-21 08:10:08 UTC

Philomena

“It’s almost time!” the little filly thought, barely able to control the excitement that was running through her every vain like a full speed train.

Her ember fur was sweated from the heat of the night and rose like the spines on the back of a porcupine, her fiery and golden mane was messy from all the times she had tossed and turned in bed, her azure eyes were clear as the water of a frozen pond and circled by two heavy dark bags: a clear sign that she had not rested.

But after all, who could blame her?

It was a dream of every colt and filly in the city of Canterlot to participate in the annual Summer Sun celebration and this year, this year she would finally be there. It had not been easy to persuade her parents to attend to the festival, especially considering that they would prefer to remain at home and deal with their erudite studies like they used to, but in the end a pair of weepy eyes had been able to melt their cold hearts and convince them.

So the little girl was there with her muzzle outside the window of her bedroom, staring at the horizon, looking forward for the morning fog to disparage.

“Twenty-four hours” the filly repeated in a joyful tone of voice:

“Only twenty-four hours to go and I’ll finally be able to see her, the princess!”.

Her little legs were trembling like the day she had first tried to walk, as if they were about to fall under the pony’s weight, yet luckily for the girl that did not happen. Her heart was pounding as if she had just run a full marathon and her head felt dizzy from the lack of sleep or perhaps the excess blood her heart was sending the brain. Anyway the point is that she could not wait any longer for the sun to rise; the countdown had already taken too long for her tastes and our little filly was not known for her patience. So, as it looked like the sun would still take some time to appear, the girl turned away from the window and started trotting in circles around the place.

Her room was not exactly big, truth to be told it was much smaller than most of the bedrooms the other fillies and colts had in Canterlot, yet that did not seem to bother the girl or her parents.

“A comfy bed to sleep, a desk with a chair to study, a lantern in case I need to stay up late and a huge library: that’s all I need”; that was her motto.

Furthermore she had a small portrait of Princess Celestia on the wall, just between the door and the bed: every day and night she used looked at it, contemplating the image of the alicorn, gazing deeply into the eyes of the princess, as if she were alive. Now for the first time in her life she would finally meet her idol, the shining star of her dreams and for that to happen she would need to wait only twenty four hours.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” the girl exclaimed repeatedly, heading back to the window.

“Rise!” that unbearable anticipation was killing her: strange thing, too, for she had always enjoyed a good suspense in the numerous novels she used read, but, as it had turned out, she did not enjoy it as much, when it effected her own self. Luckily the girl would not need to remain anxious for much longer.

After ten or fifteen minutes a soft bronze line appeared at the horizon, behind the hills that surrounded the royal palace; as soon as she noticed that the filly gasped from excitement and began to jump euphorically like a frenetic ball. Her humid eyes glimmered in a powerful light and, as she breathed, her chest was filled with the fresh morning air that practically smelled of dew.

Soon after the filly rushed out of her tiny bedroom like a wild boar, launching at the tubers, slamming the door behind her back. In a flash she passed through the lounge and reached her parents’ room. Both her mother and father were still asleep, as she could tell from the snoring noise that was clearly hearable even from outside the bedroom; thought right at that moment the girl was anything but willing to wait for her parents to wake up on their own.

“Mom, dad!” The little filly shouted, entering the room, in a tone so loud and acute that could easily shatter a mirror: “It’s morning! Let’s get the preparations for tomorrow done!”.

What the girl still did not know about her parents, or at least tried to ignore, is that they loved sleeping in and that even the galloping sound of a thousand stallions would not manage to interrupt their slumber: of course, though, our little pony knew how to be louder than a thousand stallions, much louder.

“Mom, dad!” the impatient young filly shrieked, noisy as a cocotrice: “It’s morning! Time to get up”. Seeing that, despite her efforts her parents would not open their eyes, the girl performed a feline jump, landing atop of their bed with sniper precision: “Mom, dad” she started shouting again: “The sun is rising, get out of bed!”.

Finally the filly’s father gave a sign of life: he yawned, barely moving under the blanket, and rubbed his still sleepy eyes. “What’s up, Sunset?” He questioned dumbly, as if he had not heard anything: “What is it?”

“I’ve already said that three times!” the stallion’s daughter replied, giving signs of nervousness.

“I didn’t quite catch that, did you darling?” Sunset’s father asked, turning to his wife; but snoring was the only answer he received. “See dear? Even your mother is still asleep” the pony said at that point, trying to contain a yawn: “Why don’t we pick this up, later? I’m sure you’re still tired yourself and….”

“No, no, no!” Sunset exclaimed furiously, agitating the blanket of the bed beneath her hooves: “You promised you would accompany me around town to see the preparations for the big celebration, scheduled for tonight. You must keep your word!”. Seeing her father would not react to her wining, the little filly burst into tears and began to cry like a fountain.

“Okay, okay” the stallion replied, covering his ears: “I’ll go with you!”

“Awesome!” the pony shouted, shaking her whole body again from excitement: “You’re the best dad ever. Now let’s go!”.

The stallion sighed, defeated by his daughter, and stood up from the bed. Before heading to the door, through which Sunset had already passed, he turned around and softly kissed the forehead of the mare that was sleeping in his bed; witnessing the scene, Sunset made an expression of terrible disgust of her face: why did adults do such odd things with each other?

That was a question none had dared to answer, yet.

The little pony forcefully led her father to the entrance door, yet the stallion suddenly planted his dark heavy hooves on the ground: “Can we at least grab some breakfast before we go outside?” he questioned in his deep mainly voice.

“But dad” Sunset replied, wining once more: “You promised…”

“I know very well what I did, but what you should know is that your father cannot face the day without a proper breakfast and I am not leaving, until I have one”. With these very words Sunset’s father left the living room, headed to the kitchen; his daughter followed him, facing at the ground, mortified.

Once in the dining room, the stallion prepared a quick breakfast of toasted bred, butter and milk; he offered some food to his daughter, but the little filly shook her head in refuse, so her buttered toast ended up within the trash.

“How can he be hungry at a time like this?” Sunset thought, staring at her father, while he was eating calmly, slowly enjoying his breakfast piece by piece. “This is only the most important day of the year, the one that precedes the Summer Sun celebration! Oh, I bet everypony in town is already hanging out the street, observing the preparations for tonight’s event, while I’m stuck here with my dad”.

As soon as the stallion had finished eating, he stood up from his chair, turned to his daughter and said that he was finally ready to go and headed once more to the main door; Sunset followed him quickly as a bird. Having reached the exit door, the filly’s father grabbed his black working coat from the nearby hanger: he liked that coat so much that even the tremendous summer heat could not stop him from wearing it, no matter how much his gray fur would sweat under the burning sun; what’s more, as unusual as it may sound, Sunset had gotten used to it.

My eyes are a bit tired, I must confess. I hope you don’t mind me suspending the writing, but my fingers are starting to hurt, plus computers can really tire your eyes. I leave my room fast as lightening, head downstairs: I need some caffeine to stay awake, otherwise I am gonna fall asleep on my laptop, while writing.

They say too much coffee can make you feel frustrated and restless and it does. I’ve tried to replace it with tea: it kind of worked at first, but eventually I felt like it missed something and I just could not go on without my regular dose of caffeine.

I go back to my room, a smoking white cup of hot coffee in my hand. I look around my place and I notice the bed is still undone: I suppose I should have tied it up as soon as I woke up, but, hey, at Celestia’s school of magic for gifted unicorns they don’t exactly teach you to do your bed every morning; plus who does such things in their summer break?

I’ll deal with that problem later, for now I need to get back to writing. Once more I sit at my desk: the morning sun, penetrating from the window is pretty bright, no need to turn on my lamp.

I snap my fingers and put my hands on the keyboard again: “It’s time to get back to work!”

The young filly smiled at the light of the shining sun: “Soon it will be summer” she thought, staring at the crowd of ponies, filling every corner of the city streets: “My favorite time of the year”.

From this point of view our pony was as excited about the arrival of the warm season just as every other filly and colt in Canterlot: the chance to wake up in the morning without having to rush to school, the opportunity to go out and play as she pleased, the trips she would take with her family at the nearby beach site where she would fill her chest with the fresh salty sea air; in a few words the relaxation summer would offered was so irresistible to Sunset just as to any other little pony.

But we’ve talked enough about our filly’s plan for the incoming summer, for that day she was focused on only one thing: get ready for the famous Summer Sun celebration. Truth to be told, little did the youngster know that her summer would be very different from the one she had imagined and all because of one fatal event that would happen to her of all ponies. But I am just saying this to create some thrilling anticipation. For the time being I think it will be best for us, if we leave that out of our story.

As we were previously saying, little Sunset had remained speechless, for before her very eyes the whole town of Canterlot had suddenly come to life: some ponies were mobbed in the street, others stuck in the various stores, unsure about what to buy, not to mention the poor shops owners who were to handle such an impatient and confused crowd (just remembering their comical struggle make me burst into laughter). Yet our little filly, or rather her accompanier, was more interested in one particular store she used to visit every so often: it was not very outstanding, in fact the building structure and the white tint it was painted in made it very similar to every other construction in the city. The only thing that made it special was a rather long chimney, appearing on the rooftop: a detail that would make any architect’s eyes sore, yet that day the building’s chimney was smoking more than usual, emitting an inviting sweet aroma.

“Mmm...” Sunset’s father murmured, licking his lips: “Joe must have decided to wake up early again today” he said, while his stomach rumbled like that of a dragon: “I bet he’s already baked tons of his delicious treats: I think we should pay him a visit”. Hearing those words, the little filly’s eyes filled with rage, sparkling like fire, her pretty young face turned red, while he her muzzle began to snort like that of a bull or a buffalo the moment it sees a cape.

“We’ve got no time for that!” she shouted, unable to contain her anger, caused by her parent’s lack of interest in her matter: “You promised you would take me around the city the day before the Celebration!”.

Seeing Sunset in that state, plus the numerous ponies, gathering up all around, worried by the filly’s shrikes, the gray stallion replied: “Now, now, no need to get nervous”, while pretending to be talking to his daughter, but was in fact gazing upon the folk, that had surrounded him, undoubtedly worried at the prospective of loosing face in front of the whole city for yelling at his own Sunset.

“If I promised you something, dear, then you’ll get it”. He went on, suddenly stroking his daughter on the head with grate tender and care; yet the youngster was no fool: she could clearly see the lies in her father’s words, especially because he was both sweating and looking around, as he was talking to her.

“Can’t we just take a little pick inside and then go?” Instead of answering, the little pony, clenched her jaw and started beating the ground with her bare hoof; at that sight the stallion, who was her father, sighed in defeat and let his daughter drag him away from the Joe’s shop.

While this was happening, the crowd of ponies who had gathered around to witness the scene they had just made dispersed: some of the ponies in the midst might have been laughing at her father’s back, seeing a big and strong stallion such as him, giving up before his own still very young daughter; Sunset did not hear them speak clearly thought.

Nonetheless she did hear something, this one loud and clear: it was her father cursing under his breath the day he and his young attractive wife had decided to have a daughter and expressing his regret at the fact he had not abandoned her under a bridge the day she was born.

A pointy arrow pierced the filly’s heart, causing great pain, a tear slipped from her right eye, but after a moment she managed to keep it together, after all, that was not the first time she had been naughty to her father’s eyes.

“Bzzz...Bzzz” I stop writing to pick the annoying ringing phone, hoping the call won’t take too long.

Luckily for me, somebody only sent me a message: it is Fluttershy, she is wondering if I am free to go see her tomorrow at the animal shelter to help her clean up the mess the new pets that arrived the other day have just made.

I smile and text her I am free and totally willing to assist, she replies with a smiling cat emoji; I feel happy to be able to help out one of my friends: finally somebody cares and appreciates what I do.

But tomorrow will be another day, for now I put the phone in silent mode, so I will not be bothered anymore, I snap my fingers and put my hands on the keyboard again “It’s time to get back to work!”.

The city was decorated in the most pompous and stunning accessories Sunset had ever laid eyes on: colorful banners with the royal sun symbol on them, confetti and streamers already covering the road, even if mostly because some youngsters had been played with them from the early morning.

Every house owner had exposed their best flowers outsides the balcony: not only the usual red roses and violets, but also pink tulips, stunning orchids, lavenders, sunflowers, delicate white lilies, daffodils, something that the little filly had never had the chance to see before and is known for the bright color of its petals, and of course, merigolds, Sunset’s favorites, as they reminded her of the tint of her own main.

The gardens gave the impression they had never seen the slightest sight of weeds. Every tree, beautifying the street, was in full bloom: from the apple trees, to the peach trees and of course, Sunset’s favorites, the cherry ones with their pink petals, dancing at the softest blow of the wind.

“It looks like everything is in place” the young pony thought satisfied, smiling with pleasure: “Nothing could go wrong tonight, absolutely nothing”.

While headed to the entrance to the majestic palace gardens where the stage for the Summer Suns celebration was to be built, Sunset saw a white chariot arrive: it was decorated in a very sophisticated way and had four golden wheels that looked so bright one could swear they were actually made of gold. From the chariot exited a young handsome fellow, tall and wide in the chest; his mane was straight and blue as the ocean, his fur white as winter snow. He was a unicorn, wearing a formal attire, a waist coat and a bow tie, not o mention the monocular he had on his right eye; as soon as he placed his hooves on the ground, he was surrounded by a large group of young mares, probably admirers, hoping to be the lucky one to become his fiance.

Sunset had heard of him: his name was Fancy Pants or some sort, he apparently was a member of the most prestigious and wealthiest family in Canterlot and clearly loved showing it off through both appearance and attitude, as he was also well know for having avoided getting into a serious relationship with several mares, but despite all most of the girls in town considered him irresistibly charming and hoped to conquer his heart one day.

Many ponies currently bet on a certain Fleur-De-Lies, the spoiled daughter of a rich family: the two of them had apparently first met at the annual party, held in the royal gardens, and had immediately shown a particular sympathy towards each other.

Sunset did not like Fancy Pants: she considered him too full of himself like every other aristocratic and, worst of all, a Casanova, so she did not wish to be seen by him in the least and looked around to see if there was any nearby corner that could lead her away from that tremendous crowd. Fact is that at the at exact same time Fancy Pants managed to squeeze out of the group of mares around him and rushed away, bumping into the young filly who was just about to turn back.

“Uhh...I apologize for the inconvenience” the stallion spoke in an ostentatious way, offering his right hoof to Sunset who had fell on the ground: “Please do excuse me, are you okay...champ?”

Seeing him, the girl fist shook her head, unsure how to answer, then decided than it would be best for her just to stand up and speak in the most natural and spontaneous way she could: “I am fine, it’s no problem”.

“I am very glad to hear that: again I am very sorry about what happened, I was in a hurry just like you, I’d dare say, seeing how fast you were going. Where were you headed anyway?”.

Hearing his words, Sunset snorted softly, wondering why aristocratic had to be always so nosy.

“Oh...My father and I were just headed to...”

“Your father you say..” the stallion interrupted confused: “...but where is he exactly? I do not see anypony here apart from you”.

Sunset turned around only to remain glass-eyed, her face became pale, her breath anxious: Fancy Pants was right; her father was gone.

“Are you okay...champ?” the stallion went on: “Do you wish me to take you home?”

“No it’s okay” the filly replied, hiding a tear, slipping from her left eye and doing her best to make her breath sound normal. “He’s in a store nearby, I’ll catch up with him”

“Are you sure, champ? I would not want you to...”. As the stallion was still speaking, a loud female shriek was heard which made him understand it was time for him to go; shortly after Fancy Pants had left, Sunset saw a large group of mares headed his was.

She could not believe her eyes: how could a single stallion have some many admirers?

Having met Canterlot’s most famous star and found out that her father had taken advantage of the first chance to leave her alone in the middle of a crowded street, the little filly thought that day could not possibly had any more surprises in store for her: little did she know how wrong she was, but about that we will talk later, for now it’ll be best for us to follow the events of our story as they come in chronological order.

It did take a while for the girl to reach the royal palace which was located at the north edge of the town, while she lived in the southern area, still she managed to arrive even if she had to squeeze through tons of unfriendly ponies. When Sunset finally reached her destination her jaw almost dropped from surprise and happiness: she had never been at the castle before, yet she had no doubt the princess had taken great care of the gardens, so they would be ready for the big night.

Just from outside the little filly was witnessing the most beautiful and rare collection of trees in all of Equestria: before her very eyes stood a giant Flemboyant tree with dozens of bright red flowers, covering its long branches, a tall Rainbow Eucalyptus, which takes its name after the peculiar color of the bark, a group of Jaracandas, a type of plant only found in tropical regions, well know for its dark color, then a banyan tree with its incredibly long branches and a unique wind swept tree, which actually looks as funny as its name sounds.

While she was admiring this incredible view, the girl happened to hear a soft whistle, some kind of bird chirping; the young filly raised her ears, but was unable to recognize what kind of feathered animal may had produced that sound. The whistle was heard again, as if it was meant to draw somepony’s attention; Sunset suddenly shivered excited, as she took the first step forth.

The girl knew very well that place was not meant for her to enter, that she or anypony else for that matter were not allowed to wander the royal gardens as they pleased. But, as many of you might know, ponies, caught up in an exciting situation, usually forget about the rules or rather they prefer to ignore them, as somepony finds the thrill of doing something forbidden irresistible, especially if they are youngsters.

So our little filly ventured recklessly into the immense garden, surrounding the royal palace of Canterot, without any hesitation, following the chirping of the mysterious bird that had attracted her in the first place, soon ending up in a clearing of indescribable beauty. Sunset had in fact found herself surrounded by giant trees some of which were even more spectacular that the ones she had seen just a moment before.

The first thing that caught her eye was an old Rhododendron tree, which appeared stunning thanks to the numerous pink flowers that had bloomed on the branches; then the girl saw and even older wisteria that may had as well been there for more than a thousand years. It is well know in fact that these kind of trees usually manages to live over a century and to the eye looks like a hybrid between a willow and cherry tree; furthermore these trees often show their full beauty at night, when their blooms glimmer in the dark.

Not far from where she was stood an extremely rare Beech Draped with its branches covered in greenish moss, plus numerous cherry trees, Sunset’s favorites, that let the breeze carry the petals of their beautiful flowers, filling the air with an irresistible perfume of cherry.

At the very center of the clearing there was a large fountain that had been carved out of marble; the sculpture at its top resembled three fillies, holding their hooves together, probably as a symbol of courage and common strength.

Both confused and amazed, Sunset turned her head around until she found what she was looking for: on one of the branches of the old Wisteria there was a robin, young and small, singing a sweet tune. Seeing it, the girl’s eyes shined in a bright light, as she was smiling, and slowly neared the animal. She cautiously moved toward the robin, managing to get very close, the bird in fact did not seem to mind her presence; yet an unexpected event made it fly away in an instant.

Suddenly Sunset, heard the sound of a female voice she did not recognize, shortly followed by that of the heavy pace of ponies, wearing full armors.

“Guards!” the girl thought, grinding her teeth: “I have to get out of here!”.

Luckily Sunset did not panic and quickly found a way to escape under the shadows of a group of Dark Hedges.

The clock over the wall strikes midnight; I yawn tired, too tired to go on. I shut down my laptop and leave it on the table: I’ll pick this up tomorrow, after I help Fluttershy at the animal shelter.

A day has passed, the clock on the wall strikes 11:30 am. Turns out that cleaning up Flutterhy’s shelter required more time than I had imagined; seriously it was a huge mess. But I shan’t bore you to death with all the details, after all, it would not be beneficial to our purpose: we’re here to tell a story.

I guess I’ll put my fingers on the keyboard once more: “It’s time to get back to work”.

That evening, dinner was silent: an awkward tension filled the air in Sunset’s house, more than usual that is. The girl’s parents were both sitting at the table in the dining room with their eyes laid at the still smoky stew the house wife had prepared, as if it was the best meal they had ever had.

Truth to be told it tasted awfully, like oats mixed with dish water, which was not a surprise at all; the filly knew too well her mother was a terrible cook (no wonder why she used to be so thin) and yet she did not utter a single word. Instead Sunset swallowed every sip without the slightest will of complaining.

As much as she wanted to know what that was all about, the reason why her parents had decided to ignore her presence, Sunset was smart enough to understand that was not the right time to ask, so, as soon as she finished eating, the girl stood up from her chair and slowly left the room; her parents still ignoring her.

That night the filly did not sleep a wink, but who could blame her?

The whole day she had been excited about going to the Summer Sun celebration, but now she was afraid her father and mother would not let her participate after all.

What if they had decided to lock her in her bedroom? What would have she done then? Escaped through the window? And where would have she gone? Sure she would have been able to go to the celebration if she had succeeded, but what if her parents had found out she was gone even if only for a little while? Surely they would have not bothered to look for her, knowing she would return home eventually, but in that case things would have gotten even worse and Sunset would have found herself in more serious trouble.

But on the other hand, if she had just stayed quite in her room and endured, she would have missed the opportunity of the lifetime to fulfill her dream, maybe she would not have gotten another chance to attend to the celebration.

And all of this for what exact reason? Because she had annoyed her father the whole day, dragging him around the city? Because she would not let him have a doughnut at Joe’s? Or perhaps because she had incidentally humiliated him before the eyes of everypony in town, making a laughing stock out of him?

“What to do?” Sunset repeated to herself in her mind all night long: “What to do?”.

When the clock on the wall finally stroke 4:30 am, Sunset swallowed: “It’s now or never” she whispered anxiously: “Now or never”.

Having stood from her bed, the tired filly reached the window and opened it; the breeze that entered her room was cold and made her shiver, as if it where winter. Sunset did her best to keep her heavy eyes open; yet a long yawn managed to escape her mouth:

“Not good” she thought: “At this rate I won’t even make it to the celebration, before falling asleep”.

Unsure about what to do, instead of jumping out of the window, while she still could, the young girl sighed in hesitation and perhaps that was best, for at that exact moment her father entered the room, wearing his usual black coat. He called her name, little Sunset, turned around shocked: she had not expected to see him in her room and hoped he had not understood her intentions: she was lucky.

“We’re going to the celebration, Sunset” her father went on: “But it’ll only be you and me; mom has decided to stay home”.

Hearing these words, the filly could not believe her ears: her father, taking pity on her? Absurd: he had rather gone mad or become a saint; too bad Sunset did not believe in miracles. One thing was clear though: if she truly wanted to go to the celebration she, had to follow her father now.

Reaching the castle took less time than the girl had thought, in fact, since it was relatively late, everypony had already gathered in front of the stage before the entrance to the royal gardens. Unlikely for our little filly, this meant she would have to stay at the back of the crowd from where she would hardly see anything.

As soon as she saw the number of ponies in front of her, Sunset’s jaw drop in desperation: she had planned to be the first pony in line to admire the princess, raising the sun, but now she was the last. Sunset wanted to cry, but, as a tear dropped from her left eye, a snort remembered her that she was not there alone, so she sobbed in silence.

The clock tower stroke 5:00 am, dawn time; a loud cry was heard and right there on the stage she appeared, Princess Celestia.

The alicorn was beautiful and majestic: her features were indeed royal, her long eye lashes dark and elongated as well as her chin; her mane sparkled in intense light. Her white fur was candid as winter snow and the jewels she wore around her neck and hooves were undoubtedly a priceless treasure. Yet what hit one’s eye the most was not her physical beauty or the splendor of her jewelry, but her expression which conveyed a deep sadness, hidden under her smile.

After thanking the audience with a gesture, the princess proceeded without further ado.

She spread her wide wings, rising from the ground, a luminescent golden aura appeared around her horn and her cutie mark glimmered in a magical energy.

Soon the bright rays on the sun began to shine behind the hills, surrounding the palace and the crowd emitted a loud cheer: dawn was due any minute now.

Meanwhile Sunset was desperate to see something, she had tried to jump, but her father had immediately forced her to give up with a mean, cruel gaze. At the moment she first saw the sunlight; a deep fear invaded her soul: the chance to fulfill her dream of witnessing the princess, raising the sun, had come, but she was stuck at the end of the line and there was no way to solve her problem.

Suddenly an idea flashed in her mind and her eyes sparked in a bright light: “It’s now or never” the girl repeated to herself, having decided what to do: “It’s now or never!”.

Luck wanted that the pony, standing in front of Sunset, was a very tall, and also rather familiar, white stallion, tall enough that he could see everything, despite being at the end of the line. Without wasting any more time the filly jumped on his back, causing him to shriek in shock and fear, and quickly stood up on her posterior legs: from that position she could finally see.

“Sunset!” a mainly voice shouted: “Come down this instant!”, both the filly and the stallion holding her, who had quickly understood the situation, ignored the command. “If don’t come down now, I’ll lock you in your room for a month!” no response came.

In the mean time our little girl was astonished by the level of beauty before her eyes: everypony was jumping and cheering euphorically, as the golden sun, raised by the princess, had almost entirely appeared in the sky. Yet when it reveled itself in full might, Sunset’s heart melted from joy, her eyes burned with passion: one could even have the impression she was about to pass out at any moment.

As you may know though, the sun is not only stunning, but also dangerous, for one staring at it without appropriate protection can loose their sight in no time; too bad the young exited filly had forgotten about that small detail.

In fact, as soon as the sun shined in all its fiery light, the poor girl shouted violently; her eyes burning in unbearable pain, and then fell, hitting her head on the ground.

When she woke up, Sunset had no idea how long she had remained unconscious: a few days perhaps?

The only thing she remembered where the Summer Sun celebration, a bright light, blinding her, and then just dark, humid awful dark and voices. One of them, which she did not recognize, certainly belonged to a mare, the others to various ponies, discussing whether her conditions were growing better or worse.

When she woke up though it not take her long to understand where she had been taken: a small room, an uncomfortable bed and the cable of huge machine, constantly checking her heartbeat, attached to her pulse: “Yep hospital, no doubt”.

A few seconds after a young mare, dressing in white, entered the room, surely a nurse. Seeing her awake, the nurse smiled happy: “Finally” she said: “You sure took a long nap!”

“How long precisely?” the filly asked curios:

“Two whole days!”

“Two whole days...” the girls repeated: “Has anypony come to visit?” Sunset questioned, swallowing: “Anypony at all?”

the nurse answered, shaking her head, lowering her eyes.

“Oh” Sunset sighed:, putting on a frowning expression: “I understand...thanks anyway”.

Before leaving, the nurse neared the girl and kissed her on the forehead, then turned around, headed to the door. “Wait a sec…” the mare exclaimed suddenly: “There is indeed somepony here who wants to see you. They’ve been here the whole time you remained unconscious: perhaps that will cheer you up. I’ll let them know you’re awake”.

As soon as the nurse had left her alone, the filly turned away from the door, not interested in meeting who would soon come through it: after all who could ever take interest in her conditions if even her parents had not?

Surely some random doctor happy to see their patients recover.

When the door opened behind her back, the young filly closed her eyes and snorted loudly, so that the visitor would immediately understand she was not pleased with being disturbed; yet instead she heard a warm voice, speaking to her.

“Greetings, Sunset Shimmer, if I am not mistaken”.

Hearing that voice, Sunset quickly turned around: it was the voice of her dreams, the female voice she hadn’t recognized, it was speaking to her in real life this time. Seeing to whom that voice belonged to, made Sunset’s jaw drop: it was her...her, the alicorn princess, she was in her room, speaking to her in a very cordial tone and she was not dreaming.

“I am happy to see you’ve finally awaken”.

Unsure about how to answer, the girl payed her respects to the princess by humbly lowering her heard.

“Please Sunset Shimmer, we can avoid the formalities, after all this is a private meeting, not an official one. Now tell me, how do you fell?”

“Well...” Sunset replied, while her cheeks became warm and red: “...I guess I might be feeling better, I am still a little disoriented and confused”

“Sorry to hear that, but don’t worry; it’ll pass in a while”.

Having said these words, Princess Celestia calmly approached Sunset’s bed, then lowered her head closer to the filly whose heart was now beating fast as a stallion, galloping a meadow.

“Sunset Shimmer” the princess went on: “I own you an apology, I should have noticed you were staring at the sun and stopped the celebration immediately. The safety of even only one pony means more to me than the a thousand cheers. So I ask you to forgive me”.

Sunset shivered, hearing these things, and looked at the alicorn with great surprise:

“You are apologizing to me?!” she mumbled: “But you are you and I am...nopony!”

"That is untrue” Princess Celestia answered: “Despite what most ponies think, even princesses make mistakes: I am deeply sorry that you had to experience that on your own skin, and you are no common pony, Sunset, there’s something special about you. I’ve felt it the moment I first laid my eyes on you.”

“Uh” Sunset sighed, lowering her eyes again: “If only that were true; even my own parents don’t value me at all. I suppose I really am a good for nothing”

“Are you sure about that?” the alicorn went one, giggling this time: “Then how do you explain this?!”.

The moment Princess Celestia removed Sunset’s blanket, the little filly’s eyes shined in a new joyful light and her soul was immediately filled with surprise: on her previously blank flank a cutie mark had appeared, a cutie mark shaped like the sun, half red and half yellow.

“What? When? How?” The young girl shouted, exited.

“I take from your reaction that you like your surprise gift?” the princess asked, smiling:

“Of course I do!” Sunset shrieked like a baby: “It was taking so long to appear; I actually started thinking that I would never get my cutie mark! It’s perfect! Wait a minute...” the filly said, slowing down: “...it looks very similar to...”

“Mine? I noticed that too, while I was bringing you here” the alicorn replied happy: “I personally think it’s beautiful”.

“But how?” Sunset asked, clearly confused: “A cutie mark is the representation of a pony’s unique purpose, it symbolizes who you are! How can two cutie marks that are so similar exist?”

“I don’t know” princess Celestia answered, shaking her head: “But what I do know is that it must mean you have something special withing you, Sunset, and such a talent certainly cannot go to waste”.

At that moment a brilliant idea flashed in the princess’s mind: “Sunset?” she questioned, visibly happy:

“Yes?”

“How would you feel like becoming a student at my magic school?”

“You don’t mean...” the girl said in an exited trembling voice: “The magic school for...gifted unicorns, do you?”

“Of course I do!”.

Hearing the princess’s response made Sunset jump right out of her bed: she was so filled with thrill she felt like she was flying high up in the sky.

“Hey, calm down, Sunset, or you’ll hurt yourself” the alicorn giggled: “You haven’t fully recovered, yet”

“I know but I just can’t contain myself” Sunset replied: “Princess” she then went on, looking deep into the alicorn’s eyes: “I promise I’ll devote myself to study. I will never ever forget about this chance you’re giving me”

“I know you won’t”.

Obviously every school has its rules and even if the princess was sure about the young girl’s potential, the alicorn had little Sunset’s entrance exam scheduled for the beginning of fall. So, as soon as she was sent home from the hospital, our filly spent her summer studying.

Sadly we must also say that both her parents did not care to show a whisk of concern for their daughter,which would generally be seen as odd, especially considering the incident she had lived through, but then everypony has their own way of expressing their feelings. Sunset’s parents for example, looked positively pleased that her daughter had taken up studying seriously, as they thought she had began to follow their example, since we already know that they were both erudite.

Obviously the girl did not mention them the proposition the princess had made her, fearing they would not let her go to magic school, yet we must also add that, as soon as their daughter left home, moving in the royal palace; word is that they suddenly became the happiest ponies in Canterlot.

Anyway three months passed fast and finally the day of the exam came; Sunset was determined to do everything she could to pass and prove the princess that she was worthy of her cutie mark and what she had seen in her some time ago truly exited.

The bell rang and the school door was opened; as she took the first step inside Sunset sighed, telling herself that everything would go alright and that if Princess Celestia had seen something in her, then that had to be true.

I still remember it like it were yesterday: coming from the main entrance, the exam room was the third door on the left.

As the little filly entered the room, she saw and felt the gazes of four judges, staring at her. She timidly stood at the center of the room: “Good morning” she mumbled: “I am Sunset Shimmer...I am here for my entrance exam”; the judges wrote some notes on their blocks.

A gray stallion, dressing in blue, entered the room, carrying a heavy wagon in which lay some hey and a small egg of the color of flames.

“Miss Shimmer” a judge mare with a ginger mane spoke: “Here’s a simple task: use your magic to make that egg hatch. Succeed and you’re in, fail and you’re out: is everything clear?!” The little filly nodded, while sweat began to wet her forehead: “Very well, you may proceed, Miss Shimmer”.

Hearing the judge’s firm order, certainly did not help Sunset to get rid of the tension she felt, in fact from that moment fear started getting the best of her. Having swallowed, the young girl closed her eyes, lowered her head toward the egg; a spark came out of her horn, then nothing more.

She tried again once, twice, but nothing happened.

“Miss Shimmer” the mare judge went on in her incredibly firm tone of voice: “Are you planning to keep us here all day?”.

Intimidated, the filly tried to cast her spell again, but the simple spark that came out of her horn was not enough to make that egg hatch. At that point the judges wrote something on their blokes, then the mare from before pointed the girl the exit door.

Ashamed, Sunset headed toward it, but before she could reach it somepony entered the room and spoke in a soft warm voice, a voice Sunset recognized: “Oh good, I am not late, the exam hasn’t started, yet. I’ve been looking forward to see Sunset in action”.

When she saw the young filly with her eyes facing down, Princess Celestia suddenly shivered.

“Your Highness...” the judge mare with the ginger mane said: “The exam has already concluded and Miss Shimmer has been unable to accomplish her task”.

Hearing those words, the alicorn took Sunset’s face in her hooves and saw her frowning; tears were running down the girl’s face, as if it were a fountain.

“Miss judge...” the princess then said: “I would like to give Miss Simmer another chance this time with me present” at the sound of that order everypony in the room remained shocked.

“But you Highness” the judge mare went on: “the rules…”

“I am the rules”.

As the alicorn said that sentence, her voice sounded like a thunder, so different from her usual warm tone that nopony dared object.

After the princess had taken seat, Sunset lowered her head toward the egg again and cast her spell, noting came out of it. The filly searched for the princess’s disappointed eyes, but when she found them, she noticed that the alicorn was still smiling, despite her failure, she was still there encouraging her.

That smile unleashed something magical inside Sunset, something she did expect she’d find anymore, for when she cast her spell again, finally an azure ray materialized out of thin air and hit the egg powerfully. From it a bird arose, a baby one, covered in fiery feathers.

When she opened her eyes, Sunset could not believe what she saw: the egg hatched, the baby among the hey in the wagon, the judges’ mouths wide open and the princess, walking toward her with a big smile on her face.

“Princess I...I did it! Did you see everything? I did it…I...” instead of answering, Princess Celestia spread her beautiful wings and hugged the little filly tight, close to her chest.

I still remember it: the warmth of her fur, the tightness of her wings, holding the filly, her heartbeat, her perfume and the cold of the tears, running down Sunset’s cheeks. I remember the alicorn dragging the girl outside of the room with her, telling her she wished her to be her prize pupil.

I remember her taking Sunset through the gardens to her new room in one of the palace towers, I remember the filly jumping happily on her new soft bed and the princess, giggling as if she were a filly again, and joining Sunset on the bed.

I remember the first dinner at the castle: everything smelled so good and tasted even better: from the eggs to the oat cake and even the green tea Sunset and the princess sipped after dinner was something far better than anything she had ever drank before. No comparison to the girl’s mother terrible stew: trust me; I was there.

The following night, when the two of them where resting in the palace gardens; Sunset took the chance to ask the alicorn a question: “Princess Celestia?”

“Yes?”

“Back yesterday, when you came to the exam room and heard I had failed, why did you decide to give me another chance? How could you be so sure about my potential?”

Hearing this question, the alicorn giggled: “Oh, Sunset, those judges did quite a number on you yesterday!”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought we had covered this the first time we met”

“Yes, but then yesterday I failed” the young girl cried.

“Hey now, no need for tears” Princess Celestia went on, drying the filly’s face with the feathers of her wing: “Do you wish to now what I think?”

Sunset nodded.

“I am sure that everypoy has their own potential, but sometimes they need somepony to remind them of that”. With these words the alicorn hugged the filly in her candid wings; once more Sunset felt the warmth of her fur and her pure heart, beating in her chest.

“Maybe someone dear to them, princess?” Celestia, laid her head toward the young girl, then smiled, moved:

“Definitely”.

“Princess?” Sunset went on:

“Yes?”

“What of the bird? The one whose egg I cast my spell on?”

“Oh...” Princess Celestia giggled: “Haven’t you seen her, yet? I’ve decided to keep her as a pet!”

“For real?”

“Of course, that little phoenix is adorable!”

“Have you given her a name?”

“Not yet…but I think I’ve just found the perfect one”

“And that is?”

“Philomena”

At the sound of that name the girl shook her head confused: “It sounds unusual, does it mean anything?”. Princess Celestia stared at Sunset and pulled her into another even tighter hug, the filly closed her eyes, smiling:

“Loved”.

“Bzzz...Bzzz...” my phone rings again, I thought I had put it in silence mode...Oh right, that was yesterday.

I check and find an unread message: it’s Twilight Sparkle; she invited me to the beach along with her and the others.

I really can’t refuse, can I?

I leave my seat at the desk and hurry to get my swimming suit, pack some sunscreen and water in and I am good to go.

I shut down my laptop, before leaving; my bed is still undone though, but I’ve got no time for that now, after all it’s summer!

Yet there is still one thing I can’t forget to do: thank you all for reading my little Equestian tale.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed it,

as always your fried...

Sunset Shimmer

Author's Note

This is my longest story so far and it was such a huge project it took most of my efforts.
I sincerely hope you liked it and, of course, be sure to have this summer.

A happy solstice to you and your loved ones,

Your Sunsetsjournal:twilightsmile: