There they sat. Mother and daughter in a tight embrace, sharing a happy (sappy) and joyful moment together. And here she sat, a sad smile on Sunsets face, looking at the get together from a shop on the other side of the mall. She had given up on her search for her parents not long before she became Celestias personal student and now she just sat around, wallowing in her loneliness. How pathetic, she would have thought not so long ago, but now she knew better than to envy herself.

At least now she had a lead, as to who her mother was, even if she could only tell by appearance. If only she had taken in more data, as perhaps a name. There used to be a book in Canterlot that held a name register for all the inhabitants of Equestria and as she knew Twilight, that girl would have at least one copy in one of the libraries at the castle.

If a name was all that was holding herself and her family apart then she knew what to do, even if she couldn’t approach her doppelgangers mother about it. Sunset left the shop with a self-satisfied smile, planning to get her hoody for another late-night visit.

Once again Sunset stood on the pavement in front of Sunflare Shine’s home, throwing stones at the girl’s window. To others it might even look like the beginning of a not-very-well-thought-of-romance novel, but it wasn’t. The window didn’t open. The front door did.

Only mere seconds later, the two girls stood there, hugging each other. “Thank you so much for setting things up with my mom. We spend the day together and I actually learned some things about my past that I otherwise never would have. Thank you so much, if there’s anything I can do for you just… say…it…” Sunset was flattered and shocked at the same time as Sunflare suddenly pulled back and tried to take a look at the stranger who’d made her feel so much better.

The hooded girl turned around and lowered her voice. “What’s your mother’s name?” She really tried to stay calm but at the same time she wanted to hit herself for falling back into her dumb, old habit of acting before thinking things through. Maybe if she had taken some more time to make an actual plan, she wouldn’t feel that cornered.

Sunflare was taken aback by this strange question, and even though she said, she would do anything, this seemed like something the person who introduced the two to each other would know, wouldn’t they? “Didn’t you already know it as you told me where to find her? I thought you knew the two of us and somehow figured things out.”

Sunset was getting cold, and still having quite the way to go to get home, she was growing more and more impatient by the minute. “Please stop asking me questions. I just want to know our mother’s name and get a good nights-sleep.” She sighed heavily, rethinking her words. She wasn’t the only one to see her mishap.

The native girl didn’t know much about her family, except for the fun to talk about nutcases and her sibling brother. She didn’t have a sister. She didn’t even have cousins for that matter. “Who the hay are you?”

The former unicorn knew, she had given away one too many inconsistencies and that the only way to shut her up and not to get her to talk to anyone about it, was to give the girl something, no one would believe. As she embraced this thought, there was no holding back.

As Sunset turned around and removed the grey hoodie from her radiant, curly hair with one hand, she had to use the other one to keep her counterpart from screaming. “Before you do anything you might regret, just listen. My name is Sunset Shimmer. We aren’t related and if I tried to explain why we look so much alike, you wouldn’t believe it anyway. Just tell me your mother’s name and I can finally go and look for my own and will never have to bug you again.”

A simple nod was all the girl could manage, but it was enough of a signal for Sunset to let go of her mouth. She was trembling, still in shock of seeing someone else with the exact same face, but she couldn’t deny, that she did owe her something. “Stellar Flare” it was not much more than a whisper, but it was all that was needed to get Sunset to break into a run. She had all the information she needed and wouldn’t stick around to get caught up in anything else.

Sunflare went back inside and snuck up to her room. She could be happy that her mother hadn’t woken up, or she might have freaked out as well about this `Sunset Shimmer´… Sunset Shimmer. This name did ring a bell, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.

Then it clicked all back in place. Her mother had once talked about a few girls, that were responsible for her, losing her job and prestige. Sunset had been one of them. What else was up with this girl?

Author's Note

What a bummer it was to see, that I lost the last third of the chapter and had to rewrite it after not looking at it for two months. I still think, that it could be quite enjoyable and I actually already have the next four chapters written on paper. Prepare for a ride