“With all due respect princess,” Shining Armor said looking at Luna sitting on Celestia’s throne, flanked by her Lunar Guard. “You asking me to hunt down my adoptive sister aside, we both know pretty well that Sunset is one of the most skilled mages in present times, and that was before she somehow defeated the Lord of Chaos. How exactly do you expect that we capture her without severe casualties?”

The princess of the moon spoke calmly. “I’m not asking you to put a crossbow in her throat, I’m asking you to bring her here so we can keep her locked down where she won’t hurt anycreature again.”

Shining’s eye twitched. “You will kill her again.”

“Killing her has proven to be useless, but I don’t expect that she will willingly come back to Canterlot and face the consequences of her actions.”

“Less so after you put a price for her head.” Shining tried to keep calm but considered it pointless by now. “Sunset is reasonable, if you would just let me or Twilight talk to her, we could arrive to some agreement.”

Luna sighed, putting a hoof over her chest. “As I said, my objective is to keep her where she can do no harm to others. I already offered her a new start when she attacked the castle and she refused, if you can convince her to stay where we can monitor her actions, I won’t go against it.”

“I will still be sending her to prison.” Shining thought, but he knew that this was the best he could ask for.

Luna lowered her hoof and went back to her regal posture. “As for your worries about your men, I will make sure that they’re equipped with the best gear we can produce, specially protections against fire spells. I don’t want half of the army to melt.”

Shining made a little bow. “Thank you, it was long due for my men to have proper gear.”

“That will be all for now, you may return to your duties.”

Shining nodded and exited the room, and just then Luna addressed the elephant in the room, or to be more specific, the alicorn. “You shouldn’t be eavesdropping on your sister.”

“You shouldn’t knock me out with your hammer either, but it happened,” Celestia said as her spell of invisibility faded. “And before you say that I chained you against your will, you tried to strike me first.”

Luna sighed, not wanting to start a shouting match with her sister… again. “Do you agree with what I said to Shining Armor?”

Celestia walked up to Luna, climbing up the short stairs to the throne until they could see each other eye to eye. “May I remind you that I tried keeping her close to me at all times and it backfired horribly? You can’t force her to stay.”

Luna grunted. “We have no other options Tia. She can’t run around free.”

“Because you’re afraid of her? You’re making the same mistakes I did!” Celestia exclaimed right in Luna’s face.

“I–” Luna felt her wound burn but managed to keep calm. “I’m aware of that, but as I said, we have no options, and you can’t deny Sunset’s and Sunshine’s crimes.”

Celestia shook her head, clearly frustrated. “Make her earn pardon. She wants to do good; she wants a normal life, and with the Elements gone, having Sunset as a defender of Equestria could be crucial for the survival of the kingdom. The Empire and Sombra will return soon, and who knows what else the universe will throw at us while we aren’t ready.”

Luna rubbed her temples. “Trust me Tia, I want this problem solved as much as you, but it won’t be so simple. I heard her threaten Twilight, she has openly declared that she will murder you as soon as she gets the chance, and I killed her once, or twice if you count Nightmare Moon. There is nopony left that she would listen to.”

Celestia didn’t have a direct counter to that. She knew full well that while Sunshine remains inside Sunset, she won’t be able to help her. “Is there a way to separate Sunset from Sunshine? I know it’s a stupid question, but if there’s at least one minimal chance, I want to hear it.”

Luna was about to dismiss her sister’s hopes, but despite the pain in her chest, a thought popped in her head. “To be completely honest, there is little known about spirits like Nightmare Moon and Sunshine.” Luna took a deep breath before continuing. “When Nightmare and I were trapped in the moon, she left my body for a couple of years.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “What?”

“She wanted to talk, face to face.”

“I could’ve flown to the moon and get her back.” Was a thought that repeated itself on Celestia’s mind as her sister continued.

“Nightmare’s influence over me was very strong, it fed from my emotions and coerced me into betraying you. But having her outside of me only made it worse.”

Celestia had to make a double take on that. “How? Did she grow more powerful?”

Luna shook her head. “No, she told me that she needed to be inside a vessel, not only to make herself exponentially more powerful, but she needed my magic to survive.”

“Wait, are you telling me that we could convince Sunshine to leave Sunset’s body? Is that the possibility you’re presenting me here?”

“Considering that it would slowly starve her to death, I don’t think you can make her leave willingly.”

“But why did Nightmare choose to stay out of your body then?”

Luna lowered her head, closing her eyes in regret. “She convinced me to truly betray you.”

Celestia looked at her sister confused and worried. “What? What does that mean?”

“When I came back the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, it wasn’t Nightmare Moon making those declarations of eternal night, nor the one who sent you to the sun.” Luna’s hooves trembled. “It was me. She managed to convince me that betraying you was justified. That I did deserved to have Equestria as my own. That taking it by force was the only way to achieve it.” The shame in her voice was almost palpable.

“Luna I… I’m sorry.” Celestia looked down, remembering her talk with the illusion of Sunset. “It was my fault.”

“No, it was mine,” Luna said almost desperately. “I shouldn’t have given in to her words. She was a manipulative snake that lied her way into your heart.”

“Still, were it not for how I treated you, she wouldn’t have convinced you, she wouldn’t have even existed in the first place.”

“That’s exactly how she convinced me,” Luna said somberly.

Celestia had to take a moment to think carefully about her next words, knowing that saying the wrong things to someone with unstable emotions was a recipe for disaster. “Luna, you’re not that mare anymore. I won’t give you any reasons to be like that ever again. I know that you will earn everypony’s love, it’s just a matter of time and good guidance.”

Luna gritted her teeth. “They already hate me. Just because I dared take your place when you couldn’t rule. The only ones that care for me are the ponies that fought at my side. Any other friend I had died in the thousand years I spent on the moon.” She felt her wound burn. “I only got what I wanted, what I deserved, because I took it, just like I wanted to do as Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia put her hooves on Luna’s shoulders. “They will learn to love you Lulu. I promise. And I will help you.”

Luna shook her shoulders. “You can’t. You’re cursed and delirious, you–” Luna stopped herself, taking a deep breath to calm down. “You need to find a way to break that curse. If Pinkie Pie managed to do it once, there must be a way.”

Celestia took a few steps back, wondering if her words were the correct ones. “I will look into it.”

Luna nodded. “Call me if I can help you in any way.”

Celestia turned around to leave, but a thought stopped her. “If you truly wanted to win, how did Twilight and her friends defeat you?”

Luna looked down at the floor. “You remember those… ‘challenges’ I made them go through on their way to the castle?”

“Yes. I always found it weird that you didn’t stop them yourself, but I assumed it was part of Harmony’s prophecy.”

“Nightmare wanted to. Her plan was to blow up the entire mountain with the mares on it. But I told her that a landslide would be enough.” Luna looked at her sister. “That was the start. When the ponies survived, Nightmare wanted to attack in person, but I pointed to a wild Manticore in the forest, so she enraged it and send it to them. And the same happened with the rest. The more she tried to cause harm to the six, the more I doubted what I was doing. And when she threw Sunset down the gorge, I finally snapped back to myself, and betrayed her.”

“Betrayed her?” Celestia questioned.

“When the elements were activated, she was about to fight back, but I stopped her. Made her freeze in place. Told her that it was over. That…” Luna looked away. “We weren’t friends anymore.”

“You considered each other friends?” Celestia asked surprised.

Luna shook her head. “She tricked me into believing it, that’s how she got me on her side. Do you understand why we can’t trust Sunshine? She will know exactly what to say to keep Sunset on her side. She already managed to destroy the Elements of Harmony, the only thing that we knew for sure would destroy her.”

“Then I will find a way to take her out of Sunset,” Celestia declared determined. “And if it comes to the worst, send her against me, I’m the one responsible for her situation.”

“Always the martyr. Probably the only reason why you can’t cheat death,” Luna thought with her chest aching. “Don’t be reckless with this.”

“I won’t. I’ve learned, even if it took me more than a thousand years.” With that, Celestia turned around and quickly left the room before summoning a scroll with her magic.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,” she mumbled out of habit while she wrote. “I found a way to maybe save Sunset, but I need your help to do some research. Come to Canterlot and I will explain everything, bring your friends if they want.” She paused for a moment before adding. “I don’t know how much you know about what really happened between me and Sunset, but I can tell you know enough to hate me. If you wish to do this research on your own, I will send you everything I can find and we won’t need to see each other, but we both need all the help we can get.”

Celestia signed the letter and was about to send it when a small voice spoke. “Can I try to send it?” The alicorn turned her head to her right and saw a filly version of Sunset looking at her with eyes full of excitement.

Celestia smiled warmly and sat down beside her. “Of course, you remember the spell?”

Pharynx dropped his disguise as he entered Cadence’s chambers, finding his queen slowly disintegrating a chair over a pile of dust that was once a drawer.

“Who are you practicing for?” the changeling asked.

“Sunset,” Chrysalis responded bitterly as the last of the chair became dust. “That miserable mare ruined years of efforts to destroy Equestria’s military from the inside.”

“We still have a good network of spies in the Royal Guard, and the Elements of Harmony are no longer a threat,” Pharynx said as he handed another chair for the queen to disintegrate.

“Yes, but I feel that Sunset’s usefulness has finally ran out. I want a regiment of our reserves to join the hunt.”

“Kill on sight?” Pharynx asked.

Chrysalis nodded. “And tell Thorax to keep an eye on Sparkle and report any information that could be useful to find her.” Pharynx nodded and left the room to follow her orders.

Chrysalis finished disintegrating the chair and lifted a nearby frame, finding a picture of Cadence and Sunset smiling, both covered in wet flour.
“Maybe I should visit the princess.” She thought before turning the picture into dust.

Sunset slowly opened her eyes, finding herself in one of Canterlot’s dark alleyways. She groggily stood up, feeling a huge headache pounding the inside of her skull.

“Did you rest well?” A voice asked her.

“You,” Sunset said with clear animosity.

“Hey, what gives?” Dawn asked offended. “I saved your life and showed you the truth.”

“You took over my body, and it wasn’t the first time.”

“What?”

“My transformation into the monster I saw in the mirror, me attacking Twilight out of jealousy, the threats to Cadence, trying to burn Shining and his soldiers, the curses, my cheating of death, all of it came from you. Am I wrong?”

Dawn was about to say yes, but Nightmare whispered close to her ear. “Tell her about me and I will crush her heart and go back to Luna.”

“Well? Answer me!” Sunset asked impatiently, irritated by the voice’s silence.

Dawn would’ve gritted her teeth if she wasn’t trapped in crystal. “Not all of it. But I also stopped you from reading those forbidden books.”

Sunset growled in anger. “Oh yeah, because that was so worth it at the end.”

“You’re so angry you’re talking nonsense.”

“I don’t know what I am anymore!” Sunset shouted. “As far as I know, I finally lost my damn mind and now I’m talking to an illusion of myself.”

Dawn spoke in an almost threatening way. “I’m not an illusion, and I’m not yourself. I’m your only ally in this fight.”

“Fight against who?”

“Look to your right.”

Sunset turned her head and saw a sign on the wall with a picture of her. She took it off and read it. “What? Forty-two thousand bits?”

“Quite a hefty price for your capture. All by the benevolent hoof of Luna, the one who already tried to kill you before. You’re the enemy number one of Equestria.”

Sunset shook her head. “This can’t be happening.”

“It is happening. And we have only one choice; We need to dispose of Luna.”

“I can’t defeat her without the Elements.”

“There’s something else we can use. The Alicorn Amulet.”

“Are you actually insane? It’s one of the most cursed artifacts know to ponykind.”

“But we can tame it, and once it’s ours we will have enough power to overthrow Luna and claim the throne of Equestria.”

“But I don’t want the throne!” Sunset shouted as she burned the wanted sign. “That was your dream, not mine.”

“I know, but we have no other option. Everypony is trying to chain us again, and the only way that we can be free is to stand at the top of the food chain. Nopony will question the voice of an alicorn princess, and we both know you fucking deserve it.”

“Even if we achieve that, what would be the point? I will be alone and be forced to rule by fear. I won’t be able to just go back to Ponyville and live in peace.”

“They took that option from us long ago! This is about survival!”

“What’s the point of survival if I will want to kill myself at the end?!” Sunset screamed, tears threatening to spill form her eyes.

There was a long, heavy pause. Both pieces of a fractured soul stood at a standstill, trying to find a way to a future that wasn’t as bleak as their current situation.

Finally, Dawn spoke, more calmly than before. “Even if we don’t go for the regicide route, we need the amulet to defend ourselves. Go take it from the shop, and we will come up with a plan from there.”

Sunset’s anger slowly drained away, until she felt only emptiness. “Okay, but I will decide if we use it or not.”

“I doubt they will leave us much choice.”

As soon as Celestia’s letter arrived, Twilight called all her friends to the library, but they didn’t come alone. Gilda, Granny Smith, Big Mac, Savoir Fare, Filthy Rich, and even the Crusaders had arrived to hear the news. The foals were sent home by Big Mac, but the rest was allowed stay.

“It has to be a trap,” Rainbow said as Twilight finished reading Celestia’s letter to them.

“What do you think?” Twilight asked Applejack as she handed the scroll over to her.

The farm mare inspected the letter like a lawyer would a contract. “Ah don’t think she’s lying, but who knows with Celestia? However, if she does have something that could help Sunset, we should at least look into it. Otherwise we got nothing”

Twilight took back the letter and read it one more time. “I will go to Canterlot then.”

“We better take the train to save time,” Rarity suggested, but Twilight shook her head.

“I’m going alone.”

“Beg yah pardon?” Applejack asked, as unamused as the rest of her friends.

“I almost got all of us locked up in Tartarus, I don’t want to keep putting all of you at risk.”

“Screw that,” Gilda exclaimed from the top floor of the library before landing in front of Twilight, imposing on the mare with her large frame. “You already excluded me last time, I won’t stay with my wings closed again. You’ll need help.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed. “Besides, it was my fault that we got discovered. I should’ve–”

“Done what Rainbow? Kill the guards?” Twilight asked more aggressively than she wanted. “I should’ve expected that Luna would figure out it was us. And now Sunset is being hunted because of me.”

“Darling, Luna would’ve ordered her arrest regardless of our actions. Some of the charges against her aren’t made up as far as we know.”

“And that thing she turned into,” Pinkie said as her hair deflated. “That wasn’t her, was it?”

Twilight looked at the letter one more time. “Celestia thinks that I don’t know the full picture yet. She probably has an explanation, which is another reason for me to go see her.”

“More reason for all of us to see her,” Applejack stubbornly corrected.

“Look, I know Celestia, and considering the state she was in the night of the Gala, she probably isn’t in her best state of mind. It will be easier for me to get information out of her if we talk as student and teacher rather than the angry friends of Sunset,” Twilight explained.

“You can’t expect us to do nothing!” Applejack exclaimed before getting her ear twisted by her grandmother.

“The smart one is being smart, jumping into action is what landed you into this mess. There’s value in caution,” Granny Smith explained.

“We could look for Sunset in the meantime,” Filthy offered.

“With how easily she can teleport around and being able to grow wings at will, she could be anywhere in Equestria by now,” Twilight said, but Filthy didn’t back down.

“I know a few debt collectors with addiction to money that have ‘tracking down ponies’ as a day job, and telling them to not hurt the target will only make them happier.”

“The Apple family is big, connected, and all over Equestria. I can send a letter and their eyes and ears will be alert to any sign of Sunset,” Granny offered.

“And since none of this is outside the law, we can’t get punished for it,” Filthy finished, and the six mares looked at them in awe.

“Wow, I… don’t know what to say. Thank you,” Twilight finally said with a smile.

“You girls are still a bit green even if yah saved Equestria. We old folk have learned a lot over the years,” Granny said with a proud smile, even if she gained a slightly annoyed glance from Filthy.

“Alright, enough waiting around,” Gilda exclaimed before unceremoniously and very rudely grabbing Twilight and flying out of the library.

“What are you doing?” Twilight shouted as her head hit one of the tree’s branches.

“I don’t want to waste time hearing you and your friends argue about who goes or not, so I’m taking you there myself.”

“I’m not a mail package to be carried around!”

“You should grow your own wings then.”

“I will!”

Back at the library, Twilight’s friends were upset by her kidnapping/escape, but decided to let her go and work on what to do now.

“Are you guys okay?” Pinkie asked to Fluttershy and Savoir Fare, who had remained silent the entire time.

“Yes, I’m just… still processing a bit,” Fluttershy responded, hiding behind her mane.

“I was just thinking about how to help,” was Savoir’s answer, but his mind was thinking about Sweetie Drops.

Taurus woke up from his slumber when something hit glass a few times. He rubbed his eyes before standing up from the couch in his ‘office’ and walked up to the window where the sounds were coming from.
On the other side was a grey pegasus with blonde mane holding a letter in her mouth. Taurus opened the window and took the letter before using one of his horns to cut it open.

“It’s from Filthy Rich, sent it through urgent delivery,” the pegasus informed him as the black minotaur read the letter. Taurus grinned before taking a coin out of his belt and tossing it to the pegasus. “Thank you!”

The minotaur closed the window and walked out of his office, finding his two brothers competing in yet another arm-wrestling contest.
“Stop fooling around, we have work!” Taurus shouted, and the younger brother, Arty looked at him, letting the eldest of the trio, Burk, slam his arm against the table, claiming victory.

“You cheating piece of–”

“Don’t start with your bullshittery, this is important,” Taurus shouted as he walked down the stairs to his office. “Rich is paying us a good sum of money to look for Sunset Shimmer, double than usual.”

“Why?” Arty asked, stroking his grey chin beard. “That’s not more than what the princess is offering, we would be better off selling her to the Royal Guard.”

“Yeah, and no way we’re getting close to that pyromaniac,” Burk added pulling his long white hair behind his broad shoulders.

“I said look for Sunset Shimmer, he’s paying us just to find her and tell him where she is. No threats or debt collection, we just need to get close enough to take a picture and we’re done. Easiest work of our lives,” Taurus said with a smile. “We just need to stay ahead of the competition.”

“Let’s go then,” Arty said standing up, the prospect of an easy pay making his eyes sparkle. “I want a tuxedo so I can sneak into one of Canterlot’s high class parties. The nobles will flip out when they see me looking like one of them.”

“I will get a tux too just to see how they throw you out,” Burk said with a laugh.

“We first need to get paid,” Taurus said as he pocketed the letter on his belt. “Let’s go hunting, bros.”

“So, Luna is putting you back on duty?” Savoir asked as he started closing the café.

“She’s putting the whole organization back in action,” Special agent Sweetie Drops, or Bon Bon as the civilians called her, responded, pulling her shades down. “Even your brother got called.”

“Why isn’t he the one questioning me then?” Savoir asked, showing nothing other than indifference to the mare.

“He’s already looking for Sunset, I stopped by since you know her personally.”

“And you’re going to tell me that it’s my civic duty to sell out a friend?” Savoir asked as he prepared some coffee.

“Come on Faire, you know this is important,” Sweetie Drops pleaded.

“Remind me, wasn’t the idea of the CAA to hunt down monsters that threaten Equestria? Since when is one mare considered a monster exactly?” Savior finished the coffee and walked up to Bon Bon.

“The reports we got claim that she’s no ordinary mare.” Sweetie Drops went to grab the coffee, but Fare drank it before she could reach it. “The name Nightmare Moon was included. That’s as much as I will tell you.”

Savoir sighed after finishing his coffee. “Good luck.”

Bon Bon grunted, but remained calm. “Goodbye,” she said before leaving the café.

“And tell Vivre that if he hurts Sunset, he can spend Heart’s Warming alone!” Savoir shouted before closing the door.

As Twilight and Gilda entered Canterlot Castle, the unicorn felt what she could only describe as ‘corrupted nostalgia’. She recognized the halls, the paintings, the carpets, and even some of the servants and guards, but everything had lost that glimmer that made the castle look like a vibrant and inviting structure. Even with the sun casting its light through the large windows, the shadows seem bigger, and the halls almost haunting. Twilight took it as a sign that she wasn’t welcomed here.
Gilda, for her part, looked like her usual stoic grumpy self, but on the inside, her instincts told her that there was something dangerous inside the castle.

Luckily, Celestia wanted to see them immediately, so they skipped the usual fanfare and met at the entrance to the only place the alicorn had never allowed Twilight to enter; The forbidden section of the library.
As the unicorn slowly made her way to the library, she recited in her head all the answers she would demand from her former mentor. If Celestia wanted her help, she would need to tell her everything. However, when she finally saw the alicorn responsible of Sunset’s suffering, she froze.

Twilight’s eyes examined Celestia’s long neck, and the horrible burn scar covering almost all of it. The wound itself looked more than infected, and she could almost feel some sort of evil presence coming from it.

“Twilight!” Celestia exclaimed at the sight of her student, her lips forming a smile. “Thank you for helping me, even if you do it only for Sunset.”

The mentioning of her adopted sister snapped Twilight out of her trance. “You’re right, this is for her, so I want answers first,” she declared firmly, looking at Celestia in the eyes. Gilda was about to talk, but the alicorn wasted no time.

“Sunset’s original name was Sunshine. When she was a filly, I made the mistake of taking away what made her special by breaking apart her soul and sealing it inside herself. That half of her soul later turned into a being similar to Nightmare Moon. She is the one responsible for Sunset’s crimes and is the reason Luna has become so aggressive towards her.” Celestia opened the doors to the forbidden section of the library and stepped inside. “The knowledge of creatures like Nightmare Moon is almost nonexistent, but Luna mentioned that there might be a way to take Sunshine out of Sunset. If we can separate the two, Sunset can have a normal life in Ponyville with you and your friends.” Celestia turned around to face Twilight. “I can go more into detail if you want, but we should start right away.”

Gilda was confused. “Wait, when you say Sunshine, you’re referring to the other half of the Sunset we know?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes. Up until recently, only I knew of her existence, and I kept it secret from everypony, including Luna.”

The griffon frowned. “So, you’re a cowa–”

“Did you kill her parents too?” Twilight questioned suddenly.

“She what?!” Gilda asked surprised, turning her head towards the unicorn.

“Her father was shot by a squad of my guard after they discovered that she was the one responsible for burning the village. Sunset retaliated by burning all of them until nothing remained,” Celestia explained.

Gilda looked horrified, and while Twilight didn’t look much better, she kept pressing on. “Is all of her family gone?”

Celestia shook her head. “Her mother is alive, but I erased my memories of her and where Sunset was born.”

“What is it with you and destroying pony’s memories?” Twilight asked with pure anger in her eyes.

“Yeah, I thought you were the paragon of goodness or something like that but you and Sunset sound like psychopaths,” Gilda exclaimed, showing her discomfort with the conversation. “I’m giving Sunset a pass since she saved us from both herself and the God of Chaos, but why in Tartarus should anycreature trust you?”

Celestia sighed. “At the time, it sounded like the lesser of evils. Sunshine’s life was going to be ruined. Either by developing trauma due to the event, or the nobles wanting her head on a spike out of fear of having an unstable user of solar magic living among them.” Celestia looked at both of them, doing her best to not look like she was pleading forgiveness. “It was a horrible mistake that snowballed into what we have now. I know that I can’t fix my relationship with Sunset, but that’s not what matters. I want her to be happy, and she wants that too.” Celestia turned her gaze directly to Twilight. “She told me that her desire was to go back to Ponyville and live with you and your friends, so that’s what I will work to achieve. Separating Sunset and Sunshine is the first step. That will calm Luna enough to make her see reason and let Sunset live her life as she wants.”

Twilight maintained eye contact with Celestia for a few eternal seconds, studying her face for any kind of dishonesty, but not only did she not find any, a voice in her head started to remind her of all that she knew of Celestia, and kept pointing to the large scar in her neck.

Not knowing what to do, Twilight decided to put things on hold. “Let’s start this research, but this talk hasn’t ended yet.”

Celestia nodded, and Gilda started to walk towards the exit. “I will keep watch, books are lame. And… I need to think some stuff,” She said looking conflicted before closing the door.

“Where do we start?” Twilight asked once they were alone.

“We have books about supernatural creatures,” Celestia said as she pulled a few tomes for Twilight. “We can also look into old legends, and research from mages of old like Stars Swirl. Luna also compared Sunshine to the wendigos, so we could try and explore their past.”

Twilight started scanning the books while a part of her mind was freaking out at the fact that she could study a library that she never had access to before.

Celestia, for her part, was busy pulling books that could be relevant out of the shelves, but she suddenly stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

“Infamous Cemeteries of Equestria, Crisis of Infinite Equestrias, The Observers, Evil Origins of Canterlot… Canterlot Castle: a History! This should give me something.”

Celestia turned her head, and saw Sunset standing in the middle of the library with the mentioned book in her aura. “So, that’s the one you read.” She saw her put the book in her saddlebag and turn to leave, but she suddenly stopped. “Did you notice that I saw you enter here?” Celestia thought, and Sunset’s next words seemed to confirm her years-long fear.

“No, I have to know if what I saw was real! If I really have a chance to become Equestria’s next ruler, I need to know how I did it.”

“I never should’ve showed you that mirror.” Celestia’s gaze lowered to the floor. “I had it all planned for you. Once you controlled the Elements, Stars Swirl spell would’ve–”

Celestia stopped when she noticed that Sunset was returning the book to the bookshelf. “What?”

“I will reach that point eventually; I just need to keep getting stronger. Celestia will teach me about the mirror once I show her just how capable I am.” With those final words Sunset left the library, ending the illusion, but Celestia was still repeating it in her head.

“You… you never read it… you stopped… you… trusted me.” Tears ran down Celestia’s face, one more failure added to the ever-increasing pile of mistakes. “How many times will I hurt you?” she wondered as she sobbed.

“Princess?” Twilight asked softly. “What happened?”

Celestia remembered she wasn’t alone, and her first instinct was to act like nothing happened, but she didn’t have any reputation left to maintain. She had lost the right to call herself a princess, she was just another pony, or maybe even less than that. “I’m cursed. I see Sunset everywhere. When she was a foal, when she was my only student, when she was happy. It reminds me of everything I ruined for her.” Celestia shook her head. “I just need a moment.”

Twilight saw her former mentor walk towards a nearby table to rest, and she felt conflicted.
Cadence had painted Celestia as an evil master-manipulator, and she has done terrible things, but the Celestia Twilight was seeing now didn’t trigger that hatred she felt before, or even make her feel threatened. In fact, Twilight recognized the look in Celestia’s face.
It was the same Sunset had after the mountain incident, when she burned her due to her emotions.

“Princess,” Twilight said out of cordial habit. “I can take care of the research for you. If you really want to help Sunset, you should see how to get that curse lifted.”

Celestia put a hoof over the scar, seeming to be contemplating something. “You’re right. I will look into it.” The alicorn stopped for a moment, remembering something Luna said before. “When was the last time you and Sunset talked?”

Twilight froze at the question, and then flinched at the memory. “It was when I was corrupted by Discord. I…” Twilight’s regret tore at her heart. “I told her that if she wanted to be a hero like me, she needed to defeat Discord on her own. To prove that her magical prowess was better than friendship, and–”

Twilight was suddenly surrounded by soft, white wings. “That wasn’t you Twilight, and Sunset’s smart enough to know that,” Celestia said in a motherly voice.

“I could see the pain in her face,” tears started to appear in Twilight’s eyes. “It was the worst thing I could say to her.”

“It was the worst version of you Twilight,” Celestia said as she hugged her.

Twilight remembered the demon reaching out to her during the fight with Discord, and the unsureness of its intentions. “I don’t know how she will act when we see each other again.”

Celestia closed her eyes. “It was what Luna was worried about. Even if we find Sunset, she won’t listen to any of us.”

Twilight’s ears perked up. “She will listen to Spike.” She turned her head towards the door. “Gilda!”

Moon Dancer lit her horn and lifted her right leg, the white talons sprouting out of the scars as her magical aura connected all the tips with a bright white line.
She placed her hoof on top of the fox’s chest and started to recite the incantation one more time, hoping that it would be enough this time.
A magical circle appeared around the fox, filling the tower with light, and at the center of it an image of an open eye appeared. Inside it was a glyph surrounded by a strange ancient writing that Moon Dancer had managed to decipher recently. “To give true life, sacrifice death.”
The unicorn infused more of her magic into the magical circle, activating the rune and the writings around it. The fox’s body started to glow, and its lungs filled with air.
Moon Dancer slowly diminished her magical influx, careful to not disrupt the spell. When she finally cut off her magic from the circle, the glow in the runes traveled towards the fox’s body, and the small animal released the air in its lungs. And then took a deep breath. The artic fox groggily stood up confused, like if it had just woken up form a long dream.

Moon Dancer lifted the fox and checked its pulse.

There was a heartbeat. It was alive. She had done it.

Right then, without as much fanfare as the last time, Suok appeared inside Moon Dancer’s tower, and the unicorn turned around to face him.
“I’m ready to hear you.”

Twilight had called for another meeting at the library, but now with the inclusion of Celestia in her small team. And while the alicorn was getting angry stares from many of the elements, she was smiling, happy that Sunset had made so many friends despite her inability to form connections.

“I’ll gladly carry the pipsqueak to Sunset,” Gilda said while pointing at Spike. “But without any kind of direction, it will be kind of pointless.”

“It doesn’t matter, we will find her eventually,” Spike quickly objected.

“The Apples and Rich’s debt collectors are already looking for Sunset. Once we have a clue, you can convince her to come to us,” Twilight explained.

“We could search too. The more, the merrier,” Applejack offered, but Celestia quickly objected.

“I would gladly look under every rock in Equestria to find her, but it’s better that we keep a low profile just in case Luna decides to stop us.”

Gilda turned her head towards the alicorn. “Are you going to do something about your sister?”

“Twilight is currently working on a way to solve that problem.” Celestia pointed to the large pile of books they had brought with them. “I’ll also try to lower Luna’s animosity towards Sunset. She’s as unhappy with the situation as us, but she thinks that she has no other option.”

“So, she’s also a–” Gilda’s comment was interrupted as two scrolls appeared in front of Twilight and Celestia. “What’s that?”

Twilight picked up one of the scrolls and saw the seal in it. “It’s from Sunset!”

Celestia immediately opened the other and started reading out loud.

“Dear Princess Celestia.

Today, I made a friend–”

Author's Note

Final chapter: Chapter 43: Empathy

There will also be an epilogue and I've two surprises for next chapter too so keep your hopes up.

Love you all, have a nice existence.

I will be watching you.