We Are Each Other

There were very few things that Sunset Shimmer hated in her life. One was people using emojis. Another was doing any kind of physical activity whatsoever, thanks to her illness. What she hated most though was the disorientating feeling of nausea she felt when she walked through the portal and stepped out of the mirror into Equestria.

As she stepped into Twilight’s crystal castle, she saw two very grim looking ponies where she was accustomed to smiles and hugs. “Twilight, auntie Luna,” she nodded to both of them in turn, “Well, you two look like you've lost fifty bits and found ten, what's up? Twi, your note said you needed help.”

“Chrysalis.”

Luna rolled her eyes at Twilight’s rather simple explanation. “More to the point,” she expanded, “Chrysalis is with my sister.”

“Yay!” Sunset cheered, but as she looked at the two ponies in front of her and the serious expressions on both of their faces, she quickly changed. “Boo? Um...actually, who is Chrysalis?”

As Twilight facehooved, Luna sighed and realised that her niece didn’t know who Chrysalis was. “She invaded Canterlot just over two years ago and killed a lot of ponies with her army.”

“She should be dead!” Twilight exclaimed, suddenly angry that her usually perfect calculations had apparently failed her for once, “The math added up!”

“So...boo then?” Sunset racked her brains but for the life of her she couldn’t recall ever hearing of an enemy that powerful before, and she had heard of them all. “What is she, reformed villain? Not reformed villain, what?”

“Not dead…” Twilight muttered darkly.

“Unsure, at the moment,” Luna stepped in, “But she sent a letter asking for Tia's help. I sort of pushed her into doing so.”

“Still don't know why you did...”

Luna’s deep sigh cut across Twilight and silenced the young Princess. The look she shot her made Twilight wish she were someplace else. “Does Fluttershy kill the manticore, the chimera or the cockatrice that attack ponies because of their nature?”

At that, Twilight cringed, because she had no answer to that, especially as she herself had been attacked by a cockatrice years ago and rescued by Fluttershy. “You're not playing fair.”

“Alright, so let's go with reformed for now, I mean, we've all been there, right?” she looked at her aunt who had the good grace to at least look a little bit ashamed, “Well, not you, Twi, but the other you that looks just like you, she nearly ripped a hole between our dimensions at the Friendship Games which would have destroyed both worlds…” her eyes went wide when she realised she was rambling, “So um, what's the problem? Is mom in trouble?”

“She,” Twilight nodded towards Luna, “Thinks Celestia loves her. I admit, Celestia told me she has feelings for her and cares about her, but fears she’s not doing well at it.”

Luna then loudly cleared her throat, “My sister doesn't know her own heart, but the path she’s on will lead to her own destruction.”

“Drama much...” muttered Twilight not quite under her breath.

Again, Luna sighed, “It’s a path I have travelled. I'm sure you understand that, Sunset.”

Sunset Shimmer did understand that. Very much so, given her own not so pristine past. “So...what? Is she hurting this Chrysalis? Saying she loves her when she doesn't? That doesn't seem like mom's style. What aren't you telling me?”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to sigh, “I don't have all the facts. Celestia can be very tight with information. I don't think she ever said she loved Chrysalis, but I know she’s playing mind games to break her.”

“That much is true,” Luna added, “Deep down she wants to destroy Chrysalis, but she needs a valid excuse to do so with a clear conscience. Her actions haven't broken the changeling yet.”

“Changeling?” that bought Sunset to a halt and made her think. She hadn’t heard that term in an awfully long time. “Chrysalis is a changeling? I remember reading about those when I used to break into the restricted section of the library. Amorevores, aren't they?"

As soon as Twilight sensed the opportunity for science, and for shared learning, she lit up like a Hearths Warming tree. “Yes!” she squeaked in eager delight, "And in different ways. They can...”

Unfortunately, before Twilight could build up a head of steam, Luna coughed, “Yes, she is a changeling. She impersonated Twilights foalsitter, Princess Cadance, during the invasion.” As Luna spoke, Twilight's science happy deflated, her train derailed.

“Aww auntie Luna, you killed Twi's sci-high! You did a bad,” Sunset giggled, mostly at the thoroughly adorable pout that the youngest ruler was sending her way. “And…Cadance? Mom's niece, Cadance? Cadenza the Love Butt?” she vaguely remembered the pink mare from her student days way back when, she remembered being sickened because all the stallions used to hang round her all the time.

“She imprisoned her and fooled my brother to marry her,” Twilight snapped angrily, “She turned all my friends against me!”

“She knocked out Tia right in front of Twilight too.”

“No fucking way!” Sunset exclaimed, “She decked mom? You're yanking my crank now!” There would have been a time, perhaps not all that long ago, when she would have paid good bits to see that.

Twilight shook her head, Luna said, “Tia was attending a wedding and not dressed for war. What does your history tell you of Fillydelphia and The Second Griffon war?”

Sunset cocked her head to one side, and she thought hard for a few moments. It had been a while since she had to think about Equestrian history. “Uuuuh…it tells me mom had to fight Queen Stormclaw the Bloody in single combat at the climax of the Battle of Franklin Bridge, and after mom won they had to literally rebuild Filly from the ground up.”

Twilight blinked as she tried to recall that bit of history. Ready, Luna said, “Six times as many ponies died in that war than in Canterlot with the invasion. Only difference is that war is a legend collecting dust in a history book. The invasion is fresh in the hearts and minds of ponies.”

“I get it. So, again, what do you need my help with?” asked Sunset, unsure why they had requested her presence in this matter, “If this Chrysalis is that bad, why isn't she banished, or imprisoned, or imprisoned where she's banished?”

As she spoke up, Twilight made air quotes with her front hooves, “Dance around the mill pond and sing happy songs. Yeah, Magic is Friendship…” she snorted as she put her hooves back down.

Luna pointed to Twilight, “What she said.”

“Wow,” Sunset rubbed the back of her mane and cocked an eyebrow at Twilight, “Cynical much? I’m glad I didn't encounter this version of you back at CHS, you'd have given me the damn crown.”

“As I said,” Luna interjected, “Still fresh in the minds and hearts. Chrysalis was near death's door. She traded her freedom to save her people. Now my sister 'owns’ her, and she really doesn't know what to do with her. If she keeps going down the path to find a way to destroy her, she will only destroy herself.”

“I won't pretend to like Chrysalis,” Twilight said, pointedly not looking Sunset in the eyes, “Not even a little. I can't kill her now either, and I don't want Celestia to fall over that cliff either.”

“Whoa…whoa, whoa!” stunned, Sunset actually had to sit down, and she dropped her ass hard on the floor of Twilight’s castle, “You used the K word. I've never heard you use that, not ever. Not with me, or the sirens, or with Wallflower. This Chrysalis really did a number on you, huh?”

“I was so angry!” Twilight nodded vehemently, “I... I killed a number of the soldiers in her army. Cadance and my brother banished those that survived. I really thought it was the end of them all. To die alone in the Badlands.”

“Yet life, and love, finds a way. Chrysalis sacrificed everything for her changelings, even her own freedom.”

“Alright. I'm getting it,” Sunset rubbed her chin with her hoof, “She hurt you all pretty bad, so much you can't all get your kumbayas out with a friendship song, so....what do you need me for?”

Luna and Twilight looked at each other then they looked back to Sunset. “Celestia's mind is telling her one thing,” Twilight started.

“Her heart tells her another,” added Luna.

“She doesn't know which to follow,” put in Twilight.

“I’m too direct to be helpful,” stated Luna, effectively excluding herself from the proceedings.

“I’m too indirect to be helpful,” Twilight said quickly, doing the same as the older monarch, “We thought that maybe you could help her chose which to listen to.”

“Let me get this straight,” Sunset looked incredulously at both the other mares, a rather large penny was starting to drop in place in her mind, “You want me, to go and talk to my mom, about not abusing this Chrysalis character?”

“You know me,” Twilight shrugged, “Princess of Second Chances, Reform, Friendship!”

“Tia has no shortage of blood on her hooves,” Luna said, her voice more even and reasonable than Twilight’s, “But all of it is justified. She lost her chance at adding Chrysalis's blood to those hooves under the guise of justice. Injustice will harm her more than Chrysalis ever did during the invasion.”

“Yes, yes, I get all that, but I say again,” Sunset said with a shake of her head, “You want me. Me. To go and talk to my mom. Mom. Who I ran away from, who I said could rot in Tartarus for all I cared. You want me, to talk to her?” This could not be happening, Sunset decided. It just couldn’t!

“Second chances, reform, friendship!” Luna giggled, all of a sudden the tension in the Portal Room seemed to break when she sensed the wayward mare’s discomfort, “I'm too close to the problem. Twilight dances around the problem. She loves you Sunset, never forget that. You bring a fresh perspective without the history of the invasion burdening you.”

“If she keeps doing what she’s doing it’ll hurt her,” then, Twilight added, “She will listen to you, Sunset.”

“Look guys, I tell it like it is, you two know that. I don't pull any punches, it's not my style. If I go see mom, I won't dance around the issue, I can’t promise I’ll make it better, but...I'll try not to make it worse.”

Twilight stepped up to Sunset and she placed a hoof on her shoulder, “I don't think you can make it worse than it already is.”

Likewise, Luna stepped forward and she placed a supportive hoof on Sunset’s other shoulder. “I prefer she listen to her heart, but she does need to choose. I think once you talk to her, you will see a lot more clearly than she sees herself.”

Helpfully, Twilight nodded, “I think she is lost as to what action to take. You know me. Take action and fix what action you take after the fact.”

“Alright, I can do this!” Sunset declared, but just then, her right eye twitched and her grin became slightly manic, “Just in case it goes sideways though, you do know how to reverse a statue spell, right? Because if I screw up, Discord might have a new neighbour in the royal gardens…”

“I don't think Tia has a cockatrice spell I her repertoire of spells,” Luna caught Twilight’s eye and they shared a mischievous wink, “But one never knows…”

“If that should happen,” Twilight snickered, “I’ll have your statue in my grounds. Pride of place!” after she had stopped giggling, she added seriously, “I can say the elements won't be turning you to stone, but you can hide out here if it goes bad.”

“Okay, okay!” Sunset squeaked, “So I'll just waltz into her room like I haven't been away for five years and be like, 'hey mom, what's up?'.”

“If you want introductions you can come to either breakfast or dinner with me,” offered Luna, feeling genuine sympathy with the predicament they were placing Sunset in.

“Dinner would be better,” Sunset recovered her composure and she giggled playfully, “And if you could stand in front of me the whole time, auntie, that'd be great...”

Grinning broadly for the first time since her good friend had stepped through the mirror, Twilight summoned a hoof band with her magic, and she tossed it to Sunset. “Wear that. Use it to call me. There’s nowhere I can't teleport to in the castle. I can even do a jail break if needed.”

“I mean, I know mom was cool and all when I came back for help over the memory stone incident, but that was a crisis. Mom wore her 'crisis face' then,” Sunset lowered her head. While it was true she had reconnected with her mother then, there were still gaping wounds between them that needed to be healed, and a lot of history that needed to be put to bed.

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle, “What, you mean like the one you're wearing now?”

Luna gave Sunset an exaggerated close up look before nodding her head in affirmation, “Yes, she’s very much Tia's daughter.”

“Oh sure, bully the new kid, why don't you?” Sunset snickered at the good-natured ribbing.

“Um, I learned from the best?” Twilight returned, making Luna shake her head and roll her eyes.

“I hope you can continue to see the humour in this after you meet with your mother,” Luna stated, shooting Twilight a look that dared her to say something funny again. “Dinner today, or do you want to catch up with the others of this world and do it tomorrow?”

“Nah,” Sunset made up her mind, “Today. Strike while the iron’s hot. If I'm still alive, I'll catch up with everyone…ugh, I mean, everypony, tomorrow.” The unicorn then smiled, as something crossed her mind that she just couldn’t pass up. “Hey, auntie Luna, can you do something for me?”

“If it is within my power.”

“Can you say, "No student parking in the faculty lot?" just once?”

Luna blinked and looked carefully at her niece. She was sure by the twinkling glint in her eyes that she was being set up for a prank, but she wasn’t sure. Still, it seemed harmless enough. “None that are students may park in the lot that is for facility!” she declared before laughing, “Are you recording this?”

“No, unfortunately. My phone won't work in this world,” Sunset said with genuine regret in her voice, because she really, really wanted to have that on tape, “But that will live with me for a long time.”

Luna laughed for another minute before her sternest demeanour fell across her face. One she reserved for the most detested of nobility and declared loudly, “No student parking in the facility lot! Happy now?”

“Very!” Sunset laughed louder and longer than she had done in a long time, “You have no idea how much the other you has yelled that at me!”

“Once is too often unless you flaunt the rules. Wait,” Luna narrowed her eyes dangerously while Twilight was busy rolling on the floor in laughter, “You are Sunset Shimmer, Of course you would!”

~ ~ ~

There weren’t many things in this world or her adopted one that made Sunset Shimmer nervous. Graduating from her mother’s school for gifted unicorns had been one such time, as had the time she had asked her Applejack out on a date, or the time she had dressed her as a pony girl for the first time.

This though, when she was stood outside the doors to her mother’s quarters, this was a whole new level of nerves the like of which she had never felt before. Could she really do this? The two implacable unicorn guards that stood either side of the doors weren’t helping much either.

When she realised she had lifted her hoof three times to push open the door and lowered it three times, Sunset let out a deep sigh. ‘This is stupid!’ she chided herself, ‘You’re Sunset fucking Shimmer! Pull up your big girl – big mare – panties and let’s do this!’

The mental pep talk worked. At least it allowed her to overcome her nerves enough to hoof open the door. She reminded herself as she stepped inside the room she hadn’t been in for five years that she had Twilight’s hoof band if necessary. Now she was inside, she squared her shoulders and marched up to her mother.

Princess Celestia was sat at her balcony table with a pile of scrolls. She hadn’t even looked up from her paperwork to see who had walked in unannounced. “Auntie Luna told Twi what you've been doing,” Sunset didn’t bother with a greeting. She knew her mother knew she was there. “Twi told me. She said you needed pulling back. So, what's up, mom?”

“Nothing is 'up',” Celestia replied, her muzzle still stuck in her scrolls, a quill held in her magic signing off on various petitions, “Maybe you could be a little more specific in your enquiry?”

At that, Sunset Shimmer snickered. That was all she had to say to her, after this long? “Mom, are you talking to me, or one of your flunkies? Okay, plain terms. Chrysalis. What the hell's your deal?”

“I've allowed her to live,” Celestia said as she at last looked up from her work and acknowledged the unicorn that was stood by her table, stood there like she hadn’t ever been away, “That was the deal.”

“Uh huh,” Sunset wore a deadpan expression, “And was abusing her for your entertainment part of the deal?”

Dangerously, Celestia’s eyes narrowed, “That is therapy.”

“Therapy for what?” asked Sunset as she lit her horn and levitated over a seating pad for herself, “And don't try giving me the angry eyes, mom, they stopped working on me years ago.”

“On her orders, tens of thousands died!” Celestia exclaimed angrily, “Therapy is for the ones I buried!”

“Auntie Luna and Twi told me all about that,” Sunset responded quickly, “About what she did to you. I get it. She hurt you, Captain Ahab, and you want to hurt her back,” she moved her hoof to place it on her mother’s foreleg, “But from what I hear, you're getting revenge on a creature that doesn't exist anymore. She's changed!”

Like she was scared her daughter’s hoof would burn her, Celestia moved her foreleg back out of reach, “No! She has not changed. I refuse to accept that!”

A deep frown crossed Sunset’s face. Twilight had warned her that her mother was on the edge, but she didn’t realise she was this close to jumping off into the abyss. “Do you accept that I've changed?” she asked, realising she’d have to go a different route with this.

“What?” Celestia asked, caught off guard, “Of course I do. It took you a while and outside help, but don't tell me there was no pain in the transformation.”

“Oh, there was pain alright…” Sunset found herself drifting back to that fateful moment at the Fall Formal, “Getting a rainbow laser to the face leaves a mark, y'know? You wanna see?” the unicorn turned on the seating pad and she parted the fur on her back, revealing two long scars where the demon wings had sprouted from her back. “You can see them better when I'm in the human world. Big scars down my back. They're a constant reminder what I did, what I came close to doing.”

Celestia reached out a hood to comfort her daughter, but she pulled it back at the last minute, and just nodded her head. “I'm beating change into her. I have a long ways to go, but I’ll get there.”

“Mom, you can't carry on doing this!” Sunset exclaimed, “Let me show you another way, please.”

The slightly deranged smile that crossed Celestia’s face was one her daughter had never seen before, except that one time, but there had been cake involved, but this one was chilling, “I like my way.”

“I like my way better, mom,” Sunset said as she held out her hoof. She deeply wished the others were with her. She could really use a Pony-Up and a Friendship Rainbow Laser about now. That’s how this stuff usually worked. Instead, she decided to play dirty. “After everything I did to you, to Equestria, do you even love me anymore?”

“Of course I do Sunset,” at long last, Celestia slid from her seating pad and she embraced her daughter right there on the balcony, “I never stopped loving you!”

“But, I was evil…”

“No,” Celestia corrected her, giving her filly an affectionate nuzzle, “You were misguided, not evil.”

Sunset hated herself for going this way, but she had to get through to her mother. She had to make her see. “Then evil wasn't in my nature?”

“No, Sunny, of course not,” Celestia hugged her estranged daughter close and it was like the years were melting away, “You simply acted out on what you thought you knew.”

“Other ponies said I was evil, there were people who said I was evil.” ‘Yeah,’ Sunset thought to herself, ‘Like Rarity after I ruined her at the Spring Fling...’ she quickly stomped on that dangerous self-destructive thought before it could take hold of her.

“They only knew what they saw. They didn't know you.”

Sunset knew right then that she had her mother where she wanted her. “And that is the sun calling the day bright, isn’t it?”

“What?” asked Celestia, thoroughly sideswiped.

“All you know about Chrysalis is what you saw. You don't know her at all.” Sunset Shimmer felt good she had gotten there in the end, although she thought a Rainbow Laser would have been quicker. But, that said, she could see understanding dawning in her mother’s eyes. “Now do you see, or do you want to go hunt that whale?”

Looking like she had been caught with her hoof in the cookie jar, Celestia looked away from the victorious look on Sunset’s face, “I don't want to know her. I...I can't break her…”

Sunset used both her forehooves to make her mother look at her. “You need to forgive her. Not for her, for you.” She leant in and gave the taller pony a tight hug, “If you keep hating her, it'll destroy you, mom.”

A deep sigh escaped Celestia’s lips, “I know. That started when I went to the Badlands. I think I'm dying day by day, and I can't escape.”

“I thought the same,” Sunset said in the hug, “Then my friends forgave me, even though I kept saying I didn't deserve to be forgiven,” she nuzzled her, “But the thing with forgiveness is, you don't get to decide when others forgive you.”

“I want to hate her. I want to end her. If she should just give me one tiny reason to do so, it would be over. She grovels like one of those spineless nobles.”

“Because she loves her people too much. She's endured it all because of love, and she’ll keep on enduring it, because of love. And she loves you, according to Octavia and Luna.”

Celestia scoffed, “There is no love in me.”

“Really mom? Do you really believe that?”

“You know, I would like to cry now,” Celestia looked like she was on the edge of tears as it was. Her eyes were watery, and her lips were quivering. “I-Is that okay?”

“That's okay, mom,” Sunset just tightened the hug she already had around her mother’s neck, “I want you to cry and I don’t want you to stop until you've let it all out.”

And the tears did come. Once they started, the flow was like waterfalls that cascaded down her cheeks and even flowed into Sunset’s mane. “I-I-I've se-seen so much death,” Celestia spluttered through her tears, “Life escapes me. The ones I love I drive away!”

“Not all of them,” Sunset stroked her mother’s ethereal mane that had, for the moment, stopped billowing and hung still. She was too polite to mention the fact that her mother cried ugly. Very ugly. One thing they had in common. “I'm here. Luna's here, Twi's here. Chrysalis is here, it’s not about death. Just don't be afraid to live.”

“I don't know Sunset,” Celestia snivelled, tears staining her white fur, “I can try, but I'm afraid of what I'm capable of doing.”

“Like you don't deserve to be happy. She isn't scared of you, so you shouldn't be scared of you, either.”

“You don't understand…”

“So make me understand, mom. I'm not leaving till we sort this out.”

“I don't fear her,” Celestia admitted softly, “I could destroy her with a thought. But, if I even try to do as you suggest, what I fear is what my ponies will do. So much loss for so many…”

“I spoke with Royal Ribbon earlier,” Sunset replied equally softly into her mother’s ear, “She told me she lost loved ones at Clover's Gate, and friends at Platinum Plaza.”

“I...” Celestia stammered, “I find her difficult to understand.”

Sunset snickered, “Must be why auntie Luna likes her.”

“I've practically banished her to that camp,” Celestia spoke quietly, hating the sense of shame in her voice.

“Well,” Sunset giggled, “Banishment must've lost its sting then, because she's loving what she's doing over there.”

“A just cause,” responded Celestia, shaking her head sadly.

“A just cause that you're a part of, no matter how much you try telling yourself otherwise. C'mon mom, don't be afraid to love her.”

“I'm afraid to be loved,” Celestia felt like a foal at her mother’s side rather than the other way around, “I will take your advice Sunset. I can but try.”

“Well I love you, so boo!” Sunset giggled, “I dunno, have her be a unicorn, call her Firestar or Solar Wind or something and then Sunny Day can take her for a date. Somewhere nice and romantic, how about that?” after a long moment where her mother didn’t answer, Sunset said, “Gonna give it a try? Just...no barrel riding Neighagara falls, I know your brand of romantic.”

“Well, I can't go out with Bedpan, can I?” Celestia asked, drying her eyes with her magic, “I’ll have to think about it, Sunset. I will give it serious consideration. Your old room is still available, are you staying until this is resolved?”

Sunset was about to say no, but then she noted the tone of longing in her mother’s voice and she changed her mind. “I am. Somepony's got to keep you in line,” she kissed the alicorn’s cheek, “Oh, since I am staying, my AJ wanted me to ask if you'd allow her to marry me.” Might as well get that out the way while she was here.

“I don’t run your life, Sunset. At least not anymore. If you want my blessing, you have it. Are you proposing to her? If it is the other way, she should be the one asking me.”

“She would have come,” Sunset said with a relieved smile on her face, “But she has all these responsibilities on the farm, she can't just up and leave it. She'll be over soon though.” She then pulled her mother into another hug and she kissed her nose, “So, feeling better?”

“One day at a time, Sunset. One day at a time.”

“Hmhmm.” Sunset recalled saying exactly the same thing to the other Twilight. And Gloriosa. And Juniper. And Wallflower. And Adagio. It really did never end! “For the rest of this day, I'd very much like to cuddle you, if that's okay?”

“Do you want to sit at my hooves in court and hear all the exciting petitioners?” asked Celestia with a grin curling the corners of her mouth, “Or maybe start cuddle time at dinner and go from there?”

“Dinner, please mom, I beg you, don't make me sit through court. I swear whatever I did, court is way too severe a punishment,” Sunset giggled and tried hard not to laugh.

“Yes, you may escape!” Celestia declared in her most heroic voice, “The verbal arrows that I alone must dodge! Have fun,” she affectionately nuzzled her daughter, “And try not to wake up your aunt. But…don’t try too hard, hmm?”

“Aunt Luna will be safe from me. I'll go hang out with Octavia for a bit.”

~ ~ ~

“Well,” Celestia declared happily as she practically pranced back into her quarters, “I should do these half day courts more often.”

Sunset Shimmer, who had been reclining on her mother’s bed helping herself to a casual read of Advanced Pyromancy as well as a bowl of crystallised strawberries, giggled as her mother walked in. “I don't remember you ever doing half a day before, like ever!” It was certainly nice to see her smiling though. Her mother had done a lot of smiling in the two days she had been in Equestria. She wanted to see more of that.

“Lulu's return has helped,” Celestia chuckled as she levitated a couple of the strawberries from the bowl before Sunset could demolish them all, “At first I thought following her suggestions was rebellion, but now it is more a sanity check.”

“Hmmm, speaking of following suggestions,” Sunset used her magic to put the pyromancy book back on the shelf, she’d mastered the spells in there long ago, “Mom, I owe you an apology.”

“Oh?” Celestia popped a strawberry in her mouth and snickered, “Do I need a Twilight list?”

“Ha, ha.” Sunset’s magic nabbed a strawberry before her mother could get it, “I mean about the whole 'go and make friends' thing you were so hot on when I was a filly.”

“Did you really learn when you first got there?” asked Celestia, snatching one of the few crystallised fruits that were left in the bowl.

“Not when I first got there. Mom, I was such a nasty bitch. When I ran away, the last thing I said to you was, 'I don't need friends, I have power'.” Sunset sighed and lowered her head because that wasn’t the absolute last thing she said. “I was horrible. Who knew all I needed was to get rainbow lasered in the face to straighten me out?” she giggled softly, “Now I have friends. Really good friends. So, you were right. About the friends thing.”

“I will have to admit that I can be right now and again,” Celestia said with a smirk and stole the last strawberry in the bowl while Sunset hadn’t been looking.

“Once or twice, at least,” Sunset conceded, “So...Minotaur in the room time, are things better with you and Chrysalis?”

Chewing her strawberry, Celestia blinked once then twice, “Why do you ask?”

“Because I'm nosey. Hanging around with Rarity of any dimension gets you into gossip. And because I love my mom.”

Celestia quietly walked over and laid out on her bed next to Sunset. “I haven't seen her since Monday.”

“When you used her as a, and I’m quoting auntie Luna, a giant fuck toy?”

“Yes,” Celestia shifted a little uncomfortably on her bed, a faint red blush colouring her cheeks, “Not since then. You're here, and I'd rather spend what time I can with you. I love you too.”

“Aww,” Sunset rolled over and hugged her mother, it was then she saw that the strawberries had all gone. “I'm not judging, by the way, you should see the things my AJ does to me. A GFT is tame.”

Lightly, Celestia laughed, “Well the human you has some extra appendages over the pony you. Those fingers and toes. I bet you haven't horned your Applejack.”

“Oh trust me, I'd like to,” Sunset got a little closer, all conspiratorial, even though they were the only two in the room, “And I don't have my fingers and toes when we play. AJ has these hoof boots and gloves, and she calls me Shimmer. I make an awesome pony!”

“Pony,” Celestia shook her head, “They have equipment to turn you into a pony?”

“Uh huh. Hang on,” she used her magic to summon a few pages that had been taken from Twilight’s journal the day before. Pages that had pictures of her in her pony gear that had been printed and placed in her journal in the human world and taken from Twilight’s. “Look at these AJ took of me last week!”

Celestia looked at the several pictures on the pages. Her eyes widened at one of Sunset dressed in long boots on her legs that ended in hooves, gloves on her arms that also ended in hooves, a bridal with blinkers was on her head, a bit in her mouth. There was a red and yellow tail that was obviously coming out of her rear end and a bulge in her vagina that was so obviously a dildo kept in place by a rope harness that was tied in an intricate pattern across her body. Celestia’s didn’t blush, much, but she did stare at them for a long time. “I think you are kinkier than my sister.”

Sunset was utterly shameless, “That wide eyed look was my reaction the first time I saw a butt plug, mom.”

Smirking, Celestia’s eyes narrowed just a tad, “That’s what you get for snooping in my room.”

“Yeah, but imagine my greater surprise when I found you can put a ponytail on them!”

That prompted Celestia to look again at the picture and sure enough, the red and yellow tail was too low to be a real tail. “Seems like a rather happy surprise for you.”

“I love it, mom, I really do,” Sunset couldn’t quite keep the longing from her voice, “AJ's such a good Mistress.”

“Wouldn't you rather be the dominant instead of the submissive?”

“Oh no way! I love being taken care of! Giving up my free will, having AJ make all the decisions, being her good little pony, getting treats and rub downs?” Sunset could virtually feel her Mistress’s talented fingers rubbing her down after a day pulling the plow, “Sign me up for that!”

“She's never abused you?” asked Celestia protectively.

“Mom, no!” Sunset sat up and looked her mother in the eyes, mildly outraged she’d even suggest such a thing, “That's what my safe word's for. I mean, yeah she's pushed my limits sometimes, but that's what a good Dom does. The first time she hooked me up to a cart and rode it while I pulled was hard, and after a few steps I called it, but the aftercare was fantastic, because she’s a good Dom.”

“A good Dom...” Sunset had used that term twice, and Celestia had noticed.

“She's the best, mom. Sometimes she spends longer on the aftercare that we do on the actual session!”

“Is that what makes a good Dom?”

“Part of it, yeah,” Sunset responded, “What makes a good Dom is the love and care they have for their Sub, the way they nurture and encourage while pushing limits.”

“It always comes down to love.” Celestia spoke like it was a divine revelation. Octavia spoke of love. Luna had too, and now so was Sunset. “Well, I'm glad you're having fun with somepo…I mean, someone that is more than just a friend. Ready to go out on the town?”

“Oh, conversation over, okay then!” Sunset giggled at her mother’s non too subtle conversation ender, “I'm ready mom. We should have a girly shopping trip. Oooh! Twi told me Cadance gave her name to a sex shop. Can we go there?”

Celestia smiled broadly, “As long as Donut Joe's is on the list, we can start at MiAC.”

“Excellent!” Sunset pumped her hoof in the air, “I told AJ I'd bring back a souvenir!”

~ ~ ~

Celestia walked into the dean’s office of her school, and the mare behind the desk stood. “Greetings Ms. Pennant. I received your note and it stated there was a matter of some urgency.”

Pennant smiled, “Thank you for your timely arrival, Princess. I have an issue with one of the students.” Celestia just looked at her with that ever-present serine smile so she continued. “The mare is in the Platinum sorority and she flogged one of her fellow students!”

Celestia sighed inwardly. Of course, it would be that sorority. “Which noble house will I have to deal with?”

Pennant’s smile grew, “None, she is common born. Daughter of a Canterlot whore. She was found by the police with her dead mother, and due to that unicorn education initiative, she was brought here.”

Of course, Celestia knew the initiative, she was the one that wrote it over fifty years ago. “She passed the entrance exam?”

Pennant nodded, “She did, at the age of eight. While that is a late age to start, she was allowed to enter the school.”

Celestia felt like she was pulling teeth, “Hold old is she now?”

“Sixteen,” responded Pennant. “She makes no effort to fit in and doesn’t respect her betters. She is a nonconformist, and her instructors say she may be a powerful mage but has no true affinity for magic. This is just the latest in incidents I have against her. I want her out of my school, but I’m not authorized to do so. It requires your signature, Princess. I have the paperwork right here.” She holds up a small stake of papers in her magic for Celestia to take.

Celestia reads the top of the front page. Expulsion and below that was Inability to Conform. A list of grievances and what she assumed was supporting documents under the lead page. “Where is she now?” asked Celestia.

Pennant tossed her head, “The detention centre in the Codex building.” Celestia nodded, and to Pennant’s surprise she and turned to exit the office. She called, “Princess, the paperwork. I need you to sign it now, please.”

Celestia turned back to the Dean and took the paperwork in her magic. It promptly vanished. “I’ll get to it in good time, Ms. Pennant.” Celestia continued her way out of the office. She pretended to not notice the glare that Pennant gave her.

The Codex building was the most secure building on the campus. Very high-level spells to include spells that combat the dark arts were taught here. When Celestia entered the building, she could feel the outer wards that would prevent magic from entering the building and teleportation in or out of the building. At the entrance to the detention centre, Celestia passed through another ward. A magic dampening field. Only a class one mage could cast here. Therefore, it had no effect on Celestia. A stallion stood as she entered. “Greetings Princess,” he said. “Are you here to remove Mapper from the school?”

Celestia looked the stallion over, but could not come up with a name to match to the face, “Why would I be doing that?”

The stallion blinked, “Well, Ms. Pennant was rather instant that she be removed today, so I thought…”

“I see,” said Celestia, “and where would she go once I removed her?”
The stallion starred at her blanking as he tried to reason why she would ask such a question. “I suppose to her parents along with a justification letter for the expulsion. From there either to one of the lower schools or to the general workforce.”

Celestia wondered what had happened to her school. The one that Ms. Pennant claimed as her own. Maybe she should put Twilight in charge as Dean to see if the Magic of Friendship could turn things around. Then her age could be an issue, along with the noble attitude of Ms. Pennant and the like. One more straw piled on my back. I wonder if Luna will laugh when I finally snap. With her ever-present smile on her face she said, “I’m actually here to talk with the student.”

“Oh, um, well of course Princess. She is in room zero,” said the stallion with a bow.

Celestia’s eyes narrowed, “She is a class one mage?”

The stallion took a step back under Celestia’s gaze. “She has the potential. We didn’t want to take any chances, and that is why Ms. Pennant thought it best that you escort her out.”

Celestia didn’t respond as she moved past the stallion and down the hall. There were five doors on each side and a door at the end. That door had the number zero on it. She opened the door and walked in. Even she could feel the damping field. While she could overcome its strength, it would be a struggle. Inside was a pink unicorn with a brown mane. Red pony lips were on the unicorn’s flank. Bored magenta eyes turned to look at her. Mapper at first ignored the door as it opened, but the presence in the room would not be ignored. She looked up at her visitor. “Well, seems it must be serious this time as they have sent the big guns.”

“It is serious this time, Mapper.” Celestia sat down. “The number of incidents can no longer be ignored.”

The pink unicorn shrugged, “I’ve had a good run. Not bad for the daughter of a whore.” She looked the Princess in the eye, “I believe I can escape this ‘institution’ with a clear conscious.”

“You flogged a student!” Celestia said without raising her voice. “That is above and beyond all the stunts you pulled.”

Mapper laughed, “Oh, yes, my roommate, Wintergreen. We both rather enjoyed that.” She stifled a laugh as the Princess’s jaw fell open. “She saw me leave in my faux leather corset and panties to enjoy a night in Canterlot. When I returned, she had some of my toys from my toybox on the bed next to her. I told her she was a naughty pony for looking in my things.” Mapper smiled, “She challenged me to do something about that.”

“Then why did she turn you in?” asked Celestia.

“Where did you get that information, Head Mistress?” responded Mapper.

Celestia leaned back, “It is on your expulsion papers.”

Mapper nodded. “Someone in the dorm was using Peeper’s Eye to spy on me. I saw it and made sure to put on a good show. Wintergreen did squirm quite nicely. Later she told me that the Dean called her into the office and asked if I flogger her. She said yes and was dismissed without being allowed to say anything else. Security deposited me in here. I must say I’m honoured to be in class one detention.”

“Why would they do that?” inquired Celestia.

“They haven’t figured out my weight limit for moving objects,” answered Mapper. She saw the alicorn narrow her eyes. “Oh, why frame me?” Mapper laughed louder than before. “You’ve reviewed my record. I’ll never fit into the ‘sensibilities’ of this bunch of stuffed ponies with horns. To them, I should never be here. I’m so low born; an earth pony would have a better chance of entry into this school.”

“There is a reason you have that scholarship,” stated Celestia.

Mapper waved a hoof, “Yes, I can do research. I wanted to know why I was here, and it’s a law you wrote.” Mapper leaned forward, “Of course, following a law and obeying a law often go on divergent paths.”

“You flogged a student when you knew you were being spied on.” Celestia shook her head, “Why did you do something so stupid?”

Mapper dismissed the comment with a wave of her hoof. “In hindsight, it was silly of me. I thought they may have been spying to get themselves off. I really didn’t care because what mattered was Wintergreen. A dom never disappoints a sub. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to dom her again.”

Celestia thought about that for a moment. She reflected on where she was with Chrysalis at that moment. “Did Wintergreen really enjoy it?”

Mapper leaned back with a smile. “You know from my records I have a sadistic streak a furlong wide. Wintergreen was one of the closet masochists that was afraid to be crippled by a pony. She decided to take a chance with me. I do love the ones I dominate and bringing them pain till they surrender is the best orgasm ever. She was walking funny the next day, but the smile couldn’t be wiped off her face.”

“How can you love someone and bring them such pain?” Celestia trued wanted to know an answer to this.

“My mother’s lovers brought her pain every day, but I was not one to be shared,” reflected Mapper. That cost her, her life and most likely twisted my idea of what love is.” Mapper continued before Celestia could ask another question. “I have learned a lot about love, Head Mistress. Pain is real, happiness is false. Love is true power and hate withers before it.” She looked Celestia in the eye, “To discipline without love is nothing more than abuse.”

“What if you want to abuse a pony?” whispered Celestia.

Mapper turned away, “Then you would not be the sort of pony I’d want to associate with. I’m sure there are some in the school that would share such a philosophy. Just sign the paperwork, Head Mistress. I’ll not miss this place.”

Celestia stood up. “You don’t think I’m capable of abusing a pony?”

A soft laugh escaped Mapper’s lips. “I’m capable of abusing a pony, so anypony is capable of that. I simply choose not to. I choose to love.”

“Expulsion is to light a sentence for you. You will graduate this school and you will suffer while doing so. Another note said you were incapable of any magical affinity.”

The unicorn shrugged, “I have an affinity for pain and discipline. I can toss a building, but I allow the goddess to choose where it might land.”

“You should work on that then. Follow me.” Celestia walked out dispelling the magic dampening field. As she walked past the stallion at the desk she said, “This student will be returning to her dorm room. I will inform the Dean.” Mapper followed behind the Princess and didn’t waste an opportunity to stick her tongue out at the stallion.

Celestia was left with a lot to think about, both from Sunset and from Mapper. Could it really be that simple? Could she just…choose to love? She resolved to do better. Chrysalis deserved better. It was time for her to be better.