A Bright Night

Sunset loved sunsets. It may have been obvious why, with it being in her name and all. But it was more of how Celestia crafted it. It would seem that the sun going down would be the time least paid attention to the sun, for it was when night awoke in the stars. But the way the sky turned orange before dipping into more violet and purple tones as stars awakened in the night - stars that, as Sunset noted to herself, seemed more bright than any starry night in Equestria she had seen before - and definitely any night from the human world.

She was glad that Wallflower seemed to agree. Her girlfriend had seemed to be taken with the sights as they went.

“What’s that cloudmass over there?” Wallflower asked, once they had gotten high-enough up the mountain to see most of the Equestrian landscape.

“Cloudsdale.”

“Like… a clydesdale horse?” Wallflower said, tilting her head.

“I guess?” Sunset let out a small laugh. “Not sure. But that’s a city actually that pegasi live in. Pegasi can walk on clouds without falling through.”

“They live on clouds?”

“Yep. And even unicorns and other ponies can travel there with a spell that lets another pony walk on clouds. We could try that some other time.”

Sunset watched Wallflower seem to pale at the suggestion, and possibly look a little sick. “Maybe in the far far future…” she mumbled slightly.

“Hey, I’m not going to make you do anything you’re not comfortable with.” Sunset said with a grin, which caused Wallflower to throw her a grateful glance.

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

With a sudden jolt, the carriage came to a halt, causing Sunset to sit up blinking. “Oh! I’m guessing we’re here!” Quickly getting up from her seat, Sunset opened the door with her magic, before walking out - and stopping. Indeed, there they were.

Canterlot Castle. Home.

Sunset breathed slightly, a smile on her face before she turned to Wallflower. She was looking at the castle, a mix anxiousness and awe clear on her face.

“Welcome to my original home,” Sunset said warmly, before grinning.

After alerting the guards of their arrival, the two mares were being led through the castle hallways past the main line to the Gala’s entrance. Many stained windows and relics were what they passed, which Wallflower looked at carefully as they passed each one.

Every so often, Sunset gave a comment about one that she knew about, but for the most part… she was just happy. Her tail swished behind her slightly, and despite the trepidation she had felt earlier for spending time with Celestia, it had long been buried underneath, replaced by something she had denied for a while.

She wanted to spend time with Celestia very badly.

It was expected. With her real ‘family’ being how it was, Celestia had been the figure in her life that she had looked up to the most before her fall. And to be able to spend time with Celestia for a bit and have a beautiful night in Equestria with her girlfriend was more than she could ever ask for.

Soon enough, they arrived outside Celestia’s chambers. Giving a reassuring smile at Wallflower as the guards gave a knock, soon the doors were opened with pale yellow magic.

“Come in,” Celestia’s voice bounded across the room, making Sunset stop for a moment, before looking at Wallflower - who for her part, looked terrified for a second. Giving a grin, she grabbed Wallflower’s foreleg, pulling her close.

“It’s okay,” she whispered reassuringly, before starting her way into the grand chambers, with Wallflower following behind a second later hesitatingly.

Celestia was at her throne, sitting down royally - though not stocially as she might do to a stranger. And it was definitely not the look she had given to Sunset when she had first remet her. Instead, Celestia’s gaze held the warmth of the sun, as she looked at Sunset and Wallflower - the warmth that Sunset remember quite clearly from her fillyhood. Soon enough, Celestia rose from the throne, coming forward towards the two mares in the center of the room.

“Sunset Shimmer. It’s good to see you back again. And this is…?” Celestia said, giving a small smile as she turned her pink gaze from Sunset over to Wallflower, who made a small peeping noise in response.

“My girlfriend- I mean, marefriend, Wallflower Blush.” Sunset Shimmer said, feeling a bit embarrassed at the terminology. “She’s someone I met while in the other world.”

“Twilight did say you had a plus-one tonight, but didn’t elaborate. It’s nice to meet you Wallflower Blush.”

“I-It’s nice to meet you two, Miss Ce- I mean, your majesty!” Wallflower said, her voice a bit squeaky as she spoke. Sunset let out a small laugh, enjoying and revelign just slightly in this - mostly because of how cute Wallflower was being at the time.

A spark of laughter seemed to have made its way into Celestia’s gaze as well. “There’s no need to call me ‘your majesty.’ After all, you are not one of my citizens. So just ‘Celestia’ is fine.”

Wallflower just let out another squeak at that, turning her head away slightly, looking embarrassed.

“But… if you don’t mind, may I have a moment with my former student alone?”

Wallflower seemed to freeze for a moment, but gave a sharp nod. Sunset also frowned, but for a different reason. What could Celestia want to speak about to her alone? After giving a reassuring smile to Wallflower, her girlfriend quickly made her way to the chamber doors again leaving.

“So… why did you want to speak to me alone?” Sunset said cautiously, looking at Celestia. What could have Celestia to say that she didn’t want to speak in front of your marefriend.

“Nothing much. I just wanted to spend some time with my former student alone before the night began. But…” There was always a but with Celestia, it seemed. “I did want to ask if you told Wallflower about your parents.”

“I told her they weren’t in the picture.” Sunset’s ears flattened against her head at the mention, eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the floor. “And that’s as far as I want to tell Wallflower, to be honest. She doesn’t need to meet them. And they don’t deserve to meet her.”

“Of course,” Celestia said with a hum, dipping her head. “I wanted to know your stance on it before bringing it up front of Wallflower. They have expressed interest in meeting with you again.”

Immediately, Sunset thought of several things to tell them - none of them appropriate to relay to her teacher, but she quickly shook her head. “Tell them no thank you. I have no desire to them to be a part of my life, now or in the future. For me, the only family that matters to me are my friends and you.”

“I’m touched.” Celestia brought out a wing, resting it on Sunset’s back. “And… I support you fully.”

“Thank you,” Sunset murmured, feeling a bit of relief in those words. Knowing that she had her mentor’s backing in rejecting her parents made her feel a bit better.

“Sunset… you know that Twilight is leading the Gala for tonight, right?” Celestia asked softly, smiling down at her.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Well, because of that, she’ll be taking my usual job of greeting the guests who come into the Gala. And so I’ll have some free time to spend around.”

“Are you saying…?” Sunset breathed, eyes widening with a bit of hope.

“Of course I’d love to spend the night with you. And Wallflower of course.” Sunset said, beaming up at Celestia, raising a leg to hug her mentor tightly.

“Of course,” Celestia said, squeezing Sunset with her own foreleg.

It was going to be nice to be with some of the ponies she cared for most in the world beside her tonight.