The Students of the Sun

by TheDeflator

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Equestria Girls, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life
Length: 6200

Twilight and Sunset are catching up now that Twilight is the Princess of Equestria, and Sunset lets slip that she knows about Celestia's first student.

Twilight and Sunset are catching up now that Twilight is the Princess of Equestria, and Sunset lets slip that she knows about Celestia's first student, and more about the ascension process than Twilight initially thought.

Written for the Pride and Positivity event to raise money for

Transgender Law Center

Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

Sewa International

"I'm legally not allowed to compliment you, but that was not bad"
-my youngest sibling

Published 2021-06-24 00:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-06-24 00:10:00 UTC

Chapter 1: Sugarcube Corner

Twilight Sparkle had to admit, she was pretty lucky that when taking a trip through a portal to another dimension she wasn't greeted by an evil empire of darkness, a desolate wasteland, or a world of evil bug monsters. Those required time travel. When using the magic portal, Twilight was greeted by one of her best friends in two worlds catching her and saying, "Hey, princess. Nice trip?"

Being caught very quickly turned into a hug between the two girls. "The best," chuckled Twilight. "It's good to see you again, Sunset. I'm looking forward to catching up."

As the two separated, Sunset gave a chuckle of her own. "I was before I did the catching, I swear you've gotten taller since the spring. Been eating your oats every morning, I see."

"Oh, stop. I'm not that much taller, am I?"

Sunset's head moved up in down in quick appraisal, "The Twilight from this side is the same height as me. You're a few inches taller than me right now, and I'm the one in heels. You're growing like a weed.”

Sunset's grin said she was teasing, but Twilight couldn't help but worry. She started to twirl her hair and asked "but that's not a problem, right?”

Sunset grabbed Twilight's hand and pulled it back down, "Of course not. You look great, princess."

Twilight's cheeks warmed because, um, she wasn't used to receiving compliments on her human body. That was definitely why. It certainly only seemed to happen in this world, when Sunset gave her compliments. Not that the rest of her friends never gave her compliments! It was just, um... She could pretend it was their pony counterparts saying it, so it wasn't the same? That worked. Sure.

Actually, that reminds her, "Um, anyway, where are the rest of the girls? I don't see them here at the statue."

"Oh, Pinkie won a competition to tour the top theme parks in the country, but it only came with six tickets. The rest of the girls are with her as a sort of graduation ceclebration. We figured I should be the one to stay close to the portal, since, well... you know." Did Sunset blush there? Of course not, Sunset's too cool to be flustered that easily.

"Pony things, I know," smirked Twilight. "Wait, but her family is six people, why didn't she go with them?"

"Ah, well, Limestone's already banned from a bunch of the parks."

"Ooh, yeah, that makes sense."

"Anyway, if we're going to catch up, we should get milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner, not stand here all day. C'mon, I'll buy. Tell me about pony land on the way."

"Wow, I can't believe Celestia and Luna are retired already."

"I know. I just hope I do a good job."

Sunset looked around the diner once more to be sure no one was eavesdropping before saying "Twilight, Celestia's been preparing you for this ever since she gave you something of Star Swirl's.” She shrugged and leaned back in her booth before continuing, "I'm just surprised you're such a great pupil that it's only took a few years for her to think you were ready."

"My friends have been reminding me that, too, but- wait, Sunset, what do you mean 'ever since she gave you something of Star Swirl's'? I don't think I ever told you how I ascended.”

"Twilight, do you think it's a coincidence that I was studying Star Swirl's mirror and I wanted to become a princess? In fact, don't you think it's strange that I called your crown an element of harmony, and had another crown with a star burst ready to go?

"Celestia told me all about her plans for her students, including you. I'm sure she didn't plan everything to happen the way it did, she's made mistakes here and there, but whatever artifact she gave you, it wasn't her first try at helping a student ascend. Counting showing me the mirror, it was her third."

"Wait, third? Do you know who was first?"

Sunset looked away and absentmindedly fiddled with the straw in her empty glass. "I do, but... Twi I don't know if I should tell you this."

Twilight's brows furrowed, "Obviously she was alright telling you, why wouldn't you be able to tell me?"

"Twilight, if she never told you the full story, there was probably a reason for that. Look, next time you get to visit Celestia, tell her I thought you should hear the story of Hesperus Haze. Ugh, look, how about we call the rest of the girls and see if they can video chat. They'd love to catch up, and you've got to see these things humans built called 'roller coasters'."

Chapter 2: Celestia's Story

Celestia, former princess of Equestria, was lounging on her porch in Seaward Shores when she heard someone approach. Cracking one eye open, she smiled and said "Princess Twilight, it's always great to see you, but I'm jealous. Didn't you take off to go visit the human world just a few days ago? I swear I only got to take time off when you or your friends caused trouble."

"It's great to see you, too, Celestia. The secret to time off that I'm using is asking my friends to cover for me as a friendship council. Also, I could arrange disasters if I ask Discord for help, but I'd probably return to even more work."

"Ooh, two clever solutions to a problem using friendship. You continue to impress." Celestia stretched her front hooves in front of her before rising. "Oh, I hope you'll pardon me not bowing, it hasn't sunk in completely that I should. Anyway, is this a social visit, or is there something I can do for you, Twilight?"

Twilight pawed at the ground, "It's a bit of both, I suppose." She looked at her old mentor and relayed "Sunset told me you could tell me the story of another student you had, Hesperus Haze."

Celestia's smile dropped. "Oh." A new, sadder smile found its way onto her face. "Well, if you know there's a story, I might as well tell it. Let's find somewhere private, it's best if no one overhears this."

Twilight followed the other alicorn into her home, puzzled.

The first thing you should know, Twilight, is that Hesperus Haze was a colt born in the sky. His parents were on an airship, as part of a delegation to Dragon Lord Torch's lair. I'd told his mother, Solar Flare that she shouldn't travel, but she was very stubborn. "If we're going to befriend the dragons," she told me, "you need to send your strongest flame, and that's me."

She convinced me, and gave birth on the way. You know the kind of trouble foals can cause, so the delegation met mixed results. Solar Flare passed a challenge, such as jumping into lava or becoming queen of a hoard, and Hesperus would work it back, stealing the Bloodstone Scepter while no one was looking or blasting the hoard into slag under his mother's hooves.

Of course, Ember had just hatched as well, and caused a fair amount of trouble, too. Every time the ponies would try to demonstrate helping each other, Ember would end up waddling into danger, or having eaten the gems my little ponies had brought to share.

Solar Flare and Torch got along great, laughing together, and eventually Solar Flare and Hesperus were declared part of Torch's family, and would be eligible to enter the competition to become Dragon Lord once Torch was required to step down. That's where I learned about the call of the Dragon Lord. Honestly, I wonder how Ember would react to learning about her pony cousin.

I'm getting a little sidetracked, but it's important to understand that there were a lot of things Hesperus seemed to be, but that they weren't necessarily what he was. He was born in the air, but was unable to fly. He was born as a pony, but family to dragons.

Another interesting example was when he got his cutie mark. Hesperus's father, a pegasus named Star Chart, was trying to teach him about his name. The two had gone out with a Solar Flare and a whole crew in a zeppelin and were flying to the Dragon Lands once again, ten years after their initial trip.

Star Chart had already pointed out the morning star, Phosphorous to Hesperus, and the two were on the deck again in the evening, trying to see Hesperus's namesake. Apparently, Star Chart wanted them to track the star through the whole day, and see that the morning star and evening star were one and the same.

Shortly after the sunset, when Hesperus saw that the star Hesperus was also the star Phosphorus, he realized he could be a pony that flies, and a pony without wings. Apparently, in his childlike wonder, he jumped over the side of the zeppelin and flew into the sky, with flames under his hooves propelling him upwards until he could see the sun again. It was as he stopped flying and saw the sun set and Hesperus rise a second time that he got his cutie mark. It was a star, or the sun, or both, but viewed through a heat haze with his hair flying in front of it. Despite his recklessness, his cutie mark seemed to be an ancient symbol of balance.

After his reckless use of fire magic, his mother was concerned about the possible reunion between her son and Ember that she had the whole ship turned around. "I am not going to let him watch Ember jump into a pool of lava, he'd try to follow her!" she said. I expect she was right.

Of course these were stories from before he was my student, things I learned later. I first met him when I arrested him a short while later. I threw a party at the castle for some official reason or another. A Springtime Soirée, I think, celebrating the equinox. The real reason I'd thrown it was that I'd asked Solar Flare to bring Hesperus along so I could meet the promising young unicorn that flew on flaming feet.

Unfortunately, as you know, Canterlot parties have a habit of being… slower, shall we say, than what a foal would like. The party was dragging on, and I still hadn't met this foal while I greeted guests at the door, and I was beginning to get a bit frustrated. Eventually one of the guests thanked me for having the brilliant idea of having the sun stay in the sky behind the gardens. "It gives the whole room this nice warm glow that I simply love," she'd told me.

I'm sure that because you've met Luna that you'll understand why this made me panic. I never wanted to leave the sun in the sky longer than I had to; it was the very thing that my sister accused me of doing hundreds of years prior that led to our separation!

I tried to move the sun lower once again, but the glow outside just would not go away! As the next guests reach for their hoofshake, I excuse myself to go check on the party as a good hostess, and walk as calmly and quickly as I can to the gardens.

It turns out that in his boredom, Hesperus had started to hover over the bushes in the garden trying to scorch a picture of me greeting people into the wall! I must say that, even though it was unfinished, it was a wonderful work of art. Unfortunately, I could only imagine how difficult it would be for my groundskeepers to remove, and I voiced those opinions. I told him he was guilty of vandalism, and would have to come to the castle with his mother in the mornings to work on cleaning it up.

Once his mother agreed to those terms, I asked them if it would be possible for Hesperus to continue coming to the castle to study once he had cleaned his mess. I thought it best for the prodigal pyromancer to begin his studies as soon as possible, to prevent other incidents of destruction.

Hesperus proved to be a star pupil, if you'll pardon the pun, and worked hard to prove himself to me. When he wasn't taking lessons with me he either had his nose in a book or was working with charcoals.

When autumn came around, I had him go through the entrance exam for my school, and once he was accepted, my lessons became more supplemental. He was still an important pupil, but I encouraged him to make friends his own age, share his interests with those around him.

I thought things were going well for the first year, and I started to prepare for his graduation from my tutelage. He had a few colts his age that he would spend his time with, he got along with staff within the castle, and all of his teachers were impressed. I knew he would never wield the Elements of Harmony, I had seen the tree, and his cutie mark was not present. But after that first year in my school I met Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and I knew not all alicorns would use the elements.

This was when I started to gather Star Swirl's notes into his journal, to eventually give to Hesperus. This was also when things started to go wrong.

Hesperus came to a lesson crying, that second summer. I had thought Hesperus had simply hit that awkward stage of his growth before some of the emotional effects of growing older had started to affect him. He hadn't shown any interest in mares that I had seen. Apparently, that was because his crush was on one of the colts he spent time with.

I wish I could tell you the name of the colt, just to get the story to the level of detail I expect you'd appreciate, but I hope you understand that my mind was more focused on supporting my pupil. I held him in my wings through the duration of our lesson, letting him work through his emotions.

I heard my student say such awful things about himself that day. I didn't need to be princess of love to know what he was going through was not his fault.

I missed our lesson the next day, holding committee meeting with Cadance, and we helped her make her first proclamation as princess of love: stallions could marry a stallion, and mares could marry a mare. I only wish I had thought to do this sooner, before I knew Cadance, so I could make the proclamation myself. So my student was never hurt in this way.

That isn't to say Hesperus wouldn't have been rejected if only gay marriage were legal. If there had been widespread acceptance, though, it would have been Hesperus's advances that were rejected, rather than him.

To this day I believe that's when Hesperus stopped believing in loyalty, and in himself.

Hesperus didn't arrive to his lesson the following day.

The fourth lesson that week was the first we actually worked on magic, but I could tell Hesperus hadn't healed, not that I could find it in me to blame him.

"I'll give him stability, he can talk to his parents," I told myself. "I've done my duty as his mentor, helping him through, and I'll be available for more if he asks."

Hesperus did, eventually, ask for more. As I said, he seemed to lose faith in himself, and hadn't yet healed, and that hadn't changed in the following week. Most of his lessons had been moving through the motions, no longer discussing his art or his friends. When he finally opened up a little, it was to ask me to no longer call him Hesperus Haze, and instead start calling him Phosphorus Flare.

"Phosphorus is Hesperus, after all" he'd told me with a chuckle.

"Of course," I said. How could I not, after the rejection of himself he'd just gone through? It's not as though ponies' names never change from marriage, even if it's rare otherwise. If my student wanted a new name to be happy, I could provide that much. "Let me tell the school, so they're ready come fall," I told him.

"Actually," he told me, "I'm not sure I want to make the change everywhere, yet." He didn't hold eye contact, and I could tell he was afraid to be himself around others. He was asking to hide himself away until he was strong, because the outside had hurt him, and he trusted me. How could I say no and betray my student?

"Of course," I told him. Let me be your port in this storm, I thought. "Let me know when you're ready," is what I said out loud.

The rest of the summer I taught Phosphorus less about safety and creative uses of fire for art or showmanship, and instead focused on controlling his strength. With a name like flare, and as a young, hurt pony with a passion for fire, I wanted to make sure Phosphorous never went too far when lashing out.

I want to say we enjoyed that summer. I felt like we started to, but there was a tension after that that never really went away. I don't think heard my pupil laugh for the rest of his time as my student.

Fall came once again, and I was confident in Phosphorus's self-control. He hadn't told me he was ready to reveal his new name to the school, and so I never told them. He started to open himself up a little to lab partners, and talked about them during our private lessons sometimes.

He never opened up with them and was honest about his new name, but I thought it was a positive sign none the less, a reason start preparing. If I could give him Star Swirl's Journal at the end of this year, and have Phosphorus Flare become Equestria's first alicorn prince, I could spend the next year teaching him what I knew about dragons with his mother’s help, and when he graduated, he could help her as ambassador to the Dragon Lands until it was time to decide the next Dragon Lord.

Don't get me wrong, you and Ember have done wonderful things for pony-dragon relations, but those years ago, not knowing what would happen, not knowing how far you would go, I thought one alicorn to free Luna, and take my place in Equestria; one alicorn to take the crystal empire; and one alicorn to take the dragon lands. After that all happened, Luna and I could serve as diplomats to the Yaks and Griffons respectively, and we could work towards making much the same progress you've already made.

More fool me.

I was able to give Phosphorus Flare his exam with Star Swirl's journal after that second full year of continued stellar performance. I gave him the journal and the summer to puzzle its contents.

I realize only in retrospect that I stopped receiving those generous charcoal artworks around this time. If you or Sunset ever want to see them, I took them with me when I left the castle.

In this one instance, he was more cautious than you. He didn't cast the unfinished spell right away. He studied and made his modifications before casting anything.

On one hand this meant that the effects he saw were completely different, on the other he also did not complete Star Swirl's spell rather than use it to create his own.

It's an odd coincidence that my student never learned about Star Swirls eventual work with the pillars, the note's I had were from before that, but the spell they created used a potion of Meadowbrook's and a framework from Mistmane, as well as Star Swirl's unfinished spell.

With Meadowbrook's Mental Mixture, Mistmane's Magical Morphing, and the journal, my student created a spell with the purpose of transforming into their ideal self. It was to be called Star Swirls Superior Self Shaping, back when we thought it would be the right spell. I watched my student perform the spell, and much like the mark I found after your successful correction, a scorch in the shape of their cutie mark was left behind after they'd finished their chant.

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone. Take my mental landscape, and give my flesh its new shape."

I swear I aged another thousand years waiting for them to reappear.

They did reappear, of course, although with some significant changes.

There were no wings on my student's new form. I was told later it was due to their multiple experiences with flight. When they focused on their ideal form with the Mental Mixture, they couldn't focus on adding physical wings, they knew if they needed they could fly with flames, and wings were simply redundant. I think there was shame in their voice when I was told that, but I was so proud that when they were forced to focus on themselves they knew they were wonderful, that they could reach the sky.

My student still had a horn, but no longer was it the stallion I knew. It turned out my student viewed themselves as a unicorn mare.

I'm sure you figured it out, and you know bits of the rest, but if you'll indulge me I'm sure there are pieces of this story you're still missing, and I'd like to finish it.

I was quite confident this mare was my student, but I needed certainty, not confidence. "Phosphorus?" I asked.

The mare before me looked into my eyes for barely a second. "Yes, but not really." She told the floor.

I was so confused. I fell on my rump. Almost thirteen hundred years old, and I swear that was the only time I'd ever been truly stupefied.

She heard my collapse and looked towards me again, still not making eye contact when she said "I am- or was- your student, and I cast the spell. With all that focus, with that dream of being an alicorn by your side, I was selfish and I failed you. I fulfilled my dream, not yours. And my dream was to be this mare, not Hesperus, and not Phosphorus. After my failure, it's only fair that I leave your tutelage."

Fortunately I got my wings working quickly, and was able to pull this mare into my hooves with them. I recovered and was able to tell her "My little pony, I'm so proud of you for being who you want to be, even when I pressured you to be someone else. I'd be proud to continue to call you my student, if you would tell me your name."

She put up surprisingly little fight, and simply said it when she wrapped her hooves around my neck. "Sunset."

After a second good cry holding my student in as many years, we separated. I realized two things immediately after: one; I don't know if Sunset has a second part of her name or not, and two; I planned Sunset's remaining year in my tutelage to be politicking for an alicorn stallion, what in the world would I teach this unicorn mare?

Fortunately, one of those was readily addressed. "Sunset, I hope you'll pardon me making a bit of a foal of myself, but is there a second part to your name?"

I will admit only now, years later, that I blushed when she laughed at me. It is very rare that I'm embarrassed these days, but that was a big day for the both of us.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, "but it was when I earned my cutie mark that I realized who I was. Learning one star could be its own opposite; I realized one pony could become hers. I did see the star on my way up, but it hid as I reached the top, and saw the sun again. I knew I wanted to be Sunset."

I couldn't help but notice the timing. "Really, all the time I’ve known you and more, and you never told me?"

She muttered back "I didn't think it mattered, so I tried Phosphorus. It seemed less... Stallion-y, but not quite a mare's name. I was hoping it would be enough for me. But, uh, back to your question- I think I want to have a second name with a similar sound to Sunset, but I didn't think about it much."

I did the only thing I could think of, and offered to help. Please don't hate me for my first suggestion "What about Sunset Sparkle?" Now in my defense, there were a lot of students admitted to my school with names similar to yours, with the twinkles or glimmers or sparkles or shines. Honestly, I'm amazed you, Starlight, and Sunset are the only three in your circle of friends. Besides, I hadn't met you yet, so there's no reason for me to be flustered.

Ok, I realize laughing isn't the same as hating me, but I'd still appreciate you stopping.

Thank you.

Anyway, back to Sunset.

Obviously, Sunset did not take the last name Sparkle. She said "I dunno, but it doesn't seem to fit with the precedent set by 'Flare' or 'Haze'. What do you think of Sunset Smoke?"

I did not think very highly of Sunset smoke, to be perfectly honest. "It's alright," is how I started, although I'm sure it wasn't convincing with the face she made, "but it does sound like a name that would appear in one of those comics you showed me." I don't know if I mentioned Sunset's comics before, but it turns out as one of the strongest spell casters of a generation, a magical researcher, and a straight A student Sunset something was a bit of a dork.

She was absolutely adorable, too, when it dawned on her that "Actually I think that was a villain in one of the Captain Equus comics. Sunset Smog is just a worse version, so that's out, too."

"You know," I told her, "your mother told me the name 'Haze' came from heat haze, not atmospheric haze, although there were probably both above the Dragon Lands. Regardless, I think I've heard heat haze called heat shimmer before. What about Sunset Shimmer?"

I mean, obviously that's the name that stuck; there's no reason to pretend otherwise.

Our lesson ended at that point, and Sunset Shimmer rested in her room at the palace. She cited her emotional exhaustion as the reason to avoid her parents. I couldn't blame her. I used the same excuse when I raised the sun a little late the next day, after all.

I did tell Sunset Shimmer that next day that my plans for the rest of her time as my personal student needed to be reworked a little, and she had the rest of the week off while I planned. She tried to apologize, still shaken from her ordeal yesterday, and I reminded her again how proud of her I was.

I spent a lot of the next year trying to build up her justifiable pride. It was much too late that I reminded her of the importance of tempering her pride with humility and kindness, as I'm sure you know.

While I worked on lesson plans, Sunset went to see her parents for the first time as her true self. To Sunset's surprise, Solar Flare had actually expected this, somehow. I'm told her mother's first words were "Oh my beautiful daughter, it's so nice to finally meet you!" Star Chart's response to this was apparently a "Bwuh?!" He did eventually accept his daughter for the most part. I heard he still occasionally referred to Sunset as "him" rarely, but he never messed up her name. He did grumble that he wished it had more to do with the stars, which I'm sure Luna would love to hear if Sunset ever lets me tell her this story.

The rest of that summer I told Sunset about my plan for her in more detail, showing her the Tree of Harmony, the railway to the Frozen North and what would become the crystal empire, and my old castle in the Everfree where I shared my history with Luna. To be honest I did leave out the name Nightmare Moon.

I told Sunset that she might still be in the running for Dragon Lord. I told her I still wanted her to become an alicorn. I never started calling her my niece, like I did with Cadance, but I honestly consider you and Sunset to be part of my family anyway. I hope that, with the help you've given her, Sunset is able to ascend on the other side of the mirror.

I admitted to Sunset, as I revealed my plans for her, that I had made a mistake. I think that doubt was part of what pushed her through the mirror. If I hadn't been so open with her, if I had tried to appear more confident than I felt, would she have stayed?

Would that have been better for her?

I think it would have been better for me.

Obviously it was the tactic I used with you, and I apologize for all the stress that may have caused you, and I hope you understand my decision.

Thank you.

After our brief tour of Equestria, Sunset continued her regular studies at my school as herself. With my confidence boosting and her continued excellence, she amazed professors once again. She also began to amaze her classmates, but because of the greatness I told her was waiting, she didn't think it was worth it to get to know her classmates.

She also turned down quite a few ponies looking to date her, which was a bit of a surprise. Not the number of ponies trying, I mean, but that she turned them down. You said she dated a "trophy boyfriend" on the other side of the mirror, so obviously she could view dating separate from bonding with other ponies, so I think she may have still been uncertain with her new form, although that's speculation on my part.

That year flew by, with Sunset opening up to me like she hadn't since before she had gone by Phosphorus Flare. When the final summer I spent with Sunset came, I told her to spend the time making friends, possibly dating. Cadance was foalsitting a cute filly, and possibly flirting with the filly's older brother; it was important for Sunset to put herself out there as well.

"What about Star Swirl's work, and finishing the ascension?" she asked me.

"Sunset, a leader needs to be charitable, compassionate, devoted, optimistic, and incorruptible." I revised it a little by the time you ascended, of course. As I said, I hope she gets to hear the version I shared with you.

She hadn't made friends, but she had been so successful with the spell, that after she aced the first mid-terms in that fall semester, I showed her the mirror. It was a mistake.

She learned terrible things in her obsession with the mirror. At that point, it had become dangerous, and I ended her time as my student. I hoped that without needing to attend private lessons, she would finish the year and find the time and compassion to make friends, but the mirror was open, and she fled.

A last piece of trivia, I suppose, for your consideration. I'm not even sure if Sunset herself remembers, but it was Nightmare Night when Sunset Shimmer went through Star Swirl's mirror. The one day per year that a member of my family was feared across Equestria, I had made another member into a villain.

You know the rest better than I do, of course. But it's interesting to tell about the pony that could fly without wings, the dragon covered in fur, the balanced but reckless pony, the mare born as a stallion, the mare that failed my dream and found her own, the pony turned human, and the villain turned hero.

Gosh how I miss her.

Chapter 3: I'm Surprised You Came Back for Me

Princess Twilight Sparkle did not feel lucky as she took a trip through a magic portal to another dimension. She would rather have fought an army of bug monsters, or an evil empire of darkness than find the barren wasteland of not being caught by one of her best friends in two dimension.

The school was still there, of course, as was the concrete (ow!), but despite writing a message to Sunset, there were no one else's arms to fall into.

That was fine, Twilight knew the way to Sunset's apartment. Well, she'd thought she had, but a quick conversation with another recent graduate from Canterlot High let her know she was mistaken, and how to get there.

Twilight was pleasantly surprised to find that when she knocked on Sunset's door, she wasn't nervous. That didn't change in the minute it took to answer the door, or when Twilight latched onto Sunset in a tight hug.

"Um, hey Twilight, I wasn't expecting you today. Did I miss a message in the journal?" Nod. "Oh, um, sorry Twi. Here, let's go sit on the coach." Twilight loosened her grip, but kept an arm around Sunset's waist until they were seated. "Hey, I'm sorry I missed your message, but I promise I'm ok," said Sunset as she unwrapped Twilight's arm from herself. "I'm ok, is there anything you need right now?" she continued, keeping Twilight's hand in hers.

Twilight's head shook. "Not exactly. I managed to get in touch with Celestia yesterday."

Sunset adjusted her position to turn towards Twilight a little more. "Oh, uh, thanks for letting me know? Do you know when she'll be free, so I can meet you at the portal? I imagine you'll want to talk after hearing the story."

"No, Sunset, I got in touch with Celestia yesterday. I know about Star Swirl's spell. I learned about you."

Sunset let go of Twilight's hand and turned away from Twilight. "Oh." She turned back, serious expression on both of their faces, "well, if you know about me, do you have any, uh, lingering questions? I mean, Seaward Shores is a couple hours away from Canterlot, right? If you rushed over, there must be something important in that mind of yours. And besides, you kinda have a country to run."

"No, Sunset, no questions. Not right now, anyway. I just wanted to tell you as soon as possible: thank you so much for trusting me with your story, and I am so proud to call you my friend."

Sunset's face twisted in confusion. She tried to dismiss it with a wave of her hand and said, "What, Twi, It's... I mean, you might have found old stuff of mine in the castle, anyway, it's no big deal. And proud? I mean, you just heard a story of another way I failed, it's nothing to be proud of."

Twilight maintained her seriousness. "Sunset, it is a big deal. If it weren't, I'm sure you wouldn't have had Celestia tell me instead of saying it yourself. Don't sell yourself short, it was very brave. And don't sell your spellcasting short, either! You may not have become an alicorn, but you still became more yourself, and that's magical, too. Besides, it's not like we've learned everything about the mirror yet, you haven't necessarily failed to ascend a second time. It's just taking a while, and that's fine."

Sunset glanced at her floor before meeting Twilight's eyes again. "Wow, Twi, I guess I never thought of it that way. Do you really think I could be a- a princess one day?"

"I think so, and I choose to hope so." Twilight's face finally smiled again, encouraging. It quickly turned into a smirk, as she said "Besides, Sunset Sparkle doesn't seem like a bad fit for you." Her smirk disappeared and was replaced by shock, as she looked at Sunset.

"Um, wow Twi, I thought you knew me better than that," Sunset smirked and turned red, "I chose the name Shimmer and I'm sticking with it, but Twilight Shimmer doesn't sound too bad to me."

Both girls laughed for a moment, before Twilight lightly punched Sunset's arm "You jerk, I was worried for a second."

"I may not be a bully any more, but I still can have fun. I'm serious about the name though, I'm keeping Shimmer."

"We'll work on it, I guess."

"Twilight!" started Sunset, grabbing Twilight's hand in her own again, "We've got to get to Froggy Bottom Park!" She stood from the couch, and started to lead Twilight to her door.

"Wait, what's at Froggy Bottom Park?" asked Twilight, trying to get Sunset to slow down.

"Our first date!"

"Oh my gosh, Celestia was right! You're a dork!" laughed Twilight as the two ran off.