“Sunset Shimmer?” Celestia asked. “What are you doing here by yourself? I thought you had band practice with your friends,”
“Principal Celestia.” Sunset stiffened slightly as she heard the voice come from behind her. “I was just on my way to meet them.” Sunset kicked herself internally for the terrible lie.
“Is there something troubling you?” Celestia stepped closer and rested a hand on top of Sunset’s shoulder, looking down at her with a worried look.
Even after all that had happened, Sunset was still not used to having people care about her.
“Principal Celestia, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Have you ever had feelings for a girl?”
The way Celestia’s face changed from the blunt question made Sunset feel like she had made a huge mistake.
“I’m sorry I—”
“No no, you just caught me off guard,” Celestia cut her off. “Do you think we might want to sit down for this conversation?”
Sunset nodded her head and followed the principal to a nearby bench. She was first to sit with Celestia sitting down next to her afterwards. Sunset swallowed a lump in her throat, trying but unable to bring herself to ask the question again.
“Well, thankfully,” Celestia broke the silence. “I can’t say that I have had feelings for another woman, no. But that doesn’t mean it’s odd or strange.”
“It isn’t?” Sunset cut in immediately, looking up at the principal.
Celestia smiled and shook her head “No, of course not,” she replied as she put her hand on Sunset’s shoulders as a reassuring gesture. “It’s normal to have feelings for your friends.”
The words Celestia chose made Sunset feel like she hadn’t gotten what she was trying to get across. She felt something for one of her friends.
“What—” Words got caught in her throat before she could get them out. She took in a deep breath and tried again. “What if, like, I’m feeling like I just want to hang out more with just one?” Sunset felt like she was pulling out her own teeth.
“Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset recoiled and shrunk as she heard the Principal call her name like that, she prepared for the worst. “What you feel is perfectly normal.”
Those words brought a sudden yet soothing calm to Sunset. “It is?” she asked, disbelief very evident in her voice.
“Of course,” Celestia replied with a beaming smile.
“But,” Sunset stammered and glanced away. “I don’t deserve to have these kinds of feelings for any of them, not after all the things I’ve done.”
“Sunset, your past does not define you,” Celestia said with a calm voice. “I may not be an authority on it, but everyone deserves love.”
The word made Sunset shudder; she hadn’t even called it that but deep down she knew what she felt. She knew what was happening.
“There is another side to you and your friends see that,” the principal continued. “We have seen what you are capable of, what you can do when you put yourself out there.”
“I guess everyone here likes who I am now.” Sunset smiled as she turned to face the principal again. “They were the first to look past the things I did before, even though I still can’t forget entirely about them.” Sunset bit her lower lip and sighed softly. “I was really awful, wasn’t I?”
“You were,” Celestia said with a distinct lack of tact. “But like I said, your past is not today.” The principal smiled brightly. “You could consider yourself a phoenix.” Celestia giggled slightly at the analogy. “Reborn from the ashes of that incident at the Fall Formal, everyone sees now what you are really capable of, you are not who you were before.”
“I know.” Sunset sighed again, looking at the ground before she glanced back at the woman next to her. “I don’t know if I have the right to feel these things I feel for her.”
“Well, why not?” Celestia asked the question that Sunset was dreading to answer.
“Because of all I did to them back then.” Sunset slumped into the bench. “How can I fit in with them and still feel out of place? I just don’t get it.”
“That’s a question only you have the answer for, deep inside you.” Sunset was having a hard time finding that useful.
“There is more to you than you realize, you know? You would do well not to forget your past, but you can’t linger on it forever. You have to listen to the sound in your heart.”
For a moment, Sunset Shimmer felt like she was talking to Princess Celestia instead, but she steered that thought away. That was impossible.
“The sound in my heart?”
“Yes. Twilight Sparkle came to this world and taught you friendship, since then you’ve learnt much, and still have much to learn.” Celestia paused for a moment and smiled. “What I mean is, you have to follow the guidance of your heart, it was what made you realize how to fix the problem with Twilight during the Friendship Games, right? You followed your heart’s guidance, the sound in your heart.”
“The sound in my heart…” Sunset repeated softly, clutching her hands against her chest.
“The Magic of Friendship is strong, even in this world, you have felt it before when you girls played your instruments, you saw how you shone and transformed when you were united.”
Sunset feels something as she listens to Celestia, what is that? Who knows!
Celestia continued “Friendship is a beautiful thing that can lead to many things, and you shouldn’t deny yourself those opportunities just because of your past mistakes.”
“Are you sure about that?” Sunset was beaming, smiling even if a little fearful.
“I am,” Celestia replied immediately, her own face beaming with a smile as well. “I believe you have done more than necessary to redeem yourself, and I know the other students think so as well. Why should you keep punishing yourself?”
Sunset let out a chuckle and quickly wiped the tears forming in her eyes away. “I guess you’re right, my friends accept me, the school forgave me, I need to stop beating myself up and give myself a chance, right?”
“Right.” Celestia then leaned in and tugged Sunset into a hug.
Sunset’s eyes opened wide in surprise, her cheeks flushed. A strange familiar feeling overtook her, and she couldn’t help herself as her arms wrapped around the principal, hugging her back.
The hug lasted but a moment, Celestia was the first to pull away, leaving Sunset with a faint smile and a still surprised expression.
“Thank you,” Sunset said, swallowing a lump that began to form in her throat. She stood up and walked past the principal. Tears began to run down her cheeks as she smiled. “For everything, I’m gonna go meet my friends now.”
“You’re welcome, Sunset Shimmer.” The principal stood up and crossed her arms, the smile never leaving her face.
“I’m gonna ask her too! I mean, if she wants to hang out, maybe go to the mall. Just the two of us, girls like shopping, right?” Suddenly, Sunset found herself stumbling on her words, feeling nerves and a flurry of emotions surge through her now that she was open to the possibility.
Celestia laughed lightly, keeping that serene and understanding look. “You do what feels best for you, I’m sure she’d love to spend time with you.”
“Right, right!” Sunset rubbed at her arm as a myriad of images crossed her mind. “Thank you again so much for this, you really helped me.” Sunset felt her eyes getting hazy, but she could stop herself before anything decided to streak down her cheeks.
“My door is always open if you need anything else,” the Principal crossed her arms over her chest as she smiled. “So if you ever need anything else, don’t hesitate to come, alright?”
“I won’t, thank you so much Principal Celestia.”
“It was my pleasure, now don’t let me keep you from getting your girl! I’m sure they’re all wondering where you are.”
Sunset felt a faint blush take over her cheeks as her lips curled to a smile. “You’re right,” she said as she turned on her heels and faced the school’s entrance. She lifted a hand up and waved it in goodbye towards the principal as she turned her head over her shoulder. “Thank you again, I’ll see you later!”
Celestia lifted a hand to idly wave back as she smiled. “Until we meet again, Sunset Shimmer.”
