Chapter 6
Into the Sky…

Celestia hummed to herself. Sunset's report on Cadance's level when it came to magic hardly broke new ground. Her adopted niece was a novice, about as skilled as a young filly. Though while a young filly might struggle to apply themselves, someone on the brink of adulthood did not.

Flipping back to the last page revealed Sunset's lesson plan. Of course she had her own plans for the alicorn, but it was nice to see her student taking this seriously. Most of the early stuff was to be expected, mastering levitation, then the basics in most fields; nothing really noteworthy.

Sure, some of the lessons Sunset had planned were in a slightly different order than how she would have done it, but that was natural. Some of the more intermediate subjects did cause her to frown a bit. Apparently Sunset planned to teach her quite a bit when it came to both defensive and offensive magic. While she couldn't outright object to something like that-- Cadance might very well find herself in a situation when she might need such skills --they certainly weren't what she'd focus on.

Still, this plan was for years into the future, and it was unlikely that Sunset would care to tutor her for that long. Not to mention, that Cadance herself might take a liking to the art and explore magic more on her own once she got the basics down.

As her eyes trailed down the list she found herself nodding in agreement to most things. Yet... 'crystal manipulation'? Certainly, she'd considered teaching Cadance that herself. Yet as she went even further down her unease just kept growing.

'Magic of the Heart' by Evening List, 'What is Dark Magic: and how to protect yourself from it' by Strike Shield, 'Imbuing Precious Stones' by Tidy Amethyst.

The list went on further with many more books on similar subjects. None of the subjects were objectionable, in fact, many of them were titles she herself planned to bring to Cadance's attention. Yet she planned on doing so because of the young alicorn's heritage; something which they themselves were unaware of.

Was Sunset guessing based on her cutiemark, or did she know Cadance's linage?

The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

Sunset got up and stretched, letting out a sigh in the process.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today." She chuckled as Cadance let out a sigh of relief from the other end of the room. "It can't have been that bad?"

"I've tried getting this stupid thing to make a shield for over a week now," Cadance whined.

"You'll get it eventually," she smiled. "Just keep casting the other spells you've learned and follow up on the exercises and you'll get there. You're already progressing way faster than foals with your experience level."

Cadance just groaned and buried her head in a pillow.

With a smile she packed up her own reading material. Obviously her newfound interest in enchanting was the main event; but she'd also brought a book on shields so she could touch up on the subject. Then there was another book she wanted to get to but hadn't yet. It had caught her interest when she was pacing about the Starswirl Wing. From the title it sounded as if it was about musical magic, a subject close to her heart.

But then, titles could be misleading, she mused as she stepped out into the hallway.

"Sunset, wait," Cloud Thorn called out as she quickly joined her.

"What's up?"

Cloud opened her mouth, only to close it again, fidgeting in place. Which was somewhat unusual for the otherwise rather harsh mare. You kinda needed to be polite when you worked as a maid, but having gotten closer to them Sunset could tell that they preferred being direct and to the point. In that way she really would fit in better with the guards.

Which is why them acting reserved was somewhat surprising.

"I... me and a friend of mine usually go out to drink after work, once a week."

"Yeah?"

"I was... wondering if you'd want to join us this week?" It almost sounded like she was spitting needles with how hard it was for her to get the words out.

Sunset frowned. "Sure, I'm down, I guess." It'd been a while since she last went out to a bar. Despite their age, most of her friends usually didn't care much for going out, at least not to such places. Not that that ever stopped Rainbow Dash and Applejack from getting into stupid drinking contests.

Cloud Thorn nodded and made to move, only for Sunset to stop them with her hoof and look them in the eyes.

"But only if you are okay with having me there. I don't want to show up and ruin the mood."

Cloud's flat expression morphed into a small smile. "I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise."

"Then I'll happily join you," she nodded.

A light set of knocks echoed from her office door.

"Come in," Celestia replied absentmindedly, her eyes not leaving the documents before her.

She could hear the door opening and closing, as well as a set of petite hooves making their way across the room.

"Your evening tea, your highness."

She grunted. "Just put it on the desk, I'll serve myself."

Honestly, sometimes her staff treated her like she was a foal that couldn't do anything by herself. It was an image the nobles had cultivated over the years; that they were above doing the most basic of tasks themselves. Infantilizing, that's what she'd call it.

The only reason she had staff in the first place was that a large castle was well beyond what a single pony could care for all by her lonesome. Another thing she'd rather not have either if she was being honest. Really, the only part of the castle that she considered home were her personal chambers.

She flicked her ears; she'd never heard the maid leave. Putting down her quill she lifted her head. Sure enough, the mare was still standing in the room, off to the side. She was about to dismiss them before she recognized who they were. The yellow coat and light green mane was a dead give away.

"Oh, it's you," she could feel her mood souring.

The mare took a light bow. "A pleasure as always, your highness."

"Last I checked you were, in fact, not a part of my serving staff," she eyed the maid outfit that the earth pony had managed to get their hooves on.

"I took up a side gig," the mare smiled.

She just stared them straight in the eyes.

They awkwardly took a step forwards. "They let you keep the outfit even if you quit, so..."

She groaned, why was everyone in that association so eccentric? "Just tell me why you're here, please."

"Ah, right," the mare nodded. "Since I was in the area I figured I'd hoof off the report directly, saves the time." She reached into her outfit somewhere and pulled out a thick stack of papers stapled together.

"Lovely," Celestia said as the stack was unceremoniously dumped onto her desk. Wearily she pushed the front page with her hoof. She'd bet bits on someone in the association hating her, the reports were always excessively long and overly detailed. It's like they had all the time in the world to put together the most dull piece of writing possible.

She looked up and met the eyes of the mare again. "Just give me a summery Lemon, it'll save us both some time."

Lemon chuckled. "That old coot does have her way with words, doesn't she?" She pulled the report off the desk. "Let's see here if I can remember," she quickly flipped through the pages. "We had an anomaly here in Canterlot," she said as she continued flipping.

Celestia could feel a chill across her spine. "How bad are we talking?"

"Extremely localized, as far as we can tell," she stopped, seemingly having arrived at the page she was looking for.

Celestia licked her lips. "How many victims?" The number she was hoping for was zero.

"Only one, thankfully."

Celestia let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. There was a reason she didn't like the association: the only news they'd bring was bad news. It wasn't their fault, she knew that, but it still hurt to hear about her ponies getting hurt.

"How's the victim holding up?"

Lemon hummed and flipped a few pages forwards. "Based on the little interaction we did she seemed sane, but she was definitely conscious throughout the affair."

She tilted her head. "How do we know?"

Lemon lifted the current page to squint at the one behind it. "The report suggests a shift in personality."

"How drastic?"

Lemon glanced at her. "You'd have a better idea of that than I do, your highness."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"The victim is Sunset Shimmer, her occupation is listed as a direct student under you."

Her eyes dilated.

"You know her better than we ever could." Lemon closed the report and placed it back on her desk.

It explained so much, the weird shift in attitude her student had, the temporal magic aftereffects. How had she not connected the dots before? She'd even brushed off the entire matter as just another late night experimenting.

"What happened to her?"

Lemon just shrugged. "No idea, we sealed up the anomaly so it can't do anything, but none of us recognize it. There's some details in the report regarding what we could figure out about it, but it's rather inconclusive."

"Sealed up? You mean it's still there?"

Lemon nodded. "It shouldn't do anything anymore nor can you even see it. But we got another anomaly that showed up in Manehattan, so I'm catching the next train there."

Two in quick succession? That was a bit unusual, but hardly unheard of. Still, for Sunset of all ponies to be hit by something like that?

"She..." Celestia started, before attempting to grasp the right words. "Wasn't the cause of it, right?" She didn't really want to think her student to have been that far gone, but her attitude prior to the incident...

Lemon chuckled. "Of course not, if so we'd have gotten in touch right away. You know we take it very seriously when ponies mess with these things. No, as far as we can tell this was a natural one."

Right, she knew that. The association was nothing if not systematic in their approach. If there was a pony or creature out there that was messing with magic they didn't understand... she'd be the first to know. Mostly because she had the resources to send somepony appropriate to deal with it.

That just left her with how she should deal with this information...

"How..." she hummed, it was hard to find the right words. "What do you usually recommend for those close to the victim?"

"You mean how to approach them about it?"

She nodded.

Lemon grimaced. "To not do it at all, to be honest. For most it's a very traumatic experience, though it obviously varies. If she wants to talk about it, I'm sure she'll approach you."

She could feel her thoughts wander in every direction. What exactly had Sunset experienced? Why hadn't she said anything? No, of course it was not widely known that she had a group of ponies on her paycheck to deal with such issues... Sunset could very well have blamed herself for the whole ordeal.

Seeing as she wasn't addressed anymore, Lemon took a light bow before making her way out of the room. The sound of the door shutting finally got Celestia to snap to attention. She lifted the pot and poured herself a cup of tea, maybe that would help relax her rushing mind.

It wasn't until a good few minutes later before the thought hit her, one that chilled her greatly: Sunset claimed to not remember the contents of those books she had from the restricted section, something she didn't appear to be lying about. But if that was true... just how long had she been stuck in the anomaly?

The establishment wasn't quite what Sunset expected. She had been to a few bars on the other side of the mirror, but none of them really captured the same feeling as this place. The main room was quite spacious with only a few tables occupying it. Along the walls were booths for those who wanted a bit more of a private experience. The bar itself was front and center, it was the first thing you'd see entering the establishment, being located on the far side of the room opposite to the entrance.

Nothing about the place screamed high class, unlike other establishments of the type in Canterlot. Instead there was more casual room lighting, with landscape paintings across the walls. It felt more like you'd walked into someone's living room rather than a high class ball room. Which was also unlike how rundown some of the bars in the human world were by comparison. All in all, the place felt comfy to Sunset, which took the edge off a bit.

"So, we're meeting your friend here then?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, in fact, she's right over there," Cloud pointed at a lone pegasus mare seated at the bar.

As the two trotted over Sunset looked over the mare, she had a pink coat that was broken up with several large white dots. Her mane was a dull white and tied up in a way so two long strands of it hung down her back.

"I see you're getting comfy already;" Cloud proclaimed as she approached, a grin on her face.

"Mmmm, something like that," the mare replied as she turned her head around to face them. "So this is your new friend then?" She said while eyeing Sunset up and down with a smile on her face.

"Sunset Shimmer," Sunset said while offering out her hoof.

"Well, if the colours match!" The mare giggled as she bumped Sunset's hoof with her own. Cloud merely rolled her eyes at her friend's behaviour.

"You know, you should probably introduce yourself too," Cloud said while taking a seat next to the pink mare.

"Hehe, yeah I guess that's how it goes. Name's Ribbon Knot."

Sunset nodded to the mare and took a seat on the other side of Cloud, who was in the process of waving over the bartender.

"I figured I'd see you soon after the disaster dropped in," the bartender said as he walked over. It seemed to have been some sort of in-joke because Ribbon just laughed at the remark.

"So, who's the newbie?" He asked while eyeing Sunset. "Also I must ask, are you even old enough to take part in this establishment?"

Sunset scoffed, if only he knew. She shook her head. "I doubt that should be a cause for concern, and the name is Sunset Shimmer."

"Oh?" He glanced over towards Cloud. "I'm almost impressed that you managed to drag a noble out here. So, what will you fine mares be having?"

"Just the usual," Cloud answered.

"Ditto for me!" Ribbon followed up with before downing the rest of her existing drink.

As for Sunset, she wasn't sure. She was never really one for getting plastered. While Rarity had no problem bringing out the wine when the occasion occurred, Sunset wasn't much for it. Honestly, if it weren't for drinking being more of a social thing then she wasn't sure if she would be drinking at all.

Noticing her hesitation the bartender spoke up. "If you're unsure what's good then don't worry, I can set you up with something that's appealing for those new to drinking."

Sunset shook her head. "No, I know my way around drinks, is just a matter of deciding what I want."

"Oh? You better impress me then," the stallion said, having a slight smug look on his face.

Normally Sunset would just get what her other friends had if they were out. Of course, that wasn't a good plan currently, she had no idea if Cloud and Ribbon were heavy drinkers. In the rare cases where she'd have to come up with something herself, she'd just order something produced by Applejack's family. But that wasn't really an option here... or was it?

Sunset shrugged, might as well test the waters, right? "You don't happen to have any of Sweet Apple Acre's finest cider, do you?"

The bartender seemed a bit taken aback. "We do, actually," he replied as he went to fetch the bottles for their orders. "Gotta admit Lady Shimmer, you surprised me. Most mares and stallions your age don't know their way around beverages, and either order something they don't like just because they want to impress their friends, or they want to pose as having really refined tastes. When you've worked this long behind the counter you can tell when someone just hates their drink."

Cloud snorted and rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

The stallion continued as he poured their drinks. "Ponies don't really order special craft ciders or beers unless they know what they like, or they are trying something new. So, I take it you have had this before?"

Sunset nodded. "Yeah, and honestly, after having cider from Sweet Apple Acre's it's hard to settle for something else." It was an honest opinion, there really wasn't any other cider that could compare, at least not back in the other world.

"You're right, and I wish more would share that opinion. It's a small name since they don't produce much for export, few in Canterlot have even heard about 'em despite the proximity. I try to keep a few bottles around, but they mostly gather dust if I'm being honest."

Sunset hummed before taking a sip from her freshly poured drink; it tasted just as good as she remembered, if not better.

"So, are you gonna tell Sunset about it? You know, when you went out with the other recruits?" Ribbon snickered as she nudged Cloud.

"...Maybe some other time, it's not a fun story," Cloud sighed as she brought her own drink to her muzzle.

"I disagree, I think it's hilarious!" Ribbon said while clearly holding in more snickering.

"Well, I hope you fine mares enjoy your evening, I have more patrons to attend to," the bartender said, taking a light bow before walking over to other waiting guests.

"...You two come here often then? He seemed quite familiar with you," Sunset glanced at her companions.

"Yeah, we usually go here to unwind once a week at the end of it, you know, to welcome the weekend!" Ribbon grinned.

"There are other bars but, well, I prefer this one," Cloud replied. After a quick glance about she continued: "We should get a booth, it would be more comfortable," she said while getting up and gestured to one in the corner of the room.

"Sure," Sunset answered.

The three of them got up with their drinks and relocated to the booth, Ribbon sitting down next to Cloud while Sunset took the seat opposite to them.

"Honestly though Cloud, you need to relax a bit, usually you're not this stiff when we're out," Ribbon nudged Cloud again. "You're the one who wanted to bring a plus one, not me."

Cloud let out a sigh. "I know that, it's just..."

Ribbon gave Cloud a few moments to follow up before shrugging and turning to Sunset. "So, I know I was a bit brief, so let me properly introduce myself. Name's Ribbon Knot, and I run an arts & crafts store right here in Canterlot. It's called Ribbons & Scissors," she chuckled to herself. "So if you ever see yourself down east avenue, feel free to stop by."

Having finished her pitch, Ribbon put on a grin before point her hoof at Sunset. "Now it's your turn!"

Sunset couldn't help but smile, the mare's energy reminded her a bit of Pinkie Pie, their similar colour scheme doing nothing to dissuade the comparison. Surface appearances weren't everything of course, and they were likely very different, or so she'd have to assume. As for herself...

"As you know, name's Sunset Shimmer, and I study magic under Princess Celestia as her personal student."

"Aaand?"

"Err..."

"I'm sure there is more to you than that, right?"

Sunset blinked. "Well... I guess truth be told I'm not used to describing myself. For better or worse my reputation tends to precede me."

"Can only be good things then, huh? You seem like a nice mare."

Sunset snorted and shook her head. "I'm sure Cloud would disagree with that," she said as she glanced to her silent companion. "Most ponies who know of me tend to stay away because they know I'm a stuck-up."

"Aww, but you seem nice so far," Ribbon responded, twirling her glass.

Cloud placed her drink on the table. "She's right, Sunset has somewhat of a... reputation, especially among castle staff." She seemed a bit unsure of herself so Sunset gestured for her to continue; it was hardly anything she hadn't heard before.

"It's just... ugh, what happened to you Sunset? One day you're carrying yourself around with the biggest inflated ego I have ever seen. Yet the next you're suddenly more laid back than anyone inside those castle walls."

'I guess I should have expected this,' Sunset pondered. It was very unlikely that anyone who'd interacted with her often wouldn't notice a sudden personality shift. Besides, having opened up more to Cloud during the magic lessons with her... she'd have had front row seat to see just who the new Sunset Shimmer was. She grimaced, trying to put on an act of being cruel was not something she could stomach, especially not for keeping up a facade. She sighed, while she couldn't exactly tell others what was going on with her, she could provide something close to the truth.

"I guess I just... had a moment of reflection. I looked at where I was in life and decided I didn't want to be that person anymore."

"I know we talked before but, you have to admit it's rather strange. Ponies don't just change overnight, Sunset," Cloud replied.

She nodded. "You're right, they don't. It's likely going to be a long road till I'm the person I want to be. And probably further still till others see who I've become. But I decided to commit to this, and I'm nothing if not stubborn," she grinned.

"But-" Cloud started before getting interrupted.

"None of that depressing talk, we're here to relax, remember?" Ribbon interjected.

Cloud gave Ribbon a stink eye before eventually sighing. "...You're right."

"As for myself, Sunset, when I'm not tending to my store I travel Equestria."

"Oh?"

"Nothing fancy, mind, but I like to travel. So instead of paying for shipping my supplies from their producers I tend to go there myself and pick them up. I like seeing the land, especially from the sky," she flicked her wings.

"I suppose I wouldn't have expected that from a store owner. Won't that cut into the time that you can keep the store open though?"

Cloud snorted. "Of course it does, frankly she has been close to going bankrupt several times because she insists on doing things this way."

"Hey now," Ribbon proclaimed while giving Cloud a soft nudge. "It hasn't been that bad, even if I admit there have been a few close calls," Ribbon giggled.

Favouring the small talk, Sunset asked something that had been on her mind: "So how did you two meet anyway?"

"It was more our parents," Cloud answered, finally having a smile reach her muzzle. "There are few pegasus families living in Canterlot, as such they tend to stick together. That meant that me and Ribbon here often met and played with each other as foals."

"I'll let you in on a secret Sunset, she was way less grumpy as a foal," Ribbon said with a smirk.

"Maybe so, but who isn't more carefree when they are still that young?" Cloud followed up, still smiling.

"It was probably the opposite for me," Sunset said quietly, recalling how she spent all of her childhood hyper focused on her studies. She was well into her life before seeing the value in having friends.

"As for how our parents met," Cloud continued. "Well, my parents decided to move here from Cloudsdale after I was born. There's not really that much work that is easy to get as a pegasus in Canterlot, so both of them ended up joining the weather team."

"And my dad works on the weather team too!" Ribbon exclaimed.

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "So the two of us have kinda been attached at the hip since. To be honest, I relate more to the pegasus population of this city than any unicorn."

"Mmhmm, this unicorn is one hundred percent pegasus!" Ribbon proclaimed while nodding her head and patting Cloud. "Anyway, what do your parents do Sunset?"

The colour drained a bit from Sunset's face as she mentally recoiled. Right, her parents, she should have seen this coming when the conversation went down this direction. It was an innocuous question, yet she almost wanted to just come up with some lie just to let the topic drop. But... she also didn't want to lie, and it's not like the two of them had known this was a sour topic for her.

"Well... I wouldn't know, I suppose."

"Why not? They can't be that awful that you don't talk to them, right?" Ribbon said while Cloud nudged her, having clearly noticed Sunset's drop in demeanour.

"I grew up in an orphanage, I don't even know who my parents were."

"Oh," Ribbon let out as her ears dropped.

Noticing the drop in spirit amongst her company, Sunset followed up. "Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known, and... well I came to terms with it a long time ago."

"So you never had anyone there for you then, as a parent I mean?" Ribbon asked.

Sunset shook her head. "No, not really. I mean, there was someone I sorta saw like that a long time ago, but they didn't really see it the same way," Sunset took a sip from her cider. "I guess I just grew up eventually, I figured I'm on my own so I only really have myself to rely on."

Cloud reach out and put her hoof on Sunset's, giving her a small smile. "Hey, you've got friends at least. I know we have not known each other that well for long, but if you need someone to lean on, I'll be here for you."

"...Thank you."

The conversation drifted off to happier topics after that, apparently Ribbon was considering hiring someone else to help with her store in order to extend opening hours. Sunset couldn't really remember most of the small talk if prompted, but the topic of her lack of parentage kept reverberating in her head all evening. Not that it ruined the outing for her, if anything Sunset quite liked the company of the other mares.

Yet the subject lingered, never quite escaping back into the depths of her mind.

It was two days later-- with a light overcast putting Canterlot in a gray haze --that Sunset found herself standing in front of an unassuming building near the edge of town. While the building was quite large, you'd be hard pressed to guess its purpose from looks alone. But if you happened to get near enough to hear the inhabitants, you just might.

Sunset walked through the gates and past the empty garden, it seemed like no one was out and about today. She briefly considered knocking on the door before just shaking her head and walking in.

Inside was a spacious lobby with plenty of chairs as well as a receptionist desk over yonder. On the far left corner of the room was a staircase going up to the second floor, while the sides of the room hosted several doors. The entire place was brightly lit and the walls were painted in pastel blue.

Sunset trotted over to the receptionist's desk and flashed a smile at the unicorn sitting there, she had a green mane and peach coat. Catching her attention they looked up at Sunset and put on a smile.

"Hello and welcome to High Hill, I don't believe you have an appointment, on account of us having none today, so how can I help you miss?"

"Good afternoon, I'm here to see someone..."

"Ah, I must inform you that we have a process here, but if you want I can sign you up for a first meeting?"

Sunset snickered. "No, no, you misunderstand. You don't know who I am, do you?"

The receptionist looked a bit taken aback. "Ah, no, I can't say I recognize you. I'll admit I'm fairly new at this job."

"Name's Sunset Shimmer, you should already have me on file."

"I'll take a look then," the mare said as she got up and opened a filing cabinet.

"I'm just here visiting today."

After a few minutes of shifting through the files the mare glanced at Sunset. "Are you sure you're on file? I can't seem to find one with your name among the volunteers."

Sunset chuckled. "Try checking among the other files."

The mare blinked a few times before she finally seemed to get it. "Oh, OH! I see," she closed the cabinet and opened another and started shuffling through it before finding what she was looking for.

"Ah yes, Sunset Shimmer," she put the file on desk. "Here for some reminiscing then?"

"Something like that," Sunset smiled.

The receptionist opened her file and scanned through the first page, all while Sunset waited patiently. She wasn't sure why she had decided to come back here, Sunset hadn't even thought of this place in years, not since she first went through the portal. When she had first arrived in the other world, she had practically nothing to her name. As she was seeking shelter, a home, some of her thoughts inevitably trailed back to here.

A time before her manic studies, a time before Celestia, a time before... she went astray. When things went sour with Celestia and she fled as far as she possibly could, it was perhaps not strange that she had thought of this place. She had always been studious and interested in magic, even back then. But Sunset had been a foal once, roaming these halls while carrying high hopes for tomorrow.

The lobby hadn't changed much since back then, of course it was fewer years since she'd last stepped in here compared to how long ago she remembered it being. Sunset recalled sitting in this room some days, studying ponies coming in with hopes to adopt, trying to discern what kind of ponies they were. She couldn't remember if she wanted to be adopted back then. Even if she had been though, those feelings paled in comparison what she later felt for...

Sunset shook her head, there was no point in dwelling on that now. She had put such childish notions away years ago. If anything she might get some closure coming back here, or so she hoped anyway.

"...It says that Stark Haven was the caretaker in charge of you, do you want me to get her for you? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

Sunset nodded. "Yeah, I'd like to meet her."

Sunset's mind wandered once again as the receptionist got up and headed up the stairs. Stark Haven... the name didn't really even sound familiar to her anymore. She could remember the faces of some of the ponies that worked here, but not much else beside.

In her mind, Haven had been a kind earth pony mare, always carrying a smile on her face. She had a light gray coat and flowing orange mane. Sunset wanted to say that the mare had been there for her, that she had encouraged her studies; but she really didn't remember enough to tell for sure.

Sunset didn't have to wait long before the receptionist returned down the staircase, giving her a smile. Shortly thereafter another mare followed, Haven was just as Sunset had pictured her. Except... as Sunset gazed upon the descending mare she was struck by just how old she looked.

"Sunset Shimmer, it's been years," Haven spoke as she continued down the stairs, a smile on her muzzle.

Sunset gulped. "Sorry it took me this long to visit... my life has been tumultuous, to say the least." Sunset couldn't stop staring. Sure, Haven had the same face and the same coat and mane as she recalled. But wrinkles spread across her face, and the glasses were new.

Haven giggled softly. "It's no worry dear, I knew after you left here that you would be very busy with your studies. But I am glad to see you again, Sunset. Would you care to join me in my office for some tea?"

Haven had stopped in front of Sunset, hoof stretched out for a shake. Sunset only pondered the gesture for but a moment before instead stepping forwards and embraced the older mare in a light hug.

"I'd love to."

Haven's office was what you'd expect out of one located in an orphanage. It contained bookshelves and filling cabinets, being clearly a space for work. Yet everywhere you looked there were signs suggesting something more childish. The walls were sky blue with clouds painted on, and all across the bookshelves were framed photos of foals.

Sunset had ended up picking up and studying one that featured herself, she didn't remember having it taken. She looked like any other foal, smiling for the camera. If she had to guess she must have been around four or five.

In one of the room's corners sat a mat, a few toys cluttered about it. In the very corner was a bin with even more toys, as well as a few plush creatures. Opposite of the entrance sat a work desk, with chairs surrounding it on all sides. Behind the desk the room had it's sole window, a sprawling one covering most of the wall. On a sunny day the room would be most welcoming.

Sunset glanced about the room, as if hoping some long lost memory would dislodge itself. Her tea cup floating in her teal magic grasp as she sat across from Haven.

"Is nice to see you again Sunset, truly. I wasn't sure if I'd get the opportunity," Haven spoke as she cradled her tea.

Sunset snapped her focus back to the mare in front of her. "How come?" Sunset blinked her eyes a few times.

The truth of it was that, before very recently, she had not had a single thought of coming back; nor towards meeting Haven again. So her words hit Sunset harder than she probably expected. She had been selfish, in many ways of course, but she hadn't put any thought towards how her old caretaker saw her. You don't just save photos of work, the foals lining the shelves were obviously the ones that Haven had personally looked after.

Haven gave a snicker. "Well, while not every foal we take care of here comes back to visit once they are adults, most do. The few that don't mostly are ones who were simply too young when they got adopted to even remember us."

Haven put down her cup and gave a wave in the air in front of her. "Truth be told though, I'm getting up in the years and I'm thinking of retiring soon. As much as I love this job, my old body isn't keeping up so well anymore," Haven chuckled and smiled at Sunset. "It's why I wasn't sure if I'd be around for when you'd drop in."

A sadness welled up inside Sunset. She wasn't sure why, by all accounts she barely knew this mare anymore.

"I... truth be told, I haven't thought about this place in a long time," Sunset looked away, unable to meet Haven's eyes. "I'm glad I got the opportunity to meet you again, even if I don't deserve it," Sunset all but whispered the last few words.

"You don't need to feel guilt about it Sunset," Haven shook her head. "Even if I admittedly expected you to feel this way."

"...You did?" Sunset turned to face them again, surprise evident on her face, yet her eyes only met a smiling face.

"Of course, I remember the last time we spoke... I recall quite clearly how you proclaimed you'd never step hoof inside these walls ever again, nor would you let someone like me hold you back."

"I'm sorry," Sunset answered in shaken voice, putting down her cup as to not accidentally drop it.

"You need not be Sunset," Haven said as she got up, walked around the desk and took a seat right next to Sunset. She put a hoof on Sunset shoulder and lightly rubbed.

"But I was cruel to you, and I don't even remember!" Sunset exclaimed, tears threatening to come out.

A moment passed, the only sound in the room coming from Haven's rhythmic rubs and Sunset's light sniveling.

Haven sighed. "That may very well be, but Sunset, you have to remember, you were but a filly. The mare I see before me now is one much older, but also one more mature. Everyone grows up eventually, you know this."

"I..." Sunset couldn't find words, and simply leaned over and hugged Haven. "I was almost too late though..."

'In fact, I was too late once, and it wasn't even something I had the mind to consider,' Sunset reflected. How many more ponies had she unintentionally brought hurt? It seemed unlikely that Haven had still been alive by the time Sunset had finally returned to Equestria. She wouldn't have had the chance to meet her, even if she had been of the mind to do so.

"...Even if you were, I wouldn't have held it against you, Sunset. I might not be the spryest anymore, but I'm not going to topple over quite yet either. So I don't think we would have missed out on our reunion, even if you had taken another year or two to drop in. I do live in Canterlot you know, so distance isn't a concern."

"How... how long do you think you have?" She cringed as soon as the words had left her. Somehow mortality wasn't something she'd ever reflect much upon. For herself it had always been more of a 'problem to solve' rather than anything concrete.

Haven sighed. "Nopony can know that, but I would hope a while longer," Haven put on a calming smile again. "But- Some day, we will all fade into the sky Sunset, you need not shed tears for me," Haven said while nuzzling Sunset lightly.

Sunset swallowed and gave a nod, before returning the nuzzle. Minutes passed as the two of them just sat there in silence, it let Sunset gather her thoughts and emotions. She'd not questioned mortality much in her life, after all, she knew not her lineage. She had also never really lost anyone she loved or cared for.

Sure, Sunset was among the first to rush into danger to save her friends or do what she thought was right; and there had been a fair few close calls over the years. But she hadn't thought about what the consequences might be, not really. The fact that she or one of her friends might die never crossed her mind.

"Well, I can't say I expected the subject to turn so dour. But perhaps there are happier subjects we can pursue?"

Sunset nodded, she needed to get ahold of herself. Taking in a deep breath she answered: "Yeah, almost certainly."

"What spurred you on to come visit anyway?"

Sunset pondered for a moment, why had she come here? "A friend reminded me of... where I came from I suppose. I'm still not quite sure why I decided to come here, maybe some primal desire? I don't regret doing so though."

Haven smirked slightly. "Well, if you've got time on your hooves, perhaps I might have a suggestion?"

"Sure," Sunset nodded.

"You could join me and meet the foals; they always love seeing a new face. If you're up for it, maybe you could even play with them or read them a story?"

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, we don't even know if they'll like me," Sunset said while a smile reached her face. Something which Haven returned.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that."

As the two mares continued to re-connect, Sunset felt a weight she hadn't known she was carrying slowly fade away. Their cups of tea sat on the desk cold, long since forgotten.

"-and as such the core principle that dictates stability of flow is shape, not area, as one might expect," Celestia continued.

"Mmhmm," came the disinterested reply from the amber mare across from her.

"Material used also dictates how much magic can be taken in and be stored, of course, but also how fast the process is. So a too advanced shape might very well outpace the material one works with, which can lead to the destruction of what is enchanted."

"Uh huh."

Celestia frowned, glancing over at her student. Something was clearly taking up her attention, and it certainly wasn't the material they were going over. Sunset was neither looking at her, nor the book between her hooves as she lied on the floor. Instead her eyes were trained on the window, though it was clear that she wasn't really paying attention to that either.

The two of them had settled down on the floor as they usually did these days, with whatever material they were covering between their front hooves. Some might find it odd, but it's the way they had done things since Sunset first became her student; old habits die hard, after all.

"So, as I was saying, the best way to perfect your rune work is to batter the surface with cake mix before bringing down your etching tool."

"Uh huh."

Celestia rolled her eyes and sighed. It was clear to her at this point that continuing this lesson as is would be futile. She made a show of closing her book rather forcefully, the sound startling Sunset enough to get her attention.

"I figured you'd be more interested in the subject matter at hand my student. After all, you were the one who suggested to delve into it." Sunset at least had the decency to look apologetic about her behaviour.

"I- yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

Celestia shook her head. "I'm not mad Sunset, but perhaps you can tell me what's on your mind, we're clearly not making any headway with this anyway," she said while gesturing towards the book in front of herself.

Sunset grew quiet at that, as if contemplating how she would answer. Celestia couldn't really think of very many subject matters in which Sunset wasn't confident in expressing herself. If the amber mare had an issue, she was often quick to voice it; even if doing so was a detriment to herself or others.

But then, hadn't she fooled herself into such a simple mindset some time ago? Sunset was clearly more socially adept than she let on, when and from where she had picked up such skills, Celestia did not know. But this wasn't really the same either, was it? When she'd confronted Sunset about the books she was definitely confident, even if she hadn't let on that fact. As much was clear from how she had effortlessly been able to direct the conversation.

The mare in front of her now did anything but radiate confidence. Celestia did not remember the last time she had seen Sunset let herself be vulnerable. Few of the aristocrats in Canterlot did, of course; image was everything. Not that Sunset had ever seen to care much about her own.

"I... I visited High Hill the other day," Sunset finally let out.

High Hill? Wasn't that the orphanage on the outskirts of Canterlot? 'Oh, that's right, that's where Sunset grew up,' she had to remind herself. At least now the connection between action and mood was starting to clear. As far as she could recall, Sunset had never gone back there after she was emancipated. So why now then? She gestured for her student to continue.

"It was... an experience. It was quite emotional, at least at the start. But Stark Haven was very happy to see me again, and we spent quite a few hours talking-- when we weren't stuck playing with the foals that is," Sunset added with a snicker.

"I see."

"You know, it's funny, I hadn't thought about the orphanage-- my old home --in years. Yet when it was brought up, I couldn't get the thought out of my head," Sunset sighed. "...and yet, I still can't seem to think clearly, even now..." Sunset trailed off.

Celestia supposed this was inevitable: Everyone growing up in Sunset's situation would one day come to ponder whom their parents were. Celestia met her student's eyes, and was about to speak. Yet the way Sunset looked at her unnerved Celestia, there was something left unspoken; and there were clearly tears in her eyes.

"For example, in all of my time there, no one took interest in adopting me. At least that's what Haven claimed, but I don't see why she would lie to me, not about something like that."

Tears were starting to form and run down Sunset's chin, yet despite it all she had a smile on her lips. She was obviously trying to put on an image, Celestia reasoned, despite the sadness that gripped her. What was she to do in a situation like this?

"Not that I mind, I never cared about that," Sunset grit her teeth and turned away.

Stuffy nobles were easy, it was all posturing, she just needed to say the right words, lead the conversation the right way. It was all so simple. Except here and now, Celestia's mind screamed at her to do something, anything, yet her mind kept drawing a blank.

"She showed me my records when I asked, no one knows who my mother is, and my supposed father is a pony that has been missing for well over a decade," the tears were streaming down Sunset's face at this point.

She was compelled to move over to the mare across from her, drape her wing over them, and whisper soothing words. But she couldn't will herself to take the steps to do it; she remembered all too well the details of the unicorn's parentage. The parts she herself was asked to do to leave to rest a dying mare's worries.

Piercing tear ridden eyes turned and stared into her own, she flinched.

Why couldn't she come up with anything she could do or say, any words that could be spoken to lessen their pain? The pony in front of her was clearly in distress and spiraling further. What were she to do in a situation like this? Her mind ran at high speed, yet nothing she could think of seemed sufficient, or right. She was Sunset's teacher, breaching that role was unthinkable.

The tears were staining the book in front of Sunset at this point, the mare turning her eyes away once again to stare out the window.

"I don't want to feel like this again, I don't want to have failed everyone around me," Sunset whimpered. What Sunset meant by those words were lost on her. More curses from the place beyond time that only she had seen, perhaps.

In the end, Celestia did nothing, paralyzed by inaction she sat and watched her student cry herself dry. Eventually the two left the room, with no other words spoken. Later, in the comfort of her own room, Celestia reflected that her inability to be there for her student probably hurt them even more. Even so, she could not come up with what she should have done.

Yet one question echoed in her mind: When was the last time she had allowed herself to be vulnerable?

From her own room, Sunset sat and stared out through her window. Watching the sun once again set and fade into the horizon.

Author's Note

Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. Till I had some time off from work I didn't have the energy to go through and finish up the editing; this is despite my main proof reader for this chapter having finished up this one.... well, a good while ago. (And then an extra scene needing to be written)

Hopefully the next one won't be as long!

So, some of you might not know this, but I tend to write a very short draft (just a few hundred words) about my entire story before getting going. Just so that it's planned out. A lot of this chapter wasn't actually part of that planning draft. That's kind of how it goes though, things change as the story evolves.

I hadn't originally planned to get into Sunset's parentage, or lack thereof in this case, in this story. But it felt somewhat incomplete without it, and these scenes just kinda grew from that. There's plenty of people that have their own headcanons as to Sunset's origins and all that. And truth be told, I'm honestly very glad that EqG never decided to provide a proper answer; cause I don't think any answer could really be good enough to tie up all of her backstory.

Still, I do imagine that Sunset, just like Twilight, sort of looks up/looked up to Celestia as a sort of second mother. What with being such a big part of their lives in their formative years. But Sunset is obviously older now, but old scars don't really heal unless you confront them.

And wow, uh, Ribbon was a character that I just kinda made on the fly for this chapter. I know there will be people who'll think Pinkie Pie knock off, but that's always the risk when you introduce a minor character that don't get much development. Originally the bar scene was just gonna be Sunset and Cloud getting closer. But I kinda realised that they had shit chemistry so I needed an ice breaker.

Extra bonus points for the bar scene being written long before the previous chapter.

Anyone who tells you that writing is a linear path from A to be B is lying. I regularly write scenes out of order if I happened to get really good inspiration for them.

Anyway, the plot is slowing down a bit to cook. Expect things to be a bit fluffier and less adventure for a few chapters; as should be evident by the (short) time skip.