Every Dark Night Turns Into Day

Sunset

I wrapped a hand around my coffee and sighed contently. Coffee is the gift from God. I sat across the table at my aunts talked with Lyra as Ruby snuck down the stairs of Aunt Berry’s house.

“Cannon ball!” Ruby screamed and took a running start and jumped on my stomach.

“Oh firetruck!” I moaned and held my stomach. “Help me someone!” Lyra burst out laughing and rolled her eyes.

“Ruby!” Aunt Minuette chided as she stood up. “Don’t just randomly jump on your cousin like that. Are you okay, Sunset?”

“Yeah,” I groaned out as Ruby sheepishly got off me.

“Sorry. Was happy to see you,” Ruby explained as she rubbed the back of her head.

“It’s fine. A hug would suffice,” I grunted and sat up. “So where exactly were we?”

“Trying to figure out what kind of party your Aunt Berry would want,” Lyra explained as she got her laughter under control. “I won’t say what I got so far but yeah it’s a lot.”

“Should I be worried?” Aunt Berry asked with a snicker.

“At least we aren’t Pinkie and Vinyl,” Lyra shot back pointedly. “We have some tough competition when it comes to them. Your wedding is in seven months, right?”

“Correct,” Aunt Berry nodded as her hand slipped into Minuettes. “Is going to be in a church in the middle of town. Minuettes family is Catholic and we don’t really want to disrespect them.”

“Okay,” Lyra mused as she started writing on her notebook. “So pretty don’t go overboard or do anything to offend them.”

“Right. We’re hoping they might leave about nine or so,” Minuette answered with a shrug. “I love my parents but they can be strict at times. I already warned them not to go to Pinkie and Vinyls because I heard a rumor about strippers?”

“Sounds like Vinyl,” I chuckled as Ruby disappeared. Presumably to go find my sisters and Dinky. “So no strippers at our party, got it. Remember that Lyra.”

“I’ll try,” Lyra muttered in disappointment. “Fucking Pinkie and Vinyl. Stealing my ideas.”

“Shush Lyra!” I hissed in her ear. “We can figure something.” We may or may not be having a friendly competition with Vinyl and Pinkie to see who can throw the best bachelorette party. We most likely will lose, Vinyl and Pinkie are a powerhouse together.

“You two are smart. You’ll figure something. Now we have to do some cake tastings according to Cherry,” Aunt Berry said reassuringly. “I never knew weddings took this much work. I’m starting to think we should have just got drunk, gone to Vegas and got married there in a single day.”

“My parents would have killed us,” Aunt Minuette pointed out. “Not to mention your sisters for not allowing to plan and come with.”

“Fair enough,” Aunt Berry sighed as they stood up. “We have complete faith in you two. I used to throw some crazy parties back in college. Cherry Berry used to help me too.”

“Seriously?” Lyra questioned. “She seems well super serious.”

“She is,” Aunt Minuette laughed. “She grew up faster than the rest of us. So did Cheerilee.”

“Oh we have something for you!” Aunt Berry said suddenly. “Adagio dropped this off earlier. Said the Princess made an emergency visit late last night and dropped it off. Said it was of extreme importance.” She opened up a drawer nearby and handed me a black case with the Equestrian seal on it.

“What is it?” Lyra asked curiously as I took it. I opened it with shaky hands and gasped.

“It’s an Equestrian medal of honor,” I said in awe. “They’re rarely given out.”

“Well read it!” Aunt Minuette urged as I traced the medal with a finger.

“To Sunset Shimmer, for helping defeat the sirens,” I read out loud. “Sincerely, Princess Celestia.”

“Wow,” Lyra commented as she peered over my shoulder. “Is it made of gold?”

“Yes,” I said simply. “It’s made of a rare Canterlot gold. It’s why they’re so rarely given. It’s super hard to find the gold. The palace has a hidden reserve of it under the palace. The Crown keeps it a secret of course in case anypony tries to steal it. The rest of the Crowns money is hidden down there. It’s guarded by a specially trained team of guards and God knows what else. They don’t ask questions, they kill on sight if you’re down there without explicit permission from Luna or Celestia. She took me down there once.”

“Damn,” Lyra said as I hugged the medal. “What are you gonna do with it?”

“Put it up on my shelf and look at it. This is practically a gold play button from YouTube in Equestria,” I explained as Aunt Berry squeezed my shoulder.

“You deserve it. Keep that safe,” Aunt Berry said seriously. She almost never is serious unless the situation calls for it. Probably why she and Vinyl get along super well along with Rainbow and Pinkie. “We really need to get going. Have fun, make yourselves at home. Thanks for looking after Ruby and the others while we are gone. We’ll be back in a few hours.”

“Ruby’s bedtime is eight thirty. We don’t plan on being gone that long but best to be prepared. Derpys dad will be coming to pick up Dinky in a few hours,” Aunt Minuette said as she grabbed her purse. “Love ya guys. We will be back shortly!”

“Drive safe!” Lyra called out as I kept staring at the medal on my lap. “Sunset? You good?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” I lied with a sigh.

“I’m not Octavia with her freaky way to know when someone’s lying but you didn’t even try that time,” Lyra commented casually as she sat down. “What’s wrong? Also, who drinks coffee at four in the afternoon?”

“It’s just I never expected my life to turn out this way. I already planned to be a princess by now. Yet here I am, with a shit load of friends, a family and a medal of honor given to me by a mare I’m almost certain hates me,” I sighed and gently placed the medal in my backpack. “It’s mind blowing.”

“Trust me, I didn’t expect my life to be this way either,” Lyra chuckled as she gazed at her notebook. “I expected high school to be fucking boring. It’s been the exact opposite. Probably the best years of my life so far.”

“Yeah same here,” I admitted and picked up my notebook.

“Enough talking! We got planning to do! Gonna show Pinkie and Vinyl we can throw the best party!”