My Life Sucks

Twinkleshine yawned into her pillow and covered her eyes with a foreleg to block out the sun, rolling over and slamming her muzzle into Sunset’s face.

“Ow.”

Twinkleshine glanced around her and looked up at the empty bed as Sunset nuzzled her and Silver Spanner rested a foreleg around her waist as the two continued to sleep.

“This is kinda comfy,” Twinkleshine admitted and stretched her hind legs out under the blanket they shared. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept with my friends.”

She gave another yawn and stared at the ceiling with a bored expression for a few seconds before she somehow managed to wiggle out from between the other two sleeping mares.

And she thought Lyra had a death grip. Lyra’s didn’t even come close to the one Silver Spanner had. Twinkleshine trotted around the room quietly as she read each of Sunset’s poster she had on the wall.

“I didn’t realize how big of a rock fan Sunset is. She and Sea Swirl would be good friends. I should introduce the two one day,” Twinkleshine mused and went to the next wall. “Twisted Sister, BFMV, I Prevail, Maretellica, Ghost. Good lord.”

Twinkleshine remembered the last time Sea Swirl had dragged her to a rock concert. Her head still hurt three days later from how loud it was. She grudgingly had to admit it was a pretty good time. She wouldn’t mind going again.

Twinkleshine idly wondered if she should try asking Sunset and Silver Spanner to go with her to one. Might be a decent time she supposed.

“What’s this?” Twinkleshine wondered and leaned forward to read a note pinned to a board. “To Princess Sunset Shimmer, thank you for attending our fundraising event for the homeless of Manehatten. Your gracious donation is greatly appreciated. With gratitude, Songbird Serenade and Countess Coloratura. When the heck did she meet those two?”

Her eyes glanced to a picture of the three smiling and she raised an eyebrow at Sunset’s slightly forced smile in the picture.

“Twinkleshine?” Sunset blinked and rolled over to look up at her. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just reading your posters and stuff. Sorry if I woke you.”

“Nah you’re good,” Sunset stood up and stretched out. “Most of the time Raven or Mom wakes me up for school or royal business. But on Saturday and Sunday the castle is closed for business and there’s no Day Court, thankfully. They usually let me sleep in on the weekends. Hey, how did I end up on the floor?”

“I think it was after you came back from using the bathroom around three am. We went to bed at one am or so. You woke me up accidentally and I guess you passed out next to us.”

Sunset faintly remembered that. She also faintly remembered accidentally stepping on somepony in the middle of the night as she felt for the door. Guess that was Twinkleshine, apparently.

Silver Spanner rolled over and hugged a pillow, muttering something about warmth as she smiled in her sleep and curled up in a ball with her tail wrapped around her.

“That’s adorable,” Sunset said after a moment and started brushing her mane. “She reminds me of a cat, a bit. Ow, knotted mane.”

Twinkleshine gave a low chuckle to avoid waking the other sleeping mare as she sat down on Sunset’s bed. Twinkleshine sank halfway into the mattress and she rested a hoof against the wall.

“Uhm, help? I think your mattress is gonna swallow me or something,” Twinkleshine commented and Sunset glanced back, her horn glowing a light blue as she levitated the white mare out and onto her back. “Oh, that actually feels good.”

Twinkleshine stretched out and spread out her legs with a content sigh, rolling her head to look at Sunset brushing her mane still with an occasional grimace.

“I’m surprised you still have that guitar I got you years ago. I thought you would have thrown it out or something.”

Sunset glanced at her orange guitar hanging up on the wall next to her light blue guitar and a dark red one and Sunset shrugged.

“Oh, I love it actually. I play it every few days. Helps calm me down when I’m angry like I was the other day. I play the other two occasionally, but the orange one is my favorite. I like how the red fades to orange,” Sunset set her hair brush down on her nightstand. “It was my favorite gift that year, honestly.”

“I remember working forever to get the bits so I’m glad,” Twinkleshine rested her head on Sunset’s pillow. One of the many she had. “I remember there was only three of us who were kids to show up. Everypony else was adults. I felt awful.”

“I remember being sad, but it was okay. I really should have tried to have been friends with you back then. Even though it seems your friends hate me. Don’t know what I did though.”

“They don’t hate you. It’s like you said, ponies are either afraid of you or worship you, unfortunately. They’ll come around, trust me. Twilight is actually quite fond of you, believe it or not.”

Twilight did always talk about looking up to her in private with Twinkleshine and Minuette. The other two did share her sentiment. There was a lot to respect with her. Sunset had been widely known for being mostly kind, unless she was in a bad mood and you angered her. Which was pretty rare, Twinkleshine noticed.

The two looked over at Silver Spanner as the mare rolled over, blinking a few times before wincing, covering her eyes with a blanket.

“Would you tell your mom to turn down the sunlight please? It’s too early,” Silver Spanner moaned and Sunset chuckled.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. I’ve tried, trust me. If you get up, we can go get breakfast. I think the castle staff is done making it by now.”

“I’m game as long as there’s coffee involved,” Silver Spanner grunted and she threw her blanket off. “Copious amounts of coffee is the only way to start the day. Just one question.”

“Yeah?”

“Where’s the bathroom?”

Sunset trotted down a hallway of stained glass mirrors as Silver Spanner examined them each briefly. Most of them were of Celestia or some old wizard looking unicorn. Star something.

“Hey, who’s that?’ Silver Spanner asked as she pointed a hoof at a scary looking dark blue alicorn with sharp looking teeth and eyes that reminded her of a reptile.

“Nightmare Moon,” Sunset answered as she and Twinkleshine joined Silver Spanner in front of it. “Mom banished her to the moon almost a thousand years ago. Nopony knows where she came from, but all the books agree that she challenged mom for the throne and mom defeated her, banishing her to the moon with her magic. That’s all I could find and mom isn’t too fond on relieving the memory she said the one time I asked her about what happened that night.”

“She looks scary,” Twinkleshine shivered and pressed her side against Sunset’s.

“She does, yeah. Not even Raven knows anything about her and Raven knows everything,” Sunset scratched the back of her head. “I do know the old castle is torn apart and rubble, wherever it must be.”

Silver Spanners mouth opened slightly as she looked at her with wide eyes. Every filly and colt in Ponyville knew of the old castle in the Everfree forest.

When she was seven, Silver Spanner and Berry Punch accompanied Big Mac and Caramel into the Everfree to stay in the castle over night. None of them stayed over night after seeing some ghost and the four had ran away screaming into Ponyville.

Silver Spanner remembered being grounded for a whole month afterwards along with being yelled at by both her mom and dad for three hours straight. Something about how she could have died and how dangerous what she did was.

But she did get to spend time with Big Mac and that was a plus in her eyes. Berry Punch had teased her about that for an entire year. Silver Spanner may have been a bit stuttery around him, but she would never admit that to anypony except Berry and maybe Big Mac if Applejack wasn’t so annoying about her family not dating.

Silver Spanner admittedly wasn’t a huge fan of Applejack, but she would never tell her that. The only pony who disliked Applejack more was Strawberry Sunrise. Silver Spanner didn’t necessarily know what went down between the two, but she didn’t want to know.

“Interesting,” Silver Spanner decided on and shuffled her forelegs around nervously as the two stared at her intently.

“Do you know something about this said castle?” Sunset asked eagerly and her tail flicked back and forth excitedly. “You looked shocked when I said old castle, almost like you we’re surprised I knew something.”

“I may know something, " Silver Spanner confessed and Sunset grinned widely at her. “It’s a Ponyville thing. Most school kids try to stay the night in the abandoned castle. It’s like a rite of passage, so to speak. Really it’s just an excuse to scare each other. The castle of the two sisters-”

“The what?” Twinkleshine interrupted and raised her eyebrow. “Castle of the two sisters? What the hell are you talking about?”

“It’s a Ponyville rumor that there was two sisters who ruled Equestria, not just one. Nopony knows who the other was but,” Silver Spanner jabbed a hoof at the stained glass window of Celestia fighting Nightmare Moon. “That’s an alicorn. Princess Celestia is an alicorn. Maybe that’s the other sister.”

Sunset hummed to herself as she examined the window. She would have to study this further. Most of the books she had read hadn’t said anything about Celestia having a sister. And Sunset would know if she had an aunt. Then again, Sunset didn’t really know anything about her own dad so it was a possibility. A very slim possibility, but she doubted it.

“I’ll ask Mom about it. But she does get pretty secretive about some things. Most of the time is for my own benefit, oddly enough. Believe it or not, there’s stuff even I don’t know and I’m the second in line to the throne. Mom did say something me knowing all soon enough,” Sunset rubbed a hoof against her chin as she continued staring at the window.

Celestia sat on a chair in the dining room, sipping her tea as Sunset and her two friends trotted in.

“Morning mom,” Sunset greeted Celestia and she sat down next to her. “How was your night?”

“Good. How was your sleepover and how did you three sleep?”

“Good.”

“Great.”

“Silver Spanner hugged me a bit too tight, but other than that it was good.”

Sunset snickered and Celestia took another sip of her tea with a raised eyebrow. When Celestia had checked on them before going to bed herself, Sunset was asleep in her bed and the other two were asleep on the blanket bed Sunset had made for them.

“Sunset, can we speak in private?” Celestia jerked her head to a side room and Sunset nodded slowly. “Breakfast will be here in a moment you two. We will be right back.”

Sunset followed Celestia into the next room, the door shutting softly.

“What’s up, Mom?” Sunset nuzzled Celestia and the alicorn returned the gesture.

“Has Silver Spanner talked to you at all about her family receiving payment to attend my school?” Celestia asked curiously and Sunset nodded. “Or money trouble?”

“She mentioned it last night. As for the money trouble, no. That would be a personal thing and she doesn’t seem eager to share stuff like that yet. I assume you pulled some strings and got her family paid to send her there.”

“So did her parents.”

Sunset and Celestia stood quietly for a fee moments in thought before Sunset decided to speak.

“Who’s my dad?”

“What?”

“Who’s my dad? Kinda a easy question? And do you have a sister, by chance?” Sunset asked and Celestia kept a straight face by some miracle.

“Sunset, do you trust me?” Celestia asked suddenly and Sunset took a half step back.

“Of course,” Sunset answered without hesitation and she shifted her weight. “But what does that have to do with my questions?”

“Remember when I told you that there’s some things that I can’t tell you yet for your own good?”

“Yes.”

“Those are two of those questions. In due time, I’ll tell you both the answers. That being said, your father would have loved you. Meet me in my room after dinner and I will tell you something I can at least get away with.”

Sunset gave a slow nod. Might as well take what she get. It could have been worse, she supposed.

“With that said, I love you.”

“Love you too, Momma. Hey, how much bits do I have left in my allowance?”

“Hmm,” Celestia mused as she tapped a hoof against her chin in thought. “You almost never spend your allowance. I’ll have to double check, but probably around nine thousand bits or something?”

“Excellent.”

Celestia had no idea what Sunset was planning, but she decided to stay far away from whatever it was. Sunset always sorta got a weird look in her eyes that always told ponies around her she was up to something.

Whatever it was, it couldn’t be that bad. Or so Celestia hoped at least.