I Can Make It All Alright - (But Will You Forgive Me?)

by wwolf_ig

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Profanity, Violence, Princess Celestia, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Radiant Hope, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Alternate Universe, Romance
Length: 6039

The Passing of Sunset Shimmer's sister left her broken with one goal, and one goal only. However, developing friendships, and even relationships, threaten to get in the way of Sunset's studies, until, eventually, she decides, maybe she doesn't need t

The Passing of Sunset Shimmer's sister left her broken with one goal, and one goal only. However, developing friendships, and even relationships, threaten to get in the way of Sunset's studies, until, eventually, she decides, maybe she doesn't need the magic anyway.
That's when it all goes wrong.

Sequel: Skeletons

-Story In Progress-
Updates will be made first to Archive Of Our Own, then here.
Part of the Where The Sun Goes Series.
Series Links
Chapters and sections are subject to rewrites, in which case they will be updated on here, because i am an indecisive little shit.

Published 2025-01-31 17:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2025-02-13 22:25:47 UTC

One

Sighing, she closed yet another book before carefully slipping it back onto the shelf. Sunset Shimmer cast wary eyes around the room, making sure she was, in fact, still alone, before advancing to the next shelf. She wasn't that worried about being caught in the restricted section, simply because nopony ever dared to come back here other than Princess Celestia. Well, and her. But she needed to. The solution was here, somewhere, she was sure of it. It had to be. Sunset lit her horn as she grasped another tome in her magic, this time The Forbidden Practices - Alicorns, and flipped through the pages. She'd already checked the unicorns version of this book, to no success, but she wasn't hopeful it would be in here, either. What she was after was buried deep.

Sunset placed the book back on the shelf, having skimmed through the pages with no success. When she went to pick up another book though, she heard the door open slightly, saw light cut across the room before being snuffed out rapidly as the door closed again.

Somepony's here. It must be Princess Celestia, oh no, no no no- what do I do?

Sunset crouched low to the ground and took in a deep breath, trying her best not to panic as she cut off her own light, plunging herself into darkness. She couldn't be caught - if she was she would be kicked out, and that would be even worse than- than- well, she didn't know what, but it would be one of the worst things. She shuffled along the floor, for once annoyed at her bright amber fur and red-yellow mane. Hoof steps sounded against the wooden floor, getting closer to Sunset's position, and she felt a growl rising in her throat. This was bad. Then came a whisper.

"Sunset?"

"Hope? What are you doing?"

"I came to find you. Celestia's looking for you."

Sunset let out a sigh of relief that she'd been found, well, not that she'd been found, she would've rather not been found at all, but given that she had, she was glad it was Radiant Hope, her best friend and fellow student.

She was also the only one who knew what Sunset was researching, and the only one who wouldn't rat her out to Princess Celestia instantly.

Sunset raised herself back to her full height and took a few deep breaths, fighting off the slight fears that the dark brought, before shaking off the dust that had gathered in her mane and turning the corner to meet Radiant Hope. Hope was a unicorn, like her, with lilac fur and a sparkling blue mane which likely came from her Crystal Pony heritage, and bright cyan eyes that Sunset was sometimes sure held all the answers she needed - and was completed by a golden caduceus cutie mark. Sunset gave her friend an affectionate nuzzle.

"Thanks for coming to get me, Hope."

Hope smiled back at Sunset, equally nuzzling Sunset.

"No problem."

"Did she say what she wanted?"

"Oh, yeah, you might not like it."

Sunset restrained a groan as the slipped through the doors into the main library, once more making sure there was nopony around, and then making her way further into the room before responding.

"What is it this time?"

Hope grinned.

"Manehattan, opening ceremony."

"Is Cadance coming?"

"Yep."

Sunset nodded slowly.

"How fancy?"

Hope snorted as the pair exited the library.

"Let's just say that Miss Needle won't be very happy when you arrive with dust in your fur."

This time, Sunset failed to stop the groan, especially when faced with the prospect of more scrutiny from the Royal Designer, Silk Needle, and being given some new dress to wear.

"Seriously? We were at a fancy party just last week!"

"Such is the life of the royalty."

The duo giggled, and Sunset bumped into Hope.

"I should stop off at my room then. Get cleaned up, stuff like that."

Hope smiled and nodded at Sunset.

"I'll tell Celestia. I think she wanted to talk to you anyway."

Sunset returned the smile before turning away down a different corridor, ignoring the small ache that formed in her heart that formed whenever she left Hope. Brushing off her feelings once more, Sunset moved down the corridor at a leisurely trot, traversing the twisting hallways of Canterlot Castle with little difficulty nowadays, and feeling a small sense of satisfaction as she arrived outside her door.

Pushing it open revealed a smaller room than one might have expected, but that came at Sunset's own preference. At the far end was the large, circular window that took up the vast majority of the wall, which was set out on the castle so that Sunset could sit comfortably in the windowsill to read with a complete view above, below and each side of her. Plus, on Sunset's birthday, the sun would align perfectly with her window, though if that was naturally the sun's pattern or Celestia's doing, she would never know. There was her desk along one wall which was supplemented by two small bookcases to hold both books Sunset was currently reading, her school books, and any other pieces of gadgetry she managed to swipe from the laboratories, and the desk and cases were all covered in various papers and research, with the desk itself also holding Sunset's chemistry gear, Mathematical instruments, and other various tools and bits relating to her studies. The other wall was similarly filled with posters, personal decorations and another bookshelf, and also the small kitchen area that had previously been a walk in wardrobe that Sunset had converted after she both hadn't used it, and Celestia had been upset about Sunset's lack of eating when she got stuck into a particularly interesting topic, and then bathroom which Sunset always thought was bigger than anypony could need, and finally, the staircase that doubled back on itself leading to Sunset's loft bedroom which was situated on the door-side half of the room, hanging over her desk and keeping an unobstructed view of the window.

Sunset hummed to herself as she began walking through her room, magic whirling as she watered the various plants in her room, until the can settled back into it's spot on the windowsill. Sunset cast the window a sorrowful glance, as she'd previously hoped to smuggle a book out of the restricted section to read in the sunset as she was warmed and powered by the time of day she was named after. To say she was a little upset about another royal visit to some corner of Equestria, even if this corner was Manehattan, would be accurate. Sunset had never been one for the social side of things, and she was often more content to spend the day either on her own or with Cadance, Hope and Celestia, but being the student and therefore closest to Celestia, that meant by extension she was Heiress and Regent to the Guardianship and Throne of The Sun - a title Sunset always thought was a little much - and so she was expected to attend these sorts of events.

Sunset turned on the bath's hot tap with a sigh, realising with a twinge of guilt that she'd forgotten to ask Hope if she was coming to this ceremony as well, before walking back into her room and up the stairs, where she checked on, and floated a cloth to clean, a red crystal that hung in the centre of the room. It was an Everglow - a strange type of crystal found only in the Everfree forest that glowed softly in it's colour when it went dark. As an object from the Everfree, it went without saying it was quite rare, with the red ones being even more so, so Sunset always made sure to keep the room-warming-slash-welcome-gift from Princess Celestia well cared for. Besides, having some light in her room made nights a little easier, helped to keep the nightmares that threatened her at bay.

It didn't always work, but it helped. Sunset set the cloth down as a knock sounded at her door.

"Come in!"

The door opened below her, and Sunset continued her humming as she walked downstairs. She turned to her guest, who was, unsurprisingly, Princess Celestia, and she offered a bow.

"Your Majesty. You wished to see-"

She was interrupted by Celestia's laugh.

"Come now, my precious student. Such formality is not required."

Sunset snickered.

"I know, but it never hurts to catch you off guard."

Celestia rolled her eyes with a giggle.

"Anyway, Sunset. Hope informed you we were to Manehattan?"

A confirming nod.

"Silk Needle will see you in an hour. We leave tonight to be back tomorrow morning. Oh, and try not to drink too much."

Sunset placed a hoof on her chest in mock offense.

"I would never!"

More laughter.

"Is that all, Princess?"

Celestia's gaze hardened, and Sunset found herself suppressing a shiver.

"I fear the Nightmare Cultists are becoming more active again. We should be safe, and the guard will be with us, but I wish for you to exercise more caution and to keep an eye on Cadence and Hope."

"Have you told them?"

"No, I do not think they would be able to act as usual if they knew."

Sunset pondered this for a moment before agreeing with Celestia. Hope might be able to, but Cadance... that alicorn wore her heart on her hooves.

"That is all, Sunset. Do try to remember to enjoy yourself, too."

Sunset dipped her head, the most formality Celestia permitted between the two.

"As you wish, your highness."

The door shut carefully but firmly, and Sunset let out a sigh before turning around and heading for the bath and the almost certainly burning hot water.

Just how I like it.

Two

Now, Sunset Shimmer wasn't exactly afraid of attention, in fact, at times, she actively sought it out, the way ponies admired her openly always giving her a bit of a boost on a bad day. Some days, though, Sunset actively preferred not to be the focal point of attention, when the fuse keeping her anger in check was running low, or simply when she would rather be researching. Today was, luckily, for the latter reason, but that didn't make Sunset any happier as she walked down the carpet behind Princess Celestia, Hope and Cadance to her left. Sunset raised her eyes both to the ceiling, and to make sure her fire-coloured mane was still as perfectly styled as it had been when she'd left Strawberry Clipper's studio, the Royal Mane Stylist, though as she did she felt a nudge that threatened to send her off balance. Recovering quickly, Sunset cast a murderous glare left, but it melted the moment Radiant Hope's giggles reached her ears. Sunset paused for a moment, surprised by the sudden refusal of her anger, before shaking her head and continuing to walk.

"I hate you two."

"Awww, come on, you love us really!"

"Maybe just not as much as that one gentlemare~!"

Sunset's head snapped back up as she stared at Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Princess Cadance, a bright pink alicorn with a tricolour prink, purple and yellow mane and a heart-shaped blue crystal for a cutie mark, and Sunset tried to guess how far Cadance was willing to go.

"You wouldn't-"

"I would."

Sunset had told Cadance by accident, when she was drunk one night during her one-pony-pity-party after Hope and Celestia had left on a long research trip. It wasn't that Sunset didn't know about her own crush, but she tried her best to deny it to herself, and so the strength of it often surprised her. That night, she hadn't even registered she was drunk until after she'd spilled to Cadance.

Hope looked between the two of them, curiosity in her eyes.

"ooooo Cadance you have to tell me, tell me tell me tellme-"

"Welllll-"

Cadance paused for a moment, closing her eyes in thought, and Hope caught Sunset's eyes with a mischievous glint before ducking down.

"She was aaaA-"

Cadance was promptly cut off with a squeal as Sunset pounced, knocking the alicorn over onto her side. Hope's giggles took over Sunset's ears, and some part of her was glad they were already inside and away from the view of the cameras and press. Sunset froze as a disappointed, but amused sigh reached her ears, and in a moment she was back on all four hooves on Hope's right, like she'd never moved at all, practiced neutrality on all three faces.

"Girls, when I said to enjoy yourselves, I meant by being social."

"Yes Princess.," came the reply from three very professional ponies of the royal court, who definitely hadn't been jumping on each other moments ago.

Celestia simply rolled her eyes and continued walking, Sunset glancing up for a moment before blowing a strand of her mane back into place. Another second of stoicism, then the three began laughing again.

When they'd calmed down, though, Sunset's thoughts began to drift again, this time to the group that threatened her friends - no, her family, in the palace.

The Nightmare Cult, as Celestia referred to them, was a topic Sunset wasn't as familiar with, given that most tomes regarding them were both in the restricted section, and not something Sunset had been that interested by previously. She knew they were primarily unicorns- most likely unicorns powered by the moonlight. Within the Unicorn tribe, there were a few subsections based around when each individual unicorns power was strongest, with some being midnight, some midday, some sunrise, and some, like Sunset Shimmer herself, the sunset.

So, she thought, keep an eye on night-powered unicorns.

Though that wouldn't solve the problem entirely; there still Pegasi who enjoyed the cooler, less busy nighttime for flying, and the most fanatical flyers of them might join, and a few Earth Ponies who'd grown disillusioned with their farms or jobs. Effectively, the Nightmare Cult drew from all aspects of society, which only made Sunset's job harder. If that wasn't enough, said Cult wanted to bring about the return of Nightmare Moon, blessed be her na-

Sunset froze.

No. That wasn't right. No no no- where? How? What- where did that come from?

Sunset felt panic rising in her.

That wasn't my thought - I wouldn't - couldn't -

There was a pressure at her side, and she was dimly aware of being led to the edge of the room.

"Sunset, Listen to my voice. Okay? You're okay."

It was Hope. Sunset felt the panic lighten slightly, but she was still trying to steady her breathing.

"Okay, Sunset. I can help you out of this, but I need you to listen to me, okay?"

She nodded.

The Nightmare Cult, no, The Cult of the Eternal Moon-

No, no! How do I know that? I don't know that!

"Sunset! Deep breaths. Copy me. Come on, you're okay."

Sunset blinked tears from her eyes and began trying to copy Hope's breathing, but she was shivering now, shuddering, and that made it harder.

"This is bad, Sunset. This is worse than usual. I can stop this, but it might get a bit intimate. Are you fine with that?"

A nod.

Just get me out of this.

Sunset shuddered as she felt Hope's magic begin to brush against her own, feeling for Sunset's emotions before soothing them steadily. Her breaths began deepening, and Sunset stopped shivering before letting out a relieved sigh. Hope stepped away, concern in her eyes.

"Sunset, that was dark magic. Whatever you're doing in the restricted section is affecting you."

Sunset flinched. She'd known it was a risk, dark magic always left its mark, and while Hope wasn't quite versed in that area of magic enough to know it meant Sunset had tried a few of the spells she'd come across, if Celestia found out she'd be gone in an instant.

"You can't tell Celestia - or Cadance. Please, Hope. I need this."

I need to know more, Cult or No Cult.

Hope gave her another concerned look.

"Okay."

The stallion looked down at Sunset Shimmer from the balcony with a smile. The Oracle had been right, the student had indeed messed with dark magic, and that left her vulnerable, especially with no teaching from Celestia on how to counter or detect it. All he'd had to do was a small, tiny awakening curse, and he'd sent her into a panic attack. And even after it, when the curse was done, she'd still wanted to learn more dark magic. Whatever she was after would only strengthen what he'd tapped.

The Oracle would be pleased. That small of a curse for that big of a reaction meant they had what they needed.

The Nightmare's spirit had touched Sunset Shimmer, and it would make her theirs.

Sunset wasn't quite sure how many drinks she'd had. She'd been advised not to go too crazy, but they had a hotel room nearby and hadn't actually been given a hard limit by either Princess, so Hope and Sunset, all for pushing the boundaries, found themselves at the bar, giggling to each other. She wasn't quite sure what time it was now, only that the night had truly settled in the sky. Dimmed ceiling lights lit the floor, and Sunset leaned against the wooden bar with a content sigh, eyes dancing around the room as she admired the decorations. They were extravagant, but not overly so, present, but not over the top, subdued, but vibrant. Then there was Sunset's favourite decoration.

Radiant Hope herself.

In all her pretty purple glory.

Not that she'd ever say it out loud. Or admit it to herself. At least not while sober, and still probably not while drunk. Sunset shook her head, breaking her stare and instead lifting the glass back to her lips and tipping, feeling the burn of alcohol at the back of her throat.

So why was it that she was admitting it to herself now? Sure, she was borderline blackout drunk and wouldn't remember a word of the night in the morning, but she normally still managed to refuse the feelings. The warm, bubbly feeling. The butterflies in her stomach, the electricity when they touched-

Okay. Stop. Get a hold of yourself, Sunset.

She wasn't looking to become the next scandal of Canterlot.
I mean, fuck, a bisexual in the royal circle? Unheard of.
She'd be kicked out at best. Sunset sighed, and her empty glass thumped against the counter a bit harder than she'd expected it to. She startled a little before letting out a groan, resting her head on the counter and raising a hoof.

"Bartenderrrrr! Wone more!"

A sigh.

"No, Sunset. That's enough. You've been doing two for every one of mine, and I'm already far more drunk than either of us should be."

Sunset frowned and narrowed her eyes at Hope. She wanted another drink, drinks made her mind stop working. Drinks let her relax. But she couldn't say no to Hope.

"Fyneee. Where's home?"

"Walk with me, Sunset."

"Mmmmh."

Sunset half stood, half slid out of her chair, eyelids drooping as her head began to pound.

"Woah. Too fast."

Hope sighed and rolled her eyes at somepony over Sunset's shoulder, but Sunset was too distracted by the smile on her face.

"Come on clumsy. Lean on me."

"No, I couldn't-"

"Sunset."

"Mmh.'

She stood once more, but this time followed Hope's command, leaning heavily on the other unicorn. It felt like fire was spreading over her, and she couldn't help the blush from conquering her cheeks.

"You're soft. And cozy. And warm~"

Hope giggled.

"I'm glad you think so."

Sunset lifted one of her hooves, staggering as she did so, to wave at Hope.

"Anypony who doesn't is wrong."

This time it was Hope's turn to blush, but she turned away quickly enough that Sunset thought she might have been imagining it.

"Yes, well... let's get you back to the hotel."

"Mmkay. Only for you."

"Not Cadance?"

"Mmmh, no."

"Not Celestia?"

"No, you. Just you."

The duo staggered out of the front door, Hope not being entirely sober herself making the task more difficult than it should have been. They wandered in silence, and Sunset looked up to the sky with a sigh and a shiver, wishing she could see the stars. It wasn't that she disliked the city, but she was a country pony by birth. And there, the stars ruled the sky, bathed the world in a soft silver. She shivered again, and Hope pressed closer to Sunset, as though to try and counteract them. Sunset let out a soft, content sigh and nuzzled against Hope, rewarding herself with a blush from the unicorn.

"Come on, Sunset. We're almost there."

"Kay."

She yawned, the night's dancing and drinking finally starting to catch up with her. Eventually, Hope ushered Sunset through a doorway and waited patiently while she fumbled with the room key in her magic before she finally got it open. Sunset found herself stumbling over to the bed before collapsing onto it and rolling, so she lay on her side facing the doorway. She watched Hope move to close the door, wishing she'd-

"Stay."

"Hmm?"

"Hope, stay."

The unicorn watched Sunset with what seemed like curious eyes.

"Cold. Dark, don't like-"

A yawn.

"-dark. Stay."

Hope tilted her head, thinking, but Sunset knew she'd find truth in her words. The Everglow Crystal was a prominent piece in her room, a room Hope had been in before, and once she'd finally started getting her hooves on dark magic, the nights had gotten worse, with nightmares occasionally working their way in. Moments like those made her especially grateful for her crystal. But here, in Manehattan? No crystal.

After another minute of thinking, Hope sighed and stepped into the room, whatever internal fight she'd been having settled with a winner. The door closed and Hope made her way over to the bed before climbing in next to Sunset, who let out a small squee of happiness. The light clicked off, and Sunset felt her breath catch in her throat for a moment before she felt Hope's comforting hoof on her.

"You're okay, Sunset. I'm here."

Sunset felt herself relax instantly, rising heartbeat settling and a soft sigh escaping her lips. Eventually, her eyes finally shut, the last thing she saw being Hope's own cyan staring back at her.

"I'll keep you safe."

Author's Note

[Note Copied from Archive]

SOOOOO thats the rewrite for the first chapter done, except i split it in two and doubled it lmao
I think im gonna focus on this work primarily for now, and put Dying Rays on the backburner. As much as I enjoy writing that, I think it makes far more sense for me to work on this series chronologically (crazy, right?) which means focusing on ICMIAA and other Dying Rays Prequels before I go on to finish that, ALTHOUGH I will still do Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie's chapters first so the first section of it is done, and so I can put a notice on there that this is now my focus.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed (and if you never saw the original version of this, unlucky lmao)
I LOVE YOU ALL GOOD DAY (because I still have the Daily Ticket for today to write, and that'll have a goodnight lol)
BAI

Three

Screaming echoed in her ears. Frustration and anger boiling beneath her fur. Hatred. Unending hatred and fury. The world was dark bar a soft golden light filtering through the gloom, and it angered her. Echoes. Pain. The air itself felt ready to tear her apart, scratching at her sides and burrowing into shallow, nonexistent cuts. The shadows watched, prodded. Turned her over, pushed and examined. They wanted something from her. No. They wanted her.

Screaming. Familiar voices. Echoes. Pain. She whimpered. A weakness. She couldn't stop herself. She was scared. The shadows exploited, pressing in around her thoughts. Ears. Her ears flattened, and the screaming quietened, the pressure on her thoughts easing. Eyes, the light. Follow the light. The gold was dim, distant. But it was there. Shadows flitted through it, but never stayed. Legs. Her legs churned in nothing, the thick and sticky black slowing her down despite the lack of anything there.

Screaming. Louder, despite her flattened ears. Another cut at her side, another shove away from the light. Moving, keep moving. A shadow lurched, deep inside her. She didn't want to be the shadow. Horn. Magic curled around her, and the darkness stilled as she pushed onwards. The light growing gradually brighter. Close, almost out.

A darkness in the shadows. Distant, but close. Close, but distant. It was darting straight for her, at impossible speed. But she was too far, and simultaneously too close. It wouldn't reach her, until it would. The light, right there. She reached out, touched-

Sunset Shimmer awoke gasping for breath, her heart pounding in her ears. Her eyes flew open, examining every corner of the room as her ears folded back to block out the - the something. She couldn't remember what. She shivered, and as she began to calm, the pounding of her heart was replaced with the pounding of her head and she fell back onto the pillow with a groan. She reached out for the glass of water on her table, pushing it towards herself with one hoof before grasping it in her shivering front hooves and lifting it to her mouth to drink, deciding against using magic for the sake of her head.

Once the glass was drained, Sunset sat up once more, slowly this time, trying to gauge where and when she was. The curtains were pulled shut, but an orange glow filtered through the white fabric, indicating the morning had arrived. In terms of the former, she was in a hotel. Probably. Hopefully. Though she didn't remember returning to the room after the previous night, she couldn't say she was surprised considering she couldn't remember much of the night itself. A shaky breath signalled her stabilising heart, and Sunset deepened the motion, feeling a soft wave of calm flowing over her slowly.

Mouth dry once more, Sunset slowly slipped out of the bed, clutching the glass in her magic despite the pressure it placed on her head and made her way to the bathroom attached to the bedroom, quickly slipping the glass under one tap as she stuck her hooves under the other, feeling the cold water run over them before she pressed them into her face, feeling the cool water held to her hooves by her magic release and rush down, back to the sink. Turning off the taps, she lifted the glass again to her lips, staring silently into the mirror.

Her mane was a mess, plagued by fuzzy or slightly out-of-place hairs that would be sure to send any designer into a fit. Her eyes seemed dark, and they carried the tell-tale bags of exhaustion despite the nights rest. There was a shadow over her-

Sunset span in place, horn charging as she searched in vain for the cause of the shadow. There was nothing. Slowly, she turned back to the mirror, but now there was no shadow.

I must be going crazy.

She blinked a few times, wearing the tiredness out of her eyes before finally turning to leave the bathroom, glass in magic. Sighing, she rested it on the table before picking up the newspaper that had been slid under her door and skimming through it, though she was interrupted by a groan from the bedroom. She blinked, raising her head, for a moment unsure.

Am I actually crazy?

She was answered a moment later as Radiant Hope trotted into the room, eyes unfocused and mane fuzzied from sleep.

'Hope?'

'Sunset?'

A pause.

'H- How much did we drink last night?'

'I have no idea. I mean, you drank more than me.'

'And how much did you drink?'

'Too much.'

'Oh.'

Pause.

'Did you bring me here?'

'Yeah, then you asked me to stay here for the night with you, because of the dark.'

'Oh, right. That makes sense.'

'Why are you still here anyway?'

'What do you mean?'

'You have a lesson with Celestia in the Manehattan Centr-'

Sunset's eyes widened, and she was up in a shot, hangover forgotten, pulling her saddlebags and textbooks to her as her horn channeled the magic flowing through her body, forming in a bright teal light at the tip before pushing forth in a large orb that formed around both Sunset and Hope, the latter watching happily as Sunset rapidly spun the calendar spell around, searching for the current day.

'Saturday, Saturday, Saturday - ooh! Severyana!'

She didn't have any attachments to Severyana; but the old harmonic political system there had been extremely unique before their integration into Equestria, followed by the Stalliongrad Revolution in Princessyn, and the rumours of a surviving Princess -

Never a dull lesson about Severyana.

Sunset let go of the calendar, and the motes of light that had formed it either fizzled out or drifted steadily to the ground, with Hope batting playfully at one. With that done, she quickly swapped her textbooks for the lesson, and then took another look at Hope, who was staring at her with a smile on her muzzle.

'What's the time?'

'Uhh- half pas-'

Sunset squeaked before disappearing in a flash of teal. Hope blinked before picking up a croissant and a cup of coffee that she'd set before she left the bedroom, waiting in place. Sunset reappeared.

'Hope, I-'

'Croissant. Coffee. Go.'

Sunset's eyes lit up, and she bounded forward, giving Hope a quick nuzzle as she grabbed the offered items in her own magic.

'Honestly, Hope. You're a lifesaver.'

'Don't I know it, Sunset.'

Sunset smiled again, wrapping her hooves around Hope for a brief hug before releasing and using her magic to brush a stray strand of Hope's mane back into place, then stepped back and disappeared once more, leaving a mildly blushing Hope with a large smile on her face. After a moment, she shook her head, turning to get another cup of coffee.

Reappearing once more in the lobby, Sunset took a bite out of the croissant as she exited, wincing slightly as the light assaulted her eyes, and looked around at the morning crowds. To her left was a group gathered around a street performer of some kind, while to her right was a large queue for the taxi carriages that were always busy in the city. Sunset sighed slightly before deciding against trying to muscle to the front, instead electing to enjoy a brisk walk to the library. There was a chance she'd be a little bit late for her lesson, but given that Celestia didn't have day court to hold in Manehattan, she figured it would be fine either way.

The Manehattan Central Library was a grand building on a bad day; so on a good day such as it was, it was equal parts awe-inspiring and humbling, and an even better reminder that Earth Ponies brought just as much to Equestria as Pegasi or Unicorns. Standing out in a sea of grey, the front face of the building, containing the main entrance, was guarded by two large statues depicting the guardians of Tartarus and Elysium; Cerberus, the three headed dog, and Kronos, the first of the phoenixes.

The main entrance of the building was mostly made of a warm red brick combined with terracotta, with marble pillars holding up the large overhang that was part of the second floor. Sunset heard muttering before she could enter, and, looking around, saw ponies looking up, which was promptly followed by a familiar call.

Sunset smiled and sat back, raising a hoof for Princess Celestia's pet phoenix, and Sunset's favourite animal, Philomena, to land on. She ignored the turning heads as the phoenix landed on her outstretched hoof with a purring warble, and she reached her other hoof to scratch under the firebirds chin, rewarding herself with a happy chirp and a nuzzle. Raising Philomena to her shoulder, Sunset dropped back onto all four hooves as the bird hopped around to lay on top of her head.

'Come on, ya goofball. We've gotta find the princess.'

Three trills.

'Third floor? Thank you!'

Sunset felt the vibrations of the purr in her mane, and her smile widened further as she pushed open the library doors with her magic.

Inside the library was just as grand, with the main entrance opening to a large desk area where several librarians were on standby, which further housed a large fireplace in the centre, though it was enchanted to not burn, only heat. The building had a fuzzy grey carpet, that, though thoroughly trodden, still felt nice underhoof, and most notably were the rows and rows of floor to ceiling mahogany bookshelves filled with the brightly and faded colours of countless books. Scattered around were various staircases leading to the second floor, and the centre of the room had no roof, allowing you to see up to the third floor of the library.

Sunset let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and Philomena took off from Sunset's head, leaving a golden trail as she swooped up to hover between the first and second floor, looking back at Sunset with a tilted head. She smirked.

'It is on, fireball.'

Sunset wasted no time, quickly teleporting into the air to tap a surprised Philomena before teleporting again, landing on a staircase headed to the third floor in front of a pair of Pegasi who looked back at her in surprise. Sunset quickly hopped past them using the staircase banister as a launching board, and then rushing up to the top, where she quickly searched for the Royal Guards - a surefire sign of Celestia's presence. Philomena appeared next to her, shooting her a dirty look before speeding off towards the guards on the far side of the room. Sunset took a quick judge of distance before making a running leap, floating for a moment over the open space in the centre of the library as her magic charged, and then she was across, tumbling forward in a roll past the guards, and coming to a stop lying flat on her belly at the same time as Philomena landed next to her.

'It seems to me you two tied again.'

'Aw come on, really?! I could've sworn I was faster this time!'

Philomena protested Sunset's judgement, at least as much as a phoenix can, and then hopped up onto Celestia's back as the Princess chuckled lightly.

'Now then, I believe we have a lesson to get to? Severyana?'

Sunset, despite herself, let out a small squee, tippy-tapping in place with a smile.

Author's Note

holy shit a chapter?!??! IM NOT DEAD?!?!
No no, I know, I know, I'm terrible at updates. Well. I'm not as bad as some works out there, but I feel like I need to write a lot more than I actually do, and it has an effect on me. It's partially why the Daily Ticket has been on hold recently, just me trying to both mentally recover and recover my writing groove, as it were.
I might keep TDT on hold for a while still, but I'm writing down the words so I do intend to catch up eventually.
In other news! I'm planning on posting a link to the Spotify playlist which contains all the songs inspiring a posted fic, which will probably end up in this authors notes at some point. Fic wise, I've got so many little ones planned and resisting the urge to write them is mildly maddening, but the worst part is is that there's several that I actually have no idea how to write and it PAINS ME URGH
anyway, Thanks for reading as always, I hope you enjoyed, please consider checking out some of my other works.
I LOVE YOU ALL GOODNIGHT<3