Bellosh

Sunset Shimmer would have responded to her friend had it not been for the commotion she heard coming from the other side of the door. Several seconds later came a voice bidding them to enter. The amber unicorn sighed; “.....We can talk about this later.” And with that, Sunset stepped forward and opened the dressing room down.

“Hello there miss, we just wanted to-” What Miss Shimmer saw... was quite disconcerting. There was Tempest’s favorite dancer, looking like she had just taken a beating! Sunset gasped; “All you alright!? You need any help?”

Ignoring the comment about the quote-on-quote “financial advisor”, the Empress addressed Medo; “All inquiries on regional herbalist practices can be addressed to the Imperial Wood Synergist. Nobody in this palace knows more about the healing arts of Long Guo than she. My chamberlain meanwhile will provide you with additional details pertaining to your responsibilities while in the Imperial Household’s employ, and as a member of the Household Staff, you will be reporting to him on day-to-day matters.”

After a brief lull, the royal qilin asked; “Do you have any additional questions, Medo?”

“...Oh!” Sunset Shimmer had been caught off-guard by the revelation that the diamond dog was Liviel the instructor; “Umm, yes... yes I’m here for the class.” The flushed unicorn offered an apologetic smile; “My name’s Sunset Shimmer, and it’s a pleasure to meet you too!”

Not really familiar with bowing, Sunset imitated Liviel’s gesture of greeting as best she could. “Well, I learned about the Harmonious Path a little bit in my World Studies class at Celestia’s School. Basically, it’s all about the Five Aspects, channeling them through attunement, going with the flow....... you know, those sorts of things. But, I was also led to believe that only draconic creatures could enjoy the full benefits of following the Path.....”

Sunset gulped; it did not seem that Star Swirl’s initial impression of her was a favorable one. The unicorn mare knew that outcome had been a likely possibility, but it hurt seeing it come true before her eyes...

.....Yet the elderly stallion’s show of coldness turned out to just be a fake-out, allowing Miss Shimmer to exhale in relief. By this point, Sunset was out of blushes to give, having correctly assumed that Twilight told the Bearded Wizard about her too. Star Swirl’s mention of displacement collapses prompted the smarty-pants side of the Equestrian girl to emerge.

“Well at one point, the mirror portal was only activating once every 30 moons, and for only 3 days at a time. I thought that strange (and frustrating) too, since I know more there are more practical ways to ensure a planar gateway can’t be used by the wrong creatures. But after discovering I could write messages to Twilight across dimensions even with the portal closed, she was able to do some jury-rigging, so now we can cross over between worlds at any time!”

An intriguing question popped into Sunset’s mind. “If you don’t mind me asking; since you were the one who created the mirror portals and made trips to each mirror destination... I’m assuming you’ve had the experience of turning into... ahem,” she stood on her two hind legs for emphasis; “.....A human?”

A couple minutes later, and Sunset Shimmer found herself in Sunburst’s office. On the walk there, she idly wondered to herself that the stallion’s extreme nervousness issues could be coming from. He clearly wasn’t the sort of person who preferred being alone, but you had to figure that an accomplished Vice Headstallion and arcane scholar would be more adjusted to social interaction by now. A curious mystery, to be sure.....

While levitating a chair closer to Sunburst’s desk, Sunset gave the air a sniff, noticing it wasn’t the same aroma as the allium flower from her last visit. She cheerfully remarked; “Hmmm, is that a new fragrance I smell today, Sunburst? It smells nice!”

With an affirmative “Mmm-hmm”, Sunset Shimmer indicated that yes, she was in fact a friendship professor. As for the younger girl... she was a second year? .....Right on!!! Sunset grinned; it wasn’t all that hard for her to establish automatic kinship with a pony attending the same magic school as she once did. The kid’s next comment made the mare chuckle. “Heh,” Sunny stretched her foreleg towards the other, more recognizable friendship professors up in front; “There’s a whole bunch of them right there in case you like, want to get their autographs or something. Nearly the entire Harmony Gang’s on this train... aside from Princess Twilight, of course.”

Sunset had to hand it to the kid; she had a large appetite! As for what the mare wanted; “Hmmm, I think a sunflower sandwich and an iced tea will be enough for me.” When the vending pony came back with their food, Miss Shimmer proceeded to munch on her meal. Ah; this felt much better than sulking around.

Quite eager to avoid falling back into a gloomy mood, Sunny more than happily indulged the kid’s desire for chit-chat. “Luster Dawn, huh?" The amber unicorn silently pondered for a couple seconds before flashing a warm smile; “...I may be a little biased, but that’s a lovely name.” The mare winked as she reached out towards Luster with a hoof; “I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you too, Luster!”

Once that pleasantry was exchanged, Sunset finished answering the question. “I teach Defense Against Dark Hearts. It’s sorta like the Self-Defense Magic classes you take at the School of Magic, except instead of learning spells, you learn to manifest the Magic of Friendship. The neat thing with Defense Against Dark Hearts is that literally any creature can harness this power. Other than that, I teach students about what sort of darkened hearts that may be potentially encountered in this world, how to avoid becoming corrupted by harmful emotions inside you, and to show empathy for others. I’ve been teaching Defense Against Dark Hearts for about a year now, and it’s been a blast both passing down what I know and making new discoveries in the process!”

After a momentary lull in the conversation, Sunset turned the tables on Luster and resumed her questioning; “A second year student, huh? What’s been your favorite subject so far? Field Magic’s useful if you wanna become an adventurer someday; Creative Magic’s fun for conjuration, enchantment, and transmutation stuff... that’s Princess Twilight’s speciality actually; there’s Chemistry if you like brewing potions; and my fav of course was always Self-Defense, since we learned about monsters and how to take them on. Heh heh, sorry for rambling on like that,” Sunset softly sighed; “I guess I sorta miss the old days.....”

Aiya... Empress Yuè grimaced at the memory of those fighting celestial birds. One of them, a rainbow phoenix, had been a gift from Long Guo to Equestria. At the time, the Empress regarded the incident as a black mark on her ability to be taken seriously by others. Time had faded most of the humiliation the botched Gala caused... but mostly, it was the news of how horribly conducted Princess Twilight’s ascension ceremony went that finally allowed the Heavenly Daughter of Dragons to get over her minor shame.

The Empress nodded contemplatively for a brief moment before speaking up again; “Yes... there is no duty in life which is greater than that to one’s family. Rest assured, all who serve the Imperial Household are granted sufficient time off throughout the year to attend to their filial responsibilities... or otherwise spend time with loved ones. Additional time is granted based on how far a journey it will be to reach your family, of course.” When you had a Dragon Kingdom as vast and rugged as Long Guo, the journey between the Imperial Capital and a far-away village could sometimes take as much as a week to undertake.....

Something smelled a bit wishy-washy about how the filly answered Sunset Shimmer’s question. It almost made the older mare think that the kid may have had reasons to avoid the wedding. The mention of Mayor Skies and Petunia Petals as old friends also sounded strange coming from a little girl; that was, until she mentioned growing up in that dreadful, crummy old town of Hope Hollow. Going by what Twilight mentioned before about how low that place sunk, and based on Sunset’s recollections of life right before the town lost all color, it didn’t seem far-fetched at all if those two adults had been the only two friendly souls around. Without the kindness and support of those two, Sunset wouldn’t have had a sponsor sign off on her attending the School of Magic against the will of her parents.

“Ehh, yes and no... Sunset answered the next question in a rather confusing way; “I’m a part-time professor at the School of Friendship, but I live outside Ponyville... outside Equestria, actually. If I explained to you how it all works, you’d probably think I’m just pulling your leg... it’s that crazy.” The Equestrian girl left out the rather important detail of being a Hope Hollow filly herself, sensing that neither unicorn was in a real rush to talk about that locale.

Knowing for sure that she’s never seen the kid around campus before, Sunset could only think of one other reason that a Hope Hollow unicorn was on a train BACK to her hometown instead of being already there. “So, I’m guessing you go to Celestia’s Schoo-” the mare blushed and chuckled as she caught her anachronism; “I mean... Twilight’s School for Gifted Unicorns?”

Sunset Shimmer possessed a basic understanding behind the Harmonious Path’s tenets. It was a subject she learned about while studying the spiritual traditions of other creatures back at Magic School. As Celestia’s ex-apprentice had understood it back then, the Harmonious Path existed mainly to help draconic beings unlock their full range of powers, and thus she largely glossed over the more philosophical aspects of that eastern tradition.

It may have been because Sunset lately had taken a renewed interest in learning more about the world she originated from, or maybe it was due to the friendship she forged relatively recently with Empress Yuè’s personal retainer. In any case, when the Equestrian girl saw a notice advertising that a Fenghuang monk was setting up a workshop in Ponyville, her curiosity was piqued. It’d be neat to finally get to meet a real-life Anointed Follower of the Path rather than just merely reading about them!

When Sunset arrived at the time and place specified in the advertisement, she found a diamond dog meditating. The diamond dog had a peculiar appearance, being far more of a refined breed than the sort of stereotype most Equestrians were accustomed too. “Excuse me,” Miss Shimmer asked as she approached; “Are you here for Liviel’s class today?”

...It wasn’t quite the answer that Empress Yuè expected, but nonetheless, it was insightful. Medo carried herself as the sort of pony who was dedicated to mastering her trade, regardless of hurdles such as cultural barriers. As for the documentation, while everything looked more than satisfactory as far as grades were concerned, there was some information excluded from the transcripts. The royal qilin looked up from the papers; “Please excuse my curiosity... but while attending Canterlot University, I imagine you would have been significantly incentivised to engage in activities outside of your herbology studies.....” The Empress left that sentence hanging for Medo to respond...

The voice of a filly talking to her startled Sunset Shimmer out of her stupor. “Ohh uh, wha-?” Getting her mental bearings adjusted, Sunset glanced around and saw that across the aisle, a reddish-pink unicorn child with a streaked, shimmering mane of amber was staring at her. The older mare couldn’t exactly pinpoint why, but the kid felt like something that came out of a half-remembered dream of Sunset’s. Kinda odd, really.

After a moment, Miss Shimmer shook off her sense of deja vu and gave the young filly a polite half smile of her own. “Oh yeah,” Sunset replied; “I know. I’ll be attending, actually!” The adult betrayed no hint that she didn't want to be in Hope Hollow; she wasn’t about to go vent her frustrations at a bystander kid she didn’t know. Pretending to take an interest in the subject to make the little gal feel her attempt at friendliness wasn't a waste of time, Sunset asked; “I take it you’re going too?”

This year's Hearts & Hooves day was particularly grating for Sunset Shimmer. All throughout the day, she was bombarded by a storm of mental fantasies involving herself and a certain somepony she knew. In the past, they'd only come up about once and day, and the Equestrian girl easily dismissed the daydreams as mere idle fantasies in the vein of winning a million bits or becoming the apprentice of Star Swirl the Bearded. But today, things got so bad that Sunset finally decided that enough was enough: she clearly needed relationship guidance for help. And what better way was there to anonymously solicit advice than the Equestria-renowned Dear Cady column?

Sunset Shimmer loved her dear friend Twilight Sparkle, truly she did... but never since Sunset’s brief transformation into a fiendish monstrosity at the Fall Formal had she felt the overwhelming urge to end Twilight.

What could generate such strong emotions from Miss Shimmer? Why, the impending marriage of Petunia Petals and Mayor Skies of Hope Hollow, of course. Granted, from what little Sunset remembered of the childhood hometown she deserted, those two ponies were actually among the few ponies who did her no wrong. The fact that the engaged couple didn’t send Sunset an wedding invitation didn’t upset the Equestrian girl one bit either; she was still rather glad to avoid Hope Hollow at all costs.

No... the problem was that Princess Twilight got sent an invitation, and using her granted right as a wedding attendee, she chose Sunset Shimmer as her “plus one” guest. Sunset tried making a huge stink, reminding her supposed friend of all the bad blood between Sunset and her folks, but it was to no avail. For reasons the unicorn couldn’t fathom, Twilight refused to budge, countering Sunset’s every excuse with a well-reasoned counterargument or an ingenious workaround.

Like it or not, Sunset Shimmer would be forced to return to the scene of her first ever betrayal.....

----------

Up in front of the train car, Twilight’s Ponyville friends (plus a few guests of their own) were excitedly yammering amongst themselves, for they too were invited to the Hope Hollow Wedding. But Miss Shimmer, despite being a fellow Friendship professor, stuck to the very back. The amber unicorn clearly appeared to others as pensive as she fixed her gaze upon the landscape moving past the window.

All these years gone by, and yet Sunset Shimmer remained unprepared to face the most terrifying specters that remained from her past. Would she have the strength to confront her parents, if it came to it? Did they still hate her? Did they miss her? Or had Sunset been entirely forgotten about? And of course, there was also the unnamed sibling to consider, who had not yet been born when Sunset left Hope Hollow forever. How did that kid turn out? .....How did he or she cope with a world without color?

Sunset sighed as she forlornly shook her head; nothing good could come out of a family reunion. The best she could hope for was to either hope she was forgotten, or succeed in avoiding her folks until it was time to return home. Goodness knows how that could be done in such a small town as Hope Hollow, but Celestia-willing, Sunset will make a good damned try out of it.....

Indeed, Empress Yuè was most glad that everything about Medo learned of those herbs worked out the way it did. Although the act of looking through the unicorn’s transcripts would be nothing but a formality, the Empress didn’t see the need to make the unicorn look foolish by overpreparing for this interview. So with a nod of encouragement, the royal qilin prompted Medo to open up her briefcase and hoof over the academic transcripts.

As she looked over Medo’s academic documentation, Empress Yuè mused; “.....It is not every day that a Canterlot University graduate seeks employment on the opposite end of the world. I am told that advanced scholarly training is conducted much differently across the sea than here... or even in your very own home country.” Reforms notwithstanding, Long Guo’s post-secondary institutions were still very much geared towards pumping out civil servants to fill the ranks of the wide-ranging Imperial Bureaucracy, while Neighpon was famously known for its multitude of elite specialist academies.

Was it just Sunset Shimmer’s memory being selective, or did Sunburst not change one bit from their days at Princess Celestia’s School of Magic? Not that Sunset ever interacted much with Sunburst at all (or any other classmates for that matter) back then, but she DID have vague recollections early on of a nerdy colt who may or may not have been Sunburst who always jumbled up his words when getting called on by professors, even if he always did have the right answer. For her part, Celestia’s ex-apprentice dismissed that dork as a mere fluke who could barely cast spells at all.

Come to think of it, that colt seemed to disappear from school entirely during Sunny’s final year there, with the title of Resident Fluke seemingly passed down to the infamous lavender filly who only passed her entrance exam thanks to a conveniently-timed Sonic Rainboom. But that’s a tale for another day.....

Sunset Shimmer held back a giggle as the jittery Sunburst made a lame last-second attempt to look suave. Although the vice headstallion could use a ton of work still on his social skills, Sunny wasn’t the type to humiliate him over it. “Sure!” Sunset replied with a big smile; “I’m pretty much done packing up my stuff, and I won’t be expected back home for a couple more hours.” The mare leaned in a couple inches closer to her visitor out of excitement; “...It’ll be great to catch up on your magical research!”

↑

Not much else needs to be said about the Love Princess’s reaction, really. Witnessing romantic scenes like Rainbow’s proposal to Applejack were among the many heartwarming moments that Cadence lived for. Frankly, those two mares had waited long enough to get engaged! Cadence for her part got so excited and full of joy that her horn magically burst on its own accord a shockwave of pink hearts that blanketed the entire ballroom! Love was ABSOLUTELY in bloom, tonight!!!

“Well geez Temy, SORRY that I find it hard to enjoy Las Pegasus after witnessing its rotten underbelly for fifteen straight minutes because a certain SLOB forgot to clean up the pigsty that you locked me out of!” What Sunset Shimmer had intended to be a casual visit to meet up with her good buddy was clearly off to a rocky start, leaving the amber unicorn in a salty, eye-rolling mood.

“Maybe you’d have more money in the bank if you actually worked an honest job for a damn living,” Sunset fumed beneath her breath. She knew full well that for whatever mysterious reason, the owner of the Fire and Ice Casino let Tempest get away with essentially not showing up at her post for most of the year. It almost seemed to Sunset as if the owner was pulling some sort of tax scam or other shady scheme. Meh... smart ponies knew that Las Pegasus was built on a foundation of organized criminality, after all.

Even if that wasn’t the case... Sunset was a girl who juggled two part-time jobs in two different planes of existence. Of course she’d feel some level of resentment towards somepony who got away with not pulling their weight in society... very good friends included.

Back to the current moment, Sunset sighed in resignation as Tempest knocked on the performer’s dressing room door. Apparently, Temy thought Sunny would be impressed by the chance to meet whoever this Wind Dancer mare was. Welp... however bad her mood was right now, Miss Shimmer promised to herself that she’d at least try to be a good sport and not show undeserved hostility towards the professional dancer that Temy seemed to like so dang much.....

“Oh, well uhhh,” Sunset slightly tripped over herself in her response to Sunburst’s complement; “Thank you!” Although she wasn’t the sort of part-time musician desperate for everybody to sing her praises, Miss Shimmer still appreciated receiving positive feedback, especially from somepony who’s only heard her vocal talents for the first time.

“Eh-heh,” Sunset chuckled in embarrassment; “I usually shut the door when all the kids head out, but it looks like I may have accidentally left it open a little bit. Welp; guess today’s your lucky day!”

By now, Miss Shimmer’s blushing had mostly subsided as she felt her groove coming back. Walking up to the stallion with a friendly smile, Shimmer looked Sunburst in the eye as she politely asked; “So what brings you to this neck of the woods, Sunburst? Got any more of that tea of yours, by any chance?”