Pikatwig: Mother's Day… a rather great day… and I'll admit, I really love my mom… heh…
KKD: Who doesn't love their mom, Pika?
Pikatwig: ...that's a rhetorical question, right? Anyhow… you'd think for a Mother's Day story, we would do something for AJ, even though, favorite pony, Silver-Quill already did something very good for Applejack and Applebloom, and then there was a rather cute story with Spike sort of giving Twi a Mother's Day present in a good story that Dr. Wolf did a dramatic reading of.
KKD: I see… we're kinda running low on choices then.
Pikatwig: I had a really good idea in mind… *shows a picture of a filly Sunset Shimmer with Princess Celestia*
KKD: Oh yea. Kinda forgot Sunset sees Celestia as her mom.
Pikatwig: Yea. This is probably the best angle we could go for… so, disclaimers please buddy.
KKD: *slides Disclaimer card* Now available in any color you want. Today's special for Mother's Day, Pink with violet text.
DISCLAIMERS: Neither KKD nor Pikatwig own MLP or anything else involved in this; they belong to Hasbro, Lauren Faust, and their respective owners. Any original content belongs to the authors.
Sunset looked at her book, simply looking at some pages in it, looking over the title that she once called Princess Celestia.
"'Your Momjesty'," she read, giggling a bit, "Oh how I miss those days…"
"Howdy," Applejack waved, as she walked over to Sunset, seeing she was all by herself. Sunset simply looked up to her friend and smiled.
"Hi Applejack. What's up?" Sunset asked.
"Nothin' much. Just 'bout tah head home and make sure mah car's ready to drive some of the others around," Applejack informed.
"Something up?"
"Oh. It's Mother's Day day after tomorrow. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are gonna be flyin' up to Hawaii to meet with Dash's ma and Fluttershy's grandma, Pinkie's gonna go back to the rice farm she grew up at to see her ma," Applejack informed.
"What about your mom and Rarity's?" Sunset asked.
"Well, Rarity's folks are gonna come down to visit, and… well…" Applejack began, pausing a bit saddened.
"Oh. I'm sorry…" Sunset apologized.
"...it's alright. Ya didn't know… so, what about you? Ya gonna do somethin' fer yer ma?" Applejack inquired.
Sunset didn't know what to say at all, feeling that she might say the wrong thing, so, she just wordlessly hugged the book closer to herself. She tried hard not to cry, but the thoughts kept coming back.
"...do ya not have a ma?" Applejack asked.
"...I never knew my birth parents… Princess Celestia was my mother…" Sunset informed, tears dripping down.
"Ah… Ah see…" Applejack responded, with Sunset just sitting down at a bench and letting tears drip down.
The red-and-yellow haired girl put her book down and walked off to go and get something from her locker. Applejack quickly scooped up the book, taking out a pen and quickly writing a message to Twilight, thinking that she would know how to help.
Twilight had simply continued to make sure her castle looked nice for her mother's visit to Ponyville, dusting and polishing, and quadruple checking that the guest room would be ready for her mom.
"Uh… Twilight-" Spike began.
"Not now Spike, I need to make sure everything is perfect!" Twilight told him, making sure nothing was out of place.
"But Twilight there-"
"Not now Spike," Twilight insisted, checking a few things off of her list, "Okay, now Spike."
"That message book is buzzing again," Spike told her.
"Oh… that it?" Twilight blinked, as she walked over to it and levitated it up to her eyes, "'Dear Twi- Somethin' seems to be up with Sunset Shimmer. She just ain't actin' likin' herself fer some odd reason, and it's cause Mother's Day is upcoming. She told me that yer world's version of Celestia was her mom… think you can do somethin'?'"
"Sounds like AJ," Spike noticed.
"I'm gonna go and look into something Spike… can you handle the rest of my checklist while I'm gone?" Twilight asked him.
Before Spike could respond, he belched up a scroll, this having Luna's seal instead of Celestia's.
"Huh? It's from Luna. 'Dearest Princess Twilight Sparkle- We require a moment of thou's times in Canterlot as so as thou can provide it. Dearest Tia has been… sad and lonely as of late, and we can not figure out why this is, and we hope that thou can be able to deduce the reason. -Princess of the Night, Luna'. Man… that whole 'royal we' thing is kind of tricky…"
"You need to work on your volume when you do that… and your 'royal we'... and your southern accent imitation," Spike told Twilight.
"Noted."
Back at Canterlot High, Sunset was pulling out a small box from her locker, and it had her Cutie Mark on it like the book did. She slowly opened it up to reveal some items.
"What's that darling?" Rarity asked, walking over to her.
"Oh… just some things I brought over from Equestria… I'm… sentimental…" Sunset informed, as she looked into it with a smile. Rarity was about to peek in, but Sunset moved the box aside, "...sorry. It's just… I'm not so comfy sharing this…"
"It's alright," Rarity assured, "I promise that I won't tell anybody…"
Sunset just nodded and walked off, closing her locker.
"Hey Rarity… somethin' seem… off about her to ya too?" Applejack asked, walking over to Rarity, Sunset's messenger book still in her arms.
"Yes… she does seem a bit… down," Rarity admitted, "It's as if she's… lonely."
"Well… Mother's Day is comin' up, and her ma is in another world…" Applejack told Rarity, an idea forming in her mind…
"Twilight Sparkle, we appreciate thou's arrival in such haste," Luna smiled, seeing Twilight walk in.
"Yes… we thank thee for telling us of this situation… tell us how we shall help," Twilight responded.
"...the royal we does not suit you very well," Luna told Twilight bluntly.
"Yea, sorry. So… where's Celestia?"
Luna gave a motion for Twilight to head back into the library section, and the Princess of Friendship did so, seeing that Celestia was sitting at a table, looking at a book. The Princess just sighed as she stared at pictures of herself and Sunset when she was a filly, she had to fight back crying a bit.
"Uh… hi," Twilight smiled, getting Celestia's attention. The white alicorn turned around to look at Twilight, the princess smiling before wiping her eyes.
"Hello, Twilight. What brings you here?" Celestia asked.
"...Princess Luna said something was wrong with you… I just wanted to come and make sure you're alright…"
"Oh… she told you I wasn't well, did she?"
"And you're… crying, I… I've never seen you cry before…" Twilight responded, moving a tissue over to her.
"Even the best ponies cry Twilight…" Celestia told her, Twilight approaching her, and resting a wing by Celestia's side, like the princess did to her when she was a little filly and needed comfort. Celestia smiled at Twilight's attempt to cheer her up, but even with this, she just felt… hollow. The princess who had been a faithful student, the bearer of the Element of Magic… while she knew it would be Twilight, she just had a small wish within her heart, that a certain somepony, would've been in Twilight's hooves… and she hated herself for even thinking of that.
Twilight looked down to the book, seeing the pictures of Celestia and a filly Sunset Shimmer.
"What was your bond with her?" Twilight asked curiously.
"...huh?" Celestia blinked.
"Sunset Shimmer… I got a message from those in the other world about her, and… I just wanted to know how close you two were."
"Sunset… was like… a daughter to me… heh. You remember that little nickname you used to use with me when you were a filly?"
"Yea… your momjesty," Twilight giggled.
"...Sunset Shimmer used to call me that," Celestia smiled, "Only for us… we really did feel like mother and daughter. I… was torn up when I found out she ran away… and almost hurt you."
"Say what?" Twilight blinked.
"...she ran away… and then returned, wanting to cause harm to you… she escaped into the mirror portal…" Celestia informed, "And… and… and I… I couldn't…"
However, Celestia couldn't hold it any longer and started crying. She felt like years of bottled up emotions were pouring out of her like water out of a container and into a cup.
"...uh… that's a little… bit… hard. But… did Sunset ever become cruel while she was here in our world? Because… from the way I looked at her, even while I was trying to get back my Element of Magic, she seemed… like she had a sort of mental defense. Like… her anger had just taken control and was blocking out reason…" Twilight told Celestia.
"Huh?" Celestia responded, wiping her tears away.
"...I just got that impression from when I first saw her…"
"I see…"
Twilight had roamed around a little bit, looking at the castle halls and some rooms, simply just trying to think a little bit. She eventually came to a door that was not very far away from Celestia's and it bore Sunset's Cutie Mark. Twilight opened up the door and saw it was a room that seemingly would belong to a young filly.
There were various crayon drawings on the wall, some assignments with high scores, books lined up in a small little bookshelf over in a corner, some stuffed toys, and on a nightstand had a picture of Princess Celestia with the filly Sunset Shimmer, covered in a bit of dust.
The Princess of Friendship had noticed there was a little bit of dust in the room, but it still looked as though it was occasionally walked in. Twilight was able to deduce that Celestia didn't have this room removed due to how she viewed Sunset Shimmer as a daughter, and likely told the guards to keep out.
Twilight trotted along, when something amidst the books caught her attention, being a piece of paper. She levitated it up and read it.
"'Dear Your Momjesty- I heard Captain Glistening Defender say he wanted you to put me in an orphanage… well, I don't want to. So, I'm gonna hide in gardens until the foalhood careponies go away. Don't worry, I'll be home soon. -Your Little Sunshine. Oh, PS- Tell that new filly that I'm really looking forward to learning with her… maybe we could be Cutie Mark Searchers, looking for our Cutie Marks together.'"
This note took Twilight back quite a bit, especially the PS part. Twilight looked and saw a date by it, being the third month, on the 20th. She gawked at the date for a moment… it was the day the Sonic Rainboom first happened, resulting in herself, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy getting their Cutie Marks. Sunset Shimmer wanted to learn alongside her… she wanted to be friends… what could have changed?
"...I don't believe this…" Celestia gawked, Twilight having shown her the note.
"I found it in a bookshelf… my only guess is that it was hidden so this… Glistening Defender, wouldn't find it." Twilight responded, "And look at the date, that's the day of my entrance exam, the same day I got my Cutie Mark!"
"...and the very last time I ever got a message from Sunset. And… she got her Cutie Mark that day too, realizing the passion and drive she had for whatever she set her mind to," Celestia explained.
"So… me, Sunset, Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Applejack all got our Cutie Marks on the exact same day?! That's amazing!" Twilight gawked in amazement.
Celestia re-read the PS again, smiling at that, really wishing that she could've gotten to learn alongside Twilight as well. And another thought dawned on her… if Glistening Defender had lied about that, who knows what else he could've lied about… but, that would be a problem for another day.
"Twilight… thank you for showing me this…" Celestia smiled, "I really needed to know that she didn't run away… but…"
She paused, sighing to herself, "...I just wish… I can see her… one more time… but the portal is still closed for many more moons…"
Twilight tried to hide a sheepish look, having never once told either of the Princesses that she found a way to re-open the portal.
"Well… actually, Princess… uh… there's… something I uh… haven't… told you," Twilight started sheepishly.
"Oh?" Celestia blinked.
"I uh… know it might be dangerous… given… ahem, a past… mess, with mirrors but… I found a way to… open up the portal that Sunset went through… whenever we want to…" Twilight explained.
"Wait… so it's possible that…?" Celestia started.
"But… given what happened with that other mirror portal… I try to limit when I open up the portal… I went over there two times after a big mess that came up, and it was just so I can sing with some friends…" Twilight explained, sitting down so she could bring Celestia up to speed.
At an apartment building, Sunset had sat down and looked through the box she had brought with her from Equestria. The first item in it was a small little crayon drawing of herself as a filly, a young filly Twilight Sparkle (albeit, with a few wrong colors) and them with Princess Celestia. Next, there was a story book titled 'Love You Like the Sunshine', which was Sunset Shimmer's favorite bedtime story as a filly, following that were items she slept with when she was younger, being a red blanket with yellow highlights, that looked almost like her Cutie Mark did, ironically. The other was a yellow butterfly with black dot eyes, pink, red and purple wings and a nice smile, Sunset had decided to call this little stuffed animal "Ms. B" when she was a filly. Finally, there was a picture of herself with Princess Celestia, the two acting playful as if they were actual mother and daughter.
"...why did I have to be so scared? Why did those guards make me fall into the mirror?" Sunset whimpered, curling up into a ball and crying.
Sunset just wanted to go back to Equestria, she was tired of dealing with the people who didn't forgive her, dealing with waking up early in the morning to get to school on time, dealing with homework that made very little sense to her, and especially having to deal with the constant reminders that she was a 'raging she-demon' as she put it.
Even though she had come to terms with her past, claiming it wouldn't control her, and that her past was not today, she still had regrets from leaving Equestria. She sometimes just wished everything she had done was nothing more than a nightmare and that she would wake up a filly again, in her old room, waiting for her Momjesty to come and introduce her to the new student she would be learning with.
Her thoughts were snapped back to reality as she heard her phone chime. This was another thing she had really come to not like, technology, as it was constantly breaking, and she had to have her friends give her money to make sure she could keep it.
-Hey, we had an idea fer ya, and what ya can do this Mother's Day. AJ-
Sunset blinked in confusion, typing back a response.
-What do you mean?-
-Meet me and Rarity out by the school's entrance tamarrow, and Ah'll tell ya. Oh, and make sure ya bring that box of yers with ya. AJ-
Sunset still didn't get what her friends were trying to do, but she had packed up a large book bag with somethings. She assumed that the three of them were going to do something that night, so, she brought a few things to keep her busy.
"Hey there Sunset," Applejack waved.
"Hi Applejack. What's going on?" Sunset asked.
"You're going to be going on a trip," Rarity informed.
"...trip?"
"Back home," Rarity added.
Sunset gawked for a moment, realizing what was about to happen, suddenly smiling widely, but then almost frowning when she looked to her friends.
"Don't worry. We'll see ya day after tomorrow." Applejack informed.
"We just felt like it would best to get you home a day early so you can plan something special to do with your mother," Rarity informed.
"...Okay…" Sunset nodded.
"Ya pack ever'thin' ya may need?" AJ checked.
Sunset looked into her bag for a moment, she took out a few things, most of them being items that didn't exist in Equestria, she handed them to Rarity before checking it again.
"Yea, everything I need is here. Including my little box…" Sunset informed.
"Well, portal's open. We'll see ya soon," Applejack smiled.
"Tell Twilight and her friends we said hi," Rarity added.
Sunset put her bag over her back before she walked through the portal and into the other world…
Twilight had led Celestia back to her castle, the Princess of the Day currently being blindfolded, guided to the room where the mirror to Canterlot High was.
"Wait right here," Twilight told her, setting earmuffs on her.
Sunset emerged from the portal, stumbling around on her hind legs, fumbling onto the floor as she wasn't meant to walk on two legs in her pony body. Twilight caught her with her magic, making sure she could balance, before turning over to Celestia, removing the earmuffs.
"Okay, you can take off the blindfold now," Twilight told Celestia with a wide smile.
Celestia's magic surrounded the blindfold, removing it, but she gasped upon what she saw… Sunset Shimmer, in her unicorn form, grown up, standing right there.
"...this isn't a dream… is it?" Celestia muttered, "Is that… really you Sunset?"
"Yes… it's me… Momjesty," Sunset smiled, tears ready to drip down from her eyes.
Celestia wasted no time and rushed over to hug her daughter. Sunset was a bit surprised by this, but Celestia just smiled, hugging her.
"...I missed you… I missed you so, so much…" Celestia whimpered.
"...I missed you, too…" Sunset responded, "...I'm so glad to be home…"
Celestia smiled at Sunset, before noticing Twilight getting a bit teary-eyed at this scene, looking very happy for the two of them.
Sunset had soon returned to Canterlot Castle, seeing how it had changed from how she remembered it when she was a filly.
"Wow, has it really been that long since I left?" Sunset inquired.
"It's been many moons… and the heartache never left," Celestia told her, "...losing you… I…"
"Tia… thou does not wish to see you cry more," Luna told her, approaching her sister, about to comfort Celestia when she turned to see Sunset, "Ah… the famous Sunset Shimmer. We have waited for thou to show herself one day so that we may be the best aunt ever."
"Aunt Luna! I dreamed of meeting you for so long," Sunset giggled, as they hugged happily.
"We have done the same," Luna smiled back.
"This must be very special for all of you," Twilight smiled, trotting on over as well.
Sunset just smiled at Twilight, before Celestia motioned for Sunset to follow. The two soon arrived at the room that Sunset stayed in when she was a filly.
"My… room…" Sunset gawked.
"...I just couldn't bring myself to touch it… I came back in here and celebrated your birthday every year you were gone… I even got presents… they're all unopened… I did it so… in the slim chance I saw you again… you'd be able to make up for lost time," Celestia informed, seeing Sunset look amazed, having missed her old home, "So… I just need to clear this up. You didn't run away?"
"Nope."
"And you didn't intentionally enter the mirror… what happened to make you so… angry?"
"...I heard Glistening Defender say those lies to you… I tried to get your attention, but you believed him… I just felt so angry, hurt and betrayed… I… I.. just lashed out. I didn't realize that all my anger would turn… destructive… but it got worse… I heard you talk about Twilight… and it made me think… you just abandoned me…"
"Oh Sunset… I'd never think of abandoning you. You're my daughter… and I love you…" Celestia smiled, placing Sunset on her bed, which was still long enough for her to fit into, "...I will always love you, my little sunshine. I was blessed to have found you… and raise you… I only wish that you could have stayed and been my daughter all of these moons…"
Sunset smiled a little, hugging her mother, a huge smile on her face.
"...I'm glad to be the pony you found all those moons ago…" Sunset smiled, "...so, Mother's Day is tomorrow…"
"Yes… and this will be the first one in a long time where I haven't needed to be left all alone in the library…" Celestia admitted, the two mares smiling before Celestia saw the time.
"I'll be right back my little sunshine… I have matters to attend to," Celestia informed, trotting off. Sunset looked out at the window, watching as Celestia made the sun set, the sight being very much as beautiful as she remembered from being a filly.
After it had gotten a bit later, Sunset looked at her room, looking at the moon, seeing the beautiful night that her aunt had created. She smiled, before hearing somepony open up the door to her room. Sunset turned to see it was Celestia.
"Oh, Mom… something up?" Sunset asked.
"...it's getting late… shouldn't you be getting to bed?" she asked.
Memories of this conversation played out in Sunset's mind like a record, the unicorn mare giggling as she trotted over to her bed, seeing the blankets and sheets being covered in a magical aura. Sunset giggled like a filly as Celestia tucked her in for the night.
"...I missed this… I missed it a lot," Sunset smiled.
"I missed it, too, my little filly," Celestia admitted, when she saw the box sitting on Sunset's nightstand. She opened it up and saw the items from Sunset's fillyhood were in it, "...you kept these?"
"As angry as I got… I couldn't let go of the memories of my mommy… call me sentimental, call me a little filly… but I just couldn't let go of these old things…" Sunset admitted.
Celestia just gave a warm smile, as she levitated over Sunset's blanket and Ms. B, the mare taking them like she was a little filly.
"Thank you… Momjesty," Sunset smiled.
"As cute as that is, you can always feel free to call me mom, Sunset," Celestia told her. She sat down in a chair that was nearby, the book that Sunset brought with her now sitting close by her, "'Love You Like the Sunshine'. You even kept this?"
"It's my favorite book," Sunset giggled, making Celestia smiled, cuddling up next to Sunset and plant a kiss on her forehead.
"Sleep well, my little sunshine," Celestia smiled, putting the book down and taking her leave. Sunset smiled before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Celestia just watched her with a smile, before trotting off.
"Sister… what do you think of Sunset?" Celestia asked Luna.
"Why doest thou ask?"
"Just curious,"
"Well… personally, we think she is a great pony… but we wonder… why did you let yourself get so attached to her?"
The alicorn princess of the sun simply looked at a picture of a stained glass window project she had sketched out, but never had built, being of six alicorns. The two in the back were both pure white, the male having armor of sorts and a cape, while the female had a sort of dress, both having golden manes, though the female had red highlights in her mane, and the Cutie Marks were obscured. In front of them were a younger Celestia and Luna, both of them with their Cutie Marks, but their manes not being the same ethereal versions they are presently. And in front of the two of them, was an alicorn Twilight Sparkle… and beside her, an alicorn Sunset Shimmer…
"...I had hopes… that she could be Twilight's partner and look over Equinia after we stop one day… and… while those were there, I always saw something… different… a daughter. I just… I just felt she was different… and… something in me grew to love her like she was my own." Celestia admitted, putting the sketch away, "...does it… make me weak?"
"No. In fact… we believe Sunset Shimmer is something that makes you stronger. Bonds can make anypony stronger… just look at what bonds have done for Twilight Sparkle… now, go and get some rest dear sister. Don't worry at all about tomorrow's sunrise and sunset… you just go and enjoy yourself…" Luna told her older sister, who actually got a little bit teary eyed at this.
"Right…" Celestia nodded. She trotted off to go and rest, while Luna gave a small mischievous giggle, knowing perfectly well that Sunset would want to surprise her mom…
The next morning, Celestia was awoken by the sound of her door opening and somepony trotting in. She sat up just a little bit, seeing that it was Sunset, who, at the moment, had a chef's hat on and a teal apron as well.
"Good morning mom… Happy Mother's Day…" Sunset smiled, levitating over a plate. Celestia looked and saw on it was heart shaped pancakes and a cup of orange juice, "...I worked really hard on this…"
"...That's sweet… thank you, dear," Celestia smiled, as she happily began to eat her breakfast in bed.
After she finished, Sunset gave a happy smile and skipped alongside her mother, the two heading outside of the castle to see a small festival going on.
"...wow," Celestia gawked.
"A festival for Mother's Day… that's amazing," Sunset giggled, "So… are you going to attend, mom?"
"...since I have somepony to enjoy it with… yes," Celestia nodded, before she did something unexpected, casting a spell on herself to make herself a bit shorter, have a pink mane and tail, and making herself look much younger and appear to be a unicorn with a Cutie Mark of a pink sun, "Before you ask… I think it might be better if nopony knew who I actually was…"
"Makes sense," Sunset shrugged, as they begun to trot along, the two mares looking excited as they did so.
Sunset spotted a small game of ball toss, the two mares trotting over to give it a go. Sunset tried it first, so she could get her mom a gift, and managed to get some bottles knocked down, but not enough to get a very big prize. She chose a plushie of a little ladybug. Celestia took her turn and won some more points, but chose a bit ladybug plushie, claiming that they would be a 'mother and daughter'.
Next, they went into a sort of bobbing game, which Celestia tried right away, getting some tickets for various booths around them, while Sunset managed to pull out a bucket, which had water in it along with small hearts. She gave it to Celestia, who giggled happily at the gesture.
After that, the two entered a three legged race, and while it was a little tricky for them to get in sync at first, they won the race by a landslide, got a photo taken and were given matching lockets to contain the picture in.
Soon, the two were sitting down at the park, eating ice cream and relaxing a little bit.
"So Mom… how are you enjoying your Mother's Day so far?" Sunset asked.
"It was amazing, Sunset," Celestia smiled, as she licked the vanilla flavored ice cream pop she had, while Sunset was nibbling at a cotton candy one, "And this ice cream is so good…"
"Yea… I'm glad to spend time with you…" Sunset giggled.
"But… there is something I wanted to do today…" Celestia admitted.
"What's that?" Sunset asked.
Celestia got up and trotted along, Sunset following, and the two arrived at a playground.
"Hey… I remember this place,,, I played here when I was little…" Sunset recalled, "Oh… I get it, you wanted to come back here and make up for lost time… don't ya mom?"
"Yes," Celestia nodded, "I missed playing here with you… so… why not?"
Sunset giggled as she headed off for the playground, Celestia following.
The two first headed on over to the slide, with Celestia gently pushing Sunset down through it, and Sunset soon returning the favor for her mom, the two enjoying the ride through the red and pink tubed slide.
Next, they headed over to a teeter-totter, the two enjoying basically bouncing each other off the ground. Sunset giggled as she went up and down, with Celestia enjoying it as well.
The two soon trotted over to the jungle gym that was connected to the slide before climbing around on it, and after a bit, Sunset slipped off, but luckily, Celestia was there to catch her so she didn't get hurt.
Finally, the two arrived at what was Sunset's favorite playground equipment, the swing. Sunset sat on the swing and Celestia gently pushing her with her hooves.
"Of all the things…" Sunset said as she was close to Celestia before being pushed, "That I missed…", she paused as she was swing forward, continuing when she got closer again, "Us doing together…" she paused again, "High on the list was…" paused again, "Playing on the swings."
"I missed this too," Celestia smiled, as they continued to play.
Soon, Celestia and Sunset returned to the castle, Celestia now back to her alicorn state, ready to begin the sunset.
"I really liked watching you do this…" Sunset admitted.
"Yea… so did I," Celestia nodded, as she began to set the sun slowly but surely.
"Hey… I've always wondered… why do we celebrate mother's day? I'm just curious…" Sunset inquired.
"...why do we celebrate it? Well… to thank our mothers for what they do for us… but why it is this day… it was… my mother's birthday," Celestia told Sunset, making the unicorn gasp in surprise, "Yes. Mother's Day is my mom's birthday, while Father's Day is my dad's birthday. It's to honor them being there for us… and parents being there for everypony,"
Sunset nodded, as the sun had finished setting, the moon soon took it's place.
"Mom… here, I made you this," Sunset smiled, handing Celestia a homemade card. The front of it was red and yellow construction paper made into a sort of sun symbol on it.
"'Mother's come in all different ways, either as hopeful as night, or as nurturing as day. Just know this,'" Celestia read, as she opened up the card, showing a hoof drawn picture of herself with Sunset, Luna and Twilight, "'My love for you never went away. It is always here to stay. With hugs and kisses, know, I always love you, and I never stopped. I made this with all of my heart… Your Little Sunshine, who will always be your little pony, Sunset Shimmer'... oh Sunset… this… this is beautiful…"
Sunset smiled happily, nuzzling up by her mother, Celestia hugged Sunset with her wing.
That night, as Celestia was asleep, Luna crept along a little bit, ready to set a small plan in motion.
'Sorry Tia… but… if it's your last night with your daughter… I want you both to enjoy it...' Luna thought.
A bit later, Celestia woke up, hearing the sound of somepony crying. She slowly turned over to see Sunset standing at her doorway, sniffling as she tried to wipe her tears away.
"Sunset… what's wrong?" Celestia asked.
"...I had a nightmare…" she informed, "Would… would it be okay if we… stayed here?"
Celestia looked and saw both Sunset's blanket and Ms. B with her, knowing that was the 'we' she was referring to. Celestia gave a simple motion for Sunset to come on over, the unicorn smiling and walking to Celestia's bed.
"...thank you," Sunset smiled, cuddling closer to Celestia.
The alicorn just smiled at her adopted daughter, before she saw something by the nightstand. She levitated it over, and saw it was 'Love You Like the Sunshine'. Celestia had a small idea form in her mind…
"Sunset… I know you're a big mare now… but… uh… would you like to hear a bedtime story one last time?" Celestia asked, Sunset seeing the book there.
"...I would love to," Sunset smiled, with Celestia getting up and turning on a small light to better illuminate the room.
"'The stars and the moon are soon to appear, so, a unicorn mother goes to get the little filly she holds so dear'," Celestia began, showing Sunset the pictures of the book, "'The young filly had been settled down, she was given her little bedtime blanket and was ready to sleep, but her mom saw a frown...'"
Sunset gave a nod, being shown the pictures once again.
"'She asked her filly what was wrong. The young one was scared to be asleep, fearing something that would to to take her. The mother sat down by her, a smile tender and sweet, and assured her nothing would come and take her, not even a little critter,'" Celestia continued, again showing the pictures, "'The filly was still a little bit afraid, still not fully swayed, that something would come for her and she wouldn't be in bed the next day. But the mother was there to comfort her, saying there would be a light. The love of the mother would keep her there for the night. The filly asked how much did her mom love her, could it be defined? The mother assured her'..." Celestia paused, as she and Sunset knew the next part very well.
"'That she loved her like the the sunshine'" they said in perfect unison.
"'With the filly's fears now away, she could sleep and welcome a new day. She slept without a fear of the dark, her mother's love being something she couldn't decline. For she knew how much her mother loved her… the mother turning around to say once, 'I Love You Like the Sunshine'. The End'," Celesta concluded, showing the final page of the book. Sunset let out a soft yawn, being comforted by hearing her favorite bedtime story.
"Thank you," she whispered, her eyes closing, cuddling Ms. B and her blanket in her hooves. Celestia put the book down and cuddled by Sunset, the two smiling as they fell asleep, Luna smiling from outside the room.
The next morning, Sunset was having trouble holding back her tears, knowing this was the day she went back to the other world. She had her items all packed, hovering her bags near her as she approached the mirror. Twilight made sure they were settled on her and that she would be ready to go through.
"...you ready?" Twilight asked.
"...I guess…" Sunset sighed, turning back to Celestia, "Mom… you know I'll always love you… and… I'll miss you…"
"I'll miss you too… please… come back and visit…" Celestia told her.
Sunset gave a nod as she trotted on through the portal.
Rarity and Applejack watched as Sunset came through the portal, the former unicorn trying to resist crying.
"Are you… alright sugahcube?" Applejack asked.
"Y-Yea… I'm fine…" Sunset responded, tears dripping down from her eyes.
Rarity and Applejack exchanged looks, knowing that Sunset missed her mother rather badly. They nodded and turned to Sunset.
"...go back," Rarity told her.
"Huh?" Sunset blinked.
"Yer gonna miss yer ma too much… we'll be fine. If things're like Twi' figerd, then we may find yer counterpart here… and we'll make sure ta show her the ropes of friendship… but fer now… ya need to go on home…" Applejack told her.
Sunset just nodded, "...tell the others I'll see you all soon… I promise,"
"We will," Rarity nodded.
Twilight trotted over to try and comfort Celestia, who was crying.
"It's okay, Celestia. I'm sure you'll see her again someday…" Twilight told her, trying to comfort her.
Suddenly, they heard something emerge from the portal, Twilight turning to see it was Sunset. Twilight simply trotted to the side so Sunset could go to Celestia.
"Mom…" Sunset muttered, before she just began to cry, she ran over and pulled Celestia into a hug, "I don't want to leave you anymore! I want to stay with you mommy…"
As Sunset cried, Celestia pulled her into a hug with her wings, letting tears fall from her own eyes, comforting her daughter as Twilight simply giggled a tiny bit.
"Sunset… I'm so glad you're going to stay… I've missed you for all the moons you have been gone… and I'm so glad you will be staying with me, my little sunshine…" Celestia smiled, the two smiling widely, "I'm happy you're here to stay, my little pony,"
"I am too… your Momjesty," Sunset smiled, nuzzling up against her mother.
Pikatwig: Aww….
KKD: That is adorable.
Pikatwig: I would love to see Sunset appear in the actual show, and I think this would be the best sort of story to go with, Sunset and Celestia being the main focus. And given how there may be an EqG spin-off show… who knows, we may just get it someday in the near future.
KKD: We'll just have to wait and see about that one. Still, this was a very nice story.
Pikatwig: Yes. The idea of Sunset and Celestia's connection is so adorable, and Luna meeting her was rather cute. So… my personal favorite part… actually, I can't really label one, this whole story is too amazing to single out a favorite part.
KKD: Me neither. It was all just too good to label a specific part as a favorite.
Pikatwig: This does end up revealing a little bit of my headcanon backstory for Sunset, but hey, I don't mind. Anyway… this story is dedicated in honor of mothers, all of them. In fact… I even plan on showing my mom this story on Mother's Day…
KKD: Yea… Happy Mother's Day to all reading this.
Pikatwig: Just Live More.
KKD: Jaa ne.