Sunset Shimmer and the Forgiveness of Family

by Erin Salvatore

DISCLAIMER: I don't own My Little Pony. I'm just borrowing. Only the story belongs to me.

Note: Okay, I thought about this for quite a bit after rewatching the theory about Sunset being related to Sunburst by Sawtooth Waves on YouTube. I had some ideas in my head and I think I can at least attempt to put it into a fanfic. The plot is this: Sunset Shimmer has been having dreams about her past as a pony and decides to return to Equestria to reunite with the family she left behind. Will she be forgiven? Or have the scars run too deep?

Sunset Shimmer's House – Human World…

Sunset Shimmer groaned in her sleep, tossing and turning before finally forcing herself to sit up. She was having those dreams again. The ones about her past in Equestria before she was sent to Princess Celestia's school in Canterlot. The question was, why were they coming back now? Sunset left her bed and went to her closet, taking a picture out of her bag. It was of a unicorn family – a mare, stallion, and two foals, a colt and a filly. Her parents, herself, and her little brother, the ones she left behind. I haven't seen them in so long. That must be what my dreams are telling me. I have to go to Equestria and see them again.

Her mind made up, Sunset grabbed the journal Princess Twilight had given her and opened it to a fresh page. Sighing, she picked up a pen and wrote in it.

"Dear Princess Twilight,

I know it's been a while since I last spoke to you and things are probably really busy for you in Equestria, but I've been having these dreams lately about my past before I went to Princess Celestia's school. It's something I can't explain in the journal. If it's not any trouble, I'd like to come to Equestria and talk to you face to face about it.

Sunset Shimmer."

After she finished writing, Sunset stared at the page for several minutes, hoping that Princess Twilight would answer. It seemed like an eternity, but a purple aura appeared, along with the reply she had been hoping for.

"Sunset,

You know you don't have to ask my permission. The portal is always open, so you can visit Equestria whenever you wish. Those dreams do sound like they're more than just dreams. They sound more like memories. Though, I think I may be able to help you. Come to Equestria and we'll sort this out.

Princess Twilight."

Seeing those words made Sunset sigh in relief. She was going to be getting to the bottom of this mystery and hopefully, reconcile with the family she left behind. Closing the journal, she showered and dressed, grabbed her bag, putting the journal inside it, and left her house to go to the statue in front of Canterlot High.

Canterlot High…

The statue seemed like a foreboding presence in the dark. However, Sunset was a girl on a mission and she wasn't about to let anything stand in the way of what she had set out to do. She touched the surface with her hand and entered the portal that would take her to Equestria.

Castle Twilight, Equestria…

"Sunset, are you okay?"

The voice seemed far away as Sunset opened her eyes. She looked around and saw that she was in the library of Princess Twilight's castle. She then looked down at herself and saw that she was back in her pony form.

"Sunset?"

The voice now sounded closer and she turned to see Princess Twilight herself standing there. She didn't seem to have changed all that much since they last saw each other, but that wasn't important at the moment. She smiled and hugged her friend. After a few minutes, the two ponies stepped back and faced each other. Neither spoke until Sunset decided to break the silence.

"You have no idea how great it is to see you again," she said. "As I said in my journal, I've been having these dreams and I don't know what they're telling me."

The princess nodded. "I may not be as well versed in dreams as Princess Luna, but I think I may be able to help you. Or at least know somepony who can help you."

"Really? Who?"

"You'll see. Come on."

Sunset, though disappointed about not getting an answer right away, followed the princess to the throne room. When they got there, she was shocked to see a unicorn stallion in a blue cloak standing by the table.

"Sunburst?"

Sunburst, upon hearing his name, looked in the direction of the two mares approaching him and he immediately recognized who had spoken. He found it hard to believe that he was seeing her after he was certain that after his previous encounter with her, he never would again.

"My goodness, Sunset, I can't believe you're actually here. I was afraid that you never wanted to see me again after what happened the last time."

Twilight was confused. "Last time?"

"It appears that you weren't the first visitor I received from Equestria," she said. "Sunburst came to the human world after Princess Celestia told him about the portal. And, because I was still the way I was before you forgave me and taught me about friendship, our encounter was...not the best. When he told me you were the new Princess, I told him to buzz off and began hatching my plan to steal your crown. I don't think I need to tell you what happened after that, because you already know."

Twilight was flabbergasted. "You know Sunburst? I don't understand. Starlight didn't mention that when she showed me her past before her reformation."

"That's because she already left Sire's Hollow before I got my cutie mark," Sunburst said, answering the question for Sunset. "My...I mean, our parents thought that after Princess Celestia told them she ran away, I would be the one to convince her to come home. Of course, that didn't happen because I flunked out of magic school."

"So, you're…"

"Brother and sister?" said Sunset. "Yes, we are." She turned her attention to Sunburst. "You flunked out of magic school? But I thought with your talent, you would have excelled."

"I thought so too at first," said Sunburst. "But, as I told Starlight when we reunited in the Crystal Empire, not everypony is destined for greatness. It wasn't for a lack of trying, I did try, but it was torture, reading about magic but not being able to use any of it."

"I...didn't know you had such a hard time. You should've told me. I know I probably wouldn't have listened at the time, but…"

"It's okay, because it allowed me to become Princess Flurry Heart's Crystaller," said Sunburst. "In so doing, I helped to save the Crystal Empire from being covered in ice and snow."

There was a silence between them until Sunset said, "Sunburst, I know I made some mistakes, the worst of which was running away and hurting you. Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Sunburst smiled at his sister and wrapped his front hoof around her, hugging her. "Of course I forgive you, Sunset. You made mistakes, as you said, but I'm your brother and I love you." He sighed, his smile fading. "Though, Mom might need some work."

Sunset nodded. "Should we go to Sire's Hollow and talk to her?"

"You may not need to," said Twilight. "Stellar Flare sent a letter saying she'll be here in Ponyville." She gave Sunset a concerned look. "Are you sure you'll be up to this? It's been a long time since you saw your mother."

"I came here to seek forgiveness from my family, Twilight, and that's what I'm going to do."

"And I'm going to help you," said Sunburst. "That's what brothers do for their sisters."

Sunset smiled at her brother's words. What did I do to deserve a brother as sweet as him? "Thank you, Sunburst."

At that moment, the throne room door opened. Sunset braced herself for what was going to happen next. She didn't know how Stellar Flare was going to react to seeing her daughter again, or if she was going to forgive her the way Sunburst, Twilight, and Princess Celestia had. After what seemed like forever, an older unicorn mare with a deep orange coat, red mane, and white socks on her lower legs walked in. Sunset, ignoring her pounding heart, slowly approached her.

"Hi, Mom."

Stellar Flare stopped short. "Sunset? Is that really you?"

"It is, Mom," the younger mare said. "I thought I'd never see you again."

She threw her hooves around her mother in an embrace. Stellar Flare pulled out of the embrace and gave Sunset a rather stern look, as though she had done something to offend her.

"Do you have any idea how much pain you caused me?" she growled. "The day Princess Celestia told us you had run away, I felt like somepony had ripped my heart out of my chest and threw it against the wall!"

"Mom, I'm...I'm sorry," said Sunset. "I want to make things right. That's why I came back." She turned to Sunburst. "Sunburst forgave me."

"It's true, Mom, I did forgive her," said Sunburst. "She really does want to make things right. I know you may not think so, but she's learned from the mistakes she made. If I can forgive her, I see no reason why you can't."

Stellar Flare didn't answer, just looked from Sunburst to Sunset before turning around and trotting out of the room. Twilight watched what happened and felt bad for the siblings. She hated that Stellar Flare had acted so harshly toward her daughter. If her own mother, Twilight Velvet, ever acted that way toward her, she would be heartbroken beyond words.

Sunset stood there in disbelief. "I can't believe she did that."

"Well, I told you she was going to need work," her brother said. "We gave it our best shot, and that's all we can do."

"I guess I was hoping we could be a family again. I mean, it's been so long since I last saw her." She looked at Sunburst and smiled sadly. "At least I have one family member who is willing to accept me in spite of what I did."

Twilight interjected then. "Maybe the scars from when you left are too deep."

"What do you think I should do, Twilight?"

"The best thing you can do is give her time," said Twilight. "Your mother knows you've changed, she just...needs to process it."

Sunset sighed. "I guess you're right." She hung her head. "I'd hate to go back a failure."

"Hey, you're not a failure," said Sunburst. "You can never be a failure in my eyes."

"Thanks, little brother," said Sunset. "I'm glad you feel that way." She smiled at him. "Would you like to come back to the human world with me? It's been a while since your last visit and I'd love for you to meet my friends."

Sunburst returned her smile. "Of course. I think I can use a change of scenery, even if it's only for a little while."

NOTE: Yeah, this story was a bit of a doozy to write, because what I had in my head wasn't meshing well with what I was writing. Anyway, I think I'll end the one shot here. Hope it was worth the wait. And, in case you're curious, it falls somewhere in between "Mirror Magic" and "Forgotten Friendship," even though the Equestria Girls series doesn't exactly have a timeline.