The Princess and the Penitent - Chapter 1

It was nearly 6 pm when Sunset Shimmer looked out the classroom window and noticed the sun disappearing on the horizon. For the past few weeks she had spent nights helping out at Canterlot High, doing things like cleaning blackboards and emptying trash bins. At first she did it to make up for her treatment of the other students in past years, but Principals Celestia and Luna had long since expressed their forgiveness. Even so, it felt good to help out, and Sunset liked feeling useful. Besides, she felt more comfortable at the school than in the town library she spent her nights in, but she had overstayed her welcome. She packed her things and left the the room, making her way down the hallway to the main entrance.

Shifting the weight of her bag between her shoulders, Sunset stepped into the cool evening air and started to head down to the sidewalk, when on her way, her eye caught the statue in front of the school. Hesitantly, she approached it. A mix of emotions filled her as she gazed at the surface of the portal to Equestria. Sadness, guilt, and a flicker of hope… Since Twilight Sparkle left this world for the second time, Sunset realized the portal would always be open now. She could return to Equestria, her old home, see her old teacher and maybe make things right with her, to use her magic once again. But Sunset was scared to go back to the world she had come from. So instead, she settled for dreams and wishes, for running her hand over the smooth surface. When her reminiscing was finished, she turned and finished her journey to the sidewalk and started on her way to the Canterlot library.

Upon entering, Sunset waved hello to the nighttime librarian, called Autumn Skye. Autumn knew Sunset well by now, and let her stay in the library overnight. After all, Sunset did not have many places to go. When she had first come to this world, she had considered finding the human Sunset Shimmer’s family and somehow convincing them to let her stay with them, but it turned out the family had moved away when the human Sunset was still very young. Recently, she had thought about asking one of her new friends, particularly Pinkie Pie or Rarity, to let her stay with them, but she didn’t quite feel comfortable with the idea. Sunset went up the stairs to the upper section of the library, where there were soft armchairs to sit and read in. She grabbed a book she had been reading over the last few nights and plopped down in one of the chairs, flipping to where she had left off in her book. She soon drifted off, dreaming of Equestria.

The next morning was Saturday, and Sunset woke with her book on the floor. She quickly picked it up and reset the pages that had bent slightly during their stay on the floor. She stretched, yawned, and got up from her place to put the book back on the shelf. She walked briskly down the stairs and said hello once again to Autumn Skye, whose shift was ending to make way for the daytime librarian. As Sunset left the library, she realized that today, she had a day off from work at the coffee shop run by a woman named Keen Bean. Sunset Shimmer liked Keen Bean, and thought she was a fair boss, but with all the extra work Sunset had been doing at school, she felt like she hadn’t had free time in ages. It would also mean a break from Pinkie Pie, who worked in the sweet shop run by Mr. and Mrs. Cake next door to the coffee shop, and although Sunset liked Pinkie Pie, she could become overwhelming.

Sunset was excited about the idea of a day off for a moment, but then the thoughts that had nagged her last night returned to her. She hadn’t been to Equestria for a long time, save for the quick visit she made to swipe Twilight’s crown. So much had changed! There were now four princesses instead of two, with Luna returning and Twilight becoming the newest princess. From writing to Twilight, Sunset had learned that the Crystal Empire had reappeared and that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or as Twilight told her, Cadence, had begun to rule it. Not only that, but she and Twilight’s brother had been married! Sunset was surprised to learn just how connected Twilight was to Equestrian royalty. What else had changed? How different had her old home become in her absence? She longed to return, to see it for herself instead of seeing it in words and flowery descriptions that Twilight had given her. But she was frightened. Would she be accepted? Would anyone want to be around her?

Sunset Shimmer breathed deeply. She could not let her fear get in the way of something so important to her. She made quick pace toward the school, toward the statue in the courtyard. She faced it, placing her hand onto the portal’s surface. When her hand slipped into Equestria and she saw her human hand become a hoof, she gasped and pulled back. But then, she swallowed her fear and dove in quickly, before she could change her mind. She was going back home.