Adagio sighed at Spike look of pure terror as he stared into her eyes. Before he could react, Adagio picked him up and carried him over to the steps of the school, sitting down with Spike in her lap.

“What’s your name, little dog?” Adagio asked, clearly exhausted. “I know you and I are enemies, but I would at least like to know who you are.”

“Uh, it's Spike, and I---”

“I'm tired, Spike. I don’t want to hurt you, and I think you don’t want to hurt me either. I don't...want to go on anymore,” Adagio said, hesitating only slightly.

Horrified, Spike opened his mouth to speak but heard, “Really? Again with this?" He looked to the right and saw Aria standing nearby, who continued, "We've been over this, Adagio! You can't kill yourself!"

“Aria,” Adagio began softly, not looking in her sister's direction. “We're both more than a thousand years old. I have lived long enough with the pain of losing my hatchlings. I don’t want to feel it any longer.”

“No!” Spike yelped, hopping off of Adagio’s lap. “I won’t let you do that. I-I have good news. You can come back to Equestria. All three of you!” Spike put his front paws on Adagio's thigh as he continued hopefully, “I have some blue heart stones in my bag. Twilight says they'll let you both feed on positive energy instead of negative energy. Isn't that great?”

Narrowing her eyes to him and snarling, Adagio got up, knocking Spike over with a painful yelp as she yelled, “It doesn’t matter whether we feed on positive or negative energy! The point is that we are the last of our kind! We begged and pleaded with Princess Celestia and her foolish advisor Star Swirl to keep her ships out of the Celestial Sea, and did they!?” Adagio trembled with rage, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “No! They didn’t! They just took delight in destroying our eggs and rookeries. We are the only ones left.”

“But, I-I-I'm sure she had a reason! We can ask her. She's staying here with Principal Celestia. We can... We can..." Spike's words slowly trailed off as he realized what he just said. Looking up at Adagio fearfully, he said, “Please don’t hurt them.”

“Oh, I don’t want to hurt them. I actually want Princess Celestia to hurt me.” Adagio picked Spike up again. Sitting back down on the step and holding Spike in her arms, she continued with tears running down her cheeks, “It's perfect! She took my home, she took my babies, and now, she can take my life. Finally, my pain will end.”

“But--”

“Look, I’ll make it simple. I’ll call Principal Celestia--we had her give us her number while we were controlling her--and you can ask her to convince the princess to meet us. Then, I can ask her to do what I'm sure she's been waiting ages to do.”

Adagio quickly took out her phone, while Spike looked at Aria, saying, “Well don’t just stand there, do something! Your sister needs you!”

“What do you expect me to do! It's impossible to get her to change her mind on anything." Aria thought for a moment and said, "Hopefully, Celestia's gone soft over the years, and hopefully, she won't kill Adagio.”

Spike looked down, his ears against the side of his head. Snuggling up against Adagio's chest, he said softly to her while she held her phone to her ear, “Please, Adagio. There has to be another way.” But his words were ignored.

Princess Celestia sat on a recliner with a little girl in her lap, looking at a picture book. Crystalis giggled happily as the princess turned the page and said warmly, “And then, the little piglet squealed in delight as he saw a big, round cake in front of him.”

Hugging her warmly and snuggling up closer, Crystalis said happily, “What did the little piglet do after he ate the cake?”

“Well, let's turn the page and find out.” Turning the page Princess Celestia, smiled and continued to read to Crystalis, “Looks like the little piglet got a tummy ache.” The picture depicted a fat piglet holding his belly with a green face, his eyes tightly closed. “Hmm, perhaps he’ll feel better if he has some medicine to help his little tummy. What do you think, Crystalis?”

Putting a finger to her chin, the little girl replied with a light chuckle, “I say he needs his mommy to kiss his tummy and make him feel all better.”

Princess Celestia laughed. Seeing Luna enter the living room, she said, “Thank you both very much for allowing me to stay here, Luna. I really do appreciate it.”

“Oh, think nothing of it, Soleil. It was our pleasure.” Raising a hand to her cheek in mock speculation, she continued with a light smirk on her face, “Besides, seeing the look on my sister's face when she actually got a good look at you was well worth it. I will cherish that moment for a long time.”

“Yes, it was a treat. Tell me, has Twilight gotten up yet?”

“I think so. I think she's in the shower now. Should I go check up on her?”

“No, no, I’ll do that just as soon as we are done with this picture book. I am having quite the time reading to Crystalis here.” Looking down as the little girl grinned up to her, Princess Celestia smiled back and continued gently, “She’s quite the little storyteller. I bet she would have many good stories to tell to those in my homeland.”

“I am sure she would. Now, I’ll let you two get back to your story. I need coffee and some breakfast.”

Luna headed off into the kitchen, finding her sister at the stove, staring at the teapot, a cup in one hand and a photo of her and Sunset in the other, thick tears running down her cheeks. Both looked really happy in the photo. Celestia looked up and, seeing her sister standing behind her, quickly wiped away her tears.

“Oh, I-I didn’t see you there, Lu. I didn’t want Her Highness or Crystalis to see me crying, so I ducked in here.”

Quickly taking her into a warm hug, Luna held her sister in her arms, saying softly, “It’s going to be alright, Tia. You’ll see.”

“I don’t think it will. I let Sunset die, I have lost faith in my students, and I lost my daughter. How is everything going to be alright?” Celestia leaned in closer, resting her head on her sister's shoulder.

“I am not sure, Tia. Look, I know it's hard, but I’ll stick by you, no matter what. Now let me get you some tea and some breakfast. Then, we can call the school board and set up a meeting.”

“A-Alright. I really don’t want to deal with them, but I have little choice in the matter.” Looking down, Celestia continued coldly, “Sometimes, I wish I never became a principal. Then, I would be spared this pain and heartache.”

“I heard that,” Princess Celestia said. Quickly looking to Crystalis, who remained in her lap, she said. “Let me up, sweety. I need to talk to Aunty Celestia, alright?”

“You're not going to fight, are you?” Crystalis asked, worried.

“No, sweetheart, I'm not. I just need to let her know some...things.”

Getting up, Princess Celestia headed into the kitchen, took her counterpart by the hand before she could react, and led her to a nearby sliding door. Quickly opening the door and leading Principal Celestia outside, she said coldly, “Principal Celestia, I can't believe you want to just give up and walk away when things don’t go your way!”

“What!?” Principal Celestia’s eyes widened with shock and anger. “How dare you! I invite you into my home, and this--”

“Silence! You think you have it so bad that you have the right to just throw it all away? What about your students, the ones that didn’t post anything to that website? Are you really going to sit here and tell me that you are going to turn your back on those that really need you the most, Tia?”

“I don’t have time for this! I need to--”

“To what? Run away like a scared little filly? I can see on your face how scared and hurt you are, so why not just talk to me?”

Principal Celestia tried to leave, when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and Princess Celestia's stern voice behind her saying, “No! You don’t get to just throw it all away just because you have a few bad students. You need to grow up! You need to help those students realize the harm they've done with their petty actions. For the love of Equestria, Tia, don’t make the same mistake that I made. Don’t turn your back on your students!”

“You want to lecture someone? Fine! You can lecture my sister. She's the one that wanted you here, against my better judgment! You, who turned your back on your own damn daughter, shouldn’t even be---”

“Yes, I did,” Princess Celestia cut off Principal Celestia bitterly, “and I have always regretted it.” Looking down, she continued, “I actually did come through the portal. I spent two days searching for her. I couldn’t find her, though. On the night that I left before the portal would close again, I placed a note on the statue I hoped she would find it and be ready to come home when the portal opened again. But I can see she never did find that note.”

“Actually, she did find it.” Sighing with her anger still brewing, Principal Celestia continued, “After the Fall Formal, she read me the letter and asked that I keep it for when she was ready to go home. But she never did go home, did she? She never got the chance.”

“No, she didn't. And yes, I turned my back on her. But that doesn't mean you get to throw everything away!” Looking away, Princess Celestia continued, “If I walked away each time things got tough, I wouldn’t be much of princess, just as you are now not much of a principal. You need to stick to it. You need to dig your hooves into the ground and stick this out, not for you, not for your sister, not for the school, but for those that need you.”

“How, damnit? How am I supposed to ride this storm out when all I feel is pain, anger and disappointment!?”

“By digging deep into yourself and finding the good in those that have hurt you, angered you, and disappointed you.”

Before Principal Celestia could react, Princess Celestia quickly lunged in, wrapping her arms around her counterpart. Feeling the warmth and sorrow emanating from the princess, Principal Celestia broke down crying into her counterpart's shoulders.

“Why does it have to hurt so much?” Principal Celestia cried out in pain and anger “Why couldn’t I save her?” Princess Celestia held the regal principal warmly in her arms stroking her fingers through the woman's hair soothingly as she continued “She was my goddaughter, for Christ's sake! I should have been able to help her.”

As the two Celestia's cried into each other's shoulders, Luna watched from the deck, jumping slightly when she heard her sister's phone ring. She quickly headed inside and returned with the phone. “Tia, you have a phone call. Should I tell them to call back?”

“No,” Principal Celestia called back, sniffing and trying to wipe away her tears. “I-I'll be just a minute.” Looking at her counterpart, she continued, “Thank you. I-I really needed that.”

“If you ever need me to hoof you in your flank again, just come through the portal. I won’t mind at all. And you are welcome.”
The two headed inside, with Principal Celestia taking her phone from her sister and saying into it, “Hello?”

“Principal Celestia, I presume?” Adagio said. “I have here a little friend of yours by the name of Spike.”

Adagio held the phone down to him and gave him a stern look. Spike quickly answered, “Principal Celestia, don’t do what she wants, please!”
Raising the phone back to her ear, Adagio said, “Don’t worry. I don’t plan on hurting him. I just want you to bring Princess Celestia here. You’ll find us at the school. I’ll wait with him here as long as you like. I have a favor to ask.”

“Adag--”

Adagio hung up, then sighed. Setting her phone down, she gently pulled Spike into her, nuzzling his cheek with her own.

Principal Celestia put her phone away, then looked at Princess Celestia and Twilight, who had come down from the bathroom while Principal Celestia was on the phone. “We need to go to the school. Spike is there, and so are the Dazzlings. I'm not sure what's going on, but Adagio wants to talk to you, Soleil. I think you both should go. I don’t think she will hurt Spike. But then again I can’t be one hundred percent certain about it either.”

Standing up, Twilight said, “We'll take care of this, Principal Celestia, rest assured. Spike--”

“Worry not, Twilight," said Princess Celestia. "Adagio will not hurt Spike. I know what she wants. She asked this favor before, one thousand years ago. I refused then, and I plan to refuse now, but I should still talk to her.”

“Princess, what does she want?” Twilight asked. “What does she think she can gain by taking Spike?”

“She wants to die in magical combat against me.”

“No! No more death!” Principal Celestia snapped. “We've already lost one girl. I don't care what she did in the past, we're not going to lose her too!” Slamming her hands onto her kitchen table, she continued. “There is no reason for that girl to want to do this!”

Seeing that both Princess Celestia and Principal Celestia were upset, Crystalis, who had come into the kitchen when she saw the adults gather, immediately hid behind Luna. Luna looked down to the scared little girl and hugged her, saying gently, “Don’t worry, everything's alright. Aunty Celestia and Aunty Soleil just need to help a friend.”

“A-Are you sure, Aunt Luna?”

“Yes, honey, I am sure. Now, how about you and I go get some ice cream and play video games?”

“O-Okay.” Crystalis laid her head into Luna’s shoulder as Luna picked the little girl up in her arms, saying to her sister, “You three go. I’ll stay here and watch over Crystalis.”

“Good idea,” Principal Celestia replied. After Luna and Crystalis left, she turned back and said to Princess Celestia, "Alright, out with it. Why does Adagio want you to kill her?"

Looking down, Princess Celestia replied sadly, “Adagio has lost everything in life. Her home, her babies, her power, everything. The only thing she has left are her sisters, but it seems that even they can't stave off her depression any longer. However, you are right. I cannot allow this. I will try to talk some sense into her. I'm sure there is some way to convince her not to go through with this.”

“There's something I need to get before we leave for CHS,” Twilight said, quickly heading over to her bag in the living room. Reaching into the bag, she took out the letter Fluttershy had given to her prior to Sunset's funeral. Looking at the folded letter, Twilight sighed. “I’ll read this to Adagio and Princess Celestia. Maybe--”

“Twilight, hurry,” Principal Celesita called from the foyer. “We need to go. There's no telling what Adagio will do to Spike if we don’t show up.”

Twilight quickly stuffed the letter into her skirt pocket, quickly joining the others. The three women piled into the car, and within a half-hour, they found themselves standing in front of the school, staring and a very grief-stricken Adagio Dazzle, who held Spike in her arms, and an angry Aria Blaze who stared coldly back at them.

“Spike, are you alright?” Twilight asked. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“No, Twilight, I'm fine, but please don’t do what she wants!”

“Don't worry, Spike. We won't,” Twilight said, keeping her eyes on Adagio.

Letting Spike go, Adagio said, “I want to die, Twilight. I want to be reunited with my siren sisters and brothers. I want to see my children again. I don’t want to be alone anymore. Just stop wasting time, and kill me.”

“That isn’t going to happen, Adagio!” Twilight replied. “Please, let us hel--”

“Then I’ll just make it happen!”

Before anyone else could react, Adagio quickly rushed at Twilight, taking a swing. Thinking quickly, Twilight ducked just in time, moving backwards just out of Adagio’s reach.

“Adagio, stop this madness! I didn’t come here to fight you. I came here to offer you hope and a chance to come home!” Twilight yelled to the siren, backing away again as Adagio quickly closed the gap between them. “For crying out loud, Adagio, there is no need for this!”

“Yes, there is. I told you I want to you to end my life. If taking you with me in front of your mentor and friend is the only way to do it, then so be it.”

Adagio took another swing at Twilight, only to be caught off guard as Princess Celestia jumped in, catching Adagio's right arm. Quickly pulling the siren into her and wrapping her arms around her, Celestia said softly, “Let it out, Adagio. You've held this pain for long enough. You need to release it.”

Adagio tried to keep her composure as her tears broke the surface of her eyes. She fell to the ground, pulling Princess Celestia down with her. Crying hard into the princess's shoulder, she said, “I miss my children. I miss my home. I miss it all. I just want this pain to end. Please, just kill me so I don’t have to live with it any longer.”

“No, I will not do that, but I have another way I can help, if you’ll let me.”

“The only way you can help is by killing me! Nothing else. You killed my entire family and all of my eggs are destroyed, so why not just finish the job?”

“Not all the eggs were destroyed that day, Adagio.” Princess Celestia said softly. “You have living family. Just come with me back to Equestria, and I can prove it.”

"I don't believe you!" Adagio snapped. "I was there when my home was destroyed!"

“But it's true. Three sirens were brought to me six years before my daughter was born, wanting to make peace with my kingdom. You may recognize the names Kelpie, Seamora, and Hali.”

Adagio froze, the names indeed familiar with her. "But... But how? How did they escape? Where are they now?"

"I'm not sure how they survived, though I suspect it was by the ingenuity of your father King Eqidon. They are living in Cantlantis. I will, with your permission, take you to them. But first, I must answer some questions about my own daughter to Twilight's friends.”

“Fine, but don't think this changes how I feel about you. Because of you, my daughters grew up without a mother.”

“I understand. I can only hope your opinion will change in time."

"Princess Celestia, now might not be a good time, but I have something that I want to read to you before we meet with everyone.” Twilight began pulling out the letter she got from Fluttershy. “It's Sunset's last letter. I haven't read it yet, but I hope you'll let me read it to you now.”
Celestia was silent for a time before saying, “Yes, Twilight. Please read me her last letter. I have a few questions about what she overheard from our conversation in Equestria, and I hope the letter will answer them.”

Nodding, Twilight began to read the letter.

Twilight Sparkle,

By the time you read this, I'll be gone from this world. I know now that you and I were never friends. I know that you never wanted me as your student, and I know you never really trusted me. I looked up to you, and you, like everyone else, broke my heart. I don't know why that should surprise me, though. Remember what you said to me at the Fall Formal?

"You will never rule in Equestria! Any power you may have had in this world is gone! You’ve shown them what is in your heart."

You said those words while I was in that crater, barely conscious after being blasted with the Elements of Harmony. Your face was so cold and heartless, I thought you were going to kill me, or toss me into Tartarus. You didn’t even care that I was hurting, that I was crying, that I wanted only to be held and told that I may have made a mistake but that it would be alright. Remember what you said as you pulled me out of that crater?

"The magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria. It’s everywhere. You can seek it out, or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours."

Find friends, or lose hope forever. What an ultimatum! Giving me a choice without actually giving me a choice. Of course I was gonna choose the path with an iota of hope! But how false that hope turned out to be! Now, I know what friendship really means to you.

"She wouldn’t know how to be good if you hit her with the Elements of Harmony! You know what she's done! Mind control, attempted murder, declaring war on you, the list goes on! For the good of all of Equestria, you have to stay away from her! She can't be redeemed. She belongs in Tartarus, where she can’t hurt anypony else."

But you know what, Twilight? For all my anger and sadness, I know that you were right about me. I don’t deserve to rule Equestria, and I don’t deserve to be loved, held, or taken care of. So I am ending my life so that you can’t put me into Tartarus and so that I won’t be a problem for anyone else.

Please do me one last favor. There is a letter in my locker. Be sure to have Applejack read that letter to everyone. It will explain to her and to everyone else what I am and why I am so alone in this world. Please also see if Fluttershy will adopt Lucky for me. I want him to go to a good home, and I know she can provide that.

Goodbye, Twilight.

Your failed student and ex-friend,

Sunset Shimmer

Finished, Twilight fell to her knees in shock and sorrow. “What have I done?!” she screamed. “It wasn’t Rainbow that pushed her over the edge. It was me. It was my fault that she took her own life.”

“Twilight, it was a misunderstanding! Yes, you may have phrased the part about friendship a bit poorly, but everything she heard the other day in Equestria was about Chrysalis, not her. She wouldn't let us explain that it was all just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding that led her down the road to suicide.” Princess Celestia walked over to her student, gently pulling her into her as she continued, “And even if those words were meant for her, we all have to take responsibility for what happened to her. I failed her as her mentor and mother.”

“But, I tried to help her! I tried so hard,” Twilight cried into her mentor's shoulders. “I just want Sunset alive, safe and well. I miss her so much.”

“I know you do, Twilight. I tried to help her, too, but I failed,” Principal Celestia began softly as she knelt down, hugging Twilight and her counterpart. “I should have been there for her. I should have closed access to that website when I had the chance, but I chose to have faith in my students rather than do my job.”

Looking to her counterpart, Princess Celestia gently ended the hug and said, “It's time to answer her friends' questions. How do I summon them?”

With a very light chuckle, Principal Celestia took out her phone and called up Applejack, who agreed to call the rest of her friends. A few moments later, Principal Celestia unlocked the school doors, allowing everyone to enter the school.

Spike very soon found himself sitting on Twilight's lap in the library of the school. Princess Celestia looked out the third-story window, while Principal Celestia stood nearby. Adagio and Aria both also stood nearby, each looking out a window, each one looking both scared and confused at the same time.

Despite the dour mood, Spike figured that he'd finally deliver his message. “Your Highness, Chrysalis attacked Foal Mountain. Five hundred ponies that lived at that monastery are now dead. Only one little filly survived.”

“Spike, I know she's cruel, but couldn’t have gone that far. Are you sure it was Chrysalis that--”

“Yes, I'm very sure. She was heading to Ponyville, but she was stalled in the middle of Ghastly Gorge. Princess Luna said it was thanks to some weird-looking Minotaur.” Putting a paw to his chin, Spike tapped his chin in thought as he continued, “I think her name was Eve--”

His words were quickly cut off as Twilight slapped her hand over his mouth, saying “If you will please excuse us, Your Highness, I need to have a word with Spike in private.”

Receiving a quick nod of princess Celestia’s approval Twilight picked Spike up and carried him over to the doors of the library. Quickly taking Spike out into the hallway and making sure Principal Celestia didn’t follow them, Twilight began sternly, “Spike it is very important that you don’t mention Eventide's name around Principal Celestia right now.” At Spike's questioning glance, Twilight explained, "Eventide is Principal Celestia's daughter."

“Well, what's the problem, then? I would think that if Eventide is Principal Celestia's daughter, then she would want to know that her daughter is safe and well.”

“While this is true, Vice Principal Luna told me to keep it between us. If Principal Celestia finds out, she'll want to go to Equestria, and we need her to stay focused on the issue at hoof, which at this point, is the trial for Anon-a-Miss. Principal Celestia might be called to testify, and she needs to actually be here for that.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Alright, I'll keep this between us, but I don’t like it, Twilight. Principal Celestia has a right to know where her daughter is.”

“I agree, but we can tell Principal Celestia about her daughter after the trial.”

“Alright. Let's go see if the others showed up.”

Spike and Twilight headed downstairs to find all five girls standing in front of the school, each one looked a bit confused and hurt to be back at school.

“Girls,” Twilight said, getting everyone's attention, “it's time for you to meet Princess Celestia and for you all to ask any questions of her that you might have about Sunset.” Turning her attention to Fluttershy, who looked the most upset of all five girls, Twilight added, “Fluttershy, did you adopt Lucky as Sunset wanted?”

“Y-Yes, I did. He'll be coming home with me in about seven weeks. H-He needs to get a few shots and to be checked out by the vet, and I need the time to get my home ready for him an Angel Bunny to live together.”

Twilight nodded and, without further ado, led everyone inside to a large table in the library and had each of the girls sit down. Princess Celestia sat at the head of the table, Principal Celestia stood next to a nearby computer, while Adagio and Aria stayed aloof, staring out the third-story window. When everyone was settled, Princess Celestia began softly, “So, shall we begin?”

Next Chapter: A Story of the Past (Edited and Titled by Icecreammac) Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 21 Minutes