Celestia looked down at the little filly who just now had mercilessly and horribly killed a full squad of her royal guards.

She had teleported herself therewith all the soldiers she could as soon as she noticed the solar magic suddenly appearing in the town. She couldn’t imagine what kind of being could’ve gained such ability.

Now she knew who it was.

And she lamented not having noticed it sooner.

“Princess...” the filly said in her borderline unconscious state. “…I’m… …Sorry.”

She finally collapsed, but Celestia caught her before she hit the ground.

She lifted her up to take a closer look, inspecting her recently gained cutie mark, feeling the nature of it.

As expected, it was solar magic.

There had been only three other unicorns that gained control of that type of magic since Celestia became an alicorn, but all of them discovered it at a much older age.

That a filly so young had managed to awaken it, and with such strength…

…It terrified her.

“Princess!” one of his captains shouted behind her as he approached. “We saw the fire gathering here. Was it your doing?”

The old stallion looked around, noticing the patches of heavily burnt earth on the ground, and the corpse of a civilian filled with crossbow bolts close to them.

The experienced mind of the veteran quickly pieced together what probably had happened.
“Did any of Trickshot’s soldiers survive?”

Celestia shook her head slightly, still observing the filly held aloft in her aura.

The captain sighed. It had been a long time since the royal guard had experienced so many loses in one day. “What are your orders?”

Celestia’s words were firm and without doubts. “Quarantine the town. Nopony goes in or out without my explicit consent.”

“And the townsfolk?”

“Put them under house arrest. I will prepare a spell to deal with this later. I will also send some workers to repair the town.”

“What do we say if somepony comes to investigate?”

“Tell them that a dangerous plague has spread in the town and that it and its inhabitants are under quarantine until we can find a cure.”

The captain nodded. “Very well.”

He then looked at the foal the princess was inspecting. “What are you going to do with her?”

“Go give your orders captain,” was Celestia’s response. “And make sure the soldiers are sworn to secrecy.”

Without further ado, she teleported back to the castle.

The captain did as she ordered, and quickly organized a perimeter around the town and a blockade in the sky.

Some soldiers weren’t happy about rounding up the survivors and putting them in improvised prison camps, so he made sure they remained separated from the prisoners in case one of them tired to aid the civilians to escape.

But before all that, he went to his lieutenant and gave him a secret order.

“Look for Proboscis. If she’s still alive, tell her to give you all the information she has gathered until now…”

“…the queen needs to hear about this.”

Celestia set Sunshine down on a bed in one of the castle’s guestrooms, letting her sleep comfortably while she sat on the floor.

Now that she was alone, she put her hooves on her temples and let all her anguish loose.

“Why did this have to happen? Why to one so young? She didn’t show any signs of conflict with her magic, Philomena would’ve sensed it if she did.”

Celestia took one more look at the filly sleeping on the bed.

She saw her rolling over on the sheets, clearly still shaken by the events, but too exhausted to awaken.

“What can I do? She is too dangerous to be left alone, and considering what she did to the guards, it’s clear she could attack them again if they even appear threatening.”

Celestia thought back to the stallion her soldiers had shot, and remembered who he was.

“Her father… we killed her father.”

Once more she looked at the filly, and saw her horn starting to glow with a red aura.

Even asleep, she was trying to cast something. Either to defend herself or hurt somepony.

Probably both.

“What will she do when she wakes up?” Celestia wondered as she cast a spell on the filly, calming her dreams so she could sleep peacefully.

Sunshine relaxed, and her horn stopped glowing as she went into a deeper slumber.

“I wanted to teach her once she was older, but now… with such a traumatic first experience, she will be too dangerous, too unpredictable to be trained safely.”

Celestia wracked her brain, trying to find a solution.

“The only place where it would be safe for her magic to go out of control would be the ocean. But even the most basic training would be too much for such a young filly to handle.”

Celestia thought back to Sunshine’s last words before passing out.

“’I’m sorry’ she said… Sorry for the guards, or for the town?” She sighed. “It doesn’t matter, once she realizes that we are to blame for her father’s murder, she won’t listen to any of us.”

“And that’s the best result we could have.”

“She will obviously carry a heavy guilt due to her actions. And ponies much older than her have lost their minds or lives under such a burden.”

“And I don’t want to imagine how the media will react to this. They will spin it in every way possible and hunt down the one responsible in search for information so they can forge the most profitable truth.”

Celestia let her gaze wander back to the sleeping filly.

“If what happened tonight doesn’t destroy her, the media and the public’s opinion will put the final nails in that coffin.”

Suddenly, the filly started moving again, more wildly than before, clearly haunted by a horrible nightmare.

Celestia tried to calm her down again, but failed.

“Lulu was much better at this.”

Celestia felt a pang in her heart at the memory of her sister.

Almost a thousand years had passed, and the event still haunted her.

She cried every night she had to raise the moon and see the image of her sister embossed on it.

Celestia looked out the window, at the full moon in the sky.

She sometimes wondered how high she could fly.

If she could fly high enough to cross the sky.

High enough to leave the planet’s gravity.

And reach the moon.

Just to see her sister again.

The same questions, the same hopes had become her mantra over the years.

“Is she okay?
Can she breathe properly?
Is she cold?
Is she starving?
Is Nightmare torturing her?
Will she have completely lost her sanity when she finally comes back?
Or maybe… maybe she managed to defeat her.
Maybe she purged herself of that thing and she will come back with a smile of victory.”

“Why are you crying?” a worried little voice asked, pulling the princess’s attention back from her sorrows.

Sunshine had woken up, but she was lying in the same position she was in before.

“Is it because of… what I…”

The filly started sobbing, and Celestia quickly went over to hug her. “It is not. You’re safe now. Soon everything will be better.”

The words did little good for the filly.

“I want to see mom. I want to see Craby,” Sunshine said as she cried, and Celestia could do nothing but hold her as she wept in her embrace.

The princess closed her eyes, and disconnected herself from the situation. Turning off her feelings so she could think with pure logic.

“Her father’s murder. Her home destroyed. Her family ruined. Her new magic. Her guilt.”

“I need to remove them from the equation.”

“I can hide the event from the public. I can keep her beside me in case she loses control. I can seal her powers. But… to have a chance at a brighter future… she needs to forget.”

Celestia’s emotions broke through her meditation, and she looked at the filly.

“But… I would need to erase… all of it.”

“Her family, her town, her very self.”

“Erasing days, weeks, or even months is one thing. But to erase years? Erase everything she knows? What will be left? Will she even be the same pony?”

Celestia pulled back so she and the filly could be face to face.

“Sunshine. Listen to me, okay? I know you’re hurt and scared, but I can help you. You can stay here in the castle with me. Be my… pupil. Just like I was with Star Swirl the Bearded. You know who that is?”

Sunshine wiped her tears an shook her head.

“He was a special unicorn, just like you are. And just like him, you will be able to do amazing things. But you need to stay with me and learn to-”

“No!” The filly suddenly screamed. “I don’t want to stay here! I want to go home! I want to see mom and Craby! I don’t want to move the sun anymore! I don’t want magic! I-”

Sunshine stopped when the princess put her horn against hers, making a connection between them.

“I’m sorry Sunshine.”

The alicorn’s magic flooded the filly’s mind and soul, taking a firm hold on both so she could access them without restriction.

After projecting herself inside her mind, Celestia saw Sunshine’s mindscape, a vast expanse filled with papers full of little childish drawings, showing all her memories and knowledge.

It was all illuminated by a bright red sun up in the sky, representing her untapped potential.

But she would never get to discover it.

Celestia lit her horn, and a large golden gate appeared with its doors open and all the drawings in the mindscape started to float towards it.

Slowly but steadily, the cage was filled with everything that Sunshine knew. When the mindscape was finally empty, the gates closed, and two large locks sealed it shut.

And like that, the filly lost everything that made her Sunshine.

Except for one thing.

Celestia looked at Sunshine’s mind-projection, the key to accessing the inner workings of her soul.

The princess’s golden magic took hold of the red-colored ethereal being. Once it was in her grasp, she started to change it. In blunt terms, infecting it, corrupting the very soul of the filly.

Sunshine’s mind-projection’s red glow started to leave her body, being replaced by the golden aura of the princess, until she was completely transformed.

Celestia looked at the red piece of Sunshine’s soul, which contained the last part of what made the filly who she was.

Sunshine’s blessing.

Her solar magic.

Celestia didn’t know how much harm wiping Sunshine’s memories from her mind would do to the filly. But this…

This was crossing a line that she would never recover from.

She let the ball of light fall to the nonexistent floor, and when it fell deep enough, she created a powerful barrier that would keep it locked forever.

It would never hurt anypony again.

The deed done, Celestia pulled herself out of the filly’s mind and soul, and looked at her with pained eyes.

The filly stood completely still; her eyes lost in the vast nothingness of her empty mind.

The princess worried that she had unintentionally killed her, in the most literal sense, not just by erasing her identity. But suddenly, something happened.

The filly started to glow with a golden aura, which started to change colors seemingly at random, until it finally settled on a cyan color, a similar shade to her eyes.

But that wasn’t the only alteration.

Half of her crimson red hair started to change into golden, just like the magic that had infected her.

And to cement the filly’s transformation, her cutie mark also changed half of its colors to golden, symbolizing her now forever fractured soul.

Once it was over, the filly blinked a few times, and started to cry.

Just like a newborn would.

Celestia hugged the filly, pressing her against her chest in comforting manner.

“Shhh it’s okay. You’re safe now. I will care for you. You will be…”

“…my little Sunset.”

Celestia walked up to the podium to address the huge crowd that had gathered for her announcement.

“My little ponies. I know you’re still worried about the incident that occurred twelve days ago.”

She glanced at the reporters standing in the crowd’s frontline, hungry for whatever details she would dish out, so they could get back to their bosses and get paid.

“The plague discovered in the town has been successfully eradicated. And it’s population is currently slowly recovering what is left of their lives.”

Her mind flashed back three days, when she had systematically taken every single one of those ponies and changed their memories one by one.

“Sadly, many have lost their lives in the process, along with some of my own guard. To keep the plaque from spreading, the bodies had to be incinerated for everypony’s safety.”

It was true that, all of the casualties from that night had been turned into ash. She had been forced to interrogate all of the survivors in order to identify them and make proper funeral arrangements.

It was the least she could do for them.

Of course, there were two she knew all too well who they were.

And now, one was buried under the town, and the other was sleeping in her chambers.

“Sunset needs an education. The best education I can give to a pony,” She told herself as she finished her well-practiced speech, but when she finally left the podium, a terrifying thought crept into her mind.

“What if there are others like her? What if a filly is born with lunar magic instead of solar? There are many kinds of magic that could be catastrophic if Sunset’s events repeated themselves on another foal.”

Then, and idea popped into her head.

“A school for gifted unicorns?” Chancellor Neighsay questioned a he leaned back in his chair.

“Yes. I feel the time of great mages should return to Equestria once more. And for that to happen, we need to instruct the young ones,” Celestia explained with a calm smile.

“And I guess that little orphan you adopted is your first choice?”

“Her name is Sunset,” the princess responded less calmly, betraying her true feelings.

She knew that the stubborn stallion would be difficult to convince.

“Are you against it?”

Neighsay crossed his hooves as he contemplated her idea. “You lived in this ‘era of great mages’ that you talk about. What brought it to an end?”

“My sister,” Celestia responded honestly, her tone as calm and collected as a cornered manticore.

The chancellor could tell that this wasn’t something she would normally admit so openly, and asking more questions was probably going to get him banished or worse.

“If you want to do this, then the gifted part needs to be emphasized. Not just any unicorn can be accepted, they must pass an entrance exam that puts their gifts on display.”

“Very well, but I will design them,” the princess stated firmly.

“May I remind you why I have this position?” Neighsay asked frustrated.

Celestia gave a long sigh and calmed herself. “I’m not doubting your knowledge Neil, but I want to judge every student personally. Just like I did with Sunset.”

Neighsay rubbed his forehead with a hoof. “And what makes her special exactly?”

He looked at her straight in the eyes. “Give me one reason why somepony like her would be one step above the students in any other school.”

“That’s what the test will be designed for.” Celestia responded simply. “If they pass, they prove to be special.”

“And what are you going to say to the ones who fail? What explanation are we going to give to the parents who believed their sons and daughters would be gifted enough to be in this special school? Will you take responsibility for every foal that attends the school with the hope of being taken under your wing like you did with Sunset?”

Celestia leaned closer to him, showing no sign of backing down. “If you allow me to make the tests, I will deal with the consequences myself.”

Neighsay was clearly unhappy, or at least looked more unhappy than he always did, but finally conceded.

“Very well, you can have your school. But it will strictly follow the EEA guidebook.”

“Of course.”

Celestia stood up and walked to the door, hiding a smile of victory.

Celestia sat down in her study, taking a small break from her work.

The school was finally finished and would officially open the following week, nopony had come asking questions about the plague or the disposal of the bodies, and she had made sure that all the soldiers involved in the event would never speak of what really happened.

She could finally go back to her normal life.

With one new inclusion.

Sunset opened the door to her study and poked her head in. “Can I come in?”

“Of course Sunset,” the princess responded, forcing herself to smile.

Being with the little filly had proven to be much harder for her than she had imagined.

She was a walking, smiling reminder of one of her biggest mistakes. Of all she had taken away from Sunset and everypony that the filly knew.

She had destroyed an entire family.
Seen the completely distraught face of her mother as she removed her memories of Sunshine from her mind, and told her that her husband had died from a plague that never existed.

All to hide her responsibility of being the one that caused his death.

And she had stolen her daughter from her.

“I wanted to show you some drawings I made!” Sunset exclaimed showing three different papers being held aloft in her aura.

Celestia looked at the first, which was a drawing of herself with her cheeks full of cake.

It managed to pull a chuckle out of her, which made the filly smile, but the next one filled the princess with sadness.

It was a drawing of the filly lifting the sun, with the words “Princess Sunset” written on the bottom.

She remembered Sunshine’s last words: “I don’t want to stay here! I want to go home! I want to see mom and Craby! I don’t want to move the sun anymore! I don’t want magic!”

She held back tears, reminding herself that what she did was for the good of the little filly.

That even if it was wrong, it was the best option.

She managed to smile despite wanting to cry, and continued on to the next drawing.

Which finally broke her.

Sunset had drawn herself and Celestia hugging each other with a smile, and on top of the filly’s head was a speech bubble that said…

“I love you mom.”

Tears ran down Celestia’s face, and she started to sob, putting her hooves on her face.

“I’m not your mother. I took your mother away. Your father. I took everything from you. I don’t deserve your love.”

“I’m a horrible, horrible creature.”

“Why are you crying? You don’t like it?” The filly asked, her own tears threatening to spill out.

Celestia used all her willpower to force herself to smile and speak with a calm voice.

“No Sunset. I think it’s beautiful. I… I don’t deserve such a beautiful gift.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

The filly ran up to her and have her a big hug, which did the exact opposite of consoling her. “Don’t say that. You’re the best mom ever.”

“Stop… Please…” Celestia begged, feeling her heart break apart.

She pulled herself away from the filly and stood up. “I need to go check on something. Keep drawing such beautiful things.”

The filly smiled. “Okay, I lov-”

Celestia teleported away before she could hear those words.

She was alone in her chambers, so she let herself go.

She cried, threw her crown against the wall, and probably broke something.

“Why? Why? Why did this have to happen? Why couldn’t I have prevented it?!” she screamed in her mind.

She spent a full hour there. Lamenting her mistakes. Until she had no more tears to shed.

Celestia stood up, and looked at herself in the mirror.

She was a mess.

Bloodshot eyes, face full of tears, and a messy mane that wasn’t even magically flowing anymore.

She didn’t look like a princess.

Nor did she feel like one.

“How long will I be able to keep this up? How long will it take for me to lose myself and leave Sunset with even less of a family?”

Then, an idea appeared in her head.

It wouldn’t make her feel less guilty or erase her mistakes. But at least… it would lighten the burden.

Celestia closed her eyes, lit her horn, and delved into her own mind.

She looked around for all the memories of Sunshine, the incident, and her family.

She kept just enough to never forget about what she did.

And burned the rest.

Now that her mistakes didn’t have a face. She hoped she could face them and do better for Sunset.

But… unknown to her at the time…

…She had made everything worse.

While Celestia created the golden barrier in Sunshine’s mind, the red fragment of the filly’s soul continued its descent.

It fell, and fell, until it reached a vast darkness that seemed to have no end.

And as the red light was lost itself in that darkness… it started to change.

The light morphed and contorted, returning to its original form of a little filly made of pure red.

And once it was fully formed… she opened her eyes.

“Princess?” she asked as she looked around, seeing only a terrifying darkness. “Where am I? what’s happening?”

She moved her legs to stop her descent, and looked around in search of something or somepony.

“Hello?!” she screamed to the void…

…but nothing answered back.

Alone and terrified, the filly wanted to cry.

but no tears came to her eyes.

Author's Notes:

Next chapter: Chapter 36: Dawn.