When Aurora arrived at the Canterlot Castle throne room to see Princess Celestia, she found Sunset Shimmer was also there.
It seemed she had been there for a while, and it looked like she and The Grand Princess were almost done talking.
"Aurora, come in."
"Oh..."
Aurora walked in with her head slightly bowed in embarrassment.
There was no way she could hide what happened between her and Sunset Shimmer from Princess Celestia.
Aurora didn't want to make excuses anyway, so she decided to just admit her mistake.
"Princess, I'm very sorry about what happened today. I shouldn't have..."
"I already know about this. Sunset Shimmer has already confessed to me what happened today."
There was neither sorrow nor joy on Celestia's face, and Aurora couldn't gauge from The Grand Princess's expression whether the current situation was in her favor.
After all, it was Sunset Shimmer who reported this.
Given how much hostility she had toward her, Aurora couldn't be sure if her senior sister would use her linguistic charm to pin the blame on her.
"It's better if Sunset Shimmer tells you herself."
However, The Grand Princess didn't say anything else; she simply turned her gaze toward Sunset Shimmer, who was waiting to the side.
When called, Sunset Shimmer shivered all over.
She looked very reluctant, but under the pressure of The Grand Princess, she gritted her teeth and slowly walked up to Aurora.
Looking at her gloomy expression, anyone who didn't know better would think she was heading to the execution ground.
Unable to understand what kind of development this was, Aurora could only watch as Sunset Shimmer stood still in front of her.
Her lips trembled a few times before she finally spoke with hesitation:
"I... I apologize to you."
"?"
"When I provoked you today and made you agree to my duel, I actually wanted to make you embarrass yourself in front of those... friends of yours, and ruin your reputation."
"?"
"Because I didn't think I would lose to you. In fact, I didn't lose, but I didn't win either; in fact, I should say you won."
"I have to admit, after this time, I no longer have that absolute certainty of victory over you."
"?"
"In short, I shouldn't have mocked you or made things difficult for you. I apologize for my previous arrogance, and I hope you can forgive me."
"?"
What a sudden redemption arc!
Aurora couldn't imagine what had happened in the short time she was away to make Sunset Shimmer's attitude change as if she had been hit by a rainbow beam from the M6.
Did The Grand Princess use mind-control magic on her senior sister?
She looked up at Celestia and discovered that The Grand Princess could no longer maintain that serious expression and was struggling to hold back her laughter.
It couldn't be helped; seeing her arrogant eldest student acting so humble, and her usually unflappable younger student looking so dumbfounded—one can imagine how delighted Celestia, as their teacher, must be feeling.
But as a princess and a teacher, she still had to try to maintain the demeanor of an elder at this moment.
Celestia revealed a dignified and elegant smile, gently nudging the still-stunned Aurora, signaling with her eyes for her to say something and not leave Sunset Shimmer waiting for a reaction.
"...Do you really think so?"
Aurora asked uncertainly.
Sunset Shimmer nodded seriously, her arrogant little face now showing a bit of shyness and grievance.
"I know my attitude toward you hasn't been good... uh, alright, perhaps I should say it was very bad. But I can change. I want to start over with you, can I?"
Sunset Shimmer, with a hint of tentativeness and ingratiation, extended her hoof toward Aurora.
However, Aurora swatted Sunset Shimmer's hoof away.
Immediately afterward, taking her by surprise, she stepped forward and hugged her neck.
"Actually, I've never blamed you, because you are my senior sister. I've just been looking for the right way to get along with you."
She couldn't help it; this senior sister was just too cute.
Aurora wasn't sure what Sunset Shimmer was thinking in private, and she might not get another chance like this, so she decided to seize the opportunity to hug her senior sister and enjoy it while she could.
Feeling the scent of her senior sister so close by, and thinking about how she had actually believed her senior sister was sabotaging her, Aurora felt that she was truly awful.
It was a miracle that someone like her could even make friends.
Celestia looked at the two hugging ponies, her heart warmed by the touching scene; this was the reward she deserved for nurturing her students.
She wondered if she should declare this day a national holiday? But would that be too exaggerated?
Never mind, she would just make a note of it. At the very least, this day was absolutely a very special one for them.
"By the way, senior sister?"
After leaving Princess Celestia's presence, Aurora was ruminating on the experience when a thought suddenly struck her, so she called out to Sunset Shimmer, who was walking ahead.
"Aurora, you can just call me Sunset Shimmer, or Sunset is fine, don't call me that anymore."
Aurora nodded and said.
"Okay, senior sister."
"...Fine, whatever you like."
Sunset Shimmer shrugged.
She had originally thought the title'senior sister' was just something Aurora used to mock her pettiness, just as she called her 'junior sister' for similar reasons.
But now it seemed she just liked calling her that.
"Senior sister, why did you think I won at that time?"
"Because you hit me. If you hadn't cast a protection spell on me during class, I would have been hit."
Sunset Shimmer explained.
But Aurora hadn't expected that to be the reason.
"You mean the spell took effect? But how is that possible? Logically speaking, after so much time, even if the magic had succeeded, it should have worn off by now."
"Don't be modest in front of me, or do you just want to hear me praise how powerful your magic is?"
"I am seriously thinking about this question."
Seeing that Aurora was not joking with her, Sunset Shimmer calmed down and began to think along the lines of Aurora's question.
If the effect of the protection spell had nothing to do with the strength of Aurora's magic, then the only variable that hadn't been considered was that, right?
"Uh, you don't mean to say this is because of... um... the Magic of Friendship, do you?"
Sunset Shimmer said with difficulty.
She hadn't expected the word 'friendship' to come out of her own mouth.
Although she had changed her opinion of Aurora because of what had happened recently and was willing to change herself for it, that only applied to Aurora; it didn't mean she believed that friendship had power.
"Actually, I don't think so either."
Aurora shook her head.
She said this not because she didn't believe in the Magic of Friendship—on the contrary, she believed in it very much.
In fact, that thing had an unshakable T0-tier status in the my little pony world and was an important national defense force for the future of Equestria.
There was no villain that couldn't be reformed by a blast of the Magic of Friendship; if there was, then you just used the Magic of Friendship to turn that guy into stone.
Aurora just didn't think her magic could be associated with the Magic of Friendship; after all, her friendship did not come from the heart.
To put it bluntly, the reason she called the classmates she met in class her friends was actually just a courtesy.
As for the main The foals, Aurora knew very well why she was getting close to them.
Was it because of friendship? No! She coveted their magic and their bodies; she was shameless! (Not really)
In short, there was currently not enough data to prove that this was caused by the Magic of Friendship.
Perhaps the activation of the protection spell was an accident caused by other uncontrolled variables?
"Alright, anyway, we will eventually figure out what's going on. We can study magic together."
Although the reason for what happened seemed a bit different from what they thought, the result was still good.
Sunset Shimmer had never thought about what it would be like to study magic with another pony as smart as herself.
"I think you're right, we have plenty of time."
Aurora also put her worries behind her and hurried to catch up with Sunset Shimmer in front.
After all, Sunset Shimmer had studied with Princess Celestia for a longer time, so she must know a lot of magic that couldn't be learned outside.
Just thinking about it, Aurora felt incredibly excited.