@Background Pony #960F  
The fact that the Equestria Girls series even thought to include a moment between Celestia and Sunset made me very happy. By that point, I’d grown to like Sunset a lot, and to see her reconcile with her mentor was a very nice touch on the writers’ part.
 
Seeing Celestia embrace her former student, even after what she did, and after she worked her way to make amends as well… it was just very nice.
 
I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I just felt that, this one in particular, was actually earned on Sunset’s part. She’s grown and she’s changed.
 
Like I said, it just made me really happy.

I love this. Celestia is a really tragic character when you think about it.
 
She didn’t notice Luna spiraling into despair until it was too late and she had to be banished to the moon.
 
Then we have Sunset, Celestia’s personal student. It seems very likely that Sunset was being prepared for the role Twilight eventually got as Celestia’s heir. Unfortunately, Celestia failed to properly rein in Sunset’s ambition, causing a rift to form between them that resulted in Sunset fleeing through the mirror.
 
Celestia isnt tragic because she makes mistakes. She is tragic because her worst mistakes result in her losing those few that she is actually close to.
 
She has a very high status in society and even tho she’s tried to close the gap between herself and the other ponies, the fact remains she is still viewed by them as a god.
 
Luna, being her sister and having a similiar status, was someone Celestia could interact with normally. Then she lost her.
 
There’s about 1000 years unaccounted for, but eventually we know she takes Sunset Shimmer as her personal student.
 
Sunset doesn’t have the deference toward Celestia that we see in Twilight, so it seems likely that Celestia could be herself with her as well. Then she lost her.
 
Celestia is isolated by her position, and those few she manages to actually form a close relationship with,  
fall into a darkness Celestia fails to save them from.  
Celestia failed to save both her little sister and a pony who was basically her daughter.
 
She must’ve been terrified non-stop that something was going to happen to Twilight.
 
Celestia reuniting with Luna and Sunset are two of my favorite moments in the series.

@Scrounge  
Beautiful indeed.

@genervt  
And it was beautiful.

And then it finally happened.

Sunset: How could you forgive me so easily? How are you not furious?  
Celestia: I was never mad at you. I was sad, because I thought you’d lost your way.  
Sunset: I did lose my way.  
Celestia: But you’ve found it again.

I think this image is what takes place a few moments after this…
 
>>795731

That feeling when you fail someone so hard that you don’t know if you can face them ever again.
 
It’s not that you doubt that they’ll forgive you… you’re just afraid of looking into their eyes, the eyes that believed in you before you actually failed them. You know that they’re a kind soul and that they’re proud of you for realizing what you’ve done and that you’re working to make amends.
 
But still… that failure. How must they have felt when you turned your back on them in favor of a darker path? How much did that hurt them? How much did you hurt them?
 
You don’t want to know. Knowing would destroy you.

@Storyhunter  
Just saying you were a little late on that one.

@Scrounge  
u don’t say^^

@Storyhunter  
Sunset’s second chance was back during Rainbow Rocks, though she wasn’t a pony at the time.

Oh lord i’d cry like a baby if this happened. The tears would flooooooow

Everypony deserves a secound chance.

@Scrounge  

 
Very good point.

@Background Pony #FA24
 
@YetAnotherBrony
 
Funny you should mention that. I’ve just started on a fic about just that. I actually had it planned a while ago, but other projects got in the way.
 
Since it was before Season 4 and Rainbow Rocks she has to wait for the next time the portal opens. She wants to make amends for Celestia and decide whether she wants to stay in Equestria or the human world.
 
Of course, things never go that easy, and she winds up getting corrupted by dark magic and used to try to get rid of Twilight and Celestia.

@Scrounge  
The whole Celestia/Sunset reconciliation should be something that is dealt with in the movie (or at least a tie-in comic. IDW, we’re giving you an easy one.)
 
According to the 2014 holiday special, she had parents, but ‘wasn’t close’ to them. Perhaps she’s closer to her human guardians than her biological parents.

@CronoM  
Celestia does sound regretful when she speaks of Sunset, but the mare seems to be doing some serious repressing in general, like Equestria would collapse into anarchy if they knew that underneath it all, she was a pony just like them.
 
I think Celestia does blame herself for Sunset Shimmer, for failing her as a teacher and leading her astray. I don’t think Sunset is the only one apologizing here.
 
 
@PonyPon  
Other than Celestia, what’s waiting for her back in Equestria?
 
Other than possible criminal charges, I mean. (And she’d have a hard time checking. She could ask Twilight but then Twilight would have to somehow discretely find out.)

@Background Pony #FA24  
What makes you think Sunset has forgiven herself yet?
 
What Sunset is going through is extremely similar to when Zuko was worried about meeting with his uncle Iroh after he joined Aang’s group. Just because he set himself onto the right path didn’t mean he had forgiven himself for betraying his uncle earlier.
 
And unlike Iroh, Celestia also parted with Sunset on extremely hostile terms, and Celestia hasn’t opened up her heart much at all since the series began. Celestia doesn’t have nearly as much down-to-earth wisdom as Iroh does, and Sunset’s reformation partially came from rejecting Celestia’s old expectations for her. Celestia should have just as much regret as Sunset does, but we haven’t the foggiest, and neither does Sunset. Celestia gave her communication diary-set away to Twilight.

Come on and happen in the show already…

@PonyPon  
“Crimes” that Celestia had long forgiven. “Crimes” that Celestia had never foisted upon her.

@YetAnotherBrony  
Oh, Sunset.

@Background Pony #FA24
 
@PonyPon
 
She feels that, after all she did, she doesn’t deserve to go back to Equestria to make amends.
 
Sunset probably could go back whenever she wants, but her own self-loathing prevents her from doing so.

Look out, Sunny! She’s going to banish you and then throw you in a dungeon in the place that she banishes you to!

@Background Pony #FA24  
Putting it off because life on the other side is just so darned important.