Faux Pas
They departed King’s Camp with the morning following the battle and resumed their journey down the old road that the Kingdom of Vale had made in ancient times.
Nobody said anything to Sunset about what she had done to end the battle. Nobody said anything to her about her impressive display of magical prowess that had defeated the grimm in mere moments. Nobody – least of all Ruby – said anything to her about exactly how she had done that or the fact that she had almost gone crazy doing it.
Nobody said anything to her about any of it. It was as if they were all too polite to mention it, like when you have committed some embarrassing faux pas and the rest of the genteel gathering is too polite to actually bring the subject up, but nevertheless, you feel the weight of social disapproval pressing down hard upon you, as every glance conveys the disbelieving cry of ‘she used the wrong spoon for the soup! The wrong spoon!’ that everypony involved is just too polite, too courteous, too considerate to say out loud.
Or rather, they want you to know that you’ve humiliated yourself without being thought so vulgar as to laugh at you.
Sunset felt much the same way as the column of Rangers and clansfolk followed the road in their great, winding column. Nobody mentioned what she had done, but she had could tell by the glances that she received, by the way that Sunsprite Rose seemed to spend more time watching Sunset than she did keeping watch for grimm or enemies, by the way that Ruby’s silver eyes kept flickering to Sunset and then looking away as though she feared to be caught peeping, that it was on their minds. They didn’t trust her. They feared her.
Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. If they feared her, they might give her a boat in order to be rid of her faster. They could hope, anyway.
On the other hand, when have I ever been that lucky?
She could have tolerated it from the Rangers, from stuck-up Sunsprite, from the Frost Mountain Clan. It was harder to take from Ruby. She had done this for Ruby; she had put on the rings when Ruby was in danger to protect her. And for that choice, Ruby now regarded her with suspicion. It wasn’t fair.
What a childish, stupid thing to say. When has my life ever been fair?
Not very often, but does that mean that I’m not allowed to be upset about it?
“She’ll come around,” Cinder reassured her as they walked together behind one of the wagons carrying some of the sick and infirm of the Frost Mountain Clan. None of the invalids said anything, although some of them moaned a little as the wagon juddered and rattled down the road, and they seemed mostly concerned with their own ailments, which left Sunset and Cinder free to talk without being overheard or interrupted. “Ruby, I mean,” Cinder continued. “She’s… surprised, by what happened.”
“She’s surprised by the fact that I saved her life?” Sunset asked.
“Mulishness doesn’t become you,” Cinder murmured in tones of quiet reproach.
“Does anything become me any more?” Sunset replied.
“Not self-pity, either,” Cinder declared.
Sunset glanced at her. Cinder’s expression was devoid of expression, her smouldering eyes inscrutable.
Sunset snorted. “Sorry,” she muttered. “I just… I’m losing her.”
“Ruby?”
“Who else?” Sunset demanded. “Don’t answer that; there might be someone else I haven’t thought of.”
“Cardin hasn’t been by recently.”
“Don’t,” Sunset groaned. “Please… just don’t.”
“You worry too much,” Cinder insisted.
“How can I be worrying too much when I can see what’s going on right in front of my face?” Sunset demanded. “I knew that our relationship hasn’t been the same since she found out what I did, but… since her cousin showed up-”
“Exactly,” Cinder said. “She just found out that she has a cousin, that she has family… you may not like it when Sunsprite talks of them being blood and kindred, but the fact remains that she speaks the truth, and that truth… is attractive. At least at first. Ruby is excited about that now, but… I believe she will always have a place for you.”
“You make her sound like a child with a new toy,” Sunset said. “What does that make me?”
“A favourite raggedy old doll?” Cinder suggested with an undercurrent of amusement in her voice. Her tone became a little more serious. “She loves you and will remember it before the end.”
“Are you so sure?” Sunset asked. “I am not. Not anymore. There was a time when I would have agreed with you, but… but at that time, I wouldn’t have felt so threatened by a newcomer in Ruby’s life. The truth is…”
Cinder waited for a moment, and then for more. She waited for several more seconds before she prodded, “Go on.”
“No,” Sunset said. “You’ve heard all this before; you don’t need to listen to this. Let’s… let’s talk about you. How are things?”
“Since the last time we talked?” Cinder asked. She grinned. “The night before last?”
“Or whenever you like,” Sunset said. “Please… let’s just talk about something that isn’t me or my problems or my self-pity or any of it. Please. Let me feel like a good friend for a moment, even if I’m not one.”
“You are a good friend,” Cinder insisted.
“I’m an attention hog, and I’m still doing it.”
Cinder opened her mouth. Sunset held up one hand to forestall her.
“If this isn’t about you, I don’t want to hear it,” she instructed Cinder.
Cinder’s mouth hung open, catching flies for a little while before she shut it again. “There is not much more to say,” she admitted. “You’ve heard it all already.”
“Then go and find something else to tell me,” Sunset instructed her. “Go… make a dress for the formal dance to celebrate our arrival in Freeport.”
Cinder’s eyebrows rose. “What makes you think there will be a formal dance to celebrate our arrival in Freeport?”
“I don’t,” Sunset admitted, “but everyone says that the Sun Queen is building a kingdom, and what is a kingdom without music and dancing and galas?” She paused. “And even if there isn’t, you’ll still have a nice dress to wear. Maybe for when we get to Mistral.”
Cinder chuckled. “Yes, Mistral. I’m sure Pyrrha will be thrilled to have me as her guest at the palace.”
“It wouldn’t be your first time at the palace.”
“Don’t remind me,” Cinder groaned.
“Of all the things that you could regret, that should be at the very bottom of the list,” Sunset said. “After all, if you hadn’t gone to that party, then we never would have met.”
A smile crossed Cinder’s face, “True,” she acknowledged, “and a truth that I hadn’t considered in those terms.”
Sunset’s smile was gentle, and a little sad. “Go. Make yourself a fancy dress. Or make yourself a set of hard-wearing work duds or… do whatever you like. And then tell me how much fun you had doing it.”
“And leave you all alone? To stew? To lament in private?”
“I’m going to be stewing or lamenting or whatever else anyway, so you might as well get as far away as you can before I start doing it,” Sunset suggested. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re sure-”
“I am sure,” Sunset declared, and she was impressed despite herself with how she was able to seem so much more certain than she felt.
Cinder hesitated, but Sunset could tell that she didn’t really want to hang around, humouring Sunset’s whining out of a sense of obligation, any more than Sunset wanted to keep Cinder chained to her group or to her presence. “If you’re sure,” she murmured and turned away, leaving for… Sunset wasn’t entirely sure where she was going or what she was going to do there. Perhaps she was going to learn how to play the yovidaphone, but personally, Sunset hoped that she came back with a pretty dress.
She was… a little curious as to what Cinder’s sense of high fashion looked like, now that she was free of Salem’s influence.
As if Salem’s influence could have affected her dress sense.
Mind you, she did wear black both times I saw her in a formal gown.
The absurdity of the thought made her chuckle and cheered her for a little while as she followed the wagon of the infirm down the road towards Freeport.
The only person to join her, and that briefly, was Cardin, who loomed over her, looking downwards at her as she trudged along.
“I thought Cinder would be here,” Cardin muttered awkwardly.
“Well, she isn’t,” Sunset snapped. She sighed. “Sorry, I… was there something you wanted from me, or did you just want to talk to Cinder?”
Cardin’s blue eyes narrowed. “Are you okay?”
“I…” Sunset straightened her back – and her tail. “I’m fine, thank you for asking.”
“Are you? Are you really?”
Sunset glanced at Cardin, suppressing her irritation at the fact that he was calling her a liar. “I’m fine,” she repeated.
“Because you’re the leader of this group,” Cardin informed her. “Maybe not technically, but in every way that actually matters.”
“You’re not about to call me the heart of our little gang, are you?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Cardin muttered. “Our little gang doesn’t have a heart.”
“Regrettably, you’re right,” Sunset replied. “Or at least far closer to the truth than I would like.”
“The point is,” Cardin continued, “that if we can’t have you at your best, then we need you to be at least close to good.”
“And you have,” Sunset insisted. “When the battle starts, I know what I’m doing, I proved that on the hilltop.”
“What happened on the hilltop?” Cardin demanded. “Or on the slope, rather? I didn’t see, and what people are saying... what happened, and why does it seem to be affecting you and Ruby?”
Sunset glanced at Cardin out of the side of her eyes. He had improved a great deal since they had first met, and overcome all of his annoying habits, but that didn’t change the fact that she just wasn’t as close to him as she was to either Cinder or Ruby. She wasn’t comfortable telling him about magic or Equestria in the way that she was with the two of them.
“It is nothing for you to be concerned with,” Sunset told him.
Cardin glared. “That sounds more like a brush-off than reassurance.”
“Well… it isn’t,” Sunset lied, even if only in part. “Whatever is going on with Ruby is between me and Ruby, and whatever happened down at the base of the hill… we won the battle, the day was saved; that’s all that matters.”
“The fact that you don’t do it more often matters a bit,” Cardin replied. “Do you enjoy watching us flail around?”
“No,” Sunset insisted, slightly wearily. “But… what I did in the battle… it takes a toll on me. That, if you must know, is why Ruby is… a little out of her humour with me at that moment.” That on top of everything else. “And that is why I don’t just take out the grimm with a snap of my fingers every time we come across them.”
Cardin was silent for a moment. “Sorry,” he muttered, “I just… it would be great if it was always that easy, wouldn’t it?”
“If it was always that easy, I’d always do it,” Sunset replied. “I would have made every other huntsman in Vale redundant by just wandering up and down killing grimm with the merest thought. And all fame and glory would have accrued to me in the process.”
“And I’d have been even more jealous of you than I was already,” Cardin added, “but right now… I’m glad you’re on our side.”
Sunset’s lips twitched. “It’s nice to be appreciated,” she murmured. She raised her voice, “I really do mean it, you know. I may look a little… whatever, but when the fighting starts, you can always count on me.”
Cardin hesitated, and then nodded. “I know,” he said, and Sunset mostly believed he was sincere. It was good enough for her, especially compared to the kind of reception she was getting in other quarters.
Sunset ran one hand through her hair of crimson and gold. “Enough about me, anyway. How are things with you?”
Cardin paused briefly. “Do you think I’d look good in a horned helmet?”
Sunset blinked. It took her more than a moment to wrap her mind around what a complete non sequitur that was. “Excuse me?”
“You know, like the clan warriors wear,” Cardin explained.
Sunset looked around. A great many of the warriors of the Frost Mountain Clan were indeed wearing helmets with great horns emerging from out of the sides. She had thought that they were their own horns – so many of them being yak faunus, after all – but since she knew that some of the clan were human, she guessed that some of the horns on these helmets were fake. “You… you think that’s a good look for anyone?”
“I think it looks pretty cool.”
“I think it looks pretty ridiculous,” Sunset replied. “I mean… you have the build for it, I suppose – you’re as big as some of these people – but at the same time… it’s a helmet with horns sticking out on either side; why would you want to bother?”
Cardin shrugged. “I’ve sometimes thought that it was a little dumb to wear armour that protects everything except my head.”
“You’re far from alone in that,” Sunset reminded him, thinking of Jaune and Pyrrha who did exactly the same thing.
“Doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t do something about it.”
“Then get a normal helmet; why do you want one with horns?”
“Because I like the way they look.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t, but… you do you, I suppose. I’m not sure it would go with your Valish uniform, though.”
Cardin looked down at the green jacket he was wearing over his armour. “No, you’re probably right. Eh, it was probably a stupid idea anyway.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Sunset assured him. “We’ve had a lot of those, recently.”
The only other person who seemed to want to talk to Sunset, as the column wound its way down the remains of the old Valish road, was one of the people that Sunset least wanted to talk to her: Sami, who caught up with Sunset as the sun began to descend towards the horizon. The column had not yet stopped to make camp for the night, although it could only be a matter of time before they did so, and the sick and ailing in the wagon in front of Sunset had all dozed off, succumbing to their weariness in spite of the discomfort of the journey and the fact that the wagon kept on rattling along. As the shadows lengthened, Sami jogged up the column until she was walking alongside Sunset, her eyes gleaming in the dying light.
“What?” Sunset demanded.
Sami grinned. “No need to take that tone, boss. After all, we’re all on the same team, right?”
Sunset glared at Sami, even as she was aware that the other girl had a point. They were all supposed to be on the same team, and as much as she might not trust Sami, she didn’t have the right to treat her like an enemy.
She inhaled deeply and let out a sigh. “Is there something I can help you with, Sami?”
“Actually, I was wondering if there was something I could help you with,” Sami replied. “A new best friend, maybe?”
Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
“I couldn’t help but notice how all alone you are,” Sami said, gesturing around them both. “No Cinder, no Ruby-”
“What do you want, Sami?” Sunset demanded.
Sami was quiet for a moment. “When I got let out of my cell, I didn’t know what to make of you,” she said. “I still don’t know what to make of you.”
Sunset’s ears twitched. “What is it about me that baffles and mystifies you?”
“How about we start with the way you walk so small?” Sami suggested. “I don’t get it. You’ve got power. Real power. I’ve seen it. We’ve all seen it, and I mean that literally after the light show a couple of nights ago. You’ve got power like no one else I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s just a semblance,” Sunset muttered.
“Oh, bull!” Sami snapped. “I’ve been over the mountain a few times, and I haven’t forgotten what Emerald told me before she died. You don’t have to like me, but don’t talk to me like an idiot.”
Sunset looked at her. “Should I talk to you like somebody I don’t trust?” she asked.
Sami’s grin widened. “I don’t know what the Sun Queen has done to my people – maybe she’s made them really nice and friendly, and they frolic in the meadows picking flowers and singing songs all day – but I doubt it. But the Fall Forest Clan I know, the one that I remember, the one that I killed to get away from, they would have killed to get their hands on power like yours. My father would have taken the knife to his whole family to get his hands on one tenth of the power at your command. We spent years, generations, talking about the Old Blood and worshipping long-gone gods and hoping to get back the ability to make a few pretty lights appear in the palm of our hands. If my father had been able to do what you can do, it wouldn’t have been the Sun Queen sitting pretty in Freeport; it would have been the chief of the Fall Forest Clan ruling the roost. Hell, he might even have crossed the mountains one last time and tried to take over Vale.”
“If he had, he would have discovered that he was severely overestimating the extent of my power,” Sunset replied.
“Maybe,” Sami conceded. “But the fact remains that you’ve got strength. You’ve got real power. So what are you doing here? You don’t even have a collar around your neck any more, so why don’t you run? Why don’t you get out and carve yourself a place in the world that’s all your own where nobody can touch you?”
“Because there are more important things than power,” Sunset informed her.
“Like what?”
“Friendship, loyalty-”
Sami snorted. “If those things are so important, then where are your friends? Where’s their loyalty to you?”
“Shut up.”
“Cinder, Ruby, where are they?”
“I told you-”
“They’re scared of you, because real power frightens those who-”
“I told you to shut your mouth!” Sunset snapped, and her hand glowed with green light as she telekinetically grabbed Sami by the neck and hoisted her up into the air. A haze of green light like a choker wrapped around Sami’s throat, a choker that could tighten if Sunset willed it so.
Sunset glared up at her, teeth bared, ears flattened against the top of her head. “Not. Another. Word,” she growled. “Not about Cinder or Ruby!”
Sami’s eyes were wide with fear, but the smile on her face remained. “Sure thing,” she agreed. She chuckled. “You know, I think I am starting to understand you a little better after all.”
It’s funny. When Sami arrived, I wanted someone to talk to, and by the time she was done, I wanted nothing more than to be left alone.
I have to say that I don’t find this particularly funny, in any sense.
No, you’re quite right; it isn’t funny at all.
In the first place, I don’t see how you can stand being around someone like that. A murderer, someone who has killed many people.
Sunset sighed. No, there’s nothing like that in Equestria, I admit. When I first came to Remnant, it wasn’t the grimm that horrified me the most; it was what humans and faunus were capable of doing to one another.
I’m not trying to blame you, but it saddens me a little that you’ve become inured to it.
I haven’t become inured to it. You’re right, Sami is an awful person, and I trust her far less than I could pick her up and throw her. I would explain to you exactly how it is that I stand being around her, but the truth is that I don’t, not really. Or at least I didn’t in this case.
No, I don’t suppose picking someone up by the neck using your telekinesis doesn’t really count as tolerating someone’s presence.
Is this where you tell me that just because someone is obnoxious and possibly evil that it’s still wrong to treat them like that?
No, this is where I tell you that you should have taken Cinder up on her offer and given her those rings.
The rings had nothing to do with the way that I treated Sami. I wasn’t wearing them at the time.
That’s even more concerning, because it means that the effects of the rings upon your personality are starting to linger beyond your use of the rings themselves. I told you when you talked me into helping you with this that dark magic takes its toll upon whoever wields it. Once you start making use of powers like that, then they start to make use of you in turn. Think about what you did to Sami.
Sami had it coming.
Leaving that aside, the Sunset I’ve come to know wouldn’t have behaved like that.
Sunset winced. Perhaps I just don’t reveal all the worst parts of myself to you.
I think you overestimate the extent to which you’re capable of curating your image for me and Princess Celestia. The fact remains that you are more angry than you were before you started using those rings.
If only it was that simple.
There was a pause before Twilight began to write at the other end of the magical link. What do you mean?
I mean that I don’t think that this anger is being created out of nothing; rather, it’s simply being brought to the surface. The anger that I felt towards Vale when I fought on the mountain, the anger that I felt towards Ruby, that’s inside of me. That doesn’t go away when I take the rings off.
But it would lessen if you didn’t use them.
If I don’t use them, people die. I may hate Ruby because of the influence of this magic, but at least she’s alive!
Do you? Hate Ruby, I mean?
No. At least I hope not.
How do you feel about her?
I don’t know.
Try and put it into words.
Why do you care?
Because I care about you. And so does Celestia.
That, I can just about understand, but what about you? Why do you care about me? We’ve never met outside of this book. So what does it matter to you that I’m slipping into the grip of dark magic, that I barely know who I am any more, that the person I did all this for can’t stand me and thinking about that makes me so Sunset stopped, before she gave too much away. What does any of that matter to you?
Helping those who have lost their way is what the Princess of Friendship does.
Sunset snorted. So I am just a project for you after all.
I admit, that’s how it started. And from time to time, I must admit, I go back to thinking that you might be in need of that kind of assistance. I’m sorry about the distance between you and Ruby.
I have no one to blame but myself.
I’m sure that doesn’t make it any easier for you to bear.
No, it doesn’t, but I don’t want commiseration. What I wouldn’t mind is if the Princess of Friendship has any good advice on how I can make things right between us.
Unfortunately, I’m just not certain. I’d like to say that a true friend will always forgive you – I’m fortunate enough to say that that’s always been my experience – but at the same time, Ruby doesn’t seem to have forgiven you yet, and I admit that I’ve never trespassed against my friends in so grave a fashion or had them trespass against me that way.
Thank you for reminding me that what I did was unforgivable.
That wasn’t my intent, but I’m sorry. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that I hope Cinder’s right, that Ruby will remember that she cares about you. And in the meantime, it might be for the best if you don’t show how jealous you are of her cousin. As far as she’s concerned, this is a good thing going on in her life, and she’s likely to react badly if you try and take that away from her.
So I have to put up with Sunsprite’s condescension?
I put up with Discord. I’m sure you can manage.
I resent that enormously. I thought we were friends?
You ruined my day with Cadance by making us go on a life-threatening quest to get you some medicine! And then it turned out you were just faking it the entire time!
Why are you telling me this? Although it does sound like a fascinating story.
Which is why I’m copying Twilight’s words into the book for you, Sunset.
Discord! Go away! Okay, he’s gone now. My magic is holding the pen once more. The point is, there are some things – and some people – you just have to suffer through for the sake of your friends.
I know, I know. I just wish Ruby’s cousin could be a little easier to get along with. Speaking of the denizens of Freeport, have you had any luck in identifying the whereabouts of the portal between Equestria and Remnant yet?
I think – and I hasten to add that this is only a theory – that I know the rough location of the portal; there have been a couple of reports of unusual phenomena in the southeast, not far from a dragon colony.
It would be the southeast, wouldn’t it? A dragon colony? I’m pretty sure it’s a pony who fell through the crack between worlds, not a dragon.
I said 'near a dragon colony,' not 'in a dragon colony.' There are ponies who live that far south, albeit fewer and further between than farther north. Which is why these phenomena have gone unnoticed until now. I’m about to head down there with Spike and Starlight Glimmer, and I’ve asked the Dragon Lord Ember to meet us in case she’s noticed anything unusual in her territory.
You know the dragon lord?
Spike recently helped her take power.
Another fascinating story. You don’t tell me anything about yourself.
I love my life, but you sometimes make it seem very boring by comparison with your own.
Your assistant just helped the new dragon lord assume power!
And you just found out that your doppelgänger is the queen of a fledgling kingdom. How do you feel about that, by the way?
Let’s just say that I wish I liked myself enough to trust the other me and leave it at that. Actually, let’s not leave it at that, and let’s say that I’m hoping that, after my display, she’ll want to get rid of me badly enough that she’ll just surrender a boat and let me get on it. But seriously, I would love to hear some stories of your adventures. Or just your life. You don’t talk about yourself often enough.
Okay, if you don’t mind. But before that, there’s something else that I need to discuss with you.
Sure.
I’m not going to teach you that time travel spell.
Sunset stared down at the page. She blinked. She… Twilight couldn’t mean what the words said, could she? What do you mean, you’re not going to teach me the spell?
I’m sorry, but I just don’t think it’s a good idea.
Why not? Twilight, I don’t think you understand how much I need this!
Like you needed dark magic?
Yes! Lives are at stake here!
At what cost? Look at how much damage you’re doing to yourself with dark magic; think what you could do with time travel.
Oh, so this is really about the fact that you don’t trust me?
I didn’t say that.
You didn’t have to.
I told you that I needed to think about it, and I have thought about it
And decided that you don’t trust me. How am I supposed to tell Ruby that I can’t bring her sister back? Twilight, I need this. If I can’t do this for her, I’m going to lose her, for good maybe. Answer me that: how am I supposed to tell her?
I don’t know. I can’t imagine how difficult it will be for her to hear this, but it doesn’t change my decision that this power is better off unused.
So it’s okay for you to use it, but not me? Nice to know what you really think.
I was only trying to repair the damage caused by
Thanks a lot, Twilight.
Sunset slammed the book shut and tossed it aside. It didn’t bounce, thankfully; it just hit the ground with a heavy thump and lay there beside her.
Sunset folded her arms as a scowl settled upon her face.
“Sunset?”
Sunset looked up in surprise. Yona stood in front of her, the little yak girl holding something cradled in her hands as she looked at Sunset with wariness in her olive-green eyes.
A little way behind her, Sunset could see Prince Rutherford looming nearby, watching the way that Sunset dealt with his niece.
Sunset unfolded her arms and tried to muster a smile. “Good evening, Yona.”
“Sunset Shimmer okay?” Yona asked nervously.
Sunset tried to make her smile look a little more genuine, or at least a little more inviting. “Sure, Yona, I’m fine. Is there something I can do for you?”
“Yona made this for Sunset,” Yona said, holding out the object in her hands. It turned out to be a pair of little wooden carvings: a horse – or perhaps to call it a pony might have been more appropriate – carved out of some light wood like silver birch, and a yak carved out of dark ebony. “Yona wanted to say thank Sunset for saving Frost Mountain Clan.”
Sunset stared down at the little wooden carvings. They were exquisitely well-made for such simple things. “You… made these yourself?”
Yona shifted uncomfortably. “Uncle Prince Rutherford helped.”
Sunset chuckled. “I’ll bet he did, but thank you anyway, both of you.” She reached out gingerly to pluck them out of Yona’s hands. Before she could lay hands upon them, Sunset stopped, “You’re not afraid of me? Of what I did?”
Yona frowned. “Why Yona be afraid of Sunset? Sunset fight for Frost Mountain Clan. Sunset keep Frost Mountain Clan safe from grimm.”
Sunset blinked. She felt… she felt tears springing to her eyes. “Thank you, Yona,” she said, taking the wooden carvings. “This, this means a lot.”
Yona stared at Sunset for a moment, then dived on top of her, tackling Sunset flat onto her back on the ground – Sunset squawked in startled alarm – with Yona’s weight pressing down upon her chest… and Yona’s arms wrapped around her neck.
Yona’s hair felt like soft lambs’ wool against Sunset’s cheek.
“Thank Sunset, Sunset Shimmer,” Yona said.
Sunset closed her eyes, and gingerly put her arms around Yona in turn. “Yona welcome.”
Okay, I am really REALLY glad Twilight didn't give Sunset the time travel spell. The amount of damage that could cause... oi. We don't need time travel shenanigans added on top of everything else.
At least there was something nice at the end of this chapter! Though I hope Sunset cheers up a bit soon. But I fear that circumstances won't let that happen.
I kind of get how Sunset feels about making amends with Ruby, but Twilight made the right call with not teaching her time magic. Like that type of magic is DEFINITELY not something Sunset should know, especially how the dark magic is affecting her now, I know she's upset with Twilight but she needs to understand how she shouldn't be taking something like time so easily. Any changes, and I mean ANY CHANGES can affect different courses of future, albeit good or bad.
When Sunset Shimmer ascended to divine alicornhood, Princess Celestia reminded her that everypony who has ascended has made mistakes. It comes with the territory. What makes them worthy of ascension is how much it shapes them, how they learn from it. She told Sunset to never forget how far she has come. I can't help but remember the golden days when Sunset was leader of Team SAPR. No matter what, she always knew what to do where the others did not. Even during her earliest days at Beacon, she did everything for the team and for her friends.
At the very beginning, when Ruby was uncomfortable in the locker room, Sunset took the matter straight to the Headmaster and got them more privacy. When Jaune felt completely out of his league and started falling behind whilst working himself to the bone, all Pyrrha and Ruby knew what to do was smile and offer motivational support (not realizing that only made him feel worse). But Sunset stepped forward, took his comic books away, made him sit down and take his classes seriously, and personally tutored him until his grades were back up (and did the same for Ruby's grades). When Jaune was bullied by Cardin, Sunset went directly to Weiss to make him stop, and did her best to encourage Jaune to stand up for himself and be his own man rather than a doormat. When Jaune got in trouble over his fake transcripts, Sunset stepped in and made the charges disappear, allowing him to stay at Beacon with his friends and with Pyrrha. When Blake doubted her place at Beacon Academy, it was Sunset who convinced her to stay and find a better path as a huntress. When Ruby discovered she had magical eyes, Sunset revealed the secret of her own magic and went out of her way to help Ruby learn to use her silver eyes. When Blake needed to find the White Fang, Sunset went with her past curfew and cornered Torchwick himself for information. When Blake was arrested, Sunset reached out to Ozpin and Rainbow Dash to get her out of prison. When Jaune accidentally killed a White Fang member in battle, neither Ruby nor Pyrrha knew how to help him so Sunset brought him to Blake and Ozpin who both had experience and regrets to help him get through what he did. When Adam Taurus returned, Sunset took him far away and ultimately killed him so that her friends wouldn't have to. And of course, when the train was barreling down the tunnel, she took a calculated risk and destroyed the controls to get everyone out safely. Later on, when Blake was racked with doubt, Sunset showed her the world of Equestria and renewed her faith and resolve in fighting for a better future. When Jaune lost Crochea Mors, Sunset helped make him an enchanted sword. And when Pyrrha was asked to become the next Fall Maiden, Sunset refused to lose her. She gave Ozpin a much-needed friend in Princess Celestia, something he hasn't know for many lifetimes. Then, Sunset did what the finest doctors and technology in Remnant could not accomplish and managed to reawaken Amber, saving both her life and Pyrrha's. And then the day came where she confessed and pled guilty to sabotaging the train, in the hopes of averting a war and saving Penny's reputation. When Pyrrha intended to break Sunset out, she refused and promised she would do so herself if it meant Pyrrha would not be hunted as a criminal. And when the Grimm invaded, Sunset did everything in her power to be allowed to defend Vale and her friends. She single-handedly saved Pyrrha, Jaune, Penny, Rainbow, Weiss, and thousands of Mistral conscripts. Then she immediately went to save Blake from being taken away by the White Fang. And finally, the infamous Cinder Fall? Even when the entire world wrote her off and everyone was determined to condemn her, Sunset never gave up on her just like she never gave up on Blake, and helped her escape Salem at last. She reached into the abyss and pulled her out. She helped Cinder Fall find a new path.
Little wonder that Sunset finally ascended to divine alicornhood. Time and time again, Sunset Shimmer moved heaven and earth to help her friends, to help nearly every major character in this story. No matter what, Sunset always looked out for you. And this is what brings me to my ultimate point. It's true that Sunset was in an impossible situation with the train and had to make an impossible decision like any leader must. And she will have to live with that choice for the rest of her life. But what upsets me more than anything is how her friends treated her afterward. Time and time again, Sunset has always gone out of her way to help her friends. But as I recap all that she has done for them, I made the sad realization that Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha never once returned the favor. Not once has any of them gone to the same great lengths or bent over backward to help Sunset out in some way. And then the one time where she needed their help and understanding more than ever, they turned their backs on her. They were so quick to abandon her to the wolves, so quick to forget everything else she had done for them. Despite the scale of what Sunset had done, they didn't even try. No compromises were offered, no gestures were made to reach out to help a friend who has made a mistake. I've seen many times where a friend makes a mistake that could get them thrown in prison, and while it causes a major divide between their friends, those same friends still do what they can to help out. That's what true friendship means to me, putting the needs of your friends above your own interests. Even Ozpin went out of his way to try to help Sunset walk away from this mess, he nearly sacrificed his own reputation to do it. And yet, the rest of SAPR didn't even lift a finger. By the time they even considered the prospect of doing anything to help, it was far too late to help. All of Remnant had heard of what Sunset did, and her life was forever destroyed.
Sunset may have to live with the consequences, but she's not the only one who has to make amends.
Love isn't something to be selectively discarded in favor of what you perceive as your duty, but rather what your duty is built upon! The love of others is what drives you to do everything in your power for them, to save those you love! That's what makes you become a true huntress: a protector of others. And if there's someone that you especially cherish, that's not a weakness or a liability but a purpose! An example of how hard you fight for what matters so much to you! After all, the best of us is stored in our friends and family. But it is also a measure of stability, where we prove our loyalty. To survive in such dangerous times, we hold close to us those people on whom we depend. We trust in them our hopes and our fears. Friendship is more than mere acquaintanceship. It's about belief, faith, trust, and most of all it's about love. About those who embrace you... the real you. Unconditionally. That's why we know it's magic. The Magic of Friendship.
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While I agree that Sunset has always gone the extra mile, the issue with the train goes much deeper because it is a breach of trust.
Sunset putting more value in the life of her friends than the life of the people in the city is not really a problem, they have always been aware that Sunset isn't in the huntress business for altruism, the problem is that she took the choice if their lives were worth the city from them and then kept that fact hidden. It is a serious breach of trust that can easily break most relationships, and the fact that it was done for their benefit doesn't dismiss its severity at all (if it was then you would be giving a blank check to all the abusive parents that do so many things "for their children good").
They also have never actually dealt with that issue. Sunset kept it hidden for a long time and when it finaly came out she willingly threw itself as a scapegoat, there is still a lot of hurt between them and between the situation going from bad to worse and Sunset feelings of inadequacy they have barely talked about it. You can't just ignore issues like that and keep acting as if everything was ok, it doesn't work and the more time they keep dragging the conversation the harder it will be to mend their relationship.
And in the rest of the team defense, there really haven't been many situations where they have been in a position to help Sunset as much as she has been able to help them, and Pyrrha was more than willing to break Sunset out of prison, damn the consequences, until Sunset put her foot down and told her to not do it, and that if things got that bad then Sunset herself could leave in a much more easier and effective way that what Pyrrha could possibly do.
10508014
You're not wrong, and in fact I should thank you for having pointed this out to me before because it's actually going to play into the eventual reveal of what Sunset's cutie mark is later in the story.
As far as the ingratitude of her friends goes... I'd noticed that for Ruby, which is intentional, less so for Jaune and Pyrrha but, yeah, now that you bring that up... yeah. At this point I should probably say 'ah, well, now that I'm rewriting I can fix that!' but even in the rewrite I'm not sure how it can be fixed. Or if it needs to be fixed.
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Glad I could help!
Even in Equestria, when it comes to such matters of constant and bountiful acts of Generosity and Loyalty, Rarity and Rainbow Dash would still have words to say when the sentiment is received but seldom returned.
10508844
The rest of the team doesn't really have many ways to return the favor Sunset does for them, in the pulling miracles department she outclasses them quite nicely, but they can at least show emotional support and look out for her when she is down, like after she learns about Cinder true allegiance and is left as an absolute emotional mess.
Considering how you are expanding their friendship pre-reveal, the fallout should be even stronger this time and the rest of the team have no excuse to not do their damn best to help Sunset get back on her feet.
EDIT: I forgot, the emotional support that I am talking about is something that you have already shown, with Jaune talking with Flash and convincing him to clear the air with Sunset. Having more events like this, where the team help Sunset deal with her many, many, emotional issues would help a lot in making it feel that their relationship is not one-sided.
I have been thinking about it more after reading this chapter, plus the last one, and have come up with an interesting theory. Sunset’s element isn’t redemption (although that is part of it) it’s faith. Sunset is at her best when she believes in herself, but more importantly in others, and her worst moments come when she doubts. The train occurred because she didn’t trust her team to survive long enough to find a way out, cinder was saved because not only did sunset not waver in her faith that cinder deserved to be redeemed, but didn’t stop until cinder believed she could as well. Her relationship with Blake was built on faith in her turning over a new leaf (especially in the recent rewrites) but the rings and their darkness come from her doubts that she and her team aren’t good enough to face these new threats. Ruby always believes in the ideal good and always has faith things will turn out fine if the team just powers through. Naive, yes, but it explains the current rift between sunsets doubts and her partners faith. I could be completely wrong here, but it is interesting how this stacks up
I've gotta ask since I'm mulling over starting this story over from scratch, how drastic is the rewrite? Is it just an alteration of the same plot points (the same things will ultimately happen you're just changing how we get there) or is the story actually receiving major changes (the fates of characters will be straight up different from the original version).
I kind of stopped reading when the rewrite started so now I'm wondering if I'm better off just starting over and strictly following the rewrite rather than continuing from where I left off.
10519741
Well, there was Cadance and Ironwood meeting with Kali during the Vytal Festival to help Menagerie become an official kingdom and setting up ways to break the SDC's Dust monopoly. I've often wondered what was the catalyst(s) so it looks like this rewritten chapter hinted the first of the catalyst that began Cadance's and Ironwood's plans.
Perhaps not you or the Mane 6, Princess. But you did forgive Discord after he betrayed your friendship and all of Equestria to Tirek, and for far more self-serving reasons than Sunset could ever claim.
10571930
True, but Equestria has a well rooted "everything is fine if it ends fine" mentality and Discord betrayal didn't have permanent consequences even close to what sunset did. Also, outside of Fluttershy none of the girls are exactly close to Discord, there is a lot of tolerance to the issue that you can't get rid of in his particular case.
Didn't Sunset help Cinder a person that tried to murder The Spring Maiden and planned to destroy the kingdom? Or that she killed her step-family? Or Blake who was high ranking leader in terrorist organisation?
Sami and Cinder might have more in common.
You've saved the World few times, time traveled and the circle of creatures you know is increasing. Yeah, your life is quite interesting Twi.
Someone with a bit of kindness at last.