When Brass Badge met Golden Lace, they both knew it would change their lives. She was a young and beautiful socialite, and he was a distinguished general. They got along immediately, and more importantly, they were a good match socially. From that first meeting, it didn't take long at all until they were wed.
But no sooner were they married then they learned the truth – that there is more to marriage than what they had thought. Especially when an unplanned foal is involved.
A story set in the Who We Become series.
Although the story fits in as part of the series and will spoil other stories, no prior knowledge about the series is required to understand this story.
Thanks to TallFry, NaiadSagaIotaOar, and Sapphire who helped me with the description in the A/B Testing group.
Proofread by Krixwell, Eddie Grammar, and Sapphire
Cover art by Pasu-Chan
Yay!! New story
10432724
Yup! And one I'm very proud of too
Promising start. I really like your writing form, it makes every sentence engaging and encourages the reader to follow every paragraph without jumping ahead. Looking forward to the next chapter.
10432843
Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm looking forward to bringing more to you
...Alright, I take back what I said in the preview blog post about them seemingly caring for one another. No wonder Sunset threw such a wrench into things. If they already don't get along this much and just go through the motions out of duty....still, divorce probably doesn't look good, and that's my current guess as to why it took so long for it to happen. This is just....petty on both sides.
10432907
In his own way, Brass Badge does care about his wife at this point, he's just very bad at expressing that. But yeah, this is not the story of a happy marriage lol
As much as I dislike these two, I can't fault them for everything that is happening between them. It's clear that neither of them were remotely prepared to start a relationship, but the society around them is putting pressure on them from all angles to make certain decisions and to keep up appearances. I'm not sure that Brass Badge has ever really been able to make decisions for himself or had the opportunity to really introspect. He has been taught to perform his duty and nothing more. Golden Lace is more headstrong but I'm also sure she was heavily influenced by those around her to find a well off husband and settle down right out the gate. Society put these two in places of privilege but also molded them into being exactly who they wanted them to be, and didn't leave much room for anything else.
I wonder if Celestia realizes how many of the ponies she is greeting are lying to her when they say they are doing well?
10432949
Especially excited to see you clue in on the whole Brass Badge not having been in a position to make decisions for himself, as it's something I myself only learned while writing this story and capitalized on in his appearance in the story to come after it. And yeah, these two will not be redeemed by the end of this story, but we'll see a few surprises with them and why things happened the way they did.
Gosh I love that you're able to read these two so well, this is exactly how I imagine each of them
Wow a prequel set before sunset this has my attention can't wait to read more, it seems the marriage between brass badge and golden lace seems a bit rocky but still be does seem to lover her enough to at least try to help her with their business plus it's just what we need to get over the last story.
10433177
This story will act as both a prequel and a sequel. The first four chapters take place before EqG 1 (and so before Looking Glass), the fifth chapter takes place during Finding Home and In Pieces from Sunset's parents' POV, and the sixth chapter takes place after The Open Road. Glad you're interested, I'm really happy with this one
10433976
This story will last for six chapters, with a new one posted every Sunday
It's like Brass Badge is desperately trying to get the high score in life, but he has no actual clue how to play.
I think that's the reason I'm actually wanting to see him to succeed in this is he reminds me of a very early Twilight.
And his constant mistakes also reminds me of Mr Bean. If Mr Bean was a military strategist, and made long term mistakes in social situations instead of physical comedy mistakes.
Anyway I look forward to seeing things from Golden Lace's POV. Right now she seems the better pony of the two, but I assume they are roughly as bad as each other.
10442988
They're definitely bad in different ways, so I imagine people will have different opinions over who is worse (or just find them equal). And yeah, I think that's a fair assessment of Brass Badge.
Won't have to wait too long for Golden Lace's perspective, will be posting a chapter from her POV today
Ooooh dear.
There are a limited number of ways this can go and all are bad.
Just some of them have much more long-term consequences for Sunset than others.
This is the exact sentence where I realized where the rest of the chapter was going, which I announced with a pronounced "Shit."
Oh dear. I had a feeling this would happen.
10443435
Yeah, things aren't exactly going to turn out well for the young lovers, and Sunset is destined to get caught up in it all somehow
10443464
lol at least it wasn't a drunken hookup, they were completely sober by the time they made that decision
10443485
Oh? And here I thought that this chapter would prove to be a surprise to everyone haha
Wow that was a great chapter interesting to see how much our choices reflect on the world and I actually saw this coming a mile away the moment she meet sunspot and stated comparing him and brass badge,guess we know who Sunset's father is don't we, wonder if sunset will ever find out. Eager to read more
10443878
Glad you liked the chapter, and we'll see how things play out for these three next week. As far as Sunset learning about all this, she might someday
...well, Sunset being illegitimate would help explain why her parents never seemed to care about her. Didn't really see that coming. Was I expecting infidelity, not necessarily, but am I actually surprised by it, no. Well at least this is where the surname "Shimmer" came from, I suppose.
10444099
There's still a few surprises coming, but that was pretty much the big one. We'll see how things with Sunspot play out next week though
Ah, so now we know Golden Lace's faults, she is an impulsive, lying, cheat (or at least was).
While the impulsiveness can be entertaining and the cheating I kind of assumed would happen at some point but not like this. I am most disappointed in the lying for some reason.
Could be because Sunspot seems fun, kind, caring down to earth and above all has a laughing gimmick so I quickly warmed to him. (Sunspot>Sunburst)
That line is so Sunsety. Now we know where she gets her angry logic at life inconveniences.
10450663
And gosh yeah I really love Sunspot, he's too good for her smdh
There are more faults to come from both of them, I assure you
lol I've always had fun putting aspects of Sunset into both of her parents.
This is the first Who We Become story I'm reading, and it's really good so far. You've done well defining the characters and showing how they could lead to, well, Sunset. I'll say too that this chapter went in a predictable direction once the bar was mentioned, but that's in the sense that the characters are fleshed out enough that one could tell what they're feeling and how they would act.
10453090
I don't exactly mind predictability these days. Or to be more specific, I'd rather readers be able to see the infidelity coming and it make sense for the character than for readers to be sideswiped and it not make sense when held under scrutiny. In the past I did the opposite, prioritized plot twists over proper buildup to big moments, and I find that in retrospect those are weak parts of my writing. Sure, it caught readers unaware, but then after the initial "Omg what?" wears off and the reader has time to think of it, it turns into a "Wait, why did that character do that anyway?".
Anyway, glad to have you aboard! I hope you continue to enjoy the story
10453298
Yeah, I meant it was only predictable in the sense that characters are defined enough that you could anticipate what they'd do.
And so the two of them become even less happy. Somehow. Neither of them have cared about each other for a very long time. They just...follow what's expected of them. Sunset Shimmer. Honestly small wonder she ended up how she did with parents like these. Maybe if Lace was able to be with Sunspot but...
Uh, noticed a small formatting error that doesn't really come across well when I copy/paste it.
The bolded portion is in a smaller font than the rest of the paragraph and chapter.
10454318
I'm very curious what Sunset's life would've been like if she had been born Sunrise Shimmer as intended and was raised by Lace and Sunspot. I really have no idea personally, but it's a very interesting thing to consider.
...that's a weird formatting error... I have no idea why in the hell that would happen, but thanks for pointing it out!
Gaia… why do I have a feeling that Badge and Lace are going to completely screw poor Sunset up. I can foresee lots of heartbreak in Sunset's future.
10454351
Sunset being screwed up by her parents was a given, this is just the why of it all.
Well, it wasn't exactly a well adjusted child that ran through the portal to the EqG world
10454353
True. Still hurts to see why Sunny had so many issues brought into sharp relief.
Oof, this one was heavy. Saw it coming in the last chapter, but her absolute detachment in the last scene... oof. Great work.
10454654
Yup, this is the why of Golden Lace, the reason she was a terrible mom and threw herself into her company instead of caring about her child. We actually haven't seen the why of Brass Badge fully yet, that'll be the next chapter, so stay tuned for that
Wow that was...wow it seems sunset was cursed from the get go her name as a way of reminding lace her life is over?, that's cold plus the fact she doesn't even want to look at or have a bond with her is just sad no wonder sunset turned out the way she did her parents hate her and her father had some kind of Unicorn superiority complex that probably rubbed off on her a little,p. but as much as I hate the fact he ignores her at least he's had enough honor to say,and raise her as his, plus I kinda figured he knew it wouldn't be his since he said in the first chapter that he didn't want kids. that being said those two are gonna be terrible parents no wonder they are getting a divorce anyways eager to read more and see how crappy sunset's home life is
10454825
There actually is still more to this story, specifically to Brass Badge's side of things. This chapter explains Lace's feelings towards her daughter, but there's more to come from Brass...
I was surprised to see that Golden broke up with Sunspot without having her affair found out, and that she was upfront about Sunset not being Brass's daughter. This was a rough chapter in a good way. Not looking forward to Sunset's childhood if this is how Golden views her as a baby.
If I have one complaint, it's that while the Sunset name choice was fine dramatically, I think it would have worked better to not spell out its significance to the reader.
(Copied from Offprint)
10456482
Yeah, you're probably right about Sunset's name. But aside from that one relatively minor thing, I'm glad you liked the chapter. I do hope the fic won't disappoint you from here on though; it will focus almost exclusively on Sunset's parents, so we won't see a ton of Sunset's childhood (which is explored a little more in another fic in this universe, which features a few detailed flashbacks to her childhood). There will be some in the next chapter, but not enough for someone who came here for Sunset herself, I'm afraid.
i could literally feel the emotions coming through your words. extremely well done sir
10465447
lol well I'm not a sir but thank you! Been waiting for this chapter to drop
10465466
my apologies Ma'am
10465485
No worries!
I honestly feel a little bad for Brass here. He did care. He just didn't know how to do it the right way. That doesn't change that he messed up, but unlike Lace, it wasn't malicious. It's not much, but it is something.
10465529
Yeah, I was waiting for this chapter for people to see that. Everyone took it as a given that he's a dick because Sunset's not his kid biologically, but he's a dick just because he doesn't know how to act lol. I don't think Lace is malicious as much as apathetic, but when it comes to child neglect, it doesn't matter much in any event
...so this is how Brass Badge considers caring for a child that isn't even his? Product of his upbringing, I suppose, that he didn't remotely see anything wrong with this. That he turned out fine is one thing, but that doesn't mean this style of parenting works for everyone. Or works, considering he's pretty emotionally stunted. Still, at least he made somewhat of an effort. That...doesn't really get him much, I guess, but Golden Lace's complete apathy isn't better either. Again, I still wonder that it took them so long to divorce. They were unhappy from the beginning, and Sunset didn't help matters. Brass Badge took care of her out of duty, not love, just like how he financially supports his wife.
Well that was an interesting chapter I could feel the tension the whole time it's nice to know brass was at least attempting to care for sunset(and now we know where her drive to be the best comes from)he just couldn't show it very well,and it would've be nice if he did it out of love instead of duty. and while it's true golden wasn't mother of the year ( and honestly I was irritated when she just let celestia take her) by not caring about sunset but at least she willing to accept some of the blame brass just wasn't willing to accept he failed. Really eager to read the rest
10465586
Adopting out Sunset would have been preferable, but I imagine it could have been a scandal and that was something they wouldn't have gone through with, being obsessed with their image.
This is everything what I was trying to capture with this story, you just really hit the nail on the head in all aspects
10465588
Did Brass Badge really turn out okay though? He turned out successful, sure, but like you said he's not emotionally mature and I don't think he's particularly happy, either. That said, I do think Brass Badge actually cares about Sunset, even loves her. Not that it justifies his actions, it's not enough for him to care, and he's still a shit parent who never should have had a child, but he did care.
10465643
There's a lot that could be said about who was worse between them, but yeah I think Brass had better intentions than Lace did. Not that intentions count when the actions are fucking up a child, but still. And I think he really cared for her, not just out of duty, but he genuinely cared. Again, that only matters so much here...
Hmph. That's all I have to say. I wasn't going to comment on this story until it was finished, but, well, HMPH.
By the way, Krickis, I had a dream about one of your stories last night. I was at my PC, a new chapter had just dropped, and I was about to read it. I clicked on the chapter when my eyes happened to flick across a "1m" near the chapter title. When I went back to look, I discovered that the chapter had one million words in it. As much as I love your stories I certainly hope none of the chapters ever get THAT long!
10465979
Lol that's a fair reaction. And omg I'm super thrilled to have invaded your dreams, and I promise to never write a chapter that long hahaha
What's that that nice and cocky line that Sunset says from time to time?
"Turns out I'm as great at that as I am at everything else I do."
Well now I won't be able to read that without being reminded of the terrible parents of hers.
Yeah, he genuinely thought he was raising her right. Spending money on her education instead of spending quality time nurturing her. Not reading any parenting books because he found his upbringing beneficial to his work and wanted the same his daughter. Never seeing past what he wanted to see, just him 'helping' her.
It's an interesting reversal of other WWB stories where family is the people you choose, care for and who support you. He chose to try and care for and support her but that didn't get reciprocated because he's terrible, and her mother is committed to her mistakes (in a rather Sunset Shimmer way actually).
When the spy servant was revealed I thought Celestia was going to figure out that Brass Badge wasn't the biological father. Although of course that matters little compared to the way Sunset was treated, I just thought it would be interesting to see if Celestia would tell Sunset or not and why.
Not sure what to make of this. A moment of clarity, or from his perspective living with the princess is better than living with a general and a business owner?
As much as I dislike the character I still don't think he really mean that. Sure there was 'betrayal' and next to no love but I just don't think he is capable of seeing her as anything but his daughter.
You know, the misunderstanding of Brass Badge with raising Sunset was a bit like that CMC episode where Rumble thinks a cutie mark only makes you good at one thing. Because he was completely focused on his carrier (and his daughters future one) and he never seems to do anything else. maybe? I'm not too sure now I write it out.