Equestrian Interlude
The doors to Celestia's throne room creaked open. The princess herself stood at the far end of the great chamber, atop the dais and just before the throne from which she had, for a thousand years, ruled wisely and well over the land of Equestria. Twilight advanced down the traverse, her hoof-falls soft upon the crimson carpet, and in spite of all of her accomplishments, she still felt a touch of that habitual nervousness that she had always felt in the presence of her old teacher.
Spike walked by her side. In Twilight's saddle-bag, the magical book - Sunset Shimmer's book - weighed heavily. Why had Celestia requested that she bring it with her, and why had she asked Twilight and Spike to come to Canterlot to see her at once? Who was Sunset Shimmer, and how did she know Princess Celestia? And why had Celestia given Twilight the book that was meant to serve as their means of contact?
"Twilight," Celestia's voice was almost maternal in its warmth, and as Twilight approached, Celestia descended from the dais with a fond smile upon her ageless face. She craned her neck down to embrace Twilight, and for a moment, student and teacher nuzzled each other warmly. "It's wonderful to see you again, both of you," she added, including Spike in her greeting. "Thank you for coming on such short notice... and for telling me that Sunset Shimmer had made contact with you."
"Of course, Princess," Twilight said. "But I don't understand; who is Sunset Shimmer? And, if this book was intended to let the two of you communicate over great distances, then why did you give it to me?"
Celestia raised her head and looked over the heads of Twilight and her friends into nothing, or perhaps into the past where Twilight could not see. For a moment, she seemed to age before Twilight's eyes, and her eyes filled with sadness and regret. "Sunset Shimmer was a pupil of mine, just as you were," she said. "Before I taught you, I once taught Sunset."
Twilight gasped.
“You mean as more than just another unicorn at your school, don’t you?” Spike asked. “She was your personal student, just like Twilight."
"Indeed," Celestia replied. "Before Twilight, Sunset Shimmer was my personal student, my protégé."
"But I thought you only took Twilight on as your personal student because of how powerful her magic was?" Spike protested.
Celestia nodded. "That is correct, Spike; however, Sunset's magic was every bit as powerful at Twilight's was, or close enough."
"But… if that's true, then why haven't I heard of her?" Twilight said. "Why hasn't anyone heard of such a talented unicorn? Why didn't you tell me about her, that you had a student before me?"
"Sunset strayed from that path a long time ago." Celestia closed her eyes for a moment. "Please, follow me, both of you. I will explain everything as we go."
She led the way out of the throne room via the rear door, leaving the younger alicorn and the dragon to follow her into the recesses of the castle. "I did not teach Sunset exactly as I taught you, Twilight. I was... more honest with her about what I expected and what I believed that her destiny could be."
"You told her about ascension," Twilight said. "You told her that she could become an alicorn and a princess?"
Celestia nodded. "I told her everything; that proved to be a mistake. The knowledge that she was destined for greatness caused Sunset's pride to swell; she became ungovernable, consumed by a sense of her own destiny and impatient of anything that seemed to deny her what she considered rightfully hers."
“I’m guessing she didn’t make the cut,” Spike muttered. “Not least because we’ve never heard of her, but also because she doesn’t seem much like the kind of pony to earn her wings.”
Celestia chuckled softly. "Very perceptive, Spike; that was the irony of Sunset Shimmer's life: that in her heedless impatience to ascend, she rendered herself unworthy of ascension and cut herself off from the destiny to which she aspired. For a time, I hoped that she could learn better, that if only she would repent and open her heart up to the magic of friendship, then… but it was not to be. Sunset was running from something she could not escape, consumed by an emptiness that she could never fill. When it became clear to me that she would never ascend… she took it as a betrayal and fled. That is why, when I began to teach you, I kept you ignorant of my hopes for you, Twilight; I hoped that without that burden to distort your expectations, you would grow without..."
"Without becoming like her," Twilight supplied. She shivered slightly at the prospect that she could have become - and easily, so easily - just like the Sunset Shimmer of Celestia's account: proud, vain, and headstrong, impatient with others and with the world, arrogant, heartless. The Sunset that was revealed through her own account, what she had written unbidden in the magical journal, seemed cut from the same cloth: full of complaints about these strangely named people, Weiss, Cardin, Jaune, and Pyrrha, without the slightest hint that Sunset Shimmer had any flaws at all.
“Come on, Princess,” Spike cried. “There’s no way that Twilight could ever become like that.”
Twilight smiled down at him and placed a gentle hoof atop his head. "That's very kind of you, Spike, and sweet, but it's the influence of all my friends in Ponyville, more than any innate virtues of mine, that keep me on the right path." She didn’t really want to consider that alternative, that some people were just born good and others were just born evil. Not only was the notion anathema to her - after all, she had witnessed Discord himself reformed and redeemed by a simple act of kindness - but more to the point… if Twilight herself was born good, naturally and innately so, and by that quality of innate nature suited for ascension and the crown then… what did that make her predecessor? Innately wicked? But how could Celestia’s choice of student fall upon someone whose soul had from birth been black as filth? Surely, her teacher could not be so fallible. No, it was not so; it could not be so. Sunset had light within her, just as Twilight had darkness within her that the light of the friendships she had made drowned out and put to flight. Sunset had this Ruby Rose, who was the only person she talked about with any degree of affection, but even then, Ruby’s light seemed filtered by opaque glass, its influence constrained by Sunset’s refusal to acknowledge the light of friendship for what it was.
Perhaps it was Twilight’s task to make her acknowledge.
Twilight continued, "But, Princess Celestia, when you say that Sunset left… where did she go?"
"What I am about to show you is one of the rarest - and possibly the most dangerous - treasures of Equestria," Celestia said. Her horn glowed golden as she opened a door.
“What is it?” Spike demanded. “Some kind of really cool weapon?”
The door swung open. Inside was a mirror, an antique-looking but otherwise quite unremarkable seeming mirror.
"I… gotta say, that's a bit of a letdown compared to what I was expecting,” Spike declared. "You did say this was one of the most dangerous treasures in Equestria, right?"
"This is no ordinary mirror," Celestia said. "For three days every thirty moons, this mirror becomes a portal to another world."
Twilight's eyes widened. "Another… world?"
Celestia nodded. "It was through the mirror that Sunset fled when her destiny was denied to her. She sought to find in that world what had been barred to her in this one. For a time, I thought that she might return some day, but… as time passed, that hope dwindled. The diary that you have was a way for us to stay in touch, since Sunset had no dragon assistant as you do.” Princess Celestia looked down at Spike and smiled. But it was a fleeting smile, gone as swiftly as it sprung onto her face. “You asked me why I gave you Sunset’s book. The answer is that I could not bear to look at it any longer.”
Twilight stared up at her teacher, her second mother, and felt a great well of pity in her heart. “Princess Celestia…”
“For a long time, I kept the journal close,” Princess Celestia said. “Hoping that she would write, hoping that things could be made right between us, hoping… praying that she would say something, even to let me know that she was safe. No word came.”
“Did you think about making the first move yourself?” Spike asked.
“Of course,” Princess Celestia replied. “But after the way that things had stood at our parting, I feared to make things worse. I was afraid that if I addressed her, Sunset would only reply to confirm how much she hated me. The years passed, and in the end, I was forced to conclude that Sunset would never write to me again. Either because she had perished or lost the journal or simply… simply because she hated me so much. It has been so long that I was not expecting her to make contact. I am glad to know that she is still alive."
Alive, yes, but far from happy. Twilight hesitated a moment. "Princess Celestia… what do you want to do now? With the diary, about Sunset?"
Celestia stared into the mirror, as if, instead of her own reflection, she could see through it to the world that lay on the other side. "That is not for me to say," she replied. "I have failed Sunset once already."
Of course it comes to me. It always seems to, in the end. And I am the Princess of Friendship; what does that mean if not that it is my responsibility to reach people like Sunset Shimmer? "I… I'd like to keep writing to her, if you will permit me, Princess."
“Twilight, are you sure about this?” Spike asked. “I mean… no offence, Princess Celestia, but this Sunset Shimmer seems kinda nasty.”
"She can't hurt me through a book," Twilight replied. "But maybe I can help her through a book, and if I can… I think I have to try." She hesitated, knowing what she had to ask but nervous about actually doing so. “Princess Celestia… is there anything that you’d like me to say to Sunset for you?”
Celestia closed her eyes, and her face was contorted with an expression of such profound sorrow and regret that Twilight in turn regretted having raised such painful memories in one whom she loved almost as a mother. For a while, Celestia was silent, seeming to wrestle with the past she had thought banished beyond recall. “Tell her… tell Sunset I am glad that she is alive, and that more than alive, I hope that she is well and content. Tell her… and tell her… please tell her how very sorry I am, for all the things that I said… and all the things that I did not say.”
I half expected you to send Twilight into Sunny's world, but this is ultimately the more sensible option. At least since Sunny hasn't given Twilight a serious reason to personally cross over.
Still... it would be interesting if Twiggles would end up a faunas with the ears, tail, and wings. Sunny's form mirrors her ponied up version from the movies, so Twilight with wings over there would make sense, plus it would make her stand out even more and make her more empathetic to Sunny's struggles verses speciesism.
Cough*Copout*cough.
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I did consider doing some version of the EqG story in the middle of all this, but the problem is...demonic Sunset in a reasonably ordinary American high school is a dramatic climax, but demonic Sunset in Beacon is just a roflstomp courtesy of all the insanely badass trainee huntresses even without the elements of harmony.
9165430 That and the possibility that Salem would find out about Equestrian Magic and try to recruit/kidnap Twilight and Sunset. I would imagine the Remnant version of Twilight lives in Atlas and attends the academy there.
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Ha, a fair point about demon Sunny. however, i worry about the realistic effects being pen pals can really have. When you need to confront someone, be them stranger or friend, that person can easily close the book and refuse to read it. They could remain in their echo chamber that way. Not only that, but how often have you read text messages where the mood of the writer is unclear? This is especially difficult with sarcasm if the other person is not expecting it. For example, in a story, we can give visual clues that describe a speaker's underlying meaning for what he says. But i can't say there are many times when I think to do "/sarcasm" before writing a text.
However, being there in person forces that person to at least respond to you. and in time, offer a hand, a hug, or a shoulder to cry on.
That isn't to say keeping Twi and Sun as pen pals is infeasible, just difficult. Not to mention if you did send Twi across the mirror, you'd have to eventually set Twi up to be a huntress too since that'd be the only real way she could have ready-ish access to Sunset. Personally, I think Twi wouldn't have an overly hard time fitting into that lifestyle. The enemies she'd be facing are all monsters, with the future terrorists, if my RWBY memory is accurate. So she'd have little to no qualms with killing them, even more so since they dont leave a body. Well... the grimm anyway.
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Yes. Thank you for pointing it.
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From this chapter, with the dark presence sniffing on the other side of the door? We can safely assume it's Salem and that she know about Equestria or at least that there is another world behind the portal.
But is she interested in it? Who known?
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Besides, Remnant only has room for one demon-ish girl obsessed with collecting powerful artifacts and conquering kingdoms, and Cinder doesn’t like to share.
Can Sunset make friends with her new team with the help of unlimited advice from the Princess of Friendship? Will she even try? How many new regrets will she acquire in the process?
I confess that I kind of hope Sunset's growth comes mainly as a result of interactions with her team, rather than with Twilight. I'm not sure why I feel that way. I think partly because I do want Sunset to succeed in her new role, and that's very hard to do without befriending her team, and befriending her team will be nearly impossible without some personal growth. Ultimately, Sunset can only grow up if Sunset does all the things growing up entails.
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I confess, that's one reason I didn't want to have Twilight actually come to Remnant: I want Sunset to develop with the help Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha not because Twilight shoots her in the face with the rainbow of friendship.
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I've come to realize that Sunset didn't really believe that friendship was an actual source of power until she got hit in the face with it. I think, up until then she considered it a metaphorical source of power, not a real one.
I'm not really up on RWBY canon but I'm pretty sure the power of friendship is metaphorical on Remnant, so this whole thing of Sunset learning friendship is going to be more difficult than Twilight thinks.
Awaiting for the next chapter as this ought to be interesting.
Wonder if Shining Armor can give Jaune advices... Shining may have skills in shield conjuring which allowed him admission into the Royal Guards, but he did have to climb his way. Plus his status during high school.
I like the set up for Twilight here as it would limit her presence in Remnant and hopefuly allow Sunset to forgive herself for being a failure.
Starting off: your prose, sentence structure, and word choice is exquisite. All three allow this fic to be easily read and followed. I had no problems understanding what ideas and themes you were trying to convey. That being said, there are about 1 to 2 minor grammar errors per chapter that I found. They seem to be sentences that you wrote, erased most of the sentence structure, kept 1 part, and then rewrote the rest. One part of the sentence in these cases doesn't fit with the rest of the sentence.
I think you are capturing a pre-eqg sunset shimmer really well. By having Pyrrha on her team, the audience really understands the limitless ambition that sunset had. I am interested to see what you do with Blake and her team, and how the contribute to Sunset's growth.
I eagerly await the next update
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Demon sunset still has mind control powers unless you gave everyone plot armor she would be more of a threat not less and Wouldn't she a better fighter because of sunset actually being a huntress not saying that should happen i want sunset growth to be with her team
I note that Celestia didn't remotely answer the question about why she sent the diary to Twilight.
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That is true.
Celestia's voice was almost maternal in it's warmth
1. Its.
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Unfortunately, that's not always a good thing. I've actually got personal experience of being in Twilight's position and my mother in Sunset's. I'm an introvert and terrible at making conversation on the spot, so I much prefer text form so I can say all I need to say exactly how I want to say it without being interrupted by her every time I said something she disagreed with, because she of course did nothing wrong (like canceling one of my credit cards before telling me about it or going with me into a branch to do it just because it was evening and she didn't want to have to call the bank again). Without fail. She'd complain about how texting it would take too long, which was also bs because it only took a few texts for her to explain it properly, so she badgered me for two weeks to talk to her in person about it.
Sunset is in a vulnerable position at this point. The whole world is against her, and she's highly defensive. Every little thing can set her off, and her ego is as big as ever. She'd talk over Twilight and nothing would have changed.
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Plus Sunset would probably shoot Twilight on sight. Dead princess.
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Bang bang boom. Dead princess.
This is incredibly well written. But I have to admit I'm worried now. If Twilight is going to be instilling the lessons of friendship, I have to assume that a few characters on Remnant side of things are going to have their rolls shrunk. And there are already 16 named students we're keeping track of in Beacon!
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Hmm, yes; I was a little too ambitious when I started writing this story, with the idea that I was going to be doing character arcs for 16-20 characters each with their own plotline. That gets scaled back to a more manageable point later on, but it does mean that Weiss and Yang fade into the background for long stretches at a time later on.
The first thing I did was go look up Celestia's toy getting thrown at Canterlot after saying "Lets Fly to the Castle" on youtube. This probably isn't relevant, but it's what I thought of when I saw that this was labeled as "interlude."
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Having partaken in the almost-daily ritual of chapter updates for more than a year, I'd like to remind you that "ambition" does qualify for tasks that are not herculean in scope. If you needed to dial it back from 1.5 Herculeans to 1.4 Herculeans, then I still don't know how you managed to write Part 1 in the time you did, you magnificent ninja turtle.
In case it's ambiguous, I mean this as a compliment.
DO IT YOURSELF BITCH! SHE NEEDS TO HERE IT FROM YOU!
yes, there's one important difference: she has an actual functioning family. I doubt that even if Celestia had said anything, history would have repeated itself. But I digress.
That's the difficult task you are placing on pony Twilight Celestia. That said she pretty much tossed the journal away without writing anything in it.
If you're writing out Twilight's friends for this chapter, I think you missed this part.
I never read the original version of this chapter, but I like that twilight's friends aren't present. Sunset isn't any of their business, and airing her dirty laundry out to them would be probably rude.
well, I'm just glad you decided to not bring Twilight into Remnant, that would have been a bad ideea
Now I... don't really understand Twilight and Spike's reaction to Celestia's description of Sunset. There were no specifics or real explanations for how Sunset behaved. All that was there were crumpled, tattered phrases about pride. What is so terrible and disgusting about this?
And, again... I really don't like the canonical story of Celestia and Sunset's interactions (as in most fanfics, but that's not the point). Celestia shit herself and that's exactly it. If in the story of Nightmare Moon most of the blame lies with Luna's, then in the fall of Sunset most of the blame lies with Celestia. Yes, in this story, Celestia apparently told Sunset herself that she plans to make her an alicorn. However, she did not say something important - what exactly Sunset needs to ascend. One conversation... one heart-to-heart conversation brought everything to naught. It doesn't matter why you do good. Whether it's fame, love or wealth, good is good.
You can dream of recognition by inventing a cure for cancer and no one will even make a sound in your direction that you are not worthy of something. Because you deserve all this recognition and more. You have the right to be proud of this and you have the right to consider yourself superior to others, because you were the one who could. You were able to become an alicorn, rising above the rest in the light of your virtue. The same Twilight herself became an alicorn, not because she was a great friend, but because she did strange crap with Starswirl’s spell (and it was just some kind of crap). Celestia and Luna are almcorns for the reason that they can move the heavenly bodies. And only Cadence became an alicorn, having accomplished a REAL feat.
The entire ducking problem is the lack of communication, on both sides, in both situations, as always.