No Gods, No Masters · 6:15am Jun 17th, 2018
Another little vignette. These things are easier to write than a full story, and it's nice to get something written down.
Today, a new origin story for Sunset Shimmer!
It began with Eyore, the Dynamite Mule.
Readers will, of course, be familiar with his villainy. Originating as a mine worker in the distant tunnels of Griffonstone, he became one of the early leaders of the anarchist movement, and the first to strongly identify dynamite with their cause. His spree of terror crossed the world and lasted for six years, as he threw his bombs at constables and crowds alike.
But his greatest achievement was the bomb plot against the West Canterlot Orchestra House, where he hoped to destroy Celestia, Twilight, and all the nobility of Canterlot in one moment of conflagration.
Sunset never met him, but she wrote him letters while he awaited trial. They were all anonymous so as not to reveal her identity, but she felt compelled to tell him of all the good he had done on that day.
Sunset herself had only narrowly escaped the blast. The thought of spending one more night with Celestia, with the hangers-on, with the new bitch-princess, had made her physically ill to her stomach. Once she could imagine a nice evening at the orchestra, but she could no longer hear the music. Instead, she saw her own face, smiling at the mare who had stolen everything she ever desired in life. She vomited on her lovely evening dress. Celestia relieved her of her duties and told her to get some rest, for she was clearly unwell.
Perhaps she might have done so. Perhaps she might have been a simpler creature, who thought of being relieved of her duties as nothing more than a free evening. She might have spent the evening in bed, or reading, or done anything else she desired. But she had been raised in the traditions of Canterlot, and raised by Celestia. To be dismissed from one's duties was not a gift, and she found her evening tormented by guilt and gnawing inadequacy.
Eventually, she pulled herself out of bed, swallowed her pain and her rage, and found a new dress. She rehearsed in her head an excuse, and something nice to say about Twilight when she arrived.
She reached Platinum Avenue just in time to see the explosion consume the Orchestra House. Later, of course, Celestia and Twilight would be pulled from the rubble unharmed; a thousand tons of dynamite could not pierce an alicorn's skin. But at that precise second, as she saw the building be consumed by fire, Sunset imagined them both dead.
She felt a lightness -- a joy so great it consumed her to her very bones. Her soul was transformed, as swiftly as downtown Canterlot had been transformed by clay and blasting caps.
Sunset found herself in that explosion.
YES
"had only narrowly escaped at the blast"
"had only narrowly escaped the blast"?
"but she could not longer hear"
"but she could no longer hear"?
"the explosion consume the Opera House"
You referred to it earlier as the West Canterlot Orchestra House; are they both names for the same place, or is one of them a mistake?
An origin of a different Sunset, clearly, but an origin of... something. Which probably involves a lot of fire.
Glad you've been enjoying writing these.
Hmm interesting
Sunset as a fiery, embittered anarchist-revolutionary? Interesting!
Hey, we're supposed to be writing about Starlight Glimmer! What gives?
Definitely an interesting setup. I fear what Eyore and Sunset might do if they worked together.
Of course it's him... That's what will happen if Christopher Robin abandons him.
It really would be nice to have links to all of these in one place. They're really interesting reads!
4884079
There, I fixed it for you.
disneyclips.com/imagesnewb/images/eeyore-butterfly2.png
Truly, this is the face of a terrorist.
Wait, wait, let me find a more ominous picture...
orig00.deviantart.net/30bc/f/2011/120/8/4/chibi_disney_eeyore_by_princekido-d3f8z2q.jpg
Fuck, didn't work.
4884079
I wanted to write stories about anarchists, and Starlight is a communist! They're, like, totally not the same thing.
I've really been enjoying these little vignettes - it's definitely a nice way to come back to this site. I hope you compile them at some point, I'd like to be able to add them to a bookshelf to come back to!
On a side note, the name of this particular vignette meant I had this song going through my head as I was reading it, as it features in the lyrics. Going back over the lyrics, and the feel of the song, it definitely seems to fit this version of Sunset:
4884189
Huh. You know, now that I think of it, I made her an anarcho-liberal dissident in my Victoria II modmod, too...
(And Starlight a communist.)
4884052
I'm glad you've been enjoying reading them!
And as always, thanks for the edits. Corrected!
4884651
You're welcome. :)
4884091
Ditto. Or even better how about collecting them into an anthology story. I'd definitely fav it!
Please collect these in an anthology!