//------------------------------// // Sinners // Story: Sunset Shimmer - The Princess of Lordran // by ratedoni //------------------------------// Jumping up and down across the halls was nothing new for the students in Canterlot High, although it was indeed a long time since that happened with regularity. Although every student will tell you that the specific circumstances for seeing the old group of friends together were not optimal, they were all healing and reconciliation was in the air alongside healthy doses of sugar and smiles from the pink haired girl jumping all over the place. Most students would say that it was due to one of Pinkie’s regular sugar rushes, but thanks to watching the ‘show’ or by others telling them what happened, teenagers understood that her reaction came due to the latest success of their former bully now turned martyr. As the six girls kept chatting and walking their way back into the school after celebrating Sunset’s milestone of reaching the first bell, across the hall a pair of inquisitive eyes followed their moves, all with the same amount of patience she always showed, but with a small smile in her face that would have surprised most students since they were aware of her fame as a nightmarish taskmaster. Turning around and closing the door of the office, Luna walked into her sister’s office, which was right now paying more attention to the monitor in front of her instead of the forms currently littering the desk of the older sister. Since the explosion in front of the school, Celestia had been busy with the reconstruction efforts, not to mention that one of the reasons they needed to rebuild the entrance was right now trapped in a hellish dimension. Principal Celestia was currently away and instead, the only person present in the office was the Celestia that the dark haired woman knew very well. Not the principal, not the educator, but the woman that had a heart too big for her own good. The woman with the hair like morning sky sighed as in front of her the monitor showed Sunset and her slow descent after activating the bell. Luna didn’t need psychic powers to know exactly what was going on her sister’s mind as the older of the two kept torturing herself with things that were beyond their power. It was the main reason why she became a teacher and ultimately reached for the Principal office, all so she would be able to watch over her precious children day after day. Luna was all for education, but her sister had her beat on that aspect, even more on the whole nurture type of education that she was all for. Luna was more like the stern taskmaster than the second mother for the students. She left that job to Celestia who simply thrived on that. It was probably the only reason why Sunset Shimmer hadn’t been punished hard enough, or at all considering they had no real proof of her attempts to gain control of the whole school. That all changed days ago, when they saw the transformation of Sunset and her defeat at the hands of their newest member in the school… and also Sunset Shimmer’s demise. Luna saw the way in which Celestia kept looking at the now repaired crater in front of the school and knew that she was blaming herself of what had happened that night, no matter how many times Luna told her that it was out of their hands. Besides, not even Princess Twilight was sure of what had happened or why their magic had acted that way and transported Sunset to that nightmarish world. So Luna was now trying to get control of a hopeless situation, what with Sunset Shimmer’s pilgrimage being transmitted everywhere in the school. It’s as if someone or something was doing it on purpose, as if taunting them, or maybe that was just her slight case of paranoia. Either way, everyone in the school and their dog knew about Sunset’s fate and watched the way she died and fought, all for a promise to a dying man. Luna would have felt proud of what Sunset was doing if it weren’t for the whole point of being dead and thrown into another world about to also die if she could read between the lines. “You know, no matter how much you stay on that desk the paper will not complete by itself.” Luna’s voice had never been the best method to show her kinder side, which very few even knew existed, but it was the one thing Celestia needed to get out of her funk. “I know Luna. I just wished there was a way I could have helped her. There’s still a part of me that thinks that if I had only just paid more attention to what was going on, all of this could have been avoided.” “Well, it’s not as if we knew Sunset was from another dimension and was trying to gain magic powerful enough to transform herself and gain control of her original world, although hindsight is 20/20 they say.” Luna’s dry humor had always been her first line of defense against things like guilt and sadness. “But the signs of her being alone, of a teenager that had been abandoned, were still there. I just wanted to think that everything was right with her. Now I just lost my chance.” “Celestia… Tia, we cannot do anything about it now and you are only punishing yourself. Just wait until Sunset Shimmer returns from this Lordran to tell her all of this.” “You think she will come back?” “Please, with Sunset? That girl is the most stubborn student we’ve ever had in this school. If anything she will come back just to shove it in the face of everyone in this school.” both sisters smiled at Luna’s poor excuse of a joke, but they knew that if anyone could survive that world, it could only be Sunset Shimmer. And as the two sisters talked about their regrets and desires for the future, the redhead that was the topic of their conversation was right now basically using Madeleine as a crutch. Sure, her side was much better and the injury had been closed as if by magic, which technically it was the only explanation of it, but in general, she felt drained, as if her body was finally letting go of the stress that had been accumulated over the past few days. At her sides, both Madeleine and Solaire were quiet, helping her stand up and walk without saying a thing about it and she was grateful, of both their help and their presence since she was sure she would have simply vault over after going down the ladder and it would have been probable that she would have awaken all the way back at Firelink Shrine. Right now, the only thing she wanted to do was to sleep all that she could before finding a way into that so called forsaken town. She could imagine how horrible that place was and she was in no hurry to find it, but just as they finally went down the stairs, they found that someone else had found a home on the old cathedral. Looking across the empty pew rows of the cathedral, there was a man wearing an ornamented helmet and along dark coat that made it look as if he was wearing sacramental robes. He was clearly not hollow and there was even some merriment clear on his eyes as he watched the trio of warriors. “Well, I must say it is quite a good day whenever the bells of a church are struck. So what do you say? Here to confess of your sins and repent? After all, it is only human to commit a sin.” As Sunset and her companions stood gawking at the man and how at ease he was, the man simply smirked even more. “Oh, not here for my services? That is a shame. But, where are my manners? I am Oswald of Carim, it is quite an honor to meet undead champions that want to complete the pilgrimage,” he said bowing at them, although Sunset knew very well that it was more in jest than in any kind of true chivalry on his part. “‘Carim’. Now that is a place I haven’t heard in a long while.” Under his helmet, Solaire sounded marveled by the simple mention of that kingdom or country Sunset didn’t quite know considering she still had no real idea of the geography of Lordran. “No wonder, since very little news comes from that place, although it is quite the sinister land, full of rogue characters and dark objects.” It was clear that unlike her compatriot, Madeleine was rather guarded after hearing the name of where he came from. “Well, you are cautious my good woman, which is astute, but what about you young lady? If you are not looking for absolution, then maybe you are interested in my wares? After all, a woman with such an abundance of souls must be looking for a way to use them.” “Wait, what souls?” “Oh, poor, poor lost child.”