To Wear a Crown
“The queen?” Torchwick repeated. “They want to make you their queen?”
Sunset leaned forwards heavily. “You got a problem with that, Torchwick?”
The entire company – those of them that remained after Jack’s death and Sami’s defection – sat in the dining hall of what remained of the Tower of the Sun. Ruby, by right, sat at the head of the table, with Sunset sitting at her right hand and her father standing over her with a dazed look on his face as though he’d just been punched in the face by a beringel.
He could have received worse news than that his daughter was going to be acclaimed a queen, but Sunset could understand his shock.
Especially since the place that was going to acclaim her queen was not exactly well known to them, and not everything that they knew inspired trust.
Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that Sunset and Dawn were both dead and the most powerful people remaining in Freeport were Prince Rutherford and Ember, there was no way that Sunset would have let Ruby stay here, responsibility or no.
She had a measure of trust for the chieftains of the two clans that she did not share with many others here.
That didn’t mean, however, that Torchwick was allowed to just mock the idea.
Torchwick smirked. “No, I don’t have a problem – it’s their town, after all, and their lives; if they want to hand both of those over to Little Red here, then it’s no skin off my patootie – I just think it’s kind of stupid, that’s all.”
“Why?” Sunset demanded. “Ruby’s brave and kind and smart-”
“Sure she is,” Torchwick agreed, and managed to sound sincere about it. “But that’s not why they want to stick a crown on her head, is it?” He leaned back in his seat. “I’m just saying, the ability to shoot laser beams out of your eyes is no basis for a system of government.”
Neo signed something.
Torchwick glanced at her. “Okay, you’ve got a point there, kid.”
“What did she say?” Sunset asked.
“She reminded me that a bunch of chumps voting for whoever promises the biggest payday isn’t a great way to run a country either,” Torchwick said.
“Indeed,” Sunset concurred. “If nothing else, Freeport will have a brave ruler; that’s more than most kingdoms can say, or could throughout their history.”
“Yeah, but even so,” Cardin said from down the table; he sat on Cinder’s left, with Cinder in turn sitting to the left of Sunset. “A new queen? Wasn’t the old one bad enough?” He blinked as he realised what he’d said. “I mean, not that Ruby is going to be trouble; I just mean that, well, you know, it didn’t work out so great having some outsider stroll in and declare herself to be in charge.”
“Ruby isn’t the Sun Queen,” Sunset declared. “She isn’t strolling anywhere, and she isn’t declaring herself anything; she has been offered a crown and has accepted it.”
“Can she speak for herself?” Cinder murmured.
Sunset winced. She looked at Ruby, bowing her head. “Forgive me, Your Majesty.”
“Sunset,” Ruby said sharply. “Don’t.”
Sunset looked up and into Ruby’s eyes. “Yes,” she said firmly. “You are a queen now-”
“I haven’t been crowned yet; it’s not official.”
“As the body cannot survive without a head, so too the body politic cannot survive without a crowned head to sit atop it,” Sunset insisted. “You are the Queen of Freeport, and the crown is not like the hood of your crimson cape; even when you take it off, yet still it sits upon your head, now and forevermore.”
“You’re making me feel really great about this decision,” Ruby muttered with uncharacteristic sarcasm.
“Which means that I must show you the respect due to your rank and exalted status,” Sunset concluded. “We all should.”
“Why?” Ruby asked. “Why you, why here?”
“Because if you allow some to escape showing you their obedience, then others will seek to avoid it also,” Sunset said. “If we will not bend the knee, then why should others?”
Ruby was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to be a queen like the Sun Queen.”
“So long as you don’t sacrifice your faithful servants to the envoys of Salem, I think you’ll step over that particular low bar,” Cinder murmured.
“You won’t,” Sunset assured her. “But you must be a queen of some kind.”
“Again, why?” Cardin demanded.
“Because if we hadn’t come here, then Freeport would have been fine,” Ruby said firmly. “If we hadn’t come, then neither would Tyrian; if we hadn’t come, then the Sun Queen wouldn’t have been so envious of Sunset’s magic, nor so afraid of Salem’s power; if we hadn’t come, then Sunsprite would still be alive, and Freeport would never have come under attack, and the clans might not be thinking of going their own way.”
“The Queen was a tyrant,” Cinder said. “And a snivelling coward and a fool to boot. Can these things be denied? Is this town and this land not better off without a queen who would sacrifice her own subjects to buy a little life for herself?”
“Yes,” Ruby replied. “But there won’t be a land – or a town – if someone doesn’t step in.”
“That doesn’t follow,” Cardin insisted. “Are these people so primitive-?”
“There is nothing primitive about monarchy,” Sunset declared.
“Then why have we moved past it?” Cardin replied.
“I don’t know; why have you lost your souls?” Sunset shot back at him. “You live in a society where honour is a distant memory; don’t be so quick to assume that just because you’ve turned your back upon kings makes you more advanced.”
“I think there’s something to be said for advancing past the need to put a crown on the head of a sixteen-year-old girl in order to stop the country from falling apart.”
“And I think there is something to be said for placing power in the hands of one who has the character to wield it wisely and well, and not just the person who can pull the wool over the eyes of the most credulous dupes by pandering to their worst instincts!” Sunset snapped.
“None of that matters!” Ruby cried. “It doesn’t matter what we think about the idea; the fact is that Freeport needs this.
“If someone saves a whole bunch of people from dying in a fire, then the fact that the person also killed someone else doesn’t change the fact that people's lives were saved. It doesn’t make the person who saved them good, but it doesn’t make saving lives bad. It’s the same with the Sun Queen: as bad as she was, she still brought peace to this land, and that peace is… it’s really important.” She paused, looking down at her small, pale hands where they rested upon the wooden table. “All my life, I wanted to be a huntress, not so that I could fight an immortal goddess or save the whole world or do anything huge and world-shaking, but so that I could save people. That’s what being a huntress is all about. That is my huntress way.”
“'Her might upholds the weak,'” Sunset whispered.
Ruby nodded. “Exactly. There are lives at stake. If I just walk away, then people will die. What kind of huntress would I be if I let that happen?” She sighed. “I always wanted to be like Olivia, riding – flying, I guess – from place to place, saving people, slaying monsters. But if I can save more lives by being King Edward instead, then… then I’ll do it. I’ll stay here, and be a queen.”
Sunset leaned back in her seat, a soft smile playing across her face. “Spoken like a true sovereign.”
“And what of our war?” Cinder asked, her voice soft and silky. “What of the struggle against Salem?”
Ruby got up, pushing back her chair so that it groaned against the stone floor. Her hands remained pressed against the wood of the table. “I don’t know if there’s much point in saving the world from Salem if every part of the world falls into bloodshed and chaos while our backs are turned.”
“What is the purpose of struggling to save a single small and, I must say, rather insignificant part of the world and ignoring the fact that there is someone who would like nothing better than to burn every last inch of it to ashes?” Cinder countered.
“Let me worry about Salem,” Sunset said.
Cinder glanced at her, her expression inquisitive but unrevealing. Her eyes smouldered but gave nothing away. But then again, wasn’t that always the case?
Ruby looked down at her hands before she looked at Cinder. “I can’t stop Salem,” she admitted, her voice soft and small and quiet. “My mother couldn’t stop her, and I can’t stop her either. My eyes don’t give me that power. And maybe that means that she can’t be stopped. Maybe Sunset can’t stop her either.” She glanced at Sunset, with an apologetic smile fleeting across her face. “And maybe one day, she’ll come to Freeport and break down the gates and kill me. But until then… until then, then so long as there is a place on Remnant that is green and growing, so long as there is a place where people live in happiness, so long as there is a place where people still smile and laugh, where they can still have the pleasure of smelling a flower, watching a sunset, eating a well-prepared meal, then… then she hasn’t won yet.”
“And she will not,” Sunset said, rising from her seat to draw her sword, Soteria. She knelt at Ruby’s feet, the tip of the black sword resting upon the stone floor, the ornate pommel touching her forehead as she bowed her head to the new Queen of Estmorland. “I swear to you, upon this sword so venerable and steeped in honour, I swear to you I shall not let her triumph; while there is life in me, I will not suffer it. Freeport will not fall, nor our friends neither.”
She felt a hand upon her head: Ruby’s hand, her fingers in Sunset’s fiery hair.
“I would have gone with you to the end,” Ruby whispered.
Sunset looked up into her face and smiled. “And I would have welcomed you along every step, Majesty, but, since fate denies us this, accept my oath to serve you well in all my offices… and to go forward in all my beliefs and prove to you that you are not mistaken in yours, or in me. I will be true to you and to the values of Beacon and to all that a huntress ought to be. That is my pledge to you, my partner… my sister… my queen.” She began to blink rapidly; she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, and she had to look back down again lest Ruby saw. Yes, it was a good thing that Ruby was doing, a wise and noble thing, a queenly thing, but all the same… that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. Parting might be sweet sorrow, but right now, the sorrow felt far greater than the sweetness.
“You have no idea how ridiculous you look, do you?” Cardin asked. “I mean it’s 2122, for crying out loud!”
“So it is a year,” Cinder replied. “A date upon a calendar, an arbitrary number placed upon an equally arbitrary moment of time. A moment in the life of Remnant, signifying… nothing at all, what of it?”
“Just because these people are backwards doesn’t mean we have to act like it,” Cardin said.
Cinder smirked. “Sunset’s been acting like this since I met her.”
“Anyway, just because their ways are not ours doesn’t make them backward,” Lyra said. Her fingers, lithe and delicate, strummed gently upon her harp. “At least, it doesn’t make them wrong.” She strummed once more, the sweet sound filling the dining hall. “Personally, I think it’s kind of wonderful. A real, genuine, honest to goodness fairy tale happening right before our eyes.”
Cardin snorted. “And she lived happily ever after?”
Lyra shrugged. “Didn’t Sunset just swear it would be so? Oaths made in love cannot be broken; everyone knows that.”
“So,” Bon Bon began, stopping as a wince of pain escaped her. She was out of her armour now, dressed in a plain tunic and trousers acquired from somewhere in the tower; her torso had been bandaged around the wound that Sami had dealt her, but it had not healed completely, at least not yet. She took a moment to catch her breath, even as Lyra took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “So, what does this mean? For the rest of us?”
Sunset rose to her feet, sheathing Soteria once more as she did. “It means,” she said, “that we will be splitting up. Cinder, Cardin, I would like for you to come with me to Anima, where Professor Ozpin has need of us, and Jaune and Pyrrha may be able to render aid or else require our help just as much as the professor does. The rest of you…” She swept her gaze over them: Torchwick, Neo, Lyra, Bon Bon. The position of Taiyang went without saying. “The rest of you, I should like to stay here, with Ruby, in Freeport, to serve her and… to protect her.”
"'Protect her'?" Lyra asked, her brow furrowing. "You… you do remember that you're talking to us, right?"
"I remember there aren't many people I trust around here, and you… are not my first choices, but you're the only choices available at the moment."
"You know, I'm kind of glad to hear that we're not your first choices," Lyra murmured. "It means that you haven't completely lost it."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Torchwick said. "What makes you think that we want to stay here?"
Sunset folded her arms. "How many times have you been in prison, Torchwick?"
Torchwick was silent for a moment. "Five stretches," he said, "Including my term on board that Atlesian airship and the time after that when I got caught."
"You never thought about going straight?"
"I always went straight," Torchwick replied. "Straight back into crime," he added with a chuckle.
"You've got a chance to make a difference this time," Sunset declared. "To be different. This is a new land, and you can be a new man in this new land. What else are you going to do, risk your life with me fighting against Salem? Do you have a sudden hankering to be a hero? We both know that's not who you are, especially when you've got Neo to think about. So do you want to slink back to Vale and back to a life of crime, or do you want to be the Royal Treasurer of Freeport and get this kingdom up on its feet financially?"
Torchwick's eyes bulged visibly. "'Treasurer'?" he gasped. "You… did you just say 'Treasurer'?"
Ruby nodded. "Me and Sunset talked about this, and there's nobody better that we could think of than you."
As much to the point, there was no other job that they could agree he could be trusted with. Roman Torchwick was not a saint, and he could be relied upon to be corrupt in whatever role or office was given to him, so it was a matter of picking the job that would allow him the least scope to do harm with his corruption. If he was put in charge of the law, he would sell pardons, or else lock up those whose possessions he coveted; if he were put in charge of the Rangers, he would probably run a protection racket over the outlying settlements. As Treasurer, he would, no doubt, keep as much of the wealth that passed through his hands as he dared, but so long as the kingdom didn't actively run out of money due to his malfeasance, it was probably the safest place to put him.
Whatever his faults – and he had plenty of them to be sure – he was a smart man, and good in a fight, and a born survivor. Ruby needed someone like that at her right hand, someone who could smell the wind changing.
Plus, Neo was ridiculously handy in a fight for someone so young, and Ruby could use a bodyguard too.
Torchwick was silent, his eyes flickering between Ruby and Sunset like a pendulum swinging back and forth. He looked at Neo, who rapidly signed something to him.
Torchwick laughed. "I… gods, Red, you know how to keep me guessing, don't you? Sheesh, I don't know whether you're the sucker or I am."
"Do you want the job?"
"Do I want to swank around with a fancy title and everyone treating me like a genuine big shot? Yes! I want the job!" Torchwick said. "So… do I have to bow or something?"
Ruby chuckled. "Not right now; maybe after the coronation."
Neo beamed as she leapt up onto the dining table, her feet tapping upon the wood as she curtsied perfectly to Ruby, sweeping her arms out on either side of her.
Ruby covered her mouth with one hand as she giggled. "Thank you, Neo."
"So do we get fancy titles too?" Lyra asked.
Everyone looked at her.
"Or, you know, something a little less nakedly self-interested, maybe," Lyra muttered, shrinking downwards into her seat.
"Not right now," Ruby admitted. "But maybe later; there's a lot of stuff that I still haven't figured out yet."
"Titles or no," Sunset said, "what do you think?"
"Do we have a choice?" Bon Bon asked, her voice heavy with breathlessness.
"You always have a choice," Sunset replied. "We all do."
Bon Bon looked at Lyra.
"Don't look at me like that; this is our choice," Lyra insisted.
Bon Bon shook her head. "My choices helped get us into this mess. This time, you decide."
Lyra pouted. "That's not fair. Then it will be my fault if I pick the wrong thing!"
"Then choose wisely," Bon Bon said, a slight smile on her face.
"It's not like I don't try," Lyra replied, looking away from Bon Bon. She glanced down at the harp in her hands, her fingers hovering above the strings. "I… I've always been a better musician than a huntress," she said. "If I'd recognised that earlier, then… I'm not saying things would have been better, but they probably would have been better for me." Her fingers plucked the strings. "There was a girl… there was a girl… 'fair as summer' sounds like a bad pun in your case." She put the harp down on the table. "But I'll get it. I shall stay here and be the songstress of the court, and I shall compose the ballad of Ruby Rose, the girl from Patch with a pure heart who became a queen in a far-off land."
"And I'll stay too," Bon Bon said quietly. "And try not to mess everything up this time."
"Thank you," Ruby said. "All of you. I know that Sunset has to go, but… I know that this won't be easy, and I'm glad that I won't be… alone, here."
I'm glad too, Sunset thought. None of these four were her first choice, or even her second or third… but they were, she had to admit, far better than nothing.
Torchwick grinned as he tipped his hat. "So… long live the queen, I guess."
Cinder smirked. "Long live the queen indeed."
"Long live the queen!" Lyra cried.
"Are you people kidding me?" Cardin demanded.
Ruby hesitated outside the door. She stared at it, the yellow door that led into her grandfather’s dwelling.
The place where her grandfather alone now lived, with Sunsprite being gone.
I will have a crown, and Sunsprite has a grave. How is that fair?
It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all. But it seemed to be the lot of their family, a lot that Ruby would have willingly embraced until last night.
Embraced it… and hated it in equal measure. Now, she only hated it and cursed the name of Salem that had wrought such ill-fortune upon her family.
She stood before the yellow door and made no move to enter.
She felt her father’s hand upon her shoulder.
“You don’t have to do this,” Taiyang told her.
“Who else will, if I don’t?” Ruby murmured.
“I could do it,” Taiyang offered.
Ruby looked up at him. “Thanks for offering,” she murmured. “But… no. I’m his granddaughter; I should tell him.”
“You’re just a kid; you don’t have to-”
“I’m also a queen now,” Ruby replied. “How am I supposed to rule a whole kingdom if I can’t break the bad news to my own grandfather?”
Her father’s face was solemn, his eyes watered. “You’ve grown up too damn fast, you know that?” he said, his voice hoarse. “You… you and Yang both, I let you grow up much too fast.”
“You let us follow our dreams,” Ruby said. She paused. “And honestly, I don’t think you could have stopped us if you wanted to.”
Taiyang snorted. “No,” he admitted. “No, I couldn’t have. You have too much of your mother in you, and so did your sister.”
Ruby didn’t need to ask him which mother he meant; Yang only had one mother, and if she had been too quick to rush into danger, that certainly wasn’t something she’d inherited from Raven Branwen.
She smiled, only slightly and very briefly. “Thanks, Dad.” She turned away, to the door once more. She could do this. She had to do this.
It was her responsibility.
Ruby produced the key. She had taken it from… from Sunsprite’s body. Hopefully, she wouldn’t mind. Someone had to take care of their grandfather, after all.
She unlocked the door and pushed it open; it swung open silently, revealing the dark and sparsely furnished space.
“Grandfather?” Ruby called as she stepped inside, with her father half a step behind her.
“Ruby?” Grandfather replied, his voice frail and weak. “Ruby, is that you?”
“Yes,” Ruby said quickly. “Yes, it’s me, Grandfather.” She walked quickly, almost running, across the room until she stood at his bedside, looking down upon the blind old man. “I’m right here.”
Grandfather wheezed as, with one hand, he reached out, fumbling his way towards her. “Ruby…”
Ruby took his hands inside her own, squeezing it gently. “Yes. It’s me.”
“And Sunsprite?” Grandfather asked. “Is Sunsprite with you? I don’t hear her. Does duty keep her away?”
Ruby closed her eyes. Her whole body shook.
“You’re trembling,” Grandfather murmured.
“Yes,” Ruby admitted. “Yes, I am. Grandfather, I… Sunsprite, she… Sunsprite is… she fell in battle.”
“No!” Grandfather cried. His voice shook, and his hand would have fallen away if Ruby had not been holding onto it. “No,” he repeated, shaking his head fitfully, desperately. “Please, please Ruby, tell me it is not so!”
“I wish I could,” Ruby whispered.
Tears began to spring from her grandfather’s rheumy eyes. “How?” he asked, his frail and aged body wracked by sobs. “How did she fall?”
Ruby took a deep breath. She had thought long and hard about what to tell her grandfather about Sunsprite’s death and decided that a lie might bring more comfort than the truth. “The grimm attacked the city last night,” she said. “Did you hear the bells ringing?”
“Yes,” Grandfather whispered. “Yes, they woke me, but… I thought perhaps that I had dreamed them.”
“This isn’t a dream,” Ruby murmured. “I wish it were, but… but it’s not. The grimm attacked; we beat them back, but… Sunsprite died, defending Freeport from its enemies.”
“I… I see,” Grandfather said. “Then she died as she would have wished, as a Silver-Eyed Warrior and a Rose. That is the coldest of comforts to me, but it is better than no comfort at all.”
“I’m so sorry, Grandfather,” Ruby said. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“How is this my fate?” he demanded. “How is it that I am doomed to see my wife, my daughters, and now my granddaughter die before me, and before their time, while I wither in the twilight of my years, ailing and abandoned, betrayed by my body, helpless, useless? Why is it that I live on, even as I lose everything?”
“You haven’t lost everything!” Ruby insisted. “I’m right here, and I… I’m going to stay with you, in Sunsprite’s place. The… the Sun Queen died last night as well,” she added, leaving it possible for the old man to assume that she, too, had died in the battle. “And I have… I have been offered the crown in her place, as a Silver-Eyed Warrior.”
“The crown?” Grandfather repeated. “You have been offered the crown?”
“Yes,” Ruby said softly. “And I have accepted it. I won’t let this land that Sunsprite fought for fall into chaos. I won’t let her death be in vain.”
Grandfather was silent for a moment. “You are a brave girl,” he said. “You have your mother’s courage.”
“Thank you,” Ruby said, so softly he might not have been able to hear it. But did she have wisdom? Did she have the wisdom necessary to do right by Freeport?
That… that was a question with a far more uncertain answer.
Sunset, I know that you’re okay because Princess Luna told us so – that’s me and Princess Celestia, for reference, who was worried enough to come down here to consult with me about what we could do to help you – but if you could please write back, that would be really great.
There were a few other such messages filling up one page of the book, descending downwards to extend onto the next sheet in the volume. Sunset was hit with a pang of guilt which no amount of special pleading – she had been busy, but not so busy that she couldn’t have jotted down a couple of lines to the effect of ‘I’m fine, but really busy; I’ll write more later.’ – could assuage. She should not have relied upon Princess Luna to be the messenger of her escape. She was the Princess of the Night, not the mailmare.
Sunset sat in the dining hall, alone; the others had all gone. Ruby and Cinder were working upon Ruby’s coronation outfit, taking stock of what there was in hand within the tower’s stores. The two of them working together, Cinder and Ruby, who could ever have imagined such a thing? It put a smile upon her face, a smile that was only slightly diminished by the regret that they couldn’t have started working together thus much sooner.
Everyone but Cardin was moving their stuff out of the Tower of the Moon and into the Tower of the Sun; Cardin himself was packing for their departure, although Sunset hadn’t yet talked to him about just where they would be departing too. She would have to tell him soon, else he would think they were getting a boat to Anima.
Possibly they ought to get a boat to Anima; Ruby could command a ship to carry them across the narrow sea. It would be simpler, in every respect, and airships aside, it might still be quicker than the journey via Atlas.
But she wanted to go home. Yes, she had called Beacon her home when it still stood, but Beacon was gone, and it was difficult to think of any place else in Remnant that felt like home to her. The house of Nikos came closest, but even then, that was Pyrrha’s place where she had been an honoured guest; it was welcoming, yes, and of all the places in Remnant, she probably liked Mistral best, but only because it reminded her of the place that had truly been home to her for her early years. She loved Mistral because it was a shadow of Canterlot, but that didn’t change the fact that Canterlot was her first love, the first home that she had known and, in all respects save for the presence of her friends, the best home too.
She wanted to go back there. She wanted to see the gleaming spires again, she wanted to stand upon the marble balconies and feel the wind blowing through her mane, she wanted to see the pegasi move the clouds above and fashion them into pleasing shapes, she wanted…
She wanted to see Princess Celestia again, to feel her wings enfold her, to feel the princess’ cheek upon her neck as she nuzzled her little sunbeam; she wanted to hear her voice with her own ears, not imagine it through the conduit of a page.
She wanted to go home, if only for a little while. Had she not earned that right? After all that she had done, all that she had suffered, after all the mud and blood through which she had slogged: the Breach, the Battle of Vale, all of their misadventures in Freeport, did she not deserve this little blessing?
Only one pony could really answer that.
Sunset picked up her pen.
Sorry, Twilight. I won’t bother trying to come up with an excuse, I shouldn’t have left you worrying like this.
Oh, thank goodness! It’s about time!
I said I was sorry.
You did, but I hope that you can forgive us our excess of concern, Sunset, given what we know of what has befallen you lately.
Sunset hesitated. The pen shook in her hand. I apologise to you as well, Princess. If I may ask, how much did Princess Luna tell you?
Little enough. She told me that it was your story to tell, not hers, and that she would not betray your confidence without your leave.
Sunset closed her eyes for a moment, tightening her grip upon the pen between her fingers. Thank you, Princess Luna. Thank your sister for me, Princess Celestia, it is very good of her to be so understanding. The truth is that
The truth is…what? The truth is that I don’t want to think about it? That I’d rather forget what happened? The truth is that I never want to speak of it again? Nobody had asked her yet, what had happened to her; Ruby hadn’t asked, and neither had Cinder. She suspected they would; she would have preferred it if they just didn’t care- No. No, that was a lie that she could not keep up; she would not have preferred it if they didn’t care, but at the same time, that didn’t mean that she actually wanted them to bring the subject up. What she wanted was… immaterial, really; they would ask, or they would not. She suspected that they were waiting for the right moment to bring the subject up.
Princess Celestia was being more direct, but then, the irregular nature of her communication with Sunset wasn’t leaving her much choice.
The truth is that I’d rather talk about this pony to pony, rather than like this. It’s difficult; a little distance might help.
There was a moment of delay before Princess Celestia responded. I understand your desire to put a little time between you and your ordeal, and although I must confess that you are doing very little to assuage my nerves, Sunset, my nerves are of less concern to me than your wellbeing. Very well, we will discuss these things another time. But when you say pony to pony, does that mean that you still wish to return to Equestia?
I see that Twilight mentioned that.
Did you expect that I just wasn’t going to bring it up?
You’re right, I don’t know why this is coming as a surprise to me. Yes, Princess – Princess Celestia, that is – I do wish to return, at least for a visit. There are a few things that I can tell you about what has happened recently, and I hope that you will find some of it to be good news. Twilight, you’ll be gratified to hear that I’ve destroyed the rings of dark magic that you helped me make.
That would be better news to me if either of my students had informed me that they were dabbling in dark magic to begin with.
Sunset blinked. Twilight, have I just gotten you into a load of trouble?
I think you might have, yes.
In Twilight’s defence, Princess, I asked her not to tell you. I was afraid that you would
Disapprove? Counsel you against such foolishness? Forbid Twilight to assist you in your dangerous endeavour?
Sunset cringed. All of the above, Princess, yes.
Indeed I would. What in Equestria possessed you to adopt such a course?
I needed power, or at least, I thought I did.
And I believed that you had grown beyond such things and learned the hollowness that comes from the blind pursuit of power for its own sake.
Princess Celestia, if you love me, you will let me explain before you judge me too harshly for my desires or Twilight for her assistance. It was not for its own sake that I sought greater power, but for the protection of my dear friends. We were under attack by creatures of great power, monsters stronger than any grimm I have ever encountered before, too strong for me. I lost a companion on the road to their assaults, and I was terrified of losing more. And so I asked Twilight to help become stronger, swiftly.
Oh, Sunset
I can hear you sighing on the other side of the page, Princess.
How can I not sigh when I wish you had paid more attention to the lessons I tried to teach you before you left? You sought power to protect your friends; have you not yet learned that trusting your friends and standing with them would have given you all the power that you required and more?
Sunset could not halt a slight chuckle on its way past her lips. I don’t know whether it helps my case to point this out or not, but if I had learned such lessons at your hooves, I would probably not have come to Remnant in the first place. However, I hope it pleases you to hear that I have learned the lesson now, although I must confess that it was nearly too late.
The dark magic nearly overthrew you, did it not?
It did. It would have, but for Ruby.
Did Ruby remember who you were?
Eventually.
Do you know how it was that everyone was made to forget you in the first place?
A magic stone. I’m afraid I don’t know any more than that. I destroyed it before I could learn more.
Nevertheless, the vague description stirs something in my memory. I fear that it may have been Equestrian in origin. I know it might be considered immaterial now, but I will look into it when we return to Canterlot, if only to satisfy my own curiosity.
Can’t your other self give you some answers?
Sunset hesitated for several long moments; this was a hard thing to admit to Princess Celestia, or even to Princess Twilight, and yet she would admit it. She had to. There was no getting around it, and even if there had been, she had no desire to lie to them. I killed her and her friend, in the grip of dark magic.
The time dragged on until she received a response in Princess Celestia’s elegant script. I see. I wish that I could claim to be more surprised, but as violent as your world is, I cannot be; and, to be frank, this is what comes of dealing with dark magic.
I am not proud of the fact. But equally, I cannot take it back.
No. No, you cannot; you will have to bear it, all your days.
I know, and so be it. It is not the first life to hang about my shoulders, and although I hope it will be the last, I cannot guarantee it. All I can say is that it might not have been the last life I took that height if it hadn’t been for Ruby. She recalled me to myself. We had a chance to communicate, and now I think we understand each other much better, see one another much more clearly than we did, really, since the Battle of Vale, or since she found out what I did at the Breach. I have destroyed the rings; I’d like to say that I don’t need them any more, but the truth is that I don’t trust myself with them any more. And, Princess, you were right; when Ruby and I stood together, we were able to vanquish the army of grimm that descended on Freeport with only the power that was within us and our bond.
I am glad to hear it. No, I am more than glad, I am delighted to hear it, and the only thing that tempers my delight is my displeasure at learning so late what it is that I have to be disappointed about.
Your disappointment is with me and me alone.
No, Sunset, I think it is with both of you.
Ahem. If I might interrupt for just one moment, what about Robyn Hill?
Safe and sound. I will bring her home with me when I return. If I may return?
Do you doubt it? You will always be welcome in Equestria, little sunbeam. Always and without question. My only regret is that you will not be coming home for good.
Believe me, part of me would like nothing better, but my friends require my aid, and I have obligations here. I have sworn that I will protect Professor Ozpin, and sworn also that I will defeat Salem, or at the very least that I will ensure she does not prevail.
Sunset considered that it was an advantage of the Equestrian aversion to killing that neither Twilight nor Princess Celestia questioned her on how she planned to defeat an immortal adversary. They took it for granted that there would be a way, probably because in Equestria, there would always be such a way, the Elements of Harmony for example. Would that their like existed in Remnant also, then all of this would be so much easier.
As it was, she was grateful not to have to admit that she didn’t have a plan just yet.
You’ve set yourself a tall order.
I know. And yet, at the same time, it all feels like the very least that I could do.
I will not stand in the way of your solemn obligations. I will only say that I look forward to seeing you again and to meeting Ruby.
Sunset frowned. I’m afraid that won’t be happening. Ruby will not be coming with me.
Oh, no. Did something happen to her?
No. At least, not like that. Ruby has been offered the crown of Freeport, in place of my departed double, and she has accepted it for the sake of this town and this land, to avoid the chaos that would ensue with an empty throne, a throne left empty by the chaos we brought with us. Most of our company will be remaining to assist her in that endeavour. Only Cinder and Cardin will be coming with me to Equestria and hence through the mirror to Atlas.
I see. I wish her good fortune, for it is a hard road that she has chosen. How do you feel?
I feel, in this, more than I would say, and so I shall nought but that I am proud of her. She is being both brave and noble.
The door opened, and Ruby came in. She stopped, looking down the long wooden table to where Sunset sat.
Sunset started to get up. “Ma-”
“Don’t,” Ruby whispered. “Please, I know you say it’s important, but… don’t. Not when it’s just us, okay?”
Sunset hesitated for a moment before she allowed herself to sit back down again. “Very well,” she said softly. “Not when it’s just us.”
“Are you writing to Twilight?”
“More to Celestia than Twilight.”
Ruby nodded. “Can I… can I talk to them?”
Sunset smiled, and this time, she did get up out of her seat. “Of course you can,” she said. “Sit down. I think they’ll both be glad to hear from you.”
Ruby sat down in the seat that Sunset had vacated. She turned the page, not wishing to pry into what Sunset had just said. She glanced up at Sunset, who hovered nearby, casting a shadow over the dining hall table.
Sunset frowned. "I… I'll leave you to it," she said, turning away and walking from the hall. The tread of her boots was heavy upon the wooden floor.
Ruby watched her go until she was out of sight; only then did she pick up the pen that Sunset had set down.
Princess Celestia. A name that Ruby knew but little, and yet at the same time knew enough: Sunset's teacher, the woman – okay, not woman, but she knew what she meant – who had raised Sunset, the ruler of the land of Equestria that Sunset had come from. It was that last, more than anything else, that made Ruby want to speak to her. To say that there weren't many people she could go to for advice about this was an understatement. Slowly, cautiously, she began to write. Hello, it's Ruby here; I'm sorry, but I wanted to speak to you, and so I asked Sunset if I could interrupt.
Obviously, Sunset didn't mind or she would have said no. Hello, Ruby.
It is a pleasure and an honour to finally get the chance to talk to you, Ruby Rose. My name is Princess Celestia, and Sunset has told me so much about you.
Ruby found herself chuckling nervously. I'm honoured, Princess Celestia, but you don't need to pretend. There's no reason someone like you should be honoured to speak to someone like me. I'm just
You are Sunset's friend; I would say that that was enough for me, but from what I have just heard, it is not so. Sunset tells me that they will set a crown upon your head?
Yes. Yes, they will. They asked me to become their queen, and I agreed to it. She paused. Ruby: I don't know if I'm doing the right thing.
Is this what you want, Ruby Rose?
No. No, it isn't. It was never what I wanted.
That is good to hear, though it may seem perverse to say so. Oftentimes, those who seek the crown do not deserve it, while those who most deserve to wear a crown desire it not. I would count Sunset amongst the former group when I knew her.
Ruby found a faint smile spreading across her face. And she's the opposite now. To be honest, she would be a better queen for Freeport than I will, but she won't break her promise to find Professor Ozpin.
Her sense of duty does her credit, although I must confess I am sorry that she will be without your company upon the road from now on. Thank you for being a good friend to her.
I haven't, not really, not for a while. I judged her, I looked down on her, I threw her aside
You were filled with grief, and in your grief, you were not yourself. There is no shame in that.
Even though I hurt Sunset?
Ruby, I'm called the Princess of Friendship, but even I hurt my friends sometimes, by saying or doing the wrong thing; it doesn't make you a bad friend.
Maybe not, but I wish that I had more time to make it up to her. As it is, although I mean to go to Mistral as soon as I've settled everything here, I don't know how long that will take or when it will be. I have no idea what I'm doing.
I'm not sure anyone ever does.
Indeed, my sister Luna and I had a great deal to learn when we came to the thrones of Equestria. Although I fear that if your experience is at all like ours, you will not have much time in which to learn.
Did you want to rule Equestria?
No. It was the last thing that I wanted.
What would you have rather done, if you don't mind me asking?
When you have lived as long as I have, you find that it is sometimes difficult to remember what you actually thought in times long ago, as opposed to what you feel with hindsight you ought to have thought. In my youth, I know that I was greatly enamoured with the theatre and with the ponies who performed in it, so it wouldn't surprise me to go back in time and discover that I would rather have been an actress than a princess. With a little more maturity, I can say that would not have been the best use of my talents. I hope that I have been a good ruler to my little ponies, but teaching is my true passion and has been for most of my life. As I told Professor Ozpin once, I could envisage one day setting my crown aside, but I could never see myself giving up teaching; I enjoy everything about it far too much for that.
Then why did you take the crown?
We could ask you the same question, Ruby.
Because if someone doesn't, then the whole kingdom will just fall apart, and I'm afraid that the clans will go right back to fighting one another again. And I don't want that. They're good people, and they deserve to live in peace, and I think they can if only someone shows them the way. And that someone has to be me because I have the silver eyes that can defeat the grimm.
It is a necessity, then, that makes you accept this burden?
Was it the same with you?
In a manner of speaking. Fortunately, the pony tribes had already learned the value of cooperation by the time that I came to power, but so long as they remained divided, there was a risk that they might fall to fighting amongst themselves again as they had done before. Although I must confess that, like you, my sister and I were offered the rule of the realm more because of our magical gifts than our wisdom or experience. But the land had been shattered by a great evil, an evil that only we had the power to defeat. The power to act conferred upon us the responsibility to act.
Any advice for a beginner?
I was very fortunate to have the guidance of a wise old unicorn when I first came to the throne; until his disappearance, he taught and guided Luna and myself through many uncertain situations. Though I am far away, I offer my services to you as that wise old unicorn once served me. If you wish, I will instruct Sunset in how to create a set of linked books, like the pair that we are using now, so that we may keep in contact even when Sunset has departed, and you may ask my counsel if you feel that you have need of it.
Really? That's so incredibly kind of you; I mean you don't even know me.
I know everything about you that I need to know: that you are in need of guidance. For starters, however, my first piece of advice to you is not to worry too much; although this may not be the path you wished to choose in life, it is by no means unrewarding. Although I still do not consider it my vocation, when I look down from the balcony and see what good and happy lives my little ponies live, I feel a little glow of pride and satisfaction at being in some small part responsible for that. You must keep that in mind, Ruby; there will always be so much that you can regret, but always remember to focus on your accomplishments and the good that you have done in the world. My second piece of advice is to surround yourself with those whose judgement you trust and listen carefully to their advice. I do not say that you should always let their counsel overrule your judgement, but you should always give it weighty consideration. My third piece of advice may seem to contradict the second, but it is no less true in my experience. I am afraid you must prepare yourself to be distanced from those around you, whether you wish to be or not. They will only ever see the crown, whether it is on your head or not.
Sunset said something similar. I hope that I can learn to do this right.
You've got a good heart, Ruby. That's always a good place to start from.
You may ask for my advice whenever you are in need of it, but more than any other advice that I could give you remember this: you are not alone. Even when Sunset leaves, you will not be alone. Remember that, and remember why you ascended the throne in the first place, and I have no doubt that you will do very well.
"Did you really mean that, Princess?" Twilight asked, looking up at her mentor. "About giving up your crown, I mean?"
"Twilight," Princess Celestia murmured reproachfully. "Do you really believe I would lie to Ruby?"
"No, of course not," Twilight murmured. "But… I don't know, I… I just can't imagine Equestria without you."
Princess Celestia laughed lightly. "The sun and moon may be eternal, Twilight, but that is no reason why I must be. Certainly, it does not hold that I should be. It may be that, one day, another shall come to take my place and lead Equestria into an age more golden than I could ever have dreamed of, let alone accomplished."
Twilight snorted.
Princess Celestia raised one inquisitive eyebrow. "You doubt it?"
"I'm sorry," Twilight said hastily. "It's just… I suppose I have a hard time picturing anyone able to replace you."
Princess Celestia smiled. "Don't be so quick to discount the possibility, Twilight; as Ruby has just discovered, and you have experienced yourself, our destinies are rarely clear to us even as we walk towards them. My appointed successor may be closer than you think."