After being purged of the darkness at the Fall Formal Sunset was hurt, and badly. She needed a home, and a place in someone's heart.

Luckily for her, Celestia has room for her in both.

Oh, this story really raised my expectations. The description makes it out to be a heartwarming tale, but... the Crossover tag is there. You don't see that very often in run of the mill Adoption or Making Amends fics, so my curiosity was certainly piqued. And I was not disappointed.

Phil Coulson.

Phil "I wear sunglasses at night, weaponize giant robots from the realm of the gods, and will watch Super Nanny as you drool into the carpet" Coulson.

Needless to say I got pretty hyped for the rest of this story. The word "Phoenix" has a very powerful connotation in Marvel lore, and the introduction of one of their characters coming in to check out someone with magical abilities like Sunset Shimmer got all kinds of wheels spinning in my mind, rival movie studios be damned. This is fanfiction.

I unfortunately got ahead of myself. While the story is still marked incomplete, it hasn't quite approached the level of my imagination just yet.

So what is in this story?

It starts at the end of the first EQG movie. Sunset reverts from her raging she-demon form, and the focus diverts from Twilight and friends to show Sunset try and clear the debris. The Elements of Harmony may have turned her human again, but they left her with some serious cuts where her wings and tails were. Cuts that need serious medical attention. Which she can't get because she's been living in a shack on campus.

Enter Celestia, who spies her accommodations and makes a call for... unofficial help. Namely to Coulson and SHIELD to come and save Sunset's life. Celestia has worked with them in the past apparently, and the story even tells that Coulson helped guide EQG's Luna through the darker, Nightmare Mooney phase of her life. Which teases one hell of a backstory. It could even explain how quickly Celestia and Luna seem to recover from all the magic flying around their world in the movies. Oh, you want to make an army of brainwashed teenagers? We toppled Communist governments before we graduated college. Bring it.

Moving on. SHIELD cooks up an official paper trail for Sunset, and Celestia takes her home to rest and recover so Coulson can check on her later. The rest of the available chapters follow the script you would expect. Mommylestia takes pity on the neglected Sunset and takes steps to adopt her. Gamer Luna is there for support. Chrysalis joins the crew of Equestrian figures as a social worker to offer guidance.

The biggest difference between this story and others is that Sunset herself seems far, far more traumatized than I've seen her before. She literally calls for mommy like a child, even days after her transformation. I'm still not quite sure what to make of that. There's a hint that her separation from Equestrian Celestia was a bit worse than first thought, but I can't shake the feeling that it was an overly strong pull on the heartstrings by the author. I was already on board. Celestia saved Sunset's life and felt guilty for ignoring her living situation for so long. That made sense on its own.

Sunset does regain some of her characteristic confidence in one part. She meets EQG Twilight when Cadance comes over for a family dinner, and the two of them bond over math. Another trope for the pile, but hey, it's one I like. Nothing wrong with two girls enjoying schoolwork together.

That's... pretty much it. The last available chapter sets up Sunset and Celestia going shopping for clothes and things to make her feel more at home. The story still feels like it's just getting started, both in developing the mother/daughter relationship it's aiming for and any other involvement from SHIELD.

Which leaves me feeling conflicted about how to rate it. I was disappointed that Coulson and SHIELD haven't shown up since the second chapter. I can understand why Sunset hasn't transformed from a crying girl bleeding to death into a world-breaking power like the Phoenix Force in just fourteen thousand words, but it seems strange that the story hasn't gone back to that angle yet, even just a phone call to make sure Sunset is still alive. It's something that set the story apart.

Without that everything else is fine. Just... fine. Nothing really bugged me, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. The story hits the notes it needs to hit without spreading its wings as far as it could have. The adoption angle seems to have been resolved with both Sunset and Celestia showing enthusiasm for the idea, however, so future chapters may very well dive into Sunset's past or bring back the crossover material. But I can't rate something based on what might be.

As is, if you're dying for something heartwarming, this story will scratch that itch for you.

Darnit, that makes me itchy. Coulson rocks.

It's a good fic. I should know, proofreading it and all. ;)

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The reference to the Phoenix Force... Jean Grey.

Logan...

You still have time...