The Kindly Ones
Chapter 17
The Kindly Ones
Sunset spread her bat-like, demonic wings, rising into the air as she cackled in triumph. Such power. With this form, her hated rival would never stand against her.
Twilight Sparkle would be as an ant beneath her foot.
Wait, what? Sunset thought. Hated rival? Twilight hasn’t been my rival in…where am I?
Sunset looked around. Canterlot High lay spread out around her.
No, Sunset thought. No, I’ve done this already. I don’t want to live this again.
I don’t want to hurt Twilight.
As her heart began to pound with fear, only one thing calmed Sunset’s anxiety: the knowledge that she had lived all this before. She knew what would happen. Twilight’s friends – their human doppelgangers anyway – would come to her defence and together they would awaken the powers of the Elements of Harmony and purge Sunset of her wickedness.
But when she looked down, Sunset saw that Twilight was alone. Absolutely alone. There were no students to be seen, no friends to take her side, no Flash Sentry, no Celestia.
There was only Twilight, rendered powerless by her human form, standing alone against the powers of darkness embodied by Sunset.
Twilight eyes were wide with anxiety. “Sunset,” she murmured. “You don’t have to do this.”
Sunset’s mouth moved independently of her will; she spoke because some other power commanded her voice. “No,” she said, and she smiled even though inside her head Sunset was screaming. “But I want to.”
A fireball leapt from Sunset’s hand and flew straight and true towards Twilight, who screamed as the vile flames consumed her. And Sunset started screaming too.
Her mind kept on screaming as it started all over again.
***
Twilight passed through the gate of gold and felt heat wash over her face. Fire was erupting from pits in the earth, the red and yellow flames reaching towards the ceiling, flickering like the eager claws of some great dragon grasping at gold.
There was a growling, snarling, snuffling sound as the great guard dog Cerberus loomed out of a patch of shadow, drool dripping from the mouth of its leftmost head, six eyes fixed on Twilight.
Twilight met the gaze of the hound of Tartarus without fear, displaying the wand of golden laurel-wood which she had taken from the tree. Cerberus bowed to her, sagging jaws dragging along the ground as the dog retreated, whining slightly.
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief; she had enough problems to deal with without worrying about Cerberus as well.
She advanced, passing between lakes of fire and great gaping chasms in the earth. Flames cast their flickering light upon Twilight’s coat on one side, while her other side was cloaked in shadow. Her ears were assailed by screaming, moaning, the clanking of chains and the banging of sticks and ropes.
Twilight paused as the path spread out in three different directions before her, three bridges of grey stone over the fire and the crevices, three roads going in different directions.
How do I know which path to take?
“Sunset?” Twilight yelled, hoping that Sunset would hear her as she had heard Sunset down in the den of the Diamond Dogs. “Sunset, can you hear me?”
“Sunset, she cries. Sunset. Doesn’t she know there is no sun in Tartarus? This is the domain of darkness and evil. Nothing good can linger here.” The voice was harsh and rasping, accompanied by the rattling of many chains.
“Who’s there?” Twilight called out. “Can you help me?”
There was more rattling as a black goat, his eyes gleaming red from the midst of his dark, hairy body, shuffled into the firelight. His whole body was loaded up with iron chains, and some of them stretched backwards into the shadows. From the way he abruptly stopped moving, Twilight guessed that he was chained to something which she could not see.
“Who am I?” the goat said. “Who am I? Why, pony child, I am nought but a poor prisoner, bound here to suffer torments undeserved. But you look kind, and you seem in need. Help me, I beg of you, and I will do all I can to repay you in kind.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Celestia would not put anyone here who did not deserve to be imprisoned.”
“Celestia,” the goat spat. “What of this Sunset you search for? Does she deserve to be imprisoned here?”
“No,” Twilight said. “But that’s different.”
“If your friend can be wrongfully punished, why are you so certain that I am not in the same position?”
“Because I know Sunset, I don’t know you,” Twilight replied. “Were you dragged here by the Furies, before they were imprisoned?”
“The Furies,” the goat laughed. “So self-righteous, so blind. They are the most wicked of all we prisoners here, yet to hear them talk, you would think them the most virtuous paragons that ever lived. So it is the Furies’ den you seek? Grogar can tell you the way, if you set me free of these chains.”
“And where will you go and what will you do once I have freed you?” Twilight demanded.
“Why should that matter to you?” Grogar replied. “You will know the way to your Sunset. Do you not care for her?”
“I love her,” Twilight said softly.
“Well then, what price is too high to pay for her rescue?”
“The suffering of hundreds,” Twilight said grimly, her voice hard. “I will not risk innocent ponies by letting you walk free. I cannot. I will find another way.”
Grogar howled in frustration. “You fool! Do you imagine that you are in some pathetic pony village? Are you so naïve as to believe that any creature in this pit will tell you what you wish to know out of simple kindness? All our hearts are black as pitch; you will get no bargain better than mine. You may wander this place until your old bones turn to dust, you may deal with a monster so evil that I seem as a newborn foal in comparison…or you may accept the offer which I, graciously, yet offer you.”
Twilight stared at Grogar with eyes like iron. Her voice, when she spoke, was heavy with resolve. “Or I will find another way. If I took you ‘gracious’ bargain, I would not be the mare that Sunset loves even if I found her. Goodbye.”
She turned her back on him and closed her ears to the sound of his cursing.
Twilight shut her eyes, contemplating the paths in front of her. Where are you, Sunset? Can you hear me? How do I find you?
She opened her eyes. Grogar had called the Furies the worst of all the villains bound in Tartarus. The air felt foulest to the left. It was not much to go on, but at this point it was all that Twilight had. She took the leftmost path, crossing over a pool of bubbling lava and onto a path surrounded by thorns. Amongst the thorns, creatures squirmed; Twilight recognised some of them from her studies of history: the zebra warlord Sophoniba, who had led a campaign to conquer southern Equestria, the griffon Empress Ildico who had enslaved the Diamond Dogs, the dragon Typhoeus, all three and countless others writhed and struggled in the hedge of thorns while the needles pricked and tore at them. She even saw Sombra there, and when he saw her he snarled and tried to lunge at her, but the thorns curled tighter around him and pulled him back into their sharp embrace.
Will Sunset end up here, when the Furies are done toying with her? Twilight wondered. I would not wish this upon Chrysalis.
Am I even on the right path?
Twilight looked around again, at the villains who writhed within the grip of these thorns. Wrath, envy, cruelty and injustice, all three were on display amongst this gallery of rogues. The zebra who had coveted the fertile lands of the north, the griffon who had put an entire race in chains, the dragon whose lust for gold had been exceeded only by his hatred for pony kind, the king whose heart had been so full of anger that it had consumed him until only a screeching shadow of a pony still remained. All of them had assumed that their power, temporal and magical, had rendered them above right and wrong, above the morals of lesser ponies. All of them had thought that their ability to commit acts of wickedness gave them the right to commit those selfsame acts. All of them were now paying the price for their hubris. Who could deny, watching them squirm, that this was the part of Tartarus where the proud where humbled and those who had been untouchable in life where pricked as their consciences had never been. Surely the Furies where somewhere near here.
“Sunset?” Twilight yelled, galloping on down the middle of the thorny path and ignoring the hosts of howling villains all around her. “Hold on, Sunset, just a little longer.”
And then Twilight heard Sunset scream, exactly as she had when the Elements of Harmony had ripped her demonic form apart.
Twilight ran faster, panting from the effort as her legs began to ache. She followed the sound, that awful sound, down the thorny path and into a steep, dark ravine which, after a journey far too long – a single step would have taken too long, once Sunset started screaming – opened out into a broad basin. And there, Twilight saw the Furies.
Their den was illuminated by sickly green flames, which burned from no visible source but merely sat upon the ground, casting their unnatural light in flickers upon the dark stone walls.
In between the green fire, or beyond them, or before them, dotted here and there across the Furies’ nest, lay pits. Some of the pits were filled with lava, others with long, sharp spikes, still more with ice or snakes or a horde of wriggling insects. Every pit was filled with ponies. They screeched as the lava burned them, they moaned as they lay buried in the ice up to their necks, they tried without success to escape the cruel points of the spikes or beat futilely at the bugs that crawled all over them. Some of them reached out to Twilight, stretching their hooves towards her as though her appearance offered them hope.
Twilight looked away, sickened that her presence, what they thought it meant, was making the torment of these poor ponies worse.
“You pity them?” Allecto murmured. She and her sisters stood in the centre of their den, huddled close together with their backs to Twilight. Yet she had guessed at Twilight’s thoughts regardless. “You would not, if you had known them while they lived.”
“If they are all as guilty as Sunset Shimmer then I cannot imagine that any of them deserve this for a day, let alone the span of years you’ve been inflicting this upon them. Where is Sunset? I have come to get her.”
“Have you now?” Allecto crooned, her voice sibilant and soft. She turned to face Twilight, a smirk upon her scaly face. “So the bold princess descends into the underworld to rescue her beloved from a fate worse than death. How touching. How arrogant.”
Twilight growled. “Where is she?”
Allecto’s smirk broadened. “Why, here she is.” The three Furies backed away, revealing Sunset hovering between the three of them, suspended in the air by the tail like a sack strung up in a barn.
Twilight gasped. “Sunset?” she got closer, her hooves echoing upon the ground. “Sunset, can you hear me? It’s Twilight, I’ve come to take you home.” Sunset did not reply. Her eyes were closed, her face was wracked by spasms of pain and frustration, she groaned and moaned and cried out in response to nothing that Twilight could see. Her horn glowed with magical aura. In fact, Twilight noticed that her whole body was starting to glow with the same aura. That was definitely not supposed to happen. Twilight’s eyes widened as she realised what was happening: Sunset was trying to keep her magic bottled in, the way you would if you wanted to be ready to cast a spell without actually casting one right away. But you could only do that for so long, every unicorn had a limit as to how much magic they could hold without using any of it. By the looks of things, Sunset was trying to hold her magic in while it was still building up, and like a bottle that you kept pouring water into her magic was overflowing, flooding back into her body seeking a release.
Twilight rounded on the Furies, snarling. “What are you doing to her?”
“What you and Celestia were too soft and weak to do,” Tissiphone said. “Punishing her for her crimes.”
“Her magic is turning inwards, if Sunset doesn’t let it go then it will consume her and she’ll die!”
“That is up to her, not to us,” Megaera replied. “We are not keeping her from casting the spell.”
“Then what are you doing?” Twilight yelled.
“Making her suffer,” Allecto hissed.
“She doesn’t deserve to suffer for the things she did,” Twilight protested.
“Three days, you saw her work her wicked ways,” Tissiphone snapped. “Three years her victims suffered beneath her lash. Such arrogance, to presume the right to speak for all her victims, to abrogate on their behalf all claim to justice. Will you erase the tears that Fluttershy shed, will you dismiss the pain of Pinkie as irrelevant? Do you claim that your opinion, your desires, matter more than anypony elses? Be careful, princess, that your crown does not swell your head and make you our prey in your turn.”
“Sunset Shimmer provided blood to summon us back into the world, and so she is our first victim,” Allecto crowed. “But once we are done with her then there are many others across Equestria who stand in need of judgement. Luna, Discord, Tirek, all shall know our fury and Equestria will know true justice once again.”
“True justice? You’re killing Sunset!” Twilight yelled. “How is that just? Sunset never did anything remotely close to what you’re doing to her!”
The three Furies began to hum in unison, looking at one another intently. Allecto scowled, and the sound of her humming was a discordant note to the song, but at last she said, “Very well. You may free her from the enchantment, if you can.”
Twilight turned away from, approaching Sunset cautiously, examining what exactly was being done to her. Perhaps, if she had gotten here sooner, she could have unpicked the net from here. But it had been too long. If she wanted to break Sunset free of her ensorcellment, she would have to do it from within.
If I do not return, I leave my Daring Do first editions to Rainbow Dash, Twilight thought as she summoned her magic and, gently, touched the tip of Sunset’s horn with her own.
Her eyes opened on a deserted Canterlot High.
Deserted and ruined. The damage was far worse than the wall Sunset had battered down in her actual rampage. Here whole buildings had been demolished and set aflame, the smoke from the ruins rising to obscure the moon above. The grass was on fire, and the mirror was smashed; shards of glass lay amidst the broken stone.
Twilight was human again, though instead of her prom dress she wore what had been her normal outfit on the other side of the mirror. In spite of that, she knew at once that this was the night of the Fall Formal. What other night would the Furies have forced Sunset to suffer through than the scene of her humiliation?
Though that didn’t explain why there was no one here? Where was the audience to Sunset’s shame?
Then she heard the screaming.
Twilight ran past the burning gym, into the centre of the school courtyard. Sunset, wearing her dark demonic visage, lay curled up on the ground like a foal; she was a sobbing, quivering mess. In front of her stood another Twilight, all alone.
“Twilight, run, “ Sunset growled, raising one arm in a strange, quivering motion as though she was fighting with her own body. “Get away!”
A fireball appeared in Sunset’s hand, and Twilight understood what her punishment was.
Oh, Sunset.
Sunset held the fireball in the palm of her hand, gritting her teeth, before she raised her arm and drove the fireball into the ground where it exploded all around her. Sunset screamed and howled in agony as the flames consumed her.
Twilight shut her eyes, she did not want to see what the fire would do to the mare she loved. She cringed from what she could hear, turned away from what she might have seen, and only when the screaming stopped did she open her eyes again.
Sunset was whole and intact again, though still demonic, and once more she struggled against her compulsion to attack Twilight.
“Please,” Sunset moaned. “Get out of here.”
“Sunset, don’t,” Twilight yelled, stepping out from her concealment. Instantly the false Twilight disappeared like smoke, and Sunset’s demon eyes widened in horror.
“No,” she whispered. “No, you can’t be here, you have to go.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” Twilight said, advancing on Sunset.
“Don’t come any nearer, I can’t control it.”
“Yes, you can,” Twilight insisted. “You’re the only one who can. You control yourself, not the Furies, not anypony else. Nobody owns you. No one pulls your strings. You don’t have to dance for them any longer.”
Sunset flinched from her. “Please stay back. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I know that you would never hurt me,” Twilight replied, continuing to advance as though she had not a trace of fear within her.
“But I did,” Sunset cried. “They made me hurt you.”
“But you fought back.”
Sunset nodded. “I couldn’t bear it.”
Twilight smiled. “Like I told you, you can fight them. And now that I’m here we can fight them together.”
“What if they’re right?” Sunset murmured. “What if I deserve to be punished?”
“How does this help anyone?” Twilight demanded. “You think it would make Fluttershy feel better to know that you’re here, burning yourself up? If you want to make amends for the things that you did, then do it by living each day a better pony than you were before. You’ll make no amends down here, and you know that as well as I do.”
Tears welled up in Sunset’s eyes. “I don’t deserve you,” she whispered.
Twilight shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.” Her smile widened. “But you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She reached out. “Now take my hand, and let’s go home.”
Sunset reached forward and rested one clawed demonic finger in the palm of Twilight’s hand.
Sunset opened her eyes and gave a squawk of alarm as the power suspending her in the air vanished, dumping her face-first in a heap on the ground.
“You’re a petty bunch, aren’t you?” Sunset muttered as she picked herself up.
Allecto’s lip curled into a sneer. “So, you have escaped. How disappointing.”
“We shall have to find another means of punishment,” Tissiphone hissed.
Twilight’s expression was resolute as she stepped between Sunset and the Furies. “No. You won’t.”
The Furies growled in unison. Allecto snarled, “You still dare to defy us? My patience is wearing thin.”
Twilight smiled. “I have defied Discord, I have defied Sombra. What’s one more just like them?”
“Who are you, pony princess, to stand between the Furies and their prey?” Tissiphone demanded. “Who are you to stand in the way of justice?”
Twilight laughed. “Justice? I’m not standing in the way of justice. I am standing between three cruel, bullying monsters and their victim. Of all the ponies in Equestria you could have tormented, you chose one who was too weak to fight back against you. And then, when you had her, you used her to indulge your passion for pain, your lust for suffering. You three are monsters as bad as any, and you belong right here with all the rest.”
“We avenge the helpless and the weak,” Megaera insisted.
“My friends aren’t helpless, and they don’t need you to take cruel retribution to make them feel better,” Twilight yelled. “Look at Sunset, and look at yourselves, and then tell me who here is really helpless.”
“Thanks a lot,” Sunset muttered under her breath.
Megaera and Tissiphone hesitated, humming to themselves. But Allecto howled in rage, a flaming sword appearing in her hand. “Silence! I am Allecto, Fury of Wrath. I walked this world when sun and moon were young. I protected ponies and humans alike when both were too weak to protect themselves.”
“And now, we need neither your protection nor your stern judgement,” Twilight replied. “We help one another, we forgive, we embrace. We love. So why, honestly, are you doing this?”
“I will not be lectured by an infant princess!” Allecto roared, raising her sword above her head as her fiery hair blazed with anger. Tissiphone and Megaera looked alarmed, but Allecto ignored the both of them. “I will not be mocked, nor talked down to like some peasant! I give you one opportunity: depart, and leave Sunset Shimmer to darkness and to me.”
Sunset pressed close to Twilight. “Maybe you’d better do as she says.”
Twilight shook her head, never taking her eyes off Allecto. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“My magic didn’t touch her, and you’re not that much more powerful than I am,” Sunset said.
“If this works, I won’t need to be,” Twilight whispered. Louder, she said, “I have done no wrong. I have committed no crime. If you attack me, then everything I have said about your being nothing more than sadistic bullies will be proved right.”
Allecto laughed. “So be it! After all, who is there to witness it here?” Her flaming sword swept down.
Both Tissiphone and Megaera swung their blades into position, blocking Allecto’s stroke with a ringing sound.
“What are you doing?” Allecto demanded.
Tissiphone’s voice was icy cold. “Would you really break our code, sister? Would you really abuse your power to strike down an innocent, simply because you could? Is that not what we were born to stand against?”
“It is true then, what she says,” Megaera said mournfully. “We love the hunt so much we have forgotten the reason for it.”
Allecto bared her teeth in a snarl, before a pathetic sob escaped her lips. “I will not fade from this world! I will not! Sisters…I only want for us to live and hunt again.”
“And maybe we would,” Tissiphone said. “But if we did, we would not be the Furies.” She looked down at Twilight and Sunset. “It appears that we have sins of our own that we must contemplate. Go now, both of you, and tell Celestia that we shall trouble Equestria no more.”
The Furies faded away into the darkness, followed by their victims, their pits of torture and their eerie fire. Allecto’s sobbing echoed in the chamber for a few moments, before that, too, faded, leaving Twilight and Sunset all alone in the silence and the shadow.
The two mares looked at one another. It was absurd but, after having come so far, Twilight found that there were no easy words to roll off her tongue.
“Was I really worth all this?” Sunset asked.
Twilight nodded. “All of it and more.” She did not mention the bargain she had made with Sun Song. She never would. She did not want Sunset to feel like she owed it to Twilight to stay with her. If they lasted, and Twilight genuinely believed they would, then it would be because their love had lasted, not because Sunset was labouring under obligation.
Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “Wow. That makes me feel…like I have a lot to live up to. I don’t know how I can ever-”
“You don’t have to,” Twilight said. “That’s sort of how it works.”
Sunset chuckled. “Well, thanks. A lot.” She stared at Twilight for a moment. “You’re really wonderful, you know that? And very attractive when you get all righteous.”
Twilight blushed. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
“No, I’d like to hang around in the dark for a little longer,” Sunset replied.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Follow me.”
Sunset grinned. “All my life.”
Twilight led her out of the Furies’ den, down the path of thorns and to the gate of gold which Crona had mentioned. It gleamed effulgent, a beacon of hope in this dark place.
“All those villains,” Sunset murmured. “Would I have been stuck there, if you hadn’t come?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight said. “I would never have not come.”
“More to the point, I would have deserved to be there if not for you.”
“Good point,” Twilight said mischievously. “What do you contribute to this relationship?”
Sunset spluttered for a moment before she spotted Twilight giggling. “Very funny. Are we leaving?”
Twilight held out one hoof. “Together?”
Sunset took it. Her hoof felt soft and warm in Twilight’s grasp. “Together.”
They passed through the gate, and in a flash of soft, blue light they had emerged upon the river bank. Sun Song was waiting, her boat still resting upon their bank, ready for them to climb aboard.
“You did it,” Sun Song said, her voice sounding surprised. “I did not think you would.”
“Then why is your boat still on this side of the river?” Twilight asked.
Sun Song did not reply. Instead she turned to Sunset – or it looked as though she did, her face was still hidden beneath her cowl – and said, “Take care of this one. She is a rare treasure.”
Sunset put her leg over Twilight’s shoulder. “That she is.”
Sun Song ferried them across the river, and together Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle walked out of the underworld. The path out did not seem so cold or so forbidding when there was another pony to share it with, especially when that pony was the mare you loved.
The gates opened as they approached, and together the two of them stepped out of the tunnel and into the moonlit night as-
“Twilight! Sunset!”
Twilight barely had time to look around as Pinkie cannoned into the pair of them, bearing them to the ground as all her other friends crowded around her.
“You went into Tartarus by yourself?” Rainbow cried. “Don’t do something that awesome without inviting us again, okay?”
“You’re supposed to say something dangerous, Rainbow, darling, not awesome,” Rarity said.
“We should have a welcome back Twilight and Sunset party!” Pinkie yelled.
“Um, Pinkie, I haven’t really been gone,” Twilight said.
“Then we should have a party to celebrate that!”
Celestia came to stand over them all. “I’m glad to see that you are well, Sunset. Welcome back.”
Sunset smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “I’m…I’m home.”
As morning approached, Twilight and Sunset sat upon the hillside, alone, Ponyville spread out beneath them.
“As a first date,” Sunset said. “That could have gone better.”
“It was certainly lively,” Twilight said.
Sunset snorted. “So, what happens now?”
Twilight smiled. “The rest of our lives, I guess. Punctuated by the occasional monster attack or resurgence of an ancient evil.”
“At least it won’t be dull,” Sunset replied. “Oh, and you have to come with me to my sister’s wedding, because I told her I was bringing a date.”
“Of course,” Twilight said. “It will probably be less stressful than the last wedding I went to.”
Sunset looked into Twilight’s eyes. “You’re the best thing that’s ever been mine, you know that?”
They kissed as the new day dawned on their future together.
A month later, in Canterlot, saw Sunset Shimmer adjusting the veil on Eclipse’s mane. “And that just about does it, I think.”
Eclipse smiled. “How do I look?”
“Awesome,” Sunset said.
Eclipse made a face. “I’m the bride, I’m supposed to look beautiful.”
“You do. Awesomely beautiful,” Sunset replied.
Eclipse shook her head. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be married by Princess Celestia. How did you arrange that?”
“I asked very, very nicely.” Sunset grinned. “Don’t say that I never did anything for you, sis.”
Eclipse chuckled. “So, am I going to get to return the favour soon?”
Sunset felt herself blushing furiously. “I, uh, what kind of a question is that to spring on a pony?”
Eclipse cackled. “Just kidding. Take your time.”
There was a knock on the door of the bridal dressing room.
“Are you ready, dear?” asked the groom’s mother from the other side.
“Yes,” Eclipse said. She took a deep breath. “You know, I never would have believed that you would be walking behind me on my wedding day.”
“There was a time I never would have thought you’d ask me,” Sunset said. “Now come on, let’s not keep everypony waiting.”
And so, when Eclipse walked down the aisle to marry Planed Surface, Sunset Shimmer walked behind her as her Mare of Honour, and held up her train as she strode towards happiness.
It isn’t about you asking me, sis, Sunset thought. There was a time when I never would have been able to do this. To be here, walking behind somepony else? To have all eyes on you, and none on me, my pride would not have borne it. I would have refused to come, then turned up anyway and done something to make myself the centre of attention.
In as much as I’m a better pony, it’s thanks a little to you, and a lot to one special mare.
Sunset’s eyes locked with Twilight’s as she swept past her marefriend - it still felt weird to think of them like that - down the aisle.
Well, maybe not quite all the eyes are on you, Eclipse, Sunset thought, as she winked at Twilight.
It was, the presence of two princesses notwithstanding, a small ceremony. Family, friends and Princess Celestia. Vows were said, speeches were made, and a party got under way.
Sunset watched the bride and groom slow dance across the floor and then, once other couples started to drift on, she coughed gently and held out one hoof for Twilight. “Would you care to dance?”
Twilight smiled, and took Sunset’s hoof in her own.
They danced, the slow waltz of romance followed by the fast dance of passion, as Sunset put her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders and rose up above her, looking down into those beguiling lavender eyes as she shook her flank in the air and sang along with the music.
“Yeah, you are the best thing,” Sunset sang, staring into Twilight’s eyes. “That’s ever been mine.”
Sunset descended towards Twilight, and their lips met.
The End
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Nice.
Though... shouldn't this one (and the copy on fanfiction.net) be marked "Complete" now? (If you've already set it to such and it just hasn't shown up, disregard.)
Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.
"Twas most entertaining... in a plebeian sort of way."
Well it was a good story, it is just to sad that it have to end after the first bad thing that happend. It is not bad, i just think it is a real pity that i don´t get to read a bit more about their relationship. I would like if the sequel is not just a chapter long if it is that want one shot means. I wanted to read a bit about their live with their relationshipt, not only how it started.
Like i said, the story is really nice and i think i can say beautiful, but i expected the story to just start. It is not your fault, i just hate it if a story end with something that could lead to a different tale to say so. I really would want another story with them, there have to be no enemy i just want to read a few beautiful moments maybe with their adoptive daugther and son. Maybe the sequel could be the sight of their children for a part, and they can have their own adventures with the Cutiemark Crussaiders.
Even if i like the story, it is just to sad that it is already the ending, it feels like it would just start for them.
It was a good read, even if the ending kinda gave me whiplash with how at odds with the rest of the story it was.
Hooray for happy endings!
Wrapped up quite nicely!
Awesome story.
If there's gonna be a sequel, I do hope it will be just as good as this! AWESOME STORY!
This is one of the only finished SunLight fics...awesome.
Pretty good story, is there a reason you haven't marked this complete?
Well done. This was a great story, I enjoyed it.
Wow... So, that's it, eh?
I was kinda expecting something more from the grande finale, to be honest...
It felt somehow rushed, you know? The "fight" with Furies was rather disappointing, it went like: want to rescue Sunset? Say a magic word. Want to defeat Furies? Say a magic word. Pretty much both the scense that should have some suspense, some drama, some action maybe, both were resolved with a single sentence.
A waste of a great buildup. Truly a waste.
And the last "scenes" with Mane6 welcoming Sunset and Twi, with them finishing their date, with the wedding... They seemed odd to me. I can't put my finger on how exactly, but they just felt weird, rushed and out of place.
Sorry for that, but in my humble opinion, that was a rather disappointing finale of a great story. A pity.
It brings me great pain to say that I have to agree with 4989137. This seemed... Too short. Rushed. Something.
And I believe I know what felt wrong with the last scenes. The fact, that they should not have been last ones.
I mean, their love is slowly blooming, they grew closer together with the Furies incident, the true romance begins and... Ends. Just like that. Just when it started to get more and more interesting. Just -snip- and that's all.
After Sunset and Twi came out of Tartarus they should talk some more. I mean, they've just been in hell! They should at least discuss it, talk about Sunset's insecurities, her fears, stuff like that, not just "And they lived happily ever after".
What we've got is a description of what happened. The equivalent of "After that, Mike went to college and Lucy started work at Starbucks". Even the wedding is just a short description, no shenanigans, no story being developed, no reaction from Eclipse to the fact, that her sister is in a relationship with a freakin' goddes of magic itself. The whole wedding could've easily been added as a whole new chapter leading to more
I'm glad that you decided to make a oneshot after that, and that you consider making a sequel. This story deserves, and needs more. Too bad, that this part ended like that.
5002143
Does everyone who makes this argument think so little of my writing ability that they do not think I could inhabit a viewpoint not my own? That I couldn't make an argument without believing in it? And I'd always thought that was one of my strengths
Need a sequel idea?
Think I found the Furies out causing more mischief ... 
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140819205957/villains/images/thumb/5/56/Dazzlings_sing_on_red_background_EG2.png/350px-Dazzlings_sing_on_red_background_EG2.png
--Spade
5023439
Well they could not make a computer and do something else. Idk, it just doesn't make any sense that they could invent a computer in one night. Like seriously do you even understand how ridiculous a task that is? Do you even understand haxorus29? It's very ridiculous haxorus29. Very.
5002284 I think it's more like people reading it and thinking "Technology is bad!? Get em!"
Or at least that's what it looks like to me anyways.
Great story btw, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel.
5093478
You win.
4989137 I'd disagree with your assessment of the confrontation with the Furies. It made a lot of sense, given what had been established about them before, and it didn't need to be some sort of epic duel or whatever.
Very good story! I really don't know what to say except that I love how you examine the motivations at play very well.
5119734 Well, true, not an epic duel (this is not an adventure fanfic or something after all), but some sort of... Dunno... Climax. You know, where the tension rises, rises, rises and explodes at the end. Here we had the tension rising, rising a bit, and then just slowly dropping, with the sound of a deflating baloon.
Besides, all the buildup went to waste. And the end felt extremely rushed. There was no drama, no emotions, no nothing. I had no time to "feel" the ending, honestly. It was just
"We caught Sunset and we will torment her!"
"No, you will not."
"Okay."
Well, that is my opinion, of course. You have every right to disagree with me.
5119747 No, it was:
Furies: "We caught Sunset and we will torment her!"
Twilight: "You're being complete hypocrites"
Allecto: "NO WE AREN'T!"
Megaera & Tissiphone: "Crap, you actually have a point. Allecto, shut up."
Idunno, that's how I read it.
5119788 Still, the whole buildup, the whole drama, the whole... Fic. Basically solved with a few words. All the tension for nothing, there was no "release", if you know what I mean. Author made me like "Oh dayuuuum, she's going to hell! That'll be so awesome!" and "OhcrapohcrapOHCRAP WHAT'LL HAPPEN!?" and at the end I was like "Oh... Umm... That's how we're going to solve it..? I mean, no... Action? Nothing? Just talk? The end? Well, okay... That's... Umm... Nice? I guess?"
It was like watching a movie with a serial killer, when he creeps slowly behind his prey, and then slips and breaks his neck. The whole (I may be overusing this word) for absolutely nothing. It makes us expect things. All the dramatic music, tension in the air so thick, that you can cut it with a knife, and then...
pfffffrblrrrrt
5120005 Idunno, I guess it just comes down to YMMV, then. *shrug*
5120008 De gustibus non est disputandum, Me - personally - I didn't like the ending, that was a spoon of tar in a barrel of honey, just a little bit, but spoiled the whole thing. That's all.
5120022 Fair enough.
this was just AWESOME!
5120005 A bit of a delay on the response, but the title of the chapter in which Twilight entered Tartarus was "Lavender Orpheus", and much of the setting and characters are the next best thing to straight out of ancient Mythology. You'll want to check out the myths about Orpheus, as well as quite afew of the myths Here. (It's all different stories about descending into the underworld.)
Very few of them feature any kind of violence enacted on the "Hero" of the tale, typically only featuring the suffering of those long dead and damned. Not all are completely exempt though.
I'll admit,however, that, while I enjoyed the very thorough and obvious shout out, I was surprised there wasn't a small scene about not looking back while on the trip back across the river. In the original tale, Orpheus cannot resist one single glance back, and loses his love forever because of it. Twilight wouldn't be that silly, but still.
The more you know.
5150804 True, that looks indeed like Orpheus myth, but...
Well, fanfiction, and popular literature in general is very different, from myths or even later, Shakespear-time literature. People nowadays expect something better, something stronger, are not satisfied with just talking out the grande finale. That sort of thing would be ok in ancient Rome or Greece, but not exactly fits the modern world needs and expectations.
5150821 I dunno. I think that each person has different expectations and desires from any story, but I also think that our society has been spoiled of late. Very few forms of media can tell a convincing and captivating story without some form of violence and action, and my own opinion is that sometimes, if a story could have resolved the issues without resorting to mindless bloodshed, it would have been better.
Personally, I found this story more delightful and refreshing because of it.
... even if I did find the ending a bit lukewarm. It felt like it ran out of steam after the escape from Tartarus. Happy endings that just magically make everything perfect have never satisfied me.
But much of what I say is my own opinion, and can be merrily ignored if you disagree with it. Or just find me objectionable for personal reasons. That's your business.
Personally, I really like all the story. Maybe the Furies' thing was a little forced, but it wasn't bad, if I can say.
Anyway, if you ever write a sequel, you can count on me to read it, both for the couple and for your writing style, which I find very good.
That was beautiful. I never thought I could see these two together due to all the conflict in the first Equestria Girls movie but after watching Rainbow Rocks I was hooked on yet another magical pony shipping.
Also, I think I caught a reference to one of Taylor Swift's songs near the end if I'm not mistaken.
Loved all the pony puns you added!
Now I will be obsessing over this fic and this shipping until the end of time. Whoops.
5238886
It's a bit weird actually, although that is a Sam moment, for a lot of the fic (from 'Coward' onwards) because I hadn't seen either of the EQG movies, when I wrote an emotional moment between Sunset and Twilight Sunset ended up sounding like Dean in my head.
5240181 I really enjoyed this story great work
Haven't really been a fan of Sunlight...till now.
I hate finishing stories like this one
their just to beautiful to end.
dawwww! That was glorious!
Okay I've been holding this in the whole story so I got a lot to say.
One, I loved the story. Start to finish it was amazing. It didn't start out as a love story which is what makes it a perfect love story. Everything that happened was a logical effect of what happened before, I.E. there were no obvious and glaring plot holes... well sort of there were... I'll get to them in number four.
Two, the heroes were wonderful. Twilight was so adorkably Twilight the whole time and I found myself caring for Sunset right from chapter one. As for Twi's eligibility arc I was slightly disappointed that we don't get to see the foreign suitors, but I suppose that will make for good sequel fodder.
Three, the supporting cast was spot on. Pinkie was perfect, that is all. The rest of the mane six was very well done too if not really as memorable. Which is fine seeing as they are not the focus of this story. They played their parts and didn't get in the way, some writers would force them into scenes and that would take away from the story. Cadence was the Princess of Love. I mean that with nothing but respect as many times her kind of character gets stuck being the damsel in distress, but you made her strong and confident in using her authority. As for Sunset's family, I love them. They fit perfectly in their role telling Sunset what Cadence was telling Twilight without being the same. Also I loved Sunset's bedtime story.
Four, the plot holes... yeah you know the villains. They were perfectly executed by the way. Even though I kind of figured out early how Twi would defeat them I was not disappointed because that was really the only logical endgame for defeating something so powerful. Also Sunset got a little big for her britches when she said Twi was only slightly more powerful than her. But it did still feel like it fit her character so that was fine.
Five, the grammar and spelling. I didn't see any mistakes. I'm not saying they weren't there, I'm just saying that the story was so good that I didn't notice them if they were... so good job on picking proofreaders.
Six, fabulous cash and prizes. The upward facing thumb is an obvious one, but in addition you get a gold star from me, a pleasant place on the group I help admin, I actually intend to ask the boss if I can run this as our front page feature, and I am going to watch you. So keep up the fantastic writing,
I'll see you at the next chapter.
This story was amazing! Everypony seemed in character. I loved how you showed Sunset's and Twilight's emotions!
And this story got me into Sunlight now
Just, awesome
Grand. Absolutely positively grand. I haven't had a good read like that in quite some time. I'm just at a loss for words on my opinion of this. My only regret is that there isn't more to read.
Wow. This was grande cinema. *applaudes*
I absolutley loved the way you distinguished the Cast, the building romance between Twi and Sunset and the use of greek Mythologie. Also, the final encounter with the Furies was pleasently different. Not that I mind seeing Twi kicking Ass but the way you choose to finish it was absolut perfect.
Sincerley,
Schrödingers Katze
Romance isn't usually my thing, but I loved this. It took me far too long to get around to reading this. The references to comic (Equestria-616
) and to Code Geass, especially the quip about how "The King/Princess must move so the pawns will follow" is idiocy in chess. Still one of my favorite animes. All the Greek Mythology at the end was a little out of left field, but not unwelcome. Makes me fear for Twilight's future, in all honesty, as Celestia really is the one in charge of EVERYTHING, including Tartarus and the afterlife. When the rules and systems that govern the world are clearly in place, like the furies, at least you know where you stand in regards to them. When there is an extremely powerful being that can rewrite those rules... Well, I suppose Celestia is the one I would want to have that power.
Aaaaanyway.
Epic ride. Absolutely Loved it. Onto the sequel!
After a time I finally read complete this fic, and was AWESOME
right in the feels yo!
I really wish it didn't end i hope you make a sequel , i'm doing a reading of the story for youtube as well
5024424 I understand, but...well, this is fiction for a reason. I mean, if it was realistic...we would actually have 10-30 chapters focused on what the author used to give them something to bond over. It was never meant to be realistic (most likely) and why am I replying.
Now that this story is finished, I shall give my true review upon this.
I absolutely loved it.
I cannot confirm, but I may've seen this story before but never got around to read it. In the past, I wasn't a SunLight shipper and everything and therefore didn't see anything to make me read this. Upon getting through the first few chapters, I knew that I wasn't going to sleep until I finish reading this. Right now, I spent probably a good 2 hours reading this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The change in Sunset's character as the story progressed was incredible. I was not expecting suitors when I clicked on the first chapter.
Then you brought in enough Greek Mythology to really catch my attention. I have gotten back to the Percy Jackson series (which do deal a lot with the Greek myths) and it really caught my attention some more. You are probably the first author I've come across who put Tartarus into the story the way you did. I am jelly that you got to it before I did, but hey, you did it very well.
You know, I think I did find your story a long time ago, I think on the fanfiction.net site but I'm not sure. I'm glad I decided to take a chance, and by the saints I'm glad I did. I'll check out your sequel, but I know that this was enjoyable to read. The story flowed, the plotlines really showed themselves, and you made me think again about the definition of love. Congratulations on an awesome story my friend, and I hope you dazzle us some more in the future.
Remember to Keep Calm and Flutter On.
-SirScribe
6450516
I honestly didn't think about it that far, I was mostly thinking about cannibalising the electronics. The only things I can say in my defence are
a) arcade games in Equestria are canon (Button Mash), but we've yet to see hair or hide of a computer
b) this subplot was originally going to climax with Sunset creating a passive-aggressive, secretly evil AI that would fall in love with her, try to take over Ponyville and get destroyed by Twilight in a riff on the ending of Mass Effect 3, so I wasn't really aiming for a realistice depiction of computer science.
6662689
I'm afraid the only thing I can remember about Police Academy now is that Lt Provenza from Major Crimes played the instructor.
As for Blue Oyster Club, I was actually thinking of Blue Oyster Cult the band (Don't Fear the Reaper and all that) and got the words mixed up.