As the eternal regent of Equestria, Princess Celestia's knowledge of magic is without equal. Over her long life, only a few gifted ponies who had a great destiny before them have had the honor of learning at her side. Sunset Shimmer was one such pony: one of Celestia’s best and most promising students. As she learned at Celestia’s hooves, their bond strengthened until they became far more than student and teacher to one another.
Sometimes those closest to us are the ones who can hurt us the most.
[Note: This story does not directly tie into Equestria Girls]
Hnnng. FillySunset is just too adorable. Far, far too adorable.
..... oh dears. That was ....
You dun goofed, kid.
And now we see where Sunset went. To be honest, I rather like this ending, and not just because it leaves things open for further adventures from Sunset. The show proper has a bit of a tendency to have ponies fix things for Celestia, and for once it's a bit of a refreshing (if melancholic) change to have things blow up in her face without it being fixed for her. Maybe things will turn out for the best later, and maybe not--but for now, this feels like a good end. No bridges permanently burnt, but still a more down-to-earth and bittersweet parting.
Solid job!
There's so much bullshit in that once sentence they could have used it as fertilizer to end the famine after the Lunar Rebellion!
static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2013/7/17/1374076483577/Gordon-Ramsay-shouting-010.jpg
on an unrelated note, your 'end author's note' note is still there, right above your author's note.
Damn you and your beautiful writings. My heart isn't supposed to feel anymore!
I didn't like Winning Pony, but I like this.
Oh...
...That's not cool....not at all...
The fact that this didn't end on a note of hatred like I expected to makes this fic all the more surprising, and all the sweeter. I really like it.
And thus was the beginning of Sunset's incredible journey.
She really could have gone any way. I think Celestia liked she had some courage and will in her, rather than being a simple yes pony.
You can really feel it with Sunset.
Yes, Sunset is a budding megalomanic here with sociopathic tendencies . . . and she just attacked Cadence over hurt feelings . . . but you hear her heart CRACK when Celestia turns down her hope of them becoming a family.
And she just digs herself in deeper and deeper. And then just goes NUTS.
I think Celestia can see at this point IMHO or SHOULD SEE at this point that Sunset has lost her marbles.
“Tell me how I’m the daughter you never had!”
And that sums it all up.
, I would’ve been as helpless against her as Cadenza had been against me.
Hint hint Sunset.
The mother I’d always wanted, the mother I’d deserved.
I hate to say it, but that's the first time her entitlement has been right.
Didn't expect that ending.
Is she talking about midnight sparkle? I recall it having it be mentioned in the phoenix empress story that she was in danger of becoming a villain or something.
Also:
Considering that Cadence is a alicorn, does this mean that Celestia was subtly influencing her progress every step of the way?
So, will we see a sequel?
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I don't think this refers to Sunbeam or Midnight Sparkle, just from the way Celestia phrases it. For starters, Midnight Sparkle is Sunbeam's biological daughter, so if it were she, why would Celestia say "like a daughter"? And if it were Sunbeam herself... the only pony to love her "like a daughter" would probably have been Celestia, so why not just say so?
Plus there's the time differential. Celestia's most likely referring to somepony more recent than 800-900 years ago. Maybe still 200-300 years, but still...
Just FYI, a regent is a person who temporarily runs a monarchy when the actual monarch is unavailable.
I really enjoy reading your story :3
This is, without even a subatomic particle of doubt, the most beautiful story I have ever read.
And the fact that it is about Sunset Shimmer makes it even better.
I just hope that Freeport Venture will be just as beautifully written as this story was, while having a happier ending for both Sunset and Celestia.
Also on that note, I think this would fall better under the Sad category, rather than the Tragedy category. That's my honest opinion.
And the ball gets rolling.
This was an amazing story, and I enjoyed every part of it.
Has Sunset´s mother really given up on her daughter so easily? If it´s that so, the I suppose Sunset was right about her parents.
I really enjoyed this! I'm also happy to see a bit more explanation of Celestia's whole Destiny Sense thing and the ways it's at best incomplete. It actually dovetails nicely with my own time loop headcanon. Celestia's always been able to sense the potential good a pony might do and tends to overlook the bad, making her a bit naive. Luna is exactly the opposite in that she can see the potential evil much more clearly than the good, which makes her a little bit paranoid. There's a reason they used to take on joint apprentices back in the day.
By the way, when can we expect the next chapter of Tales from the Phoenix Empire to come out?
Why is it that every story I read about Sunny makes me think she's the most tragic character in MLP? Even the comic made me feel sad for her.
Except Phoenix Empress, Sunny is just adorable in that.
Well, Cadence certainly f*cked that up. Sunset's completely unjustified and really needs a good slapping. But, at the same time, it's pretty obvious Cadence had no idea what she was doing. She could've at least tried to explain her and Celestia's relationship.
While it was quite a stupid action from an objective standpoint, I can really see Sunset's side here. Imagine studying and working your ass off for decades to earn a coveted promotion, only to see it go to some random chump from nowhere that neither you nor your boss had even known last week. And to make it worse, you think of the boss lady as your only mother figure. I too would be rip-roaring pissed off at her. Anyone who's ever had mom and dad pay more attention to a newborn sibling should be able to relate to the feeling.
4840563 Sunset's opinion is obliviously a bit biased. But just looking at her mother's words and actions when she tried to reconcile, there's clearly some very real issues there.
4840941
True enough. And not only that, but Cadance screwed up too - it's pretty obvious that she's a teenager here, and still has the emotional maturity to match. She wasn't wrong for visiting Sunset, and she wasn't wrong in trying to make friends with her. But her attitude WAS condescending, even if unintentionally so; she wouldn't have made speeches about 'trying to be the better mare' otherwise. In Cadance's mind, she was right and Sunset was wrong.
More to the point, however, Cadance failed to recognize one very simple thing: that sometimes, when people are speaking from a place of anger, no amount of logic or reasoning in the world is going to be sufficient to get through to them. It doesn't matter how smart or charismatic or friendly she might have been; Sunset was NOT ready to speak to her yet. What she ultimately needed, more than anything else, was time. Time to let her anger cool, time to speak with Celestia, time to reconsider her attitude.
Cadance tried to force the issue prematurely. She wasn't being arrogant, or vindictive, or anything else. It was an honest mistake, born of inexperience. Unintended. Perhaps even unavoidable. But a mistake, nonetheless.
4841371 Wow, that actually makes a tartarus of a lot of sense. I never even realized that until now. And Cadance calling Sunset a monster after bringing that burn upon herself with her flaws certainly did not help either of them, especially when Sunset actually did come to her senses, however too late it was, and tried to help her with the burn by bringing her a first aid kit.
Not the ending I expected and all the better for it. Great story!
4841371
Celestia gambled and lost. Sometimes anger and jealousy don't fade, but morph into a bitter hatred that claims the remainder of ones life. That's what caused Nightmare's creation, after all. I guess Celestia misapplied the lessons learned from that incident an tried to head off such a transformation on Sunset's part.
I'll admit the only reason I like this story is becuase of the promise of a sequel
4840178
Considering she's a Princess and not a Queen... I think it fits.
I am getting way to into Sunset Shimmer.
what a good story!
i enjoyed reading it. i felt that maybe sunset went from super-angry to repentant too soon but hey! i liked it and that is bottom line.
4839535 And then promptly learned her lesson. Thus adopting Twilight Sparkle, the Queen Regent of all yes ponies, as her next apprentice.
Chengar, is it even physically possible for you to write a filly that isn't absolutely adorable? Because so far you've got a perfect record as far as I can tell!
Also, really liked the basis for Celestia's mistakes with Sunset being due to Shadow refusing to ascend.
Amazing. I loved this. It was very emotional. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
Mmm… I can't take it any more! Code Red, everyone! Abandon ship! Abandon Ship!
There's too much *gurgles* Too… much… *exhales quietly* cute
And then she turned into a Bloodletter.
Amazing. Simply AMAZING!
4842564
He could write a story about diamond tiara or silver spoon and still make them seem adorable.
…Huh. That was a much happier ending than I was expecting. I wonder what happened to--
[reads author's note]
Oh, nice! We get the answer to that question and more information about Freeport. :D
Argh! You sir are a phenomenal author. It almost makes me want to push you beyond horse words, but then I would never find out what awaits my favorite colorful horses. So, it is at this impasse that I will just give you my praise for this story.
Sunset Shimmer is such a complicated character to write correctly. She needs to be both good at heart and have an awful attitude. To write her sympathetically requires a skill that isn't necessary when compared to say, Twilight Sparkle. With Twilight, she's a bookish nerd who panics a lot, but when the chips are down pulls through for everypony. Its not exactly easy to write her, but there is a lot of ways to make it work.
Sunset on the other hoof is about a cycle of mistakes culminating in a catastrophic mistake. She has to learn her lesson, but also not. Until she finally becomes so bad that she cannot deny the monster inside her. To make the readers understand and empathize with such a character is extremely difficult while they are making those mistakes. Even I went the easy route and am just writing the clean up of her character, after all the mistakes are made. I think you far and away succeeded in showing the beginnings of this cycle with this story. I eagerly await the next installment.
An interesting and unexpected look at Sunset Shimmer. In all honesty, had she fled the throne room and escaped through the mirror it would have worked wonderfully as a backstory to the show and film. I thought the first person perspective worked well to show Sunset's motivations, making her somewhat sympathetic while still highlighting the complete lack of empathy she had for anyone else (save the very end, where she does finally show some small amount for making Celestia cry.)
Using Cadance as the catalyst for Sunset's fall was clever, and worked quite well. (Although the relative ages in "Equestria Girls" will always give me headaches. It's a bit confusing here too, since Sunset's mom calls her an adult, yet the early foal-sitting Cadance we've seen in the show was clearly not a full-grown mare and yet she is portrayed as Sunset's age here. Not a big deal either way, but it did leave me wondering how old Sunset was supposed to be at the end of this story.) It seems that even in world, an Alicorn out of nowhere upsets some. Since Celestia never denies it, I take it that Sunset's accusations are correct and Celestia actually decides/makes one an Alicorn rather than just sensing and being there when one ascends?
The one major question I am left with over all is why does Sunset want to be an Alicorn and a Princess now? The motivation had been the bond it would make between her and Celestia, never understanding that she always had it (being borderline sociopathic sucks.) now she's cutting those bonds as thoroughly as possible in order to pursue her destiny of being one... But why does she want that destiny? What does it mean to her now?
I'm glad that there is a sequel planned.
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I imagine the key word there is "tried". I don't think that Cadance ever aspired to being an Alicorn.
Dammit. This story.
Also that author's note makes me so many kinds of happy though.
Well, that was sweet.
Too bad Sunset will be almost immediately replaced by Twilight, who'll ascend and Sunset is left with nothing. Oh well.
Dropping hints at the fate of another potential alicorn in another story I see.
4844202
Yeah, working out a clear timeline around Sunset is a bit of a headache. The best explanation I've heard is that time passes faster in Equestria than it does in the human-verse. Otherwise, we end up with a Sunset who's still hanging out in High School when she's in her thirties.
I imagine a big part of why she wants alicorndom by now is that she feels entitled to it, after all the hard work she did as Celestia's student. I would say it's actually one of the reasons she's not ready to be a princess yet: she has no real reasons for wanting to become one beyond a belief that she's entitled to it. She doesn't have plans for what she would actually do with her princesshood, she just thinks she deserves it.
Damn when I read this chapter I was listening to this song
. Talk about perfect fit.