Forget not that I am a derp.
The sirens have been stopped. Sunset Shimmer has earned her ears, a sign that her redemption has been confirmed by Harmony itself. Everything's great, right?
Right?
Sunset's own subconscious begs to differ. And the resulting disagreement could have more drastic consequences than any side of her realizes.
An entry in the June 2015 Writeoff Competition, with the prompt "A Matter of Perspective." Rated Teen for fantasy violence and Things man was not meant to know.
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Loved this so much. Sunset Shimmer is such an interesting character, and this is a wonderful look into what makes her tick.
So far, the best explanation for both why Sunset was doing that and her odd choice of location.
img12.deviantart.net/d60b/i/2011/007/6/7/you_crack_me_up_little_buddy_by_bugs92-d36obnk.png
You know, it's not that this isn't good. It is. It's just that this is like the twelfth Sunset Demon Dream fic I've read since Rainbow Rocks. Everyone seems to want to do this and I just can't get into the concept anymore. Not your fault at all. You at least bring some quality insight to the concept, as is your MO.
I'd rank this third place, I guess.
6204945
Thanks. She's definitely an intriguing character. Anyone who can perform that level of social engineering getting turned to the light side is bound to be interesting.
6204951
Pinkie logic can explain a surprising amount of things.
6205056
Ugh. Of course it is. Well, at least it medalled.
(And what can I say? Pinkie Pie is best eldritch entity.)
This was certainly interesting to read. You had some pretty funny moments ("It sounded like a really good idea at two o' clock this morning.") as well as some pretty interesting and even thought-provoking parts ("Anyway, I'm still the same person as the girl who terrorized the school; I just have a conscience now."). You also have a healthy vocabulary and sound sentence structure, which is great!
However, something that detracted from your story [to me] is that I feel the drama and the comedy do not blend too well. It felt like the dramatic and comedic aspects of the story were fighting for dominance over the mood at several points, and there was one instance where the joke was actually detrimental to the story (When Sunset is explaining herself to the girls, and they are all like "We don't get it" didn't feel right). The portion in the middle with Pinkie was also really confusion upon my first read through (though absolutely hilarious the second time, so that might be just me). It's not that the dramatic aspects of the narrative are bad, or that the comedy is bad (both are actually pretty good). I think it's just that they quite don't go together in this particular case, if that makes any sense. Of course, that's just my opinion, so I may very well just be crazy, haha.
Seriously though, you really did raise some good points here. Sunset's musings about the fact that she has not changed who she is and the idea of her self-preservationist and analytical habits being not implicitly bad are some of my favorites (I don't think I've ever seen them addressed before). The part regarding how she distances herself from Pinkie was intriguing and would have been really cool to see explored more, but going further into that wouldn't have had a place in this story. And thanks to your brilliant incorporation of "My Past Is Not Today", I will never be able to watch it without thinking of this story. xD
(On a side note, that switcharoo at the end of the demon confrontation scene was pretty awesome and deliciously symbolic)
Oh my goodness I need to stop rambling in people's comment sectionsThat was strange
I enjoyed reading about how Sunset notices how she can use things in a given situation but morals help her decide if she should. The beginning of the 2 am conversation felt out of place with the rest of the story and the jump between having the demon dream and eldritch Pinkie could do with some form of transition.
1st part: Soal Eater vibes
2nd part: kickass eldritch Pinkie
3rd part: Ingenious character development (Also, now I'm picturing Rarity dressed up like Kiryuin Ragyo)
I should think that after the third movie, she'll end up being mentor to SciTwi after she gets tossed under the bus by her 'friends' and has to attend Canterlot High.
It's so much fun to describe mundane things in Lovecraftian terms.
6205297
You do raise a good point about the tonal issues. My intent was for the story to transition from dark to humorously heartfelt, but it may just not be long enough for that to work, especially the transition from eldritch to slice-of-life. I considered putting the music video there, but that felt more than a bit ridiculous.
6205309
Good strange, bad strange, or just strange?
6205554
I now want to hear a mashup of "Life is a Runway" and "Blumenkranz."
6205629
Probably. A nice parallel with pony Twilight's character arc in the student becoming the teacher.
6205683
Isn't it? Especially when Pinkie's involved.
6205841
Now that you mention it, the length probably did have an impact, since the scenes were shorter and had to play out faster. The story is still very enjoyable though. :)
New headcanon: That musical number totally happened.
Dear Celestia, today I learned a new word.
This picture is so odd...
This is my new favourite way of saying "X was awakened by the phone and answered it".
6206013
Any day where I expand a respected author's vocabulary and give him new headcanon is a good day.
6206640
Remember that that part about a color found on no earthly spectrum only works for Pinkie Pie and people of a similar complexion, as explained here.
An alternate universe where the mane six (or maybe just the human gels and sunset) take over the world? I must find something like this.
Great read. I always like interactions between Sunset and her demon self
The roof of the school, by Anime Law, is where one goes to have personal revelations, and Pinkie would know that.
And yeah, Sunset being fluent in villain but one of the good guys can only be a good thing. Also, BR Pinkie never fails to amuse.
6205056 I was thinking the same thing, but I think in many ways this is one of the best (and I say that as someone who read all 12). Dream demon Sunset doesn't say "abandon all friendship for power immediately, rahhh!" And Sunset has actually learned lessons from Rainbow Rocks, so she reaches out for help from her friends immediately.
I like that that awesome song is built in, and Sunset accepts her skills in understanding human nature. I could imagine this Sunset growing up to join the CIA or something.
What a great explanation for why Sunset was singing on the roof of the school before dawn.
I would. I mean humans are more complex than that. There should at least be a few people who still hate her guts. But this is a kids' show.
6477041
After an unspecified time—presumably months—when only five members of the student body didn't despise her, Sunset's going to take what she can get.
6512053
Also, I strongly recommend A Darker Shade of Pink.
...
I'm going to say yes.
I like this, because it provides the necessary connection between the Sunset Shimmer we see in most of Equestria Girls and the one we see in Rainbow Rocks.
Equestria Girls hints in one scene, and only one scene, that Sunset Shimmer has become damaged by her loneliness in a world where she has a huge secret she has to keep from everyone else ("I'm actually a Unicorn mage from another dimension in Humanoid form") and can only measure her success in terms of increased power. That's the scene where we see the pictures of her winning the Fall Formal Princess competition. In the first one, she looks innocently joyful; in the second one rather domineeringly gloating; and by the third one she looks utterly mad with ambition.
Indeed, in my terms, what probably happened is she went "Lone-Mad" -- what happens to Ponies who become socially isolated (Sunset Shimmer had friends, but they were all very superficial friendships, and Ponies are more gregarious than Humanoids). If this is the case, then being offered friendship by Humanoids who knew the worst about her might very well have snapped her out of it, and her Heel-Face Turn becomes much more believable.
I think what you've written is a really good Canon Filler explaining this.
I make it my business to find the good Sunset stories; how did I miss this? You’re right, this totally could have happened.
That rare and exquisite character type: my absolute favorite kind. Sunset is in the business of protecting the innocent and redeeming the guilty; she’s very good at it.
Eldritch Pinkie: could be a game over, or it could make a very powerful defense.
6205841
Funnily enough, Blumenkranz is Human Pinkamina/Dianne's leitmotif in Tales.
Late seasons Pinkie Pie is sadly lacking in Eldritchness, IMHO. Doesn't inflate her head and float off even once.
Gross, but she deserved it.
That I can agree with.
*Pats shoulder*