The Shadowbolts Adventures

by DragonShadow

Homesick Part 04

Aria Blaze looked down curiously as she hovered in the air, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer both watching her with wary eyes. The throne room in the palace of friendship was pretty much empty, giving them plenty of space to work on the sea pony and the small collar that hovered its way across the room towards her.

"Keep an eye on the magic spikes..." Starlight Glimmer advised.

"I've got a handle on it, just keep her steady." Sunset Shimmer stuck out her tongue in concentration as the collar approached through the air. It flipped open and slipped around Aria's neck like a snake coiling around its prey. Aria's eyes pulsed brightly with magic for a brief moment as the clasp snapped shut.

"Is that gonna do it?" Starlight asked.

"One way to find out. Are you ready, Aria?" Sunset asked. Aria shook her head rapidly for a moment, then fixed Sunset with a sharp glare and nodded her head. "We'll let go in three.... two... one..." Simultaneously the light from the two unicorns' horns faded, leaving Aria hovering in the center of the room. Experimentally Aria flapped her fins, and was sent cruising at a slow speed towards the front door. She dropped through the air as she went from the table to the floor, but stayed 3 feet above whatever was beneath her.

"Looks perfect." Starlight grinned. "You won't be breaking any speed records, but you can get around on land without dragging yourself around the floor or being carried."

"Huzzah!" Trixie threw her forehooves around Starlight's neck. "Trixie continues to be proud of you, Starlight!"

"It was a team effort..." Starlight blushed.

"Yeah, but I couldn't have done it without you." Sunset gave Starlight a loose hoof bump. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Starlight's blush finally faded. "Anyway, are you sure you wouldn't like us to come with you to Canterlot? It's our job to show you around and keep you safe..."

Sunset waved off her offer. "Relax, it's been a few years, but I've been to Canterlot before. Just point us in the direction of the Ponyville train station and we can find our way from there. And... we might need a few bits."

Starlight nodded. "Of course, Princess Twilight told us to give you some when you got here." Starlight handed over a small purse. "Just head down main street right outside the door, it'll be on your left. If you hit the end of town, you've gone too far."

"Great. Thanks again, for everything." With a bright smile Sunset waved farewell to Starlight and Trixie, and left the palace with Aria floating at her side.

Ponyville was a really tiny town to have the princess of friendship living in it, Sunset suddenly realized. The roads weren't even paved, comprised of entirely dirt and loose rocks, and almost all of the buildings were businesses with very few dedicated homes, which meant the population was probably so poor they couldn't afford multiple buildings.

"I didn't think this place would be so... rustic," Sunset quipped.

Aria nodded. "Yeah, it's a hole."

"Mmhmm.... wait, Aria!?" Sunset glanced over, halting in her surprise. "You talked!"

"Yup."

"I thought you took a vow of silence after your jewels were destroyed."

Aria shrugged her fins. "That's more Adagio's thing, I just humor her. She does it out of shame and respect for others."

"And you...?"

"Have no shame or respect for others."

"Well..." Sunset rubbed the back of her neck as she resumed her forward motion. "You shouldn't be ashamed, anyway. You don't sound bad."

"Yeah, yeah, friendship ho or whatever." Aria grumped.

Realizing that trying to convince her otherwise was a losing battle, Sunset just sighed and let the moment sit. At least it was something that she had someone to talk to on this trip. That would have to be enough for now.

Comments

[Talon and Thorn]

"And you...?"

"Have no shame or respect for others."

Amen Sister!

[KnightMysterio]

XD

[MythrilMoth]

I frankly hate this chapter because Sunset and Aria are horribly out of character with how judgmental they are of Ponyville.

The roads weren't even paved, comprised of entirely dirt and loose rocks, and almost all of the buildings were businesses with very few dedicated homes, which meant the population was probably so poor they couldn't afford multiple buildings.

That's...kind of an awkward and judgmental way to phrase that. I'd go more with:

and nearly every building appeared to be both a place of business and the home of whatever pony ran the shop, which gave the whole town the overall feel of a rustic rural village.

I wouldn't even have the whole "so poor they couldn't afford" thing in there at all. Only owning one building doesn't actually make you poor. That's something Diamond Tiara or Spoiled Rich would think, not Sunset Shimmer.

[Regreme]

LOL to Aria.

[DragonShadow]

8219124

Sunset Shimmer is a Canterlot unicorn with former delusions of grandeur, why wouldn’t she note that Ponyville is a really small, and yeah probably relatively poor place (outside of a few notable exceptions)? Compared to Canterlot, it is, and much is made of this throughout the series. Hell part of Rarity’s entire arc and motivation in FiM early on was that she wanted to move out of the Ponyville small leagues and into the big leagues of Canterlot.

Just because Sunset’s a good guy now and wouldn’t go around insulting the ponies who live there doesn’t mean she wouldn’t note the difference between a small village like Ponyville and a major city like Canterlot.

As for Aria, what part of her says she WOULDN’T go around insulting things she doesn’t like? She insults people she DOES like constantly.

[MythrilMoth]

8219426
There’s “rustic” and there’s “poverty-stricken hovel”. The way YOU wrote it leans more toward the latter, which is NOT a thought Sunset Shimmer would have.

[DragonShadow]

8219434

We’ve disagreed on characterization before. We’ll just have to do so again. I simply don’t believe that having a passing negative thought about a place is “out of character” for a good person. People aren’t cleanly divided into “sees the inherent beauty of all things” and “hates puppies and the laughter of small children”. You can have some negative opinions and still be a good person as long as you don’t use them as an excuse to treat people badly.

[Yami Vizzini]

Well, Aria’s definitely herself.

[Pr1deM0rn1ngstar]

"I thought you took a vow of silence after your jewels were destroyed."

Ah that makes sense I thought it was one of those you can't talk without your jewels things which again not exactly a New concept but whatever