The Little Pony Legend: The Redeemers

by eric-emanwu

Preparation: The Spark

Preparation: The Spark

Sunset was crossing her arms, a very stern look on her face. But her “opponent” wasn’t backing down any more than she was.

“I don’t want anything to do with being a leader. I’m not ready for something like that again.”

Korra gave a light smile. “What do you mean you’re not ready? You did a pretty good job being in charge of those other versions of our friends pretty well.”

“Yeah. For SMALL things. Going to the mall and making a school poster isn’t the same as taking care of criminals and making things better for them!”

“It’s no different.” Korra took a step towards Sunset. “It’s about directing and caring for others you have responsibilities for. It’s just in a different context is all.”

Sunset groaned. “I can’t trust them! I can’t…” and suddenly her voice broke slightly. “I can’t trust myself.” And suddenly, a bright flash went up, and Sunset Shimmer was a pony again.

Spike and Korra just gave each other a small look, as Korra knelt down before the amber pony. “And why don’t you trust yourself to do this?”

Sunset looked up. “It’s so big. Everything seemed so simple when I’m just out to help everypony as a servant instead of a leader. I’d jump headfirst into a problem alongside my friends! But you’re asking me to lead and protect people just like me. To make sure they don’t fall apart or backslip no matter what! And this group could be large enough that I couldn’t handle it all myself. I can’t do it!”

Korra began to reach out to Sunset, but she took a step back. “Sunset...you know that’s not true. You KNOW you’re capable enough to handle it.” Korra then gave a slight deadpan look. “And you know we’d never send you alone, so why so hostile right away?”

“Because if I do take this, then it will change how I meet with my friends forever.” Sunset looked to the side. “No more lunch meetings, no more bending practices, no more summer vacations in the mirror world. This could go any way to any place trying to lighten their loads. I…” And suddenly her eyes seemed to crease. “You can’t make me.”

Korra sighed. “You’re right. I can’t. That’s why I came to your apartment to ask. Because I truly believe you’re the best pony for the job.”

Sunset merely opened her door with magic. “Thank you for the visit Korra. But I think I’ve given you enough time. I have an engagement with Starlight in an hour and I want to freshen up.”

Korra looked at Sunset with...well, Sunset couldn’t quite read it. Was it hope? Compassion? Love? But as Korra turned to leave, she gave her one more look while gesturing to Spike to come with her. And when the door closed behind Korra, Sunset gave a small gasp in horror and shock.

Because in those final looks, she saw the same look Celestia had given her when kicking her out of Canterlot Castle: disappointment.

---

Spike and Korra were surprisingly quiet for the first few minutes as Korra flapped her wings carrying Spike as they left Sunset’s apartment complex. Finally Spike looked up at Korra.

“So, that could’ve gone better.”

Korra looked down at Spike. “Honestly, I’m surprised too. I figured that after all this time, and all the help she gave Vira, stuff like this wouldn’t weigh on Sunset. That she’d be all for helping out former villains like her.”

Spike gave a wistful sigh. “Well, at the same time, she’s right. We haven’t given her a leadership role since we last saw her. You were always there to bail her out and give advice whenever we went to the mirror world, and she was just there to help with things like Kuvira’s mecha or Camp Everfree. She didn’t need to worry about being responsible for more than one person or pony.”

Korra looked off towards her castle. “What am I going to tell Twilight?”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Obviously you’re going to tell her the truth. And then you’re going to tell her who your second pick for warden is going to be. She’ll give a nod of, ‘Oh Korra. You really are my best friend. You even had a backup plan in case Sunset Shimmer didn’t want to do this.’ And the service group will be off the ground again.”

Korra paused a moment, before turning mid flight and rocketing towards downtown Republic City.

“Wait, what are you scheming now Avatar?”

“We’re going to pay Asami a quick visit. And then I want to be ready!”

“For what??”

Korra smiled. “For Sunset to come over to me and say that she changed her mind. And you still need to be there to hand over the paperwork.”

Spike gritted his teeth slightly, the wind flowing over his scales. “You know, if this is what flying is going to be like when I get older, I might prefer to be a land dragon for most of my life.” Then he looked up at Korra. “But how do you know she’s going to change her mind?”

Korra gave a light chuckle. “Because she’s having lunch with a friend. And friends listen to your complaints, give advice, and get you to rethink your assumptions about what you were capable of.”

Spike raised an eyebrow again. “You ladies can really be confident in the Magic of Friendship to excess sometimes, you know that Korra?”

---

Starlight was tapping her foot at their usual booth. Sunset was late. It was so unlike Sunset to be late, especially since she could get off of work much sooner.

Then she heard the bell ring, and in walked a very flustered looking Sunset Shimmer.

“Sunset? What are…”

“Sorry I’m late. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“But…”

“I SAID….”

“Sunset!”

Sunset caught herself. “Sorry. Can we...get food first? Food always calms my nerves.”

The waiter walked over to the two of them. “Good afternoon ladies. May I assume you’d like your usuals today?”

Sunset looked him over. “Could I have...some Sake today with my honey oats? I feel like I need it.”

As the waiter walked off, Starlight looked at Sunset like she’d just told her she was pregnant. “Sunset? You NEVER get alcohol when you’re with me normally.” She gave Sunset a serious look. “What is going on?”

Sunset raised a hand. “Food first, then I’ll explain.”

---

While they ate, Starlight kept looking at Sunset with cautious eyes. Sunset for her part, didn’t want to say anything, but eventually, having downed at least 2 glasses of sake, finally looked up at her friend.

“I suppose you want to know why I’m late today.”

Starlight was still surprised, but decided to take a slightly different route. “Actually, I was wondering if maybe I could try casting that spell you learned before camp Everfree. I...decided that if you could learn it, so can I.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Don’t count on it Starry Eyes. You think just because you’re intelligence is similar to Twilight and I that you can automatically take on an ancient spell from the days of old equestria?”

Starlight gave a light chuckle. “Well, let me show you.” She then reached out with her hands, and clasped Sunset’s hands together. Her horn glowed, and all of a sudden, there was a magic surge in the restaurant. For 4 terrifying seconds, patrons looked to their sides, seeing energies of lilac and scarlet flaring about, both women having glowing eyes, shocked emotions on both their faces, their magical energies beginning to flow from their horns to cover them with pure magic. But inside their minds, something even more incredible was happening.

---

Starlight was suddenly in a starry plane, walking on what seemed like clouds. She quickly looked around in a panic, then uttered one sentence: “Well, buck. This definitely wasn’t what I intended to happen.”

Slowly she walked forward, looking for any sign of what was going on. She noticed that some of the stars around her seemed...oddly familiar. Like she knew their names, but couldn’t put it on her mind right away. Suddenly, something fell from the sky. Starlight jumped back, and found herself staring at…. “ANOTHER ALICORN??”

The alicorn in question was a male with dark hair, a white coat, and a surprised look on his face as well. He looked down at the Unicorn in question, and asked, “I’m sorry, but have we ever met?”

Starlight just slowly shook her head.

“I thought so. You are NOT one of the bearers of the elements of harmony. What are you doing here?”

Starlight was still flabbergasted, but responded in her own quick way. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Who are you?”

---

Sunset was in a starry location, but walking on what looked like fire. She looked down, jumped up in fright, but then seeing she wasn’t being hurt by the flames, looked around at the odd landscape. “Where am I? I’m pretty sure this isn’t what Starlight wanted to show me.”

“Yes. I have to wonder what you’re doing here young pony.”

Sunset looked up, and gasped. There, floating in front of her, was a certain great spirit. Pure white, but in a glowing Kimono, with a firm, but confused look on her face.

“You are not one of the Avatar’s past incarnations. Ponies were never even possible for me to reach. What with them being in another dimension and all. So how are you here?”

Sunset just asked, “Where is here?”

---

The Alicorn male gave Starlight a small smile. “My name is White. Prince White. I am a spirit guardian of the elements of harmony.”

Starlight gave him a scrutinizing look. “Guardian of the elements? But where are we that you need to guard the elements? Where is Sunset Shimmer? And how did I get here?”

“Honestly, I’m as confused as you are. And as for where you are…” Prince White gave a wave of his hands, and suddenly there were images of Twilight Sparkle and her friends all around her. “We are in the middle of the magic of friendship.”

“What?”

“Yes, this is where Princess Twilight got her wings actually.”

“WHAT???”

“So again I ask you pony...who are you, and how did you get here?”

Starlight looked up and said fearfully, “Mmmy name is Starlight Glimmer. And honestly...I’m not entirely sure how I got here.”

“Think. Think back to the last thing you did before this moment.”

Starlight scrunched here eyes, trying to think hard. “The only thing I know was that I was going to show my friend Sunset Shimmer a special fusion spell I created that would imitate her ability to read emotions.” She then cringed. “Clearly, it has not gone as planned. Something in the casting seems to have transported me here rather than let me read Sunset’s thoughts.”

Prince White gave a compassionate smile. “Maybe we can figure this out together. What did you use to try and mimic the spell Sunset had learned?”

Starlight tapped her hoof lightly. “I tried to use the principle of emotional understanding as the main point of connection between myself and Sunset, so I decided to use my emotional magic strength as the fuel for my connection, while trying to….” And Starlight gave a gasp. “Trying to recall some of the basic source I used to follow the elements of harmony to their source! I must’ve accidentally tapped the heart of friendship magic in my casting, and it flung my consciousness into here.”

White looked genuinely impressed. “That is...quite the feat young lady. Normally this kind of magic is the exclusive power of the bearers, but you must be very close to Sunset Shimmer that your desire to understand her caused you to come here. Now, since you have arrived, it’s finally time to…..”

“Hold it!”

---

The woman in white quirked an eyebrow. “You are currently residing in the spiritual plane, pony. This is where I maintain a connection to the physical plane so that Korra and her past lives can remain indirectly connected.”

The wheels in Sunset’s head began to turn. “But that would mean...Raava????”

Raava gave a small nod. “Yes. That’s me.”

Sunset looked her up and down. “I have to say, for a spirit who wanted nothing to do with humans in the past, you look very beautiful as one resembling a human now.”

Raava gave a faint blue blush on her cheeks. “That’s very kind of you. Now, what’s your name and how are you here pony? Have you come to try and permanently break my connection to Korra?”

Sunset took a step back, not wanting any trouble. “My name is Sunset Shimmer Maam. All I know right now is that my friend Starlight Glimmer was trying to use an emotion reading spell on me, and suddenly I ended up here. And I would never try to break Korra’s past apart.”

Raava closed her eyes to think. “Most peculiar. Something like this would be quite impossible. Yet here you are. Whatever Starlight’s done, she must have flung you into the spiritual plane rather than grounding you in your own mind. Which means all we can do now is wait and see what happens.”

Sunset groaned. “Just what I need. First Korra comes asking me to do even more than I already did, and now all this!”
“What did Korra come to do?”

“She wants me to become a leader of some criminals in order to redeem them!”

Raava gave a gentle smile. “A great honor. Whatever is the issue with this?”

“I can’t be a leader! I’m not qualified! I barely managed to keep my human friends from breaking each other apart, and that was just high school. No matter what I might’ve thought of myself before, I’ve been magically shown to be untrustworthy to be a leader! Who does Korra think she is asking me to do this?”

“She is the Avatar.”

Sunset found herself stopping short hearing that.

“It’s true that not every Avatar will follow the exact same code of conduct, but as long as they carry my light, and especially since we intimately know Princess Korra, I think it’s easy enough to say that she saw something in you that means she would trust you to carry the light of harmony with them.”

Sunset looked down. “But...how could it be me? I don’t deserve it. Not anymore.”

---

“I don’t want to be an alicorn!”

White raised an eyebrow at that. “Why not? You clearly have the power and knowledge of friendship to take on the spiritual energies we carry within us. You’ve managed to link into the…” Prince White then paused, looking over Starlight’s form. “Wait…”

Starlight looked down at herself again, and then realized she was only partially there. Fading in and out of existence. “I...I’m only touching the power of the elements. I’m not rooted in them like the bearers are. I think I’m going to lose our connection momentarily.”

White then looked at Starlight with a serious gaze. “Starlight Glimmer, listen to me very carefully. The moment you exit from this plain, things are going to accelerate very rapidly as your spell hits you with extra strength. I can’t promise you that there won’t be some extra unexpected side effects from this magic, but I promise you that whatever you’re about to feel, it’s going to hurt you more than it will hurt Sunset.”

Starlight struggled to keep her mind there in the plain, hoping to keep her words flowing. “Wait. Prince White. Sunset’s keeping a secret from me. How do I ask her gently about it?? I barely have experience being a leader, and I don’t want to accidentally push her away.”

To that, White merely gave a smile. “Use your empathy Starlight, and you’ll figure out a solution.”

And with that, Starlight was whisked away from the plain of friendship.

---

Raava looked Sunset over. “I believe that Korra once mentioned you during a brief talk we had last year.”

Sunset looked up. “Yes?”

Raava looked out toward the sky, which was pulsating in reds and blacks. “She told me all about the little pony who was afraid of being a monster, but because she was taught and loved well, she rose from the ashes like a mighty phoenix to become something more beautiful than anyone would’ve imagined. About a smart young woman who decided to study firebending and business, and became a trusted advisor for Asami. About a quick study who worked hard and learned both fire and lightning bending before 2 years were up. About a compassionate mare who spoke forgiveness to a lost soul at camp, and in doing so, pulled her close to understand that everyone deserves a second chance.”

Sunset blinked. “Well…”

Raava knelt down and look Sunset Shimmer in the eyes. “And she told me about the secret you’re still carrying inside you.”

Sunset drew back. “That...was meant to stay secret.”

Raava smiled. “Sunset, you are the Duchess of Forgiveness. You weren’t born to be a great leader of many. But by Queen Leilani’s generosity, Celestia’s mercy, and the Princess Avatar’s discernment, you are made to lead these being into a new life.” She then placed a hand of Sunset’s head. “So also says the spirit of…” A bright light suddenly erupted from the point of contact between them, and Sunset drew back, beginning to fade.

“What did you do??!!!??”

Raava...looked very confused. “I..I don’t know. But know this Sunset Shimmer. When you leave here, you shall know the destiny that lies before you. You cannot change what others have seen, and you can only run from it for so long. You must choose to meet it! And you must tell your friend what you have seen here. I don’t know what it’s going to cause for a pony to touch my energies!”

Sunset’s head was the last thing to go. “I will. Thank you Raava. I won’t forget this!”

---

A small explosion rocked the diner.

As the smoke cleared though, seeing broken glasses, shattered plates, and frightened people, everyone turned towards the source. Starlight and Sunset still had their hands together, but as they lowered down, Sunset heaved over forward, while Starlight’s eyes remained glowing for just a few seconds longer. Then finally, finally, they both stopped glowing.

A waiter slowly crept up to the two anthros. “What in Aang’s name just happened here??!!”

Sunset groggily raised her head, began to notice the state of everything around her, and weakly said, “Send the bill to Sato Industries.”

Starlight meanwhile looked to the room and sheepishly called, “My bad. New spell. Wrong place to test it.”

---

2 hours, several apologies, and a week’s worth of paperwork later…..

Starlight looked at Sunset with love and sympathy. “Sunset, I think the spell worked."

Sunset looked rather sheepish herself. "Well, things didn't exactly go as planned for me either."

Starlight sniffed. "I know it's been hard all your life Sunny. And this was pushed to you unexpectedly. But nobody ever has to do anything. If you don’t want to become some kind of service leader, you don’t have to. I’d do it.”

Sunset looked down. Then looked back up. And Starlight could see fires and rainbows in her eyes. “No. I should have known better than to try and run away from my problems. I’m going to do this. And I’m going to succeed for ever person or pony that we take on. We’re all going to put our pasts behind us, and save the world in small bits!”

Starlight hadn’t seen Sunset this firey since the battle at Camp Everfree, and even then, there was a certain depth to the eyes that Starlight couldn’t tell was determination...or doubt pushed down once more. But, she put that aside, and gently put a hand on her shoulder. “And I promise to be with you as long as I can Sunny.”

The two hugged. And a new purpose was born for these friends.

---

“Korra? I’ve changed my mind.”

Korra looked up from her tea, then looked over to her other guests. “Told ya.”

Spike waved a hand. “Aaahhh, you don’t have to rub it in Korra!”

Asami for her part though, looked down, silently frowning about what Korra had told her about the evolution of her service squad.

Author's Note:

Sorry it took so long everyone. I had writer's block for a bit, partially because I wasn't sure HOW Starlight would convince Sunset to change her mind beyond what Korra already said. And then out of the blue, that bit in the middle hit me.

Admittedly, this is a....bit of a stretch, but face it. Twilight was the most special Unicorn of her generation, but both Sunset and Starlight have touched magics that are almost as special and unique as Twilight got. What we have here is where some mare tries to use one type of magic for another purpose, and the results are...unique.

I plan on expanding the results of that magical surge later on in the story. But for now, expect another chapter VERY soon.