This story follows Lessons for the Teacher, but it can also stand alone nicely.
(What if, ages ago, Sunset Shimmer had leaped through a different mirror? And instead of landing in a high school, had found herself in a mystical dimension filled with dangers undreamed-of?)
When newly-made Princess Twilight attends the first Princess Summit, she is concerned about many things: her new responsibilities, Celestia and Luna’s relationship, and the prospect of immortality just to name a few. But when an old enemy from Celestia’s past returns, Twilight finds herself in a battle for her life and her people, beneath the falling sky of an alien world. And just what does it mean to be a princess, anyway? Sunset Shimmer has reached her own conclusions…
(Chronology note: this story takes place betwixt seasons three and four, and is the point where my Elsequestria timeline branches most distinctly into an alternate reality [though most episodes remain compatible with it]. Therefore, while it was inspired by Equestria Girls, once the stage is set this tale makes no effort to maintain any cohesion with the original movie.)
(Content note: contains violence with serious consequences, some profanity. Initially posted under the working title Equestria Women.)
Part of the Elsequestria Continuity.
This timeline continues in When Legends Meet.]
I wish the show would cover how Twilight is handling her possible immortality. Let's see how you take this story.
Ouch I wonder just how long Sunset was in this realm? Hopefully her head will take the necessary beating as to wake up to her faults.
Yeah, she was there... a while. As for the rest, well, if anyone can help Sunset get her head straight, it would be Twilight... but a lifetime of anger is rarely overcome easily, and there's always more than one side to a given story.
So why do I think that Sunset thinks the Element of Magic can save this world, but she will nearly destroy it because she missed or didn't know about something. It does make me wonder just how destructive their fight will be?
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Mmmmmmmmmaaaayyyybeeee....
Oh Sunset what happened to you while studying under Celestia? I hope this doesn’t end badly for you and this world.
Elsequestria? You mean Equestria, right?
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Seems intentional, probably in the same vein as Elseworlds but for Equestria.
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Exactly.
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The implications of immortality, among other princessy subjects, will be addressed from a variety of points of view throughout the Elsequestria continuity. That being said, a lot of the groundwork for that will also be laid in this particular tale.
Seeing the understanding flash between Twilight and Spike was a powerful little moment and you should be proud of it.
Oof.
Do I detect some LunaPie hints here?
And how long do ponies live here? Sunset's already over a hundred.
This isn't the EQG world, alright.
And oh, she's still a horse?
And then Luna cracked them both in the jaw and dragged them out of the subdimension by their ears.
Well, probably not, but that'd be hilarious.
In any case, you've done something truly incredible with the basic ingredients of Equestria Girls. Eagerly looking forward to seeing what more develops.
Oh boy. I take it this isn't the convenient, psychoplastic sort of thoughtscape where Twilight can just reassemble her mental body at will. This is going to be extremely tricky indeed.
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Indeed. The spell allows for navigation (if you can move), but mastery of the dreamscape pretty much remains a Luna thing. And holy crap, was the spell not designed for this.
Meanwhile, healing magic, while it can be done, is difficult: generally only relatively minor injuries, and best restricted to one’s own body - subconscious knowledge of one’s own bod minimizes the odds of errors.
So, yeah, pretty much no re-assembly on any front.
Poor Sunset, she is so deluded that she can do everything that she cannot see when she is in over her head. I hope Twilight can get back on her feet soon as Sunset is going to be unbelievable upset soon.
I've been reading the three one shots before this. I like them. Just nice fluff. I want to know how things develop after that, but these tags scares me. Doesn't sound nice and fluffy at all :D
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Well, I will say this: I do not promise fluff in any form with this story. The characters do go through some serious crap in this one, and groundwork may be set for some major questions to be asked later on.
However, I try to have my stories ultimately uplifting, and this is the lighter of my two primary timelines.
That being said, if you determine that this tale is not your cup of tea for any reason, I of course take no offense.
This timeline continues on a lighter tone with The Apple Jamboree, if you wish to skip.
Also, should you be in a mood for comedy, you might also like my Detective Pony Comics Presents series.
That chapter was intense. Luna was a welcome addition, too.
Bucking celestia a bigger fool than ever thought possible!
That was unexpected, fascinating, and terrifying all at once. I loved it.
You got to feel for Sunset here. Celestia for all of her good when she screws up it causes major collateral damage and everything around her suffers. I hope that at the end of this both Luna and Twilight chew her out over all of this.
Alas, such is the tragedy of Sunset Shimmer, a pony with a mind plucked from a heavy metal album cover.
Awesome depiction of Luna in every sense of the word. It really says something about how far gone Sunset is that even a pony who made the same mistakes and has access to her every secret cannot convince her to turn from this path. And now... Well, I'm not sure how anyone can get through to her. She uas made herself into her self-image, an unlovable monster.
(Hmm. Unlovable... Where's Cadence? It's a long shot, but it might be crazy enough to work.)
Looking forward to more.
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*nods* As Dumbledore said, when brilliant people screw up, they screw up with a massive splash area.
Yeah, unfortunately Celestia was only as good with foals as she was by the time Twilight came along, because she’d learned from some of her mistakes with Sunset. Which, let’s face it, was not exactly a level of skill to be envied.
And man, some of those mistakes... were whoppers.
As Celestia herself admitted in an earlier chapter, Sunset needed a mom, not a mentor. But Celestia didn’t understand that then, and didn’t know how... and didn’t realize how over her head she was until too late.
And, well, sometimes, one loss of temper with a child can send everything careening into a terrifying direction.
In addition, Tia and Sunset were dealing with additional hurdles which will wreck most people in at least some fashion. For example, being shunned as a child has been shown to cause far more long-term emotional damage than being actively bullied.
(In RL, it has been shown repeatedly that you can track a child who is universally shunned by their peers into their adulthood, and as adults they will have a profoundly increased likelihood of depression, anxiety, self-loathing, difficulties with relationships and drugs/alcohol, and so forth... to such an extent that it is actually predictable by third grade. Third. Freaking. Grade.)
Sunset’s experiences in education didn’t help, either. The Equestrian educational system just wasn’t set up to handle learning disabled foals at that time. Yet, she was also both powerful and brilliant, which the system was also not ready for. In Sunset’s case, private schooling with Celestia was a good move in principle. There were just so many catastrophic mistakes made along the way.
So, Celestia was, in the field of parenting... inept. Something she’d never been before, so it took her by surprise. And she recognized her ineptitude far too late.
And you’d better believe Celestia’s been kicking herself about every mistake she made, for a long, long time. Consider the epilogue in After Moonfall. She’d resolved to never take another apprentice because of her failure with Sunset... and thus, she’d set forth the impossible challenge of hatching a dragon’s egg. She was convinced that if a foal was in her care, she would destroy the child somehow. A little harsh? Maybe... but I think it’s an understandable reaction just the same.
This is also why, unlike the movies, in this story Celestia always kept the mirror nearby. In her room when she slept, in the throne room when she held court. Taking it with her when she traveled. Even why she allowed Sunset’s name to be forgotten. She didn’t want Sunset to return as a wiser, penitent pony... she just wanted her to come back, and be okay... and have a chance to start over.
And maybe, just maybe, to have the chance to say she was sorry.
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The question becomes will Sunset survive long enough for her to even attempt the path of redemption or will she ultimately end up falling and not being redeemed? Sunset is close to destroying everything just to watch the world burn she isn't ready to listen to reason, yet.
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Exactly.
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*nods* Sunset’s story is a tragedy. But then, I think most villains’ stories are, really.
And, yeah, making herself into the monster she thinks she is... I think we’ve all seen someone try to do that, at least once.
And thank you for your kind words on Luna’s depiction. I’m glad my efforts had the desired effect.
I wonder how they will help Sunset heal herself after all of this?
Such a great chapter. I especially like the seven Celestia's and what the final betrayal for Sunset was.
When I started these last two chapters, I had literally just pulled myself out of bed. Now that I've finished, I feel so pumped up on adrenaline I could run a lap around the whole campus.
Incredible work. Looking forward to whatever Twilight has planned.
(Also, Rainbow Dash can never know about the spectrum clones. She'd stop at nothingto learn the ability herself.)
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Rainbow Dash with the power of multiplicity. Oh, my. Tremble, oh ye mighty!
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I am delighted that these chapters are so energizing for you! I hope the last ones also inspire.
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We shall see what happens.
I got nothing to say here but, damn.
And thus we confront that specter that hangs over the end of every grand confrontation:
Now what?
Yeah, good thing to ask there Sunny.
If you're lucky Fluttershy will get to you first. Sunset could use a bit of kindness, even if she doesn't want it, nor think she deserves it.
Well Sunset while Twilight, Luna and Celestia probably forgive and will seek no punishment for attacking them, you did destroy an entire ecosystem full of its own unique life.
What would the sentencing be for say poisoning Froggy Bottom Bog and killing every plant and animal in it be?
I don't think Fluttershy for example would call that a minor crime.
welp, that was epic and what now? sunny is in Equestria and I am looking forward what they will do about it after convincing her to come.
A wonderful capstone to an epic tale. Sunset not taking a rainbow to the face means she has a lot to think about, especially with all these crazy ponies treating her like a person and not the monster she definitely is, regardless of her rescuing her little sister (shut up, Mom, she's not my sister and you're not my real mother, I hate you, I'm going to my room!)
In all seriousness, her arc is far from complete, and I look forward to more of it. And I'm always up for implications of the rest of the Bearers ascending... though Celestia may seriously want to consider the possibility of Pinkie transcending into a draconequus.
Again, great work all around. Thank you for it.
This was absolutely fabulous. This story had the incredible skill of getting me on the edge of my seat update after update, and it was a really deep twist on Sunset's arc. I loved it.
You madmare! You've doomed us all!
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Yeah, if she had been “punished” in some fashion, in a sense I think it would have let her off the hook.
OH MY STARS AND GARTERS!!!
Oh, truer words have rarely been spoken.
Hee! Yes. As the Sisters observed, such matters might be influenced, but control is another thing entirely. Assuming all six Elements become princesses (in whatever form and fashion), Celestia is already going to have one more on her hands than she expected (Cadence). But she might ultimately have less, or even more...
...and what would a Princess PInkie look like?
...and what if a newly-made princess doesn’t want it in the first place?
Somewhere out there, Discord is cackling...
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Thank you. I’m hoping to do more with Sunset in this ‘verse as time goes on.
>“I’m just tired of hating you. That’s all.”
Yay!
Finally, I found someone who could make it feel right.
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Thank you, that means so much to me!