SAPR

by Scipio Smith

Secrets and Lies (New)

Secrets and Lies

Sunset tied the red ribbon tied around her neck, putting the finishing touch onto her uniform. “Oh, just so you guys know, I’m not coming to breakfast with the three of you.”

Ruby frowned. “Why not?”

“I’m taking Twilight to breakfast at Benni Havens’,” Sunset replied.

Silence fell upon the other three members of the team. “By yourself?” Jaune asked.

Sunset blinked. “Yeah, why?”

“You’re buying breakfast, and you didn’t invite us?” Ruby demanded.

Sunset smirked. “You haven’t done anything to earn it lately,” she said. “Why, is there a problem?”

“No,” Pyrrha said. “There’s no problem, it’s just… a little unusual. Is there a special occasion?”

“No, I just need to talk to Twilight about a couple of things.”

“Magical things?” Ruby asked.

“Things that will be of interest to Twilight, but not the three of you,” Sunset replied. “Anyway, that’s that, so have fun, and I’ll see you guys… later. Before class, hopefully.” She paused. “Hey, Pyrrha.”

“Yes?” Pyrrha asked.

“Soteria,” Sunset said. “The sword that your mother gave me, its previous owner was Achates, yes?”

Pyrrha nodded. “That’s correct.”

“His surname wouldn’t have happened to be Kommenos, would it?”

Pyrrha’s brow furrowed. “Has Phoebe said something?”

“She came to see me last night in the library, blustering about her right to the sword,” Sunset explained. “I think she was fairly upset that it was your family’s to give in the first place, and even more upset that it was given to me, a faunus.” She paused. “Is there any truth to it? Was it an ancestor of hers who wielded the sword for the Emperor?”

Pyrrha bowed her head. “It… is complicated.”

“'Complicated' as in 'tangled' or 'complicated' as in 'awkward to talk about'?” Sunset asked.

Pyrrha pursed her lips together. “I… fear the latter. It is… not the finest hour of Mistral or my family.”

Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “You mean she really is entitled to the sword?”

“That depends upon your point of view,” Pyrrha declared, looking up at Sunset. “Ilioneus Kommenos, Phoebe’s ancestor, was a-” She cut herself off and looked guiltily at Jaune and Ruby. “While Achates was a trusted and honoured retainer of the Emperor, Ilioneus Kommenos fought for Vale during the Great War.”

“There were Mistralians who fought for Vale during the Great War?” Ruby asked.

“And Mantleites, too,” Sunset informed her. “They disagreed with their kingdom’s policies on the suppression of culture and fled into exile in Vale. Vale’s harbouring of such exiles was one of the causes of tension leading up to the Great War.”

“Ooh, look at me,” Ruby said. “I’m Sunset; I can recite from out of a textbook at the drop of a hat.”

Sunset snorted. “Sorry.”

“But Mistral wasn’t suppressing culture, right?” Jaune said. “I mean, they only pretended to, didn’t they?”

“Yes,” Pyrrha agreed. “But Mistral in the old days… we of Mistral choose to remember the glory of our history: proud lords and just, warriors noble and brave, a grand old kingdom, proud of the heritage in which it is steeped. And all of that is true and may be true again… but there is another side to Mistral, one in which it is ill indeed to be caught on the wrong side of the shifting currents of power and influence. Ilioneus Kommenos fled to Vale to escape the waning of his fortunes in Mistral and was rewarded with a place of honour in the Last King’s court. When the war was over, the King’s favour was enough to see Ilioneus restored to his lands in Mistral… but he was regarded as a traitor by many, including my ancestors. It was not thought proper that the sword of a hero should be placed in a traitor’s hands. Achates, after all, had fought for the Emperor and given his life in the cause against which his brother had fought. My ancestors felt it would be improper to give his weapon over to one who had fought against that cause and our kingdom.”

“I see,” Sunset muttered. “I… I can see why your forebears took that view. It wasn’t a family sword, was it?”

“No, it was given to Achates out of the Imperial armoury by the Emperor,” Pyrrha said. “That was the legal basis of our claim.”

“Was it ever tested?” Sunset asked.

“No, none of the Kommenos family even raised the issue until Phoebe’s mother,” Pyrrha explained. “The Kommenos family is… somewhat reduced in status, and my mother always believed that Lady Kommenos wished for the sword to raise the family’s prestige. Certainly, it would have been a great fillip for Phoebe to bear it in the arena. Can you imagine it: a would-be Champion of Mistral, bearing the sword which her ancestor had used to champion Mistral on the battlefield? It would have been quite the stirring spectacle.”

“Until she lost,” Sunset said.

“She might not have,” Pyrrha replied. “The sword might have inspired her.”

Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “Pyrrha, I am willing to go along with a certain degree of romanticism – I am a romantic myself, after all – but let’s not go crazy here. It’s a sword. A venerable blade, and one which I am honoured to bear as a sign of your family’s trust in me, but it’s still just a sword. I couldn’t beat you with it, and I’m pretty sure that preening wannabe couldn’t either.”

“Sunset’s got a point,” Jaune said. “I mean, if we were all as good as our weapons, then I’d be a better huntsman than you, and… well, you know.”

“Perhaps I am exaggerating a little,” Pyrrha admitted. “In any case, my mother was not above wagering Soteria upon the outcome of matches between Phoebe and myself.”

“I think your mother was less ‘willing to give the sword away’ and more having some fun at the expense of Phoebe and her mother,” Sunset suggested. “But at least she had faith in you.”

“I suppose, in the arena at least,” Pyrrha murmured. “In any case, you know the truth now, so… I suppose it’s up to you whether you feel as though Phoebe deserves the sword.”

“Of course I don’t think Phoebe Kommenos deserves the sword!” Sunset exclaimed. “It’s mine! Given unto me as a mark of my distinction.” Made all the more precious because she had been given very few marks of distinction in her life. “I know… I know that it doesn’t exactly make you feel great to see your mother favour me so, but I have been given very few marks of favour in my career, and so… to be recognised for my quality… it means a lot to me.”

Since combat school, she had always shunted aside in favour of others, and frequently others who were – in Sunset’s wholly objective opinion – less than her. She had been overshadowed and outshone, first by the Ace of Canterlot and then by the Invincible Girl. Her magic made up for her deficiencies in other respects, and yet, it seemed she lacked a certain glamour about her that drew men to her and won their hearts. They did not see her worth, nor recognise the talent she possessed. But with Lady Nikos, it was different; here was a lady of high birth and noble blood, wealthy and well-respected, blessed with such a daughter as might never again be seen in Mistral. And yet, Pyrrha’s light had not prevented Lady Nikos from perceiving Sunset in a way few others did and honouring her with symbols of her respect. If Sunset gave Soteria away, she would throw away that symbol of respect as though it meant little to her, instead of meaning so, so much. As much to the point, she would insult Lady Nikos by doing so, and that, she was not willing to do.

“I will not give it up just because its previous owner has living relatives. I will not give it up out of obligation and certainly not for lien.”

“My mother will be pleased to hear it,” Pyrrha said.

“You could always tell her so,” Sunset suggested.

Pyrrha sighed. “Sunset-”

“Okay, I’m sorry, forget I said that,” Sunset said quickly, holding up one hand.

“I’m afraid… that may not be the last time you hear of this,” Pyrrha warned. “Phoebe can be… persistent, if nothing else, and Arslan tells me that there are some amongst the Haven students who are not happy that Soteria was bestowed on you.”

“Phoebe told me that people think I’m your family’s hireling,” Sunset remarked.

“Is that bad?” Ruby asked.

“Only for my self-respect,” Sunset replied.

Pyrrha cringed a little. “I’m sure that mother would never have phrased your arrangement in that way.”

“I know,” Sunset said. “But it doesn’t surprise me that people think that way. I suppose I’m not the sort of person who ought to attract the favour of the House of Nikos, am I?”

Pyrrha didn’t seem to know how to respond to that. Her cheeks reddened a little, and she glanced away from Sunset.

“Sorry,” Sunset repeated. “I didn’t mean to… I just… anyway, thanks for explaining to me; it doesn’t change my mind, but at least I understand. So… I should probably go; I’ll see you guys later.” She turned away from her teammates and took the first step towards the door.

“Sunset, wait a second!” Jaune called out and by his voice arrested Sunset’s progress. “I was actually hoping we could talk… alone.”

Sunset blinked. “'Alone'?”

“'Alone'?” Ruby repeated. “What’s going on, Jaune?”

“Nothing,” Jaune said hastily, and not particularly convincingly in Sunset’s opinion, what with the way that his voice rose up an octave. “I just need a quick word. I’ll catch up with you guys at the cafeteria.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine to leave the two of them in peace,” Pyrrha said, her voice sounding calmer once more, and more composed as she sidled past Sunset and reached the door. “I’ll save you a seat, Jaune, but don’t be too long.”

Jaune chuckled. “I won’t.”

Pyrrha nodded. “Are you coming, Ruby?”

“Uh, sure,” Ruby said, leaping over her bed. “Later, Sunset!”

“Later, Ruby, Pyrrha,” Sunset said as they both took their leave and the door closed behind them. Sunset walked back her steps towards her own bed and leaned against the wall with one outstretched arm. She focussed her attention upon the awkward-looking Jaune. “So,” she said. “What’s going on, Jaune?”

Jaune dry-washed his hands. “Well… you see… there’s something that I need to ask you, and… well, I don’t really know… ugh, how do I say this? Did you leak that audio about Cardin and Bon Bon? Were you Anon-a-Miss?”

Sunset stared at him for a moment. He asked her that? He had the gall to ask her that? Yes, he was right on both counts, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t a little upset about it. “I’m a little hurt, Jaune,” she said. “I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends,” Jaune protested.

“After all I’ve done for you-”

“It’s because of what you did for me that I know you could have done this,” Jaune informed her. “In fact… you’re the only person I can think of who might have done this.”

Sunset did not reply. She felt her appetite start to ebb away as her stomach chilled noticeably. So, he suspected her. He thought her capable of such things. He could not think of anyone else who might be so capable as she was.

And here, Sunset had thought that she’d been changing for the better, that she had a fresh start here, that these new friends didn’t realise what she was capable of.

Apparently, that was very naïve of her.

“You can’t possibly be able to prove that.”

Jaune’s brow crinkled a little. “No,” he admitted. “I can’t. But my sister Aoko is pretty savvy with technology, and she probably doesn’t hate me for coming to Beacon, so I bet if I ask her to look into this-”

“What do you want, Jaune?” Sunset demanded, as she flopped down onto her bed. With one hand, she reached out and grabbed her stuffed unicorn, feeling the soft felt fur beneath her fingers, squeezing the toy for comfort. “Is it lien? I don’t have very much of that. Do you want your essays done for you? Do you want yours and Pyrrha’s essays done for you so that you two have more time to-”

“Sunset,” Jaune cut her off. “What are you talking about?”

Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “I assumed you were about to blackmail me.”

“'Blackmail?' Come on, Sunset!” Jaune cried. “This is me you’re talking to! Jaune Arc, remember? Goofy guy with a heart of gold?”

“Did you just describe yourself as possessing a heart of gold?”

Jaune shrugged. “It’s pretty shiny, don’t you think?”

“I…” Sunset shook her head. “Well, if you didn’t want to blackmail me, then why did you clear the room? If you wanted to call me out, then why didn’t you do it in front of Ruby and Pyrrha?”

“Because I know that it matters to you what Ruby and Pyrrha think, just like I know that they wouldn’t understand; they’d think you did something wrong,” Jaune said. “And you know that too, don’t you? That’s why you don’t want them to find out.”

Sunset stared up at Jaune. When he had asked her if she was the one responsible, she had felt as though the floor had disappeared to reveal only an ocean beneath; now, Jaune was throwing her a lifeline. “I know that they wouldn’t understand,” she muttered. “They would see only a despicable act.”

“Well, it was pretty rough, what you did to Lyra,” Jaune said.

“And Cardin and Bon Bon?” Sunset asked. “Was it pretty rough what I did to them?”

Jaune hesitated. “I… I don’t think it’s my place to say whether a faunus ought to get upset about stuff like that.”

“But you think it’s your place to say whether a faunus should get upset about having the White Fang symbol painted on her door?”

“I think that it’s my place to say that you shouldn’t go around hurting people who have nothing to do with the thing that you’re upset about,” Jaune said. “Why Lyra? Why not Bon Bon?”

“I couldn’t get into Bon Bon’s scroll,” Sunset explained. “It was too heavily protected.”

“That’s weird.”

“Some people are security conscious, I suppose,” Sunset murmured. “Why… why did you think it was me?”

Jaune folded his arm. “Something happened to Blake and then something bad happens to the people harassing her? It reminded me of what you did when Cardin did something to me.”

“Right,” Sunset whispered. She looked down at the floor. “Are you mad?”

“I’m… disappointed,” Jaune replied. “I thought you were better than that. I thought you’d gotten better than that.”

“I have gotten better,” Sunset protested. “I’m not a bad person; I’m a good person who… occasionally does bad things. Which does not include what I did to Cardin, by the way; he had it coming.

“Doesn’t it?” Jaune asked. “Are you sure that it doesn’t?”

Sunset hesitated. “No,” she admitted. “His girlfriend broke up with him.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Neither can I, but… I felt sorry for him when I found out.” Sunset sighed. “I… you know, he came to see me last night to surrender. He waved the white flag and begged me not to do anything else to him. Promised that he wouldn’t trespass against us.”

Jaune stared down at her. “And did that make you feel better?”

“No,” Sunset confessed. “Not the way that I thought it would.”

Jaune was silent a moment. “Why?”

“Because they hurt Blake.”

“I’m sure Blake’s dealt with much worse than school bullies with loud mouths in her time.”

“That doesn’t mean that she should have to!” Sunset exclaimed. “What happened to it not being your place to decide what faunus should be mad about?”

“What happened to you being a better person?” Jaune asked. “What happened to you being past that kind of thing?” He frowned. “Is this going to be a thing now? Is this what you’re going to do every time somebody says the wrong thing to Blake, or to one of us?”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing for me to care about you all,” Sunset snapped. “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing that you guys matter to me. You make it sound like it’s a bad thing for me to want to take revenge against any wrongs done to you.”

“It kind of is,” Jaune cried. “Don’t get me wrong; it’s great that you care, but… well… the way that you show it is… is this going to be a thing?”

“Come on, Jaune, I’m a lot of things, but a bully isn’t one of them,” Sunset said. “When have you ever known me to make the first move?”

“You didn’t make the first move this time, but that doesn’t make it any less…” Jaune trailed off.

“Less what?” Sunset asked.

“Less wrong?” Jaune suggested. “Okay, with Cardin and Bon Bon, it was complicated, but with Lyra? Are you going to go after Weiss because she’s associated with Cardin?”

“Weiss and I are good now, and Cardin has given up.”

“Until he annoys you again?” Jaune demanded. “Did Cinder have anything to do with this?”

Sunset got up off the bed. “What does Cinder have to do with this?”

“You tell me,” Jaune said. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with her and… well, don’t you think she’s kind of creepy?”

“'Creepy'?” Sunset repeated flatly.

“She can be creepy to me,” Jaune said. “The point is… I don’t think that you would have done this before you met her.”

“I make my own decisions, Jaune,” Sunset declared. “No one is manipulating me or forcing me to do anything.”

“Are you going to make your own decision to stop doing stuff like this?” Jaune asked. “Sunset… you’re a good friend, to all of us. And you’re right, it’s not a bad thing that we can always count on you to help us out when we’re in trouble. No matter what, we know you’ve got our backs, and that is… that’s great. But you don’t need to do this stuff, and I think you know that.”

Sunset huffed and pouted her lips. She did know that, that was the worst part. Blake had told her so already, and Blake… Blake was right.

And she knew that she had done… well, she might not say that she had done wrong over Cardin, but she hadn’t needed Blake to give her a lecture in order for her to feel guilty about it. Breaking up a relationship, that… that was just a wicked thing to do.

It was her decision and no one else’s, and it had been a cruel decision.

They had both been cruel decisions. Cruel decisions which had belonged to an older Sunset, one which she had thought to leave behind.

She closed her eyes. “I… I am very fortunate,” she said. “If you were not such a kind man, then you could have ruined me.”

“I’m not that guy,” Jaune told her.

“No,” Sunset agreed. “You’re a better man than that, and than me.” She smiled wanly up at him. “It won’t happen again. You call me out rightly for it, I… I’m not sure what I was thinking.”

“Was it you thinking?”

“Yes!” Sunset said firmly. “Cinder had nothing to do with this.” Okay, Cinder had helped her out with the technical side, but it had been Sunset’s idea, and that was what mattered. “This was me. It was all me.” She paused. “Thank you, Jaune.”

“For what?”

“For reminding me of who I’m trying to be,” Sunset told him. “And now…” She didn’t really know what to say about now. She wouldn’t do it again? Only her actions could demonstrate that. He had done her a service, but the fact was, right now, being in the same room as Jaune felt suddenly very awkward, embarrassing, almost shameful.

She wanted to get out; she just wasn’t sure how to extricate herself from the situation.

“You should probably go,” Jaune told her. “Don’t want to stand up Twilight, do you?”

Sunset chuckled nervously. “Right,” she said, and made her exit as swiftly as she reasonably could. It was only with great restraint that she didn’t teleport out of there.

She left the dorm rooms and trudged across the grounds of the school towards Benni Haven’s, passing students from all four academies headed the other way in the direction of the dining hall. There was no sign of Twilight Sparkle, and Sunset quickened her pace against the possibility that Twilight – not burdened with needing to discuss things with Pyrrha and Jaune – had gone on before her and would be waiting when she arrived.

She thrust her hands into her pockets. Jaune had been right to call her out. It was good that she had someone like that on her team, someone who wasn’t… someone who didn’t… Pyrrha and Ruby were too nice, was what Sunset was trying to get across inside her head. Which wasn’t to say that Jaune wasn’t nice as well; it was just… a different kind of nice, a less trusting kind. Yes, trust. That was the issue. It wasn’t that Jaune was less forgiving than Ruby or Pyrrha – in fact, Sunset thought it likely that Ruby would be the least forgiving of anyone who fell short of her high standards of good conduct – but that he had, strangely for a boy who had lived his entire life in a backwater village, seen a little more of the world than the tournament champion or the huntsman’s child. He was a little more willing to suspect jackassery; possibly because he’d been on the receiving end of it more often than either of the girls had.

They needed someone like that on the team. Sunset needed someone like that, someone who would call her out as he just had, but at the same time kind enough to do it in private and give her the chance to mend her ways without exposing her in front of the rest of their friends.

It occurred to Sunset that she had squandered just such a chance from Rainbow Dash, whom she hadn’t spoken to since she had exposed Cardin and Bon Bon. She had no idea what the Atlesian huntress thought about that or what she meant to do about it. She hadn’t done anything yet, but that was no guarantee she wouldn’t. Perhaps Twilight would be able to shed some light on that front.

Either way, Sunset probably owed her an apology.

She would not, however, apologise to Bon Bon; she could accept that she’d been wrong without abasing herself before someone who had, quite frankly, had it coming.

And besides, to actually apologise to her victim would involve admitting guilt, and that could lead to all kinds of problems.

No, she would, as the saying went, keep moving forward, improving her future without stopping to make amends for her past.

As she walked down the gravel path towards the restaurant, Sunset wondered why it was that Jaune blamed Cinder for Sunset’s behaviour. Yes, they had talked about what Sunset meant to do, and Cinder had even given her a hand with some of the technological aspects of it, but she hadn’t pushed Sunset into any decisions. She had been a sympathetic ear but a largely compliant one, making the right noises but not putting any thoughts into Sunset’s head.

Sunset made her own decisions, and she wasn’t going to cut Cinder out of her life because she’d made some mistakes.

She was certain that, if she were to ask Princess Twilight about it, she would be told that blaming your friends for your own problems was a great big friendship no-no.

See how well I’m learning, Princess? I don’t even need to ask you to hear your opinion.

Sunset pushed open the door to Benni Haven’s and was confronted by the familiar sight of Fluffy the Beowolf; he wasn’t a real beowolf, of course, any more than the ursa’s head on the other wall above the fireplace belonged to a real ursa, but it looked real enough, and it gave the place a little bit of that hunting lodge character.

Besides, the team photos steadily engulfing the wall wouldn’t have been the same without him; he elevated something that could have felt officious or perfunctory and made them fun.

Every team that came to Benni Haven’s was invited to have their photo taken with the mock grimm, one copy going to the team themselves and the other being kept by the eponymous owner of the restaurant to hang on the wall as part of her constantly expanding collection. As Sunset waited – the restaurant was deathly quiet, and empty too; Sunset was the first and only person in here – she walked past Fluffy and looked at all the photos on the wall. The largest picture by far was, notably, the only one in which Fluffy did not feature: it was a photograph of Benni’s own team, from her Beacon days before she retired to become a restaurateur. Sunset didn’t look at that one long; her gaze was focussed on the more recent pictures, sweeping from frame to frame, over the quartets of smiling, laughing, joyous faces.

Team YRDN was there, in its old configuration, with Dove glancing up at Fluffy as if he was afraid the fake was going to come to life and try to bite his head off; Ren, standing at the edge of the picture, was managing the difficult feat of looking deathly serious even as he fended off Nora’s attempts to drag him closer to the centre of the shot. Team YRBN didn’t have a photo – they clearly hadn’t come here with Blake yet – but the new configuration of Team BLBL did while, as far as Sunset could see, they hadn’t had a photo taken while Blake was their leader.

Sunset felt a tinge of melancholy at the fact that Blake had no picture upon this wall. Team SAPR had one – their copy hung on the wall beside the door – with Jaune leaning on Fluffy and Sunset leaning on Ruby; the other three members of Team YRBN had one; Team RSPT had one, with Penny making peace signs with both hands while Rainbow beam proudly; even Trixie’s team had one, with purple smoke pooling at the bottom of the frame suggesting Trixie had accidentally set a bomb off. But there was no Blake. There was no record of her here.

Okay, yes, there were records in the archive, but… this place was a record all its own, a place where you could look upon the faces of the huntsmen and huntresses who had come before – and wonder how bravely they fought, how fiercely they loved.

Sunset found herself wondering how many of them had been used by Professor Ozpin and how many had paid dearly for it.

“Sunset?” Benni said, coming out from the kitchen and into the restaurant area. “You’re here early. All by yourself?”

Sunset straightened up and turned to face Benni Haven, a middle-aged squirrel faunus with a cybernetic arm and a big bushy tail that curled up at the top before it rose higher than her head. “I’m meeting someone here,” she explained. “I thought she might be here already, but it seems I’m the early one.”

“Well, you can pick whatever table you like,” Benni told her, gesturing all around the empty restaurant. “Just the one other person you’re expecting?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, you sit down, and I’ll get you a couple of breakfast menus,” Benni said. “You want a cup of coffee while you wait?”

“Can you bring a pot?” Sunset asked. “Hopefully, Twilight won’t be too long.”

“One pot of coffee coming right up,” Benni declared. “Hey, Stan did you get that?”

“Yeah, I got it,” replied a male voice from the kitchen. Benni’s husband did all of the cooking, but Sunset had never actually seen his face. He was just an ethereal creature on the other side of the door, producing meals to order.

Sunset took a table in the back corner of the restaurant, sitting down with her back to the wall and facing the door so that she could see Twilight come in when she arrived.

Benni strode over to her with the morning menus, putting one down in front of Sunset and the other before the empty space opposite her.

“Thank you,” Sunset said.

“So,” Benni said. “What’s up?”

Sunset looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“Having breakfast alone, with only Twilight for company; you got something to talk about you don’t want to share, right? Something going on?”

Sunset grinned. “You realise that if there was something going on, I probably wouldn’t tell you.”

“Hey, your secrets are safe with me,” Benni told her. “Eight years, I’ve been running this place, and I’ve never spilled a student’s confidence yet.”

Sunset hesitated. Benni had been here for a while, both as a student and as the owner of this place; she had seen a lot of students come through here – although given what she’d just said about confidence, there would be limits to what she was willing to say. “You ever… have you ever noticed anything weird going on around here?”

Benni snorted. “Kid, this is Beacon Academy; it sometimes feels like weird is all there is around here sometimes.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure, but you know what I mean, right? More than just the usual stuff, like…” She groped for a way to say ‘magic’ without actually saying ‘magic.’ “Anything strange, even for this place?”

Benni shrugged. “It depends what you mean by 'strange,'” she said. “You know Dove Bronzewing in your year, right?”

Sunset nodded. “I know Dove a little, sure.” You don’t mean to tell me that Dove’s mixed up in this magic stuff, is he?

How can he be? He’s not a girl.

“One time, when Dove and his friends were in here, I hear them talking about this girl, Amber. I tell them that I know who they’re talking about; she hung around the school for about a year or so. Not a student, though. No team; I don’t think she went to classes, judging by some of the times she turned up here, but she lived in the school all the same. That was a little weird.”

“Did you find out what she was doing here?”

Benni shook her head. “Professor Ozpin told me that she was his niece. He brought her in here sometimes for dinner.”

“Did you believe him?”

Benni nodded. “He treated her like family, although I never heard of him having any other relatives; still, the Professor is the kind to keep things close.”

You don’t know the half of it. “Maybe she didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Maybe,” Benni conceded. “Sometimes, she’d come in here by herself; she was always… it was like she was scared of something. Scared of everything. Skittish like. I tried to talk to her, make her feel a little welcome, but she always… it was like she was scared of me.” She chuckled. “Poor kid was even scared of Fluffy.”

“Maybe there’s a good reason she wasn’t a student.”

“Probably. Then, one day, she just… disappeared. Stopped coming around. No word or anything.”

“It doesn’t sound like you two were close.”

“No,” Benni allowed. “But she didn’t tell Dove where she was going either; now that’s a little weird, right?”

Possibly, but hardly the sort of weirdness that Sunset was interested in. “I guess,” she murmured. “What about Professor Ozpin?”

“What about him?”

“I’ve heard that he has favourites,” Sunset said. “Like Team Stark, back in the old days.”

Benni was still for a moment, and quiet. At length, she nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I’d say that was about right for Team Stark. I mean, to be fair, we all knew that those four were something special even before they saved the day at Ozpin’s Stand. Everyone – and I mean everyone, even the upperclassmen – looked up to Team Stark. They walked around the school like they owned it, and from what I heard, they’d been that way even in Freshman year. People recognise talent, and Team Stark had it to spare.” She grinned. “From what I hear, people are starting to look at Team Sapphire that way, what with you catching criminals and stopping bad guys.”

Sunset chuckled as she felt a faint blush rise to her cheeks. Ordinarily, she would have been quite content to drink deep of the flattery, but right now, she had other concerns on her mind. “And Professor Ozpin?”

Benni nodded. “Sure,” she said. “Ozpin gave them more missions than any other team, and juicier missions too. Like… they were the only ones he could count on when things got really tough.”

“So the headmaster does have favourites.”

“There are favourites,” Benni said. “And then there are favourites of favourites. Every year, there’s one team that starts school that Professor Ozpin is particularly interested in, like last year, it was Team Coffee. But sometimes, it doesn’t stay that way, like… maybe they’re not as good as he thought they were going to be, I guess, or some other team with more motivation overtakes them. But other times, like with Team Stark, it’s like he gets really interested, like he can see something in them. Of course, we could all see something in Team Stark, so that wasn’t a big surprise.”

Sunset nodded. Favourites of favourites, that made sense. Professor Ozpin would want to take some time to make sure that the ones he had his eye on were what he thought they were, the same way that Celestia had taken the time to decide that Sunset wasn’t what she was looking for and Twilight Sparkle was.

What it also told her was that they might have to wait until second year to find out if Team SAPR was one of those special favourites, or if it was Team YRBN, or if nobody had impressed him enough at all.

There was a certain irony to the fact that the surefire way to protect her team from the Headmaster’s machinations was to screw up, and that was something that Sunset’s pride would not allow her to do. She was done hiding her light beneath a bushel, even for safety’s sake.

“Thank you,” she said. “I just heard a few things, and I thought you’d know the truth.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” Benni said. “Now, I’ll see how your coffee’s getting on.”

The coffee was done, apparently, because Benni brought the pot over shortly afterwards with two plain china cups, a very small jug of milk and a bowl of sugar cubes. Sunset poured herself a cup with ample amounts of sugar in it and sipped the hot, brown liquid while she waited for Twilight.

The door opened, and Twilight walked in, wearing a silly smile on her face as she looked down at her scroll; so engrossed in it was she that Twilight almost walked into Fluffy, stopping herself only just in time.

Sunset waved at her as Twilight looked around the restaurant.

“Hey, Twilight!” Benni hailed her. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Ms Haven,” Twilight replied, as she jogged quickly across the restaurant and sat down in the free seat next to Sunset. “Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s fine,” Sunset said. “I haven’t been here long.”

“Good,” Twilight said. She looked down at her scroll again, and the smile returned to her face as she put the device away.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight said, as she blushed furiously. “Just some texts from Neptune.”

Sunset blinked. “'Neptune'? Neptune Vasilias?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, sounding a little embarrassed about it. “He, uh, he asked me out last weekend.”

Sunset’s eyebrows. “Really? And you said yes?”

“Why not?” Twilight asked. “He’s nice, he’s funny, he’s-”

“A player?” Sunset suggested.

“I think that’s just an act,” Twilight replied. “I think he’s a lot sweeter than he seems.”

“Hmm,” Sunset murmured. It wasn’t really any of her business, but she was a little afraid that Twilight was setting herself up for disappointment here. As like as not, she’d catch him cheating on her before the year ended. He seemed that kind of guy; he didn’t have any of his team leader’s sincerity. Personally, Sunset wouldn’t have trusted him as far as she could throw him without magic.

But it really wasn’t any of her business, and if Twilight thought she could handle it, well, she was a big girl. And it wasn’t what Sunset had asked her to breakfast for. “Well, best of luck,” she said. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Oh, um,” Twilight looked at the menu in front of her. “Have you had the crepes here?”

Sunset ordered two sets of crepes with strawberries for herself and Twilight and, while they were waiting, asked, “How are things with Penny?”

“Do you mean herself or,” Twilight’s voice dropped a little as she leaned forward, “her swords?”

“The swords,” Sunset murmured. “Although if you want to talk about anything else, that’s fine.”

“Penny’s doing great,” Twilight said. “Well, she’s happy at least, and so far, her performance in every trial she’s been engaged in has been exemplary. Her father is very impressed; so is General Ironwood and the authorities back home. On all the evidence currently available, the project is a complete success. I, on the other hand, am not a success.”

“No more luck?”

“None,” Twilight groaned.

“Maybe you should ask Ruby for help,” Sunset suggested. “She was able to get that monstrous scythe to fold up; maybe she can help you shrink the swords?”

“Ruby?”

“She’s smarter than she looks,” Sunset informed Twilight. “Or acts, sometimes. The point is that she really does get this stuff; maybe she can be the fresh pair of eyes you’re looking for.”

“Maybe,” Twilight agreed. “It’s worth a shot at least.” She hesitated. “And, have you thought anything more about-?”

“Don’t,” Sunset said firmly. “If my answer changes, I will let you know.”

“Right,” Twilight said softly. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Sunset told her. “Just… don’t push it.”

“I won’t, and I am sorry,” Twilight repeated. “I’m just… anyway, why did you-?” She stopped, as Benni brought their crepes over. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Don’t call me 'ma’am'; I’m not that old,” Benni said. “You girls enjoy it and let me know if you need anything else.”

“Will do,” Sunset replied, pouring herself another cup of coffee. “You were saying?” she asked as Benni retreated.

“I was about to ask why you invited me to have breakfast with you,” Twilight said.

Sunset chewed on some crepe wrapped around a strawberry. The fruit was soft and gave way easily before her teeth, which didn’t stop it from tasting good in any way. Once she had swallowed, she leaned forward a little, “I’ve been reading those books you gave me,” she said, “and I think I know what happened to all the magic.”

“Really?” Twilight demanded in a voice laced with sarcasm. “A mystery that has baffled a whole community for years, but you’ve got it all figured out just like that?”

“I’m smarter than anyone else,” Sunset declared breezily, sipping some of her coffee.

Twilight stared at her flatly.

“Plus, I had some information that no one else had access to,” Sunset explained.

“Hmm,” Twilight murmured. “Go on, what happened?”

“Professor Ozpin hid it away,” Sunset said.

Twilight snorted some of her coffee out of her nose and spent some little time getting the rest out before she was able to speak again. “Professor- that’s ridiculous!”

“I thought that General Ironwood was the man you all admired so much you couldn’t believe him capable of fault.”

“He is,” Twilight said. “I mean, he isn’t-”

“Yes,” Sunset said. “Yes, he is.”

“Yeah, he really is,” Twilight admitted. “But anyway, this has nothing to do with admiration and everything to do with the fact that he’s not old enough. If you had read those books I gave you-”

“I did.”

“Then you’d know that magic ‘disappeared’ centuries ago, maybe even longer; Professor Ozpin isn’t nearly old enough-”

“Okay, so he didn’t start it,” Sunset conceded. “But he’s the one doing it now?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Ruby’s mother told me.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t Ruby’s mother dead?”

“She left a diary,” Sunset explained. “Which I… came into the possession of in the course of a story which has no relevance to this matter.”

“Please don’t tell you found the journal of Ruby’s late mother and kept it for yourself.”

“Why does everyone always assume the worst of me?” Sunset demanded. “After all I’ve done for you people, why is it that I am yet denied the benefit of the doubt and continually must endure accusations-”

“Because the accusations are often true, Anon-a-Miss,” Twilight declared acidly.

Sunset blinked, pursing her lips together. “Rainbow told you, didn’t she?”

“Uh-huh,” Twilight said flatly.

“How’s she feeling about me right now?”

“Ambivalent,” Twilight replied. “She doesn’t like what you did, but… what Cardin and Bon Bon were saying to Blake… I think that it’s hard for her to get too angry at you when she’s so upset at Bon Bon.” Twilight hesitated. “Bon Bon did say those things, didn’t she?”

“Do you think that I could fake that? Well enough to fool journalists?”

“Probably not,” Twilight conceded. “To think that Bon Bon could be so vile, could hold such horrible opinions. We were never close, but I thought we were all on good terms, and all the times she was being pleasant and polite to Rainbow Dash, she was secretly thinking stuff like that. I would never have believed it.”

“I would,” Sunset replied. “The only reason to be that self-righteous is if you want to distract attention for your own wickedness.”

“Maybe, and maybe it was just my naivete showing that I didn’t see it until it was obvious,” Twilight murmured. “I just thought we were better than that now. I thought that wasn’t who we were any more.”

“People?”

“Atlesians,” Twilight clarified.

Sunset shrugged. “Society can move as fast or as slow as it wants; there will always be those who refuse to move with it.”

“I suppose,” Twilight sighed. “Do you think this will affect Blake’s view of Atlas?”

“I wish it would,” Sunset muttered. “Sadly, I think the fact that Trixie and that other girl-”

“Starlight.”

“Yeah, her, came to back her up will count for more than where Bon Bon was born.” Sunset swallowed some more strawberry. “After all, she’s Beacon’s problem now.”

“Lucky you,” Twilight said quietly. “But, anyway, you were saying about the diary of Ruby’s mother.”

“Summer Rose, yes,” Sunset agreed. “As I was saying before I was impugned, I did give it to Ruby, but she has kept me informed on what she’s found out from it. That’s how we found out about Silver Eyes; her mother wrote about them. Just like Summer also wrote about a mission that she and her team went on while they were students, to escort a woman named Auburn to a village out in the sticks. On the way, they were attacked by grimm, but Auburn defended them using ice, fire, wind, and lightning.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “The same as when-”

“You were saved as a child,” Sunset agreed. “Now get this: Professor Ozpin assigned that mission to Team Stark personally. He introduced Auburn to them as an old friend.”

“That doesn’t prove he knew-”

“He knew,” Sunset insisted. “Else why would he have assigned Team Stark the mission? What did he think Auburn was going out into the countryside to do?”

“What was Auburn going out into the countryside to do?” Twilight asked.

“She found a young girl, a former student named Merida who had dropped out of Beacon, and took her away with her.”

Twilight frowned. “But why?”

“Auburn died, no more than a year after that mission,” Sunset explained. “Cancer.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “In the legends, magic always passes upon death.”

“And to the person the last wielded of the magic is closest to,” Sunset added. “Or to whoever kills them, but if we assume that Auburn really did die of natural causes, then she went to collect her successor and keep her close until the end came.”

Twilight’s eyes flickered back and forth. She looked away from Sunset and down at the table in front of her. “So… when the Red Queens were vanquished-”

“My theory is that the heroes who killed them had come into possession of their magic.”

“And in order to make sure that they or their successors were not hunted down-”

“They went into hiding, allowing the memory of magic to fade away,” Sunset continued.

“Until the present day?” Twilight asked. “And Professor Ozpin knows about this? Why? How?”

“I can’t answer how,” Sunset said. “Perhaps… perhaps there is no one Old Man; there are a succession of Old Men who have been initiated into the world’s mysteries, and he is the latest of them. The point is that he knows, he knows so much more than he is letting on, and he is keeping magic from the rest of us. He and those who came before are part of a conspiracy to make sure that magic is not seen in the world again.”

“Then how do you explain my accident?” Twilight said. “Whoever our rescuer was, they used magic.”

“Maybe they got tired of hiding?” Sunset suggested. “Maybe they didn’t realise that you were awake and thought that nobody would see them cutting loose? Maybe their conscience wouldn’t allow them to stand by and let a family die for the sake of their secret? But that was a one off-”

“It’s not the only incident that’s been recorded.”

“Let me guess,” Sunset said. “All isolated, just like yours; all with a lack of credible witnesses, just like yours; all completely deniable, just like yours.”

Twilight nodded mutely. “Pretty much.”

“So maybe they’re not hiding it all the time, but they’re not going out of their way to make a spectacle of themselves,” Sunset said. “We’re a long way from the prophets.”

Twilight sagged in her seat. “Yeah, we are, aren’t we?” She sighed. “Well, that’s that, I guess.”

Sunset frowned. “What do you mean, that’s that?”

“Well, it would have been nice to be able to officially solve the mystery, but that can’t happen-”

“What do you mean 'that can’t happen'?” Sunset demanded. “We know what we’re looking for now; we have to keep digging and-”

“And what?” Twilight asked. “If we’re right, then magic disappeared for a pretty good reason-”

“There is no good reason for hiding what you can do,” Sunset declared. “Still less for hiding who and what you are.”

“Not even to protect yourself?” Twilight asked. “Or to protect others who would be in danger if the powers fell into the wrong hands as they did before? You have… everything that you’ve said makes perfect sense, and I believe it, but… with what you’ve told me, I’m not willing to go on, not now that I understand what happened and why. If you’ve read the account of the reign of the Red Queens, then you know what’s at stake.”

“This isn’t the olden days; I don’t believe that one person, even with magic, could just take over like that,” Sunset said.

“It’s too big a risk,” Twilight insisted. “There are other mysteries to pursue, other questions to answer, phenomena that aren’t – or don’t seem to be – connected with the prophets or the Red Queens. But on this matter, we have to trust that Professor Ozpin knows what he’s doing-”

“Why?” Sunset demanded. “Why do we have to trust him when he hasn’t given us any reason to?”

“Because we have to put our trust in authority, or who can we trust?” Twilight asked. “If we can’t trust our headmasters and generals, then… what, do we just make our own choices?”

“Oh, how terrible, we might actually have to think for ourselves.”

“And when your thoughts conflict with Ruby’s?” Twilight asked. “Or Pyrrha’s? When you and Rainbow Dash butt heads with no one higher up to resolve it because you’ve rejected the notion of responsible authority, what then? Are you going to fight it out? Break heads to establish your dominance? Anarchy and barbarism, that’s where this leads, we need authority, we need order-”

“You sound like a tin pot despot.”

“And you sound like a savage!” Twilight snapped. She sighed. “I’m sorry, I just… I don’t think we should risk breaking the world just to prove that we were right.”

Sunset stared at her for a moment. “That’s the difference between us, Twilight. As far as I’m concerned, a world where magic has been hidden like this is already broken.”

Comments

[Aemon Targaryen]

That was really interesting.

I love this chapter.

It's make sense than Twilight, who is from a family of officers and soldiers, have quite the... Devotion toward the idea of hierarchy.

She annoy me, I wouldn't mind Sunset dissing (is that the right word ?) her.

I like Benni in this chapter.

Also, how old is she again ? Between 30 and 40 ? Older than STRQ?

However : F*ck you Jaune you damn goody two-shoes ! I truly hate goody two-shoes, and I hope Sunset will not become one.

What was done to Lyra was shitty, however, his hesitation about Cardin and BonBon piss me off.

The problem is than the only person close to Sunset who could convince her to not be a goody two-shoes is Cinder, who is a evil megalomaniac power starving bitch (even power hungry is too weak to describe her).

I really hope than Sunset will utterly crush Phoebe.

Phoebe need to remember the pecking order.

She, the dirt, Sunset ****, Cinder, Pyrrah's mother (since she is her patron), , Jaune, Ruby, Pyrrah, and Sunset herself.

More seriously, I really want Sunset to show to those who insult or belittle her her strength.

[JMP]

10702747
Why do you think Jaune is wrong to call Sunset out? Yeah, Cardin and Bon-Bon suck, but Sunset didn't have to leak the audio to the public. That was spiteful, not responsible. Breaking up Cardin and Skystar was not her place or her right. And she got the rest of Wisteria caught in the crossfire. Weiss is only guilty by association and inaction. She made a mistake, but she doesn't deserve the publicity. Sunset could have given her recording to Goodwitch or Ozpin. Settled this privately. Cinder is a bad influence and I don't think the author is trying to hide that. She enables Sunset's worst instincts and ideas.

[Aemon Targaryen]

10702818
The way I was reading it, Jaune was angry with the fact of getting back at BonBon and Cardin, not just the method. I disagree with the method (I also think than she should had talk to Skystar and Ozpin/Goodwitch), but I absolutely support the objective (destroy BonBon and Cardin socially).

Also, Sunset had all rights to reveal about Cardin since he didn't hold up to his promise.

[Mastermind4892]

10702747
10702818
There's one absolutely vital piece of the puzzle that Sunset and Twilight are missing: the Maidens, the Relics and all forms of magic are being mercilessly hunted by a darker power. A major reason why they were all hidden away. Keep them secret, keep them safe.

And yes, Jaune! What's wrong with you? And how can Ruby, Pyrrha and even Rainbow Dash think that Sunset's exposure of Cardin and Bon Bon was immoral? Exactly what would any of them had done if they witnessed such cruelty? Would it be chivalrous to not act on it? It is very true that Sunset's attack on Lyra was quite ignoble (thanks to Cinder's influence), but this act of exposure was absolutely the right thing to do. I'm also just as upset that Jaune confronts Sunset on the logic that she is apparently the only one who would do this, as if no one else in a school of Huntsmen would act on injustice. Besides, Sunset was hardly doing anything selfish. She exposed a cruel deed, refused to take credit for it, and instead made students of Atlas look like heroes. Furthermore, Cardin may have lost his girlfriend, but no one can ever believe that he wouldn't lose her if he was exposed by anyone other than Sunset. And Rainbow Dash should be on Sunset's side, considering how she did the same thing when she reported the SDC's branding about Adam Taurus to Cadence before the day was out!

This world is an uncertain realm filled with danger. Honor undermined by the pursuit of power. Nobility subverted in the interest of prejudice. Freedom sacrificed when the weak are oppressed by the strong. But there are those who oppose these powerful forces, who dedicate their lives to protect others and to fight against injustice in the name of greater ideals. These people are called heroes.

[Aemon Targaryen]

10702849
The fact is than this world is not equestria.

There , something like this would had been bad, but in a world like Remnant or our own, such actions are good.

Sunset would need princess Twilight or naruto level of stupidity kindness to not act on this with force.

[Christopher28]

Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn’t already read the original story to the end...I like the way you are better setting up the reasons for Sunset’s eventual remorse. In the original story, before the rewrite, her surrender to the Vale Authorities (about her role in the breach) and her deliberately NOT defending herself seemed out of character... a step too far, even for the most emo of teenagers...

But by establishing some similar incidents and similar feelings of guilt, you give her motivations more weight.

Not that I really liked Sunset failing to defend herself in her kangaroo court of a trial for her role in the Breach, but at least you’re making her doing so more understandable.

I still think that someone should have ignored her wishes and stood up for her at that time... but meh. It does set up the middle of the story pretty well... and Sunset’s repeated “I have a note!” During the battle for Vale was a hilarious running gag...

Well, as always, looking forward to more.

[Aemon Targaryen]

10702947
Dude, there is persons who had only saw the rewrite, I would like to read the old version without already knowing.

At least put it in the spoiler.

Edit : thank you.

[Mastermind4892]

Sunset stared at her for a moment. “That’s the difference between us, Twilight. As far as I’m concerned, a world where magic has been hidden like this is already broken.”

Sunset is going to have a very sour opinion of the Brother Gods when she hears the story of how they not only abandoned Remnant but took its magic with them.

[Alysion]

10703492
Also, on a side note, destroyed the major part of humanity.

[Aemon Targaryen]

10703925
Doesn't she already do ? I meant, it's not for nothing than there is only 6 person on Remnant she actually like a été Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune, Flash (even thought now it's more cold) and to a lesser extent Cinder.

[Raul]

Sunset stared at her for a moment. “That’s the difference between us, Twilight. As far as I’m concerned, a world where magic has been hidden like this is already broken.”

A Remnant of what it once was perhaps?

[Stet709]

I do appreciate Jaune pulling Sunset back to the light where Cinder is leading her to the dark and voicing his doubts about Cinder.

Yeesh, at the rate, Sunset's putting it together, she'll figure out the reincarnation process from that story she's doing a paper on with Cinder...