A Sense of Safety (New)
A Sense of Safety
Sunset walked into the dorm room and picked up her jacket off the bed.
She noticed Pyrrha sitting on her bed, looking down at her scroll.
“Are you about to call your mother?” Sunset asked. “Or have you done it already?”
Pyrrha started. “Sunset!” she said. “I didn’t hear you come in!” Her eyes narrowed a little. “No,” she added, her voice gaining a little weight. “I mean, I have called her already.”
Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “Really? You kept that to yourself.”
“You were… indisposed, at the time,” Pyrrha murmured.
“'Indi-' oh,” Sunset said. “Oh.” She sat down on her bed, elbows resting upon her knees. “Um, was it…? I mean-”
“I thought she ought to know,” Pyrrha said. “About your… condition.”
“I see,” Sunset said softly. Her ears drooped downwards a little bit, even as she bowed her head and lowered her eyes away from Pyrrha. “Thank you.”
“There’s nothing-”
“Yes, there is,” Sunset insisted, looking up once more. “There absolutely is.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I know that I give you grief about not speaking to your mother, and I know that it must seem sometimes as though I am indifferent to your grievance. I’m not. I know that you have cause to be upset, even if I disagree with how you’ve reacted to it. My point is… you didn’t have to speak to her on my behalf, and the fact that you were willing to do so anyway is… I understand what it meant for you to take that step, and I am grateful.”
Pyrrha was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was soft, and Sunset had to strain with all four ears to hear her. “The doctors… nobody could tell me for certain if you would live or not,” she said. “It made… I couldn’t put my disagreements with my mother over that. She would have been upset to learn of your death, and almost as aggrieved to find that you had perished and I had not told her of it. She’s very fond of you.”
“I’m rather fond of her as well,” Sunset replied. “Which is why it might sometimes appear as though I take her side. Thank you, for telling her.” She smiled, ever so slightly. “Although, now that you’ve told me that you told her that I was in danger, it behooves me now to tell her that I am out of danger, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” Pyrrha agreed. “Yes, I suppose it does.”
“Unless you have told her yourself?” Sunset asked.
“No,” Pyrrha replied. “No, we have not spoken but that one time.”
“And you have no plans to do so again, do you?”
“I do not,” Pyrrha said, her voice gentle but firm at the same time.
Sunset shook her head. “They say that grief, like a tide, washes away old disagreements and long-held grudges. For all its pain, it has the power to bring people together.”
“But you have recovered and are right as rain,” Pyrrha pointed out. “What is there to grieve?”
“Please don’t tell me that I’ll have to actually die in order to get you and your mother talking to one another,” Sunset groaned.
“No!” Pyrrha cried. “Of course that’s not what I… you’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“In part,” Sunset replied. “I’m beginning to worry that it might come to that.” She frowned. “But in all earnestness… don’t you think that what happened… don’t you think that it should prompt you to think about things?”
Pyrrha sighed. “It did prompt a great deal of thought on my part.”
“That’s good to hear,” Sunset said. “What did you think about?”
Pyrrha hesitated, looking down at the red sash that trailed away from her across her bed. “I was… I suppose that I was feeling guilty, about the fact that I couldn’t save you.”
“From a bomb that you didn’t know was there?” Sunset asked.
“If I can only protect my friends from monsters whom I can see, then I… am only useful in very specific situations, aren’t I?” Pyrrha asked. “Or should I say ‘aren’t we?’ considering that you couldn’t save yourself from that bomb either.”
“If you must,” Sunset muttered. It wasn’t something that she particularly wanted to think about. “I don’t see how anyone, be they the greatest hero who ever lived, could have defended themselves against an attack they didn’t see coming.”
“That’s rather the point, don’t you think?” Pyrrha suggested. “If that is so, then… I began to wonder if the idea of a hero still means anything in this day and age.”
“If it does not, then that says more about the decline of this day and age then about the idea of a hero,” Sunset declared. “Although I’m not sure who you think could have done something about a bomb they didn’t know was there and had no reason to suspect might be there better than a hero could have.”
“Yes,” Pyrrha murmured. “You make a very good point.”
“The way I see it, it all comes down to just one question,” Sunset went on. “What is a hero’s purpose?”
“To protect the people,” Pyrrha answered at once. “To be their leader in war, their champion, their… shepherd.”
“And to inspire them, wouldn’t you say?” Sunset asked. “To give them hope, to be a light in dark places, to show them virtues they would not otherwise dream of?”
Pyrrha was silent for a moment. “Are you about to tell me that people still need to be inspired, even though the times have changed?”
“The times may have changed, but the people have not,” Sunset said. “They still need hope as much as ever, and will need hope as much as they need defenders, and will do so as long as the grimm roam Remnant. Where that hope comes from will vary by the place, and even by the person, but I think that there will come a time in Mistral when the sight of your circlet gleaming bright upon your brow is worth a hundred men on the battlefield.”
“I hope not,” Pyrrha murmured. “In any case, Professor Ozpin and my mother both did a great deal to set my mind at ease.”
“Proof that speaking to her is a good idea, although I wouldn’t necessarily say the same about Professor Ozpin” Sunset said, getting back to the point at hand. “But seriously,” she said, “what I was going to say was that…” She licked her lips. “If things had gone a little differently, if you and Jaune hadn’t been late… it could have been you in the hospital hovering between life and death.” She hesitated. “You are our champion as much as you are Mistral’s, but as your mother told me in Mistral, the mightiest warrior may be felled by a single arrow. Do you... at the risk of sounding manipulative, do you really want to die with bitterness and angry words between you? Do you really want to die without having made your peace with your mother?”
Pyrrha was silent for a moment. “You do sound manipulative,” she declared reproachfully. “But you also make a great deal of sense,” she conceded. “Between our battle on the train, the incident in the forest, and now this bomb… I can’t believe that these four years at Beacon will be free from danger, nor blithely assume that I will live to see my graduation.”
“Don’t get fatalistic on me, for goodness’ sake!” Sunset said sharply. “I’ll fight like hell to keep you alive, but-”
“I understand your meaning, perfectly,” Pyrrha murmured. “I… I will consider it, more earnestly than I have in the past, I must admit. You speak wisely and reproach me well.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Sunset said. “Delighted, in fact. May I tell your mother that you are considering it when I speak to her?”
Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. “Yes,” she agreed. “Actually, no, I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t want her to think that… I would like to be able to act at my own pace, without feeling like I must justify the hopes that you have nurtured in her.”
Sunset nodded. That was fair enough. “Very well,” she said. She paused, wondering if this was the next step she really wanted to take.
It would have been a risk with some people, but this was Pyrrha, the most upright and honourable student at Beacon; she would not take the leeway that Sunset offered her and abuse it.
“While we are on the uncomfortable subject of our possible demises,” Sunset began, choosing her words with some care.
“Must we talk about this, Sunset?” Pyrrha asked. “Isn’t it enough that you’ve made a full recovery?”
“Didn’t we just accept that this won’t be the last time we face death?” Sunset replied. “I’m not going to ask you for very much.”
“Not much more than you did in your letter, you mean?” Pyrrha replied.
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about that,” Sunset said, through slightly gritted teeth. She paused. “Did you… tell anyone else about that?”
Pyrrha hesitated. “Rainbow Dash… and Blake.”
“Oh, no,” Sunset groaned, putting her head in her hands. “How did she take it?”
“She was amused,” Pyrrha explained. “When she thought you might die.”
Sunset groaned again. “I was planning on being safely dead by the time she found out about that,” she pointed out.
“Thank you for leaving me the responsibility,” Pyrrha muttered dryly.
Sunset ran the fingers of both hands through her hair. “Hopefully, she isn’t too upset by it. Anyway, the point is…” She held out one hand, the green glow of magic engulfing it as she levitated the magical journal out from under the bed and into her grasp. “Do you remember this?”
Pyrrha nodded. “You’ve shown it to me before. It’s your magic book, isn’t it?”
“Exactly,” Sunset agreed. “Every word that gets written here also appears in another book in my home.” She paused. “And that’s why… if I die, I’d like you to write in this book to Princess Celestia and tell her that… that I have fallen.” She had put the princess through enough during her first four years in Remnant, never writing, not saying a single word, leaving Celestia no idea whether she was alive or dead. She would not do that again. She would have Princess Celestia learn the truth as soon as possible, so that she might… so that she might move forward as soon as possible.
“Princess Celestia?” Pyrrha repeated. “Is that… you’ve only called her your teacher before.”
“I can hardly ask you to write to ‘Sunset’s teacher’ can I?” Sunset replied.
“I suppose not,” Pyrrha said, a slight trace of amusement entering her voice. “But a princess? I suppose that explains a great deal.” She fell silent for a few moments before she said, “I will do it, of course, but… merely to write hardly seems reciprocal when I have charged you to bear my arms and circlet home to the crypt of my ancestors. Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to go in person, to tell your story to the princess face to face?”
“No,” Sunset said quickly. “I wouldn’t want to put you out like that.”
“It is no trouble to bring word of a comrade’s death to their home,” Pyrrha said. “It is the most sacred and solemn errand a friend may perform.”
“Nevertheless, my home is unusually remote,” Sunset insisted. “Merely to write to the princess will… satisfy me, if that makes any sense.”
Pyrrha nodded. “Very well. I will do as you ask, and content myself to say that I am honoured by your trust. In this and in those things that you would rather we did not speak of.”
“There is no one I trust more,” Sunset whispered. She clapped her hands together. “But now, we can put aside these grave matters and concentrate on making sure that nobody dies and I don’t have to carry your possessions home and you don’t have to write to my princess.”
“Indeed,” Pyrrha agreed. Her brow furrowed somewhat. “Sunset, may I ask you something else? If Celestia is your princess, and your teacher, why do you swear by her?”
Sunset’s mouth opened for some little time before any words emerged. “That… yeah, that… that is something that she doesn’t know about. Everyone does it, just not where she can hear us. It’s a sign of the reverence in which we hold her.”
“Like unto a god?” Pyrrha asked.
“I suppose you could say that,” Sunset acknowledged. “Skilled in magic as she is, she is the closest thing to a god that we have ever seen.”
“And yet she would not wish you to see her so?” Pyrrha said. “Given that you do not refer to her thus in her presence.”
“I… I don’t know whether she would like it or no, but I suspect not,” Sunset murmured. “She… Princess Celestia is a lot like you in some respects, she dislikes to be put upon a pedestal.”
“And yet you dislike me for the same,” Pyrrha murmured.
Sunset winced. “I… could observe my princess’s attitudes, but not understand them.”
“I see,” Pyrrha said. “In any event, it doesn’t really matter now. I’m sorry if you thought that I was… I shouldn’t have brought it up. Were you going somewhere?”
“Hmm?”
“You came in and picked up your jacket,” Pyrrha reminded her.
“Oh, I was just about to make a quick run to Benni Havens’; do you want anything?”
“I might come with you, if that’s alright,” Pyrrha suggested.
“Fine by me; I’ll be glad of the company,” Sunset said. “So, what’s up?”
Pyrrha got to her feet. “What makes you think that anything is up?”
“The fact that you were staring at your scroll so intently when I came in,” Sunset explained. “I mean, if it’s private, just say so, but-”
“No, it’s fine.” Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. “It’s a request for a comment from a Mistral newspaper. They don’t normally approach me directly; my mother handles all of my… well, she’s my agent so… I suppose that it’s sufficiently well known that she and I are… that they thought they could take a chance on contacting me directly.”
“I see,” Sunset said. “What do they want you to comment on?”
Pyrrha frowned. “Apparently… there are some in Mistral who are beginning to argue that Haven should pull out of this year’s Vytal Festival.”
“'Pull out'?” Sunset repeated. “Is that… is that even possible? Could they do that?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Pyrrha replied. “I haven’t studied the tournament by-laws, but I should think that if every Haven student went home – if Professor Lionheart or the Council were to order them to return – there wouldn’t be anything that anyone could do to stop them. Nobody can be forced to compete, after all.”
“Yes, of course not, you couldn’t threaten them into the arena, but still,” Sunset said, “who’s saying that and why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Pyrrha asked. “They say it’s not safe here in Vale, for the students or for the visitors from Mistral who will come to Vale to watch the tournament.”
“Because of the White Fang,” Sunset murmured.
“Indeed,” Pyrrha responded.
Sunset winced. “I know it worried your mother a little; she confessed as much when we visited over the break.”
“And it’s gotten worse since then,” Pyrrha added.
“No, it hasn’t!” Sunset cried. “We caught Torchwick-”
“Which hasn’t stopped the White Fang themselves,” Pyrrha pointed out. “We caught Torchwick, and then you almost died from a bomb that was set off in the middle of Vale; anyone without aura would have been killed instantly.”
“The bomb maker is dead, and all his associates are in police custody,” Sunset pointed out.
“But the White Fang is still at large with more than enough dust to make many more bombs if they so choose,” Pyrrha said.
Sunset clenched her jaw. “So… you agree then? You think that Haven ought to pull out of the tournament, that the Mistralians ought to stay at home? You think it’s not safe here?”
Pyrrha was silent for a few moments. “I… I do not want to say so,” she admitted. “I don’t want to go on record as saying that Vale is too dangerous, that Haven should turn its back upon a celebration of unity and peace, but… but you nearly died, Sunset. Not in battle, not against grimm, not even facing the White Fang; you were blown up, you and Ruby both, in Vale. In Vale! How can I say that Vale is safe and there is nothing to worry about when such things are happening?”
“It only happened once,” Sunset muttered.
“If you had died, do you think it would have been any consolation to any of us that this had only happened once?” Pyrrha demanded.
Sunset looked away. “Well… fair point,” she conceded. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“That’s rather cowardly, don’t you think?” Pyrrha asked. “If I don’t have the courage to speak the truth as I see it, then how am I supposed to call myself a huntress?”
“Silence isn’t a lie.”
“Perhaps not, but it is not the truth either,” Pyrrha insisted.
“And the truth is that you don’t think Vale is safe?” Sunset asked. “If you think that, then… then why are you still here?”
“I’m not afraid for myself,” Pyrrha insisted. “But for the people who come for the festival in normal years… the Atlesians came to protect Vale, but they haven’t stopped the White Fang; at best, they’ve driven them underground. The Purifier may be dead, but… who knows what else they’re planning with all of that stolen dust, and nobody seems to have a clue where they are. In the circumstances, would you really advise people to come?”
I don’t have anyone whom I could advise to come or not, was the glib response that came to Sunset’s mind immediately, but which died upon the tip of her tongue as she realised that it was not entirely true. Yes, Princess Celestia wasn’t going to pop over from the other side of the mirror to watch Team SAPR win great glory in the tournament, but there was Lady Nikos. She, certainly, would wish to come to Vale, to taste the fruits of her success, to be present as her only daughter and her pride triumphed over all others in the greatest stage in Remnant. Did Sunset want her there? Yes, to see their glory, but would she want her there at the risk of her own life? “No,” she confessed. “No, I would bid your mother remain safe in Mistral and content herself with watching the live coverage.” She paused. “You have a television at home, right? I don’t think I actually saw one in your house.”
“Well, we never use it to entertain guests,” Pyrrha replied. “But, yes, there is one.” She paused. “You agree, then? It isn’t safe?”
“Saying it isn’t safe makes it sound like a warzone out there,” Sunset muttered. “But… I agree. It is… I don’t think anyone can guarantee the safety of Vale or the people in it right now.” She folded her arms. “Of course, if you really think that Vale is too dangerous, then surely the thing to do is to cancel the tournament?”
“You can’t want that,” Pyrrha said in disbelief.
“Of course I don’t want that!” Sunset squawked. “I’m just saying that it’s the sensible thing to do in a crisis.”
“It would be an admission that there really is a crisis,” Pyrrha observed. “That being the case, I can see why Professor Ozpin and the Valish Council want to hold off on taking such a step for as long as they can.”
Professor Ozpin would be happy to see us all dead, and the Valish Council too, Sunset thought. After all, they’ve already left us to die once. She didn’t say it, though; this wasn’t the right time, and it would just turn the whole discussion at a right angle until they lost the thread. And the thread was grim enough already. “I suppose.”
Pyrrha looked out of the window. “I wish…” she began, but then trailed off.
“You wish there was more that we could do?” Sunset guessed.
“I wish that we had the skills to do something,” Pyrrha explained. “Team Wisteria seem to have done well working with the police… somehow, I doubt we’d have fared so well in their place.”
Sunset snorted. “Maybe not.”
Pyrrha did not smile, although she did stand up. “Sunset, will you excuse me for a moment? There’s someone I need to talk to.”
“Be my guest,” Sunset replied. “I need to call your mother anyway.”
“Yes, of course,” Pyrrha said. “Well then, I’ll meet you out in the courtyard?”
“Sure.”
“Good,” Pyrrha answered. “I shall see you soon then, Sunset.” Moving quickly, and with purpose in her stride, she took her leave of Sunset and the dorm room.
Sunset waited until the door closed behind her before she called Lady Nikos.
It took very little time for Lady Nikos to answer, her face appearing in the screen of the device. “Miss Shimmer,” she said, in a voice that verged upon tenderness. “Either I am succumbing to hallucinations, or you are out of danger.”
“I am glad to say that it is the latter, my lady.”
“And I am delighted to hear it,” Lady Nikos replied. “I must confess that when Pyrrha told me the news, I was… concerned.”
“My lady, I do not know if I should apologise for making you concerned or take credit that I brought you and Pyrrha together, if only for a brief moment.”
Lady Nikos’ expression hardened. “I understand the purpose of the jest, Miss Shimmer, but I find it in somewhat poor taste.”
Sunset swallowed. “I apologise, my lady; it was not my intent to give offence.”
“I should hope not,” Lady Nikos said. “You will understand that I wish that Pyrrha had chosen to speak to me under happier circumstances.”
“I wish that too, my lady,” Sunset replied. Just as I wish she’d let me tell you that she is better disposed to the idea of making amends now than she had been. “Upon the subject of Jaune’s ancestry-”
“Since I can only imagine you are but recently discharged from care, Miss Shimmer, I will forgive some lack of progress on the front,” Lady Nikos said.
“Thank you, my lady; I was about to say that it may have to wait until the summer break, before…” Sunset paused, her and Pyrrha’s earlier discussion coming to mind. Who was to say that the Vytal Festival would, in fact, go ahead? It might come to the end of the semester and someone would decide to put the breaks on it due to the ongoing White Fang threat. Still, there was no evidence of that happening yet, and there was no need to clog up the discussion with hypotheticals. “Before the Vytal Festival begins. Jaune knows very little about his lineage, but when school breaks up, I may be able to go to his home and see if something can be turned up.”
Lady Nikos was silent for a moment. “You are an intelligent young woman, Miss Shimmer, so I trust you understand what is required of you in this business?”
“I understand that my lady does not require proof so positive as will convince a court of law,” Sunset replied. “But my lady must have something beyond mine or Jaune’s assertions, no?”
“That would be for the best, Miss Shimmer, yes.”
“Then I have no choice but to venture out and search for it, my lady. You must give me time.”
“Indeed,” Lady Nikos murmured. “I would not ask you to disrupt your studies on account of my errand, even if the school would allow it. Very well. I have wasted enough time in stubbornness; I suppose I can afford to be patient with you. In the meantime… how do you feel? After your… unpleasant experience?”
“I think that Pyrrha was more shaken by it than I was,” Sunset said. I had the luxury of being unconscious.
“She has spoken to you about her concerns?”
“I have done my best to put them at ease, my lady,” Sunset said. “The world, and those who dwell in it, will always need those who can inspire them the way that Pyrrha inspires us.”
“Thank you, Miss Shimmer,” Lady Nikos said, inclining her head forwards a little. “I see from the news that he who orchestrated the attack on you is dead.”
“Yes, my lady,” Sunset agreed. “Perhaps his associates were afraid he would talk.”
“When one chooses to keep company with terrorists and criminals, I suppose one must be prepared to accept such things,” Lady Nikos declared. “I, for one, am glad that he cannot menace you or Pyrrha any longer.”
“Indeed, my lady, I do not find his death troubling,” Sunset agreed. “Although I am a little concerned that we are so well known among the White Fang that they should seek to target us.”
“To be renowned amongst one’s enemies is to be accounted fearsome,” Lady Nikos pointed out.
“Amongst honourable adversaries, that is true, and I would accept it gladly,” Sunset said. “But to be known by brigands and killers who strike from the darkness without warning… it is not so comfortable.”
“And what will you do about it, Miss Shimmer?”
“I… am not certain, my lady, save that I will not live in fear.”
“If you did, Miss Shimmer, you would not be who I thought you were.”
“I am glad to live up to my lady’s expectations,” Sunset replied. She hesitated. “My lady, may I broach another matter with you? Pyrrha and I have discussed it, and I think she must be as concerned as I am.”
“It must be concerning indeed, to concern you both,” Lady Nikos murmured.
“My lady,” Sunset began. “Do you intend to travel to Vale for the Vytal Festival?”
“Indeed I do,” Lady Nikos replied at once. “I have some hope – albeit a somewhat fading hope – that Pyrrha and I will have reconciled by that time, but even if not, she will still be my daughter and still competing in the Vytal Festival. I cannot think of anywhere that I would wish to be instead of watching Pyrrha’s victories live.” Her green eyes narrowed. “Why? Do you wish me to stay away?”
“I… we fear the danger, my lady,” Sunset murmured.
“I thought you would not live in fear, Miss Shimmer?”
“I will not, my lady, but I am content to ask you to do so,” Sunset replied. “When the White Fang may strike in the heart of Vale-”
“Not with impunity, it seems,” Lady Nikos countered. “The miscreants were arrested that very day, no?”
“True, my lady, but the organisation remains, for the most part, well-concealed in spite of all efforts by ourselves and others,” Sunset explained. “Surely you must understand our concerns. You shared them yourself, once upon a time.”
“I did, until you persuaded me that my concerns were groundless, once upon a time,” Lady Nikos reminded her.
“I did not expect… this,” Sunset admitted. “And in any case, for all the danger… my lady, I mean it as no insult to say that you are no longer in the prime of your strength-”
“You may call me weak and frail, Miss Shimmer; I will not be offended.”
“My tongue would be offended to be put to such crass purposes, my lady,” Sunset declared. “I merely mean that it is a different thing for you to hazard your life than it is for Pyrrha or myself.”
Lady Nikos said, “You are not alone in this sentiment, Miss Shimmer; there are those in Mistral who decry the peril that is to be found in Vale.”
“I know, my lady,” Sunset said. “It was Pyrrha mentioning it that brought this on.”
“So far, Professor Lionheart has set his face against the clamour,” Lady Nikos said. “It is strange; I did not expect him to possess such backbone. He says that it would shame Haven Academyand Mistral to shrink before the threat of the White Fang. I am inclined to agree.”
“That is a fine sentiment for a headmaster, my lady, and applicable to the students, but I think it is not for the common tourists to uphold the honour of Mistral by hazarding their lives.”
“I am no common tourist, Miss Shimmer,” Lady Nikos remarked pointedly.
“Indeed, my lady; I did not… forgive me,” Sunset murmured. “You are determined beyond persuasion, then?”
“To train Pyrrha for this moment has been the work of many years, Miss Shimmer,” Lady Nikos said. “The culmination of everything that I have worked for. If I must put my life at risk to witness the flowering of my ambitions, then I shall do so, and gladly.”
Sunset smiled slightly. “Then I must make sure Vale is safe for your arrival, my lady, for I would not have the realising of your dreams disturbed.”
“That would be very kind of you, Miss Shimmer,” Lady Nikos replied, amusement in her voice. “The more promptly the better.”
Sunset chuckled. “Do you think the arguments to stay away will gain much ground, my lady?”
“I cannot say,” Lady Nikos admitted. “There is so much wild talk about these days, I scarcely know what to believe. But I think that, while the tournament goes ahead and Mistralian students participate, there will still be those drawn to the allure of the arena. But that is no more than a surmise.”
“It is more than I could have said, my lady, thank you,” Sunset said. “I will not keep you further. Good day, my lady.”
“Good day, Miss Shimmer.”
Pyrrha walked down the corridor of the dormitories currently being used by the Atlesian students, and stopped outside of Team RSPT’s room.
She waited just a second, gathering her thoughts and fussing with her sash just a little, and then knocked upon the door.
Twilight opened the door a moment later. “Oh, hey Pyrrha, what’s up? Is something wrong?”
“No,” Pyrrha said quickly. “Well, not specifically, at least.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Twilight pointed out.
“No, I don’t suppose it does,” Pyrrha admitted. “I’m glad you’re here. Is Rainbow Dash there, too?”
“Hi, Pyrrha!” Rainbow called from inside the room.
“Hello again, Rainbow Dash,” Pyrrha replied, craning over Twilight a little to see inside the room; she still couldn’t actually catch sight of Rainbow Dash. “May I come in?”
“Oh, of course,” Twilight said, backing away instantly to admit Pyrrha into the dorm room. Rainbow was lying on her back upon her bed at the far end of the room, reading a book with a very lively-looking cover, as best as Pyrrha could tell at this distance.
Penny and Ciel were sat at the desk, both reading from the same book.
“Pyrrha!” Penny cried excitedly as Pyrrha entered, her body twisting around and her eyes lighting up.
Pyrrha smiled. “Hello, Penny.” She closed the door behind her.
“It’s good to see you again!” Penny declared cheerfully. “Especially now!”
Pyrrha blinked. “'Especially now'?”
Ciel sighed. “Penny is hoping for a distraction from her homework, aren’t you, Penny?”
Penny pouted. “I don’t see why I can’t just have all of this information downloaded into my brain.”
“Because your processing matrix is modelled after a human brain, with the intention that knowledge should be absorbed in the same way,” Twilight explained. “There’s a danger the direct application of too much data could trigger a memory overload, and even if it didn’t, you’d still be left with an enormous quantity of facts in your data banks without actually understanding them or the connections between them.”
“Learning is more than just knowledge,” Ciel added. “Learning is comprehension as well.”
“But it’s incomprehensible!” Penny complained.
“What is it that you’re studying?” Pyrrha asked, taking a step closer to where Penny sat.
“History,” Penny groaned.
“Really?” Pyrrha asked, a little surprised despite herself. She’d always found history very easy to grasp, although perhaps that was because it was one of her favourite subjects. “What seems to be the trouble?”
“The only problem is that someone is unwilling to apply herself,” Ciel declared.
“Why?” Penny demanded. “What does any of this matter?”
“Because our ancestors made a great many mistakes, and achieved some signal triumphs nonetheless,” Pyrrha said softly. “And we must learn which were the first and which the second so that we may enhance the triumphs and avoid the mistakes.”
Penny looked up at her. “Like what?”
“Well… such as…” Pyrrha thought for a moment. “Such as the Great War, I suppose; only by learning of the costs and horrors or the war can we understand why it is so vital to preserve peace between our kingdoms and maintain unity against the true threat from the grimm.”
“And the White Fang,” Penny suggested.
“No, the White Fang… the White Fang exist because we failed to learn from history, I fear,” Pyrrha replied. “After the Revolution, we should have learned the folly of racism, the costs of division, of driving one race to feel they had no choice but to take up arms. But the lesson was not learned, and so here we are, doomed to conflict with those who ought be our friends.”
Rainbow looked a little uncomfortable at that; she sat up and said, “I’m sure you didn’t come down here, Pyrrha, to help Penny with her homework.”
“Although I hope you did,” Penny added.
Pyrrha chuckled. “I’m afraid not,” she confessed. “I came here because I wanted to talk to you about something. Particularly Rainbow and Twilight.”
Ciel started to get up. “Do you require privacy?”
“No, no,” Pyrrha replied. “And I won’t disturb you long, I promise. But may I sit down?”
“Sure thing,” Rainbow said, gesturing to one of the empty beds.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” Twilight asked.
“No, thank you; I’m going to Benni Havens’ with Sunset afterwards,” Pyrrha said.
“Fair enough,” Twilight said, as she sat down on Rainbow’s bed beside her team leader. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
Pyrrha hesitated for a moment, considering where she ought to begin. “I… I suppose I want to ask you about your friends, the ones who came to visit you just before the start of the semester with their sisters.”
“What about them?” Rainbow asked.
“At the time, I think they said something about coming to Vale again, for the Vytal Festival,” Pyrrha said. “I was wondering… I suppose I was wondering if that was still their plan, or if they, or if you, had changed your mind on account of the danger.”
Silence descended in the dorm room. None of the members of Team RSPT spoke for a little while, as an uncomfortable look passed between Rainbow and Twilight.
“Why do you ask, Pyrrha?” inquired Penny.
Pyrrha glanced at her. “Because there are people in Mistral who think that Vale has become too dangerous to host the Vytal Festival-”
“Can they change the venue now?” came the next question from Penny.
“No,” Pyrrha said. “But Haven could withdraw from this year’s tournament.”
Penny gasped. “Haven is going to pull out?”
“Not necessarily, but some people in my home country would like it too,” Pyrrha explained. She glanced away from Penny. “To be frank, I’m not sure that I would like my mother to come here under these circumstances, and not because she and I have fallen out, either,” she added quickly, lest anyone get the wrong idea. “But because I’m not sure that it will be safe for them.”
Once more, a silence fell, and once more that silence was broken by Penny, “Does that mean we failed?”
“No, Penny,” Pyrrha said. “Why would you say that?”
“I thought that General Ironwood brought his forces here so that people would feel safe,” Penny said. “But it seems like that hasn’t happened, has it? People are even more scared than before.”
“Penny,” Ciel said gently. She paused upon the name, searching for the words or at least that was how Pyrrha interpreted it. “Failure,” she went on, “is a harsh word, and yet, without meaning to traduce the General, I must confess that the deployment of our squadrons has been of little use in curbing the activity of the White Fang.”
“The robberies have trailed off since we nailed Torchwick,” Rainbow pointed out defensively.
“And yet we are no closer to recovering the stolen dust or from finding out the whereabouts of the White Fang base,” Ciel pointed out.
“I must say, I didn’t expect to hear such sentiments from you,” Pyrrha murmured.
“I am a patriot; I am not blind,” Ciel said. “The very continued presence of our fleet confirms that we have not yet completed our mission. If Vale were not still under threat, our forces would have no reason to stay.”
“Yeah, but be fair, the General didn’t bring the fleet to find any hidden White Fang base,” Rainbow said. “He brought the fleet so that when the other shoe dropped, we’d have the firepower to be ready for it. I don’t know for sure what the White Fang is doing with all that dust, but I’ve got a pretty good guess as to what it is.”
“Go on,” Ciel said, in a neutral tone.
“They’re raising an army,” Rainbow replied, as though the answer was obvious. “Blake explained that they didn’t use to field a lot of men like they did at the docks; they just used a small group of elites. That’s changed now; they’ve got a lot of guys, and they’ve stolen some of our prototype Paladins too, and other military gear before we stopped them from hitting our trains. They need the dust for fuel and ammo because they’ve got a lot more men and a lot more firepower than they used to have. That’s why the General brought the fleet, so that however much extra firepower they have won’t help them when they make their play because we’ll still have more guns and more bombs than they do, and we’ll rule the skies. Don’t call us failures when we haven’t been tested yet.”
“A fair point,” Ciel conceded. “The bulk of our forces have yet to be engaged, and yet, Penny also speaks true, I think. Did we not also come in the hope that morale would be improved by the sight of our ships overhead? It appears that it has not been so. And, more to Pyrrha’s point, I am not sure that I would want my parents or my brothers to come to Vale under these present circumstances. I have no doubt that we would hold the city against external assault, but the White Fang could do great harm that would not be so easily prevented.”
“That was my thought,” Pyrrha murmured. “I am… a little sad that you agree with me.”
“We haven’t spoken to Rarity, Pinkie, or Fluttershy about changing their plans,” Twilight said.
“And we’re not going to,” Rainbow declared. “If they decide it’s not safe for them or their sisters, then that’s fine, but we’re not going to tell them that they shouldn’t come.”
“No?” Pyrrha asked, a little surprised.
“No,” Rainbow confirmed. “After we got done beating the White Fang at Canterlot, Cadance and Shining Armor got married that same evening, as soon as everything was cleaned up and they could hold the ceremony. They didn’t put it off and send everyone home because of the attack. They got married fast as they could because you can’t let these jackasses terrify you out of living your life. If you do that, then they’ve half-won.”
“But that was after you’d already beaten the attack,” Pyrrha pointed out. “It’s one thing to celebrate a victory but another to revel in the shadow of attack, don’t you think?”
“Isn’t that what we do all the time?” Rainbow asked. “Sure, maybe things are a little more dangerous with the White Fang in Vale right now, but it’s not like the world is ever not dangerous. The grimm are always out there, and some places are safer than others, but those other places… really aren’t safe. But we still go to parties and have picnics and hang out with our friends and do all kinds of fun, ordinary stuff, right? There’s a whole bunch of grimm in the forest just past the cliffs, but we’re still having a dance up here at the school.”
Pyrrha frowned. “Then… are you really not worried? Or rather, would you really not be worried about them, if they came here?”
“I’m always worried about them,” Rainbow admitted. “All the time. Whether they were here or in Atlas, nothing would change.”
“Hmm,” Pyrrha murmured. That was not a position she had considered before, but now that she did consider it… it made a certain degree of sense. Not everyone would agree, of course, and that was their perfect right, but nevertheless, it was not nonsense.
It might even be something she could say to the newspaper.
Sunset’s foot tapped against the wall as she waited for Pyrrha. She folded her arms, glancing back and forth, and it was while she was glancing that she caught sight of Cinder sauntering her way.
“Is something wrong?” she asked. “Or should I ask: is something else wrong?”
Sunset shook her head. “No,” she replied. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just waiting for Pyrrha, we’re going to go for coffee.”
“Ah,” Cinder replied.
Sunset hesitated. “Would you like to come with us?”
Cinder smiled. “Very kind of you to offer, but I won’t impose my company on Pyrrha. No, I just wanted to see how you were doing, after your… experience.”
Sunset shrugged. “I’m feeling much better now,” she said.
“You’re taking this very much in stride,” Cinder said. “Almost dying, by a bomb of all things.”
Sunset grinned. “A lot of people would find it odd that you say that like dying by bomb is worse than other forms of death.”
“Some, perhaps,” Cinder allowed. “But not you. You know exactly what I mean.”
Sunset nodded. “I hope for something a little more… glorious.”
“Precisely,” Cinder agreed. “I’m… sorry that that had to happen to you.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Nevertheless,” Cinder murmured. “What was it like?”
“What?”
“Hovering,” Cinder said, “between life and death?”
Sunset was silent for a moment. “I… I don’t remember,” she said. “It was all… if there’s anything there I’ve forgotten it.”
“I see,” Cinder murmured. “That’s… rather disquietening.”
“Were you hoping for a life after death?” Sunset asked.
Now it was Cinder’s turn to pause for a moment. “In Mistral, it was once commonly believed that the souls of the dead descended deep beneath the mountain, to wait to be born anew beside the banks of the Asheroth.”
“It may yet be so,” Sunset ventured. “Remember, I didn’t actually die.”
Cinder chuckled. “No,” she agreed. “No, you did not, thank goodness. But the person who sought your death did die, proving that there is still a little justice in the world, don’t you think.”
“It saves me the trouble of hunting him down, for sure,” Sunset muttered.
Cinder cocked her head to one side. “Would you?” she asked. “Would you have hunted him down?”
“I wouldn’t have devoted my every waking moment to it, but…” Sunset paused. Surely if she could say it in front of anyone she could say it in front of Cinder. “It wasn’t just me he caught in the blast, remember?”
Cinder nodded. “Ruby.”
“Let’s just say he’d be on my list right next to Adam Taurus,” Sunset declared.
Cinder smiled. “But someone saved you the bother.”
“Right,” Sunset agreed. “Whoever they are, I’d like to shake their hand for that.”
Cinder’s smile widened. “Really? Well, I’m glad to see that you are still yourself. There are so many horror stories about people’s personalities changing after they get hit on the head. As I say: I’m glad that you’re still you.” She patted Sunset on the shoulder, before she added. “And now I’d best be on my way; I’m sure that Pyrrha will be here soon.” She turned her back on Sunset and walked away, but with a spring in her step that had definitely not been there before.
Lieutenant Martinez was waiting for them as the elevator door slid upwards. “Thanks for coming, kids,” she said.
“How could we not come back, Lieutenant?” Weiss asked lightly as she stepped out of the elevator. “Russel spends more time here than he does at Beacon.” Indeed, while Flash and Cardin followed her out of the lift, Russel was already down in the Basement, working on the computer.
Lieutenant Martinez held up her hands. “Guilty,” she admitted. “In my defence, our tech guy is still off sick, and Russel here is turning out to be quite the little genius, ain’t you, Russel?”
“I’m trying my best, Lieutenant,” Russel said.
“You’re best is plenty good,” Lieutenant Martinez told him. “And don’t let anybody tell you that it’s not. I tell my boys, I say if you want to be something in today’s world, you learn how to use a computer; that’s where the future is. Knuckledraggers like me are a dying breed.”
“I hope not,” Cardin muttered.
Lieutenant Martinez smirked. “Well,” she said as she grabbed a cup of coffee off the nearest desk, in a mug with ‘Remnant’s Greatest Mom’ painted on it in yellow, “that’s what they tell me whenever I have to venture up to Westmorland Yard.”
“You can find out a lot of stuff from a computer,” Russel said. “But you still need someone to go in and put the cuffs on somebody. Or kill the monster,” he added, glancing towards his teammates.
“You can do both,” Flash pointed out. “I guess that puts you a cut above the rest of us.”
Russel glanced away and didn’t reply.
“So, is there another case?” Cardin asked. “Is there more White Fang trouble?”
“I hope not; we only just put out the last fire,” Flash replied.
Lieutenant Martinez put down the coffee. “Fortunately, no, there isn’t a new case. At least not one involving the White Fang. I asked you to come down here on a Saturday because I thought you might like to know how the old case turned out. Russel, show them what you’ve got.”
“Okay,” Russel said. “So, you know when we were looking at the safehouses used by The Purifier, both of those properties were owned by the same corporation?”
“The Eastern Promise Holding Company,” Weiss murmured. “That was the name, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Russel agreed. “I didn’t know what that was, but the lieutenant has had me digging through the records to try and find out who’s behind the name.”
“With Krasny Krot dead, the man behind that company might be our best lead into the wider White Fang,” Lieutenant Martinez explained. “He owned two properties where members of the White Fang holed up; he had to know what they were being used for.”
“Did you check out his other properties?” Cardin asked.
“All of them, and all of them empty,” Lieutenant Martinez said. “If any of them were being used, they were cleared out quickly. But the good news is that Russel was able to follow the trail to put a name to the Eastern Promise Holding Company.”
“So that’s what you’ve been doing down here,” Weiss murmured.
Russel chuckled. “It’s something that I can do, you know? Something that I… I did some digging around, and I got lucky.”
“No such thing as luck; you did good,” Lieutenant Martinez insisted. “Tell them who it is.”
“Okay,” Russel said. “The owner of the Eastern Promise Holding Company and backer of the White Fang is...” He tapped on his keyboard, and upon the big screen at the back of the room appeared the image of a man, a dog faunus with floppy Labrador ears descending on either side of his head. That was the only really distinguishing feature of an ordinary looking man: average height, a little portly but not too much so, with a round, somewhat pudgy face, dark hair, no real distinguishing features other than his faunus trait. “Aurelius Vibius, the commercial attache at the Mistralian embassy.”
“A diplomat?” Flash said. “Why would a diplomat want to work with the White Fang?”
“We don’t know yet,” Lieutenant Martinez admitted. “What we do know is that he has accounts with three different banks here in Vale, all under false identities, who receive money from an account in Mistral, most of that money goes into-”
“The Eastern Promise Holding Company,” Flash said.
“Correct,” Lieutenant Martinez replied. “We figure the rest goes into petty cash for the White Fang.”
“And what does this scumbag have to say for himself?” Cardin said. “Have you brought him in yet? Can we help with that?”
“No, and unfortunately no,” Lieutenant Martinez said. “He’s a diplomat, so-”
“Diplomatic immunity,” Flash groaned.
“But he’s a terrorist!” Cardin cried. “Surely the Mistralians-”
“The Mistralians have decided that this is their problem, and they want to handle this in-house,” Lieutenant Martinez explained. “The word we got from their embassy is that Vibius will be shipped home to be interrogated by their authorities.”
Cardin folded his arms. “So they get all the juicy intel on the White Fang, and we get nothing?”
“They’ve promised full cooperation,” Lieutenant Martinez said. “And to make sure that we get it, Sergeant Yuma is getting a paid vacation, isn’t that right, Yuma?”
Sergeant Yuma looked up from his desk. “It’s not a vacation, El-Tee,” he said wearily. “I’m the official liaison-”
“Liaison between the VPD and the Imperial Constabulary, yeah, I know,” Lieutenant Martinez said. “But you’re still going to have some fun, right?”
Yuma grinned. “Oh, you betcha, El-Tee.”
Lieutenant Martinez smirked. “His new partner is probably going to turn out to be some martial arts freak; he’ll never want to come home.”
“What about the girl, Krot’s apprentice?” Flash asked. “What’s she saying?”
“Stuff about how the White Fang works in Mistral and Menagerie, not so much about Vale; it seems she’d just got off the boat when we picked her up,” Lieutenant Martinez replied.
Flash sighed. “So… we’ve got nothing that will help unravel the whole organisation?”
“Is that what you were hoping for?” Lieutenant Martinez asked. “That ain’t how this works, Flash. The kind of cases where you get the one guy who knows everything about the criminal empire and will sing like a canary about it, the cases where you get the one ledger that has all the evidence you need to arrest the boss and his whole inner circle, in my whole career I’ve worked one case where we had that kind of luck, and this ain’t it. Most cases, when you’re dealing with an organisation like the White Fang, you do some damage, you pick up a few people, if you’re lucky, you get a key man, but everything is so compartmentalised that the shock doesn’t spread very far. Yeah, it’s not all that you hoped for, but by most standards? We did good. We stopped a bombing campaign almost before it could start, we snatched up a group of elite operatives, and we identified their money guy here in Vale. I called you three down here to tell you that because that’s a win. That is a damn good win, and you ought to be proud of yourselves.” She paused, taking in the unconvinced expression on Flash’s face. “Let me ask you kids something: when you all become huntsmen, what do you think, it’s gonna be easy? Do you think you’re gonna just stride out there and save the world?”
“Of course not,” Weiss replied. “It will be hard work, and almost always on the defensive.”
Lieutenant Martinez nodded. “So why would it be any different here? Flash, Cardin, I told you both that we fight monsters, just like you, only our monsters aren’t so easily spotted sometimes. But we fight them, just like you, and just like you, we’re on the defensive, and just like you, we put a lot of hard work in, and it isn’t always obvious that we made a difference. But we do. Every day, every time we put someone behind bars where they can’t hurt anyone else, Vale is a little safer. Vale is a little safer today, and you played your part in that. So cheer up!” She grinned. “I told your headmaster how much of a help you were.”
Weiss felt her back straighten. “Thank you, Lieutenant!” Our first mission, and we got a commendation! Team Wisteria might just be on it’s way up.
“You don’t need to thank me for nothing, certainly not for something you earned,” Lieutenant Martinez told her. “I don’t know if you’ll get the chance to work with me again, but whether you do or not, I’m sure you’ll do great up at that fancy school.” She paused, and assumed a mock stern manner, “So don’t prove me wrong, okay?”
“We have no intention of that, Lieutenant,” Weiss promised. “Keep an eye on us, and I promise that you’ll see us shine.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.046 seconds
Total duration
810 users online
685,035 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yeah, Adam is far from done as a threat. Even if he's lost a cash revenue and a bunch of possible safe houses, he's like the Purifier in the sense that their victories come from the body count and fear that comes with it. The primary difference through is that the Purifier actually cared about the lives of the White Fang under his command and clearly wanted his strikes to be surgical in the sense that humans are dead and afraid, but his own people are alive and well.
Adam... Adam has already justified the deaths of the followers who are going to fall and die when he sparks off his assault to himself. His success is measured in the amount of people who die, not in if he can actually beat back the warships and solders on the ground. He might not be planning to die during the fighting, but you can bet your ass he's planning to promote that mindset among the majority of his forces to maximize carnage. That's the true danger of Adam: It doesn't matter if when he acts he wins or loses, as long as he spills enough blood in the process the outcome doesn't matter anymore.
Good to see Wisteria on the way up, they needed that. Also, Penny, you disappoint me, but I'll blame the teachers for now. Also Flash, why wouldn't he be a diplomat? That has to be one of the White Fang's biggest Coups to get an agent into a place to receive that little oversight for that much payoff in terms of money, contacts, and information. It makes too much sense. Also, every time I think Sunnykins can't get any more Scorpion, she goes ahead and pulls "Silence isn't a lie" because of course she did
I do love Yandere Lesbian Cinder.
That warms my heart as much as Sunset confiding the knowledge of Princess Celestia in Pyrrha and saying she is the one she wishes to deliver the grim news. (I look forward to Sunset telling the Princess about surviving a bomb). Anyway, I wonder how Cinder feels knowing that this made her happier than pleasing Salem. It used to be that the only she wanted more was magical power. But soon she'll have to choose. Because when Sunset inevitably finds out the truth about Cinder's true plans, it will hurt the false Fall Maiden more than she ever imagined.
10819920
Not just that, but Adam also eliminated one of his rivals and made Sienna Khan look foolish for sending the Purifer in the first place.
There is a missing space in here.
I did not know it was possible to be "endearingly evil" until your version of Cinder.
So, Pyrrha know the name of Sunset teacher.
In our world, we had (and still do have) princes of thousands of simple cities and community, Pyrrha believing than a princess of a old little territory isn't actually weird if this is a people of mages and witches as she believe it.
So i understand why the idea of a princedom far from the 4 Kingdoms, especially with a kind of magic who can be quite useful to protect itself, and traditions encouraging positivity to a great extent (like Sunset had shown when she had shared a song of equestria) could survive.
Actually, without the full picture on both sides, Pyrrha might understand it as the magic of the royalty of Sunset old home being like the ones of the Maiden although not from the same person, or if she learn about Sunset teacher very old age, would think of her as someone like the old Wizard, who could give magic far greater to someone she would had chosen.
This would be both a misunderstanding and something enough close to make her understood why Sunset act like she does.
Pyrrha having this misunderstanding of thinking of Sunset old princedom as a human and Faunus mixed community (explaining Sunset bad reaction to racism) but with still enough ties to ancients states to have it's own high society and all as well as ideas of knights and loyalty of vassals toward rulers, and with a childless ruler who is revered would work, it is not the truth, but it is close enough , especially when considering how the community have a idea of valuing good emotions so much, than it actually can work.
So in this context, Sunset early actions and attitude , her lack of trust for Ozpin and her situation with Pyrrha mother would made sense.
(here i talk in Pyrrha context with knowing a lot of the truth except the whole pony and alter ego thing).
Sunset is a orphan who's only parent figure had been the ruler of their princedom, Sunset have so much deference toward Pyrrha mother because her only authority figure had been a princess, so for her, royalty is royalty.
Sunset was someone harsh and arrogant due to having been raised by royalty, but resented her teacher niece for at the end still be officially royal, while she was "merely the student".
Also Sunset, despite her arrogance, had always been hardworking, which is a part of why she disliked the young princess who was officially of higher statut, so even thought the ruling princess loved her as much as much as she loved her niece, she felt more and more insecure, and so, tried to force her Teacher's hand to recieve the statut of princess, and since it didn't worked, Sunset had fled the country because she felt she needed to leave because she was led to believe there was a way she could gain more powers, and she did gain a new power, Aura (although it wasn't what she thought she would get).
And so, Pyrrha could think of Sunset interest to the magic describe in the legends as more akin to what she thought she could get by leaving all she knew.
It explained (not justified, explain) Sunset jealousy toward Pyrrha, who have actual royal blood yet is not liking the deference, and why she felt so serious about her hiring by Pyrrha Mother, because being valued by Lady Nikos, the "legitimate empress" of Mistral would feel to her like being valued by her own teacher, and their relation being like the old fashioned ones of where she had been raised.
I hope there will be such a misunderstanding for a while after Pyrrha had been proposed to become the fall Maiden.
Also, the advantage of the world of Remnant mean than if Sunset talk of her teacher and for example talk of wings, Pyrrha would simply think of a Winged Faunus.
I like to imagine Princess Celestia Remnant form as the one of a very tall (like, close to 2 meters) Winged Lady (wings more like the ones of a Angel) with a dress with a alicorn or Sun motif and who's magic aura exhale heat, kinda like a Lady version of Escanor or Mael
10821261
This is the power of love my fellow reader.
Uh, I was doing some rereading and I noticed that I don't think that Pyrrha has ever asked Sunset to bring her circlet and weapons to her mother in case of her death?
It is considered as a done thing, from both Sunset and Pyrrha, since they reference that idea a lot, but the only time I found Pyrrha explicitly making the request is to Ruby, who doesn't understand and ends up dismissing the request.
10862537
Really? Oh, well, with how long this is you can't expect me to remember everything. Hopefully it doesn't bother you too much.
10862629
Nah, it doesn't bother me at all. The request was something that I already internalized as fact, it was just that I wanted to check the exact moment and found myself surprised that I couldn't find it anywhere. We don't need explicit proof of everything the characters do and the important part (that Pyrrha trusts in Sunset enough to do such request) is well represented during the story.
You know Cinder...I do not think Sunset would shake your hand if she were to discover it was you.
Sunset is slowly letting out her secrets. It shows that Sunset has a great deal of trust in Pyrrha as her best friend to let her know not just about the journal, but her teacher's identity as well, not to mention entrusting her to be the bearer of bad news were something fatal to happen to Sunset. Of course, if Sunset hasn't told Pyrrha or the rest of team Sapphire about Equestria at that point, Princess Celestia (and/or Princess Twilight) might divulge that information about who Sunset was and where she came from. Or maybe not, and Celestia would hide the existence of Equestria but still talk pleasantly with Pyrrha.
So they do notice Sunset name-dropping Celestia's name!
I mean, Celestia claims in Celestial Advice that she was not aware she was an expression, though I question that. I mean, how can you live for 1000+ years and not know about such swearing or expressions of your name?
Wait wait wait. I just realized something. Sunset is a faunus yes? She became a faunus when she came to this world, yes? But, From what we know of the past, when ozma and Mami Salami were alive, there were no faunus, and i don't think that after part of the moon fell down, someone fucked a goat and bam, faunus were born, no, that dumb. And so, i have reason to believe that the first faunus were ponys from equestria who got trapped in this world after the portal closed. It makes perfect sense.