Mothers' Voices (Rewritten)
Mothers’ Voices
“So, how was dinner last night?” Yang asked, as the two teams sat down to breakfast. “Is that Benni Haven’s place any good?”
“Oh, sure,” Jaune said enthusiastically. “It’s a great place. Much better than the food they serve here.” He glanced over his shoulder, as if he were afraid that the cafeteria staff might overhear him.
“It was quite tasty, but I wouldn’t want to go there too often,” Pyrrha murmured. “It wasn’t a menu replete with healthy options.”
Yang chuckled. “Afraid of losing your figure, Pyrrha?”
“I try to keep my body in peak condition, for obvious reasons,” Pyrrha replied.
“Okay, I was only kidding,” Yang said. “No need to get all snappy with me.”
“I’m sorry,” Pyrrha apologised at once. “I didn’t mean to be sharp; it’s just-”
“You didn’t; I’m just messing with you,” Yang said quickly. “I’m sorry, but you just make it too easy.”
Pyrrha’s cheeks flushed just a touch of pink, and she bowed her head as she began to cut up her sausages.
“But I totally get it,” Yang added. “We can’t afford to pig out every night and be ready to fight monsters in the morning.”
“Speak for yourself, leader,” Nora said in a tone so self-satisfied it verged upon smug as she tucked her hands behind her head and smiled.
“I sometimes think,” Ren said quietly, “that if scientists were to study the secrets of your inhuman metabolism, the resulting revelations would save many more lives than we will ever save in our lives as huntsmen.”
Nora’s laughter was her only reply.
“So you’d all recommend it, then?” Yang asked.
“Yep,” Sunset said, before taking a bite out of her apple.
“I would,” Ruby said. “The owner was really nice; she took this cool picture of us.” She pulled out her scroll and found the picture in question at the top of her photo album: Team SAPR posed around the fake stuffed beowolf known as Fluffy. She showed it to Yang from across the table. “And she’s going to put it up on the wall as well, with all of the other teams who’ve been in there over the years.”
“That is pretty cool,” Yang agreed. “So, what do you think guys? Perhaps we should swing by.”
“It’s worth a trip,” Dove said.
“Oh, yeah, you’ve already been without us, haven’t you?” Yang said, sounding agreeably put out by this fact.
“With his harem,” Sunset added, a smirk crossing her face.
Now it was Dove’s turn to go a little bit red in the face. “That is- how dare you?”
“How dare I?” Sunset repeated. “Are you listening to yourself right now?”
“Yeah, calm down, Dove; it’s just a joke,” Yang said.
“It’s insulting to Lyra and Bon Bon,” Dove declared. “I mean, how would you like it if I accused you all of being part of Jaune’s harem?”
Pyrrha made a weird noise that Ruby couldn’t really understand. Jaune started choking on a piece of black pudding, and Ruby and Pyrrha had to slap him on the back until it came flying out to land, unfortunately, in Ren’s yoghurt; he pushed it aside with a look of disgust.
Sunset raised one eyebrow. “I’d say ‘if you’re trying to insult me, try harder’.”
“What’s so insulting about it?” Ruby asked. “I mean, if everyone’s okay with it, then what’s the problem?”
Dove looked at her as though she’d grown an extra head. “It’s disgusting.”
“It’s unusual,” Sunset accepted, “but don’t call my partner disgusting.”
“How did we end up having this conversation?” Jaune groaned.
“I don’t know, but we’re not having it any more,” Yang said, slamming one hand down on the table hard enough to make plates and glasses wobble. “The subject matter is closed, okay?”
“Fine by me,” Jaune said quickly. He cleared his throat. “So anyway, if you want to go to that restaurant, I’d recommend finding a quiet time. I bet that Mrs. Haven has a lot of stories to tell, when she isn’t too busy running, about all the huntsmen who’ve come through there over the years.”
The rest of breakfast passed pretty quietly, to the extent that Ruby was impatient for it to finish so that she could get Yang by herself and tell her about Mom’s journal, which felt like it was burning a hole in the bookbag tucked underneath the bench.
By the time the two teams were both done and were filing out of the dining hall, she was unable to restrain her excitement any longer.
“Hey, Yang,” cried Ruby. She just couldn’t hold her tongue any longer; it was impossible. “Wait a second; I need to talk to you about something.”
Yang stopped, half turning back towards Ruby. She looked a little concerned. Maybe she thought that there was something wrong. She glanced towards her teammates. “You guys go on ahead; I’ll see you in class.”
“And so will we,” Sunset said. Unlike Team YRDN, the other members of Ruby’s team knew what Ruby needed to talk to Yang about. “Don’t be late.”
“I won’t,” Ruby assured her team leader.
“We’ll save you a seat,” Jaune said, while Pyrrha contented herself with a warm smile that seemed to wish Ruby luck as the three sapphires and the three irons left the two sisters behind and continued on their way towards the first class of Wednesday: a two hour session of Modern History with Doctor Oobleck.
Yang and Ruby stood alone in a crowd, surrounded by members of other teams who moved around them as though the two were rocks in a sea of students on their way to class, until they managed to find a way through the press and away from the crowd. They walked through the courtyard, aimless but at the same time being drawn towards the statue that dominated the open space.
“Do you ever think that statue kind of looks like Mom?” Ruby asked.
“I’d never really thought about it,” Yang admitted.
“I mean with the hood and everything,” Ruby explained.
“Yeah, I get it now, but… I never would have thought of it myself,” Yang replied. “I don’t think it’s actually a statue of Mom,” she added, a touch of amusement entering her voice.
“I know,” Ruby said wistfully. “It’s just… fun to think it looks like her.”
Yang smiled, just a little bit. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point there.” The faint smile remained on her face as she looked down at Ruby. “What’s up, little sis?”
Ruby didn’t reply straight away. Rather she opened up one of the zip pockets at the front of her bag and brought out the little black book that Sunset had given her, the black book with the rose picked out in white upon the cover.
“This… this is Mom’s,” Ruby said. “It’s her diary, Yang.”
Yang’s eyes widened. “'Her…'” she stopped, staring down open-mouthed at the little book in Ruby’s hands. “Ruby… where did you get this?”
Ruby hesitated for a moment. “Sunset gave it to me.”
Yang frowned. “Sunset? Where did Sunset get our Mom’s diary from?”
Ruby looked away. “Well, uh-”
“Ruby,” Yang said, a touch of sternness entering her voice.
“I can’t tell you,” Ruby insisted. “I’m sorry, but if I told you… this has to say a secret, or else Sunset and Jaune could get into a lot of trouble. Sunset didn’t have to give this to me, to both of us, but she did. Don’t you think that matters a lot more than how she got it?”
Yang still didn’t look entirely satisfied by this. “And you’re sure that it’s real?”
“Sunset wouldn’t lie to me about something like this,” Ruby declared.
Yang nodded. “No, no, I don’t think she would. She’s not perfect, but she’s not that much of a… anyway, this is… this is incredible.”
“I know, right?” Ruby cried. Dad… Dad didn’t talk about Mom very much. Ruby guessed that it was too sad for him to think about her, even after all these years. Uncle Qrow had told them a few stories, but he was hardly ever around and even Uncle Qrow got pretty unhappy whenever he had to think about Mom for too long, so the two sisters had learnt not to bother him for too many stories as they got older. But now… now their mother was poised to speak to them both in her own words, to reveal her secrets, unfiltered by the memories of others.
The memories that Ruby didn’t have. There were times when she envied Yang – although she tried not to show it – for having so many more memories of Summer Rose than Ruby did. Ruby had only vague images, a flash of white, laughter, a lovely voice singing her to sleep. Yang had real memories, even if she didn’t have as many as she’d like, memories of ‘supermom’. But now, they would both get to hear their mother speak.
“Have you looked at it?” Yang asked.
“No,” Ruby replied. “I thought that this was something that we ought to do together.”
Yang smiled, broadly this time, and brightly, as she first reached out to ruffle Ruby’s hair and then pulled her into a hug. “Thank you,” she said.
Ruby closed her eyes as he rested her head against Yang’s chest. “For what?”
“For remembering that… that she was my mom, too,” Yang said, gently stroking Ruby’s head with one hand. “So, when do you want to do this?”
“How about now?” Ruby suggested eagerly.
Yang laughed. “I think we should probably get to class,” she reminded Ruby. “How about after all our classes are done, we’ll find somewhere private and see what Mom has to say?”
“The end of the day?” Ruby replied. “Come on, Yang, I don’t know if I can wait that long.”
She did manage to wait, just about, but there were times when it was a sore trial to Ruby. It was difficult to sit through Professor Oobleck whizzing through the Faunus Rights Revolutions or Professor Port telling another story about a hunt that he had been on, knowing that her mother’s words were sitting in her bag, waiting for her. Several times, Sunset had to give her a nudge to remind her to pay attention because she was in danger of spacing out in front of the whole class. Fortunately, SAPR was still sitting at the back while they waited for Jaune to recover from his few weeks of near sleeplessness at the start of the semester, but even so, it could have been pretty embarrassing.
The day passed for Ruby with an aching slowness, as if she were mired in treacle as she drifted through class after class, sat nearly silent through lunch and dinner, waiting for the day to end and the evening to arrive. Then, when Jaune and Pyrrha left for Jaune’s training, Ruby left Sunset alone in the dorm room while she met Yang outside, and together, they made their way back out into the courtyard.
It was deserted, with most of the students being shut up in the dorms working on their homework; the only company they had was a black bird in one of the nearby trees, which croaked at them as they crossed the empty space.
The two sisters sat down before the statue, with the snarling beowolf looming over them, and there, huddled together, they opened the diary and began to read.
Dear Diary,
I can’t believe I finally made it to Beacon! After so long dreaming and waiting, I’ve finally made it. This is my dream come true.
Yang chuckled. “Looks like we weren’t the only ones to really want to come here, huh?”
The raven in the trees croaked again.
Ruby barely heard it. She barely felt the wind blowing through her hair. She barely felt the unusual warmth for a spring evening. Her attention, as her gaze, was fixed upon the book open in her lap.
She smiled, a little sadly. “Yeah, I guess not.”
Yang leaned down a little, so that they were eye to eye, and gave Ruby a squeeze on the shoulder. “You okay?”
“I…” Ruby hesitated. “I wish that she’d been able to tell us in person, you know? I wish that she’d been able to tell us what a great time she’d had at Beacon and that we’d really love it there and maybe not to worry too much about Professor Port or that… I wish she was here.”
Yang frowned. “Yeah. You and me both, Rubes. Listen… if you don’t want to-”
“No,” Ruby said firmly. “No, I want to read this. I want to see what Mom has to say.”
Yang looked at her for a moment, and then she nodded. “Okay.”
Ruby looked back down at the diary.
Nothing much has happened yet, because I only arrived here today, but all the same: I finally made it to Beacon!
I know that my father doesn’t see the point in me coming here. He thinks that I can already fight grimm perfectly well on my own, so why do I need to come to a school to spend four years learning what I already know?
“Grandpa has a point, I guess,” Yang said. “I mean… it’s only about halfway through the first semester, and we can already kill grimm. You wonder what the rest of the four years will be like.”
I told Dad that I can’t just rely on my eyes, and I suppose he must have accepted that, or he wouldn’t have let me come here in the first place.
“Her eyes,” Ruby asked, reading and re-reading that sentence over and over again as though, if she read it often enough, the words on the page in front of her would change into something that she could actually understand. “What does that mean? Eyes means… eyes, right?”
“I… think so,” Yang said. She put her arms behind her head. “Dad’s never talked about Mom’s semblance that I can remember. Maybe it was to shoot lasers out of her eyes,” Yang suggested. She grinned. “Or maybe she could kill grimm just by looking at them!”
Ruby giggled.
Yang laughed a little as well. “Or maybe she’ll explain later if we keep going.”
“Right,” Ruby said, and read on.
What I didn’t tell my father was that that’s not the real reason I want to come here. Don’t get me wrong, I want to fight the grimm. I want to show everyone that we’re more than just cattle in a cage. I believe that if we work together, we can save the world, and take it back from all the monsters.
But that’s not why I’m here. If I wanted to start fighting now, I could. Dad would probably be happier that way. Maybe other people would too.
I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to die if that’s what it takes. But I want to be just a normal girl for a few years, to have friends and fun and be more than just a warrior.
This makes me sound so selfish, not to mention that I must sound as though I’m not taking this seriously. If someone reads this and thinks that I didn’t deserve my place at Beacon, then so be it; you’re wrong, I really want to be here.
I just want to live for a few years for myself as well.
“No, Mom, that’s not selfish at all,” Ruby murmured. For a moment, she thought of Pyrrha, the champion fighter who had never been… Ruby couldn’t exactly say what it was that she had never been; she’d say that Pyrrha had never been a person, but if that were true, then what was she? It didn’t really matter; the point was that reading Mom’s words reminded her of her friend a little bit.
Mom got to live… for a while. Maybe Pyrrha will too. I hope so.
She kept reading.
I have to admit that I got a little lost getting off the airship. But it did mean that I met this really cute boy named Taiyang who helped me find the way to the amphitheatre. He’s kind of a goofball, but I like him; he’s a lot of fun. I’m not sure how good he is in a fight, but he got in here, so I suppose he can’t be that bad.
“Is it me, or does it sound as though Mom had a crush on Dad from the moment they met?” Ruby asked, eagerness and amusement blending in her voice.
Yang looked a little… Ruby couldn’t exactly say what Yang looked like, but not as enthusiastic as Ruby felt. She looked a little troubled, though Ruby couldn’t work out what was wrong. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Yeah, it does.”
Ruby tried to imagine her father was an adorable cute goofball… strangely enough, her imagining ended up looking a lot like Jaune.
Less strangely, she could imagine her Mom having a crush on a guy like that – and not just because she’d gone on to marry him; someone cute and funny and kind…
“Ruby?”
“Huh?”
“You spaced out for a second there.”
Ruby laughed. “I, uh, I was just trying to imagine Dad the way that Mom just wrote about him.”
“I can imagine it.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”
After he said a few words to everyone, Professor Ozpin took me aside. He’s been so nice to me, and not just because I wouldn’t be able to come here without his support. He’s so considerate, he made sure that I was okay and that I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed. Maybe it is because of my eyes a little, but it’s still nice.
“Ugh, the eyes again,” Ruby said with a scowl. “Come on, Mom, explain!”
Yang laughed. “She probably wasn’t expecting this to be read by anyone who didn’t know.” Her face fell. “She probably thought she’d explain it herself.”
“It must have been something really cool if Professor Ozpin was interested in it, right?” Ruby asked. “Maybe he could tell us.”
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Yang said. “He might want to know where you got the diary from.”
“Oh, right, of course,” Ruby murmured. She didn’t want to know the truth so badly that she would drop her friends in it just to obtain the truth. “It is still only the second page, so maybe it comes up later?”
“We can hope.”
Tomorrow is the Initiation, the final test before my time here really begins. I can’t wait, but at the same time, I’m kind of nervous, because I don’t really know a lot about how to do people at all. Coming from outside the Kingdoms,
“Mom grew up outside the kingdoms?” Yang asked. “Wow, that’s… no wonder she was a badass even before she got to Beacon.”
I don’t really know how to get along with other people. But that’s why I want to be here, so I can finally do all that stuff. And then I can go back to fighting.
So sure, I’m nervous. But at the same time, I can’t wait to meet my new teammates.
And that was the end for that day and that page.
“Do you want to read the next day?” Yang asked.
“Yeah, you?”
“Let’s do it.”
Ruby flipped over the page.
Dear Diary,
I have a team! I’m the team leader!
Okay, so I should probably go back just a little bit.
Like I told you yesterday, I was as nervous as I was excited about the initiation today, but looking back, it was really cool. Professor Ozpin fired us all off a cliff and into the Emerald Forest, how cool is that?
Yang snorted. “She really was a supermom, wasn’t she?”
The rules were that the first person we made eye contact with would be our partner for the next four years. I was a bit worried, because the first person I made contact with was this girl named Raven Branwen. She certainly knows how to fight, but she was also pretty cold and aloof and not really interested in making friends.
Ruby glanced at Yang to see how she was taking it. Yang’s jaw was clenched, and her eyes looked as though they were beginning to be tinted with a touch of red, but she said nothing.
Ruby looked away from her and kept on going.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too uncomfortable for too long because we quickly ran into Taiyang, that cute boy I met yesterday. He must have some kind of strength semblance, because he punched a beowolf’s head clean off with his bare hands. He might not have any weapons, but he does know how to fight.
I’ve never really thought too much about destiny, but I think there must be the hand of fate at work here, because not only did we run into Taiyang, but his partner is Raven’s brother Qrow. It’s like there’s a thread of fate binding us all together.
Qrow is really cool; we’d only met up for five minutes, and he was already flirting with me. He was just kidding, though; he’s way out of my league.
Besides, I kind of prefer guys who are honest and don’t put up a big front. Qrow’s cool, but it’s like he’s trying a little too hard to be something he’s not.
Raven, on the other hand, is the kind of person who you accept as they are or not at all. She doesn’t say much, not even to Qrow, but she says even less to anyone else. I wonder if she’s lonely? And whether she’d ever admit it if she was.
One thing’s for sure: they both really know how to fight. Together, we’re going to be an awesome team, I can feel it!
Oh, yeah, teams. I should probably go back to that. So, when we shot into the forest, Professor Ozpin told us we have to reach some ruins and retrieve what he called ‘relics’. It was on the way there that Raven and I met up with Tai and Qrow. So we got to the ruins and we find these chess pieces, and Qrow and I each took a white knight. Then we had to get out of the forest again and we got attacked by some ursas.
This is the best part. Up until now, I hadn’t been using my eyes, only my Solstice Rose, but there were just so many grimm, and we were already so tired that I had to use my eyes on them.
It tired me out. The guys had to carry me the rest of the way out of the forest, I was so exhausted my body just wouldn’t move at all. I was worried. I was worried that they were going to think that I was weak or else that once they found out about my eyes they’d stop treating me like I was a normal person. I was afraid that I’d stop being Summer Rose and become a Silver-Eyed Warrior to them.
“A silver-eyed warrior,” Ruby whispered. “What’s that?”
“I don’t know,” Yang said. “A… warrior with silver eyes?”
“But I’ve got silver eyes, and I never did anything special with them,” Ruby said.
“Yet,” Yang commented.
Ruby started to shake her head, and then paused. “He mentioned it.”
“Huh?”
“Professor Ozpin,” Ruby explained. “When he came to see me after Sunset and I fought Torchwick, he noticed my eyes.”
“You have silver eyes.”
The two sisters looked at each other for a minute, neither one speaking. Professor Ozpin had taken an interest in Mom on account of her eyes, and now he had let Ruby into Beacon too after pointing out that she, too, had silver eyes.
That couldn’t just be a coincidence, could it?
“What does it mean?” Ruby asked.
“I don’t know,” Yang replied. “Let’s… let’s just keep going, okay?
But everyone was really cool about it, even Raven. They were impressed, sure, but none of them treated me any differently.
Of course, I hardly knew them before they found out about this, I suppose what I’m trying to say is that they’re treating me like a person. And Professor Ozpin says that using my eyes will get less tiring with training and practice, so that’s good.
Together, we’re Team STRQ, pronounced Stark, although Qrow won’t stop saying he would prefer to pronounce it Strike, and I’m the leader. So, yeah, that happened.
I’m back to being nervous and excited at the same time. Excited, obviously, because this is so cool, and I feel like I have friends for the first time ever, and everything’s going to be great, but nervous too.
Nervous because I’m responsible for Tai and Raven and Qrow, and if anything happens to them, then that’s on me.
Still, I have three teammates now, and I think, I really believe, that they could become three friends. My first three friends.
And if we work together, I’m sure that everything is going to be okay.
“Aww,” Ruby said. “That’s really nice. And just how I feel about my team.”
Yang chuckled, giving her a squeeze around the arm. “Do you want to keep going?”
“Sure!”
Dear Diary,
I don’t think Raven likes me very much.
“Well that’s a downer,” Yang remarked. “Maybe we should have left it at the end of the last entry.”
Maybe that’s too hard on her. I get the feeling that she doesn’t really ‘like’ anybody that much. It’s strange watching the way she goes around the school: she acts as though she’s better than everyone else here, but there’s also this nervousness about her as though she’s afraid of other people. I don’t really get it.
Anyway, the point is that while she may not dislike me more than she dislikes anybody else, she doesn’t seem to like me very much either. She thinks that she should have been made team leader instead of me, and she isn’t shy about letting me know it. She told me straight that the only reason I was made team leader is because of my powers
“Ugh!” Ruby grunted. “Come on, Mom, details!”
“I’m picking up a lot of details,” Yang muttered.
but that those powers aren’t any substitute for knowledge and experience. You’d think she was a pro-huntsman or something. I asked her if she’d lived outside the kingdoms, like I had; that seemed to take her by surprise, I think she thought I was from Vale or something. She didn’t answer my question, but I’m guessing that the answer is yes. I can’t think why else she’d think that she was so much more qualified to lead than me.
Qrow told me not to sweat it. He said that his sister acts like this around everyone.
Anyway, we started classes today. Grimm Studies was our first lesson. Professor Brandy really knows what he’s talking about, even if he does look as though he’s about to drop dead at any moment. At one point, he had to go and lie down and Mister Port, the Teaching Assistant, had to take over. He’s a little odd.
Yang chuckled. “Hey, Ruby, you wanna bet that Professor Port was the same then as he is now?”
“Nah, that’s a sucker’s bet,” Ruby said. “Especially if you want me to take it.”
I’m sure that he was – that he is – a great huntsman, but he told us more about himself than he ever said about the grimm.
The teacher in our combat class is barely older than me, or any of us, and of course, Raven asked her straight up why they should listen to anything that someone basically our age had to say. I was so embarrassed, I thought we were going to get detention or something.
But then Professor Goodwitch invited Raven up onto the stage and said that if she could beat her – if Raven could beat Professor Goodwitch – then she’d get a free pass from classes for the next four years and a top grade regardless. You should have seen the look on Raven’s face; she was so smug you could tell she thought she had this. But then Professor Goodwitch totally kicked her ass, and it was so awesome! Okay, that sounded pretty mean, but honestly, Raven’s so full of herself she deserved to be taken down a peg.
The look on her face when she got up after Professor Goodwitch threw her off the stage with her semblance was hilarious.
“That’s where that came from?” Yang cried. “Raven started that tradition? Now I wish that I’d stepped up. Do you think Professor Goodwitch would fight me if I asked her to?”
“Why would you want to fight Professor Goodwitch?” Ruby asked. “No offence, but… you’d lose.”
“Sure, but I could see how good I was compared to Raven at my age.”
“I guess,” Ruby said, with a little reluctance. She brightened up as she added, “If you do decide to go for it, I’ll be rooting for you.”
I suppose I should probably admit that the reason I might sound – okay, the reason I sound – as though I don’t like Raven very much is that I was worried that what she said was right, that the only reason Professor Ozpin made me the leader of Team STRQ is that I have silver eyes. But Professor Ozpin said that that wasn’t true; he told me that I could use my eyes in any capacity in the team, and I suppose he was right about that. He really made me feel better about myself and about being the leader of the team.
I think someone must have said something to Raven too, because she was trying to be nice tonight. Emphasis on ‘trying,’ I don’t think she really knows how. But I’m going to give her a chance. She’s pretty tough and pretty cool too; I’d like to be her friend.
I’d like her to think that I was worthy of being her friend.
“That seems like a good place to call it a night,” Yang said, gently but firmly shutting the book.
“What?” Ruby asked. “Come on, Yang, we have plenty of time left to keep going.”
“Plenty of time, maybe, but also plenty of homework,” Yang reminded her. “And besides, there’s more than enough time to read through everything even if we do take it slow. Savour it, you know.”
“No,” Ruby replied. “Don’t you know what happens next, or about the Silver-Eyed Warriors? What Mom just described, it doesn’t seem like a semblance to me. Does it seem like it to you?”
“I’ve never heard of a semblance that can tire you out when you use it once, but what else could it be?” Yang asked. “If it isn’t a semblance, then what is it?”
“I don’t know; that’s why we have to keep going!”
“Which we will, later.” Yang took a deep breath. “I just think that the last thing Mom would want is for you to neglect your own life chasing answers about her.” She smiled. “Don’t get so wrapped up in reading about Mom’s time at Beacon that you forget that you’re at Beacon, understand?”
“I guess,” Ruby murmured. “Hey, Yang?”
“Yeah?”
“Is it okay if I talk to my team about this?” Ruby asked. “I mean, Sunset and Pyrrha are really smart, maybe they can… I don’t know… work something out?”
Yang was silent for a moment. “If… if you want to tell them, then that’s your choice. I can’t tell you what to do any more.”
Ruby bowed her head. “Yang?”
“Yeah, sis?”
“If Mom was here, do you think she’d be proud?”
“No, I don’t think she’d be proud,” Yang said. “I know it.”
Jaune and Pyrrha took a break from sparring after Pyrrha had, even while holding back, handed Jaune his rear end with all the trimmings again.
Jaune tried not to feel impatient. He hadn’t even picked up his ancestral sword before coming to Beacon, and it was only really a few days ago that he had begun training in earnest under Pyrrha’s instruction. Meanwhile, she was a renowned tournament fighter who had never lost a fight in her entire life, so of course she was going to beat him. Winning wasn’t the object, learning was.
But at the same time, he wouldn’t have been human if he didn’t feel even a little impatient.
They trained by the farm, a secluded and somewhat out of the way part of the school where only the chickens would see them or be disturbed them; the clucking of the birds formed an accompaniment to the ring of swords as they clashed under the moonlight.
As they had clashed, because now they were taking a break.
Jaune turned away from Pyrrha and took a few steps closer towards the chicken coop and the fence that he had repaired to keep at bay the foxes that he suspected were out here.
“Jaune?” Pyrrha asked anxiously. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” he said quickly. “I was just… I was just thinking about Ruby, that’s all. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up without a mom, not having even memories of her.” He remembered that Pyrrha had suffered much the same with her father. “I’m sorry, Pyrrha, I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s fine,” Pyrrha assured him. “I know you didn’t intend to do harm, and to be honest… it is a wound that is present whether you mention it or not. In any case, I think that I am more fortunate than Ruby. I gather that her father is unwilling to talk of her mother.”
Jaune nodded. “It must hurt too much.”
“I don’t deny that he has his reasons,” Pyrrha said. “I merely mean that… talking about my father is not something that my mother has difficulty with.”
Jaune turned back towards his partner. “It doesn’t hurt her?”
“If it does, she wouldn’t let it stop her, nor even let it show,” Pyrrha replied. “My mother is…” She trailed off for a moment. “Poor Ruby,” she murmured. “It must have been so hard for her.”
“Poor Ruby,” Jaune agreed. “I… I can hardly imagine how someone could go through that and come out the other side so… so good, you know?”
“She is a miracle,” Pyrrha said. “I’m glad that she has the chance to find out the truth, or some truths at any rate. It was… a very kind thing that Sunset did for her. A wonderful thing.”
“She deserves it,” Jaune declared. “Like I said… growing up without a mom.... I can’t imagine.”
“You were close to your mother?” Pyrrha asked.
“I guess you could say that,” Jaune replied. “Or you could say that my mom is the reason I’m here at Beacon without the faintest idea what I’m doing.”
“I… must admit that I have been wondering,” Pyrrha said gently, “why you never went to Combat School, if this was an ambition that you’ve held for a long time.”
Jaune hesitated. His breath escaped him in a heavy exhalation.
“If you don’t want to talk about it-” Pyrrha began.
“No, it’s fine,” Jaune informed her. Yet he hesitated again before he began to speak. “I have seven sisters. Six of them are older than me.”
A smile brightened Pyrrha’s face, and there was a little amusement in her voice as she said, “You were your mother’s baby boy?”
“I was everybody’s baby boy,” Jaune informed her. “Even after my seventh sister Violet was born, it didn’t stop me being treated like a baby; it just meant that now there were two of us. My Dad would sometimes acknowledge that I was growing up, but the way my sisters treated me, you’d have thought that I was an eternal toddler. And Mom… Mom liked to keep me close. And I don’t mean to say that that was bad, or at least not all bad. She taught me how to cook.”
“Really?” Pyrrha asked. “That is a talent you’ve been hiding these past four weeks?”
“Well, we do get all our meals provided if we want them,” Jaune reminded her. “Although admittedly, they’re not the best. I sometimes wonder if the standard of cafeteria food is supposed to push us to make our own meals so that we know how to survive in the wild.”
“Or teach us how to go without food for the same purpose,” Pyrrha suggested amusedly.
Jaune chuckled. “Maybe that, too. Anyway, I don’t want to make myself out to be a great chef. I mean, I don’t think I’m bad at it, but it’s only rustic food.”
“So?” Pyrrha asked. “I mean… obviously, I wouldn’t want to force you, but…”
Jaune frowned. “You’d… like to try some of my cooking?”
Pyrrha’s smile became a little nervous. “I… I think we all would, but only if you wouldn’t mind.”
Jaune looked away from her and toward the farm. He had come down here on their first Friday afternoon free, and he planned to come here again. It was good to remind himself sometimes that he did have talents, even if they weren’t talents in the thing he actually wanted to do with his life. “I… I think I’d like that,” he said. He smiled wistfully. “Like I said, it wasn’t all bad. My mom taught me some things that stuck with me. But at the same time… she was just like my sisters; she couldn’t see that I was growing up. When I told her that I wanted to go to Combat School, she told me not to be silly, that I was far too delicate for a rough place like that.”
“That’s clearly not true,” Pyrrha said. “You have the heart of a huntsman; with proper training, I think you could have been at least as good as Cardin by now.”
“I wish,” Jaune said, not without a trace of bitterness, “but Mom didn’t see it that way. And when I tried to talk to Dad about it, he just yelled at me for trying to play him and Mom off against one another. She’d made a decision, and that was final. So that was that.”
“I… I see,” Pyrrha murmured. “Parents… often think they know what’s best for their children, and we are too young to argue the point.”
Jaune nodded. “I… I never would have had the nerve to sneak away to Combat School and start learning. I wouldn’t have been able to manage it.”
“Indeed, most Combat Schools don’t board their students,” Pyrrha agreed. “I… I’m sorry that you didn’t get the opportunity to pursue your ambitions sooner, but at the same time… I’m a little glad that it turned out this way.”
“Glad?” Jaune repeated.
“Yes,” Pyrrha murmured. “You see, if things had been different… we might not have ended up on the same team together, and I… well, I like having you as my partner.”
“Really?” Jaune asked. “That’s… thanks, Pyrrha. I like having you as my partner too.”
Pyrrha beamed as brightly as the moon that shone above them. “We… we should probably stop wasting time and get back to it.”
“Right,” Jaune agreed, and drew his sword once more to resume the uneven contest.
Sunset sat at her desk. The dorm room was currently empty: Jaune and Pyrrha were training, while Ruby was with Yang, taking their first look inside their mother’s journal.
Sunset’s own journal sat on the desk, the emptiness of the room giving Sunset the confidence to set it out, secure in the knowledge that she would not be disturbed for a while.
Sunset looked down at the cover for a moment, her gaze lingering on the image of her cutie mark that embossed the brown cover. Her fingertips brushed against the red and golden sun before she flipped the book open to the first blank page.
There hadn’t been any reply since Sunset’s message of the night before. Sunset was getting a little irritated, to be honest. It had been a whole day, was that not long enough? If Celestia didn’t want to have anything more to do with her, then that… well, it wasn’t fine, but if she believed that Sunset’s actions were beyond forgiveness, then she could at least say so instead of giving her the silent treatment like she was a little filly again.
And someone who called themselves the Princess of Friendship ought to have the decency to write back instead of just blanking Sunset out because she didn’t want to give her bad news.
Sunset was scowling by the time she picked up her pen and began to scrawl in the journal.
You could at least write back you know, whatever the response is!
Nothing. There was no response. Not for a moment, and for longer. Sunset stared at the page, but it remained blank, with nothing but her own irate line scribbled across it.
And then, after a minute or so, words in answer began to appear beneath her accusatory opening.
Oh my gosh, Sunset! I’m really sorry, I should have gotten back in touch with you. It’s just been so hectic around here that I didn’t have a chance.
Sunset raised one eyebrow. Yeah, I’ll bet.
It’s true! Do you think that I’m lying to cover up the fact that I didn’t want to reply?
The thought had crossed my mind.
It really has been incredibly busy around here the last day and night. What with the princesses disappearing
WHAT?
Sunset’s free hand slammed into the desk with a thud as loud as a drumbeat as she sat bolt upright, cutting across Twilight’s line with her demand for more information. A hundred scenarios whirled through Sunset’s mind, each one worse than the last: Celestia kidnapped, Celestia trapped in Tartarus, Celestia in the grip of eldritch horrors the like of which would drive you mad to even conceive of their existence. Celestia gone, vanished without trace.
Celestia disappeared? What do you mean she disappeared? Then why are you wasting time writing to me instead of finding her? Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?
No. No, Celestia cannot be gone. Sunset’s breathing was coming more quickly now, and through her mind pounded the last words that they had said to one another before Sunset had left, the last argument they had before Celestia had cast her out.
“You’re not my mother, and I was a fool to ever forget that.”
“It was your choice to make me love you, but it was my choice to believe you loved me in return.”
That cannot be how we leave it. That cannot be how she remembers me. That can’t be… can’t be the last thing that we ever say to one another.
Sunset, calm down
Don’t tell me to calm down when Celestia’s in danger! If you won’t do anything about it, then I’ll just have to come and find her myself.
She wasn’t sure how she would do that, but she would. Celestia needed her, and clearly, her new pupil was too useless or apathetic to be relied upon. Sunset hadn’t kept track of the mirror’s opening cycles, but she’d force it open if she had to; she’d pour every ounce of her magic into it until it opened up and made way for her. Of course, she’d have to get to Canterlot… Pyrrha was loaded, perhaps she’d be willing to lend Sunset enough money for an airfare.
She briefly considering asking Pyrrha to come with her, or maybe Ruby; if the situation was dangerous, then Sunset could do worse than have a superlative warrior backing her up… but how much of either of their combat prowess would survive the loss of two hands and the gaining of two extra legs was up in the air, not to mention the loss of aura. And besides, this wasn’t their fight. This was Sunset’s mentor, and it was her responsibility to help her out.
She was already starting to rise out of her seat when more words appeared in the book in front of her.
Celestia’s fine! If you’d let me finish, I was going to say that Celestia and Luna disappeared for a while, and then plunder vines appeared and started choking the whole of Equestria, and that is why we’ve all been too busy to reply to you. However, there’s no need for you to worry because it’s all settled now. The princesses are fine, the plunder vines are gone, everything is back to normal now. You’re right, I wouldn’t be writing to you if we were still in the middle of a crisis. No offence, but I’d have more important matters to take care of.
Sunset stared down at the page for a moment, feeling like a bit of an idiot. Losing my mind like that without even waiting to find out what was really going on. Well, you could have told me all that.
I tried.
Although I must say that I’m touched by your concern, my little sunbeam.
Sunset stared at the words on the page. A shiver ran down her spine containing dread and anticipation in equal measure. Her hand trembled as she wrote. Princess Celestia?
It is good to hear from you again, Sunset Shimmer.
Weiss Schnee could have emptied all the ice dust that she could fit in her rapier over Sunset, and she would not have frozen her more completely than Sunset was frozen at the desk by the fact that her mentor, her teacher, her princess was on the other side of the magical journal.
She had wanted this; she was terrified of this.
She had asked for forgiveness, but now her heart quailed before finding out whether she had it or not.
She had faced grimm in great multitudes; she had faced down hardened criminals; she had risked her life in battle against both. Yet none of that frightened her so much as finding out whether she had, through her own faults and follies, wrung out every last drop of love and pity out of Celestia’s heart until there was nothing left for her but anger.
Sunset? Are you still there?
She must be afraid I’ve run away again, as I did before. She hastily began to write. Yes. Yes, Princess, I’m here. How long
Sunset hesitated, wondering whether she really wanted to know.
have you been here?
Not long. Twilight happens to be in Canterlot assisting me with the aftermath of all this chaos, although it has all been taken care of now, aside from a few minor issues, which is why she had time to reply to you. I came in and asked if I might take over.
There was nothing else. Celestia had come to the end of her sentence, and yet, Sunset did not know how to reply. The things that had happened between them lay like a wall, keeping them more divided than space or the fact that they were in different worlds accessible only through magic.
What do I say? Where do I even begin?
I’m sorry.
Sunset’s eyes widened in disbelief. This… what… she didn’t understand it. She didn’t understand it one bit. You’re sorry? What do you have to be sorry about?
Everything. I did not do right by you, Sunset Shimmer.
No, Princess, no, you mustn’t say that.
Sunset scrawled the words hastily, before Celestia could say too much. Had she been observing from afar, then she might have appreciated the irony in the situation, but she wasn’t observing, she was involved, caught in the moment, and in the moment, she… she didn’t want to hear this. She had accepted, or at least she was trying to accept, to at least some extent, that she had been a flawed pony, deeply, maybe even terribly flawed. She was trying to do better here in Remnant. She had asked for forgiveness, not for absolution.
She didn’t need Celestia to take all the burdens of responsibility of herself. She didn’t want that.
It was me, Princess, I failed you, I let you down
Please, Sunset, let me finish.
Even at this remove, Sunset could not help but look chastened at the rebuke. She could hear Celestia’s voice saying it as though they were sharing the room.
Of course, Princess. I’m sorry.
There was a pause, probably while Celestia considered her response.
It is true that the destiny that I once hoped for for you was not one for which you were suited. But the fault is mine, for placing too great a burden of expectation upon your shoulders at too young an age. With the benefit of hindsight, I’m not sure that any filly’s ego could have survived being told that they were expected to ascend. That yours was unequal to the challenge says less about your faults than about my own poor judgement.
Sunset could not quite keep the envy and, yes, the touch of bitterness out of her pen strokes as she wrote back. Twilight Sparkle’s ego seems to have held up.
Twilight was completely ignorant of her destiny until she arrived at it. That was the lesson that you taught me: Twilight grew up knowing nothing of my hopes for her until she had achieved them.
Sunset could not help but let out a little chuckle. So what you’re telling me, Princess, is that you failed with me and then learnt how to do it right the second time around.
Yes, you could say that. And all I can do now is apologise for my failings as a teacher.
Sunset sighed. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply once, in and out, and then again a second time. Then she began to write. You have no need to apologise to me, Princess Celestia. Not for that, at least. The truth is, I don’t think it could have worked out anyway.
No? That was not your opinion when we last saw each other.
So, they had come to that at last. It was always inevitable. Celestia had been very kind in not bringing it up beforehand. But they couldn’t avoid the circumstances of Sunset’s departure – from Celestia’s tutelage, from the palace, and from Equestria itself – any longer.
But Sunset found that she did want to avoid it, for at least a little while more.
My best friend is a girl named Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos.
Pyrrha Nikos?
Sunset frowned. Yes. Some of the names they use here would be familiar to you, but others are a little stranger.
Extraordinary, but not because the name is strange; rather, because it is familiar to me. I have in the guard a young unicorn by the name of Pyrrha Nikos.
Sunset’s eyebrows rose. Really? That both does and doesn’t surprise me, Princess Celestia. It doesn’t because I’ve known for some time that there were those in this world who bore an uncanny resemblance to people who live in Equestria; why, in my previous school before coming to Beacon I’d already met the Twilight Sparkle of this world.
Indeed.
Yes. She hesitated about whether or not to admit the truth, before realising that Princess Celestia in her wisdom could probably divine it in any case. You might not be surprised to know that I didn’t like her very much. But I am surprised to learn that a Pyrrha Nikos, though she exists, has found her way into your service; if there is any geographical correlation between our worlds, she ought to be a long way from home.
It is true that Pyrrha has travelled far, from the far south of Equestria. But she is brave and eager to serve. My captain has nothing but praise for her.
If she is anything like the Pyrrha of Remnant, that does not surprise me.
Is it not fascinating that it should be so? That our worlds should not only be linked, but that names and natures should occur in common on either side of the mirror? Twilight, I am sure, will be as amazed as I am. But you had a point to make, and I have distracted you from it. Please, Sunset, continue.
As I said, she’s my best friend. You’d be amazed at how hard it was for me to admit that. Or perhaps you wouldn’t. Perhaps it doesn’t surprise you at all. Anyway, she’s great. A great warrior. Superlative. Even with all the magic at my command, I can barely keep up with her, and if I didn’t have magic, then she’d tear me apart without breaking a sweat like she does everybody else. And she’s kind and beautiful, and she’s always willing to help others. But she’s lonely. Even though she’s talented and lovely and kind, she doesn’t have anyone she can open her heart to. Nobody told her that she was expected to ascend; there’s no immortal teacher making plans for her that have made her proud, because like I said, she isn’t proud at all. But the very fact of her skill sets her apart; the simple act of being her in all her glory raises her up so far that nobody can get close to her. With the best intentions, she doesn’t have a friend in the world.
It sounds like she has you now.
Sunset cleared her throat, for all that Celestia couldn’t see or hear it. Well, yes, and she has Jaune and Ruby as well – they’re our teammates – I suppose what I meant was that she didn’t have any. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that even if you’d told me nothing, it might not have made any difference. I still would have been mean and proud and vain and kind of awful, now that I look back, and I still would have been in that place as your student and so talented. Honestly, I’m not sure how Twilight Sparkle managed to make any friends when someone like Pyrrha couldn’t manage it.
To be perfectly honest, I had to send Twilight away to Ponyville before she connected with anyone sufficiently deeply.
Oh, so that’s what she’s doing in a place like that. That explains it.
Could you please tell me more about her? And about Ruby and Jaune, your other friends?
Really? Why?
I’d like to know what kind of people your friends are. I’m curious to know who they are who were able to open up your heart.
Sunset blinked, she felt as though she had something caught in her eye. You still care?
I always cared about you, Sunset. You may not have believed it, but that does not make it any less true.
But everything that I said, everything that happened. I was afraid
Sunset hesitated a moment before she finished that sentence. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to forgive me.
There is nothing for me to forgive.
Nothing? Nothing at all?
You were angry, you had that right. But I was only ever afraid.
Afraid?
Afraid of what might happen to you in the world that lies beyond the mirror, afraid of what might happen to you, afraid, I must confess, of what your anger and impatience might drive you to become. But I had hope as well. I hoped, very much, that you might find your path. And it seems that you have done so.
I don’t know about that, although I am trying. Princess, can I ask you a question?
Of course.
When I was studying under you, you made me believe - or at least you allowed me to believe - that I had a destiny. A great destiny. You made me believe it so much that I went all the way to another world looking for it. Was that a lie? Was it always a lie? Or is destiny like Pyrrha says: something that we control by our own actions, and I just messed up that badly?
She wanted to know, and yet, she didn’t, but ultimately, Sunset knew that she had to ask. She would have no peace until she did.
She waited, expectant and afraid, for the answer.
I wish that I had an answer to give you, Sunset; I really do. But I do not. I believe in destiny. I have tried to build a society in which all ponies may fulfill their destinies, but mark that: they need help to fulfil them. Perhaps it is not so, perhaps destiny is fixed and immutable, but if that is the case, then what price any of our actions? Are we merely puppets, doing the bidding of some ineffable force?
I always thought you were the puppet master.
No, Sunset, I do not pull the strings, or at least, I try not to. I merely try to set the course so that the river may flow in the manner that is best for everybody. Of course, there is a possibility that you did not mention.
What’s that, Princess?
That you have a destiny but I was mistaken about it where it lay. Not in Canterlot, but somewhere else. Sunset, are you happy where you are? Although there is no cause for you to return to rescue me, I want you to know that you will always be welcome in Equestria, should you decide that you want to come home.
You can’t know how it feels for you to say that.
She barely knew how it felt for Celestia to say that, only that was she glad that Celestia had said it.
But I don’t think I’m ready to come back yet. I’m not even sure I should be calling Equestria home. Back there, I only had you. Now
Sunset paused for a moment.
Maybe my destiny is here. Or maybe it isn’t. But this world seems like it could use a hero, and my team needs me, and
Sunset, there is no shame in saying that you want to stay that you have found friends and a place to belong. If that is the case, I could not be happier.
Sunset closed her eyes for a moment. It’s easier to be good when I’m with them.
They must be wonderful people.
They are. Pyrrha’s just great, and Ruby’s so sweet and brave, and even Jaune, I have to give Jaune credit for courage, I probably wouldn’t have had the nerve to do what he’s done.
Tell me more. Tell me about your friends, tell me about the world you live in now, tell me about your life. Tell me everything, Sunset. I want to know what’s become of you since you’ve been away.
Sunset sucked on the end of her pen and pondered for a moment. I hardly know where to start…
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Oh dear, Sunset will take that hint of the silver-eyed warrior as something important. She going to look it up, and when she finds out Ruby is a bred anti-grimm weapon, well, she's going to start questioning so much about what sort of team she was given.
why do I feel like Sunset is going to be overprotective of Ruby once she finds out (and she will) that Ozpin wants her on his side for the silver eye power? hell, she's probably going to make a bunch of plans to protect her team from Ozpin (not trying to make him sound evil, but damn his really manipulative.)
it also be cute to see her trying to apply magic training to help Ruby harness the silver eye power.
This was acute Segway between arcs, can't wait for Ruby to find out more though.
9229001
Using magic training to hone the silver eyes..... Might actually be really sound O.o;; After all we don't really know what the silver eyes are... they MIGHT be magic like the maidens power, kinda... which might put the eyes close enough to equestrian magic for Sunset to work with o.o
As for Oz xD Well we don't know =P He MIGHT actually be ''evil'' in this story XD Though I do think that ANY kind of competent manipulator will seem like some kind of evil mastermind no matter how noble their intentions XD It kinda just comes with how easily one could abuse such means XD
9229134
lol true, but knowing Sunset, she'll hate being manipulated even if it was for a good reason, and we saw her mother bear side when it came to Juan. it's quit scary.
You know, this was one of the biggest flags for me to distrust Ozpin. From what I can gather, the Silver Eyes are a major field leveler, if that term makes sense. Remember how Salem pointed out that Cinder was hurt more than usual from Ruby's untrained attack because Cinder had the Fall Maiden's power? And we know that Ozpin was the sage who gave them their power originally, leading me to believe that the Silver Eyes have anti-magic properties on top of having an effect on Grimm. So maybe he wanted Ruby with her eyes on his side so that she wouldn't use them on him? I don't know, As much as I don't trust Salem, I trust Ozpin even less.
9228965
She has a champion, a anti magic weapon, and an Arc (who may be descended from the king of Vale). yeah this just screams super team and clearly people Ozpin would want loyal to him above all else. Given that he has plans for her as well all of this will make her extremely distrustful of him. Plus with the fact that the silver eye's seem to effect Salem's magic as much as Ozpin's then what ever created the Silver Eyed warriors was not a fan of either of them.
Countermage, Champion, assumed Noble, and Archmage. Let's see what'll be next…
9229268
9229242
i wonder how Sunset will deal with that can of information. with how close she's becoming to her team i could see her setting up some planes to protect them from Ozpin if she feels that he can't be trusted.
9229436
This just might be me being oblivious, but how does this excerpt convey he tried to correct her behavior? Also the third paragraph strongly supports my argument. Is it the second paragraph where he says that's not how they broke up? The last paragraph is foreshadowing the fact that he broke up with her because she was an ass, but I don't see how this supports your argument at all except for maybe the second paragraph.
While I don't really get why you posted this I appreciated that you did. I have clearly forgotten the exact details surrounding the excuse he gave to her involving the fact concerning what other people thought of him. Honest to God in my first response to you I was planning on including examples of how he could have broken up with her and included him saying people were giving him crap for dating a faunus.
So yeah thank you for reminding me of the details surrounding their break up. 
I still think he's an idiot, and I still don't know why you think he tried to fix some of her problems though.
9229451
I mean, would you trust him?
9229451
he is a Vague figure of authority, distant yet has plans for them. after what happend with Celestia there is no way she is going to trust him, least not blindly like he wants, and ho boy if he tries to get Pyrrha to be the maiden like in cannon... well it will certainly be some spectacular fire works.
9229561
i could see Sunset tapping into dark magic from just how angry she would get.
9229548
no.
And here's where I feel we're officially going off the rails into uncharted headcannon territory. Don't get me wrong still loving the story, just felt like it needed saying. The hardest thing about writing fanfiction for a show like RWBY is that it's still airing and we don't know what plot twists could be thrown at us. You never know how many headcannons could be invalidated in a single episode.
I liked this. A wholesome chapter of Yang and Ruby connecting to the mother they never got the chance to know.
And unfortunately for me I'm caught up and now have to wait on new chapters. I eagerly await seeing where this story goes.
9229596
Oh, you're absolutely right. And it might be the Voume 6 will prove me absolutely wrong about all of this (although given how reticent they've been to actually give us any STRQ backstory or do anything with Ruby's silver eyes so far I'm not counting on it) but if it comes down to a choice between coming up with something myself in the interim or plain not addressing things that I find interesting for possibly years until the show gets around to them if it ever does, I'm going to choose the former.
9230361
To be fair RWBY has been a slow burn since it started, it's part of its charm. But if you look at the big picture the main plot is only just starting. The first 3 volumes were really just 'book 1' of the series, lots of narrative left to cover.
Then again that won't stop devoted fanfic writers. There are stories out there that were written based solely off the trailers. You're doing well and you've gotten my interest. Hopefully if anything world-breaking occurs you'll be able to adapt it.
I have no idea how this story slipped pass my radar. But good thing I found it!!!
Oh and I already see Cinder withing Sunset because they are so similar in many ways.
9229242
If the Silver Eyes are anti-magic that also raises another interesting question: "What would it do to Sunset?".
Also what if it works on Grimm because the Grimm are magical in nature?
It took me until here to realize it was Summer's diary quoted, not Ruby's.
Wow, Ruby is really behind the curve learning to use those things.
This sounds like something that Pyrrha hasn't directly referenced with Ruby, which is interesting since she has talked about it with Sunset. But Ruby picked up on it anyway.
Probably the wrong move, but the clues to the importance of what they read are fairly ambiguous from their point of view.
Sunset will probably sit up and take more notice, which is fine by Ruby. The game is afoot.
9229561
Ozpin: Make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!
Pyrrha: Gosh, I have to think about this.
Ozpin: OK, don't take too long.
Pyrrha: Gosh, is this my destiny? It beats the heck out of tournament fighting. Still, that soul stealer machine is kinda creepy.
Sunset: Hey, Pyrrha, what's on your mind.
Pyrrha: Keep the creepy headmaster's secrets, or trust Sunset
...
She'd find out after the fact anyway.
Pyrrha:Ozpin wants me to become a magical girl.
Sunset: Sweet, let's kill things with fire.
Pyrrha: There's a creepy soulstealer machine.
Sunset: Dang, that sucks. Let's not kill anyone to steal their power. I'm turning over a new leaf, you know?
Pyrrha: Well, she'll die anyway. And if she does her power will go to someone awful.
Sunset: Oh. I guess using the creepy soulstealer is a good idea.
Pyrrha: I suppose you're right. Still, it seems like some kind of special destiny that sets me apart.
Sunset: That's OK, you're still a part of Team SAPR. We won't treat you any different, except for killing things with fire.
Pyrrha: Hey, you're right. I'll go do it now, before anything has a chance to go wrong.
Sunset: It's probably OK to sleep on it. It's a big decision, you know?
Pyrrha: First thing tomorrow morning, unless we come up with an important reason why I shouldn't.
Cinder: Yarr, I be here to steal the power of the fall maiden.
Ruby: One shot, one kill.
Sunset: Kill it with fire!
Pyrrha: Kill it with fire?
Sunset: Kill it with fire!
Jaune: Hey, I'm somewhat competent!
Sunset: Good, cover us from random Grimm while we play with Cinder.
Jaune: Awwww. Fine, it's still an important job.
Cinder: *pwned by a pony and her friends*
Ruby: Wait, should I have used my eyes for this?
Sunset: Nah, it's fine. Those things need a better manual.
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An alicorn of war. Well at the very least it will mean that the Storm King will be in for a big surprise when he invades Equestria… now I want to see team SAPR go to equestrian and kick butt.
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This is one of the things that's absolutely okay to go off the rails on. Keep in mind that we're dealing with a crossover. A crossover that already shares the common element of magic. Considering Ozpin already knows about Equestria, it wouldn't surprise me if it has influenced Remnant already in some way in this story.
One thought I had was the origin of the old hermit from the story of the four maidens. We know he was a wizard that granted elemental powers to four girls. It occured to me that the wizard himself might be a refugee from Equestria. Consider this. Both the sun and moon are controlled by Alicorns, yet to change seasons, entire villages of Ponies need to work together to make it happen. What if, at one point, there was an Alicorn who's domain was the elements of nature. Maybe he fled Equestria over a thousand years ago.
As for Silver Eyes, I don't really have an answer. I suppose it comes down to the origin of the Grimm.
without having to secrest- without having to preclude
Turns out he really does no how to fight
Watching them was incredibly, they’re so well-coordinated
heard of a semblance that can tired you out when you use
1. Secret. Secrest according to Google is a surname.
2. Know.
3. Incredible.
4. Tire.
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Those McGuffins would make for an interesting contrast. A petrifying, sterile, purifying and cutting white light of the callous God, next to the friendlier Rainbow that draws strength from diversity in color and personality.
This version of Ruby feels like the the one we SHOULD'VE gotten in the show... having agency and asking questions.
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I got that idea from a couple of reviews on the series. A bunch of fan pandering and villains of the week, and not much in the way of real structure, world building or any kind of deeper exploration.
Slapstick is well and good, but I prefer something with a little more substance. Like this awesome fic, for instance :D
I'm not sure how much of this is just straight RWBY canon, but this is the first chapter that I tend to skip or skim over when rereading. I do get that it's important with the introduction of Silver Eyes, and for keeping Yang in the story, but to the first part that comes up in the next chapter anyways. I suppose it does introduce a few other elements to those unfamiliar with the RWBY side, but even after going through a deliberate read I don't have much to say on this one.
Well now! Sunset reconciling with Princess Celestia much sooner in the rewrite! That is quite a welcome surprise! I look forward to seeing how much this affects her now that it has happened sooner.
Aaaahhhh... And now I'm caught up to the rewrite. As much as I'd love to just continue on, since there's a LOT of story already written after this, I feel like I should wait for the rewrites to come out first. This is my first time reading through this, and given how much you've said has been changed, well... I feel like a lot is going to be very different later, or that reading the originals will just seem off after coming from these. So until then, looking forward to more!
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That's honestly the smart decision.
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If you are planning on only reading the rewrite I would recommend you to attempt to read it at AO3.
The author is uploading the rewrites there, so you will actually get notifications and evade most spoilers, unlike everywhere else were you will have to be manually hunting for updates and getting alerts of chapters you wont read.
https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798804
Kinda feels like Sunset’s done almost a complete 180 personality wise in just a couple chapters. Maybe it’s just in the situation so far presented, with her team and taking with Celestia, but I’m hoping she’ll keep most of the pride so far displayed with others.
It’s probably more of a personal preference, but I’ve found the most compelling characterizations of Sunset to be where she a genuinely good person but still kind of a bitch in attitude. With how she was earlier on, and the combat-centric nature of the setting, I was hoping that’s the character the we’d get here.
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Finally someone who agree with me
Do you have Discord ? I want to discuss with you and it's far easier like that imo.
Ooh, I do want to see Sunset's return to Equestria at some point with her team. Probably won't happen for a long time though, if at all.
I also really want to read the rest of Sunset's conversation with Celestia, but this ending feels like we'll be skipping that. But who knows.
I'm greatly disappointed that Sunset's character was fixed so easily. It should have been a major plot of the story. Protagonists are supposed to grow in it's entirety, and no one person can change completely no matter how big revelation they get. I would have done it in steps. Otherwise it feels too rush and too cheap. Like getting problems out of the way before we can get to adventures.
And besides, the whole "dark side" temptation that could have been just now had been rendered null and void.
Also, I don't like Sunset attributing everything to personal failure. Celestia was right to admit her mistake, but she didn't admit all of them.
If she really cared as she claims, she would have contacted her first. She would not have gave away the book. She would have at least cared enough to send someone to check the portal, and Sunset didn't even move far from it for most of the time until now.
In that regard, Sunset is already better person than her now. She took child's fate into her own hands, she drew it astray, and never bothered to do any fixing whatsoever. Instead, she simply tried again, at if it wasn't people lives she was experimenting with, but arts and crafts project.