• Published 31st Aug 2018
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SAPR - Scipio Smith



Sunset, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby are Team SAPR, and together they fight to defeat the malice of Salem, uncover the truth about Ruby's past and fill the emptiness within their souls.

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Summary of Part One

Author's Note:

This is something that I probably should have done at intervals throughout this story, summarised the arcs once they were finished to make it easy for the readers to refresh themselves on details they couldn’t quite recall over a million. I didn’t do that, but now is the right time to summarise everything that has gone over the million words of this story so far.

Summary of Part One

Sunset Shimmer, ambitious, self-centred and bitter-hearted after her experiences in Atlas, arrives at Beacon Academy determined to make a name for herself. She is angry and disappointed to find out that her ex-boyfriend, Flash Sentry, has also enrolled at Beacon, but contrary to her worst fears they do not end up on the same team together. Instead Sunset lucks out in getting teamed up with the young prodigy Ruby Rose and the famous prodigy Pyrrha Nikos; also on the team is Jaune Arc. Together they are designated Team SAPR, pronounced Sapphire.

Other teams include:

Team YRDN (Iron): Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren, Dove Bronzewing, Nora Valkryie
Team WSTW (Wisteria): Weiss Schnee, Flash Sentry, Russell Thrush, Cardin Winchester
Team BLBL (Bluebell): Blake Belladonna, Lyra Heartstrings, Bonnie ‘Bon Bon’ Bonaventure, Sky Lark

As Team SAPR settles down to their first night in dorms they discover that they are occupying the room that used to belong to Team STRQ, the team of which Ruby’s father, uncle, and late (and revered) mother were members alongside a certain Raven Branwen. Team SAPR carve their initials on the wall above the STRQ markings and vow to be just as great as their illustrious predecessors.

That might be easier said than done, however, as Sunset’s jealousy of Pyrrha’s fame threaten the equilibrium of the team. Things only get worse when Sunset gets into contact with Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, and is aghast to learn that Princess Celestia not only got a new student in Sunset’s absence but that said student did what Sunset could not and achieved ascension. Sunset takes out her frustration on Pyrrha, leading to tensions within the team that are only resolved by a duel between the two of them. Although Sunset is ultimately no match for Pyrrha’s skill, she puts up a good fight with her magic and the two come to respect one another for the amount of effort they have each put in to being the best at their respective skillsets.

Someone who is not the best, nor does he appear to be putting in the effort required to become so, is Jaune, the weak link on Team SAPR. Furthermore, his continued romantic pursuit of Weiss leaves him vulnerable to the bullying of Cardin Winchester. Although Sunset, motivated by a blind terror that Weiss and Flash are about to hook up at any moment, is inclined to dislike Weiss (the feeling is mutual) she nevertheless makes a bargain with her: Jaune will stay out of Weiss’ hair and Cardin will stay away from Jaune and SAPR and WSTW won’t have to worry about one another any more.

This agreement doesn’t last for every long as Cardin discovers that Jaune faked his transcripts and has no right to be at Beacon; he blackmails him into being his personal slave. Sunset discovers the truth and is sufficiently moved to help Jaune out, breaking into the school records and stealing his transcripts; since absence of evidence is not evidence of absence they cannot now be used against him; while she’s there she also comes across a journal written by Summer Rose, and takes it to give to Ruby.

Team SAPR goes shopping and run into Weiss, alone, in a dust shop. Shortly after they run into Roman Torchwick and the White Fang there to rob the place; a fight ensues in which several of the White Fang are captured but Roman and his silent companion Neo escape. Blake is angered to discover that the White Fang are working with a human criminal.

Cardin tries and fails to have Jaune thrown out of Beacon. Weiss gets a call from her sister Winter, who informs her that she has a faunus operative working in Vale. Princess Twilight presses Sunset to admit that she cares about her team-mates, and even still cares about Flash. Sunset refuses, but on a field trip into the Forever Fall she is confronted by an angry Cardin and, using him as her mirror, realises that she has been kind of an awful person lately. She resolves to do better, and asks Princess Twilight if she can speak to Princess Celestia. Ruby gives Sunset her first hug in too long while thanking her for her mother’s diary.

While out and about in Vale Ruby and Pyrrha come across a strange girl by the name of Penny Polendina, who quickly flees pursued by a faunus named Rainbow Dash. After a brief fight it turns out that Rainbow Dash is an Atlas student and the leader of Team RSPT (Rosepetal) which also included Penny. Rainbow is trying to keep an eye on her. The three track her down together, swiftly joined by Sunset – who knows Rainbow Dash from Canterlot Combat School and is worried what she might tell Ruby and Pyrrha – and Jaune. They catch up with Penny and spend a fun afternoon at an arcade. Rainbow’s team-mate Ciel Soleil, waiting for them back in their motel room with fourth team member Remnant Twilight Sparkle, is less than enthused to learn this but Rainbow insists that Penny should be able to have some fun and be a normal girl.

Team SAPR plus Weiss are being flow to the trial of the White Fang members captured in the aborted dust robbery when their bullhead is shot down and they are captured by the White Fang. Blake asks her friend Tukson to put his life on the line to find out where they’re being held, and she goes to that location to mount a rescue. Team RSPT have also worked out where Penny’s new friends are being held and stage their own rescue operation which kicks in at about the same time that most of Team SAPR have escaped from captivity anyway. Yang leads the other first years to back them up and a confusing fight breaks out. Adam uses his semblance, Moonslice, and nearly kills Ruby but Jaune discovers his semblance just in time to save her life.

Sunset and Yang pursue a fleeing Adam down into the tunnels. Adam beats Sunset to a pulp and only Pyrrha’s intervention saves her and drives him off; Yang loses Adam but is met by Raven Branwen, her natural mother, who warns her against Ozpin and his machinations. Blake finds Yang and takes her back up to the surface. Sunset confronts Blake, who is both a faunus and a former member of the White Fang, but promises to keep her secrets.

Princess Celestia finally gets in touch with Sunset, having been unable to do so because of the Season Four opener, and the prodigal daughter is reconciled with her surrogate mother.

Ruby and Yang go home for spring break, where their father learns that they have their mother’s diary and know about her silver-eyed magic. Raven visits Tai and laments Summer’s death, as well as Ozpin’s role in it.

Sunset and Jaune, meanwhile, are invited to spend the vacation in Mistral with Pyrrha, the last living descendant of the last Emperor of Mistral before the monarchy was ended after the Great War. Pyrrha’s mother, the formidable Lady Nikos, is less than impressed by Jaune, but Sunset’s courtly manners and magical powers are able to win a guarded form of approval.

The group attends a fancy party, at which is present Professor Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven Academy, and his prized student Cinder Fall. Cinder and Sunset get on well, while Jaune notices how lonely Pyrrha is even here, in the midst of her own city and the society of her own class. He starts to have feelings for her.

Lionheart asks for Pyrrha’s help: there is a grimm ravaging the farms beyond the city, and the city is entirely empty of huntsmen. Pyrrha, Jaune and Sunset head out, accompanied by Cinder and Pyrrha’s mother, and encounter a Karkadann, which they kill. Lady Nikos is sufficiently impressed that she drops all opposition to Pyrrha returning to Beacon for the summer term.

General James Ironwood and the Atlesian fleet arrive in the skies over Vale, and he briefs Team RSPT on the need to shut down the White Fang interdictions of Atlesian arms shipments heading south to Vale through the Forever Fall. Blake finds out that her friend Tukson has been murdered, and asks Sunset for help in stopping Torchwick and his plans. Sunset and Blake make an abortive attempt to capture Torchwick, but he escapes again.

Cinder, angered by Blake’s interference, outs her to the cops as a former member of the White Fang. Sunset enlists the help of Rainbow Dash, who gets General Ironwood to offer Blake an immunity agreement if she comes to help the Atlesians with their White Fang problem. With Blake’s help they decide to smuggle themselves aboard a train carrying weapons and ambush the White Fang when they try to rob it. Ozpin gives SAPR a mission to protect railway workers travelling up the rail line to repair damage. It is a complete coincidence that this will give them the opportunity to work with Blake and RSPT on the way back.

Sunset learns that Pyrrha has feelings for Jaune, but Pyrrha refuses to actually act on them.

After a brief grimm encounter the team arrives at Cold Harbour and joins up with RSPT and Blake. Their train is attacked on the way back and Rainbow Dash and Blake both encounter faces from their pasts: Rainbow’s childhood friend Gilda and Strongheart, whom Blake mentored in the White Fang. Though the fight is difficult at times they manage to drive off the thieves, capturing Torchwick and Neo in the process. Jaune kills someone in the course of the battle and struggles with how he feels about it. Blake does her best to comfort him, while Ozpin partially soothes his conscience and partially guilt trips him into deciding to stay at Beacon and keep on fighting alongside his friends.

Sunset wishes to rest on her laurels in the wake of their triumph, but Blake is resistant to the idea. Jaune asks Pyrrha if he can be her backup for the upcoming school dance; Pyrrha declines, she doesn’t want him to be her backup…but she would love to be his date.

At the dance Sunset and Flash mend fences, and share the last dance that they never got to share, ending things between them in an amicable fashion.

Twilight is working in the CCT tower on the night of the dance, trying to find out who set up Blake. She discovers that Cinder was responsible…right as Cinder attacks the tower. Twilight is able to call Rainbow for help, and Rainbow arrives just in time to save Twilight from Cinder’s clutches. Rainbow holds her own against Cinder at first, but Cinder fights dirty and has Rainbow on the ropes by the time Penny, Ciel, Ruby and Sunset arrive and force her to withdraw. Sunset pursues her, and fights Cinder. Sunset’s desire to know how Cinder could betray them like that activates her semblance and she sees Cinder’s life of abuse, loss and heartbreak. Cinder escapes.

Rainbow’s friends Fluttershy and Applejack, working at an Atlesian blacksite in south-east Vale trying to use Fluttershy’s semblance to communicate with the grimm, are captured by the White Fang.

Sunset struggles with the after effects of her semblance, which has left her infested with Cinder’s anger and hatred, particularly towards Pyrrha. Blake helps her a little bit, and then Ruby helps her a lot by countering Cinder’s anger with the light of her own pure soul.

Ironwood presses Ozpin to do something, and more specifically to trust that the kids are alright and can be trusted with some of the secrets of their shadow war. Ozpin reluctantly agrees and Sunset, Pyrrha, Rainbow and Twilight are given a peak behind the curtain which they then share with Penny, Ciel, Blake, Ruby and Jaune. Everyone struggles with the fact that they are up against Salem, an immortal demon who can never be defeated.

Sunset gets a call from Cinder inviting her to the ruined city of Mountain Glenn; Torchwick agrees to talk to Ruby and volunteers to lead the group to the White Fang base in Mountain Glenn though he claims not to know what they’re doing there. The two teams, plus Blake, Torchwick, Neo and Professor Goodwitch, set out for Mountain Glenn, where the ruins inspire maudlin thoughts on the part of Ruby.

Gilda finds it hard to think about the sweet and gentle Fluttershy as the enemy, and begins to question how far the White Fang is willing to go to achieve its goals.

They get underground, fighting their way through Cinder’s minions and encountering a new kind of beowolf like nothing they’ve ever seen before. They also encounter Salem, via Seer, who tempts them with promises which they refuse but which do prompt Sunset to reveal the truth about her origins to her friends. Sunset and Blake fight and kill Adam. The White Fang start a train, planning to run it through the defences of Vale and open up a breach for the grimm. The gang gets on the train but Sunset, believing that if she stops it then all of her friends will die down in the tunnel, sabotages the controls and fast talks her team-mates into not doing anything to interfere with the train in other ways as it barrels down the line.

Ironwood and Ozpin, warned by Twilight – who was sent away by Rainbow Dash along with Applejack, Fluttershy and Professor Goodwitch – organise the defence of Vale.

The Breach happens. Everyone fights to hold the line. Ruby’s silver eyes activated to save Penny. Everyone just gets away in time before an Atlesian bombing run temporarily halts the grimm. Public gratitude towards the Atlesian forces begins to give way to a morass of conspiracy theories as talk of a false flag abounds.

Blake was wounded in the fighting, and goes to Atlas to get treatment for her body and her mind. She joins Weiss, Sun, Flash and Rainbow Dash in investigating disappearances amongst the faunus who live in the Low Town underneath Atlas, tracing them to a warehouse on the coast where faunus are being genetically sequenced, with those with the best DNA are being shipped off to somewhere else by someone connected to the defunct Merlot Industries.

Blake visits Equestria, where she is counselled by princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight, getting hope from them. Rainbow talks to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna, who admit that they work for Ozpin although they stop short of telling her that Luna is the Winter Maiden.

Penny is rebuilt by Twilight, Moondancer and her ailing father.

Ruby and Yang are back home once again and get another visit from Raven, who unfolds the tale of Team STRQ, as well as her own circumstances. She urges Yang to abandon Ozpin’s doomed struggle and join her in Anima, but Yang refuses.

Sunset begins to understand Professor Ozpin a little better, and the distrust that she had harboured towards him begins to melt.

Pyrrha accompanies Jaune back to his isolated home in rural Vale. His family are, for the most part, hostile towards both her and Jaune’s chosen path, particularly his sister Sky, although another sister, Kendal, is much more supportive. Jaune impresses his family with how much he has grown up: no longer the boy who ran away from home, he is able to stand up to their collective efforts to browbeat him, and even his hitherto disapproving father concedes that he has grown up while he’s been away. The village is attacked by another strange grimm, but protected by Jaune’s sister Rouge who wields the magic of the geodes passed down through the Arc family.

Sunset, working with Cardin, Ren and Nora because they’re the only students left at Beacon, encounters a strange grimm of her own.

Team SAPR comes together to help Jaune reforge his sword, which was broken in the fighting under Mountain Glenn. He gets upgrades.

Shortly thereafter the team is sent on a mission into the Emerald Forest. This starts them on a trail that leads back to Mountain Glenn, where they temporarily ally with Cinder to discover who is capturing grimm and for what purpose. Cinder reveals that she is the Fall Maiden, a fact which greatly concerns Pyrrha. They just about manage to escape from Mountain Glenn alive, and in the Forever Fall Sunset offers Cinder the first scrap of honest kindness that she’s had in years; Cinder is touched, but too proud and too committed to her path to take the offer.

The group make their way to an isolate dock, and board a ship for the island of Doctor Merlot, who is creating new, stronger, more powerful grimm that serve him rather than Salem. Together SAPR and Cinder shut his operation down, and Cinder chooses to spare Team SAPR when she has the chance to let them die in the fire when Merlot’s facility explodes.

The siren Sonata Dusk arrives in Vale and starts subverting the loyalties of Tempest Shadow, Mercury Black and Lightning Dust. Only Emerald remains loyal to Cinder.

Ruby’s uncle Qrow arrives at Beacon and gets into a fight with Team RSPT. Ozpin tells Sunset, Pyrrha, Rainbow and Twilight about the Maidens, and shows them the horrifying machine that they wish to use to make Pyrrha the Fall Maiden. Everyone is shocked, but Pyrrha – knowing that if she refuses the cup will pass to Rainbow Dash, and if she too refuses then it will go to Ruby who will never refuse – agrees. She and Sunset have a blazing row about this, followed by Sunset going back to her room to talk to Celestia. Celestia encourages her to find another way, and Sunset comes up with a plan to save Amber, the current Fall Maiden currently languishing in a coma after Cinder’s attack. She has Ozpin and Celesita communicate via the magical journal, and the princess gives the ancient hero hope for the future. Ozpin puts his trust in Sunset, and this seems to be vindicated as, with the help of others, she is able to get into Amber’s head using her semblance and wake her up.

However, the damage to Amber’s soul is greater than Sunset expected, and the Amber that wakes up is a selfish, cowardly, fearful girl who doesn’t trust Ozpin or anyone associated with him.

A Mistralian fleet arrives over Vale; Mistral is using the swirl of rumours surrounding Atlesian involvement in the Breach as an excuse for a cynical power play to make themselves look big on the world stage. Pyrrha is rather disappointed in her country.

Kali Belladonna arrives at Beacon, and is surprised to learn that Blake is considering joining the Atlesian military, having come to appreciate them during her work with RSPT.

Amber quits the protection of Team SAPR in favour of that of Team BLBL, now sans Blake but led by Dove Bronzewing. Using her semblance she gains the loyalty of all four of them, then proceeds to sell out Ozpin to Tempest Shadow, promising her the Relic of Choice in return for the safety of herself and Team BLBL.

Rainbow and Twilight’s friends arrive in town for the Vytal Festival, as does Pyrrha’s mother and the Atlesian councillor Cadance.

The Vytal Festival kicks off with victories for Teams SAPR, RSPT, YRBN (now sans Dove but plus Blake) and WSTW. Amber breaks a curfew to attend a dance in Vale, a move which prompts SAPR and RSPT to mount a protection operation for her. And a good thing too because Cinder, having just murdered her stepsister Phoebe, tries to kill Amber too before being driven off by SAPR, RSPT and Tempest Shadow. This reveals to Cinder the truth about the deal that Amber made, a deal she is incensed to learn that Salem agreed to. Cinder quits Salem’s service, and tries to warn Sunset about Amber’s treachery. Unfortunately, between Pyrrha’s reluctance to believe Cinder and a sudden grimm attack not enough is done and Tempest is able to extract Amber from the Atlesian flagship.

SAPR, with the help of Yang and Blake, go hunting for Cinder in Vale; they catch up to her, capturing Mercury in the process, and Cinder surrenders peacefully. She tells Sunset all about how she came into the service of Salem, and reveals her plans to use Penny’s nature as a robot and the Atlesian experiments on grimm to arouse public opinion.

Sunset decides that the time is right to confess her own crimes under Mountain Glenn and tells her friends everything. Ruby is shocked, while everyone is a little more ambivalent about the whole thing. Sunset pleads guilty to all the charges brought by the court and is remanded in custody pending a sentencing hearing.

Pyrrha promises Cinder that she will not allow Sunset to be put to death. Sunset promises Pyrrha that she won’t allow herself to be put to death. Ruby talks to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Since the world now knows that Penny is a robot, and the Mistralian Commander Yeoh has had her barred from the Vytal Festival, Pyrrha arranges to borrow the Amity Coliseum for a little bit to stage a trio of exhibition matches pitting Penny against Sun, Arslan and finally Pyrrha herself. Pyrrha wins the final match, but Penny unlocks her semblance and goes the distance with Pyrrha in a way nobody has ever done before. Blake recognises someone in the Coliseum as her old friend Ilia Amitola, and realises that the White Fang have sabotaged the arena.

The grimm attack again. Twilight saves the arena with the help of her friends. Everyone fights both in the arena, and then down in Beacon where Flash loses a leg in the fighting. Ozpin is roused by hallucinations of Pyrrha and Sunset to join the fighting and drive the grimm out of the school.

Pyrrha and the others head into the city, where a giant dragon grimm breaks free of the mountain and lays waste to the defences, destroying Atlesian and Mistralian ships and breaking the line. Commander Yeoh dies and passes the sword of command to Pyrrha. The armies fall back to the walls of Vale but find the gates shut against them lest the grimm enter that way. Pyrrha throws Ruby over the wall, and Rainbow also tells Twilight to leave her behind. Ruby prevents Twilight from opening the gate, proving herself stalwart and true to her beliefs even in the utmost exigency. Yang is kidnapped by Raven and presumed dead. The lives of the huntsmen are saved by the reappearance of Sunset.

The prison at which Sunset was being held was attacked by the White Fang, and Sunset intervened to protect the staff and restore order, giving her parole to return to jail once the battle in the city was resolved.

Everyone joins forces to kill the dragon, with Penny striking the final blow.

Blake and Ozpin both call for help: the former is under siege by the White Fang, the latter has just spotted Amber coming to get the Relic from the abandoned school.

Sunset, Ruby and Team RSPT go to the aid of Blake. Gilda switches sides. Sienna Khan, High Leader of the White Fang, is forced to retreat.

Amber kills Ozpin. Pyrrha frees Cinder from her confinement as the only one who can help her win this battle. Together they confront Amber, Tempest, Lightning Dust and Team BLBL down in the vault of the Fall Maiden. Pyrrha fights hard, but having fought her way to Amber she is left to weak to actually face Amber, and only Cinder’s intervention saves her life. Tempest escapes with the Relic of Choice.

Cinder helps the wounded Pyrrha back up to the surface, then prepares to kill herself and pass her powers on to Sunset. Sunset isn’t having any of that and uses her semblance on Cinder again to free her from the grimm contagion with which she was affected. Sunset ascends, as Cinder passes on to her the powers of the Fall Maiden.

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