The Conscience of the Queen
The Conscience of the Queen
Tyrian had departed, although where he had departed to, Sunset did not know.
Not to kill the Rose girls – Rose women; Sunsprite was older than Sunset Shimmer by three years – they had agreed on how that would be done. They would die in the sight of all, where Freeport could see it done and know that it had a queen who would make any sacrifice in order to protect her kingdom and the greater community of her subjects.
Where, then, had Tyrian departed to? To find his little caribou acolyte, perhaps; Sunset didn’t much care. She would see him tonight, when the time for the executions came. Until then, she did not want to see him. She did not want to be reminded of just what she had done, what offences she had committed.
She was alone. Her mask was discarded; she was not to be disturbed, not even by her inner circle, and that meant that she was free to liberate her face from the stuffy confines of the golden visage that concealed her own.
Nobody could see her. Nobody ever saw her. Nobody saw Sunset Shimmer. They saw the Sun Queen, a prince of power, wreathed in majesty, awesome and inspiring; they never saw Sunset Shimmer, pretender to the part of lordship, squirming in torment at the costs that this path asked of her.
To think, when she had convinced her friends to set out upon this road, she had thought it would be fun. The girl who would be queen and her three companions, whom she had promised would be great ladies of the court. They would do some good, to be sure, civilising these crude barbarians and making something great and virtuous out of them, but at the same time, they would have some fun as well. They would dine every day upon the finest meals in the kingdom, they would sup the finest wine, they would live as richly as any Atlesian elite, they would be Schnees within their little hidden world. No, they would be better than Schnees, for they would have royal and lordly titles, and all would come to them grovelling on bended knee to seek their favour.
Playing pretend, indeed.
What would Robyn Hill – the human Robyn Hill, the Robyn Hill that Sunset had served under and then abandoned – think of her now, to see her become all that the Happy Huntresses had striven against, the privilege and the arrogance of Atlas, the way in which those above sacrificed those below for their own comfort?
I do not do this for comfort but security.
But Robyn would not have given me up to General Ironwood, not under the guns of the entire fleet. Not even for Mantle would she have sacrificed a single one of her huntresses.
But then, she always was a fool.
A fool, yes. A romantic fool, an inspiring fool, a fool positive, a foolish idealist… a fool full of virtues, whether the world saw it or not.
I may be wiser, but am I virtuous? If it is the wise course to give up Ruby and Sunsprite to Salem’s servant, then should it not also be the right course? How can it be virtuous to be foolish? How can something be wise and not correct? Are not correct and right synonymous? If it is wise to sacrifice two lives for the sake of thousands, then is that not, by default, the right course?
Then why do I feel like a sinner?
Sunset shook her head vigorously. General Ironwood would see things as I do. He would make the choice as I have done, to trade two lives – but two lives, less than a handful, but two! – for the sake of peace and the survival of many myriads more. Mayhaps Professor Ozpin would have done so too, for how else did he withstand this great evil that goes by Salem, save by trading lives, a small number for a greater one?
I have made the right choice.
Then why need I protest so much?
Sunset looked down at her hands. They were clean, but they felt impure; Ruby and Sunsprite still lived, and yet, Sunset felt as though their blood was already on her hands, staining it, soiling it beyond repair. Sunset strode across the room to where a basin of water sat. Rosepetals floated on top of the water, lending it a sweet scent that Sunset ignored as she plunged her hands into the bowl, scrubbing at her palms, rubbing them over and over again, scratching at them with her nails as though she thought to tear the skin off them.
But no amount of scrubbing or scratching could make them feel clean again.
And this when the Roses are not yet dead. How will I feel when I have blood upon my hands in truth?
Will all the water in the oceans quit me of this deed?
Sunset looked up. A mirror hung upon the wall above the wash basin. It was an old mirror, and a rather dirty one; around the edges, it was too murky and stained to see, but in the centre, she could behold her own reflection perfectly.
She was, as she had always been, as so few people saw these days, Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset Shimmer, the name that did not belong to her alone in Remnant but also to her other self, to the pony she had lured into this tower and whose body Dawn had taken for herself.
Sunset had thought her other, Equestrian self to be… rather pathetic, honestly. She had great power, to be sure; her Equestrian magic put the powers that Sunset herself had inherited through the Old Blood to shame, and yet, she had done so little with it. Not a queen, not a commander, not even the leader of any team that could be named with honour; guardian of a ragtag and bobtail crew traipsing across Sanus. How small, how insignificant. How… disappointing.
Sunset herself had laughed inwardly, to see the difference in their degrees; she had delighted in how high she was by comparison with her other self, even as she had wondered how it was that they could be the same and yet come to such different fates. But now…
Sunset – the other Sunset, her other self – had been faced with just such a choice as this one: to sacrifice the few for the sake of the many. To give up those who had fought beside her and served her faithfully for the sake of an entire city.
And she had chosen differently. She had made the opposite of Sunset’s choice. She had chosen Ruby over Vale.
Which of them had made the right choice? Which of them, with crowns and masks and temporal status put aside, was the better person?
Was it possible that the reason the other Sunset had failed to climb as high as she had was because of her greater virtue? Did she love more, though that love kept her tethered to the ground and prevented her from soaring as high as Sunset herself had managed? No, surely not. Sunset cared about her friends, she cared about Laurel, about Cherry, about… about Dawn, whom she had ordered to give up her body for the sake of their community here in Freeport.
So many sacrifices for the greater good. At what point do the sacrifices pile up so high that the good is no longer greater?
At what point does it stop being worth it?
There was a knock upon the door. Sunset started and dashed quickly across the room, grabbing her golden mask in her still-dripping hands. “Who is it?” she demanded.
“Laurel, my Queen,” Laurel replied. “May I enter?”
Sunset sighed and put her mask back on. Laurel, of course, knew what she looked like without it, but at the same time, there was always the chance that someone else might see in through the open door, and she didn’t want to take the risk. “Enter,” she said, reluctance obvious in her voice.
The door into her chamber creaked open, and Laurel stepped through, closing the door behind her again with another creak of the hinges. Her watery eyes glanced around the room. “You’re alone.”
“Yes, of course I’m alone; you don’t see anyone else here, do you?” Sunset snapped. She sighed. “I’m sorry; I… I wish to be alone.”
“I’m not sure that you should be.”
“Well, I wish it anyway!” Sunset declared. “Did you come in here with a reason or simply because you thought I needed company?”
Laurel pursed her thin lips together. “I came to tell you that Ruby Rose and Cinder Fall have been locked away in separate cells. Lady Ember has gone to muster her warriors, and Sunsprite is forming a Ranger company. I’ve also replenished our guards here.”
“Thank you,” Sunset said softly.
“What… what is to become of them?” Laurel asked.
“Ruby and Cinder?”
“All of them,” Laurel clarified.
“Ruby will be put to death in the pit,” Sunset said.
“Publicly?”
“Are not all deaths in the pit public?” Sunset replied.
“Normally, but… why?” Laurel asked. “Why not just strangle her quietly, in the dark, where no one can see it done?”
“Whether people see it or not, they will soon learn that she is dead by the simple fact that she is no longer around,” Sunset explained. “By making a public spectacle of it, I can control the narrative around her death, by making it clear that she has betrayed us-”
“You mean by lying about it?” Laurel asked.
“She brought the enemy to our doorstep!” Sunset yelled, her voice echoing out of her mask. “What would you have me do, Laurel? Answer me that, and then judge me for my actions; what would you have me do? Fight? Against this power, there can be no victory. Submission is our only choice, especially now. So I will tell the people that Ruby betrayed us, and they will accept her death. I hope they will accept it. If they do not… further measures may be necessary.”
Laurel winced. “I, too, hope that it will not come to that. Will it be trial by combat or a melee?”
“Trial by combat; there are no other prisoners at present.”
“What of the rest of her companions?”
“That would confuse the issue and give them the opportunity to band together and try to escape.”
Laurel nodded, conceding that particular point. “Then who will be her executioner?”
“Sunsprite.”
Laurel’s eyes widened. “Good gods, Sunset!”
“She is a proven warrior.”
“She’s Ruby’s cousin!” Laurel exclaimed. “Think of how hard that will be for her! Think of what you’re asking of her; think of how this will test her loyalty.”
“If that is so, then perhaps it is good that I am testing her loyalty in a place where I can deal with the outcome,” Sunset replied. In truth, she rather hoped that Sunsprite would betray her and give her an excuse to kill Sunsprite with a clear conscience. “In any case… in any case…” She did not want to say it. She did not want to confess to Laurel the extent of the agreement that she had made with Tyrian; she did not want to admit having betrayed one of her own. She did not want to see the look of disapproval on Laurel’s face as Sunset fell short of the high expectations that Laurel had of her.
If I know that I’m right, why can I not speak of it?
She turned away. “We will speak more of this later.”
Laurel frowned. “Very well. What of Cinder Fall?”
“She will be given up to Tyrian, to do with as he will,” Sunset declared.
Laurel nodded. “Very well. And the rest of their companions?”
“Killed,” Sunset said. “In… however way I shall devise.”
“Do they have to die?” Laurel asked. “The memory stone-”
“Didn’t stop Cinder from working out that we were her enemy and attacking us,” Sunset pointed out. “Laurel, when have we ever shied away from death?”
“When have we ever sought unnecessary bloodshed?” Laurel replied. “It is one thing to adopt calculated savagery to control savages, but this? Since when have we betrayed those who placed themselves within our power?”
Sunset was silent for a moment. “Our betrayal runs deeper than you know,” she admitted, her voice hoarse.
“What… what do you mean?” Laurel asked, her voice soft and verging upon tremulous. “Sunset, what have you done?”
Sunset turned away from her completely. “The reason Sunsprite must be the one to fight Ruby,” she said, “is that Ruby is not the only Rose that must die in the pit.”
“Gods,” Laurel whispered. “You can’t mean to-”
“Tyrian demands it.”
“Then tell Tyrian to shove it!”
“And what then?” Sunset demanded, rounding on her. “After the satisfaction of defying him, what then? You think that I don’t want to spit in his face, you think that I don’t want to tell him no?”
“I don’t know, do you?”
“This isn’t easy for me!” Sunset yelled. “This is not… it is not with a light heart that I do this, that I swear to you, but it must be done for the sake of Freeport.”
“What is the point of Freeport if we give up those who have submitted themselves to our will merely to buy ourselves the illusion of security?” Laurel asked. “When we came here, we set ourselves the task of civilising these barbarians, of making them more than what they were before-“
“Don’t believe our own self-justifications, Laurel,” Sunset murmured. “We came here for fame and glory and to make of ourselves that which Atlas would not allow us to become.”
“You don’t mean that,” Laurel murmured. “I… I hope that you don’t mean that.”
Sunset was silent for a moment. “Do you remember…? There’s a story that we read when we were young, about the four children who go through a magic wardrobe into a strange land, where they defeat an evil witch and make themselves kings and queens of the place in which they find themselves. Do you remember that story?”
She glanced over her shoulder so that she could see the slight smile playing upon Laurel’s face. “The land where it was always winter, but never the holidays.”
Sunset chuckled. “Indeed. I couldn’t find us a portal to another world – not yet, anyway,” she added, with another short, sharp burst of laughter. “But I could find us a part of the world that had not yet been claimed, a virgin land for us to be queens of.”
“For you to be queen,” Laurel pointed out. “We are your counsellors, but you are still our queen.”
“And yet, I am also still your friend,” Sunset said. “Am I not?”
“I think so, for my part,” Laurel said. “But, as your friend, I feel I should tell you that if you do this, then we are no better than the Fall Forest Clan, carrying out human sacrifices to win the favour of unseen eldritch gods.”
“What if the sacrifices worked?” Sunset asked.
“We didn’t stamp out the practice because it was ineffective but because it was immoral,” Laurel replied. “At least, I believed it so. Why does Sunsprite need to die?”
“Because she has a silver eye, I think.”
“She can’t even use it.”
“I don’t think Tyrian cares about a little detail like that,” Sunset said.
“Have you asked him?”
“No,” Sunset admitted. “But… we cannot defy this power.”
“We haven’t tried.”
“And if we try, then many may die even if we succeed,” Sunset declared. “How can I ask the Summer Fire Clan, or any other, to risk their lives for Sunsprite Rose?”
“Because that’s what it means to be part of a community, isn’t it?” Laurel demanded. “Live together, die together, isn’t that the reason for having a community at all? I thought that we were here to build a better world than the one that we left behind, one where we could learn from what the four kingdoms got right and also what they got wrong, a world we could set on the path to obtaining all the glory and the greatness of Atlas without the snobbery, the racism, the way the rich and the powerful sit upon high and grind down those beneath them who have neither wealth nor power.”
“I live in a tower, Laurel; I was never subtle about who had the power and who had not,” Sunset pointed out.
“But I trusted you to use that power fairly, and for the greater good.”
“The greater good is to give up two lives for the sake of the rest, is it not?” Sunset said. “Else how can it be called greater?”
“How can any great thing involve the sacrifice of one who has done no wrong, who has only served us and our cause with loyalty and valour?”
“If she has so much loyalty, then perhaps she will gladly give her life for Freeport.”
“Then ask her if that is so,” Laurel demanded. “Ask her if she will give up her life.”
“And if she refuses?”
“Then we fight for her as she has fought for us!”
“No!” Sunset yelled. “I will not put everything at risk for the sake of… believe me, I understand where you’re coming from, better than you know. It’s very easy to cry out ‘no sacrifices, ever.’ It’s very stirring to declare that you’ll always find another way, a middle road between the unenviable choices with which the world presents you. A pretty plot, no doubt, but we must make hard choices here, based on thoughts calmly considered, evidence weighed and judged.” She shook her head. “I cannot see a way around this.”
“I do not like this,” Laurel said.
“I don’t ask you to like it, I only ask… are you still with me, Laurel?” Sunset asked. “Are you still with me, even though you hate me?”
“I don’t hate you, Sunset,” Laurel assured her. “I hate your choice, but… I will follow you, as I always have.”
“Thank you,” Sunset whispered. “Thank you, for saying that you don’t hate me.” Because I’m starting to hate myself a little bit right now. “I mean, I wish you would have agreed with me, but… thank you, nonetheless. Will you… have Robyn Hill brought here, please?”
Laurel blinked in surprise. “Of course. I’ll see to it right away.”
“Much obliged,” Sunset said as she turned away from Laurel so that she did not see her go, only heard the door open and close as she took her leave.
Sunset did not remove her mask again; she didn’t know how long or how short a time until Robyn was brought before her, and she didn’t want to be caught out as she nearly had by Laurel’s arrival. And so, she kept on the mask, the mask that concealed her face and all her outward show of feelings with it, and stalked across the room until she stood at the window.
She would have liked to have been on the roof. On this day, above many other days, she would have liked to have gone up to the very top of the tower and watch the sun come up over the horizon. It always cleansed her to witness it; it always filled her with new hope that she did have the strength to do all that she wished.
Perhaps, if she had been able to go up there, it would have reminded her – as Laurel had tried to remind her – that there had been high ideals behind her coming to this land, and not just childish fantasy and naked ambition.
Can my choice not be considered an ideal one?
I know not; I cannot see it so. No one can.
Why not? Why does no one else realise that survival takes precedence over all else?
I have only asked one other person. Others may agree with me: Cherry, Dawn. Perhaps even Robyn may do so; the other Robyn may think differently to the one I know.
Thinking of Robyn brought on thoughts of Equestria, of the other world that lay so tantalisingly close and yet, at the same time, just out of reach. Sunset thought about what she had said to Laurel, about the children’s story they had loved, about the fact that Estmorland had seemed the next best thing to it that she could find. For a moment, an absurd hope even more childish than anything that Tyrian had mocked her for filled Sunset’s mind and soul: to go to Equestria, not to raid, not on a smash and grab looking for magical powers to bring back to Remnant, but to stay there. To leave behind this world and all its perils and its sorrows and dwell in a land of greater peace and prosperity. Would that not be a fine tale: four girls from Remnant who went to another world and became queens over the primitive creatures whom they found there?
Alas, as Sunset was forced to grapple with right now, she did not live in a story, and – aside from the fact that they were ponies and the like – the denizens of Equestria seemed far less primitive than the savages who dwelt about Estmorland. They were numerous, as well-organised as a people dwelling in peace could be, and they had their own rulers – a diarchy of princesses, powerful enough to control both sun and moon – with whose governance they seemed perfectly well-satisfied. Sunset doubted they would take kindly to any attempt by outsiders to impose rule over them.
No, any visit to Equestria would be temporary, to get what she came for and get out again, back to Remnant where – for all its troubles, or perhaps because of them – she thought that the Equestrians would not be eager to follow.
She was of Remnant, and she would stay in Remnant.
And I will do what I must, even though I hate it and myself for doing it.
Gods, will someone not tell me that I do the right thing?
She stood at the window; the early rays of morning spread like rosy fingers over Freeport. Beneath her, yet invisible within their houses, her subjects slept soundly under the protection of the Rangers, confident in the defences erected beyond the walls, confident, what was more, in the rule of their queen, who had built up their town and was making it the centre of a state to reckon with.
Should she break faith with them for Sunsprite’s sake? Should she prize a Rose by any name above all other lives? And what of the clans who also sheltered behind the walls? What right did she have to condemn them all to salve her conscience?
How can I not convince myself when I can reason it all so perfectly?
There was another knock at the door.
“Come,” Sunset commanded, turning to face the door.
Two Rangers dragged in Robyn Hill, holding her by the arms.
“Thank you,” Sunset said. “You may leave us now. Wait outside the door. I will call for you when we are finished.”
“Yes, my Queen.” They bowed and took their leave. The door creaked as it closed behind them.
Robyn stood awkwardly, teetering as though she might fall over at any moment. Still not used to two legs. It was rather amusing, even in a situation like this one.
“Please, sit,” Sunset said, gesturing to the stool.
Robyn sat down on the floor, sitting… like a horse, Sunset realised as she stared at the faunus. Of course she is.
“That’s not actually what I… never mind,” Sunset murmured as she crossed the room and took not the seat that she had been intending to use but rather the stool that she had left for Robyn; it was closer to her guest and let her look down on her with nothing getting in the way.
“It is still strange for me to look at you,” Sunset said.
“Because you knew another version of me?” Robyn asked.
“Knew her, served her,” Sunset agreed. “As you knew the other me, I think.”
Robyn was quiet a moment. “A little. Enough that I regret what you did to her.”
“Did you like her?” Sunset asked.
“No,” she admitted. “When I knew her, she was a pompous, self-important little madam who liked to strut around the palace as though she owned it. I never understood what Princess Celestia saw in her, why she was teaching someone who was only going to misuse the lessons she was interested in and forget the ones that meant nothing to her. I didn’t understand how she couldn’t see… but nobody deserves to have their body stolen from them.”
“Don’t be so quick to say so,” Sunset urged. “There are a great many truly wicked people in the world.”
“Then deal with their wickedness,” Robyn replied. “Punish them, but don’t do what you’ve done to Sunset; especially since you weren’t doing it because you thought she was especially deserving.”
“You’re wrong about that,” Sunset insisted. “I did it, in part, because she was dangerous. The Sunset that you knew may have been arrogant, egotistical, but in this world, she became far worse, a harbinger of death and destruction, one who brought peril wherever she went.”
“Intentionally?”
“Does that matter?” Sunset asked. “The dead as a result are just as dead; the destruction in consequence is just as real.”
“It matters because one deserves condemnation and the other pity,” Robyn murmured.
Sunset chuckled. “Your other self might not be so generous.”
Robyn was quiet a moment. “Who is she?”
“A freedom fighter,” Sunset explained. “A rebel. Idealistic, and in her idealism, rather foolish.”
“A rebel?” Robyn murmured. “That doesn’t really sound like me.”
“No, because you’re a pillar of authority, aren’t you?” Sunset asked. “Captain of the Royal Guard. Mayor of a town. Of course, if she were here, the other Robyn would say that that is because you have the advantage of living under the rule of a just and noble princess and not an unprincipled tyrant. Or are there those who would say the same of your princess, and you simply happen to not be amongst them?”
“Perhaps there would be, although I know them not,” Robyn replied. “Are there any who would defend whomever my other self calls tyrant?”
“Undoubtedly, and very vociferously too,” Sunset replied. “I would not be amongst their number, however.”
“Is that why you are here and not… wherever the other me is?”
“I am here because my homeland was too small a space for my ambitions,” Sunset said. “I came here because I needed somewhere I could spread my wings and soar. I came here on a lark, because a kind of madness took me. I came here because I thought it might be fun. I came here for a whole host of reasons, some noble and others less so. I came here… at some point, our reasons stop mattering, don’t you agree? It comes to a point where we are where we are, and we must accommodate it and do what we can in the circumstances.”
“I suppose so,” Robyn said softly. “I’m wondering what I’m doing in these particular circumstances.”
“I want to talk to you,” Sunset replied. “As an outsider, you have a… unique perspective to offer me.”
“I might have, but it doesn’t mean that I want to offer it to my captor.”
“I have not treated you as harshly as I could,” Sunset informed her.
“No, you’re just going to invade my home and pillage it,” Robyn said. “Or try to.”
“Dawn tells me that your home is soft, comfortable,” Sunset said. “She tells me that peace has made your people indolent and helpless.”
“Equestria is yet defended,” Robyn declared.
“By what?” Sunset asked. “The Power of Friendship?”
“A power that has seen off greater powers than you,” Robyn declared.
“I do not doubt it,” Sunset acknowledged. “That is why I do not intend to stay, much as the notion of conquest appeals to my inner child. You are fortunate, to live in such a world as I understand you do,” she added. “A… childish world.”
“'Childish'?”
“A world where the logic of children still applies,” Sunset explained. “A world where the things that children believe in – friends, loyalty, laughter, kindness – can still save you.”
“You say that as though it is not so in this world.”
“It isn’t, believe me,” Sunset muttered. “Would that it were, then…”
Robyn waited for her to continue. “Then what?”
Sunset was silent a moment. “Have you ever had to choose whether to sacrifice a life for the sake of many others?”
“No,” Robyn said.
“Has it ever happened?”
“It may have; I cannot say for certain, one way or the other,” Robyn admitted. “But, as a rule, although we are ready to sacrifice ourselves, we prefer not, and we do not take upon ourselves the right to sacrifice others.”
“How very fortunate you are to live in a world where such ideals are possible.”
“Why am I here?” Robyn demanded. “What do you want of me, Queen Sunset; what is the point of all this?” Her eyes narrowed. “Who must you sacrifice?”
Sunset chuckled. “You are as clever as your alternate. As you say, I must make a sacrifice, but my conscience revolts against it.”
“Considering some of the things your conscience will tolerate, I am mildly amazed to hear that,” Robyn muttered dryly.
“You have a glib tongue for a prisoner.”
“I thought you wanted me to speak freely?”
Sunset was silent for a moment. “The sacrifice has served me loyally and without complaint. There is also her cousin, who is not near my conscience save that she put her trust in me. And yet, if I refuse, the whole of Freeport stands imperilled. Are you telling me that, in your world, you would not make that trade?”
Robyn did not reply immediately. It was strange to look at her, familiar and not, the fact that Sunset knew distorted by those faunus features. “In Equestria,” she said, “we are fortunate, in recent years, to have a hero named Twilight Sparkle, in whom courage and wisdom are combined with kindness and charity.” She smiled. “I knew her briefly; actually, to say I knew her overstates it. Her brother was my protégé; I chose him to be my successor as captain when I retired-”
“You’re very young to retire, if I may say,” Sunset interjected.
“We don’t have very many grizzled veterans in the Royal Guard; it’s a game for the young,” Robyn explained. “It was time to hand off that particular baton and find some new way of making Equestria an even better place, as we all seek to do.”
“Do you? I find that hard to believe,” Sunset replied. “I mean, I thought that it was strange, at first: two different worlds, quite distinct in so many ways, and yet, the people are the same, but then I realised why.”
“Go on,” Robyn said.
“Because people are always the same.”
Robyn snorted. “Perhaps, but we’re also products of our different worlds, don’t you think?”
“To an extent, true,” Sunset conceded. “You grew up in a world ruled by just authority, so you become someone whom your alternate – who did not – would call a bootlicker.”
“We don’t wear boots,” Robyn pointed out. “Hooflicker, perhaps.”
Sunset shook her head. “You were talking about Twilight Sparkle.”
“Ah, yes,” Robyn murmured. “I didn’t know her, but I observed her early years in the palace with Princess Celestia. Bright, and the princess seemed to enjoy her company, but I wouldn’t have pointed her out and said ‘here is somepony who will become a hero.’ And yet, here we are. Perhaps I’m just a poor judge of character. The point is that we are blessed in Equestria to have a hero; if such grave danger as you now face threatened us, doubtless, we would trust in her and her companions to redeem us from it.”
“No doubt,” Sunset agreed. “And yet… we are not so fortunate, and being unfortunate, we must rely upon cold reason.”
“Were you hoping I would give you absolution?”
“I was hoping you would understand.”
“I do,” Robyn said.
“Do you? How can you, coming from where you do?”
“Because although I have never been a sovereign, I have served one,” Robyn declared. “There is a tale… it does not mirror your situation, but nevertheless… Princess Celestia has a younger sister, Princess Luna, who one thousand years ago rebelled against her elder sister and sought to cover Equestria in night eternal. When Princess Celestia could not reason with her younger sister, she was forced to banish her, sealing her magically within the moon for a thousand years until Twilight Sparkle and her friends rescued and redeemed her. It broke her heart, and that heart remained quietly broken for all the years that passed.” Robyn paused. “One of the most valuable lessons I was taught by my predecessor, one of the lessons I taught to Shining Armour, was how to seem not to notice the princess’ sadness. She tried to keep it to herself, but sometimes, it would slip out, the cracks would show, and when they did, our job was to ignore it. Her Highness did not want our pity, and we had no wish to embarrass her by drawing attention to her sorrow. She made a sacrifice for the good of Equestria, and then she had to live with it for the next millennium. So I suppose the question is: can you live with it?”
Sunset’s only response was to call out, “Guards!” As they entered the room, she said, more softly, “Thank you for speaking with me. Take the prisoner back to her cell.”
She stared, without seeing, as her commands were carried out. As she retreated into her own thoughts, she barely noticed that Robyn wasn’t there any more.
Can I live with it?
I don’t know, I’ve never had to live with anything like this before.
She had scarcely had to live with anything at all before. That was the beauty of the memory stone: if she had troubles, she could simply use it to erase all memory of her or it or anything she wished and move on.
She considered – and not for the first time – using it on Tyrian, but it was possible that he had already communicated with Salem in some way and, with no idea of who or what she was, Sunset doubted her ability to use the magic upon her, if it would even affect an immortal.
She feared that, if she attempted such trickery, the servants of Salem would keep coming, one after another, until Freeport burned.
Which brought her back to living with it.
Could she live with it?
This Princess Celestia banished her own sister… but her sister was a rebel, and even that was little consolation.
Sunsprite is not a rebel… but let’s be honest, it’s not like I think of her as a sister or anything.
If I do this, will I be a false queen or a true one? A queen defends her people, but do I break that charge by betraying Sunsprite or keep it by the reason for which I commit the betrayal?
The door opened again, without so much as a knock upon it. Sunset rose to her feet, and as she rose, so too her voice rose in anger, “How dare you-?” She stopped, the words caught in her throat because it was her own face staring back at her. Or rather, it was the face of Sunset Shimmer, the other Sunset Shimmer, the Sunset with a tail and pony ears, stepping lightly through the doorway.
“Dawn?” Sunset asked. “Dawny, you… you’re up?”
Dawn smiled. “I’m back.”
Sunset stared at her for a moment, before a shout of exultation erupted from her mask and, heedless of all queenly dignity, she rushed across the room, robes flying around her, to grab Dawn around the shoulders and pull her into an embrace.
“Dawny!” she cried. “You’re awake! You’re awake and…” She pulled away. “Did you get what you came for?”
Dawn grinned and held up one hand. A green light, emerald in shade, surrounded her skin. Sunset looked around in time to see the stool on which she been sitting rise into the air, surrounded by a similar green light.
“Nice,” she said. “How many more tricks like that do you have up your sleeve now?”
“I’m working through a few,” Dawn replied.
“Did the original owner of this body give you any trouble?”
Dawn’s face fell. She pulled away from Sunset, walking past her towards the window. “Not really,” she murmured. “Not much, after…”
Sunset let the silence carry on for just a little while. “What did you do?”
“I… I persuaded her to…” Dawn trailed off. “You know… I know that you said that she was dangerous, and I can see why, but… all the same… I kind of like her. She’s got… I don’t know how to say it, but she follows through. Resolve might be the right word. Going through her memories, she sticks to her guns, and she follows through… and comes through, for the people who need her.” She looked around. “She’s a bit like you, that way.” Dawn snorted. “Makes sense, since she kind of is you; you’ve both got that same spirit, that same resolve, if that’s the right word. Only lately… that resolve has been slipping from her.”
She’s not the only one, Sunset thought. She said nothing. She would let Dawny say what needed to be said.
“And I had to break that,” Dawn continued, her tone melancholy. “It wasn’t hard, because it was halfway to shattered already but… I’ve never minded going into someone’s head before, but taking it over… convincing someone I kind of like to kill themselves, that… I hate that we need this.”
“You convinced her to kill herself?”
“She stopped fighting,” Dawn explained. “She’s still in there now, but… she’ll die, because I’m in the driver’s seat, and there’s no room for passengers. And she was okay with that. She even gave me the memories I needed. Honestly, I think that she was just done, and glad to be done. These people around her, they treat her like a dog or a mule. She does everything for them, always there when they need it and in return… I don’t know if it’s the true or her appalling lack of self-esteem, but they don’t even seem to like her very much. Nobody gives a damn about her, not even herself.”
“Don’t take it personally,” Sunset said.
“Sorry,” Dawn replied quickly. “It’s just… emotional bleedthrough, you know? What she feels, I feel now.”
“And she feels unappreciated?”
“Not that she’d like to admit, I think.”
“I know that feeling too,” Sunset said. “But you can use her magic now?”
Dawn nodded. “I’m not an expert yet, though.”
“I don’t suppose you already know how to destroy a whole army of grimm?”
“I’m afraid not; I think that’ll take me a while.”
“Pity.”
“Obviously, but…” Dawn’s stolen eyes narrowed. “Has something happened?”
“An envoy from Salem has found us while you slept.”
Dawn’s breath halted for a moment. “Found us or found them?”
“Does it matter?” Sunset asked. “He’s here now, and with an army of grimm in waiting if he decides to make use of them.”
“Wipe his memory.”
“I can’t be sure it would make any difference,” Sunset said.
“Damn,” Dawn muttered. “What does he want?”
“He wants… he wants…”
“The more you hesitate, the more nervous I get.”
“He wants Ruby Rose dead, and Sunsprite too,” Sunset said quickly, the words clattering out of her mouth. “And he wants Cinder Fall to take back with him to his mistress for chastisement.”
“Sunsprite?” Dawn repeated. “Sunsprite and her cousin? Is this because of their silver eyes?”
“Most likely.”
Dawn winced. “And have you… are they… what… what’s going on?”
“Ruby is in the dungeons with Cinder, Sunsprite doesn’t know the truth, and men are being mustered to imprison the rest of Sunset’s companions.”
Dawn’s head dropped, her fiery hair – the same hair as Sunset, now – fell down all around her face. “Sunset,” she murmured. “I promised the other you that Ruby would be safe here with us, and that her companions would be allowed to go on unmolested.”
“She’s not exactly around to hold you to your word, is she?”
“Damn it, Sunset!” Dawn snapped. “I gave her my word!”
“And I gave Ruby mine!” Sunset shouted. “But things change. Choices narrow. There are no good options here, but this… this is the least bad option.”
“Is it?” Dawn asked.
“You sound like Laurel.”
“If we’re both saying it, maybe you should listen.”
“What would you have me do?” Sunset demanded. “You’ve said it yourself: your command of the magic isn’t complete enough to keep us all safe.”
“No, but… that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve made me a liar.”
“I’m already a false lord and a betrayer; what’s a liar on top of that?” Sunset murmured. “I didn’t… it was not my intent, but… I don’t like this any more than you do, but… it must be done, one life for many.”
“The other you trusted me.”
“The other me would burn down all of Freeport to protect her precious Ruby; is that right?” Sunset asked. “Is she a better person than I am? Is she nobler, kinder?”
“You don’t want me to answer that.”
“Oh, I think I do,” Sunset replied. “Especially now.”
Dawn looked away. Her equine ears wilted atop her head. “I fear that… she has more heart than you do. She uses it to think with more than you do.”
“And that’s better?”
“She would never do what you propose to do.”
“Oh, trust me, I know exactly what she would do in my position,” Sunset replied. “So which of us do you agree with?”
Dawn did not reply. Nor did she raise her head. Eventually, her voice came, a little disconsolate. “With my head, and not Sunset’s heart, you are making the right choice,” she admitted. “But I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it; nobody likes it,” Sunset said. “We simply have to live with it.”
And she could live with it.
She could.
She would.
She was the Queen of Freeport, and she would do whatever it took. She would bear any burden. Shoulder any sin.
Make any sacrifice.
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If have to convince yourself this badly that you’re doing the right thing....you’re doing the wrong thing.
10673937
She not try to convince she doing the right thing but she try to convince she doing the necessary thing
Sunset and Sunset (and a lot of other characters) in this story are looking at this kind of thing as a sort of "Save friends/save Freeport" choice and that's their metric of right and wrong, but I think they're forgetting the actual biggest issue:
Salem is an existential threat to the world. Helping her achieve her objectives is wrong. Whether it's that you chose not to sacrifice your friends, or chose not to start a war you can't win, Salem should not be helped. Sometimes, you need to fight an evil no matter the cost.
As a historical example, the Polish people were hosed in WWII. They were caught between the Soviets and the Nazis, and they knew that without help they were screwed. Yet even when it became apparent they would lose, they fought on. Even when their country was conquered, they never surrendered. The Home Army (resistance) and the Polish-Army-in-Exile would fight until the war's end. Even when it became clear that the Allies were going to sell them to the Soviets post-war, the Poles still fought the Nazis because the Nazis had to be fought. They helped liberate Italy, the Low Countries, and France, even when it became clear their own country would not be liberated. After the war, many Home Army men and women were murdered by the Soviets. Most of the Army-in-Exile would live out the rest of their lives in exile. But they fought till the end because it was the right thing to do. Because some evils must be met with a sword, even if you and your comrades have no hope of victory.
As a fictional example, Rohan in Lord of the Rings could have sided with Mordor to save their own lives. But Mordor, they knew, was an existential threat to all Free Peoples. So they fought. Knowing full well that, even if by some miracle they defeated Mordor, their own people may well be wiped out in the process. Theoden King led thousands of his men to certain death because, even if Rohan would die, even if the Free Peoples would die, it was better to die than to bow to the evil of Mordor. And, maybe, just maybe, some would survive to sing of the victorious dead.
Sunset made the wrong call in the tunnel. 'Queen' Sunset is making the wrong call now. Their reasons are understandable, even logical to a degree, but the logic is ultimately flawed because they forget the ultimate nature of the threat - Salem is the end of the world. She is an evil that can't be compromised with or endured without dying to all things good. So she must be fought, even if the fight is doomed.
10673992
It would say that there is a big difference between both cases. Sunset chose her friends over the city, but she still stayed and fought the Grimm that was threatening the city because she is not an idiot and she understands that the Grimm have to be stopped anyway. Caring more about the people you know that a "greater good" is not inherently wrong, it takes quite an specific mindset for a person to do so, but the way she decided to act upon her priorities was definitely a mayor screwup.
R!Sunset, on the other hand, its just rolling over and hoping that she is spared. She is doing nothing to actually decrease the threat to her city, and may as well end up becoming Salem pawn officially with all that entrails if she is just going to obey her every whim in hope of not being killed.
... I can see three shatter points
the exicution duel, now, and when someone uses the regalia.
"Can I live with it?" I am hearing echoes of Captain Sisko in this from R!Sunset...
Spoilers for Star Trek DS9:
But yeah, this chapter was very interesting. And what will Dawn do? What will our Sunset do? Hopefully some of this leaks through and she realizes what is going on... But yeah, R!Sunset is jumping through a lot of mental hoops to make this work. And I am not sure she can keep it up. But it may be too late to stop it from happening.
10674018
You missed at least two other shatter point - when Dawn goes to sleep next time (for at least two different reasons) and during invasion to Equestria.
How is she not considering that Salem wants more and more till she herself becomes a puppet?
Neville Chamberlain 2.0?
10674061
Good point.
10674061
Meh, that "invasion" to Equestria is going to be done by a bunch of ponies who can barely walk and can't even use any of the abilities any pony can do. Against dragon territory.
At most they will have some burned husks to show for, and organizing and executing the entire fiasco will take far longer that what Sunset has before she dies. Not even counting that in this chapter R!Sunset says that she still has not found a portal to another world, meaning that she isn't even sure of the location Robyn came.
I think you can easily discard that point.
And now the Real Sunset should know that Ruby is going to die if she does nothing. Now, we shall see if she is the Sunset I believe her to be.
Come on, Luna! Where are you?
This characterization regarding Ruby and R!Sunset is something I anticipated from the very beginning. Getting thrown into the arena, getting painted as a traitor to the Sun Queen and the city Ruby pledged her support to? This will play a major role in how Ruby regards Sunset (of SAPR), once she gets her memories back. A powerful example to remind Ruby of what Sunset is not, as this version not only shows how far her own Sunset has come as a person but also exercises Ruby's own beliefs about sacrifice in ways she never wanted. Because this form of 'sacrifice' demands turning your back on those you love.
Not to mention the irony of how the Memory Stone taking away her irrational anger towards Sunset has actually made Ruby realize that there's actually no one to blame for Yang's loss.
I am also truly enjoying the way Equestrian Robyn Hill contributes to the story!
I'm especially looking forward to her reaction when she finds out that Sunset has ascended to alicornhood. She alone knows Sunset from before Beacon and before Remnant when Sunset was at her worst, and thus what she used to be. And as the former Captain of the Royal Guard, Robyn also is long instilled with a strong sense of duty and devotion to the royal alicorns of Equestria. She alone will understand the full implications of what Sunset becoming an alicorn means. All in all, Equestrian Robyn Hill will act as a strong role in advocating how far Sunset has come.
10674014
This is something I keep getting annoyed that everyone in-story seems to've forgotten. Yes, she opened up a very dangerous chink in the city's armor. But then they gave their all to plug that gap. Had they failed - which they very nearly did - it'd be a different story (and a much shorter one). She didn't exactly blow the hole and run off with her team like everyone seems to accuse her.
Ruby and Sunset herself I can get overlooking this. Ruby because she was lied to about it, and Sunset because nothing'll get in the way of some good self-flagilation!
10674195
Actually most of the ones who truly blame Sunset do it either from ignorance (the population in general, who couldn't give a rat's ass about her reason, she endangered them all) or have some personal reasons to blame Sunset (Rainbow is reflecting her own shame into Sunset and while I don't remember if we get explicit answer about how Ciel or Ren think about, but Ciel is also in the "throw yourself to the wolves for your duty" camp and Ren knows exactly how BAD it could have gotten).
The rest of the cast (Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Jaune, Tai, probably Lady Nikos) admit that she screwed up, but they are much more sympathetic with her and Yang even goes as close as admitting that she would do the same given the situation.
Even in this chapter, R!Sunset is talking out of her ass (unsurprisingly), but Dawn herself is telling R!Sunset that her pony counterpart is a better person and is crawling into the "understandable acceptance" camp. Forced empathy or not, knowing exactly what happened makes a big difference.
Out, damned spot; out, I say.
10674254
Plus, there is also the fact that Vale is repeatedly being publicly shown to be hopeless in terms of protecting itself and handling their own internal security affairs without heavy Atlesian support. And SAPR has shown how inept and complacent Vale's politicians have become since they and the people have been riding on the coattails of their predecessors' victory (and personal family reputation and wealth like Cardin's family) in the Great War.
Ozpin said it best, almost everyone one from the Great War generation is dead while the few that are still alive are WAY too old to mean anything. Vale's only got the generations born post-war and have only their predecessors' Great War reputations to feed on to inflate their own egos and self-worth. And it's getting repeatedly beaten and humiliated in public since SAPR's start.
Sunset became the convenient scapegoat for Vale to dumb everyone's blame and faults onto, regardless of the other facts and their own failures for allowing it to happen in the first place. Heck the prison guard and that former bookshop owner at Patch also showed how willingly ignorant the people of Vale are with the details.
10674254
Well Ren was pretty mad. Probably because what happend to his home town.
They are but if so, it doesn't exactly show up or help that much. No one is exactly eager to sympathize with Sunset or try to understand it had taken a toll on her too, and she's in pain. With Jaune and Pyhrra it's rather a case they're not prone to hatred, Tai and Yang're just happy Ruby was OK. Same thing with Twilight and Dash. Blake, well she's rather in no position to judge.
But even people on 'her side' haven't tried to actually understand in what kind of situation Sunset had found herself. Honestly, people in this story general lack in empathy. Even Princess doesn't try to help Sunset get through the hard time. Very un-MLP, if you ask me.
10675436
And what exactly would you consider as being sympathizing?
Pyrrha, Jaune and Yang don't think she should be a prisoner. Blake still feels deep inside that SHE should be a prisoner, so she prefers to avoid commenting on Sunset actions, even if it's obvious that she think that if she could have another chance, then Sunset should too.
No-one is going to tell Sunset that she did the right thing because she didn't, it was a total screwup, but also all of her friends, with the exception of Ruby who has her own reasons to resent Sunset, don't want her to suffer like this. And princess Twilight HAS shown a lot of empathy towards Sunset, considering that she was in a similar situation and all that.
Sunset harshest critic right now is Sunset herself, and she is deflecting the attempts of help that but Cinder and Twilight are giving her. Even Tai and Carding are giving her encouragement, that things are not as horrible for her as she thinks. But Sunset has decided to concentrate and even strengthen Ruby resentment towards her, stepping into emotional self-flagellation.
Now, it is true that the rest of the party isn't helping her, but the rest of the party are a bunch of criminals that couldn't care less about Sunset mental wellbeing, so don't expect miracles from that side.
10675452
Would consider telling her that she was in a tight spot and she did what she could all things consider. Everyone think what she did was horrible but no one even think that they might have done the same. Most of her friends don't want to see her suffer but they're not that eager to cheer her up, when they were together. Twilight's attempts feel half-hearted and Tai would rather tell her, Ruby will 'forgive' her than talk with Ruby how she treats Sunset. Cinder tries but she's green at it. How much is spent on people saying Sunset screwed up and anything else?
And here's the part I would expect miracles. We talking about Post-ascension Sunset. Big part of earning that is to grow and mature emotionally. If she hadn't reached that yet, was she really worth it? This amount of 'emotional self-flagellation' after ascension? Highly unlikely.
10675474
Do you remember Twilight "what the hell am I even worth" Sparkle after ascencion? Yeah, becoming an Alicorn doesn't mean that you have a handle of your personal issues, it just mean that you cristalized your potential surrounding a specific virtue, and Sunset in particular doesn't look like she is even aware what virtue is she the champion of.
Just like how you can get a cutie mark without actually understanding what it means, you can ascend without understanding why you did.
I can see why it looks like Sunset friends are not doing enough to perk her up, but from my experience in similar situations, both in the giving and receiving sides, you have to be very careful in the way you deal with such issues. Lack of self-steem is a delicate issue, you cannot control the way someone feels about themselves and trying to push it can have terrible consecuences. Sunset has been adamant in refuting any attempt at consolation, and other than leaving the option of talking open (which both Cinder and Twilight have done) there is no much more you can do.
Tai SHOULD be dealing with Ruby current mental situation, but he has been failing miserably on that front for 15 years, I don't expect him to start doing it now.
10675661
No, it doesn't. The moments of weakness still happen - S4 premiere, Twilight breaking down after The School being closed, etc. But those are just short bounds that can be stopped by uplifting talk with a friend. It shows how far she's gone and how she's matured. It sounds simple and degrading. In real life it wouldn't be so simple and won't in this type of story. But turning cat around and showing months worth of time of self-torture is not right either. Setting a rusted nail on every step is not right.
This is MLP/EQG crossover. People love it for it's uplifting message and bright character types. That there are good people can work against odds and can find friends in others. Real ones that will support someone in need. That people can learn from their mistakes. So far the spirit of this story is more like a very, vey cynical version of RWBY a.k.a things are really bleak even compared to the current season.
Take Tai for an example. After Vale, he was devastated. He had the right to that. He thought his daughter was dead. Realistic. But also very cynical. His other daughter lost a sister and had taken care of HIM. Something more in MLP spirit would be that he has been through this. He's hurting but also his child too, so he should be there for her. That's uplifting and shows her has learned from the last time.
If there were two ways to deal with a problem/issue or whatever the choice would land on the darker one.
10675838
Events are much more important that time in helping with any mental issue. Twilight is more capable of bouncing back with a pep talk because her own insecurities are much more dependent on what others see in her, and as time goes on the pep talks become less and less necessary because she is learning to believe in herself and yada yada yada.
Sunset personal development has NOT been about improving her sense of worth. It actually has been the complete opposite, deflating her hubris so she can show more empathy towards others. And in the empathic aspect, she has shown consistent growth. She has learned to care about others, not only about her friends but also about people in general, and even at her lowest she is still keeping those lessons to heart.
Her issue right now is completely different, it is to learn to forgive herself and that is something that she hasn't learn how to do yet. Time is passing and she is still going at it because the events that have happened have not actually affected that part of her. She still has this lesson to learn and the people close to her are unable to teach it to her, since the only one who could possibly help her deal with this is Ruby and she is not in the state of mind to do so.
Her best shot right now is to finally find Ozpin, as the shock of finding that he doesn't blame her for what happened and still cares about her even when she is certain that he hates her should be enough to get her out of her funk.
I would say that a functional Tai that actually follows her daughter to ensure her safety, even if he is still completely hands off in the emotional department, is a damn positive take on him, considering his canonical uselessness as a parent. Yang had to take care of him and Ruby since she was like 5 I think and outside of giving Yang a pep talk in canon he hasn't shown any form of responsible parenting at all.
He is so bad at it you could actually make the argument that RAVEN of all people is a better parent that him, since for all the physical and emotional abuse that she throws at Yang she at least is self-sufficient, interested in knowing what her daughter is doing and has the excuse of being born and raised in a bandit culture.
10676070
There are events. Compared to all the talking that feels like more than half is just a filler. Very forgettable filler. Lots of philosophy and as it is with it, it goes nowhere. Show, don't tell.
This doesn't look like one to teach her that. Not even when she was in the right state of mind as you say. And it's not just her. We're back to the last point, when it comes to the mental support everyone is as good at it as Tai - The SAPR one, not the RWBY one. In his "pep talk" he had shown more competency than here. Tagging along was the right choice, but he could have done more than that and I'll leave it like this. People that should be able to help didn't garner to her hen she needed that or even meet to talk with her. From who to learn caring about others if they turn back on her? And most of the time her growth consistent on screwing-up and being chewed up, piece by piece like she couldn't understand basic human relatioships. Like she couldn't think on ligical level about consequences.
I would take fewer chapters any day if it means better character and dialogue managment. It's almost 300 chapter...
And I doubt Ozpin would be that much of help. He doesn't exactly have the best record of dealing with people. If anything Oscar would be bigger help just for being a new person with a fresh look at her. Same was with Yona. But honestly, right now with her self-doubt she's on her own. Like in the Rainbow Rock but... no one can't get a personal win or act reasonably or get a moment clear mind. It's always spiral down.
10676229
Why would Oscar opinion, someone she doesn't know, would be important to get Sunset out of her self-loathing? Sunset knows she screwed up, and is felling particularly guilty about 3 people she feels she betrayed and are justified to hate her, Ruby, Ozpin and Rainbow (as handily reminded by Sunset forced mental dive). You can have every single character they find praise Sunset and it wont matter because it's those 3 reactions the one she feels guilty about.
Rainbow is not around and wouldn't be willing to forgive her anyway, Ruby is right here but she is not fine enough to start mending bridges. On the other hand Ozpin is someone they should be finding relatively soon (they are looking for him after all) and he would be perfectly willing to forgive Sunset, mainly because he is blaming himself instead.
And what Tai did in canon is not really comparable to what he is doing here. In canon he did a single pep talk to Yang, the daughter that thinks the most like him and the one he understands the most, and left it at that. A one time effort that luckily was effective.
In this story he is in a FAR worse mental state, yet he decided to come anyway, something that demands constant effort. And this time it's Ruby, who is much more similar to Summer than to him, and from what little we know about their home life he always let Summer take the lead, just like what he is doing now with Ruby.
10674014
I agree that Sunset had some better justification than R!Sunset, in that she figured she and her team (plus air support) could handle it. Still wrong, still a bad call, but understandable give that she's essentially a green 18-year-old second lieutenant with combat experience but without any training in how to apply threat assessment in a populated area. I've always thought that the problem of the Huntsmen Academies isn't so much the age of the students (18, even 17, is a standard enlistment and OCS age in many countries, including the US), but that they don't have enough threat assessment and civilian interaction training.
10676266
Well, we also see like 3 classes of the first years. We have no idea if they actually teach those things at the academies. I mean, apparently they don't get much better as fighters since the first years of Beacon can outshine the 4th years, so I suppose they are being taught something else in all that time.
This chapter was well worth the wait for one primary reason: This chapter got me to care for the human Sunset. Do I agree with her? Hell no, but I understand her, and that makes all the difference. She is caught between a rock and a hard place and is beginning to question the very essence of who she is and what she is doing. I understand her struggles, her questions and empathize with her situation if not with her decision. This is the chapter/fleshing out this Sunset was crying out for and it was well worth the wait.
I still think that Sunset’s destroying the train controls was the right move at the time. Sure, she risked opening a breach into the city, but in exchange for that risk she saved two teams of very skilled huntsman, and fifty Faunus. She had every reason to believe that all the might of Atlas and Beacon Academy would be there waiting for them. And in the end she was right. She saved many lives at the cost of none.
If she’d stopped the train both teams and all the surviving Faunus would have died. Sure, someone mentions later in prison “oh, didn’t you know about the escape tunnels...” but she didn’t. More than that she’d been informed very specifically that there would be no way out past a certain point.
She saved lives... people who have gone on to save thousands more since. Without Pyrrha, Ruby, Penny and herself, Vale would have surely fallen under Salem’s attack. So in the end, she saved all of Vale.
Princess Twilight Sparkle herself made a very similar choice (as she points out to Sunset) when she chose to give Tirek all of the Alicorn magic to save her friends. She only saved 6 lives with that sacrifice... and risked the entire world. But nobody is telling her she was wrong to do so.
Add in that Sunset had been in Beacon for less than a full year, and was suddenly expected to be responsible for making decisions about every life in Vale? Perhaps a fully fledged Huntress, having passed all their qualifications and become licensed after graduating should be held to a higher standard... but jailing a student for a mistake that saved lives and cost none?
Remnant is truly a harsh and unforgiving world. Certainly we can see why. It’s people are on the brink of extinction at all times. Huntsmen and Huntresses are often all that stands between their world and destruction. But I think the justice system failed in Sunset’s case.
And again... I can see why. Vale needed a scapegoat. They made her out to be a White Fang terrorist and threw the book at her. Her throwing herself under the bus helped pull some of the attention away from the suspicions about Penny.
And Sunset herself threw herself onto her metaphorical sword... although, again, to my mind, unnecessarily. She could have had a good lawyer. Ozpin didn’t have to do it... she could have just had a lawyer defend her. Get the truth out there. Having everyone think that a White Fang terrorist infiltrated Beacon and nearly destroyed the city helps nobody!
“She was a first year student in over her head”. “She didn’t want to let all her friends die” “Nobody died and she saved two teams of hunters and 50 other people besides!” They could have said all of these things in her defense... and they’d all be true.
Ah well. It’s easy to see why she didn’t do that. But even now, it’s still painful.
10677815
Maybe, but it could also be related to the genuine need of them working (during the fight) and fear of failing (when showing off) that made her successful use of Old Remnant magic erratic?
Trixie using them to show off might have some lingering personal fears but when fighting the Grimm and helping the survivors, her fears were forgotten or pushed aside by her desire to help the people and fight the Grimm. And that happened often enough for Starlight to really believe it's magic.
Btw, is anyone else being reminded of DC Comics' Zatanna character from Trixie's portrayal in this Tsunami chapter?
10680842
Bon-Bon being racist doesn't necessarily mean she was originally responsible for Anon-A-Miss
So everyone hates rSunset, because of her most recent acts, but I'm curious what would you do in her shoes. (I know that I'm no leader and wouldn't be directly in charge, but as an adviser I would likely be leaning in the direction of killing Ruby and Sunsprite)
10681323
Besides any moral considerations, what R!Sunset is doing is really, REALLY dumb because she is abdicating towards an enemy that wants you dead anyway. Even being unaware of Salem plans, the simple fact that she is the eternal ruler of the Grimm and the Grimm have been killing humans everywhere all the time shows that you are at best gaining some time by weakening your position.
R!Sunset had multiple options from the beginning, and while she screwed herself by taking over Sunset (another really stupid idea) she could still attempt to reverse course and ally with Sunset team (they have a better chance of leaving things be that Salem is), fight against the Grimm until the city is not worth the effort anymore or attempt a retreat towards the ocean or even to Equestria, if she knows where the portal actually is.
Any of those options give her a chance of a better situation that her current "get bleed off by Salem until you are dry" plan.
10681345
So you are saying you would fight?
10680830
We haven't yet... it's just an assumption due to Bonbon having the technological/security skills to actually do so without being caught in the process.
10681392
Obviously my first option would have been to let Sunset pass while acting as if I didn't knew anything, but since R!Sunset fucked that up then I would prepare for a fight while checking evacuation methods.
R!Sunset actions are single handedly giving Salem her victory over all of Remnant, since she has not only sabotaged the fight against her, she is also handing her the memory stone in a silver platter, as Salem has more than enough information to figure out it's existence and more than enough motivation to demand it too (the memory stone is comparable to the rest of the relics, if not better simply because it doesn't have absurd drawbacks. And it is still a powerful but unremarkable magical item in Equestria).
And what is R!Sunset going to do there? Is she going to fight NOW that she has already lost part of her ability to defend the city without even touching Salem resources? She is not doing this for the greater good, Salem just broke her resolve by her mere existence and now R!Sunset is just covering her head and hoping she is spared.
10682064
Pyrrha
Sunset
Yang
Weiss
Nora
Blake
Dove
Ruby
Bon Bon
Flash
Cardin
Ren
Russel
Jaune
Sky
Lyra
10682088
Wow, my first reaction was "Holly hell, how can Ruby be so low", but then I noticed that it was mostly because the top half is seriously stacked.
Ruby is too much of a glass cannon so she has some serious issues in 1 vs 1, specially with her on-your-face fighting style, but still, Dove beating her is a shock.
10682383
There are a couple of debatable placements there and Ruby vis a vis Dove is one (Bon Bon vis a vis Flash is another); I think the biggest part of it is that I really don't rate Crescent Rose as weapon for fighting other people; it has its uses against grimm, but I just think its oversized as a weapon for antipersonnel combat.
10682392
Well, I would say that the main reason why it is so surprising is because we really don't have any idea how strong Dove actually is.
I agree with you that Ruby is geared towards killing Grimm with frightening speed, not fighting other humans, and so it is completely believable that she would lose against most of the cast, who are either better rounded or just straight better fighters, and we have seen multiple examples of that both in canon and in story.
But Dove is an special case as he might as well not exist in canon. RWBY tendency to show a world of difference in battle ability between named and filler characters leaves him with the ghost of being an irrelevant fighter, and while the story has done a lot to improve his characterization (mainly by giving him one), it hasn't done much to prove his fighting competence.
10682435
Well, don't use this as a reason to complain about inconsistencies in the storytelling or anything, it's not set in stone and I wouldn't have written it down if I hadn't been asked to. I would say that the top bit - from Pyrrha down to Blake - is pretty accurately and accurately reflected in the narrative, but from Dove down it's all a lot hazier and less reliable.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think Blake and Nora should possibly swap places.