New Rivals (New)
New Rivals
“So… what’s it going to be?”
The words of Cinder Fall reverberated in Sunset’s mind like the tolling of a bell. They echoed over and over again. She hadn’t answered, not yet, but with Cinder sitting beside her in Legends class, she could hardly forget about them. It was as tight a squeeze in Doctor Oobleck’s lecture hall as it had been in Professor Port’s class yesterday, and Sunset could feel Cinder’s shoulder pressed against her own.
Just like she could see Blake being given a wide berth by everyone around her. Okay, not everyone – Sun was sat beside her, and Team RSPT were arrayed protectively around them both, with Rainbow Dash looking as though she would have liked to have turned her glares into laser eyes – but most people, in spite of the crowding it was causing elsewhere.
“So… what’s it going to be?”
Sunset frowned. She could think about just how badly she wanted to help Blake later. Later, she could also give some careful thought to just why she might want to help Blake; really, what had Blake ever done for Sunset but drag her into danger? Sunset ought to just cut her loose. It wasn’t as though they were friends. Just because Sunset saw a bit of herself in Blake, and more of people worth admiring, that was no reason to put herself out on the other girl’s behalf, was it? She could think about what Cinder might propose they do to help Blake later. For now, she really ought to concentrate on class.
Doctor Oobleck was currently zipping from one end of the classroom to the other, sipping his coffee as he did so. “Now, as you have all been informed, this semester will see all of you given the opportunity to undertake field missions in and around Vale. This will, of course, see you absent from classes for significant periods of time, and although you can and will be expected to catch up on the work that you’ve missed, it would be naïve to expect there to be no repercussions from extended loss of classroom time. It is for that reason that this semester’s studies will place a greater emphasis on your own research outside the classroom. For example: students will break up into pairs and each choose a single fairy tale or myth to research and prepare a paper on, before presenting back to the class at the end of four weeks.”
Ruby raised her hand.
Doctor Oobleck stopped, gesturing at her with his stick. “Yes, Miss Rose?”
“Does it have to be one of the fairy tales we’ve studied in class?” Ruby asked.
“Not necessarily,” Doctor Oobleck replied. “If you have a childhood favourite that you believe you can present in an academic manner, that is perfectly acceptable, although your presentation should take account of the fact that not everyone in the class will be familiar with your choice. However, before you take that step, please be aware that I will not accept ambition or an unusual choice as an excuse for poor performance.”
Sunset winced. She had led Ruby into that trap once before, in Doctor Oobleck’s history class; during a study session they had prepared an unusual approach to their Modern History paper, only for Ruby and Jaune to get dinged by Doctor Oobleck because they didn’t have sufficient factual grasp of the material to justify it.
“Now, one additional detail,” Doctor Oobleck continued. “In order to promote unity between students – and because as huntsmen in the field, you may find yourself forced to work with someone who is not of you choosing – I have chosen all the pairs from outside of existing teams.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. "Outside of existing teams"? But that means I’ll get stuck working with someone I don’t like!
I know that’s the point, but it doesn’t make it any less unfair!
Doctor Oobleck zoomed back to his desk and picked up his scroll. “The pairings I have selected are: Jaune Arc and Dove Bronzewing,”
“Uh, okay then,” Jaune murmured.
Doctor Oobleck continued, “Arslan Altan and Nora Valkyrie; Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos…”
Blake looked over her shoulder and across the lecture theatre to where Team SAPR sat. Pyrrha gave her a gentle smile of reassurance.
Doctor Oobleck continued through the early letters of the alphabet; Sunset listened with half an ear as she did so, until he announced, “Cinder Fall and Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset glanced at Cinder, only to find that the other girl was smiling at her.
“Lucky you,” Cinder purred.
Sunset grinned. Someone I can actually work with. Lucky me indeed.
In fact, with Ruby being paired with Rainbow Dash, it had to be admitted that the entire team had gotten quite lucky in their partnerships. Team RSPT was less fortunate; Rainbow herself aside, Twilight was assigned to work with Neptune Vasilias, Ciel with Yang, and Penny with Cardin Winchester of all people. Sunset did not envy her one little bit.
Especially when she had such a satisfactory-seeming partner by contrast.
Doctor Oobleck spent the rest of the class explaining in more detail the parameters of the coursework, as well as talking through an example of work done by past years so that they could get an idea of what they should be aiming to produce. All very useful, but not particularly worth remarking on.
When Legends was done, it was time for Combat with Professor Goodwitch, and all of the students spilled out of the lecture theatre and out into the corridors as they moved in a great herd towards the exit and, beyond that, the amphitheatre.
Team RSPT – and Blake and Sun – got out of the classroom first but allowed the flow of students to pass by for a while so that Team SAPR could catch up.
“So, Blake,” Pyrrha said, “it looks like we’re going to be partners.”
Blake nodded. “Yes, it does. Although it feels like cheating, considering that we’re in the same dorm room. It seems that Doctor Oobleck stretched the definition of ‘on different teams’ a little far in my case.”
“Well… perhaps,” Pyrrha admitted. “But I’m glad he did.”
Blake hesitated for a moment before she nodded. “I am too.”
“Hey, Ruby,” Rainbow said, “do you like fairy tales?”
“Yeah,” Ruby said. “I like them.”
“That’s good, at least one of us does.”
“You don’t?” Ruby asked, her tone almost – but not quite – aghast.
“Eh,” Rainbow shrugged. “I don’t mind them, I just… I don’t get this class; it’s all kids’ stuff, isn’t it?”
“'When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so,'” Ciel declared. “'Now I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man, I put aside childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.'”
Rainbow looked at her askance. “Who said that?”
“Professor Ozpin,” Ciel said. “In his essay On Fairy Tales; no doubt that is why he instituted this class.”
“Yeah, well…” Rainbow muttered, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. “Anyway, it’ll be nice to work with you, Ruby.”
“You too,” Ruby said, with a little less enthusiasm.
“If I may ask, Ruby,” Ciel said as they made their way towards the amphitheatre, “what is your sister like to work with?”
“I… actually don’t know,” Ruby admitted. “We’re not on the same team, and she was two years ahead of me at Signal… but she seems to get good grades!”
“I hope so,” Ciel said, in an even tone.
“Hey, Penny, if that Cardin guy gives you any trouble, just tell me, and I’ll take care of it,” Rainbow instructed her.
“What kind of trouble might he give me?”
“I don’t know… just tell me anything,” Rainbow told her. “The same for you, Twilight.”
“Hey, don’t worry about Neptune,” Sun said. “He’s a great guy.”
“I think it’s good that some of us have been assigned partners outside of our friends,” Twilight insisted. “After all, the Vytal Festival is about forging bonds across schools and kingdoms, and we all know each other pretty well already.”
“I don’t know; we haven’t had a chance to talk much, have we, Ruby?” Rainbow asked.
“No, I guess we haven’t,” Ruby acknowledged.
“Speaking for myself,” Cinder breathed into Sunset’s ear, “I’m quite glad that I wasn’t paired with a complete stranger.”
“No, you were paired with a passing acquaintance,” Sunset replied.
Cinder chuckled. “For now, perhaps, but we’re going to have a lot of fun together, you and me, I can feel it.”
After History came Etiquette, otherwise known as a free period for anyone who was neither an Atlas student nor interested in the proper way to fold napkins.
Sunset was not entirely sure why she was here. It wasn't as though she had any particular need to master the social graces; her Equestrian manners had served her well enough in Mistral, after all. But she could not deny that there was a part of her that missed the days when she had been the pony everypony should know, when she had dazzled whole rooms with her looks, talent, and closeness to the princess. In the same way, she could not deny that it might be nice to have that again, and if she achieved her ambitions and was rewarded with the great acclaim she sought, then it might be as well for her to know how humans behaved in the highest circles.
The class was held in one of the full-sized lecture theatres, and while it was by no means empty, it was, at the same time, not nearly as full as Grimm Studies or Modern History had been. All of the Atlas students were there, more than a few looking as though they were here under duress, but there were also a few more students from the other three academies than Sunset had expected. As she, Jaune, and Pyrrha – Ruby had not joined them, declaring her intent to get in some training with Yang instead – found seats near the front, Sunset looked around and saw a number of familiar faces; the presence of Weiss and Flash was not too surprising, but Sunset was a little surprised to see Dove as the sole representative of Team YRDN; he was sitting next to Lyra and Bon Bon. Sunset was a little disappointed to not see Cinder here and more than a little surprised to see Sun sitting up near the back, accompanied by Neptune with a long-suffering expression on his face. And then there was Blake, looking a little wary as she walked in with Team RSPT, as though she was afraid that this would all turn out to be a trap set for her. No sooner had she caught sight of Team SAPR – minus, of course, the R – than she headed over to them.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked, anxiety clear in her tone.
"Of course not," Pyrrha said, gesturing to the empty seat beside her.
Blake smiled gratefully and took the seat on Pyrrha's left; the members of Team RSPT not named Ciel took the seats on Blake's left, sandwiching the princess of Menagerie between the two teams into whose joint custody she seemed to have fallen.
Ciel herself stood in front of the class, seeming without a trace of self-consciousness in the face of all the eyes upon her. In fact, watching her stand at east with her hands clasped behind her back, staring straight ahead, one could have been forgiven for thinking she was not aware of the presence of an audience at all.
There was no sign of their instructor as the last few students filed in.
It would be a fine thing if the person supposed to be teaching us how to behave arrived late, wouldn't it?
At precisely the minute the class was due to begin, a tall upperclassman, his skin the same shade as that of Ciel, with red hair close-cropped to the sides of his head, strode confidently into the classroom.
"Good morning," he said, his dark eyes sweeping across the lecture hall as he came to stand beside Ciel, adopting without looking at her the exact same posture. "My name is Marcus Thackeray, and I am the leader of Team Magnolia; with the assistance of Miss Soleil," he gestured to Ciel, "I will be running these etiquette classes for first-year students during the semester here at Beacon. For those of you who are not from Atlas, you are welcome here, and I hope that you all get something out of it. Now, to begin: Miss Soleil, would you mind leaving the room and then showing the class how to come back in."
Sunset wasn't entirely sure what she had expected from an Atlesian Etiquette class, but she had not expected the class to start off with how to walk into a room. Not that it was a bad lesson – it was about politesse, yes, but it was also about confidence, and as far as Sunset was concerned, both Jaune and Pyrrha could use a little more of that in the way they moved, to say nothing of Blake – but it was unexpected nonetheless. Certainly, it was never something that Princess Celestia had felt the need to teach Sunset, but then, Princess Celestia's relationship with courtly manners and etiquette had always been… begrudging, to put it politely, even if she concealed that fact from the untutored eye.
Sunset considered that she had taught herself to move with confidence and grace pretty well, and although she was a little less than pleased to be told – by Ciel, no less – that she moved with a smidgeon too much confidence and a pinch too little grace, nevertheless, she accomplished the aim of the class more swiftly than some, which meant that she got to spend a fair amount of time watching everyone else struggle with things that she had already mastered. Something Sunset had always enjoyed, ever since she was a filly.
Though possibly I shouldn't.
After Etiquette came combat class, and Ruby and Cinder and a great many other students who had taken advantage of the chance at a free period rejoined the throng. They made their way across the courtyard to the amphitheatre, where Teams SAPR and RSPT split off from the rest of the group and headed towards different locker rooms to the rest of the first years.
“You’re not coming?” Cinder asked.
“Nah,” Sunset said, turning around to face her. “We get our own locker rooms all to ourselves because we’re so awesome.”
“It’s because Ruby’s a little young to be getting change in front of all the other students,” Jaune pointed out.
Sunset spluttered. “Yeah, well, it’s also because we’re special.”
Cinder chuckled. “Of course it is. I’ll see you inside.”
Sunset turned back and rejoined the rest of her team heading towards the third-year locker rooms where they changed.
“You seem to be getting along well,” Pyrrha observed.
“You almost sound surprised.”
“No, I… yes, I suppose I am, a little,” Pyrrha admitted. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I- oh wait!” Sunset exclaimed, because she needed to talk to Weiss, and she might not get a better chance than this to get her alone. “Weiss!” she called out, turning around to face the rest of the first-years.
Sunset noticed Flash watching her – well, might he watch her; it wasn’t as though he was going to see anything that would interest him – as Weiss made her way cautiously towards her, a puzzled look upon her face.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Can I have a word with you?” Sunset asked.
“Aren’t we having one right now?”
“Funny,” Sunset muttered. “It’s important.”
“Will you be alright by yourself?” Pyrrha asked.
“Sure, I’ll see you in the locker room,” Sunset assured her, and the rest of Team SAPR left her behind with Weiss, just as the other first years – with the exception of the lingering Flash, who stayed diplomatically out of earshot – had left Weiss behind on the same journey.
Weiss put one hand upon her hip. “So? What’s this about?”
“Your father’s company,” Sunset replied, “and what it does to punish people who step out of line.”
“When people step out of line, they get fired,” Weiss replied. “I don’t approve of all my father’s business practices, but I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with that.”
“I’m not talking about firing people,” Sunset growled. “I’m talking about branding their faces.”
“What?” Weiss exclaimed. “What are you talking about? That’s ridiculous!”
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Sunset insisted.
“When? Who?”
“The night before last,” Sunset replied. “The White Fang commander who we fought at the docks, Adam Taurus.”
Weiss’ eyes widened. “You ran into him again.”
“Me and Blake and Rainbow Dash,” Sunset confirmed. “Rainbow knocked his mask off, and there it was: the letters 'SDC' seared into his flesh.”
Weiss stared up into Sunset’s eyes, searching for some hint of a lie in there. “This… this is a… what were you and Blake and Rainbow Dash doing fighting the White Fang again the night before last?”
“Never mind that,” Sunset snapped. “Let’s focus on what your father-”
“My father, flawed as he is, is not responsible for everything that is done by the Schnee Dust Company,” Weiss retorted. “What you’re describing is illegal.”
“But it happened,” Sunset declared.
“To one person,” Weiss replied. “To one… rather unpleasant person, you must admit.”
“I’m not making any plea for the virtue of Adam Taurus,” Sunset snapped. “I’m asking how many other people you’ve burned.”
“I haven’t burned anyone!” Weiss cried. Her tone softened as she added, “I must admit, I’m a little surprised this is bothering you.”
“Of course it bothers me. What? If I bother you too much, are you going to-?” Sunset stopped. She gritted her teeth. “That was… unworthy of me to suggest that.”
“Yes,” Weiss said icily. “Yes, it was. And if you’d said it, this conversation would be over by now.” She folded her arms. “Are you sure of what you saw?”
“Certain,” Sunset said.
Weiss scowled. “I don’t know whether to thank you for telling me or wish that you hadn’t. But I’ll look into it. I’ll speak to my sister and find out what she knows. I don’t know if that’s what you wanted, but there’s nothing else I can do.”
“That’s… fine,” Sunset said. She hadn’t been sure exactly what she wanted, except to tell Weiss, perhaps to find out if she’d know about it; she had not, unless she was a better liar than Sunset gave her credit for. She didn’t expect Weiss to solve the problem. She supposed that she’d just wanted to get it off her chest.
And, having gotten it off her chest, she felt a lot better as she rejoined her teammates in the locker room and began to change into her combat outfit.
“Combat class is going to be great this semester!” Ruby declared eagerly as she pulled on her boots. “So many new students to match ourselves against, from all the different schools. After a semester where we found out where we stood against the other Beacon first-years, now we’ll get to see how we do against our peers from across the whole of Remnant.”
“That’s great, if you’re sure that you’re going to come out of the comparison looking pretty good,” Jaune muttered.
“You’ve come such a long way already, Jaune,” Pyrrha insisted. “I think you’re a match for Lyra or Sky or-”
“The worst students in the year?”
Pyrrha pursed her lips together. “Progress is progress, Jaune,” she reminded him. “Don’t lose sight of that. Just because… just because you’re not beating me all of a sudden doesn’t mean that you’re not improving.”
“I know,” Jaune assured her as he pulled his hoodie on over his chest. “It’s just that… there’s bound to be so many other great students from Atlas, Haven, and Shade that I don’t stand a chance against, just like here.”
“But you don’t have to fight them all by yourself,” Ruby said. “Even in a tournament, you’ll have us by your side.”
Jaune sighed. “Right.”
“You knew that it would be difficult,” Pyrrha said, “but all the same, I… maybe…”
Jaune looked at her. “Pyrrha?”
“Never mind,” Pyrrha said. “It’s an idea, but nothing that you need to worry about just yet.”
“Will he ever need to worry about it?” Sunset asked.
“No!” Pyrrha cried. “'Worry' was… the wrong word. Nothing to… just put it out of your mind for now.”
Jaune managed to smile as he strapped on his cuirass. “Consider it out… let’s just think about everyone waiting for us out there.”
“I’d like a crack at some of the Shade students,” Sunset said. The Atlesians might be considered arrogant in certain ways, with their patriotism and their desire to shove Atlas this and Atlas that down your throats, but Sunset personally found some of the visitors from Shade to be far more irritating. It was one thing to have pride in where you came from; it was another thing to act like just because you came from a sandy hole in the ground, that made you better than everyone else, stronger, tougher, morally superior. From the moment they arrived in the first semester, some of the Shade students, like Team NDGO, had started walking around like they owned the place.
“Quite frankly, Sunset, you’re more likely to be challenged yourself,” Pyrrha murmured.
Sunset pulled Soteria out of her locker and shut the door with a slam. “Challenged? Why?”
“I’m afraid you were rather rude to Arslan Altan yesterday, and she’s likely to take it personally.”
“Who?” Sunset asked; she felt as though she’d heard that name before, but she couldn’t quite place it.
“The girl with the light blonde mane who asked why we had been tasked with hunting down the karkadann,” Pyrrha reminded her.
“Oh, her,” Sunset said, remembering. “I wasn’t rude.”
“You told her that she wasn’t me.”
“Well, she isn’t.”
Pyrrha sighed. “Arslan Altan has won second place in the Mistral Regional Tournament for the past four years.”
“Second to you, every time?” Ruby asked.
“Indeed,” Pyrrha said softly.
“That’s got to be rough,” Sunset muttered. “So close to what you want, but the same person just keeps standing in your way. No offence.”
“It’s quite alright; I understand completely,” Pyrrha said softly. “I think… Arslan is not a bad person, but I fear she likely has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about this. After what you said… she may seek vengeance for it.”
“'Vengeance'?” Sunset repeated incredulously. “Come on, Pyrrha, you’re overreacting.”
“I’m going to kick her ass,” declared the girl with the untidy mane of pale blonde hair that stood out so much against her dark skin.
One of her teammates, a boy with hair close-cropped on the back and sides and dyed pink on top, groaned. “Arslan, you’ve got to let this go.”
“No, Nadir, I am not going to let it go!” said the girl, Arslan presumably. “Just because I haven’t… it doesn’t give her the right to talk to me like that! ‘You’re not Pyrrha Nikos, are you?’ Who does she think she is?”
“She thinks she’s Pyrrrha’s teammate,” observed another girl, with vivid green hair and dark lines painted onto her face. “Who knows what she’s been told about you?”
“This isn’t P-money’s doing, Reese,” Arslan said firmly. “She’s a lot of things, but she wouldn’t trash-talk me behind my back.”
“How do you know?” Reese demanded.
“Because I know, okay,” Arslan said sharply. “I know Pyrrha, and the fact that her teammate has earned a beating from me doesn’t mean that I don’t know what kind of person she is.”
“Are you sure you can deliver that beating?” asked what must have been the fourth member of their team, a tall young man with a mop of dark hair. “You saw that video of her match with Pyrrha Nikos; she-”
Arslan folded her arms. “If you’re about to tell me that you don’t think I can handle this, Bolin, then I recommend you stop now. I can take on Sunset Shimmer. Even if she has got a powerful semblance, all I have to do is close the distance before she can hit me, and then I’ll have her, like that!” she slammed one fist into her open palm. “Telling me I’m not Pyrrha Nikos, indeed.”
You really know how to get under people’s skin, don’t you Sunset? Blake thought. She had almost finished getting changed for Combat Class and thus far counted herself fortunate that nobody had sought to interact with her in the locker room. Of course, nobody had wanted to interact with her in the locker room before, but now, after what had happened at breakfast, she had been worried that some people might seek to take the dislike they had demonstrated earlier and act upon it.
Here, where there was no Team SAPR and no Team RSPT either.
Not that she needed protection, but it would have been nice to have had a friendly face around. Team YRDN sort of counted – although Dove didn’t seem particularly enamoured of her at the moment – but she knew them far less well and had enjoyed fewer interactions with them. Not that she was complaining or pretending that it wasn’t her own fault, but all the same… a part of her wished that there was someone in here that she knew would be on her side.
In the absence of any such, and with no one looking to interact with her, Blake had been given plenty of opportunity to listen to the chatter of the locker room going on around her, not just to Arslan’s grousing about Sunset, but also to the boasting and the teasing and all of the adjustment that came with a greatly enlarged body of students sharing the lockers and getting to grips with their presence together as rivals.
Blake was distracted from these fascinating anthropological observations by the slamming shut of her locker door, courtesy of a feline faunus – with a tail, instead of ears; a red tail curling up behind her head – with bright red hair and streaks of neon blue in the fringes that matched her eyes. She was dressed in a revealing blue top that exposed large parts of her bra to view, and her pink skirt was too short to conceal the shorts beneath, but what caught Blake’s eye the most was the collar she had around her neck, complete with a golden bell like… well, like a cat.
Blake found that she couldn’t take her eyes off it. She had never seen any faunus wearing anything so… so… she had never seen any faunus wearing anything quite like it before.
As a result, it exercised an almost hypnotic effect on her.
The girl bent down, bringing her head level with where her bell had been, even as she pointed to her eyes. “Uh, my face is up here, kitty.”
Blake blinked rapidly. “'Kitty'? Really?”
The girl shrugged. “You are a cat faunus, right?”
“My name is Blake,” Blake replied.
“And I’m Neon Katt. It’s nice to meet you!” she said, making a paw with one hand and holding it out.
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Can I help you with something?”
“Probably not; I just wanted to see the White Fang terrorist,” Neon said. She giggled. “You know, it’s funny; Rainbow says that I talk like I’m part of the White Fang, but then you go and turn out to actually be in the White Fang; isn’t that hilarious!”
“It wouldn’t be, if I was still part of the White Fang,” Blake said, her voice hard and unyielding. “But I’m not any more.”
“Aww, that’s really disappointing,” Neon said. “I thought I might find someone who agrees with me.”
“Agrees with you about what?”
“About how much better we are than everyone else!” Neon cried. “About how with our superior abilities we should totally rule over the rest of these losers who can’t even see in the dark.”
“That’s not funny!” Blake snapped.
“Nearly everything can be funny if you’re willing to look at in the right way,” Neon retorted. She sighed. “But I can already tell that you’re going to turn out to be one of those moody loser faunus who spend all their time moping about injustice, aren’t you?”
“What do you suggest we ought to do instead?”
“Get over it!” Neon yelled. “Laugh! Get on with your lives and remember: we’re stronger than they are, faster than they are, and we can do all kinds of things they can’t even dream of, even before we get into semblances, so if anyone gives you any trouble: kick their ass.” She chuckled, but as she leaned forwards, forcing Blake to back into her locker, her expression hardened, suddenly draining of mirth. “All of which being said, if you are still a member of the White Fang and you hurt any of my friends, I will skin you alive and watch you die slowly before making a pair of super-stylish gloves out of you. Understand, girlfriend?”
Blake wasn’t given the chance to reply. Instead, the response came from another voice, from Nebula Violette of Shade Academy, who laughed as she approached Neon from behind. “Threats, from an Atlesian?” she said. “What a joke.” She scoffed. “Or perhaps Beacon students are so weak that even an Atlesian is able to scare them.”
Nebula Violette was the best example of ‘seem fair and feel foul’ that Blake had ever been so unfortunate as to come across in real life as opposed to the pages of books. She had a deceptively attractive face, with a shock of indigo hair brushed over her left side and olive-coloured eyes.
She was also perhaps the biggest advocate for the supremacy of Shade and Vacuo amongst the entire visiting student body.
Not that Neon Katt could have been aware of that as she rounded on the other girl. “You got a problem?”
Nebula shrugged. She wore a long lilac coat over a grey blouse, corset, and a literal breastplate like the one Sunset had used to wear before she traded up, with black gloves covering her hands and forearms; her coat was rolled up on one side, revealing a black cowter of some kind, while on her opposite shoulder, she wore a single shoulder pauldron. “It’s just that you’re both as weak as one another that I don’t know what you hope to accomplish. If you wanted someone to make threats, then you should have asked for the help of a warrior.”
“Oh, sure, nothing says ‘warrior’ like boob plate and a corset,” Neon replied.
“It says it more than… whatever that is you’re wearing,” Nebula retorted with a scowl.
“What this is, is confidence,” Neon proclaimed proudly. “I don’t need armour,” she added, conveniently ignoring the white vambraces and greaves on her arms and legs, “because nobody is ever going to get close enough to touch me.”
“No one in Atlas, maybe,” Nebula allowed, “but you’re not in Atlas any more-”
“And you’re not in Shade either,” Neon reminded her cheerily. “Atlas may have its faults, but at least there we get taught how to read a map.”
“In Vacuo, we know how to survive,” Nebula declared. “You think that the grimm here or in Solitas are bad? In Vacuo, we have faced the worst the world has to offer before ever reaching Shade Academy, and that is why we are the strongest-”
“Are you trying to intimidate me or bore me to death with all of these clichés?” Neon asked.
Nebula growled. “Watch your step, house cat,” she snapped. “And as for you,” she jabbed her finger aggressively towards Blake. “You belong in a cage, not in this school.”
“Because I’m a faunus?” Blake asked quietly. “Or because I used to be White Fang?”
“Either?” Nebula suggested. “Both.”
“Hey, come on, girls,” Yang said genially as she approached the three. “Let’s save the fighting until we’re actually in class, okay?”
Nebula regarded Yang coolly. “Fine,” she said sharply. “We’ll let our weapons do the talking.” She turned and walked away, the tread of her boots echoing upon the locker room floor.
“What’s her problem?” Neon asked.
“She’s from Vacuo,” Yang said, as though it explained everything.
“Really? Because I thought she’d been living outside the kingdoms!”
“Well, it is Vacuo,” Yang replied.
“You’ve been spending time with Rainbow Dash, haven’t you?” Neon asked. “Anyway: later, losers!” she skated off, leaving a rainbow trail after her.
Yang sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if the Vytal Festival is worth having to put up with all these jerks.”
Blake’s lips crinkled in a slight smile. “Unity and peace, remember.”
“I’m not seeing much of either right now,” Yang declared. She smiled softly, as she reached out and put one hand on Blake’s arm. “How are you holding up?”
Blake bowed her head. “I’m okay,” she muttered.
“Sure you are,” Yang said, in a tone that left it an open question as to whether she believed Blake or not. “But if you’re ever not okay, just remember that Sunset and Rainbow aren’t the only two people in this school who can be here for you.”
Blake looked up into Yang’s purple eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Whatever you’ve done before,” Yang said, “that’s all behind you now. We’ve all done stupid things, but we should all get a chance to learn from them.” She grinned. “Keep moving forward, right?”
“Right,” Blake concurred as she allowed Yang to steer her by the shoulder towards the amphitheatre proper.
During the first semester, there had been few enough students in the freshman class that they could all occupy the seats down on the floor of the amphitheatre, gathered around the ring waiting for their turn to be called to fight. Now, however, with so many additional students from Atlas, Haven, and Shade, those who were not actually fighting had sprawled out onto the upper observation deck, looking down upon the ring from above. It was there that Team SAPR sat, except for Ruby, who was standing in the arena itself facing an Atlesian student named Starlight Glimmer.
Starlight was a tall girl with skin of a dark hue like Ciel, with blue eyes and hair of purple streaked with aquamarine falling in curling waves down her back. She was dressed in a form-fitting black bodysuit with aquamarine highlights, and over the top of it, she wore armour that seemed to be exactly the same kind worn by the Atlesians soldiers deployed from their ships: a white-grey cuirass that only covered the upper chest but left the belly exposed, blocky shoulder pauldrons, brassart, and vambraces. The only thing she was lacking was a helmet, seeming to prefer to go bareheaded. In both hands, she tightly gripped a gilded rifle, glowing green along the sleek lines that broke up the weapon and, if Ruby was any judge at all, marked the points at which it would transform into something else. She had the weapon tucked into her shoulder, the barrel pointing down towards the ground.
Her face was expressionless. She stared flatly at Ruby but gave nothing away.
Ruby twirled Crescent Rose experimentally in her hands as she unfolded her weapon. Hers was only the second match of the class, after Yang had gotten them started by beating a Haven student named Hector. She felt an obligation to win, to continue to uphold the honour of Beacon.
Although the pressure wasn’t doing her any favours.
“Go, Starlight!” cheered the girl in the hat and cloak who had made such a dramatic entrance into the cafeteria a couple of days ago.
“You can do it, Ruby!” Penny cried.
“Traitor!” Neon shouted.
“Don’t talk to my teammate like that, Neon!” Rainbow yelled.
“Quiet, everyone!” Professor Goodwitch snapped. She paused a moment. “Begin!”
Starlight snapped up her rifle, firing off a trio of shots; three green laser pulses spat from the barrel of the weapon towards Ruby. Ruby leapt aside, letting the bolts pass harmlessly by her as she rolled to a stop, the blade of Crescent Rose digging into the arena surface as she aimed at her opponent.
Ruby fired twice, Crescent Rose booming. Starlight’s rifle transformed, smoothly shifting from a gun into a long gilded lance with a glowing green tip. The spearshaft spun in Starlight’s hands as she deflected Ruby’s shots.
Her booted feet thudded upon the floor as she charged, lance drawn back for a thrust.
Ruby rushed to meet her, Crescent Rose drawn back. She swung, her scythe blade cutting through the air. Starlight leapt to avoid it, flipping over on her back as the blade passed harmlessly beneath her. As Starlight landed, Ruby let the momentum of her swing turn her around before retreating in a burst of rose petals, putting a little distance between herself and Starlight’s counterattack.
The counterattack didn’t come. Starlight stood where she had landed, silent, unmoving. She watched Ruby, but she made no move. She didn’t even turn her lance back into a rifle. She was thinking, probably. Maybe she was thinking anyway.
Ruby thought too, but conscious that she had to think quickly.
I can’t deflect laser fire like I could bullets, which means I have to take the risk and get in close.
She flourished Crescent Rose before her, tracing a crimson pattern in the air, before she charged forward, trailing rose petals in her wake. She swung her scythe. Starlight blocked the stroke, using the shaft of her lance to stop her slashing blow dead in its tracks. She grinned, and her left hand glowed aquamarine as she released her spear and lashed out in a snapping punch that came too fast for Ruby to dodge. It connected with her shoulder hard enough to send Ruby flying, and as she flew, Ruby felt… it was weird, it wasn’t like getting hit normally felt, it was more than just a blow to her aura, it felt… it felt almost as if something was being taken away from her.
She hit the ground and rolled to a stop and then onto her feet again, in time to see Starlight Glimmer rushing towards her.
Rushing towards her trailing lavender petals?
What the-?
Ruby tried to use her semblance to get away, to put some distance between her and Starlight, only… she couldn’t. Her semblance wasn’t working! Why wasn’t her semblance working?
Is that what I felt? Did she take my semblance?
No time to think about that now. She didn’t have her semblance any more, which meant that she would have to make do without it. She reversed Crescent Rose and fired, using the recoil to propel herself forwards, swinging her scythe. Starlight flowed around Ruby, trailing lavender petals, moving faster than Ruby could follow, lashing out with her lance to hit Ruby across the face, first with the butt and then with the point. Ruby staggered backwards, feeling her aura drain away under the impact of the blows. Starlight retreated, using Ruby’s semblance to put distance between the two of them as her lance reformed into its original rifle configuration.
Starlight fired. Ruby shot too, but she was using the recoil on Crescent Rose to substitute for her semblance, to keep herself moving while she tried to think of a new plan. Starlight was faster than she was – now, Ruby thought sourly – so trying to close in wasn’t an option. She should shoot, but then she could also be shot at, so how was she supposed to win this?
Starlight started shooting at her, spraying her laser bolts wide so as to give Ruby nowhere to run, nowhere to escape too. A shot caught Ruby on the shoulder, and she went down. She got up again, not wanting to look on the board to see how much aura she had left. She fired again.
That’s it! She can’t block my shots while she’s firing.
Ruby stopped moving. Aimed and fired.
Her bullet left Crescent Rose with a roar as Starlight’s bolt left her rifle with a crackle.
Bullet and bolt flew past one another.
Both stroke home, flinging their targets onto their backs and across the surface of the arena.
A buzzer sounded, and from the weariness that she was feeling in her limbs, Ruby guessed it was for her.
“And that’s the match: Miss Rose’s aura has passed into the red, and she is unable to continue,” Professor Goodwitch said, confirming Ruby’s fears. “Miss Glimmer is victorious. Congratulations, Miss Glimmer.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“What would you have done without your semblance?”
Starlight didn’t reply for a moment. “Tried to keep out of reach of her scythe, Professor.”
“Hmm,” Professor Goodwitch murmured. “Miss Rose… you did the best you could, faced with unforeseen circumstances.”
It didn’t feel like it to Ruby, but she still managed to say, “Thank you, Professor.”
She started to get up. A hand entered her field of vision, a hand that was glowing with an aquamarine light.
The hand of Starlight Glimmer.
“I guess you’d like your semblance back now, right?” she said, smiling.
Ruby hesitated for a moment before she reached up and took Starlight’s hand. As the other girl helped her to her feet, Ruby felt not only a little of her aura restored but more than that… she felt whole again. “Thanks,” Ruby said softly. “Neat semblance.”
“Yeah,” Starlight murmured, looking a little uncomfortable. “I got lucky with it.” She laughed nervously. “Anyway, now that you know about it, I expect you’ll give me more trouble next time.”
Ruby grinned. “Count on it!”
Sol Invictus felt heavy in Sunset’s hands as she faced Nebula Violette across the ring.
I did say I wanted to get a crack at one of these proud Vacuan warriors.
This was the last match of the class. Whether she won or lost, this would be what people were talking about on the way into the locker rooms.
And after Ruby’s misfortune – temporary misfortune; Sunset had no doubt that Ruby would get her next time – against Starlight Glimmer, it was up to Sunset to uphold the honour of Team SAPR, since neither Jaune nor Pyrrha had been called, much to the disappointment of some people, Sunset was sure.
She had to win this fight, or the newcomers wouldn’t understand why Team SAPR was a force to be reckoned with and a team to watch.
She could not afford to mess this up.
Nebula held her crossbow loosely in one hand. She looked cocky, the cheeky little madam. Didn’t she know who Sunset was? Did she think that Sunset Shimmer, leader of Team SAPR, was some no mark student of little account, the sort who could be taken lightly?
I suppose this is why Arslan wants to fight me.
Speaking of Arslan Altan, if Sunset remembered right the face of the person she had offended, then she had been stewing all class and now looked very sour at the fact that it was Nebula who had been chosen to be Sunset’s opponent and not her.
I should probably apologise… but I kind of like the fact that a great Mistralian tournament fighter wants to fight me this badly.
If I haven’t arrived yet, I’m pulling into the station.
Now, back to the subject at hand, what can I do to end this quickly?
Professor Goodwitch clasped her hands together behind her back. “Begin!”
Nebula started to raise her crossbow.
But Sunset had already teleported right in front of her, Sol Invictus levelled at her chest.
BANG!
Sunset fired into Nebula’s chest, then extended the bayonet outwards, slamming into her while she was off balance and knocking her out of the arena.
“And that’s the match,” Professor Goodwitch observed calmly.
Nebula leapt to her feet. “Professor!”
“In a tournament-style duel, Miss Violette, leaving the ring for any reason is cause for elimination,” Professor Goodwitch reminded her.
Nebula scowled. “But in a real battle, there is no ring!”
“In a real battle, there is no limit on the amount of aura a contestant may have,” Professor Goodwitch replied. “I hope you are not suggesting that I should allow students to fight to the death?”
“No,” Nebula admitted, “but-”
“You were unfortunate,” Professor Goodwitch informed her, “but a greater degree of readiness might have served you well when the battle began. Miss Shimmer, you took the initiative, and it served you well.”
Sunset bowed her head. “Thank you, Professor.”
She looked out, away from the arena across the ranks of the gathered students, down below and up in the gallery. Arslan Atlan, who still looked put out that she had been denied the chance to lose quickly against Sunset; Cinder, who looked impressed; all the students come from all the schools to challenge them, to compete in – futile – struggle to be the best.
They will be dust beneath our chariot wheels, but in the meantime… this is shaping up to be a pretty interesting semester.
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C.S. Ozpin. I approve. I'd love to see Oz and Lewis chat - their areas of agreement (and disagreement) would make for a fascinating back and forth; my IQ would probably go up just listening.
For those who don't recognize the quote, it's from the master C.S. Lewis himself: "Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
Cinder Fall. Putting the "fun" in funeral.
Oh, I thought Starlight semblance was copying them, not taking them. I mean, that make sense.
So she have Mercury's father semblance.
I’m very impressed with how you’ve dug into the Vacuo mindset here! They understand that Atlas or Mistral dining hall etiquette and what to do with the five different kinds of forks doesn’t do a damn thing on the battlefield nor does it shield you or your kingdom from the Grimm.
Starlight Glimmer can steal Semblances? I bet she’ll be real interested in ‘trying out’ Sunset’s semblance, only to be shocked when nothing happens as Sunset doesn’t actually have one yet. And also? I bet Mercury would really love to have a match with Starlight...
10534849
I knew that sounded familiar! I thought that it was Walt Disney or Ralph Waldo Emerson until I got to your review! Thanks!
When Ciel became a man? What an awkward thing to say.
Why wouldn't she say hair?
10535530
Did we misplace a pronoun? What are you referring to?
And Pyrrha knows that Arslan's branding is as the "Golden Lion of Haven." She's doing her the kindness of keeping up kayfabe. (Plus, "mane" is often used as a stand-in word for human hair in English language works. It's so common that it's not really notable.)
10534890
I have to admit, this made me laugh out loud, sir. Also good to see you're still reading the fic, you're as insightful as always.
And I apologize for not keeping up on reading your fic. I've been trying to get back into it, but I admit to being distracted by writing for me and my co-writer's fic and beta reading for this fic. Hopefully the schedule will open up soon though.
Honestly, while we have no full clues or details about team NDGO - both in the show and books - the team is kind of terrible - personality-wise - from what little we seen of them, I mean their team out of all the known teams we knew of during Vol 3 ran off their the Fall of Beacon, and before anybody says anything, their the only "known" Shade academy team to had left the battle instead of staying, heck team BRNZ stayed - sadly they lost three out of four of their team members - and while there were probably other teams who had similar decisions, the fact they blatantly show that team NDGO abandoned the fight in Beacon doesn't bring a good light on their supposed "best" nor the virtues of hunters and huntresses.
Anyway, rant over, back to reading!
Okay. That is a cool semblance for Starlight.
And I’ll be damned if that isn’t something Mercury wouldn’t be pissed at.
Starlight is definitely on the fucking list.
Starlight's semblance of stealing semblance is neat, and fitting considering her counterpart stole cutie marks.
Her facing Sunset would be interesting. She'd try and steal Sunset's 'semblance' only to realize Sunset still has her magic. I'd question whether Starlight could steal someone's semblance before they unlocked it but then again, Mercury doesn't know what his semblance was before his father stole it so...