SAPR

by Scipio Smith

Sheathing the Sword (New)

Sheathing the Sword

Sunset stepped back inside the car and drew her sword, Soteria. Even in the gloom of the railway carriage, the black blade stood out, not just grey but true black, an ebon death in the right hands.

In worthier hands than mine, I must admit.

“Why the sword?” Twilight asked. She held out her arms, outstretched as though she were about to start doing star jumps, and a pair of armoured gauntlets of the same lavender hue as the rest of her – surprisingly – lithe and delicate armour formed around her hands and fingers. With a delicateness that one didn’t associate with powered armour, she took off her spectacles and placed them in a square metal pouch at her left hip, then lifted her long ponytail onto the top of her head and held it there as a rounded helmet formed around her head and face. Twilight Sparkle was gone, rendered invisible beneath her armour. Only her voice remained unchanged, issuing out of her protective metal shell without a trace of mechanical interference. “I mean, why not your gun? Or your magic?”

“Because my gun wouldn’t work for this, and while magic would, it’s easier just to use the sword,” Sunset explained.

“'Easier'?” Twilight repeated. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to cut this car off from the two behind,” Sunset said, as though it ought to have been obvious. She started to stride towards the rear door, and the coupling between carriage one and two.

“You can’t do that!” Twilight cried, following quickly after her.

“Why not?” Sunset demanded. “We need to do it quick before whoever cut off car three makes their way up here.”

“Because then, whoever cut off car three will get the Paladins!” Twilight insisted. “We came all this way to stop them from being stolen; we can’t just give them up without a fight because we’ve been cut off from the others.”

Unfortunately, she had a point there. They were supposed to be huntresses, after all. How would it look to cut and run – or ride away with the railway engine – just because Pyrrha or Ruby weren’t here to have her back? It was hardly the sort of thing that the heroes of Pyrrha’s Mistraliad would have done. In fact, it was the kind of thing that they would have found shameful in themselves and contemptible in others.

And let’s be honest here; I’d find it pretty contemptible in others too, if it wasn’t me considering it.

Rainbow will never let me hear the end of it if I run away.

I mean, she’ll never forgive me if I let Twilight get hurt, but she won’t consider that possibility when she’s letting me have it with both barrels for being a chicken.

Sunset sheathed Soteria and summoned Sol Invictus into her outstretched hand. “Do you have any drones?” she asked as she reached the door leading out of car one; across the open space that separated the two carriages, she could see the door into car two as open as it had been when she came this way. Inside, the railway carriage was dark and shadowy; the ceiling hatch was open but it let in a very small patch of light, not enough to see anything around it; the other door was shut, and the Paladins loomed in the dark like sleeping monsters, waiting for some demonic signal to summon them to life.

Only if we let the White Fang walk away with them.

The more reason not to cut the cars, I suppose.

“Yes,” Twilight said. “I’ve got one.”

“Send it into car two,” Sunset said as she knelt down in the doorway, one shoulder resting on the metal.

“Is there someone in there?”

“If I could see somebody in there, I wouldn’t need you to send the drone,” Sunset snapped. She had activated her night-vision spell on her eyes, but – apart from the fact that the sunlit stretch between the two carriages was getting in the way – there were just too many places to hide in there with all the Atlesian war machines filling up the space.

“Right, sorry,” Twilight murmured.

“No, it’s fine,” Sunset muttered. “I just… can you get the drone in there?”

“Sure,” Twilight said. She waved her right hand over her left arm, and a holographic display appeared above her wrist. She tapped at it deftly with her index finger, and from the depths of the car behind them, a whirring sound arose in answer. Sunset’s ears twitched as the whirring got louder until one of Twilight’s drones, its engines buzzing, flew above her head.

A miniature gun descended from the rectangular belly of the machine, pivoting from left to right and then back again.

Twilight reached the door and crouched down on the other side of it from Sunset. She used all of her fingers now, like typing but with no letters visible, but she must have been doing something because the drone moved further forward into the shadowy recesses of the second carriage.

Sunset looked at Twilight; there was a camera attached to the drone, and its feed was relaying back to the projection above Twilight’s wrist. Sunset dispelled the night-vision spell, it was doing her less good than harm at this point with the sunlight coming in from outside, and her glance switched between the carriage in front of her and the view from the drone being projected to her right.

The drone advanced, turning left and right, inspecting the gaps between the Paladins; the images it was sending back were green and night-vision-y, showing the thick metal frames of the war walkers as they stood motionless. What it was not showing, yet, was any sign of who had severed car three from the rest of the train.

“We should call Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said.

“Do you want to be in the middle of a scroll call when the White Fang attack?” Sunset asked.

“Good point,” Twilight murmured. “I’m surprised that they’re attacking again so quickly.”

“I’m surprised they’re being so stealthy, considering how much of a racket they made the last time,” Sunset replied, her voice soft and quiet; they might not be exactly in the presence of the enemy, but it was as well to act as if they were.

“What do we do if car two is clear?”

“Move in, secure it, check out car three,” Sunset replied.

“Right,” Twilight said. “Sunset?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you nervous?”

“No,” Sunset said at once. “I’m not nervous at all.” The only reason I’d be nervous is… is if it was him.

Adam’s face appeared in the drone’s camera. It was only for a moment, before there was a flash of red of the holographic screen, and the picture went black. From inside carriage two, there was the sound of something – like a drone that had just been cut in half with a sword – falling to the floor with a clatter.

Twilight squeaked in alarm. Sunset growled wordlessly. It would have to be him, wouldn’t it?

Adam. Adam Taurus with his SDC brand and his blood red sword. Sunset’s breathing became heavier just thinking about it.

She didn’t know whether he had intended to catch them alone – she suspected that might be attributing a little too much importance to herself in his eyes – or to steal the Paladins without any interference, but either way, he’d been smarter about this than his soldiers had been.

There was a bang and a flash of light from inside carriage two, and both Sunset and Twilight flinched back as the shot whizzed past them to strike the leg of a Paladin beyond. Sunset leaned out into the open of the doorway, and Sol Invictus barked twice as she fired twice, half-blind, into the darkness.

There was no more return fire. Adam didn’t return fire. There was silence from the shadowy carriage where the Paladins lurked.

So, what’s he doing now?

If he retreated, Sunset would see him open the door to car three. If he waited in carriage two, then they could wait too. The others would have noticed that the train had been split in two, and Rainbow could catch up to them with her wings.

Assuming that they weren’t under attack right now. The thought burst into Sunset’s head like an exploding grenade. That would be the ideal plan, of course: to steal the Paladins and prevent pursuit with a holding attack aimed at the rest of the train. Ruby, Pyrrha, Jaune, Blake, the remaining Rosepetals might all be under attack right now and unable to render Sunset or Twilight any aid for quite some time.

Sunset found herself suddenly, absurdly, glad that Adam was here, with them, instead of facing off against her friends with Sunset herself being carried away and unable to aid them.

However, it did rather diminish "sit tight and wait" as a viable strategy.

Sunset looked at Twilight. “Wait here, and if necessary, cut the connection with your energy blade.”

“What are you going to do?” Twilight demanded, surprise in her voice.

Sunset rose to her feet. “Wait here,” she repeated as she stepped out of the carriage, leaping across the gap between the two and landing on the other side a little more heavily than she might have liked.

She considered exchanging gun for sword, but Soteria would be at as much a disadvantage in the tight quarters, hedged in by all those Paladins, as Sol Invictus would be, and at least she could get a shot off with Sol Invictus.

Whether it will do any good or not is another matter, Sunset thought as the memory of that red sword slashed across her mind.

I need to get around him if I can.

Her boots tapped upon the metallic floor as she advanced into the railway car. Sol Invictus felt heavy in her hands; the stock felt hard as she tucked it into her shoulder.

Sunset walked gingerly forwards. As she more fully submerged herself in the dark, she cast the night-vision spell upon her eyes once more, illuminating the gloom so that she could see beyond the point of Sol Invictus' bayonet. She could see Twilight's drone – or the pieces that remained of it – lying on the ground, sliced in two. But she couldn't see Adam. Of their opponent, there was no sign.

Sunset walked forward, looking left and right. Where was he? The carriage wasn't that big, so where had he-?

Sunset heard footsteps on the roof of the car above her. She turned in time to see Adam drop down from the roof behind her, standing in the doorway of car two.

He was smirking as he pushed the button to close the door on her.

Sunset cursed under her breath. He had probably locked it too; still, while sight to sight was always better, memory would do at a pinch.

She teleported, appearing with a crack and a flash of green light on the plate beyond the – now locked, probably – carriage door; Adam, as she suspected, wasn't there; he had already moved into carriage one, forcing Twilight back under a furious assault.

Twilight must have gotten off a couple of shots with the lasers mounted in her gauntlets, because Adam's sword was already glowing ominously, a crimson light amidst the shadows. A blade had emerged from out of the wrist of Twilight's armour on the right, and on her left, her gauntlet was projecting a hard-light shield, but it was clear watching her try and fend off Adam which of the two combatants was a true warrior and which was an amateur.

But the true warrior had turned his back on Sunset. She raised Sol Invictus to her shoulder once more and fired once, twice, three times.

Adam turned as swift as thought, his red sword tracing crimson patterns in the air as her first, second, and third rounds were all absorbed by that blade that glowed ever brighter and with an ever more bloody hue; he was still smirking as he turned again, parrying with contemptuous ease the thrust for his back that Twilight had made, beating her shield aside, slashing her once, twice, three times, scoring her aura as his blade glanced off her armour.

Twilight recoiled, shielding herself with her arms crossed before her face, cringing before his fury; Sunset charged, and as she charged, she extended the bayonet of Sol Invictus, hoping to ram it into his back and knock him off balance. Once more, Adam rounded on her, beating her thrust aside to leave Sunset's guard open.

She dropped her rifle, letting it clatter to the floor; with the bayonet extended, it was too long for a fight in these conditions.

Sunset took a step back and drew Soteria; the red glow of Adam's sword was reflected on the ebon blade.

Adam stared at her for a moment. "You know what they did to me," he said. "You know what her kind do to ours. So why do you fight for her? Why do you fight for them against your own people?"

"You aren’t my people, they are," Sunset growled.

"For how long?" Adam demanded.

"Always," Sunset said.

Adam might have said more if Twilight hadn't taken the opportunity to try and shoot him in the back. A pair of laser carbines emerged from out of her gauntlets, bursts of lavender-tinted energy bursting forth – to slam, all without exception, into Adam's blade.

Adam's sword was now as red as fire; his hair, the red of the wilting rose upon his jacket, it was all glowing like a torch, a torch that spread its light across the railway carriage, turning it as red as blood as he rounded on Twilight.

"Don't," he growled, "interrupt me, you insolent brat."

Adam did not charge as he had charged at Ruby; Twilight was too close for that as she stood, frozen, paralysed by the fear that emanated from the monster before her. Rather, as Adam advanced, he drew back his sword for a thrust.

Sunset felt the fear too. She felt the same fear that was freezing Twilight in place, the same fear that had held her frozen at the docks, the fear that had left her helpless before his wrath.

The fear that had almost cost her Ruby.

Not again.

Sunset teleported, throwing herself between Adam and Twilight just as Adam thrust forth his blade.

The crimson sword, empowered by bullets and lasers alike, shattered Sunset's aura with a single thrust, piercing her cuirass and driving deep into her gut before bursting like a mole from the earth out the other side.

Sunset gasped. The pain was… it was all she could feel; it was the only part of her body that mattered, the part that was screaming out its mistreatment throughout her mind. Tears pricked at the corners of Sunset's eyes as Soteria dropped from her trembling hands as she fought to keep her head clear, or at least as clear as it could be kept from the pain because this was… this was… perfect.

Sunset grabbed hold of the sword with one hand. She could barely feel the edge of the blade slicing at her fingers; it didn't register compared with the pain of having the sword through her stomach. Blood coated the sword as Adam tried to twist it and pull it free, but Sunset hung on through the scarring of her hand.

She grinned, or tried to; it might have come out as a bit more like a bloody grimace. "Gotcha," she said, and with her free hand, she let him have it square in the chest, a beam of magic blasting forth.

And he had no sword now to intercept it.

Adam let go of his weapon, leaving it lodged in Sunset's abdomen as he was blasted backwards, hurled by the magic which flowed out of Sunset's hand; she poured it out, unleashing her magic in a torrent that bore back Adam Taurus, hurling him across and out of carriage one and into the door to car two that he had shut in Sunset's face.

He was held there, driven against the door by the beam of magic. The beam that began to sputter as Sunset's strength, like her blood, began to ebb away.

Not yet, Sunset thought, as she took a staggering step forwards, stumbling. Her magic began to die. Not yet.

She fell, hitting the ground with a thudding impact that she barely felt. Everything began to darken.

Not… yet…

---

"Sunset? Sunset!" Twilight cried, as she knelt by Sunset's side. This was bad. Sunset was still breathing, but faintly; there was no telling how much longer she had left. And worse, the sword had gone in one side and out the other, so if she removed it, there was no way that Twilight could keep pressure on the wound to keep her from bleeding out.

If she had the medkit… but that was back on the other half of the train with the others. If Jaune were here… but he was back on the other half of the train with the others too. Even if Twilight called for a medical evac now, would it get here in time? What was she supposed to do? Wouldn't someone tell her how she was supposed to save Sunset?

A thudding step drew her attention. Twilight gasped as she saw Adam bearing down on her, upon the both of them, upon the helpless Sunset… and upon Twilight, who felt equally helpless but with less excuse for it.

How can he still be standing? How can he still have aura? What is he?

Twilight rose to her feet. She wished that she could feel brave, as brave as Rainbow Dash, as brave as Sunset... but she couldn't. She didn't feel brave; she felt scared. She felt very scared.

But she stepped over Sunset's body nonetheless, raising her fists because Sunset had been willing to… to maybe die for her, even though they were hardly friends at all. How could she do less?

Twilight raised her arms and fired; once more, lavender beams burst from the miniature cannons built into her gauntlets; Adam ducked, the first flurry of beams passing harmlessly over his head as he rushed her, closing the distance between them before Twilight could adjust her shots. Her blade extended, but by then, Adam had already reached her, his arms around her waist, grappling with her as he hoisted Twilight up into the air and, with a great roar, threw her down upon the floor of the railway car. The armour cushioned Twilight from the impact, but she could see her aura diminish nonetheless through the HUD built into her helmet visor. The visor that Adam began to pound on with his fists, his face set in a snarl as his hands rose and fell like hammers, descending on Twilight's helmet, upon her arms as she tried to shield herself; she slashed at him with her wrist blade, but he simply caught her by the wrist and held her there. His grip was so strong, she couldn't break it; she couldn't resist it.

"Tell me something," Adam growled. "What makes you worthy to have a faunus die for you?"

Twilight whimpered wordlessly.

"Answer me!"

"I'm not!" Twilight cried. "I'm not, and I didn't ask her to, she just…"

"No," Adam replied. "You didn't ask. You just took her life for yours as though you were entitled to it. Because you're a human, and that's what humans do." He punched her once more, then released her as he rose to his feet. Twilight didn't move. It didn't feel possible to move, not now, not in his presence. Not even when he turned his back on her and walked towards Sunset. He knelt, and for a moment, he seemed to stare at her face, eyes closed, breathing shallow, strands of her fiery hair lying across it.

With a hand that Twilight would have called gentle had the circumstances been less creepy, Adam reached out and brushed the hair out of Sunset's face.

Then he pulled his sword out of her gut, prompting a great spurt of blood to pour out of her and onto the carriage floor.

"No!" Twilight cried.

Adam turned, and in his other hand, he raised his scabbard and shot her with it. One, two, three shots rang out, each one slamming into Twilight, each one taking another notch out of her aura until it was in the red – but there was no instructor to stop the match.

Adam smiled.

The smile on his face faded as the sound of screeching on the rails behind them rose, a sound like another train hastily coming to a stop.

Another train? But that's impossible? Our train would still be… did they find a way to move it somehow?

Adam's expression twisted into a scowl. "How?" he growled, his thoughts clearly a mirror of Twilight's own in that regard, but he seemed to have no doubt as to what it was, or perhaps Sunset had just done so much damage to his aura that he wasn't willing to take the chance, because he turned and fled, darting out of the door leading from the carriage to the engine at the front of the train.

Twilight felt the car begin to shudder to a halt a moment before she heard Rainbow Dash's voice cry out, "Twilight?!"

---

Pyrrha was knocked sideways as the train came to an abrupt halt, and it was only by good fortune that she didn't slip off her perch and fall to the metallic floor of the railway car.

"What was that?" Jaune asked. "Are we under attack again?" His voice and face alike proclaimed his nervousness at the prospect, although whether it was the prospect of battle or of killing again that made him so, Pyrrha could not have said.

"I don't know," Pyrrha replied gently. "We should get up on the roof and-"

"Does anybody know what just happened?" Rainbow's voice demanded into Pyrrha's ear.

"Not yet," Pyrrha said. "Is everyone alright?"

"I'll be fine once I dig myself out," Sun groaned.

"I'm alright; heading up to check out the situation," Blake said.

"Functioning at one hundred percent!" Penny declared.

"I'm okay," Ruby replied. "And so are Rainbow and Ciel."

There were no other responses.

"Sunset?" Pyrrha asked. "Sunset, are you okay?"

"Hey, Twilight, give us a response," Rainbow added. "Twilight?"

"Uh, guys," Blake said. "We've got a problem. Someone severed car three from four, and now, they're leaving us behind."

"What?" Pyrrha cried. "I'm on my way."

"We're on our way," Jaune corrected her, and despite the slight pallor around his face, his voice was firm with conviction.

Pyrrha hesitated for a moment, but she had promised herself that she would never doubt him; if he thought that he could do something, then she would let him try, for all that she might watch him with an anxious eye while he did so. She nodded. "Right. Let's go."

They ran through the train, leaping from car to car, manoeuvring around fallen crates and containers of dust, racing past androids until they reached carriage number four. Blake stood in the doorway, silhouetted in the exit from the train, with nothing but open rails and the Forever Fall forest before where there ought have been another carriage and two more beyond that until they reached the engine.

She could see car three, but only as it grew smaller in the distance, pulling ever further away from them.

"Gods," Pyrrha murmured, as she rushed to Blake's side. "Did you see who decoupled them?"

"No, but it wasn't a decoupling," Blake replied. "Take a look for yourself."

She stepped back, allowing Pyrrha to walk through the door and stand on the plate beyond. Blake was right; the two cars had not been decoupled; rather, the connection between the two had been severed, and by a single stroke too, if Pyrrha was any judge.

"Does anybody have eyes on Twilight?" Rainbow demanded into their ears.

"Or Sunset?" Pyrrha added.

"No," Penny said. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Penny," Pyrrha said quickly.

The sound of footsteps running above caused Pyrrha to look up as Rainbow appeared on the edge of the roof, her eyes wide with concern. "Blake, did you see them?"

"No," Blake repeated. "But the White Fang – someone from the White Fang – must have decided that they could still get the Paladins even if they couldn't take the whole train."

"And you think Sunset and Twilight could be…?" Jaune asked from inside the carriage.

"If they're not anywhere else, and they won't respond then..." Blake said.

Rainbow growled. "I'm going after them."

"Wait," Jaune said quickly, before she could take off and leave them behind. "I might have a better idea." He stepped forward so that he was standing in the doorway, closer to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha," he said, "if I boost you, can you move this train?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she comprehended what he was suggesting. "You mean… you want me to push it with my semblance?"

"The line runs straight at this point, so we don't have to worry about steering," Jaune explained. "And when we get closer, you can… slow it down, and then you, Rainbow, Blake, everyone can leap across. You can get to the engine and stop it. Or just deal with whoever's trying to take it. I don't know, but I do know that this is our best way of getting after that train and sticking together. So can you do it?"

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. She had never attempted moving anything nearly so large as this before; she had limited the use of her semblance almost completely to small movements of small objects; the biggest thing that she'd ever done with her semblance was move the Bullhead at the docks… but that hadn't taxed her as much as she might have thought; who knew what she might accomplish if she exerted herself?

And with Jaune's semblance amplifying hers, then she would be capable of even more than that.

For Sunset, and Twilight, she had no choice but to try.

"With your help, I can," she promised.

"Okay," Rainbow said. "Ciel, can you handle watching the prisoners by yourself?"

"I can," Ciel affirmed.

"Penny, Ruby, get up to the front of car four," Rainbow instructed. "Any time, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha turned away from her. She turned away from all of them, facing down the railway line that stretched on south and staring at the carriages with their friends aboard that were pulling rapidly away from them.

But not for long, I hope.

She felt Jaune's hand upon her shoulder; it was comforting, reassuring, and then as he began to use his semblance on her, as the golden light of his soul spread over her like an amber shower, she felt so warm, so safe… so powerful.

She could do this. With Jaune's help, she could do anything.

Pyrrha reached out, literally spreading her arms out on either side of her, both arms wreathed in black, even as the gold of Jaune's semblance danced across her gloves. Her semblance usually felt like it was another hand, an invisible limb with which she could reach out deftly to prod or to tug, but now, it was so much more than that; it was like a whole array of limbs, like an octopus' tentacles stretching out and away from her, letting her feel the train behind her in all its metallic might and glory.

She grabbed that metal and began to pull.

Pyrrha dared to look down, and she could see that the carriage upon the edge of which she stood was wreathed in black as she hauled upon it, willing it to move. It resisted; its weight and that of all the other cars behind her resisted, physics defying her will. Pyrrha stretched forth more of her power; her aura would have been dropping precipitously even now, but with Jaune's help, she had – or felt she had – more aura than ever.

She had the power; it would obey her.

Slowly, as if the engine were still attached and just pulling away from the station, the carriage began to move; it began to roll down the rail line, dragging the rest of the carriages behind it. Pyrrha didn't dare stop, didn't dare let friction bring it all to a halt again; rather, she put forth more power, pulled harder, willed the collection of rail cars to go faster, and they did. Pyrrha felt the air rushing past her, kissing her face, then almost slapping it as they sped up until the carriages were racing down the track with their wheels grinding, the thumping sounds of their progress coming faster and faster. Pyrrha felt the emerald drops that hung from her circlet hitting the sides of her face as they were blown this way and that by the speed of their movement, but she ignored them, just as Jaune must be ignoring having Pyrrha's ponytail blown into his face; he didn't let it affect him; he stayed where he was and kept on boosting Pyrrha, giving her the strength to make these railway cars barrel forwards.

The stolen railway carriages, that once had been receding into the distance, now grew larger and larger, closer and closer until they were going to crash if she didn't stop right now, weren't they?

Pyrrha slammed on the metaphorical breaks, reversing the direction of her semblance so that it was no longer pulling the train forward but pushing it back, pushing against the momentum of the weighty carriages and all their cargo, pushing to slow it down before they slammed straight into car three. The carriages began to slow, the wheels screeching in pain as they ground against the rails, sparks flying up on either side as they slowed.

Car three began to slow as well; in fact it stopped dead, forcing Pyrrha to exert all the borrowed power of her amplified semblance to bring their cars to a shuddering halt just a foot away from the car they had pursued.

Rainbow at once leapt across the gap between the two roofs. "Twilight?!" she yelled.

The answer came both through the air and into their ears. "Yes. I'm here. I need help; Sunset's badly hurt."

Pyrrha gasped. She turned to Jaune, worried now that he had used too much of his own aura; his reserves were large but not unlimited, and if he wasn't able to help Sunset... if anything happened to Sunset because Jaune had given too much of a boost to her, Pyrrha wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

"I'll be fine," Jaune assured her, in spite of the fact that he seemed to have only gotten paler since he had begun to boost her semblance. "Twilight, where are you?"

---

Sunset's ears were greeted by a chorus of gasps and cries even as her eyes opened slowly to be greeted by the sight of Jaune Arc, leaning over her, holding his hands over her stomach.

"Oh, thank God," he sighed, his body slumping forward a little.

That's right. I was… I was stabbed, wasn't I?

"Hey," Sunset murmured. "I suppose I have you to thank for saving my life."

Jaune shrugged. "You could say that."

"Thanks," Sunset said, sitting upright with a groan. "You might remember that when you saved Ruby, I gave you a kiss… but you've got a girlfriend now, so I'll just say thank you very much and move on," she added, smiling a little as she patted him on the shoulder. She glanced at Pyrrha, hovering anxiously over Jaune's shoulder, and winked at her.

Pyrrha shook her head very slightly, while Jaune laughed nervously. "That's fine by me. I'm just glad you're okay."

"We're all just glad you're okay," Pyrrha added.

"Really glad," Ruby said, reaching out and taking Sunset's right hand in both of hers. "Team Sapphire… it just wouldn't be the same without you."

Sunset looked at her. It looked as though she'd been crying – there were tear stains under her eyes – but Sunset didn't want to embarrass her by bringing it up. "Of course not," she said in an easy tone. "Team Sapphire wouldn't be anything without me."

Ruby snorted, her whole face crinkling up. "Same old Sunset," she said.

"It'll take more than a little scratch like that to change me," Sunset informed her. Her gaze flickered down to her hand; Jaune's stimulation of her aura had healed the through and through stab wound that would have killed her, but she was left with some pretty nasty looking scars on her hands and fingers. Nothing, thankfully, that would stop her from using said hand and fingers – as she proved to her own satisfaction, curling them up one by one before making a fist – but still a long-lasting reminder of her third encounter with Adam Taurus.

Speaking of which… "Adam?" she asked.

"Fled when he heard our approach," Pyrrha said. "He severed the engine from the remaining carriages and rode away. Jaune was needed to save you, and so I couldn't move the cars after him, and it was too risky for Rainbow Dash to pursue by herself."

Rainbow was standing a little way off, her arms folded across her chest, and at hearing Pyrrha say this, she pouted in annoyance; clearly, she didn't like to be reminded of the fact that she had made a cautious choice.

So Sunset made sure to remind her of it anyway. "I don't blame you for doing the sensible thing. He's a scary guy."

Rainbow glanced at her. "To some people, maybe."

"Yeah, people like you."

"Sunset," Ruby cried reproachfully. "Can't you stop?"

"This is the perfect time; she can't get upset at me when I'm recovering from an injury."

"Yeah, but… come on," Ruby protested.

"Okay," Sunset conceded. "So, how did you all get here?"

"Pyrrha used her semblance to pull the train," Ruby said excitedly.

"It was pretty awesome," Jaune agreed.

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "Really? I'm sorry to have missed that."

"I could never have done it without Jaune's help," Pyrrha said modestly. "Which makes two times today that he's been pretty awesome," she added, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"Do you think you can do that to get us the rest of the way to Vale, or are we stuck?" Sunset asked.

"General Ironwood is sending us a pick-up," Rainbow explained.

"Now that we're stuck, you mean?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah. Two Skyrays inbound."

"Sunset," Twilight said timorously. She was kneeling next to Jaune by Sunset's legs; her helmet had retracted to reveal her face one more. "I… thank you. Without you, I would have… he would have… thank you."

"Don't mention it," Sunset said.

"'Don't mention it'?" Twilight repeated incredulously. "You saved my life."

"No, I just knew that I had to do something drastic to get past his sword and semblance," Sunset informed her. "Saving you was just a happy accident."

"Why do you have to talk so much crap all the time?" Rainbow demanded. "Everyone sees right through it."

Sunset looked at her. "Not everyone, I hope."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Everyone in here," she said. She walked around Pyrrha, Jaune, and Twilight to stand by Ruby and offered Sunset a hand up.

With her own hand, her scarred hand, Sunset took it.

Rainbow pulled her up onto her feet and into a hug, patting her repeatedly on the back.

"I owe you for this," Rainbow said into Sunset's ear. "I owe you big time. Next time you're in trouble, whatever you need, I've got your back. Like you had Twilight's."

Comments

[Mastermind4892]

Thank you, Jaune and Pyrrha. After Sunset has always moved heaven and earth to help her team... you have returned the favor.

Adam will be very surprised to see her alive! (Cinder won’t be happy with him). But either way, after protecting Twilight from another murderous leader of the White Fang, Rainbow Dash will never forget this. Nor will Twilight, Ironwood, Cadence or Ozpin.

Hmmm... when Adam’s sword went through her gut and Sunset came so close to death’s door... I wonder if Celesta felt it?

[Iacs]

10591506
Hopefully for Remnant, no, Celestia did not feel it. Else this world would end not only with moon, shattered by gods, but with surface burnt to ashes by one who once defeated them. Sunset's death is Bad End for Remnant, and circumstances of her death would barely matter.

[Lancerguy]

One of the best of the rework additions IMO. I think I see what you are setting up here, but I won't reveal more in case there are any new readers coming across the comment. Overall, great fleshing out of all characters involved, but particularly ones I did not think would see it.

[Alysion]

"I owe you for this," Rainbow said into Sunset's ear. "I owe you big time. Next time you're in trouble, whatever you need, I've got your back. Like you had Twilight's."

Ho, you owe her a favor ? Like... not report her when she will make an unlawfull act? wink wink

[BeardedRedMane]

You know when Sunset returns home Celestia is going to notice those scars translated on her Equestrian Body. A scarred hoof along with one going straight through her barrel in a nudist society is going to be real easy to see.

[MSie95]

So Sunset just saved someone's life risking her own and yet people (ekhem Ruby) will still think of her as a bad person.

And I feel Dash will feel obligated to cover for Sunset and will feel very conflicted about it.

Hope Sunset and Twi will bond more. And Sunset should talk with her about keeping her magic secret. Even from her own teammates. Sunset let her know but it's a secret she would rather like to keep. Especially from any form of authority.

[JMP]

10593224
Referring to the Breach and the current arc? There...does seem to be a bit of a disconnect, but a lot happens between now and then. Such as Ruby blaming Sunset for Yang's apparent death, and Princess Twilight's refusal to teach Sunset the time travel spell.

[Maelaeran]

"Why do you have to talk so much crap all the time?" Rainbow demanded. "Everyone sees right through it."

I sincerely hope that Sunset never stops being such a tsundere. 😄

[AdverseFlower95]

Not only was this chapter suspenseful it also brought in something that the previous version of this story had, a larger relationship with Adam and Sunset. Up until now it has only been them fighting with almost no dialog so I'm glad that this chapter has remedied that. Not only that but you are still able to make Adam a continually intimidating villain. I was genuinely wondering how those two were going to get out of that situation.

[Stet709]

Well, I certainly hope Team SAPR faces Adam again, specifically Pyrrha, as she's got two teammates now to avenge for Adam almost killing.

[Lamplighter]

"There will come a time when you must achieve a goal at all costs. It may come in attack or in defense. And the only way will be to allow the sword to be sheathed in your own body. ... when the price is worth the gain, and there is no other choice left to you. That is called Sheathing the Sword. Remember it."
--Lan Mandragoran