This story is a sequel to Steel Solstice
Sunset Shimmer's plan to escape the Steel Tower failed—but she is still returning home. Instead of a victorious pony, come back to gloat to her previous teacher about the secrets she had uncovered, she is an adviser to one of the most dangerous men alive: Tesla.
But it isn't a simple invasion; Equestria is under attack by demonic forces, and the Steel Tower has been invited to help. But there's another faction of humans in Equestria, one that is still at war, and one who Sunset suspects are plotting terrible things...
She isn't alone. One of her human friends, now trapped as a cybernetic bat pony, is sent on a covert mission of her own. Equestria may depend on them in ways they never could've realized.
Updates Thursdays.
This story is meant as a companion to Harmony Defended, and to take the place of the long-anticipated revision. I decided it would be better to write something new than to overhaul something that was so long in itself. This story will probably spoil various elements of that one, though the reverse will largely not be true. If all of this seems confusing, you should probably start with my first story in this series, My Little Apprentice. As that story was written in Season 4, this one will not necessarily incorporate the canon of future seasons of Friendship is Magic.
The Sunset Campaign was sponsored by Two Bit on my Patreon, who is generously sponsoring me to clean up my tangled web of previous stories. Sparktail and Two Bit did the editing, and Zutcha did the cover.
first! :D
I very much enjoyed your the original - yay for a sequel!
So that's the part the official history focused on? Not why she did it? Assuming Evening Star Also Rises is completely canon here of course... still surprised by that connection!
At some point they need to get Sunset, Hayden, and Second Chance in a room together!
Just me, or Starscribe really likes bat ponies?
Ok just one thing before I start to read this and I know I don't need to do so but the order is steel, apprentice, then campaign? I like to read stories in the right time line when I can (it happens selldem with r.l. books)
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If you've never read anything from this series before, then the full order is...
My Little Apprentice
MLA: Apogee
MLA: Perihelion
Can You Hear Me Now
Steel Solstice
Harmony Defended
Sunset Campaign (this story)
Pax Humana
But this story is a direct sequel to Steel Solstice, so that's the only one you must read to understand this one.
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Ok thanks and ya I read steel
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Then in theory you don't have to go back and read the MLA books to understand this one. You could go back using the order I provided and check them out, but those characters will be only incidental in this story. Sunset Campaign is a direct sequel to Steel Solstice. Everything else is supplementary.
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Makes sense it's mostly name drops and references and not knowing that bugs me so after I wake from my nap(day off so I can nap if I want don't judge me) i'll probly start with apprentice thanks for taking time to respond to my reambles
Richard is a good king.
Wasn't a big fan of the first story. The more ambitious Sunset was and the harder she worked to achieve those ambitions, the more she became trapped and denied. Not that I blame the story for doing that, I guess the bitter ending just left me with a bitter feeling. But with a sequel, Sunset has another chance. I'll be rooting for her.
So, I've been eagerly waiting on the proposed revision to Harmony Defended before reading it, after binge-reading MLA over two days. Does this story's existence mean that that isn't happening, and that I can read HD now?
Seriously? Sunset was able to recognize Discord just for his eyes? When she never met him except as an statue in Canterlot's garden?
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/1/1e/Discord_statue_ID_S2E01.png/revision/latest?cb=20131125170233
A statue which by the way had its eyes closed?
Captain Evening Star? I see what you did there.
I'm liking where this is going. Can't wait to read more.
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It's quite possibly the same one.
I'd actually be surprised if it isn't.
Liking how this is turning out! Color me intrigued.
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Isn't "Evening Star Also Rises" part of this story line also?
Called it. I guess she's ageless afterall.
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A daemon live as long as it's master lives, and since she was created by Luna...
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Yes. Yes it was! CONTINUITY!!!!
I'm beginning to think starscribe has a thing for formerly human gay bats
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I keep getting sponsored to write about them.
Comp-Twi is Creepy Watson?
I don't know how Sunset handels.
Alright Chekhov you can put the gun down.
Oh wow, so this is jumping straight ahead to the big war. Should be interesting.
Richard is a good king, though, so we all know that this is a lie.
Whoops.
Considering another recent story, I have bad news about the supposed uncorruptable nature of alicorns.
Like I said above.
Long-term guess, this story is going to be about the eventual betrayal by Tesla and whatever percentage of the Order that follows him and/or is corrupted.
That's unfair, you can't put up the fence after the robotic horse is out of the yard and then give her a hard time about it.
Wait, I was wrong before, this is the part that's unfair. Plus, they're going to be hard-pressed to keep Sunset secret from Equestria if Discord is kicking around and offering her life advice on what she really needs.
It's a start.
BradleyBradOh my god, it's Flash.Interesting.
Heh.
Maybe!
Hey, Motherlode, that's a fun connection.
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Named Jackie.
Can’t wait for Evening star to show up again
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Why have foreshadowing when you can have a fore-eclipse?
its weekly now?
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Yes, it was only daily for a week so it could catch up with the progress it made on patreon before coming to fimfiction.
Certainly not any more irradiated than sections have already been.
Jackie, meet Applejack.
The Steel Tower brought a million something citizens with into Equestria? That's...interesting. I suppose they're easy enough to transfer back if needed, but that's a big investment of personnel.
Ooo, neat.
Maybe you should have stuck around instead of running away, maybe it would have turned out differently.
Motherload is a bat town? I wonder if it's the bat town.
Sunset and Brad, I'm still amused about this.
This is a bad place and time for shipping, but still.
Let's ship it anyway!
That scanner, that ship name...
Hayden?
And she's plugged into Truth?
Maybe right now!
I am 100% joking and 100% serious about this ship.
And next they can bring Twilight out so that Sunset can lose Brad to her.
Okay, yeah, it has to be Hayden.
A thousand years seems to have left Hayden with some interesting skills.
So much awesome contained in this story! <3
Blame Celestia. She raised her ponies not as self-reliant subjects but as permanent children, keeping them in the dark regarding threats and dangers and preventing them from maturing.
Of course in the middle of an invasion their reaction is "mommy will keep us safe".
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Well it's worked to keep them safe for a VERY long time if you remember. It has been CENTURIES since any last war has broken out. Since the ponies are so innocent, there's not going to be a lot of major crimes, as most don't understand violence. Plus if you have a super powered being that raises the sun, and you've spent generations in a backwards village...it would be easy to give into that.
I mean do you even realize how sturbbornly simple minded even humans in rural areas of America are? I do, I have family there. We PROVED that the Chain Letters that have no sources or wrong ones, are bogus. Yet they continued to send them again, sharing them as if they were 100% Truth. An that is MODERN HUMANS. Imagine if you were a bunch of ponies who had lived peacefully for over 20 generations, without acess to things like The Internet to fact check things.
I want to know how they learned the information theyre using, and whether the one who told t hem was 'cooperative' or not
If your going to be bringing everyone into play, they might as well fulfill a good role or three.
And heres where things currently stand
We need more story now
Woah. The spectacle in this chapter is stunning. But a dual cliffhanger? No faaiirrrrrrr...
Ahh such lovely irony that if Mr Racist had kept his cool another couple minutes he'd have lived, proven wrong but skull intact. Can't say I'm sad to see him go.
On Sunset's side, I was trying to figure out how Chance had gotten herself disguised, I'd completely forgotten about the imprinted changeling! Guess it's time to go back and reread Apprentice!
Damn. This chapter was more intense and hardcore than I would have thought. Great writing though, I can't wait to see what you will do next! <3
Ada needs a robotic hoof to the face.
Sunset and Starlight and Trixie, should be fun.
Dubiously created magical touchscreens by Starlight and Trixie when.
Hah!
Excellent.
It's a traditional location for that sort of thing.
Well, scratch that theory of mine about Motherload. Probably.
Well, it's probably not Frostline.
Silver Spring seems like a good candidate though.
While true, Sunset has a another, very important reason besides personal ambition: Celestia's passivity.
The Sun Princess knew this shit was going to hit hard yet refused to take the necessary steps to get all of Equestria ready for the tribulation... which is a hell of a point considering the current events and how unprepared have proven to be both civilians and the Equestrian military.
Sunset spent the prequel trying to learn human knowledge and build an army to fight for Equestria. Shouldn't she mention that?
Ooo, that's promising.
Hey, a Tower distress call. Feels like that makes it exceedingly less likely that Jackie would manage to leave without finding out the full details of what happened to the missing engineer.
No kidding.
Motherload's dislike of bats specifically is notable.
Sunset is terrible at keeping the big secret.
Hah!
The the catastrophes are almost certainly still to come in the future.
You know, when put like this I'm not sure this is a rescue so much as a cleanup of one of Tesla's previous messes. If so that could have bad implications for Bree if he gets his hands on her.
It's a competition for who has screwed up the most.
She really is asking for a punch to the face.
Hey, at least the personal connection Sunset made with Starlight should help. That is something I suspect Ada has not done.
AR goggles, that's a great idea.
That might work for now, but probably not forever if Sunset keeps dropping phrases that imply she's not really human and knows too much about Equestria.
Their Sunset Campaign is easy to explain
To Prove their Pony worth they'll overthrow the Earth
They're Sunny and the Bat
(Sorry. )
Whelp things just went to Hell in a hand basket! T_T
Makes me wonder if that one human with magic is secretly working for the Dragons and such.
Damn. I wonder if that was Luna trying to reach out to Jackie.
Though now I am curious as to what will happen in terms of Jackie trying to kill all those Griffons, not to mention Sunset & Twilight. Still so many interesting plot points left!! <3