Instead of being packed into the cargo hold with the other help, Sunset got a cabin all to herself on the return voyage. Well, it was assigned to her, but she invited a certain stallion to share it with her just like their tent. Some part of her wondered if Daring Do had put the two of them together like that all along, after noticing their friendship during the trip over—but that was stupid. There was no reason for an important pony like her to care.
Sunset did a lot of stupid things during the trip over, but nothing teenagers before her hadn’t been doing for thousands of years. It got easier the more Flash Sentry healed, and it wasn’t as though there were many other distractions. Her one worry—the same worry as many girls in her position, probably, Flash dismissed with confusion.
“Moonrise, you can’t. That… only happens once a year. The chances of anything happening at a different time are… tiny.”
I think I’m going to leave this part out of my stories of the other world, Sunset thought later that night, when she’d made her way to the deck to watch the stars. They’re probably better off not knowing I had a boyfriend. Maybe Flash would leave his dreams of being a stupid guard behind. I have to tell him the truth. He can’t decide for himself if he doesn’t even know.
“Hey, Moonrise.” That was Polaris’s voice from behind her. She was in costume again, as she always seemed to be around other ponies. So far as Sunset knew, only Gangplank knew the truth about her. Her identity was kept secret from everyone else. “Can you talk?”
“Sure.” Sunset didn’t even turn, just kept leaning over the railing, staring off into the blackness.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said,” Daring Do said. “Your questions about how to bring magic back to somewhere without it.”
“Oh.” Sunset hadn’t brought the subject back up again, not since the first answer. She didn’t need to hear that her quest was hopeless a second time. “Yeah.”
“I bring my whole library out on extended digs like this. Lots of these old ruins are connected… we like to think in modern Equestria that we’re the only united ponies there ever were, but the past isn’t black and white. There’s gray back there, and lots of the stories we think we know are really just retellings invented by the ones who stayed.”
“The victor writes the history books,” Sunset said.
“Victor of…” The “bat” shook her head. She had a book under one leg. Sunset could read the gold embossed title of the faux-leather cover. “SECRET SPELLS OF STAR SWIRL.” That name never leaves me alone. “If there’s one thing you learn being me, it’s never discounting an investigation. Most of Equestria thinks I’m an adventure novel. Well, that’s good enough for everypony. We all put on our masks. I wonder what mask you’re wearing.”
She flipped the book open in front of them, for Sunset to see. There was the horseshoe mirror, exactly as Sunset remembered it. The Equestrians even had the right period of its opening correct, with a precise chart of the phases of the moon and the procession of the equinoxes.
“I see you recognize this.”
Sunset nodded weakly. There was no point lying. Besides—if there was one pony unlikely to reveal her secret, it was one who had her own to hide. Sunset knew who she was—any destruction done to one could be returned. I’ll make you go down with me, Daring Do. I swear to god. “Maybe.”
The bat’s eyebrows went up. “You know what every magical dead-zone on Equus has in common? It’s how I figured this out…” She snapped the book closed. “They’re wastelands. Nopony lives there. Not more exotic creatures, either. Yaks don’t want to be there, deer don’t want to live there, or buffaloes, or even the dragons. Plants barely even grow.”
She lowered her voice, eyes down on the deck. “I’ve been to two of them. It’s… horrible. All the color drains out of the world. The music loses its harmony, food loses its taste. Even lifting your hooves gets hard. Remembering who you are, what you’re doing there. Your cutie mark barely matters. Princess Celestia decided not to put up any official warnings about the one in Equestria, or even to acknowledge its existence. Ponies avoid them on their own. They’re terrible places.”
“I don’t understand…” Sunset took a deep breath, counting to five as she inhaled. Watching her words hadn’t ever been something she was good at. “What are you trying to say?”
“Long time ago, Star Swirl caught all kinds of monsters. Nopony else at the time could beat them, not even the princesses. So what did he do? Banished them somewhere without any magic, so they couldn’t threaten anypony ever again. Their abilities would fade, they wouldn’t have a way to get back.” She tapped the book. “Almost nothing is known about the other side. But I’m guessing there might be… civilization there after all. Ponies on the other side, living in…” She shuddered. “I can barely imagine. Spending your whole life… probably didn’t even have a cutie mark.”
Was she crying? No, Sunset wasn’t crying! She wouldn’t do that, certainly not where anyone else could see. She nodded reluctantly. “Maybe somewhere like that exists. So what if it does? So what if someone wants to bring the magic back?”
“I still don’t know if it’s possible,” Daring Do said. “I hate to be the one to give you bad news Moonrise. But I wasn’t lying. Nopony even knows why dead zones form in the first place. The best theory I ever heard was that they’re sites of… ancient, terrible battles. Nopony knows what fought, or why. But the world gets scarred forever after that, and magic doesn’t come back. But it really doesn’t matter. No ordinary pony could do it. It’s impossible. There’s only one pony who might know more, but she’s not good about answering questions.”
Sunset knew what Daring Do was going to say before she said it.
“Princess Celestia is an Alicorn. She’s the oldest pony alive. She was there when some of the ruins I explore were built. Nopony even knows for sure just how old she is.” Now the pony in front of her was looking frustrated. It was a good thing there was nopony else on the deck with them, because she raised her voice a little. Behind them, swells crashed into the side of the boat, raining down spray and foam on the deck.
“She sits back on her throne and says nothing while we debate over questions she could answer from her memory. She lets ponies spend thousands of bits to dig up garbage dumps, then stands by and lets a pony like me discover an artifact that could really hurt ponies if it got into the wrong hooves. I’ve never understood her way of doing things.”
“I might know something you don’t,” Sunset said, after a nervous silence. “Through the portal, I think… our worlds might be connected. I don’t know how, don’t know why… but when I got here, there were posters with my name on them, my picture. I think… a pony who looks like me… got into trouble. I joined this expedition mostly because it was the fastest way out of town.”
Daring Do actually laughed. “That’s why your mane is coming in red. And… why you don’t like ponies seeing your cutie mark. You could really learn a thing or two about having a good pseudonym. Lucky for you, I’m one of the best. I might be able to teach you a few things. But you already seem to understand the basics. Pick somewhere to live that’s far from the ones looking for you. Change your appearance… we can work on that. But here’s a third one—”
She leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “Don’t be a criminal. Thing about hiding when you’re guilty, your behavior gives you away. I’ve been watching you this whole trip. I thought at first you were here to steal from me. Maybe Dr. Caballeron sent you, to make sure that the artifacts wouldn’t make it back to Equestria. Doesn’t matter where you go, a guilty conscience always weighs you down.”
“Not sure what to do.” Sunset sat back on her haunches, looking up at the sky. “You’re right about one thing. I’m… I’m not ready to go back. What if Celestia forces me? There’s so much magic here, I don’t know if I’ll ever want to leave.”
“We could…” Daring Do hesitated just a second. “You did save my life. I could give you something in return more valuable than a percentage. I could call in a few favors, get us a private meeting with the princess. How about you tell her the truth? Bring the stallion, she’ll like that. Tell her you’re here, why you’re here… and don’t be afraid anymore.”
“Unless I was afraid for good reason,” Sunset muttered. “And she throws me in jail.”
Daring Do shrugged. “In my experience, the story doesn’t usually go that way. Ponies go through dark times, but the good ones always end up doing alright in the end. Are you a good pony, Moonrise? Or a bad one?”
“I’m not good at coming up with fake names,” she answered, chuckling. “My real name is Sunset. Sunset Shimmer.”
“Yeah,” Daring Do took the offered hoof anyway. “I figured that out. But it’s good you told me. It isn’t for me to decide when you share that with Celestia. Just… give me an answer when we get back to shore. If you want to take your bits and go, I won’t stop you.”
There was one other pony for her to ask. Daring Do was clever, resourceful, and well-informed. But she was still someone that Sunset had barely talked to. If she was going to go around spilling her secrets, there was someone who mattered more.
She waited until the next day, until early in the afternoon when shore had come into view and they’d already packed up the cabins. Sunset and Flash were on a lower deck—there wasn’t much of a view, and the fumes of the ocean were worse. But Sunset had insisted. It was somewhere they could go for privacy.
“I dunno what you could want to tell me,” Flash said, after several minutes of Sunset waffling back and forth and not admitting to anything. “I think I’ve figured you out pretty well after a whole expedition together.” He settled one wing across her back, possessively. Warm, delicate feathers. Sunset smiled at the feeling. It was nice to be close to someone.
“Really?” One eyebrow went up. “What did you figure out, Flash? Cuz’ if you just mean what bits I’ve got… that isn’t that special. I’m sure there are books about that.”
Predictably, the stallion’s ears flattened and his wings folded, scent changing to embarrassment. “You don’t have to say it like that. Even if there’s nopony who can hear…”
“I’m serious! What do you think you figured out? Because… I’m willing to bet you don’t know. That’s why I want to tell you. I wasn’t sure how close we would… it’s only fair. You deserve to know. What you do after I tell you…” She shrugged one shoulder. “Guess that’s up to you.”
“Okay.” Flash sat up on his haunches, relaxing a little. They passed a pony cargo ship out on the water, moving much slower than they were. It had huge metal cargo boxes, just like a ship on Earth might’ve had.
Strange how much we have in common.
“Well, I know you’re not very good with magic. I think you… might’ve grown up in one of those… weird enclaves? No offense, but… you just don’t know very much. Maybe you ran away, made it to civilization. And I’m glad you did.” He leaned forward, rubbing up against her. “You’re better off here. Ponies are meant to live together.”
Sunset chuckled. “I did run away from somewhere to get here. It’s just… not an enclave.” She hesitated, glancing around them one last time. The shore was approaching rapidly, and with it any chance for her to tell him somewhere safe. It was now or never. “What if I told you I was from further away, would you be upset?”
Flash shook his head. “Moonrise, I don’t care where you’re from. A pony isn’t their past, they’re what they do in the present. You’re brave, you’re smart, and you’re a great cook. How much more could I want?”
Now her cheeks were burning. Sunset tried to ignore the flattery, as best she could anyway. But just because she knew rationally that she shouldn’t be influenced didn’t mean the logic would jump from her body to her brain.
“I’m… not from your world, Flash. I’m from so far, you’ve never even imagined where I’m from.”
“Is that why you wanted to go adventuring with the Royal Archeological Society? Expedition to… wait, that doesn’t make sense. You wouldn’t learn more about ponies far away. You should’ve stayed in a city. You were recruited in Canterlot like I was, so…”
“I don’t know why this is…” Sunset began. “But… I think maybe… I think maybe your world and mine have some similar people. There was another pony here with the same name. I don’t know where she went, but… she left me with her mess.”
Flash raised an eyebrow. Now he was really watching her, seeming genuinely nervous. “A pony who…”
The Chrysanthemum thunked loudly against the shore, rocking slightly to one side. Sunset wobbled, but didn’t fall over. Flash had moved out of reach, but for once it didn’t matter. Sunset’s coordination had improved considerably since her arrival months ago.
“I think she was… a criminal. I dunno, but they were putting up wanted posters all over Canterlot. That’s why I left. I didn’t want them to mistake me for her.”
“Wanted posters…” Now Flash’s eyes had gotten wide. He backed away from her, spreading his wings. “You’re a criminal?”
“No! It wasn’t me, Flash! I don’t even know what she was supposed to have done! I’m not from here!”
“Right.” He lifted into the air, landing on the railing and glaring down at her. “You’re her evil clone, or… maybe she’s yours. Moonrise, you know I’m trying to get into the Guard, right? I’m going straight up to the castle as soon as we get off the train. They already accepted my application.”
“Flash, I didn’t do—”
“No!” Flash landed in front of her, holding up one wing. “I know what the oaths say, Moonrise. When I go in that castle, I’m going to promise to protect Equestria. To uphold justice, to turn in evildoers… you need to stop talking right now. You need to stop, because if I know any more…” He lifted into the air again. Were those tears? He was a very large pony to be crying, but… yeah, he was crying. And Sunset was crying too. “I don’t want to turn you in. I can’t if I don’t know. Probably… we won’t be able to…”
“I’m not a criminal!” she said. “I’m from another world, I already told you! I’m from a place where people walk on two legs, where they eat meat, drive around in metal cars, where horses are a hobby and nobody has seen magic in their lives! Nobody even believed it was real, that’s why I—”
“I thought we mattered, Sunset. I thought… I thought you cared.”
“I did!” she said. “I do! I’m not—”
“You’re not acting like it,” Flash said. “I think… I think I liked you better before you saved everypony. Back when I thought you were like me. Not some… some criminal hiding from justice. You could’ve at least told me the truth.”
“I did!”
But he wasn’t listening. Flash took off, flying across the water and into the city. It wasn’t like he had anything to wait for—like the laborers, he’d already been paid.
Sunset watched him go, crying quietly to herself. Why didn’t he listen? Why doesn’t anyone listen? On Earth they hadn’t believed her about magic. But she spelled everything out in plain language, and he seemed determined not to hear.
Sunset found Daring Do as the Chrysanthemum was unloading, waiting in the back as she signed things off and dealt with dock officials. Only when they’d moved off did Sunset emerge from between the cargo boxes.
“What is it?” Daring Do asked, eyebrows up. “You look… upset.”
“I’ve been thinking about your offer,” Sunset said, sniffing. “I’ll, uh… I accept. Get me a meeting with the pony princess. I need to get this over with, not hide.”
“Okay,” Daring Do said. “Wait here while we unload. You can ride with me into Canterlot. You can talk to her after our presentation. Might go better that way, if you tell her who you are right after we’ve all said how helpful you were.”
“Sure, whatever.” Sunset turned away. She didn’t much care how it went. But at least she could get it over with.
Yeah, the whole "I'm from a parallel dimension" thing doesn't usually go over well with normal people. Hopefully Celestia has as open a mind as Daring. Hopefully Flash doesn't do a stupid.
Well well well...
We're about to see why this story is marked as AU
Surprised she hasn't chosen to run.
We’ll. That could have gone better, though Sunset did try, and it’s hard not to see things from Flash’s perspective. Still, hopefully Sunset talking to Celestia will help smooth things over. I can’t see Celestia letting her anger at pony-Sunset translate over to human-Sunset, not once she knows what’s going on, anyway.
Heh. I like Daring Do being annoyed at Celestia making learning about the past needlessly difficult while still acknowledging that she’s a basically good and fair pony. Though I also wonder how often Daring has had stuff taken away from her to be analyzed by top mares.
Daring: “Who?”
Celestia: “Top. Mares.”
Oh man Flash is in denial but its fairly reasonable why he would be
Awww poor Sunset.
On one hoof, I understand Flash's reaction
On the other, I really want to smack him.
Whelp, time to meet the big wig.
Huh, I honestly expected she'd somehow spend years traveling around the world with Daring, not facing the unknown solar goddess. Now I can see she WILL talk to her... and probably have Flash Sentry assigned to her protection/vigilance. Things're going to get awkward fast.
I hope Daring keeps taking her to expeditions, though. Having someone she can trust by her side's ought to be good. I don't envy it when the princess recommends NOT giving magic back to earth, due to the monsters. Sunset's going to be devastated.
Don't worry Sunset, ponies are just really stupid when it comes to things like that. He'll come around.
Another good chapter, looking forward to seeing how that meeting goes. Also poor Sunset.
9635094
Wanting to smack Flash is the normal state of affairs.
Pony!Flash had actually built up some goodwill with me, but he's pretty much burnt through that now, and ended up back in the "Hope he dies in a fire" category.
And a stern reminder that Flash seems to be about 16 to 18, and therefore a self-obsessed idiot. Don't worry, Sunset, his other brain will kick in after a while.
Welp, Flash just flew off like a girl from a cliched soap opera . Probably for the best, I don't see those two have much chemistry anyway.
9635202
I am one of those rare few who actually like flash though
9635013
too late
As someone who had collage biology courses... this is soo stupid... if it worked that way you are implying... equestria would die out from low population grow... Otherwise great chapter this just rubbed me the wrong way.
This is why we ease things in. Also, Flash is a fricken idiot for not letting Sunset finish her explanation.
9635312
To be fair, it's entirely possible this is the pony version of "Don't be silly; everyone knows you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex."
As if we needed yet another reason to despise Flash Sentry.
On the other hoof Sunset has decided to be a sensible pony, so all is well.
Eh, just because she was around back then doesn’t mean she knew where / what everything was. Could Dearing state the location of every garbage dump or privet arts collection in Equestria? In other countries?
Even for the stuff Celestia did know at the time there is no reason to think her memory is perfect and doesn’t degrade as the years pass.
While preferring that ponies go look for the answers themselves is undoubtedly part of her reasoning a greater part is likely that she genuinely doesn’t have the answers they want.
9635312
As creatures with higher brain function, we have the power to say "Hey, I want a baby," and then have one. If we were restricted to being able to do so for a small percentage of the year, then we would make use of that time if that is what we desired. Such "problems" only stop unexpected/unplanned pregnancy. This is something that would cause a difference in societal norms not a failure to propagate. Even all the usual "you can't get pregnant from X" bullshit would likely still happen during the windows where conception was possible. Fertility would also likely have to be increased during that time as well so that any attempts at conception are more likely to succeed. It is not impossible for it to exist in this way, it just has to follow the rules for it to happen in the first place. Working backwards, if it exists, it got here somehow.
9635386
You have to look at it from his perspective. If your girlfriend revealed that not only was she a criminal wanted by the crown (not just a town, but the crown itself) and her excuse of innocence was that she was from a different world and the mare on the posters wasn't really her, then yeah, you'd either be hard pressed to believe her, or you're so desperate for flank that you'd let anyone take advantage of you so long as they "feel" honest.
Additionally, law enforcement professions absolutely demand that you disassociate with any known criminals. Can't stop you from family or in-laws beyond your control, but a criminal girlfriend? You will get fired so damn fast your head will spin. You better believe that he is actually being kind to Sunny right now. He's giving her an out by distancing himself rather than backstabbing her by playing it cool, only to turn her in once they get back to Canterlot.
If anything, Flash is being both level headed and kind. It is a fault of the reader, not the character to judge Flash for not acting on knowledge he doesn't know.
9635354
Accidental pregnancy... That would be incredibly funny and unexpected... but it would derail the story a bit... who knows where Starscribe is going to take this one.
9635410
What I was trying to say that most people don't bother do their research. For this story it is completely irrelevant I assume. But even most fanfics about sex and reproduction do this wrong. And when you think about it... that sentence implied that ponies would have only about 7 days a year to conceive... and to that evolution say no... such species would die out very quickly... even a magical one.
9635312
MLP fanfic authors have this idea that Equestrian ponies go into estrus once a year. I don't know why. It's certainly not how dumb Earth horses work.
9635454
In the human world you would have a point.
But the story is not set in the human world. It is set in a world of magic where cloning, transformations, time travel and sundry other exotic occurrences are possible. Where other worlds are not things of fiction but rather history. Flash wants to be a guard. As Twilight hasn’t shown up yet that means dealing with weird stuff will be his job.
Even were that not the case if Flash had any integrity he would either:
A) Believe her and take her to whatever the relevant authorities are to have the misunderstanding sorted out.
Or B) Decide she is a lying criminal and take her to whatever the relevant authorities are to face justice.
9635312
This sounds like someone who half understood a single class on the estrus cycle. Real-world horses are seasonal polyestrus, meaning they have multiple estrous cycles (in horses, each cycle lasts approximately 3 weeks, being sexually receptive during the first week) during a particular season. Outside of those estrous cycles (during their anestrus period), they can't get pregnant.
However, monoestrus species do exist, which have only a single estrus cycle per year. Furthermore, "once a year" in casual conversation can easily be referring to the breeding season, not a specific mare's specific week. March Madness happens once a year, too, but that's not one week long.
Lastly, in real-world horses the onset of the estrus cycle is determined by the length of the day (amount of sunlight hitting the mare's eyes). This can be induced artificially with lighting that doesn't correspond to the timing of sunrise and sunset. In the fictional world of Equestria, ponies have apparently been in control of the sun since before Celestia was born, so if their reproduction is triggered similarly and timing was actually a limiting factor to population growth, they could solve that problem with no difficulty at all.
9635013
I would say this normally true, but... they live in a literal world of magic, and it is relatively common knowledge that Star Swirl banished multiple creatures to other dimensions. Tartarus literally exists. Flash is being stupid.
9635590
I suppose Flash is less inclined to believe it because she's trying to distance herself from the crimes of her counterpart. While I agree that it was stupid and rude of Flash to not hear her out, I can't entirely blame him.
9635494
Sunset constantly points out how similar their worlds are, so having a similar stance on criminal/officer relations is fully within this fic's realm of possibility.
As for the A,B choices, Flash hasn't taken the oaths of service yet, so he is not duty-obligated to turn her in at this time. As for morally, Sunset saved the camp from both golems, so he's paying her back for that.
As for not believing her, even in a realm like Equestria, what makes the most sense? That Sunny is lying about her crimes in an effort to keep him around, or that she's from a different planet, but still looks like a pony, who is also not the same pony in the wanted posters? There's dealing with crazy stuff, and then there's common sense. Changelings and clones and whatnot are not so common that believing her is realistic to any level headed person in Flash's shoes. He made the right call.
9624760
It looks light he took advantage of her after all, if them discussing her possibly getting pregnant is anything to go by. That shows his moral character, right there. Was it surprising at all that he would immediately leave her when he discovered that being with her would inconvenience his life goals in any way?
I actually consider her "feelings" for him to be Stockholme Syndrome. She's a fugitive in a hostile society that's trying to jail her for something she doesn't know about, and Flash Sentry was literally the first male in this world that was nice to her.
But maybe she'll come out of this stronger, and without that asshat. I just hope that the plot doesn't contrive to bring them back together.
Not much I can say other than great job on this latest chapter. Once more, the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places. As was pointed out by earlier reviewers, there IS such a thing as too far-fetched to be easily believed, EVEN in a realm like Equestria , EVEN if it IS the truth. Still, at least Daring is willing to give Sunset a fair chance. AND Sunset has decided to stop running from Celestia and go and see her. Something tells me Sunset might actually get more info on the stuff she wants anyway. At the very least, she will learn a little more offensive AND defensive magic to make herself more helpful to Daring. And hey, Flash might come around too eventually, so there is that as well. And, if she gets a chance to make friends with a filly Twilight later on, even better.
9635454 wrote : { You have to look at it from his perspective. If your girlfriend revealed that not only was she a criminal wanted by the crown (not just a town, but the crown itself) and her excuse of innocence was that she was from a different world and the mare on the posters wasn't really her, then yeah, you'd either be hard pressed to believe her, or you're so desperate for flank that you'd let anyone take advantage of you so long as they "feel" honest. }
I would believe her. My reaction :
"Oh, you're an interdimensional traveler whose local counterpart is a criminal. ... Hey, no big. It's not like you're responsible for what she did. So, what's your dimension like over there?"
Then I'd make out with her.^_^
If I encountered a version of myself I'd ask them "Dimensional traveler, time traveler, or clone?" ... Of course I watch/read/play a lot of sci-fi/fantasy/games. Sliders and The Journeyman Project come to mind here.
So... My reaction wouldn't exactly be 'normal'... for most people. It'd be a perfectly normal reaction for me anyway.
9635607
Pony Canterlot is a city built on the side of a mountain, ruled by a monarch. Biped Canterlot is a high school in an urban area, presumably in a country similar to america. There is no reason whatsoever to believe the legal codes or the cultural expectations between the two are similar.
So he think that saving the camp is enough to earn a criminal the chance to get away with their crime but not enough to earn a victim any benefit of the doubt. You know? I can actually see him thinking that. It lowers rather than raises my opinion of him but I can see it.
Counter question: What is more likely? Someone who successfully hid there identity and has every reason to think they have fooled you makes up some ‘implausible’ story that gains her nothing and risks everything. Or someone has experienced something that is weird and rare but known to be possible and needs help?
It isn’t unrealistic for Flash to think she is lying. However it is no more unrealistic for him to believe her. That being the case I find the choice he made disappointing bordering on reprehensible.
Flash doesn't know this name
Now THERE'S the bad boy we all love to hate!
9635688
Add in some caution just in case she IS the criminal and using this as a flimsy cover, but DON'T automatically assume it's a lie to begin with! Besides, he picked up on "not good at magic", would such a powerless mare REALLY be able to commit a massive enough crime to warrant all those posters?
People are piling on Flash for what he did, but we have to remember: He's a kid. Kids are prone to seeing things in black and white and can't see the shades of gray. He's been drilled in the official teachings of the Royal Guard, and he can't get beyond the armor. Somepony with more life experience behind them might react differently, but that's not Flash at this point.
The meeting with Princess Celestia will be... interesting. Does the Princess of this continuum know about the world beyond the mirror? If so, she'll be much more receptive to Sunset's story.
On a side note, it didn't take long for Sunny to get into horse sex. Guess she's a size queen.
Flash's reaction seems a bit over the top, considering interdimensional travel is a publicly known thing in Equestria.
I'd like to point out that Flash doesn't even bat an eye at Sunset's revelation. There's no surprise, not even uncertainty. There's no implication before this that Flash expects Sunset to be lying. I can only interpret this as Flash being entirely unfazed by the knowledge that this mare is from another world, and since he doesn't try to question it until after she mentions another pony with her name I can also only assume that he has accepted this information as true just as easily. So I'm a little confused when her bringing up her alternate-universe counterpart sends his paranoia meter from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds flat. I could understand him being skeptical of the whole situation and thinking this was all an elaborate ruse to make him think she wasn't a criminal when he saw the posters, but as stated previously it seems like he was totally unfazed and accepting of the alternate world situation. I was expecting the moment to be played for comedy (or possibly strong empathy on Flash's part) after the first part, with Sunset being super afraid to tell him something that he was willing to accept her for no problem. I just don't understand what happened here.
Not that I mind him leaving much. I haven't seen much actual chemistry between the two of them leading up to this. Sunset seems to find him a little attractive, Flash is nice enough and they get along ok. They kissed but that was more out of desperation on Sunset's part. All I can really pin it on are their teenage horny horsey hormones. Horsemones? Horsemones. Either way I'm finding it hard to get invested in this couple because aside from this big fight and Sunset's breakdown they just don't seem that into each other.
9636099
I read that as him initially interpreting "I'm from another world" non-literally, like someone who was raised in a cult describing where they came from as a "different world".
9635607
I think it's a reasonable reaction for someone to say "Yeah, no. We had fun, but this is too deep for me. I don't want to deal with whatever your brand of crazy is. I'm out." Sunset came across as way more emotionally invested in Flash than he was in her, and that's fine; he's under no obligation to listen to her explanation or be involved in her life.
... but, by the same token, it kills any goodwill the character had with me, means that my impression of him is that he's a self-centered teenaged asshole, that Sunset having anything further to do with him would be irritating, and that I'm kind of hoping that that's the last we see of him.
9636099 wrote : "They kissed but that was more out of desperation on Sunset's part. All I can really pin it on are their teenage horny horsey hormones. Horsemones? Horsemones. Either way I'm finding it hard to get invested in this couple because aside from this big fight and Sunset's breakdown they just don't seem that into each other."
They had sex. Sunset most likely lost her virginity to him. Her breaking down into tears at his rejection of her is believable.
EDIT: And remember that ponies mature faster than humans. Which makes Flash an adult. And Sunset is a young teenager. Which makes his actions even worse.
Wonder what he'll feel/do/say when he realizes he slept with a kid?
9636237
I don't disagree, her reaction was believable and rather sad. Their relationship on the whole though, the interactions shown in the text, haven't had a whole lot of depth to them. During the entire island arc we saw some initial attraction between them, and then Sunset drunkenly kissed him, and then we are told-without-actually-saying-the-word that they had sex and that Sunset sees him as her boyfriend. That's what I mean when I say I haven't seen much chemistry between them, not that it doesn't exist but it has apparently happened mostly offscreen. I do feel empathy for Sunset in this situation, but I am having difficulty being invested in her and Flash's relationship when I've barely seen any of it play out and I barely get to see how either one feels about it. It makes the relationship come off as vapid when I know more about their physicality than their romantic interest or friendship.
A lot of this comes down to pacing. The premise for this story is still very cool, but the plot is shooting forward at light speed. Canterlot > Boat Trip and meeting Flash > Island Arrival > Island Action Chapter and Kiss > Return Trip and Breakup. Whoosh. A large amount of time and events are being compacted into relatively short chapters, and ideas that are set up in one chapter play out far earlier than I was anticipating. Chekhov's Gun is being introduced in one scene and going off in the next.
Actually that last part isn't a metaphor. Sunset had a gun with 15 rounds of ammunition left introduced during the first fight scene. That was a really good setup. We knew she was going to be dealing with danger, we knew there was a deep, dark ruin, and we knew that with her magic being so limited the gun was her only direct source of damage. I was personally expecting the 15 bullets to dwindle over time, with Sunset trying to ration them, using them in creative ways perhaps, being forced to use too many and upping the tension, eventually leading to a climax where she has to decide how to use the last few shots. This was a good setup because, as the reader, I was left wondering what might be done with those 15 bullets, and there were so many options. Instead, all 15 are used in the very next chapter in one fight. The extent of the ruins is revealed to be no more than an additional room. The expedition is over, as is our time on the island, and now we're going back to Canterlot. So... why did we go to the Islas Colas for two chapters? To meet Daring Do and Flash? They could have been anywhere, they could have been in Canterlot. Heck, Flash WAS in Canterlot. I wasn't a huge fan of suddenly ditching the opening location for this unknown island but was willing to see where it went. Three chapters later and we are back where we started, and I'm struggling to understand why we left Canterlot at all.
i.ytimg.com/vi/-2Z0Y3Kk8nU/maxresdefault.jpg
Huh. Apparently weird, isolated enclaves are just an accepted part of life in Equestria. More so than parallel universes, anyway.
As for Flash, as has been noted, he's a teenager. Hasty action and emotion-driven reaction are kind of his thing, to say nothing of the unnuanced ideals of good and evil that are driving him towards the Guard. However, his complete lack of reaction to the first part of Sunset's confession doesn't make him look at all good. It seemed like he accepted that bit, only to go back on it when he heard about the criminal record in Sunset's name. Of course, he could have been humoring her, but it still feels off.
In any case, time to see how the big C reacts to a different version of Sunbutt Jr., provided the audience even happens.
Ironically if Sunset just sat in the background and did nothing her counterpart would succeed in bringing magic to the human world for her.
Dang, Sunset pushed past her Harkness Limit with a vengeance.
I think we can trust Daring to keep the secret, short of all hell breaking lose on account of it.
Man, it's a cruel joke if the reason EQG land doesn't have any magic left is that a history of warfare ruined the planet for it.
It's nice to have Daring Do on your side.
Geeze, Flash. Well, I suppose it was unlikely based on his future appearances that he was in a relationship on the side with human Sunset.
9637562
Except this is a clear AU, as the Sunset on this side was already a court mage.
9645720
Who knows that may just have been pony Sunset's official title and even if it was a recon that is such a minor change that in all likelihood has no impact on that Sunset's future actions at Canterlot High, so as of now we can safely assume that the Sunset we normally see is on the same path she was on in Canon, which would mean that my point about how the human world's Sunset can probably just sit back, relax and let her counterpart fulfill her goal for her still stands.
9645765
Uh...No. Sunset had literally the exact same position as Twilight, which was simply her student.
Also, why would they be putting up wanted posters when Celestia knew she fled through the mirror?
I know you want your theory to be right, but you need to actually look at the evidence.
Also, this authors work is basically all AUs.
9645771
the wanted posters were likely Celestia covering her bases, just pony Sunset didn't use actually use the portal, we don't know what happened so the safest thing to assume would be that things turned out like they did in Canon, again there is so far no reason to assume that the things that happened will impact pony Sunset's actions at Canterlot High.