Chapter 2
“No, no, I totally understand,” Arch said. “You came out here expecting to have to do a lot of work but instead you have to drink wine and attend parties. I can see why you’d be upset.”
“It’s not like that!” I kicked a rock out of the way. I wasn’t sure where it had come from. The street was covered in sand compacted down under a thousand hooves and the walls around us could have been built yesterday. I couldn’t see a dent or scratch on the stone. If it even was stone. The smooth finish was more like ceramic than worked stone.
Arch snorted and patted me on the back. I immediately checked to make sure I still had my bag of bits. “I’m just teasing you a little bit, sister! I can see you’re not the same kind of pony as Princess Cadance. You like to be involved in the nitty-gritty. Me, I’m the same way. I’m not afraid to get my hooves dirty.”
“Uh-huh,” I said. I kept glancing back. Something about the pony was making me feel like I was walking into a trap. Maybe it was the way she’d lured me out of the safe embassy and into what increasingly looked like the bad part of town, with trash shoved out of the way on every side. I swear at one point I spotted a skull.
“I guess part of me was hoping to meet Princess Cadance, but this is more interesting. Might work out good for both of us.”
“Right. So when are you going to tell me what this is really about?” I stopped walking, and Arch took a few more steps before she noticed and turned around.
“You got me wrong, sister. I just thought you looked like the kind of mare who wanted to blow the worst party in the city and find something a little more honest.” She winked. “That’s me in a nutshell. Honest and authentic.”
“With a name you picked out of a hat.”
“You know, my mother would be offended to hear you say that.” Arch sighed. “If you really wanna go back now I ain’t gonna stop you, but we’re almost where we’re going and the way you’re limping you might want to sit a spell and rest before you go.”
“Fine, but if it’s a trap…”
“You don’t seem like the kind of pony to fall for a trap. Besides, even if it is a trap, the best way to get out of a trap is to spring it, am I right?” Arch grinned.
“Or just… avoid it.”
She laughed and patted me on the back hard enough to make me stumble. “Avoid it! Hah! With everything I’ve heard you take things head-on. Even Nightmare Moon!”
That caught me by surprise. Sure, it had been impossible to keep everything that happened during the Summer Sun Celebration out of the papers, but as far as I knew Celestia had managed to spin it so hard most ponies only heard about Luna’s return and not anything leading up to it. “How did you hear about that?”
“I’ve got my sources. Don’t worry, I ain’t some kind of spy or nothin’. I just keep informed.”
“That’s pretty well-informed.”
Arch walked off, looking back over her shoulder at me. “Stick with me and I’ll pass on some nice little morsels. I can be a great friend. Trust me.”
It was uphill to our destination, but the slope was gentle enough that I didn’t really notice until Arch led me down sun-washed wooden stairs. Ragged boards lined the stairwell, holding back the sand that now loomed overhead.
“When there’s a big sandstorm it can dump a lot of grit on the city,” Arch explained. “The middle of the city, where all the rich ponies live? Streets are totally clear there. They shovel all of it to the edges and you end up with this, having to go spelunking to find the front door.”
I scraped sand off of the long-buried wall. Under all the sediment was a trace of paint, worn designs and swirls of color that I couldn’t quite make out. Where it had been sanded away, it left that pristine white stone I’d seen everywhere in the city.
“Why are all the buildings the same?” I muttered.
Arch knocked on the door, and it opened a crack, the pony inside peering out cautiously. Arch lit up her horn, providing a little more light in that dim hole.
“Hey! I decided to swing by to see how you were doing,” Arch said, her tone hushed like she was afraid she’d wake somepony up. “Heard a rumor that things went well.”
The door was thrown open, and the pony inside rushed out. I almost blasted them on instinct but they just pulled Arch into a hug, bangles jingling when they moved.
“Oh Mulberry, it is so good to see you! Come, you must come in!” The mare pulled on Arch’s hoof, leading her inside. Arch nodded for me to follow, so I kept close. Immediately inside the doorway were thick curtains, and the moment they parted, the sound and smell hit me.
Ponies were laughing, music was playing, and food was out in big shared dishes. It was a party, which at this point was almost the last thing I expected. Even the food smelled good.
“Mulberry, I don’t know what we’d have done without you,” the mare said. “Al’faras wouldn’t have made it through the week without the miracle you brought us.”
“That’s good,” Arch said, nodding. Or maybe her name was Mulberry. Or Jack, for all I knew. Whatever was going on, I was missing basically all of the context. “Hey, Sunset, why don’t you try some of the food while I go have a chat with the guest of honor?”
The bangle-covered mare giggled. “You are the guest of honor, Mulberry.”
“Nah, nah. I’m just a mare who was in a place to help. Al’faras is the one this party’s really for…”
They walked off and their voices were swallowed by the music and distance. I could have cast a scrying spell to listen in, but it seemed a little rude. Instead, I took a look around, trying to figure out what I’d gotten myself into.
The room wouldn’t have been out of place in Canterlot, tall arched ceilings and smooth stone and an abstract mosaic on the floor that had been covered by dozens of mismatched, threadbare rugs, overlapping where they were worn entirely through. It reminded me a little of the orphanage. The building had been massive and ancient and there’d never been enough furniture to fill up the space. A lot of rooms had just been foals playing house with scraps and garbage.
“W-would you like some food, Miss?” a foal asked. They’d gotten up to me without me even noticing. Just for a moment, she reminded me of Applejack's little sister, and it tugged painfully at something inside me.
“Maybe just a little,” I said. She smiled and led me over to one of the big dishes.
“You should try the chickpeas,” the foal suggested. “Oh! And the paprika jam! It’s so good on the naan!”
“Sure,” I said, getting myself a little of everything. It would be rude not to at least try it, right? The foal watched with amazement as I levitated a dozen bite-sized treats around myself, like she’d never seen a unicorn using magic before. “So my friend didn’t actually tell me what this party was for,” I said. “It looks like everypony’s having a fun time.”
“It’s a party for Al’faras,” the filly said. She looked across the room and I followed her gaze to where Arch was patting a young mare on the back and smiling. It took me a few moments to realize where I’d seen them before. The mare had been at the docks when I’d arrived, though she’d been a few shades paler and coughing up blood at the time.
“She looks like she’s doing better,” I said. “I thought she was sick.” Maybe that guard hadn't been wrong when he said she'd been faking it.
“She was,” the filly said. “But she got better! My mom says it’s because Miss Mulberry brought a wish to make everything okay again!”
“A wish, huh?” I didn’t want to just tell the filly this, but wishing magic wasn’t real. There was no such spell, no matter how powerful my guide was. Then again, with the ponies watching me eat, I got the distinct impression that most of them weren’t really familiar with even simple magic, much less anything advanced enough to actually cure a disease.
I took a bite without looking and spice filled my mouth, hot and sweet and fruity all at the same time. It made me think of Ponyville and hot-sauce covered cupcakes.
That shouldn’t have led me down a dark path that soured the taste in my mouth. I forced myself to take a bite of something else, focusing on the stuffed date until I wasn’t thinking about bouncing pink ponies.
“Could you get me some water?” I asked.
The filly ran off, and I gave the room a quick magical scan. Arch twitched a little when the beam passed over her, but nopony else even noticed it, the diffuse light of the spell barely visible in the room.
Immediately I felt it. A knot of something tying the supposedly-sick mare to the pony next to her. The way they held hooves I guessed they were lovers. That spell between them, though, it wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before. If I had to describe it to the laypony, I’d tell them to think of a big, pulsing heart pulling the blood out of the healthy pony and circulating it into the healing mare.
It was invisible to the naked eye, but the power of the spell was enough that even after I stopped scanning I could feel a trace of it on my horn.
Arch started towards me when the couple stopped her, offering her a small, ornate silver box. Arch shook her head and pushed it back into their hooves, whispering something to them and laughing in good humor before she made her way over.
“So, you got a good look at it?” Arch asked, before I could say anything.
“It’s dark magic,” I said, bluntly. “The spell is fueling itself on that stallion’s magic.”
Arch nodded. “That’s one way to look at it. What do you think’s going to happen?”
I bit back my immediate reaction and considered it, working through my thoughts out loud. “He doesn’t seem to be in any real danger. It’s more like a transfusion than anything else. He’s probably going to be a little weak, like he has the flu…”
“But his wife is going to live,” Arch said, finishing my thought. “Transfusion is a good way to think of it. Glad I brought you along for a second opinion. You seemed like the right pony for the job.”
“Because I’m a scary witch who does black magic?” I guessed.
“Because you’re Tia’s favorite student!” Arch said, patting me on the back again. “Expert in practically anything. When I asked around about Sunset Shimmer, what ponies told me was that Sunset is a pony who knows darn near everything and never lets anything go until she’s got answers for the rest.”
“That’s not what they told you.”
“Well, it’s the third or fourth thing they said. The first thing was that I shouldn’t get involved, but that usually just means things are interesting.”
“I’ve never seen dark magic like that.” I glanced at her and did another quick scan. “And you didn’t cast the spell.”
“Shocking, I know, but despite the rumors I’m not secretly running everything behind the scenes.” She sighed and grabbed some bread, tearing into it and continuing with her mouth full. “Glad to know they’re going to be okay. They’re a cute couple.”
“So if Cadance had been here, would you have shown her the same thing?” I asked.
“Nah. She wouldn’t have ever left a party in her honor,” Arch said. “Princess Cadance is a soft touch, very polite. You know that better than anypony. Can you picture her drinking half a handle of vodka and yelling at ponies?”
“No, I--” I paused. “That was inside the embassy. How in Tartarus did you know about that?”
Before Arch could answer, the door slammed open hard enough to crash off its hinges. Ponies jumped to their hooves and magic surged to my horn before Arch smacked the tip hard enough to disrupt whatever spell I’d been thinking of casting.
“Not a good time or place for a spell-fight, sister,” she said. “Too many foals around. Come on.”
Arch pulled me into the maze of hanging sheets and curtains along the walls. The music stopped and ponies started yelling at each other, anger and confusion and fear mixing together into a wall of muffled sound.
I looked at Arch and she put a hoof to her lips, silencing me.
I glared at her and moved to try and get a look, peering through a gap in the wall of fabric to see what was going on.
Ponies in uniform were pushing their way through the crowd. I didn’t recognize the uniforms but I did recognize the way they trotted and looked at the ponies in the room. They barked orders I couldn’t make out through a solid inch of silk and shag and started forcing them up and out of the room.
“They got something like a zero-tolerance policy for black magic,” Arch whispered. “They’re not as quick as you on the uptake but they’ll figure out what’s going on soon enough. Only question is if they’ll execute the mare and her husband or just one of them.”
“Execute?” A chill ran down my spine.
“Maybe. This ain’t Equestria, sister. The death penalty is still alive and kickin’, and these two might get to see the bad end of it.”
“There’s no good end.”
“Hah. Got that one right.” Arch muttered. “So what are you gonna do? You gonna jump in there and save ‘em? You’re more than strong enough to do anything you want. Toss them aside like dolls, be the big hero. You know you want to.”
Part of me did want that.
But then I thought about the embassy. The treaty. All I had to do was smile and shake hooves. I had to not buck anything up. If I was caught, what would happen? It’s not like I was afraid of going to prison. They probably didn’t have a prison that could hold me. But being arrested would knock everything down like a house of cards.
They’d call off the treaty. Princess Celestia would have to show up to bail me out and try to salvage things. I’d be a huge embarrassment to her, again, and this time I couldn’t blame it on--
I pushed that thought out of my head. It wasn’t going to be like that. I was here because of what had happened in Canterlot, and that meant not making the same mistakes twice. I couldn’t afford to take action now.
“I didn’t think you were afraid,” Arch muttered. I looked back at a gaze that was disappointed, but not angry. Not even surprised.
I wanted to say I wasn’t, but the words caught in my throat, and a bead of sweat got into my eyes and I blinked before she did.
“Let’s get out of here before they notice us,” Arch said. She reached into her robe and extracted a few glass spheres the size of marbles, swirling with white and black mist. Before I thought to ask her what they even were, she tossed them into the room and they erupted into smoke.
Arch grabbed my hoof and dragged me into the haze. Somehow, she seemed to know where she was going, guiding me through the blinding smoke without slowing or doubling back. She must have had some kind of spell at the ready to let her see through the murk, the same way I kept fire resistance and basic protection spells active as protection against my own bad habits. Any pony whose first reaction to being surprised involved throwing a fireball didn't last long unless they took precautions against splash damage.
Steps were under my hooves and I stumbled at the sudden change, almost falling on my face as I was dragged out into the street.
And not the street we’d entered from.
“Where are we?” I whispered, trying to catch my breath. I’d held it the whole way, just in case that was some kind of poison gas.
“I don’t like going anywhere without at least one back entrance,” Arch said. She let go of my hoof and took out one of her black clove cigarettes, lighting it and taking a deep drag. “Got to admit I didn’t think the Aretic Order would find them so quickly.”
“You almost got me arrested!”
“Maybe,” Arch admitted. “Not part of my plans, though. I wanted this to be a nice fun night for you. Gotta admit I thought for a minute there you were gonna tear that place up and teach those jerks a lesson.”
“I don’t even know what this ‘Aretic Order’ is. I’m not going to start a fight when I’m--”
Arch waved me off. “Yeah, yeah. When you’ve got all of Equestria counting on you, right? I’ve heard it before. Ponies like to make all kinds of excuses instead of helping each other. Sometimes it’s that they’ve got family back home counting on them, or a duty to country or honor or something like that.”
“I just don’t want to mess up again,” I muttered.
“Ask the ponies who got arrested while you were watching if you messed up or not,” Arch said, and I looked down at my hooves, mouth dry. “You should be able to make your way back to the embassy from here. I’m gonna go see if any of the irons in my fire can pull strings or somethin’ along those lines.”
I didn’t look up. Arch got halfway down the block before she said anything else.
“You know, something a pony told me once is that you can’t learn unless you make mistakes. The trick is not giving up the first time you fail.”
“And the other trick is not making the same mistakes twice,” I said, from memory. “Princess Celestia used to say that all the time. How did you know that?”
I looked up. Arch was so completely gone she might as well have teleported away.
“Figures,” I muttered. “I won’t take my eyes off you next time.”
And it felt like there’d be a next time. I was already sure I’d be seeing her again.
The good thing is that I did know how to get back to the embassy. Arch had given me the clue on the way here. The sand was piled up high in the bad parts of town on the edges of good society, so all I had to do was follow the gentle slope downhill and eventually I’d get there.
At least that was the theory.
It held up until three ponies stepped out in front of me just before I would have walked out into a main street, just black shapes against the lamplight in the thoroughfare beyond.
“Miss Sunset Shimmer, I presume,” said a clipped voice with a heavy accent.
I lit up my horn to get a look at who I was facing, bright enough that I got to see them wince at the sudden flare.
Two of them were the same brand of thugs that had been rounding up ponies at the party. The third was in a much more ornate version of the same uniform, with so many silver chains and bangles that it was more like armor than decoration. She had a stern look to her and a face like a slab of marble, grey streaks running through her mane and creeping into her coat.
“Who wants to know?” I demanded. If I was going to be arrested anyway it was going to be for something worthwhile, like throwing somepony so high they’d need to ask Luna to collect them from her moon.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the pony said, narrowing her eyes to focus on me through the glare. “I am Sirocco Mandala, head of the Aretic Order. This is a very dangerous time to be out and about.”
“Is it?” I asked. “I heard Saddle Arabia was one of the safest places in the world.”
“Every nation wants to pretend that they are safe. There are always dangers in the shadows.” She was still standing between me and the street. I could get past them without trying, but the last time I’d fled from custody it had ended really poorly.
“I was just heading back to the embassy anyway,” I said. “I needed a walk to clear my head. It was a long trip.”
“I’m sure it was,” Sirocco said. She kept staring at me with that expression that said she could see right through every lie and half-truth I tried to put between us. “I hope you’ve been able to do just that. It’s good to be very clear on where we stand. You have a reputation, Miss Shimmer. A reputation for causing trouble.”
“I didn’t know I was so famous. I’d swear more ponies have heard of me in Saddle Arabia than in Equestria!”
“Don’t take it as flattery. It’s my business to know about potential threats.”
“Really? I’d love to compare notes.”
“Of course we would be happy to provide the embassy with literature on local monsters, though they are never seen this close to the city.” Sirocco kept staring. Didn’t ponies around here ever blink? “If you were hoping to see our files on you, my job is not to feed your near-legendary ego.”
“I hope they say good things. I’m just here to sign a treaty.”
“Yes. And if you are wise, that is all you’ll do.” Sirocco took a step forward, lowering her head slightly as if imparting a secret. “There is dark magic at work. If you were not an ambassador I would detain you to… assist with the investigation. Diplomatic immunity makes that impossible, for now.”
“I’d be happy to help when I have free time. You can send your notes along to the embassy along with those books on monsters you mentioned. I’ve always loved learning.”
“Indeed. We’ll do so. I would be very happy to have your help in cleaning up this mess.” Sirocco stood up straight again, like her spine was a steel beam and bending slightly had been a great effort. “I will be watching you. Closely. For your own safety.”
“I can watch myself.”
“Don’t worry. My officers can be very subtle. You won’t even know they’re there. I promise you that. Would you like an escort back to the embassy?”
“I can find my own way back.”
“As you wish. Travel safely and in the light, Sunset Shimmer.”
She stepped aside, and I stepped past them into the main street without a word, feeling like a target had been painted on my back.
“I swear,” I grumbled. “The next time a mysterious pony tries to be coy and clever with me, I’m going to set them on fire.”
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something tells me tia doesn't know the shit going on in saddle arabia.
That's always the way it is, isn't it? You show up somewhere to do a job, and before you know it, you're swept up in some kind of internal civil conflict that you want no part of.
Although this does sort of ask the question of, "What did Arch expect Sunset to do, exactly?" Even if she could beat them up without throwing explosives everywhere, and even if she had the authority to do something, what was going to be the end result? These aren't grade school bullies, after all; they're unaccountable government thugs with too much authority. If she did beat them up, they would limp away, and then return with backup and kill everyone.
Plus, with dark magic involved, there won't be any quarter given by Celestia; about the only thing that could result from it is getting her to either admit that sometimes dark magic has its uses and it shouldn't be outlawed entirely, or to admit that dark magic never has a use, and it outlawing it entirely means that ponies die, then ponies die.
I didn't miss that slip that Arch made, though. There's something else going on here that we can't see just yet.
9778138
Either that or she subtly manipulated Sunny into taking the position and this is all a giant 4-d chess match.
And so the plot thickens.
Sunset didn’t set anyone on fire, that speaks volumes about her character growth. Although one or two immolations seem warranted.
Arch is quite the enigma. I’m leaning toward another former student but I can’t think of a fitting candidate that was mentioned early in the series. I might have to do some research. How very Shimmy of me.
9778165
perhaps, but then sunny' reaction to not take action, goes against what tia would hope for
9778147
Who says Arch expected anything different? There's clearly things going on in the background that Sunny isn't aware of, and given that she's Sunset Shimmer, she'll probably stumble into them sooner or later.
And when she does, she'll have this little voice in the back of her head saying "you stood by and did nothing last time, are you going to stand by and do nothing again?
You’ve basically made Harry Dresden a tiny amber colored ketchup and mustard named mare unicorn
I love it
9778260
It might still lead to war even after the treaty is signed.
No, that isn't the game here. Besides, Arch seems awfully familiar with Celestia, don't you think?
I wouldn't trus the Aretic Order they remind me too much of secret police. The author's note implies that Arch might be Starswirl the Bearded but I guess we will learn eventually.
Fleur de lis maybe?
"the couple stopped him, offering her"
"the couple stopped her, offering her"?
"habits. Any pony whose first reaction"
"habits. No pony whose first reaction"?
I hope Sunset immolates the next coy and clever pony who decided to be cryptic with her.
9778486
I'm not sure there are any other tall, thin unicorns named by season 2.
Edit: Yeah, definitely her. She's the only one I could find on the list that fits the bill. Plus, having her as a spy type character is relatively common in fanfiction.
I so want to see her making good on that promise.
I didn't see you jumping in, Arch, you little hypocrite! All you did was set two innocent ponies up to die and then watch to see what Sunset would do!
Sounds like a good idea, and hey if Sunset gets the fire hot enough, there won't even be a body left behind. (Sunset should test this theory on Arch.)
9778206 True, but Sunset is smart enough, and cynical enough, that she will quite possibly have another little voice pointing out that she has no authority in Saddle Arabia, her only protection is diplomatic immunity (which does not prevent "accidents"), and that the person trying to drag her into the situation deliberately used Dark Magic on two innocent ponies, knowing that one or both ponies would be executed when (not if) it was found out, and everyone in the house would be arrested. And the Aretic Order strikes me as the kind of group that tends to "disappear" inconvenient witnesses or "extraneous" prisoners.
So Arch is as much a villain as the Order seems to be, not someone to be taking "moral examples" from.
I'm a little disappointed in Sunset there at the end. She missed a perfect opportunity for a witty one-liner.
She seems Trixie-ish. Illusions, smoke bombs, almost theatrical in the way she speaks sometimes. Arch is already a memorable character, and I can't wait to see more of her.
9779346
Smart and cynical, no doubt, but smarts and level headedness aren't the same things at all. Sunny is still very obviously ruled by her emotions, not her logic.
Last time she ran away from home because she couldn't emotionally handle the idea that she was wrong and then continued hiding out once she realized she was wrong... Because she couldn't emotionally handle the idea of disappointing Celestia.
And it sure looks to me like the primary factor in her decision making process is still her emotions.
9779650 Hmm ... yeah, Sunny is still ruled (mostly) by her emotions, and Arch is deliberately playing on them in order to try and drag our baconhead into whatever plot she has going on, so Sunset probably will get roped in.
I still keep a hope that Sunset will realize that Arch is just as much a villain as the Order and add her to the fire.
going to say Arch is in fact a changeling, maybe even the queen,
So the city has maybe a day tops before it gets burned to the ground then? Good to know.
9779803
Nah, Arch is totally on the up and up. 100% my Dredgen biases talking, but I have faith.
Arch can’t be a (canon) changeling, as the only named one was Chrysalis until well after season 2 (the comics didn’t start until after as well). My first guess was either Celestia or Luna (basically trying to guide Sunset into being a different kind of agent and the whole Treaty thing was just an excuse to put her there), but both of them were named in season 1. Technically since it says the character was named as early as season 2 doesn’t mean they can’t be from season 1, but that seems very unlikely. I could see Cadance filling a similar role to some extent, but that seems a bit much for her. She could potentially be a more subtle Discord, but that also seems unlikely due to his character in season 2 (though it would be hilarious and potentially explained by a more forceful mane six and extra chaos curtesy of Sunset).
With illusion magic and potential gender switching spells, Arch could technically be anyone from the first two seasons. Heck, with the way she talks about ponies, she might not even be one, or be say Clover or some other ancient pony still alive in some way. Personally though, I’m still leaning towards Arch being one of the alicorns in disguise.
9780590 Arch's behavior so far says the complete opposite, but keep the faith.
Yeesh. There's no good option in this conflict, and I mean that in multiple senses. One side sees any hint of darkness as grounds for execution, the other sets up real-world moral dilemmas and tests of character regardless of the consequences for the characters therein. And that's saying nothing of trying to incite international incidents.
As for Sunset, she needs to learn that inaction can be a mistake in and of itself. That isn't always the case, but sometimes not making a choice can be the worst choice of all. Short of choosing to run away as far as possible from the site of your mistake, of course.
9781712 That's why you just march in a curb-stomp every primitive backwards society and wipe out every last trace of it!
FOR THE GREATER GOOD.
9780790 Star Swirl the Bearded?
Arch, "Here you go, sick pony! Have this DARK MAGIC artifact which is totally a murderable offense to own! Oh, and by the way, I'm totally not gonna stick around when the guys who apparently ALWAYS sniff this stuff out somehow sniff this stuff out and show up to murder you!"
Nice to know the mystery pony is a total jackass who could have just slipped a healing potion from some zebras and instead made sure both of them would die.
Can I just nuke the whole place right now and get it over with? Nothing of value would be lost. The silver mines will be far enough outside ground zero. (Alondro is a very practical person... like a warlock or Davros.)
This. I literally have stuff I wrote decades ago that I use in my current works. So yes, by all means, save it!
This is something I'm starting to wish the Sunset of Teahouses of Saddle Arabia would do.
Arch gets shadier and yet, somehow more likeable the more we see of her. Though the interesting thing is she wanted Sunset to stop those guards but she didn't do it herself. And if Sunset was strong enough to do so, Arch, who registers as about as strong, should have been able to.
Hm. On the one hand, this treaty supposedly exists because Luna really wants a source of silver. So, if you have a clear line of communication back, it should be possible to excuse any act threatening the treaty or diplomatic relations as long as you can plausibly claim WWLD? (What Luna Would Do). That said, getting away with it requires exactly the diplomatic skills this iteration of Sunset doesn't seem to have on tap. Especially since somehow the circumstances of her departure didn't allow for any of the briefings on government, culture, power structure and social standards which would allow Sunset to function upon her arrival in any useful capacity other than either a ceremonial figurehead or a random adventurer who just happens to have a country's reputation chained to her flank.
Shame the ship wasn't attacked by pirates. She clearly needed something to do on the trip other than try very hard to ignore the implications.
*Coy and mysterious pony* - jots down notes.
i think saddle arabia is too arrogant. maybe dropping a grand spell or two in their castle.
fear is a powerful tool. they doesn't have loyalty or kinship to equestria anyway.
Yeah, only a matter of time till Sunny starts setting this Order on fire. Something very bad is going on here and she will only hold back for so long.
As to Arch... my guess at first was a disguised Luna, but looking at some of the dialog, it might also be a disused Cadance.