Every action taken is like dropping a pebble in a pond, creating ripples that extend ever outward. Every choice has consequences, good and bad... Putting on a Crown may have changed Sunset Shimmer's life...but it also Changed two worlds...
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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I love the new cover art. It looks fantastic.
However one word of concern - why is Twilight's sole imagery, who features SO VERY PROMINENTLY in the story and in Sunset's life... covered up by a great big huge R?
Woo, cover art!
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I could probaby spend three paragraphs waxing on symbolism and how it reflects the way she covers up her association with Twilight, spinning some deep and philosophical answer, but sometimes, the curtains are just blue because the author liked the color.
Truth is, thats just the way it panned out in the final version, when the tital card was added and set roughly centered at the top part of the image.
Although I do enjoy the subtle idea that it does reflect the way Sunset and Twilight attempt to hide their relationship, blind to the fact that their obfuscation of it is poor and anyone with half a brain and eyeballs can pick out whats going on. Happy accidents and whatnot.
Dont worry, I do have plans for further story art that I wanna commission from the artists, including a few cute and at least one steamy scene from the story. Maybe I’ll do a contest or something to have people submit suggestions and then vote on like the top five or something. Dunno yet. Gotta save money for it first haha.
As a visual learner I adore that cover art! I couldn’t stop looking at it, it even made me want reread from the beginning ( for the third time). I’ve admired this artist’s work for good minute and instantly recognized it.
As for chapter, very very interesting. Im glad to see Twilight letting up and not being so hostile about the transfer idea, as I understand that was caused by dark magic from the school. I do understand where she’s coming from with feeling like the transfer means she’s a quitter- even though in this case that’s furthest from the truth and I hope she can work those feelings. As for Suri repeatedly taking her senior year three or four times… doesn’t that mean she’s at least twenty???
Im looking forward to how the conversation between Sunny and the principals will go. Though am upset we got robbed of chocy sauce time.
*Casually slides in drawing visual of them eating uhhhh ✨cake✨*
Now just you wait once I get this chocolate syrup I'm going to pour it all over... *ahem* anyhow as it was stated before the cover looks absolutely fantastic kudos to them. Another thing I would point out that might be a favorite of Sunset's is deep fried pickle chips which actually are better than what they sound.
It was admittedly interesting and frightening to see Sunset the manipulator working her Twisted Magic as you said staying 12 steps ahead of the person who didn't even realize they were being played, scary. Her "oh shit.." reaction was heartening. It shows growth that you k ow it's wrong.
I do hope we get to see the double date before everything goes straight down the crapper, as was anticipated. Thank you again.
Green and purple glowing eyes... hmmm... nope! Can't think who's those belong too.
On another note, Art style is great, a shattered mirror imagery with the feel like Spectacular Seven story. Gives you a lot of vision to what you'd find in this story.
Twilight's getting dragged down a dangerous hole she doesn't realize she's in, with the comming Friendship Games, Wallflower Blush's pet rock, and her research project. There's also the matter with the school being like one big Kodoku.
Can't wait for next chapter!
This makes me want an update to Cassandra's Cry all the more. Spike clearly knows there's a bigger issue as he's on alert guarding the door. Love to know what's going in on his puppy brain.
Yeah I can see why Sunset would get funny looks from the Sparkles when she gets into the extensive hypothetical situation of what Cinch could do. I mean, she's speaking from experience so backup plans, blackmail and emotional manipulation were her game for years. What's impressive is she did it without magic, a lower budget and fewer connections.
I'm glad to see Twilight is at least open to the idea of transferring to CHS, even if it took some prodding.
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Team Rocket's blasting off again???
Makes me want to see who can out cunning, manipulative bitch the other: Sunset Shimmer or Cozy Glow.
Great chapter! I was expecting that Sunset would end up at least dancing around the question of "wtf was all that crazy dark magicky stuff" but then realized that she was the only one who could actually perceive the magic.
Also, Twilight is still dead set on finishing the semester at Crystal Prep?!? Personally I think Sunset should grab the rest of the girls, set the Orbital Friendship Cannon to "maximum property damage" and go scorched-earth on the place. But that's just me
Did Sunset forget that there is potential life threatening black magic in crystal prep and it's ok for Twilight to go right back to it?
"Yeah Luna there is black magic there and Twilight will go back because education is really important to her"
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Nothing wrong with rereading the story. I wrote the damned thing, and I've re-read it a dozen times or more to make sure its all fresh in the brain.
Yes, I love the artists' works, especially their EqG stuff. They just put so much emotion and expression into the characters, and when I started going through their stuff like a year and a half ago or so, I knew they were the ones I wanted to do the cover for Rubicon. (I actually had the concept for the cover in my head since about the Battle of the Bands events went up, but I lacked the skill myself--my art talents lie in the area of savage werewolves and monsters--and it took time to find the right people to commission.)
Twilight is a bit stubborn. Its hard to dissuade her when she gets an idea in her head. Hopefully they can work on her.
And yes. That is why there've been comments about Suri being "about to age out" of the school system. There's a grace period of over 18 ages in the American public school system to account for children who have been held back or have learning disabilities. I am not certain if it varies based on state, but at my high school back in '03, it was 21--which allowed for someone who had failed up to 3 grades over the course of their school year to still graduate. After that, they had to go for a GED instead.
I'm sure you can fill in the blanks on what Twilight was doing with that chocolate syrup and a hot girlfriend like Sunset. Especially if she found whipped cream too. *waggles brows* Besides, there's a chapter coming up that will make up for it, I suspect.
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See? You get it. *chuckles*
The cover is just amazing. I seriously recommend the artists. Cannot say that enough. I might have plans to commission them for a NSFW shot of that dream sequence that involved a demony Sunset and Twilight in a library. Because even I can appreciate a bit of fanservice.
And to think, this was just a TASTE of the master of manipulation that is Sunset when she wants to be cunning. I've been made to understand that the scariest thing in the world was to watch a master of manipulation not only do their thing, but walk someone through exactly how and why they are doing each step while accurately predicting the other peoples' reactions days, weeks, or even MONTHS before it happens, a dozen or more steps before even beginning something, and then being in a position to watch everything unfold with the external view.
...Sunset's just getting warmed up.
Double date is between 30-40K words all on its own. Like 6 chapters. Dont worry. You'll get a great view of the whooooole thing.
Plus it'll be the return of Glamour and Wildsong.
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I cant imagine who those evil eyes belong to....
The imagery was meant to be very in line with the story and themes. Hence the shattered mirror--someone else pointed out the "broken soul" analogy, which was 100% on point. The artists captured it so perfectly, and I couldn't be happier. Unsurprisingly, Long Road was the story that sold me on the pairing, and on Sunset as a character enough to actually go back and watch more than the very first EqG movie.
Twilight is definitely headed for trouble.
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Yeah, I need to get back to that. For...reasons.
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Some people have a natural ability to read others and predict behavior, as well as to manipulate. A lot of those people turn that ability to doing good--they make excellent psychologists and therapists, for example, or profilers for the criminal justice system. Some use it for things like marketing and advertising, which is...exploitative, but neutral.
Some use it for selfish reasons, for bad things, particularly if its paired with a low or lack of empathy and compassion. Until her reformation, Sunset was one of these people. Brilliant mind, highly perceptive, natural charisma, capable of understanding and predicting behavior accurately, a tactical planner versed in strategy and diplomacy, all coupled with a lack of compassion or ability to value other people's feelings when it didn't relate to how it could help her achieve her goals. That's a recipe for a terrifying person who runs rings around others and is one hell of a puppetmaster. The only things that tripped her up was 1) her inability to react and change plans quickly when her predictions were wrong, and 2) Her temper getting the better of her. Those things make her sloppy, and she made mistakes.
So yeah, there's a bit of a realization that has settled over the family that Sunset's declarations of "how bad she was before" may have more truth than they thought...because while her ACTIONS were no more than those of a high school mean girl...the abilities were the kind of thing present in some of the most awful people ever to exist. It doesnt mean they love their little adopted unicorn any less, but it does mean they are more aware now of how dangerous she could be as an enemy.
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Cozy Glow...is the sociopathic pegasus filly, right? The one from like...season 9? (I pretty much stopped watching all the episodes after season 6, and cherry picked through the good ones of season 7. I don't think I've seen season 8 or 9. Though in a contest between manipulators, it often comes down to knowledge, motivation, and experience.
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I mean, she's still trying to figure some things out about what she saw--you'll see that in her talks with Luna, as well as her friends, in upcoming chapters.
Yes, a lot of people seem to be on the "Rainbow Exterminatus!" bandwagon. I'd wager our girl is certainly considering it.
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She did not forget, but its a somewhat complicated situation for her. Sunset cant MAKE Twilight or her family do anything. She can suggest, support, voice concerns, but she isnt a controlling body and she does know it, and she's no longer one for manipulating the way she used to. If she voices anything about magic, they will want proof. Tangible proof. And since her magic is still...somewhat elusive and barely under her control, she is exceptionally leery of demonstrating it...which leaves her to use the girls, and she's still struggling there, because she wants Twiliight to know the truth before she meets the girls.
Plus, she's still working out how to explain to Princess Twilight "Hey, I'm dating your human counterpart and I really want to tell her what amounts to a state secret or four...and I'm technically a convicted traitor serving a sentence of exile...can I do that?"
Granted, she's blowing the situation a bit out of proportion, and she's still trying to do too much on her own, but she's getting better.
Whether or not she'll get her shit sorted before the house of cards she's built comes crashing down? That's another story.
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I am interested to see what Luna/Celestia are going to do at this point.
They were solely relying on Sunset who seems to loose control of the situation(not her fault) and has a conflict of interest with human Twilight.
I know magic is new for everyone but as the only sort of human authorities they should at least try get some more help from Equestria and it doesn't have to be princess Twilight.
Well, Twi is being stupid.. but she is right. And that really sucks.
As Sunset's past becoming today for a bit shows. Chinch isn't as good at it as Sunset is, very few could be. Her empathy is her greatest strength, but it can easily be turned against people as she shows here.
Really wish we could see more of what is going through Shining's head. If nothing else, Sunset would make a hell of a detective.
One possible hole in Twi's argument, and it is pretty sound, would be Luna. If Twilight transferres with cause like this. While Cinch can and will 0 her, the administration of CHS might, might, be able to do something to counter.
And it's not like Luna didn't see Twi completely out of it and how Cinch reacted to her, Indigo and even Sunset.
Magic not withstanding of course.
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Aye, it is. Cozy's whole shtick is that she's a master manipulator (her CM is a chess piece), who despite her cute and innocent appearance is able to out maneuver everyone around her in order to gain personal power.
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That is true in a lot of ways—they have been telying on Sunset for the magic situation, and in some ways, Sunset is compromised because of her closeness to the situation.
But they have the issue of “who else can they talk to?” As far as they know, Sunset has the only real method of communication to the other world, and its via a journal written in a language they cannot read and do not know. Yes, Princess Twilight has managed to decipher English text—probably through liberal use of TTS on a computer over the a very sleepless night—but they arent sure how fluent she is. Thats the reason Sunset taught all her friends and the Principals how to write “Sunset hurt, send help!” In Ponish glyphs in the journal in an emergency after the incident in the magic room that led to her getting a magical concussion.
They cant exactly make an interdimensional phone call and talk to their own counterparts.
Yet.
Once Sparky is in the know, I’m sure she’ll work with her counterpart to make that a thing.
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Yeah, thats the sucky thing. Twilight isnt wrong in her points, but her motives for making the points are screwy.
Just because her past is in the past doesnt mean it never happened. All those lessons and skills are still part of her. (I feel the phrase “my past does not define me” is a much better lesson than “hakuna matata” personally.) As long as she maintains her empathy for others rather than just her ability to perceive emotions, she should be okay, but yes, without it, she can be a terrible, ugly personality.
Shining is having a think back to the conversation where Luna called out how brilliant and clever and cunning Sunset is, and how if Cinch thinks she’s good, Sunset would run rings around her. He’s realizing that Luna was spot on, and trying to decide how to proceed. He really hates the idea of using teens to frustrate what he thinks is essentially a kind of cult leader/crimeboss…but theres also a part of him realizing that Sunset was clearly a spanner in the works.
As for Luna helping with the grade situation, that is a possibility, but grades and transcripts can be a bit complicated and finicky, especially since she would be transferring in the last part of the year and at least one of the “grading periods” has completely ended, meaning if Cinch stamps it with a big fat 0 on the official transcript, there is nothing anyone can really do to change that particular grading period. (In college, one could appeal a grade under the right circumstances, but high school is…not so fortunate, and Cinch teeeechnocally would be operating inside the rules.)
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I assure you, I read every comment I get. I enjoy the little glimpses into the minds of the readers. Nor will I fault you for punctuation taking a dive—when im chatting, my punctuation also suffers—im notorious for abandoning the apostrophe in all my contractions.
I too have a measure of experience writing characters with immortal or extremely long lifespans, both of the born and the made variety, and I find them to be a fascinating psychological thought experiment regardless of the kind, whether thats elves who live for thousands of years trying to deal with humans who grow old and die before an elf is considered a “responsible voting adult,” an ancient sorcerer and his daughter who have been around for thousands of years shaping the destiny of a world, or the psychology of a god who has never known the threat of time or death, or even a magical unicorn in a lilac wood who lacks any frame of reference for such mortal emotions as “regret.” Hell, I’ll even go out on a limb and include one of the better interpretations of DEATH I’ve ever seen. All of them are fascinating to me.
And yes, you raise some fantastic points about how an immortal views the world, particularly one such as a god who has never felt the passage of time or the fear of death—beings some how outside the normal cycle… many of these are actual thoughts and questions we have discussed in the Rubicon writers room at length.
However, one flaw in your logic is that Celestia was not born an immortal goddess, from a “race” of immortal gods. She did not spring fully formed into the universe. She was born mortal, to mortal parents in a time where mortality was very much understood to be hanging over everyone’s head. Life could end at any moment because Chaos is a bitch. Indeed, she and Luna lost their mother young, and their father was killed in the same incident that earned them their marks and ascension. They did not even realize their immortality until after their first century or so had passed and they discovered that they were not aging in the slightest (which is mostly to do with how Rubicon ponies age, and how magic plays into the process, I admit.)
So its less a case of “how immortal gods interact with mortals” situation (like what humans would see because of how gods tend to be for us), and more a case of “what happens when you subject a mortal psyche to these stressors that it was never meant to deal with?” The dog analogy is a lovely example, I find, because different people deal with the dog lifespan differently. In my family, pets are people, if four legged furry ones. They have personalities and cleverness as big as any human child, and they attach very strongly to us and we to them. But we know they dont live the same length, and we savor as many of those wonderful moments as we can. We take pictures, we laugh and share the stories of their antics, and we spend as much time as we can with them, even if its just holding a somewhat one sided conversation with them. When they pass, we grieve, and their ashes and collars go up on a special shelf, where we still speak to them when we pass and honor the memories we hold. Its a very “better to love and lose than to never love” situation for us. Other people…dont do that. Some avoid the attachment at all, others keep it very much at arm’s length, and some completely detach and refuse to own pets at all after a bad experience.
And yes, the views of the extended cast in this story tend to be somewhat anti-princess Celestia…because they only have one unicorn’s view of the entire thing. None of them have yet heard Celestia’s…not even the readers. (Though there is the beginnings of “Memories of the Little Sun” that I encourage you to take a peek at.) A lot of the stiff to fo with Celestia will feature in “Supernova,” the (comparatively) short story that will take place before Volume II of Rubicon.
At the end of the day, despite her lifespan, Princess Celestia is not a bad person…well, pony…but she’s still a pony. She can make mistakes, she has character flaws, and she has the compounded problem of probably needing some serious counseling in a culture where that’s typically handled by family…(hers being long dead or chilling on the moon.) She tries her best, but she isnt perfect, and her compassion for her people has meant sacrifices in other areas.
Though if you think Princess Celestia’s status as a sun goddess will stop Sunset’s friends and family from expressing their displeasure, I would point out that five teens faced down a raging she demon with no powers whatsoever, and Sparky’s counterpart punted Tirek through a mountain like his name was Goku. Plus Velvet and Night are getting up in the face of a Fae Lord. I’m not certain they will give the goddess term any more than a glance, lol. Humans are ballsy little shits.
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Fair. I’d say then that I feel Sunset would have a slight advantage for two reasons in the experience category. One, she is simply older and has both a more mentallly mature brain and more time to have been practicing manipulation. Two: she has spent five years at this point honing her edge against humans rather than ponies. Ponies are a wonderful species, but humans seem to have cornered the market on duplicitous, manipulative individuals who play petty power games and politics starting at a surprisingly young age, and it doesnt require it to be their “special talent” for them to get focused on it. Take any high school of a thousand students, and not only are you guaranteed at least a dozen manipulative mean girls in each grade level, you’ll find at least five or six among the teaching staff! Which says nothing of the hundreds of people in that same school who do subconscious or passive social manipulation to get what they want, like guys who manipulate girls into going further than they really want, or friends talking their pals into seeing h to at one movie or breaking a rule or whatever. Kind of the difference between someone who has learned martial arts in a dojo to compete in matches and a spec ops soldier who learned it and practiced using it to incapacitate or kill enemies.