Sunset Shimmer will not be denied.
Freshly disowned and banished by Princess Celestia, she takes matters into her own hooves to claim the power she so deeply desires. She packs a few essentials into her saddlebag, knocks out a few guards and throws herself into the Crystal Mirror.
She didn't exactly know what to expect on the other side... she definitely didn't expect to wind up in some old guy's classroom, herself transformed into a human. But at least there's magic in this world!
Now she finds herself under new tutelage, as a brand new 5th year in one of the finest magic academies in the world: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Eager to prove herself and claim what's rightfully hers, Sunset devotes herself to her studies and aims to become the most powerful witch in the world.
But the Wizarding World is far from a peaceful place. A mysterious new magic shows itself, and unknown enemies and their devious machinations threaten not only her quest, but her life as well. As much as she hates to admit it, she may need a few allies to see her through.
Her dreams slipped through her hooves the first time. This time, she won't let them go... no matter the cost.
9/14/23 - YOOOOO it's on the Featured list!
Make sure none of thos activists are here
Slytherin! It's too obvious anyway. Unless you are planning to make Sunset into Hufflepuff to match your coverart. It doesn't make sense, Sunset is brimming with ambition with wanting power to show off to her previous mentor.
This should prove to be interesting. Can’t wait to she handles hogwarts.
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Agreed. Keep those Twitter keyboard warrior nut jobs away.
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If you zoom in, you'll notice her tie
The cloak will be explained eventually.
Starting out fine, can’t wait to see more… now onto the second chapter…
100 years before Harry's time huh? Also just realized that means, she might became Lord Moldybutt's mentor in the future lol. Though he won't be born for another 36 years, who know maybe she'd be the first dark lord and his inspiration/personal idol.
Hey! Don't knock the Hufflepuffs, we've got plants!
Can't help but wonder about that feeling Sunset keeps getting around Sebastian. . . not sure if it's discomfort or kinship.
I think I see what's happening here. You're doing the game, but without any side quests like the assignments or Merlin Trials. We might still have companion quests, and maybe stuff for the Room of Requirement (if you're doing that), but it will mainly be more akin to one of the novels.
Also, I see we're deciding to romance Sebastian! Keep on that, Sunset! He might not look it right now, but there is a good lad beneath all that snark!
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The game, yes, but I'm also attempting to fix the abysmal writing that plagues the latter half. And cramming in some cute, fluffy romance, and giving some minor characters more of a reason to exist
Also, Sunset and Sebastian have quite a bit in common. Eventually they'll become best friends, and bring out the best - and the worst in each other
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Yeah, I'm a Hufflepuff, but I love Sebastian's storyline. Probably the best in the game, if a bit contrived if you opt to learn the Unforgivable Curses. The care he has for his sister, as well as the later desperation, tugs at my heart.
Also, giving minor characters more of a reason to exist... are you talking about Amit Thakar, by any chance?
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Sunset may or may not have mild to moderate Alexithymia.
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Sadly, just a tiny bit for Amit... Sunset doesn't care much for him. :P
And yes, I am a massive simp for Sebastian. He's one of the most well-written characters I've experienced in some time, a perfect example of morally gray done right... even if the end of his arc kind of sucks.
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Actually, can we talk about the other two "companions" for a second?
Natsai Onai is a Gryffindor who wants to take down the Ashwinders as proxy revenge for her father's death, and Poppy Sweeting is a Hufflepuff who wants to take down the poachers of Scotland, seemingly to atone for the sins of her family! Add in Sebastian with his arc, and we've got heaps of drama!
And even if we look at them simply within their function in the game, they each have their own purpose. Sebastian gives us an insight into the relationship between the Keepers and Isidora Morganach, Natty lets us gain sympathy for the victims of the Ashwinders, and help us step into the role of a hero, and Poppy allows us to explore the world and give us a feel for our character's morality (from a certain point of view).
Even Amit gives us an insight, however brief, into the machinations of Ranrok and the goblins. Which just makes it all the more sad that Amit never became a full character like Sebastian or Natty.
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Absolutely! I do wish they did more with Amit, since we are missing a Ravenclaw companion... but the fact that he's freaked out after one little mission with MC and refuses to have anything to do with them again was a pretty funny copout.
even as morally grey as Sunset is right now. Shes willing to bend the rules to gain more power but she shouldn't be totally evil. She might learn the unforgivable curse as a last resort only situation. She could argue pragmatic reasons but we know our Sunny wouldn't be 100% fine with wanton killings.
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I will tell you right now... every fight scene I'm writing, I want the reader's reaction to be "Jesus Christ, Sunset!"
Just... zero mercy.
Ha! Didn't expect her to hit it off so well with Poppy, but here we are!
Poor Amit. If you can't handle spiderwebs, then it's really best you don't go adventuring.
Edit: just read the chapter again. Sunset and Poppy weirdly have a lot of similarities.
I wonder if Sunset's ease with Poppy comes from her true nature; she is basically a Unicorn in a human guise. Poppy seems to have a natural gift when it comes to beasts; this might carry over to Sunset in a sense. kinda funny when you think about it if true: in this instance, Poppy's first human friend isn't human at all.
Hmm.. Poppy is the Fluttershy of this squad?
As for Sunset, its a pity The Evil Overlords list wont be published for half a centuary?
As for being extremely magical resistant?
Do they need to breathe? Oh dear, there is no longer any fresh air available. Select your option.
Do they need to stand on the ground? Oh dear, How many ways are there to move it rapidly in any of many directions and at speeds? The energy required to Disrupt that Troll, would have fired it clean accross to France. Or Greenland, depending on ballistics.
Spell disruption is where it really is though, as you dont have to totally disrupt a spell, just enough that the safeties dont get to fail before the spell fails in a destructive manner.
If in doubt, use wizard wheel darts. just, not anywhere near where you throw them from. Total conversion can be suprisingly effective at altering not just local geography.
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Ironic, ain't it?
So! That's Jackdaw's quest done, and rather sadistically I would say! And Sunset is learning Dark Magic too! Has she picked up 'Magick Moste Eville' yet?
Sunset nearly took those Goblins out as quickly as a cheezed off electric rat.
Maybe have a closer look at that fire spell, see if its not Veela ancestry?
Fire of Passion?
As I've played through Hogwarts Legacy, I look back to other games, sci-fi and fantasy and I realize that I have a weakness that, in many ways, can be exploited or turned dark if I existed in these worlds: Knowledge.
at least when it comes to various fictional things, like magic of all kinds in Skyrim, the Darkness Subclasses of Destiny, the ways of the Dark Side and Sith in Star Wars The Old Republic or learning the Unforgivable Curses/everything about Dark Magic secrets in Hogwarts Legacy, I find that I need to know about them in all possible ways and have a drive, a willingness to go far down that road to learn of them. to know a thing is to draw power from that knowing. ignorance is a loss of one's own power.
in hindsight, the fact that House test thing put me in Ravenclaw isn't such a surprise anymore. Knowledge and learning can easily be turned to darker pursuits. As I see it, any knowledge in itself isn't evil. it is how it is used that makes it one or the other.
In this version of Sunset, I can see a similar desire in the form of the secrets of her fellow peers, Sebastian and even Ominis. even 'Confringo' will nibble at her as it dances the line of what a 'Dark Arts' curse is; it taps into her darker emotions, her darker desires.
for Sunset, I feel like the Unforgivables will be her first true test in this knowledge pursuit. 'where will we see Sunset's limit?' is the question we should be keeping in the back of our heads.
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There's only been two of them, but I like your comments. Reassures me to know that I'm definitely conveying what I meant to convey.
I like to imagine that this first part is reminiscent of what Sunset's first days at CHS were like... establishing herself as someone not to be messed with and charming the most useful classmate she could find into being her boyfriend (Flash Sentry) simply for power's sake. Of course, this will change once she's had empathy/ancient magic shoved into her black little heart.
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but answer this: is the 'ancient magic' giving her empathy or is it helping in waking up what's already there? that will be something for Sunset herself to agonize over in time.
Horsey :)
Ministers are either ignorant of the news, incompetant, criminally negligent, held to ransom, getting paid, or in employ or even running the show?
That Goblin is getting more like having knowledge of Keepers, but because of the seperation, no access?
I must say, Sunset's Room of Requirement is quite grand. Can't wait to see what happens if she gets the Vivariums!
Oh dear, the Goblin now has Juggernaut armor? I wonder if he has Apparition or equivalent so Sunset cant just throw him on a satelite or something.
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So far I haven't really planned on Sunset becoming a
poacherconservationist... I feel it doesn't really fit into her modus operandi.I did consider it, though... much like I considered having the field guide play a slightly bigger role. It would've just been little vignettes where she has a classmate help her with some of the questionable tasks that pop up (Hey, Seb! Watch me torture a burning enemy!
)
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if this Sunset ever got a hold of a Vivarium, she'd likely study it to learn how it does what it does; the TARDIS-like space, the realistic simulation of a living, breathing environment. it would all be so she could make something to show off just how powerful and above her peers she is. if anything, I can see this version of Sunset using a Vivarium-like construct to simulate different biomes to practice spells (to see/learn how spells affect the environment) and combat in (combat can happen anywhere so one should learn how to best use it to their own advantage; how to move effectively in it, how to best find cover in it, how to best manipulate it so the battles go your way).
with Sebastian now able to come and go from Sunset's Room, the chances are she's going to let something 'slip': something about home, her past, her true form, ect. plus, he's likely made note of her cutie mark, thinking that, given the symbol's prominence in her Room, it likely holds meaning to her. I can see him discreetly looking into it; he's too Slytherin not to. closest match would be the mix of the sun, which has its own meanings in various symbology's and the yin/yang symbol, though I don't know if that is known in the wizarding world. sometimes there's overlap between the magical and mundane worlds and sometimes there isn't.
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I think you'll be surprised how much she's willing to bring up once a certain... meeting happens.
Sunset has... issues with parental figures she deems shitty.
I wonder how long before Sunset works out a little targeted disruption charm to add to a pebble that auto triggers at just the right moment during the delivery by teleportation to do what nobody wants her to do? Generally erasing not only the problem but a large surrounding area as well. And maybe even giving that notgoblin something to consider?
So, it was Sunset that introduced mass-murder to Slytherin?
What's next? Is she going to birth Voldemort?
Are we seeing growth from our dear Sunset? Also, where the Unforgivables are concerned, she will either go mad with the power, become sick and horrified, or refuse them entirely.
There's gonna be trauma for sure!
Trouble is with Sunsets kindness being fueled by escalating destruction of increasingly desperate and combatative Goblins, eventually she will run out of Goblins, and have to start working through Wizards and DarkLords.
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What are you saying? Sunset is the most sanest Slytherin to ever slither.
Rapid chapter posts so I'll split my comments between them.
The Cruciatus Curse, not the first Unforgivable we've seen, but the easiest of the two seen so far to start with. As I recall, no origin for the spell has been revealed beyond its origin point of the Middle Ages and its 'popularity' in those times. I've come up with at least one theory; it is an 'evolution' of a 'lesser' spell used to check the nerves in subjects that have regrown limbs or healed major damage to their bodies; a way to ensure the healing magics healed and connected everything correctly. body parts can be regrown, and parts reattached if gotten to quick enough unless the wound in question was afflicted by 'dark magic'. otherwise, a general way to check a body for nerve damage. it wouldn't be the first time an invention was twisted to cause harm or be used for bad purposes.
if such a spell was not it's origin, then I can guess that this curse could give rise to this kind of spell if the spell is examined and reshaped, if one was looking for a 'good' use of this spell. I know at least one fanfic that had a low-powered version of this spell be used as a magical form of defibrillator to restart a stopped heart.
more thoughts on this spell later.
I won't spoil anything but let's talk about Anne's Curse. My thoughts on exactly what it is when I learned of it for the first time/my first meeting with Anne.
Before Goblins came into the picture, I assumed that it was some form of family magic; my many readings of Harry Potter fanfics often have mentions of 'family magic' when it came to some spells: spells that were unknown to the wizarding world at large and spells that would be less known to be able to counter, much less identify by the common variety from the Ministry to St. Mungo's. In my mind, it had all the markings of a Dark Family's Curse. Then Goblins were introed as a possible reason. Goblins have their own magic and for the most part it is unknown what their full range of powers are, thanks in no small part to wizards themselves. so, while possible, I still put more stock in the Dark Family Curse theory.
During the meeting and the whole Sallow family 'chat' between Solomon and Sebastian, I noticed how the Curse seemed to activate harder when Anne was stressed, which hints that it may be tied to emotion, much as Sebastian himself seemed to also conclude in this chapter. Emotion is not tied to the physical self, but it can affect it. It implies that the Curse is not as simple as it seems; causing general pain but that pain is amplified when the subject is stressed. a vicious cycle of a punishment curse. Either it is tied to emotion itself or it's some form of soul magic, a very tricky realm of magic to manipulate at the best of times and not often for the best, as we've seen in the Harry Potter books. 'Ancient Magic' might not have been the cause, but I believed that it might, if not outright cure it, might lead one in the right direction. more to be said later on in the story.
part two of comment: So, Sunset tells Sebastian a version of the truth about her past. a step in the right direction. Sebastian's picture of Sunset is becoming clearer. and he knows she can feel with others feel.... what he's felt. for the most part, he's not going to go out of his way to explain those feelings she doesn't know to her, at least, not yet. It's too bad that Sunset can't shift between her human and Unicorn forms; it would help the credibility of the full truth if she should ever want to broach the subject with him or anyone else. Maybe Natty can give some unintended insights; in a sense, 'human' is Sunset's 'Animagus' form layered over her true unicorn form by the Mirror Portal. there's a whole bigger argument one could give about the form changing due to arriving in a different world altogether due to the 'wild' portal seen in Equestria Girls: Spring Breakdown; that it is 'intended' over 'programed' to assume a human form rather than staying in a unicorn form; blending in as the 'dominant' species of the world one finds themselves in.
otherwise, she could always ask her Room to either give her a Pensive or the means to make her own. hard to tell a lie from one's own memories.
still, all the points Sebastian are being told and the one's he's seeing and making notes of. let's see if the clever boy can work it out; he's shown himself as Sunset's equal in some ways and a bit further than the norm of wizardkind. time will tell.
I have no doubt that Sunset, after finding that ancient magic removes pain, will stop at nothing to learn how Isidora did it. As for the consequences... she'll probably learn the hard way.
I dunno if its me not being able too deeply on things, but the way Solomon behaves and talks keeps making me thing he spelled Anne because he didnt want her getting involved with the Goblins and the Castle, either because Ranock already talked to him, or because he talked to Ranok?
As for leaving the basement opened and the mirror uncovered, I really hope it was a one shot, otherwise Hogwarts so called security is having more holes in it than that Bank Vault episode of Thunderbirds.
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That's honestly where I thought that story was going when I first played the game. Alas... Solomon's just a twat.
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"
I will say... I considered having Sunset learn to become an Animagus from Natty as a side story... she was going to end up turning right back into a unicorn (albeit a unicorn from the Wizarding World, not an Equestrian unicorn). And upon changing back, she would've been all "...I don't know what I expected.
As far as her Patronus goes, however... that's quite different, and will appear briefly in a later chapter.
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in some ways, the Sunset of this story is using 3 different forms of magic: Equestrian Magic, Wizarding Magic and a form of 'Ancient Magic', which is, granted, a wizarding magic variant. because of this, the usual rules for wizarding self-transfiguration might not apply. but at the moment, I don't see this Sunset putting the time into it anytime soon. no pressing use at this time and her pride has not been rallied to 'encourage' learning it.
as for Sunset learning the Patronus Charm... good luck with that. this Sunset has problems identifying emotions and to cast the Patronus Charm, one needs to read between the lines of just 'using a happy memory'.
since you brought it up... from what I've seen in the books, the memory itself is used as a mental check mark for the Charm, but it is ultimately not what the spell is asking for. what it asks for is the emotion involved in the memory: joy, happiness, love, ect. the memory is the path to the emotion that's needed to give the spellform its power. in time, it is the emotion you must call on, not the memories themselves. this, I feel, is the real reason the Charm is something not everyone can do. I can't speak for everyone, but it can be hard to call on certain emotional states and emotions on command. especially in combat or moments of great distress.
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The Patronus Charm won't make its appearance for a long time. Plenty of time for Sunset to experience, reflect and grow.
You know... of all the Sunsets to be denied power by Celestia, this one really deserved it. Not saying that her actions are wrong or unwarranted, but the pleasure she takes from just slaughtering living creatures is very damning