I think this line is really illustrative of Celestia's approach to the adoption, and how despite her good intentions she didn't understand how she was coming at it from the wrong direction. Yes, she would have been spending time with Sunset everyday as Spring Hail, but she wouldn't have been doing so as Celestia. If anything it would have only reinforced the idea in Sunset's mind that Celestia's affection for her was another mask, as it would appear to Sunset that Celestia could find time in her schedule to spend time with her, but only so long as it wasn't "Celestia" who was doing so.
Cadence's special talent may include gaydar. Not necessarily gaydar with up-to-date software, but still. Also boys their age are more likely to be doofuses. That mostly matters because Sunset will have zero patience for anyone that twigs to her poorly-calibrated doofus-trait-detector.
My assumption would be because she was working from her original hypothesis that Sunset was attracted to Spring Hill so when made aware that such a thing would not be viable she went for the next best option, a child of the same gender as the parent that Sunset was attracted to. Thus daughter.
Cadance really know her stuff. She is pulling her weight as the princess of love. I think she did more in this one chapter than the whole of Mlp:Fim and now I am rooting for her fr.
Sunset is still underaged; between that and simple self-preservation, and her own reputation, Silver Needle is not going to be doing any demonstrating of certain potentially misinterpretable actions without a great many witnesses, and an extra volunteer that is not the Princess of Equestria's daughter.
I'm not good with words, so let me elaborate, since my initial post was in hindsight after reading your response lacking.
I still remember the gist of something I read when young. It was one of the Corum books by Michael Moorcock, one of the books in the first trilogy. Corum and his companion (the name escapes me but he had a flying cat) basically witness a funny scene or interaction and Corum mentions that it contains tragedy. The companion responds with something that I recall coming down to the fact that all the best comedy scenes contains a seed of tragedy.
I don't agree about the "all" or "best", but comedy scenes, if looked at through other eyes, often contains tragic elements.
I bring it up because in the case of your story, the funny scenes that bring a smile to my face are often sad and even tragic when looked at another way, and my suggestion most definitely contained tragic elements.
For my suggestion, neither Sunset, Silver Needle or any unbiased observer, such as Needle's partner who is imitating a statue by the door, would consider it inappropriate. Candace walking in after Sunset asked to see the capture spell in action would get the wrong impression, initially, because she heard the other guards soft comment and maybe because she understands how ignorant Sunset is about certain things. A second look would make things clear to her. The comedy would be things like her initial expression and thoughts and her thoughts about feeling the need to update her planned talk with Sunset.
As to Celestia, same situation, same reason for the wrong impression and same understanding on a second look. But she is much more aware of Sunset's reputation, feels guilty and, in my opinion is bad with ponies. So Needle being reassigned or sent away is a possibility and a discussion with Sunset about what behavior is appropriate and allowed, which Sunset will take in the worst way, is a given.
It should not have been that easy to stun the Goddess of the Sun. Where were the automatic defensive enchantments that I had always assumed her regalia contained?
I had learned my lessons from Celestia's example, though, and I pulled on one of those lessons now: never admit wrongdoing, and deflect to avoid needing to do so.
Needle twitched. I could see the exact moment that eagerness at a juicy piece of gossip was tempered by the dawning disappointment that she might not be able to tell anypony until after everypony else already knew about it.
"I've been told that my combat applications of metal wire are a 'crime against Harmony never to be inflicted upon another pony,' Lady Shimmer. Nopony ever banned me from using it against monsters."
I immediately had to reevaluate the ability of the Royal Guard to remain perfectly sane despite their roles. At least one of them very clearly was not.
"Princess?" Corporal Needle questioned, blinking. "As far as I am aware, yes. I am also a dab horn with rope or ribbon, which is much safer to use on ponies."
I have a sudden desire for Needle to be present for the Changeling invasion and turn the tide. I wonder if that would successfully head off further hostilities if Chrysalis gets cocooned instead? She would probably find it comforting and remind her of her childhood (among other options)... but, extrapolating, she may not have had the best one either, so YMMV.
"So — what spell are you trying to use for conjuring the tools you need?" I asked. "Replication is a good start, but it won't really help if you need to fight while we're outside the castle."
The 'statue' shifted back into a pony, and I was faced with the wild-eyed grin of a mare who finally had somepony willing to listen to her favorite subject in the whole world.
Ohhh dear. If the next words out of her mouth are 'tracing' I am going to be terrified but also impressed.
Possible expies aside, does anyone else see this as useful? Given some of the dangers coming down the pipe being able to do a passable blender impression may be useful. Then again, the Changelings were reformed and I think Tirek and what's the one that took over the Crystal Empire are the only other real acceptable targets for that.
On the other hand, it's reassuring that other ponies (probably other Royal Guards) pointed out the "crime against Harmony" part about Corporal Needle's talent. Rather than... idunno, getting into a competition of whose "War Crime" talent is the coolest.
Also boys their age are more likely to be doofuses. That mostly matters because Sunset will have zero patience for anyone that twigs to her poorly-calibrated doofus-trait-detector.
I was already regretting dismissing ponies of the Royal Guard as thoroughly as I had previously. Despite their public reputation and what I'd long thought, it didn't seem as though they were necessarily the kind of stern, no-nonsense ponies who could enjoy watching paint dry. If Corporal Silver Needle's behavioral shift was any indication, they simply slipped into a separate mindset whilst imitating statues and were completely different ponies outside of it.
Similarly, the crisis protocol for the Royal Guard typically involved keeping civilians well away from a danger area until appropriate specialists could arrive, but that didn't mean they were useless. After all, a highly visible deterrent needed to be reasonably skilled if they were to act as such, and these were ponies who had chosen to dedicate their lives — sometimes tragically literally — to Equestria's and Celestia's service.
The difference between grown, dedicated ponies and students should have been blindingly obvious. 'Gifted unicorns' at Celestia's School may be smarter than the average, but as their work ethic proved, possessing intelligence was different than doing anything with it. Somepony a bit slow, but determined, could become far more skilled and effective than somepony brilliant, but lazy.
I still wasn't certain which side of the scale Corporal Silver Needle fell on, but she had certainly been happily displaying an unexpected depth of knowledge about her Special Talent since I'd opted to continue our conversation. Standing around all day might not give a pony much time to practice, but it apparently gave her plenty of time to think. She'd even thought to call a third guard into the room to compensate while she was distracted for my benefit. She was delighted to explain, and accepted my advice to practice transmutation spells from Firmly Fitted's Fabulously Fashionable Reformations rather than the manifestation and enhancement she already knew. If somepony dangerous dispelled the surface transmutation smoothing edges, then the resulting cuts might stop them from going further and destroying the wire altogether.
Left unsaid, but that I felt certain Silver Needle hadn't missed, was how similar spells could be used to make the wire sharper rather than dull. It was always good to have options.
"Wire is all about the cutting edge," Silver continued. "It isn't like a sword, where you might be able to compensate by swinging harder, or a mace, which is designed to impart impacts despite any interference. It's an all or nothing proposition."
The purple wire she'd spun from her own magic continuously twirled and danced through the air as though delighted to be allowed free after so much time spent in static nonexistence. I couldn't even be wary of it. I was viewing a playful use of telekinesis rather than something truly alive, and Silver knew what she was doing. Plus, it would let her practice before she was expected to stand still for hours yet again.
"There are ways to make sure that 'all' is better, though. Block with just a single line of wire and it's easily snapped. Start stacking layers at the correct angle in response to incoming force, and they'll distribute the blow as effectively as any continuous solid while possibly cutting the enemy for their trouble. Wire is the best kind of shield: one that the enemy can't attack without risking hurting themselves, too — at least, if you use it right. The hard part is finding that sweet spot where it's spaced far enough apart to ensure that the enemy will push in and cut themselves, but not so far that any of it breaks.
"Wire breaking is far from the end of the world. Wire isn't like a whip, where you need the entire length if it's to work right; if something cuts a length of wire in half, you can just telekinetically grip both halves and keep going. Pieces have to be really small before they stop being useful. And you can use it much the same as an actual whip, too!"
I nodded and voiced a question that had become more and more intrusive the longer that Silver lectured without touching on the butchery that I'd been somewhat afraid she might want.
"This is all genuinely interesting, but I don't really get why people would call any of this a 'crime against Harmony'?"
Silver Needle's ears flattened, and her eyes wandered in an attempt to avoid meeting my gaze.
"I use wire to carve wood, cut food, and etch sculptures, too," she admitted. "I think it was the cutting that intimidated my sergeant and I actually regret showing him. I'm not a monster; I wouldn't do that to ponies. Despite what I implied earlier, I wouldn't even inflict it on many monsters unless it was to protect the princesses. It wouldn't actually work beyond inflicting surface injuries in numerous cases. Bone and scales are often sturdy."
"Sounds like the reaction Celestia's school had to my last midterm," I acknowledged, unrepentantly taking the chance to complain. "I made sure that the area was clear and that I would stay well within their budget for damages, but you'd think I'd hurt somepony rather than just stone for all that they carried on."
"Oh, I actually helped with the cleanup for that one," Silver said happily. "Good times. Using wire for sawing isn't my usual go-to, but it's better than nothing."
There was a moment of silence where both of us tried to figure out what we were supposed to say next. I opted to bring it back to a relevant topic.
"So, if you aren't allowed or willing to use wire on ponies, what about the rope and ribbon you mentioned?" I asked. "Seeing as that's what you're more likely to use on any of the attackers you're realistically likely to face while guarding Princess Celestia."
Silver visibly deflated, her excitement noticeably dimming. Celestia was right to wonder whether Silver had been assigned to the right place. If Silver couldn't even look forward to the possibility of using her Talent, she would obviously grow unhappy and lethargic sooner or later.
"Honestly, my skill with ropes is much more basic in comparison," Silver admitted. "It works, but that's just understanding body mechanics, force propagation, tension, and material tolerances. Rope is another way I can apply my Special Talent, but it's not one of the reasons wire is my Talent, you know? It's just something I'm good at rather than what I truly love, and I have reasons for not liking it as much.
"Some creatures, you can bind them and it isn't any problem. Maybe you can naturally position them so that their attempts to struggle only run up against their own strength, or they simply aren't strong enough to break chains or burst ropes. Monsters have muscles to spare, though, and they're infamous for being able to contort themselves in strange ways. They're magic-enhanced living weapons all on their lonesome, and gear rated for monsters is hard to come by. It would be all-but impossible if I wasn't a Royal Guard.
"Common workarounds for sheer strength are sleep spells or alchemical solutions — usually not normal medical sedatives, though, the dosage is incredibly difficult to get right. But as any minotaur would tell you, sometimes feeling sleepy is a great way to wake up. If monsters — or even many wild animals — start feeling tired when they don't feel safe, they'll fight all the harder and ponies could get hurt.
"Pain? Pain is much more reliable."
Ah, there was the opinion that would get other ponies looking askance.
"Restrain a monster with rope and they'll keep straining as much as they possibly can. Restrain them with wire and as long as you back off for a bit while they calm down, they'll start trying to find ways to get free without directly fighting the wire. They're much easier to handle or sedate after that, specially if they instinctually hunker down when hurt."
"Speaking from experience?" I questioned.
"Some," she agreed. "There was a multi-species Everfree containment breach a few months back, and I took a vacation to help deal with some of the stragglers."
Spoken like somepony with an underutilized Special Talent. She could probably have requested a temporary transfer rather than needing to take vacation time.
"Wrangling escapees outside the forest was the easy part," Silver explained. "Transporting them back to their habitat was possibly the single hardest thing I've done since I got my Cutie Mark. If anypony ever tells you that you're going to the Everfree Forest for just one quick trip, they are wrong. There's no such thing as a 'quick, easy trip' through that cursed forest."
I straightened and silently urged Silver to keep going. The Everfree Forest had once been the seat of Princess Celestia's government, and it reportedly hadn't been a fifth as hostile back then. The old forest hadn't been entirely safe because nowhere was in those days, but it was far from the death-trap that the Everfree had become. I'd occasionally played with the idea of visiting in order to possibly answer the question of why it had grown so hostile — everypony agreed that magic was ahoof — but a combination of self-preservation and the distance from Canterlot generally kept me from acting upon such thoughts.
Silver seemed disquieted by my sudden surge of interest, and switched from the lecturing tone that she'd been using thus far. Considering her job and how much trouble she'd get in if ponies thought she'd encouraged me to visit the Everfree, I couldn't hold this one against her too much.
"The Everfree isn't natural," Silver said firmly. "'Cursed' is likely literal. It has its own weather system that defies pegasus control, visibility is garbage due to all the untamed overgrowth, predators plus the carnivorous canopy make flying a risky venture, smugglers hid dangerous artifacts within a disturbing number of alcoves, winds always carry your scent further than you think they should — I could swear the detection distance kept getting longer every time we grew more pessimistic — and it takes days to cross what would normally take hours. Worse, ponies will swear that the landmarks move to make navigation that much more difficult. I'm not sure if that's true or if we were all too exhausted to notice.
"Monsters often know better than to venture outside the woods, but within them? Ponies are fair game. Monsters are abundant in the Everfree, and the only thing truly keeping them in check are other monsters. Ponies leave some paint behind in case any of them decide they want to be civilized and try to communicate, sure, but most Everfree denizens would rather just eat us. Bears are one of the only examples for which leaving paint around actually worked, but that it worked at all encourages ponies to keep trying despite the risks. There's actually some debate regarding whether bears qualify as 'monsters' at all; despite their size and strength, they'd apparently retain something like eighty percent of their strength if they were completely drained of magic for an extended period of time. Monsters are usually much more reliant than that."
I suddenly had to wonder if I should try to explore the Everfree after all. If it truly shifted around then there would be no point in mapping it, but if not, I might be able to explore further in than anypony else. Admittedly, just because I wouldn't stay dead didn't mean that injuries wouldn't still be painful and terrifying, so maybe not.
Further questions would need to wait, however. The bubble of blurred air marking the boundaries of Celestia's privacy spell faded and left me uncomfortably close to a Cadance who was staring expectantly at the seat where I used to be.
Celestia looked... shockingly stiff, actually, in an obvious masquerade that wouldn't fool anypony who knew her. I suddenly had to wonder if Cadance truly had yelled after all. I'd previously suspected that she was exaggerating or utilizing a figure of speech, not possibly being literal, but I thought that Celestia might actually be quite upset.
It took Cadance a moment of what I almost thought was panic before she realized that I had simply moved seats. Anything the Princess of Love might have been feeling turned to confusion when she turned to see Silver standing beside me.
"Basically, stay away from the Everfree," Silver concluded quickly before hurrying back to her post, saluting the guard who'd acted as her temporary replacement before he started to trot away and back toward his original patrol.
A moment later, Silver's manifested magical wire dissipated as she went back to imitating a statue. Cadance continued glancing between me and the guard, seemingly baffled.
See? I can talk to ponies when they have something interesting to share, I didn't tell Cadance. Doing so might defeat some of the purpose of talking to Corporal Silver Needle in the first place.
"So!" Cadance said brightly, forcing my attention from smugness to sight. "I was thinking that we could go foalsit little Twilight Sparkle, and you could give both of us magic lessons? She might need a mid-afternoon nap, but there's every possibility that pure excitement will keep her running all the way until a dinnertime crash. Twilight adores magic."
Cadance's cheer only made me more suspicious of her, and for once, it seemed my suspicions were accurate. Cadance's smile had clearly been forced, and her eyes frequently drifted back to Celestia before snapping back to me. Perhaps the 'yelling' had been two-sided after all, or she simply had been faced with the predictable consequence of Celestia not changing her plans at all.
"I–" Celestia hesitated for a moment, but her preface did draw our attention. "Sunset, you may accompany me to Day Court, if you wish."
My resentment kept trotting along for a few seconds before Celestia's words registered. I had to fight not to gape at her and Cadance. What had Cadance said? Celestia never changed her mind! I even knew why! She always needed to have a nice-sounding justification at hoof in case somepony questioned her, and she couldn't be seen to back down from a decision just because somepony kept arguing. She was the highest authority in Equestria, and if ponies thought they could appeal her decisions, Day Court would grow even more overcrowded than it already was. Her refusal to reconsider was a habit so throughly ingrained that it went beyond something she did, and became part of who she was.
Cadance seemed surprised, too, staring blankly at the Solar Diarch as though she'd suggested I had leave to set noblemares aflame.
Then again, Celestia had apparently been 'willing' to let me attend before changing her mind. Maybe Cadance had simply succeeded in convincing her that pivoting like that was exceedingly unfair.
"I still have every expectation that you will hate it," Celestia added. "But if that is the case, you may choose to depart between cases or when we break for lunch. You need not accompany me the entire time. The previously mentioned restrictions remain, however."
Cadance suddenly looked rather understandably suspicious of whatever terms Celestia might have set on my attendance.
"Basically imitate a Royal Guard for the day. I remember," I acknowledged, more for Cadance's benefit as anything else.
I bet Cadance wouldn't have to imitate an unfeeling rock.
Cadance closed her eyes and buried her face in her hooves. Not entirely certain of how I should interpret that, I chose to ignore it.
"I thought that I'd supplement the act with an illusion spell or two," I added. "Ones to make me always look calm and attentive. I don't think anypony would fault me for bringing and reading a book on Equestrian law, though."
Celestia promptly raised one eyebrow in subtle disagreement.
"No spells beyond levitation are allowed to be used by those within the court," Celestia 'reminded' me.
I already had an argument prepared for that objection, of course.
"Technically, nopony is allowed to magically interfere with Day Court, as tracked by anything that would set off the light-absorbing gemstones being used as spell sensors," I disagreed. "I'm not going to be casting any spells to mess with the emotions of ponies or anything, just possibly practicing my magic off in the corner."
I paused for effect and grinned.
"I've been able to fool those sensors since I was twelve."
Cadance, still hiding behind her hooves, groaned. Celestia only stared at me.
"The sensors specifically designed to detect and report even the most subtle glow of a unicorn's horn?" Celestia asked evenly, dripping I think you are mistaken. "A glow which cannot truly be hidden by illusion? The sensors for which we had to painstakingly incorporate secondary 'nets' tuned specifically to levitation and the color of my own magic, accompanied by a ward to block any other attempts at manipulating light?"
I had long since suspected that Celestia hadn't truly been listening when I told her about that particular ability. I disliked having confirmation, though. At least this way I would get to brag about it now that she might care.
"You pump more magic into levitation than you need and let some 'leak,'" I smugly explained, "and then just telekinetically rearrange the excess instead of manipulating it normally. It's clumsy, but it works."
Doubt turned to resigned bafflement in an instant.
"What possible reason did you have for learning a second method of casting that is useless outside this singular specific scenario?" Celestia asked incredulously. "The only other ponies I ever knew to resort to such methods did so because they could not cast normally."
Any lingering feelings of smugness vanished at the realization that other ponies had done this before. I promptly replaced them with the most hideously fake smile I could muster.
"I wanted to impress you by finding a security flaw," I told her with false cheer, "and judging by how you don't remember my telling you this, you didn't even notice."
Celestia winced. Rather than just ignore my passive-aggressive comment or grow defensive like she normally would, however, she outright stood up from her seat and began trotting toward me.
Um.
I wasn't at all sure why she was approaching me until after she'd already reached forward to pull me into a hug, her wings braced against the table and my chair to prevent her from toppling forward. I went from confused and slightly concerned, to even more confused.
Aren't you supposed to be resentful that I called you out? Or just ignore me like usual?
...Did she think the telethaumic manipulation was worthy of note after all, and truly had been too busy to pay attention rather than not caring?
"I am sorry," Celestia said simply, still not letting go. "If you so wish, you may accompany me to as many or as few events as you desire for the foreseeable future. I still believe you will hate it, but I will trust you to behave yourself."
I stared blankly at the far wall and tried to fit the jagged puzzle piece of Celestia's behavior into something I could understand. This wasn't just hugging me in a private hospital room where nopony could see, or making assurances that only I would know if they were broken. There were witnesses, loyal they may be.
Had Cadance outright resorted to overcharged love spells or something? The magical resistance of an alicorn was nothing to scoff at, but Cadance was an alicorn, too. One who had just been completely alone with Princess Celestia, without any witnesses whatsoever, for multiple minutes straight. It would be the perfect crime. Celestia had already demonstrated that she was behind on her combat proficiency, so—
...So Cadance was entirely too incompetent for anything I was thinking, and I was honestly ashamed to have entertained the idea for even a few seconds. It was more likely that they'd conspired together while in that bubble.
Knowing Celestia, maybe she'd scheduled all her most unpleasant and mind-numbingly boring tasks for today so that I would be encouraged to go with Cadance in the future. But if I declined to accompany Celestia after all this fuss, then that would undercut the fact that I did want to accompany her. Or maybe Celestia was assuming that I would misbehave and give her an excuse to withdraw the open-ended permission. This being a test I was expected to fail made much more sense.
"Sunset?" Cadance ventured. "Why don't you just show up for the last parts of Day Court today, and you can decide whether or not you want to attend more tomorrow? Or discuss whether the conditions are truly reasonable. It's kind of hard for you to learn if you aren't even allowed to ask questions, right? And I suspect Princess Celestia could actually use your opinion on some case about a cult."
Celestia finally released me from her hug in order to shoot an indecipherable, but not overtly friendly, look at Cadance. I immediately wanted to mute Cadance for dragging Celestia away. It was an especially irrational reaction considering that Cadance seemed to be trying to help me. Possibly succeeding, too.
More evidence in favor of altered alicorn physiology preferring physical affection.
"The timing would even be pretty perfect," Cadance continued, oblivious to my petulant glare. "Twilight would be descending into her post-lunch nap, and I can keep practicing while I watch over her. So you can return to the castle and watch the last case, and maybe linger for some of her meetings afterward. Poking the cloud to make sure it's stable before settling down entirely, you know?"
No, I did not know — although, I did have pegasus magic now, didn't I? I should be able to touch clouds without the aid of a cloudwalking spell.
"Why in Equestria do you want me to meet this filly so badly?" I asked as calmly as I could.
Cadance did not appear particularly fooled by my tone, but also wasn't that upset by it. She seemed a bit resigned, but not angry.
"Because she convinced her parents to buy her a thaumic terminology textbook just so that she could start reading course materials for the students of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Cadance explained.
A moment later, she pitched her voice into a high, foalish imitation of a far younger filly.
"'Cadance, everypony knows that you're supposed to read ahead, and if everypony knows then that means everypony does it and it's normal, but Celestia's School is for gifted unicorns, so reading really really far ahead is even more important! I'll never get in if I don't!'"
Cadance sighed, leaned forward to prop herself up, and rubbed at her head with both forehooves.
"I keep trying to tell her that it doesn't work like that, but then she brings up how I don't go there at all and barely stepped hoof on the grounds. Then she ignores everything I say on the subject as 'invalid anecdotal submissions that she's happy to hear but must reject.' And no, she isn't just using big words to make herself sound smarter. She made flash-cards for the dictionary. Who does that?"
Oh, that's nostalgic. I'd been indulging in weird activities to study magic when I was younger, too. Flash cards weren't my thing, admittedly; I much preferred making pretend puzzles out of spell matrices and seeing which ones wouldn't explode.
"...How old is she, exactly?" I felt obligated to ask.
Cadance raised weary eyes to look up at me.
"Six," Cadance deadpanned. "So, yes, she still has another two years to go before admission."
"Not quite what I was asking," I elaborated. "Foals imitate and arguably misuse grown-up activities all the time. Taking terms literally is typical for somepony her age, and the reverence of Celestia grants the school far more prestige than it truly deserves. It's her use of logic to expand on a literal view that has me interested. 'I have been told the world is like this, and combined with another factor, a third thing must also be true; I should perform preemptive actions to ensure that I am safe from the consequences of fact C.' It usually takes foals a few more years to start making those sorts of connections or engage in long-term planning, especially when authority figures are trying to tell them that it's fine."
Cadance perked up slightly.
"If you're interested, will you come? I promise I won't make you stay even if she doesn't nap in time for the last case."
Celestia lightly tapped one hoof on the table for our attention.
"The 'cult case' was not my final petition of the day, Cadance," Celestia told the younger alicorn. "I can slightly arrange the ordering so that they are, but if Sunset declines to attend after that, I would be left without an excuse for why I had chosen to place less important business before them."
I winced. I really didn't want to be actively called away from any lessons with Twilight. I knew well how agonizing it was to have a lesson end early as enforced by messenger.
"We'll warn her ahead of time that I need to leave after lunch," I promised. "That should leave me plenty of a buffer."
What was the worst thing that could happen? Twilight was six. It wasn't like she'd be able to enforce her thwarted will with extra spells.
I can see why Celestia is dreading the two meeting. Sunset is just going to reinforce Twilight in her obsession and we will get a "THERE IS TWO OF THEM!" situation on our hands...nobody is ready for that.
Sunset's Response:
"It's a school for gifted unicorns. Not a school filled with gifted unicorns. Since there aren't that many gifted unicorns they typically resort to filling the spots with incompetent unicorns with good connections."
With how things have gone so far since arriving back at the castle, Celetisa is probably having one of the worst moments of her life that didn't involve someone she cared about being in mortal danger. She truly cares and loves Sunset as her daughter, and it's becoming increasingly clear to her that somewhere along the way she fucked up big time in caring for her. While she is doing her best to try and fix things, there's going to be a lot of rough patches to work through as lingering issues make themselves known.
"I wanted to impress you by finding a security flaw," I told her with false cheer, "and judging by how you don't remember my telling you this, you didn't even notice."
Of course, even if Celestia is now fully cognizant of the problems and making the right choices to fix them from her end, that doesn't mean that all of her attempts at reconciliation are going to land.
I stared blankly at the far wall and tried to fit the jagged puzzle piece of Celestia's behavior into something I could understand.
...
This being a test I was expected to fail made much more sense.
Until Sunset is convinced that Celestia is being sincere in all of this, she will misinterpret everything she sees into something more consistent with her worldview. Now, she'll still accept the familial affection and public acknowledgements Celestia gives her, as it is the outward expression of everything she ever wanted/needed/craved, but only as a false simulacrum of the real thing. Sunset wants it to all be real, more than anything, but she can't accept that it is. For as long as Sunset isn't a fully ascended Alicorn, she'll believe that Celestia will always find her to be lacking in some way shape or form. (Turns out being simultaneously told from a young age that you are the best/brightest of your generation and are utterly unworthy of your sole parental figure's time/attention can mess someone up!)
Also, it's very amusing to see Sunset try and rationalize away why she is affected so much by Celestia hugging her. Going straight to "transforming into an Alicorn reverts one's biology/mental state to one like an adolescent's" based purely on the fact that the only time she felt this way before was when Celestia was more physically affectionate with her back when she was a child. Unable to see the much more reasonable/depressing takeaway that she hasn't experienced any sort of physical affection since she was a child, and her body is reacting to it like it would if she found a source of freshwater after stumbling through a hot desert for weeks.
Sunset's Response:
"It's a school for gifted unicorns. Not a school filled with gifted unicorns. Since there aren't that many gifted unicorns they typically resort to filling the spots with incompetent unicorns with good connections."
I always enjoy the involved effortposts (thank you!), but just as a quick aside: at 15, Sunset is still an adolescent even if she prefers to call herself a "young mare." Her belief is that her body is acting even younger than that.
The last time Celestia had let me use her wings as blankets was when I was still a preteen. First I'd had a ridiculous phase where I decided that I was too old for cuddling even after nightmares, not realizing that out of sight was the same thing as being forgotten. Less non-lesson time spent together meant less of an inclination to provide new lessons at all. By the time I'd made the association and realized what I'd passed up, Cadance had come along and rendered the point moot. After all, Celestia had somepony allegedly better than me to dote on by then.
Turns out being simultaneously told from a young age that you are the best/brightest of your generation and are utterly unworthy of your sole parental figure's time/attention can mess someone up!
That is some real cognitive dissonance right there. One can understand how Sunset became what she is today. She has been both praised as the best and believes that she is not enough to meet some imaginary standard of Celestia...which puts her into a self-hate spiral that she then projects onto others...like she has been trying so hard with little to show for it, while others are doing absolutely nothing in comparison. Yea, that ain´t a formula for a well-functioning pony.
I'm trying to decide which would be funnier/worse for Sunset to share her beliefs about alicorn regression. Cadence might look horrified then fail at arguing it isn't the case to the point where Sunset convinces her it is. Celestia might do something stupid trying to prove its not the case or think the hypothesis is a thinly veiled request and get... ideas. Clearly the best answer is Twilight. Let her get the idea in her head that Sunset is both a cool older mentor and a friend her own age all bundled into one perfect package.
I am not sure if it's hilarious or sad that Sunset is learning the wrong things but at least releasing her resentment into a target that interact with her complaints is a great way for her to heal. Celesta's neglect may have hurt Sunset socially, spiritually, and mentally more that she can imagine.
I should have noticed it but Celestia said that this is her first student that doesn't have a parent of their own so she is basically treating her like all her past students while also pseudo-adopting her, Sunset literally had no parent figure at all growing up and yeah... children in those situations don't grow up well adjusted. Her neglecting Sunset is now proving a pattern. Her sister Aka Luna was also neglected and isolated making turning her into NM. Sunset didn't transform but it could have been way worst if she invited the wrong intruder.
So we can boil the plot of the story to 'Celestia the neglectful workaholic is now fixing up her mistakes' lol.
Sunset would be very happy in the Pokémon world I think, they give like ten year old's (age varies but usually young enough to be a 'kid') a whole lot of freedom/responsibility over there.
Sunset would be very happy in the Pokémon world I think, they give like ten year old's (age varies but usually young enough to be a 'kid') a whole lot of freedom/responsibility over there.
Depends on which version.
If she landed in season 1 anime, she would probably spontaneously combust about 5 seconds after meeting Ash.
Games, she would probably do better.
Depends on which version.
If she landed in season 1 anime, she would probably spontaneously combust about 5 seconds after meeting Ash.
Games, she would probably do better.
I think I meant the games, have a bit more experience with them, though I haven't played a Pokémon game in a long time; the last one I played was X and Y. Its not like magic doesn't exist in Pokémon so that's two things sunset would maybe like.
