- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Illuminating Invitation (MLP: FiM AU)
- Thread starter Alivaril
- Start date
- Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
Or maybe the swiss cheese is just really bad scarring.. . . Yes.
- Location
- To the left. No, not there, the other left.
It's literally what that it says, you can read it in this less cropped version of the picture ("Dramatic permanent damage [...] Celestia to changelings [...] "holes" to limbs...")
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BarnabusBarnabus
Something like spice and something like pine.
- Location
- A beach, limned in silver like the painted moon.
My headcanon for the whole thing with changelings is that Chrysalis has got the changeling species - or at least, her hive, which may well be the last - on a starvation diet, which is why they're all rotted-looking. She's draining like 95% of the love they bring back to the hive as tithe, leaving only enough to just barely feed the population. (I hate the new-changeling look, I would much rather have had the change just be "those grim-looking holes heal back up".) The natural state of the changeling species is symbiotic; if they've got enough love in their system, they can produce magical energy out of it that fuels some pretty powerful stuff, and it's supposed to be used to help the donors of said love. But Chrysalis, with her nihilistic philosophy and her enforced starvation, have turned mutualism into parasitism. Every changeling but Chrysalis is essentially running on empty, limited to basic unicorn magic and their species' innate shapeshifting, so they can't heal the decay that they suffer without freely given love. And she seems to be the oldest changeling currently living - few if any remember a time before her, when they were not what they are now, and the environment that Chrysalis has cultivated makes it hard to think of any other way. And of course, the reason Chrysalis - the only changeling who's actually well-fed - can't heal is that you don't just recover from the Unmatched Power of the Sun firing a full blast directly at you. That sort of power lingers in wounds; I imagine that if Chrysalis had made a genuine, real effort to change and become better, the lingering injuries might have faded over time, but as she is as she's always been, it's still going strong.
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Enthusiast#117
This is not the Profile you are looking for
- Location
- United States
I can buy that the scarring is still there on the queen so many years later, but on the rest of the hive too?
It's unlikely that they're all immortal, these must be new generations that still have the same scarring.
I doubt Celestia literally did a "beat you so bad your kids will have scars" thing, so...
... what if it's deliberate? Maybe as part of their coming-of-age rituals the drones of the hive undergo ritualized scarring to serve as a reminder of what the ponies did to them so many years ago. As a sort of "keep the grudge alive" thing.
infinityDivided
Prince Of Doom
- Location
- USA
Or the common drones just shapeshift holes in themselves out of respect/being ordered to.
Fun story so far.
Idk if its just me, but it seems totally unreasonable that Voice is painted as being in the wrong, is giving out concessions, and is apologizing so much. I might be not communicating this very clearly, but it seemed like a no harm no foul type of situation. Technically there was a bit of mental harm, but imo, it was completely deserved mental harm that was so much better than it could have been. It's kinda weird that Sunset also thinks that way unprompted, unless she's a lot more down bad for Flighty than her pov suggests.
Like, Voice isn't malicious, but if Voice was, it'd totally be Flighty's bad for making a deal with a demon? She said it herself that she literally got talked into the classic demon deal, and in return, gave a extradimensional creature that looked and talked a lot like a demon, complete with a super ominous name, a foothold in her country/world, as well as easily loopholed conditions. It could have been so much worse than it was, but instead of just feeling relief, Flighty goes 'on the offensive', and so does Sunset.
The turnaround after the prank reveal comes off to me as karenish, or like the run into a slow moving car and extort the driver for medical bills scam, even if it's not an exact analogy.
I do get that unreasonability and miscommunication is where a lot of the humor for this genre of story, and most of it has been funny to me so far, and made sense, but this plot point in particular was skeevyish, and didn't make much sense to me.
Idk if its just me, but it seems totally unreasonable that Voice is painted as being in the wrong, is giving out concessions, and is apologizing so much. I might be not communicating this very clearly, but it seemed like a no harm no foul type of situation. Technically there was a bit of mental harm, but imo, it was completely deserved mental harm that was so much better than it could have been. It's kinda weird that Sunset also thinks that way unprompted, unless she's a lot more down bad for Flighty than her pov suggests.
Like, Voice isn't malicious, but if Voice was, it'd totally be Flighty's bad for making a deal with a demon? She said it herself that she literally got talked into the classic demon deal, and in return, gave a extradimensional creature that looked and talked a lot like a demon, complete with a super ominous name, a foothold in her country/world, as well as easily loopholed conditions. It could have been so much worse than it was, but instead of just feeling relief, Flighty goes 'on the offensive', and so does Sunset.
The turnaround after the prank reveal comes off to me as karenish, or like the run into a slow moving car and extort the driver for medical bills scam, even if it's not an exact analogy.
I do get that unreasonability and miscommunication is where a lot of the humor for this genre of story, and most of it has been funny to me so far, and made sense, but this plot point in particular was skeevyish, and didn't make much sense to me.
- Location
- To the left. No, not there, the other left.
Or, if they all are children of Chrysalis the damage may have been metaphysical enough to transfer through next generation.
Chapter 31: Growing Closer
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Special thanks to @saganatsu, @DB_Explorer, @fictionfan, @Adephagia, @Wordsmith, @Taut_Templar, Jamie Wahls, @Elfalpha, @BunnyLord, @Drcatspaw, @tinkerware, @Lonelywolf999, D'awwctor, @magicdownunder, @Mordred, @Nuew, @Greydrone, and my 18 other patrons not mentioned here. An extremely enthusiastic "Thank you" to @Torgamous for her patronage as well. Also, if you're not on here, you fit the tier, and you want to be added, please tell me.
Author's Note: Beta-read by @ensou. The next update will likely take >2 days; it definitely needs a careful sanity-check. Still ongoing: (Best Ongoing Fic) || (Best New Work)
Flighty Flame
If the previous day had been merely 'busy,' today took a hop past 'hectic' and into 'squished.' Too much to do, too little time to do it in, and it was one thing to declare that they should turn work-in-progress into a theme but another to make it actually look good. Shoes would be a necessity at some point, but should the theme be to start from the hooves and work up? The peripheries? So many subtle differences in the message that they might be able to send, and not enough time to decide which might be best. According to a servant Sunset sent to ask, we only had until perhaps half an hour before Celestia lowered the sun. Or—had the messenger been a servant? There was something wrong with that thought–
"If you need an extra pair of hooves, I'd be happy to help," Sunset offered. "I'll admit that I don't have much experience with engraving and the like, but I'm quite good at shaping glyphs and I imagine the skillset is similar."
Well, at least you didn't say 'an extra horn,' Flighty thought darkly.
The reassurance barely acted as such. If they turned this project into a proper collaboration rather than Sunset just having opinions on the commission, everypony would assume that Sunset was the one to do the bulk of the work instead of Flighty. After all, one of them was destined to become a divine alicorn princess, and the other doomed to remain an ordinary earth pony. On the other hoof, this was something for one of the rulers and goddesses of Equestria. Did it really matter if Flighty was given proper credit for her art or not?
...Well, yes. It did matter to her, if only so that ponies could see that no, Flighty hadn't been throttled by being an earth pony and successfully dragged her way to expertise in enchantment despite the added difficulty.
"I'll need to check if there's an old 'Court Enchantress' title that we can revive," Sunset casually remarked. "If not, I'll see if I'm allowed to make one. I don't think that'll be needed, though; there probably is such a title, and it's the easiest way to make sure ponies know that messing with you is off-limits. Idiots will still try, they always do, but it should help."
Flighty's jaw loosened, and the pencil almost dropped out of her mouth. There was indeed such a title, but it hadn't been awarded to anypony in eight hundred years.
Okay. That's enough recognition after all, Flighty decided, and neatly silenced her reservations.
Sunset Shimmer
I'd long felt dismissive of fashion; it always felt like one of the primary ways through which the wealthy showed off how much time and money they could afford to waste. Textiles woven in patterns that were meant to look pretty alone, minerals and gemstones that would be better put toward some magical project or another, expensive demands for attention — all of it an utter waste of time. At least enchantments contributed functionality to otherwise useless baubles.
"Since we have until late afternoon, I think I could properly finish something in time if you wanted? I sort of feel like we should be focusing on 'triumph' instead of 'progress;' Princess Celestia is adopting you."
"We're all works in progress. Anypony pretending otherwise is deluding themselves. It was your idea, and it's a good one; stick with it."
"We're all works in progress. Anypony pretending otherwise is deluding themselves. It was your idea, and it's a good one; stick with it."
Our time constraints demanded that Flighty start consulting me not just on casual cosmetic appearance, but on the messages that were intended to be conveyed by every little detail, as well as what could be conveyed. Those associations were what finally started to seize my interest. It wasn't too dissimilar to spellcrafting — or more accurately, it was eerily similar. Include an unintended bit of symbolism, and the whole piece might be jeopardized.
We might only be making the base layer right now, but we needed to plan ahead so that she could properly enchant it later, and make it obvious that my regalia really was unfinished rather than just being plain. Gems left unsocketed, curves that would frame and isolate runes in the future but for now remained conspicuous blank areas, layering that stopped at five rather than the magically important six.
"Isn't it fine if it looks a bit plain? It'll look much better later."
"Not this plain. I mean—I guess we could have different items in different stages of completion, or—actually, let's focus on the shoes for now if it's fine with you? 'Working from the ground up' seems like a good message here."
"No objections here."
"Not this plain. I mean—I guess we could have different items in different stages of completion, or—actually, let's focus on the shoes for now if it's fine with you? 'Working from the ground up' seems like a good message here."
"No objections here."
Brainstorming beside Flighty felt like a Heartsong, somehow. Like a magic I didn't understand, a magic that delighted in dancing just out of reach while ensuring that I was having too much fun to grow frustrated with its continued evasion of my understanding. I didn't necessarily need to understand how it worked, only that it did—but that wouldn't stop me from trying.
"U-Um—Your Highness?" Flighty squeaked.
I blinked and glanced away from our project, expecting to see Celestia or Cadance hovering in the doorway to the drawing room given new life as a workshop. Orange at the corner of my gaze turned a glance to one side into craning to look back at myself and the innocuous orange wings that twitched there.
For a moment, I couldn't help but echo Flighty's shock. That couldn't possibly be right. I wasn't any stronger than I had been a few hours ago, and I was utterly certain that a proper ascension should be much more conspicuous than this. The wings felt oddly fleeting, too, and not just in the way that pegasus magic normally felt.
I wanted to focus on my temporary wings at the exclusion of all else, but that felt like an even bigger mistake. The more I attention I dedicated to them, the further that fleeting feeling fled. Just like Voice said, the magic of ascension seemed to loathe being observed.
"Still no," I sighed, returning my attention to the sketches before us. "You can just ignore those, I'm fairly confident they'll go away soon."
This might be a big hint for why Voice decided to take an interest in Flighty after all. Voice had promised to make reasonable efforts at helping me ascend, and here was the most promising sign I'd gotten all week. I was a master at the mobility of standard spells, and a fair hoof at immobile wards, but what did I really know about the hybrid of enchantment? I should have realized that it would be a mistake to neglect a magic that had once been prevalent among the rich and powerful just because it didn't seem particularly useful anymore.
"Is—Is this something we need to plan on happening regularly?" Flighty asked, still squeaky and wide-eyed.
"Probably not. Seriously, just ignore them; if my guess is right, that might just happen sometimes while we're working together."
I wanted to elaborate on the near-certain relationship between wings appearing and my Special Talent, but doing so might ruin Flighty's chances of becoming an alicorn herself. It might be years before Flighty reached the pinnacle of her craft like I had for mine, but she was motivated enough that she could. It might be 'cheating' to get Voice to lock that feat like She had for me, but I had summoned Voice; anything She helped us with was really just another benefit from that gamble. All I needed to do was ensure that Flighty didn't give up too early — and was this how Celestia felt about her past pupils? Ick.
"That is going to be very, very difficult," Flighty whispered, utterly ignorant of the accidental double meaning in her words.
So is everything else worth pursuing.
Flighty wasn't the only pony who had trouble ignoring my wings. Not because of the two Royal Guards watching over us; as usual, those members of the Guard might as well have been carved from stone. This time, I was the problem. Having an entire new pair of body parts, feathers and all, proved to be immensely distracting — and worse, the very act of being distracted from my collaboration with Flighty made their stability waver. At this rate, I might have to bury my back under semi-permanent illusions so that nopony, myself included, would ever know when wings decided to show themselves.
Especially when an unwelcome presence walked in while Flighty was carefully shaping a shoe mould according to our prior plans.
"Don't you think it's a bit early to be planning on having wings?" Cadance asked with raised eyebrows. "You'll need to redo measurements by the time you get them anyway."
I huffed and unconsciously flared my wings in challenge. Note to self: practice suppressing wing tells.
"It's not a transformation spell," I snapped. "They just showed up, okay? They feel transitory, so I'm sure they'll be gone soon enough, and I might use an illusion so that you don't need to see them again. They're clearly distracting for everypony."
My temporary wings vanished with one final, sad flash of discharged magic, with much of my body overtaken by pins-and-needles while my nervous system presumably returned to normalcy. I just knew their disappearance was Cadance's fault. She'd interrupted a perfectly good session with Flighty, who–
…was now prostrated on the floor again. I sighed. Not even Celestia demanded that level of respect.
"Oh, please get up," Cadance unknowingly echoed, shuffling with discomfort. "I'm not worthy of that yet."
Flighty jerked to stare up at Cadance through wide eyes, but didn't rise. I was noticing a trend here.
"But you're a princess," Flighty disagreed. "One of, um — two and a half? If anypony deserves that kind of respect, it's you three."
Cadance raised one hoof to rub at her head and sighed. I'd thought she was past the stage where she intended to argue with ponies about their worship, but it seemed she still picked a fight here and there.
"A title given solely based on the fact that I'm an alicorn at all," came Cadance's disagreement. "It made sense for Aunt Celestia; she spent years fighting monsters and protecting ponies before she even ascended, and defeated Discord afterward. I foiled one witch, and while I'm proud of that much, I still have a long way to go before I'm worthy of acting as one of Equestria's princesses."
Flighty looked torn between the desire to disagree with Cadance's words, and the dawning realization that it was a princess telling those troublesome tales. To disagree would be disrespectful. To remain silent, however, meant letting a princess diminish herself. Neither was acceptable in the eyes of an alicorn worshipper. I almost echoed Flighty's thoughts, but from a different direction: why couldn't Cadance have been like this when she first arrived?
Because she had me as an intimidating comparison, came the arrogant thought that I pushed away. Cadance's decisions were her own fault, not mine. She was the one who hid from her responsibilities until the last few days.
I, meanwhile, couldn't help but consider the connection that Cadance had drawn. Both Celestia and Cadance had defeated threats to Equestria, it was true. Maybe that was one of the other requirements of ascension? It would certainly help explain why there had been so few alicorns in this peaceful era: no threats to overcome meant no fulfilling that particular requirement, let alone at the same time as the other mysterious criteria. I doubted provoking and defeating a threat myself would work, either. That being a prerequisite might even explain why Celestia was never happy when I mastered a new combat spell: the more competent I became, the closer I would get to ascension and away–
…No, that was a stupid thought. Celestia was actually acting supportive of my upcoming ascension. Her dislike of combat spells was probably just an offshoot of her thinking that they were unnecessary and I shouldn't be learning something designed to hurt ponies.
"New plan," Cadance announced, stepping inside and stepping around several misplaced piles of miscellaneous supplies on her way to our workstation. "Flighty, could you please explain what you and Sunset are doing? You'd have to get up for that one."
Flighty stiffened for a moment, then reluctantly got to her hooves.
"Um—well, Your Highness–" Flighty stuttered.
"Call me Cadance," ordered the Princess of Love. "You're a friend of Sunset, and that means I'll be seeing quite a bit of you."
Flighty had to balk at that.
"Princess Cadance," Flighty started, technically not disobeying the edict.
Cadance, seemingly sensing an uphill battle, didn't challenge the address. She just sighed. It was just as well; I might have fought her if she'd pushed much harder. Flighty could get in a lot of trouble if ponies thought she was being disrespectful to one of the only two princesses of Equestria.
"I wouldn't presume to call myself Sunset's friend yet," Flighty demurred. "I do like her company quite a bit, but…"
She faltered, seemingly not knowing how to follow up the claim. I doubted it would have mattered anyway; the Princess of Love wasn't having any of it.
"The very fact that you're still here tells me that you are," Cadance said firmly, like it was any of her business. "I can count the number of ponies Sunset has willingly spent more than two consecutive hours with on my hooves, and Aunt Celestia is one of them."
That isn't saying much, since so are you as of this week, I didn't say.
"For Harmony's sake," Cadance continued, "at dinner last night, she was practically flaming at the mouth arguing in favor of opening Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns to all the tribes! She's complained about the school before, but never with that slant on it. It wasn't even a casual interest; when logistical issues like bullying reared their heads, she mentioned that a new theory-focused school might work better. You urged her to think about ponies instead of just her studies, and that's really not easy to do."
Flighty jerked to stare at me with wide eyes, and I twitched with discomfort. The savory feeling of awe(?) should have been enjoyable, but I was starting to feel as though that belonged more on strangers than her. The warm affection from Cadance was more comfortable, if bewildering considering how recently she'd hated me.
"For that matter," I interjected, "Flighty is right; we did meet yesterday. I do like her, but that's primarily on account of her skills and work ethic, both of which she's exhibited in spades. Friendship takes longer than a day or two, so: Cadance, would you be willing to support me in making Flighty the official Court Enchantress before ponies see us running around and decide it's being awarded due to nepotism? Canterlot already has too much of that as it is."
Cadance blinked and raised her eyebrows at me.
"Not sure that's how nepotism or friendship works, but magic is your Special Talent," Cadance acknowledged. "And I can do one better than just some support! Princess Celestia doesn't like to rub it in ponies' muzzles, but I've looked. She's still an absolute ruler for everything short of those archaic lethal punishments she made a point of banning. She's seldom invoked her full authority recently, but it was never repealed — and as far as Equestria's laws are concerned, every princess shares that authority."
Cadance turned to Flighty, her visage flipping from happiness to a regal calm that I didn't know Cadance even could emulate. The unconscious imitation of Celestia made my ears go flat. I would need to try to make sure that those habits didn't get any more entrenched than they already were; the last thing I wanted was to be the odd princess out when it came to actually being honest about my emotions.
"Do you, Flighty Flame, daughter of Bubbly Brook and Flour Fire, swear loyalty to the princesses and ponies of Equestria until such a time as you are formally released from your duties to the Throne?"
At this rate, I was afraid that Flighty might add even more alliteration to her existence and faint.
"O–Of course?" Flighty stuttered.
Cadance dropped the mask and smiled, unconsciously radiating warmth. Flighty, in turn, leaned a little closer to Cadance despite prior attempts at maintaining distance.
"Good enough for me!" Cadance acknowledged cheerfully. "So, congratulations! As far as I'm concerned, the 'Court Enchantress' position, or its existing equivalent, is yours. I will further add that this is not contingent on you remaining Sunset's friend, or even of being on good terms with the royal family in general. So long as you properly execute your duties and responsibilities, your position is safe until such a time as you step down, as decreed by the Princess of Love. Do you understand?"
Flighty discreetly kicked one hind leg against the other, paused, and shook her head.
"No?" Flighty admitted weakly. "I mean, yes, I understand what you're saying and would be happy to do whatever is necessary to serve, but that's not—I won't question your judgment in appointing me, as I fully intend to either meet your expectations or resign in shame. But I've looked and that last part is not a standard clause to include in appointments!"
Cadance took a step forward and raised one forehoof on Flighty's shoulder. Flighty swayed in place and I once again feared that she might drop on the spot.
"Because ponies are the ones who care about position," Cadance said firmly. "Friendship shouldn't, and I refuse to let perverse incentives potentially poison Sunset's first friendship with a mare her own age. Hay, I'm pretty sure you're a mare I'll get along with, too. So you don't need to call us by title, or worry about losing your job if you have a fight with us or her. Speak your mind! Don't be afraid to disagree or tease! If it comes to a fight, focus on friendship instead of fear! …Although if you do fight, seriously, please remember the good times or come to me if relations grow toxic. That kind of reminder is the one kind of magic I'm actually really good at."
That was news to me; why hadn't I ever seen her use it? Flighty, in contrast, seemed to have been recovering and relaxing as Cadance's speech continued, and now stood much more solidly. At least, until she stopped standing altogether and dipped into a bow, dislodging Cadance's hoof in the process.
"As you command, Princess."
Cadance twitched and slumped.
"Didn't I just say that you don't need to call me that?" she tried.
"But I'm still allowed," Flighty said, looking up to smile brilliantly. "And no matter how much she objects, I'm certain that I'm looking at the Princess of Love."
Cadance colored and looked away, coughing. I wasn't entirely unaffected, either; even though the smile wasn't directed at me, it still looked nice and I wished it was.
"Harmony," Cadance said oddly. "Be careful where you aim that thing. I'm already taken and that smile is still dangerous."
What do you mean, 'taken?' You're not married. I was tempted to ask, but didn't dare interrupt when Flighty seemed to actually be having fun again.
Flighty stood up again, eyes narrowing and smile widening further. She even leaned toward Cadance.
"Oh, but you still have eyes, don't you, Princess?" Flighty—purred?
"U–Um," Cadance stuttered, taking a step away with wide eyes.
Flighty stiffened in turn, her ears going flat. I wasn't as worried, but remained quite interested in the interaction. Cadance looked delightfully uncomfortable and I wanted to know what had prompted such a strong reaction.
"Too far?" Flighty asked anxiously. "It was, wasn't it? I'm–"
"No," Cadance squeaked, having turned an even darker shade of red. "This is fine."
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Fabula Amanti
I want a Grimoire, but I got books.
- Location
- Singapore
What a dangerous pony, seducing even the Princess of Love.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, if you go back you'll see Flighty didn't in fact go on the offensive. In fact, when Voice gave her the metal she was apologetic about not being able to use it right now.
Sunset did, but Voice called her out on it and anyway she's not exactly a social role model.
Yes!
No! So close...
Yes!
Is "Friendship is Magic" an actual thing in the show, rather than just its name? I know emotions fuel magic and all, but here Cadance uses both words interchangeably.
Sunset, most of your relationships thus far haven't actually had good times before the toxic ones.
- Location
- England
Shouldn't that be "Flighty wasn't ..." ?
I think that should be "logistical issues and things like bullying"
Bullying isn't a logistical issue.
Flighty would appear to be ... flighty.
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dragonx99
Actually Satan
Yes. The strongest artifacts in the setting, the tools that Celestia and Luna used to beat Discord and then Celestia used to send away Nightmare Moon literally and explicitly run on the power of friendship.
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Fixed, thank you.
Ah, that wasn't interchangeable use, but referring to different parts: not how nepotism works, but as magic is Sunset's Special Talent, Cadance is willing to accept the recommendation based on enchantment skill.
But yes, friendship is indeed magi—ninja'd.
- Location
- England
Did you get the 'logistical bullying'? I added that after you read my post.
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I saw due to compulsive page refreshing (
), but don't agree even after double-checking the definition. Ensuring that there are systems and resources in place for preventing bullying is indeed a logistical problem; Cadance just simplified the phrasing a little.
- Location
- Elsewhere
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
Those ponies sound like they could use some post-character-development Discord in their lives.
serra2
Himouto! Sylvanas-chan
I really want to know the story behind her name there.
Wow, that is one heck of a crush going on there.
Who would win: the density of the most massive object we know of, that traps even light from escaping vs one Sunny pony
- Location
- OK
Really, I think that's what Cadence is missing. Sunset doesn't want or need "friends", she needs and craves peers. She may enjoy the social side of it, but she desperately craves competent company, who can do things, who can achieve things.
It's why Cadence and Celestia can't reach her. Whether she wants to admit it or not, Sunset views them as Superiors, whether earned or unearned (especially unearned in Cadence's case).
It's why Celestia's gambits at shoving friendship at Sunset consistently failed in her earlier days. She viewed them as Inferiors.
Calling it "friendship" isn't quite accurate, because the warm fuzzies aren't the foundation of the relationship. The competence is. Sunset sees Flighty and thinks "Wow, you can do great things if only the circumstances weren't fighting you." and she relates to that, and she relates to it not through social pleasantries, but through the practicalities of a Working Relationship.
This core premise, that Sunset wants practicality in her life, is something Cadence and Celestia just aren't quite comprehending. They believe that the desire for practicality is the problem, and needs to be solved, rather than supported.
Twilight needed friends because she didn't realize how wonderful other ponies could be. Sunset, meanwhile, knows how other ponies are, and on the whole, she isn't impressed.
One needs Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Laughter. Those things, and the ponies who had them, gave her Magic. Friendship gave her Magic.
Sunset? She's the opposite. She needs Power to give her the rest. She craves ponies who are on her level. To put it quite simply, she's been starved of the Magic she sought in others, and now she's finally met some ponies who can use Magic to give her Friendship.
It's why Cadence and Celestia can't reach her. Whether she wants to admit it or not, Sunset views them as Superiors, whether earned or unearned (especially unearned in Cadence's case).
It's why Celestia's gambits at shoving friendship at Sunset consistently failed in her earlier days. She viewed them as Inferiors.
Calling it "friendship" isn't quite accurate, because the warm fuzzies aren't the foundation of the relationship. The competence is. Sunset sees Flighty and thinks "Wow, you can do great things if only the circumstances weren't fighting you." and she relates to that, and she relates to it not through social pleasantries, but through the practicalities of a Working Relationship.
This core premise, that Sunset wants practicality in her life, is something Cadence and Celestia just aren't quite comprehending. They believe that the desire for practicality is the problem, and needs to be solved, rather than supported.
Twilight needed friends because she didn't realize how wonderful other ponies could be. Sunset, meanwhile, knows how other ponies are, and on the whole, she isn't impressed.
One needs Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Laughter. Those things, and the ponies who had them, gave her Magic. Friendship gave her Magic.
Sunset? She's the opposite. She needs Power to give her the rest. She craves ponies who are on her level. To put it quite simply, she's been starved of the Magic she sought in others, and now she's finally met some ponies who can use Magic to give her Friendship.
Pfff, Flighty Flame Seducing Candace is not what I expected to read lol
LunaMoth
Wings of Kynareth is my comfort song...
- Pronouns
- He/They
Could be worse, apparently Spoiled Milk and Spoiled Rich are perfectly acceptable as names.