SAPR: Volume 1 (RWBY/MLP/EqG)

[ScipioSmith]

Art by Amalgamzaku

Prologue: S A P R

​

Creation. Destruction. Knowledge. The aspects of magic left to us by the gods, our gift from those who have condemned us both to torment. Each is, in its own way, formidable; each is, in its own way, necessary. There is always a certain beauty in the act of creation, provided that the creation itself serve some worthy purpose, just as there is equal beauty to be found in the destruction of the unworthy. The latter, I confess, is more pleasurable to observe, at least when the creations being destroyed belong to you. And as for Knowledge, well…without knowledge, what great enterprise can ever hope to succeed? Why do you think your pawns and puppets, blindfolded by your lies and half-truths, fumbling in a morass of ignorance, fail so often as they do?

But of course, before you feel the need to remind me, there is another kind of magic. These things always come in fours, after all. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall; Creation, Knowledge, Destruction…and the greatest of these is Choice. Because we all, even those who never knew the touch of godhead, never received their poisoned gifts, though they have no other magic they all possess the power of Choice. It was the choice of the God of Light to deny me my petition for your life; it was the choice of both the brothers to lay our race and all our mighty kingdoms to waste and ruin; it was their choice to condemn us both – and the four kings likewise – to this wretched, endless, stale existence. It was your choice to raise your hand against me and murder our sweet daughters. And it is my choice to strive with might and main against you and all your works forever while the world shall turn, for I choose not to cease my raging until I have given back to you your fill and more of bloodshed.

But all men, though they be so much less than I, and less even than you, possess the power of choice. These are not gods, but when the gods themselves created us they did so in the name of choice. It was their intent, and in their absence that intent has thrived amongst the successors to our kind, that mankind should be free to choose. Of the four relics which the gods left behind them one even embodies that power of choice which all men possess.

How ironic, then, that they seem so eager to reject the power of choice that is their birthright. They cling to the so-called wisdom of ancient wizards, they look to virtuous maidens to lead and inspire them, they raise up kings and generals and enter into voluntary servitude beneath their banners. Do they do this because they are afraid? Do they wish to avoid taking the blame for the consequences of their own poor decisions? Do they simply want the heavy burden to pass from their shoulders and onto another? Are they, perhaps, so blinded by power that they feel they have no…no choice but to abase themselves before it.

In truth, what I find even stranger is that they do not only give away their choices but seek to deny that they ever had choices to begin with. Consider destiny, this grand notion that they have created: a force of great power overseeing the world, spinning out the threads of fate, determining the inexorable futures of kings and empires. Well, I do my best, but I'm afraid they give me too much credit. Although I make my plans and send my agents, I am not responsible for the majority of the failures that they experience. Frankly, they cause their own travails well enough on their own through their folly, their hubris, and, yes, their belief that all was pre-ordained. There are no lessons to be learned from their mistakes for they were inevitable from the moment of creation. How much more they could be if they were willing to take off the blindfold and see the truth but no, they cling to the lie that is destiny like an old friend or a child's comfort blanket. Some people run and run, chasing a destiny that is always just out of reach, turning their backs on everything they have and all who love them in pursuit of…what? A restless emptiness, a feeling they can't explain, a refusal to admit that, in the end, life cannot measure up to their expectations.

XxXxX​

This is not my choice, Sunset.

Not your choice? You're Princess Celestia! All Equestria lies beneath your hoof! Nothing happens here that is not by your choice!

I hope you do not truly believe that, Sunset, for if you do it merely shows that you never understood what it means to be a princess. And I fear you never will.

Sunset Shimmer stood in the courtyard of Canterlot Combat School, just outside the main building. She stood in the courtyard, all alone, the mottled light of the shattered moon shining down upon her, looking at a mirror set into the base of the Wondercolt Statue.

No one knew that it was a mirror but her. Everyone else just looked at it and – when they bothered to look at the base at all, and not the noble stallion on top of it – they saw only a marble plinth, perhaps with some particularly reflective surfaces.

Sunset saw a way home. A way that, although dormant, might one day open up and carry her back to Equestria.

Back to a home that she had left behind.

A home that had nothing to offer her any more.

It was your choice to make me love you, but it was my choice to believe that you loved me in return.

A home that called to her nonetheless.

The night was cold; although Canterlot lay in the surprisingly temperate and fertile west of Atlas, it was still a part of the north kingdom, and that meant it grew chilly of the nights. Sunset shivered as the breeze bit through her leather jacket. She flinched as it nipped at her face. She could go back. Not right now, but when the portal opened again she could go back. She could wait, and watch, and when the time was right she could step right through and she would be in Equestria again.

Equestria, where nopony would break up with her because of the race she had been born, and nopony would encourage her boyfriend to dump her for that reason. Equestria, where no one would be blinded to her greatness by the fact that she was 'only a faunus'. Equestria, where it was not an insult to be called a pony but a name that she could wear with, if not pride, then equanimity.

Equestria, where she would be equal…and, in being equal, then be nothing.

Sunset scowled. As if she was more than nothing in this place. It was no great life being a faunus in the Kingdom of Atlas. In fact it was a pretty terrible life all things considered. She had more detentions and demerits than any other student in the school; kids who ought to have been old enough to know better pulled her tail on the street; people felt free to tell her to her face that she belonged in a zoo or worse. Sunset had come through the mirror chasing dreams of glory, but what she'd found was a world where she had to walk small and keep her head down if she wanted to stay alive.

I have a great destiny, and if you deny me what is rightfully mine then I'll just take it for myself!

Sunset cringed at the memory of her youthful arrogance. She hated it here. She hated this place, she hated these people, she hated that she had come through the mirror looking like this. She hated her stupid tail and her stupid pony ears; why couldn't she have come through the mirror looking human? If she had, then she had no doubt that with her self-evident qualities of intellect and leadership she'd have been on top by now.

She hated the other faunus who just seemed to accept this as their lot in life. Even worse, she hated the ones who didn't seem to let it hold them back at all; the ones who seemed to see themselves as human; the ones who everybody else seemed to see as human.

Sunset reached out, and brushed her fingertips against the cold, smooth base of the statue. She could go home, if she wanted to. She could wait for the mirror to open up again and go back to Equestria, where no one suffered discrimination for the circumstances of their birth.

She could go back, and crawl to the base of Celestia's throne and confess that she had failed – in her destiny and at everything else – and could she please have a room and a place at school to finish her education?

No.

No, she would not do that. Even the thought of doing that made her shudder. She would not humiliate herself in that fashion. Her pride would not allow it. Her back would not bend so far, nor would her knees descend so low as to permit it.

The humans of this world might mock her, insult her, arrest her, threaten her, degrade her on a daily basis but in so doing they only revealed their own smallness of character. They could do all those things and worse, but they could not take away her knowledge of her own worth, they could not strip her of her self-respect nor her awareness of who she was and what she deserved. She had a destiny, a great and tremendous destiny; that knowledge had sustained her through her years at Canterlot and it sustained her now against the temptation to admit defeat and leave it all behind.

She had a destiny, and though it was nowhere to be found in Atlas yet it still existed in this world of Remnant. She just had to hold her nerve and remember that she was Sunset Shimmer, born and raised and groomed for greatness. Vale would be different. Beacon would be different. There, she would find what she was looking for.

"I will not go back," she whispered to the mirror, and to the Wondercolt statue and the shattered moon above. "I won't fail. My destiny is here. And I'm going to grab it with both hands."

Then you'll see how wrong you were.

I wish that that was not the answer that you gave me, and yet as you are Sunset Shimmer I suppose it was the only answer you could give.

Sunset picked up Sol Invictus from where she'd rested it against the statue base, and slung it over her shoulder. Across the other shoulder she slung her backpack.

"Saying one last goodbye?"

Sunset froze for a moment, before a glance over her shoulder confirmed that it was only Principal Celestia, the headmistress of Canterlot Combat School and an uncanny doppelganger – once one got past the surface differences – to Sunset's princess and old teacher. It had confused her immensely, at first, when she had come through the mirror to escape Princess Celestia and found a Principal Celestia waiting for her. It had been enough to make her wonder if, instead of crossing into another world, she had entered into some kind of dreamland populated by fragments of memory. She no longer believed that to be the case – this world was too vast and too detailed to be a hallucination of Sunset Shimmer – yet still the presence of this other Celestia baffled her. It confounded all her efforts to explain it.

Not that it mattered much any more. She was leaving Canterlot behind; she doubted that she would ever see the Principal again.

Nor did she wish to.

"In a manner of speaking," Sunset replied.

Principal Celestia nodded. "I think you will do very well at Beacon Academy," she said. "Professor Ozpin…has a habit of bringing the very best out of his students."

"I'm sure that I'll do well there, too," Sunset declared. Though out of my own merits, and through no nurturing skill of Professor Ozpin's.

Principal Celestia said, "I'm glad that we agree. For whatever it may be worth, I think you made the right decision, choosing Beacon. I fear you would have been a poor fit at Atlas Academy."

"I agree," Sunset replied. "That's why I chose Beacon."

Principal Celestia was silent for a moment. "I know that you have not always been happy here, Sunset," she said, after a brief pause. "And I am sorry for that. I hope that – at Beacon, or wherever your road takes you – you can find your place to belong in the world. A place where you can be happy." She paused again. "Goodbye, Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset nodded, curtly and a little coldly. "Goodbye, Principal Celestia." She looked away, and only the sound of Principal Celestia's footsteps on the courtyard told her that the principal was leaving.

I will find my place in the world, Sunset thought, staring at the statue and the mirror. Just as I will find my destiny.

With one last lingering look, at the door to home that she would be leaving behind a continent away from where she was going, Sunset turned away and began to walk towards the docks.

XxXxX​

Destiny is a crutch, you see. A crutch that, since it cannot be seen, allows them to pretend if only for a moment that their feeble legs can sustain their weight. Even when it ought to be obvious that that is not so, they refuse to face the reality of their situation. They refuse to choose more wisely, or to take any kind of responsibility for their predicament. Instead, they put their faith in destiny and dreams. Arrogance. There is nothing extraordinary about any of their lives or their existences. There is no special providence guiding any of them on an elevated path towards power or wealth or glory. None is marked out to be set higher than the others. To be a man in these times, is to be nothing more than a grain of sand amongst multitudes.

XxXxX​

Jaune Arc crept through his house with only a torch to light his way, passing down the upstairs corridor like a burglar in his own home.

It might not stay his home for much longer, not once Dad found the note and realised that Crocea Mors was missing from its place on the mantelpiece.

He told himself that it wasn't really stealing. It was a family blade, it didn't belong to any specific member of the family but to all of them, and he was as much a member of the family as anyone else so he had a right to take the sword.

Yeah, that didn't sound terribly convincing, even to him. But he needed a weapon and it wasn't as though anyone else was using it, right? The sword had just been gathering dust since his great-great-grandfather's time.

Jaune stopped as one of the floorboards creaked beneath his feet. He froze. He was right outside of Kendal's room, and she was a really light sleeper. If she woke up, and caught him like this about to sneak out then…

Why couldn't she have been away when I did this?

He waited, as still as could be, as still as the statue of his great-great-grandfather in the middle of town. Neither Kendal, nor River whose room lay on the other side of the corridor, stirred from sleep.

Jaune tried to stifle the sigh of relief that sought to escape his mouth, and kept on walking.

Aoko's bedroom door was open, and his sister was still awake. Fortunately she had her back to the open doorway and to him; she was engrossed in the screen of her computer, where words appeared on the off-white screen. Her pale blonde hair was long and untidy, hanging down behind her almost to her waist. She never seemed to remember to have it cut.

Jaune tried to move as quietly as he could, but without turning around Aoko said, "Hey, Jaune; what are you doing up?"

Jaune halted. He kept his voice down to a very low whisper. "How did you-"

"I can see your reflection in my screen," Aoko said, also speaking very softly. Jaune had to strain his ears to hear her.

"Oh, right," Jaune murmured. "I…I'm just getting a snack out of the refrigerator."

"Cool. Can you bring me up a bag of cheese puffs?"

Jaune couldn't help but smile. "Sure," he said. It was a lie – he wasn't going to risk coming back up the stairs – but compared to what else he was going to be doing tonight a lie about getting his sister a snack hardly registered. Besides, Aoko would probably forget she'd asked in about five minutes. "What are you doing up?"

"I'm chatting to this girl in Atlas," Aoko said. "Well, I think she's in a place called Canterlot right now, but that's a part of Atlas. I think. Anyway, she has some interesting ideas about robotics."

"Ah," Jaune replied, without any comprehension, as Aoko began to type. "Hey, Aoko…I love you."

"Mm-hmm," Aoko murmured, as she kept on typing.

Jaune shook his head and left her to it. He crept downstairs, thanking God that there were no more creaking floorboards that threatened to give him away, and he was able to make his way into the living room, where Crocea Mors waited right where it always was: on the mantle above the fireplace, sheathed and sitting upon an ornate cast iron stand.

His hand trembled just a little at the idea of – he could lie to everyone else, but it was harder to lie to himself – stealing it, but he didn't have a choice. He couldn't train to be a Huntsman at Beacon without some kind of weapon, and he didn't have the money to buy one or the skill to make one so Crocea Mors it was. Sure, it was kind of old and a little out of date but a sword was a sword, right? It wasn't as if it wouldn't work any more.

He had to do this. He'd come too far to turn back now. He'd forged the transcripts and the exam results, he'd hidden his acceptance letter from Professor Ozpin, he'd kept his plans a secret from a smothering mom and five nosy sisters. He wouldn't get another shot at this. If he didn't go now he'd never go.

And he needed to go. If he didn't get out of here then he was going to…this was his only dream, since he'd been six years old and had torn through every issue of My Huntsman Academia that he could get his hands on. To be the hero just like in the stories, to be the knight who saved everyone, that was what he'd always wanted to be. Just like Dad, just like Grandpa, just like all the Arc men as far back as his great-great-grandfather. They had all been heroes, and it was time for him to take his place amongst them. It didn't matter that his mom didn't want her baby boy to risk his life in some field somewhere; it didn't matter that Dad and Kendal thought he was too soft to make it through a huntsman academy, let alone as a pro huntsman. It didn't even matter that Sky and Rouge thought that huntsmen were ridiculous, and that they weren't needed here in this peaceful town. He knew what he wanted.

This was his life, it didn't belong to his mom or his dad; it didn't belong to Sky or Rouge or Kendal or Violet.

This was his life, and this was what he'd always wanted to be. He could do this, no matter what they thought.

After all, the heroes in the comics made it look easy.

Gently, quietly, Jaune lifted Crocea Mors off the mantelpiece and strapped it to his belt. He might be stealing it but at least he was going to put it to good use.

He could do this. He would do this. This was his dream; this was what he'd always wanted to be.

This was his destiny.

As he stole out of the house, Jaune vowed to himself that he was going to make his dreams come true and become one of the most famous huntsmen to ever live.

He had left a note explaining everything to his folks. He wasn't sure what would be worse: that they came to drag him back home…or that they didn't, because they just didn't care enough to bother.

XxXxX​

Some of them run from their so-called destiny, telling themselves how much they hate it, how much they want to escape from it and its baleful influence upon their lives, not realising that their very belief in destiny holds them captive. For of course, they cannot escape something that does not exist, and so long as they can blame a conveniently external force for all their troubles and misfortunes they will never have to confront the fact that they have nothing to blame but their own weakness.

XxXxX​

Pyrrha Nikos wandered towards her room; her footsteps were slow, as if her steps were weighted down with stones bound around her ankles. Her head was bowed, and she looked down at nothing but the varnished floor beneath her and her slowly-moving feet. She ignored – she did not even look at – the death masks of her ancestors that hung on the wall, the antique vases on their marble plinths, the antique tapestries hanging between the doors.

From below, the sounds of the guests in the Dining Hall echoed up to her. Pyrrha ignored them. She had no desire to go back down there. She had come up here to get away from them.

All those people gathered down below: lords and ladies of Mistralian families old and proud, prosperous merchants and attorneys on the rise, the Lord Steward and his daughters, the Councillors of Mistral. All of those people, gathered below to celebrate an idea with neither knowledge of nor desire to know the person upon whom that idea sat like all-concealing armour. Or, worse, they were pretending to celebrate both it and her whilst all the while holding her in contempt.

It was best to come away. Loneliness was preferable to the way that she felt down there, the object of every eye and tongue but the subject of no one's attentions.

She had some hope that Beacon would be different; in Vale, the mystique of the Invincible Girl might not be spread so wide, and the name of Nikos and the idea of the Princess Without a Crown would mean nothing there. In Vale, in Beacon, she would be no champion but only Pyrrha Nikos, a first year student.

So she could hope, at least.

So she could try to be.

Pyrrha walked into her room, to find one of the maids, Iris by name, fastening a suitcase on the bed. Iris looked up in surprise as she heard Pyrrha's footsteps on the floor.

"Oh. Begging your pardon, young mistress, I wasn't aware the party was over."

"It, um," Pyrrha said hesitantly, wondering what exactly she ought to say. "Well, you see..."

Iris smiled. "I understand, Lady Pyrrha."

Pyrrha blinked. "You do?"

Iris nodded. "Young mistress, everything has been packed for your journey to Vale."

"Thank you." Pyrrha murmured, although she could have done her own packing. In many ways, she would rather have done so. It would have meant that the final decision on what to take with her to Beacon rested with her and not her mother.

Still, that was not Iris' fault, and so Pyrrha smiled at her and hoped that it reached her eyes as she stood aside to let Iris leave.

Iris reached the doorway and paused. Now it was the turn of the maid to look a little uncertain. "I…I know it's not my place, Lady Pyrrha, but on behalf of all of us I should like to say…good luck, at Beacon."

Pyrrha felt her smile broaden, just a little. "Thank you, Iris," she said. "Thank you all."

Iris nodded, and curtsied to Pyrrha. "Goodnight, young mistress."

"Goodnight," Pyrrha replied. She slid the door to her bedroom closed behind her, and sighed softly as she leaned across the wall. She was the young mistress to the servants; she was the Invincible Girl to the crowds who flocked to see her tournament fights; to her mother she was a sword, an instrument for the fulfilling of dreams from a generation ago. In a sense Pyrrha Nikos did not exist, not as a person. Nobody knew her. Nobody cared to know. They wanted their Invincible Girl; what the girl wanted was of no importance by comparison.

Pyrrha crossed the room, ignoring the suitcase neatly packed on top of her bed for a moment as she walked lightly and gracefully across the wooden floor to the trophy cabinet on the far wall. The major trophies, her regional tournament cups and the like, were not here: they were on display in the hall where her mother could show them off to visitors and talk about what a prodigious talent her daughter was. But the lesser trophies, the ones from when she was younger, or simply from the less prestigious events, were up here. Her mother wanted them present to remind her of how far she'd come, and to not falter in her determination.

Too late for that, mother.

Pyrrha's eyes passed over most of the trophies, lingering on a very small statuette near the bottom corner of the cabinet. It was a brass statuette of a ballerina, feet crossed, hands in the air; she had won it when she was five years old, and come third in a junior ballet competition. The next year her mother had told her that she was no longer learning ballet; Pyrrha wasn't talented enough to make it worthwhile, better to devote all her efforts to combat training where she showed so much more aptitude. Third place, for a Nikos, was most definitely not good enough.

She had cried when that decision had been made, because she had loved ballet. She remembered loving it more than she had ever loved the fight.

She could, she thought, have been perfectly happy as a third rate dancer; and maybe, just maybe, Pyrrha Nikos wouldn't have gotten lost amidst everything else if she had taken that path instead.

Of course, it was not to be. Fate had decreed it otherwise. Her destiny lay elsewhere.

And besides, she could not have justified the privileges of the House of Nikos, and all the luxury into which she had been born, as a dancer of average ability. She was a Nikos, a victor of the people, and even had she not been born a prodigal in the field of arms it would still have been her duty to venture upon the hazards of that field for Mistral and for mankind.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and bowed her head in prayer that she might achieve the destiny that she had vowed for herself when two things had become inescapably clear to her: first, that she might be one of the greatest warriors of her generation, perhaps more; second, that she would never be allowed to be anything but a warrior.

That being the case, she would be the greatest warrior, and she would protect the world from all the terrors of the dark. That was the destiny to which she had dedicated herself with…she could not quite say that she had dedicated herself to it with all her heart, but at least with most of it.

That last, uncommitted part of her heart still hoped for other and more selfish things.

Pyrrha heard the door slide open behind her. It was her mother, it had to be. No one else would have entered without knocking first.

"You are missing your own going away party."

"I suppose I am," Pyrrha replied. "But the party seems to be going perfectly well without its subject." People can talk about me perfectly well without me needing to be in the room while they do it.

For a moment she thought that her mother would demand that she return to the dining hall, but in the end Lady Nikos simply asked, "Are you ready?"

"Almost," Pyrrha said. "Thank you for having my things packed for me, mother, it was very helpful."

"I still question the need for this. Professor Lionheart is an incompetent buffoon, I will grant, and the reputation of Haven Academy has sunk under his stewardship, but you are so skilled that you hardly require first rate schooling. You will shine just as brightly at a second-rate school. If it were not for the Vytal Festival I would say that you would shine with no school at all. I question what you will gain from this move across the world. What can Vale teach the pride and glory of Mistral reborn?"

I'm hoping that my reputation won't follow me halfway across the world. "With respect, mother, the fact that you don't understand my reasons does not invalidate them."

"Look at me, child."

Pyrrha turned around to face her mother, who stood in the doorway as if it was her intent to block the way in or out.

"You think that I don't see through you?" Lady Nikos demanded. "All that I have done I have done for your own good."

"I'm not ungrateful."

"You do not show much gratitude," Lady Nikos said. "I will be monitoring your grades; if you don't keep up the performance of which I know that you're capable I will bring you straight back here."

"Straight As, I suppose."

"Do you expect me to settle for anything less?"

They're not your grades. "No, mother."

Lady Nikos shook her head disdainfully. "What do you hope to achieve by this? What do you think is waiting for you there?"

"I just want…" Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. "I want four years with friends, four years of fun and laughter and being a normal person-"

"You are not normal," Lady Nikos snapped. "You are a Nikos of the old blood of Mistral, descended from Odysseus the Third and Juno the Reclaimer and Pyrrha the Second and all the emperors in direct line to Theseus himself. All the honour of our august house rests upon your shoulders and all the history of our most ancient kingdom flows through your veins. You are the Invincible Girl, a prodigy such as has not been seen since the Great War, if not longer! I will not have you dim your light for the sake of others, for the sake of friends. To burn brightly, for however brief a moment, that is where glory lies."

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," Pyrrha murmured.

"Indeed," Mother said. "Pyrrha Nikos may be forgotten, but the Invincible Girl will live forever in the hearts of men."

But I don't want to be the Invincible Girl. I want to be Pyrrha.

But that was a battle the Invincible Girl had lost a long time ago.

XxXxX​

And then there are the simpler ones, the smaller and more honest souls, those whom you trust to light the way for all the rest to follow. True, they are less burdened by self-hatred than some, less plagued by doubt, less gnawed upon by the emptiness within themselves that no amount of accomplishment can assuage. But in the end they are no less lost, no less alone, no less touched by melancholy. And, as you have spun so many lies before their eyes that they are quite blinded by them, they are no less incapable of seeing the truth about the world around them, or of making any choice to affect that world…for good.

The rose is no less touched by frost than any other flower in this garden of yours.

XxXxX​

Ruby Rose stood before her mother's gravestone.

It was not where Summer Rose was buried; nobody knew where that was or if there was even…Ruby didn't finish that unpleasant thought. She focussed on the marker, the white stone with the rose engraved upon it.

Summer Rose

Thus Kindly I Scatter

​

"Hey, Mom," Ruby whispered to the wintry air. It was snowing all around her, and she had the hood of her red cloak pulled up to keep it off her face and out of her hair. If anyone had been watching they wouldn't have been able to see her face at all.

Ruby hesitated for a moment, clutching her combat skirt with her hands. "I…I just wanted to come and see you, because…because it feels like it's been a while, and because it feels as though things are going to change this year.

"Yang's graduated from Signal, and she'll be going to Beacon soon. She's said that she'll come home for the holidays – assuming that she doesn't end up on a team with a bunch of super cool people from Atlas or Mistral who end up inviting her to come and spend break with them. Either way, we won't see as much of her any more. I'm not sure how Dad's going to cope. He says that everything's going to be okay, and I get that it's not as if she's going away forever, it's not like we're losing her, but all the same…Dad relies on her for a lot.

"We both do. I…I'm really happy for her, but at the same time…I don't know what I'm going to do without her."

Ruby trailed off. Her memories of Summer Rose were few and vague. Mom had died when she was just a toddler. Yang remembered more, and had told her that Mom had been a supermom 'baking cookies and killing monsters'. But for herself, leaving aside Yang's stories, Ruby couldn't remember much more than fragments and echoes: a gentle voice, a pair of arms holding her, a flash of silver.

"She does so much for both of us. I mean, there was this time a couple of days ago, just before the snow fell, when I…I kind of knocked myself out running into a tree." Ruby laughed nervously. "Anyway, then this ursa showed up and Yang just took it out. Wham! Bam! Yeah! She's absolutely amazing. She's brave and strong and she's not afraid of anything. And she's kind, too; she always has time for me even though she could just tell me to get lost.

"I don't remember much of you, Mom, but I think…I think that Yang is trying to be just like you, and if she's doing it then…then you must have been pretty awesome. I know that you must be really proud of her, and I hope that you can be proud of me too, because when I'm seventeen I'm going to Beacon too and I'm going to be a fearless huntress just like the both of you. I want to help people, I want to keep them safe, I want to make the world better for everyone!

"Just like Yang. Just like you.

"I love you, Mom."

Ruby turned away and began to walk home. Rose petals trailed behind her, mingling with the falling snow.

XxXxX​

So these are your guardians: lost and lonely creatures broken by their own poor choices which, too proud to admit to their mistakes, they ascribe instead to the malevolence of destiny. Neither of us are strangers to such as they, we both of us have made use of the lost and the lonely in the past. Pathetic as they are they make excellent pawns; and, if their eyes can be opened up to the truth about the world in which they live, then it is always possible that they can become so much more.

Which is where we differ, you and I. You use such poor creatures as they as your instruments, and yet because you seek to keep them in the confinement in which they languish those that do not perish in your war inevitably betray and abandon you. Either they seek to quit the struggle altogether and eke out their days in a state of miserable existence, or else they come to me, and in my warm embrace they find the home and purpose that you could never give.

You may call me wicked. You may even call me evil. You may say that I'm a monster, but even if that were true at least I am an honest monster. Is it any less monstrous to manipulate all those around you, to twist their minds and fill them with lies, to use and abuse and cast them aside when they are of no more use to you? At least I offer even my worst enemies an honest choice: join me, or die.

We have both known the likes of these before, but the difference between us is that I can offer them respite from all their struggles. Love, home, power, respect, companionship, answers, I can offer all these things, and what can you offer them but the illusion of a free will that you have never respected, and lies about destiny that will only bring them tears.

So you may train your guardians, you may move your pawns upon the board, you may even seek to make a Maiden to raise up against me; you may put your hopes in a lost girl far from home, in a boy with a head full of dreams, in a princess who thinks herself chosen by fate, even in a simple soul.

But in the end they all shall fall, to darkness…and to me.

 

[ScipioSmith]

No Heroes​

Sunset Shimmer drummed her fingers impatiently upon the glass counter of the dust shop. When she glanced down, she could see her reflection in said glass, the red streaks in her fiery hair seeming to blend with the red of the fire dust crystals kept in the case below. She looked irritated, and in Sunset's opinion, she had every right to be. She'd come into From Dust 'til Dawn because, even after her flight from Canterlot to Vale and her finding suitable accommodations, she still had a little bit of lien left over from her travel grant and had decided that a little dust might come in handy during initiation. As a rule, dust was out of Sunset's price range, but since she had some spare change for once and since this was her chance to make a big impression, she had decided to splash out.

Just a little fire dust, that was all she wanted. But she had been standing here for the last twenty minutes waiting to be served while the old guy who ran this shop pottered about without so much of an acknowledgement of her presence.
And it wasn't even as if the place was crowded. Sunset couldn't see anybody else here, not a single soul. Her ears pressed flat against the top of her head. Her tail twitched irritably back and forth.

Just because I don't have anything better to do tonight doesn't mean that I want to spend all night standing here!

Sunset cleared her throat. "Excuse me!"

"I'll be right with you," the aged shopkeeper croaked in reply.

"You said that five minutes ago," Sunset reminded him. "And ten minutes before that."

The shopkeeper sighed as he made his way towards the counter. "Listen, I've got a lot to do at the back, so I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait until I'm done."

"And I'm sure you'd be saying the exact same thing to a human," Sunset growled.

"Hey!" the shopkeeper said. "If you're not happy with the way I do business, you're welcome to go someplace else."

"Yeah, because there are so many dust shops open this late," Sunset muttered under her breath. Nevertheless, she was tempted to just leave and forget the dust, if only to show that she had some pride and self-respect. She wasn't about to let this guy treat her like dirt just because he could.

On the other hoof, she did want that dust.

It was a conundrum that she had not yet resolved when she heard the tinkling of the bell above the shop door as someone came in behind her. The shopkeeper's eyes widened in apprehension as someone coughed behind Sunset.

"Excuse us, little pony." The voice that spoke was smarmy, and his tone would have made Sunset bristle even if he hadn't just called her 'little pony.' "But you don't mind if we cut in line, do you? My friends and I are in a little bit of a hurry."

Sunset's jaw clenched in anger. "As a matter of fact, I do mind," she declared, as she started to turn around. "Because I've been waiting here for nearly half an hour, and I'm not about to just-" She fell silent as she got a chunky, boxy auto-pistol shoved into her face.

"That was me asking nicely." The man who spoke was a well-dressed redhead in a crisp white suit, with a bowler hat upon his head and thick black gloves covering his hands. He was holding a cigar that looked as though it had just been plucked from between his teeth in one hand, and with the other, he was trifling with a cane that was either an affectation or a weapon, given that he clearly didn't need it for support. He spoke, but he was not the one who had just shoved a gun into Sunset's face. Ranged around the man in white were a half-dozen muscular fellows dressed in all-black suits, black fedoras, and red ties, all of them sporting some variety of facial hair, their eyes concealed behind red sunglasses. It was one of them, a bearded fellow with a square jaw, who held the pistol that was of most concern to Sunset at this moment.

Sunset smirked. "Nice outfits, fellas; are you on your way to a party?"

The man in the white suit chuckled. "We'll find some way to celebrate, I'm sure. Now, you're too young to be a huntress, but you've got that fancy weapon on your shoulder so…let me guess, Beacon student."

"Soon-to-be Beacon student, actually."

"Congratulations," said the man in white, a genial smile upon his face. "My father always believed in the transformative power of education." His face hardened. "But this isn't the classroom, kid, and we're not playing games, so you're not going to give me any trouble, are you?"

The smirk remained on Sunset's face. "Nope," she said. "No trouble at all." As much as foiling whatever crime in progress this was before she'd even started attending Beacon would be a feather in her cap when she got to Beacon, she wasn't inclined to risk her life for a shopkeeper who had gone out of his way to waste her time.

"Smart girl, you definitely belong at that fancy school," the man in the white suit said. "Now, believe me, I'd love to let you finish your browsing, but my boys and I are on a bit of a tight schedule, so why don't you stick your hands where we can see them, and we'll do our best to make this quick and painless and get out of your pretty hair as soon as possible."

Sunset raised her hands slowly, until they were level with her head, palms facing outwards towards the criminals that confronted her. That left her in a pretty good position to use her magic if necessary, but they didn't know that yet, and Sunset wasn't about to enlighten them.

The man with the pistol pointed at Sunset and gestured sideways with his gun. "Move," he snapped. Sunset slid out of the way, exposing the counter full of dust and the shopkeeper standing beside it.

"That's the spirit," said the man in white as he strolled up to the counter, taking the place that Sunset had vacated. He leaned upon the glass case. "The good news for you, old man, is that we're not here for your money." To the man still pointing a gun at Sunset he said, "Keep her covered. The rest of you grab the dust."

Sunset watched as the crew set to work. There were a series of pipes secured to the side of the shop wall, filled with ready-ground and purified dust of various varieties; the crooks plugged large cylinders into those pipes and began extracting the powder. They also put down a case on top of the counter and gestured to the shopkeeper to fill it with crystals.

The shopkeeper glanced at Sunset with an accusatory look on his face.

"Don't look at her!" snapped the man in white. He sniggered. "Maybe in your day, some have-a-go hero would have stepped in to do what's right and save the day, but that's not the world we live in anymore. Nobody's going to help you out."

Meanwhile, the bearded man keeping Sunset covered had been eyeing up Sol Invictus, or at least what he could see of it; the weapon was slung crosswise across Sunset's shoulder, with only the top of the barrel and the butt of the stock visible. "That looks like a nice piece," he said, as she started to reach out for the rifle. "You huntresses always get the coolest stuff."

Sunset took a step back. Her tail flicked upwards. "Look, but don't touch, okay, buddy," she said.

The crook smirked. "If you think the boss cares whether you live or die then-"

A blast of green magical energy leapt from Sunset's left palm to strike the would-be weapon thief square in the face. He was hurled backwards with a startled cry of alarm – matching the cry made by another of black-suited crooks as he was hurled across the store by some unseen force in the back.

Sunset threw herself sideways, landing on the floor with a thump. She was hidden behind the left-hand side of the central square counter for now, but she crawled rapidly around behind it as she unslung Sol Invictus. Her fingertip traced the flaming sun engraved in the stock – her cutie mark, which she had adopted as her symbol in this world – as she gripped the wood tightly. She cocked the hammer on her rifle into the firing position and the cylinder containing the ammunition rotated to the ready position in turn.

Six rounds in the cylinder. Five-

Out of the corner of her eye Sunset caught sight of a red blur as another of the men in black was kicked out of the dust shop window.

Make that four targets.

The man in the white suit growled in irritation. "You three get the girl! I'll deal with the pony myself!"

I'm a unicorn, actually. Sunset rose partially from out of her cover, snapping off a pair of shots at the black-clad gangsters as they rushed out of the door to confront whoever "the girl" was outside. She hit the guy at the back, in the back, with both shots, but it wasn't enough to drop him before he got outside. Sunset fired her third shot at the man in white, who ducked behind the other side of the central square so that Sunset's bullet slammed into the door frame.

"You know," the man in white said, his tone far too casual for the circumstances, "maybe if you'd gone to school, you would have learned-" - he rose from behind cover, pointing the tip of his cane at the shelf full of fire-dust packets behind Sunset - "-not to start a firefight in a dust store."

Crap! Sunset's eyes widened as a glowing missile of some kind shot from the tip of the cane and flew towards the packets of dust shelved just behind her. She flung out her hand, conjuring a glowing green bubble around the missile just before it struck the volatile dust powder. Inverted shield, a spell of her own design, that flung the shield up around someone else rather than you. She'd thought it might be useful for capturing people, but as the missile exploded harmlessly within the bubble Sunset reflected that it was good for rockets and grenades as well.

Sunset dispelled her shield. She had enough magic left for a couple more neat tricks, at least. She returned her attention to the front of the store and took aim at the man in the white suit. Except that while Sunset had been concentrating on not getting blown up, her opponent had grabbed the shopkeeper, hauled him over the counter, and was now using him as a human shield, with one black-gloved hand tight around the old man's throat.

"You got some neat tricks, kid," the man in white acknowledged, "but I'm afraid this is where we part ways, unless you want to shoot the hostage for your shot at bringing me in."

Sunset snorted. "Tempting, but I'm not so lost to honour yet." Besides, that would look really good when I got to Beacon, wouldn't it? The faunus who goes around shooting shopkeepers.

He laughed. "That sense of righteousness is why guys like me will always get away from guys like you. See you around, baconhair."

Baconhair? My hair does not look like bacon! My hair looks like fire! Like the flames of the majestic phoenix! Let go of that hostage and then call me baconhair again.

Sunset bared her teeth as she stalked around the ruined counter, Sol Invictus trained on the man in white.

"Ah ah ah," he said, as he himself retreated with his shield towards the door. "That's close enough, unless you want grandpa here to get his neck snapped."

Sunset froze, but kept her gun trained on the man as he fumbled awkwardly with the cane in his free hand to open the door and retreat out into the street. Sunset sidestepped towards the broken window, so that she could see what he could see when he got outside: all three of his remaining guys had been taken out. The architect of their defeat was a diminutive little girl, with rose red tips to her short black hair, wearing a black blouse and matching skirt while a long crimson cape dangled almost to the ground behind her.

She was wielding the biggest weapon that Sunset had yet come across in her training, a scythe that was between half again and twice as big as she was, and looking all the more intimidating for the blood red colour in which she'd painted most of it. The tip of the blade was buried in the tarmac as the girl pointed the shaft like a spear towards the man in white.

"I see you guys were worth every lien," the man in white muttered, observing his unconscious minions on the ground.

"Let him go!" the girl demanded in an incongruously high-pitched and squeaky voice.

"Let him go? Sure thing, Red, I'll let him go once I'm on my way out of here," the man in white replied. "Until then, if I see either of you two take one step," he half turned back to Sunset, his one eye – the other was concealed beneath his ginger bangs – flickering towards her, "if I feel anything touch my aura then I'll-"

He turned to the pale little girl, his back to Sunset. And as his back was turned, Sunset teleported.

Since she came to this world, where she seemed to be the only being in it who possessed any magic, she had mostly restricted her use of it to a combination of energy blasts and shields that she could pass off as her semblance. Teleportation was of a different order altogether, but if she didn't do it now, then she was going to lose this guy, and she wasn't willing to let that happen just so she could keep hiding her light under a bushel.

Better make this count.

Sunset disappeared with a crack and a flash of green light, reappearing in that same instant, one foot off the ground, Sol Invictus reversed in her hands, and right behind the man in the white suit.

Sunset growled wordlessly as she swung her rifle at him like a bat, cracking him with the butt across the side of the head before he realised what was happening. He grunted in pain, staggering sideways, and as he staggered, he lost his grip on the old man.

There was a blur of red, and suddenly, the air was filled with falling rose petals, petals trailing across the road like drops of blood; for a moment, Sunset felt an icy grip in her stomach. Had he just cut the shopkeeper's throat? Had she just gotten a man killed? But it was the girl, the girl with the crimson cape, moving faster than Sunset's eye could follow to cross the distance between them and wrap one arm around the shopkeeper's stick-thin waist. She slowed down to avoid slamming into the shop front. A slight smile played upon her round, pale face as she volleyed off the brick exterior of the dust store to change direction, bearing the shopkeeper down the street and depositing him safely on the sidewalk.

Sunset landed on her feet, reversing Sol Invictus once more to fire her remaining three rounds at the man in white before he could recover. His aura didn't break, but he kept on staggering sideways with every bullet that slammed into him, clutching his side and grunting in pain.

Out of bullets, Sunset prepared to let him have it with the bayonet.

"Look out!" cried the girl in black and red with the high-pitched voice.

Sunset didn't have time to react, nor did she see where the attack came from; all she knew was that suddenly someone was kicking her hard enough to make her double over as she felt her aura drop noticeably . Someone kicked her again, in the chin this time, and she winced in pain as she flew through the air to land on her back in the middle of the road.

She heard a pair of barking, high-pitched gunshots.

Sunset looked up to see that the man in white had been joined by a young girl wearing a white jacket over a corset and boots. She was also holding a parasol and smirking in a rather irritating manner.

"Perfect timing as always," the man in the white suit said. He tipped his hat to Sunset and the other girl. "Ladies."

"You won't get away!" cried the girl in the red cape as she leapt for the pair, her enormous scythe swinging. The oversized blade struck the two, who shattered like glass into shards that tumbled to the ground before they disappeared into nothing.

"Huh?" the girl whispered, as a Bullhead rose into the night sky and began to fly away over the rooftops of Vale. "Did…did they just get away?"

"So it would seem." The reply came not from Sunset, but from the middle-aged woman with pale blonde hair currently stalking down the street towards them, her high heels tapping on the tarmac of the road. She paused, as if she was allowing the sound of rapidly approaching police sirens to reach their ears. "If we're lucky, the police will be able to intercept them in the air. In the meantime, the pair of you have some explaining to do."

XxXxX​

Sunset sat in an interrogation room at the nearest precinct of the Vale Police Department. Once more, she found herself waiting, drumming her fingers upon a surface while she waited upon the convenience of someone else.

I know I left the place in kind of a mess, but come on! That was hardly my fault.

She glanced at the one-way mirror on the right-hand side of the room and wondered if anyone was watching her through it. She kept her expression blank, or tried to. She didn't want anyone who might be watching to think that she was rattled by all this.

The door opened, and a man Sunset would have recognised from his place in the history books even if she'd never met him before walked in. He was a tall old man, with an untidy mop of white hair sitting atop his head, dressed in a jacket, waistcoat, and scarf that ascended through progressively lighter shades of green. A pair of very small, round pince-nez sat near the bottom of his nose, and he leaned lightly upon a long wooden cane with an ornately decorated metal head. The Beacon admissions process had included an interview with the man, conducted via video-call. He had already held Sunset's fate in his hands once; now, he might decide to withdraw his earlier offer and leave her...leave her no better off than she had been when she fled Equestria.

She tried to keep all of this behind her blank and neutral expression, but Sunset could not help but feel as though Professor Ozpin had divined it all regardless. She could only hope not.

Professor Ozpin smiled. "Good evening, Miss Shimmer. You must feel a very long way from home at this point."

Sunset blinked. What does he mean by that? It is true, I am a long way from Equestria, but he doesn't know that so what in Celestia's name is he talking about? "No further than any other student who comes to Beacon from Atlas, Professor," she said.

"No," Professor Ozpin murmured. "Indeed not. So many come such a long way. I only hope that we make it worth their while once they get here." He pulled up the chair on the other side of the table and sat down. "Most other students, however, whether they come from Atlas, Mistral, Vale, or even Vacuo, wait until they actually start school before they start to get into trouble."

"I think it's fairer to say that trouble found me in this instance, Professor," Sunset said. "Talk to the other girl; she'll tell you-"

"Yes, I've just been speaking to her," Professor Ozpin said. "I've also spoken to the owner of the establishment you…defended, after a fashion. I must confess that your initial conduct when the criminals first entered the store is a little...troubling."

Sunset's mouth felt suddenly very dry. She licked her lips. "I was waiting for the ideal moment, Professor."

"Indeed?" Professor Ozpin murmured. Sunset had the squirming feeling of being examined, as if he were pinning her beneath a microscope. She turned her head away, bowing it towards the floor so that he could no longer look into her eyes.

"You left the shopkeeper in a rather vulnerable position," he pointed out.

"I never said that I didn't have anything to learn, Professor," Sunset replied, still refusing to meet his gaze.

Professor Ozpin was silent for a moment. "Miss Shimmer," he said, "at Beacon Academy, we train huntsmen and huntresses. That is not the same as being a warrior or as merely possessing power and having been trained in its use. To be a huntress…is to embody the very highest virtues of mankind. To be a light in darkness, when all other lights go out."

I've heard variations on this speech before, and I didn't like where it led. When Princess Celestia had started talking like this, it was preparatory to telling Sunset that she was done. That couldn't be happening here, not again. She couldn't be about to be cast about before she'd even begun. This is my last chance. I cannot have squandered it already. Please, let fate have mercy. Sunset glanced at the headmaster. "Are you…are you telling me that my place at Beacon has been withdrawn?"

The smile returned to Professor Ozpin's face. "Do you know why the huntsman academies exist, Miss Shimmer, when so many of our students already arrive at our halls so very well trained, and so deadly?"

Sunset breathed in and out. "No, Professor."

"It is because the founders of the academies believed, as I do, that the virtues of a huntsman can be taught, to those who are willing to learn," Professor Ozpin explained. "Your place at my school is safe. I merely wished to make it plain what will be expected of you when you arrive." He got to his feet. "You are free to go, and I look forward to seeing you at Beacon for the start of Spring Semester. Best of luck, Miss Shimmer."

XxXxX​

Ruby Rose waited outside of the police station, feeling bathed in light despite the darkness of the night sky.

Of course, that was partly because she was standing directly under a streetlight, but it was also so much more than that.

It was because her dreams were now one step closer to coming true.

All her life, ever since she'd been a little girl being read bedtime stories of heroes and monsters by Yang, Ruby had dreamed of becoming a huntress. Like the heroes in the books, like Dad, like Uncle Qrow...like Mom. Like Mom most of all.

Beacon was the next step on the road to achieving that goal, and thanks to Professor Ozpin, she was getting her chance two years early. It would be difficult, probably; almost certainly, it would be difficult. But Yang would be there, and with the help of her big sister, Ruby was certain that she would be able to get through it.

She wasn't going to let anything stand in her way. She would become a huntress, no matter how hard the work was.

She just hoped that the other students at Beacon could accept her and not think of her either as some kid in over her head or as some sort of special prodigy they needed to stay out of the way of.

She wanted to go to Beacon and learn to become a huntress with all her heart, but that didn't mean that she wanted to spend her four years there hived off from all her fellow students.

That was why, as much as she wanted to rush off and tell Yang the good news right this instant, she was waiting out here for the other girl who had fought beside her. It wasn't just to say thank you; it was also because Ruby hoped that having someone besides Yang that she knew once she got to Beacon might make things just a little easier.

The doors to the police station opened, and the other girl stepped out into the night. She was a horse faunus, with pointy equine ears rising out of her hair and a two-tone tail of red and gold descending down towards the ground; Ruby knew that there were faunus who had two animal traits instead of one, but they were really rare, and she'd never actually met one before. The girl's hair was the same colour as her tail, streaks of red and gold so that it almost looked as though her hair and tail were on fire. Her eyes were large and green and dominated her face far more than her mouth or her tiny nose. She wore a black leather jacket with a studded collar over a purple top with a blazing sun – half red and half gold, just like her hair – emblazoned on the chest, and a short skirt of mostly orange, with purple and pale yellow stripes over a pair of blue jeans. She was holding a rifle with an integrated bayonet attached in her right hand. Her boots made thumping noises on the ground as she descended the stone steps from the police station down to street level.

Ruby took a step forward into the light spilling out of the station. "Hey," she said. "Thanks for your help back there."

The other girl smiled smugly, and preened at her hair with her left hand. "You're very welcome. It was the least I could do," she declared, in a weird tone of voice that Ruby couldn't quite put a name too. It was like she was trying to sound humble...but at the same time, she also sounded really smug.

"It's a pity that we couldn't catch that guy," Ruby continued, "but at least we saved the old man's life; that's the most important thing. That, and we stopped the OH MY GOSH!" Ruby cried as her eyes slid from the other girl's face to the gun she was holding in her right hand.

The other girl took a step away from Ruby and the look of eagerness upon her face. "What?"

"Is that a revolver rifle?"

The other girl's eyes narrowed. She shifted her grip on her gun a little. "Yeees," she said, drawing out the word just a little more than it warranted.

"That is so cool! You almost never see that any more! Six shots in the cylinder or five?

"Six."

"Double action or single?"

"Double, of course."

"And the calibre...let me guess…" Ruby narrowed her eyes, studying the size of the weapon. ".223?"

"How did you know that?"

"I'm...kind of a dork about weapons." Ruby closed the distance between them in an instant; she ran her small, pale hands over the walnut stock. "Why did you use wood for the stock?"

"Because I wanted something heavy enough to brain a grimm with if I needed to," the other girl explained. "Plus…I kinda like the classic look." Her thumb ran over the image of the sun – matching the symbol on her top – that she had carved into the wood.

"Oh. Yeah, totally, not enough people appreciate the classics," Ruby said with a laugh, as she suddenly became worried that she'd offended the other girl with the implication that her weapon was old-fashioned. Well, it was old-fashioned, but that didn't mean that it didn't work. She spotted a canister of some kind mounted just above the trigger guard. "Hey, what does this do?"

The other girl yanked the gun away Ruby before she could set it off. "That causes the bayonet to extend outwards an additional three feet so that-"

"So you can use it as a spear! Obviously!" Ruby squealed. "And that means there's gas in the canister, right?"

"Compressed air."

"And I guess that there's some kind of locking mechanism in place to prevent it being pushed back in when it hits something."

"Of course."

"That is so cool!" Ruby cried. "What's her name? Did you make it yourself? How long have you had her?"

"Its name is Sol Invictus, and I've had it for a couple of years now. I…had the parts made to my specifications, then I assembled them personally."

"Aww," Ruby sighed with undisguised disappointment. "I kind of feel as though you ought to craft all the parts yourself, you know?" She produced her beloved Crescent Rose from behind her, and with a flick of a button, her beauty unfolded itself like, well, a rose. Every hiss, every click was music of Ruby's ears, her precious baby revealing itself in all its glory, a perfect blending of her soul and her skill. "Meet my Crescent Rose," Ruby declared proudly. "A high-impact sniper rifle with a twelve round magazine…and it's also a scythe, obviously."

The other girl's eyebrows scaled her head. "You…you machined all the parts for that yourself?"

"Yup. All students at Signal forge their own weapons."

"Signal should throw in the towel for combat training and focus on producing engineers," the other girl muttered.

"Well, they're not all…I did kind of…I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons." She held out her hand once more. "I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose."

The other girl stared at her hand for a moment before she reached out and took it. "Sunset Shimmer."

"Pleased to meet you," Ruby said, folding up Crescent Rose and putting it away behind her. "So, what happened to you in there?"

"Nothing," Sunset said.

"You were in there after I was done," Ruby said. "Something must have happened."

Sunset paused. "Let me clarify," she said. "Nothing happened that I want to discuss with you. Or anybody else."

"Oh, right," Ruby said quietly. Great, now she'd gone and said completely the wrong thing. "Um, so, are you a Beacon student, too?"

Sunset had already turned away from Ruby and took her first steps as she began to answer. "Sort of, I start my first year in a few days."

"Ooh, me too!" Ruby cried. "Professor Ozpin let me in just now, after tonight!"

Sunset blinked. "You mean...he wasn't going to let you in before?"

"Well, I mean…" Ruby hesitated for a moment, wishing that she hadn't invited this line of questioning. "I am...only...fifteen," she admitted, pushing her fingers together as she waited to see how Sunset would react.

"Fifteen," Sunset repeated. Her jaw clenched, for a moment, and something flashed in her eyes. "That's...lucky you," she said.

"I know," Ruby cheered. "I still can't believe it! This has been my dream, well, it's been a part of my dream, for...for as long as I've had one."

Sunset stared down at Ruby, without saying anything. She stepped a little farther out of the light spilling from the police station, and a little further into the darkness between the street lights. "Your dream, huh?"

Ruby nodded. "To become a huntress and help protect the world from all the dangers and the monsters."

Sunset's eyes were the most visible thing about her now. Green eyes burning in the darkness. She sighed, and her voice when it came was melancholy, like a flower caught by a sudden frost. "Then I hope...that you're not disappointed when you wake up," she said. "Good luck to you, Ruby Rose. I'll see you around." She turned on her heel and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Ruby cried. "Where are you going?"

Sunset stopped, looking back at Ruby over her shoulder. "Back to my motel room."

"You don't have to," Ruby said. "I was just going to go and find my big sister, Yang; she's starting at Beacon this year too. Afterwards, we could…I don't know, get something to eat? Celebrate?"

Sunset said nothing for a moment, and for that moment, Ruby thought, hoped, that she would take Ruby up on that offer. "Thanks," she said, "but I'll pass. Later." She resumed her walk away from Ruby.

"See you around, Sunset Shimmer," Ruby replied, waving to Sunset's retreating back. Her voice dropped as she added, "It was nice meeting you."

 

[ScipioSmith]

Reconnaissance​

Sunset Shimmer stood at the window of the majestic skyliner as it soared through the sky, looking down at the Vale skyline as it passed over the city towards Beacon Academy.

The cold grey towers rose above the city streets to meet the sky, like spears lancing upwards out of the ground in a futile attempt to impale the belly of the airship that soared slowly and gracefully above them. Old towers of brick and tile with spires and capped roofs, flat and square modern towers of glass and steel, both rose above the old brick streets and the new modern apartment blocks. The skyliner flew above them one and all, casting a shadow as it passed over the Kingdom of Vale. Out of the window, Sunset could see another skyliner running parallel to their course, and for a moment, she thought that it, too, might be headed to Beacon, but then it veered off, heading for a different destination. A commercial dockyard in the city perhaps.

Sunset's tail twitched back and forth as she waited with a degree of well-concealed – apart from the tail, maybe – impatience for this ship, moving slowly as it was for all its grace in motion, to reach their destination: Beacon Academy.

Relax, Sunset. Semester isn't going to start without you.

But she had waited so long for this. Four years of grubbing at Canterlot to reach this place. She had endured Rainbow Dash's mockery, Twilight Sparkle's patronising faux-compassion, and those awful grating accents of Rarity and Applejack. She had put up with mistreatment, insult, betrayal, she had borne it all as the price that she was happy to pay to reach this place at this moment.

This was the place where everything would start to change. The place where she would claim her destiny, at last.

She hoped.

A note of disquiet entered into Sunset's triumphalist thoughts, chilling her heart and stopping the motion of her tail in its tracks. Could she be sure of that? Could she be certain that everything would get better for her from here on out?

She considered where she was: the Kingdom of Vale. It was not as technologically advanced or militarily mighty as the Kingdom of Atlas, not as old and proud as the Kingdom of Mistral, not as wild and untamed as the Kingdom of Vacuo. It sat in the middle of the four kingdoms of Remnant in every way, unremarkable for anything except its claim to moral leadership, born out of the sacrifices of the Great War. Beacon Academy resided in Vale, and Vale itself was a beacon of light to the rest of Remnant. Sunset had chosen Beacon in part because she had not fancied four more years of Atlesian discipline, in part because Beacon-trained huntsmen were largely acknowledged as the best in the four kingdoms, and in part because the Kingdom of Vale had a more progressive reputation than either Mistral or Atlas when it came to faunus rights.

After what had happened in the dust shop, Sunset was having cause to wonder if appearances might be deceptive.

That was just one man, and an old man at that. I didn't let Princess Celestia stop me; I'm certainly not going to be balked in my quest by one old man who owns a dust shop.

This is my last chance. I will take it and carry it all the way.

Sunset was meant to become a huntress. She had felt that ever since she had first learned about the creatures of grimm. The only alternative in this world was to become some small and meek, unmeritable thing, a person of little worth, one amongst multitudes. She could have stayed in Equestria if she had wanted such a fate. Only as a huntress would she achieve the renown that she sought, and only at Beacon could she become a huntress.

So she would succeed here, no matter the obstacles that confronted her; she would succeed because the only alternative was failure, and she would not allow herself to fail.

"Hey, Sunset!"

Sunset looked to her left. Ruby, the girl from the dust shop. The girl with the silver eyes. Sunset had noticed them on the night they met, when Ruby had accosted her outside of the police station; they had been an intriguing sight then, in the dark of the night, and they turned out to be no less intriguing now in broad daylight aboard this well-lit skyliner. Sunset had never seen anything quite like them before, neither in Remnant nor even in Equestria. It was strange that she should have something so unique.

That interest didn't particularly extend to wanting to spend time with the other girl. Sunset shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket as she half turned towards Ruby, who stood beaming up at her. "Ruby, right?"

"Uh huh," Ruby said, nodding eagerly. She looked out of the window. "Isn't this amazing?"

Sunset glanced out of the window once more, as the heart of Vale continued to pass by beneath them. "I…have seen more impressive cities," she said casually. After all, she had been born and raised in Canterlot of the golden spires, the heart of Equestria and the seat of Princess Celestia herself. She had flown on a pegasus chariot above that gleaming city, circling the mountain as the golden spires glimmered and the white towers shone like pearl and silver in the morning sunlight. She had stood upon the balcony and seen the banners caught high in the morning breeze as Princess Celestia bid the sun to rise.

Compared to that, the Kingdom of Vale could not help but seem ever so slightly banal by comparison.

"More impressive," Ruby repeated. "You mean…Atlas?"

"Something like that," Sunset muttered. She glanced at Ruby. "How did you know I was from Atlas?"

Ruby shrugged. "Lucky guess," she replied. Her gaze and attention were fixed upon the city below them. "All the same," she continued. "Vale might not be the greatest kingdom in the world, but this view…it's still pretty cool."

"Really?" Sunset said, in a flat, disinterested tone of voice. "And why is that?"

"Because it's full of people," Ruby declared. "The people we're going to fight to defend when we graduate and become huntresses."

Sunset was spared the need to reply to that by a voice saying, "Aww, look, you made a friend!"

"Yang!" Ruby cried. "This is Sunset Shimmer, the girl who fought with me at the dust shop! Sunset, this is-"

"Yang Xiao Long," Yang said, holding out one hand towards Sunset and putting the other on Ruby's shoulder. "This little hero's big sister."

Yang Xiao Long was a little taller than Sunset herself, and broader in the shoulders. Her hair was spun gold, and although it was not nearly as vibrant in colour as Sunset's two-toned flaming mane, it nevertheless looked better cared for. Her eyes were purple and twinkled jovially as she smiled.

Sunset drew her hands from her pockets but did not take Yang's hand. "Xiao Long? Not Rose?"

"It's complicated," Yang said. She wiggled her fingers. "You gonna leave me hanging out here?"

Sunset took her hand without another word. Yang had a firm grip.

"So," Yang said. "You're the Sunset Shimmer I've heard about."

Sunset smirked. "That depends on what you've heard."

Yang chuckled. "Thanks for having her back," she said. "I almost had a heart attack when I found out what happened. Although," the arm around Ruby's shoulder turned into one around Ruby's neck, "it does mean that I get to have my little sister at Beacon with me!"

"Sunset…help!" Ruby gasped, in between choking sounds.

Sunset snorted. "You're on your own for this one," she said, turning away from the pair of them and leaving them to it. As she walked away, she caught the end of a news item about the dust shop robbery, which didn't mention either Sunset or, indeed, Ruby; it was more interested in the fact that the perpetrator, one Roman Torchwick by name, had escaped arrest.

Roman Torchwick. I don't know if I want to remember that name or forget about it.

I don't like the fact that he got away from me, but let's be honest: he's a crook in a big city. There's no way that I'll be seeing him again.

Another news item – about the White Fang living down to their reputation – was interrupted by a hologram of the severe bespectacled woman who had accosted Sunset and Ruby outside of the dust shop.

"Hello," she began, "and welcome to Beacon."

XxXxX​

The journey to Beacon of Pyrrha Nikos could so far be described as uneventful and rather lonely.

She had travelled from Mistral to Vale aboard a commercial skyliner; her mother had booked one of the first class staterooms for her, and after the first night of dining in the restaurant while people gawked at her, Pyrrha had gotten into the habit of taking her meals in her room. Said room was large enough that she could devote her time to a mild training while the airship carried her across the ocean and over the wild east of Sanus that had lain unclaimed by any kingdom since the end of the Great War. Nothing of any consequence had happened during the flight, unless one counted a chance encounter with a patrolling Atlesian cruiser that had kept them company for a couple of days before resuming its regular duties. She had arrived in Vale, where a room at the Hotel Majestic was waiting for her, also courtesy of her mother, until the term officially began. She had gotten the chance to see The Mistralian Opera Ghost, the new musical by Autumn Blaze, performed at the Theatre Royal, which had been a very entertaining diversion, but other than that, it had been a tale of somewhat luxurious monotony.

The luxury was less pleasant here – not to say that this skyliner was uncomfortable; it was simply…a little plain – but the loneliness was even more pronounced.

These were her comrades, or her future comrades; these would be her fellow students here at Beacon.

So why did she feel as alone as ever here?

Possibly it was the fact that she could hear someone whispering about her, and when she looked around, she could see that the young man in question – he had long, silver-grey hair falling straight down on either side of his sharp, narrow face – wasn't even bothering to hide the fact that he was pointing at her, too; how rude of him.

Pyrrha turned away and felt her head bow a little without intending it too. She had hoped that in Vale, people would be less interested in the Mistral tournament circuit. Apparently, she had been mistaken.

The news item, about a disgraceful disruption to a peaceful civil rights protest by the White Fang, was interrupted suddenly. The news feed cut off to be replaced by a hologram of an older woman with pale blonde hair, wearing a white blouse, a black waistcoat and a ragged purple cape, with half-moon spectacles set on the edge of her nose below a pair of vivid green eyes.

"Hello," she said, "and welcome to Beacon. My name is Professor Glynda Goodwitch, and as Deputy Headmistress, it is my privilege to welcome you to this prestigious Academy."

No, Professor, Pyrrha thought. It is we who are honoured by the opportunity to study at your feet.

"You are among an elite few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this hallowed institution," Professor Goodwitch continued. "You have come from all four kingdoms of Remnant, a fact made possible by the unprecedented time of peace in which we are blessed to live, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it will one day be your duty to defend that peace and the realms of men with it."

Pyrrha felt her back straighten. Yes. She could not lose sight of that fact. She had come to Beacon hoping to escape, in some part, her reputation and all that it had cost her, but she could never allow herself to forget that she was also here to train in arms at the most celebrated institution for that task in the four kingdoms. It might be that her four years here were doomed to loneliness and isolation, but nevertheless, she would become a huntress and throw herself a shield between mankind and the darkness that surrounded it.

"You have demonstrated the courage and skill needed for such a task," Professor Goodwitch said, "and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world and fulfil the heavy charge to which you have dedicated yourselves."

Pyrrha closed her eyes. I will fulfil it. No matter the cost. I will not disgrace myself, or the noble line of my ancestors, by turning from this path or failing to attain this goal.

I will become a huntress or die trying.

Shortly thereafter, the airship docked at the edge of the cliffs that rose above the river that cut through the heart of Vale on its way from the mountains to the sea. Pyrrha was in no particular hurry to disembark, so she politely waited for many of the other students to dismount from the airship first before she crossed the metal walkway, her boots echoing a little upon the dark surface that was all that stood between her and a very long drop, onto the docking pad.

Beacon rose above her in the middle distance, a fair walk but a far from insurmountable one. So far from insurmountable, in fact, that she felt in even less hurry to hasten any closer towards it than she had to get off the airship; she was confident she could reach the campus swiftly if she wished to. For now, Pyrrha indulged herself in soaking the sight of the place from a little further away.

It was a grand campus, and although she hadn't measured it, Pyrrha could not help but feel that it was much larger than Haven, or perhaps it was fairer to say that it sprawled more, benefiting from a position just outside the city, rather than nestling in the midst of crowded Mistral as Haven did. Beacon Tower was taller, or seemed so; it rose majestically into the clouds above until only the green lights at the very top shone through the cloud cover.

A true beacon indeed, Pyrrha thought. A light of hope to illuminate the darkness for all mankind.

All four academies did good work on behalf of humanity, but it was hard for Pyrrha to avoid the impression that Beacon – the first to be founded and still the best of the four academies – embodied most within its very stones what it meant to be a huntress.

So many great warriors have walked these halls, and each have left a little of their souls behind them here, to inspire those who came after.

Pyrrha was distracted from these musings by an explosion on the path up ahead, which alarmed her enough she reached over her back for Miló, wondering why nobody else seemed to be so alarmed, before spotting the source: some form of dust accident, loud but otherwise largely harmless.

Pyrrha was not sure whether the fact that no one else had reacted to the bang suggested that she was too jumpy or all her fellow freshmen were too complacent; for the sake of her future comrades, she decided to think less of herself: there had never been a reason to panic. This was Beacon, the light in darkness, the heart of their strength; there was no way that any true peril could penetrate the defences of the world to trouble them here.

Nevertheless, releasing her weapon and feeling grateful that she hadn't actually drawn it, Pyrrha made her way with a brisk pace over to the source of commotion. She recognised Weiss Schnee immediately; they had never met, but her music was as popular in Mistral as it was anywhere else in Remnant. Arslan had used "It's My Turn" as her music to emerge into the arena during the final of last year's tournament; it had turned out to be…less than appropriate, unfortunately. The Schnee heiress was haranguing a girl of about the same height as herself, dressed mostly in black, with a long red cape falling almost to the floor. Around them both lay scattered various cases marked with the snowflake emblem of the SDC, which appeared to have fallen from a trolley being pushed by a pair of slightly older men in suits.

"You complete and utter blockhead!" Weiss snapped as the other girl recoiled a little from her accusatory finger. "What are you even doing here? Don't you think-?"

"Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked, as she approached. "I, uh, couldn't help but notice the explosion from just a moment ago."

Weiss looked at her, and Pyrrha guessed that Weiss had recognised her in the same way that she had recognised Weiss. "No, everything is most certainly not alright," Weiss declared. "This child has snuck her way onto the grounds and almost caused a terrible accident."

"I-I'm sorry," the other girl protested.

Weiss folded her arms. "Honestly, I think it's disgraceful. This isn't just your ordinary combat school, you know. This is Beacon Academy-"

"I'm sure she's well aware of that," Pyrrha said, quietly but firmly, "and as it seems there was no harm done, and she has already apologised, then perhaps the gracious thing to do would be to accept her apology."

Weiss stared – or rather glared – at Pyrrha. Her jaw clenched momentarily. "Apology accepted," she spat, the words sounding as though they had been wrenched out of her throat with forceps. She turned and stomped away, the heavy tread of her wedge heels echoing as they slammed into the cobblestones of the path.

Pyrrha bent down and picked up one of the fallen cases of dust. "Here, let me help you," she said to the two men in suits, who nodded as she helped them to gather up all of the discarded cases and pile them back up onto the trolley which they, once more, began to push away in the direction to the school.

"Hey, I'm Jaune."

Pyrrha looked around. It appeared that while she had been assisting the SDC employees with gathering up all of the dust, the girl in the red cloak had sunk to the ground in dejected misery, in which state someone else had approached her. Her rescuer was a tall young man, dressed in gleaming white armour over a dark hooded top, with faded blue jeans and ordinary trainers; his hair was long and blond and soft-looking, and he had…he had the most striking pair of blue eyes, set in a fair face.

As Pyrrha looked at him, holding out his hand to the girl on the ground, she thought that for all the misery of her expression, this other girl was really very lucky.

As she looked at this gallant young man, for Pyrrha Nikos, everything else fell away. Beacon Academy melted into the river. Vale collapsed into nothingness. The girl in the red hood fell into the void, for there was nothing left for Pyrrha but those eyes.

Look at those eyes!

Surely...surely, she had strayed into a dream. Surely, this could not be real. Surely...surely, this wasn't happening to her.

Pyrrha understood it now. She understood all those fairy tales. She understood how the boy could keep going into the woods, year after year, to search for the elusive warrior who dwelt there. She understood how the King could put his crown aside for the old woman. She understood the mermaid willing to give up her whole world for a prince. She understood them all because, at this moment, all that she wanted to do was sweep this young man up in her arms and carry him to Mistral, install him in her grand house and squander every last lien she had on making him happy.

Just look at those eyes. I feel as though I could drown in them.

The hooded girl reached up and placed one small, pale hand into Jaune's palm. "Ruby," she said, "and this is, uh-" She turned to Pyrrha, and then stopped expectantly.

Pyrrha said nothing; she was too enthralled to speak, too lost in fascination, too-

"Uh, is everything okay?" asked Ruby.

"Oh, y-yes!" Pyrrha cried quickly, feeling her face heat up with embarrassment. "Pyrrha," she added quickly, not giving her surname as it sunk in, rather thrillingly, that neither of them knew who she was. "My name is Pyrrha. It's a pleasure to meet you. Both of you."

Jaune looked into her eyes. His eyes narrowed just a little, and he tilted his head ever so slightly to one side. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Once upon a dream? "I...I...I wouldn't know," Pyrrha replied disingenuously. "I'm not sure how," she added, hoping that the lie wouldn't show on her face. "I don't believe we've met before."

"No, " Jaune said. "I guess…I don't know what I was thinking."

"Thanks for your help back there," Ruby said. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"Of course not," Pyrrha said kindly. "Although…I must confess, you do look rather young to be attending Beacon."

Ruby bowed her head, murmuring something indistinct.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha added quickly. "I didn't mean to…what I meant to say was that you have a very youthful face."

"No," Ruby moaned. "I…I'm only fifteen years old. I'm here two years early."

"What, like to visit?" Jaune asked.

"I think what Ruby means is that she was admitted to the academy two years early," Pyrrha clarified.

Jaune's handsome blue eyes widened. "Really? Two years early! You must be a complete badass to have done that!"

Pyrrha might not have used those exact words, but she was inclined to agree. Early admission to the academies was very rare; so rare, in fact, that she couldn't think of a single Mistralian warrior to win the honour. Ruby must have impressed someone very important a great deal.

However, she did not seem pleased to receive Jaune's praise. "This is just what I was afraid of. Everyone's going to think I'm just some stupid kid, or they're going to think I'm special."

"But it sounds like you are special," Jaune pointed out.

"But that doesn't mean I have to want to be!" Ruby cried. "What if I want to be just like everyone, just…"

"Normal," Pyrrha finished for her.

Ruby looked at her. "Yeah. How did you-"

Pyrrha knelt down, so that she and Ruby were at more of a height. "I understand that you want to be seen for who you are, not what you are, but at the same time, to deny the tremendous skill that has carried you this far is to deny a part of who you are, for your skill in battle is a part of yourself, and a worthy part at that. And you know that, don't you? Or did somebody force you to attend Beacon?"

Ruby's eyes – her striking eyes of silver, gleaming like pools of mercury – locked with Pyrrha's own. A smile tugged at Ruby's lips. "No. I chose to be here. I want to become a huntress, and the quicker I can get to Beacon, the quicker I can graduate and get out there and start playing my part." She paused. "Sorry," she said. "That sounded a little-"

"It sounded very brave, and fitting of a huntress in training," Pyrrha assured her. She rose to her feet, and looked from Ruby to Jaune. "For what are we here for, save to place our bodies between humanity and the dark?"

Jaune nodded. "Just like the ones who came before us. It's our turn now."

"Agreed," Pyrrha said. She looked around. It appeared that while they had been standing here, the crowd off the airship had moved on around them and without them. They were the last people in sight. Everyone else had headed towards the school. "We should probably get moving," Pyrrha suggested.

The other two agreed, and the three of them set off down the path towards the school, Ruby in between Jaune and Pyrrha as they passed beneath the stone arches that encircled the great courtyard. The architecture was not as modern as Pyrrha had been expecting; in Mistral, many buildings were consciously old-fashioned in design, but she had not thought that that would be the case in Vale, and yet, Beacon Academy was fashioned as the creation of an earlier age, the towers seemed like something out of a storybook. It was really quite charming.

Pyrrha realised that she had allowed herself to get distracted by that thought and missed what Ruby and Jaune had just said. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just…what were you saying?"

"Nothing," Jaune said quickly, before Ruby could respond. "Just, uh, nothing at all."

"We were discussing nicknames," Ruby supplied.

"Which we don't need," Jaune insisted. "The name's Jaune. Just Jaune. Well, okay, it's actually Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."

Pyrrha giggled a little, covering her mouth with one hand as Ruby asked, "Do they?"

I don't know if I love it, Pyrrha thought, but it's certainly quite pleasant to the ear.

"Well, I, uh…" Jaune trailed off. "So, Pyrrha, what were you spacing out about?"

"Oh, nothing," Pyrrha replied. "I was just admiring the scenery."

"It is pretty cool," Ruby agreed. "Like a fairytale castle or something."

"Huh. I wouldn't have thought about it like that, but now that you mention it…yeah, I can see it," Jaune agreed. "Pretty appropriate really: a place of gallant knights, brave heroes, and beautiful princesses."

Ruby looked at him. "Are you saying the princesses can't be as brave as the heroes?"

"No!" Jaune protested. "I'm just saying…so, Ruby, just how did you get into Beacon early anyway?"

"Oh, you know, I just saw somebody in trouble and tried to help," Ruby replied, without really explaining anything. "Me and my Crescent Rose were able to do some good, and, I guess Professor Ozpin took notice."

"'Crescent Rose,'" Pyrrha repeated. "Is that the name of your weapon?"

"Yep," Ruby said, as she produced from behind her back what looked at first like a squat, boxy red carbine, before it unfolded with a series of mechanical clicks and hydraulic hisses into a scythe with a shaft taller than Ruby herself.

Jaune stared at it. "That…is that a scythe?"

"And a sniper rifle," Ruby said proudly. "What about you guys?"

In a series of well-practiced, fluid motions, Pyrrha drew Miló from across her back and then pulled Akoúo̱ onto her other arm. "Akoúo̱, my shield," she declared. "It's exactly what it looks like, but Miló can switch from spear-" the weapon shifted smoothly in her hands – "-to sword-"- another transformation- "-to rifle." Miló shifted one more time, back to spear form.

"Triple changer," Ruby whispered, awestruck. "And so fluid."

"Those are both so cool," Jaune said, sounding a little dispirited. "All I have is, well, this sword." He drew the blade from his scabbard. "It doesn't do anything, it's just a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom," Ruby said.

"I guess," Jaune said. "But, well, compared with what you two are carrying around…" He glanced down at his venerable blade with a degree of undisguised disappointment.

Pyrrha's brow furrowed a little. "May I?" she asked, holding out both hands.

"Uh, sure," Jaune said, handing over the sword, laying it atop her gloved palms.

Pyrrha looked down and studied it. There was a little rust coating the blade; it didn't look as though it had been terribly well maintained in the years since Jaune's great-great grandfather, but at the same time, rust could always be cleaned off to reveal the true steel underneath. She closed her fingers around the hilt and felt the balance of it. It was a well-balanced blade, very well balanced, in fact. She stepped away from Ruby and Jaune so that she would swing the sword around a little more easily, passing readily from stance to stance, the sword singing in her hands.

She smiled slightly as she handed the blade back to a rather awed-looking Jaune. "It could do with a little cleaning," she informed him gently, "but that is a fine blade, Jaune Arc. You should bear it proudly."

Jaune continued to stare at her in disbelief. "R-right," he said, taking the sword and shoving it back into its scabbard. "Oh, and I've also got this sheath, too; it turns into a shield." Said shield unfurled like a banner with a popping sound, displaying a crest of two golden crescents emblazoned upon it. "It still weighs the same, but-"

"But compactness counts for a lot out in the field, too," Ruby assured him. "That's why Crescent Rose has its carbine mode."

Eventually, they made their way to the amphitheatre, where they found most of the student body was already assembled and waiting for their instructions. With a cry of "Yang!" Ruby quickly sped off towards a girl with long hair of vivid yellow who waved excitedly to her.

"I suppose it's just you and me then," Pyrrha said to Jaune, only to realise that he was wandering off as well, in the direction of Weiss Schnee, without a second glance at her.

"Oh. I suppose it's just me then," Pyrrha murmured. And yet, all the same, she was not as disheartened as she might have been at having been so quickly and so easily abandoned.

Neither of them had known who she was. Neither of them had even connected the name of Pyrrha to Pyrrha Nikos, the Champion of Mistral. She had simply been Pyrrha to them, and they had not rejected her.

And so, as she found a place to stand in the amphitheatre, Pyrrha thought of a pair of handsome blue eyes and found that she had started humming to herself beneath her breath.

She didn't want to stop.

XxXxX​

Sunset Shimmer stood in a corner of the great hall and watched her competition as they filed in.

She tried to, anyway. She had chosen a good vantage point in the back, equally far from the doors and the front, so that she could observe everybody without herself being observed. But this hall was so dimly lit, illuminated only by green lines around certain sections of the floor and wall, that most of the other aspiring hunters and huntresses walking in seemed more like shadows than people to her eyes. Seriously, couldn't they turn up the lights a little? She couldn't see a thing, just vague silhouettes in the half-light and the occasional flash of bright colour: the bright red of Ruby's cape; the vivid yellow of Yang's hair; the shining white dress of Weiss Schnee, Atlas' very own princess.

And then he walked in. She recognised him, even in the dark. She'd recognise that blue hair anywhere, combined with that stupid clueless grin and the walk of someone who thought he was much cooler than he actually was. Sunset's breath caught in her throat as he started to come towards her. She both did and didn't want him to spot her. Did she really want to do this now? But wasn't it better to get it over with rather than spend four years looking over her shoulder for the other shoe to drop? Anger and apprehension warred within her like dragons of fire and ice, lighting her stomach up with righteous wrath and freezing it with fear in cycles of ebb and flow.

He didn't recognise her. Or perhaps he was just as blind as everyone else in this dimly lit hall, and he couldn't see her properly. Whichever it was, for whatever reason, he turned his back on her.

"You." The word leapt from between Sunset's lips before she could stop it; the affront – unintentional or not – of him showing his back to her was too much to stand for. By Celestia, there was no way she was going to let him go his way in blissful ignorance while she had to feel awkward about this! If she was going to feel awkward, then so would he!

Flash Sentry turned around, his initial look of puzzlement transforming into a look of shock that Sunset could appreciate more. "Sunset, uh, hi," he said in a tone that sounded less 'cool' and more 'desperately trying to play it cool'; the way he was scratching the back of his head didn't help in that regard. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Sunset folded her arms. "Yeah? I bet you weren't."

Flash scowled. "For your information, Sunset, not everyone is obsessed with what you do or don't do."

"What, did you think I was going to go to Atlas?" Sunset demanded. "Why didn't you go to Atlas? You could join the military and let your mother get you a nice, safe job opening doors for VIPs."

Flash's expression was as flat as an anvil. "My mother doesn't own me, Sunset, any more than you do. Not that it's any of your business, but I decided to come to Beacon because I want to be the one who decides what good I do in the world and where I go to do it. I don't want to let anyone else decide that for me: not my mother, not even a good man like General Ironwood." He paused, and then added a last few venomous words. "And not you, either."

Sunset snorted. "Whatever." She looked away, casting her green eyes downwards towards the dark floor. "Just stay out of my way, okay? I'm not going to let anyone screw this up for me." My destiny is here. My entire life has been building to this place, this moment. If I can't make it here…then it was all a lie, and Celestia was right, and I was nothing more than a fool believing in fairy tales I should have outgrown a long time ago.

I won't let that happen. I won't let that be my fate.

I will succeed. I will shine. And I won't let my jackass ex-boyfriend get in my way.

Flash's tone simulated tenderness, as if he wanted her to believe that he cared or something. "Sunset…do we have to do this?"

"Do what?"

"Fight like this? Can't we start over?"

Sunset's eyebrows rose as she waited for the punchline. There wasn't one. He was serious, or he wanted her to think that he was serious. She scoffed. "Really? Are you…really?"

"It's going to be pretty awkward otherwise, don't you think?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" Sunset demanded. "You dumped me! You dumped me because your mother and your friends and that hypocritical hussy Twilight Sparkle made you ashamed of dating a faunus! You dumped me because it was easier than standing up for me, you jackass, and now, you want to start over!" She was halfway to shouting now, and a few people were starting to stare at them. Sunset didn't care. Let them stare; she had nothing to be ashamed of.

Flash, on the other hand, did look embarrassed; as well he might, since he had plenty to be ashamed of. "Sunset, please, don't do this. You know that's now how it went down."

Sunset was full of righteous indignation. She had so much that she wanted to say that the words were clogging up her throat and getting stuck there in their jostling to escape. Should she tell him that he'd been the one person in that school that she thought that she could trust, the one person who'd stand up for her against the bullies and the bigots? Should she tell him that she had allowed herself to believe, for the second time in her life, that someone was unequivocally on her side and had for the second time been disappointed and betrayed? Should she just tell him that when he dumped her like garbage, she'd lost what little shreds of status she'd possessed and become garbage in the eyes of the rest of the student body?

So many things that she burned to say, and she didn't even care if she said them where the whole of Beacon could hear her…but then the fire within her burned itself out, and she was left with nothing but ashes and exhaustion. What did it matter? He wasn't going to change, and did she really want to get a reputation as an angry faunus on her first day at Beacon? She'd already caught people staring at her, or even giving her side-eye, on the airship ride over here. She didn't care what they thought, except inasmuch as it might inhibit her progress towards the success she deserved.

Sunset let out a deep sigh. "Thank you, Flash."

"Huh?"

"For reminding me why trusting other people is a bad idea," Sunset whispered.

Flash stared at her for a moment, his face a tempest of warring emotions battling for mastery of his expression. "I didn't break up with you because…," he began. "I…never mind. It's probably best if we stay out of each other's way."

"Don't say that," Sunset muttered.

Flash paused in the act of turning away. A frown creased his brow. "Why not?"

"Because now that you've said it, irony will dictate that we're bound to end up on the same team together."

Flash's eyes widened with horror, before a chuckle escaped him.

Sunset sniggered too, and for a moment, she remembered why she'd kinda liked hanging out with him, why she'd even let her guard down enough to start to care about him in the first place. She remembered the way he'd laugh at her jokes, the way he'd take her cruising in his car, the way he'd let her sit on the roof of said car while he went into stores that wouldn't serve faunus and bought the things they wouldn't sell to her.

However, that was all gone now. He'd destroyed it.

Which was why she straightened her back and pointedly looked away from him, even if her eyes kept flickering back to see if he was still there.

He didn't say another word as he turned away from her and walked into the dark of the hall, probably in search of a cute, quirky girl to talk to somewhere else.

Sunset tried to resume her reconnaissance of her fellow students – who were the ones to watch out for, who were the ones who could be dismissed as non-entities – but she'd missed a lot of people coming in while she'd been distracted with Flash, and it was still dark in here.

Rumours were already flying around the school about Ruby Rose; nobody knew who she was, but everyone seemed to know that a prodigy had been admitted to the school two years early on the strength of her incredible skills. Arguably worse, she was being joined this year by some Mistralian hot-shot who had never lost a battle in her life. Either Ruby or this new girl would have been a worry to Sunset, but to face both of them at once had her cursing her bad luck. She would have to work twice as hard, at least, to shine in competition with the likes of them.

But if there was one thing that being Celestia's student had taught her – besides not to trust those who claimed to have your best interests at heart but really just wanted to hold you back – it was how to work hard. If there was one thing that being a faunus in Atlas had taught her – besides hammering home the lesson not to trust – it was the necessity of working twice as hard for half as much credit. She could and she would do this, and she would do it splendidly, no matter how many peerless prodigies tried to get in her way.

Sunset cast her eyes over the crowd – those whose distinguishing features she could make out anyway – and tried to spot the other, non-Ruby, paragon amidst the mass of students. Doubtless, they were extremely cool and aloof, as befit their elite status, standing apart from the chattering children around them, but Sunset couldn't make out anybody like that at first glance.

But they had to be here somewhere, unless the rumour mill was completely mistaken.

Or I could be completely mistaken, I suppose. After all, you couldn't describe Ruby Rose as cool or aloof.

No, she's not at all what I would have expected her to be.

The lights rose, and the whine of a microphone attracted the attention of all those present in the amphitheatre. Professor Ozpin stood on the stage, with Professor Goodwitch standing just behind and to his side. He cleared his throat.

Sunset peeled herself off the wall and straightened up. Her second meeting with Professor Ozpin, and his pointed advice to her before the start of term, had not done much to make her more certain what to make of him. He had a great reputation, to be sure: the youngest man to ever be appointed a headmaster in the history of the four Huntsman Academies, the saviour of Vale after the fall of Mountain Glenn, and before that, all his other achievements in the field…but Celestia could boast many grand achievements too. It didn't make her any less of a lying, manipulative old spider. Just the memory of Professor Ozpin looking into her eyes was enough to make her shiver.

His speech didn't do much to reassure her. It wasn't that it was a bad speech, per se. When you boiled it down, it was not that much different from the kind of speeches that Princess Celestia gave every year to the new students at her School for Gifted Unicorns: school can only help you find your path, you have to do the hard work yourself, take your future into your own hands, et cetera. All the lies that she had fed to Sunset, all the lies that she had fed to who knew how many other unicorns through the years to make them docile instruments. But the way Ozpin said it was…off, somehow. Sunset had never known Celestia to start off one of her speeches by insulting the student body.

Wasted energy? You talked to each and every one of us before you let us in here; if you thought we were useless, why did you extend offers?

Is this supposed to motivate us to surpass your expectations?

If it is…it's kind of working on me. Few things, Sunset had discovered, motivated her more than being counted out.

Ozpin didn't stick around long after his remarkably unwelcoming welcome speech, and it was left to Professor Goodwitch to direct them all towards the ballroom – how many parties did this school have that it needed a purpose-built ballroom? – before their initiation on the morrow.

Sunset trailed at the back of the ground on their way to the ballroom, continuing to observe without putting herself in a position to be observed in turn. She chose a rear-corner spot in the spacious ballroom and watched as most of the students got changed for bed. It was interesting; when she'd first come to this world, she'd been surprised by the cultural taboos surrounding nakedness, as well as the way in which viewing someone - especially someone of the opposite sex - in any kind of state of undress was practically forbidden except in cases of great intimacy. And yet, here they were, stripping down without a care in the world: half-naked boys wrestled playfully, and the two sexes ogled each other without a trace of shame. It almost reminded her of home, where only the most stuck-up bothered to dress in any but the most formal of settings.

Sunset turned her mind away from these fascinating sociological observations and continued to try to spy out the competition. She had chosen a spot not far away from a subdued, raven-haired girl with a black bow in her hair, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Sunset: that this was the quiet corner. With barely a second glance at Sunset, she sat down with her back against the wall, got out a book, and started reading.

Sunset looked at her out of the corner of her eyes. Could this be the peerless warrior that Sunset had heard whispers of? She had the cool and aloof act down perfectly.

Of course, there was no way to be certain. Sunset furrowed her brow a little. The truth was, it was impossible to say on the basis of interactions in this setting. At the moment, all she had was speculation, and speculation was - as she had been taught - the enemy of fact-based scholarship. It wasn't enough to think or believe things to be true unless she could prove it.

Except why am I here, if not chasing a belief that has no basis in proof or fact?

Sunset scowled at the mental reproof. She had proof. Her power was the proof, all the proof that she required. Her actions would soon be all the proof the world required.

And the actions of those around her would be the proof of what they were. It was pointless to guess with whom she needed to be concerned, better to keep her eyes open and mark those whose behaviour ought to concern her.

Inspired a little by the girl silently reading beside her, Sunset got out her journal. Technically speaking, it was so much more than just a journal: it was a magical conduit, joined by a spell to another, identical, book in Canterlot, in Princess Celestia's keeping. Her old teacher had enchanted it so that they could communicate even when they were apart, when Celestia was on a state visit to Manehattan or Sunset was on a field trip. She wasn't honestly sure if the spell still worked.

Mostly because she hadn't written anything in it since coming to this world.

Sunset had thought about it from time to time: when she was feeling particularly low after Flash had dumped her; when she was feeling particularly scared after discovering what kind of a world she was trapped in; when, as tonight, she was feeling particularly triumphant.

She had never actually done so. She had never actually been able to bring herself to take that step, to humble herself so much, to bring herself so low and it would bring her low though she wrote in the midst of her most dazzling success.

And so the pages went unwritten, as they would tonight.

"Hey, Sunset."

Sunset's tail twitched, and she slammed the journal shut at the sound of Ruby's unmistakable voice approaching. She rolled over onto her back to see that, yes, it was Ruby Rose, approaching diffidently, her hands clasped together in front of her.

"Ruby," Sunset said, her voice calm and even, "is there something I can do for you?"

"I just…" Ruby hesitated for a moment. "I wondered what it was you were reading."

"I wasn't," Sunset replied. "I was just…writing something in…in my journal."

"Oh, you keep a journal?" Ruby inquired eagerly. "That's cool."

"Is it?" Sunset asked. "It isn't…I mean I don't…" she glanced at the black haired girl beside her, who seemed a little irritated by the conversation going on so close to her. "This girl, on the other hand, is reading a book if you're looking for recommendations."

The girl with the bow in her wild, tangled hair gave Sunset a glare out of the corner of her golden eyes. Sunset smirked.

"Hey there," Ruby said, in a tone of affable nervousness. "I'm Ruby."

The ivory-skinned beauty looked at her over the top of her book. "Blake," she said, in the flattest of all possible tones.

"Nice to meet you," Ruby said.

Blake didn't say anything.

"So…what is your book about?" Ruby asked.

Blake was silent for a moment longer. "It's about a girl with only half a soul, after the other half is stolen by a wicked sorcerer. She can't truly feel anything or understand anyone, and in consequence, even her best intentions go awry and lead to great sorrow and suffering."

Ruby frowned. "That sounds…terrible," she murmured. "What happens to her in the end?"

"I don't know," Blake said. "I haven't finished it yet."

Ruby ignored that rather pointed remark. "I love books," she said. "Yang – that's my big sister – used to read to me every night before bed. Stories about monsters and the heroes who fought them. They're one of the reasons I wanted to be a huntress."

Blake scoffed. "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"Who doesn't hope for that?" Ruby replied. "I hope that we all will. When I was a child, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books: someone who fought for what was right and protected people who couldn't protect themselves."

"That's very ambitious, for a child," Blake observed, "but, unfortunately, the real world isn't a fairytale."

"I know," Ruby admitted, with just a touch of quiet melancholy in her voice. "But...isn't that why we're here?"

"Who says the real world isn't a fairytale?" Sunset demanded.

Blake glanced at her. "Excuse me?"

"I mean who says that?" Sunset repeated. "Where is it set down in immutable law that it must be so? Why must we succumb to despair?"

"It's not despair to face reality," Blake said.

"It is despair to equate reality with despond," Sunset declared. "To give up on our happiness, to turn away from dear ambitions and submit to the chains of mud and meanness that would bind us to this common earth. We are more than the dust from which mankind was born. We have such power in us as to lift the moon out of its sphere. We can do whatever we want, provided that we have the courage and the will to try."

She looked at Ruby. "Don't let anyone tell you the world isn't a fairytale. The world can be whatever you want it to be. We write our own stories. Nobody else can write them for you, nor force you to be anything less than the hero of your own life, though some may try.

"But you can't let them. You must never let them take that power from you. Never."

XxXxX​

"Ahem."

Pyrrha turned around, Miló in one hand and Akoúo̱ in the other, having just retrieved them from her locker. Weiss Schnee stood beside her, looking up at Pyrrha with a somewhat diffident expression.

Pyrrha swung her shield onto her back and wedged her spear into the gap between back and shield. "Yes, Miss Schnee?"

"Please, Pyrrha, call me Weiss," Weiss said, managing to sound just a little more at ease than she looked. She coughed into her hand. "I…feel as though I ought to apologise for the way that I was acting yesterday. I was a little nervous, first day at a new school, you know how it is, I'm sure."

"I do," Pyrrha allowed, "but I don't think that I'm the one in need of an apology."

Weiss pouted as she realised who Pyrrha was talking about. "But she's one who set off that explosion!"

"That was an accident," Pyrrha pointed out.

Weiss scowled. "I…suppose you may be right. I…I'll think about it. Nevertheless, I feel as though you didn't see me at my best yesterday. I'd hate for you to get the wrong impression about me."

Pyrrha hesitated. "I…see," she said quietly. "Although I don't really understand why my impression of you should matter all that much."

Weiss chuckled. "Come now, Pyrrha, there's no need to be modest, we both know that in the world of huntsmen and huntresses, your name carries just as far as mine, maybe further."

Pyrrha took a deep breath. "Perhaps," she admitted. Although that doesn't mean I have to like the fact. "If it means that much to you, then I accept your apology."

"Thank you," Weiss said, with a grateful curtsy. "Now, have you given any thought at all to whose team you'd like to be on?"

Pyrrha did not rate herself as any great judge of people, but Weiss was so transparent that she could practically see the Schnee heiress's mind working. "I…have a couple of ideas," she admitted. She would rather not say more to Weiss than that.

"Really?" Weiss asked. "Only a couple? Because on a team of four, I was thinking that maybe you and I could be on the same team together."

"Speaking of teams," Jaune said, appearing from…somewhere to slide in between Weiss and Pyrrha. "I was thinking that you and I might make a pretty good team."

Pyrrha could not help but feel a little disappointed at the fact that he was saying this to Weiss, not her. "Actually," she said, "as Weiss was just saying, teams are composed of four members."

That got Jaune's attention. "Oh, hey, Pyrrha, right?"

Pyrrha smiled. "Hello again, Jaune Arc."

He smiled back. He had a very lovely smile, so eager and lively and earnest. "Four members, huh? Well…you, me, Ruby and Weiss. Four teammates, it's perfect."

"In what world does putting me on the same team as you and that dolt equal anything close to perfect?" Weiss growled. She stalked around Jaune until she was standing between him and Pyrrha. "You have no idea who we are, do you?"

Jaune blinked. "I know that she's Pyrrha, and you're…Weiss?"

Weiss sighed. "My name is Weiss Schnee, as in the Schnee Dust Company, as in the largest supplier of dust in the world."

"That sounds very impressive, Snow Angel."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "And this is Pyrrha Nikos."

Pyrrha closed her eyes. Here it comes. At least it was nice while it lasted, I suppose.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class from Sanctum Combat School," Weiss explained, and Pyrrha found herself perversely glad that Weiss was an Atlesian, because it meant that she was listing achievements of which Pyrrha could be at least somewhat proud, because she'd earned them through hard work. A Mistralian probably would have started with her lineage.

"Never heard of it," Jaune said.

"She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years running, a new record," Weiss declared.

"The what?" Jaune asked.

Weiss growled. "She's on the front of every box of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes!"

I wish I'd never agreed to do that cereal promotion, Pyrrha thought.

"I knew I recognised you from somewhere!" Jaune cried. "You're the girl on the cereal box?"

"As it happens…yes," Pyrrha admitted. "Unfortunately, the cereal isn't very good for you." Nor can I honestly say that it tastes good. It had been rather vomit-inducing when she'd actually tried it. Pyrrha had no idea how it managed to sell so well.

"So, after hearing all this," Weiss continued, "do you really believe that you are in a position to claim a spot on a team with either of us?"

Jaune hesitated for a moment, before he bowed his head. "I guess not."

Weiss sniffed. "Hmph. At least you're not completely devoid of self awareness." She began to stalk away, only to stop and look back over her shoulder at him. "And Jaune? It's Miss Schnee to the likes of you." The sound of her heels clicking on the locker room floor was the only sound as she walked away.

Jaune remained, head bowed, back ever so slightly bent, arms hanging down in front of him.

Pyrrha pursed her lips. "She didn't need to be so hard on you."

Jaune looked up at her. "Did you really do all that stuff? Graduate at the top of your class, win a whole bunch of tournaments?"

"Does it matter?" Pyrrha asked. "I'm the same person I was yesterday."

"I guess, but…you must think I'm such an idiot."

"I don't think you're an idiot, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "I think you're very kind. You stopped to help Ruby when you didn't have to, even though everyone else passed her by."

"Kindness doesn't make a huntsman," Jaune replied.

"Skill at arms can be used for good or ill," Pyrrha countered, "but a kind heart will shine in the darkest of places. Don't despair, not when our journey has only just begun." She smiled. "Now, did you clean your sword?"

Jaune hesitated. "Uh…"

"Hand it over," Pyrrha said. "I'll see what I can do while we still have time."

XxXxX​

"WAKE UP, LAZY BUD!"

Sunset's eyes snapped open and she started to sit up before she realised that the command was not directed at her. Rather, a diminutive redhead was haranguing a young man with a streak of pink in his black hair. Nevertheless, as the aforementioned redhead started singing about how it was morning - yes, we know, give it a rest already, for Celestia's sake - Sunset got up, because if it was time to roll over, then it was time to roll out and do something productive with your time.

Besides, she wasn't wholly ungrateful to the other girl. She had woken her from dreams about Celestia that Sunset did not particularly want to have.

Sunset showered, dressed, and ate in silence and in solitude; her head was bowed so as not to attract attention but not bent so low that she couldn't see everything going on around her. A couple of people glanced at her, and a big guy with some kind of bird embossed upon his cuirass loudly wondered why they allowed animals to attend Beacon. So much for the progressive and enlightened Kingdom of Vale – between him and the dust shop guy, the liberal pretensions of the light of the world were really taking a beating – but as long as the teachers themselves weren't down on her, it would be nothing Sunset Shimmer couldn't handle.

Even if the teachers were down on her, it would be nothing Sunset Shimmer couldn't handle after Canterlot.

After breakfast, it was time to head to the lockers, where Sunset wouldn't say that she lurked so much as she would say that she happened to be standing in a relatively secluded part of the locker room where she took her time buckling on her breastplate and loading rounds into Sol Invictus. The breastplate wasn't much in the way of armour; it only protected…well, her chest, exactly like the name suggested, but she couldn't afford much better, and if her aura broke, it would be better than nothing. As Sunset put it on, and as she slowly slid her six shots into the cylinder, she just so happened to be in a good position to listen to what was going on around her.

Most of what she heard was inconsequential nonsense. She learned that the chatty redhead - who went by Nora - really wanted to go out with the stoic boy - name of Ren - but didn't have the guts to admit it straight up, and he was either too clueless or too disinterested to pick up on the hints that she was giving off. She learned that Yang didn't seem to want to be on a team with Ruby, who drank milk and didn't like other people very much; Sunset knew the feeling well.

About the only useful thing she learned was the name of the undefeated fighter who had joined the freshman class: Pyrrha Nikos, a girl who seemed content to let others recite her achievements for her as she feigned modesty. Sunset was reminded of Twilight Sparkle back at Canterlot, who had likewise always possessed flunkies in abundance to blow her trumpet for her while she affected the humility of a true princess. Sunset fought to control her feelings of resentment, revelation of which would do her no good at this early stage. Later, when she had taken from Pyrrha all the things that rightfully belonged to Sunset - fame, glory, the acclaim of peers and strangers alike, fawning adulation, a reputation that echoed far and wide, her face on a box of obesity-inducing breakfast cereal - then would be the time to revel in her triumph and reveal just what had driven Sunset on. But not yet. For now, all that she could do was smoulder in silence as Pyrrha revelled in the attentions paid to her by her admirers.

One day, Sunset vowed. One day, it will be my turn.

She waited until the locker room was clear before leaving, trailing after the other students as they made their way to a cliff edge on the boundary of the school grounds. Said cliffs overlooked a vast and wild expanse of woodland appropriately named the Emerald Forest, where the dense cover of the trees embraced the land for miles, concealing everything that might lurk within, no matter how large or wild or deadly.

Professor Ozpin, with Professor Goodwitch once more at his side, explained the test: they were going to be thrown through the air into a monster-infested forest where they had to find 'relics' and get back in one piece.

Am I the only one who wonders, if we survive this, what the point of spending four years at this academy is? Sunset thought. Probably something to do with those virtues Professor Ozpin was telling me about at the police station.

There was also the question of teammates: whomever they locked eyes with in the forest first would be their partner for the next four years. The utter randomness of the process was frustrating, but at the same time, it spared Sunset having to actually make up her mind about what kind of partner she wanted. Her thoughts oscillated back and forth between desiring a sap whom she could dominate with her strength of will and bend to her own purposes, or else someone who would be an asset in her progression through the school. She didn't want to have her grades dragged down by being shackled to a dolt.

I've come here to find my destiny; I suppose that means I should be willing to leave a few things in the hands of fate.

And then the pad beneath her feet exploded, and Sunset was flung upwards and through the air.

The world spun around her. Her ears were filled with the whistling of the wind and the screaming of at least one other person in a similar position to herself. Sunset's hair flew all around her, and she had to grab the sling of Sol Invictus and hold on tight to keep from losing her weapon on only her second day.

Sunset would have been lying if she'd said that she enjoyed the sensation, what with her face being squashed by the air pressure and all, but she was not afraid. This was the first test, after all, and she was not about to disappoint.

You want a landing strategy, Professor? I'll show you a landing strategy.

Sunset forced her eyes open, kept them fixed on the ground that was rushing towards her, and reached for magic.

The magic of Remnant was not as omnipresent as it was in Equestria; the air did not hum with it, the land did not bask in it, the trees did not drink deep of it, but it was here, and it was within her, and she could draw it out. She was not so strong as she had been in Equestria but - and to Tartarus with false modesty - considering that she'd had more raw power and magical potential than any unicorn since Starswirl's day, that drop didn't handicap her as much as it could have done.

For instance, she could still teleport just fine.

And in a flash of bright green light, that was exactly what she did.

Sunset experienced a momentary sensation of being squeezed through the eye of a needle, her whole body compressing in on itself in some eldritch dark dimension, before she emerged in a second flash of light with her feet on the floor of the Emerald Forest.

Sunset's breath came fast and deep, her chest rising and falling like the undulations of a hilly country. Some acts of magic cost more than others, and even in Equestria, teleportation was one of the most demanding. It wasn't something she could keep doing thoughtlessly.

Nevertheless, if the world had been just to someone with bestial features, Sunset would have been feted and admired for having a semblance as versatile as her command of magic. It wasn't actually her semblance, true; in fact, Sunset hadn't unlocked her semblance yet, but magic in this seemed to be something nobody was quite aware of, so Sunset had found it easiest to couch her abilities in terms the locals could understand. But the world was not fair, and so Rainbow Dash, whose only gift was the ability to run fast, had been the darling of the school while she, Sunset, languished in contempt. Not that she was bitter about it or anything, but if she came across Rainbow Dash again...

Sunset was pulled out of her thoughts by the sounds of running feet approaching her at great speed.

She looked. She could see nothing but the bushes and trees of the forest that surrounded her, but those feet were definitely getting closer.

The tread is too light to be an ursa, but a beowolf? Maybe a boarbatusk?

Sunset unslung Sol Invictus from over her shoulder and raised it. She pressed the stock firmly against her shoulder and aimed down the sights.

Those pitter-pattering feet were getting closer and closer.

Sunset's finger went to the cold metallic trigger.

Ruby Rose burst out of the bushes and, with a startled squeak as she realised she was literally staring down the barrel of a gun, skidded to a halt.

Sunset's expression was stony and inscrutable as she lowered the barrel.

"Sunset!" Ruby cried. "So, I guess this makes us partners, huh?"

 

[ScipioSmith]

Initiation​

Sunset lowered her gun as she looked down at the smaller girl who stood in front of her. Ruby Rose. Her new partner.

"I guess we are," Sunset muttered, trying to keep her tail from moving and giving away exactly how she felt about the new partnership.

"I'm glad," Ruby said, and it took Sunset a minute to understand that she was glad that Sunset was her partner. "I mean, I kind of would have liked to have been on the same team as my sister, if I knew where she was, but she doesn't really want to be on the same team as me, so that's probably for the best, and then when I thought about who else I could have partnered up with, well, Jaune seems pretty nice, but I'm not sure if he'd be any good in a fight, but then I thought about you, and can I say how grateful I am that you're not Weiss because that would have been really awkward?

"What I'm trying to say – sorry, I'm not very good at this kind of thing – but what I'm trying to say is that I'm looking forward to our next four years together."

She smiled. Sunset didn't smile back. "Likewise," she said, and tried not to sound as though she was saying it through gritted teeth.

I'm going to be stuck with the child prodigy for the next four years! How am I supposed to get out from under that?

She could see now exactly how it was going to go. Nothing that she could do would matter because everyone would be too busy cooing over Ruby Rose and how young she is and isn't she a marvel to be such a talent at her age? Sunset would never escape - never have the opportunity to escape - that kind of shadow.

Breathe. Deep breaths. Twice as hard for half as much reward just means you have to work four times as hard. No, make that eight times. Ruby did not look like a prodigy; she honestly didn't look as though she had much of anything about her at all, but it was clear to Sunset that that appearance was deceptive. Sunset had seen what she'd done that had so impressed Professor Ozpin. What was more intriguing was the fact that Ruby didn't look particularly proud of her status as the youngest student to attend the academies since their foundations either. That was a complete mystery to Sunset. If she had been admitted to Beacon two years early on the strength of her awesome skills, she would have made sure that the whole school knew it.

She'd done exactly that when she was admitted to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns early on the strength of her magical prowess. She'd worn her youth like a badge of honour and told herself that all those who sniggered at her small stature were merely jealous of her power and potential.

Ruby didn't seem inclined to do the same, and Sunset wasn't yet sure why.

She considered for a moment that Ruby was putting on a self-effacing act to try and lower Sunset's guard, but that wasn't the read she was getting off the other girl. She appeared to be completely sincere…Sunset just didn't get it yet.

Oh, well. It wasn't really Sunset's concern why Ruby was acting in a certain way. She didn't have to understand the other girl; she just needed to fight alongside her. Sunset slung Sol Invictus over her shoulder and turned away. "We should find those ruins quickly. There's no sense in dawdling around out in these woods."

"Right," Ruby said. "Find the ruins, get the relic, and get out."

"Exactly," Sunset said as she started to push through the bushes.

Ruby followed. "So, Sunset, you said you were from Atlas, right?"

Sunset frowned. "As I recall my exact words were 'something like that.'"

"So…not from Atlas? Or are you from the Kingdom but not the city?"

Sunset halted but didn't turn around to face Ruby. "Why does it matter where I'm from?"

"It doesn't, I guess," Ruby admitted. "I was just wondering why you didn't go to Atlas Academy."

"Because Beacon is the best of the four, and I didn't want to be a workhorse of the Atlesian military," Sunset muttered. And I certainly didn't want to run into Rainbow Dash and the Canterlot crew again. She looked at Ruby over her shoulder. "Is there a point to all of these questions?"

"I suppose not," Ruby said, her voice becoming smaller. "I just thought that maybe we could find out about one another. Don't friends talk about stuff like that?"

"I wouldn't know," Sunset grunted. "I've never…I'm not here to make friends."

"Well, no, we're here to learn how to fight monsters and protect humanity," Ruby cried as Sunset started walking again, "but there's no rule saying that we can't be friends, right? I mean we are teammates. We're going to be spending a lot of time together over the next four years."

"Lots of people spend lots of time together, but it doesn't make them friends," Sunset said as she continued to walk through the undergrowth. "Why don't we keep our relationship professional? You can hang out with your other friends."

Ruby mumbled something indistinct.

Sunset looked back over her shoulder. "What was that?"

Ruby looked down at her feet. She was playing with her hands. "I…I'm not sure if I have any friends. Jaune and Pyrrha were pretty nice, but…"

"You're not missing out, trust me," Sunset said. It was clear from the look on Ruby's face that she didn't find that response particularly helpful, and what was worse, her expression was making Sunset feel guilty about it. "What about at your combat school? I bet you were the one that everyone wanted to be associated with."

Ruby frowned. "Why would you say that?"

"Because in just two years, you got to the point everyone else has to study four years for," Sunset reminded her. "You must have been the star of the school, and everyone wants to suck up to the star of the school." Even she, as little use as she had for friends, had not been free of the occasional flatterer who hoped to get close to her on account of her connection to Princess Celestia.

Her experience of Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle suggested it was no different here in Remnant: the perception of talent attracted mediocrity like barnacles attached to the hull of a ship.

"Me?" Ruby said. "No, I wasn't…I suppose I'm not the easiest person to get along with."

"And do you know why that is?" Sunset demanded. "It's because you keep apologising for yourself. You got into Beacon two years early, for crying out loud, and you carry yourself like a trespasser."

Ruby looked up at her, a frown disfiguring her features. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, have some self-respect!" Sunset snapped. "We don't get treated the way we deserve in this world, or any other for that matter. We get treated the way we act like we deserve. So straighten your back, tilt up your chin, and remember: all of these people around you…are nothing but worms compared to you."

Ruby took a step back. "That…doesn't sound like a way to make friends."

"Maybe not, but it'll make you much more comfortable about the fact that you don't have any," Sunset said. It worked for me. Most of the time. Some of the time.

It sort of works. Upon occasion.

"Take my advice. Or don't," Sunset went on. "It makes no difference to me."

Sunset continued to push through the bushes until her attention was drawn by the noise of something struggling and groaning up in one of the trees in front of her.

It turned out not to be a grimm but a boy with a mop of untidy blond hair. Someone had used a spear to pin him to the tree by his hoodie, and he was, in spite of his best efforts, unable to extricate himself from the predicament.

Once he noticed Sunset down below, he offered her a stupid grin and a wave of his hand.

Sunset folded her arms. The defenders of humanity.

I suppose things could be worse. I could be stuck with this loser for a partner.

"Jaune?" Ruby cried as she stumbled out of the bushes in Sunset's wake.

"Ruby, hi," the boy – Jaune – said unhappily. "I, uh, nice to see you again!"

"What are you doing up there?"

"Well, I-"

"Jaune?" Another girl emerged from out of the shadows of the trees. She was tall, and probably would have been so even if she weren't wearing high heels, with rich red hair falling down past her waist in a ponytail that curved gently in a loose ringlet. She wore a corset of brown leather augmented with bronze, with greaves and cuisses likewise of bronze - or at least a bronze colour - protecting her legs above her boots. She wore a long red sash around her waist, dangling almost to the ground upon the right-hand side. Her shoulders were bare, but her arms were covered in a pair of brown opera gloves, with a bronze vambrace upon her left forearm. A gilded gorget protected her neck while a circlet glimmered about her brow.

The girl's green eyes were on Jaune as she emerged into view, and only then did she notice Sunset and Ruby already at the foot of the tree. "Oh." The disappointment in her voice was as palpable as it was inexplicable.

"Don't worry; I've got mine already," Sunset said, indicating Ruby with one hand before gesturing to Jaune. "He's all yours."

XxXxX​

Professor Ozpin stood on the edge of Beacon Cliffs, monitoring the students via his scroll.

"Hmm, it looks like our last pair has assembled," Glynda Goodwitch said, from a short distance away. "Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. Poor boy. I can't imagine those two getting along."

Professor Ozpin said nothing. He had a feeling that Glynda was completely wrong about that, certainly he was getting a decidedly contrary impression from watching the two of them. And from the fact that they had interviewed together, making it clear that an offer that was not extended to them both would not be accepted by either. But then, he did tend to keep details of the interviews to himself. He sipped his cocoa as he continued to watch the feeds.

"Although I daresay he'll be better off than Miss Nikos," Glinda continued. "I don't care what his transcripts say; that Arc boy is not ready for this level of combat."

Which of us is ever ready? Ozpin thought. He had been nine years old when he had been…called to serve. There were times when he couldn't remember his parents' faces, and not because he was so old or so senile. Had he been ready? Probably not. In the end, none of them were ever ready for the moment when destiny came calling.

That was why he had decided to give Jaune Arc his chance. Perhaps he wasn't ready, but since no one was ever really ready, it was surely better that he was at least willing to do his part.

That, and the fact that they were related, after a strange and rather esoteric fashion. And his father had been a capable enough huntsman, and his great-great grandfather had been an exceptional warrior, one of his most trusted captains in the war. Time would tell if the latest scion of the Arc line was made of the same stuff.

For the moment, however, he was more interested in the companions that young Mister Arc had acquired. Professor Ozpin's scroll showed the four of them moving through the forest: Sunset Shimmer in the lead, then Ruby Rose, then Pyrrha Nikos just ahead of Mister Arc. How strange that the three of them should meet so early. What a coincidence that the three students he had been intending to keep an eye on more than any others should all come to the same place at the same time, where he could watch them all together.

Coincidence…or fate.

But if it is fate, then I hope that it is kind to them.

Kinder than it was to their predecessors.

He had intended to keep an eye on Miss Nikos from the moment he had received her surprising application to attend Beacon. He and Leonardo had both been preparing to receive her at Haven. That she had chosen Beacon instead told him something about her nature. She could have trained to serve at the forefront of the battle just as easily at Haven, and at Haven, she would have been feted in ways that would make any adulation she might receive at Beacon seem trivial by comparison. Miss Nikos was the pride and glory of Mistral reborn, and yet, she had chosen to come to Vale, where the Invincible Girl might still be a celebrity, but the Princess Without a Crown was little known.

Miss Shimmer was interesting to him in her own right. Yet another visitor from Equestria come to make their home in Remnant. He still wasn't entirely sure what she was doing here, although he was almost certain that she was not yet another monster or criminal banished by the inhabitants of that other world who used Remnant as a dumping ground for all their problems. Principal Celestia thought that she was lost, and Vice Principal Luna thought that she was dangerous; Professor Ozpin himself considered that they were both right, each in part. They each saw only part of Sunset Shimmer. With all due modesty, he fancied that he saw both; she could have been dangerous. She might still be dangerous; what the Enemy might have made of her anger and her pride, he almost dreaded to imagine. Nevertheless, he could also see what Celestia had seen in her: someone who could be so much more than she was, if only she was given the opportunity. Or rather, if she was willing to take the opportunity to become more than she was when it was offered to her.

And helping people discover who they were or could be was one of the purposes of Beacon Academy.

And then there was Miss Rose. Ruby. Summer's daughter. So young, and yet, at the same time, so very gifted. In looks, she was her mother in miniature. It remained to be seen if she would take after Summer in character and personality as well.

Even if she does, she is not Summer, and I will not allow myself to forget it.

Miss Nikos, Miss Rose, Miss Shimmer; each of them, in their own way, gifted. Miss Rose's silver eyes, Miss Nikos's strength and speed, Miss Shimmer's magic; they were almost as gifted as Team STRQ had been a generation before them. And yet, he would not make haste to involve them in his affairs, as he had done with Ruby's parents, her uncle, and her stepmother. It had done them no good, involving them so young; tutoring Summer in her silver eyes, introducing them to the Fall Maiden, dragging them so deeply into the mire of conspiracy and intrigue, and at what cost? Summer dead, Raven fled, Taiyang and Qrow both broken in their own ways.

He would not be so eager to subject any more children to that fate. He would not be so swift to pull back to the curtain for them, however talented they might appear to be.

Summer, Raven, Amber; is that not enough for now? Have I not led enough high hearts to ruin?

It was his curse, to nurture so many generations of young men and women, so talented and so brave, so virtuous and so eager…and then to watch them fall, either in the battle against the dark or the slow decay of years.

He would not hasten that inevitable end, not even for such talented students as passed through the doors of Beacon this year. He would not make the same mistakes as he had made before. He would step back from them and give them the chance to live and laugh and to be children for as long as the world allowed.

And as for the darkness gathering without, he would do what he could to make sure it did not disturb them.

This was his burden to bear.

As it had always been.

XxXxX​

As she led the way through the woods, Sunset wondered if she could have possibly done something to offend some kind of deity of this world that had responded by cursing her with some absolutely rotten luck.

The champion and the prodigy, both at once. It was appalling.

Or at least, it had the potential to be.

Although…there was a part of Sunset that was starting to wonder if she might not be able to turn this to her advantage somehow.

It would be hard, it would be a narrow path for sure, but if she could pull it off, then she might well be golden.

The risks were obvious: surrounded by two such paragons, she was in grave danger of being outshone. But, since she was already stuck with one of them, then the risks were not so much greater with the other as well. And the prize: if she could lead these two, then a share of their successes and their honours would accrue to her by right as their leader. She would be credited as the guiding brain, the decisive mind that had shaped and conceived of all their triumphs. She would be the one who had guided them to the pinnacle of success. If Pyrrha won the Vytal Festival, then, well, she couldn't have done it without the help of her team leader, Sunset Shimmer, and her brilliant strategies.

It would be tricky. She wouldn't be able to just sit back and bask in their reflected glory; she would have to show that she was fit and deserving of a share in their light, but if she could do it…it was a far better path by far than standing in their shadow and raging impotently at the darkness that would consume her there.

It certainly helped that Pyrrha was so…"docile" was perhaps the best word that Sunset could come up with, for all that it made her seem like a farm animal. But Sunset had been surprised; she had expected Pyrrha to take the lead, or try to; her achievements fitted her for leadership. Instead, she seemed content to follow and without any way of knowing that Sunset was even better suited to lead than she was! She had said nothing when Sunset had taken control of the foursome by the simple process of acting like she had been put in charge, issuing instructions to the others without room for them to demur or question. Ruby hadn't given her any trouble either.

If they both keep up this obedient attitude, then I might actually be able to swing this.

Jaune yelped in pain as the branch that Pyrrha had just pushed out of her way snapped back and smacked him in the face.

Which brought Sunset to the fourth member of their little group. To say that he wasn't on the same level as the three of them appeared to be something of an understatement. She turned around to see that he was flat on his back. How someone like him intended to defend his world from the creatures of grimm, Sunset couldn't even begin to fathom.

"Jaune! Are you alright?" Ruby asked.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said apologetically.

Why do either of you care what happens to this guy? Sunset wondered, incredulous that these two should fawn over one who was an ant to them.

"It's just a scratch," Jaune said as he picked himself up off the ground. Literally, he had a scratch on his cheek just below his eye. Which was pretty weird, really. Why didn't his aura-?

"Why didn't you activate your aura?" Pyrrha asked, voicing what Sunset had been thinking.

"Huh?"

"Your aura?" she repeated.

"Gesundheit."

Sunset's eyes narrowed. Seriously?

"Jaune," Pyrrha said, sounding as confused as Sunset felt about this, "you do know what aura is."

Jaune scoffed. "Of course I do. Do you know what aura is?"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "How do you not know what aura is? Where did you go to Combat School?"

"I, uh, didn't," Jaune said. "I was…homeschooled…by my father. But I passed all the equivalency tests! And I have the transcripts to prove it."

"Wow, you passed all of the graduation and entrance exams without aura!" Ruby gasped. "That's amazing! You must be really, really strong!"

Yeah, really strong. Sunset managed to keep her scepticism off her face with a small degree of effort, but her eyes remained narrowed as Pyrrha explained to Jaune what aura was, albeit in a slightly more mystical and numinous way than Sunset would have tackled the same task. Honestly, Pyrrha might have seemed exasperatedly amused when Jaune declared that aura was like a forcefield, but it was probably a more useful descriptor than all her talk of light and darkness.

When Pyrrha offered to unlock Jaune's aura with her own, Ruby threw up her hands in excitement. "Oh, this is going to be so great. When my Uncle Qrow unlocked my aura for me, I felt as though I could run all the way across Patch and back without stopping; you're going to love this."

Sunset was still trying to figure out exactly how Jaune had gotten this far without knowing about aura. This was first year combat school stuff, and the explanation that he hadn't been to a combat school only answered so many questions. He would have still had to take the standardised tests in order to prove that he deserved a shot at Beacon. Sunset would never have gotten through the practical exams to graduate from Canterlot without her aura. So unless Jaune really was an absolute badass, he ought to have been unable to do so too, right?

How had he done it? Aura was…everything. Sunset probably could have replicated some of the effects with magic, but the drain of keeping a passive shield up would have been immense compared to using aura to accomplish the same thing. And without magic…without magic, she would have been terrified in a place like this.

I suppose I have to give him credit for bravery, if nothing else.

Pyrrha cupped Jaune's cheek with one hand. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

Ruby gasped in awe as Jaune began to glow like a blazing sun and then rushed over to help Pyrrha as she doubled over from the exertion of what she'd just done. Sunset stayed where she was, watching, pondering the words that Pyrrha had spoken. Ritualistic, as she might have expected. A little ominous. And wrong, too.

"In passing we achieve immortality"? No. The dead are dead, and none recall their names. And even if they did, even if you are one of those lucky few whose fame will outlast them, so what? What use has a dead man for glory? What good will it do me in the grave to be remembered, even to be spoken of in awe? Let me win far fame while I live and spread my legend as much by my own mouth as by my deeds.

Let me be forgotten when I am dead, so long as I am held in awe while I am living.

Bluntly put, you couldn't ascend when you were dead.

Ruby patted Pyrrha on the back. "Are you okay?"

"Did I do something wrong?" Jaune demanded, sounding notably panicked at the protest. "Are you hurt?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "I spent some of my aura to unlock yours. It... took more out of me than I expected. You have a lot of aura."

"Take a minute to rest," Sunset said. "We're not in that much of a hurry." As much as Celestia had used, betrayed, and abandoned her, she had nevertheless taught Sunset a great many things. More things, perhaps, than she had intended to, teaching Sunset not only by her lessons but by her example. One of the things that Sunset had learned from said example was that, when you took leadership upon yourself, you not only shared in the successes of your minions but also in their failures. If Pyrrha was hurt under Sunset's direction, whether it was because of her own foolishness or not, then the blame would accrue to Sunset's leadership, especially when Pyrrha's own reputation gleamed so brightly.

So there was really no need for the grateful looks that Jaune and Sunset gave her. She was simply practicing prudence.

Her ears twitched as she heard something rustling in the nearby bushes.

Of course, nothing says the enemy has to give us a minute.

"Guys," Sunset called, pressing the stock of Sol Invictus to her shoulder even as, for the moment, she kept the barrel down. "Get ready. Back to back. Pyrrha, can you fight?"

"Yes."

Sunset frowned. She didn't sound that bad, but even, so there was no point taking chances. "Jaune, cover her anyway."

"R-right," Jaune said. He sounded nervous, but that was understandable. Sunset was pretty nervous herself, for all that she wouldn't show it. That was something else Celestia had taught her: no matter how much ice there is in your stomach, no matter how your heart pounds, keep an expression of serenity on your face and don't let them see you troubled.

They stood back to back in the modest clearing. The rustling sounds were coming from all around them now, getting closer and closer. It belatedly occurred to Sunset that she didn't really know much about Jaune or Pyrrha's weapons or their capabilities beyond the fact that Jaune had a lot of aura that he hadn't even known existed until thirty seconds ago. But Pyrrha had a great reputation, as did Ruby, so it was probably safe to put a little trust in them.

As safe as it was to trust anybody in this selfish world.

Sunset could see a pair of red eyes in one of the bushes, then she could see another, and another, and by the looks of it, there were upwards of a dozen of them all around them.

Sunset rested her finger on the trigger.

A beowolf stuck its head out of the bush as it started to slink into view.

Sunset squeezed the trigger, and Sol Invictus erupted with a flash and a crack as her first shot took the beowolf's head off. Its body remained standing for a moment, headless and disturbingly without blood, before it keeled over onto the ground and started to dissolve.

The grimm howled in anger. They howled in rage. They howled in bloodlust. The howl rose in an awful cacophony from all their throats filling the sky and echoing in all four of Sunset's ears, jarring down her spine and making it shiver.

Vice Principal Luna had said that beowolves were the worst grimm; they weren't the strongest or the fastest, but they were the meanest, and their howl…the vice principal had said that if anyone claimed to have heard the howling of a pack of beowolves and not been frightened, then they hadn't actually heard it.

At that moment, at this place, Sunset believed her.

They charged out of the thicket in a black mass like tar with teeth, snarling and baring their fangs as they ran on four legs or two, claws ready and red eyes gleaming.

Sunset fired. She could hear other shots from behind her, shots coming from two different weapons; she guessed that one was Ruby with that ludicrous Crescent Rose of hers, and the other would have to be either Pyrrha or Jaune, unless some stranger had come to their aid.

I don't need to be rescued on my first test.

Crack!

Sunset's second shot hit a beowolf in the shoulder; it staggered but did not fall.

Crack!

That shot did for it; it hit the ground and started to dissolve.

Crack!

Another one down but they were all getting so close.

Crack!

Sunset turned and shot one that was trying to get at Pyrrha from the flank.

Crack!

Her shot caught a beowolf in mid-flight before it could leap on her. Its momentum carried the smoke and ashes right into her face. Sunset took aim at another beowolf.

Click.

And she'd had her six.

There was no time to use magic. She needed at least a little concentration for that, and that was hard to come by right now. The beowolves sensed weakness – Ruby and whoever else it was were still shooting – and came for her, roaring in their lust for blood.

An answering yell rose from Sunset's throat. She bellowed angrily because she would not die, not here, not now, not before she had accomplished anything. She would not die, and she roared out her desire to live as she reversed her grip on the gun in her hand and swung wildly as though it were a bat, clubbing the closest beowolf across its bone mask with the heavy wooden stock. The grimm shuddered, the mask cracked, but it did not fall. Sunset hit it again and again, still shouting until the demon was dead, and then she twisted away just in time to avoid another beowolf charging for her. She impaled it on her bayonet.

She wasn't quick enough to do anything about the beowolf that slammed into her, bearing her to the ground. She tried to fend it off with Sol Invictus, but its jaws snapped and snarled at her, barely an inch away from her face as its claws slashed at her aura, stripping it away piece by piece.

There was a flash of bronze, and the beowolf was hurled away as Pyrrha struck it with her shield so powerfully that it was thrown clean off of Sunset. With the second stroke of her shield, Pyrrha eviscerated the grimm, while with her spear, she impaled another.

And in the next few moments, Sunset began to see where her reputation came from. Gone was the quiet girl who had been content to follow where Sunset led; in her place was a warrior grim of face, an artist on the battlefield, her every movement both graceful and deadly. Grimm fell by her hand like leaves until she cut down the big alpha in a flurry of swift slashes of her sword, and the survivors fled, their howls of bloodlust turned to howls of panic and terror.

Sunset picked herself up quickly off the ground and hoped that Ruby and Jaune hadn't noticed that she'd been knocked down. Thankfully, Pyrrha didn't seem to want to be thanked, and as the grimm retreated, her face softened once more, as if something had been switched off in her head once the danger was passed.

Jaune had also been knocked onto his back; he looked chastened as he climbed to his feet. Ruby didn't say anything but gave him a pat on the shoulder as though he needed to be reassured about something.

Sunset said nothing as she started to reload, breaking the gun in half to expose the back and ejecting the spent casings in the process. I need to get stronger. Clearly, I'm not up to their level yet.

I may never get there.

But I can get closer than I am now if I work at it.

But there's no way that they're going to accept my leadership now. I wouldn't, if I was in their position.

"Which way would you suggest now?" Pyrrha asked.

"Whuh?" the sound fell out of Sunset's mouth. "You're asking me?"

Pyrrha shrugged. "You seem confident in your sense of direction."

Sunset glanced at Ruby, who nodded.

Sunset's pride felt a little less dented. My training in leadership shining through, I suppose.

She had just put the fourth round into the cylinder when she heard a tree falling in front of her.

And then another, and then a third after that.

"That…that sounds bigger than a beowolf," Jaune said.

Sunset was inclined to agree, which was why she hurried up reloading. She had just – just – put the sixth round into the cylinder and snapped it closed when a deathstalker crashed through the forest, trampling trees and bushes beneath its legs.

It made no sound; it did not roar or howl, but it did snap its claws aggressively at them as it came on.

Ruby charged and swung her scythe in a wide arc that glanced off the deathstalker's bleached white armour.

A single swipe of the deathstalker's claw was enough to send Ruby flying backwards.

Sunset didn't bother to fire. Instead, she teleported the distance between Ruby and herself and threw up a shield of blue green energy around the two of them.

The claws and stinger of the deathstalker beat fruitlessly against it. For now.

"Pyrrha!" Sunset yelled. "We need a distraction!"

"Understood," Pyrrha answered, and she dashed forward with a swift, loping gait, culminating in a flying leap that carried her onto the deathstalker's back. She drove her spear downwards but had no more luck penetrating its armoured carapace than Ruby had. Her spear turned into a rifle, and she fired to as little effect. She had gotten the grimm's attention, though, and as Pyrrha leapt off its back, it turned all of its malicious attention on her. But, though Pyrrha could not harm the grimm for all that she leapt at it and slashed and thrust and fired, she was too swift-footed for the demonic scorpion to harm her either. It simply couldn't keep up with her as she danced out of the way of its claws, closing and retreating, her red sash flying around her like a banner in the wind as she wove in and out of the grimm's guard.

Sunset dropped her shield; keeping it up was a drain, and the plan that was starting to formulate in her mind would require every bit of magic she could lay her hands on. She pointed in the other direction from that in which Pyrrha was currently leading the deathstalker. "Ruby, get up one of those trees and catch that thing in a crossfire."

"But his armour-"

"It doesn't matter if you don't hurt him; I just want him to notice," Sunset said. "Believe me, this is going to work."

Ruby hesitated for a moment before she nodded. "Okay." She sped forward, firing her sniper rifle and using the recoil to carry her into the low branches of a nearby tree.

"What should I do?" Jaune asked as he jogged up to Sunset.

"You…you stay here," Sunset said, "and wait for my instructions."

Jaune didn't look too happy about that, but Sunset didn't have time to pay too much attention to him right now. Ruby had just started laying down fire on the deathstalker from above. The grimm stopped, half turning towards her. Pyrrha attacked again, her blade shining as she slashed furiously at the deathstalker's carapace. For its part, the grimm appeared confused, torn between its two assailants. It turned first one way, and then the other. Its claws chittered furiously as it turned, never quite settling on an assailant. It spread its legs out and scuttled into just the right position.

And then Sunset teleported again. She emerged in a flash of green light underneath the deathstalker, flat on her back in the space between its legs and gathered the last of her magic in the palm of her hands in a blast upwards into the soft underbelly of the scorpion. The grimm shuddered in pain and then collapsed.

Right on top of Sunset. Fortunately, it dissolved a moment later.

Ruby cheered as she leapt down from the tree. "That was awesome!"

"You have quite a versatile semblance," Pyrrha said.

"Semblance?" Jaune asked.

"She can explain later," Sunset said. "For now, let's just get our relics and get back to Beacon without any more trouble."

XxXxX​

They were back in the hall where they had started from the day before, the hall where Professor Ozpin had given them his "interesting" address. Now, in groups of four, they were called up onto the stage as their images appeared on the two giant screens that hung above the hall.

Sunset waited impatiently, her tail sweeping from side to side as four by four, all other students except her were called up onto the stage by the headmaster.

Currently on stage were Blake, the girl who had been reading about a girl with half a soul the night before; a tall boy with dark blue hair and grey armour; and a pair of Canterlot alumni whom Sunset recognised from her year: Lyra and Bon Bon. Although they had idolised Rainbow Dash and the other Rainbooms like everyone else in the year below them, they hadn't given Sunset any particular trouble that she remembered, and so she was not particularly displeased to see them here.

Professor Ozpin announced their names. "Blake Belladonna, Sky Lark, Bonnie Bonaventure, and Lyra Heartstrings, the four of you retrieved the black knight pieces and will continue your studies as Team Bluebell, led by Blake Belladonna."

Sunset joined in the polite applause as the initials BLBL flashed up under the pictures of the respective students. Blake Belladonna seemed more resigned than anything else as she led her new team off the stage.

"Weiss Schnee, Flash Sentry, Russell Thrush, Cardin Winchester," Professor Ozpin called, waiting a moment for the four of them to join him on stage: a pale girl with hair as white as snow who might be even shorter than Ruby, the big guy with the bird on his armour who had mocked Sunset earlier, some punk with a sleeveless hoodie and a grey mohawk, and Flash. Sunset's lip curled in contempt at the sight of Flash standing up there in that gaudy armour of his with his chest puffed out with pride. "You four retrieved the black bishop pieces. You will be known as Team Wisteria, led by Weiss Schnee." The letters WWSR flashed up beneath their portraits.

Sunset didn't join in the applause. Miss Schnee led the way off the stage, managing to look both proud and at the same time as though this was nothing unexpected. As he followed his new leader down, Flash glanced Sunset's way. Sunset glared at him until he looked away again and made his way off the stage with the others.

"Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren, Dove Bronzewing, Nora Valkyrie."

Ruby whistled, and Yang turned to give her a wink and a wave as she led the serious boy with the pink streak in his hair Sunset had noticed earlier, the redhead who had woken them both up, and a nondescript looking guy in tan armour up onto the stage.

"The four of you," Ozpin said, "retrieved the white rook pieces. You will continue your studies here as Team Iron, led by Yang Xiao Long"

Ruby started cheering enthusiastically as the letters YRDN appeared beneath the portraits of the four members of the newly formed team. Yang gave her a thumbs up before she made her way off the stage with the others.

"Sunset Shimmer, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, and Ruby Rose."

Sunset kept her expression pleasantly neutral as she led the other three out of the crowd and up onto the stage. The lights on them were bright, but Sunset didn't mind the glare. She didn't mind the eyes upon her. In fact, she positively enjoyed them both.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces," Professor Ozpin reminded the audience. "You will therefore be known as Team Sapphire, led…by Sunset Shimmer."

Well of course, Sunset thought, and let the applause roll over her.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an interesting year," Professor Ozpin observed idly. He raised his voice. "Now, I'm sure that you are all tired after your exertions today and eager to find your beds. However, I would ask that all team leaders please remain for just a moment longer and join Miss Shimmer back up on stage. The rest of you are free to leave, secure in the knowledge that you have all passed the first test with honour."

"See you later, Sunset," Ruby whispered as her three new teammates made their way off the stage. Sunset remained stationary, facing the headmaster with her hands clasped behind her back, but from behind her, she could Ruby and Yang exchanging a few words as the other team leaders joined Sunset facing the headmaster. Weiss Schnee appeared to want to keep away from Sunset, who found herself in the centre of the line, with Weiss anchoring the left flank and Yang Xiao Long between the two of them.

Yang grinned at Sunset. "You'd better take good care of my sister, okay?"

"She'll be fine; don't worry," Sunset said. "We're going to do great things together, Ruby and I."

Blake fell in on Sunset's right, with the other team leaders filling in around them.

Professor Ozpin waited until they were all assembled back on stage, staring at them from over his small dark spectacles. His gaze did a great deal to chill the sense of excitement that Sunset had felt about her new position.

"Congratulations to all of you," Professor Ozpin said. "You all showed during the course of your Initiation that you have at least some of the qualities that we look for in a team leader. Over the course of your studies, those qualities will be honed through special lessons with Professor Goodwitch that are reserved exclusively for team leaders.

"But I want none of you to be under any illusions: this is not simply an honour that has been handed to you, but a grave responsibility also. In battle, you will hold the lives of teammates in your hands; your decisions will determine not only the success or failure of the mission but also the life or death of those who fight under you."

Blake Belladonna flinched at that, a decidedly uneasy look upon her face. "P-professor," she began, her voice trembling. "If we-"

"I would prefer you didn't second guess my decisions on the very day that I've made them, Miss Belladonna," Professor Ozpin said, a touch of humour in his voice. "Team dispositions can be reviewed if the circumstances justify it. I'm not sure that any circumstance could justify their review moments after they were announced."

Sunset couldn't help but snort at that, and she wasn't the only one. Weiss seemed to find it rather amusing too, although Yang glanced at Blake with concern in her purple eyes.

"To encourage you to take your responsibilities seriously, leadership confers duties inside the school as well as on the battlefield," Professor Ozpin continued. "As team leaders, you are responsible for ensuring that your teammates attend all classes, pass all examinations, and turn in all homework on time. Be advised that your teachers will not hesitate to punish team leaders whom they judge to be failing in those responsibilities."

In other words, it's our job to step in if our teammates are slacking, and if we don't, then we'll be the ones punished for slacking off ourselves.

"Leadership can be difficult," Professor Ozpin declared, "and there will no doubt be times you will wish that I had appointed someone else to lead your team, but if you are willing to work as hard at being leaders as you are at the rest of your education here, then I think you will find that leadership can also be incredibly rewarding."

I hope so, thought Sunset.

"With that said," Professor Ozpin concluded, "the main thing I want for you to take from this…is that you have all done very well. Find your rooms, rejoin your teams, and get some rest. Tomorrow morning, your journey begins in earnest."

 

[ScipioSmith]

Roomshare​

As the only girl on a team with three boys, Weiss went into the bathroom to get changed for bed.

She shut the door and removed the icicle tiara from her hair, letting her braid collapse and her hair fall down around her shoulders.

And as her snowy hair descended so, Weiss leaned against the bathroom wall and sighed.

She was the team leader. On the one hand, it was really nothing that couldn't have been anticipated; she had spent her entire life being groomed for leadership.

Perhaps that was part of the reason it felt so unexpected to her.

Not that her team, or the world, would ever realise that. But, after spending so long as the recipient of her father's criticism, his disappointment, his stern judgement that seemingly could never be assuaged by anything she did or accomplished, to be trusted like this was…honestly, a little surprising.

Why could Professor Ozpin, who barely knew her, trust her more than her own father did?

And could she be worthy of the trust that he had placed in her?

Does Winter ever feel unequal to the task?

Not that she would dare ask her sister to find out. No, she had to be like Winter: stern and in control at all times. The world must never see beneath the icy mask of a true Schnee.

"So, on a scale of one to hot," came the voice of Russell Thrush from through the door, "how would you guys rate our team leader?"

"Come on, do you really think that's appropriate?" asked Flash Sentry.

"Don't be like that, dude," Russell said. "Nobody likes that guy, certainly not a girl."

"I rate her out of your league, Russell," Cardin declared.

"But not yours, right?"

"I don't need to play that game," Cardin said, "because unlike you losers, I already have a girlfriend."

Russell scoffed. "Yeah? Pictures, or she doesn't exist."

"What, you think I'd just make up a girlfriend?" Cardin demanded. "How old do you think I am?"

Are we talking physical years or mental ones? Weiss wondered.

"I guess it doesn't matter anyway," Russell said. "You can own a car and still admire the other models in the showroom, right?"

"Really, guys? Really?" Flash said.

"Dude," Russell said. "Are you really telling us you don't think she's hot? 'Cause she's an eight and a half on the Russell scale."

"No, I'm not saying that she isn't gorgeous; I'm just saying that-"

Weiss stopped listening. Honestly. She wasn't sure if it was them…or if she'd been naïve to hope for anything better.

Perhaps I should just be grateful that they find me attractive and not my father's money.

But she would manage them. They might be jerks, but she would manage them. She had seen Winter reduce Atlesian soldiers to silence by her mere presence, and she would do the same.

Though a part of her might have liked to not have to.

Weiss sighed again, and as she pulled off her bolero, she turned to face the mirror. Her face, her scarred face, her eight and a half face, stared back at her.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me, who's the loneliest of all?

XxXxX​

As the only guy in a team with three girls, Sky Lark had been banished to the bathroom to change for bed, while Blake, Lyra, and Bonnie - or Bon Bon, as she had been emphatic about being referred to by everyone - used the bedroom.

Blake had changed quickly and now sat on her bed, observing Lyra and Bon Bon as they, with a degree of chattiness that was only partially explained for Blake by the fact that they were old friends, got undressed in a far more lackadaisical manner marked by frequent pauses for involved conversation.

Blake let what they were actually saying wash over her as she studied them. Her troops, her teammates. Hers to lead and to protect.

She was no stranger to leading. She had led troops into battle in the past, but this…this was different. She had come to Beacon expecting to follow orders, not to give them.

She had come to Beacon expecting – hoping – to be anonymous. Now, three pairs of eyes would be turned towards her at all times.

Did she want it? No.

Would she do it? Did she have a choice?

Could she do it? Yes. She had seen her father lead; she had seen Sienna Khan lead; she had seen Adam lead, and his descent into darkness didn't change the fact that he was an effective leader by any reasonable measure. She had led, though she might not have led anyone like Lyra or Bon Bon or Sky.

In her prior experience, there were three kinds of people Blake had found herself leading: idealists, gangster wannabe idiots, and those who liked the violence far more than they had ever cared for the cause. She liked to tell herself that she had been in the first category and that she'd gotten out before she could fall into the third.

Her teammates could not be the first, and Blake very much hoped that they were not the second or the third.

So she would have to find another way to lead them. She could not lead as she had led in the past. She wasn't sure if she'd want to.

She might not stay at Beacon. Something might happen: Adam might find her, she might find a reason to run from here just as she had run to here, but until then, she would lead.

They were her responsibility now.

Not least because, without meaning to be unduly harsh to anyone, Blake had the distinct impression that these three were not the best of the new freshman class. In fact, there had been times during Initiation when it had felt as though she was carrying the three of them on her back.

Never mind. That was something she had prior experience with too.

Bon Bon, who had finally gotten changed into a blue top with white pyjama bottoms, got up off her bed and headed for the door. "I just need to pop out for a second."

Blake glanced her way. "Fine, but why?"

"I just need to call my parents," Bon Bon said. "Tell them that I got through Initiation, that sort of thing."

Blake nodded. Bon Bon might not be the best student in the school, but she seemed pleasant enough, and she was fortunate that she was in a position to call her parents and let them know how things had gone.

"Give them my love!" Lyra cried.

Bon Bon smiled. "Will do," she said, before she left the room. The door closed softly behind her.

XxXxX​

Bon Bon – or Sweetie Drops, to use the name her natural parents had given her – sighed as she leaned against the wall. She was an Atlesian girl of average height, her eyes a deep, ocean blue, her hair divided neatly into two halves, one pink, the other a deep blue-grey. It was about the only distinguishing feature about her, the only thing that would make you notice her, the only reason you wouldn't pass her on the street without a second thought.

And she was a liar. And not just because she'd changed her name.

Team BLBL. This was not what she had wanted.

More importantly, it wasn't what her assigned superior had wanted either.

I kind of wish you hadn't loaned me to her, Doc.

Her hands shook ever so slightly as she opened up her new scroll. Bon Bon tried to control herself as she called the boss, voice only.

It took a moment for her to get a response. "Yes?" asked the voice, smooth and rich, from out of the scroll.

"I'm in," Bon Bon said, deciding to start with the good news.

"As expected. What team were you assigned?"

Bon Bon swallowed. "Not the one you were hoping for," she admitted. "I wasn't able to get close to Nikos."

"That's…unfortunate. Who is on your team?"

"Lyra Heartstrings," Bon Bon said. "Sky Lark, and our team leader is Blake Belladonna."

"Who?" came the reply from out of the scroll. "Is it possible that Doctor Watts overstated your value to me?"

"I'm still in the right year," Bon Bon said. "I can still gather intelligence, do everything you require of me."

"I suppose so," replied the voice on the other end of the scroll. "I want your preliminary report by the beginning of half-term. I want to know who I should be worried about by the time I arrive from Mistral. And if I need anything else from you…I'll let you know." She chuckled. "Get some rest, Sweetie; tomorrow, your assignment begins in earnest."

Bon Bon snapped shut her scroll.

She wished that Lyra wasn't here. She supposed that it was her fault that Lyra was here, what with how close she'd allowed herself to get at Canterlot and her failure to end things there, but all the same, she wished that Lyra wasn't here.

She wouldn't have to mark the other girl as a threat; she knew from Canterlot that Lyra was basically harmless to anything more dangerous than a juvenile beowolf. But just because she wasn't a threat didn't mean that she was going to escape from all the horror that was going to be unleashed on Beacon this year.

Only a few students were likely to make the cut as being worthy of notice – Pyrrha Nikos was pretty much on the list already, and Weiss Schnee was a strong possibility – but the great majority, though they were beneath notice, would suffer the unthinking blows all the same.

You didn't have to be dangerous to be at risk of not getting out alive; quite the reverse, in fact.

This was what she had to do. This was who she was. And for Doctor Watts, she would complete her mission, gladly.

But all the same, she wished Lyra wasn't here.

Bon Bon opened the dorm room door and went back inside.

XxXxX​

As they were a team with two guys and two girls, the members of Team YRDN were taking turns to get changed in the bathroom. It was currently Dove's turn, Nora having gone first. Ren sat on his bed doing maintenance on his weapons; Nora was bouncing up and down on the bed, while Yang looked out of the window, seeing nothing, lost in thought.

I did say that being on different teams would be good for her, I guess.

That doesn't mean I have to like it now that it's actually happened, though.

It would probably be good for Ruby, to make friends with other people. Break out of her shell. And Jaune and Pyrrha seemed nice, although Yang would have preferred if Ruby's team leader were a little friendlier - Sunset was a bit too stand-offish for Yang's liking - but she didn't know any of them all that well. Of course she was going to make it a point to get to know them and to make sure that they knew her and what she was capable of, but she probably shouldn't let herself get too down on the basis of rushed judgement.

Ruby would be fine, probably. She'd taken down Roman Torchwick's whole gang with only a little bit of help from that Sunset Shimmer girl, after all.

But whenever Yang looked at her little sister, there was a part of her that still saw the little girl who used to crawl into Yang's bed when she was scared or having nightmares.

"I'm right here, Ruby. I promise, I won't ever leave you."

Yang smiled. It was probably stupid to expect a school like Beacon to abide by a kid's promise like that...but that didn't stop her wanting to bust down the door to Team SAPR's room and lay down the law.

She'll be fine. It's fine. Everything's fine.

It better be.

This was a good thing. Ruby needed to make new friends. She needed to find people she could rely on because...well, Yang wasn't going to be around forever for her to lean on. Ruby thought that she could do anything as long as she had Crescent Rose in hand, but sometimes, you needed someone to have your back, and Yang wasn't always going to be there for that. It was good that she was going to find other people who would have her back when her big sister couldn't.

But as Ruby's big sister, that didn't make it any easier to leave her behind.

Accepting her offer at Beacon had been hard enough knowing that Ruby would be stuck on Patch without her for the next two years; Dad and Uncle Qrow had had to sit her down and promise to both look after Ruby while Yang was gone. And when Ruby had gotten her offer to attend Beacon two years early, Yang had just felt so relieved that Ruby was going to be where she, Yang, could keep an eye on her.

She would just have to accept that she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Ruby all the time.

It was for the best. It would make things easier in the long run...for both of them.

Goodnight, Ruby.

I love you.

As Dove came out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of unfortunately brown PJs, Yang distracted herself from such thoughts by drumming on her knees and saying, "Okay, now we're all here it's time for introductions."

Dove looked at her through his squinted eyes. "How do you mean?"

"Just, you know, we should get to know one another a little," Yang said. "Names, likes and dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future, that kind of thing."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Nora said, flopping down onto the bed but raising her hand as she did so. "Pick me! Pick me!"

Yang grinned. She already had a feeling that she and Nora were going to get on great. "Go for it," she said, pointing Nora's way.

Nora sat up, and cleared her throat. "My name is Nora Valkyrie. I like pancakes with just about any topping but especially with syrup, and I don't like the extra time you have to wait because somebody tells you the pancakes aren't ready even though they clearly are, Ren!"

"You have to give them time to brown, Nora," Ren said, with long-suffering resignation.

"And my dream," Nora continued, "is to find somewhere we can settle down and be respected, because having to keep moving on all the time can get really exhausting, you know?"

"Nice," Yang said. "And you're here for the next four years, so I'd say you're well on your way to that. Anyway, now that Nora has shown us all how it's done, I'll go next: my name is Yang Xiao Long, and unlike Nora, I don't really want to settle down because I like meeting new people, seeing new places, having new experiences. I...don't really dislike anything. I think you should always keep an open mind about stuff. My hobby is racing my motorcycle, Bumblebee, and my dream is to one day travel across all four kingdoms and beyond."

"Why?" Dove asked.

Yang shrugged. "Just to see what's out there, isn't that enough?" She paused. "So, which of you two boys wants to go next?"

Ren and Dove looked at one another. It was Ren who spoke. "My name is Lie Ren, and I don't particularly care for people who hover in the kitchen demanding to know when the next meal will be ready." He glared at Nora, who simply sniggered. "My hobbies include cooking, baking, calligraphy, flower arranging, interior design-"

"Your hobbies include all of those things?" Yang demanded.

Ren shrugged. "I dabble."

Yang's eyebrows rose. "Okay. Sorry, please go on."

"There's not much else," Ren admitted. "My dream…is to prevent any child from being left orphaned, or alone, while I have the power to prevent it."

The room fell silent after that, at least for a moment.

"That's what we're all here for, in the end," Yang said. "That's what a huntsman does, after all." She grinned, and sought to restore some levity to the room. "Okay, you've got a tough act to follow; let's see what you come up with, Dove."

"Well, obviously, my name is Dove Bronzewing," Dove said. "I like growing vegetables, and I don't really dislike anything. I…never really had time for any hobbies. My dream…I came here to find someone, but I haven't seen her here."

"Her?" Nora asked, leaning forward. "Did you come here to find a girl? Are you together-together?"

"I…it…sort of," Dove said. "I mean, I hoped…she lived in the woods, not far from our village. About a year ago, a little after her mother died, she told me that she was coming here, to Beacon. I promised that I'd meet her here when I was old enough, but now I'm here, and…she isn't."

"Don't give up yet," Yang implored him. "It's a big school, and we spent all day in the forest."

"Plus, she would be in the year above ours," Ren pointed out.

"I'm not sure if she's a student," Dove said.

"Why else would she be at Beacon?" Yang asked.

"I don't know," Dove replied. "That's what she told me."

"Well, why don't you tell us her name, and we can keep our ears open for you?" Yang suggested.

Dove looked at her, and his eyes were visible for once. Yang was surprised by how blue they were. "Amber," he said. "Her name is Amber."

XxXxX​

Sunset had never had to share a room before, but on the other hand, this dorm room was a lot nicer than the boarded up dust shop she had been living in before this, even if it was a little smaller than the room that she'd enjoyed all to herself when she was Celestia's personal student. She'd had a lot of time to get used to the fact that she was no one's personal student anymore.

And it's not as if I've got anything like as much stuff as I had back then. Sunset had left most of her Equestrian possessions behind in Equestria, and she'd not acquired very many replacements since coming to Remnant. Everything she had was in her backpack, which she started to unpack while Jaune was in the bathroom.

The room was devoid of conversation as she worked; both Pyrrha and Ruby were cleaning their weapons in silence, with only the ambient clicks and rattles of their work to disturb the room. Sunset would get to that with Sol Invictus, but she wanted to unpack first so that she didn't have to worry about it later.

Plus, with Jaune in the bathroom and the two girls fully occupied with their work, no one was going to spy on her stuff.

At the top of her bag, the first thing that confronted her when she unclipped it and opened it up was a big stuffed unicorn with glass eyes and a smile sewn onto its face. It was white, with a golden horn and a pink mane. It smiled benevolently up at Sunset from out of the bag.

Sunset stared down at it. She wasn't entirely sure why she still had this. Flash had won it for her at the fairgrounds of the last Vytal Festival; she'd found it amusing at the time. She probably ought to have gotten rid of it after they broke up, but...she hadn't. She'd never quite gotten around to it, and when the time came to leave it behind, she'd found that she couldn't quite do that either. Stupid, right?

Nevertheless, she plucked the unicorn out of the bag and set it up on her bed near the pillow.

"Aww, that's so cute!"

Sunset looked up and over her shoulder. Ruby was staring at the stuffed unicorn with a big smile on her face. Sunset looked away without saying anything; as far as she was concerned, there was nothing to be said.

"Is it a memento from home?" Pyrrha asked.

If only you knew, Sunset thought. "No. My ex-boyfriend gave it to me."

"I see," Pyrrha murmured. "You still care for him, then?"

"Pfft, no!" Sunset said, more loudly than the situation perhaps warranted. But her cheeks were starting to heat up, and it was hard to keep the requisite handle on her volume control. She let slip a disdainful snort. She stood up, turned around, and planted her hands on her hips as she glared at Pyrrha. "As a matter of fact, I'll have you know that I broke up with him, and I could care less about that stupid jackass now. I just..." Her mouth twisted with annoyance as she realised that there was nothing she could say to explain why she still had that stupid cuddly toy. So she went on the attack as a distraction. "Anyway, what about you? I bet you've got a shelf full of trophies to unpack, don't you?"

"Ooh, you have trophies?" Ruby cried.

Pyrrha's already fair face had gone as pale as alabaster. She looked away and at the nearest wall. "I didn't bring them with me."

"But what do you have trophies for?" Ruby asked.

"Pyrrha's a big tournament champion from Mistral," Sunset declared.

Pyrrha looked embarrassed about it, for all that Sunset couldn't imagine why anymore than she could imagine why Pyrrha wouldn't have brought at least some of her trophies with her. Didn't she realise how lucky she was? If Sunset had any trophies, she'd have put them up for the whole world to see. But, as Pyrrha started fielding questions from Ruby about her illustrious career, Sunset turned away and got back to her unpacking.

That'll teach her to poke her nose where it isn't wanted.

She returned to unpacking the rest of her stuff. There wasn't much: a second-hand chess set that had seen better days, a cheap fold-up board, a couple of changes of clothes, and a few cheap, dog-eared paperback books. And, of course, the magical journal that would have let her keep in touch with Celestia if the princess had bothered to look at it.

Something else I'm not sure why I keep around, Sunset thought, as she nevertheless lifted out the handsome, leatherbound book - embossed with her cutie mark - with a slowness that suggested reverence. Sunset hadn't used it since she came to this world, for all that this seemed like exactly the sort of situation that it had been designed for. She hadn't written a single word to her old teacher from this brave new world. She had been afraid of what Celestia might write back to her...and even more afraid that Celestia might not reply at all.

What would I have said to her, anyway? That I ran away in search of greatness and instead I found a world where I was treated like dirt on a boot-heel? That I was a victim of racism? That because of what I looked like I couldn't make it in this new world? That I was just a failure after all?

She would have pitied me, and out of pity she might even have invited me to come home.

But that kind of mercy would make me smaller than any amount of anti-faunus prejudice ever could.

They could beat her, they could mock her, they could call her names, they could even arrest her, but they could not take her pride away from her. Only Sunset could surrender it, and that, she would not do. She had no need to do so now, nor even to consider it. She was the team leader; she was a leader of men. She was on her way to a glorious future. She had only to lead, and to lead well, and all would be well in the garden of her ambitions.

Thankfully, no one had any need to teach Sunset Shimmer how to lead people. She had studied at the feet of Princess Celestia, who for one thousand years had ruled over the three races of ponykind wisely and well, and whatever Celestia's faults as a liar and a misleader of youth, Sunset would never deny that she, Celestia, was a great leader. All Sunset had to do was emulate her teacher - which, as her former student, she was uniquely positioned to do - and everything would work out fine.

Admittedly, Celestia probably wouldn't have reacted to being embarrassed by embarrassing someone else, but give her a break, it wasn't as though Celestia ever got embarrassed about anything. She didn't have anything to be embarrassed about, while Sunset did. But, in the main and starting now, Sunset would rule these creatures like a princess, with a firm hand and an air of detached serenity about her always.

She could tell Celestia that. She could write another entry in the magical journal and let her old teacher know what Sunset Shimmer had made of herself. For I am a mare set under authority, having warriors under me, and to Ruby Rose, I say 'go' and she goes, and to Pyrrha Nikos, I say 'come' and she comes, and to Jaune Arc, I do 'do this,' and he does it. Sunset could tell her that, and Celestia...would not reply. She never replied. She had given up on Sunset. Celestia didn't care anymore.

No, Sunset would not write to Celestia tonight; she was in no mood to be met with silence.

Sunset angrily shoved the journal under the bed.

XxXxX​

"Aww, that's so cute!"

Ruby's excited squeal made Pyrrha look up from cleaning the chamber of Akoúo̱ to see what had caused it. Sunset had seemingly decided to unpack her things before she maintained her weapon and had just deposited a stuffed unicorn toy at the head of her bed. Sunset looked at Ruby over her shoulder and then looked away without a word.

"Is it a memento from home?" Pyrrha asked. She would be the first to admit that she was not good at small talk, but she very much hoped that that was merely the result of a lack of practice on her part. If she was to be more than the Invincible Girl, if she was to be Pyrrha Nikos during her four years at Beacon, then she would need to practice, and this seemed an innocuous thing to start a conversation over.

"No. My ex-boyfriend gave it to me."

"I see," Pyrrha murmured, even though she really didn't. She'd never had a boyfriend, and she suspected that even if she had found someone who could see the girl beneath the fearsome reputation, her mother wouldn't have allowed her to date anyway. In truth, she felt a little jealous of Sunset Shimmer in that moment: to have been seen for herself, valued for herself more than for her accomplishments. No one had ever given Pyrrha a silly stuffed animal. She didn't have gifts from old boyfriends or mementos from home to personalise the room with. To distract herself from the certain sense of melancholy that she could feel within her, Pyrrha cast about for something else to say. "You still care for him, then?"

"Pfft, no!" Sunset said so loudly that she was practically shouting. Pyrrha knew that she had said the wrong thing even before Sunset physically rounded on her, cheeks flushed and hands on her hips, although she didn't exactly know why what she had said was so wrong and so frustrating to the other girl. "As a matter of fact, I'll have you know that I broke up with him, and I could care less about that stupid jackass now. I just...Anyway, what about you? I bet you've got a shelf full of trophies to unpack, don't you?"

"Ooh, you have trophies?" Ruby cried.

No. No, no, please no, not like this, not already. Pyrrha could feel her face, and her entire body, turning cold and pale. It had been going so well, and now, it was all going so wrong so quickly. Jaune had been unaware of her reputation, and Ruby had seemed the same way, and she had been so, so glad of that. She'd accepted that Ruby would find out eventually, just as Jaune had, but she'd hoped that it wouldn't be until after the other girl had gotten used to seeing her as a person, not a celebrity, and now, it was all happening too fast, and why had Sunset had to say anything? Pyrrha looked away in embarrassment. "I didn't bring them with me." She hadn't actually brought anything with her from home that she didn't strictly need to attend Beacon, but even if she'd had the choice, her tournament trophies were the last things in the world she would have taken with her.

"But what do you have trophies for?" Ruby demanded, with an eagerness that Pyrrha could not help but resent.

"Pyrrha's a big tournament champion from Mistral," Sunset announced, and with that announcement turned away as though her work was done.

Pyrrha flinched. Now it would come, as it always did: the fawning, the adulation, the talking to her as though she were no more than an Atlesian robot designed to win battles. Was coming here pointless after all? She had hoped that she might find people who were ignorant and uncaring of her prowess and reputation. Now, as Ruby's luminous silver eyes widened, that seemed a vain and childish hope.

"Oh my gosh, I knew I'd seen those weapons before!" Ruby cried. "They were featured in issue four-oh-eight of Weapons and Armour! They did a whole feature on them, right? Miló and Akoúo̱!"

Pyrrha's expression froze. That was honestly not the response that she'd been expecting. As a matter of fact, she had done a feature for Weapons and Armour shortly after her third tournament victory, or rather, she'd taken Miló and Akoúo̱ down to a studio where a professional photographer had taken a lot of pictures of them and an intern had asked her a few questions. It had been probably the most relaxing press visit she'd ever had to do; they'd even hired a professional model to pose with the weapons rather than her.

Pyrrha was surprised that that was where Ruby's recognition came from. Demographically speaking, Ruby Rose was...not the target audience for Weapons and Armour magazine. "You read that?"

Ruby nodded excitedly. "Did you design it yourself? Did you build it yourself? How long did it take?"

"I can't claim complete credit for the design," Pyrrha murmured. "My mother had some input, but I assisted with every stage of the manufacture, even if I didn't do all the work." She ran her gloved fingers across the flat of Miló's blade form. "Our weapons are conduits for our aura, and for that reason, I believe it's important that they have a little piece of our soul inside them."

"I know, right?!" Ruby yelled. "I mean, I didn't come up with my Crescent Rose out of nowhere - I saw my uncle Qrow's Harbinger and it was a big inspiration - but I still built it because not building my baby would have been like...I don't know. That's why I named her Crescent Rose, because she's a part of my family."

Pyrrha smiled. She couldn't claim to know exactly what Ruby meant, but she understood the sentiments, and there was nothing wrong with them. And she couldn't help but be grateful that Ruby, in her focus on Pyrrha's weapons, hadn't yet asked about Pyrrha's tournament triumphs.

In fact, she didn't seem to care.

Perhaps...it was very early days and impossible to say for certain, but perhaps...perhaps this might just work out after all.

XxXxX​

Jaune emerged from the bathroom to find everyone else in his new team hard at work. Sunset was silently cleaning out the cylinder of her gun, while Pyrrha and Ruby seemed to be letting their hands work on autopilot while they carried on a conversation.

"So why do you only have five rounds for your rifle; it doesn't seem like a lot. Even Sunset has more than that," Ruby said.

"We experimented with more, but we found that any more than five rounds affects the balance in sword or spear form, and, honestly, I mainly use the rifle mode as a backup of last resort. I prefer to close with my opponents, and no arena is too large to make that impracticable."

"Ah, so that's why you don't use dust rounds either."

"Precisely."

"But don't you think that when fighting grimm it's good to be able to do as much damage as possible before they get close?"

"I admit that I don't have a huge amount of experience fighting grimm, but from what I saw in the Emerald Forest, they don't let you see them coming if they can avoid it."

Ruby cocked her head to one side as though she were considering the point. "I suppose that you've got a- oh, hey Ja-" she paused, stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing so hard that she fell back onto her bed clutching her sides.

"What?" Sunset looked up, with an expression on her face as though she suspected someone might be laughing at her. "What's going on?"

"What are you wearing?" Ruby demanded in between high-pitched cackles of laughter.

Jaune sighed. It was the onesie. Of course it was the onesie. He honestly should have seen this coming, given that it had Pumpkin Pete's face on it, and it was, well, a onesie, but all the same- "It's really comfortable!" he protested.

"It has bunny slippers!"

Jaune shuffled in discomfort. Pyrrha's expression was as inscrutable as she was silent, while Sunset was giving him a look that reminded him uncomfortably of his sisters.

And then she pulled out her scroll and took a picture of him.

Jaune recoiled from the flash of her scroll. "What was that for?"

"I want to immortalise these halcyon days of our youth," Sunset said, in a voice that couldn't have sounded more insincere if she'd tried. "So, who's the bunny?"

"That's Pumpkin Pete!" Jaune cried. How could anyone not know who Pumpkin Pete was? Where had she been living? "You know, like the cereal? The cartoon?"

"I buy the store brand because I'm broke," Sunset said, "but I'll take your word for it."

Jaune made his way over to his bed and sat down heavily upon it. Ruby's laughter was starting to die down now, but it rang in his ears all the same. He looked at her, and at Pyrrha, and then looked over his shoulder Sunset.

Do I really belong here? Do I really belong with them? Ruby and Pyrrha were both awesome, and even Sunset was pretty cool, even if she wasn't in their league, but he was just...he was just Jaune. How could he so much as help them, let alone be the hero straight out of his dreams?

Look at how dedicated they are. "How can you guys work on your weapons at a time like this?" he asked. "Aren't you tired?"

"The first thing Uncle Qrow taught me after I got Crescent Rose was how to take care of her," Ruby said. "He told me 'You have to look after your weapon, kid, or she'll let you down when you need her the most.' Like, the scythe might not unfold properly, or the gun might jam."

"Oh," Jaune said. "Should I...I don't know, sharpen my sword or something?"

"I wouldn't advise doing that wantonly," Pyrrha said, calmly and patiently. "You'll wear out the blade if you sharpen it unnecessarily."

There was no malice in what she said, but her words pricked him nonetheless with a reminder of his general uselessness. That feeling only lingered as he sat, pointless, as the girls worked around him.

He was grateful when they were all done and Sunset turned out the lights.

Tomorrow was another day, after all, and things could only get better.

XxXxX​

Ruby lay on her side in the bed, with the silk of her grimm-eyed sleep mask pressing against her face and blocking out all the light that might have gotten in through the crack in the curtains. She had no idea if the others were asleep or not. It had only been a little while since the lights went out.

Despite being in a room with four other people, Ruby felt lonelier than she had ever been in her life. That was nothing against her new roommates, her new teammates, her new friends; rather...this was only the second night that she'd spent away from home in her life, without Yang, Dad, and Zwei all within yelling distance. This was the first night that she'd spent without Yang nearby. Even though her big sister was in the same school as her, with their teams split up, they might as well be on the other side of Sanus when curfew hit.

She'd wanted this. She'd wanted it so badly, but now that it was actually here, she...she missed home. She missed Dad, she missed her stuffed grimm on the walls, she missed her room, she missed having Yang next door, she missed Zwei, she missed...she missed home.

Maybe this was what Yang meant when she said Ruby needed to break out of her shell, that she needed to stop being such a baby about this stuff? But Ruby couldn't help feeling homesick, and if she did, then so what? Why was that a bad thing? Maybe - hopefully - Beacon would start to feel like home eventually, but right now, home was home. And she missed it.

Goodnight, Yang. Goodnight Dad. Night, Mom.

Ruby's arm hung out over the bed, and as Ruby shuffled under the covers, her fingertips brushed against the wall. She frowned under her sleep-mask; something didn't feel quite right. There was something...carved into the wall? Ruby pulled off her mask and squinted into the dark where her fingers had found the disturbance. The broken moonlight slipping past the scarlet curtain was too dim for her to properly see what it was.

"Guys, can I put the lights back on?"

"Why?" Sunset demanded.

"Because I need to see something; it will only take a second."

Sunset grumbled wordlessly for a moment. "Okay, I'll do it." Ruby heard the sounds of someone getting out of bed and padding across the floor before the lights flicked on.

Ruby blinked against the sudden brightness for a second. Then she saw what it was that she'd felt on the wall. "Whoa," she gasped. "Guys, come on, check this out."

Pyrrha was out of bed much faster than Jaune, but eventually, they all crowded around Ruby's bed, standing over her and looking down at the wall beside her, into which had been carved the initials 'S T R Q', and over the letters were engraved four markings: a rose, a fiery heart, and a pair of wings facing in opposite directions away from one another.

A smile blossomed across Ruby's face. "This is amazing." I can't wait to tell Yang about this.

"Uh...I kinda feel like I'm missing something here," Jaune said.

"Former students, one would assume," Pyrrha said. "Occupants of this room before us."

"Not just any former students," Ruby said, as she ran her fingers over the letters. "This S, that's for Summer Rose, my mom. The T is for Taiyang Xiao Long, my dad. And that's my Uncle Qrow, right there." This was Mom's room, and Dad's too, and they shared it with Uncle Qrow, and with Raven, Yang's…my stepmom.

This was Mom and Dad's room. They had slept here, where Ruby was sleeping now. It felt more homely and less alien to her already, as though her parents and her uncle had each left a piece of themselves behind here to comfort her.

She beamed up at her teammates, until her smile faded upon the abrupt realisation that this discovery, so fascinating and important to her, meant less than nothing to them. "I...I'm sorry, guys, I just-"

"Hey," Jaune said, with an easy smile. "We get it. And you know what? I think it's pretty cool. I bet they're all badass huntsmen and huntresses now, right?"

"Yeah," Ruby said. "Uncle Qrow's one of the best. My Dad mainly teaches at Signal now, but he's still really strong."

Jaune nodded. "And your mom?"

"Mom," Ruby hesitated, the breath catching in her throat. "My mom's not around any more."

Jaune's face fell so quickly it was as though a bottomless pit had opened up beneath it. "Oh. Oh, Ruby, I am so sorry; I'm such a-"

"It's okay, really," Ruby said quickly, before things got awkward. "You didn't know, so it's all good, right?"

"The dead are not departed while their memory endures," Pyrrha said softly. "Your mother lives in you, and all who loved her."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Pyrrha; that…that's really nice."

Pyrrha nodded. "So long as we remember those who went before us, then they keep us company and lend us strength to walk the path before us."

Sunset turned away. "Nobody move," she said peremptorily, even as she herself went back to her bed. She grabbed her Sol Invictus, but with her back to Ruby, it was impossible to see exactly what she was doing until she turned back around, having just detached the bayonet blade from the rifle so that she could hold it in one hand like a knife or a short sword.

"Okay, make some room," Sunset commanded, as she walked down the room and jumped onto Ruby's bed.

"What are you doing?" Jaune asked.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "You mean to say it isn't obvious? Come on, guys, what do you think I'm doing?" She jabbed her bayonet into the wall and began to work it, until over the STRQ emblems she had carved the letters 'S A P R', and over the S in SAPR, she had carved a blazing sun divided down the middle.

Sunset passed the bayonet to Jaune. "Make your mark, bunny boy."

Jaune got onto Ruby's bed, and into the wall, he carved the mark of a double crescent. Pyrrha went next, and over her initial, she delicately carved a spearhead striking upwards. Ruby was the last to be handed the bayonet, and with a slightly trembling hand, she carved a rose identical to the one her mother had left before her.

Silently, she handed the sword bayonet back to Sunset.

"There," Sunset said, as their shadows fell upon the wall and the initials and the marks that they had made. "Now, when we four are all badass huntsmen and huntresses, whoever has this room then will be in awe that we used to sleep in this room."

"And we'll stay friends, like Dad and Uncle Qrow," Ruby said.

"Yeah," Jaune said, as Pyrrha clasped her hands together above her heart and glanced towards him.

"Let's not go nuts," Sunset muttered. "We should get to bed." She turned away.

Ruby lay on her side, staring at the marks that her parents had made, and the marks that her team had made, as the others returned to their own beds. The lights went out, and the bedroom was plunged into darkness once more.

A smile lingered on Ruby's face. "Goodnight, Jaune."

"Goodnight, Ruby," Jaune replied.

"Goodnight, Pyrrha," Ruby called.

"Goodnight, Ruby," Pyrrha said. "Goodnight, Jaune."

"'Night, Pyrrha," Jaune said, before he yawned.

"Goodnight, Sunset," said Ruby.

Silence.

"Goodnight, Sunset," Ruby said again.

Silence.

"Psst!" Jaune hissed. "Sunset!"

Sunset's voice came lazily and slowly. "Seriously? We're really doing this?"

"Come on," Jaune said. "Don't be like that."

Sunset sighed. "Goodnight, Ruby."

Goodnight, Mom.

XxXxX​

Sunset lay on her bed, hands crossed beneath her head, staring up at the dark ceiling above her.

Goodnight, my little Sunbeam. Sweet dreams.

Sunset scowled. She was a grown woman now; she didn't need Mommy to wish her good night or tuck her in or make her hot chocolate with marshmallows in.

You're not my mother. And I was a fool to ever forget that.

She needed to look to the future now, not the past. Celestia was behind her; her team was the future.

If Celestia is behind me, then why does she yet loom so large in my mind?

Sunset rolled over onto her side. Because I'm here because of her, in the end. Because all that I have done and sought to do has been because of her influence. Sunset's youth had been a longing for the crown. All her studies, all her accomplishments, all of it had been designed to bring her to the point where she would ascend and be exalted amongst ponies. And in the end, it had happened to someone else, to Cadance, that insipid, soppy mare, and Celestia had confessed to her that all of it, her dreams, her future, her glorious destiny...it had all been a lie.

I refuse to accept that. Sunset knew that Celestia was wrong; she knew that she had greatness in her, even if her mentor would not acknowledge it. So she had run and run, through the mirror to a new world, in search of glory.

She hadn't found it yet. Sunset still lingered for a crown to rest its burnished laurels on her brow, but it would come. It would come as sure as spring to chase away the cold that gnawed at her, and when it came, the crowds would cheer out her name as sweet as nectar and ambrosia of the gods of Remnant: Sunset! Sunset! Sunset! Would that not fill up the emptiness that dogged her? Would it not fill the empty vessel of her spirit to overflowing? It must, for if it did not...what would?

Sunset turned her mind from this uncomfortable topic of self-reflection to reflect instead upon the characters of her new teammates. Ruby and Pyrrha had much potential to be her instruments, strong and swift and skilled with their array of weapons. Sunset was far less convinced of the usefulness of Jaune Arc, but she was stuck with him now, so doubtless, she would find some use to make of him. They would all serve her purposes, for she would allow none of them to get in her way.

They were her team, and like a team of pegasi, they would pull her chariot and carry her to glory.

 

[ScipioSmith]

The First Step​

Jaune was awake just as the sunlight began to peek in through the cracks of the curtains.

He told himself that it was because he was used to getting up early, to do the chores, rather than because he was nervous or anything.

And he would have been doing the chores. Back home, he would have gotten up, thrown on yesterday's clothes, and went out to take care of the animals. Sky – and Kendal, when she was home – got a pass on chores around the house because they had jobs, and Aoko got a pass because…she was Aoko, but everyone else had to muck in and help out in some way. Rouge kept the house clean and tidy and did the laundry; River looked after the allotment out back; Jaune and Violet took care of the animals. More recently, Dad had been having Jaune help him out with any handiwork that needed doing, like when a few roof tiles fell off over the winter.

Jaune lay in bed, thinking about what he would have been doing if he'd still been home. He would have started with the cow, and then he would have moved on to the chickens.

Thinking about it like that, Jaune found himself needled with guilt for having left the way he had. Who was going to do those chores now? Would Violet have to pick up the slack, or would Aoko be trusted enough to help?

Would they be able to manage?

Sure. Sure they would. Dad could do a little more, and maybe Mom too. They'd find a way; there were enough people in the house without him to keep on going.

It's not like he was indispensable.

It's not like anyone had cared enough to come and get him.

Jaune rolled over onto his side. He needed to worry a little less about how his family was getting by without him – because seriously, they'd be fine – and more about how he was going to get on at this school.

Yesterday had been a lesson to him. A lesson that his teammates were a lot stronger than he was and that he wasn't just going to be able to waltz in and be the hero like he'd initially thought he would.

Maybe this isn't going to be quite so easy as I thought.

Forget the Initiation for a minute, just the memory of Pyrrha swinging his sword, a weapon that she had never held in her life before that moment, with a grace and skill that he couldn't match and then handing it back to him and pronouncing it good. She was just…there was no comparison between the two of them.

Jaune consoled himself with the fact that Pyrrha was apparently some big shot celebrity fighter back in her home country, so of course she was a lot better than he was.

Mind you, Ruby was pretty slick herself, and even Sunset…

Could it be that he had ended up on the team with the most talented students in his year, or was everyone at Beacon so far above him?

I might have to work harder than I expected. But I'll manage somehow. This…this is in my blood, right?

Jaune heard someone moving behind him. He rolled over onto his other side to see Pyrrha getting out of bed. Her hair was unbound, descending in a great wave to just below her waist, but neither copious amounts of bedhead nor a lack of makeup nor even her very plain dun brown pyjamas could hide the fact that she was gorgeous.

Not as beautiful as Weiss, not quite, but still.

Jaune sat up. "You're up early," he said, whispering so as not to disturb Ruby or Sunset.

Pyrrha looked at him. "So are you," she observed, in an equally soft and quiet voice.

Jaune smiled uncertainly. "Force of habit, I suppose."

"Ah," Pyrrha murmured. She hesitated for a moment. "I was just about to go for a run. Would…would you care to join me?"

Jaune thought about it for a little bit. It was kind of early, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

"Sure," he said, extricating his feet from underneath the covers and reaching for his trainers underneath the bed. "Thanks for the offer."

"You're welcome," Pyrrha said, a soft smile playing across her face as she hastily tied back her hair into a ponytail, then sat down on the bed to put on her boots. She seemed to have every intention of running in her pyjamas; Jaune supposed that was an advantage of said PJs being so plain and ordinary. On the other hand, even leaving aside the fact that he was already starting to regret his blue Pumpkin Pete onesie, it probably wouldn't be the most comfortable thing to go for a run in.

"Um," he said. "Would you mind closing your eyes for just a second?"

"Hmm?" Pyrrha murmured, sounding confused. Her eyes widened, and her face reddened as she realised why he had asked. "Oh! Oh, of course." She not only closed her eyes, but turned away from him as he hastily pulled on socks, jeans, and a T-shirt.

"You can open up again now," he said softly as he pulled on his trainers.

Pyrrha opened her eyes and finished pulling on her boots.

They both moved quietly; Jaune was used to tiptoeing around sleeping sisters: when Kendal was back home from the Corps, she would sleep in a lot, and everybody tried hard not to disturb her. Pyrrha seemed to be pretty good at keeping her noise down too. Neither Ruby nor Sunset had woken up by the time they both left the dorm room. They kept a similar level of consideration for their fellow freshman as they made their way down the corridor and staircase until they left the dorm room and emerged into the courtyard.

"Um, you do have your scroll, right?" Jaune asked, as the door – which was on an electronic lock that required a student or staff member scroll to open – shut behind them.

"Yes," Pyrrha replied. "I have it right here." She pulled the device out of the breast pocket of her pyjamas.

"Great," Jaune said, with a sigh or relief. "Because I…just realised that I've forgotten mine."

Pyrrha let out a little giggle of laughter. "I'll hold the door open for you."

Jaune grinned nervously. "Thanks a lot." He looked around. "So…running…um…I'm kind of waiting for you to take the lead on this."

"I was just going to make a circuit of the grounds, maybe as far as the cliffs," Pyrrha said. "Depending on how long that takes, I might do another circuit or two. It's just jogging to warm up, not a spring."

"Yeah, but the cliffs?" Jaune asked.

"The forest is out of bounds, but the cliffs aren't," Pyrrha replied. "But we can stick to the campus if you'd prefer."

Great, now she thought that he was afraid. "No," Jaune said quickly. "The cliffs are fine. Do you want to start right away?"

"Just a moment," Pyrrha said, as she started stretching, limbering her arms and legs in preparation. Jaune did his best to copy her movements, and Pyrrha was kind enough not to comment that he wasn't doing it particularly well.

The door opened behind Jaune. "Hey there!" cried one of the other students as she stepped outside and joined them in the crisp morning air. In the dawn's early light, Jaune could see that she was dressed, like Pyrrha, in her bedclothes: a white top and blue bottoms. She was one of the members of Team BLBL, if Jaune remembered right; it was going to take him a day or two to get used to all of these names, but he remembered her face and her distinctive hair, neatly divided into half pink and half blue-grey.

"Good morning," Pyrrha greeted the other girl courteously. "It's Miss Bonaventure, isn't it?"

"Please, call me Bon Bon," Bon Bon said breezily, "and of course I know who you are, Pyrrha Nikos."

Pyrrha's manner became noticeably less relaxed. So noticeably that even Jaune noticed it. "Yes," she said quietly, "I suppose you do."

"Yeah, I saw you win your last tournament title," Bon Bon said eagerly. "That Arslan was so outclassed, I don't know why she even bothered to compete."

Pyrrha's reply, when it came, was clipped and cold. "Arslan Altan is an exceptional fighter," she declared, "for whom I have nothing but the greatest respect. Now, if you'll excuse me." She turned away and took off, her ponytail bouncing slightly up and down behind her as she started jogging.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune cried, as caught unawares by her sudden departure he had to run to catch up with her, only slowing to a jog once he had pulled level with his partner, or near enough. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said. "For running off and leaving you behind; it's just…Arslan deserves better than to be insulted in the name of some shallow flattery of me."

"Is she a friend of yours?" Jaune asked.

"No," Pyrrha conceded. "Perhaps the opposite, in fact, but all the same, she deserves better."

They jogged across the whole length and breadth of the campus. Jaune was glad of the fact, because it meant that he got to see a lot more of the school than he'd seen just trying to find the amphitheatre on their first day. They ran between the old-fashioned columns that surrounded the courtyard; they ran past the floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed them to see into the dining hall; they ran past Beacon Tower that loomed so large above their heads as it pierced the clouds; they ran past the main school building with all the lecture halls for their classes and where they had spent the night in the ballroom upon first arriving, and they ran past the amphitheatre which included their changing rooms. On their way to the cliffs, they ran past large expanses of empty land that didn't seem to be used for anything at the moment, and on their way back, they ran past the farm, which Jaune hadn't even known that Beacon had. The sound of the chickens clucking away was a reminder of home both comforting and a little guilt-inducing. He tried not to think about it too hard as they made their way back down the main avenue.

They ended up in front of the statue that dominated the courtyard: the huntsman and huntress, armed with sword and axe, standing on the rocky outcrop with the beowolf beneath them.

Jaune and Pyrrha stopped, staring up at the man with his sword aloft who loomed so high above them both.

"Do you think it's anyone in particular?" Jaune asked.

"In Mistral, it probably would be," Pyrrha replied, "but here in Vale…I think it is more likely to be an idealised figure, representing all huntsmen and huntresses, rather than any two individuals."

Jaune nodded. What Pyrrha said made sense. And yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but notice how similar that guy's sword was to his Crocea Mors. It was probably just a coincidence - Crocea Mors had that kind of normal shape - but at the same time…he felt a little bit as though he was looking up at an image of one of his ancestors, or a mix of all of them. The heroic Arc men who had gone before him.

So much better than he was.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, as she put a hand upon Jaune's shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

Jaune glanced at her. "My family," he began. "The men in my family, they've all been warriors. My dad was a huntsman, my grandfather…I was just thinking…I've got a lot to live up to."

Pyrrha nodded gravely. "And you will."

"Will I?" Jaune asked. "How can you be so sure? You just met me."

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. "In my country," she said, "we believe that one who possesses a noble lineage inherits the virtue of his ancestors and then burnishes it up with his deeds in turn. Your ancestors will lend you strength and valour, just as you will lend it to your descendants in your turn."

Jaune wasn't sure what to say. Pyrrha was trying to be nice, he was sure of that, but at the same time, it couldn't help but sound a little bit kooky to him. "I wouldn't say that I have a noble lineage-"

"Your ancestors have spent their blood in the service of humanity," Pyrrha reminded him, her voice firm with conviction. "That is noble enough to lift the head of the poorest beggar. Be proud, Jaune; you and Ruby both have descent as noble as…as anyone, though I will not pretend that all will see it so."

Jaune smiled. Even if he didn't believe her, he believed that she was trying to help, and he was grateful for that. "Thanks. And what about your family?"

"My family?" Pyrrha asked, sounding surprised that he'd brought the subject up. "I…would you mind if we went back now?"

"Uh, sure," Jaune said quickly. He didn't know why Pyrrha didn't want to talk about her family, but she'd just made it clear to him that she didn't want to talk about it.

And that was fine by him.

XxXxX​

Pyrrha hoped that Jaune didn't take it as rudeness on her part that she had so abruptly cut off the conversation and headed back towards the dorms.

She hoped that Jaune didn't take it as rudeness even though she had been rude. It was just that she…she was afraid, quite honestly. She didn't want to lie to Jaune or to any of her teammates, but she was afraid of what might happen if she admitted to Jaune that she was a descendant of the last Emperor of Mistral. It might not matter - this was Vale, not Mistral, after all - but on the other hand, it might lead to all of the fawning that she had come to Beacon in part to get away from.

The brief conversation with Bon Bon had been an uncomfortable reminder of what it meant to be the Invincible Girl: people trying to suck up to her on the basis of her reputation, assuming that she would be susceptible to the most base and shallow flattery.

It was a reminder to her of how lucky she had been with Jaune and Ruby.

She glanced at Jaune over her shoulder and hoped that he didn't notice her doing so. Not only a handsome young man, not only a kind one, but a huntsman sprung from a line of huntsmen too. Not that it made much difference, or at least it ought not to have…but her mother might look more kindly upon a young man who came from a 'worthy' lineage, even if he did not come from a traditionally noble one.

You're getting impossibly ahead of yourself.

I know, but I can dream, can't I?

They returned to the dorm room to find that Ruby was still asleep, though Sunset was awake and reading something on her scroll; the light from the screen illuminated her face in an expression of stern intensity.

Pyrrha, who had opened the door for Jaune, closed it now behind her. She cleared her throat loudly enough to attract the attention of her team leader and Jaune, but not so loudly as to wake Ruby. She gestured towards the bathroom.

Sunset waved one hand, which Pyrrha took to indicate that she was free to use the shower. Jaune also indicated that she was free to go first.

Pyrrha nodded in thanks and proceeded to quickly take off her boots and grab her uniform for today. Last night, when they arrived in the dorm room, they had each found three blouses or shirts as appropriate, three vests, three skirts or pairs of trousers each in their size, along with socks and stockings of various lengths and a single jacket. Pyrrha chose the full-length stocking to complete her ensemble and carried stockings, skirt, and blouse – and of course her circlet - into the bathroom with her.

The bathroom was a gleaming white, with three-quarter tiled walls below the last quarter of plain white plaster. A bathtub sat beside the sink, which was itself beside the toilet, but Pyrrha was more interested in the shower that stood behind the tub.

She placed the folded pile of her clothes neatly on top of the toilet seat – covered with a towel for protection from any steam that might escape the shower – and undressed in the privacy of the enclosed space.

Once inside the shower, Pyrrha allowed herself one brief moment of stillness, letting the hot water cascade down her back and limbs, washing away all weariness and tension, washing away what had come before and opening up the new day to new possibilities.

I have three teammates now. Will I have three friends?

She hoped so, but it was so early to say. At least Jaune and Ruby didn't seem to care very much about her reputation as the Invincible Girl: Ruby was more interested in Miló and Akoúo̱ than in her, and Jaune only recognised her as a girl on the cereal box. There was a chance that they might see Pyrrha Nikos and appreciate her for whatever she was, as a friend and not merely a warrior and a winner of trophies.

If there is anything beyond my skill at arms to be appreciated.

Pyrrha shuddered. That was her darkest and most secret fear: that the reason no one could see her, see beyond the legend of the Invincible Girl, the reason why nobody could treat her like a person was that there was nobody there at all. Nothing to like, nothing to love, nothing to appreciate or befriend: just an empty suit of armour and a powerful semblance.

She hoped she was wrong. She hoped so very much that she was wrong.

But she couldn't be sure.

But, if there was anything to Pyrrha Nikos besides the heroic lineage and the reputation carefully cultivated by her mother, then Jaune and Ruby had come closer to seeing it than most others.

As for Sunset Shimmer…Pyrrha wasn't sure what to make of her. She seemed more aware of Pyrrha's reputation than the other two, but she did not seem in awe of it. Rather…

I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it. I hope she didn't mean anything by it.

Pyrrha shoved the thought to one side. She had used up her moment. She allowed herself to luxuriate in the shower, the water cascading through her hair and down her back to wash away all the dirt and sweat accumulate during the previous day, but not to ruminate. This was a new day, a new start; she would think only positive thoughts this morning.

As a result of unpacking last night, the counter above the sink was already covered with a variety of both bath and beauty products, and Pyrrha was glad to note that not all the latter belong to her. Some of them, like the dark smokey eyeshadow, belonged to Sunset. Pyrrha did not apply a lot of makeup, just a touch of blush to her cheeks once she had finished getting dressed, and a smidgeon of vivid green eyeshadow in a 'wing' effect like flames leaping from her eyes. The last thing to be put on was her circlet, threading it around her ponytail and onto her head.

Pyrrha looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She was ready to face the day.

XxXxX​

Sunset got in the bathroom next, after Pyrrha, and while she was putting on her face, she had ample time to consider the question of expectations.

While Pyrrha and Jaune had been getting their exercise and while Ruby had still been sleeping, Sunset had taken the opportunity to do a little research on her teammates. What she had found was both encouraging and challenging. She had known that she had been blessed, for a certain value of the word, with two talented teammates, but a cursory amount of research had made clear what she had not quite comprehended before, not only how talented they were, but also how high profile as well.

Pyrrha Penthesilea Penelope Alcestis Ariadne Hippolyta Nikos, to use her exhaustively complete name, was not just a tournament champion; she wasn't just a girl with her face on a cereal box. She had literally never lost a fight in her life, not even in the kiddie leagues. Not only that, which would have been quite enough for most people, but the reason her name was so ridiculously long was that she was literal royalty. She was the direct descendant – at present, the last descendant, in direct line – of the Mistralian Emperor Odysseus V, last Emperor of Mistral.

Sunset was not native to Remnant, but she had lived there long enough to appreciate that this was quite something. There weren't many scions of the old monarchies remaining in the public eye: the current claimant to the throne of Mantle was a moderately successful motorcycle racer, little known outside of aficionados of the sport like Sunset. Nobody seemed to know who the rightful heir to the throne of Vale, the right contested between a dozen distant cadet branches. Pyrrha was something rare and unusual: a direct descendant with an indisputable claim who was also famous and successful in her own right.

It was no surprise then that she was a celebrity in Mistral; her decision to attend Beacon rather than Mistral's own Haven Academy had made the news, to the extent of causing a minor scandal. Sunset hadn't sat down to read them, but she'd come across comment pieces calling for a change in the leadership of Haven Academy on the grounds that not even Mistral's brightest star actually wanted to train in Mistral's school.

Great things would be expected of Pyrrha at Beacon, beyond doubt. Sunset knew a little bit about that herself from her time under Celestia's wing and personal tuition, knew what it was like to have those expectations riding on your back. She knew what it was to be in a position where to be average was to be considered a failure because the personal bar for your success had been raised so much higher. But Sunset's own concerns were too immediate for her to spare much empathy for Pyrrha Nikos. The point was that if those expectations were not met and Pyrrha did not exhibit the expected greatness, if she did not live up to the accolade of being the most gifted student to grace the hallowed halls of Beacon in its history, then there would be no shortage of apologists willing to blame her conveniently faunus team leader for squandering her potential.

And then there was Ruby Rose. Ruby's profile was not so high as Pyrrha's, not by a long shot, but nevertheless, her early admission into Beacon had made the local news in the island backwater she called home, and the news that a fifteen-year-old would be attending Beacon had warranted a modest article in Vale's leading newspaper. Ruby also had expectations riding on her; Ruby could also not be average if she wanted to prove that she deserved her place at this academy.

There might not be so many apologists ready to blame Sunset's leadership if Ruby screwed up, but Sunset had no doubt that they would be there.

It was the dark flipside of being a leader: if your team succeeded, you got some of the credit; if your team failed, you got all of the blame, especially when you'd lucked into leading a team with the Invincible Girl and the child prodigy.

All of which meant that Sunset Shimmer had work to do.

If Celestia could see me now, having to play well with others in order to get ahead, she'd probably laugh at the irony.

But I'll make it work somehow. It isn't like I have much choice.

She finished applying her eyeshadow and examined herself in the mirror. Was it the face of a leader? Yes it was, for all that the school uniform didn't do much for her.

One day, they won't be able to talk about Pyrrha Nikos without mentioning Sunset Shimmer in the same breath.

She emerged from out of the bathroom with renewed determination to find that Pyrrha was sitting on her bed reading a textbook, while Jaune was reading what looked like a comic.

I'm glad to see someone has their priorities straight.

Ruby was still asleep.

"RIGHT!" Sunset said loudly, clapping her hands together for added emphasis. That woke Ruby up. She started and rolled out of bed to land on the floor with a soft thump.

Pyrrha got to her feet. "Ruby, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ruby groaned.

"Good morning, Team Sapphire," Sunset declared with relish. She got out her scroll and swiped through to the day's schedule that had been uploaded onto the device. "It is now seven o'clock in the morning. The canteen opens in half an hour, classes start at eight; if any of you are late for class, I, as your leader, will get in trouble, and that is not going to happen." She swept her eyes across the three of them. "Do I make myself clear?"

"We didn't come to Beacon to play games, Sunset," Pyrrha replied, in a tone of mild reproach. "None of us are here to neglect our education."

"Just checking," Sunset muttered. She consulted the day's plan again. "We have…we're getting thrown into it today: Grimm Studies at eight, followed by Modern History at nine-thirty, followed by two hours of Personal Combat at ten-thirty, followed by lunch. After lunch, we have two hours of Plant Science, followed by Stealth and Security from three-thirty until four-thirty, then Fieldcraft is our last class of the day. Any questions?"

Ruby raised her hand. "What did you say the first class was again?"

Sunset's tail twitched. "Jaune, get washed and dressed; Ruby, wake yourself up, and I'll go over it all again."

Jaune and Ruby were both quicker to get washed and dressed than Sunset and Pyrrha had been, a consequence of the fact that Jaune was a guy and Ruby didn't seem to worry about things like making herself up. They were both dressed and ready to go by the time the canteen opened, and Sunset led her team out of the dorms. They joined a crowd of other students of all years making their way in the direction, and Sunset could hear them whispering about Pyrrha as Team SAPR made their way into the hall.

"Is that Pyrrha Nikos?"

"Yeah, that's the Invincible Girl from Mistral."

"I heard that she's never even taken a hit."

"She's sure to come top in her year."

"Whoever got her on their team really lucked out."

"And she's gorgeous too."

Pyrrha frowned, and it was all that Sunset could do not to frown herself; not at the whispers, but at Pyrrha's feigned disquiet in response to them. She loved it really; who wouldn't? To be the object of attention wherever you walked, to have every eye and head turn towards you like flowers toward the sun. It was disingenuous in the extreme of Pyrrha to pretend otherwise, and Sunset was already starting to dislike the way she carried on. If she was going to be famous and popular, the least she could do is be honest about how much pleasure she got from it.

It was the same when they reached the cold counter: Pyrrha's face stared up at the pair of them from a box of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes.

"I cannot help but be a little concerned," Pyrrha murmured, "that something like that is being offered for breakfast at an elite academy like this."

Oh, yeah, like that's what you really think. Just admit you love the fact that we can all see your face on it already.

"Does that mean I shouldn't have any?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha glanced at him. "It would probably be better if you had something a little healthier instead," she advised him. Pyrrha herself selected a mixture of sausage and bacon from the hot counter, some fruit from the cold counter, and a glass of orange juice. Sunset was a vegetarian, so she eschewed the meat and stuck with the fruit and a cup of coffee to wake her before first class. Jaune took Pyrrha's advice about the cereal and went for a full breakfast with eggs, hash browns, and black pudding. Ruby did not take Pyrrha's advice and filled up a bowl with a mixture of all the least healthy, most high sugar-content cereals on offer, all lathered in full-fat milk.

"It's a good job you move fast," Sunset muttered, mildly aghast at Ruby's choices.

They sat down at one of the many empty tables, and Sunset was about to make a start when-

"Is this seat taken?"

Sunset looked up to see Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's sister and the expansively-haired leader of Team YRDN, looking down at her.

"Hey, Yang!" Ruby said enthusiastically.

Yang grinned. "Hey there, Rubes," she said, reaching across the table to ruffle Ruby's hair with one hand. She started to sit down, only to stop herself. "Sorry, you didn't-"

"It's fine," Sunset grunted. "Be my guest." Just because they were sat across the table didn't mean she had to speak to them, after all.

"Thanks," Yang said. "Hey guys, over here!" she waved to her team as they followed her into the hall, and eventually, the whole of Team YRDN had chosen their breakfasts and sat down opposite Team SAPR.

"So, this is my team," Yang declared, spreading her arms wide to encompass the three new arrivals at the table. "Dove, Nora, Ren. Guys, this is-"

"Sunset Shimmer," Sunset announced. She noticed that Dove was staring at her. Like, really staring; he hadn't taken his eyes off her ever since she sat down. She put down her spoon. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Dove said, a little too quickly. "I…I've just…I've never seen…" he gestured just above his head.

The ears. Right. Of course it's the ears. Said ears flattened against the top of Sunset's head. "Yeah, well, get over it," she snapped. "I'm a faunus, so what?" She looked down at her bowl of fruit and resumed eating aggressively.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, broken by Pyrrha's soft, melodic voice. "Pyrrha Nikos," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"Likewise," Ren responded calmly.

"This one right here is my little sister, Ruby," Yang said. "And you…Jaune, right?"

"Jaune Arc, yeah."

"You got a girlfriend, Jaune?"

"Yang!" Ruby protested, as Pyrrha glanced at Jaune curiously.

"Well, I mean, not exactly, but- Weiss!" Jaune called out, waving to Weiss Schnee who had just entered the cafeteria. Her team surrounded her like bodyguards, Cardin Winchester in particular looming over her with a particular presence. Flash Sentry looked at the YRDN-SAPR table with a frown of disquiet. Miss Schnee herself glanced at Jaune, and then turned away with her nose in the air, leading her team to a different table some distance away.

Jaune let out a dispirited sigh.

"Eesh, that's gotta be, uh…" Yang muttered apologetically. "I, uh…" she stared at Jaune for a moment, with his head bowed and his face crestfallen. "So, yeah."

"Hey, Yang," Ruby yelled. "You'll never guess what I found in our dorm last night."

"What?"

"It used to be Mom's room!" Ruby cried. "We found their initials and symbols carved into the wall: STRQ, that's Mom and Dad and Uncle Qrow and..." Ruby trailed off, her excited expression suddenly turning embarrassed. Sunset's eyes narrowed. Was Ruby nervous about something? Who was this R, and what was it about her that had this effect on Ruby?

Yang frowned for just a moment, and a shadow passed over her face. "Yeah, and I can guess. But that…that's amazing, Rubes. Like it was meant to be or something."

"You should come by and check it out after classes. We carved our own names up there too, you know, for the future."

Yang grinned. "Sounds cool. I'll swing by and take a look." She reached out and ruffled Ruby's hair again, ignoring her little sister's protest. "I'm proud of you, little sis." The rest of breakfast passed in casual conversation between the two teams, conversation in which Sunset Shimmer took no part.

She said nothing while she ate but cast her gaze across Yang Xiao Long and her teammates. Nora Valkyrie talked too loudly and said too much, while Dove Bronzewing kept on stealing glances her way even though she'd told him not to; Lie Ren was as silent as Sunset herself. And Yang…was there some way that she and Ruby could be separated from one another, emotionally? Could she turn them against one another and ensure that Ruby's loyalty was only with the team and not with her sister? Possibly, but was the reward worth the risk? Quite probably not. If Sunset got caught, then it would shatter the team, not to mention what Yang might do. Sunset didn't know her well enough to say whether picking a fight with her would be a wise idea or not.

She would let it lie for now and see how things played out. If the sisterly closeness started to damage the team, she would act, but for now, she would simply observe.

XxXxX​

Grimm Studies was the first class of the day, taught by Professor Port: a heavyset man with a walrus moustache who felt the need to have a gleaming gold bust of himself in his own classroom. He had also managed the feat, remarkable even by the standards of some of the doddering old unicorns Sunset had had to endure at Canterlot, of sending half the class to sleep by the time he had finished his introduction.

Sunset nudged Ruby with her elbow, perhaps a little harder than she had intended, in order to wake her up before her snoring became too obvious. Just because the professor was restating the obvious, that Vale and the other three kingdoms were safe havens of humanity, didn't mean that they weren't going to get on to the meat of the subject soon.

"But first," Professor Port declared, "a story."

Jaune groaned. Ruby bowed her head. Even Pyrrha, though she presented the image of a model student, seemed to be somewhat disheartened by those words.

Sunset gripped her pen a little tighter and prepared to take notes.

"A story of a brave, handsome man," Professor Port continued. "Me. When I was a boy…"

Sunset scribbled away as he talked, using a shorthand that she had developed in order to keep up with Princess Celestia's lectures. She glanced at her team, seated to her right, out of the corner of her eye: Ruby was doodling some kind of picture; Pyrrha was taking notes half-heartedly and sparsely; Jaune looked like he'd fallen asleep.

Sunset rolled her eyes. Didn't they get it? Hadn't they ever had a teacher who conveyed their lessons through stories before? Celestia used to do it all the time. Admittedly, Port wasn't telling his story very well, and Sunset couldn't say for certain what the lessons that he was trying to convey were, but that was why she was taking notes on everything that he seemed to focus on: so that she could read it back later and get the point.

If she had to guess, right now, Sunset would have said that it had something to do with the grimm rattling around in the cage in the corner of the classroom.

He's telling a story about a boarbatusk, and then he's going to let a boarbatusk out into the classroom, and we're going to have to use the knowledge from his story to kill it.

"Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter, he said…'"

And here comes the useful bit.

She gave Ruby another hard nudge and gestured angrily for her to pay attention.

Ruby just grinned as she showed off a stick figure drawing of Professor Port, complete with smell lines.

Sunset let out a faint groan. Leading this team is going to be hard work, isn't it?

What was that you said about nobody being here to neglect their education, Pyrrha?

"The moral of the story," Professor Port said.

Ah, here we go.

"A true huntsman must be honourable."

Honour? We're fighting monsters, not other people, and even if we were fighting other people, then what matter honour so long as we win? Are we supposed to bow to the creatures of grimm and offer them the chance to take the first shot?

This isn't going to be like all of those times when Celestia would tell a story and then finish up by telling me the importance of friendship even though that made no sense at all, is it?

"A true huntsman must be dependable."

Weiss Schnee sniffed, and when Sunset glanced at her, she saw the white-haired girl was looking sceptically down upon Team SAPR.

Oh, like your team is so much better? You've got a guy who wouldn't even stand up for his girlfriend on your team; what gives you any right to talk about dependability?

"A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise."

Sunset smirked at Weiss, just to pay her back for that little sniff. Judging by the scowl on her face, Weiss didn't appreciate it too much.

"So, who among you believe yourselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Sunset's and Weiss' hands shot up into the air at the exact same time. "I do, sir!"

The two of them looked at one another. Weiss' expression, from where she sat high up in the back of the classroom, looking down on Sunset, seemed to suggest that she ought to back down in favour of the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.

Bite my tail, you jumped-up tradesman's daughter. This is my first chance to show what I can do, and I'm not going to yield place to you.

"Oho, eagerness!" Professor Port declared jovially. "Always a pleasure to see that the future huntresses who will defend our kingdom are raring to go. Alright, Miss Shimmer, step forward and face your opponent."

Better luck next time, Weiss.

One quick change later, and Sunset was out of uniform and back into her leather jacket and jeans, with Sol Invictus in her hands as she stood facing the cage with the boarbatusk inside.

Someone neighed at her. Sunset ignored them; greatness attracted envy, but the jealousy of lesser creatures was something that she had dealt with from her earliest youth.

"Go Sunset!" Ruby cheered. "Represent Team Sapphire!"

"I plan to," Sunset murmured. And in so doing, represent myself.

Professor Port smashed the lock with a single swing of his axe, and from out of the darkness of the cage burst the expected boarbatusk.

It charged at her, snarling and snorting.

No time to shoot. Sunset dropped to one knee, resting the stock of Sol Invictus on the ground, keeping the bayonet pointed at the swiftly onrushing boarbatusk.

The grimm was almost upon her, all four of its eyes gleaming as it leapt.

Sunset flicked the switch that extended the bayonet outwards like a spear, the blade shooting out on the end of eight feet of steel pole. The boarbatusk was struck in mid-leap, and though the blow didn't break through the armoured mask that covered its face, it did knock it back, squealing as its trotters kicked at the air.

Sunset grabbed it, enveloping it with a soft green glow and holding it in place with telekinesis, keeping the soft underbelly of the beast presented as she drove her spear into its guts.

"Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training."

Of course you are, Sunset thought. Was there ever any doubt?

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today," Professor Port added. "Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant!"

Sunset walked quickly over to the front row where the rest of her team was sitting. "I need to go and change back into my uniform, drop my weapon off," she said, as the rest of the class already began to file out. "Can you find your way to the next class without me?"

"Uh-" Jaune began.

"I'll make sure they get there," Pyrrha said calmly.

"Right," Sunset said. She should probably have thanked the other girl, but she didn't quite have it in her to do so. She turned away and walked briskly out of the classroom and back towards the amphitheatre to get changed back into her uniform.

You know, in some ways, it would be easier if we didn't have to bother with uniforms.

Nevertheless, she managed, by dint of a great deal of running, to get back to the amphitheatre, change back into her uniform, and make it to the Modern History lecture just a couple of minutes late.

She burst in. "Professor, I-"

"Ah, Miss Sunset Shimmer, yes?" she was interrupted and addressed by a tall, thin man with bushy green hair brushed behind him, his eyes concealed beneath a pair of opaque glasses.

Sunset straightened up. "Yes, Professor."

"Never fear, Miss Shimmer, I'm well aware that Professor Port likes to engage his students in practical exercises on the first day of class, and Miss Nikos informed me of it as well. Congratulations on your victory."

"Thank you, Professor."

The green-haired professor sipped something out of a cup in his hand. "Now, take your seat. We've been waiting for you, so you haven't missed anything."

Sunset nodded. "Thank you, Professor." She made her way to the second row, where Ruby was waving to her.

"Oh, and Miss Shimmer?"

Sunset half turned back to the teacher. "Yes, Professor."

"It's Doctor Oobleck," he informed her.

"My apologies, Doctor," Sunset said, with a bow of her head.

"Just something to bear in mind for the future, Miss Shimmer," Doctor Oobleck said. As Sunset sat down, she could see that his classroom was a bit of a mess, with books and papers scattered all over the place, some of them opened, while cups nestled in between them. She didn't really want to know if there was anything in the cups or not. The board was covered by a map of Remnant and its kingdoms, with various infocards pinned to significant locations on said map, all joined together with lines of red string. Sunset was at a loss as to what it was all supposed to mean.

Doctor Oobleck took another sip from out of his cup. "Now then," he declared, moving swiftly from one side of the lecture hall to another. "As you are all, I hope, aware, this world is currently living through an unparalleled era of peace and prosperity. To what do we owe this miracle, which to the peoples of an earlier age might have appeared an impossible dream?"

Sunset did not raise her hand. She was not sufficiently sure of the answer and didn't want to make a fool of herself. None of her teammates made any move to raise their hands either. Three students, however, did raise their hands: Flash, Weiss Schnee, and Lyra Heartstrings.

Sunset noted that they were all Atlesians. Oh, I know what's coming next, don't I?

It was all she could do not to put her head in her hands.

"Yes!" Doctor Oobleck said, gesturing with his stick at Weiss. "Miss Schnee?"

"To the strength of Atlas, Doctor," Weiss said primly. "Which protects and defends all other kingdoms and guards them from harm."

Doctor Oobleck did not respond to her immediately. He drank some more out of his cup, slurping loudly. "Are you by any chance acquainted socially with General Ironwood, Miss Schnee?"

Weiss looked a little surprised by the question. "He…has been a guest of my father upon occasion, yes, Doctor," she admitted, "and my elder sister is a specialist in the Atlesian military."

Good for her. Then why didn't you follow her to Atlas where you could chill out with Rainbow Dash and the other patriots instead of inflicting that nonsense on us?

"Mister Sentry, Miss Heartstrings, did you have anything else to add to Miss Schnee?" Doctor Oobleck asked.

"No, Doctor," Flash said. "Everyone knows that Atlas has its arms around the other kingdoms with its power."

"Then what are you doing here?" Sunset muttered.

Doctor Oobleck didn't hear her, or else he pretended not to. Rather, he replied to his Atlesian students. "An answer that would satisfy many an Atlesian officer, I'm sure, but as you will learn in this class, historical truth is rarely reducible to propaganda points." He turned away. "Now, we shall begin with-"

Pyrrha cleared her throat and raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Nikos?"

"Are you not intending to answer your own question, Doctor?"

Doctor Oobleck smiled. "The answer, Miss Nikos, is the subject of this class. This year, we shall cover a complete overview of the eighty years of history from the end of the Great War until the present time; future years will deepen your understanding of key moments in that history. By the time you graduate from these halls, you will have as good an understanding of how our world has reached its present state and condition as anyone in Remnant and more than most, for surely, no one can be so apathetic as not to want to know by what means and under what system our world became as we now find it."

Sunset looked at her teammates, two of whom looked distinctly bored. Surely no one.

"Of course, my apologies, Doctor," Pyrrha said.

"No need to apologise for paying attention, Miss Nikos," Doctor Oobleck assured her. "Now, as I was saying: the situation at the end of the Great War. The Great War ended in what year?"

The hands of Sunset, Pyrrha, Weiss and Sky Lark rose into the air.

Doctor Oobleck considered. "Mister Lark."

"2040," Sky said.

"Correct, Mister Lark," Doctor Oobleck said. "And if you were paying attention in Combat School, then none of you should have any difficulty telling me the decisive battle of the war."

Despite the fact that Doctor Oobleck had just said that this was something he would expect any of his students to be able to answer, nevertheless, the only hands that went up in the air belonged to Pyrrha, Weiss, and Sunset.

"Miss Nikos?" Doctor Oobleck pointed to her.

"The Battle of Four Sovereigns," Pyrrha declared. "After which the monarchs of Mantle, Mistral, and Vacuo all laid down their crowns and prostrated themselves in submission to the King of Vale."

How many of your ancestors were there, I wonder? Sunset thought.

"Correct, Miss Nikos, and who can tell me what happened next, Miss Schnee?"

"The signing of the Vytal Treaty," Weiss said primly.

"First, the King of Vale accepted the surrender of his fellow monarchs but refused to take their crowns for himself," Sunset argued. In other words, he was a bit of a fool.

"Both of you are correct," Doctor Oobleck said, which Sunset felt was being rather generous to Weiss Schnee. Probably because of her name.

Sunset considered herself to be gifted in the academic subjects; she considered herself to be so because she was. She had been top or near the top of her classes in the Canterlots of both worlds, and she had done the prep work so that she would not fall behind here at Beacon.

And by the end of the class, she felt pretty confident that she would not fall behind. History seemed to arouse little passion in the majority of the class, who could barely be prodded to respond to Doctor Oobleck's questions, or perhaps it was just that they were nervous about raising their hand or feared to look too keen in front of the rest of the class. Sunset had known both types of ponies in one Canterlot and both types of humans in the other: the ones who didn't like the attention and the ones who feared to be thought as uncool or eggheads. Both, in Sunset's opinion, were more contemptible than those who simply didn't know or didn't want to do the work. If you didn't have the courage to stand up in front of other students, how would you have the courage to face the grimm?

In any event, Doctor Oobleck's lecture, which he had announced would cover the situation at the end of the Great War, kept doubling back into the war itself to cover from a different angle some of the material from the last days of Combat School.

As to being top of the class…suffice it to say that by the end of the class, Sunset knew who her academic rivals were.

After history, it was combat class, and the freshman students trooped down to the amphitheatre, where Professor Goodwitch was waiting for them in the locker rooms.

Getting changed – again – into her combat outfit in front of all the boys was a reminder to Sunset of what a strange place this school was compared to the norm amongst humans. She couldn't help but wonder if the refusal of any of the SAPR girls to get dressed in front of Jaune, or conversely to have him undress in front of them, was an anomaly here and not the norm? How did the other teams, all of which were mixed gender, do it?

Perhaps it depended on nothing more than the nature of the girls concerned. Yang seemed to be positively lapping up the male attention, and Sunset, having been raised in a mostly naked society, wasn't too concerned about what other people saw. On the other hand, Pyrrha did seem rather uncomfortable about it all, and Ruby even more so. It looked as though she was trying to hide behind her locker door; unfortunately it only shielded her on one side.

Sunset's heart was not made of stone. She had been betrayed, abused, taught the folly of caring too much for others, but that didn't make her completely without sympathy for anyone other than herself. She might not like Ruby very much, but she didn't deserve to have to put up with being ogled by the likes of that spiky-haired lowlife or Sunset's jerk ex; he didn't appear to be looking, but after the way he'd treated Sunset, she wouldn't put anything past him.

Although she was only half-dressed in jeans and a bra, Sunset nevertheless crossed the locker room to where Ruby stood and leaned against the locker frame and door, looming over Ruby an unavoidable amount as she physically blocked her from the view of anyone else in the room.

"Sunset?" Ruby asked, looking up at her.

"Don't worry," Sunset said gruffly. "They can't see you anymore."

It seemed to take Ruby a moment to understand what she meant. "Thank you," she squeaked.

"Whatever," Sunset grunted.

Once everyone had changed into their combat gear, Professor Goodwitch gathered them all together to give them some instructions on the lockers themselves.

"You have each been assigned one rocket propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armour," Professor Goodwitch explained. "Additionally, your locker can be summoned to your position via your scroll or sent to a custom location via a six digit code."

Sunset raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Shimmer?"

"Why would we ever want to send our lockers away from where we are by entering a code into them personally?" Sunset asked.

"You may wish to send your teammate their equipment, Miss Shimmer, if they are unable to summon it themselves," Professor Goodwitch replied. "For example, if they are engaged in combat and cannot-"

A series of panicked, spluttering cries interrupted Professor Goodwitch and drew Sunset's attention to the very back of the cluster of students and to Jaune, who was being stuffed into his own locker by Cardin Winchester.

"No! Wait! Get me out of here!" Jaune yelled as Cardin entered a six-digit code into the holographic display. "Don't do it!"

Cardin stepped back with a smug look on his face as Jaune's locker started to take off. Trailing blue smoke, the locker ascended... about a foot up off the ground, where it stopped, enveloped in a glow of green energy.

Sunset scowled as he stretched out her magic to hold the locker in place. She could feel the locker straining against her; she didn't need to see the blue smoke expanding across the floor to be able to feel the pressure on it to ascend upwards as commanded. It was taking a lot of power to hold it steady; telekinesis was one thing, but matching magic against kinetic energy was something else altogether. Sunset could already feel a headache coming on, a throbbing in her head from keeping Jaune in place against the full force of the rocket trying to carry him away.

"Pyrrha! Ruby!" the pain in her head sharpened her voice like her bayonet. "One of you get him out of there!"

Pyrrha was the first one to reach the locker, shoving Cardin roughly aside as she held up her spear, Milo. "Jaune, is your aura activated?"

"…yes?"

"Good. I'm sorry," Pyrrha said, as with a single strong thrust she jammed Milo into the locker door and used it like a crowbar to lever said door open. She and Ruby pulled Jaune out of the locker, or rather, he tumbled out into their waiting arms, at which point Sunset could stop holding it still and let the locker fly off to wherever Cardin had sent it.

Jaune's spare gear fell out of it as it fell, but it would only be scattered across school grounds. Hopefully.

Sunset clutched at her head with one hand, while Jaune coughed from the blue smoke that had pooled on the floor as a result of the rocket.

"Would have been more fun to watch him fly," Cardin muttered, before flinching away in the face of Pyrrha's furious glare.

Sunset stalked forwards, the headache from how she'd just exerted herself making her feel even fouler than the act itself and lending greater pronouncement to her scowl. Celestia had lied to her, and a lot of what she'd tried to teach Sunset had been complete and utter nonsense, but she had taught Sunset a little about noblesse oblige: you had to protect your servants, or they wouldn't serve you for very long.

And besides, she hated letting other people mess with her stuff.

Her hands clenched into fists. "If you-"

"That's quite enough," the voice of Professor Goodwitch was not loud, but it was firm enough to reduce all others to silence. "Mister Winchester, perhaps a detention will give you time to think about why your unprovoked attack on a fellow student was unbecoming of a huntsman in training."

Cardin growled wordlessly.

"And for you too, Miss Schnee," Professor Goodwitch added.

Weiss gasped. "Professor! I did-"

"Nothing," Professor Goodwitch finished for her. "You did nothing to control your teammate, the behaviour of whom reflects upon you. I believe Professor Ozpin informed you of this fact yesterday."

Weiss' face contorted with outrage. "Professor, I…" she appeared to control herself with great effort. "I feel," she continued, her voice much calmer and more prim, "that it is deeply unfair to punish me for not intervening in a situation in which you yourself failed to intervene."

Professor Goodwitch stared at her. "That is a very bold assertion, Miss Schnee," she said, in a voice that was hard and rather cold. And then it seemed to Sunset that she smirked a little. "However, boldness can sometimes be an effective strategy. Very well, Miss Schnee, you are excused from detention. This time. But don't let this happen again." She turned her gaze upon Team SAPR before she continued. "Team Sapphire, you would do very well to build upon the level of teamwork that you just displayed."

Cardin looked even more incensed than he had seemed before. "Professor-"

"Yes, Mister Winchester?" Professor Goodwitch demanded, staring at him from over the top of her spectacles.

"…Nothing," he muttered.

"The pony probably wants a sugar lump," Russell said.

"Russell! Cardin! That's enough out of both of you!" Weiss snapped, in a voice that cracked like a whip. Sunset had to concede that she was impressed at the way that Weiss managed the difficult feat of looking down at someone who was nearly twice her height. "Need I remind you that your actions reflect not only upon yourself, but also on this team? I have no intention of being dragged down by a pair of primates like you." She glared at them both, as if daring them to speak. When they did not, she turned away and advanced primly across the locker room towards SAPR.

The cold blue eyes of the Schnee heiress swept over Ruby and Jaune and lingered for a moment on Pyrrha. She looked Sunset, and her nose wrinkled in distaste. Her jaw clenched for a moment before she held out her hand. "On behalf of my primeval teammates, I apologise," she said, and if she had left it there, then it might have been alright, except that she felt the need to add, "however, I must say that if your teammate is so weak that he can be treated in such a way, then perhaps he should reconsider his place at Beacon."

Jaune looked shame-faced, and it was Ruby who spoke for him, crying, "That's not fair; Jaune was taken by surprise and-"

"And do you expect the grimm to announce their presence before attacking?" Weiss asked. "He should have been more vigilant."

Cardin's not a grimm, Sunset thought. Most grimm are better looking than he is.

"Vigilance is one thing, but that is not the kind of behaviour one should expect from comrades in arms," Pyrrha declared.

"Of course not, but-"

"Look, if you want to apologise then apologise," Sunset snapped, "but I'm not interested in hearing this, and I doubt anyone else is either."

Weiss recoiled. "Who are you to-? Fine." She folded her arms. "I feel sorry for you, Pyrrha, to be held back by a team like this. It's such a shame." She walked away before anyone from SAPR could respond.

"Don't listen to her, Jaune," Ruby said encouragingly.

"Anyone can be taken by surprise," Pyrrha said.

Jaune didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue the point. He just stood there looking crestfallen, although whether it was due to his perceived weakness or because his crush had just burned him, Sunset could not have said.

Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat. "If you are all quite finished," she said, with obvious impatience in her voice, "please follow me into the amphitheatre proper, where we will begin."

The amphitheatre was a little more brightly lit than it had been when they had all received their dubious welcome from Professor Ozpin, so that Sunset could actually see her fellow students as they made their way inside. She could also see a balcony level set above them, so that people could look down upon the stage from above. Down below, a lot of flat, armless benches had been set up, each one large enough for four people to sit side by side, so the students could watch what was about to unfold.

The students didn't wait to be told to sit down. They took seats by their teams as Professor Goodwitch mounted the stage.

"Welcome, students, to your sparring class," she said. "In these sessions, you will be trained to combat other huntsmen; it is regrettable, but even in the present era of peace, you must be prepared for the possibility that you will be called upon to face a fellow huntsman fallen from the path of righteousness or an enemy trained in the use of their aura. In these classes, I will endeavour to arm you against just such a possibility, as well as preparing you for the Vytal Festival, which will be held at the end of this year. Any team fortunate enough to be selected to compete in the combat tournament will be representing the honour of Beacon Academy and the Kingdom of Vale, and I will not watch as this school or this kingdom is let down by subpar students.

"Before we begin the class proper, it has become something of a tradition for me to extend an offer to all of you new students, an invitation open to anyone who wished to take it up. If any of you can defeat me in a sparring match, then they will be excused from my combat class for the rest of their time here at Beacon. Does anyone feel up to the challenge?"

Nobody leapt out of their seats. Sunset would have dearly liked to have taken her up on the offer, more for the prestige than for the free periods, but her assessment of her own strengths was still sufficiently realistic to stay her hand.

She glanced at Pyrrha. Now if only we had a teammate who had never lost a fight in her life.

When Pyrrha showed no signs of movement, Sunset gave her a nudge.

Pyrrha looked at her. "Sunset?"

"Go on," Sunset hissed, gesturing to the stage.

Pyrrha shook her head. "I would rather not."

"Why not?"

"Because it's rather presumptive, don't you think?"

"You've never lost!"

"Against my peers," Pyrrha reminded her, gently but firmly.

"Miss Shimmer? Miss Nikos?" Professor Goodwitch said. "Do either of you plan to avail yourselves of this opportunity?"

"No, thank you, Professor," Pyrrha said. "I would never presume so much."

The fact that even Pyrrha Nikos, the Pride of Mistral, thought that this was an impossible challenge seemed to cast a pall over the entire class. Nobody got up.

Until Bon Bon, of all people, rose to her feet. "I'll give it a try, Professor," she said. "I could use the extra time for my homework." Her friend Lyra covered her mouth with one hand as she chuckled at the weak gag.

Professor Goodwitch raised one eyebrow curiously. "Very well, Miss Bonaventure. Please, join me on stage."

Bon Bon was armoured from head to toe in armour as white as an Atlesian uniform, giving it an almost adamantine look as she strode, her armour clanking just a little, up onto the stage. In one hand, she held a morningstar, Sirius, the chain bundled up in her hand.

She faced their teacher warily.

Sunset leaned forward. Bon Bon had never impressed her as one of the best students in Canterlot; did she really think that she was up to this?

Professor Goodwitch said, "You may begin when ready, Miss Bonaventure."

Bon Bon took a clanking step forward, swinging Sirius around beside her in a series of wide arcs before casting it towards Professor Goodwitch, who sidestepped the flying ball of spikes as it flew past her head.

She grabbed the chain as easily as plucking a rose from a bush.

Professor Goodwitch heaved upon the chain, pulling it and Bon Bon too straight towards her. The professor ducked as the armoured girl flew over her head and off the other side of the stage.

"In an official match, leaving the arena is cause for disqualification," Professor Goodwitch informed them calmly as Bon Bon hit the floor with a thump and a groan. "Therefore, Miss Bonaventure has just been defeated." She looked at her. "Is there anything you would like to add, Miss Bonaventure?"

It had all taken a matter of seconds. The students were deathly silent as Bon Bon picked herself up off the floor. To Sunset's surprise, she was grinning sheepishly. She scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Can't blame me for trying, right, Professor?" she said, which caused a wave of mild laughter to spread across the amphitheatre as all the tension that had gathered there was dissipated instantly. Even Professor Goodwitch herself seemed mildly amused.

"Ambition is always laudable, but in real combat, one should temper it with a degree of caution. Now, we shall start off very simply with a series of one-on-one matches. I will observe, gauge your strengths and weaknesses, and offer any advice where necessary." She consulted her scroll, tapping it silently. The students waited, expectantly.

"Will Mister Jaune Arc and Miss Lyra Heartstrings please come up onto the stage?" Professor Goodwitch asked, in a voice that made it seem like much less of a request.

"Good luck, Jaune," Ruby said.

"Just do your best," Pyrrha urged.

Sunset didn't say anything.

"Aren't you going to wish him luck?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune made his way hesitantly up onto the stage.

"He doesn't need luck," Sunset replied. "He's up against Lyra Heartstrings."

"You know her?" Pyrrha said.

"She was at Canterlot with me," Sunset explained. "Trust me; he's got nothing to worry about."

The two combatants looked equally matched in nerves as they climbed up onto the stage. Lyra Heartstrings had eyes of gold and hair of blue-green streaked with white. She was swathed in a cloak of blue, pink, and burgundy, from beneath which only a pair of dark burgundy boots protruded.

Until she drew her sword, a simple sword of a falcata type, and held it before her in a low guard.

Jaune drew his sword and unfolded his shield. He raised his blade high and held his shield before him.

"Shield up," Pyrrha murmured.

Sunset frowned. "He needs it to protect his belly, doesn't he?" Certainly, his armour wasn't going to protect him; it only covered his chest, a lot like Sunset's own breastplate.

The shake of Pyrrha's head was almost imperceptible. "The shield is a weapon, not something to hide behind."

Professor Goodwitch stepped off the stage as the lights went down everywhere but on the stage itself. "Begin!" she commanded.

It soon became apparent that Sunset had either underestimated Lyra all this time or else she had overestimated Jaune quite a bit.

She was inclined to think it was the latter. His swings were clumsy, amateurish, the techniques of someone who had seen sword-fighting on stage or in movies and mistaken it for the real thing. He charged at Lyra, roaring with aggression, or at least with the appearance of aggression, and such telegraphed movements that Lyra was able to dodge his every attack, her cloak of many colours swirling around her. Lyra hadn't been the strongest student in Canterlot by any means, nor had she been the fastest, but she had the basics of her technique down, and that was enough to let her evade Jaune's ill-thought out assaults and subject him to death by a thousand cuts. Her sword struck out again and again to rip away at Jaune's aura until the bar on the stage that displayed its level had dipped into the red and Professor Goodwitch called the match.

"In a tournament style duel," she explained. "Mister Arc's aura dropping into the red indicates that he is no longer able to continue, and Miss Heartstrings stands victorious." Lyra's aura had not been diminished at all. "Mister Arc," Professor Goodwitch continued, as Jaune slumped on stage. "I advise you to work on your technique." She didn't specify which part of his technique, probably because it was all of it.

Jaune made his way back to the rest of the team with heavy, dejected steps, his feet dragging as if they had been weighted down.

"That was…unfortunate," Pyrrha said.

"You got unlucky," Ruby told him.

Sunset folded her arms and didn't join in the comforting nonsense. Couldn't even beat Lyra Heartstrings. What am I going to do with you?

The class continued in that vein, with Professor Goodwitch calling up students onto the stage and having them fight until the aura of one or other of them went into the red.

When it was Ruby's turn to be called up, to face Nora Valkyrie, it was Sunset's first time seeing her in action, her battle outside the dust shop having taken place while Sunset was preoccupied.

She had to say, by the time Ruby was done, Sunset could see why Professor Ozpin had let her into Beacon two years early. Nora just couldn't keep up with her speed, and the match ended with Nora being flung up into the air amidst a burst of rose petals swirling around her like drops of blood before Ruby rematerialised above her opponent to fire a shot from her monstrous gun straight into Nora's gun that hurled her back down to the ground hard enough to break the stage.

"Woah!" Jaune cried. "Go, Ruby!"

"Congratulations, Miss Rose," Professor Goodwitch said, as she repaired the stage with a swish of her riding crop. "You used your semblance very well. Miss Valkyrie, in this particular situation, your best approach might have been to attempt to disrupt the terrain."

"You mean I could have smashed up the stage?" Nora asked eagerly. "Wow, I'll remember that one, Professor."

"I'm sure you will," Professor Goodwitch replied dryly.

The fights continued. Weiss Schnee defeated Sky Lark of Team BLBL, while Blake Belladonna of BLBL defeated Lie Ren; Yang Xiao Long cleaned up against Cardin Winchester; Flash defeated Bon Bon without too much difficulty. Pyrrha took down Russell Thrush so quickly it was over practically before Professor Goodwitch had finished saying "begin".

And then…

"Miss Shimmer, Mister Bronzewing, please come up on stage," Professor Goodwitch said.

"Good luck, Sunset," Ruby said.

The skilled don't need luck, Sunset thought, as she picked up her gun and made her way briskly up onto the stage.

She gripped Sol Invictus tightly in her hands, feeling the varnished wood against her palms as she stared at her opponent. Dove Bronzewing held a short sword in one hand, a gunblade by the look of it; Sunset didn't think it could hold many rounds, though, with the hilt being as short as it was. His free hand was empty.

Sunset's tail swished back and forth. Dove's eyes, as far as it was possible to tell with that squint of his, seemed to be drawn to it.

Sunset's ears flattened in anger. Couldn't he just get over it already? Even if he had never seen a faunus before, it wasn't like she had two heads.

He must have noticed the scowl of her face, because Dove tensed up visibly.

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch commanded.

Sunset raised Sol Invictus to her shoulder, snapping off two shots in quick succession. Dove blocked them with his sword in swift slashing motions through the air, then levelled his blade point first toward Sunset to fire a trio of rounds off at her in turn. Sunset's hand glowed green as a shield of energy appeared in front of her, a shield against which Dove's bullets thudded as if into sandbags. They dropped to the floor, hitting the stage with three clinking sounds.

Dove charged. Sunset dropped her shield and let him come. She fired a third shot, and again, Dove parried the bullet aside as he dashed forward. Sunset stepped forward to meet him, slower than he was running towards her. Dove slashed at her with his sword. Sunset caught the blow on the wooden stock of Sol Invictus and turned it aside, reversing her weapon to crack Dove on the side of the head with the butt of the rifle. Dove staggered sideways. Sunset followed him, driving the butt directly into his forehead to push him back. She reversed her weapon again, taking aim to shoot him. Dove grabbed the rifle barrel as he twisted aside. Sunset let out a squawk as she was pulled forwards and off balance. Dove slashed at her, his blade slicing across her side and taking a piece of her aura with it. He threw her to the ground, but Sunset kept a grip on her weapon as she rolled across the stage. She fired her three remaining bullets at him, and he was out of position to parry them, two of them struck him, and he only managed to bat the last one away. His aura was in the yellow now, while Sunset's was still in the green.

Dove levelled his gunblade.

Sunset flung her rifle at him, guiding it by telekinesis like a spear to slam into his gut hard enough to knock him over and onto his back.

"And that's the match," Professor Goodwitch declared. "Miss Shimmer, while discarding your weapon allowed you to claim victory, in a more chaotic battle, I wouldn't recommend disarming yourself as a tactic. Mister Bronzewing, I suggest you consider how to handle an opponent with longer reach in future; however, there was a moment when you had the advantage, if you had capitalised on it by pressing home with greater alacrity, victory may have been yours."

Dove grunted as he got to his feet. "Yes, Professor."

"I don't want any of the victors of these matches to be too complacent or any of those defeated to become despondent," Professor Goodwitch said, her voice carrying across the amphitheatre. "This is only your first day of school, after all. Those who rest upon their laurels may find themselves being overtaken by those are prepared to work hard and practice. Equally, those who are willing to persist and learn from their mistakes may easily surpass those who grow overconfident in their current level of skill. That's all, class is dismissed."

Sunset leapt down off the stage, to be met by her team as they rose from their seats.

"You did very well, Sunset," Pyrrha said.

Coming from someone who had wrapped up her fight in mere seconds without taking so much as a single hit, Sunset couldn't help but find that just a little condescending. And she didn't need condescension from Pyrrha Nikos, even if she had a list of accomplishments as long as Sunset's arm.

It was all that she could do not to let Pyrrha know it too, but instead, Sunset merely huffed and said nothing as the rest of her team got up and headed back to the locker rooms.

Ruby hesitated. "Uh...Sunset…"

"I'll be there in a minute," Sunset replied, quietly so that they couldn't be overhead too widely. "I just need to have a word with Professor Goodwitch."

For that reason, Sunset lingered as the rest of the class filed out, waiting in the amphitheatre until all the rest were gone.

Professor Goodwitch looked down on her from the stage. "Is something wrong, Miss Shimmer?"

"Not exactly, Professor," Sunset said. She hesitated, wondering how the best way to approach this was.

"Please bear in mind that this is also my lunch break, Miss Shimmer," Professor Goodwitch said impatiently.

Direct, then. Okay. "Professor, I don't know why this school has a unisex changing room, and for all I know there might be a good reason for it-"

"The reason, Miss Shimmer, is to accustom you all to the rigors of the field, where you may - almost certainly will - have to work alongside huntsmen of the opposite sex without the luxury of segregated facilities. I understand that it may be a shock to you, but if you are unable to bear even this-"

"This isn't about me, Professor; I can put up with it," Sunset said. "But Ruby's just a kid, and I...I'm not sure that it's right that she should have put up with being...ogled by guys a few years older than she is."

Professor Goodwitch's eyes narrowed. "If there has been any harassment, Miss Shimmer, you can rest assured that if you give me the perpetrator's name, it will be dealt with swiftly. Such behaviour is not tolerated here at Beacon."

"I'm not sure I'd call it harassment," Sunset admitted. "It's just...she doesn't like it, and her age, I'm not sure that's her fault."

Professor Goodwitch was silent for a moment. "Perhaps allowance ought to be made for Miss Rose's youth," she said. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Miss Shimmer. I will consider what is to be done."

Sunset nodded her head. "Thank you, Professor." She turned to head into the locker room.

"Miss Shimmer?" Professor Goodwitch called.

Sunset stopped and turned back towards the stage.

"You're off to a good start," Professor Goodwitch said. "Keep it up."

 

[ScipioSmith]

The First Step, Part Two​

After combat class came lunch, with a variety of options ranging in health as great as the choices had been at breakfast. Pyrrha clearly found the meat options, between chicken nuggets or hamburger, too heavily processed for her palate, and chose a salad; Sunset did likewise on more principled grounds, but she probably lost all of the benefits of a healthy lunch by having the dessert, an apple pie slathered in a thick layer of custard, school custard what was more, which meant that it was fluorescent yellow and at least twice as thick and gloopy as it ought to have been. Jaune went for the chicken nuggets and fries, while Ruby decided to have cookies for lunch and apparently nothing else.

It was a really good thing that she was fast.

Just like breakfast, Team SAPR shared a table with Team YRDN. Or at least, that seemed to be the plan as the two teams sat down together at one of the empty tables in the cafeteria, Team SAPR ranged upon the right and Team YRDN arrayed upon the left. Then they were joined by someone else.

"Hey, guys, is this seat taken?" Bon Bon asked as she sat down on the left of Yang, who sat at the end of Team YRDN's line.

Yang looked a little surprised, but not put out. She said, "No, help yourself."

"Great," Bon Bon said, ignoring the fact that she had already sat down before being allowed to do so. She was swiftly joined on her own left by Lyra Heartstrings. No sooner had Lyra sat than she helped herself to one of the chips on Bon Bon's plate.

"I mean," Bon Bon went on, "just because we're on different teams doesn't mean that we're not on the same big team, right?"

Pyrrha nodded. "We are all comrades, united in the light against the darkness."

"I think it's a great idea," Jaune said. He got to his feet as though he'd been stung by a wasp. "Hey, Sunset! Switch places with me."

"What? Why?" Sunset demanded.

Lyra snatched another chip off Bon Bon's plate.

"Hey, Weiss," Jaune called, as Team WWSR walked down the aisle between the two tables. He gestured to the empty spaces on Sunset's right, and now, she understood why Jaune wanted to switch places. "First year table?"

"No!" Sunset snapped, her voice cracking like a whip.

Ruby looked up at her. "Sunset?"

"I am not having him sit with us," Sunset snarled, pointing at Flash Sentry, who stood frozen in place, feigning discomfort.

"Sunset," he said, "I know that our teams have gotten off on the wrong foot, but maybe if we-"

"This isn't about our teams!" Sunset yelled. "This is about me knowing what you really are, and wanting nothing to do with it."

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Weiss spoke, her voice clipped. "Thank you for the offer," she said, the words sounding as though they were being dragged out of her with forceps, "but I believe we can find our own table and don't need to trouble you. Come on." She walked away briskly, her wedge heels clicking on the floor. Cardin sneered at Jaune as he walked past, but did nothing more than that. Flash looked apologetic, but said nothing more.

Sunset watched Flash his teammates, keeping her eye on him as he sat down opposite Weiss.

Lyra popped another of Bon Bon's chips into her mouth.

"That was kinda harsh, don't you think?" Jaune demanded.

Sunset ignored that as she sat down.

"What did you mean?" Yang asked. "About knowing who that guy really was?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Sunset growled.

"Okay, fine, I won't ask," Yang replied, holding up her hands in a pacific gesture, "but he seemed to be talking sense to me. No need to make enemies on the first day of school."

I'll make as many enemies as I like, so long as I can be stronger than them when it matters, then I'll be fine. And if you think Flash is so great, then maybe you should try dating him. Actually no, don't, nobody is allowed to go near Flash Sentry.

If you think he's any good then you're a fool, but I still don't want you involved with him.

Stay away from my boyfriend, blondie.

"Are we all sitting together now?" Blake Belladonna asked, in a tone that concealed whatever thoughts she might have upon the subject.

"Apparently," Sunset grunted.

"Apart from Team Relationship Drama over there," Yang added, jabbing a thumb in the direction of Team WWSR.

"At the risk of sounding uncharitable, I think that we may be best off without the presence of some of those people," Pyrrha said, her tone laced with disapproval.

Blake and Sky sat down beside Sunset, opposite the other half of their team.

Lyra stole another fry from Bon Bon.

"Will you stop that?" Bon Bon snapped. "If you wanted fries, then why didn't you get the fries?"

"Because I'm not supposed to have fries, you know that," Lyra reasoned.

"Then why…" Bon Bon stopped. "Here, just have all the fries, okay?" She dumped all of her remaining chips on Lyra's plate.

"Aww, thanks Bon Bon," Lyra said warmly. "You're a good friend." She patted Bon Bon on the shoulder and proceeded to dig in.

Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "Anyone who wants to complain about their partner: this is what I have to put up with."

Yang laughed. "So, you two know each other?"

"Yep," Lyra said, in between eating fries. "We went to Canterlot Combat School together."

"Along with Sunset, here," Bon Bon added. "Surprised to end up at the same place like this, huh?"

"I suppose," Sunset said.

"Oh, you three are all old friends?" Yang asked.

"I wouldn't say that," Sunset replied.

"It's a pity that we couldn't end up on the same team together," Bon Bon declared. "Wondercolts Forever, right?"

Sunset raised her head up from her salad. "I'm pretty satisfied with the team that I have now," she said. I mean, I might trade Jaune for one of you, but Ruby or Pyrrha? As much as I don't like the risk of being overshadowed, I wouldn't intentionally get rid of them for people much less competent.

Bon Bon grinned. "I'll bet you are. Everyone wanted Pyrrha Nikos on their team, after all."

"Every team here has its own strengths," Pyrrha said.

"And its own weaknesses," Bon Bon replied.

XxXxX​

"What happened between you two?" Weiss asked, as she sat down upon an empty table. Her team followed her lead, sitting down around her.

Flash, who had sat down opposite her, realised the question was directed at him. "You mean with Sunset?"

Weiss glanced across the dining hall. She did not miss the way that Sunset Shimmer's eyes kept flickering towards them. "Exactly," she said. "With Sunset. It's no great observation to say that she doesn't care much for you."

Flash sighed. "No," he admitted. "No, she does not."

Weiss waited for him to elaborate. When he did not, she prodded him, "Is there any particular reason why?"

"She's a faunus," Cardin declared. "They're naturally bad tempered. Especially the women."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Is that really what you think, Cardin, or do you think that playing the boorish imbecile is a good way to go through school?"

Cardin looked at her, outrage in his blue eyes. "You're defending those animals?"

"Not all of them, to be sure," Weiss replied calmly. "The White Fang are quite despicable, and many of them do turn to crime of some description. But equally, many faunus work hard in the factories and mines as valued members of the SDC family." Well, they were as valued as the human employees, at least, even if that wasn't a particularly high bar to clear.

She thought for a moment about Laberna Seacole, the old racoon faunus who had raised her mother and her sister and Weiss herself… until she was thirteen years old and all the faunus staff had disappeared from the Schnee Manor. She had not been an angry woman, far from it; she had been a font of patience amidst her father's temper and her mother's… melancholy.

She pushed that thought aside. Nostalgia would not serve her at present. "In any case," she added, "dismissing this as a case of an angry faunus doesn't help address the issue at hand. Why is Sunset so upset with you?"

Flash frowned. He pushed around some fries on his plate with his fork. "We… used to be an item, at Combat School."

"You dated a faunus?" Cardin asked, incredulously.

Flash nodded. "For a while."

Weiss frowned. "She seems a little… lower class, for you."

"For him?" Russell asked in suprise. "Are you some kind of big shot or something?"

"Flash's mother is the Law Officer of the Atlesian Council, essentially the council's lawyer," Weiss informed their two Valish teammates. "That's correct, isn't it? You are Silver Sentry's son?"

"That's right," Flash said, in a soft, slightly hoarse voice.

"And yet, you dated… someone like that," Weiss said, phrasing it as delicately as she could.

"Mom wasn't happy about it," Flash admitted.

"Was that the whole point?" asked Russell.

"No," Flash protested. "The point was… it doesn't matter. All that matters is that it ended, and she… is sore about it."

"That seems like a little bit of an understatement," Weiss said. "I take it you are the one that ended things."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because… of what she was," Flash murmured, bowing his head.

"You made the right call," Cardin said. "Dating a faunus like that… it's not worth it."

Weiss pursed her lips. Put like that, it sounded reasonable enough; Flash had broken up with his girlfriend, and she had found it hard to move on. But if he had dumped her because she was a faunus, why had he started dating her in the first place? Had he done it simply to toy with her affections for a while? Or had he thought that something, some affection, could bridge the divide between their races?

I had hoped that you might be one of the good ones.

I still hope that. I'm just not quite as sure as I was before.

XxXxX​

"So," Yang said. "What do we all think of school so far?"

Sunset looked down the line of her team. "You three need to pay more attention in Grimm Studies."

"You were paying attention in Grimm Studies?" Lyra asked.

"Of course she did," Bon Bon said, with a smile on her face. "She's a teacher's pet, aren't you, Sunset?"

Sunset snorted. "Don't blame me just because I work harder than you."

"What's there to pay attention to in Grimm Studies?" Yang asked. "Professor Port spent most of an hour telling a story about himself."

"I must confess, it was not the most edifying start to the day," Pyrrha murmured.

"I enjoy a good story as much as anyone, but that was not a good story," Lyra agreed.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Have none of you people ever been taught in the form of a story before? It's one of the oldest teaching techniques in existence."

"True," Pyrrha allowed. "But parables are usually succinct."

"I never said that he was a great teacher," Sunset replied. "I'm just saying: he told a story about a boarbatusk that contained all the information needed to defeat the boarbatusk that he unleashed after he was done."

"I suppose if every class ends with us getting to fight a grimm, then it won't be a total loss, right, Ruby?" Yang said.

"That would be fun, at least," Ruby agreed.

"That wasn't actually…" Sunset trailed off. "You people are just here for the fighting classes, aren't you?"

"Well it is a combat academy," Ruby reminded her. "We aren't going to defend the world against the grimm by knowing a lot of history."

"You won't understand the world if you don't understand history," Sunset countered. "That's what Doctor Oobleck was trying to get across."

"I understand the world just fine," Yang declared. "I've lived in it for seventeen years, after all." She stretched out her arms. "But how about that combat class, huh?"

"You were amazing, Yang," Ruby declared.

Yang chuckled. "Hey, I've got nothing on either you or Pyrrha, at least on the basis of today's showing." She glanced at Pyrrha. "As expected of our tournament champion, right?"

Pyrrha looked as though she was about to sigh, but instead she said, "Without intending any disrespect to Russell Thrush… I have fought more skilled opponents."

Sunset snorted. "Without intending any disrespect… but that guy sucked."

"That's not…" Pyrrha trailed off. She hesitated, and then brightened a little. "On the basis of today, at least, Ruby is the true huntress amongst us."

"Yeah, I'm way tougher than that Thrush guy!" Nora proclaimed. "And you still ripped me apart anyway."

"I… you were just unlucky," Ruby said.

"Hey, take the compliment, I've got no hard feelings about it," Nora cried. She wagged her finger in Ruby's face, "but if you ever slow down enough for me to catch you, I won't go easy on you just because you're the boss's sister."

"But you're not going to go too hard on her either, right?" Yang demanded, leaning forward and forcing Nora to lean back to stay away.

"Yang!" Ruby protested.

"I'm kidding," Yang said, "and Nora knows I'm kidding." Her eyes turned red for a moment. "Or am I?" she asked, before taking a bite out of her apple with a smug look on her face.

"You all performed well," Ren said.

Jaune snorted. He was sitting at the end of the table with his head bowed, picking ineffectually at his chicken nuggets.

"Jaune…" Ruby murmured, but didn't seem to know what to say.

The members of Team YRDN looked at one another awkwardly. "Hey, Sunset," Yang said.

Sunset looked up from her salad. "Hmm?"

"Thanks," Yang said. "For the locker room."

Sunset… wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to that, in all honesty. So she just said, "Right." And then got back to her salad.

"It's only the first day," Blake observed. "As Professor Goodwitch said, there is a lot of time for things to change."

"So long as we all work hard and do our best, then we'll all make it," Ruby cried. "All the way."

Sunset said nothing. That was… not an attitude that she had held to during her time under Princess Celestia's tutelage, to put it mildly. In fact, she had been rather contemptuous of those beneath her.

"What are you studying for? Nothing, that's what."

But such sentiments probably wouldn't go down very well here. Plus… she kind of needed Jaune to succeed, or at least to get a little better so that he didn't act as a drag on the rest of the team.

So, as strange as it sounded, Sunset found herself in the position of hoping that Ruby – and Professor Goodwitch – were correct.

Even if all her life experiences and habits of thought to date dictated otherwise.

Jaune actually managed to come close to making Sunset reevaluate her opinion of him over the course of the afternoon's classes, in which he almost made up for his poor showing in the morning. Straight after lunch, it was Plant Science, which took place not in the greenhouses but in a classroom, as Professor Peach genially explained that they would be starting off with some theory before she let them anywhere near any actual plants.

Sunset had never paid very much attention to botany; she had rather disdained it as earth pony work, beneath the dignity of a unicorn like herself, and no amount of lectures from Princess Celestia upon the equality of the three tribes or even on the relaxation that could be gained from growing things could move Sunset upon the subject. The closest she had ever gotten to interacting with plants was casting a growth spell on one to get through her last midterms before banishment. As a result, Sunset had very little to offer in Plant Science, and it seemed that Pyrrha was in much the same position. Instead, and surprising Sunset, it was Jaune who stood out in that class; once he got over his fear of actually sticking his hand up and answering, he had the answers to many of Professor Peach's questions, and by the time their two-hour introduction to the class was up, there was no doubt about who Professor Peach's new favourite student was.

"That was amazing, Jaune," Ruby said. "How do you know so much about plants?"

"Your breadth of knowledge was very impressive," Pyrrha added.

"It's nothing, really," Jaune said modestly. "It's just that we grow a lot of those plants at home, either in our own land or by the neighbours, so I've seen a lot of what Professor Peach was talking about."

"You had a large garden at home?" Pyrrha asked.

"Pretty big, yeah," Jaune replied. "Although a lot of it is vegetables, so I don't know how useful knowing about them is going to be in class."

"That sounds very lovely, all the same," Pyrrha declared. "We have a garden at home, but I wasn't… I mean that I didn't have the time to get involved in it. Because of my training."

"Of course," Jaune said.

"We've got a garden, but it's all just flowers, and Professor Peach didn't mention any of them," Ruby said. "But it was still nice to help Dad tend to them sometimes; it's relaxing, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "It can really help take your mind off things."

He wasn't able to carry his success from Plant Science into Stealth and Security, but then, nobody did particularly well in Stealth and Security; they spent half the class waiting for Professor Greene to arrive, only for her to reveal that she'd spent those thirty minutes infiltrated amongst the students, and none of them had noticed that there was an odd number of people in the classroom. Everybody left the class having to console themselves with the fact that it was only the first day of school and they had plenty of time to improve.

And then came Fieldcraft, a class designed to help them survive out in the field and not starve or freeze to death, and once again, Jaune showed a degree of skill and knowledge which, if it didn't rise to the level of his burgeoning expertise in Plant Science, certainly demonstrated that it wasn't a fluke either.

What was your dad actually training you in, during the time you were homeschooled? Sunset wondered.

Mister Arc didn't appear to have been teaching his son how to fight - he hadn't even told him what aura was - but Jaune knew his plants, and he seemed to have a fair idea how to survive in the wild. Had Jaune been trained as a medic? Had he trained to support huntsmen rather than to be one himself? But then what was he doing at Beacon?

Who are you really, Jaune Arc?

XxXxX​

Jaune Arc stood on the rooftop, fighting with shadows.

He was wearing his armour, the weight seeming light upon his shoulders and chest; Crocea Mors was in his right hand, and his shield was upon his left arm. The moon shone down upon, the silver light of the broken orb illuminating the rooftop on which he fought with nothing.

He slashed at imaginary enemies, he thrust at imaginary foes, he sliced his way through armies of grimm that existed in his head. In his mind, he saw Lyra's face, and the disappointment in the faces of his teammates when he'd gone down so easily; he heard Professor Goodwitch's words echoing in his head.

He had to do better. He could do better. He would do better.

He grunted and panted with effort as he cut and thrust through the air, hacking and slashing, striking heavy blows that left him weary with exertion.

He heard the door leading up onto the roof open just a little and turned to look at it. He heard a squeak of alarm and saw a flash of silver in the shadows before it disappeared.

"Ruby?" Jaune asked.

There was a moment's pause before Ruby emerged. She was dressed in her uniform, and there was an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I just… nobody knew where you were and… well, you forgot your scroll." She held up the device.

Jaune sighed. "Thanks, Ruby," he said, sheathing his sword in his shield. He approached her, holding out his hand to take the device. "I would have had to bang on the door to be let in otherwise, and I'm not sure Sunset would have appreciated that."

Ruby giggled. "Maybe not, although… does that mean you're planning to be out here for a while?"

Jaune nodded. "Probably."

"It's getting late," Ruby reminded him.

"Yeah?" Jaune replied. "Then what are you still doing up?"

Ruby puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "I'm fifteen years old, not five," she protested. She fell silent for a moment. "So… you're training up here?"

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed. "I think I need it, don't you?"

"You can't beat yourself up about the first day of school," Ruby protested. "it's just one day."

"One day when I was the worst in the class."

"Not at everything," Ruby protested.

"At the things that matter," Jaune replied. "You said it yourself; we're not going to beat the grimm with our knowledge of history, or Plant Science for that matter."

"That's not what I-"

"If I want to be a huntsman," Jaune declared, "and I do want to be a huntsman, then I need to get better at what really matters."

Ruby nodded, after a moment. "You're right," she agreed, "but you can get better, Jaune, I've seen it happen. I was a mess until my Uncle Qrow started tutoring me, and now… well, I'm not so bad, right?"

Jaune chuckled. "Right, you're not so bad at all."

Ruby's face assumed a pensive expression. "You know, I don't know very much about sword and shield fighting, but I bet that if you were to ask Pyrrha, then-"

"No," Jaune cut her off before she could finish. "I'm not going to ask Pyrrha for help."

Ruby frowned, now she looked confused.

"Why not?"

"Because this is my dream, what I've always wanted," Jaune said, "and if I can't do it then…" Jaune shook his head; he couldn't let himself think like that. "I can do this by myself."

If he accepted help with this, if he accepted that he needed help with this, then all that he was doing was proving his father and his sisters right when they said that he wasn't cut out for this: not tough enough, not strong enough. He would prove them wrong. He was going to prove them all wrong.

Ruby's face became concerned, but at least she didn't protest any further. "Okay," she said, her voice soft and quiet. "I… I guess I'll leave you to it, then."

"Thanks, Ruby," Jaune said. "And for the scroll, too."

Ruby nodded. "You know we're all here for you, right? For anything you need, all you have to do is ask."

"I know," Jaune replied. That's one of the reasons why I can't ask.

Ruby turned away and walked back towards the door. In the doorway itself, she paused and looked back at him. "Hey, Jaune?"

Jaune looked at her. "Ruby?"

"Good luck," she said. "We're all rooting for you."

XxXxX​

Pyrrha walked into the dorm room. "I got your text, Ruby; you said that you found Jaune?"

"Yep," Ruby said. "And I gave him his scroll, too, so he can get back in."

"I'm glad to hear it," Pyrrha said, "but he didn't come back with you?"

"Obviously not," Sunset said, as she kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed. She opened up her own scroll.

"No, I mean, of course he isn't here, but…" Pyrrha trailed off for a moment. "Where is he, Ruby?"

Ruby hesitated. "I… I'm not sure that he'd want me to tell you."

Sunset blinked. "Why not?" she demanded, looking up from her scroll and at the youngest member of their team.

"Because… I think Jaune just wants to be alone right now."

"Alone where?" Sunset asked.

"Sunset, that's enough," Pyrrha said mildly. "If Jaune wants to be left alone, then we should respect his wishes. He's not in any trouble, is he, Ruby?"

"Oh, no," Ruby assured them both. "He's fine; he's just… he doesn't want to see anybody else. He's just… a little embarrassed about what happened today, in combat class."

Pyrrha sighed. "He has nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all. Anyone can be defeated by a sufficiently skilled opponent."

"Says the girl who has never lost a fight," Sunset muttered.

Pyrrha looked at her. "That doesn't mean that I can't lose, and it doesn't change the fact that Jaune has nothing to be ashamed of."

"I could dispute the fact that there is nothing to be ashamed of in losing to Lyra Heartstrings, but instead, I'll just say that hearing you tell him what you just said might seem a little patronising," Sunset informed her.

Pyrrha looked a little upset to hear it. "Do you think so?"

"Yes," Sunset declared. "Because it is patronising."

"Oh," Pyrrha said, a crestfallen look upon her face. "I… I see. In that case… it's probably for the best that he wishes to be alone then."

Pyrrha and Ruby started getting undressed for bed, for it was that late. It was that lateness of the hour which made it so surprising that Jaune was still wherever he was; Sunset hoped that he wouldn't come in late and blunder about the dorm room and wake her up with his racket while he got ready for bed in turn.

In any event, while the other two girls changed, Sunset was on her scroll, looking for any information about Jaune that might explain how he was so good at some subjects and so terrible at others.

Yes, she could have just asked him, but then he'd know that she was curious; and besides, he might choose not to answer some questions, in the same way that Pyrrha hadn't brought up the fact that she was an actual princess – by certain interpretations, anyway. It was much more reliable to just look up objective information about the boy.

The trouble was that there wasn't a great deal of objective information out there to be found. Jaune Arc was, to all appearances, a complete nobody. A nobody about whom no one had heard before he had arrived at Beacon. There was no report on his arrival at school, no one was breathlessly collecting information about his doings, he was a man utterly and completely anonymous. There were records of an Arc family, or at least there were records of various Arcs graduating from Beacon, but none of them seemed to have achieved renown after graduating. Once they left the school, they became, just like Jaune himself, anonymous.

If there were any clues as to who Jaune Arc was or how he had managed to come to Beacon despite knowing nothing of aura, then Sunset couldn't find them. The only thing that she could possibly say after her dive into the name Jaune Arc and anything connected with him was that he was a little more pretentious than he let on: his sword was called Crocea Mors, which turned out not to be a name plucked from thin air but actually the name given to the sword wielded by Jaune of Gaunt, Duke of Westmorland, fourth son of King Edward Farstrider. Considering that his namesake had been known as the finest swordsman in the Kingdom of Vale that his father had created, it demonstrated that Jaune had big ambitions, if nothing else.

And that's a good thing. Big ambitions are nothing to be ashamed of.

I just hope he can fulfill them, for all our sakes.

And who knows? Perhaps he'll turn out to have an unexpected knowledge of ancient history, too.

As Ruby and Pyrrha brushed their teeth and got to bed, Sunset kept on searching. She hadn't thought much about it last night, but breakfast had reminded her about the R in Team STRQ, the name which had had such an effect on Ruby as she was telling her sister about the markings on the wall.

A search for Team STRQ revealed that they were no ordinary huntsman team, distinguished only by having once occupied SAPR's dorm room and by two of them having gone on to become Ruby's parents. No, Team STRQ had distinguished themselves as early as their first year, when Mountain Glenn had fallen to the grimm. As hordes of grimm, fresh from devouring the new settlement, poured through the forests of the southeast towards Vale itself, Professor Ozpin had led out the huntsmen of Vale to meet the grimm before they could annihilate the outlying towns and farming villages, meeting the forces of darkness at a place now called Ozpin's Stand. Huntsmen and huntresses in training, students brave enough to volunteer, had gone out with Professor Ozpin's force, forming a second line of defence to the rear. Except Team STRQ had somehow found themselves in the front line, where they had not only survived the grimm but been credited with holding a section of the defences through which the grimm might have flooded otherwise. Following that, they had gone on to graduate with more missions under their belt than any other team in the history of the academy.

Sunset learned who the R in STRQ was: Raven Branwen, sister to Qrow Branwen, the Q in STRQ. Ruby had referred to him as Uncle Qrow. Clearly, the team had stayed close after graduation; it wasn't surprising that a family friend who was around all the time would become an honorary uncle figure to the children. But why was it Uncle Qrow but not Aunt Raven? Had she died, like Ruby's mother? Did they not talk about her out of respect?

"Sunset, would you please turn that off?" Pyrrha asked.

Sunset looked at her. "Why?"

"Because the light is a little disturbing when we're trying to sleep," Pyrrha explained.

"You'll just be woken up when Jaune gets back anyway," Sunset informed her.

"Perhaps," Pyrrha conceded, "but in any case, would you mind turning it off? There are studies that show that the kind of light emitted from scrolls and such like reduces your ability to sleep after looking at them," she added.

"Really?" Sunset muttered. "I'll… okay, I'll turn it off." She could find out more about Raven Branwen, who was probably dead somewhere, another day.

In the meantime, reading about Team STRQ, she kind of wished that another great wave of grimm would descend on Vale so that Team SAPR could prove themselves just as Team STRQ once had.

Somehow, we will prove ourselves just as great.

You'll see.

They'll all see.

XxXxX​

The next day marked the first leadership class for Sunset and the other team leaders; while their teams had a free period to get started on some of the homework that they had already received, they had made their way into one of the lecture halls.

Leadership was held in one of the smaller halls than those in which they had taken History and Grimm Studies the day before; all the lecture halls at Beacon were much larger than they needed to be for the volume of students, because they all needed to accommodate the visiting students from Atlas, Haven, and Shade Academies for the Vytal festival who would begin arriving in second semester. For now, that meant that there was a lot of space to spread out and choose where to sit. That the class would expand starting next term was as true for Leadership as it was for any other class, but in Leadership, the expansion would be on a far smaller order, and thus, the classroom was comparably smaller: from halls that could hold two hundred students to one that could seat perhaps fifty. But for now, it was just Sunset, Weiss, Yang, Blake, and a few other people who were even less relevant left to scatter themselves across the length and breadth of the lecture theatre. Yang took a seat next to Sunset, which Sunset found rather unnecessary, while Blake Belladonna of BLBL sat herself up in the far corner, high above the rest. While she waited for their professor, she got out a book and started reading. Weiss Schnee sniffed as she walked past Sunset and Yang and seated herself alone on the next bank of desks along.

How in Remnant do you have the nerve to be snooty with me when it's your team that's caused all the trouble so far?

Professor Goodwitch arrived a moment later. "Good afternoon, students," she said, her heels clicking upon the floor as she strode behind the desk, "and welcome to Leadership. In this class, I will endeavour to assist you as you navigate the leadership and management of your teams. Yes, Miss Belladonna?"

Blake had raised her hand. "Professor, can you tell us why we specifically were chosen as leaders?"

"Because, Miss Belladonna, when confronted with a particular obstacle during Initiation, as each of you were, you devised a plan to overcome that obstacle and were able to execute that plan with the support of others. You are not leaders yet, any of you, but you each have the potential to become leaders, if you are willing to work hard and apply yourselves. As with every class, innate potential is no substitute for hard work. Now, a question to each of you: from whence does the authority of a leader derive?" Professor Goodwitch paused for a moment to let the question germinate in their minds. "Miss Shimmer?"

"From the authority of the person who appointed that leader," Sunset said. "Flowing upwards in a chain."

Professor Goodwitch raised one eyebrow. "A very Atlesian response, Miss Shimmer. Miss Xiao Long?"

Yang was silent for a moment. "From the fact that your team likes you enough to follow you, I guess."

"Hmm," Professor Goodwitch murmured. "Miss Schnee?"

"From strength of character, Professor," Weiss declared primly. "A true leader leaves those beneath her with no choice but to follow; she compels their obedience by force of will."

Professor Goodwitch pushed her glasses back up her nose. "Miss Belladonna?"

Blake frowned. "A mixture of what Sunset and Weiss said: a leader can lead by relying on the authority that appointed them to lead, but there are times when they have to rely on compulsion to force the obedience of those beneath them, either emotional… or physical."

"You think that a leader should lead by physically intimidating her subordinates, Miss Belladonna?" asked Professor Goodwitch.

Blake hesitated. "It happens," she said.

"That does not make it good practice," Professor Goodwitch replied, the mildness of her tone concealing the sting of her rebuke. "You have all grasped some part of the truth," she said, as she picked up a piece of chalk and began to write on the board. "A good leader will, ideally, be popular with those that they lead, but a leader who prioritises their likeable image may hesitate to make the tough decisions in an emergency, and one can be liked without possessing authority. Equally, in ordinary circumstances a leader may be able to rely upon deriving their authority from a chain of command, but in the field, when higher authority feels very distant and tempers begin to fray, an appeal of such nature may hold less weight than a more personal consideration. A good leader must command respect and obedience in their own right. All of which being said, there is no one right way to be a leader, although it must also be noted that there are several wrong ways."

The class continued with a notable lack of teaching Sunset how to get people to do what she wanted. While more overtly harsh and prickly than Princess Celestia, Professor Goodwitch still seemed to be more of an advocate of the school of persuasion – or rather, the idea that people should want to follow their leader – than the school of compulsion. It was… a little disappointing.

Sunset rejoined her teammates for Legends of Remnant, where Doctor Oobleck was back to explain the significance of this particular class.

"Vale, Atlas, Mistral, Vacuo," he said. "Here at Beacon, we have students from all four kingdoms, nations separated by great distance, each with their own proud history and culture. But if this era of peace in which we live is to continue, we must not forget that we have more that unites us than divides us: humans and faunus alike, we share a common heritage, physically and, more importantly, culturally. In this class, we will study this shared cultural heritage, as well as some of the ancient history of our world at the time in which these stories originated." He drank some of his coffee. "Please open your textbooks to the first story in the collection: the Warrior in the Wood."

Sunset opened up her collection of fairy tales of Remnant.

"Would anyone like to read?" Doctor Oobleck asked.

When nobody else seemed particularly eager, Yang raised her hand.

"Excellent," Doctor Oobleck said. "Carry on, Miss Xiao Long."

Sunset had to admit that Yang had a good voice for reading stories; judging by what Ruby had said – and it made a lot more sense now that she knew about the death of Ruby's mom – she'd had a lot of practice at it. Her voice was soothing, gentle; she read stories in much the same way as Princess Celestia had used to read Sunset stories, as lullabies in prose that stroked the ears and calmed the spirit. Ruby seemed completely engrossed in it, and she wasn't the only one. Even Sunset had to remind herself that this was a class, not storytime, and tried to take notes even though she wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to be taking notes on. What was the point of this story? The importance of being brave? Man's need to destroy the environment? What was this story supposed to be saying?

She skipped ahead to the ending in the hopes that it would make a little more sense.

"I fell in love with her the moment I saw her silver eyes."

Sunset blinked.

Silver eyes. There it was, the last line of the story, sitting there so emphatically as though it was of great importance.

Silver eyes.

Sunset glanced at Ruby. She didn't notice - she was too engrossed in the tale and in Yang's telling - but Sunset could see her eyes, her silver eyes, those eyes that gleamed with a colour unseen in Remnant or Equestria.

That has to mean something.

Doesn't it?

At the end of that particular class, as everyone was packing up their books and notes, Doctor Oobleck said, "Miss Rose, Miss Shimmer, please stay behind after class."

Sunset and Ruby glanced at one another.

"Did we do something wrong, Doctor?" Sunset asked.

"Nothing to worry about, Miss Shimmer," Doctor Oobleck said. "All will be revealed in good time, don't worry."

The fact that he didn't just out and tell them what was going on meant that it was hard for Sunset to take his advice. "Don't worry", he said, but how could she not worry when she'd just been asked to stay behind after class for reasons that she couldn't understand?

She wondered if Ruby had done something, and she, Sunset, was being punished as her team leader for failing to stop it, but she couldn't think of anything that Ruby had done in the two days they'd been here that would have warranted punishment either.

Whatever the reason, Sunset and Ruby remained seated when all the other students left; Pyrrha and Jaune gave the pair sympathetic glances. Then Doctor Oobleck left, leaving Sunset feeling even more confused than she had been before.

They were left alone in the lecture hall.

Sunset glanced at Ruby. "Any ideas?"

Ruby shook her head. "I thought you might know."

"If I knew, I wouldn't have to ask," Sunset replied. She clasped her hands together and felt her ears twitching a little with uncertainty.

The door into the lecture hall opened, and Professor Ozpin entered, followed closely by Professor Goodwitch.

"I apologise if I've made you nervous," Professor Ozpin said, his tone apologetic but at the same time amused as well. "I thought this might be a little less nerve-wracking than calling you up to my office."

Sunset got to her feet. "Professor Ozpin," she said, "I wasn't aware that either of us had done anything that deserved being called to your office."

Professor Ozpin chuckled. "On the contrary, Miss Shimmer, you have reminded me of my duty of care to my students, to Miss Rose in particular."

"Me?" Ruby said. "But I… I don't understand."

"Miss Shimmer informed me that you were… uncomfortable in the locker room before combat class yesterday," Professor Goodwitch said.

Ruby hesitated for a moment. She bowed her head, and looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry for-"

"There's no need to apologise, Ruby," Professor Ozpin said, in a voice that was laced with regret even as it seemed to be trying to approach a certain grandfatherliness of manner. "Rather, I should be the one apologising to you. I chose to admit you to this school early. I should have given more consideration to what that meant."

"It's just that I've never had to get changed with a lot of boys watching me before," Ruby admitted, "and I didn't really want to go in the showers afterwards, because, well… Sunset was really great about it yesterday, but-"

"But I'd hoped there might be a better solution than me trying to shield Ruby from view with my own body," Sunset added.

"Indeed," Professor Ozpin said. "Fortunately, the locker rooms at Beacon are very large and very extensive. At present, the rooms and showers for the first year students are much larger than they need to be, but that will not be the case once the visiting students arrive. However, as the first-years do not take any classes with the third-years, I think that it will be acceptable for Miss Rose to move her equipment into the third-year locker room and use the showers there. You will be alone, but you may find it preferable to being observed by boys and girls two years older than yourself."

"Yes," Ruby said, in a high voice. "That sounds… a lot better. Except… maybe… could Sunset be there with me? I trust her, and then I wouldn't be completely by myself."

The two professors glanced at one another. "That would be possible," Professor Goodwitch said. "Do you have any objection, Miss Shimmer?"

Yes, I'm going to miss the scintillating conversation in the locker room. "No, Professor," Sunset said. "Although…"

Ruby looked at her. Professor Goodwitch raised one eyebrow. "Although, Miss Shimmer?"

"If I'm going to move as well, then it might make sense for the whole team to move," Sunset said. "That way, I can keep an eye on everyone and outline strategies in the locker room before a match."

"An interesting proposition," Professor Ozpin said quietly. "What do you think, Ruby?"

"I… I'd like that," Ruby said. "Jaune… Jaune would never do anything… like that, and Pyrrha's really great. If they don't mind, then, that would be great."

Professor Ozpin nodded. "Glynda, if you wouldn't mind making the arrangements?"

"Of course, Professor Ozpin," Professor Goodwitch said. "If you two will come with me, then we can round up Mister Arc and Miss Nikos and get your lockers switched along with all of your equipment."

"Yes, Professor," Sunset said.

"Thanks, Professor Ozpin," Ruby added.

"No thanks necessary, Miss Rose," Professor Ozpin assured her. "I hope that your four years here at Beacon will be instructive, but also enjoyable. Miss Shimmer: good work."

"What team leader wouldn't take care of their own, professor?" Sunset replied.

Professor Ozpin smiled faintly. "Quite so, Miss Shimmer."

"Now, if you'll both come with me," Professor Goodwitch insisted.

As they began to follow Professor Goodwitch, Sunset muttered to Ruby, "Hey, Ruby, why did you want me in the third-year locker room with you?"

"Because it's like I told Professor Ozpin," Ruby said. "I trust you, Sunset."

'I trust you.' When was the last time anyone had told Sunset they trusted her? Flash might have, it was hard to remember, because when she thought of Flash, all of her memories became obscured with this cloud of anger. Not even Princess Celestia had really trusted Sunset, not really.

Hearing that from Ruby…it made her feel things.

Even if she couldn't rightly say what those things were.

Because they weren't quite like anything she'd felt before.

 

[ScipioSmith]

Free Afternoon​

Pyrrha looked up at the statue that dominated the Beacon courtyard. The beowolf in its cave below snarled into her face, while the huntsman and huntress standing above loomed over her.

She would not claim any great expertise in statuary, but the more she looked at it, the more she felt confirmed in what she had said to Jaune: that these were representations not of two people but rather embodiments of all huntsmen and huntresses, representing the ideals that they should all strive for in this prestigious academy.

Whether or not everyone who walked these halls actually lived up to those ideals was another matter.

Pyrrha headed herself away from such thoughts; it was not for her to cast aspersions on the character of her fellow students. It was not her place, being only a first year student herself, to even consider doing so. There were some people she did not like, but she had no right to claim flawlessness. She was as unsuited to embody the ideals of a huntress as anyone else; everyone here was imperfect, flawed, in need of refinement. That was why they had four years of instruction ahead of them, to make them into that which, at present, they were not: paragons of virtue to shine above all others.

Pyrrha wandered away from the statue, across the lawn that lay in front of the dining hall. It was after lunch on a Friday afternoon, which meant that the courtyard contained more than a few casually dressed students taking advantage of a time without classes, wandering this way or that on their way to somewhere interesting or important. Pyrrha herself sat down in the shade of an oak tree rising above the lawn and took out her scroll.

It was time to call her mother.

She was not particularly looking forward to this. That was why she was out here instead of in the dorm room: she didn't want to speak to her mother in front of Ruby. It was true that in the courtyard there were eyes turning in her direction, but nobody disturbed her privacy, and nobody, as far as Pyrrha could tell, was close to overhear what passed between the two of them.

Pyrrha opened up her scroll and found her mother in her directory.

She swallowed as she pushed the 'call' button.

There was a pause as she waited for her mother to answer. But eventually she did answer, and the stern face of Lady Nikos, her hair turning grey early, appeared on the screen of Pyrrha's scroll.

Pyrrha bowed her head. "Good evening, Mother," she said, for Mistral was several hours ahead of Vale.

"Good afternoon, Pyrrha," Lady Nikos said, her tone neutral. "So, you have completed your first week of studies at Beacon."

"I have, mother," Pyrrha replied.

"You have been assigned to a team?"

"I… I have," Pyrrha agreed, with a slight hesitation. "Team Sapphire."

Lady Nikos blinked. "Team Sapphire," she repeated. "You are not the leader of your team, then?"

Of course it would come to this. "No, Mother."

"Why not?"

Because I would not wish to be a leader even if I were one. "It seems that Professor Ozpin does not consider me to be the stuff of which leaders are made," Pyrrha said. Which is fine by me.

Lady Nikos did not appear to see it the same way. Her face crinkled with distaste. "And who is this Professor Ozpin and what is his background that he should judge you, scion of the line of Theseus and Juno, to be unfit or ill-suited for leadership?"

"I do not know his background, Mother, but I know him to be the man who saved Vale from the grimm and to be youngest man ever appointed a headmaster of one of the four academies-"

"Over a mere eighty year history," Lady Nikos replied. "Those who were boys and girls when the academies were founded endure in their dotage in the four kingdoms."

"My point, Mother, is that Professor Ozpin's ancestors or lack thereof are irrelevant in the face of the achievements of the man himself," Pyrrha declared. "I have no right to judge him simply because my name is Nikos."

"That your name is Nikos would have assured you a place of leadership at Haven," Lady Nikos informed her.

"Which is one of the reasons I did not wish to attend Haven," Pyrrha replied.

Lady Nikos sighed. "In all places bar the battlefield, you are too swift to retire."

"Perhaps, Mother."

"If you do not lead your team then who does?"

"The name of my team leader is Sunset Shimmer," Pyrrha said.

"And who is she?"

"Sunset is from Atlas," Pyrrha explained. "And has…a commanding manner."

"Is that all you can tell me?"

"I cannot recount her ancestry for you, Mother," Pyrrha sighed. "Ordinary people don't talk of such things casually."

"Hmph," said Lady Nikos. "And your other companions?"
"Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose, both of Vale," Pyrrha said. "All I can tell you of them is that Ruby's mother was a huntress, tragically slain in the service of mankind." Like my father. She decided not to mention that Ruby was only fifteen years old and admitted thanks to the personal intervention of Professor Ozpin; it was the sort of thing that Pyrrha guessed might make her mother jealous.

Lady Nikos' face assumed a solemn mien. "Then like your father, she is to be honoured for her sacrifice, and commended."

"Indeed," Pyrrha murmured.

Lady Nikos paused for a moment. "Are they worthy to stand beside you in battle?"

"They are," Pyrrha declared.

"And yet you stand above them all?"

"I have not been tested against every opponent," Pyrrha replied. She had the distinct impression that in the early combat classes, Professor Goodwitch was creating a hierarchy in her own mind of where the freshmen students stood relative to one another, as benchmarks against which she could measure their progress, or the lack of it, over the course of semesters and years. Thus, Pyrrha had, as yet, only been pitted against rather minor opponents – the likes of Russell Thrush and Sky Lark – whom she had swept aside with ease. More serious opponents such as Weiss Schnee were waiting in the wings.

"Are there any that you fear?"

"There are many strong students this year," Pyrrha replied.

"That is not an answer," Lady Nikos responded.

Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. She did not wish to appear arrogant, but… "No," she said, after a little while. Ruby's sister Yang was strong, but Pyrrha had fought strong opponents in the past; she could beat Yang as she had beaten Arslan. Nora could do her harm if Pyrrha allowed herself to be hit by the other girl's hammer, but she was confident in her ability to avoid getting hit. Blake would be a challenge, but her use of her semblance was not perfect, and Pyrrha believed that so long as she could hold out against her, then Blake would leave her opening to exploit. Weiss, with her versatile glyphs, would be the greatest challenge, and the one that Pyrrha was most looking forward to, but there would be a way for her to win. There always was.

"I am glad to hear it," Lady Nikos said. "Keep me informed of your progress."

"Yes, Mother," Pyrrha agreed.

Lady Nikos stared up at her out of her scroll. "You are… my greatest accomplishment," she said, before hanging up.

Pyrrha looked down at the now blank scroll in her hands. "I love you too, Mother," she whispered.

She put the scroll away as she got up and began to walk back towards the dorm room.

XxXxX​

Jaune stood outside of the Team WWSR dorm room, casually but smartly dressed in his best pair of jeans, an orange T-shirt, and…well, okay, it was his school jacket, but it wasn't as if he had a casual jacket to wear instead.

On the other side of this door waited the girl of his dreams.

Weiss Schnee. From the moment he set eyes on her, he had felt as though there was something drawing them together, something calling to him. Her eyes were as blue as pools of the purest, clearest water, her face was as fair as cream, and her voice… since he found out that she was a well-known figure in the world, he had done a little research – not enough to make it creepy – and when she sang, by God, she had a voice like… well, an angel. When she sang about expectations, about people not seeing you for who you were, about nobody thinking that you could do it and making you feel small…it was like she was speaking into his soul. It was incredible that he'd never come across her music before, because some of her stuff felt like it was the anthem to his life. If that wasn't proof that they were fated to be together, then what was it?

There was a red string of fate binding them together.

Sure, she wasn't only beautiful but rich and from a powerful family, but come on, there were lots of stories about the plucky farmboy with a pocket full of dreams winning the heart of the beautiful princess, even if he had to thaw it out first.

That was why he was here. After a gruelling week of training on the rooftop - to no avail, as he seemed to keep getting his ass kicked in Professor Goodwitch's combat class regardless - Friday afternoon was finally here, and that meant free time! They could do whatever they wanted. Yes, he could do his homework, or he could get dressed and ask the girl of his dreams if she wanted to go down into Vale with him and see the sights.

He wasn't sure which sights, since he'd never been to Vale before himself, but he was sure that there were some sights to be seen, and if they wandered around long enough, then they would be sure to see them.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

He realised after knocking that he had no way of being sure that Weiss would answer the door and not any of her team members, at least one of whom didn't like him very much.

The door was opened, in point of fact, by Flash Sentry, the guy who Sunset didn't like very much. The guy Sunset seemed to hate in fact, although he hadn't seemed so bad to Jaune. He could kick Jaune's butt in a fight, but that didn't exactly put him in an exclusive club, unfortunately.

Sure, Sunset really, really didn't like him, but Sunset could be harsh. She could be nice – look at what she'd done for Ruby over the changing room thing – but she could be harsh too. She was starting to lose patience with him over the whole 'sucking at combat' thing. He could tell by the way she looked at him and by the way she spoke to him in the locker room after the matches. He could hear her voice getting even harsher than it already was.

She wasn't too happy about the fact that he was often tired during class either. It wasn't his fault that he was tired from training – or trying to train – on the rooftop, and it wasn't his fault that their teachers couldn't hold his attention. He wasn't like Sunset or Pyrrha - he just didn't find History interesting - and not even Sunset herself found Grimm Studies interesting; she just forced herself to suffer through it, and… he didn't have the energy left to do that.

All of which meant that he was kind of looking forward to getting away from Sunset for a little bit and spending his free time doing something fun, but which also meant that he wasn't entirely sure what to think of Flash Sentry.

Flash seemed to know exactly what to think about him, though.

"You need to go," he said, firmly but not without some anxiety in his voice.

"Go?" Jaune repeated. "But I just got here. Is Weiss around?"

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Flash insisted. "Just turn around and walk away while you still can."

"If you just let me-"

"Who is it out there?" Cardin asked from somewhere inside the dorm room.

"Uh, no one," Flash replied, trying to push Jaune away.

"You're spending an awfully long time trying to get rid of no one," Cardin replied, as he lumbered into view behind Flash. He loomed over both of the smaller boys, casting a shadow over them both as he blocked out the light from the windows. He glared down at Jaune with undisguised distaste. His gaze flickered down to Flash. "What, did you think that I was going to do something to him?"

Flash turned to face him, a shrug upon his shoulders. "It crossed my mind."

Cardin snorted. "Not with her highness in the bathroom. What do you want, Arc?"

"I…" Jaune swallowed. His throat felt very dry. "I'm here to talk to Weiss."

Cardin rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, Friday afternoon, free time, and you want to see if she'll go out with you into the city, am I wrong?"

"No," Jaune admitted.

Cardin leaned against the doorframe. "You know, I was going to meet my girlfriend in Vale this afternoon. Do you know why I'm not going to meet her this afternoon?"

"Uh-"

"Because I'm stuck serving detention instead thanks to you!" Cardin snapped.

Jaune guessed that pointing out that Cardin was the one who had chosen to shove him into that locker might not be the best idea. "There's… always tomorrow, I guess?" he ventured.

"Believe me, the fact that there is always tomorrow is the reason I'm not throwing you out of a window right now," Cardin declared.

"And nobody is more grateful for that than I am, really," Jaune said quickly. He then hesitated. "Wait, you have a girlfriend?"

"We don't believe she's real either!" Russell called from somewhere inside the room.

Cardin growled wordlessly.

"I'm sorry!" Jaune yelped. "I meant to say that you have a girlfriend and that's great! Congratulations! I'm sure she's pretty and nice, and you're deeply in love because that's what you want, right? That's what we all want! That's why I came down here to-"

The bathroom door opened and Weiss emerged, looking as radiant as ever. The light seemed to shine from her silver-white bolero, and it was if he could see sparkles in her hair as though it was bedecked with diamonds.

It kind of was, thanks to the tiara she wore.

"We have a visitor," Flash informed her, as though he was the doorman. Both he and Cardin stepped back to let Weiss see him more clearly.

"No," Weiss said, as she walked towards the door.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!" Jaune protested.

Weiss stopped in the doorway, one hand upon the door itself. "Were you, or were you not, about to ask me out in some fashion? To go into Vale with you, perhaps?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No."

"Why not?" Jaune cried. "You're not even giving me a chance!"

"You're right," Weiss agreed. "I'm not. Because this isn't a dating service, this is Beacon Academy, and I came here to learn how to fight monsters, not find a boyfriend. Now, if you'll excuse me, I intend to devote my free time to being the best student, and huntress, I can be." Her expression allowed itself a degree of cold contempt. "Perhaps you should consider doing the same."

She shut the door. She didn't slam it, but she nevertheless shut it very firmly.

Jaune stared at the closed door for a moment. He sighed, his whole body sagging.

She was right. He wasn't worthy of someone like her. She was so far above him in terms of her talents and ability. If he was to win her hand he needed to work a lot harder, improve a lot more, manifest his inner potential in outer skill, and… and then she'd make time for him.

Only… right now he didn't have the energy to go back to the dorm room or to the library and work on his essays. He didn't even have the energy to go back to the roof and keep training.

He just needed something to make him feel better.

And he thought he knew where to go.

XxXxX​

According to 'A History of the Four Academies', the land on which Beacon Academy was built had once been a royal estate, wide lands on the edge of Vale used for hunting in the forest and fishing in the river, until the King had bestowed it in perpetuity upon the nascent academy for the purposes of building a school there. The only part of the estate not granted to Beacon was a hunting lodge upon the edge of the lands, which was instead given to its elderly caretaker in recognition of his loyal service. It had passed through a few hands since then, until coming into the possession of the retired huntress Benni Haven, who ran it with her husband as a restaurant on the edge of her old alma mater.

Benni Haven's, as it was imaginatively named, still had the look of a hunting lodge, the bucolic log cabin with the incongruous neon sign bolted to the roof looking oddly placed so close to the vast, grandiose academy in whose shadow it dwelt. A sign proclaimed 'Eat in or Take Out' just outside the door as Sunset walked down the gravel path towards the establishment.

On the one hand, she didn't really feel like going to Vale today; she would need to at some point, possibly, but she wasn't in the mood for it. Not after the kind of prejudice she'd gotten from that guy in the dust shop. If that was the standard of service she could expect in Vale, then she wanted as little to do with it as possible. On the other hand, she didn't want to stay on campus, either. She was starting to get a little fed up with certain members of her team, and putting some distance between them, even if it was only a little way, might do her some good.

And so she approached the door, which was made of nine panes of glass, through which she could see that it was still pretty quiet in here. Sunset pushed the door open. The interior design was rustic, harking back to the building's original purpose: the walls were wood-panelled, and the floor was bare floorboard without a carpet. There was a fake ursa head mounted to the wall above a great stone fireplace. A large picture of four huntresses, dressed for combat and posing with their weapons, hung on the opposite wall, alongside numerous smaller pictures of various different huntsman teams. What was supposed to look like a stuffed beowolf stood by the door, snarling at the patrons as they came through the door.

The sign on the beowolf's plinth said 'Fluffy'.

"Hey there, kid," cried a squirrel faunus in a genial voice, her fluffy tail climbing up her back to poke up over her shoulder as she made her way out from behind the counter on the far side of the room to approach Sunset. "Don't think I've seen you around before. Freshman, or has it taken you this long to find your way here?"

"I'm a new student," Sunset replied.

"Always glad to meet the new kids," the faunus said, as she thrust out her hand. "Benni Haven, glad to meet you."

Sunset took her hand slowly, and with a little reluctance. "Sunset Shimmer."

"Team?"

Sunset blinked. "Team Sapphire."

"Which would make you the leader, huh?" Benni asked. She was a tall woman, with a frame that had retained its muscular physique - or some of it at least - although one of her arms was gone and replaced with a prosthetic. Her head was shaved on both sides, leaving her sandy blonde hair in a central strip running down the middle of her head.

"That's right," Sunset said.

"Congratulations!" Benni said jovially. "You know, if you bring your whole team down here, then you can get a picture taken with Fluffy over here. You get one copy, and I'll put the other on the wall, with the rest of my boys and girls."

Sunset looked at the picture wall – there were so many they were starting to crowd out the wood-panelling – with a little more attention this time. There were a lot of photographs, all of full teams and all of them posing with or around Fluffy the Beowolf, whose snarl seemed almost comical when matched with the smiling faces of the students around him.

"I'll… bear it in mind," Sunset said quietly.

"You'd better. Those smiles don't last forever," Benni said, her tone descending into wistfulness. "And not enough people remember these kids… so I try to." She smiled, although it seemed that there was a slightly forced edge to it now. "Anyway, what can I do you for, Sunset Shimmer? Eating in or taking out?"

"Eating in," Sunset said.

"Well, as you can see, you've beaten the rush, so help yourself to a table, and I'll be right with you," Benni told her, before she turned around and walked back to the counter.

She was right about Sunset being able to help herself to a table: at present, there was only one table in the entire establishment that was actually being occupied, and that by Lyra and Bon Bon, both of Team BLBL, and Dove Bronzewing of Team YRDN. The two girls were sitting across from the lone boy, both of them wearing very sympathetic looks upon their faces as they reached around their ice-cream sundaes towards him.

She could hear them talking before they noticed she was here. "You know," Dove said. "The owner is only the third faunus I've seen since I left home; she's a lot nicer than Sunset."

"Every faunus is nicer than Sunset," Lyra remarked. "It's not hard."

Sunset grunted as she made her presence known. "Menage a trois?" she asked.

Lyra looked up at her. "For your information, Sunset, it's perfectly possible for a boy and a girl to be friends with nothing going on."

"And besides," Bon Bon added, "Dove is spoken for, aren't you, Dove?"

Sunset snorted. "If Dove is spoken for then what does she think of you being here with these two?"

Dove didn't appear to find that particularly amusing. He sat with a dark look on his face. "She's gone," he muttered.

"Who?" Sunset asked, because she had nothing better to do.

"Dove's true love," Lyra sighed.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"You should hear the way he talks about her," Bon Bon insisted.

"I'll pass on that," Sunset muttered.

"I promised I'd meet her here," Dove said in a maudlin voice. "But she… she didn't wait for me."

"The grimm probably didn't give her much choice in the matter," Sunset said harshly.

"She's not dead!" Bon Bon corrected her. "She's gone. She… left."

"We wanted to help Dove find her, so we spoke to some of the older students," Lyra added. "She wasn't a student, but Team Coffee remembered seeing her around the campus for a while last year. And then, one day, she just… disappeared."

"If she wasn't a student, then she probably got bored hanging around a school and went somewhere else," Sunset said.

"Then why wouldn't she let me know?" Dove demanded.

"Probably because she wasn't nearly as into you as you were into her," Sunset informed him. "It happens, more often than you'd think." She walked away in search of a different table.

Nevertheless, the voices of the other customers carried across the restaurant towards her. Lyra said, "Maybe we should take a look around Vale? We could stick up fliers?"

"Before we do that, Dove, why don't you talk to Professor Ozpin?" Bon Bon suggested. "Maybe he can tell you something about Amber?"

"Perhaps," Dove agreed. "Although…he'd have no reason to tell me if he did."

There was a pause, before Lyra said, "What are you going to do, if you can't find her?"

"Wait," Dove replied. "She'll come back. If our promise means anything to her, then she'll come back. And when she does, she'll find that I've gotten strong enough to keep her safe."

"We all will," Bon Bon agreed.

Sunset snorted disdainfully.

There was another pause. "What is your problem, Sunset?" Lyra demanded.

"Oh, nothing," Sunset said idly. "Just the thought of you three becoming strong enough to protect anyone, as if you're not wasting your time here."

"Don't listen to her, Dove," Lyra insisted. "It's like Professor Goodwitch said, so long as we work hard and keep at it, then we can surpass all the prodigies in our year and become the greatest huntsmen in Beacon."

No, you won't, Sunset thought. I've claimed that spot, and I'm not giving it up.

Especially not to the likes of you.

XxXxX​

The back of the dorm room was taken up with the four beds, neatly lined up against the wall, two on either side of the window. On the other side of the room, on either side of the door, were two long desks bolted to the wall where the students could work.

Pyrrha sat at one of those desks, head bent a little so that her teardrop pendants dropped down on either side of her face from her circlet, and tried to get to grips with her Grimm Studies essay. The subject was how to tackle an ursa, with Professor Port having asked that they should describe how to take on multiple of the creatures for extra credit.

The assignment itself was not exceedingly difficult, but it was made a little tricky for Pyrrha by the way that a pair of blue eyes kept flashing before her eyes. That would have been quite enough, but her thoughts kept straying to imagining Jaune arm in arm with Weiss Schnee, and it made her feel a little queasy in the stomach.

It was wrong of her, she knew. Jaune didn't belong to her: he was her partner, not her husband, and she had no claim on him, nor any reason to believe that he would not be happy with Weiss Schnee. She cringed at that particular thought; she was thinking as if the two of them were about to be wed. That was hardly the way of things in Vale, or even in Atlas. Even in Mistral, to be frank, courtships had gotten longer as the modern age wore on and the cultures of the west disseminated eastward. Jaune was – probably, Pyrrha would not pretend to know his thoughts – not looking to settle down with Weiss, merely to have some fun with her.

But he wanted to have fun with Weiss and not with Pyrrha.

She could not help but wonder if this was because he didn't really know who she was. The name of Pyrrha Nikos meant nothing to him, and so… neither did she.

That was probably very unfair on her part.

But it was a thought that she could not escape, all the same.

"Do you think he has his answer yet?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha looked up and twisted around on her seat to look at her younger, smaller teammate. Unlike Pyrrha, who was casually dressed in a cream sweater and a light pink skirt, Ruby was wearing her huntress outfit; but then, Pyrrha supposed that Ruby's outfit was a lot more suitable for casual wear than Pyrrha's. "Are you talking about Jaune?" she asked.

Ruby nodded. She was sat on her bed, reading a comic. Or she had been, at least. Now she was looking at Pyrrha. "Weiss… hasn't said a single nice thing to him since school started; she just sniffs at him and criticises him. Is that what boys like?"

"I… I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to ask, Ruby," Pyrrha admitted. "My…training regimen hasn't left me with a lot of time for… relationships." That probably sounded a little better than saying that the only boys who had ever tried to get close to her were after her for her name and fame, or at least Pyrrha thought it did.

"Oh," Ruby said. "Right."

Pyrrha frowned, ever so slightly. "Is something wrong, Ruby?"

"No," Ruby said quickly. She hesitated. "Pyrrha, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Ruby," Pyrrha replied. "What is it?"

"What's it like, being a tournament fighter?" Ruby asked. "I mean, we don't have anything like that here in Vale."

"No, you don't, do you?" Pyrrha agreed. "Atlas does, but as I understand, it's much more low key than it is in Mistral; there isn't the same… media circus attached to it."

"Why is that?"

"Because Mistral is the home of heroic combat," Pyrrha replied. "I'm not trying to say that my people invented heroes, although no doubt, some in Mistral would make that boast, but we gave Remnant the tradition of combat by champion from which, ultimately, the Vytal Festival descends. A small group of fighters, eventually only a single fighter, defending the honour of the school and the kingdom? That is… a very Mistralian thing, or it comes from a very Mistralian tradition, and we have not forgotten it."

Ruby nodded. "So…is it just like Professor Goodwitch's sparring class, all the time?"

Pyrrha chuckled softly as she got up from her seat and wandered over to her bed. She sat down upon it, the mattress crumpling a little beneath her, as she faced Ruby with her elbows resting upon her knees. "I suppose you could say that, in that it is a sequence of one on one duels fought in an arena. But the atmosphere is completely different. The crowds are much larger and nobody – in the audience or in the arena – is there to learn. They're there to win."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Why what?" Pyrrha replied.

"I mean, what's the point?" Ruby demanded. "I mean… no offence, Pyrrha, because you're really good. You're absolutely amazing! Nobody's even touched you in sparring class-"

"It's only been a week," Pyrrha said mildly. "Give it time."

"The point is," Ruby said, "is everyone who fights in the Mistral tournaments that good?"

"Not everyone," Pyrrha said softly, "but at the highest level, it is true that all of the best fighters – Arslan, Kurt, Hector, Oceana, Metella – are around my level of skill."

Ruby hesitated, a frown creasing her young face. "So what are they doing it for? Fighting in tournaments, I mean?"

"I… I can't pretend to know all of their hearts," Pyrrha admitted. "Some do it for the prize money, others do it because they enjoy it. All of them, all of us, do it for the glory that accrues to our names as a result of our victories." And that worked out very well for me, didn't it?

Ruby nodded, but she was still frowning. "Doesn't that seem like a waste to you? All these great fighters with awesome skills, and they're, well, they're wasting them fighting one another so that people can watch and have fun."

"You think that they should be fighting the grimm, the enemies of humanity," Pyrrha said softly. She smiled. "Well, you know that I agree with you," she pointed out.

Ruby's eyes widened, and her voice took on a note of panic. "Yes, I know! I wasn't trying to say that you weren't-"

Pyrrha chuckled. "There's no need to panic, Ruby. I know that you meant nothing unkind by it. And you're right, at the end of day, it is all just… empty spectacle. But at the same time, I wouldn't want to speak ill of my fellow competitors, nor would I have the right. When I won my first title and was borne in a chariot through the streets of the city to the Temple of Victory… I'd never felt so… and I must confess there is still a part of me that…" she trailed off.

Ruby leaned forward. "Come on, Pyrrha, you can't stop there!"

Pyrrha hesitated, feeling suddenly very bashful. "When… when I am in the arena, with Miló in one hand and Akoúo̱ in the other and an opponent in front of me I must defeat, then… it's as if my self - my true self - is only born in that moment as I emerge into the ring. Everything else falls away, the rest of the world disappears, and the arena becomes my world. A world that I can live in. I feel as though it's only in combat that I can show who I really am."

"I don't buy it," Ruby said.

Pyrrha blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't get who you were from watching you in class, although you are amazing to watch," Ruby assured her. "I got who you were from when you stood up for me in front of Weiss on the first day of school."

"Anyone could have done that," Pyrrha told her.

"But they didn't," Ruby reminded her. "You did." Now it was Ruby's turn to hesitate. "I love Crescent Rose, but I don't feel anything special when I get her out. When I fight with her, I don't feel any more me than I did before. Because I'm not fighting for me; I'm fighting for all the people I'm protecting, from the grimm or from bad guys."

"Shepherd of the People," Pyrrha murmured.

"Huh?"

"An old term for a king, found often in Mistralian poetry," Pyrrha said. "It evokes the fact that the first duty of a ruler is to guard his people, as a shepherd guards the flock from wolves."

Ruby's eyebrow rose. "I never said I was a king or anything."

"No," Pyrrha agreed, "but you have a noble heart, Ruby Rose." Nobler than many of the so-called nobles of my home.

A blush rose to Ruby's face. "I... um, I mean I, uh… say, do you want to go into Vale with me?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, you're new here, right?" Ruby said. "And while I don't live here, I've been to Vale a few times. I could show you around?"

Pyrrha glanced at her unfinished essay. She could, she supposed, do it tomorrow. It might be nice to get off campus, and it would be nice to have a guide to the city. She hadn't really had a chance to explore Vale before the semester started. "I'd love to join you, Ruby; that sounds wonderful. I… don't know what you have planned, but could we look for a hair salon while we're there? I need to find one to use while I'm in Vale."

"But your hair looks great already," Ruby protested.

Pyrrha laughed as she got to her feet. "That's very sweet of you to say, but it takes a lot of work to keep it that way."

"Oh. Right. Sure, we can do that," Ruby agreed. "Do you think Jaune and Sunset would like to join us too?"

Pyrrha frowned. "Isn't Jaune heading into the city with Weiss?"

"But she doesn't like him," Ruby pointed out.

"Yes," Pyrrha accepted. "I suppose there is that." She does not see his worth. Too few do. Poor Jaune.

"I'll call him," Ruby said. She got out her scroll and swiftly selected Jaune from her list of contacts.

Jaune answered on voice only. "Hey, Ruby."

"Hey Jaune," Ruby called. "How did it go with Weiss?"

Jaune's only response was a dispirited moan.

Ruby winced. "That bad, huh?"

"I mean, she said no," Jaune replied, "but she implied it was only because I'm not strong enough to deserve her yet, so I've still got a chance."

Pyrrha and Ruby exchanged glances. Pyrrha could not help but be puzzled. Was that how they did things in Atlas? Court via strength? She supposed it was as good a way as selecting a partner as by their wealth, the antiquity of their name, or by how venerable their noble lineage was; one could argue that it was better to have a strong man than a rich one.

But at the same time, to judge by physical strength alone… how many ogres then would displace men of good heart and character at the forefront of desirability? What of courage, what of compassion?

She could not say what Weiss was thinking.

"Where are you?" Ruby asked.

There was the sound of a chicken clucking. "I'm at the farm," Jaune said.

"Oh," Ruby said. "Do you want to come into Vale with Pyrrha and me and maybe Sunset?"

"Uh, sure," Jaune said. "I've just got a few things to finish off here first."

"Why don't we come down there?" Ruby suggested. "Maybe we can help."

There was a pause on the other side of the scroll. "Okay," Jaune said, sounding a little reluctant.

"Great," Ruby said. "We'll see you down there." She ended the call.

"Do you want to call Sunset as well?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'll call her on the way," Ruby replied, as she got up off her bed and led the way towards the door. Once they both got out into the corridor, Ruby called Sunset.

Sunset, like Jaune before her, answered voice only. "Yes?"

"Hey, Sunset," Ruby said. "We're just on our way down to the farm to meet Jaune, and then the three of us are heading into Vale this afternoon. Do you want to come?"

There was a moment of silence. "What's Jaune doing on the farm?"

"We'll find out when we get there," Pyrrha said. "At least, I suppose we will."

"Tell Jaune to stop playing with animals, knuckle down, and get some work done," Sunset said. "For that matter, you should think about doing the same."

"So… that's a no, then?" Ruby asked rhetorically.

Sunset sighed. "This is me reminding you that we have homework due next week, and I get punished if you turn it in late."

"We have all weekend to work on that," Ruby protested.

"You could do your homework first and then go into town later," Sunset pointed out.

Ruby puffed out her cheeks. "You're kind of a buzzkill, you know."

"I'm your team leader; that's my job."

"So you really don't want to come with us?"

Sunset made a sound that was almost a growl. "No," she said, before the call ended.

"She does have a point about our homework," Pyrrha conceded.

"Come on, Pyrrha!" Ruby whined. "We deserve a break. Besides, don't you want to see what Jaune's up to?"

Pyrrha did, indeed, want to see what Jaune was up to, and so she followed Ruby out of the dorm and across the broad and spacious campus to the farm, where they found Jaune, repairing the fence around the chicken enclosure.

He looked up at them as they approached, smiling at the pair of them. "Hey, Ruby. Hey, Pyrrha, you look nice."

Pyrrha felt her cheeks heat up a little. "Oh, thank you. What are you doing?"

"When I got down here, I found that the fence was broken," Jaune explained, "and there were fox prints on the ground."

Ruby gasped. "Oh no, did they get anyone?"

"I don't know," Jaune admitted. "I'd have to know how many there were supposed to be and then count them. But I saw all this wire lying around, and there were tools in that shed over there" – he gestured to a wooden shed not too far away – "and I thought that I'd take care of it."

"You know how?" Pyrrha asked, curious.

"I have many talents," Jaune declared proudly; his pride lasted all of a moment before he appeared to deflate visibly. "None of which relate to the thing I actually want to do with my life."

Pyrrha sensed it would do no good to protest that he had some talent in what might be called the ancillary skills of a huntsman; she feared he would draw only further despair from the fact that they were, in fact, ancillary, and she did not want that. Instead, she changed the subject. "Did you learn how to do this at home?"

"Yup," Jaune confirmed. "We had our own chicken coop round the back of the house; keeping the foxes out was a constant battle, but we managed it."

"There you go then," Ruby said. "You're already a huntsman, Jaune; you've spent your whole life protecting the innocent and keeping the monsters at bay."

Jaune looked at her, his face crumpling with amusement as an incredulous laugh escaped him. "Thanks, Ruby, but I think if huntsmen ate the people they protected for dinner every so often, they'd be a lot less popular in the kingdoms."

Ruby put her hands on her hips. "You know what I meant, Jaune."

"I do, and I appreciate it," Jaune replied. "Jaune Arc, the Chicken Huntsma- oh, no, please don't either of you repeat that."

Pyrrha covered her mouth with one hand while she giggled.

Jaune laughed. "I'll be done in a little bit, but…do you guys want to help me feed them?"

"Sure!" Ruby chirruped.

"That sounds delightful," Pyrrha said. "Although I've never done anything like it before."

"They'll love you as long as you bring them something to eat," Jaune said. "Come on in, both of you."

As they joined him in the enclosure, Pyrrha asked, "So, did you grow up on a farm?"

"In a farming village," Jaune clarified. "We didn't actually have a farm per se. We grew our own vegetables, had some chickens and a goat, but there were bigger, well, actual farms around too. But it was the kind of place where everyone helped out at the right time of the year: with the gathering come harvest time, with the sheep shearing in spring, there was always something to keep the village busy." He sighed wistfully.

"Do you miss it?" Pyrrha inquired.

Jaune shrugged. "Doesn't everybody miss home?" he asked back. "Or is it just me?"

"No, it isn't," Pyrrha assured him. "I'm sure that Vale is a wonderful city, and I don't regret my choice of Beacon instead of Haven, but Vale… it's not Mistral. It looks different; no doubt, it will feel different, too. The tower, impressive and imposing as it is, is not the same tower that I could look out the window and see every day."

"This place is a lot more crowded than home, or even than Signal," Ruby admitted. "But it's like Yang said: Beacon is our home now, and I think it can be a pretty good one, too."

Pyrrha smiled as she put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I'm sure you're right, Ruby; as long as we keep trying to make it so."

In the end, they didn't go into Vale; they spent their afternoon on the farm, the three of them. Pyrrha, for one, didn't object or mind at all. It was calming and relaxing in ways that the hustle and bustle of Vale probably would not have been, for all that they would need to go into the city at some point. But that could wait until later. For now, she could appreciate time spent in the company of her two new friends and a small host of hungry chickens. For now, she could appreciate the fact that things were off to a pretty good start.

 

[ScipioSmith]

Diary​

Sunset panted. She had already fired off all six shots, there was no way that Weiss was going to give her time to reload, and the aura of the Schnee heiress was still in the green.

A white glyph, shining brilliantly in the darkness of the amphitheatre, appeared beneath Weiss' feet as she skated gracefully across the ground towards Sunset. Sunset tried to parry with Sol Invictus, but she was too slow, or Weiss was too quick, and she carved off a slice of Sunset's aura like it was ham as she flew past the fiery faunus. Sunset staggered. She turned as fast as she could to face Weiss as the latter rushed her again. This time, she – just about – managed to parry. Weiss attacked, her rapier flickering in the dim light. Sunset retreated, taking the blows upon the wooden stock of her rifle. She counterattacked, trying to use her heavier weapon to bludgeon Weiss' slender blade aside, but Weiss was too quick and too nimble.

A glyph of cobalt blue appeared beneath the feet of Weiss Schnee.

Sunset went on the attack, swinging the butt of her weapon at Weiss' head. Weiss leapt back. Sunset stepped forward... right onto the cobalt blue glyph which launched her upwards into the air.

The ceiling rushed towards Sunset. Her limbs flailed wildly in the air. A flash of light in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Weiss was flying too, leaping from glyph to glyph of gleaming white. She pointed at Sunset with her sword as four shots of some kind of dust burst from the cylinder built into the hilt, flying like missiles to slam into Sunset's limbs, conjuring more glyphs which held Sunset in place like shackles, suspending her in the air as though she had been nailed to a cross.

For a moment, Weiss hovered above her, blade poised.

Then she descended like a thunderbolt.

Sunset felt the blow strike her in the midriff before she was hurled downwards like an angel cast from heaven to land with a thump upon the ground.

"And that's the match," Professor Goodwitch declared calmly. "Miss Shimmer is unable to continue; Miss Schnee is the victor."

"Yeah!" Cardin cheered. "Show her who's boss!"

Sunset growled wordlessly as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Miss Schnee," Professor Goodwitch continued, "you continue to make good use of your semblance. However, I would advise against feigning weakness to lure your opponent into a trap in the future; that kind of feigned error can become a real one in the hands of a skilled opponent."

Weiss bowed her head. "I'll bear that in mind, professor."

"Miss Shimmer, by contrast, you should have made more use of your semblance," Professor Goodwitch. "Against a swifter opponent, you would have been well advised to try and keep your distance and fight from range."

Like she would have given me the chance, Sunset thought. Her back and backside were both smarting from the impact. "Thanks for the advice, Professor," she grunted.

As Sunset, wincing a little, made her way off the stage, she heard Cardin say, "Not so tough now, are you?"

She bared her teeth. Just because your team leader can beat me doesn't mean I'm not better than you. But it wasn't just her aura that was smarting as she made her way back to the bench where her team was waiting for her.

Sunset was halfway through her second week at Beacon, and over the course of the week and a half that she'd been here, she had learned a few things about her team and about the other teams that made up the freshman class.

The first thing she'd learned was that she did not like Weiss Schnee and Team WWSR one bit. And it wasn't just because it was the team that her ex was on, either; in fact, that had absolutely nothing to do with it, not one bit. The sight of Flash hanging around with little Miss Schnee, rich and privileged and ever so beautiful, left her absolutely cold. It filled Sunset with resentment not at all.

Nor did it have anything to do with the fact that Weiss had just beaten her in sparring class. Okay, that certainly didn't make it any better, but she hadn't liked Weiss long before today.

No, Sunset's problem with WWSR started and finished with the fact that they were awful.

Flash's awfulness needed no more introduction from Sunset, except to note that his continuous attempts to play the nice guy who would never do anything so awful as dump his girlfriend because of her race only caused Sunset to resent him more and more every time she witnessed his phoney act. Weiss… Sunset resented Weiss simply for being Weiss Schnee. She was absolutely convinced that Russell had been looking at Ruby more than he should have been, and Cardin… Cardin. Cardin, Cardin, Cardin.

It had started to seem as if Cardin Winchester had the opportunity to do something petty, he would take it... provided Weiss wasn't around. When she was, he stayed on something approaching his best behaviour, or as much as a lout like him could manage, but when she wasn't, then there was no act so low he wouldn't stoop to, no prank too petty for him to pull.

Cardin apparently hadn't liked the 'special treatment' that Team SAPR received in getting to move to a completely different part of the locker room than everyone else. A lot of people hadn't liked it, in fairness, but only Cardin had reacted to it by presenting Ruby with a dummy and calling her cape a 'baby blanket,' a nickname which had spread to Russell and to Sky Lark of Team BLBL. The worst part was that he wasn't doing things that Sunset could actually catch him at, so there was no way that she could report him to Professor Goodwitch, but she knew who it was who had sprayed 'Filthy Faunus' on her locker door; she knew who it was who had grabbed her tail from behind and given it such a hard tug that she fell on her backside, even if they'd run off before she could see who it was; and she knew who had thrown Jaune into that dumpster, even if he said that he hadn't seen who did it.

Sunset knew exactly who the problem was, and it was making her seethe as she sat down next to Ruby.

"What was that?" Ruby hissed.

"What was what?" Sunset replied sharply.

"You were holding back!" Ruby insisted. "Why didn't you teleport?"

"Because I don't want to advertise all the things that I can do with my semblance," Sunset replied in a hushed voice.

"Ooh, you're holding back so that everyone will underestimate you!"

No, I just think it's best if people don't ask too many questions about how astonishingly versatile my 'semblance' is. I'm not the Great Weiss Schnee with her marvellous inherited semblance that can do just about anything, after all. Faunus like me are supposed to be limited in our abilities.

Of the three members of her team, Ruby was the one that Sunset got along with the most, if only because there was nothing about her to object to. Yes, there was the fact that she was a prodigy, admitted to Beacon two years early on the strength of her skills, but it was hard to bear her the kind of malice that Sunset bore towards, for example, Pyrrha or Weiss, because she was just so… Sunset couldn't exactly explain it. Or at least she was having trouble finding the right words for it. But it was impossible for Sunset to feel as though she was looking at a rival when she looked at Ruby, mainly because Ruby clearly wasn't looking at a rival when she looked at Sunset. In those guileless eyes of silver, there was no concern, no weighing up, nothing, in fact, but affection.

Sunset hadn't come to Beacon to find friends, she hadn't come here to be loved by her peers… but she had come here to be adored. That was the entire point of this whole exercise: if she couldn't ascend, then at least she would be exalted in the hearts of men. The affection of one little girl in a red cape was not the fulfilment of her ambitions, but it was a lot better than nothing.

That wasn't to say that Ruby had no problems – in many of her academic subjects, she was doing as bad or worse than Jaune, struggling to keep her head above water to the extent that Sunset was giving serious consideration to writing her essays for her in order to keep up the team's grade average – but even those problems didn't inspire any great resentment in Sunset's heart. It was like… the thought of doing something to hurt Ruby, it… it made Sunset's stomach start to feel a bit uneasy for some reason, as though she'd eaten something that hadn't gone down right.

"For our next match, will Jaune Arc and Sky Lark please make their way up onto the stage?" Professor Goodwitch asked.

Sunset cringed. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to watch this. What would be the point? She knew what was going to happen anyway.

Which brought Sunset on to the second thing that she had learned in the first few days at Beacon: Jaune Arc sucked at almost everything, and it was making Sunset absolutely furious.

He couldn't fight; he got his ass handed to him every time he stepped into the arena against absolutely any opponent in Professor Goodwitch's combat class, as she had no doubt that he was about to prove in a moment as he shuffled onto the stage to face Sky Lark, who was himself no great warrior in the making, in case anybody was wondering. Sunset was not the best fighter in the freshman class – as she had just proved, unfortunately – but she fancied herself to be starting a comfortable mid-tier, a decent place to work up from. But none of the lower-tier mediocrities that Sunset could have vanquished with ease had any difficulty whatsoever in ripping Jaune Arc to shreds.

As Sky Lark demonstrated once they both got up onto the stage and Professor Goodwitch ordered them both to begin. Once again, Jaune rushed forwards, holding his shield all wrong – according to Pyrrha, who was almost cringing at it herself – swinging his sword around like a madman, and while he charged, Sky had reversed his halberd, Feather's Edge, and shot him twice with the gun in the shaft. Jaune staggered backwards, his sword almost dropping from his grasp, and Sky counterattacked ferociously. He wasn't great with that halberd, but he was better than Jaune was with his sword and shield, as he first hooked the shield out of Jaune's hand and then used the greater reach of his weapon to defeat Jaune at his leisure.

The fact that Jaune was an absolutely wretched fighter who could barely hold his sword without chipping away at his own aura might have been forgiven if he'd displayed a brilliant grasp of the academics but no. Jaune was pig ignorant in Modern History and Grimm Studies, his reading comprehension in Legends of Remnant could charitably described as service level, and even the classes that he displayed competence in, like Plant Science and Fieldcraft, were marred by the fact that he spent half the lessons asleep.

Yes, asleep. The fact that Jaune was useless at so many core aspects of the Beacon curriculum might, in itself, have been forgivable if he was applying himself but simply running up against the limits of his ability. Sunset might have not actually forgiven him for this, given how her future was riding on the success of the team, but someone might have found it in their hearts to forgive him regardless. But no, the guy was as lazy as a toad to boot. He went to bed late, having been out every night doing who knew what, he slept through so many classes that Team SAPR had to hide at the back of the lecture hall half the time so that the professors didn't notice, and he didn't even do the reading, let alone the essays. Sunset was writing Jaune's essays for him and hoping that she'd dumbed it down enough – to a B or B minus standard – that it wasn't immediately obvious what she was doing.

It didn't help that, in Sunset's opinion, Ruby and Pyrrha mothered him relentlessly. They offered encouragement when he needed criticism; they smoothed away the hard edges of his failure and inadequacy. He might have been their baby brother instead of their teammate.

Or perhaps they both just had a crush on him.

"Why do you two both coddle him so much?" Sunset demanded on the evening of the first Monday since Initiation, when Jaune was absent from the room. "He's dead weight, and he'll drag us all down if we let him."

"He's trying his best!" Ruby protested.

"Then his best sucks!" Sunset replied. "I don't get why he's even here."

"Because he wants to be!" Ruby yelled. "Because I bet that this has been his dream as long as he knew what it meant to have a dream. So what if he isn't a great warrior right now, that's what we're here to learn, isn't it?

"Can he learn?" Sunset demanded. "Pyrrha, back me up on this: he has too far to go, and there isn't enough time."

Pyrrha sat on her bed, hands folded in her lap, her head bowed slightly, not looking at either Ruby or Sunset. "I… I'd like to believe that, so long as we're prepared to put our hearts and souls into working towards our final goals, there are no limits to the destiny that we can achieve."

"That's not how destiny works."

"That's the destiny that I believe in," Pyrrha replied firmly. "And I believe in Jaune. I felt his aura when I activated it; he has so much potential, more than anyone I've ever met."

I remember when I had more potential than anyone Celestia had ever met. For all the good it did me, and I was prepared to work hard. And what is his deal, anyway? Just because I couldn't find anything about the guy… his father must know someone, have pulled some strings, something. No way that Jaune Arc got in under ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, she'd been too busy trying to cover for his laziness to look any further into him or the mysterious Raven Branwen.

Sunset folded her arms. "Potential is all very well, but he's not using it."

"Neither was I," Ruby said. She hugged her red cloak tight about her as though it were a blanket. "When I started at Signal, I was a mess. I hadn't discovered my semblance; I couldn't fight. But my Uncle Qrow… he believed in me. He told me what I needed to hear: that I had my mom's blood in my veins, and I could become a great huntress, just like her. And because he took me under his wing, here I am: I got into Beacon early because my uncle believed in me, and now, we have to believe in Jaune and help him to be the best he can be."

Just because you have a dream doesn't mean it will come true, Sunset thought bitterly. Although… wasn't that why she was here, in the end? Wasn't that why she had crossed worlds, left home and hearth and all she knew behind, given up her very physical form and exchanged it for another, why had she done all that except to defy the unfairness of having held onto a dream in her heart for half her life only to be told one day "sorry, kid, it was all for nothing"? She was here to seize her destiny, keyword there being 'seize': she would take by force what fate and Celestia had denied to her, raising her fist in anger at its cruel decree. If she could be drawn to Beacon for such a purpose, then why not Jaune Arc too? Perhaps, in the end, she felt a little prick of conscience or a moment of empathy; either way, she scowled and muttered, "Fine. I'll let it go for now. But… he'd better start to show some improvement, for all our sakes."

That improvement was nowhere in evidence today, she thought as she watched Jaune descend the stage after his latest defeat. And honestly, Sunset was already starting to lose patience with this particular millstone around their necks.

"And for our last match of the day... Miss Nikos, Mister Winchester, please make your way up onto the stage."

Sunset took a little visceral satisfaction from the look of fear on Cardin's face as he got up. Everyone had that look when they got called up to face Pyrrha. Sunset had learned a few things about Pyrrha Nikos this last week and a half, starting with the fact that she was a complete badass. Every combat class with Professor Goodwitch where her name was called gave proof of that, and this lesson was no different as she tossed Cardin Winchester up into the air like a tennis ball then proceeded to leap up after him, grab him by the neck, and piledrive him head first back into the stage so hard that the floor cracked under the impact. And she did it all under her own power, without the aid of any of the glyphs that Weiss had relied on to defeat Sunset in much the same way but with less noticeable effects on their surroundings. Yes, Professor Goodwitch was able to repair the stage again with a wave of her riding crop, but solar-powered Celestia! Sunset was left staring, open-mouthed and secretly feeling a sense of gratitude that their instructor didn't seem inclined to pit members of the same team against one another.

As Ruby and Jaune cheered, Sunset was silent. Pyrrha wasn't just good; she was a battlefield force of nature. How was anyone supposed to stand against that? What possible good was it doing for anyone to have her fight in the combat class sparring matches? She couldn't possibly be learning anything.

How could I last more than a few seconds against her?

Some people might have dismissed the question, but Sunset could not. Just because they were on the same team didn't mean that their goals aligned, and Sunset had been betrayed too often by those who were much closer to her than Pyrrha Nikos was. And, frankly, Pyrrha was starting to get on her nerves enough that she would almost have wanted to fight her if it hadn't been for the unavoidable and seemingly unbridgeable gulf that existed between their abilities.

As she watched, Pyrrha offered a hand to help Cardin up to his feet. The big guy refused, picking himself up without aid. Pyrrha looked mildly troubled by his poor sportsmanship, as though it was strange to her that someone who had just been so thoroughly humiliated wouldn't particularly feel like accepting pity from the victor. In the losing position, Sunset wouldn't have wanted pity any more than she would have offered it if she'd been the victor.

"Miss Nikos, superlative work as always," Professor Goodwitch said. Adding to Sunset's sense that Pyrrha got less than nothing out of this class was the way that the professor never even had anything to comment on in terms of her performance and ways that it could be improved.

Sunset couldn't be sure if Pyrrha nodded or bowed her head in shame. "Thank you, Professor."

"Mister Winchester," Professor Goodwitch continued, "your movements continue to be sloppy and imprecise. You would have given Miss Nikos a much harder time of it had you not left yourself open and off-balance at so many points during the bout."

Cardin's face twitched with irritation, but he said nothing.

"And that's all that we have time for today," Professor Goodwitch declared. "I'll see you all next time."

As Pyrrha made her way off the stage, she was mobbed by admirers congratulating her on her stellar performance. It was always like that when she was around. She really was a genuine, bona-fide celebrity. Wherever she went, there was always at least one person who wanted a picture of her, or a selfie with her, or an autograph from her, or just to pester her for a little bit. A lot of people didn't like the fact that Team SAPR had gotten 'special treatment' in regards to the locker rooms, but even the people who complained most loudly about Sunset and Ruby being set apart, or at Jaune being the only guy allowed to change with them, they all conceded that of course it was right and proper that the great Pyrrha Nikos should get a whole locker room all to herself, a privilege fitting the Invincible Girl, Champion of Mistral.

Pyrrha took it all in stride, reminding Sunset a little of Celestia at times as she dealt, politely but distantly, with the various hangers on that she seemed to pick up like barnacles accruing to the bottom of a ship. But she clearly didn't like it, that was clear to Sunset from the way that she held herself, from looking into her eyes, from every nonverbal cue that Pyrrha was sending off, and it was driving Sunset up the wall even worse than Jaune's general uselessness because what in Celestia's name did Pyrrha Nikos have to be upset about?

Honestly, it was enraging. It was the main reason why Sunset showered and changed as quickly as she could before holing herself up in the library rather than going back to the dorm-room. It felt to her as though if she saw Pyrrha right now, then she was going to scream at the ungrateful little wretch.

Seriously, what did she have to be upset about? She was talented, famous, and beautiful; everybody knew her name, and everybody wanted a piece of her. She was the object of rumour, whisper, and desire, widely-accepted as the most talented student to grace Beacon Academy in years, if not since its foundation. Greatness was predicted for her from every quarter, nobody could wait to see what she would become, and all they wanted was some memento to prove that they had known her in her youth before she became even more famous than she was going to be later. And yet, she had the gall, she had the utter self-centredness to mope about it? To show disquiet, to not love every single moment of it? Why in Tartarus not? Didn't she realise what Sunset would give to have everything that Pyrrha had?

I did have everything that she had once, and it was stolen away from me, Sunset thought. I'd give my right arm to get it all back again: the fame, the glory, the adulation, and the idolisation. All the things that I want and must struggle to my utmost limits to regain are the things that she has and treats as burdens to be borne with clear reluctance. Little brat. How can she not appreciate all the good things that she has?

It was bad enough that Pyrrha had the nerve to be in possession of all that Sunset desired, bad enough that she was more talented than Sunset, bad enough that the destiny that Sunset was so desperate for had pretty much dropped into her lap like a ripe plum, but she didn't even like it! It was maddening, and it was especially maddening because there was nothing that Sunset could do except stew in the unfairness of it all and marinate in her resentment at the rank ingratitude that Pyrrha displayed every single moment of her life.

She couldn't take what Pyrrha had and make it hers; it didn't work like that. Worse, Sunset would have to work with her and help her gain even more acclaim that she wouldn't treat with the respect and gravity that it deserved, while Sunset fed off the scraps from her table like a dog. It was unfair. It was monstrously unfair. It was an injustice that cried out to the heavens for redress.

Why should I, who long for the limelight to shine once more upon me, dwell in this detestable ignominy while she stands always in the light of the sun and casts disdainful looks towards it?

Why should she have what I want, when she isn't even using it properly?

Sunset looked with a frown at the book that sat on the table in front of her. No school textbook this, but the magical journal that she had brought with her from Equestria. It was sitting in front of her because… because, honestly, she had no one else to talk to about this stuff.

No one to talk to but a magic book that a faraway princess would never read.

Sunset didn't really want Princess Celestia to read it. She didn't want the princess to come back to Sunset and tell her "I told you so" or "You can come home" or "You should embrace the magic of friendship" or anything else. Sunset just wanted to pour out her thoughts and her resentments before they grew too much for her to hold in. She felt as though she needed to do that before she exploded.

Sunset wanted to bare her soul; she didn't want her old teacher to examine it.

Or… did she? If she just wanted to keep a journal, then she could keep a journal. Did she want to hear from Celestia again, even in the face of all these years of evidence that Princess Celestia had stopped caring a long time ago?

Did Sunset want to be forgiven?

Did she want to be told that, after everything that had passed between them, her teacher still believed in her?

Sunset didn't know what she wanted or didn't want any more. All that she wanted was the destiny that she had been denied.

And to be heard.

Sunset opened the book to the first blank page and began to write. She wrote about Jaune and how annoying it was that Sunset had to do the work of two people because of him. She wrote about Ruby and how she was the only person in this world that Sunset couldn't think of a bad word to say about and how she, Sunset, had no idea why that should be the case. She wrote about how she had to lead this team, even though she didn't like them all that much and wasn't really a team leader kind of person but more of a loner, as though Princess Celestia hadn't known that well enough already. She wrote about Flash and everything that he had done to her and about WWSR and how awful they all were and how much Sunset hated the whole pack of them.

Most of all, Sunset wrote about Pyrrha: wonderful Pyrrha, talented Pyrrha, destined for greatness Pyrrha, Pyrrha who had everything that Sunset had so longed for… and didn't even seem to care that she had it.

Sunset poured out her frustrations upon the page, she set down all the thoughts that whirled about her brain… and then, she stopped. She stared at the magical diary for a moment. Nothing happened. No word came from Celestia. No reply for good or ill.

Nothing happened except that Sunset felt a little emptied out of all her troubles, and in the emptying, she felt… actually a little bit better. She actually felt as though she could go to the dorm room and not explode at Pyrrha for the way she was behaving.

Sunset put the journal back in her bag and started to rise from her seat.

The book started to vibrate and glow a soft but vibrant pink colour, which could only mean one thing: someone was replying.

Sunset swallowed. She felt a chill forming in the pit of her stomach, anticipation filling her with dread. Celestia was replying to her. The princess had something to say.

Good or bad, Sunset couldn't say. She could only fear.

I guess there's only one way to find out for certain.

Sunset reached gingerly for the book in her bag. She hesitated, and cursed herself for hesitation.

Come on, you can fight monsters but you can't do this?

The worst the monster could do is kill me. Celestia could disapprove.

She probably does.

Maybe, but you won't know until you open the stupid book, will you?

Sunset scowled as she screwed her courage to the sticking point, pulled out the book, and opened it.

Um…I don't mean to be rude, and I'm sure that it took a lot of effort for you to write that, and I don't mean to make light of it, but…who are you?

Sunset stared at the writing in front of her and blinked. Had… had Celestia forgotten her? Had she forgotten all about Sunset Shimmer, her prize student, her little sunbeam?

I know we kind of left things in a bad way, but I thought she'd at least remember me, even if it wasn't fondly?

All the time they'd spent together, all the memories they had shared… was nothing worthy of remembrance?

You've forgotten me. Sunset wrote in the diary. She was unsure whether to add a question mark at the end or not. It seemed fairly clear that Celestia had, indeed, forgotten. You don't remember me at all.

Should I? Sorry, I only got this book recently. What's your name?

She gave the book away, Sunset thought. She gave our book away. The book so that we could keep in touch, and she just… what, did she throw it out? Did you hate me that much? Were you glad to be rid of me in the end?

She wrote with more force than necessary. I'm Sunset Shimmer; who are you, and how did you get this book?

The reply was swift in coming. I was given it by Princess Celestia, as part of a large collection of books. I'm the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle.

 

[ScipioSmith]

Wrath and Melancholy​

Sunset stared at the book, lying open on the table in front of her. She stared at the words written on the page.

The Princess of Friendship

Princess.

Sunset's eyebrow twitched. Another princess? A princess of friendship no less, that power that she had counted for nothing? She was reminded uncomfortably of Cadance, whose sudden arrival at Celestia's court had marked the point at which things started to go wrong for Sunset Shimmer, the point at which the cosy pattern of her life had started to crack and the marked out road leading to her destiny had started to seem less certain than before. And now, it seemed, there was another princess in Equestria: a princess of friendship, who had taken the prize which ought by rights to have belonged to Sunset.

Another princess in Equestria.

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

That there was another princess in Equestria was bad enough, but that there was another Twilight Sparkle was almost enough to make Sunset scream.

Twilight Sparkle? Twilight Sparkle? Sunset supposed that she ought to have expected this; after all, she had known since coming through the mirror that there were those – like Principal Celestia – who had doppelgangers in Equestria and Remnant, but she had never expected that one of them would contrive to come between Sunset and all her hopes in not one but two worlds.

She remembered the Twilight Sparkle of Remnant very, very well. Clever Twilight Sparkle, sweet Twilight Sparkle, cute Twilight Sparkle, the sweetheart of the school. She and Rainbow Dash had formed the unholy duo to rule Canterlot with the help of their cronies. She had frustrated all of Sunset's plots, turned all of Sunset's plans and ambitions to nought, and now, she – or at least a version of her – had done it again in Equestria too, and on an even grander scale!

It was intolerable, was what it was! How had some bespectacled nerd – Sunset couldn't help but imagine the human Twilight, possibly walking around on four legs – managed to achieve what Sunset had not and claim the crown?

How had she managed to get her dirty hooves on Sunset's journal?

Why… why had Celestia given her Sunset's journal?

Did all our days mean so little to you, Princess, that you would cast aside our only means of connection and bestow it on this... this interloper?

Why did you give her the book? What purpose could it serve for her? Why did you think that I'd want to talk to her instead of you?

Why would you treat me like that, cast me aside in spirit as well as in fact?

There was a part of her that wanted to run. There was a part of her that wanted to weep. There was a part of her that wanted to throw the book away and forget that this had ever happened.

There was a part of her that wanted to scream in rage, because after everything that had happened to her recently, this was just too much. It didn't matter that her own ambitions had been denied years before Twilight Sparkle came upon the scene, it didn't matter that Celestia had denied her destiny to her, it didn't matter that Twilight Sparkle had no idea who Sunset Shimmer was, because it was too much. It was far, far too much. Coming on top of Jaune's inadequacy and Pyrrha's ingratitude and Weiss' haughtiness and the racism of Cardin Winchester, it was almost more than Sunset could stand.

Perhaps she should have expected this, that someone would seize the destiny from which she had been barred. But she had not wanted to think on that, and so, she had told herself that there was no one like her, that in all worlds, she was unique and uniquely suited to the crown and to her glorious destiny alike. Now, the world itself reminded her it was not so.

Sunset felt in that moment like the pompous whiteface clown, humbled and humiliated for the delight of the braying creatures in the gallery.

The Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle.

Sunset wanted to run and scream and rage and fight. Wrath and melancholy blended in her soul in equal measures. With a trembling hand, fearful of what fresh shocks might break upon her but at the same time unable to escape her desire to know for certain, Sunset picked up her pen. She had to be careful not to grip it too tight, for she was in such a mood as she could have snapped it in two if she wasn't careful.

A princess, how fascinating. Do you know Princess Celestia well?

Oh, yes. I was her personal student until I ascended, as I suppose you might call it. What about you? How do you know Princess Celestia?

Sunset didn't reply. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She didn't scream, although a part of her wanted to, now more than ever. Another part of her wanted to write more in the journal, to make more demands of Twilight, to find more answers. She had been Celestia's student. Another student of Celestia. Of course. Sunset knew that she hadn't been the first, but she had thought... she had been vain enough to hope... but no, Celestia had taken on another pupil, and she hadn't even mentioned Sunset to her, not even once. Twilight Sparkle didn't recognise her name. Princess Twilight Sparkle had no clue who she was or that they shared the same connection to Celestia.

Did you live with her, in her palace? Sunset wanted to ask. Did she tuck you in at night, did she read you bedtime stories, did she care for you when you were sick, comfort you when you were sad, did she call you by a nickname? Did she take you in when you had no one else, did she provide for you and care for you?

Did she tell you that you were destined for greatness and for glory?

Did she love you as... did she make you think she loved you... does she love you?

And do you appreciate what a wondrous gift you have in her love?

Sunset realised that she was crying; she could barely see for the water in her eyes that was streaming down her face. She whimpered as she wept, weeping for the lost promise of her early days and all the good things she had in vain and prideful folly cast aside, things that she had not realised just how much she missed till she discovered that they had passed beyond recall and settled on another.

I have been robbed. While I have been on a journey, Twilight Sparkle has not only burgled my house but taken up residence within it.

Sunset couldn't remain there. With tears in her eyes, she fled, leaving her book behind and all her things as she ran for the door. Lie Ren stood in her way, but with a single hand, she pushed him to the ground and ran on, her boots thudding like drumbeats on the floor as she ran out of the library and into the courtyard. She ran on, hoping to reach her dorm room; she was going to lock herself in the bathroom and, there, hide her shameful weakness from the world.

"Look out!"

She didn't see him until it was too late, she caught a glimpse of the flash of gleaming armour, she felt the cold hard metal as she collided with it, and then suddenly, she and the other person had gone sprawling on the ground together in a tangled heap. Sunset wasn't hurt - her aura was more than sufficient to prevent injuries from such a fall - but as if her pride wasn't injured enough...

"Woah, watch where you- Sunset?"

It was Flash. Of course it was. Of all the people that she could have run into - literally run into - it would have to be Flash Sentry, wouldn't it? She had knocked his books all over the ground, and with a touch of her magic, Sunset gathered them all together into a rough heap so he could pick them up more easily. She didn't want him to demand she stay and help him; she didn't want to stay here for another moment longer. She leapt to her feet and started, eyes still filled with tears, hair askew, towards her dorm room.

"Sunset, wait!" Flash called. "I just… can't we talk for a minute?"

"What do we have to talk about?" Sunset snapped.

"Just because I'm on a team with Cardin and Russell doesn't mean I'm like them," Flash declared. "I want to apologise for the way that they've treated you and your team. It isn't right."

"I don't want to hear it, Flash. I don't have time for this!" Sunset yelled.

"You never want to hear it, that's why- Sunset, are you crying?"

Sunset flinched away from him, hiding her face behind her long, fire-streaked hair, trying to use it like a veil that concealed what he had already set eyes upon. "No."

"Sunset," Flash murmured. He sounded so concerned, and when he used that voice, Sunset was reminded of how she had believed - how she had let herself believe, how she had convinced herself - that he cared about her. "What's the matter? Has something happened? Maybe I can-"

"What?" Sunset yelled. "Maybe you can help me, is that what you were going to say? I don't need your help, Flash. I never needed your help, and you know what, that's a good thing because you never helped me anyway!" Her fury burned in her hotter than the fire in the belly of a dragon, and because she could not burn Princess Twilight Sparkle to a crisp, she vented out her fire upon Flash Sentry. "I don't need you help, and I don't need anything from you! Nothing at all, I never did!" Sunset's whole body shuddered, as if in pain. She was in pain, the pain of all her sorrows wracked her like cramps. "So you… you can take your pity, and you can shove it!" She turned and fled. "Leave me alone, Flash! I'm done with you!"

She ran, heedless of Flash calling her name, until she reached her dorm room. She fumbled with her scroll until the door opened, and she rushed inside. It was empty. Good. She would hide from the others, from every hostile eye and ear - which was all of them - until she was herself again. Until she re-assembled the mask she wore that Twilight Sparkle had shattered with her revelation.

Sunset grabbed the pillow off her bed - knocking that stupid stuffed unicorn to the floor as she did so - and screamed into it, screaming out all the rage and frustration that she had not vented upon Flash Sentry. Robbed, replaced, usurped, humiliated... forgotten by the person who had mattered most to her in all the world, her dreams denied and her possessions given away like things of no account. She screamed her rage and her sorrow both alike; she felt such emotions and so strongly that she was probably attracting half the grimm in Remnant right now, but no matter. Let them come. She'd fight them all, and even if she got gobbled up by a beowolf, at least she wouldn't have to feel like this anymore.

And then she retreated into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her as she hid in there with her tears and her pillow and her rage for company.

Another princess in Equestria. Equestria had another princess and no reason to think of her any longer. Celestia had a new daughter and no reason for care for the prodigal child who had run away from home.

"You're not my mother. I was a fool to ever forget that."

"It was your choice to make me love you, though it was my choice to believe that you loved me in turn."

This is so unfair.

There was a knock on the door. "Sunset? Are you okay in there?"

Sunset didn't reply. She wasn't okay, she wasn't anywhere close to being okay, she was so far past okay that she could barely remember what okay felt like… but she wasn't going to admit it, not to Ruby, or to any of them.

Ruby knocked again. "Sunset…Flash found me-"

"Flash needs to keep his nose out of my business!" Sunset shrieked.

"He was worried about you," Ruby insisted. "He said that you were… he said that you'd been crying? Is something wrong?"

"Why do you care?" Sunset snapped.

"Because… because you're my partner," Ruby said. "And my friend."

Sunset hesitated. You poor, dumb, naïve kid. And yet, something about the way that Ruby said it… how was it that Ruby Rose could affect her this way, and so easily? She thought it was ridiculous, but she started to get up. She wouldn't tell her the truth, but maybe-

"Sunset?" Pyrrha asked nervously. "I went and brought your things from the library where you'd left them, in case you didn't feel like getting them yourself."

Sunset's eyes widened. The book! Pyrrha had the book! She might even have read it, and if she had… if she had, then she'd know all of Sunset's secrets, she'd know exactly why Sunset was so upset.

Sunset leapt to her feet; a cold sweat descended down her back as it attempted to douse the fresh-aroused fires of anger that leapt up within her gut. Pyrrha had the book. Pyrrha had her book. Pyrrha had taken her book, her special book, her connection to Celestia! Yes, Celestia had given away her end to Princess Twilight Sparkle, but that didn't mean it was okay for Pyrrha to go around taking Sunset's stuff!

Sunset threw open the door and snatched the journal out of Pyrrha's hands before she could take a step backwards. "Did you read it?" she demanded.

"Sunset-"

"Did you read it?" Sunset snarled.

"No, I-"

"Good. Don't," Sunset snapped, shouldering past Pyrrha and Ruby and depositing the journal under her bed. "And don't touch any of the rest of my stuff, okay? It's mine, it's private. If I want to go and get it back out of the library, I will, and if I want to leave it there, then I'll do that too!"

"Sunset, Pyrrha was just trying to help," Ruby said reproachfully. "What's really going on?"

Sunset took a deep breath. "What's really going on?" she repeated. Where to even start. "What's really going on?" She looked at Pyrrha. Everything about that Invincible Girl was enraging to Sunset right now, from the milksop look on the pretty face to the reputation that hung around her shoulders like a cape, to the circlet gleaming on her brow that looked far, far too much like a crown for Sunset's liking. In Sunset's mind, she didn't just see Pyrrha Nikos but Twilight Sparkle too, the mare who had come from behind to take away everything that Sunset had ever wanted, everything that ought to have been hers, everything that had been promised to by fate: her destiny.

"You know what's really going on?" Sunset shouted. "You know what the problem is? The problem is you! You are the most ungrateful person I have ever met; do you even realise how lucky you are?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Pyrrha began.

"Oh, I bet you don't, you really don't get it, do you?" Sunset snarled. "You have hordes of admirers hanging off your every word, you get followed by glances and whispers wherever you go, and you're a subject of press coverage and gossip magazine speculation! You have fame, glory, celebrity, you have everything that anyone could ever wish for-"

"Is that what you think?" Pyrrha demanded.

"Um, guys-" Ruby began.

"Of course it's what I think! It's the truth!" Sunset snapped. "You've got everything that everyone wants - you've got everything that I want - but do you appreciate it? Do you? No, you don't! You act like it's such a burden to be loved by so many-"

"They don't love me!" Pyrrha cried, her voice cracking with anguish. "Is that… is that what you call love? I haven't had a single meaningful relationship with anyone who wasn't my mother in my entire life. I haven't had the chance to form any because I'm constantly being put on a pedestal that separates me from the people who put me there-"

"Oh, boo hoo!" Sunset said, her lips curling into a sneer. "Go cry into your trophy cabinet and take a look at the crown you stole from me while you're at it!" She halted, if only for a moment. Why did I just… who am I talking to here?

"Do you think any of the people who ask for my autographs really know me?" Pyrrha asked. "Or that they even want to? I don't have any friends-"

"So what?" Sunset demanded. "Friends are overrated."

"That's enough!" Ruby cried. "Sunset… why are you acting like this? We're a team. Pyrrha's your teammate. What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me! It's the world that's wrong!" Sunset yelled. Wow, even to me, that sounded arrogant. "I mean… you couldn't possibly understand how I'm feeling right now." She stalked over to the door. "I just hate it when great gifts are given to those who don't want or deserve them." She slammed the dorm room door behind her as she left.

She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she couldn't stay there.

XxXxX​

Ruby clasped her hands together. She felt so helpless right now. She didn't know what to say to Pyrrha, and certainly not to Sunset. She looked from the door, which Sunset had just slammed behind her, to Pyrrha, who sat down heavily upon her bed and sighed. She bowed her head, and she looked so sad that Ruby was desperate to do something to help her, even if she didn't know exactly what to do or say.

"Pyrrha?" she murmured.

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. "I suppose… I was far too optimistic about coming to Beacon."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought… I thought that maybe here was a place where I could escape my fame and find… but it seems that my reputation has followed me here, for good and ill."

Ruby frowned. "For whatever it's worth, what you said isn't quite true."

Pyrrha looked at her. "I don't understand."

"You said that you didn't have any friends," Ruby said. "But… you've got me, and Jaune. We're not just your teammates. We're your friends, and we've got your back through thick and thin."

Pyrrha continued to look at Ruby. Abruptly, she rose to her feet, and crossed the distance between them. Ruby squeaked in surprise as the taller girl enfolded her in a well-toned hug, pressing Ruby's head against the bronze and leather of Pyrrha's cuirass. "Thank you, Ruby Rose, shepherd of the people," Pyrrha murmured. "That… that means a great deal." Ruby felt Pyrrha's hand moving through her hair. "Do you have any idea what could have caused Sunset to behave so... strangely?"

"No," Ruby replied, looking up into Pyrrha's face. "What makes you think I'd know?"

"You are closer to her than either Jaune or I," Pyrrha said. "Or at least, Sunset appears to like you better than either Jaune or I, for reasons which she has partly explained now, I suppose."

"I'm sure that she…" Ruby trailed off. "I don't know. I don't really get people. That's why I prefer weapons where you can tell what the problem is and fix it with an armorer's wrench." Her silver eyes widened. "But I know who does get people!" Ruby cried, as she pulled herself free of Pyrrha's embrace and took her teammate by the hand. "Come on!" She led - or rather dragged - Pyrrha across the hall, where she knocked loudly on the door.

After a moment, the door was opened by Lie Ren. "Ruby, Pyrrha," he said equably. "Is Sunset okay? She seemed a little… agitated earlier today."

"Uh, yeah, about that," Ruby muttered. "Is Yang here? Is it okay if we come in?"

"Of course," Ren said, with only a trace of reluctance. "What difference do two more make?"

They only understood what he meant when he stepped aside to admit them into the Team YRDN dorm room, revealing that - in addition to the four members of the team - the room was also playing host to Lyra and Bon Bon of Team BLBL.

"Hey, Ruby! Pyrrha," Yang greeted them with a wave as she got up off her bed. "You're just in time to see Dove here on a double date."

"It's not a double date!" Lyra protested indignantly. "We're just friends hanging out."

Yang smirked. "I know, but it's too much fun to tease you about it." She strolled up to Ruby and Pyrrha. "I'd offer you something to eat, but it appears that putting Nora and Lyra in the same room equals an impromptu eating contest."

"I'll get you next time, Lyra Heartstrings!" Nora cried.

"So," Yang said, putting her hands upon her hips. "What can I do for you both?"

"How do you know I didn't come over to hang out with you?" Ruby demanded.

"Because you brought Pyrrha," Yang pointed out.

"Oh. Right."

"And Pyrrha... looks kind of shook up," Yang added. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really," Ruby admitted. "Something happened, and we don't…" she hesitated, glancing at Dove, Lyra, and Bon Bon.

"You can trust us!" Bon Bon assured her. "We're all friends here, right? And who knows, maybe we can help?"

"Maybe," Ruby said. With Sunset acting so irrationally, we can probably use all the help we can get. "So... we don't understand what happened, but it's like this…"

 

[ScipioSmith]

Equestrian Interlude​

The doors to Celestia's throne room creaked open. The princess herself stood at the far end of the great chamber, atop the dais and just before the throne from which she had, for a thousand years, ruled wisely and well over the land of Equestria. Twilight advanced down the traverse, her hoof-falls soft upon the crimson carpet, and in spite of all of her accomplishments, she still felt a touch of that habitual nervousness that she had always felt in the presence of her old teacher.

Spike walked by her side. In Twilight's saddle-bag, the magical book - Sunset Shimmer's book - weighed heavily. Why had Celestia requested that she bring it with her, and why had she asked Twilight and Spike to come to Canterlot to see her at once? Who was Sunset Shimmer, and how did she know Princess Celestia? And why had Celestia given Twilight the book that was meant to serve as their means of contact?

"Twilight," Celestia's voice was almost maternal in its warmth, and as Twilight approached, Celestia descended from the dais with a fond smile upon her ageless face. She craned her neck down to embrace Twilight, and for a moment, student and teacher nuzzled each other warmly. "It's wonderful to see you again, both of you," she added, including Spike in her greeting. "Thank you for coming on such short notice... and for telling me that Sunset Shimmer had made contact with you."

"Of course, Princess," Twilight said. "But I don't understand; who is Sunset Shimmer? And, if this book was intended to let the two of you communicate over great distances, then why did you give it to me?"

Celestia raised her head and looked over the heads of Twilight and her friends into nothing, or perhaps into the past where Twilight could not see. For a moment, she seemed to age before Twilight's eyes, and her eyes filled with sadness and regret. "Sunset Shimmer was a pupil of mine, just as you were," she said. "Before I taught you, I once taught Sunset."

Twilight gasped.

"You mean as more than just another unicorn at your school, don't you?" Spike asked. "She was your personal student, just like Twilight."

"Indeed," Celestia replied. "Before Twilight, Sunset Shimmer was my personal student, my protégé."

"But I thought you only took Twilight on as your personal student because of how powerful her magic was?" Spike protested.

Celestia nodded. "That is correct, Spike; however, Sunset's magic was every bit as powerful at Twilight's was, or close enough."

"But… if that's true, then why haven't I heard of her?" Twilight said. "Why hasn't anyone heard of such a talented unicorn? Why didn't you tell me about her, that you had a student before me?"

"Sunset strayed from that path a long time ago." Celestia closed her eyes for a moment. "Please, follow me, both of you. I will explain everything as we go."

She led the way out of the throne room via the rear door, leaving the younger alicorn and the dragon to follow her into the recesses of the castle. "I did not teach Sunset exactly as I taught you, Twilight. I was... more honest with her about what I expected and what I believed that her destiny could be."

"You told her about ascension," Twilight said. "You told her that she could become an alicorn and a princess?"

Celestia nodded. "I told her everything; that proved to be a mistake. The knowledge that she was destined for greatness caused Sunset's pride to swell; she became ungovernable, consumed by a sense of her own destiny and impatient of anything that seemed to deny her what she considered rightfully hers."

"I'm guessing she didn't make the cut," Spike muttered. "Not least because we've never heard of her, but also because she doesn't seem much like the kind of pony to earn her wings."

Celestia chuckled softly. "Very perceptive, Spike; that was the irony of Sunset Shimmer's life: that in her heedless impatience to ascend, she rendered herself unworthy of ascension and cut herself off from the destiny to which she aspired. For a time, I hoped that she could learn better, that if only she would repent and open her heart up to the magic of friendship, then… but it was not to be. Sunset was running from something she could not escape, consumed by an emptiness that she could never fill. When it became clear to me that she would never ascend… she took it as a betrayal and fled. That is why, when I began to teach you, I kept you ignorant of my hopes for you, Twilight; I hoped that without that burden to distort your expectations, you would grow without..."

"Without becoming like her," Twilight supplied. She shivered slightly at the prospect that she could have become - and easily, so easily - just like the Sunset Shimmer of Celestia's account: proud, vain, and headstrong, impatient with others and with the world, arrogant, heartless. The Sunset that was revealed through her own account, what she had written unbidden in the magical journal, seemed cut from the same cloth: full of complaints about these strangely named people, Weiss, Cardin, Jaune, and Pyrrha, without the slightest hint that Sunset Shimmer had any flaws at all.

"Come on, Princess," Spike cried. "There's no way that Twilight could ever become like that."

Twilight smiled down at him and placed a gentle hoof atop his head. "That's very kind of you, Spike, and sweet, but it's the influence of all my friends in Ponyville, more than any innate virtues of mine, that keep me on the right path." She didn't really want to consider that alternative, that some people were just born good and others were just born evil. Not only was the notion anathema to her - after all, she had witnessed Discord himself reformed and redeemed by a simple act of kindness - but more to the point… if Twilight herself was born good, naturally and innately so, and by that quality of innate nature suited for ascension and the crown then… what did that make her predecessor? Innately wicked? But how could Celestia's choice of student fall upon someone whose soul had from birth been black as filth? Surely, her teacher could not be so fallible. No, it was not so; it could not be so. Sunset had light within her, just as Twilight had darkness within her that the light of the friendships she had made drowned out and put to flight. Sunset had this Ruby Rose, who was the only person she talked about with any degree of affection, but even then, Ruby's light seemed filtered by opaque glass, its influence constrained by Sunset's refusal to acknowledge the light of friendship for what it was.

Perhaps it was Twilight's task to make her acknowledge.

Twilight continued, "But, Princess Celestia, when you say that Sunset left… where did she go?"

"What I am about to show you is one of the rarest - and possibly the most dangerous - treasures of Equestria," Celestia said. Her horn glowed golden as she opened a door.

"What is it?" Spike demanded. "Some kind of really cool weapon?"

The door swung open. Inside was a mirror, an antique-looking but otherwise quite unremarkable seeming mirror.

"I… gotta say, that's a bit of a letdown compared to what I was expecting," Spike declared. "You did say this was one of the most dangerous treasures in Equestria, right?"

"This is no ordinary mirror," Celestia said. "For three days every thirty moons, this mirror becomes a portal to another world."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Another… world?"

Celestia nodded. "It was through the mirror that Sunset fled when her destiny was denied to her. She sought to find in that world what had been barred to her in this one. For a time, I thought that she might return some day, but… as time passed, that hope dwindled. The diary that you have was a way for us to stay in touch, since Sunset had no dragon assistant as you do." Princess Celestia looked down at Spike and smiled. But it was a fleeting smile, gone as swiftly as it sprung onto her face. "You asked me why I gave you Sunset's book. The answer is that I could not bear to look at it any longer."

Twilight stared up at her teacher, her second mother, and felt a great well of pity in her heart. "Princess Celestia…"

"For a long time, I kept the journal close," Princess Celestia said. "Hoping that she would write, hoping that things could be made right between us, hoping… praying that she would say something, even to let me know that she was safe. No word came."

"Did you think about making the first move yourself?" Spike asked.

"Of course," Princess Celestia replied. "But after the way that things had stood at our parting, I feared to make things worse. I was afraid that if I addressed her, Sunset would only reply to confirm how much she hated me. The years passed, and in the end, I was forced to conclude that Sunset would never write to me again. Either because she had perished or lost the journal or simply… simply because she hated me so much. It has been so long that I was not expecting her to make contact. I am glad to know that she is still alive."

Alive, yes, but far from happy. Twilight hesitated a moment. "Princess Celestia… what do you want to do now? With the diary, about Sunset?"

Celestia stared into the mirror, as if, instead of her own reflection, she could see through it to the world that lay on the other side. "That is not for me to say," she replied. "I have failed Sunset once already."

Of course it comes to me. It always seems to, in the end. And I am the Princess of Friendship; what does that mean if not that it is my responsibility to reach people like Sunset Shimmer? "I… I'd like to keep writing to her, if you will permit me, Princess."

"Twilight, are you sure about this?" Spike asked. "I mean… no offence, Princess Celestia, but this Sunset Shimmer seems kinda nasty."

"She can't hurt me through a book," Twilight replied. "But maybe I can help her through a book, and if I can… I think I have to try." She hesitated, knowing what she had to ask but nervous about actually doing so. "Princess Celestia… is there anything that you'd like me to say to Sunset for you?"

Celestia closed her eyes, and her face was contorted with an expression of such profound sorrow and regret that Twilight in turn regretted having raised such painful memories in one whom she loved almost as a mother. For a while, Celestia was silent, seeming to wrestle with the past she had thought banished beyond recall. "Tell her… tell Sunset I am glad that she is alive, and that more than alive, I hope that she is well and content. Tell her… and tell her… please tell her how very sorry I am, for all the things that I said… and all the things that I did not say."

 

[ScipioSmith]

Pyrrha's Limit​

The book in Sunset's bag vibrated.

Sunset ignored it and tried to concentrate on the book that she was actually reading, a bestiarium of grimm common to Sanus for Professor Port's class. But the journal in her bag just kept on vibrating, humming like a scroll signalling that she had texts and every bit as irritating. It would stop for a bit, and then it would start up again.

Sunset was not hiding. She was simply sitting in a very secluded part of the library where no one else could find her, which was completely different. It had been a day since she blew up at Pyrrha, and somehow, everyone knew that she, a mere faunus, had dared to mouth off to the great Pyrrha Nikos. Sunset was inclined to blame Yang Xiao Long and her team for spreading the word around. Ruby had already admitted to going to talk to Yang about what had happened, and with the way Dove couldn't keep his eyes off her faunus features, Sunset wouldn't put it past him to have set out to ruin her and get revenge for the way that Sunset had beaten him in sparring class.

To say that the reaction to Sunset's behaviour had not been kind to her was an understatement. The whole of Beacon seemed to have taken sides, and they had not sided with Sunset. Today, it had been her turn to be followed by whispers including the words 'impudent,' 'impertinent' and the ever popular 'who does she think she is?' Sunset had even been asked that to her face at breakfast by Cardin Winchester, who had loomed over her while his henchman Russell hovered nearby.

Sunset was eating alone; she thought it was probably best for everyone, and in any case, there was no requirement for a leader to eat with their subordinates. Celestia didn't dine with her guards after all.

So she ate, in silence and alone, and tried to ignore Cardin's shadow blocking out the light and his obnoxious voice.

Cardin growled. "Hey!" he snapped, pulling on Sunset's tail hard enough to make her wince in pain. "I'm talking to you, pony!"

Sunset looked up at him, a look of cold contempt upon her face. "Don't do that again."

"You should watch your tone, pony."

"I'm sure you'd prefer me to call you sir or boss or master, but I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

"Who do you think you are?" Cardin demanded. "To talk to humans that way, to talk to your betters that way?"

"I'm Sunset Shimmer," Sunset said simply. "I don't have any betters."

Cardin's face twisted into a scowl. "Listen, pony-"

"Call me pony one more time, I dare you."

Cardin was silent for a moment. He stared at her, a smirk disfiguring his features. "Pony."

Sunset smirked, and with a touch of telekinesis, she hurled Cardin clean across the dining hall. He soared across the cafeteria with a cry of alarm, landing on an empty table recently vacated by Team BLBL. The table broke under his impact.

Silence descended over the cafeteria. Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha were all staring at her, Flash had his head in his hands, Yang was grinning, and Russell looked as though he was about to wet himself. Weiss's eyes narrowed as she gazed at Sunset.

Sunset looked around the room, locking gazes with all of those who stared at her, all of these little people who wanted to put a collar on her because they couldn't stand the fact that she dared things they couldn't dream of.

I know you all, Sunset thought. I know you all, and I have your measure too. With a snort of disdain, she turned to stalk from the hall.

"Sunset," Pyrrha called, half-rising from her seat, "I neither intended nor asked for this. I give you my word."

Sunset looked at her. She looked apologetic, but that neither proved nor signified anything. And besides, it didn't really matter whether she had intended it to happen or not. It had happened.

Sunset didn't bother to dignify Pyrrha's mealy-mouthed apology with a response, but turned and walked away without another word.

She left the dining hall and passed into the courtyard, where the fountain babbled away around the statue of the heroic huntsman and huntress. Sunset paused a moment, looking up at the two warriors, and tried to pay no attention to the hostile stares she was getting.

I bet you two wouldn't have bothered saving the world if you'd had to put up with my tribulations.

"Discrimination is a terrible thing. I regret that we cannot make swifter progress in eliminating it from our society," Professor Ozpin said. Sunset turned to see that he had somehow snuck up behind her unnoticed. He leaned upon his cane and sipped cocoa out of a mug bearing the double-axe emblem of Beacon Academy. "That being said, I cannot approve of the employment of unregulated violence against fellow students."

Sunset threw back her head. "You can punish me if you want to, Professor, but you won't make me apologise."

"Hmm," Professor Ozpin murmured. "Miss Shimmer, I won't pretend to understand what you're going through, but will you permit me to give you a piece of advice?"

"If you like, Professor," Sunset said idly. People had tried to give her advice before. Princess Celestia had tried very often. It had never been of as much help to her as they seemed to think it should.

"You have been blessed with the leadership of an extraordinary team, Miss Shimmer. I believe that if you can work together, you can accomplish great things, both here and beyond the walls of this institution. You yourself have the makings of a fine team leader. It would be a terrible shame if so much potential were to go waste over a petty argument."

Sunset was silent for a moment. "You were right, Professor: you don't understand what I'm going through."

With classes done, Sunset had retreated into the library to gain some respite from all of the hostility. She didn't like to think of it as hiding, and she certainly didn't like to think of it as having crumbled, but... look, she was willing to put up with a lot of crap to get what she wanted, but Sunset didn't see that she should have to, especially after going through Canterlot already.

Sunset sat on the floor of the library, with her back to the wall, her body concealed between two tall shelves, and read the bestiarium as she tried to ignore the buzzing of the magical journal in her bag.

"Shut up," Sunset growled at the book.

The journal buzzed again.

Sunset scowled and exhaled loudly. "Fine! Okay, you win." She snapped shut the book of grimm and pulled out the journal. Her name, and variations on 'are you there?' took up most of a page.

What? Sunset scrawled angrily onto the page. She thought it was Princess Twilight Sparkle writing; she thought that she could still have recognised Celestia's writing if her old teacher had deigned to descend from her lofty detachment to speak to Sunset, but to be perfectly honest, she probably would have responded the same way to either of them at this point.

Great, you're here.

It's Twilight Sparkle, isn't it? She wrote, just to confirm who she was speaking to.

Hello again.

What do you want?

What time is it where you are?

Sunset stared at the inane and nonsensical words that had appeared on the page before her. Have you seriously been bugging me all day so that you can find out what time of day it is? Seriously?

No, I want to talk. There was a pause between the first sentence and the next, as though Twilight were pondering what ought to come next. But I would also like to know if our worlds are chronologically in parallel or on some kind of time differential.

Sunset stared at the page. A noise that was one part snort and one part despairing groan escaped her lips. I've been replaced by a nerd. Celestia replaced me with a giant dork. Sadly, that fit with what she knew about the Atlesian Twilight Sparkle, who merited that description all too well.

I am not a dork. I'm intellectually curious.

Sunset smirked, for all that Twilight couldn't see it. Yeah, sure. For what it's worth, I'm intellectually curious too. She took out her scroll long enough to check the time. It's eighteen-hundred.

Okay, it's five in the afternoon where I am.

Sunset blinked. Where are you?

Ponyville, it's a little town outside of

What time zone?

Canterlot Mean Time.

Sunset checked her scroll again. Where I am now is one hour ahead of the time zone in this world's Canterlot.

So we are in parallel based on the location of the mirror! That is so cool!

Nerd.

Hey.

I never said it was an insult, you have to own what you got. I've always been curious about that myself, but I didn't have any way of checking. Sunset paused, and her pen hovered over the page. Now, what do you really want, and why are you being so persistent about it?

I want to talk.

Why?

Because Princess Celestia told me who you were, and I want to help you.

Sunset's face crumpled into a scowl. I don't need your help.

I disagree.

Oh, you do, do you? What makes you think you know anything about me?

Because you told me a lot about yourself when you didn't know I was there.

Sunset smacked her hand into her face. Yes, she had; of course she had. She cursed under her breath. She'd told Twilight... not everything, but more than enough.

That still doesn't mean you know me. She wrote, not really believing it herself. And besides, you should worry more about yourself than trying to play therapist to me.

What's that supposed to mean?

Do you trust Celestia?

Of course.

Don't. She lies, she uses ponies, manipulates them to get what she wants. She used me

Let me stop you right there before you waste any more effort. This isn't going to work.

Sunset's eyes narrowed. I don't know what you mean.

Yes, you do. And it won't work. I trust Princess Celestia completely.

So did I, once, Sunset thought. She scribbled in the diary. You're a fool then. You're a fool, and you're just a replacement me! You'll only ever be Celestia's second choice, and you'll never have the kind of connection that we had! Sunset believed that. Sunset had to believe that for the sake of her sanity and her self-respect. Bad enough that she could be replaced at all, but to be replaced in Celestia's love, in the heart of her affections... it would be too much. Her heart would not withstand it.

Celestia asked me to tell you that she's sorry, for everything she said and didn't say.

Is she too good to write to me herself?

I think that talking to you is something that I have to do.

Because you're the Princess of Friendship?

You know, I can feel the contempt dripping off your pen, but yes, because I am the princess of friendship.

If you live where I do, then you'd think it was stupid too. Almost as bad as the princess of love.

You knew Cadence?

I did. It's no surprise to me that you knew her too. Is she married to your brother?

Yes, but how could you possibly know that?

My guesses are very good and usually right. Sunset smirked as an idea came to her. Yes, this will mess with her head a little bit. For instance, you have five friends: Pinkie Pie, who is annoying; Rarity, who is stuck up and prissy; Applejack, who has no defining qualities; Fluttershy, who is a coward; and Rainbow Dash, who thinks she's absolutely marvellous.

Twilight took a moment to respond. It is uncanny that you know their names - although I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for it that you're keeping to yourself for unscrupulous reasons - but you're absolutely wrong about everything else. Pinkie isn't annoying; she's the sweetest pony I've ever met, and she tries every day to make the world a happier place; Rarity is generous to a fault and will always go the extra mile to help others; Applejack has a strong back and a strong heart to match, you can alway rely on her to help you in a pinch; Fluttershy is mild and gentle, but her courageous spirit always shows through in an emergency; and as for Rainbow Dash, if I was in trouble, there's nobody I'd rather have by my side.

Sunset huffed. I feel like those are matters of differing interpretation rather than incorrect facts. How do you become a princess of friendship anyway?

Well, it's kind of a funny story, but the short version is that I completed Starswirl the Bearded's unfinished spell and

You what?

It was on my second try.

Sunset stared at the book. Twilight had completed Starswirl's spell? It didn't matter that Sunset couldn't see what that had to do with friendship, because it was... as much as Sunset might not like to admit it, it was impressive stuff. Sunset... it was like pulling teeth from her mind to concede this, but she wasn't sure that she would have been able to do that. Sunset had been hailed as the most gifted unicorn since Starswirl, but Twight Sparkle... might be better.

Just admitting that filled Sunset with resentment, but also with a kind of curiosity that prevented her from simply slamming the book shut. If Twilight had been here in Remnant, then Sunset would have despaired of yet more talented rivals, but Twilight was in Equestria, the land Sunset had left behind. She could not impede Sunset's chances here.

And Sunset had been starved not only of the company of other Equestrians but also of an intellectual equal. And in truth, it was... flattering, to be sought out thus by someone of Twilight Sparkle's position and status, to be thought sufficiently important to be worth whatever it was that Twilight sought to accomplish. After years of being dismissed and trampled on, it was like rain upon parched flowers.

And, who knew? Twilight might not prove so immune to Sunset's corruptions as she believed.

I concede, you interest me, Twilight Sparkle. We should talk again. But when I choose, not you. Don't contact me again, I'll write you when it's safe to do so.

Agreed.

Sunset smiled. At present, she would take whatever power she could get in their relationship. Sunset: Good. Then it's settled. Goodbye for now, Princess. She shut the book, with just a little more force than strictly necessary.

XxXxX​

Pyrrha Nikos did not consider herself a short-tempered individual. Quite the opposite, in fact; she strove to be patient to a fault, as meek and mild as any gentle dove. She was not unconscious of the fact that she had been born to great wealth, to what was still in Mistral considered noble birth, that she had been immensely privileged in her life and upbringing; it behooved her in consequence to act with grace and kindness, qualities which she ventured to say suited her natural inclinations better in any case.

She was a Nikos. The hopes of Mistral rested on her shoulders, or so they said, even if they said so more in flattery than truth. No one wanted to see their idol do anything but smile. At the publicity events and the fan expos, at the parties of the great and good, Pyrrha had trained herself – and been trained by her mother – to stand silent, a smiling statue or a doll, to present if not pleasure then at least a calm serenity pleasing to the eye of others. She could put on a calm face as the world passed by around her, seeing her but not understanding her, vaunting her image and caring nothing for the soul beneath. With all due modesty, she was almost as calm as she pretended to be almost constantly for the world. It was generally melancholy and nothing stronger that touched her like a sudden frost upon a rose.

All of which was to concede it was quite an achievement on the part of Sunset Shimmer that she was managing to fray Pyrrha's nerves the way she was.

It wasn't just that she had gotten a stronger reaction out of Pyrrha than any other hand in quite some time. It wasn't even what she'd said to get that reaction, ignorant and pig-headed though Sunset's words had been. It was the fact that Sunset wouldn't let it go. It was as though she was constitutionally incapable of admitting that she was wrong, even if she could only assert that she was correct with no proof at all.

It was rather disappointing that her team leader was turning out to be as loud-mouthed and boorish in her own way as Cardin Winchester, but Pyrrha had not intended for word of their argument to spread all around the school like this. She hadn't appealed for gallant knights to defend her from the ogreish Sunset. She certainly hadn't asked anyone to steal one of Sunset's tops from the laundry room and use it for something absolutely disgusting, but when Sunset had stormed into the dorm room brandishing her top with that sticky white stain upon it, there could be no doubt whom she held responsible.

Pyrrha was getting a little tired of it. She had come to Beacon to escape her pedestal, but leaving aside the fact that she had largely failed to do so, she hadn't come here in order to be sneered at, glared at, muttered about, or generally blamed for things that were not her fault.

The atmosphere in the dorm room tonight, for example, was terrible. Sunset seemed to have a dark cloud hovering around her shoulders blacker than her jacket. It felt as though she had turned the floor to glass, and the slightest thing would set her off again.

Pyrrha pursed her lips together. It wasn't fair, the way that Sunset was behaving. It wasn't fair on her, and it wasn't fair on Ruby or Jaune either, both of whom looked as though they had been dropped into the middle of a minefield with no map of the way out, if such a thing existed.

Pyrrha put her Legends of Remnant homework to one side and cleared her throat. "Sunset?"

Sunset ignored her. She was acting as though she was working, but considering that Sunset got better grades than Pyrrha did, Pyrrha couldn't believe that Sunset was actually still doing Doctor Oobleck's essay. She was just behaving childishly by ignoring Pyrrha.

"Sunset," Pyrrha repeated, louder and a little more firmly this time. Ruby and Jaune both looked up and towards her.

Sunset sighed. "What?" she demanded.

"Would you mind stepping outside with me for a moment?" Pyrrha asked. "We can talk without disturbing Ruby and Jaune."

Sunset stared at her for a moment, with a face like stone. "I have nothing to say." She turned her back ostentatiously.

"Sunset, please," Pyrrha urged her.

"Just because I am a faunus, does not mean that you may bend me to your will," Sunset declared. "I have said no!"

"No one in this room has a problem with you being a faunus," Pyrrha replied. "My problem is wholly with your conduct of late."

"Sunset," Ruby said, "Pyrrha didn't mean for any of this to happen. I don't know who decided to spread the word like this, but I didn't mean it! None of us did, and Pyrrha especially."

Sunset's lips curled into a contemptuous sneer. "So you expect me to believe... what? That, completely unprompted, the entire academy decided to rise up in your defence?"

"That is the truth, as far as I know," Pyrrha replied softly.

Sunset snorted. "I don't believe you."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Pyrrha demanded, shock evident in her tone.

Sunset sneered. "I'm sorry, did I offend your Mistralian honour?"

"As a matter of fact, you did," Pyrrha replied, her voice brittle. "And common courtesy besides."

"Too bad for you this isn't Mistral," Sunset said.

"Nor is it Atlas," Pyrrha declared, "and I am not a robot to obey commands without a care for how I am regarded by she who seeks to give them. When… when you are ready to apologise, I will listen."

"You'll wait a long time," Sunset growled, "for I have nothing to apologise for."

Pyrrha said nothing further to Sunset. There was nothing further to be said. She glanced apologetically at Jaune and Ruby. "Excuse me," she said, as she strode out of the room.

She spent the rest of the evening in the library, returning to the dorm only to sleep; she and Sunset said not a word to one another as they undressed for bed, and the atmosphere in the room was nauseating.

The next morning, Pyrrha went to see Professor Goodwitch and asked her about team reassignments.

Professor Goodwitch stared at her over the top of her spectacles. "May I ask why you wish to be moved, Miss Nikos?"

"I... I'm afraid that Sunset and I have had an irreconcilable difference of opinion, Professor."

Professor Goodwitch was silent for a moment. "Teams, once formed, are very rarely altered, Miss Nikos, and certainly not because of mere arguments between members."

"There's nothing mere about this, ma'am," Pyrrha replied. She would not fight for a leader she held in contempt. For her destiny, she was willing to endure much, bear much, suffer much, but not follow someone who despised her and thought her capable of such behaviour as Sunset had accused her of.

But it was hard to explain that to Professor Goodwitch, or to anyone really, without sounding melodramatic. Sunset had been right about that, at least: Mistralian concepts of honour did not carry quite the same weight in the Kingdom of Vale.

"That, Miss Nikos, remains to be seen, by me," Professor Goodwitch replied. "Good day, Miss Nikos."

"Professor, I apologise for disturbing you," Pyrrha said, as she bowed her head respectfully. She turned on her heel, and walked out of the office.

Unfortunately, Ruby was waiting for her outside.

"You wanted to leave us?" Ruby asked, looking as stricken and betrayed as she sounded.

Pyrrha winced. "No, Ruby, I-"

"She wasn't trying to leave," Sunset sneered, and Pyrrha saw her half-hidden around the corner. She was leaning against the wall with her arms folded. "She was trying to get rid of me, weren't you?"

Pyrrha didn't dignify that with a response. She turned away without another word and walked away.

XxXxX​

Sunset felt almost as though she was getting a divorce, and she and Pyrrha were stuck sharing the house while they worked out custody of the kids: their over-achieving daughter and disappointing son.

They had managed, without saying a word to one another, to work out a system of alternating who could spend time in the dorm room and who had to find somewhere else to be. Nights were about as fun all around as root canal surgery, but there was no getting around it, since there was nowhere else that either of them could sleep.

You could try apologising and putting this whole thing behind you.

Sunset made a face at the diary, open on the table in front of her, which contained elements of scowl, sneer, grimace and snarl. I've done nothing that I should apologise for.

You called Pyrrha a liar.

Because she lied to me!
What if she didn't?

I'm the victim here! Whose side are you on anyway?

Sunset, I don't doubt that a lot of what you've told me about the world you've found yourself in is accurate

Only a lot?

But have you ever considered that your problems are not entirely the result of prejudice?

Sunset squinted suspiciously down at the page. What are you saying?

That even by your own account, you've behaved pretty obnoxiously.

Sunset stared down at the words. They were wrong. They were ridiculous. They were absurd. She wasn't the one who had roused the whole academy in anger, she wasn't the one who had tried to get the team arrangements altered, she wasn't the one who had flaunted her ungrateful nature in Sunset's face.

Shut up. Do you not see where I am coming from with this? How would you like it if someone else had something that you wanted badly, desperately, more than anything else in the world, and this other person that has this incredible thing didn't appreciate it at all? Wouldn't that make you so mad?

Maybe, although when my friend Rarity was in a similar position, she did her best to be a good and supportive friend to Fluttershy in spite of her jealousy.

Pyrrha isn't my friend, so why should I be supportive?

Because she's done nothing wrong. This is your problem, not hers.

And we're done. I'm not going to sit here and be insulted like that. Goodnight, Princess. Sunset slammed the book shut.

She was wrong. Princess Twilight Sparkle was absolutely wrong. This wasn't her problem, she was reacting perfectly normally; it was Pyrrha who... Pyrrha was the one who ought to apologise. Sunset had nothing to apologise for.

Sunset was too proud to apologise, even if she was in the wrong.

Especially if she was in the wrong.

XxXxX​

Professor Goodwitch's voice was crisp and clear, cutting across the casual chatter in the amphitheatre. "The match will be Team Sapphire versus Team Iron. Please make your way to the arena."

Pyrrha was on her feet at once, making her way quickly up onto the stage. Ruby and Jaune followed, and Sunset joined them from a different part of the hall.

Sunset could see their opponents making their way up onto the stage together. They were huddled close, whispering amongst themselves. Yang Xiao-Long, easily identified by her hair shining like a beacon in the dimly lit space, was pointing at Team SAPR, gesticulating with one hand.

Sunset ran through the options in her head. Team YRDN was tough; in fact they probably had the most punch of any of the first year teams, possessing the two strongest first years and Dove Bronzewing, who was probably the strongest boy in the year. On the other hand, when it came to speed they only had Lie Ren, and he wasn't anywhere close to Ruby or Pyrrha. So, she would send Pyrrha forward to interrupt whatever strategy they where cooking up over there, while Sunset and Ruby provided covering fire. Once they'd used up their shots, Ruby would back up Pyrrha in close quarters while Sunset provided support with magic. Jaune she would use as a speed bump to keep either Yang or Nora just for a bit with his absurd quantities of aura. That should give Pyrrha and Ruby time to mop up the rest of the opposition with Sunset's help.

"Okay," Sunset said. "Here's what we're going to do."

Pyrrha frowned, and took a step forward away from Sunset.

"Oh, great, real mature," Sunset muttered. "Pyrrha!"

"If you have no regard for me," Pyrrha declared, in a withering tone. "Then why should I have any regard for you?"

"Guys, I have an idea-" Jaune began.

"Because I'm your leader!" Sunset snapped. "So you look at me when I'm talking to you and you pay attention!"

Jaune said, "I was thinking that-"

"Jaune's trying to say something," Ruby added helpfully.

Sunset paid neither of them any mind. In her wrath, her attention was wholly focussed upon Pyrrha. "You are the most spoiled, ungrateful, stubborn brat that I have-"

"Guys!" Jaune yelled. "Listen, we-"

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch declared.

Nora Valkyrie grinned, and with a mighty swing she... hit Yang with her hammer?

Sunset gaped in astonishment. She was still gaping, her amazement only deepening as it became clear that this had been absolutely deliberate.

Yang descended like a comet from the heavens, trailing fire in her wake. She was grinning like a maniac, and a wild warrior's laugh issued from her lips as she ploughed into Jaune, bearing him backwards with a squawk of pained alarm. Yang yelled as she started to pummel him, both fists flying as explosions issued from her gauntlets. Jaune, staggered, taken by surprise and, honestly, no great shakes to begin with, was unable to do more than soak it up as his aura level started to slowly descend.

Thank you for accommodating my plan, Yang. Sunset grinned. YRDN had taken the initiative but there was still all to fight for. "Pyrrha, get up there and hit them! Ruby-"

They both ignored her, choosing to go to Jaune's aid instead. They converged on Yang from opposite directions, scythe and sword alike shining under the spotlights focussed on the stage.

It might not have been so bad except Ruby was also blocking Sunset's shots.

A grenade flew through the air, trailing pink smoke behind it, before landing in front of Ruby and exploding in a blast of even more pink. Ruby was knocked backwards, her aura dropping but remaining in the green even as she was tossed across the stage.

The next moment Ren was on top of her, Stormflowers blazing.

Nora fired another grenade, this time at Pyrrha, who deftly knocked it aside with her shield; in the time it took her to do that Nora had already begun to charge, hammer drawn back for a mighty swing. She, too, was beaming wildly as though this was the most fun she'd ever had in her life.

A series of sharp bangs reminded Sunset that she wasn't a bystander in this fight. Dove had levelled his gunblade at her and was firing a stream of shots in her direction. Sunset threw up a shield, too late to stop the first few rounds biting off a chunk of her aura.

Dove stopped shooting when it became clear that his shots weren't getting through her shield. He regarded her warily.

Sunset, on the other hand, regarded him with contempt. Sure, he was probably the best boy but she'd already beaten him once and she'd-

"Dove!" Nora yelled.

Dove and Sunset both looked around. Nora was struggling against Pyrrha's superior speed, unable to land the solid hits she needed even as Pyrrha tore off chunks of her aura like a beowolf tearing off chunks of flesh. Pyrrha really was somewhere between magnificent and uncanny; even when Nora appeared to have her dead to rights she just seemed to avoid the hits.

Dove didn't spare Sunset a second glance as he ran to her aid.

It took Sunset a split second to decide not to follow. Instead, she teleported the short distance to where Ren was trying to handle Ruby with limited success. His aura was in the yellow already, and albeit Ruby's was too, but Ren didn't have the excuse of having been hit with a grenade. Ruby flitted around him in rose petals bursts, the sharp crack Crescent Rose echoing in the hall.

Sunset took a more direct approach: she teleported right in front of Ren, shot him twice at point blank range, and swung the butt of Sol Invictus at his face.

"Ruby, help Jaune!" Sunset yelled before the blow connected. At least Ruby listened to her this time.

Ren rolled with the blow, and as he rolled he grabbed the butt of Sunset's gun and used it to pull her forward, throwing her to the ground before him with a yelp. Sunset winced as Ren shot her in the face, chipping rapidly away at her aura. Sunset growled as she raised one hand and a blast of green energy erupted from her palm, striking Ren in the chest and hurling him back across the stage. A buzzer sounded, and then another. A glance at the board told Sunset that Jaune and Ren were both out. Dove was duelling Pyrrha, their blades clashing furiously in motions faster than Sunset's eyes could follow. Dove was almost fast enough to keep up with the Invincible Girl... but almost didn't quite cut it and his aura was dropping as Pyrrha chipped away at it. Ruby was having less luck against Yang while Nora... Nora was charging straight towards Sunset with absolute murder in her eyes.

Sunset shot from the hip, emptying all four remaining chambers in quick succession. It didn't stop Nora, and Sunset couldn't check the board to see how much aura she had left. Sunset started to raise a shield, but Nora's hammer went threw it lime glass and struck Sunset square on the midriff.

Sunset had a feeling of being compressed and deformed as the world whirled around her, before she was dumped on the floor with a painful smack on the face. A buzzer confirmed what she already knew: her aura was in the red.

Sunset didn't know exactly what was up with Ruby: either Yang knew her moves too well, or it was messing with her head to try and fight her big sister, but either way a fight that should have been easy for her was going very badly. It wasn't long before she was eliminated.

It was three against one at that point, but that one was Pyrrha Nikos. Perhaps if they'd all been starting with their aura intact they would have been a match for her, but all their auras were some level of frayed and yellow, while hers was nearly intact. Though the three remaining members of YRDN attacked together, though they were coordinated and cohesive, they simply weren't a match for Pyrrha's speed and shining sword. One by one she took them down and left them prone and beaten at her feet.

"Team Sapphire wins," Professor Goodwitch's tone was, as always, professional and without even the suggestion of favouritism, but she didn't sound particularly pleased with the result. Sunset could understand why: this wasn't a victory for Team Sapphire, who by all measures had been out thought and out fought, but for Pyrrha Nikos. Team YRDN deserved the victory, and had missed only by dint of having the bad luck to go up against the Princess Without a Crown.

Sunset's face burned with humiliation as she lined up alongside her team mates. If she'd just been given a chance to explain her plan then they could have won in a deserving fashion. As it was, today would simply serve to burnish up the legend of Pyrrha, the legend that she didn't even want.

"Team Iron," Goodwitch said. "Although I wouldn't personally recommend your choice of opening gambit-" Yang and Nora both grinned, the former sheepishly and the latter unapologetically. "You exhibited forethought and teamwork. That said, by leaving your strongest opponent to last you ran the risk of not having enough aura left, as proved to be the case. Team Sapphire," Goodwitch's stern gaze swept over them. "You were fortunate."

Sunset's jaw clenched with frustration.

"That's all we have time for," Goodwitch continued. "Class dismissed.

XxXxX​

Sunset had been surprised by the lack of anyone else on the way to Leadership class, and she was even more surprised to walk into the lecture theatre to find that it was completely empty, save for herself and Professor Goodwitch, who was waiting there for her.

"I informed the other team leaders that this class had been cancelled, Miss Shimmer," Professor Goodwitch explained. "I thought that you might prefer a private talk to the embarrassment of being lectured in front of your peers."

Sunset felt her face start to burn with embarrassment regardless. "I have to say, Professor, the fact that I'm the only one you think needs instructing in leadership is embarrassing enough."

"And yet I would hope that you retain enough self-awareness to recognise why you are here," Professor Goodwitch said. "Your fellow team leaders are, as yet, far from perfect, but at the same time, none of them has had a member of their team come to me requesting reassignment."

"That's not my fault, Professor."

"Miss Nikos seems to feel otherwise."

Sunset's jaw clenched. Her ears flattened down on top of her head. "I am not the monster here, Professor."

"No one has called you a monster, Miss Shimmer."

"I have suffered worse than Pyrrha Nikos could dream of," Sunset declared. "If she had to live in my boots for a week, that haughty, fragile spirit of hers would snap in two! Yet because I am a faunus, I must bear it all, shames and slights and calumnies heaped upon my head as high as the mountains that border on this kingdom!" Her tail curled upwards on itself, as if she was seeking to hide it from the eyes of men. "And yet, the moment I say to Pyrrha Nikos that she lies, I so offend the character of this great child of honour, this most vaunted champion, that I have done so foul offence that only abasement on my knees may wash it out. No! No, Professor, I will not bear it, it is not just."

"No one is asking you to get on your knees, Miss Shimmer," Professor Goodwitch observed mildly. "Only to apologise for words which hurt your teammate."

"Why?" Sunset demanded. "Once more, Professor, I ask you why I should apologise for milder words than many levelled against me?"

"And once more I ask you, Miss Shimmer, as I did in your first lesson with me, why should your teammates obey you?"

"Because I am their leader," Sunset said at once, "I was chosen and appointed to lead them."

"But these are not Atlesian robots; Miss Shimmer, they are young men and women," Professor Goodwitch reminded her. "They have their faults and foibles, their limits of what they can and will tolerate. Strange as it may seem from the outside, nevertheless, a good leader must know the people who serve beneath her: what motivates them and what holds them back. A good leader must learn to work with the natures of their teammates, not attempt to ride roughshod over them."

"Why must I sacrifice my pride for the sake of hers?" Sunset demanded.

"Because you are the leader, Miss Shimmer," Professor Goodwitch said mildly. "And leadership is about far more than giving orders and taking credit. Consider this. Those who, to use your own words, heaped all those shames and slights and calumnies upon you, if one of them had been made your leader, would you follow them?"

I know how to lead, I've seen it done.

Even if I haven't exactly been leading as I saw the princess lead.

"Your team has already demonstrated that it can work well together," Professor Goodwitch continued, "and you have demonstrated that you can behave as a leader ought. It would be a shame to waste a promising start as a result of words spoken in anger."

Sunset was silent for a moment. "Is that all, Professor?"

Goodwitch stared into Sunset's eyes. "That's all for now, Miss Shimmer."

Sunset turned away. Professor Goodwitch meant well, but she didn't understand. Sunset couldn't apologise, not even if it was her fault.

Especially if it was her fault.

 

[ScipioSmith]

Heart to Heart​

Nora Valkyrie was a fount of stories. Any meal or evening that was lacking in sufficiently lively conversation would be enlivened by a story from Nora to hold the world - or at least Yang, and Ruby and Jaune whenever they were around to listen - in rapture. There were tales of battling grimm in isolated forests, of following rivers through perilous wilderness, of hustling pool and cheating at cards in frontier towns, of taking on odd and hazardous jobs in embattled rural villages. So many stories, and all so well told.

Judging by the way that Ren was a fount of corrections to all of Nora's stories, it was clear to Yang that these incidents had not all happened precisely as Nora told them, but at the same time, Ren never outright called Nora a liar either, so something like all of these stories must have happened to the pair. Which was pretty amazing, really; they were only Yang's age, and yet, they'd already gone so far and done so much. It was Yang's ambition to travel the world when she got older, but Nora and Ren had already seen so much of the world before even arriving at Beacon. And yet, at the same time, if you thought about it too much, it was really kind of sad too. Nora never mentioned her parents or how she and Ren met; her stories always began with the two of them travelling together and ended the same way, like an episodic series with no beginning and no planned end. But it wasn't hard to guess what had happened, although Yang had no intention of asking for confirmation.

It was a little humbling to imagine. She'd thought that she'd had it bad having to take care of Ruby after Mom died and Dad sunk into grief, but having to do it without Dad, without a home, without any place to go... Yang didn't know if she could have kept herself alive in that kind of situation, let alone Ruby.

It was the kind of life she'd been setting herself up for with her obsession with Raven, once upon a time…

But she was older now, stronger and wiser… she just needed to know that Ruby would be safe and cared for when she left.

Which would be a lot easier if Ruby's team wasn't disintegrating around her ears.

And I hoped that Sunset might be someone I could trust with her. She seemed to care… even if she didn't want to admit it.

Yang realised that, in her thoughts, she had lost track of Nora's latest story, which involved a lost temple and a whole bunch of beringels - creeps, according to Ren - who lived there and… something about a gem in an idol? If she'd been paying attention, she would have had the context, but it didn't really matter because Nora was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Coming," Yang called as she leapt off the bed and crossed the floor in three brisk strides. She opened the door to find Ruby on the other side, head bowed and pressing her fingers nervously together.

"Hey, Yang," Ruby murmured. "Can I come in? That is, if you're not too busy or anything?"

Yang smiled with quasi-maternal fondness down upon her little sister. "I'm never too busy for you, Rubes. Come on in."

She put an arm round Ruby's shoulders and steered her into the dorm and towards Yang's bed.

"Heya, Ruby!" Nora called, waving from the far end of the room. "Great fight today, huh?"

"Yeah," Ruby agreed nervously. "You guys were really unlucky."

"You win some; you lose some," Nora said.

"You lose when you fight Nikos, anyway," Dove declared.

Ren finished cleaning his StormFlowers and began reassembling them. "You fought very well also, Ruby. You had me completely outclassed."

"Yeah!" Yang cried, slapping Ruby on the back. "If I didn't know you so well, you would have torn me apart, so don't sweat it."

"Right," Ruby agreed, though it was clear by her subdued tone that she hadn't been cheered up by this.

"Sit down, Sis," Yang said, gesturing to the bed. "I'll get you some hot chocolate." It was too late for coffee; Ruby wouldn't sleep, and it was nearly bed-time.

"Okay," Ruby said meekly as she sat down.

It didn't take Yang long to get back from the kitchenette, but when she did, she found that Nora - and Ren - had started her story again. Ruby's eyes were wide, and her mouth was agape as she leaned forwards, hands balled up under her chin, her whole body enraptured by Nora's tale of daring against the odds.

Yang stood in the doorway, watching, not wanting to disturb Ruby's pleasure by dragging her back to the issue at hand. She waited for a lull in the story to carry the steaming mugs across the room and press one of them - topped with whipped cream and marshmallows - into Ruby's hands. Yang smiled gratefully at Nora as she sat down beside Ruby and waited for her to say something.

Ruby sipped her hot chocolate and licked the cream around her mouth. "What am I supposed to do, Yang? It was bad enough when Sunset was mad at Pyrrha, but now, Pyrrha's mad right back at Sunset, and they won't even speak to each other!"

Yang nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, it sure is a pity someone had to spread the word of what was going on in your team across the whole of Beacon isn't it, Dove?"

Dove yelped. "I, uh, that is-"

"That was you!" Ruby cried.

Yang was almost certain that it was not, in fact, Dove; she suspected the gossip of being either Lyra or Bon Bon – or both of them; she wouldn't claim to know them that well – but Dove had taken the blame for it to protect them. It was gallant of him, she supposed, but it still didn't sit right with her.

And yet, when he shrugged apologetically and said, "What can I say? I'm an incurable gossip." She didn't contradict him. After all, accusing other people of being barefaced liars was how this whole mess had gotten started.

"But don't worry," she said to Ruby. "We've cured Dove of his incurable condition, and things that you say in this room are going to stay private from now on, right?" Mostly because I've banned Lyra and Bon Bon, and he'll have to go to their room to hang out in the future.

"I can keep my mouth shut," Dove said quickly.

"Correct answer," Yang said cheerily. "I really am sorry about this, Sis; it made a bad situation worse for you."

"But what am I supposed to do now?" Ruby asked. "I mean… I understand weapons, not people! If one of their weapons had a fault, I could fix it or just help Sunset or Pyrrha to fix it, but it's Sunset and Pyrrha that are broken! How am I supposed to fix them? Where do I even start?"

Yang had a couple of ideas, but they weren't notions that she would be able to just hand over to Ruby for her weapon-obsessed, slightly antisocial sister to put into practice. Yang looked down at Ruby, and for a moment, she saw not the fifteen-year-old badass who had already defeated the notorious criminal Roman Torchwick, but the little toddler in the back of a wagon on a cold day.

Ruby was in trouble, and it was up to her big sister to fix it, just like she'd promised that she always would.

"Don't worry about it," Yang said. "I'll talk to Sunset and… hey, Nora, can you have a word with Pyrrha?"

"Absolutely!" Nora agreed eagerly.

"Uh, Yang?" Ruby murmured. "Are you sure that-?"

"Don't worry; Nora's only crazy in battle," Yang reassured her. "Out of it, she really gets people." She pulled Ruby into a hug. "Don't worry, Rubes; I promise I'm going to make everything better for you."

XxXxX​

The next day found Pyrrha in the library, researching for her Plant Science homework. The essay was due in a couple of days' time, and while she had the bulk of it written to an acceptable standard, she was here researching anything that she might be able to slot in before the conclusion for extra credit.

She needed to get high grades in the midterms if she didn't want to get an irate call from her mother, after all, and she genuinely enjoyed the subject, even in a purely theoretical form.

It would have been easier to concentrate if people had not been whispering about her from the shelves behind where she was sitting.

Pyrrha frowned. Whatever Sunset might think, she wasn't enjoying the current state of affairs any more than her team leader was. Now, in addition to the usual expressions of awe and desires for mementos and favours that she had had to bear for many years now, she was also being offered sympathy, which was more novel but no less unwelcome to her. She didn't want complete strangers to come up to her and tell her how sorry they were for what she had to deal with any more than she wanted to be told what an honour it was to meet her.

None of these people knew what had started the fight with Sunset, or else they wouldn't have been in such a hurry to press their unwanted condolences upon her as a new way of inserting themselves into her life and claiming a part of her for themselves. Pyrrha strongly suspected that when these well-wishers talked of her troubles, what they really meant was "having to live with a faunus, and be led by one."

It made Pyrrha uncomfortable, truth to tell. She wouldn't be so bold as to call herself a faunus ally, but she wasn't a bigot either. It galled her to be used as a cause célèbre for bigots like Cardin as though she were one of those poor girls killed by faunus who had their memories appropriated by the worst elements of the press.

The fact that she was being used in exactly such a fashion was enough to make her consider apologising to Sunset, if only to put a stop to this nonsense. However, Pyrrha had an uncomfortable feeling that Sunset would take any apology from her as a kind of vindication, one that she was not willing to give the other girl. She could see the smug, slightly sneering smile already in her mind's eye, and she had no desire to see it in real life too.

Not yet, at least. If things went much further, she might have to swallow her pride, much as she did not wish to. The alternative would be to perpetuate injustice to an unforgivable extent.

Pyrrha raised her head. The whispering that she could hear from the shelves behind her desk had stopped. She had been left alone it seemed. Finally, she thought with a quiet sigh of relief.

"You'd be amazed at how fast people can run once you point a grenade launcher at them," Nora Valkyrie declared cheerfully as she sat down at Pyrrha's table, propping her weapon - now in hammer form - up beside her. "I mean, you'd think they'd never heard of aura!"

Pyrrha stared at Miss Valkyrie, unsure of what she ought to say in reply. It was terrible; she ate with this girl every day, and yet now that they were alone, Pyrrha found that she didn't know her at all. All she could recall was that Nora told some wild stories and was very close to her partner. There was nothing else.

She had come to Beacon hoping to make friends, but she could not say that she had put all the effort into it that she might have done. She could have reached out to people like Nora if she'd only thought to, if she'd only known how. Not for the first time, Pyrrha wished that socialising came with a guide to follow.

Nevertheless, she needed to say something or Nora would think she was rude. "Did you, um, really threaten someone with your grenade launcher?"

"Only the ones who deserved it, spying on you like that," Nora said. "You didn't want them around, did you?"

"Oh, no," Pyrrha murmured. "I just… perhaps they didn't want any of the books to suffer damage. Some of them are quite old."

"I guess that must be it. The alternative is that all those trainee huntsmen were a bunch of cowards, and that's terrifying!" Nora cried, with more humour in her tone than fear. She paused. Nora folded her arms. "So, you don't like being famous, huh?

Pyrrha blinked. Where had… of course. "Ruby told you, didn't she?"

"She tried to," Nora said. She produced a bag of chips from somewhere and popped one into her mouth before offering the bag to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha waved it away. "Thank you, but I don't think we're supposed to eat in the library."

Nora ate another chip, but this time, she chewed quietly.

"Like I was saying," she said with her mouth full. She swallowed, and then carried on speaking. "Ruby tried to explain it, but I don't think she got all of the details. Point is, you don't like being famous?"

Pyrrha frowned. "No," she said. "I can't say that I do."

"Do you get hand cramps from the autographs?"

"No, it's not that."

"Does your voice wear out from talking to so many people?"

"I get a slightly sore throat sometimes, but no."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem… the problem is that I feel as though I've spent my entire life being what other people want me to be: a great fighter, a tournament champion, a symbol. I've never been allowed to be myself or even to find out who I am, let alone do any of the things that ordinary girls take for granted."

"Like what?"

Pyrrha paused. "I… I don't really know, that's how bad it is. I don't know what it is that I missed because I missed all of it. I just know that there must have been more to life than training and fighting and press appearances."

Nora leaned back in her chair. "I really wish that I could help you, Pyrrha, only I missed out on all that stuff too."

Pyrrha bowed her head. She didn't have to be particularly intelligent to work out why Nora had been denied an ordinary childhood; you just had to pay attention to her stories. "Are you telling me that I should get over myself, because I had it so much better than you?"

Nora snorted derisively. "No," she said with what seemed to Pyrrha to be absolute sincerity. "I'm saying we should start a club together! We'll find out all the girl stuff we missed and do it now. We should have slumber parties!"

Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at that, even if - out of respect for the sanctity of the library - she kept it to a low chuckle. "That would be a lot of fun, I'm sure."

Nora grinned, if only for a moment. "But, you know, I get it. I mean, I didn't know who you were because we didn't have TV - or a house to put one in - but the point is it must suck to have everyone think they know who you are… and to not have any friends… if I hadn't had Ren, I don't know what I would have become. What Sunset said wasn't right."

"No," Pyrrha said. "Although, as boorish and upsetting as it was… that wasn't the last straw."

Nora cocked her to one side like a curious bird.

"It was when she accused me of having orchestrated this whole business, even after I denied it," Pyrrha said. "She called me a liar to my face."

Nora stared at her, a look on her face that suggested she was struggling to keep something bottled up. Then she cracked up. "Really? That's what you're upset about?"

"Yes," Pyrrha said. "Is that wrong?"

"I didn't have a normal childhood either," Nora said, "but even I know it's normal to get called a liar, especially by people who don't like you very much."

"Really?"

"Yes!" Nora yelled. "How do you think people used to react to my stories - you're a great audience, by the way - they told me to stop making things up! That's what upset you?"

Pyrrha looked down at the table, at her hands and the book on botany that lay open before her. If Nora was right - and Pyrrha had no reason to believe that she was not - then she'd been very foolish and behaved very badly.

Sunset is right; this is not Mistral. I should have borne that closer to the forefront of my mind.

Sunset had too, of course, but all the same...

"So, what Sunset said, that was normal?" Pyrrha asked plaintively.

"Welcome to the real world!" Nora yelled, slapping Pyrrha on the back hard enough to make her lurch forwards. "It sucks; you're going to love it."

"What should I do now?"

"What now? Oh, come on, Pyrrha, that's easy," Nora declared. "Now, you try and put your team back together."

XxXxX​

"Yo, Baconhair!"

Sunset stopped; she turned around slowly, her eyes narrow and her face set in a scowl, to see Yang Xiao Long lounging against the wall with her arms folded.

The smirk on her face told Sunset that she was enjoying Sunset's reaction to the nickname.

Sunset glared. Yang didn't even blink.

"'Baconhair'?" Sunset demanded. First Torchwick, now Yang; what does it even mean?

"Yeah. You know, the streaks."

"My hair does not look anything like bacon," Sunset declared. "My hair is fire, beautiful and dangerous."

Yang smirked. "And it looks a little bit bit like bacon," she said. She peeled herself off the wall and sauntered down the corridor in Sunset's direction. Her hips swayed as she walked. "We need to talk."

"I'm a little busy right now."

"I'm busy too; everyone's busy," Yang said, closing in on Sunset. "But I'm making time for you, buddy. Come on, Oobleck's classroom should be empty."

"I don't-" Sunset began, and then stopped when Yang clasped her by the shoulder. Her grip was firm, with the promise of more firmness to come if necessary to carry that grip into painful territory.

"Listen," Yang said. "There are things that I will tolerate and things that I won't, and when it comes to my little sister, one of those lists is very short, and the other one is very long." Her eyes changed colour turning from purple to a blood red that seemed in the shadowy corridor to be almost demonic. "So either you come with me, and we can talk, or else we can 'talk,' understand?"

Sunset was reminded of the fact that Yang was a little bigger than she was, and broader in the shoulders, too. She was also reminded of the muscular definition of Yang's arms. She nodded silently, even as she mentally promised that she would pay the blonde back for this humiliation in the end.

Yang's eyes returned to their normal purple. "Great. Ruby said you were smart. Follow me." Sunset wasn't given the chance to respond as Yang bodily hauled her off down the corridor and into Oobleck's deserted history classroom.

Yang let go of Sunset long enough to hop onto Oobleck's desk, crossing her legs to hide her panties from Sunset's eyes.

Sunset sat down herself, on top of one of the long desks used by the students. "Okay, we're here. What do you want?"

"I want to talk about how you're going to be the team leader that my sister deserves."

"I don't need lessons in leadership," Sunset said, and it was only the memory of those red eyes that prevented her from adding "from the likes of you". She knew how to lead; she had sat at the hooves of Celestia and watched her do it. Now, yes, Sunset hadn't been acting in a very Celestia-like fashion lately, but that was because she hadn't been given the chance. If people would just pay attention to her-

"Yeah, because you're doing such a great job right now."

"It isn't my fault that Pyrrha's being a drama queen about this!"

There was pity in Yang's eyes. "Yeah, it is."

The pity was what galled Sunset most. She scowled. For a moment, she was tempted to say something cutting about how Ruby had come crying to her elder sister, and didn't that get old? But she didn't say it, because… because even trying to sow discord between Ruby and her sister would have been very cruel, and when it came to Ruby… Sunset didn't have the stomach for it.

What is this girl doing to me? "Ruby sent you, didn't she?"

Yang rested her hands on her knees. "You know, even though she got here early, Ruby's still waited a long time to come to Beacon. She's dreamed of this her whole life, ever since I used to read her-" she stopped abruptly. "She's dreamed of coming here her whole life; I'm not going to let you screw this up for her or make her four years here miserable because of your issues."

Sunset regarded the other girl evenly. In truth, what she hadn't said - what she had stopped herself from saying - was more interesting to Sunset than what Yang had actually said. Sunset had known since that first night that Ruby's mom - Summer Rose, the S in STRQ - was dead. What she hadn't known until Yang gave it away was that their dad was a deadbeat and the elder sister had been forced to step up and play mom to the younger. Their relationship was not what Sunset had first taken it to be.

Some sort of reply was necessary, so Sunset said, "You should be giving this talk to Jaune, maybe get him to do his homework once in a while."

"Jaune isn't the one Ruby's worried about," Yang said. "You are."

Sunset snorted. "Do you think I'm doing this on purpose? Your sister isn't the only one who wants to be here at Beacon. I've waited for this too."

"You've got a funny way of showing it."

"Stop sitting there so righteous and put yourself in my position for five seconds!" Sunset snapped. She got to her feet. "Have you ever wanted something so badly that longing for it consumes you? That getting it is all that you think about?"

Yang's expression was impressive. "Maybe."

"What would you do if you met someone who had that thing you want so badly, but who didn't appreciate it one damn bit?" Sunset asked. "Wouldn't that infuriate you?"

"Nope."

Sunset snorted. "Easy to say."

"It happens to me all the time," Yang said, in such a way as gave nothing away as to what it was she wanted except that it was commonplace. "You won't see me blowing up about it."

"That only means that you don't really want it that badly."

Yang smirked. "You have no idea." She looked at Sunset. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I don't want it as badly as I used to. But I did, once. I wanted it so badly that I did something stupid. Stupid like you probably wouldn't believe. And then I took a look around, and I stopped thinking about what I wanted for a moment and started thinking about what I had: Ruby, my little sister, my beautiful, kind… and now you've got her too, and I'm going to need you to take better care of her, or you and I are going to have problems. Look at what you've got, Sunset; look around and ask yourself if it's worth fighting with Pyrrha over what you want."

"Ruby isn't my sister."

"No, but she'll save you if you let her," Yang said. "That's just who she is. She'll save you like… like she saved me. You care about her, don't you."

Sunset scoffed. "No. Whatever gave you that ridiculous idea?"

Yang gave her a look of bemused incredulity.

"What?" Sunset demanded.

"Who are you trying to fool?" Yang asked. "If you didn't care, then you would have let Ruby suffer in that locker room instead of getting your team moved so that she could have an easier time of it-"

"Much good it did me," Sunset muttered.

"So seriously, who are you trying to fool?" Yang repeated. "Why the act?"

Because if I admit that I care, then it's the same as going back to Equestria and admitting to Celestia that she was right all along, Sunset thought. "It's none of your business."

"Maybe it isn't," Yang admitted. "The point is… Ruby's the bravest person I know. She's selfless; she always puts protecting others ahead of herself, and that… that worries me sometimes. Especially now that we're on different teams and I can't take care of her. Ruby needs someone to protect her while she protects the world. Someone who has her back while she faces danger. I think that you can be you, Sunset Shimmer… but you need to sort out your issues with Pyrrha and clean up the mess that your team is turning into."

Sunset pursed her lips together until she was almost pouting. She could almost buy into the whole pedestal that Yang was putting Ruby on, such was the effect that Ruby Rose seemed to have on those around her. But even if Sunset had managed to retain her usual cynicism in the face of Ruby's inexplicable effects on her… that didn't change the fact that Yang was talking a lot of sense. Twilight, Goodwitch, Yang, all telling her the same thing, all playing variations on the same melody. Sunset didn't like it but… but like she'd told Yang, Ruby wasn't the only one for whom Beacon was important. This was her last chance before that destiny train pulled away from the station. She could feel ignominious anonymity stalking her like a creature of grimm. Was she really willing to throw away her shot over this for Pyrrha's sake?

Sunset sighed. "Apologies don't come easily to someone like me. Making… friends comes even harder."

"You don't have to make friends with Pyrrha; you just have to get by for Ruby's sake," Yang said. "And maybe you don't have to apologise either, provided you understand. You and Pyrrha… maybe you're talked enough. Maybe it would be better if you talked in something other than words."

 

[ScipioSmith]

Sunset in Splendour​

Pyrrha was waiting in the dorm room as Sunset strode in, back straight and head held high, with an expression on her face as proud as a queen.

Pyrrha got slowly to her feet. The dorm was empty apart from the two of them, which was for the best as far as Pyrrha was concerned. She had overreacted, she could see that now; she had allowed her unfamiliarity with the way that… more ordinary people did things to lead her astray. Sunset was not blameless, but after what Nora had helped her to realise and in light of the way that the situation had been allowed to escalate… Pyrrha had decided that it would be best to be the bigger person and apologise. If they could only put this business behind them, then perhaps they could go back to how things had been before, to the way they had almost been pleasant immediately after being put on the same team together.

"Sunset-" she began.

Sunset held up one hand for quiet.

Pyrrha hesitated, unsure of where this was going. What did Sunset intend to say to her in turn? Had she some fresh invective to pour on Pyrrha's head. How much would she have to endure?

Sunset took pause awhile, and in her pause, her regal pride seemed to crack and crumble. She folded her arms, and her chin descended, and she looked less self-assured, with more surliness in her expression than anything else.

She snorted out of her nose like a bull, and for a few moments longer, she said nothing.

"I don't know why you came here, to Beacon," Sunset said. "Not surprising, we haven't talked much."

It took Pyrrha a moment to realise that Sunset was asking the question in expectation of an answer from her. "I… I came here to learn how to protect the world."

Sunset snorted, sounding very much like a horse as she did so. "I came here for fame."

"I see," Pyrrha murmured.

Sunset stared at her for a moment, before a smirk crossed her lips. "It's kind of funny when you think about it: I'd love to be you, and you probably wouldn't mind being me… actually, maybe not. I suppose…"

Pyrrha took a deep breath. "Sunset, I-"

"No."

Pyrrha blinked. "No?"

"No, I'm not going to mouth some apology, kiss and make up, and pretend that everything's okay, and neither are you; that doesn't…" Sunset trailed off again. Her jaw tightened, and her head rose as she pointed at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha Nikos, I challenge you to a duel."

Pyrrha's eyebrows rose. "'A duel'?"

Sunset smirked. "Why so surprised? It's still legal in Mistral, right?"

"Yes, it is, but… as you reminded me, we're not in Mistral."

"It's in the school rules too; I checked," Sunset insisted. "I have the right to challenge you to answer my grievance in the ring of honour. I need to get this out of my system, and so do you."

Pyrrha was not so sure of that, although she had to admit that there was a certain appeal to it. As she had told Ruby, she only ever really felt herself when she was in combat, and she had always spoken better with Miló than she had with her tongue. And Sunset was right, it was the Mistralian way of settling these things. But Sunset was not Mistralian, and there was no guarantee that she would feel, as any true Mistralian would, like walking away at the end of the fight content that honour had been satisfied, whatever the results. That cut to the heart of Pyrrha's great concern: that if she and Sunset fought, then there was absolutely no way that Sunset could win. She was not bad, but she was nowhere near Pyrrha's own level of prowess. What did she hope to gain, then, by this? Would this not serve simply to make her resent Pyrrha all the more?

"I'm not sure that-"

"Hey!" Sunset snapped. "Don't pity me and don't take me lightly. I'll give you a good run for it, I swear. There's a lot of me you haven't seen yet."

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. She could believe that, if only because there was a lot of Pyrrha that the world hadn't seen yet either. Was Sunset, like her, hiding a particularly powerful semblance? Was she holding back in Professor Goodwitch's class in order to surprise her opponents at the Vytal Festival?

Of course, there was also the possibility that Sunset was lying about this, but Pyrrha doubted it. It wouldn't avail her anything to make herself out to be more powerful than she was when the proof of it would be easy to see in the arena. If she really was hiding something, then Pyrrha had to confess that a part of her, the part of her that had once thrilled to the feeling of stepping into the arena, that had considered it a world entire and to itself, was intrigued at the possibility. Perhaps Sunset was hiding gifts so great that she might actually challenge Pyrrha.

Certainly, there was a look in Sunset's eyes, a warrior look, a look that was proud but not boastful, confident but for good reason. It was the look of someone who honestly expected that they could win.

A look that Pyrrha hadn't seen in the eyes of her opponents for some time. Even in Arslan's eyes, that look was beginning to fade away. Pyrrha didn't realise how much she'd missed that look until she saw it in the eyes of Sunset Shimmer.

That would be something to look forward to. No one had seriously challenged her in quite some time.

She smiled. "Very well. I accept your challenge, Sunset Shimmer. I look forward to meeting you in more straightforward circumstances."

Sunset's smirk broadened. "Oh, it's going to be great, I promise."

XxXxX​

Pyrrha finished strapping on her greaves, the last piece of her armour to be applied. She was armed now, and well prepared for anything that Sunset might throw at her. The weight of armour and weapons alike was reassuring. She didn't have to worry about her lack of skill with words or her lack of understanding of so many things that others took for granted. Here, she could speak with Miló and listen with Akoúo̱ and be well understood by all who witnessed it.

She stood up. It seemed to her that passing from the locker room into the arena was like being born: you began in darkness, alone, unknown, unnoticed, and then you walked out of the dark corridor and into the light, where a whole world was waiting to receive you and acclaim you.

As Pyrrha walked through the dark corridor, she thought to herself that she would rather have been 'born' alone and unnoticed. She would have liked for this contest between Sunset and herself to have remained a private matter, watched only by Ruby and Jaune. But that was impossible, not least because they needed to get permission from a professor to use the hall outside of class time, and they also needed a professor – or at least a qualified referee – to supervise the fight.

That role was generously being filled by Professor Goodwitch, who was not given to gossip, but nevertheless, the fact that they had booked the hall was not a secret, and word had gotten around. Word about a Pyrrha Nikos fight always seemed to get around; Pyrrha was sure that she could have gone to an illicit fighting den in Vale's seediest district, and there would have been a reporter waiting for her when she got there. And so, as Pyrrha walked out of the dark corridor and into the light, as she was figuratively born clad in armour and armed for war, she was greeted by a great cheer from people watching from the bleachers, waves of upon waves of applause descending upon her head.

When she was young – when she was younger than she was now – that acclaim had delighted her. She had revelled in it, and in the revelling known herself to be almost as alive as when she fought.

It did not delight her now. It felt like a long time since she had truly earned it. So many effortless victories, so many opponents who could barely touch her even without the use of her semblance. If Sunset had something up her sleeve… Pyrrha found that she hoped the other girl did.

She hoped - a vain hope perhaps, but nonetheless – that this bout might give her cause to recall why she had once loved this.

XxXxX​

Sunset had changed in her dorm room and then waited back in the first-year locker room for the time to come. She was not alone. Ruby was with her, fidgeting with her hands and looking wildly this way and that as Sunset got dressed.

Sunset pulled on her jacket. "Do you have something to say to me, Ruby?"

"I just… I'm sorry about the fight," Ruby murmured, "but Jaune was in trouble, and I couldn't just leave him there." She smiled, or tried to. "I know how tough Yang can be, and I know how she never lets up."

"Your sister…" Sunset trailed off, because the truth was that Yang scared her a little bit, but she wasn't willing to admit that. Not least because it would probably get back to Yang, and Sunset wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. "I didn't get the chance to explain my plan, but I was going to sacrifice Jaune just to keep Yang busy for a bit."

"Really?" Ruby exclaimed. "But that's terrible. I know he's not that strong, but he's still a member of our team."

"Sometimes a pawn has to be sacrificed to win the game."

"But Jaune's not a fish; he's a person!"

It took Sunset a moment to work out what Ruby meant. "I said pawn, not prawn."

"Oh, you mean like those magazines Yang thinks I don't know about? But what does-?"

"No, not that either!" Sunset said. "Just forget it."

"Okay," Ruby said quietly. "I just… I'm sorry about all this. It's my fault that everyone found out about what was going on between you and Pyrrha. It's just that I tell Yang everything, and I didn't think that anybody would-"

"It doesn't matter," Sunset said. She grinned at her young partner. "If you've been beating yourself up about it these last few days, you can stop. There's nothing for you to worry about."

"Really?" Ruby exclaimed. "But… everyone hates you!"

"So?" Sunset responded. "They probably hated me anyway, and it's not like I need their good opinion for anything."

Ruby frowned. "Why do you always act like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like… it's not even that you don't have any friends; it's like you don't want any."

Sunset smirked. "I don't need them," she said. "I drink milk."

Ruby flushed as red as her name. "You… you heard that?"

"Yup."

"Well, what I meant was that I… that doesn't mean that I don't want any friends," Ruby protested. "I just meant that I… I don't even know what I meant. Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… no offence, you were good when we fought Torchwick, but… it's Pyrrha."

"Yeah, and I'm Sunset Shimmer," Sunset replied. "It's time the world realised what that meant." She turned to go.

"Wait, what about your gun?" Ruby asked, pointing to Sol Invictus propped up against the wall.

Sunset glanced over her shoulder, first at the weapon and then at Ruby. "I don't need it." Or rather, it wouldn't do her any good to take it with her anyway. She couldn't beat Pyrrha Nikos with Pyrrha's own weapons, the weapons of a warrior in which the Princess Without a Crown had been training her entire life. In order to win, she would need to use the weapons of Sunset Shimmer, mind and magic in which she had trained for her whole life. It would mean revealing a lot more of her power than she had thus far, but Sunset judged the risk well worth the prize. She had to do something to prove that she was not a thing to be taken lightly, and she had to do something to start impressing people in a way she just wasn't going to manage with her above-average huntress skills in a year that had people like Pyrrha and Ruby in it.

She was not - probably would never be - a truly great huntress using simply her weapons and her aura. Even if she discovered her semblance, unless it turned out to be something particularly badass, it probably wouldn't be enough to put her in the top tier.

But she was a unicorn archmage, and if she wasn't quite able to complete one of Starswirl's unfinished spells, then she was still one of the most gifted unicorns to pass through Celestia's tutelage.

You have to own what you got, that was what she'd said to Twilight. Well, what Sunset had more than anything else was magic, and it was about time that she owned that, even in Remnant.

This was not a world to hide virtues in. The world to hide virtues in did not exist.

Thus, Sunset strutted out of the locker room and onto the stage.

Pyrrha stood on the other side, armed and armoured, unaffected by the cheers of the crowd.

Professor Goodwitch coughed. "Miss Shimmer, you seem to have forgotten something."

"I've decided to fight without a weapon, professor," Sunset replied. "I have that right."

Professor Goodwitch's eyebrows rose. "This is very unusual, Miss Shimmer-"

"But not wholly unprecedented," Professor Ozpin declared, suddenly appearing by the side of Professor Goodwitch. He sipped from his mug of cocoa. "As you say, you have the option. But are you sure that this is the wisest choice, Miss Shimmer?"

His words hung pregnant in the air between them for a moment as the headmaster's eyes bored into her, ferreting out the heart of her mystery even as his words conveyed more than they said.

He wanted her to be careful. He wanted her to reconsider, though Sunset did not know why. But she was beyond all care and caution. This was her moment; she could not throw it away by languishing in half-measures.

She looked away. "I'm quite sure, Professor."

"Very well then. So be it."

Pyrrha's expression was inscrutable at this distance. It was impossible to tell what she thought about it.

Just so long as you don't hold back.

"Are both combatants ready?"

"One moment, please, Professor," Pyrrha said, and she straightened up and bowed to Sunset.

For a moment, Sunset was puzzled; she never seen that during combat class. But of course, this wasn't just a sparring match, was it? This was a duel, fought under the code of honour.

Sunset smiled, and it was almost genuine, as she bowed to Pyrrha in return.

Pyrrha nodded approvingly as she straightened her back. Then, like water, she flowed into a combat stance, legs bent and poised to pounce like a big cat, shield held before her. "I'm ready," Pyrrha declared.

Sunset turned her collar up, and spaced her legs more evenly apart. "I'm ready, Professor."

Professor Goodwitch's voice rang out across the hall. "Begin!"

Pyrrha charged, her burnished shield before her as her swift feet carried her across the stage to the cheers of the onlookers.

Sunset crossed her arms before her and conjured a glowing green shield around her.

Pyrrha's face showed nothing but concentration on the battle as, without a word or sound, not even a shout, she pushed outwards with her shield and slashed wildly with her sword at Sunset's shield.

The blade skittered harmlessly off the magical barrier. Pyrrha's eyes gleamed as she switched her weapon into spear form and reversed her grip for a thrust.

Sunset grinned as he flung her hands outwards. Instantly, the shield erupted, the energy of the barrier exploding like a shockwave which tossed Pyrrha backwards across the stage like a rag doll thrown aside by a spoiled brat. The crowd gasped as the Champion of Mistral hit the floor and skidded backwards a few feet until she leapt in a fluid flip back to her feet. Pyrrha's spear changed into a rifle with which she fired three quick shots at Sunset.

Sunset teleported out of the way, moving herself a few feet to the left with her hands flung outwards. Power was gathered at her fingertips; she'd practiced this until it was almost as easy as it would have been with a horn. From all ten fingers, she fired off bursts of green energy at Pyrrha. Pyrrha rolled aside, deflecting some of the blasts with her shield even as she used said shield as a rest for her rifle. She fired again. This time, Sunset wasn't fast enough to teleport away, and the shot struck her in the shoulder, bearing her to the ground. She winced once as she was hit - it felt like being hit by an ursa's paw - and a second time as she hit the ground beneath her.

The instant she hit the ground, Pyrrha was on her, her spear descending straight for Sunset's heart. Sunset rolled and teleported again, this time just above and behind Pyrrha. She fired a burst of energy from her open palm. Pyrrha rolled to avoid it, and so nimble was she and so swift that she nearly dodged it despite the point-blank nature of the distance. Part of the stage floor exploded as Pyrrha, struck in the side, was turned around like a spinning top, but as she turned, she had the presence to extend her shield arm and raised her shield to strike Sunset, in turn, a glancing blow upon the face.

Sunset hit the floor face first and scrambled to her feet. She was breathing heavily now, sweat was coating her brow and running down her back, making her top stick to her skin. She had to get up before Pyrrha could recover or-

Of course, who am I dealing with here? The thought, rather unhelpful, ran through Sunset's mind as Pyrrha was on her. She kicked Sunset up and then struck with her shield, so hard that Sunset not only hit the ground but shattered it beneath her. Sunset grabbed hold of the pieces of broken floor with telekinesis, hurling them upwards above her. She was rewarded by the sound of them hitting what could only be her tenacious opponent.

She teleported again - I can't keep doing this – and added a touch of the reverse gravity spell to keep her hovering overhead, suspended twenty feet above the stage near the ceiling. In spite of the pounding in her heart, in spite of the sweat, in spite of the shaking weariness in her limbs, Sunset did her best to keep a calm, serene look on her face. She didn't dare let Pyrrha know how close she was to losing. She didn't dare take her eyes off Pyrrha long enough to check their aura levels.

Pyrrha stood, waiting expectantly. It almost looked as though she was smiling.

Sunset grinned right back. And for my next trick. She spread her arms out wide on either side of her and conjured up a score and more bolts of green energy all around her like vorpal spears, hovering in the air. This kind of indirect casting was a drain even more than teleportation, but damn if it didn't look impressive to bystanders.

She held them in the air for a moment longer, and then, like a god casting down thunderbolts from his mountain throne, she hurled down her spears on Pyrrha Nikos.

Pyrrha ran. She darted this way and that as the spears fell down around her, destroying the stage beneath her feet, running and dodging like a field mouse in the thicket trying to escape the eagle's claws. As she ran, Sunset lifted up the fragments of stage beneath her feet, trying to unbalance her. But Pyrrha was not only swift but graceful; she leapt from fragment to fragment, and though some of Sunset's spears hit home, she didn't allow them to slow her for more than a second. Even when she lost her footing, she recovered it again a moment later. The spears from heaven fell, and Pyrrha dived through them and leapt upwards, shield held before her and blade reversed for a downward stabbing stroke.

And Sunset did the most unexpected thing that she could think of and rushed to meet her. Magic propelled her forwards and downward through the air like a superhero, leather jacket flying behind her as she collided with Pyrrha with all the force of a bullet, reversing her momentum as they both plummeted downwards into the ground to wreck what remained of the Beacon stage.

You gotta be close to the end now, surely. Sunset raised her fist, but Pyrrha was faster and hit her in the face with her shield so hard that Sunset's head was knocked backwards. She groaned in pain, and while she was distracted, Pyrrha hurled Sunset back into the air and slashed at her repeatedly with her sword.

Sunset teleported away. She was visibly gasping for breath now; she didn't have another teleportation in her. She hadn't done so much magic at once in quite a while, and her reserves were starting to run low. Have to make it count.

Pyrrha charged towards her.

Sunset felt a great wind blowing around, billowing her hair and jacket as though destiny itself swirled about her. She gripped her right arm with her left, to keep it from shaking, and pointed her index finger at Pyrrha like a gun.

"Bang."

A beam of energy erupted from Sunset's finger. Pyrrha didn't have time to dodge this time; it was moving too fast, and so was she. She was caught in mid-stride, and though she took the beam upon her shield, she was borne backwards by its force and dumped in a heap on the edge of the broken stage.

Sunset panted. That was it. That had to be it. That was all that she had left in her; surely, there was no way that Pyrrha could-

She glanced at the board. Pyrrha's aura was still in the yellow. It was only just, it was a sliver away from being in the red, but it was still in the yellow.

And Pyrrha was getting up again.

She took a few steps forward, pirouetted on her toes like a dancer, and threw her shield like a discus.

Sunset saw it coming, but she didn't have the energy to raise a shield, she didn't have the energy to teleport, she didn't have the energy for anything but to watch as the shield hit her in the face and knocked her onto her back.

The klaxon sounded.

"Congratulations, Miss Nikos," Professor Goodwitch said. "You are the winner."

Sunset cursed mentally. She thought it through, she'd gone to her limits, she'd fought the fight upon her terms, fought her way, with her gifts. Was she really that inferior? Couldn't she beat Pyrrha even in her own chosen discipline?

Was she really just… mediocre?

There was no other sound in the hall but Pyrrha's footsteps traversing the shattered, treacherous stage before she appeared above Sunset.

She was smiling, but it was not a cruel smile, not a smirk of victory to lord over a defeated foe. It was… it was something else. It almost seemed kind.

"Thank you," Pyrrha said.

"Huh?" was all Sunset could murmur in reply as she lay on the ground, prostrate and defeated.

Pyrrha held out a hand to help her up. "That was the most enjoyable fight I have had in quite some time. That semblance… it's quite the talent you've been hiding."

"You're not so bad yourself," Sunset said, as she allowed Pyrrha to help her to her feet. She might not have won – let's be honest; she hadn't won – but she understood Pyrrha better now than she had before. Just reading about her record and her accomplishments wasn't the same. Sunset now recognised that, though they were completely different in so many ways and attitudes, they were at their core the same: they were both people who had worked their backsides off to be the best in their chosen field – Pyrrha in arms, Sunset in magic – and although Sunset didn't understand why Pyrrha wanted to be the best when she didn't seem to enjoy all the accolades that came with it, Sunset could nevertheless recognise the skills. From one prodigy to another.

For a moment, the two of them stood amidst the wreckage they had wrought in silence. No voice from the hall was raised to interrupt them. They stared into one another's eyes, both green, and though Sunset was loath to admit it, there was a nagging part of her that thought Pyrrha's orbs were probably brighter and more beautiful. Sunset fancied that, just as she understood Pyrrha better now for having spoken with blows than she had when they were speaking with words, so too did Pyrrha understand her a little better also.

"Miss Shimmer," Professor Goodwitch said. "An impressive display, although I will note that had you not left your weapon in the locker room, you might have had some options once you had exhausted your semblance."

Sunset sighed. "Yes, Professor."

"Although, with such a powerful semblance, one can hardly blame you for a slight degree of overconfidence," Professor Ozpin murmured.

"Miss Nikos," Professor Goodwitch said. "A formidable display, as always. You did excellently, both of you. I hope that the experience has taught you something."

"Yes, Professor," Pyrrha said, with a glance at Sunset. "I think it has."

"Go Pyrrha!" Ruby shouted. "Go Sunset!" She started to applaud, and it became clear from the way her eyes went from one to the other that she was applauding for both of them. Jaune was the next to take up the clap, and soon, the applause had spread throughout the hall until all the spectators, save only for the two professors, were applauding.

Sunset couldn't be sure, she could not know for certain, but she dared to hope that they were all applauding for both of them.

She let it wash over her for a moment, eyes closed as that nectar and ambrosia which she had long sought and for so long been denied flowed into her ears and balmed her soul. This was it. This was what it was all for. She didn't need friends, Pyrrha didn't need friends… all that they needed was this, to be loved by the masses, acclaimed by them, acknowledged by them as something superior. Applause that was for you sounded different than applause for other people, as you learned if you listened closely enough; you could feel the difference in your soul. Sunset hadn't heard the sound of applause intended for herself since she had demonstrated her prodigious magic before the nobles of Canterlot at the symposia that Celestia would hold for the great and good. She had felt then as though she were on track for something great and glorious. She was starting to feel that way again.

She glanced at Pyrrha, wordlessly enquiring as to the etiquette of these situations.

Pyrrha nodded, wordlessly answering.

As one, still hand in hand, they bowed.

 

[ScipioSmith]

On the Rooftop​

Sunset and Pyrrha sat on the rooftop with the wind caressing their features and licking at their hair, even as the sunlight gently kissed their faces.

Sunset leaned back, resting her head on her clasped hands, and closed her eyes.

It was the afternoon after their fight, and Sunset found that she could be around Pyrrha without raging outwardly or even inwardly at all her flaws. While she wouldn't call her a friend, being up here with her was, well, it was almost pleasant. Comfortable.

Whether that comfort would survive contact with all of Pyrrha's fans downstairs in the school was a matter for some discussion, but right now, Sunset was feeling pretty good.

Even if she had lost the fight, she had gained the respect of Beacon in the process; it was like one of those sports movies about going the distance with the champ.

Of course, that wasn't to say that Sunset didn't still kind of hope to be the champ one day.

"Your semblance is very impressive," Pyrrha said. "One of the most versatile semblances I've seen."

Sunset opened her eyes. That would certainly be true if magic was her semblance, which was part of the reason she hadn't previously gone so over the top with it. But, as much as Pyrrha was a smart girl, Sunset had faith in the power of frame of reference. If she, in her studies at Canterlot under Celestial, had been confronted with a form of power like aura or semblances, then she would not, without any details, have assumed them to be hitherto unknown forms of power, rather branches of the magic she was familiar with. So far, it had worked just the same in Remnant.

"Yeah," she said. "It is pretty cool."

"You must have spent a long time training to use it."

Sunset looked up at the blue sky overhead. "When did you start training to fight?"

"My training began in earnest when I was five."

"That's about when my training began."

"It sounds like an… interesting training regimen that focussed so heavily upon the use of your semblance, rather than combat skills or weapons handling."

Sunset was silent for a moment, considering her response. "I had… you might say that she was an unusual teacher. She wasn't training a warrior; rather… I'm not sure I can explain what she was training. I'm not even sure that I know anymore." The closest she could think to come to a frame of reference that Pyrrha would understand would be to use Pyrrha's own words: a paragon of virtue and glory. But that would sound unbearably pretentious once it was actually put into words. "She's probably very disappointed in me right now."

"'Disappointed'?" Pyrrha repeated, with astonishment evident in her voice. "I would say that your abilities do credit to your master."

Sunset snorted. "My teacher wouldn't have wanted me to become a huntress, a killer. Hey, Pyrrha?"

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to fall silent. "Yes," she said. "Although not as some might conceive of it. There is no inescapable fate to which we are condemned from birth. Rather, I believe that our destiny is the goal to which we have committed ourselves and to which we progress through determined effort."

Sunset sat up, a frown creasing her forehead. "No offence, but how is that destiny? If we can choose our fate, then surely it is no fate at all."

Pyrrha asked, "Do you believe in inescapable fate?"

"I'd like to," Sunset said. "I certainly used to when I thought my fate was something grand and glorious. But I think destiny must be preordained, or it is nothing."

"'Look at me; I am the daughter of a great woman,'" Pyrrha murmured. "'A god was my father, but death and inexorable destiny are waiting for me.'"

"A quote?"

"I'm a little surprised someone as knowledgeable as you hasn't read the Mistraliad."

"I know the stories, mostly," Sunset replied with a touch of defensiveness.

"Yes, but until you have read the poem… I was named for the Pyrrha who fought at Mistral, the finest of the warriors who fought there. When the war began, that Pyrrha chose a brief but glorious existence over a long and ordinary life, and when her lover was killed, Pyrrha chose to have her revenge, though she knew that her own death would follow hard upon. That became her destiny, inexorable… but only because she chose it."

Sunset nodded. She understood a little better now where Pyrrha was coming from. "Among my people," she said, "we don't really trouble to define what we mean by 'destiny.' We think of it mostly in terms of a fixed thread, but now that you have explained it, I think that we sometimes slip into the second meaning." It would explain the lies of Celestia: in the mistaken view of her old teacher, she had strayed off the path that led to her royal destiny and thus forfeited it. She had been quite wrong, of course, and understanding her thinking in no way lessened the sting of her betrayal of Sunset, but… she understood a little better now what Celestia had been trying to say. "Amongst my people," she continued, "we believe that everyone is born blessed with one supreme talent, a great gift within themselves. It is reflected in the… in the symbols that we choose for ourselves, which are all representations of that talent. But this gift, although it lies within us, is not for us but rather, it is for the world around us. Though a… though we may have many skills, the discovery of our true gift is a matter not simply of finding something at which we are skilled, or even that thing at which we are most skilled, but of discovering how we can enrich the world around us and leave it a better place than it was left behind."

"So, in a sense, you do believe in a destiny that lies within your choosing," Pyrrha replied.

"To an extent," Sunset conceded. "Although… you can be blind to your gift, to your destiny, for many years, but you will not be given another. You will wander… blank, as we call it, until you see the truth about yourself and embrace it."

Pyrrha nodded thoughtfully. "I confess, I have never heard this before; is it a common belief in Atlas?"

Sunset made a sound that was halfway between a chuckle and a gasp. "Aha, no. I, um… I was schooled in Atlas, but I grew up outside the kingdoms. That is where these beliefs originate."

"That makes a little more sense," Pyrrha said softly, "and you left your home and set out for Atlas… for fame?"

"For my destiny," Sunset corrected her. "It was clear to me that it lay elsewhere than the place where I grew up."

"Is not your mark a signifier of your destiny?"

Sunset looked down at the sun on her tunic. "Not exactly," she explained. "The mark… I used to think that I knew what this meant, but now, I… am not so sure." She had thought that the blazing sun symbolised her destiny to replace Celestia, but now… what did it mean? "I suppose I hope to find the meaning here, also. Pyrrha," she added, in an attempt to change the subject, "may I ask you something?"

"If you wish."

"Can I ask, if you believe we choose our destiny, then why did you choose a destiny you don't want?"

Pyrrha shook her head sadly. "I've always believed that my destiny is so much more than to win trophies. My destiny, the destiny I choose, the destiny I came here searching for… is to protect the world."

Sunset chuckled. "And I thought I was the one with grand ambitions."

"For what other reason do huntresses exist?"

"Well, yes, but when you say it out loud..." Sunset trailed off. There was a reason she kept her own ambitions to herself: to speak them out loud was to expose them to the mockery and derision of small minds and smaller spirits incapable of risking all with a leap into the unknown. And besides, if you told a wish, it wouldn't come true, and ambitions had always seemed very close to wishes to Sunset's way of thinking.

"Our world is under siege and in grave peril," Pyrrha declared solemnly. "We cannot simply try to hold ground or minimise our losses."

"You're talking about retaking the world from the grimm?"

"I suppose I am," Pyrrha said. "I believe that that is where our destiny, humanity's destiny, must lie, and I believe that I can play some part in that. And so could you."

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "What are you saying?"

Pyrrha smiled. "I'm saying that it was an honour to fight against you, but it would be a greater honour to fight by your side."

A smile blossomed across Sunset's face. She held out a balled fist, which Pyrrha regarded suspiciously.

"You bump it with your knuckles," Sunset explained.

"Oh," Pyrrha replied. "Oh, I see."

They bumped fists.

"Hoof bump," Sunset murmured.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all."

XxXxX​

And that's how I learned that fighting was the way to solve all my problems.

Well I'm glad that things are better between you and Pyrrha, obviously, but I can't help but think that this could have been resolved without a fight.

If we hadn't fought, we wouldn't have been able to appreciate one another's skills first hand.

There was a pause at the other end of the journal. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that you might be right.

Sunset sniggered. Am I making the Princess of Friendship uncomfortable?

The fact that you live in a world of violence disturbs me, I will admit. You make it sound almost dystopian.

Atlas could have stepped out of a trilogy of novels if you added a love triangle, but I haven't seen enough of Vale yet to be able to comment. Twilight Sparkle?

You can just call me Twilight, if you want.

We're not friends. But Sunset's hand trembled. She felt as though she were on the threshold of a door that she must cross, and yet, she feared to do so. Do you think Princess Celestia is ashamed that I took what she taught me and I use it take life?

I haven't actually told her too much; your situation sounds incredibly dangerous, and I wasn't sure if you'd want her to worry.

No. I don't want her to worry. And I don't want her to judge. There, she had set it down, her fear, and now, it could not be erased. It grinned up at her, mocking and sardonic, taunting her with her own weakness.

From what you've told me, there is nothing to judge. Assuming you're not lying, then you're protecting people from terrible monsters. I pity that you have to live such a life, but I don't judge you for it.

Sunset nearly wrote back that she didn't need the pity of a usurper, but what would have been the point? She was irritated, but not so irritated that she wanted to either end the conversation or get it bogged down in whether Twilight Sparkle had or had not meant to be patronising.

She thought about Pyrrha's dream, her destiny to which she was willing to commit body and soul to work towards. Could it be done, the grimm defeated once and for all? The history of places like Mountain Glenn or the Crimson Offensive suggested otherwise, but Sunset was no seer. Not even Celestia could see the future. Perhaps Pyrrha could do it, and if Sunset were a part of it then...

Princess, do you believe in destiny?

XxXxX​

Bon Bon, a name to which she was becoming far more accustomed than Sweetie Drops, lurked in the dark recesses of the library as she got out her scroll and called the individual identified in her directory only as Black Queen.

The reply was not too long in coming. That lugubrious, oozing voice dripped out of her scroll. "Sweetie," she said, "I wasn't expecting you to be in touch so soon."

"I have a name for you," Bon Bon replied. "Sunset Shimmer."

"I've never heard that name before."

"You wouldn't have," Bon Bon acknowledged. "She went to Canterlot Combat School with Lyra and I. She had talent – more than I showed, and more than Lyra has – but nothing remarkable."

"Do you want me to murder one of your old school rivals so that you can feel some sense of payback?" asked the voice on the other end of the scroll. "Because that's so deliciously petty I might actually consider it."

"This isn't about that," Bon Bon said sharply. "I'm sending you a video that I took this afternoon." Nobody had questioned that she was filming the duel between Pyrrha and Sunset, or rather, that she had started filming shortly after the duel started. It had, after all, turned out to be an impressive fight, and she hadn't been the only one taking video. Bon Bon had seen Weiss Schnee recording the match as well; she was probably going to study it to plan counterstrategies. She kept the call running in one tab as, in another window, she found the video in question and sent it across the world. "It doesn't have the beginning of the fight, but you can see enough."

From the other side of the scroll, Bon Bon could hear the sounds of fighting and guessed that the Black Queen was watching. "Impressive," she conceded. "Very impressive. This doesn't look like nothing remarkable."

"She must have been holding back all this time," Bon Bon said.

"And yet she chose now to cut loose. Why? What was this fight against Pyrrha? Not just another sparring match, I'll wager."

"No," Bon Bon agreed. "It was a duel between the two of them. Apparently, they were on the outs, but they seemed to have made up by the end of the fight."

"So she held back to avoid people knowing how strong she was… right up until the moment when her pride was on the line," came the reply. "I like her already. Find out more about her. Oh, and Sweetie Drops?"

"Yes?"

"This is just what I sent you to Beacon for. Keep it up."

 

[ScipioSmith]

Vale​

Jaune slashed and hacked and stabbed on the rooftop.

He'd known that he was a way behind Ruby and Pyrrha, but what he hadn't known until this afternoon was just how far ahead of him Sunset was as well. God! The things that she was doing with her semblance – as Pyrrha had called it – had been incredible. And Pyrrha had seemed all the more incredible for being able to win the fight in spite of Sunset's power.

He had known that Sunset, like his other two teammates, was stronger than he was, but Jaune hadn't understood the extent of that strength differential until now. He had thought that Sunset was the second weakest of their team, second only to him. Now it felt as though the three girls were roughly level with one another at the top of the mountain, while he was somewhere down at the bottom looking up at them.

They seemed very small from down there.

Which was why he had to keep on climbing.

In an effort to help him get stronger faster, Jaune had ventured into the library very briefly after Sunset and Pyrrha's duel, and come across a book called The True Principles of the Art of Fencing, which, a brief glance at the introduction had told him, was an old Valish fencing manual. Jaune had checked out the book, and now it sat propped up against the wall by the door leading down from the rooftop, so that he could see the pictures and try to mimic what they were doing.

It was a little harder than it had seemed at first; not all of these stances were very comfortable, and they didn't seem to flow together all that well. But it was in a book, so it had to work somehow, right? He just wasn't doing it properly, or he was missing the nuances maybe.

Perhaps he should stop to actually read the thing.

Jaune shook his head. He didn't have time for that. If he sat down to read a book from start to finish, then he'd just fall even further behind his teammates as they strode on ahead of him.

He just had to push through and keep going. If nothing else, swinging his sword around enough should make him physically stronger, shouldn't it?

Jaune jerked from stance to stance, huffing and puffing as he fought with shadows.

XxXxX​

Her morning jog with Jaune had become a part of Pyrrha's morning routine over these first couple of weeks at Beacon. It made sense, since he was apparently as used to getting up early as she was, that they would use the time before breakfast to get some early exercise.

It was something she found that she quite looked forward to.

She tried to set a reasonable pace, in order to enable Jaune to keep up with her; he seemed, to put it politely, a little less experienced than she was. Nevertheless, as she was beginning to make a circuit of the central courtyard, Pyrrha noticed that Jaune had fallen behind her. She stopped, turning around to see that Jaune had not just fallen behind; he had almost fallen. He was leaning upon one of the tall stone columns that encircled the courtyard, doubled over.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried, dashing back towards him. "Jaune, what's wrong?"

Jaune let out a groan. "Uh… nothing… I just… uh…"

Since it didn't seem that he was capable of standing up, Pyrrha knelt down so that she could get a better look at his face. There were dark bags underneath his blue eyes, blue eyes that were a little less vibrant today than normal. "Jaune, you look exhausted! How do you feel?"

"… Exhausted," Jaune admitted.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha apologised, cursing herself for not seeing this coming. Jaune was out every night doing who knew what; he didn't get back until every other member of Team SAPR had turned in. Even Sunset, who was otherwise a bit of a night owl herself and didn't seem to feel like doing her homework until the sun had, well, set, got to bed much earlier than Jaune. Sometimes, Pyrrha wasn't even awake to hear him come in. "This was a mistake; I shouldn't have pushed you. Let's go back to the dorm room."

Jaune shook his head. "I… I'm fine," he panted. "Just give me-"

"You are not fine," Pyrrha insisted.

She hesitated. Ruby knew what Jaune was doing night after night, and she seemed to think that it was doing Jaune no harm; Pyrrha trusted Ruby, or at least she trusted Ruby's good intentions, but it was clear that Jaune's nocturnal activities were doing him some harm, if only by sheer attrition. She didn't think that she could turn a blind eye to this any longer.

"Jaune," she said, keeping her voice soft and gentle. She didn't want him to think that she was scolding. "I don't know what it is that you're doing every night, but I think you need to reconsider. You can't keep rising early and getting to bed late indefinitely."

He was barely able to do it now. Nevertheless, she decided not to ask what he was doing at night; she didn't want to be seen to pry.

Jaune shook his head. "I have to," he said. "It's the only way."

"The only way to what?" Pyrrha asked. "What are you doing every night, Jaune?"

Jaune didn't reply.

Pyrrha frowned. "I'm your partner," she reminded him. "Whatever is going on, you can trust me."

Jaune closed his eyes. "I do trust you," he said, "but I need you to feel like you can trust me."

"I…" Pyrrha stopped, her words trailing off. Because of course, if she trusted him, then she would let this go and, well, trust him to do the right thing. Put like that, how could she refuse? "Very well," she said. "Will you at least let me help you back to the dorm?"

Jaune straightened up, or tried to. "I can keep go-ah!" he staggered forwards and might have fallen on his face save that Pyrrha was there to ensure that he only fell into her arms.

"Come on, we're going back," Pyrrha said, as she pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and started back towards the dorm rooms. She smiled at him. "It's alright, Jaune. I've got you."

That didn't seem to have been the right thing to say, judging by the dejected look that came across Jaune's face. He didn't reply. He just looked so… so disappointed that Pyrrha didn't know what to say, much as she wished she did.

It honestly felt like a little bit of a relief when he fell asleep on the way back; Pyrrha hardly noticed the difference between dragging him and helping him. She held him a little tighter and lifted him up a bit so that his feet didn't scrape along the ground.

Of course, it was difficult to get her scroll out holding him like this, so when she did get back to the SAPR dorm room, she knocked fumblingly upon the door to get the attention of her teammates still inside.

The door was opened by Ruby, still wearing her pyjamas, whose silver eyes widened at the sight of them. "Jaune!? Is he okay?"

"He's just tired," Pyrrha reassured her as she carried Jaune inside, Ruby making way for the two of them.

Sunset was standing by her bed; she was also still in her pyjamas. She folded her arms as a smirk crossed her lips. "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything," Pyrrha replied, a note of reproach in her voice as she laid Jaune down upon his bed. "He's exhausted."

"All that sleeping in class isn't cutting it, huh?"

"Sunset," Pyrrha said, with more than a mere note of reproach in her voice now. She glanced at Ruby. "Ruby, I won't ask you what Jaune is doing each night because he asked me to trust him, and I respect his wishes, but as the only person who knows… can't you persuade him to stop? I'm afraid it's hurting him more than it's helping."

Ruby frowned. "I'll try," she agreed, "but I'm not sure that he'll listen."

"What is he doing?" Sunset demanded.

Ruby looked at Sunset. "He doesn't want anyone to know."

"Tough. Spill it."

"Sunset," reprimanded Ruby.

"I have a right to know," Sunset declared. "We all have a right to know, but me as his team leader especially. Especially as his team leader, who is currently doing all of this lazy bum's homework. All of our successes depend in part on him. My success depends in part on him. If he's going clubbing in Vale every night-"

"It isn't like that," Ruby assured her.

"Then what is it?"

"Sunset, please," Pyrrha urged. "Please, let it lie."

Sunset huffed. She pressed her lips together in a pout. Her tone was a little less angry when she spoke again. "It may not have occurred to you that there is only so long that I can keep this up," she said. "If I have to keep doing the work of two students, I'm going to be the one falling asleep in class. I'll give him until half term to pull his ho- pull his finger out and show some improvement, then I won't let it go any more." She sat down on her bed. "What am I going to do with you?"

Since the question was meant for Jaune, Pyrrha did not reply. She walked around Jaune's bed, towards her own. "Ruby, if you want to get in the shower first, I won't stop you."

"Sunset?" Ruby asked.

"Go ahead," Sunset said softly.

As Ruby went into the shower, Pyrrha sat down on her own bed, on the opposite side of Jaune to Sunset. She looked down at him, at his face; it was handsome in repose, marred only by the dark circles of exhaustion around his eyes. The way that his hair fell across his forehead, she almost wanted to reach out and-

"You realise some people would say that's a little creepy," Sunset observed.

Pyrrha's head snapped up. She could feel her face starting to redden. "I, uh, I don't know what you mean?"

Sunset had a very knowing look upon her face. "I used to watch Flash sleep sometimes, when we were going out. Of course, we were going out at the time, so it wasn't weird."

"It doesn't mean anything," Pyrrha said unconvincingly.

"Doesn't it?" Sunset replied, with a healthy dollop of scepticism in her voice. "Do you like him?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's a simple question," Sunset insisted. "Although if the answer is yes, then my next question will be 'why?'"

Because… because… Pyrrha felt embarrassed to realise that she was struggling to answer that question. She felt even more embarrassed to realise that she didn't really know Jaune very well. She had known him for two weeks, she had seen him perform an act of kindness towards Ruby, she knew that he came from a family of huntsmen, and from that… from that, she had spun a fairytale for herself, dreams of marriage and romance.

She realised with an abrupt feeling like a slap in the face that she had behaved exactly like all the people who presumed to know Pyrrha Nikos because they had seen the Invincible Girl on television a few times. She had presumed to know Jaune Arc, when all she was doing was projecting her own desires onto him.

It made her a bad partner, and she suspected a rather bad friend as well.

I'm sorry, Jaune. I will do better in future.

I will get to know you, all of you, if you will let me. I will get to know you and let you know me, and I will wish you every happiness with Weiss Schnee.

"Thank you, Sunset," Pyrrha murmured.

Sunset frowned. "For what?"

Pyrrha smiled, appreciating that Sunset was sparing her dignity by not belabouring exactly what it was that Pyrrha had to thank Sunset for.

She looked away from Jaune, and was about to open a book while she waited for Ruby to be done in the shower when she heard Sunset grunt. Pyrrha looked over to see Sunset rooting around underneath Jaune's bed. She pulled out a book, a new edition of an antique fencing manual by the look of it.

"Look what I found; it's from the library," Sunset announced.

"I see," Pyrrha replied quietly. "Jaune had it."

"Yeah."

"Then you should put it back," Pyrrha said.

"Aren't you interested in why he's got it?" Sunset asked. "Do you think that he's trying to learn how to use a sword? A little late, don't you think?"

"Please, Sunset, put it back," Pyrrha urged.

Sunset dropped the book onto her bed. "You're not in the least bit interested in how he managed to pass the Combat School equivalency exam without knowing what aura was or being able to use his weapons effectively?"

"He can learn how to fight," Pyrrha said.

"He ought to have learnt already."

"But he hasn't," Pyrrha reminded her. "But that doesn't mean that he can't learn. He has a good heart."

"That won't save him from the grimm."

"Won't it?" Pyrrha asked. "Why not? The grimm are darkness, and we are the light. They are evil incarnate, beings of pure destruction, driven by their base instincts to kill and devour. We oppose them with weapons, yes, but should we not oppose these creatures of darkness with shining virtues also? I would rather fight alongside a good man than a mighty warrior with the heart of Cardin Winchester."

"Or me," Sunset said sharply.

"You are better than you give yourself credit for," Pyrrha replied. "Please, Sunset, put the book away."

Sunset looked a little reluctant, but she did as Pyrrha asked and slid the book back down beneath Jaune's bed.

At that moment, Jaune's eyes flickered, and he stirred to wakefulness once more. "Hey," he murmured.

"Hello again," Pyrrha said, softly but kindly. "How do you feel?"

Jaune yawned, which was as good a way as answering as any other, Pyrrha supposed. "What… did I fall asleep?"

"For a little while, yes," Pyrrha answered. "You don't need to get up. You can go back to sleep, if you want to."

"No, I'll get up," Jaune said, shaking his head as he sat up. He yawned again. "Although, I could maybe use some coffee."

"I'll get it," Pyrrha assured him, getting to her feet and crossing the dorm room quickly. Her boots clicked upon the corridor floor as she made her way to the galley kitchen that the students could use to make themselves snacks, or light meals if they did not care for any of the available options in the dining hall. It had a sideboard on either side of the sink, a microwave, a hot plate, a toaster, a cheap kettle, and plentiful cupboards above and below the work surface. In one of the top cupboards, Pyrrha found a jar of coffee, albeit there wasn't much left inside.

"I think they left some for us to get started, but we have to replenish it ourselves."

Pyrrha looked around. Flash Sentry stood in the doorway, his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

"I see," Pyrrha said evenly.

Flash winced. "Please, don't… I know that some of my teammates can be a little… I'm not like Cardin or Russell."

Pyrrha hesitated, her back to him as she pulled the mostly-empty coffee jar down out of the cupboard. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have prejudged you."

"It's okay," Flash said. "I suppose Sunset's told you some horror stories about me."

"Actually, she doesn't mention you all that often," Pyrrha replied. She paused. "Although… she mentioned just now that… she used to watch you sleep."

Flash snorted. "I think I woke up to that a couple of times."

"Did you find it… odd?" Pyrrha asked.

Flash smiled as he walked into the kitchen. "No," he replied. "I thought it was sweet."

And yet you broke up with her and hurt her so badly. "I see," Pyrrha said softly.

She got a mug for Jaune, one of the plain mugs that were in the cupboard already. They should probably buy their own.

"That was a great fight you two had," Flash said, as he waited for Pyrrha to finish. "I'd rate it one of your personal best."

"You've seen me fight?" Pyrrha asked. She looked at him over her shoulder. "Am I in your way?"

"No," Flash said. "I can wait. And yes, I've seen you fight. I saw you fight Shining Armour in an exhibition match."

"Ah, yes, the charity fight for the Asclepius Institute," Pyrrha replied. "Yes, I recall. He was a skilled opponent."

"Sunset was better, yesterday," Flash said. "She actually managed to land a hit on you."

"She is very skilled."

"I had no idea," Flash said earnestly.

"She kept her strength from you?"

"From everyone, until now," Flash confirmed.

"Then I am honoured that she chose to reveal herself in battle against me," Pyrrha declared.

"Honoured?" Flash repeated. "I'm not sure I'll ever understand Mistralians. How is she?"

"Sunset?"

"Yeah," Flash murmured.

"She is… as well as can be expected, I suppose," Pyrrha replied.

"Right," Flash replied, his tone concealing his thoughts upon the subject. "I see."

Pyrrha finished making Jaune his coffee and carried the steaming mug back to the dorm room. By the time she returned, Ruby was out of the shower.

"Pyrrha," Ruby said, as the latter walked in. "I was just saying, we should all go into Vale today, and I can show you around. Like we didn't end up getting around to last week."

"That sounds like it could be very pleasant," Pyrrha replied, as she carried Jaune his coffee and handed it to him. He drank greedily, in spite of the heat, only to burn his tongue a little in the process. "I'm sorry," Pyrrha said. "Is it too hot?"

"No," Jaune assured her. "I just wasn't thinking straight."

To Ruby – and to everyone, really – Pyrrha said, "We could also use some groceries for the kitchen, and some of our own kitchenware, perhaps."

"I suppose it would be good having someone to show us around," Sunset conceded.

Jaune sipped some more coffee. "Sounds good," he agreed.

"That's that, then," Sunset said. "We'll get ready and head out after breakfast."

XxXxX​

Sunset was the next one to go into the shower, so while she was doing that, Ruby fastened her cape around her shoulders and asked Jaune and Pyrrha, "So, have either of you ever been to Vale before?"

"No," Jaune said. "My… we never had any reason to, before now."

"I spent the night before heading to Beacon," Pyrrha said, "but I spent most of that at my hotel, I went to the theatre but I got a cab there and back."

"Okay," Ruby said. "I mean, it's not like I'm an expert or anything," she said quickly, in case their expectations were too high, "but I've been a few times, even on my own. That's how I met Sunset and how I got into Beacon."

"I don't think I've heard this story," Jaune said.

"Nor I," Pyrrha agreed. "I knew that there must be a reason you were admitted early – and your skills demonstrate the reason admirably – but at the same time, I'm curious as to what specifically happened."

Ruby was beginning to wish that she hadn't brought it up. "Well, it's nothing special, really," she said. "I was in a dust shop – and so was Sunset, although I didn't realise it – when all of these bad guys came in led by this guy Roman Torchwick, and they were there to rob the place, and they started collecting all the dust-"

"The dust?" Pyrrha repeated. "They weren't just there to steal the takings, then?"

"Surely, it would be easier to just take the cash," Jaune theorized.

"Yeah, but dust is valuable," Ruby replied. "I mean, look at Weiss. Maybe he was going to sell it on to someone else?"

"Perhaps," Pyrrha agreed. "In any case, Ruby, please continue."

"Well, it's pretty straightforward really," Ruby said. "This guy came into the back – I had my headphones on, so I couldn't actually hear the robbery – and he was like 'put 'em up, kid,' but then I threw him across the store and kicked a second guy through the window. And then Sunset was like 'laser beams!' and then I was outside the store fighting Torchwick's guys 'wham! Bam!' And then they were all down, and there was only Torchwick left… until this girl showed up, and then all of a sudden, they both just… disappeared. Until we saw the Bullhead take off, at least. He got away."

"But you stopped the robbery," Pyrrha reminded her. She had a fond smile upon your face. "And the amusing style of your delivery can't disguise the fact that you put yourself in danger facing hardened criminals."

"You would have done the same," Ruby assured her. "I think we all would have."

"Perhaps," Pyrrha allowed. "But you did it."

"I guess," Ruby murmured. "So, anyway, where do you guys want to go in Vale?"

"I have no idea," Pyrrha admitted. "We are entirely in your hands, Ruby."

"Apart from the stuff you suggested we get," Jaune added, "which is probably a good idea, it doesn't look as if the school is going to replace any of that stuff. But yeah, other than that… why don't you surprise us?"

"Uh… sure," Ruby muttered, and hoped that whatever she came up with didn't disappoint.

XxXxX​

When the team was all ready, Sunset found that in appearance, it had divided pretty much in half. Ruby was wearing her huntress outfit, the black ensemble with her red cape, to the extent where it looked a little odd to see her without her weapon. Sunset was in much the same boat, but had made a concession to the casual circumstances by forgoing the jeans she usually wore under her skirt. Jaune and Pyrrha, on the other hand, were both wearing something new, which Sunset supposed was especially understandable in Pyrrha's case, considering what her battle gear looked like; she probably didn't want to wander around Vale armoured for a fight.

Jaune was wearing a different hoodie, this one with white stripes running horizontally across the arms and chest, with a white shirt underneath, while his pants were black like his hoodie. Pyrrha, meanwhile, wore a black halter-top with a red skirt and a touch of bare midriff visible in between the two. A red purse hung by a strap from her shoulder as they made their way down to breakfast.

The dining hall was less crowded for breakfast on a Sunday than it was on any other day of the week as a consequence of students not feeling the need to get up. Case in point: Ren and Dove were there when Team SAPR arrived, but without any sign of Yang or Nora.

"Hey guys," Ruby said, as Team SAPR sat down opposite the two representative of YRDN. "Yang and Nora decided to sleep in, huh?"

"I apologise that your sister is picking up Nora's habits," Ren said.

Sunset smirked. "You wouldn't dare say that if she were here, would you?"

"If she were here right now, there would be no need to say it," Ren replied.

The smirk didn't waver off Sunset's face. "It would be hilarious if she were behind you right now. Hilarious for me, anyway."

"So," Ruby said, changing the subject, "what have you guys got planned for today?"

"Training," Dove said. "I said I'd help Lyra with some of her sword technique."

"You spend a great deal of time with Lyra and Bon Bon," Pyrrha observed.

"Especially when you've already got two-" Jaune's words came to a clattering halt as his sleep deprived brain caught up what he'd been about to say. It was too late, however, to avoid the looks that Ren and Ruby were giving him.

Sunset grinned at his discomfiture. "Go on, Jaune, you had a sentence to finish."

Jaune made a strangled choking noise. "I just meant that… you hang out a lot with two girls who aren't on your team."

Dove shrugged. "I like them," he said. "They're nice."

"Yang's nice too," Ruby informed him.

Now it was Dove's turn to look uncomfortable. "I… haven't said or heard anyone else say otherwise, about Yang or Nora," he added, jerking his head a little towards Ren. "It's just that Lyra and Bon Bon are more…" He cleared his throat. "So anyway, what are you up to today?"

"Ruby is going to show us around Vale," Pyrrha replied.

"A good idea," Ren said. "Perhaps we should ask Yang to do the same for us, once she wakes up."

"You could always come with us?" Ruby suggested.

"Thank you, but Nora wouldn't appreciate it if I saw the sights without her," Ren said. "Do you have anything particular in mind?"

"Not really," Ruby admitted. "But I know a couple of good bookshops."

"I didn't know you read," Dove said. "What are you into?"

Ruby smiled shyly. "Stories about heroes," she admitted, as though it were something that she had to "admit" as opposed to simply stating it. "Stories… stories about the kind of people whom we're training to become: brave people who fight the monsters without a trace of fear."

Dove nodded and looked thoughtful, although what he was thinking about, Sunset couldn't say. Nor did she particularly care.

There were three ways of getting down into Vale from Beacon: if you had a vehicle in the garage, you could drive it down, or you could walk, or you could get the airbus that landed on the docking pad every hour on a Sunday to collect anyone from the school wishing to head down into the city. As it happened, Sunset did have a vehicle, her beloved bike, the Sunset Special, but it wasn't exactly the sort of thing that she could fit the entire team on, and nobody felt like walking into the city today. So they caught the ten o'clock airbus, which set them down in the midst of Vale twenty minutes later, and they were free to start exploring the city.

The civilian skydock was located not far away from a large public park, the unfortunately named Winchester Park, which, in spite of its name, nevertheless looked a pleasant enough sort of place, if one enjoyed wasting one's time in public parks where there wasn't much to do except look at flower beds. Nevertheless, Pyrrha seemed enthusiastic about taking a look around, and so they all trooped in through one of the gates set in the iron railings that fenced off the park from the rest of the city. There was already a fair crowd there already, people milling in a leisurely fashion up and down the paths or across the grass, while bees buzzed through the flowerbeds and birds sang in the trees that lined the pathways.

Not far from the entrance they had come in, Sunset's attention was drawn to an incredibly saccharine memorial: a wall of white stone, on which was carved a frieze depicting mules, horses, camels, and elephants marching along in a column, all of them burdened with something upon their backs. Upon the wall was also carved the inscription Animals In War in heavy, block letters, and underneath the words They Had No Choice. Sunset glanced around and saw that the wall was surrounded by bronze sculptures of animals: plodding, broken-down pack horses, a noble war horse, and a dog, which looked somewhat incongruous until Sunset thought about Applejack and that trained dog she always had running by her side.

All the same, in spite of the fact that she was a pony herself, Sunset could not help but find the whole thing a little ridiculous. Of all the things – all the people – they could erect a monument to, and this was what they chose to remember: the animals.

Pyrrha saw what Sunset was looking at and strolled over to join her in front of the absurd memorial. She spent a moment taking it in. "In Mistral," she said, "we have nothing like this."

"You mean in Mistral, you have sense?" Sunset suggested.

"I don't see that there's any need to be unkind," Pyrrha said mildly. "The Great War must have been the death of thousands – tens of thousands – of these poor creatures. And it is quite right to point out that they didn't have a choice."

"That doesn't mean they deserve to be remembered," Sunset replied. "Or at least, not that they deserve to be remembered more than, oh, I don't know, people."

"I am sure that there must be such monuments," Pyrrha said. "We simply have not come across them yet."

"I hope so," Sunset muttered. "Or Vale has its priorities seriously out of whack."

"Hey, guys," Jaune said, as he and Ruby joined the other two. "What are you looking at?"

"It's a memorial to the animals who perished in Vale's wars," Pyrrha explained.

Ruby gasped. "I've been to this park a few times, but I never noticed this was here before."

"Lucky you," griped Sunset.

"Sunset doesn't appreciate it," Pyrrha explained, with a slight trace of a sigh in her voice.

Sunset glanced at Pyrrha. "Do you really think that this is a good thing?"

"In Mistral," Pyrrha began, "we honour the generals and the kings who led the wars. Perhaps remembering the innocents dragged along in the wake of their ambitions is… more compassionate."

"I don't know. I like the Mistralian way better," Sunset replied.

"How is it in Atlas?" Pyrrha asked.

"In Atlas," Sunset said, "they honour the sacrifices made on behalf of the state. The individuals don't matter as long as the kingdom they died for endured."

"I like that," Ruby said. "I mean, I don't like that they died, but… we've got a statue of the king who won the war… somewhere, I don't know if I could show it to you, but anyway… putting up statues to kings and generals, I don't know. Surely, what's important, what really matters, is that the day was saved, and all the people too."

"You don't want any recognition at all?" Jaune asked, surprised.

"No," Ruby said, as though it were obvious. "So long as we complete the mission, that's all right with me."

"What about the heroes in the books?" Sunset said.

Ruby smiled. "They're not heroes because they ended up in books, Sunset; they ended up in books because they were heroes."

Pyrrha chuckled. "There are many amongst my people who would find such an attitude very strange, and yet, I find it very noble."

"It would be nice to get a 'well done' every so often," Jaune muttered.

"If you earn it, sure," Sunset said, with just a touch of sharpness in her voice.

They got hot drinks – more coffee for Jaune, tea for Sunset and Pyrrha, hot chocolate for Ruby – and raisin flapjacks in plastic wrappers from a little wooden hut selling refreshments a little further down the path. While they were drinking, they were drawn further into the park by the sounds of music and cheering and some heavy thuds that they could not identify.

They reached the far end of the park to find a rally in progress, a great crowd assembled across the green, blocking out the grass beneath their feet with the density of the people packed in so tight. Music such as one might find at a circus was playing, as robot animals – elephants, lions, giraffes, horses, camels – marched up and down with heavy treads, lifting their heads up and down, rearing, bowing, turning in place for the delight and amusement of the crowd.

In between the robot animals and the crowd had been erected a stage, with a banner raised above it urging the readers to re-elect Novo Aris as First Councillor.

Up on the stage stood a tall older woman, with a majestic mane of purple hair tinged with pink at the roots, wearing a vivid pink trousersuit that matched the roots of her hair.

"Ruby," Sunset hissed. "Is that the First Councillor?"

"I… think so," Ruby said.

"Shouldn't you know?" Sunset demanded.

"I've only seen her on TV," Ruby replied, a little defensively, "and Dad turns the TV off whenever she comes on."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked.

"He doesn't like her," Ruby replied, stating the obvious.

Sunset didn't ask why Ruby's father didn't like the head of Vale's government; rather, she watched as the First Councillor turned away from the robotic animals that she had been observing and, with a bright smile upon her face, approached the podium set in the centre of the stage. The slogan Morning in Vale was picked out in yellow letters on a sky blue background on the front of the podium.

"They're amazing, aren't they?" Novo asked the crowd. "And these majestic creatures are just some of the amazing creations being developed by Starhead Industrial at their base of operations right here in Vale.

"There was a time not very long ago when things like this were only developed and manufactured in Atlas. There was a time when goods flowed south out of Atlas, and only our lien flowed the other way. There was a time when we looked north with envy, but not any more!" Novo paused to allow the crowd to cheer for a moment, as an army of enthusiastic volunteers at the front waved "Novo" placards. "Since I became First Councillor, I have presided over a transformation of this Kingdom. Since I became First Councillor, we have achieved full employment. Since I became First Councillor, in-work poverty has declined to record lows. Since I became First Councillor, our gallant huntsmen and huntresses have been so effective that the threat of the grimm has never seemed so insignificant. And since I became First Councillor, I have overseen the rebalancing of our economy on a scale unseen since the end of the Great War, as with the help of our friends in Starhead Industrial, Mendelson Robotics, and Accuretta Systems, we begin to manufacture goods that can compete with anything being developed in Atlas. And if you re-elect me as your First Councillor, I promise to continue that success and lead our kingdom to even greater heights. It's morning in Vale! Let's keep the sun shining!"

"Why doesn't your dad like her?" Jaune asked. "She seems nice enough."

"She's a politician; of course, she's going to seem nice," Sunset said.

"True, but as politicians go, nothing that she said seemed particularly unreasonable," Pyrrha murmured.

Ruby's brow furrowed a little. "It's all about Vale with her."

Sunset frowned. "Well… that is where she lives."

"But what about Patch?" Ruby demanded. "What about the villages beyond the city limits? Novo only cares about the City of Vale and other large towns on the coast; she keeps all the huntsmen back to defend them and hardly sends any out to defend the smaller places."

"Like your home," Pyrrha murmured.

"Patch is lucky," Ruby replied. "The teachers from Signal are always willing to help out, but I can't help thinking that there must be other places that aren't so lucky, and I think Dad thinks so too. That's why he turns off the TV."

Pyrrha pursed her lips disapprovingly. "That puts rather a different colour upon all of this boasting. The first duty of a lord is to protect their people, and if she has been neglecting it, then…"

"Didn't she just say that grimm attacks were down?" Jaune pointed out.

"For the cities, they probably are," Pyrrha said.

Ruby nodded. "There hasn't been a major grimm attack on Vale since Mountain Glenn. But outside the cities, things are just as dangerous as ever; people just don't see it."

Sunset and Pyrrha both moved to put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, and each looked surprised that the other hand done so.

"That is why we're training," Pyrrha said, giving Ruby's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "So that we may go where others cannot and do the things which they will not."

"I know," Ruby said. She looked at both of them gratefully. "Can we go somewhere else now?"

Sunset shrugged. "You're our guide; guide us somewhere."

"Hang on a second, guys," Jaune said, as the rally began to disperse in front of them. "Is that Cardin?"

Sunset looked. She stared. It was Cardin, wearing a suit, and hanging off his arm was a pretty girl with long, blue flowing hair, looking up at him with adoration. She giggled at something that Cardin said.

"Seriously?" Jaune exclaimed. "His girlfriend was real this whole time? He wasn't making her up? That guy has an actual girlfriend? That guy?"

"If it's any consolation, she's probably as obnoxious as he is," Sunset observed. "Like Weiss. Regardless, happy couples make me nauseous, especially when one of the two is someone I dislike, so if we could move this along a little bit, Ruby?"

"Sure, right," Ruby said. "Uh… this way."

Ruby led them through the streets immediately around the park, high-end residences of the well-heeled, although, as Ruby explained, the really rich and the old nobility tended to live further north, on the coast, furthest away from most grimm. Nevertheless, there were some nice houses in this part of town, nice enough that they had security cameras and the police seemed to patrol the area pretty regularly.

They passed through that part of Vale quickly and entered a commercial district where Mom and Pop stores were fighting a rearguard against the encroachment of big chains taking up the spots on the street. Along the way, they passed one of the memorials to kings that Ruby had mentioned with a touch of disdain: an equestrian statue of the Last King of Vale, who had won the Great War and humbled Mantle and Mistral both. It was… not a particularly good statue, Sunset had to say; the tail of the horse looked as though it was about to fall off, and the king's sword, raised above his head, looked as if it had holes in the metal. Someone had spray-painted a White Fang symbol on the stone plinth. Ruby stopped but shuffled impatiently as the rest of them looked at it, so that they felt obliged to move on swiftly afterwards. Jaune gave the statue one last lingering look as they moved on.

The commercial streets were reasonably busy, about as much as one could probably expect on a Sunday, but several dust shops that they passed were boarded up, as if they had recently gone out of business. Sunset would have suspected the SDC and their relentless drive to monopolise every aspect of the dust trade, but one of the boarded up stores had the remains of some decaying yellow police tape stuck to it.

"Another robbery?" Ruby asked, pausing in front of the crime scene. She looked at Sunset. "Do you think it was that guy Torchwick?"

"Could be," Sunset agreed. "They never caught him, did they?"

"I guess not," Ruby said. Her eyes began to gleam worryingly.

"No," Sunset interrupted.

Ruby gasped. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"You were about to suggest that we hunt down Torchwick, weren't you?" Sunset informed her.

"Well, yeah," Ruby admitted, "but you didn't know that!"

"We're not doing it," Sunset declared.

"Why not?" Ruby demanded.

"Because I don't see the point," Sunset said. He's only a petty thief, after all; where's the incentive to risk our lives over something like that?

"But somebody has to stop him!"

"Someone doesn't have to mean us," Sunset replied. "Let the police earn all of those tax lien, or some professional huntsmen can take care of it."

"The police and the professional huntsmen can't stop him," Ruby insisted.

"Whereas we, with our two whole weeks of schooling, will succeed where they failed miserably," Sunset said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.

"We almost got him before."

"Almost

"Pyrrha-"

"This team is not a democracy," Sunset declared magisterially. "It is a dictatorship, and the tyrant is me."

Ruby looked a little unhappy with Sunset over that, but she didn't press the issue, and thankfully, neither Jaune nor Pyrrha looked keen to raise it either.

While they were walking, Pyrrha caught sight of a hair stylist, one with a reasonably upmarket-looking set of premises, and the rest of them waited outside while Pyrrha went in and spoke to the woman inside. As far as Sunset could tell looking through the glass, booking an appointment took Pyrrha twice as long as it needed to because the girl behind the counter wouldn't stop fawning all over her.

Small wonder that Pyrrha was looking a little red-faced when she came out.

"Sorry if I kept you all waiting," she apologised.

"It's fine," Jaune said. "It's worth it to keep your hair looking that way, right?"

"Really? Do you like it?" Pyrrha asked eagerly. "I mean, ahem, thank you, Jaune; it's very kind of you to be so patient and understanding." She gave him a shy smile as they continued on.

A few people took pictures of Pyrrha as she walked down the street, but fortunately, nobody approached them. Pyrrha didn't look happy about it, but Sunset thought it could have been a lot more irritating.

Ruby ended up leading them to the dust shop where she and Sunset had fought Torchwick and his men.

"I didn't mean to lead us here," Ruby assured them. "I just… kind of did. Maybe because it's the last place I went when I was in Vale last?"

"I think I spotted a bookshop not too far away," Pyrrha said. "Do you know it?"

"No," Ruby admitted. "Do you want to check it out?"

The shop went by the name of Tukson's Book Trade, and when Sunset pushed open the door and led the way inside, she found that another student had already beaten them too it: Blake Belladonna, leader of Team BLBL, was standing at the counter talking with a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair.

They both fell silent as Sunset led Team SAPR inside.

"Well, pardon us," Sunset said, as Blake looked at her as though she had a bad smell. "For some reason, I thought this was a store open for business."

"It is!" the man behind the counter declared. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home of every book under the sun."

"Not quite every book," Blake remarked. "I had to place an item on order, and it still hasn't arrived yet." She glanced at the man sharply.

The man behind the counter – Tukson, presumably – laughed nervously. "Okay, so the reality doesn't one hundred percent match the marketing. Still, there are plenty of books on the shelves, so feel free to look around."

"Thank you, sir," Pyrrha said, bowing her head.

"How did you find out about this place, Blake?" Ruby asked. "Are you from Vale?"

That's right. I don't know where you're from, Sunset thought. Although most students from outside Vale wore it on their sleeve in some way, be it the consistent underlying patriotism of the Atlesians or the cultural distinctiveness of the Mistralians or the… they didn't have any students from Vacuo in the freshman class, but if they did, Sunset was sure she would have noticed something distinct about them, too.

"Uh, no," Blake said. "Not exactly. I grew up outside the kingdoms, but I've made a few visits to Vale before coming to Beacon, and I came across Tukson's store. He's usually very good at getting me what I want."

"Some books are rarer than others, Blake; these things take time," Tukson reminded her.

"I know," Blake said. "I'm just… eager to start reading. Goodbye." She started for the door.

"Is there anything you'd recommend?" Ruby asked.

Blake paused, her arm still as she reached for the door handle. "I don't know what you've read, but there is a good section on fairy tales."

While Ruby headed there, Sunset drifted over to the nearby, but separate, mythology and legend section, which sat sandwiched between Fairy Tales, where Ruby was browsing, and history, where Pyrrha was examining the selection. Jaune was looking at… how to guides?

Sunset shrugged. At least he was trying to learn something. She turned her attention to the mythology, her eyes passing over some retellings of the ancient myths – where did the line between fairytale and myth fall, she wondered – as she looked for a copy of the Mistraliad. She had become a little curious about it since Pyrrha had brought it up, and she thought that for the sake of her reputation as a cultured gentlemare, she should probably read the original, even if only in translation. And besides, she might actually enjoy it.

She saw the title on the otherwise black spine of a book, a book which, when Sunset pulled it out, billed itself as a new prose translation. A quick flick through the pages confirmed that it was, indeed, prose, and quite comprehensible prose at that.

"Oh, no, Sunset, you don't want that," Pyrrha said from over Sunset's shoulder as she plucked the book from out of Sunset's hands and put it back on the shelf. "That translation is… without wishing to be rude, not very good. To be frank, I feel as though many prose translations lose a great deal of the impact of the work. Excuse me, Mister Tukson?" she said, turning around.

"Yes, Miss?"

"Do you have a copy of Corona Sparkle's translation of the Mistraliad?"

Tukson smiled. "I suppose if you know Blake, then you're probably the sort of upstanding young huntsmen in training that I can trust not to rob the store while I check in the back." He disappeared into the recesses of his business, leaving Ruby and Jaune to continue browsing while Sunset and Pyrrha, waiting, edged closer to the counter.

Tukson emerged again with a thick leatherbound volume in one meaty hand. "Here you go, one Sparkle translation."

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "Um, how much did you say-"

"Don't worry, Sunset; this is my treat," Pyrrha said. "I can… well, I can hardly insist on the more expensive copy otherwise, can I?"

"I, uh… thanks," Sunset murmured. A part of her felt as though she ought to refuse charity, but, well, what would be the point of that? And Pyrrha might even be right and it would turn out to be much better in poetry.

For herself, Pyrrha brought a political history of Vale. "Things don't work quite the same here as in Mistral, and I think the differences might turn out to be important in Doctor Oobleck's class," she explained.

Ruby didn't find anything she wanted, or at least nothing that she wanted badly enough to pay for, while Jaune wasn't quite done choosing yet.

"Uh, you guys wait outside," he said. "I'll be out in a minute."

Sunset wanted to know why they couldn't wait for him inside the store, but Pyrrha and Ruby seemed to want to oblige Jaune, and so, Sunset had little choice but to follow them outside.

"What's he being so secretive about?" Sunset demanded. "Why does he need to hide what he's buying in a bookshop?" There was one obvious answer, but she sort of hoped that it wasn't that.

"If Jaune doesn't want us to know, then we should respect that," Pyrrha declared.

"Really?" Sunset asked, as Jaune left the shop carrying a paper bag. "So, what did you get?"

"Huh?" Jaune said. "Oh, just… a book."

"Obviously," Sunset replied. "What book?"

Jaune squirmed. "Well, uh…"

"You don't have to tell," Pyrrha informed him.

"Yes, he does," Sunset insisted.

"The, uh, I got, uh… " Jaune reached into his bag and pulled out… a comic book. "The latest X-ray and Vav."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."

They found a convenience store to pick up their groceries – coffee, tea, chocolate, milk, snacks, that kind of thing for the kitchen – and then caught a airbus back to Beacon.

Sunset was surprised to see Dove waiting for them outside their dorm room when they returned.

"Hey, Dove," Ruby said. "How did the training with Lyra go?"

"Very well, thanks," Dove said. He had his hands clasped behind his back. "I think she's improving. Not that I'm a great swordsman myself; I only know a few tricks my grandfather taught me. What about you? Did you find any good books?"

"No," Ruby admitted. "But Sunset, Pyrrha, and Jaune all got something."

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that," Dove said. "I mean that there wasn't anything you wanted." He hesitated. "Ruby… I want to say again how sorry I am for spilling your confidences when you came to talk to Yang, I had no right to do that."

"It's okay," Ruby said. "It all worked out in the end, right?"

"That's very kind of you, but it's not good enough," Dove said. "To make it up to you, I wanted to give you this." From behind him, he produced an old, rather dog-eared looking book, its leather cover fraying and coming apart, the pages looking rough-cut, almost jagged in places. The golden lettering that had once adorned the front was almost completely faded, and Sunset could barely make out the title.

Ruby, however, seemed to recognise it well enough. She gasped in awe and delight. "Dove… is that a copy of The Song of Olivia?"

"Yes," Dove said. "It belonged to my grandfather, he… he gave it to me when I left for Beacon."

Ruby's eyes were wide as saucers. "Dove… I can't take this."

"I've read it so many times I probably know the whole thing by heart. Have you read it?"

"No," Ruby said. "I've heard of it, but… it's been out of print for years; you can't get hold of it for love or lien."

"Unless you happen to have an old copy," Dove said. "Please, take it."

"It's too much," Ruby insisted.

Dove said, "Yang says that you will be the Olivia of our times, I'm not sure if she means it as a compliment or not. In any case… I think that of everyone in this school, you deserve to have this and will get the most out of it." He pressed the book into Ruby's hands. Ruby's fingers closed gently around the tome, as if she were afraid that it would crumble into dust. Given the state of it, it just might.

"Thank you," Ruby said, in a voice that was soft and slightly squeaky. She stepped forward and wrapped one arm around Dove's chest. "Thanks, Dove."

Dove patted her on the head. "You're welcome," he said, before disentangling herself from her embrace and heading back to the YRDN dorm room.

Ruby had a great big smile on her face as she led Team SAPR back into their dorm room.

"So, what's so special about this book, anyway?" Sunset asked as she followed Ruby inside. "Aside from the fact that it's old and rare."

"It's the Song of Olivia!" Ruby cried, as though that ought to have been obvious. "One of the oldest chivalric stories in Vale. It's the tale of Olivia, a young girl who dreams of becoming a knight in the king's court. It tells the story of how she travels from her home village to the court and befriends Prince Edward, the heir to the throne. They grow up together, and she is knighted, and he becomes king. They fall in love, but they realise that their duty to Vale, her vows as a knight and his responsibilities as king, mean that they can never be together. The story follows Olivia on her many quests, slaying monsters and vanquishing villains, fighting for her king in battles to create the Kingdom of Vale as we know it. And it ends with her final stand alongside the Twelve Paladins of Vale at Stallion Pass. King Edward had led an army over the mountains to claim the lands to the east, but as they were marching back again through the mountain pass, an enormous horde of grimm attacked the rearguard under Olivia's command. Her best friend, Roland, urges her to blow her horn and summon the rest of the army back to aid her, but Olivia is too proud to send for help and refuses. She and her companions stand fast against the grimm, but one by one, they are brought down until only Olivia remains. Only when she is mortally wounded does Olivia blow her horn, and help rushes to her side in time to save the bodies of the fallen heroes from being devoured by the grimm."

"So… she dies because of her pride?" Jaune asked, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Pride is what we have left when we have nothing else," Sunset informed him. "But, all the same…" That doesn't make it any less stupid to hear about somebody else doing it. Now I understand why Dove said that Yang's words might not be a compliment. Now Sunset understood, too, what Yang meant when she had said that Ruby needed someone to take care of her. If I'd been Roland, I wouldn't have taken no for an answer.

"A sad story," Pyrrha said. "But a very generous gift."

"I know," Ruby said. "It's a story… I guess it isn't a story that people want to hear anymore. We… we've kind of forgotten our history that way."

Perhaps that's for the best, Sunset thought.

"It was nice of him to give it to you," Jaune said. "Just… don't get any funny ideas from it, okay?" he laughed nervously.

Ruby chuckled. "I won't."

As they all put their stuff away, Sunset watched Jaune out of the corner of her eye. He thought that he was being very discreet and that everyone else was distracted, but Sunset noticed that he took another book of his paper bag, and slid it under his bed.

It was called 'Swordfighting for Beginners'.

Who are you, really? Sunset thought. He was lacking in even the basics, no doubt about that, but how had he gotten through combat school in this state?

And why do you need a primer when you sleep next to one of the most gifted sword-fighters of her generation?

 

[ScipioSmith]

Bargain​

"Heck of a thing to wake up to on a Monday morning, huh?" Yang asked as the bullhead carried her, Sunset, Weiss, and Blake away from Beacon and out over the Emerald Forest, the same forest in which they had endured their Initiation just a couple of weeks earlier.

Weiss sniffed. "If you had a late night last night because you didn't expect this, you have no one to blame but yourself."

How were any of us supposed to see this coming? Sunset wondered. She was fairly certain that the answer was 'they couldn't have, but Weiss was hoping it would make her sound good in front of Professor Goodwitch.'

She did not like this girl.

Sunset had just finished getting dressed when she got a high priority message from Professor Goodwitch telling her that morning classes for the freshmen had been cancelled and to meet her – alone – at the skydock. When Sunset arrived, she had found that all the first-year team leaders were present, along with a pair of Bullheads into which Professor Goodwitch had chivvied them.

Professor Goodwitch was on their Bullhead, but she stood with her back to the four and gave no sign of either wanting to speak to them or of having any desire to stop them talking amongst themselves as they flew away from the school. The green woods lay thick and tangled beneath them, broken up only by the broken stone fragments of ancient ruins which erupted out of the cover of the forest.

"Beacon is known for giving its students a more hands-on experience than the other academies," Blake allowed. "I suppose we should have expected that there would be sudden incidents like this."

"Maybe," Yang said. "Not sure that we could have expected having to do this by ourselves, though. Feels weird. I just got my new team, and I'm already having to do stuff without them. Doesn't it feel like this sort of thing should be covered under Grimm Studies rather than Leadership?"

Yang looked at Professor Goodwitch, as if that had been her cue to say something, possibly to offer an explanation as to what they were doing there. But the professor said nothing.

Sunset looked out of the open door on the side of the Bullhead, brushing her hair out of her face as the wind blew past their airship. She could see a true ship behind them, hovering between their location and the rising spires of Beacon. It was smaller than any of the stately Skyliners that routinely plied their trade across the skies of Vale; it was smaller, too, than an Atlesian man-of-war, although it was also a warship. Sunset guessed it to be a Valish Royal Navy destroyer: it looked like an armoured box, or two flat-topped pyramids placed base to base, with wings jutting out the side that flapped lazily in the air; guns emerged from all eight sloping sides, and a large ram jutted out from the prow.

Blake's eyes followed Sunset's gaze. "That's a Valish destroyer," she said without any doubt in her voice.

"A warship?" Yang asked. "You almost never see those. What's going on?" Once more, she looked to Professor Goodwitch, and once more, Professor Goodwitch did not reply.

She said nothing at all to them until both Bullheads had descended into a forest clearing not too far away from Beacon, a meadow with space for the two airships to land.

Only once all of the team leaders had disembarked and assembled in a line abreast did Professor Goodwitch, striding down the line, explain what they were doing here. "As you should all be aware, study at Beacon Academy involves significantly more fieldwork than is involved in studying at Atlas, Haven, or Shade. For you team leaders, that fieldwork begins now. Early warning systems in the Emerald Forest have detected a horde of grimm moving through the woods towards Vale. It is your job to stop them."

"Um, Professor?" Yang said. "Not to sound like a big old downer or anything, but what if we don't?"

"And is there any reason why this assignment isn't being carried out by actual huntsmen?" Blake added.

"Huntsmen, along with units of the Royal Navy and the Self-Defence Force, are standing by to intercept the grimm beyond the Emerald Forest," Professor Goodwitch explained. "However, as the grimm concentration is at the low end of level one, Professor Ozpin feels that this is a suitable situation to test your skills as huntsmen and as leaders."

Sunset raised her hand. "Professor, wouldn't this be a better test of leadership if we had our teams with us? I'm not sure how us being out here by ourselves teaches leadership."

"I'm not sure how getting into a public fight with one of your team helps you be a better leader, but it seemed to work for you," Yang said, prompting a round of chuckles that deflated a great deal of the tension from the group.

Even Professor Goodwitch smiled, if only very slightly and only for a moment. "As leaders," she explained, "you will inevitably have to deal with unexpected situations. This exercise will test your ability to improvise and adapt without relying upon the established skills and abilities of your teammates." She got out her scroll and tapped a few times upon the screen. All of the team leaders received an alert on their own scrolls. "I've just established a link between your scrolls and the early warning systems; you can now see the location of the grimm concentration relative to your position. At twelve-hundred hours, whatever the condition of the grimm, you will retreat back to this position for extraction. Professor Ozpin and I will monitor your progress and send assistance if we judge you require it. Are there any further questions?"

There was no reply but silence from the team leaders.

"Very well," Professor Goodwitch said. "Good hunting, all of you." She climbed back into one of the Bullheads as the pair of airships took off, rising up into the air above them.

Everyone checked their scrolls for the location of the enemy. The grimm horde was presented on a map of the Emerald Forest as a malign red blob, teardrop shaped and trailing backwards; it was currently to their north, and if the huntsmen did nothing, the grimm would pass to the east of them on their way to Vale.

Nice of you not to drop us directly athwart their path, Professor.

"Okay, let's do this!" one boy shouted, brandishing his staff above his head as he set off towards the grimm with an eager shout. Most of the others, though they were themselves team leaders, followed in his wake.

Sunset did not. She continued to look at her scroll. She felt fairly confident in saying that there was a better approach than charging the grimm head on. She looked at the terrain. The grimm's route would take them across the river; if she got to the crossing before them, then she could hold the bottleneck… and that would be better than nothing, but still less than ideal.

And then it came to her. Yes, that would work.

"Sunset?"

Sunset looked up to see Yang was looking back at her. Yang, Weiss, and Blake were the only other team leaders who had not immediately run off, although Yang looked as though she was about to do so.

"You're not coming?" Yang asked.

Sunset snorted. "If you want to run off with the rest of the idiots, then be my guest."

Yang put her hands on her hips. "'Idiots'? We've been told to fight the grimm, and the grimm are over there. What's the problem?"

"A plan might be nice," Blake murmured, in a tone that suggested she was trying to think of one, "but I take your point that we have to engage the enemy at some point."

"But not head on," Sunset replied. "Am I the only person here who pays attention in Grimm Studies?"

"If you mean 'are you the only one who listens to Professor Port's stories' then probably," Yang admitted.

Sunset rolled her eyes. The defenders of humanity. "Grimm hordes form when a single alpha becomes so strong that it can intimidate other alpha grimm into following it," she explained, summarising one of the salient details from one of Professor Port's stories from last week. "A horde moves with a screen of juvenile, weak grimm in front, followed by older, more powerful grimm behind."

"So that any defences or opposition will be tripped by the expendable juveniles while the older, more experienced grimm can react appropriately," Blake said. She paled a little, which was quite an accomplishment, considering how fair she was already. "So what you're saying is that when the other huntsmen hit the front of the formation-"

"They'll dispatch the weak grimm up front but almost certainly have to fall back in the face of the more dangerous grimm coming up behind," Sunset said. "Grimm we might not be prepared to handle."

"Speak for yourselves," Yang boasted.

Sunset looked at her. "It would not bother me one bit if you went and got yourself ripped to pieces by whatever kind of grimm are waiting out there, except insofar as if you did, then Ruby would probably cry, so if you could listen to me and stay alive for the peace of our dorm room, that would be great."

Yang grinned. "Okay, baconhair, if you've got another idea, let's hear it."

I'm tempted to feed you to the grimm for 'baconhair' alone, Sunset thought. However, she said, "Our mission objective is to stop the horde, not to kill grimm; if we can kill the alpha, then the horde will break up and become just a bunch of grimm in a forest that is already full of them. I'm not certain of our chances of breaking through the front, but at the rear of the horde, where it trails off, that's where the absolute weakest grimm with the lowest bloodlust will be."

"Did Professor Port tell you that as well?" Blake asked.

"Yes," Sunset replied.

"I need to start paying more attention in that class," Yang remarked.

"I have been paying enough attention to know that this is a ridiculous plan," Weiss declared, having been standing aside pretending that she wasn't listening. "How exactly do you plan to kill an Alpha, especially one of such size and experience?"

"I… haven't quite worked that out yet," Sunset admitted.

"But the four of us should be able to figure it out," Yang declared genially. "We'll even have the journey to consider it."

Weiss spluttered. "The four of us?"

"Unless you want to try and catch up with the crowd, ice queen," Yang said.

"Do not call me that," Weiss snapped.

"Do you have a better idea?" Blake inquired gently.

"We find good terrain, inflict as many casualties as we can, and weaken the horde for the huntsmen and the defence forces," Weiss said.

"That's not our mission," Sunset said.

"What if our mission is impossible and this test is to see which of us is smart enough to work that out?" Weiss countered.

"I don't think Beacon would do that," Yang said. "Not with real grimm and real lives at stake."

"I'm willing to give this a try," Blake added. "Are you coming or not?"

Weiss hesitated for a moment, before she huffed irritably. "If I die as a result of this foolishness, I expect all of you to be buried alongside me."

Yang chuckled. "That's the spirit."

"I'll take the lead," Blake said, setting off into the woods along a path that would take them around the edge of the grimm horde. Sunset and the others were left with no choice but to follow her.

Blake moved swiftly, darting on ahead into the woods, moving so quickly and so quietly that none of the other three could keep up with her, disappearing into the trees for a little while before doubling back to wait for the others to catch up. Sometimes, she left the ground and headed into the trees themselves, leaping from branch to branch to branch like a squirrel, but always doubling back again to let Sunset, Yang, and Weiss catch up with her.

She proved to be a swift guide, but a skilled one, navigating a path around the edge of the grimm horde, never bringing them into contact with any grimm, lest they draw the power of the horde down upon themselves. And yet, she also chose an easy path for those less light on their feet than Blake herself to follow, avoiding particularly dense tangles of undergrowth or bogs or rocky outcroppings that might have slowed them down too much.

Yang followed immediately after Blake, leaving Sunset and Weiss to bring up the rear.

Sunset regretted that fact, because it meant that she had to be in close proximity to Weiss Schnee, and Weiss seemed to dislike Sunset as much as Sunset disliked her and for far less cause.

Sunset had every reason to feel the way she did about Weiss Schnee. The Schnee heiress was petty and prissy, and she walked around with her nose in the air like she was better than everyone else.

She acted, in fact, exactly the way that Sunset had used to act when she was Princess Celestia's personal student, beloved of the ruling princess of Equestria, the chosen one. What right did Weiss have to act that way, as though she were some sort of princess herself and not the daughter of a dust salesman with ideas above his station? Sunset should have been the one to act that way. Sunset was the only one who was allowed to act that way. When she acted that way, it had probably been just as annoying to everyone else as Weiss was annoying to Sunset, but that was completely different because Sunset had been the one annoying people instead of being annoyed. Which was, of course, a completely different thing.

And she was so pretty and so rich and what loser guy wasn't going to fall head over heels for her? Flash probably felt exactly the same way about Weiss that Jaune did, and unlike Jaune, Flash actually had a few things to recommend him.

Which meant that Weiss was probably going to steal Sunset's boyfriend at some point in the near future, and there wasn't much that Sunset could do about it except stew and hate.

Yes, Sunset considered, rightly, that she had cause to hate Weiss Schnee. What she wasn't so clear about was what Weiss seemed to have against her, unless it was the fact that Sunset was a faunus.

The rest of her team are a bunch of bigots, after all; what's one more?

"Have you had any thoughts about killing the Alpha yet?" Weiss asked as they followed where Blake led.

"No," Sunset admitted. She had been too busy thinking about Weiss to come up with a plan as yet.

"Really?" Weiss said, feigning surprise. "You don't have any more little tricks that you've been hiding, waiting to show them off at the most opportune moment? Or is the defeat of an alpha grimm and the salvation of Vale not a prestigious enough occasion for Sunset Shimmer to use her full potential?"

"What is your problem?" Sunset demanded.

"My problem? What is your problem?" Weiss demanded.

"Guys, this isn't really the time-" Yang began.

"I don't have a problem!" Sunset declared.

"That's debatable," Yang began, "but maybe we should-"

"Why did you throw that fight?" Weiss snapped.

Sunset made a sound that was halfway between a gasp and a scoff. "Throw the fight?" she repeated. "You think I let you win?"

"Do you expect me to believe that you didn't?" Weiss replied. "I saw the way you fought against Pyrrha, the difference with the way you fought against me… it was nearly incomparable, as if you were a different person!"

"I needed to go all out to have a chance against Pyrrha."

"But not against me?"

"What are you complaining about?" Sunset yelled. "You won!"

"Because you were holding back, which means I won nothing!" Weiss cried. "Do you think that I want people to go easy on me? Do you want a job at the SDC when your four years at Beacon are over?"

"Oh, bite my tail," Sunset snapped. "I don't want anything from you, and I don't need anything from you."

"Then why did you go all out against Pyrrha but not me?" Weiss shouted.

Sunset smirked. "Because I take Pyrrha seriously."

Weiss recoiled as though she'd been slapped. Her face reddened with anger. "How… how dare you? You impertinent-"

"Impertinent!" Sunset repeated.

"-little upstart-"

"Upstart?!"

"-who do you think-"

"SHUT UP!" Yang yelled. "Both of you BE QUIET!" Flames flickered upon her body, dancing upon her shoulders and weaving through her hair as her eyes turned red. "We're on a mission with real lives at stake, and you're bickering like a couple of little brats! And over what, some stupid sparring match? We don't have time for this."

The forest was disturbed by shots, gunshots to the north that scattered the birds of the trees, the sounds of a variety of different weapons, some high-pitched and some low and thudding, echoing in wild fusillades through the trees.

"It's the other team leaders," Blake muttered. "They've engaged the grimm."

"We really don't have time for this," Yang growled. "Let's go!" she cried. "Blake, come on; let's get moving."

Blake picked up the pace so that the others had to run to keep up with her now as she darted ahead of them through the trees, doubling back less often and waiting for less time so that her fellow huntresses had to be faster to keep her in their sights.

Nevertheless, as they ran, Weiss was able to mutter out of the corner of her mouth, "And by the way, what did I do to you that you felt the need to inflict Jaune Arc upon me?"

You became my boyfriend's partner. "Inflict? I didn't inflict Jaune Arc on you; he just likes you." Celestia knows why.

"Well, make him stop; it's annoying," Weiss said.

"So? It's no less than you deserve for inflicting Cardin Winchester on us."

"Cardin doesn't do anything to you," Weiss replied.

"Where you can see," Sunset corrected her.

"What do you expect me to do about things that you can't see?"

"Lay down the law," Sunset suggested. "Be a leader."

"I am a leader, and I don't need to get into public fights with my teammates to prove it," Weiss replied haughtily. "Besides, why should I help you when I'm kept awake all night by Jaune Arc panting and grunting on the rooftop above my dorm room? What is he even doing up there?"

I have no idea. "Nothing that need concern you," Sunset lied magisterially.

Weiss sniffed. "Then Cardin is doing nothing that need concern you, whether I can see him or not."

Meanwhile, the shooting that they had heard reached a crescendo, even as its direction relative to the four huntresses changed, until, as the sounds of fighting were at their height, they were to the south of Sunset and the others. Checking her scroll, Sunset could see that for a brief moment, the bulbous crescent that marked the forefront of the horde flattened out as the grimm encountered resistance… but then the creatures of grimm began to surge forward once again, and the sounds of gunshots from the south began to grow weaker and less frequent.

"Fighting retreat," Yang said, sounding as much hopeful as she did certain. "They're falling back; it doesn't mean they're… it doesn't mean we left them to…"

"Our presence wouldn't have made much difference," Weiss declared. "We can do as much good for them by following the plan as we could by standing with them."

"I hope so," Yang muttered.

Blake also looked unconvinced, but she continued to lead the way nevertheless until she had brought them around the flank of the grimm horde and up behind it, to the rear where only those grimm who were the weakest, the wounded, and the least eager for battle, trailed off in a gradually diminishing trickle behind the main body. The grimm were smarter than anybody would have liked in some respects – like sending in cannon fodder to feel out the enemy ahead of the main force – but they were not smart enough to know to round up stragglers. Their rear was made up of one-armed beowolves and boarbatusks with cracked face masks and ursai with both forepaws missing stumping along on their hind legs. They followed at the rear of the horde, and no doubt if the grimm came across a village or if Vale had possessed no defences to keep them out, then these grimm would join in the slaughter with gleeful abandon, hunting down children and civilians with no aura to protect them. When there was the threat of fighting, however, they kept well to the back. They were cowards, in other words.

Still, having found them, it meant that they didn't need to look at the data from the early warning systems any more to track the rest of the grimm, who had left not only a tail of lesser grimm to follow but also carved a swathe through the forest as they smashed down trees and trampled undergrowth with gleeful abandon. Sunset and the others avoided engaging the weakest grimm but followed parallel to them as they reached the main body of the horde.

Those poor saps who had rushed off to take the grimm head on had done one thing to benefit Sunset and the others: they had drawn a great number of the grimm forward to engage or pursue them. This meant that the Alpha of Alphas, the commander who led them, who would at one time have stood in the very centre of the horde, surrounded by all the grimm under his command, was now closer to the rear, with only his weakest and most pathetic grimm behind him.

Mind you, it still looked like a lot of grimm. It might only have been a level one concentration - and on the low end of level one at that - but it still looked like a lot of grimm to Sunset. They were mostly beowolves, but ursai rose up amongst them like towers rising above the walls, looming over the smaller grimm that surrounded them. Boarbatusks ranged upon the flanks, while creeps growled as they waddled forwards. They were all headed forwards faster than their commander, leaving him behind. Sunset would have liked to have said 'leaving him vulnerable' but she couldn't quite bring herself to think it.

The leader of the horde, the commander of grimm, the alpha of alphas, was the largest beowolf that she had ever seen, as tall as the trees, with spines of bone each as large as a juvenile beowolf emerging out of his head and neck like the crest of a bony helmet. His black body was encrusted with plates of bleached bone like a suit of armour, and he was surrounded by bodyguards, each of them large enough to be an alpha in their own right. As Sunset and the others watched, crouched behind a fallen log, the commander reached into the midst of the horde, grabbed a creep out of the press and watched it squirm helplessly before he bit off its head and threw the rest aside.

"So, Sunset," Yang said, "do you have a plan, yet?"

Sunset was starting to wonder if even this much of the plan had been a stupid idea. Perhaps she ought to have contented herself with thinning out the numbers of the grimm a little bit. "No," she admitted.

"I… might know what to do," Weiss said, her voice diffident. "I've trained against large and armoured opponents. But… I'll need help to get past the bodyguards."

"I'll do it," Blake said. "In terms of raw strength, I'm the weakest of the four of us, but if I can lure at least some of the commander's bodyguards away, then the three of you will have an easier time taking care of him."

"Maybe, but what are you going to do about all those grimm once they're on your tail?" Yang asked.

"Try and lose them, then meet the rest of you back at the extraction point," Blake replied.

"But if you don't lose them, it's suicide," Yang pointed out.

"It's what I signed up for either way," Blake said. She looked at Weiss. "Can you kill that thing?"

Weiss gave a jerky nod of her head.

"Then it doesn't matter what happens to me," Blake declared. She crept away from the other three huntresses, putting some distance between them before she emerged, sword in one hand and cleaver in the other, into the light of the clearing that the grimm had made.

She advanced, a swagger in her step as she walked with one foot directly in front of the other like a catwalk model. Blake held her blades low on either side of her as she strode across the trampled ground towards the weak and feeble grimm that lagged behind the rest. A beowolf, one foreleg missing, spotted her, turning its head to cry out in alarm. Blake swept her katana up in front of her face, kissing the hilt of the black blade as she continued to walk forwards.

As some of the stronger grimm further forwards turned towards her, Blake broke into a run. Her arms pounded up and down, sword and cleaver in hand, as she charged towards the injured beowolf that had first spotted her, dodging its feeble attempt to swat her before she cut off its head. Blake changed direction, heaving south towards the commander and his guards, leaping up into the air to decapitate a forepaw-less ursa as she went. The injured and pathetic grimm scattered before her, but Blake killed three more as she charged before cutting down two mature and healthy beowolves who sought to stay her.

Blake's katana transformed fluidly into a pistol as, with her cleaver, she sliced another beowolf clean in half at the waist. She leapt into the air, shooting, her pistol flashing as her shots struck home against the armoured carapace of the commander of the grimm.

The great grimm roared, angered even though he was not hurt, and gestured with one massive paw at the impudent huntress who had dared assail him. For a moment, Blake stood as a half-dozen or more of the commander's bodyguards, more than half of them, broke from their protective huddle around their leader to charge upon all fours at Blake Belladonna.

Blake turned and ran, the beowolves in hot pursuit. She leapt over a fallen log as she broke eastwards. She tripped and fell forwards, sprawling out upon the ground. The mighty beowolves howled in triumph as they leapt upon her… but the Blake they leapt upon disappeared in a puff of black smoke as the real Blake was revealed some distance away, still running.

And the grimm continued to pursue, smaller grimm joining the larger bodyguards, until the commander had not only been stripped of half his guards but of his other grimm as well.

"Good luck, Blake," Yang whispered. She looked at Sunset. "Looks like it's up to us now."

Sunset nodded, silent as she leapt over the log that they were using as cover and showed herself to the grimm. Sadly, she feared that she didn't look quite as cool doing it as Blake had just a few moments earlier, but she did manage to take out a boarbatusk with a magical blast from the palm of her hand, which was pretty cool, right?

The remaining bodyguards of the grimm commander began to turn their attention towards her. Sunset's hands were surrounded by a green magical aura as a score of magical spears, the spears that she had used to wow the crowd during her duel with Pyrrha on Sunday, appeared around her.

Sunset gritted her teeth as the spears flew past her head, zooming forwards to strike the great and armoured beowolves who clustered about their fell captain. Some of them struck the beowolves. Some of them struck the ground around the beowolves and kicked up clouds of dust and dirt into the air. That dust and dirt obscured the beowolf guards for a moment before, roaring in anger, they charged out of the dust cloud with claws out and fangs bared.

Yang rushed to meet them. Her hair was on fire, her body was on fire, Yang was covered by flames, but the flames did not consume her as, with a great shout, she closed the distance between herself and the beowolves. The grimm commander was roaring and growling, probably ordering his grimm to kill the huntresses.

They tried, at least at first, but whatever their limitations against the great beowolves, Sunset's magic and Yang's power were able to make short work of any lesser creature who ventured too close. It was the guards they had to worry about, the ones so big and so tough they could have been alphas themselves. Sunset's magic could make them growl, but it couldn't kill them; Yang's punches could knock them backwards but not reduce them to ashes. Yang was a burning dwarf surrounded by giants as she danced amongst the looming, larger beowolves, leaping away from the swipes of their paws, doing backflips as she went, before leaping back to deliver a flurry of punches to the chest.

A beowolf swung its paw at her. Yang counterpunched, catching the blow with her fist, but such was the strength of the grimm that Yang was soon using – forced to use – both her arms to brace herself against the grimm as it pressed down on her. A second beowolf lumbered forward to attack her from behind until a blast of magic from Sunset's palm sent it flying.

Weiss sped forward, a silver streak, gliding on glyphs. She slid past the beowolf guards, preoccupied as they were with Yang and Sunset, and darted through the midst of the grimm, killing a few as she went but never stopping to do so. She was focussed on their objective, the giant grimm who led the horde, the one who directed them, the one whose death would, hopefully, reduce these grimm to squabbling monsters bereft of purpose.

He was without his guards, and his army was engaged to the front. All that was left was him.

Only the biggest beowolf Sunset had ever seen.

She had little enough attention to spare for Weiss' fight with the grimm commander. She was a little preoccupied trying to avoid being eaten by the guards or anyone else, but out of the corners of her eyes, she could see flashes of white and silver in the air, little blasts of fire and ice, she could hear the great grimm howl as Weiss hit it from all sides.

Sunset fended off a beowolf with a couple of magical blasts. They seemed to be doing okay. Nobody had died yet, and-

Weiss cried out as the great beowolf caught her with one enormous paw, slamming her into the ground with crater-inducing force. He kept her pinned there as the commander bent down, his fangs larger than Weiss' head as he snarled into her face.

There was a flash of cobalt blue before the alpha of alphas was flung upwards into the air with a startled howl, arms and legs flailing.

"Yang! Sunset!" Weiss cried, as she too ascended, leaping from white glyph to white glyph as she climbed a stairway constantly in conjuration. She got above the grimm commander, and just as she had with Sunset, she descended on him from above.

Yang was hurled upwards by another glyph of cobalt blue, and as Weiss shot down, Yang shot up, striking the grimm in the small of the back with both her fists.

Just as Sunset hit it with the strongest magical blast she could muster.

The grimm commander cried out as he was consumed in light… and then turned to a cloud of ashes, drifting away in the morning air.

Sunset panted with effort as Yang and Weiss landed on the ground… still right in the middle of the horde.

We didn't really think this part through, did we? Sunset thought, as all around the grimm began to howl in outrage.

A beowolf was flung backwards by an invisible hand even before the whine of Bullhead engines presaged the airship's descent. Professor Goodwitch stood in the doorway, and with a swish of her riding crop, she sent another pair of beowolves flying. "All of you, get in!" she snapped.

They scrambled for the airship, which began to rise again as soon as the three of them were safely aboard, rising beyond the range of the grimm and their pursuit, leaving them to do nothing but shake their claws in impotent fury and howl at their escaping quarry.

As the young huntresses watched from the central compartment, the grimm had already started fighting amongst themselves.

"We did it," Sunset muttered. "We did it. We broke the horde."

"And would have lost your lives in the process if I hadn't been on my way to assist you already," Professor Goodwitch declared.

"We're very grateful, Professor," Weiss assured her.

"We prefer our students to live to see graduation," Professor Goodwitch informed them all. She paused for a moment. "That said, your plan was… conceptually sound, and undeniably bravely executed."

"Blake," Yang asked. "What about Blake, Professor?"

Professor Goodwitch's expression became pinched with pain, and she did not reply.

Yang scowled. "God, no."

The Bullhead carried them back to the extraction point, where there was little to do but wait for the others to show up.

Nothing to do but sit in the Bullhead while a deathly silence prevailed amongst them.

Sunset sat with her legs dangling out of the airship, watching and waiting. She didn't move when Weiss came and sat down beside her.

"The fact that Blake… didn't mean it was a bad plan," Weiss said.

"Hmm," Sunset said, because she didn't need validation from Weiss Schnee of all people.

"And it seems that we completed our objective," Weiss continued. "The grimm horde is beginning to disperse throughout the forest."

"Why are you trying to make me feel better?" Sunset asked calmly.

"Who says that it's you I'm trying to convince?" Weiss asked. "Perhaps I just don't want to think it was for nothing."

Sunset didn't reply. Ruby would have said that it wasn't for nothing because they saved the city. That sort of thing was harder for Sunset to accept.

It's not like I knew her.

But she was under my leadership nonetheless.

Dear Princess Celestia, I got someone killed today.

Gradually, the other team leaders staggered out of the forest and into the clearing where the Bullheads awaited them. Some of them were angry at the absence of Sunset, Yang, and Weiss, but Professor Goodwitch appeared to explain everything to them, quietly, because they soon stopped complaining. By five minutes to twelve, everyone had returned to the rendezvous point… except Blake.

"We should go and look for her," Yang said.

"That would not be wise, Miss Xiao Long," Professor Goodwitch said.

"We can't just leave her out there!" Yang demanded.

"Search and rescue will be carried out by-"

Professor Goodwitch was interrupted by none other than Blake Belladonna, looking very frazzled and close to exhaustion, who staggered out of the woods and dropped to her knees. A sigh escaped her. "Hey guys," she murmured.

Yang let out a loud and joyous whoop as she rushed over to Blake, scooping the smaller girl up in her arms and carrying her back to the Bullhead. Professor Goodwitch had a smile on her face which she did not bother to disguise.

"Ten out of ten for valour, the four of you," she said, as she walked back to the airship. "Five out of ten for sense, and that is me being generous."

As the airships took off, Weiss sat down beside Sunset. "You had no idea how to get out of there, did you?" she asked.

"I knew that Professor Goodwitch would arrive to rescue us," Sunset replied.

Weiss snorted. "Of course you did." She was silent for a moment. "Regardless of what you may think of me, I'm not just some dilettante waiting until I can get a job at my father's company. I aim to be a huntress, and a good one too. So take me seriously in the future."

"Fine," Sunset said. "Next time, I'll kick your ass in the sparring ring."

Weiss' eyebrows rose a little at that. "Hmph," she said. "I suppose that I could talk to Cardin and impress upon him that his behaviour reflects upon the whole team, whether the team is present or not."

"You should."

"And I will," Weiss agreed. "Provided that you talk to Jaune Arc and impress upon him that my ceiling is not an appropriate place for his… obscene behaviour."

Sunset looked at her. "'Obscene behaviour'?"

"He's grunting and panting all night," Weiss reminded her. "Russell finds it very amusing in a distinctly masculine way."

Sunset winced. "I… fine, you talk to Cardin, I'll talk to Jaune. Is it a deal?" she held out her hand.

Weiss stared at Sunset's hand as though it was dirty. Well, it probably was dirty, but that wasn't why Weiss was staring at it.

Sunset's ears flattened downwards a little.

But then Weiss reached out, and took Sunset's hand.

"Deal."

 

[RedWolff]

AH, one of my favourite new chapters of the rewritten parts of SAPR's Vol 1.5. I enjoyed the action and the brief look at the larger Huntsmen training course and lessons being taught at the Academies. Plus, you've reminded us that the team leaders are still students AND how dangerous the Grimm are, especially the alpha-class Grimm variants.

 

[Orion Scimatarii]

God dammit Jaune stop beating yer meat ABOVE THEIR ROOM WINDOW!

 

[ScipioSmith]

Jaunedice​

Jaune regarded Sunset with a mixture of envy and relief.

Envy because, well, who wouldn't be envious after everything what she – and Yang, and Weiss and Blake – had just done? The four of them were the talk of the freshman class and beyond for what they'd done in the Emerald Forest that morning. At lunch, one of the upperclassmen – Velvet Scarlatina, a second year who was being forced to retake Modern History with the first-years – had come up to their table to congratulate Yang and Sunset on what they'd managed to achieve.

They'd taken down an apex alpha beowolf, and in doing so, they had stopped a grimm horde, and the fact that it was only a little one didn't change the fact that it was a horde. And they had stopped it. And they were only first-years!

Sunset certainly seemed cognisant of the scale of her achievement. She had barely stopped preening since she returned from the forest. She had tasted success and apparently found it very sweet indeed.

Yes, Jaune envied her… but at the same time, he was relieved that it was only the team leaders who had been deployed to combat the grimm threat and not the whole team.

Jaune was sitting at one of the two desks set against the dorm room wall; this meant that he could look at Sunset on her bed without getting in the way of anyone else. He felt tired. He always felt tired these days; he knew that he wasn't getting enough sleep.

That morning he hadn't been able to go on a run with Pyrrha because he'd slept like a log until every other member of the team had been washed and dressed and Sunset had had to toss him physically out of bed and onto the floor in order to wake him up before the whole team missed breakfast. He remembered yesterday morning, and the way that he had nearly collapsed. If he had been sent into the Emerald Forest the same thing might have happened again, his weariness catching up with him, maybe at the same time as the grimm did. But as he imagined what might have happened if he'd been there, Jaune found that it wasn't the possibility of his own death at the hands of the grimm that concerned him most. Jaune's gaze flickered from Sunset to Pyrrha, who was sitting on her own bed watching Sunset.

He remembered the way that she had looked during her duel with Sunset – in all her fights in the sparring ring, but especially against Sunset – so strong, so powerful… and so kind, too, the way that she had rushed back to him yesterday when she thought there might be something wrong with him. If they had been out in the forest together then Pyrrha would have protected him, even at the cost of her own safety. And that was the problem: if she'd been hurt or worse because he wasn't strong enough to stand alongside her then… he couldn't bear so much as the thought of that.

That was why he had to get stronger.

"It was a pretty good plan," Ruby acknowledged. "But-"

"But it was also pretty stupid at the same time, yes, I know," Sunset said. "And I want you to know that I didn't intentionally put Yang-"

"That wasn't what I was going to say," Ruby said; like Jaune she was sitting at the desks instead of on her bed. Her chair was reversed, and she was leaning forward with her arms resting upon the back.

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "No?"

Ruby shook her head. "We're huntsmen. Risks like that are part of what we accept."

Sunset looked at Ruby for a moment in silence. "You know, I can see why your sister worries about you."

Ruby looked surprised to hear it. "Yang… worries about me?"

"She thinks you need someone to rein in your self-sacrificing tendencies," Sunset said. "I got us into trouble because I hadn't thought about how we were going to get out once we'd killed the commander, but you just wouldn't care about that, would you?"

"Sometimes we have to make sacrifices," Ruby declared, sounding much older than her fifteen years. "There are bigger things in the world than ourselves, and we have to be willing not just to fight for them but also… to die for them."

"You are correct, of course," Pyrrha murmured. "But that you can speak of it so calmly… it speaks well of your courage, Ruby, but at the same time… it troubles me."

"You're not the only one," Sunset muttered.

Ruby frowned. "If you think I'm right then what's the problem?"

"The fact that we don't want to lose you," Jaune suggested.

Pyrrha chuckled very softly. "Perhaps… perhaps that is all it is." She got up, and crossed the room to where Ruby sat. Pyrrha smiled down at her as she reached out, and ran one hand through Ruby's hair. "One so young and fair as you should not court death with such eagerness."

"I'm not courting anyone," Ruby replied. "I don't want to die, I just… I don't see the point in pretending that I feel differently to how I do."

"Here's the thing about sacrifice," Sunset lectured. "You can only do it once. Sure, you can sacrifice yourself to save the village, but you won't be around to save it again from the next lot of grimm that show up." She hesitated. "Listen, Ruby, admitting that I have faults is not easy for me so I'm only going to say this once: if Professor Goodwitch hadn't shown up when she did me and Yang and Weiss would all be dead right now because I hadn't come up with an escape plan. I should have come up with that plan before we set off, and if I couldn't I should have just joined the others taking the horde head on."

"But you wouldn't have stopped it," Ruby replied.

"But we would have lived," Sunset insisted.

"And who wouldn't have because the horde kept moving?" Ruby asked.

"No one," Sunset said. "Because at the end of the day the Defence Forces and the huntsman and the navy would have taken care of it and I was an idiot to forget that. I wanted to play the hero, but I should have played it safe instead."

"As huntsmen, we can't always afford to play it safe."

"Judging by what Professor Goodwitch had to say, I think as team leader it might be my job to play it safe," Sunset said. She climbed off her bed and, like Pyrrha, crossed the room towards Ruby. She put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. "Because I've got your life in my hands, and I… I mean to take good care of it."

"I don't want to die!" Ruby protested. "And I don't want you to think that… I'm glad you came back safe," she said, grabbing Sunset's arm with both hands as she smiled up at her partner. "I meant what I said, to you and Blake on the night before Initiation: I hope that we'll all live happily ever after. But dying doesn't scare me, and I'd rather give my life than fail in my mission."

"I'm sure you would," Sunset said softly, as she knelt down in front of Ruby. "I just hope that you choose a tale with a happier ending than the Song of Olivia to model yourself after. Or at least listen to your Roland when she talks sense."

Ruby chuckled. "I'll try."

"You have the heart of a true huntress, beyond all doubt," said Pyrrha, as she rubbed Ruby's back with one hand. "But that same heart, the light that shines within you is a…" Pyrrha glanced down at Sunset. "It is a gift to the world, one you should not be so eager to deprive the world of, or your friends."

"I'm not!" Ruby insisted. "You guys don't understand what I'm saying."

"We do," Sunset replied. "We're just still a little less than happy about it." She rose to her feet. "But fine, we won't harangue you any further."

"I think," Ruby said, "that the reason we get put on teams is so that we don't have to choose; so that we can make it through because we've got each other."
Jaune felt ill, sick and sick at heart of this reminder of his own inadequacy. As he was now, how was he supposed to help any of them to survive?

He got up from his seat and started towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sunset demanded, in a voice drained of all the affection that it had previously contained when addressing Ruby.

Jaune froze in place. "Out," he said.

"Onto the rooftop again?"

Jaune turned around to face Sunset. "How do you-"

"Weiss complained about the noise, apparently she can hear you up there night after night," Sunset informed him. "She thinks that you're… " she glanced at Ruby. "Doing something that it would be inappropriate to mention in this company."

"Ugh!" Jaune cried, revolted. "That's not it!"

"I'm glad to hear it," Sunset said dryly. "But whatever you're actually doing it's going to stop. Stop disturbing her sleep, and stop trying to ask her out, have some self-respect for Celestia's sake."

"I haven't asked Weiss out in a week," Jaune retorted. I'm trying to get stronger so that I can be worthy of her.

"I'm glad to hear that, too, keep it up," Sunset snapped. "And stay off the roof."

"Why should I?"

"Because I told you to," Sunset said. "Because I made an agreement with Weiss that is going to get Cardin off our backs, don't you want that?"

"Yes, but…" Jaune hesitated, wondering how he could explain that there would be no point in being protected from Cardin if he couldn't train to improve his skills.

"Look, I don't know what it is that you're really doing up on that roof and I don't care," Sunset snapped. "I have made an agreement with Weiss and if I can't keep it then I look weak. That's not happening. Furthermore, in case you haven't noticed I have been carrying you through all the classes you suck at – you're welcome for those essays, by the way-"

"I never asked you to do my homework for me," Jaune snapped.

"You weren't doing it yourself, were you?" Sunset yelled. "Inaction, let me remind you, for which I am on the hook just as much as you are. And it's getting to the point where you're even starting to fall behind in the classes you originally showed some promise in, and I can't carry you through those. I can't write your essays on Plant Science or Fieldcraft, because I'm struggling there myself. So sit down, pen to paper, and start on that essay for Doctor Oobleck-"

"Why?" Jaune demanded. "How is any of that going to help me stop… how is any of that going to help me become a huntsman? How is any of that going to help me become a part of this team?"

"You're already a part of this team, Jaune," Ruby said.

Jaune gave her a weak and sickly smile. "Thanks, Ruby, but we all know that's not true," he said, as he opened the door and stepped outside.

"Don't you walk away from me when I'm-" Sunset began, before the slam of the door cut her off.

Jaune's steps quickened as he walked away, until he was running.

XxXxX​

"-when I'm yelling at you!" Sunset finished as the door slammed closed. She growled wordlessly. No way am I going to let him give Weiss cause to think that I can't handle my own team. "That…" she started towards the door herself.

"Wait," Pyrrha called to her, her voice making Sunset stop in her tracks. "Please," Pyrrha continued. "Wait a moment. Ruby, what is Jaune doing up on the roof?"

Sunset turned around to see that Ruby was looking up at Pyrrha. "I… he doesn't want anyone to know," she said plaintively.

"I understand," Pyrrha agreed. "But I'm afraid we may be a little past that now."

"I'll say," Sunset muttered.

Ruby looked at Sunset. "Did you have to be so hard on him?"

"I could turn that around and ask why you two go so easy on him?" Sunset responded. "I'm keeping his grades afloat and that protects me; it means I won't get into any trouble because one of my team isn't turning in their essays, but I'm not doing him any favours by it and you're not doing anyone on this team any favours by pretending that he doesn't have issues."

"I know," Pyrrha conceded. "And I should have acted before now." She looked down at Ruby. "Please, Ruby, what does Jaune do on the roof?"

Ruby squirmed uncomfortably. "He's… he's training," she admitted.

"Training?" Pyrrha repeated. "By himself?"

Ruby nodded.

"That explains the books," Sunset murmured. "It doesn't seem to be helping him much."

"I have to say that isn't too surprising, with nobody to learn from," Pyrrha said softly. "Will you both excuse me for a little while?"

Sunset stepped away from the door. "You want to make him your responsibility, be my guest."

Pyrrha nodded. "Thank you," she said. To Ruby, she added, "Thank you for telling me. You did nothing wrong by it, and Jaune will understand that." She walked to the door, opened it, and closed it gently behind her as she stepped out into the corridor.

Sunset sighed as she ran both hands through her hair. "I hope she has the steel to take him in hand and doesn't lose heart," she said. "Anyway, I need to get that essay for Doctor Oobleck done myself." She pulled out a chair at the desk, and reached for her bag.

"Hey, Sunset?"

Sunset looked up at Ruby. "Yeah?"

"If I stopped doing my homework would you do it for me?" Ruby said, with a cheeky grin.

Sunset's eyes narrowed. "There are limits to the tolerance that even you can inspire," she declared. "However, I am willing to lend you a hand, so what's the issue?"

"The issue is everything," Ruby groaned. "I… I have no idea how to handle this essay for Doctor Oobleck."

Sunset scooted her chair across the room until she was sitting next to Ruby. "The one about the repercussions of the Faunus Rights Revolution?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I know that we have to talk about faunus rights, but-"

"No, you don't," Sunset said, cutting her off. "Everyone is going to talk about faunus rights because it's obvious, but if you want to impress Doctor Oobleck and get a top grade you should do what I did and write about depopulation and grimm incursions."

She had written about faunus rights in Jaune's essay, because that kind of obvious thinking was doubtless exactly what Doctor Oobleck would expect from Jaune Arc.

Ruby blinked. "Come again?"

Sunset rocked back in her chair, resting it upon its back legs as she folded her arms. "Right, so you know about the Great War, right?"

"Uh… kinda?"

It occurred to Sunset Shimmer that one of the disadvantages of being admitted to Beacon two years early on the basis of your enviable combat prowess might be that you missed two years of academic study.

It also occurred to her that this might explain Ruby's atrocious grades.

"How many classes have you felt as though you didn't know the basics that the course started out with?"

"Um… most of them? Not Professor Port's class, but-"

"You should have said something sooner," Sunset said, although it also occurred to her that she, Sunset, could have asked Ruby what the issue with her grades was sooner.

And perhaps Ruby just didn't want to admit that she had a problem. Sunset knew the taste of that dish well enough; pride could drive you to do any number of things no matter how foolish or… unhelpful.

She lifted up her legs; her chair flopped forwards with her in it. "I'm afraid it might be too late for quarter-terms, but we'll see if we can't get you up to speed by midterm exams."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm going to tutor you up to level, obviously," Sunset said. She was, after all, a genius and a genius with consistently high grades. How hard could it be to teach Ruby, so long as she wanted to learn?

"Really?"

Sunset nodded. "I'm not as gifted with a weapon as you, but I know a little about what it's like to be so talented at this one thing that you get put on the fast track, and find that you have to scramble to catch up with everything that isn't that one thing."

"You mean your semblance?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Sunset answered. "My semblance, exactly. Now, my teacher was very kind and patient, and she spent her time helping me learn everything, not just my semblance but everything that I'd missed. I don't think the teachers here are going to be as considerate, but I'll see what I can do to pick up the slack."

Ruby smiled. "Your teacher sounds like a lovely person. You must have been pretty close."

Sunset fell silent. A lovely person. Sure, I thought so at the time. "We were, once," she murmured. "Very close, but then…" Then she betrayed me, and tried to steal away the very dreams that she had nurtured in me.

"Sunset?" Ruby prompted her.

"I… let's just say that there's a reason I left home," Sunset said gruffly. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Sorry," Ruby murmured. "I didn't mean to…"

"I know," Sunset replied, "but… let's start with this essay, and why it is a colossally stupid idea to fight two colossal wars back to back."

It was Sunset's opinion that, as important as it might have been for the faunus themselves, the more important consequence of the Faunus Rights Revolution was to cement the territorial losses of the Great War and make it impossible for humanity to retake the lands lost to the grimm during that conflict. Rather than focus on rebuilding after the war, Mistral had decided to pander to the worst elements of its population and indulge a quixotic attempt to prove that it was still a military Great Power; and worse it had abused the letter of the Vytal Treaty to force Mantle and Vale to aid them in the endeavour. To the losses of the Great War had been added the casualties inflicted by wily faunus, whose troops had been seasoned in the Great War while many of the human forces were untested conscripts.

"General Lagune's army was four times the size of the faunus forces at Fort Castle," Sunset explained. "But what those numbers conceal is that the faunus army was made of experienced veterans, while Lagune was leading kids your age given pikes and muskets and marched off to war because by that point they were the only ones left. In the Faunus War, you were an old soldier if you were my age. And then Lagune's army was destroyed outright, and, well, there was no one left to march to war. So you see, that's why we're in the state we're in right now. That's why the kingdoms are so small, that's why huntsmen are always on the back foot against the grimm that are absolutely everywhere, and that's why expansion efforts have always failed: because mankind nearly tore itself to pieces over twenty years, and the population still hasn't fully recovered yet."

She paused, and she couldn't help but think of Pyrrha's hopes, her own ambitions beside which Sunset's were cast into shadow. Thus placed in their historical context they seemed quixotic in the extreme, hopeless fantasies besides which the dream of ascension or a crown seemed grounded. Humanity could retake the world? Defeat the grimm for good and all? They hadn't managed it yet and Pyrrha, while good, wasn't good enough to make up for all the unborn shadows who should have fought by her side but never would.

"The point is," she said. "That this is why we have to fight, because y-" she stopped herself from saying 'your ancestors'. "Because our ancestors fought too much. Actually, no, the point is that if you put that in your essay Doctor Oobleck will think you're really clever. Do you understand?"

"Sort of."

Sunset picked up a pen from off Ruby's desk. "I'll write your introduction for you, and then you can make a go of the rest."

XxXxX​

The moonlight shone through the library windows, bathing both Weiss and Flash in silvery light as they sat at a table together.

Weiss was glad of the moonlight, because otherwise the library was very dark. It was late, after dinner time, and although there was no strict curfew for students at Beacon they were past the point at which most students bothered to visit the library.

Weiss had been spending a fair number of her evenings in the library lately; it was easier to work in here, where the absence of other students produced a crypt-like silence, than in her dorm room where Jaune Arc's incessant huffing and puffing on the roof above provided a constant soundtrack to the nights. Sunset Shimmer might think that Weiss hadn't done enough to restrain Cardin Winchester, but Weiss thought she was to be congratulated for the fact that Cardin hadn't climbed up onto the roof and thrown Jaune off it already for his constant disturbing of the peace.

Notwithstanding the agreement that she had made with Sunset, Weiss had come to the library again tonight because this was an important essay due for history, and she didn't entirely trust Sunset to keep her word. Weiss had had a word with Cardin, of course, because a Schnee did keep her word even if a member of the lower orders did not, but if she had the option to do her homework in peace then she was going to take it.

Of course she was not alone; Flash was with her, but then he was also capable of working quietly.

And there were advantages to working alone with someone else; without him there the silent emptiness of the library might have felt impressive, instead of just what she needed to get her work done.

"How was it out there, if you don't mind me asking?"

Weiss looked up from her textbook. Flash was looking at her, and in the moonlight his blue eyes looked particularly bright.

"You mean in the forest?" Weiss asked.

Flash nodded.

"You were there yourself just a few weeks ago," Weiss reminded him.

"I know," Flash replied, "but still… how was it?"

Weiss hesitated for a moment. She hadn't talked about the leadership exercise with her team. Cardin and Russell hadn't seemed particularly interested, and it seemed that Flash had been waiting for a moment alone with her. She pursed her lips together. "We were overconfident," she admitted. "If it hadn't been for Professor Goodwitch…" She left the rest unspoken.

Flash heard it loud and clear regardless, or seemed to. "Seriously?"

Weiss nodded curtly. "The grimm were numerous, and very strong."

"That isn't how the rest of the school seems to see it," Flash said.

"The rest of the school wasn't there," Weiss said, in a voice as sharp as the tip of Myrtenaster.

Flash bowed his head for a moment, and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Weiss said quickly. "It isn't your fault, it's just… I have talents, and I am well aware of the fact. I am a talented huntress, and I consider myself a fair singer, too, and I have no problem being praised for those talents. But I'm well aware that even if I were as poor a huntress as… as Jaune Arc, there would still be those who would tell me I was more skilled than Pyrrha Nikos because my name was Schnee and they sought my favour, or more likely my father's favour through me. Professor Goodwitch was right to grade us five out of ten, and I don't need flatterers to tell me otherwise. Just like I don't need to be given victories in the sparring ring."

"You're talking about Sunset, now," Flash said.

"She didn't show herself in her full glory against me," Weiss declared. "Perhaps I would have won anyway, but I don't know because she held back. Did you know that she was hiding so much power?" she demanded.

"No," Flash said emphatically. "I had no idea. At Canterlot… she was average in combat. She was always gifted academically, only Twilight was smarter than her, but her combat skills were middle of the pack."

Weiss leaned back in her chair. "Why?" she asked. "Why hide her true strength for so long, only to reveal it now?"

"I don't know why she'd hide it," Flash replied. "Sunset… I never would have thought that she was the type of person to hide anything that made her stand out. Quite the reverse. Which means, since I can't tell why she hid in the first place, I can't tell you why she stopped hiding either."

"Perhaps," Weiss mused, "It's simply that her semblance is so incredibly powerful that she knew that it would inspire fear in others."

"Does it… are you afraid of her?" Flash asked, his gentle tone infused with disbelief.

"I… am a little nervous," Weiss admitted. "What if she joined the White Fang? Think of how much damage she could do."

"So faunus aren't allowed to be gifted in case they join the White Fang?" Flash replied, disapproval evident in his tone.

"We're not talking about any faunus, we're talking about a faunus with a chip on her shoulder and a temper," Weiss explained. "You're from Atlas, you know about the incessant attacks that the White Fang has waged against our kingdom, against the SDC, against my family."

"Yes," Flash said, his voice sounding as though his throat had constricted a little. "I do know all about that."

Weiss was very still for a moment, as she understood why he sounded that way. "Who did you lose?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle.

"My father," he admitted, "in the Crystal City Bombings, three years ago."

Weiss slid her hands across the table towards him. "Oh, Gods… I'm so sorry." She took his hand in hers. "But then… how is it that you could… "

"The White Fang aren't the faunus," Flash replied, even as he did not pull his hand away from hers. "I don't allow myself to forget that. Being at Canterlot… my mother didn't approve of there being so many faunus students there, but it made it easier to remember that it was the White Fang, not the faunus, who killed my father, because I could just look across the cafeteria and see faunus who would never do anything like that, because their souls wouldn't allow it."

Weiss glanced away, as she remembered Laberna, the faunus nanny who had taken care of her when she was young. "When the White Fang abandoned non-violent protest, my father dismissed all of his faunus household staff," she explained. "I… I haven't seen a faunus between then and when I came to Beacon. Perhaps if I had… I wouldn't have been so quick to make myself look bad in comparison to you."

"You didn't," Flash assured her. "It's not your fault."

Weiss smiled, if only for a moment. "You're very kind," she said quietly. So kind, in fact, that she was finding it increasingly hard to believe that he had broken up with Sunset Shimmer on the grounds of her race.

But that was his business, not hers. He had shown her himself; he didn't have to reveal to her all his secrets on top of that.

Weiss hadn't come to Beacon to find a romantic partner, but if she had… she thought she could probably have done worse than the young man sitting in front of her.

But she had not come to Beacon to find a romantic partner.

And right now she had work to do.

XxXxX​

Cardin Winchester stood at the window and brooded on the injustice of the world.

At least insofar as it was directed at Cardin Winchester.

Injustice was not a thing with which Cardin had been much acquainted in his life prior to coming to Beacon; as the son and heir of the elite Winchester family he had known that success awaited him in whatever walk of life he chose to make a career in. His grandfather was the Lord Chief Justice of the kingdom, his father was Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. The Winchesters were thoroughly establishment and eminently respectable, and throughout his young life Cardin had seen how people respected that, responded to it, opened doors for it and for him. The Winchester connections had gotten him through Combat School, after he had failed the exam in Dust Science; his father had had a word with someone on the exam board and the results had been checked again, found to be over-harsh, and corrected to a more appropriate result.

He had come to Beacon with no idea that such a pleasant state of affairs would not continue.

Instead he had been rudely awakened, and given the largest taste of injustice that he had ever suffered in his life to date.

It seemed at times that Beacon was a place established solely for the torment of Cardin Winchester; a place where everything he wanted, everything that he deserved, was paraded in front of him and then snatched away to be granted instead to someone else, someone less deserving, someone less than he in all respects.

He had wanted to be a team leader, because if nothing else it was the kind of thing that looked good on your CV, demonstrating, as one might guess, leadership skills; that proud title had been denied to him and bestowed upon Weiss Schnee, a girl half his size and with arms like straws. Cardin would have suspected that Weiss had simply been more successful at utilising her name and connections if it weren't for the contemptible rag-bag of animals and nonentities upon whom Professor Ozpin had seen fit to bestow the other leadership positions.

He had wanted Pyrrha Nikos for his partner, because who wouldn't want the honour of the Champion of Mistral fighting at their side? Instead that honour had gone to Jaune Arc, a useless runt who barely seemed conscious of what honour was done to him, of how lucky he was, or how unworthy he was even to be at Beacon, let alone be partnered up with the Invincible Girl.

He had wanted a reputation for strength, resilience and competence. Instead, he got the impression he was lagging in the bottom half of the combat rankings while a faunus, a faunus, a sort of talking horse, dazzled all Remnant with her astonishing semblance. Her astonishing, a little unnerving semblance. How did a faunus become so powerful? By what right did she take so much… so much that should have been his.

Sunset Shimmer, along with Weiss and Yang and Blake, was the talk of the school right now. Everyone was talking about what they'd done in the forest that morning. That should have been him! It should have been Cardin Winchester leading a team, Cardin Winchester breaking the grimm horde, Cardin Winchester earning the renown that was his due.

The renown that Sunset Shimmer was taking from him.

Sunset and Jaune, he hated them both, and the small revenges he inflicted on them for their great slights gave him little satisfaction. But even that small pleasure was to be denied him now by the word of Weiss Schnee, who presumed to command him like one of her father's faunus lackeys upon the word of an actual faunus. Sunset thought to put a leash on him, on him! On Cardin Winchester. If only there was something he could do, some way in which he could remind them that he was Cardin Winchester, and not to be taken lightly.

And then, as he stood at the open window, Cardin began to hear the voices of Jaune and Pyrrha drifting down from the rooftop above. He was about to shut the window in disgust… when he realised that he was hearing something to his advantage.

A slow smile spread across Cardin's face. Oh, yes; he had that little upstart now.

XxXxX​

Jaune sat on the roof, his head bowed, his legs wrapped around his knees.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. It wasn't supposed to be this hard.

Why was it so difficult for him? Why was he so far below everyone else? Pyrrha had told him that he had inherited the strength of his ancestors, but why wasn't there any sign of it? His father, his grandfather, they'd all made it this far. They'd all become huntsmen, become heroes. Why was he failing at something they'd achieved so easily?

Why was he so much less than everyone else in the world?

What was he supposed to do now?

His team leader hated him and thought that he was pathetic; his partner and his other teammate pitied him. The girl of his dreams couldn't stand him. He was a failure. This was his dream… but it seemed as far away from him as the stars.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha emerged onto the rooftop, her head turning this way and that as she looked for him. She was dressed in all her raiment of war, her gilded armour glimmering in the moonlight, the circlet shining bright upon her brow.

She looked… magnificent. There was no other word to describe her that could do it justice. To call her beautiful would ignore her strength, to call her strong would ignore her beauty. She was a goddess of war, especially compared to a mere mortal like himself.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked. "What are you doing here, and dressed like that?"

Pyrrha turned to face him. She smiled, and there was a little relief in her voice as she said, "I thought that I might find you here. I'm glad I did." She offered out her hand to him.

Jaune hesitated. Then said, "I can get up by myself." He scrambled onto his feet without any help from her. He could do that much, at least. "What are you doing here?"

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. "Ruby… she tells me that you train up here," she said.

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Or at least I used to."

"I'm sure that Weiss only has a problem with it because of how long you're here. Nobody is in bed at this early hour," Pyrrha said gently. She walked to the edge of the rooftop, and then across it, counting her steps as she went. "Yes," she murmured. "This will do."

Jaune narrowed his eyes. "This will do… for what?"

"For your training," Pyrrha said, as she turned to face him. "I understand that you want to improve, but training by yourself… I'm afraid that you're just ingraining bad habits. That's why I came here, to help you. You've chosen a good spot where we won't be disturbed, and with… instruction, you won't need to spend so long here that you're exhausted come morning."

Jaune stared at her. "You… you want to be my teacher?"

"I'm your partner and I want to help you," Pyrrha clarified. She turned away, her ponytail swaying behind her as she moved. She stood upon the edge of the roof, looking out towards the emerald lights that glowed at the top of Beacon Tower. In the darkness it looked so very far away, completely out of reach, those green lights the only thing truly visible amidst the darkness.

"Jaune, nobody is born great," she reminded him, "some are born with more potential than others, but we achieve that potential through hard work and by being open to the assistance of others. I never would have made it to where I am without the… the support of my mother and my teachers." She looked back at him. "I want to help you the way that so many others have helped me, to help you realise that potential that I see in you-"

"Pyrrha, stop," Jaune said. "You don't need to pretend."

Pyrrha looked puzzled, and a little hurt as well. "I don't understand."

"What potential?" Jaune demanded.

"Your aura," Pyrrha told him. "It burns as bright as an inferno, I've never experienced anything like it in my life. That is not nothing, it means something, I know it does. You have a destiny, Jaune, I'm certain of it. Please don't turn your back on it after coming this far. Don't lose hope after working so hard-"

"I haven't worked for anything!" Jaune cried, simply to stop her words cutting him like knives. "I didn't go to Combat School and I certainly didn't apprentice under my father. I faked my way in here. I got my hands on some fake transcripts to make it look like I was eligible, and I lied every step of the way: to the admissions office, to Professor Ozpin… to you." He closed his eyes. "I don't deserve your help."

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. Her voice, when it came, held nothing of condemnation. "And yet I offer it to you nonetheless."

Her kindness, her generosity, felt like salt upon the wound. "Well, I don't want it!" Jaune snapped. "I'm supposed to be your partner, not your project or… or the millstone round your neck. If I can't stand as your equal then… then I'm nothing." He turned away from her. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears. "You should go," he said.

"Jaune-"

"Go, please," Jaune begged. "Leave me alone."

He glanced at her. He could see the hurt in her eyes, for all that she was trying not to show it on her face. It made him feel sick to his stomach but… but there was nothing he could do about it. He had said his piece, it could not be unsaid.

"I… I see," Pyrrha murmured. "I… I'll leave you to it, then. Goodnight, Jaune." She walked away slowly, head bowed, her ponytail drooping down her back.

He wanted to go after her, he wanted to apologise, he wanted to call out to her and admit what an idiot he was. But he could not. His feet were stone, his mouth was stitched up shut. Jaune himself was turned to ice. Guilt chained him to this place and gagged him silent.

He was her equal or he was nothing. And if that made him nothing… then why should nothing speak? What voice had nothing? What words could pass between a goddess and a man?

He remained there, mired in guilt, as the sound of Pyrrha's footsteps died away.

What am I going to do?

"Gutsy move there, Jaune," Cardin declared, slapping Jaune on the back so hard that he staggered forwards a few feet.

"C-Cardin!" Jaune exclaimed. "What are you…"

"Weiss complained about the noise, apparently she can hear you up there night after night."

Oh, no.

"I heard everything from the window of my dorm room," Cardin said. His face momentarily assumed a stern affect. "You know lying on official documentation for personal gain is fraud, right? You could get prison time for that."

Jaune's eyes widened. "What are you going to do?"

Cardin smirked. "The real question is what are you going to do… for me?"

It was at that moment that Jaune understood just how badly he had messed this up.

 

[ScipioSmith]

Truth Will Out​

Jaune had never felt worse than he did now. Even as bad as he'd felt up on the rooftop in the moments leading up to this mess, he hadn't felt quite this bad. Everything was going wrong from the moment that he had blurted out the truth to Pyrrha. It was stupid, so stupid that if Pyrrha wasn't the nicest person that he'd ever met in his life, then she would have turned him in by now, and he would have been shipped home to face the indifference of his family… that is, if he wasn't being shipped off to prison instead. He'd just been so frustrated and upset, and when she offered to help him, he... he was an idiot. Such an idiot. She only wanted to help him, but all he'd been able to see was that he wasn't good enough to stand on his own, unable to stand beside Pyrrha and Ruby, unable to be the hero from out of his dreams.

And it had all tumbled out: the lies, the deception. And then he'd sent her away, yelled at her… the moment the words had passed his lips, he'd regretted them. When he saw the look on her face, how wounded she was by his unjustified anger, then he'd regretted it even more. After Pyrrha left, he had lingered on the rooftop, brooding upon just how much he had screwed up.

And then Cardin had climbed up onto the roof to join him, and it had become clear that he hadn't known what screwing up meant until that moment.

Now, he had to see the hurt and betrayal in Pyrrha's eyes every time he looked at her, he had to see the mute incomprehension in Ruby's face every time he ditched her to hang out with Cardin, and he could feel the lead around his neck chafing every time Cardin pulled on it.

All I wanted was to be a hero. Was that so wrong? Why am I being punished for having dreams?

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. None of this was how it was supposed to go. Okay, he'd never been to a combat school or learned how to use a sword or shield properly, but so what? He had a lot of heart, and he wanted to succeed, and that was supposed to be all that it took, right? Ruby said that if he only kept trying and moving forward, then he'd get there eventually, but even before Cardin had found out his secret, even before that disastrous night on the rooftop, Jaune had felt as though his feet were trapped in cement, as though he were weighted down with lead preventing him from going anywhere. Ruby was nice about it, but she kept racing so far ahead of him that she disheartened him without even realising it. Pyrrha treated him like someone she had to protect, and Sunset... he could feel the contempt that his team leader had for him radiating off her like the rays of the sun. He could see it every time she looked at him. But she didn't know what it was like, none of them did, to fail so hard no matter how hard you tried until trying itself seemed pointless. Sunset didn't stay awake at night worrying about how much of a screw-up she was until she fell asleep in class from exhaustion. She didn't know what it was like to want something that, it was starting to seem, she could never have.

And so, he lingered outside of his room like a phantom, unable to bring himself to cross the threshold and join the others. He could hear them through the door, talking.

"Where's Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"Probably hanging out with Cardin again," Sunset growled. "Now, pay attention, or you'll never get this right."

"I just don't get it. Jaune, I mean. Cardin was picking on him until you stopped it, and now, they're hanging out together like best friends while he acts like he doesn't know us anymore. Did… did we do something wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

No! No, Ruby, this isn't you, this isn't your fault! Jaune thought. Please don't blame yourself for this.

"This isn't your doing, Ruby," Pyrrha said, in a voice as emphatic as Jaune's thoughts. "You can't blame yourself for this, and Jaune wouldn't want you to."

"Assuming he'd care," Sunset muttered. "Ruby, I… I know that this is upsetting for you, and I wish that you could learn these truths about the world later… when you were the age I was or older. I know that you liked Jaune, and you trusted him, but… this is what men are like. They're liars and cheats, and they'll break your heart every time if you give them the chance."

"You're generalising," Pyrrha objected. "And… rather cynically at that, I must say. Not all men are as cruel as… as Flash Sentry."

"Are you speaking from your vast experience?"

"Jaune cares about Ruby," Pyrrha insisted.

"Then what is he playing at?" Sunset demanded.

Jaune found himself holding his breath. It was Thursday night now, almost a week since Pyrrha had discovered his secret, and she didn't seem to have told a soul yet, but surely, the pressure to do so must be immense. He slouched against the wall, head bowed.

"I… I can't say," Pyrrha murmured apologetically.

"I told you what Jaune was doing on the roof," Ruby reminded her plaintively.

"I know," Pyrrha replied softly. "But this… this is more important."

Jaune was about to slink away, at least for now, until his scroll went off with a loud buzzing sound. He fumbled for the device, trying to answer it before the sound alerted his three teammates in the room, but he could already hear footsteps only slightly muffled by the carpet.

Sunset flung the door open; she stood framed in the doorway, casting a shadow over Jaune from the light in the room as she gazed imperiously upon him. "There you are."

Jaune froze, wilting under her gaze. His scroll continued to buzz in his hands.

"Answer it," Sunset snapped peremptorily as Pyrrha and Ruby looked around her to stare at him.

Jaune's thumb twitched on the 'take call' button.

Cardin's voice floated out of the scroll. "Hey there, buddy, it's your new best-"

Sunset snatched the scroll out of Jaune's hands. "Jaune can't come out to play right now; he has to tidy his room before bedtime." She disconnected the call before tossing the scroll back to Jaune, who just about managed to catch it. Sunset took a step back, gesturing for him to come into the room. "Now, I expect you to tell me the truth when I ask you this," she said. "Is Cardin giving you a hard time again? Because if Weiss isn't honouring our agreement, then I'll-"

"No!" Jaune said, quickly and loudly. Too quickly and too loudly; he could tell by the way that Sunset's eyes narrowed that far from allaying her suspicions, he had only aroused them. He glanced over Sunset's shoulder at Pyrrha. Her lips were pursed together, and she looked as though she was contemplating telling Sunset something. Not the truth – he didn't think that she would betray his secret now mere moments after refusing to do so – but she might tell Sunset that he wasn't hanging with Cardin because they'd suddenly become best bros forever. But if she did that, and Sunset went storming off to Weiss, then his secret would come out for sure. He stared at her, trying to convey with his eyes his desperate need for her to keep quiet. She said nothing. Jaune continued, "I mean, aha, Cardin's not such a bad guy when you get to know him. And sometimes, it's nice to hang out with another guy, you know, do guy stuff."

Sunset folded her arms. "'Guy stuff,' huh? Such as?"

"Uh..." Jaune stammered. He really, really wished that he had thought about this ahead of time. "We, uh, talk about sports."

Oh, great, just great, you absolute moron! Jaune thought, realising just a moment too late how stupid he sounded.

"'Sports,'" Sunset repeated, spitting the word out as though it were contaminating her lips.

Jaune froze. He could feel the sweat on his brow and underneath his armpits. She was going to call him out on it, she was going to ask for more details, she was-

And then, Sunset smiled. "You know, I'm kind of a fan of motorcycle racing, if that's what you're into."

"You are?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I even put my own bike together from parts that I... acquired perfectly legally from a variety of neighbourhood junkyards around Canterlot," Sunset said.

"Yang lets me help on the maintenance of her motorcycle," Ruby said. "What kind of engine does your bike have?"

"900 cc twin cylinder."

"Ooh, classic."

"I know; it hums beautifully," Sunset said. "Anyway, I'm going to get some coffee. I'll be back in a while." She didn't so much as look at Jaune as she walked out the door. He could hear her walking away down the corridor.

Jaune didn't breathe a sigh of relief because that would have been too obvious, but he did dare to think that he'd gotten away with it.

He looked at Pyrrha. She looked away. "I'm... excuse me," she said as she walked into the bathroom.

Ruby wouldn't meet his eyes. She didn't even look at him. She looked at everyone and everything but him as she pressed her fingers together nervously.

Jaune walked to the foot of his bed and sank down onto the floor. Now, he did sigh, deeply and heavily, as he bowed his head until his chin was resting upon his chest.

He heard, rather than saw, Ruby sit down beside him. "Jaune?"

Jaune gave a wordless noise in answer.

"Jaune," Ruby repeated. "What's really going on? These past few days, you've been really distant, spending all your time with Cardin… I just don't get it."

Jaune closed his eyes. "It's not you, Ruby. I heard what you said, and… and it's not your fault. And it isn't what Sunset said, either. I… you're my friend, and you… you mean a lot to me, and… I'm sorry if I've hurt you."

He felt Ruby snuggle up next to him, her body pressed against his. He felt her arms around him; her grip was stronger than you'd think from her size. Her voice was small and soft. "Then what is it?"

Jaune looked down at her. Ruby's face, so close to his own, was guileless; her silver eyes were bright with trust. Ironically, that made lying to her a lot harder than it was to lie to someone like Sunset who didn't trust him one bit anyway. It changed nothing and cost him nothing to lie – or try to lie – to his team leader, but with Ruby... she trusted him, and that trust was like the glass animals that his sister River collected: delicate and fragile. Something he couldn't bring himself to break.

"Cardin's got me, Ruby. He's got a leash on me, and I can't get away from him."

"But Sunset-"

"This is bigger than that," Jaune said. "I… I really messed up. I did something stupid, and Cardin knows, and if... if I don't do as he says, then it's over for me." Jaune closed his eyes and screwed up his face with agonised thought. "Maybe it would be better if it was over."

"Jaune, this is what you want, isn't it?" Ruby asked. "To be here, to be a huntsmen."

"Yes!" Jaune cried. "Yes, this is what I've always wanted; it's all I've ever wanted."

"How do you expect to fight the grimm if you can't even fight for your dreams?" Ruby asked.

Her words pricked him like a dagger. "It's not that simple," he replied. "Ruby… why aren't you embarrassed to be on the same team as me?"

"Why should I be embarrassed?"

"Because you're so cool, and I'm... I'm me," Jaune replied softly. "Sunset's embarrassed."

"No, she's not. She's just cranky… sometimes, she can be really, really cranky," Ruby said. "Jaune, in all the storybooks that Yang used to read to me, about great huntsmen and huntresses who saved everyone, most of them didn't go to any of the four academies; most of them lived before the four academies even existed. And they didn't become heroes because they were well-trained, but because they had good hearts. You've got a good heart, Jaune, and that's more and better than Cardin can ever have."

Jaune shook his head and wished he could believe that.

XxXxX​

Sunset had not gone for coffee.

She'd known that Jaune was lying. It was obvious that he was lying. Cardin wasn't a good guy deep down; he was an irredeemable jackass, and Jaune had never shown any interest in sports. And if he needed male company, then what about Ren or even Dove? No, he was clearly lying, but it was equally clear that he really didn't want to tell Sunset what was up. She could have attempted to force the issue right there and then, but if she did that, then there was a good chance that Ruby and Pyrrha – especially Pyrrha, considering she knew the truth and was deliberately hiding it – would defend him as they so often did.

But Sunset hoped that, if she wasn't around, they might press him to open up, and so she'd 'gone for coffee' while actually lingering just outside the dorm room.

So she was able to hear every word that Jaune said to Ruby. And she did not like what she had heard.

They had an agreement, she and Weiss. SAPR would stay out of the way of WWSR, and WWSR would do the same for SAPR. It was that simple, and they had agreed to it. They had talked about Cardin specifically. They had an agreement, and Weiss was breaking it, or at least turning a blind eye while Cardin broke it, which amounted to the same thing. Who did she think she was? Did she take Sunset for the kind of wallflower who could be taken lightly, as though she were of little account?

She might be a faunus, and Weiss might be a Schnee, but this wasn't Atlas, and Sunset didn't have to take this kind of thing lying down any more.

The only thing that was stopping her from marching right down to WWSR's dorm room right this instant and giving Weiss a piece of her mind was what Jaune had said about his situation, his mistake, being bigger than the bargain struck between Sunset and Weiss. Sunset doubted that, and in any case, their agreement had not been conditional in any way, and in Sunset's opinion, 'leave us alone' meant 'leave us alone' in all circumstances, but she confessed that he made her curious to find out just what was going on. Ruby didn't ask, unfortunately, preferring to try and pep Jaune up instead, which meant that Sunset would have to get the truth out of him herself.

XxXxX​

Jaune stood in the courtyard, looking up at the statue of the huntsman and huntress that dominated the space.

"This is what you want, isn't it?"

A day after Ruby had asked him that question and Jaune still wasn't sure if he had given her the right answer. Was this what he wanted? What even was 'this' anyway? What was it that he wanted or did not want? What was it that he was doing here?

Well, it seemed right now that what he was doing here was acting as Cardin's personal servant. He had just finished stripping Cardin's bed – from the fact that Cardin had had him wait until Weiss was somewhere else, Jaune guessed that she was no more aware of the terms of his servitude than Sunset was – and taking the old bedclothes down to the laundry in the basement. He was supposed, at some point before tonight, to put fresh linens on the bed for Cardin, and again, he would have to do this without Weiss or Flash seeing him.

He had come to Beacon to become a huntsman, a hero, but it seemed that he would be spending the next four years as a servant instead. But if he'd wanted to change beds and do laundry, then he could have stayed at home. At least at home, he wouldn't have to sneak around while he was doing it.

He could still go home. He could leave it all behind: Cardin's hold on him, Sunset's derision, the pity of Pyrrha and Ruby that made him feel so pathetic and useless. He could leave it all behind and go back home. Dad might yell at him, Sky and Kendal would definitely yell at him, and they might ground him for a little bit, but after that… after that, it would be forgotten; an autumn's madness never to be mentioned again, a part of his life to be politely elided over as if it had never happened.

Except it would have happened. And for the rest of his life, he would remember the time he had run away from home to chase his dreams… and given up when things became a little difficult.

"How are you going to fight grimm if you won't even fight for your dreams?"

Ruby's question echoed in his mind alongside the words of Sunset. Ruby said that he should fight, but he sucked at fighting. He couldn't beat Cardin in a fair fight, and Cardin wouldn't give him a fair fight; he didn't need to. He had Jaune by the short and curlies. He wouldn't fight at all; he would just reveal Jaune's secret to the whole school, and Jaune would be going home anyway.

Maybe it was better to just leave without all the fuss and trouble. Maybe it was better to just slink off home; he couldn't believe that Cardin would be so petty as to pursue him once he was away from Beacon.

Maybe it was better to just… to give up on everything that he'd ever wanted to be and condemn himself to a lifetime of misery and regret.

He didn't want that. But he didn't really want to spend four years under Cardin's thumb either, and yet, it seemed that they were the only two choices available to him.

Maybe a real hero could have found another way, a path through the thorns to the green fields beyond, but Jaune Arc was already starting to doubt that he was a real hero.

He was just a boy, and he didn't know what to do.

His eyes turned upwards to the statue, to the strong and noble huntsman with his sword raised aloft.

Jaune bet that guy had never been bullied at school, whoever he was.

"Admiring the decoration, Mister Arc?"

Jaune looked to his right to find Professor Ozpin standing there, leaning slightly upon his cane while sipping cocoa out of a mug with his other hand.

"Professor!" Jaune said, in a voice that was almost a startled yelp. "You can move very quietly."

"Of course," Professor Ozpin said, his own voice running with amusement. "I, too, graduated Stealth and Security once upon a time."

"Uh, right," Jaune murmured. He wasn't sure what else to say or do.

Professor Ozpin looked at him over the top of his small spectacles. "Something on your mind, Mister Arc?"

Jaune was certain that the headmaster already knew the answer to that. Talking to him, it was like he could see right through Jaune. "I… Professor, can I ask you a question?"

"I am at your service, Mister Arc."

"What happens to a team if one member leaves? If someone drops out?" Jaune asked.

Professor Ozpin sipped his cocoa. "An interesting question, Mister Arc, the answer to which depends greatly upon timing. This early in the first semester of the first year, if you were to depart, I daresay that another student, one of our failed applicants who did not take up an offer elsewhere, could be approached and offered a place here. They would have some catching up to do, of course, and possibly a special initiation in order to prove themselves, but nothing insurmountable to someone willing to work hard."

"How… how did you-?"

"Why else would you have asked, Mister Arc?" Professor Ozpin inquired.

"I… I suppose I wouldn't have," Jaune said. He looked away from the headmaster. "Can I ask you another question?"

"I have no pressing matters, Mister Arc."

"Were… were they ever real?" Jaune asked, referring to the statue in the courtyard.

Professor Ozpin chuckled. "You mean are they based on life? No, Mister Arc; if we were to commemorate in stone every alumni whose courage warranted such a thing, we would soon run out of space in the school. Hence, what you see before you is an ideal to strive for."

Jaune nodded. It was like Pyrrha had said: an ideal to strive for. An ideal that seemed so far away. "I'm afraid that I don't have the strength for this, Professor."

"You are a rather unique student, I must admit," Professor Ozpin admitted. "Most of our students come here already reasonably proficient in the art of bludgeoning monsters to death with a variety of powerful weapons. But have you wondered why this Academy exists in the first place, Mister Arc, as skilled as some of your classmates are?"

"I… it doesn't seem as though Pyrrha and Ruby are getting much out of sparring class," Jaune admitted. "I suppose… is it the history classes and stuff?"

Professor Ozpin smiled. "The academics are important and ought to be treated as such," he informed Jaune. "But more important still is the ethos of a huntsman which we strive to imbue in all our students. It takes more than strength to make a huntsman or a hero."

"It does?"

"Let me ask you a question, Mister Arc: when the hero draws a magic sword out of a stone, what makes him a hero? Is it his magic sword, or is it the pure heart that enabled him to draw it from the stone?"

Jaune was silent for a moment. "Ruby and Pyrrha, they both told me something like that… I thought they were patronising me."

Professor Ozpin sipped some more cocoa. "I suspect that was your own fears talking, Mister Arc, not the tongues of your teammates." His eyes closed as he fell silent for a moment. "'A huntsman is sworn to valour,'" he declared. "'His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked.'"

"Professor?"

"The oath of a huntsman of Beacon Academy, Mister Arc," Professor Ozpin explained. "Every academy administers its own oath to its graduates, and this is ours. I fancy it would be my favourite, even if it were not, as it were, mine. Valour, Mister Arc, and a heart full of virtue."

"Also might," Jaune pointed out.

"True," Professor Ozpin allowed. "But no one part of the oath is more important than any other, and any one aspect can be learned in the course of four years here."

Jaune bowed his head. "But I'm a liar, Professor, and I've said and done things that have hurt my teammates."

"How many of your contemporaries do you believe already model all the virtues of a huntsman or huntress?" Professor Ozpin inquired.

Jaune frowned. "Ruby?" he suggested. "Pyrrha, maybe?"

"Miss Rose comes very close," Professor Ozpin granted him. "Miss Nikos… speaks the truth a little less often perhaps than she ought. But I am not inclined to judge my students too harshly for being human. The oath, like the statue, is an ideal to strive for, not a measuring stick."

Jaune felt almost more confused now than he had before the headmaster arrived. "What… what should I do, Professor?"

"The choice is yours, Mister Arc," Professor Ozpin replied. "It cannot be taken away by me or anybody else. Just know that there will always be a place at Beacon for those who are brave and kind. Always provided that they wish to take it."

XxXxX​

Queen to H5.

Sunset moved the white queen into the appropriate position on her chessboard. A Wayward Queen Attack; I wouldn't have expected you to be so bold, Princess.

What have I said that would lead you to think I was timid?

Sunset didn't reply. Instead, she studied the board for a moment before moving one of her black knights out. Knight to C6. Would you rather I credit you for boldness or ask if you've played this game before? Wayward Queen is an amateur opening.

We are amateurs.

Speak for yourself, Princess.

Bishop to C4.

Pawn to G6. Sunset moved the pieces into position on the chessboard that sat beside her on the desk. I suppose that I should thank you for agreeing to play with me. I'm starved of intellectual equality in this place.

I'm sure you must be being harsh on your companions. Queen to F3.

What makes you say that?

Because you're harsh to everyone, or at least, you appear so to everyone except this Ruby Rose. It's your move.

I am as harsh on others as others deserve, neither more nor less. I know my worth, none better, and I know the worth of others to the ounce. Why should I give them false measure? Considering the lack of recognition I have received, I should rather be praised for my honesty in not unfairly denigrating those about me as I have so often been denigrated.

There was no reply from Twilight for a few moments. It's still your move.

Knight to F6. So, if you weren't playing with me, what would you be doing right now? What does a Princess of Friendship do all day?

I spend time with my friends, I help them out with anything that they might need my assistance on; I read, I research magic; I'm also the Ponyville Librarian.

I don't know whether the library should be honoured or you should be insulted.

Quiet, you. And I solve friendship problems.

Sunset laughed. She couldn't have stopped herself if she'd wanted to. She had rarely been gladder that that room was empty as she giggled like a filly. Friendship problems!

I can hear you laughing on the other side of the book.

That's because it's hilarious. What are you, a therapist?

I wouldn't call myself that, not least because I lack the qualifications. I just make sure that everyone is getting along and that any potential disagreements are nipped in the bud before they fester into real trouble.

Huh, we could almost She stopped. Her eyes narrowed. Is that why you're talking to me? Am I a friendship problem to you?

Unfortunately, you seem to have done a fair amount of festering already.

What a saucy tongue this princess has. Move.

Knight to E2. I thought you might respond to a more assertive approach.

Well, it's certainly more fun than corresponding with a milksop. Do you know, this must be how Princess Celestia feels?

Come again?

She is the player, and we are all her pieces. She moves us at her will, sends us out to fight for her, sacrifices us. Unless you escape as I did.

We both know perfectly well why you left Equestria, and it wasn't for any reason so noble as to free yourself from a tyrant. Even ignoring the fact that Princess Celestia is not a tyrant, the truly noble course if she were would have been to have stayed and fought.

Were it so easy. Think about it, and you'll see that my analogy fits perfectly. Knight to H5.

Why do you persist in this? Pawn to G4.

Sunset moved the pieces. Perhaps I simply want what's best for you.

Somehow, I doubt it. Is there nothing else that we can talk about while we play?

In other words, change the subject, or I disappear. Sunset did not reply immediately. Then an idea struck her. As it happens, I have a friendship problem for you to solve.

As they played – the honours were quite even, although Sunset felt as though she gradually started to win as the game unfolded – Sunset described the situation as it stood: Cardin's antagonism, the deal with Weiss, and Jaune's newfound camaraderie with his tormentor, to the point where he seemed to spend more time with Cardin than anywhere else. And he has some kind of secret that has given Cardin a hold over him. So, Princess of Friendship, any thoughts?

In these cases, it's always a good idea to remember that bullies are people too and that they often have some kind of reason for their behaviour.

Cardin's reason is that he's a jerk.

Have you considered that he might be getting bullied himself?

I am not befriending Cardin Winchester. I want your advice on what to do about Jaune. He's never been any help, and now, he's becoming an active hindrance. What am I supposed to do? What do you do when your minions aren't up to scratch?

I don't have minions. I have friends.

I can feel the cold rolling off the page.

Good. As for Jaune Arc, have you considered that he might open up to you if you were a little nicer to him?

He doesn't deserve kindness.

Who does? Anyone at all? Friendship isn't about what we deserve any more than it's about what we need. Yes, my friends have helped me out of a lot of difficult spots in the past, and I've done the same for them, but even if every monster or menace to Equestria disappeared tomorrow, then I would still be their friend because I love them. I love them as I love myself, maybe more. They're my family.

I have no family, and I need none. They turned their backs on me or shut the door in my face, then so be it. I have no need of them.

I don't think you can really believe that. What made you even say such a thing? What made you this way?

Sunset was about to berate Twilight's impertinence in daring even to ask her such a thing when the door opened and Jaune walked in.

Hold on, someone's coming. She closed the book as Jaune looked around the dorm room.

"Pyrrha's in the gym; Ruby is with her sister," Sunset said.

"Oh. Right. Yeah," Jaune said, in the tone of a man who has wandered into a nest of beowolves without a weapon. "Well... I, uh-"

"Stay where you are and shut the door," Sunset said. Now that she had Jaune alone, she was going to get the truth out of him.

Jaune whimpered a little as she closed the door. He looked at the chessboard on Sunset's desk. "Were you playing against yourself?"

"No," Sunset said. "I was playing... I'm playing a correspondence game with a friend. I was just looking at their latest move." She sniffed. "I'm surprised that you even know what a chessboard looks like."

Jaune didn't rise to that. Instead, he said, "So, it's your turn then."

"Yes," Sunset said, with a touch of irritation at his stalling antics.

"If you move Bishop to D5, you can get death in four."

Sunset froze. She could not have been more still if she had been turned to stone. She looked at the board. She looked back at Jaune. She looked at the board again and moved her bishop. She got off her chair and onto her knees, examining the state of play and running through all the possible countermoves in her head. He... he was right.

She looked at him. In fact, she rather stared at him. "How... how did you know that?"

Jaune shrugged. "My father taught me how to play."

"That doesn't mean you should be good at it!" Sunset snapped. She took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm. "Sit down on the floor there."

Jaune shifted uncomfortably. "Why?"

"Because we're going to play," Sunset said, rearranging all the pieces. "And you're going to show me how good you really are." She picked up the once more fully-laden board and put it down on the floor, while she sat cross-legged on the black side.

Jaune looked at the closed door. "I... I really need to go."

"You have somewhere to be?"

"Cardin-"

"No." Sunset's voice cut like a blade.

Jaune took a step back. "No?"

"No," Sunset repeated. "Cardin can wait."

"He really can't."

Sunset gestured to the other side of the board. "Sit."

"You don't understand!"

"I understand that he has something on you," Sunset said.

Jaune let out a horrified gasp. "How did you...? You never went for coffee, did you?"

Sunset shook her head. "Ruby didn't ask you what your big secret was. I'm asking now." She cocked her head slightly to one side. "Pyrrha knows, doesn't she?"

Jaune let out a mournful nod as he sat down. "I told her. Cardin overheard."

"Unfortunate," Sunset said softly. She looked at him, silent, waiting for him to continue.

Jaune said nothing, at least at first. But Sunset continued to watch and wait, and her emerald eyes bored into him… and at last, Jaune poured out his soul to her.

It was... an interesting story, certainly. Like Cardin, Sunset wouldn't have credited Jaune with that much nerve and daring. She felt, in fact – and would feel even more strongly based on how he performed in the game – as though she were seeing new sides to him hitherto concealed behind his impression of general incompetence. If he could be so bold in battle as he had in all that he had done to get this far, then he might actually amount to something.

"So you see, Cardin's got me over a barrel," Jaune insisted. "I really need to get-" His scroll began to buzz. "That's him now!" he squawked, his face paling.

"Don't answer," Sunset commanded. "Like I said, Cardin can wait."

"But he'll tell-"

"Not right away he won't," Sunset replied. "He's too weak for that. The moment he turns you in is the moment he loses his power over you, and he relishes having that power more than anything else. And so, he will warn you and tell you not to ignore him again, not realising that he shows more weakness every time he tolerates your insolence."

Jaune swallowed. "How can you be so sure?"

Because it's what I'd do in his position, the bitter thought rose from the back of Sunset's mind to make her shiver. It was not a thought she wanted, but equally, it was not a thought she could escape. Not when the advantage of this knowledge was pricking at her like a kitten clawing at her leg, desperate for attention.

Nevertheless, she suppressed such thoughts and impulses for now. She even smiled at Jaune, though it seemed to make him more uncomfortable than he had been before. "Trust me, I'm not telling you this so that you can get expelled. I'm not going to deliberately get rid of you." She gestured at the board before them. "Now, you're white, so it's your move."

They played. He was good. He was very good. He obviously hadn't been trained by a master, as Sunset or Twilight had. While Twilight's play was methodical and controlled, Jaune's style was a bit all over the place – erratic, almost seeming random at times – but that only made it harder for Sunset to follow him and predict what he would do next. She had been able to recognise Twilight's plays, and in recognising, counter them while she waited for Twilight Sparkle to make a mistake in the mid-game. But Jaune didn't use any classical strategies, probably because he didn't know any. It was all coming out of his head, unfiltered, and Sunset found herself struggling to keep up with him.

She won, in the end – if she hadn't, Sunset would have had to throw herself off the roof for the sake of her dignity – but Jaune had given her a close run, and between them, they had slaughtered most of the pieces on the board, on both sides.

He had run her close. Closer than someone as lazy, stupid, and ignorant as him had any right to do.

Sunset felt – as she flattered herself that Pyrrha had felt in the ring – a degree of respect for a formidable opponent.

That respect was tempered by a degree of sheer flabbergasted astonishment.

Her amazement was soon joined by a degree of anger that was far from insignificant. So far, in fact, was her wrath from being insignificant that when Sunset spoke, her voice was like ice. "Let me ask you something, Jaune," she said, her voice clipped with menace. "If you have such wit in you, if you can think like this, if you can strategize like this, then let me ask you... why haven't you showed this side of you before?"

Jaune cringed in the face of her fury.

"Someone as... as dumb as you appear to be wouldn't last a handful of moves against me, and he wouldn't deserve to," Sunset declared. "But you... you are clearly not an idiot. So what's the big idea? You lie to get in here, and then... what? You don't do any of your schoolwork, you train out of beginners' guides when Pyrrha is right over there, I mean… what are you thinking?"

"If I can't get stronger at the actual fighting part of being a huntsman, then what's the point in all the other stuff?" Jaune demanded. "And as for Pyrrha… She shouldn't need to help me catch up, and I shouldn't need her to."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "You're smarter than you look in some respects, but clearly not others."

And yet, Sunset found that she was not without sympathy for him. He wanted to be the hero, and in pursuit of that dream, he had crossed lines and broken rules. She'd be lying to herself if she hadn't done the same, and for much the same reasons. He might speak of dream instead of destiny, but it was all much the same, especially if you took Pyrrha's view of destiny as something that you made rather than something bestowed on you from birth. She and Jaune were much alike, more so than she had supposed before or been willing to admit; now that she could see that he wasn't a complete incompetent but, rather, had some raw materials worth working with, she found that she was more willing to concede the commonality between them. A little.

He was worth preserving. He would never be Pyrrha or Ruby, and he would certainly never be Sunset, but between his mind and his abnormally large aura, he would be of use if he could be brought up to scratch.

The difficulty, it seemed, was his pride. Fortunately, he had handed Sunset the weapon she needed to batter that down.

"You want to be the hero," she said. "Guess what: we all want to be the hero. It's why we're here, at day's end. Remember when we carved our initials on the wall: I said that we'd all be great huntsmen some day, and I meant it then. I mean it now too. You can become a hero, Jaune Arc. And I'm going to help you get there."

"Cardin-"

"Isn't going to be blackmailing you anymore," Sunset said soothingly. "Auntie Sunset is going to make sure that bad man leaves you alone." She smiled like a shark. "I'm going to be blackmailing you instead."

"Sunset!"

"Don't be like that; it won't be anything too onerous," Sunset said. "First, you're going to go to apologise to Ruby; I know that you know full well how much you've upset her."

Jaune nodded glumly. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"I won't put up with that," Sunset said sharply. "Tell her you're sorry."

Jaune swallowed. "Sure. Of course."

"Second, you can apologise to Pyrrha too; apologise and tell her that you want her help in training your fighting skills. Third, I – out of the goodness of my heart – am going to get you up to speed in your academics alongside Ruby. Fourth, you're going to do your homework each night, and the moment I catch you slacking off, this team will be looking for a new name. Now, how does that sound to you?"

"Are you going to ask me to do your laundry too?"

"I'm going to ask you to keep a civil tongue in your head and not give me lip when I'm trying to help you," Sunset said sharply. "Do I look like Cardin Winchester? No, I'm not going to ask you to do my laundry." I ought to, but Ruby and Pyrrha wouldn't stand for it. "Now, do you want this or not?"

"Yes," Jaune replied, without hesitation. "This… it's all I've ever wanted."

"Good," Sunset said. "Because Ruby and Pyrrha would mope if you got thrown out, and I don't need it. Trust me, you'll be a great huntsman in no time."

"And Cardin?"

"Cardin… Cardin Winchester is going to get what's coming to him," Sunset declared. "And you are going to help me make sure he gets it."

"I am?" Jaune asked uncertainly. "But you just said I was done with Cardin."

"You're almost done with Cardin," Sunset corrected herself. "After he and Weiss learn one of the most valuable lessons they'll ever get in their four years here."

"Which is?"

Sunset's grin was positively vicious. "Nobody messes with Sunset Shimmer and gets away with it."

 

[ScipioSmith]

The Sunset Strategy​

Sunset crept down the corridor. It was night, and there weren't many windows anyway. Sunset didn't dare use the torch in her pocket for fear of being seen, and she wasn't one of those faunus who had excellent vision in the dark, so instead, she had cast a night vision spell on herself to give her eyes some ability to penetrate the darkness. Even if it did make everything look a bit green.

Still, it was better than risking discovery by using the torch. She would probably only get one shot at this, so she had to get it done.

Problem: Jaune's transcripts were fake, and he obviously had no faith in the ability of those fakes to stand up to scrutiny; if he had, then he wouldn't have been acting like Cardin's lapdog under threat of exposure.

Solution: Well, now, that was the trick, wasn't it?

The best solution would probably have been to replace the fake transcripts with transcripts that looked a little less fake, but that required skills that Sunset didn't have – and acting like she had those skills anyway had gotten her into a bit of trouble at Canterlot – and if Jaune had them then he would have produced better transcripts in the first place, so that was out.

Sunset had studied the rules of Beacon Academy, all of them, including the arcane rules going back to the beginning of the academy that later headmasters had simply forgotten to do away with. For example, there was a rule that said that the leader of the highest-rated team in the final year could keep their own personal goat on the farm. Sunset wasn't sure why you'd want to, but she was going to do it anyway, just to prove that SAPR was the highest rated team in the final year.

More important were the rules around cheating, which were quite clear: the Headmaster or any other teacher for any reason could inspect any student's examinations, transcripts, or any other official documentation. If, upon examination, said material was found to have been tampered with, or any other evidence of cheating or deception was discovered, then the student responsible could be expelled from the academy without notice. Sunset was not as convinced as Jaune by Cardin's insistence that Jaune had also committed a felony, but that was irrelevant: expulsion would be bad enough.

What was interesting to Sunset was the turn of phrase 'upon examination.' Because you couldn't examine something that you didn't have, now could you? Absence of evidence, after all, was not evidence of absence, and it would be particularly cruel to expel a student simply because the Academy had happened to lose their paperwork somewhere in the bureaucracy, wouldn't it?

Which was why, in the middle of the night, with the corridors dark and the whole school asleep, Sunset was making her way to the school archives.

She crept quietly along, using a minor spell to muffle the sounds of her footfalls upon the tiles.

She stopped, frozen, upon hearing a noise. She pressed herself against the wall, looking this way and that like some prey creature trying to make their way across a field without the hungry owl spotting them. This was not going to be an experience she looked back on with fondness.

Jaune, you're going to owe me big for this. Of course, it didn't really matter whether or not he felt grateful and obliged to her or no: once she had the transcripts, she would have exactly the same hold over him as Cardin presently enjoyed, and he would have no choice but to act grateful to her even if he wasn't.

There was no more noise. Sunset resumed her course. The archives were stored at the end of a corridor, just past Professor Goodwitch's office. Thankfully, the lights were off in said office, or Sunset would have felt a little nervous, but the professor had turned in for the night, or gone out, or… she wasn't in her office was the important point. Nevertheless, as she passed the darkened room, Sunset had to resist the urge to duck beneath the window.

The archive door, by contrast, had no window in it. It was simply a dull, slightly ugly, iron door, locked of course. Not that that was any barrier to Sunset, who teleported across to the other side of the door.

Now she got out her torch, terminating the night vision spell that she had cast on her eyes. A torch was just easier, and it didn't tire her out to keep it switched on.

The archives were mostly enclosed, but there were a few small windows set high up in the ceilings. A black bird was perched on the sill of one of the windows, tapping on the glass with its beak. It was about the only sound in the cavernous chamber.

Sunset looked around, shining her flashlight up and down the tall shelves filled with boxes. Each cardboard box was labelled with a name, and it took Sunset less than a moment to work out that they were ordered alphabetically. That made it very easy to find Jaune Arc, whose box was near the very front of the archives.

The files started from the bottom up, so Sunset only needed to bend down to get at Jaune's box on the bottom shelf. She gripped the torch between her teeth, feeling the plastic against her tongue as she pulled open the lid and began to rifle through the contents of Jaune's box: test results, teachers' impressions, Professor Ozpin's personal evaluation. Sunset couldn't help but pause for a moment, the torchlight shining upon the piece of paper containing, in a handwritten scrawl, the headmaster's personal feelings regarding her team-mate.

Although untested and lacking in the raw skill and talent of Miss Rose or Miss Nikos, I believe that Mister Arc has within himself the qualities of heart and spirit that exemplify a huntsman. With good fortune, he may help keep his teammates grounded, a necessity for all those set above the common run of men.

'Grounded'? Why is it a necessity to keep them grounded? And what about me, Professor?

Although her brow furrowed a little, Sunset tried to dismiss the whole thing as she put the extraordinarily brief evaluation back and went down to the very bottom of the box.

Aha. There they were: Jaune's transcripts recommending him to Beacon. They purported to be from a combat assessor, confirming that Jaune's proficiency with weapons, aura – what a joke – and academic knowledge was up to the standard that would be expected of a graduate from a combat school. Apart from the fact that some of it could be proven false – like the fact that he hadn't known what aura was – Sunset couldn't tell that it was a forgery; but then, she wouldn't really know what a forgery looked like.

She pulled the transcripts out of the box, shut the lid, and put the box back where it came from.

She could go now. She had what she came for.

But something, some instinct or simple curiosity, wouldn't let Sunset leave just yet. There was something else she had to check up on first.

So she headed deeper into the archives, passing out of A and into B as she searched for the name she was looking for: Raven Branwen, the mysterious R in Team STRQ. The most enigmatic member of the famous team. Every other member of Team STRQ had their activities detailed in some form. A modest obituary for Summer Rose still existed in the archives of the website of a local newspaper. Taiyang Xiao Long was a teacher at Signal Combat School. Qrow Branwen had been a teacher there too, until the end of the last school year. But Raven Branwen had no present, and no past before coming to Beacon.

But she did have a box in the archives, one which was also conveniently nestled on the bottom shelf where Sunset could grab it, pull it out, and open it up.

It was empty. There was absolutely nothing there, not even Professor Ozpin's personal impressions. It was like somebody had beaten Sunset to the archives and cleared the records out.

I say 'as if,' but who am I to say that someone didn't do just that?

Who is Raven Branwen, and why is someone so determined to preserve her secrets?

Sunset got up. Looking around, feeling in some sense that she was not alone in there. But she couldn't see or hear anyone. There was no sound but her own breath and the tapping of that bird upon the small, high window.

Sunset should probably have left, but she was too curious to simply walk away, now that she had this chance which might never come again.

She headed into the recesses of the archives, past D and H and M and P; she was into S and approaching her destination when Sunset tripped over something lying in her path, flying forwards to land flat on her face upon the cold linoleum tiles of the archive. Sunset turned as she scrambled upright, turning her torch upon the offending object, a box removed from the shelves and left upon the floor.

A box which bore the name of Summer Rose.

Sunset stopped, looking up at the name of Ruby's mother illuminated by the light of her torch. The cardboard was crinkled with age and starting to fall apart in places; there were holes developing in the corners as though rodents had nibbled at them.

She could have passed on. She could have ignored it, looking for her own name as she had decided to do after getting Jaune's transcript. She could have left Ruby's mother be.

But she didn't.

Sunset knelt down beside the box and pulled off the lid. There was a lot more in it than there had been in Jaune's box: not surprising, since Summer Rose and her team had completed a full four years at Beacon Academy. She rooted through exam results, report cards, not really knowing what it was that she was looking for… until, underneath a pile of third-year midterms, Sunset found a book. It was small, leather-bound, with a black cover on which someone – presumably Summer herself – had painted a white rose in nail polish or something; it was the same symbol as on the wall of their dorm room.

Gingerly, with a feeling of trespass as though she were entering into a musty old temple intent on robbery of the idols there, Sunset opened it up.

Dear Diary

Sunset shut the book. Her conscience, such as it was, revolted at the idea of reading further. There were some things that she had neither the desire nor the right to know.

She slipped the diary into her jacket pocket all the same.

Her own box was not far away: Sunset Shimmer. Sunset dragged a conveniently placed ladder across the shelves and scampered up it to see what Professor Ozpin had to say about her.

Sunset Shimmer clearly has enormous potential, though I must question whether she will always be capable of living up to that potential, or if her own pride and stubbornness will get in the way.

What do you know? Sunset thought.

However, I have hope that with the support of her teammates, she may mellow considerably.

I've gotten by just fine on my own.

If she can overcome her flaws and rise to the occasion, then she has the makings of a skilled huntress, and perhaps much more.

Sunset blinked. 'More?' More what? What more is there, and how do I get it?

One thing is certain: Miss Shimmer is too powerful to be allowed to fall into her hands.

'Her' who? Why are you being so cryptic?

At present, Beacon is the best place for her: a place where she can learn and where she can be observed.

Sunset had to be careful; she almost swallowed with the torch in her mouth. A shiver ran down her spine. The words themselves were perfectly innocuous, but… something about them disturbed her. A part of her wanted to see what the Headmaster had to say about Ruby and Pyrrha, but another part of her… another part of her was afraid. She had felt, at the time of her interview with Professor Ozpin, as though he was weighing her, and it seemed that that was exactly what he had done: weighed her up like a prize pig at the county fair. Weighed her dangerous in the wrong hands – and whose hands were those?

Weighed her… and judged her.

Sunset shoved the box back and replaced the ladder quickly. With Jaune's transcripts in hand and Summer's journal in her pocket, she teleported out of the archive and fled, heedless of the noise that she made, back to her dorm room.

It was only when she got there, when she was standing outside the dorm with her scroll in hand, that Sunset started to calm down a little. It was the darkness of the room, the silence, the solitude… it had overcome her. There was nothing to worry about. Professor Ozpin's words were just words, meaning little and possessing no capacity to harm.

Put like that, Sunset could almost believe it.

She slipped quietly into the dorm room and stored Jaune's transcripts somewhere safe, where Cardin wouldn't be able to use them but she would, if she had to, or at least, she could threaten to use them to keep Jaune on the straight and narrow.

Summer's journal… Sunset was about to leave it on Ruby's bedside, but if she did that, then she would have to explain how she'd gotten it, and since she wanted to keep her nocturnal expedition to herself… the diary would have to say in her jacket pocket for now – not to be read but to be kept hold of – until the right time to give it to Ruby.

XxXxX​

"There will always be a place at Beacon for those who are brave and kind."

It was the words of Professor Ozpin that echoed through Jaune's mind now as he stood, once more, in the courtyard of Beacon, once more looking up at the statue of the huntsman and the huntress. The ideal huntsman and huntress, embodiments of the figures they were all here striving to become.

Somehow, he didn't think that the ideal huntsman would have gone along with Sunset's plan.

"Sunset, are you sure about this?" he asked as they sat in the dorm room together, alone, after Sunset had found out his secret and decided to use it against him just as swiftly as Cardin had.

Maybe that wasn't a fair comparison – Sunset was only acting in his best interests; she wasn't making a servant of him the way that Cardin had – but it was one that Jaune couldn't help but draw in the privacy of his own head. Just like he couldn't help but think that Pyrrha had also discovered his secret and not used it to hurt him or gain influence with him or compel him to do anything in any way.

He couldn't help but feel very naïve for thinking that Pyrrha's quiet judgement was the worst thing that could have happened to him.

"Of course it's going to work; it's my plan," Sunset declared magisterially.

"But Cardin-"

"Will have had his teeth pulled by the time this happens," Sunset assured him. "You trust me, don't you?"

Jaune hesitated, silent and wordless.

"The correct answer was 'yes, Sunset, I trust you completely,'" Sunset declared.

Jaune waited until it became clear that she was waiting upon him in turn. "Yes, Sunset, I trust you. But… it's not about whether this is going to work; it… it feels wrong."

"Why?"

"Because it's bullying!"

"You're not the one bullying anyone."

"I'm not doing anything to stop it either."

"No," Sunset agreed, "you're not. You're going to make sure it carries on until Cardin buries himself."

"But what about Velvet?"

Sunset's eyes were cold as emeralds. "What about Velvet?"

No doubt, that all sounded very fine to Sunset, but for Jaune… the idea of letting something wrong continue – of making sure that it did continue – just so that they could get Cardin into trouble, just so that they could punish him for what he had done to Jaune… it wasn't right.

A part of Jaune wished that he'd asked Professor Ozpin about seeking revenge, but he had an idea of what the headmaster would have said about that: that it was something a huntsman – and a hero – didn't do.

At least, not for something like this. He wanted to be free from Cardin, he wanted to be safe from Cardin, but it seemed like what Sunset really wanted was to get back at Cardin, and for what? For something that was Jaune's own stupid fault in the first place? It wasn't like he'd hurt Pyrrha or something.

And someone else had to suffer as part of this plan. That didn't seem to matter very much to Sunset, but it mattered to Jaune.

Or at least, he thought it did.

But did it matter enough?

Did it matter enough for him to…?

How did I end up in this position? He felt like he was caught between two monsters, and either one would eat him without a second thought. If he didn't do what Sunset wanted, then she'd turn him, but if he did do what she wanted, then surely, Cardin would just turn him in, Sunset's assurances to the contrary aside?

Either one could get him sent away from here… but did he deserve to be here if he went along with either of them?

"The choice is yours, Mister Arc, it cannot be taken away by me or anybody else."

Is that really true, Professor?

XxXxX​

The seating arrangements for the first years at dinner that Saturday were a little different from normal. Team S_PR sat on the right hand side of the table, with the empty seat on the edge a reminder of the fact that Jaune was not sitting with them today, or any other day since Tuesday morning. Team YRDN sat on the left opposite Sunset's reduced team, while they had also been joined at their table by Team BLBL; or rather Bon Bon and Lyra had sat down there again and left Blake and Sky with little choice but to sit there too.

Weiss and Flash were absent from the cafeteria. Sunset didn't know where they were, and she found that she had to work hard to keep herself focussed on the task at hand and not let her imagination run riot imagining all the intimate situations they could be in out of her sight. Were they enjoying a cosy dinner for two at Benni Haven's? Were they dancing the night away in Vale? Were they cloistered in the library?

Perhaps I should have negotiated that Weiss would stay away from Flash instead of putting a leash on Cardin.

The thought of Cardin – and of the deal that Weiss had so singularly failed to honour between the two of them – brought Sunset back to the task at hand. Her glance flickered across the dining hall to where Jaune, like a serving man, was dancing attendance upon Cardin Winchester and Russell Thrush where they sat, at a different table, on either side of Velvet Scarlatina of Team CFVY.

Despite the fact that she was a second year, Velvet was taking – or retaking – Modern History with the freshman students, which was doubtless why Cardin and Russell felt bold enough to sit menacingly on either side of her, closing her in. Velvet, a rabbit faunus with long ears emerging from out of her equally long, brown hair, had tried to get up once already, but Cardin had simply grabbed her with one powerful hand and pushed her back down into her seat.

Both he and Russell took time out of their meals to pull at her ears, and judging by the laughter coming from the table, there was some verbal taunting going on as well.

And all the while, Jaune ran back and forth between Cardin's table and the queue, fetching anything that his lord and master might desire.

Or so Cardin thought, anyway. Sunset kept the smile off her face, but it was there within, hidden away so nobody could see it, and nobody could suspect that it was all part of a plan. Her plan.

In the meantime, the mood amongst all those students who were not aware of the fact that all things were proceeding exactly as Sunset willed was as bleak as a blasted heath; even Bon Bon's attempts to keep up conversation had faltered as the eyes of the first-years kept being drawn to the bullying going on not far away.

"This is disgraceful," Dove growled.

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "I would have thought this would have been your kind of thing, the way you stare at my tail."

Dove shifted uncomfortably. "You faunus are a strange sight, but that's still a girl in trouble over there." He glanced their way again. "I'm going to stop this." He started to rise.

"Sit," Sunset commanded him coldly. "Stay where you are."

Dove froze. "She needs help."

"And she'll get it," Sunset said. "Just not from you and your chivalry."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Everyone, just trust me," Sunset urged.

"I would like to," Pyrrha replied, "but this is very hard to simply bear without intervening."

"It won't be for much longer," Sunset assured her.

Yang looked towards the table in question. "It must be hard, being a faunus."

"You have no idea," Sunset muttered.

"And you don't seem to have much solidarity," Blake pointed out.

"I don't need you to help me how I ought to feel about other faunus and their treatment," Sunset replied sharply.

Pyrrha shook her head in disgust. "People like that are not worthy to become huntsmen."

"I don't understand how Jaune can just be okay with this," Ruby said.

Sunset allowed herself a brief smirk. "Is he? Are you so sure of that, Ruby?"

"Well…" Ruby paused, trailing off for a moment. "I mean… what do you mean?"

"What do you know?" Pyrrha asked the more pertinent question.

Sunset shrugged. Her scroll was in her jacket pocket, open but out of sight; she had a little while earlier – before coming down to dinner – performed a little technical trickery to mask her identity from the receiver of any message from her, just as she had earlier prepared a text that would alert the rest of Team CFVY to the fact that one of their number was in a pitiable state in the dining hall and in dire need of rescue.

Team CFVY were known as the best team in the second year; Professor Ozpin's favourites, the team to watch, possible Vytal champions, if not this year, then certainly in year four. It was Sunset's opinion that they were overrated – she was fairly sure that even now, Team SAPR could take them handily – and signs of Professor Ozpin's supposed favour were few and far between to her eyes, but nevertheless, they were second years. They should have no trouble putting Cardin Winchester in his place when they stormed in to rescue their teammate.

The only regret was that Weiss wasn't here to be humiliated by proxy.

Never mind. Her turn would come.

"I know a lot of things," Sunset replied to Pyrrha. "Sit quiet and watch, and you might learn a few things, too."

XxXxX​

Jaune felt sick.

Velvet Scarlatina squirmed in discomfort, caught between Cardin on one side and Russell on the other, unable to leave.

Unable to escape.

And all the while, he got their lunch, he got their drinks, he got them anything and everything they asked him for while Velvet sat hunched inward on herself, frightened, alone.

She had looked at him, a pleading look in her soft brown eyes. She had looked at him, and he had… he had turned away to get Cardin another slice of pie, and he had left her there.

Small wonder, he felt ill.

Everytime he turned away, everytime Cardin snapped his fingers and sent Jaune on another errand, he had to walk past his teammates, YRDN, and BLBL, and it was excruciating. The way that Pyrrha looked so disappointed in him. The way that Ruby looked as though she was starting to wonder if she'd ever known him at all.

Only Sunset wasn't glaring at him, only Sunset wasn't looking at him as though he were a louse, and that was only because Sunset had arranged all of this, had written out a part for him in a puppet show of her devising, so that she could… what? Avenge Jaune? No, avenge the fact that she felt slighted and aggrieved, and never mind what Jaune thought or whether he wanted any part in this.

Was this who he was? Was this all that there was to Jaune Arc? Was the boy who had dreamed of a hero nothing more, in the end, than a tool of Sunset's ill intent? A mute accessory to one form of bullying or another?

When Sunset had told him that he was done with Cardin, he had been relieved. What was the point of staying at Beacon if this was all that he would become: despised by his teammates, friendless, alone but for Cardin Winchester, who owned him? Sunset had offered him an escape from that… an escape that seemed to lead into a different kind of cage.

She had been right about Cardin: he had blustered about Jaune's ignoring his messages, but ultimately, he hadn't done anything about it, merely snarled at Jaune not to do it again and reminded him of just why he had better do as Cardin said from now on. Even if that ended soon, even if he really would be done with Cardin after this, was he just setting himself up to be in the same position, but with Sunset?

"How can you fight the grimm if you won't fight for your dreams?"

"There will always be a place at Beacon for those who are brave and kind."

Jaune felt his breathing coming heavier as he walked back towards Cardin's table. Professor Ozpin had told him that it wasn't too late for someone to start learning at Beacon; if that was true of the schoolwork, then perhaps it wasn't too late for someone to start learning the virtues too.

I'm sorry, Sunset, but I can't just put you in Cardin's place as the person with my lead in their hands.

Jaune's chest rose and fell as he walked up to the table where Velvet squirmed in between her tormentors. "Leave her alone, Cardin."

The laughter died on Cardin's lips. He looked at Jaune with incredulity upon his face. "What did you say, Jauney boy?"

"I said," Jaune said, and his voice rose an octave higher such was his nervousness. He had to keep going. He had to be brave, like the ideal huntsman. "I said, 'leave her alone, Cardin.'"

Cardin stared at him for a moment, before a laugh escaped him. "Hah! Good one, Jaune! I needed the laugh." He reached out to give a tug on Velvet's ears.

Jaune intercepted his hand upon the way, grabbing Cardin's meaty wrist. "I'm serious! This has gone far enough."

Cardin's movements were slow. He glanced at his hand, and at Jaune's hand holding his wrist. Then he looked at Jaune, his gaze travelling slowly up Jaune's arm towards Jaune's face that was pale with nervousness.

Cardin rose from his seat like a mountain erupting out of the ocean. "This joke is starting to lose its value, Jaune," he declared, shrugging off Jaune's hand. "Are you sure you're not forgetting something?"

Jaune felt his whole body trembling. His voice was tremulous when he could manage to find it. "You can do what you like to me," he just about managed to force out, "but I'm done doing whatever you say, and I'm done standing by and letting injustice go unchallenged."

By this point, Russell had gotten up as well and was beginning to circle around Jaune like a jackal. Velvet still looked too afraid to leave her seat.

Cardin stared down at Jaune. "Letting injustice go unchallenged?"

That had sounded cooler in his head. Jaune swallowed. "That's right."

Cardin scoffed. "So, you think you're some kind of big hero, Jaune, is that it?"

"No," Jaune admitted. But how will I ever get there if I don't start by doing the right thing?

"No," Cardin agreed. "Because heroes are strong!" He pushed Jaune, shoving him backwards so hard that Jaune was hurled onto his back, landing on the dining hall floor with a thump before he skidded backwards, the lights suspended from the ceiling seeming to pass over Jaune's head before he came to rest a few inches away from a pair of familiar black boots.

Sunset Shimmer stood over him, her arms folded. Her face was set in a snarl, her ears flattened against the top of her head, and Jaune had a sinking suspicion that she was more angry at him for messing with her plan than she was with Cardin for pushing him down. She didn't look at Jaune, not even to glance down at him to see if he was okay. With the grace of a lioness, she stepped over Jaune, placing herself between him and Cardin, but as she stepped over him, her tail, twitching back and forth, tapped him on the face. Jaune could only imagine that it prefigured something much worse that she would like to do to him.

"You knocked him down easily enough," she said, and Jaune found himself impressed by the way that she was controlling her tone; you would never have guessed that she had as much anger for Jaune as for Cardin. "How about you try and knock me down, big guy?"

Cardin stared at her. Sunset had her back to Jaune, but he found it easy to imagine her staring right back at him.

"Is this what you want, Jaune?" Cardin demanded. "Is this how you want to do this?"

"Don't talk to him," Sunset snapped. "You're dealing with me now. So turn around, walk away, and forget all about this, or I'll take this even more personally than I already am, and I guarantee you do not want to get into this with me."

"You don't seem to understand-"

"I understand," Sunset said. "I know everything." She stepped closer to Cardin, so close that the two of them were almost touching. "But here's something that you don't understand: I don't share the things that are mine, not with people I like, certainly not with people that I don't like, and Jaune is mine. My team: mine. Now get out of my sight."

Cardin's face was becoming as red as Ruby's cape as he bent down and whispered into Sunset's ear.

Sunset whispered something right back, though Jaune couldn't hear what it was.

Cardin's face reddened yet further, which Jaune wouldn't have thought was possible if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. His back straightened as though he'd been shocked. "Big mistake," he snarled. "When I'm done-"

"Cardin!" the voice of Weiss Schnee cracked like a whip, cutting through the cafeteria.

Jaune, still lying on the ground, twisted his whole body to look back towards the doors. Weiss stood there, framed in the open doorway, gleaming white in her bolero and skirt against the darkness that lay without the dining hall. Flash stood by her side, dogging her steps as Weiss strode down the corridor between the tables, her stride as long as her legs would manage, her poise and strut alike majestic. Her wedge heels tapped a staccato drumbeat on the dining hall floor as she approached the scene of the unfolding confrontation.

She stopped, her gaze as chill as winter wind sweeping across the Cardin, Russell, Jaune, and Sunset.

"What is going on here?" she hissed.

"Your word has been proven worthless, that's what's going on here," Sunset muttered.

Weiss' jaw tightened. "Is that so," she said, and her voice seemed calmer as she said it, though no less cold.

Cardin growled. "He-"

"Quiet!" Weiss snapped, and Cardin's mouth closed immediately as though Weiss' true semblance was the power to command with her voice. She walked towards him, and he fell back before her, clearing a path for her to approach Velvet.

Velvet shrank back at her approach.

"I apologise for the behaviour of my teammates," Weiss declared. "And for the fact that I was not here to stop it."

Velvet's eyes widened. Her lapine ears pricked up. "You… it's fine, really, you don't have to-"

"No, it's not," Weiss said. "And yes, I do. I'm sorry, and I assure you that it will not happen again."

Velvet was silent a moment, still shrunk back from Weiss, still bowing her head. Her voice, when it came, was barely more than a whisper. "Thank you."

Weiss nodded, before turning gracefully upon her toe and striding away with. "You two," she barked. "Come with me!"

Cardin and Russell followed; it was clear from their looks that they didn't dare not to, although Flash remained behind – he looked at Sunset but didn't say anything – to shepherd them along from behind in case they lagged too much. Jaune would have enjoyed the sight of them cowed and submissive, but then, Sunset turned to look down on him, and Jaune was reminded that his own troubles were still too immediate for any feeling of victory over his tormentors.

Sunset knelt down beside him. "What was that?" she hissed.

Jaune swallowed. "That… that was me doing the right thing," he said.

"The right thing wasn't the plan," Sunset reminded him.

"No," Jaune admitted. "But it was still right."

Sunset stared at him, glared at him, and Jaune found himself reminded of what she had said about Cardin, about how he wouldn't turn Jaune in for disobeying the first time because he relished having power over Jaune too much to give it up.

He looked into her eyes, and he thought of her own words and wondered whether they might apply to her as much as to Cardin.

"Then it seems you've made your choice," Sunset said coldly. The words 'and now you'll have to live with it' hung unspoken in the air between them. She stood up without saying anything else and without allowing Jaune to say anything else to her. What would he have said, in any case? He couldn't apologise for what he'd done; could he have begged her to stay her hand?

He didn't. Whether he would have if she'd given him the chance, he didn't know. She walked away before he could say anything, and whether she walked away to doom him or not, he really couldn't say.

He hoped not, but then, his hopes had a habit of being disappointed around here.

A hand entered Jaune's field of vision: Pyrrha's hand, offered to help him up.

Jaune stared up at her, into her bright green eyes, so much warmer than those of their team leader, before he took her hand and let her pull him to his feet. "Thanks," he said.

Pyrrha smiled. "You were very brave."

"No, I wasn't," Jaune replied. "But... thank you anyway."

Pyrrha still had hold of his hand. She seemed in no particular hurry to let go of it. She kept a gentle grip upon it as he walked towards the table where Ruby sat along with YRDN and BLBL. He felt as though they were all watching him in silence, but the only one that he was looking at was Ruby.

"Do you… mind if I join you guys?" he asked.

Ruby scooted sideways so that there was an empty space between her and Pyrrha. "I saved you a seat," she said with a smile on her face that lit up her silver eyes.

Jaune could not conceal, nor did he try to hide, the combined sag and sigh of relief as he sat down, with Pyrrha resuming her seat next to him on the other side of Ruby.

Ruby reached out and took his free hand in hers. "Welcome home, Jaune," she said.

Jaune smiled down at her. "It's good to be back," he said. For however long it lasts. There was a part of him that was counting the moments until either Cardin or Sunset brought the whole thing crashing down upon him.

Nobody asked him any questions about what he'd been doing or why. They simply accepted his inexplicable conduct as an aberration, a kind of madness which had now passed, leaving him once more himself. He had gone away, now he was back, and there was nothing more to be said upon the subject.

He wasn't sure he could ever express how grateful he was for that. He would need to tell Ruby at some point, but she – and everyone else – was willing to give him time to do so as he chose.

And then, as dinner ended, Jaune got a text summoning him to the headmaster's office at once.

Ice gripped his stomach.

"What is it?" Ruby asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I… I have to go," Jaune said.

"'Go,'" Pyrrha repeated. "Go where?"

Jaune's hands trembled as he got to his feet. All he could manage to utter was a single word: "Away."

XxXxX​

Weiss directed her teammates into their dorm room with an imperious hand, gesturing them to go in first so that she could slam the door behind her as she followed them in.

She felt as though she could shake with anger right now, and it took a great deal of effort on her part not to. She couldn't afford to rage right now; she had to be… gods help her, she had to be like Father, cold in her wrath, with an icy temper that cut rather than burned.

So she kept herself still and poised, as a Schnee should be, and looked down at Cardin and Russell for all that they were bigger than she was. "What," she demanded coldly, "did I witness the end of in the cafeteria?"

Neither of them would meet her gaze. Sullen schoolboys that they were, they looked away and down and pouted in a surly manner, and they did not speak.

Neither did Weiss. She would wait them out, confident their patience would expire before hers did.

"We were just having some fun," Russell complained.

"'Fun,'" Weiss repeated. "Is that what you call fun, picking on those weaker than you?"

"If she can't take a little thing like that, then how is she going to make it as a huntress?" Russell demanded.

"I don't know, and I don't care," Weiss snapped. "She can fail as a huntress, she can drag her team down, she can waste the lien being spent on her education, but you demeaned yourself by your behaviour, and you demeaned this team. And you demeaned me." She sucked in a sharp intake of breath. "And I will not allow you to diminish me by your actions. From now on, I expect you to conduct yourself like gentlemen, whether you are gentlemen or not. Do you understand?"

Russell shoved his hands into his pockets. "Whatever."

"Do you understand?" Weiss repeated.

"Yes," Russell said, his tone aggrieved. "What's your problem; she's just a faunus."

So was the woman who raised me. "It doesn't matter whether she is a faunus or not; a huntsman should be better than such plebeian behaviour." She turned her gaze on Cardin. "And what was going on with Jaune? I explicitly told you to leave him alone."

"He shouldn't even be here!" Cardin yelled. "He's a liar and a fraud, and he doesn't belong at Beacon! I was doing him a favour!"

Weiss' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

XxXxX​

Sunset paced up and down, her boots scuffing at the earth as her tail swept back and forth behind her.

Jaune! She couldn't believe the nerve of that guy! After everything that she had done for him, to turn around and treat her like this! She had saved him from Cardin, she'd gotten his transcripts, and all that he had to do in return was obey her instructions to the letter, but apparently, that was too much for his mind to handle; he had to listen to his conscience instead.

Why would anyone want to listen to their conscience when they could listen to me? How sharp was the tooth of his ingratitude that he should betray her trust, and for what? For who? For Velvet Scarlatina? Who was Velvet to him or he to her that he should throw Sunset's plans into disarray for her? She had wanted… she had wanted to humiliate Cardin, and though it might be said that that had, in fact, happened, it didn't satisfy her the way that she had thought it would, perhaps because Weiss had been involved. It didn't make her feel any better, it didn't make her feel as though she and Cardin were all square, it didn't feel like a fitting way for her to get back at him.

It just made her feel empty. Empty and angry at Jaune.

She'd had a plan! It had been a good plan, too, a plan which would have concealed Sunset's involvement completely: Cardin would have been hoist upon his own petard, with no way of knowing that it had been her, Sunset Shimmer, who had engineered his downfall. Sometimes, it was better that way; as desirous as Sunset was to be celebrated for her accomplishments, when it came to revenge, the best kind was the one your enemies didn't realise you had exacted upon them. Cardin would have been brought low and with no cause to seek revenge on Sunset in his turn, because her involvement would never have come to light. If only Jaune had played his part.

But no, he had to do the right thing instead.

It would serve him right if Sunset turned him in for his fake transcripts.

In fact… in fact, she might have to do just that.

Except… except she didn't really want to.

But if she didn't, then she would be revealing herself to be no better than Cardin Winchester, making empty threats that she had no will or desire to follow through on, clinging to shreds of power over Jaune, even as that power slipped through her fingers by her unwillingness to use it.

But if she did expose him, then he would be gone, and she… she didn't want to be Princess Celestia to Jaune, the destroyer of his hopes and dreams. She wanted to take him in hand and make something out of him. But if she allowed him to stay in Beacon in the face of what he had done, then where was her authority as his leader?

If I kick Jaune out, then Pyrrha and Ruby will never forgive me.

If I don't, then he'll never respect me.

Why does this have to be so hard?

Why couldn't Jaune have just done what I said?

See, Princess Twilight, this is why I have no time for friendship; they'll always betray you in the end.

Except that I don't want them to hate me for what I do.

That doesn't mean anything, except that it's easier to lead people who like you. I'm just being prudent.

Indeed. Prudence. The thought of an air of pleading silver eyes filled with anguish had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

What am I supposed to do now? Jaune has transgressed, Cardin and Weiss have not yet felt my sting. What am I supposed to do?

Sunset was rather glad to be distracted from all this by the ringing of her scroll. She answered it to find Pyrrha's face on the other end.

"Sunset," Pyrrha cried. "Jaune's just been called to the headmaster's office." She paused for a moment, a spasm of guilt crossing her face. "You see… the thing that I haven't told you-"

"Pyrrha, it's okay," Sunset said. "You don't need to tell me, and you don't need to worry. Where are you?"

"Outside the dining hall."

"Is Ruby with you?"

"I'm here," Ruby said, pushing Pyrrha aside a little so that her face could appear in the screen. "Sunset, what's going on? Is Jaune getting expelled?"

"No," Sunset assured her. "Both of you go back to the dorm room and get ready to do the whole 'we love you Jaune, don't be sad' thing you do so well. I'll be along – with Jaune – in just a while."

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked.

"Trust me," Sunset said. "Everything is going to work out just fine."

She closed her scroll and started towards the tower. She might not know exactly how she felt about Jaune, but she knew one thing: nobody was going to take one of her team away from her.

XxXxX​

The headmaster's office was empty and austere, so barren that it seemed larger than it was and so large that Jaune felt small and utterly insignificant within it. He felt the sweat pooling beneath his armpits as he stood before the headmaster and Professor Goodwitch.

Professor Ozpin wasn't looking at him. He was reading something as he sipped his hot cocoa. Professor Goodwitch was staring at him though. Staring at him as though he were some kind of insect and she was about to crush him under her heel.

In the rare moments of coherent thought that escaped the combination of blind panic and bottomless despair, Jaune wondered at what point this had all started to go so horribly wrong. At what point had he made the big mistake that had led to all this?

Was it when I decided to come here in the first place? Was that where I went wrong after all?

It was all over now. His adventure, his dreams. But what Jaune felt most, somewhat to the surprise even of himself, was guilt. Pyrrha and Ruby… they'd believed in him. Nobody had ever believed in him before, not in his whole life. For as long as he'd known, it'd always been 'you can't' or 'you're not strong enough' or 'it's too dangerous.' Nobody had ever trusted him, nobody had ever taken him seriously, nobody had ever looked at Jaune Arc and said 'yeah, you can become a hero.'

But they had. Those two angels had believed in him… and he had let them down. He saw that now with a clarity that only the impending death of all his hopes and dreams could provide. He had been… he hadn't been deserving of them.

And it was too late to do anything about it now.

"Mister Arc," Professor Goodwitch said, since Professor Ozpin didn't seem inclined to look up from whatever it was he was reading, "the allegations that have been made against you are quite serious. And unfortunately, they are allegations that I can only too easily believe in light of your underwhelming performance at this academy. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Jaune opened his mouth, ready to let everything spill out: the truth, his excuses, his reasons, all of it. He couldn't lie, not any more, not here, not with Professor Goodwitch glaring at him like that. He was too rattled, too scared, and too lost to deny it or stonewall or try to brazen it out. He opened his mouth and prepared to throw himself upon the mercy of the school.

"Sorry I'm late," Sunset said as the lift door opened and Jaune's team leader strolled into the office as if she owned the place. She advanced quickly across the floor, passing beneath the shadow of the grinding gears until she was standing at Jaune's side. She clasped her hands behind her back. "I wasn't around when Jaune got the summons; Pyrrha had to call me." She smiled. "As I'm sure you're both well aware, Professors, Article Fifteen Subsection Three states that any student accused of a disciplinary infraction is entitled to have their team leader present at proceedings."

"Of course," Professor Ozpin said, and Jaune must have been going nuts from the stress because it sounded like the headmaster was pleased that she'd shown up. "We wouldn't want to do anything except follow the rules to the letter, would we? Thank you for joining us, Miss Shimmer."

"Are you aware of the allegations made against Mister Arc, Miss Shimmer?" Professor Goodwitch demanded.

"I'm aware that Cardin Win-"

Professor Ozpin raised one hand. "I'm afraid that we don't name accusers here, Miss Shimmer. That's Subsection Five."

Sunset took a breath. "Of course it is, Professor. But that doesn't change the fact that the allegations are spiteful, malicious, and thoroughly false. Motivated by personal dislike of Jaune."

"That is easily alleged, Miss Shimmer," Professor Goodwitch said, "but the truth is, these allegations would explain a great deal about Mister Arc's performance."

Jaune might have said something at this point – he could still feel the pressure to confess like a weight pushing down upon his chest – but a look from Sunset silenced him.

"With all due respect, Professor, the fact that Jaune's grades are poor doesn't prove fraud," Sunset said. "Only proof of fraud can prove fraud. Have you examined the transcripts?"

Professor Ozpin took another sip from his coffee mug. "Unfortunately, they appear to have gone missing."

Sunset's face was impassive. "In that case, I don't see that the matter can be proved one way or the other, in which case, Jaune has nothing to answer for."

Jaune's eyes widened. He… he thought that he was starting to get it now. Sunset's confidence, her assuredness that Cardin wouldn't be able to do anything to him… she had done this; it was the only explanation. She had gotten rid of his transcripts somehow, knowing that without them nothing could be proved. He was safe! He was saved! He might get to stay at Beacon after all!

Professor Goodwitch's expression was one of controlled frustration. "Despite the somewhat convenient loss of records, the fact remains that an allegation of this sort cannot simply be dismissed-"

"Forgive me, Professor, but if allegations are to be entertained regardless of the lack of proof, then that strikes me as the start of a very slippery slope," Sunset said. "Jaune, did you forge your transcripts?"

Jaune swallowed, and managed to squeak out, "No."

Sunset spread her hands. "Without any evidence to prove otherwise, Professors, you must accept his word. Anything else would be expulsion without cause."

Professor Goodwitch pushed her glasses a little further up her nose. "Miss Shimmer, are you really comfortable having someone on your team who may not have earned his place here? Who may not be ready for this level of combat? Are you prepared for the consequences for your team?"

"I don't believe that to be true, Professor," Sunset replied. "But even if it were… I believe that with enough ambition to succeed, then we can achieve our destinies in spite of all of those who say that we're not ready."

"Ah, the confidence of youth," Professor Ozpin declared with a touch of nostalgia in his voice. "When all life's promise lies before you, and all obstacles seem only temporary and put in your way by malicious elders." He smiled, if a little sadly. "I truly hope that your confidence is not shattered too soon. As for this business… you are correct, Miss Shimmer, in your interpretation of the rules. I thought that it might be worth seeing what Mister Arc had to say on the subject, but I see that… well, there seems little purpose now." He chuckled indulgently. "Good day to you both."

Sunset nodded. "Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch."

"Miss Shimmer," Professor Goodwitch said with just a touch of coldness. "Mister Arc."

Sunset gestured for Jaune to go first, and so, he led the way back to the elevator. Neither of them said anything as they climbed into the metal box, and Jaune pushed the button to take them back down to the ground floor.

The doors slid shut behind them, and the elevator whirred as it began to descend.

"Ruby and Pyrrha are waiting for you in the dorm room," Sunset said. She looked away for a moment, and then glanced back at him. "Are you okay?"

"I…" Jaune trailed off and fell silent. Was he okay? How did he feel? He could barely work it out; he was feeling so much that just trying to put a name to how he felt, trying to distil it down to just one feeling seemed impossible. How did he feel? Relieved, delivered, a little guilty… purposed. "Thank you, Sunset," he said. "I'm going to do better from now on."

"Yeah, you are," Sunset said. "I could have let you drown up there, and I probably should have after what you did to me in the dining hall tonight! So now, I expect you to show me why you're worth keeping around."

"That's not what I meant," Jaune said. "What I mean is… Pyrrha, Ruby, they've offered me so much help, and I… I've been such an idiot! But I'm not going to just trail after Ruby and Pyrrha any longer. I'm going to work hard and push myself, and I'm not going to stop until I can stand alongside them and you as their equal. I'm going to deserve this, you can count on it."

Sunset looked at him, her face impassive and inscrutable. And then she smiled. It wasn't a smirk; it was a real smile, not cruel but pleased, maybe even nice. "Well, you'll never catch up with me… but don't let that stop you trying." She reached up and patted him on the shoulder. "I meant what I said up there: stop letting people tell you no and just go for it, and you can do almost anything."

"You… you really believe that?" Jaune asked.

"I'd better," Sunset muttered.

XxXxX​

Inside the CCT, it had been warm, but as Sunset led the way out of the tower and back out onto the courtyard, she felt the bracing chill of the evening air return to tickle her face and ears.

She descended the steps and was surprised and suspicious and more than a little put off to find Weiss Schnee waiting for them there.

Or waiting there, at least, and waiting for the two of them, judging by the way that she approached them expectantly as they stepped down onto the courtyard proper.

"What do you want?" Sunset snapped.

Weiss raised her chin. "I don't particularly appreciate your tone."

"I don't care what you do or don't appreciate," Sunset snarled. "We had an agreement, you and me! We had an agreement, and you broke it!"

"And you have broken something a little more severe, if what I hear is true," Weiss replied coldly.

Sunset's eyes widened. "It… it was you?" she gasped. "You were the one who reported Jaune to the headmaster?"

"When Cardin told me-"

"Cardin? You chose to believe Cardin?"

"It would explain Jaune's ineptitude," Weiss declared. "I felt I had no choice but to report the possibility to the proper authorities." She glanced at Jaune. "Is it true?"

"No," Sunset said, before Jaune could inadvertently drop himself in it. "There is no truth to it whatsoever. As Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch have accepted. There is nothing more to this than Cardin's malice."

Weiss blinked. "I… see," she murmured. "In that case…" She offered them both a curtsy, hands resting delicate upon the hem of her skirt. "I humbly apologise to the both of you, both for my own having inconvenienced you but also for the inexcusable behaviour of certain members of my team."

Sunset felt her eyebrows crawling up her forehead as her ears stiffened. Weiss was apologising to her? A Schnee was apologising to her?

She almost wanted to take a photograph to record it for posterity, but more than that, she didn't want to appear gauche or vulgar. She was a daughter of Canterlot, after all, and had been taught by Princess Celestia herself, and she would not have it be said that a Schnee, a tradesman's daughter, was more capable of gentilesse than the student of a princess. "Your apology is gratefully accepted," Sunset declared.

"For your own part, at least," Weiss replied, although she did straighten a little. "Jaune?"

"It's fine, Weiss," Jaune said. "I should be the one apologising to you. I've bothered you, and I kept on doing it when I should have taken no for an answer the first time anyway. Even if you were interested in guys right now, you wouldn't be interested in a guy like me."

Weiss raised one eyebrow at him. "Really? That's very mature of you, Mister Arc."

"Like you said, we're here to learn to fight monsters," Jaune said, "but it's more than that; we're here to learn to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be. So I'm going to do just that, and in four years time, I'll be able to hold my own against you in the sparring ring."

Weiss sniffed. "Small chance of that," she said. A slight smile graced her lips for a moment. "But don't let that stop you trying." She returned her attention to Sunset. "Is there any chance that this can be the end of it?" she asked. "Otherwise, you and I may have a problem."

"Well, we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" Sunset made a conscious effort to sound like a little less of an ass; she was, after all, trying to be gracious, and sarcasm hardly helped in that endeavour. "I mean that, I don't want trouble from you." The truth was…the honest truth was that there was a lot to admire about Weiss Schnee; even more than Pyrrha, she represented the kind of person that Sunset wanted to become, that she would become in this world through hard work and dint of her natural greatness: elevated, remote, set apart from the run of common men by virtue of that invisible quality called greatness, wanting for nothing, desired, admired, commanding by natural right and brooking no dissent.

Cold and lonely and all alone in the world.

Sunset frowned momentarily, because where had that come from? There was nothing wrong in being all alone. It was better that way; you couldn't be hurt or betrayed if you didn't let anyone get close to you. And as for the cold…the fires of ambition's flames would keep her warm.

"I don't want trouble with you," Sunset repeated. "Nor can I ask for it, after an apology like that. It would be said that I lacked all courtesy, and I would seem hopelessly vulgar compared to you."

"And you certainly wouldn't want that," Weiss observed.

"I am as capable of good manners as you are," Sunset declared. "I am as capable of everything as you are."

Weiss smiled, if ever so slightly. "We'll see," she said.

"Yes," Sunset agreed. "Yes, I hope we shall."

XxXxX​

Ruby and Pyrrha were waiting for them back in the dorm room when they returned. They had both been sitting on Pyrrha's bed, but as Jaune and Sunset walked in, they both rose anxiously to their feet.

"You're back," Ruby said. "What happened up there?"

"Did they…?" Pyrrha hesitated. "Did… were you…?"

"Yes," Jaune told her. "But… nothing happened. I'm not going anywhere. I hope."

"You hope?" Ruby repeated. "What do you mean, you hope? Either you're going somewhere, or you're not. Only… why would you be going anywhere?"

Jaune took a couple of steps further into the room. He kept his eyes on Ruby. He wasn't sure whether to start with an apology or the truth. The truth, he decided after a moment; that way, if she was upset, he could apologise for everything all at once. "Ruby," he said. "I… I lied, to get into this school. I didn't manage to get admittance in spite of the fact that I didn't know anything about aura. I got admittance because I lied about my aura and everything else. I didn't go to Combat School; I didn't pass any tests. I… I faked my way through the door. I don't deserve to be your teammate."

Ruby looked up at him. Her silver eyes shone bright as she cocked her head a little to one side. "Why did you lie?"

"Because… it was either that or give up on the thing I wanted more than anything," Jaune replied. "This is my dream; it's all I've ever wanted... but nobody else ever saw it that way. My family… they didn't think I could do it. They never even gave me a chance to go to Combat School. So I got some fake transcripts, and one night, I stole the sword off the living room wall, and I left for Beacon, chasing my destiny. I… I'm sorry, Ruby. Not just for lying, but for neglecting you, for making you feel like you'd done something to push me away… you could never do that. That was all my fault. I let my pride and my stupidity nearly ruin something amazing. Something that means a lot to me. And Pyrrha," – he looked at his partner – "for everything I said, and everything I did… I'm so sorry. I was such an idiot. I was so convinced that I had to do everything myself, and I… I have no right to ask this, but if you're still willing to help me… then I would be honoured to be your student."

For a moment, Pyrrha's face was still. Then a smile blossomed upon it, brightening her eyes like sparkling emeralds. "And I would be delighted to help you reach your destiny," she said.

Jaune could hardly believe it. "Really? Even now?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Even now."

"I didn't graduate from a combat school either," Ruby reminded them. "And Ozpin let me into Beacon himself. You passed the Initiation, Jaune. You earned your place here, no matter what some pieces of paper say. Just… promise that you won't lie to us again, okay? From now on, no more secrets. And no more hanging around with Cardin either."

Jaune laughed. "I promise, to both of those. No more lies, no more secrets, and definitely no more Cardin." He shook his head.

They both closed in on him, enfolding him in their arms, embracing him to their bodies as they had taken him to their hearts.

Jaune felt tears spring to his eyes.

XxXxX​

Sunset watched the scene unfold from the back of the dorm room. Look at them, hugging him like that. It was so saccharine.

And yet, at the same time, it looked kind of nice as well.

"Sunset?" Ruby looked at her and held one arm open, inviting, even beckoning.

Sunset snorted as she looked away. "Don't be ridiculous."

XxXxX​

I suppose you're feeling rather pleased with yourself.

Sunset smirked as she wrote back. You say that as though I haven't got anything to feel pleased about. Jaune got away with it, and more to the point, he stepped up in a big way. He's sparring with Pyrrha now, and afterwards, we're going to hit the books for Grimm Studies. And on top of that, I got to make Cardin Winchester look like a gelding, and my understanding with Weiss still holds. It's true that I didn't get everything that I wanted, but even still, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

Except that you haven't solved any of your underlying problems; you haven't even tried.

Sunset stared at the words as though they might reveal their meaning if she just watched them long enough. You'll have to unpack that for me a little bit. Is this a friendship thing?

Sunset could practically feel the frustration from Twilight Sparkle as she wrote back. You haven't reconciled with Cardin.

Cardin was never my problem, Jaune was. Why would I even want to reconcile with a guy like that?

Because you haven't addressed the reason why he's behaving this way; you've just made him angry. He's bound to try and retaliate against you somehow.

How? He only had one piece of leverage, and he's just blown that. There's nothing he can do to Jaune now, and my agreement with Weiss

Which you put too much faith in.

You think she'll betray me?

No, I think that people aren't toy soldiers for you to move around in a sandpit; they have their own hopes and dreams and desires. You can't just say to Weiss 'keep Cardin off my back' and assume that it will happen. Cardin is an actor with his own will, and he might try to retaliate against the way you've treated him.

And if he does, I will crush him.

There was a pause before Twilight's reply arrived. Where do you get your overconfidence?

I prefer to say that I have faith in myself.

Regardless, you seem to have an ample supply.

Sunset snorted. I suppose you're one of those mares who carries a ton of insecurities around with her and has to be reassured as to your own virtues by the people around you.

I do not have a ton of insecurities. I have one or two.

Sunset shook her head. I don't have the luxury of being insecure. I have to have faith because no one else will. Without my confidence, I'd be nothing.

I suppose I can see your point. Wouldn't it be easier just to mend fences with Cardin and not have to watch your back all the time?

Two people need to want to mend fences. I've seen no evidence that he does. Not every problem can be solved by the power of friendship, Princess.

I disagree.

You would.

But you're proving me right yourself; you just don't realise it. Look at what you told me about Jaune, how guilty he felt, how he wants to improve for the sake of Pyrrha and Ruby, and how they're willing to go out of their way to help him achieve that goal. That's friendship in action, doing what blackmail and threats and anger and underhoofed tactics could never do. The bond they share has made them more than just three people thrown together by fate; it's made them a team. And as for you, you may deny it, but I believe that you care about them just as I believe that you still care about Flash. I think you even like Weiss.

I do not like Weiss Schnee; you're being ridiculous. She doesn't like me either.

And if she did? If she held out a hand to you, would you reject it?

No.

Why not?

Because why give myself the aggravation?

Nobody wants to be alone, Sunset.

Is that your professional opinion?

That's the truth that I've observed. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me that you don't care about your teammates. Tell me that you're not as proud of Jaune as your words from before implied. Tell me that you don't respect Pyrrha as your equal. Tell me that you aren't moved to compassion for Ruby. Tell me that you don't care.

Sunset snorted. Easily done. All she had to do was write the words. All that she had to do was write 'I don't care' upon a piece of paper.

That was it. That was all she had to do. She could write it down, and nobody would ever know except Twilight Sparkle, the princess in another world. She could write it down, and she didn't even have to mean it.

The pen shook a little in her hands.

She could write it down. She could write down that she didn't care. She didn't care about Ruby and her goofy smile, she didn't care about Jaune and his quixotic hopes, she didn't care about Pyrrha and the awesome skills she wished she didn't have. She didn't care about any of them.

But when she tried to write it down, her hand revolted.

She couldn't write it down. She couldn't write down because…

Can't do it, can you?

I hate you, Princess.

I see the good in you, Sunset, and I'm not going to stop until I've brought that good to the fore.

 

[ScipioSmith]

Forever Fall​

"Nora!" Yang yelled. "Will you stop eating all of the red sap?"

There was a red ring all around Nora's mouth which, combined with the expression of mischievous innocence upon her face, made her look much younger than she really was. "Aw, come on!" she protested. "It's not like there isn't plenty to go around!"

She had a point there; it wasn't as if they were on a mission to drain the forest dry, only to collect one jar of sap per student. Considering that it wasn't exactly hard to extract the sap, Sunset had to wonder why they needed until four o'clock to complete the task.

Possibly because it was expected that someone would eat all the sap and make the job take much longer than it ought to.

They were in the Forever Fall forest, so-called for the obvious reason that it was always fall, never spring or summer or winter. Within the boundaries of this vast forest, the leaves were always red, and yet, they never fell; the grass was equally crimson, as though it had been stained with the blood of countless enemies. Sunset had yet to read an explanation as to why it should be so, and yet, it reminded her a little of the Everfree Forest back home: a place where the normal rules did not apply, a little world entire unto itself.

A place where outsiders ventured at their peril.

Although it lay upon the edge of Vale, its boundaries running up against the city itself and stretching through the Valish hinterland all the way to the mountains, nevertheless, the Forever Fall was home to many creatures of grimm, creatures which, it seemed, were as affected by the strangeness of the forest as the trees, for they did not leave it. They did not – and had not, it seemed – erupted from the Forever Fall to menace Vale and all who lived there. The grimm of the Forever Fall were a threat, but only to those who entered their domain. That was why, in order to supply Professor Peach with the red sap that could be obtained only from the unusual trees that grew within this scarlet wood, the first year's huntsmen in training had been dispatched on another training mission to brave the perils and retrieve the prize. Each student had to collect one jar of the stuff, but extra credit would be given to those who collected more.

Sunset had just finished filling her second jar of sap and hesitated, her eyes lingering upon the reddish-purple substance in the jar. Nora had consumed two whole jars of the stuff so far, so there had to be something pretty moreish about it, right? Gingerly, Sunset dipped her finger into the jar and pulled it out covered in sticky sap which she then licked off.

Sunset's face contorted with disgust. Too sweet! Far too sweet, sickly so! She spat on the ground at her feet, hacking up every trace of the saccharine substance out of her mouth that she could. "How do you stand this stuff?"

"Red sap is supposed to be used sparingly, as a natural sweetener accompanying certain sour dishes," Ren declared. He looked at Nora out of the side of his eyes. "You're not supposed to gulp it down by the jarful."

Nora sniggered self-deprecatingly.

"It's also used in medicine to mask fouler tastes," Ren went on.

Sunset's eyebrows rose a little. "You know a lot of things."

Ren shrugged. "Cooking is a hobby of mine."

"And the medicine thing?"

"It's always good to know when an ingredient has properties beyond the flavoursome."

"I guess," Sunset relented, as she scooped just a little more sap out of the hollow of the nearby tree and filled up her second jar, screwing on the lid tight. While the entire freshman class was participating in this trip, their teams spread out across the forest, four teams – SAPR, YRDN, WWSR, and BLBL – had found themselves sticking pretty close together, with the notable exception of Cardin, who had wandered off somewhere by himself. The other fifteen huntsmen were working together. Well, sort of working, anyway; Jaune had started having an allergic reaction to the sap, so Sunset had set him to sparring with Pyrrha while she and Ruby filled up team SAPR's jars; meanwhile, Nora was eating more sap than she was collecting, Russell was dozing under the shade of one particularly tall and broad tree, and Lyra - draped in her cloak of many colours and wearing a broad hat with a peacock-feather plume - was sat on the stump of a fallen tree, playing a soft air upon her golden harp.

With ample time to complete a simple task, with neither sight nor sound of the creatures of grimm that supposedly infested the unchanging forest, an air of gentle conviviality had settled over the extended group. Thoughts of peace soothed Sunset's soul, and the soft and almost melancholy music of the harp carried her thoughts away from northern Vale and homewards to Equestria. Equestria that had been so full of music, where joyous song had been ever-present in the world. Where it needed no extraordinary setting or occasion to open your mouth and start singing; quite the opposite in fact, it was more as though you went through life waiting for an excuse to break out into song. Sunset had forgotten how much she'd missed that, in this tuneless and quite often joyless world of Remnant. She'd forgotten how much she'd missed being able to walk down the street belting your heart out and not have people stare at you like you were nuts. She had forgotten... but the scoring of her soul by that harp had brought it flooding back to her.

"Sunset?" Ruby's voice, gentle and concerned, interrupted her thoughts. "Are you okay? You looked kinda spaced out there?"

Sunset smiled thinly. "I'm fine," she said. "I was just… the harp is making me a little homesick."

Ruby smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it? She plays really well."

She's a better musician than she is a huntress, Sunset thought. "Even… even back home, she'd be acknowledged as having a lot of talent."

"They like music where you came from?" Ruby asked. "You said… you come from outside the kingdoms before you came to Atlas, didn't you?"

"Yes and yes," Sunset replied. "In… in my home, we loved music. There was so much music that… that there were times when it would seem to just spring out of thin air, sounds and sweet airs that gave delight and hurt not. And singing! We loved to sing, when the music began to play, we could hardly help ourselves."

Ruby smiled. "Can you sing?"

"'Can I sing'?" Sunset repeated. "Can I sing? Yes I can sing. I can sing as well as I do everything else, I'll have you know." She paused. "My teacher and I… we used to sing together all the time. Sometimes, I would sing for her, to cheer when she seemed sad or lonely; sometimes, she would sing to me when I felt low. And sometimes, we would sing together, to greet the sun in the morning or bid it farewell in the evening." She frowned. Now that she had spoken of it… the memories returned quickly, so many memories and so happy. Too happy. That was why she'd shut them away in the first place.

"Sunset?" Ruby prodded in worry. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel even worse."

"You didn't," Sunset assured her quickly.

Ruby frowned. "I think I kinda did."

Ruby was not wrong there; she had made her feel worse, homesick and sick at heart. But Sunset didn't want to just tell her that; it would have felt unfair on her, and so, Sunset smiled, as best she could, and said, "I… I've got to go."

"Go where?" Ruby asked. "Do you want me to come with you? Or we could all go?"

"No," Sunset insisted, quickly but not – she hoped – unkindly. "I'd just like to be alone for a little while. I'll be back soon,"

She turned around and wandered off, leaving her team and all of the teams behind as she walked through the lush red forest. Crimson leaves, fallen from the trees above, crunched beneath her boots as she walked. Birds chirruped above her head. The forest was full of noise, but none of it belonged to the creatures of grimm; even as the soothing music of Lyra's harp faded, Forever Fall was full of soothing sounds. It was not the ever-present music of Equestria, but it was, nonetheless, a pleasant balm for her soul.

Sunset walked until she could no longer see or hear her teammates. Since she had only walked straight ahead since leaving them, she was confident in her ability to find them again by simply turning around and heading back the way that she had come; not to mention, she still had her scroll. In a clearing, she stopped and waited and tried to clear her head of all her thoughts of home and Princess Celestia.

Something flew past Sunset's head, missing her by an inch and shattering against the nearest tree.

Sunset opened her eyes to see that the offending object was a jar. A jar of red sap, a little bit of which had spattered onto her jacket and top.

Sunset stared at the stains for a moment. "I hope you realise this needs dry-cleaning," she growled. "And someone's going to be paying for that, but it won't be me." She looked around the woods, seeing nothing but the scarlet trees all around her. "Come out! Show yourself!"

XxXxX​

Pyrrha reached out with Miló to tap Crocea Mors; the two blades touched only gently, but it was sufficient to produce a ringing sound. "Jaune," she said. "Pay attention."

Jaune had been momentarily distracted by Sunset's departure; Pyrrha was a little curious about that herself, but she had a job to do – start Jaune's training – and that was what she was going to focus on.

"Right," Jaune acknowledged. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Pyrrha said, smiling gently. "Now, are you ready to go again?"

"I…" Jaune hesitated glancing away towards the other nearby students.

Pyrrha pursed her lips together. It was a little awkward doing this with an audience, but at the same time it was an ideal opportunity for them to get in some training. "Don't worry about them," she said softly. "Focus on me, or you'll never hold me off."

Jaune laughed nervously. "I won't-"

"Don't," she stopped him before he could finish. "If you don't believe you can win, you never will," Pyrrha informed him firmly. That was part of the reason for Pyrrha's own remarkable run of success: yes, she was very talented, and yes, she had a very useful semblance, but there had also come a point at which most people had just stopped believing that it was possible to defeat her. Very few of her tournament opponents continued to step into the arena hoping for victory over Pyrrha Nikos; most of them sought nothing more than honourable defeat, not realising that such attitudes made defeat even more certain than the difference in their skill at arms. "Now, are you ready?"

Jaune nodded and settled into the stance that had been the first thing she showed him: shield up, sword raised in a high guard, feet well spaced and ready to step forward into the attack. "Ready."

And Pyrrha went for him.

She held back. She held back a great deal, because Jaune would learn nothing from being pounded into the ground by the Invincible Girl in all her glory. She moved slowly and struck with less power behind her blows than she would have if she'd been fighting seriously. Yet, she still fought, because Jaune would learn even less from simply being allowed to win, nor would he thank her for it.

Pyrrha attacked, and Jaune stepped forward to meet her. Their shields clashed with a ringing thud that overwhelmed Lyra's music. Jaune's weakness was not his physical strength; a youth of labour had given him muscle enough. While he might lack the raw power of a beast like Cardin Winchester, he was strong enough that he would prevail in a contest of raw strength against her. But no battle was simply a contest of raw strength.

Pyrrha retreated three paces, crushing the red grass underfoot. Jaune pursued her, but as he advanced, his shield shifted from in front of him to by his side, leaving his chest exposed. Jaune swung at her, a savage downward cut; Pyrrha let the blow fall and then turned it aside with Akoúo̱, letting Crocea Mors skitter off the surface of her shield, leaving Jaune exposed to Pyrrha's thrust with Miló that struck him on the breastplate. Pyrrha must have overdone it a little, for without meaning to, she hit him hard enough to knock him backwards onto the ground.

"I'm sorry," she exclaimed, as Russell sniggered. "I must have gotten carried away."

"It's fine," Jaune muttered, as he picked himself up off the ground. "So, what did I do wrong?"

"You came here in the first place!" Russell shouted.

"Ignore him," Pyrrha said, as Jaune's head dipped a little in embarrassment.

Dove had been sitting on the tangled roots of one of the red trees; now, he got up and walked over to where Lyra sat, playing her harp. He drew his sword. "Lyra, as lovely as the music is, why don't you leave it for now, and we can practice while we have the time."

Lyra looked up at him. "Here? Now?"

"Why not?" Dove asked. "You want to catch up, don't you?"

Lyra glanced at Pyrrha. "Oh, yes, of course." She scrambled to her feet, putting her harp away in a bag that she slung across her back, before she produced her falcate from out beneath her cloak.

Pyrrha shot a grateful look at Dove, who nodded respectfully before he and Lyra began to spar. Pyrrha returned her attention to Jaune, "To answer your question," she said, "you let your shield fall to your side. If you had kept it held before you, then you could have taken the blow of my spear and turned it away."

"But if I had kept my shield in front of me, then you wouldn't have attacked that way, would you?" Jaune pointed out.

"No," Pyrrha admitted. "I would have planned my moves based on what you were doing, and what I thought you would do in response to my movements. In time, you'll be able to do the same, but for now, let's focus on the basics."

"Of course," Jaune agreed.

They resumed sparring, and it no longer looked so odd with Dove and Lyra also training not far away. They sparred in short bursts, and after each brief bout, Pyrrha pointed out to Jaune what he could or should have done differently, where he could improve his stance, make his movements more fluid.

As they took a break, Jaune asked her, "So, how long did it take you to become so good?"

Pyrrha hesitated.

Jaune's face fell. "I'm not going to like the answer, am I?"

"I've been training for twelve years," Pyrrha admitted. "Although I might have plateaued two years ago." She hadn't noticed herself getting significantly better since she was Ruby's age.

"So that's only ten years," Jaune murmured. "Great."

"It's not as bad as it sounds; you mustn't be discouraged," Pyrrha urged. "Remember, I've been training my whole life to fight people."

"Aren't you training me to fight people?" Jaune asked.

"I suppose so," Pyrrha admitted. "Since I can't grow claws and turn into a beowolf. But the same basic lessons apply: keep your shield up and before you, how to stand and move and strike, these lessons will help you kill grimm just as readily." She paused. "I've been told that my father used to say that ordinary citizens fear the grimm for their ferocity, but that huntsman fear them only for their numbers."

Jaune frowned. "You've been told?"

Pyrrha glanced down at the red grass beneath her booted feet. "He… passed away when I was young, before we could talk of such things. Before I left for Beacon, my mother told me that he would say that."

"Pyrrha," Jaune said softly, "you never mentioned that before."

"When would I have brought it up?" Pyrrha replied.

"I don't know," Jaune confessed. "But, I'm sorry."

"He gave his life defending the kingdoms of humanity," Pyrrha declared. "There is no shame in that, and much honour. The point is, individually, the average creature of grimm is far less dangerous than any student you'll encounter in Professor Goodwitch's sparring class. One on one, it won't take you anything like as long to become proficient against them."

Jaune nodded. "One on one… but the grimm aren't alone."

"Neither are you," Pyrrha reminded him.

They both turned as they heard the sound of gunshots coming from the south, the direction in which Sunset had set off, alone.

XxXxX​

"Russell," Weiss said, one hand resting on her hip. "Where's Cardin?"

.Russell sat up, and looked up at her. "How should I know?"

"Because you're his partner," Weiss reminded him.

"And you're his team leader, so you tell me where he is," Russell replied.

Weiss scowled slightly. Unfortunately, Russell wasn't wrong: she had lost Cardin, and that was her responsibility. She didn't know where he had decided to slope off to, but he was going to be in big trouble when he got back.

Of course, she was going to be in big trouble if he didn't turn up before it was time to go. She had already turned up to an empty classroom to receive a personal and private Leadership lesson from Professor Goodwitch, focussing upon the need to take responsibility for all her teammates, not just the ones that she got on with. It was a reproof that she had deserved; she was being outshone as a leader by Sunset Shimmer, of all people. And yet she wasn't sure what she ought to do about it; it was much easier to know what she should be doing than it was to do it.

All of which could, to some extent at least, wait until after she had found him.

"He's not answering his scroll," Flash said, as he folded up the device and put it away.

"Can we track it?" Weiss suggested.

"In theory, sure," Flash replied. "But I'm no Twilight Sparkle; I wouldn't even know where to start."

Russell made a kind of self-satisfied coughing noise.

Weiss rounded on him. "Are you saying that you can track someone's scroll?"

Russell smirked at her. "What's the matter, Princess, you find it hard to believe that I've got skills?"

"No offence," Weiss said, "but you don't look much like the sort of person who has received a technical education."

The smirk remained on Russell's face. "Before I came to Beacon, I graduated from the Academy of Real Life, where I studied all kinds of things." He got out his scroll. "This might take a little bit."

Birds were scattered from the trees by the sound of gunfire.

Flash turned in the direction of the sound. "That sounds like Sunset's rifle."

XxXxX​

Cardin stepped out from behind a tree and into Sunset's view.

"You," Sunset said in a voice that was half a growl and half a sigh of resignation.

Cardin's lip curled into a sneer. "You think you're so smart, don't you?"

"I am that smart, as it happens," Sunset replied. "While you... what was your plan with that jar anyway?"

Cardin bared his teeth as his fists clenched in frustration. "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?" he snarled as he stomped towards her. "Just who do you think you are?"

"I'm Sunset Shimmer."

"You say that name as though it's supposed to mean something."

"Give it time," Sunset said. "Someday, being able to say you knew me will be the high watermark of your loser life."

"Shut up!" Cardin roared as he continued to advance upon her.

Sunset raised her hands, and both of them glowed green with magic. "You really want to do this, Cardin?"

"I said SHUT UP!" Cardin bellowed, brandishing his mace before him. "You think that you're so big, huh? You think that you're so great because you lucked out with your semblance? What did someone like you do to deserve power like that? Why should a gift so rare belong to you and not to me?" He was screaming so loudly now that he had to pant for breath in between sentences. "I am Cardin Winchester! Heir to the Winchester line! My great-great-grandfather fought at the right hand of the Last King! I am the heir to greatness! I deserve greatness!" he shook his head, and it almost looked as though there were tears in his blue eyes. "But you... you... faunus! You filthy animal! You… and Arc... taking everything... all the things that I deserve! Why? WHY?"

Sunset retreated backwards a step, treading the leaves into the ground beneath her. He's me, she realised, with a sickening abruptness. I'm being yelled at by myself. She didn't want to recognise herself in Cardin Winchester, in his broiling mass of frustrated entitlement and unfocused rage. She didn't want to see herself in a man like him. She didn't want to see her flaws reflected back at her in someone that she hated... but as he yelled and screamed... it was unavoidable.

"Who are you, anyway? You're just some stupid pegasus from the middle of nowhere! Who do you think you are to usurp my destiny away from me!" So she had yelled at Cadance, the Princess of Love, expelling her rage and frustration from her throat like mucus, spraying it upon the mare who had the nerve to be all that Sunset had wished to be, to become what Sunset desired to but could not become. To take all the things that should have belonged to Sunset Shimmer. Now she was the target of the rage of someone else, and no amount of special pleading - but Cardin's just an arrogant, entitled ass, I really was that talented, that special, that deserving - could conceal the similarity.

This probably wasn't what Twilight Sparkle had in mind when she told Sunset to try understanding Cardin, and Sunset would be lying if she said that it was something she wanted to do or that these feelings were ones that she wanted to admit. But as Cardin stood before her with his mace trembling in his hands… she could not deny it to herself.

"What gives you the right?" Cardin demanded. "Why you and not me?"

"Why you and not me?"

"Why her, Princess Celestia... why not me?"

"When will I be ready?"

"You're lying! You're wrong! I do have a destiny, and if you won't help me find it, then I'll go out there and seize it myself."

Arrogant, entitled, envious, monstrously unpleasant. In Cardin's rage were all her sins remembered.

She hated him and pitied him; as she hated and pitied herself.

Should she apologise? Had she wronged him? His failings were not of her making but... amongst all that she had done, were wrongs to Cardin Winchester amongst them?

There were those from whom she ought to seek forgiveness, but Cardin? Her pride revolted at the idea of bending before him, being what he was and having done what he had done.

And what of what I have done?

"The fault is not in the world but in ourselves," she murmured.

Cardin blinked. "What?"

"I am not holding you back," Sunset explained. "Pyrrha isn't holding me back, Ruby isn't holding me back, Cadance- no one holds us back but us. If we have been deceived, it's by our blindness to our natures. If we have been restrained, it is by our unworthy hearts. But we can change, Cardin. Our hearts can mend, our souls can grow. I have to believe that we need not be these small and ugly things forever, or else... destiny is not beyond us if only we can... there are lights that we can follow."

Ruby, Pyrrha, even Jaune. They could show her the way, and she could follow it. She would reform herself. She would not remain a faunus Cardin forever. She would not let the chip upon her shoulder crush her beneath its weight, squeezing out all ambition and hope for advancement.

She would do better. She had to do better. Or she would end up confronting Pyrrha in the woods, trembling with rage as tears grew in her eyes, demanding a reckoning for the difference in their fortunes.

Forever Fall may be eternally unchanging, but we need not be the same.

I hope.

Judging by the way that his face twisted into a rictus of hostility, Cardin didn't find this as much cause for optimism as Sunset did. "What are you even talking about? Of course you're holding me back! This is all your fault! But I'm going to teach you a lesson, you little pony!"

He raised his mace, but before he could do more, he was interrupted by a series of growls from behind and around him as a pack of beowolves emerged into view in a horse-shoe surrounding the young huntsman and huntress.

Negative emotions. Crap, we drew them right to us!

Sunset gingerly - cautiously - unslung Sol Invictus from where it hung on her shoulder. She moved slowly, counting the grimm around her as she did so. Twenty, including an old and truly vicious-looking alpha.

Crap.

Her finger found the trigger of the rifle.

Cardin let out an angry roar and struck the ground with his mace as though he would shatter it. The ground exploded in fire, scattering the autumn leaves into the air in a trail racing away from the mace and towards one of the beowolves. The grimm leapt aside, and the others howled as they leapt for Cardin.

He was still howling out his anger as he struck one of them across the mask in mid-flight, killing it instantly. But then the rest of them were on him.

For a moment, Cardin stood before the fury of the pack, his powerful form rising above the black mass that raged around him like a stormy sea, but then, they bore him down, and he was buried beneath the mass of grimm.

Sunset froze. A part of her wanted to run, to flee, to get out while she still could... to leave Cardin Winchester to die.

He wouldn't hesitate to leave me behind if our places were reversed.

Yeah, but he isn't Remnant's greatest hero, is he?

If you wanted to be admired and respected across the world, then at some point, you had to do something vaguely admirable or respectable. If you wanted your glory to shine bright as the sun at noon, then you had to do something by some measure glorious. To demand, as she had done, the rewards of greatness by virtue of her desire for them... how had that worked out for her so far?

She didn't have to like Cardin. She didn't like Cardin. She didn't have to understand him or befriend him or anything like that. But she did have to save him.

Forever Fall may be unchanging, but we need not be.

Our hearts can change.

Sunset raised Sol Invictus to her shoulder.

BANG!

Birds scattered from the trees as Sunset fired, the crack of her rifle echoing through the forest. A beowolf was hurled backwards by her shot.

BANG!

Sunset advanced on the pack of beowolves tearing at Cardin, firing as she went. Three shots, four, more beowolves fell, five shots, and another one bit the dust with its head blow off, six shots, and she had wounded the alpha. And she had no more bullets left.

Sunset roared in anger as she charged, her bayonet gleaming. She didn't dare use her magic yet, not with the beowolves all so close to Cardin; all of her powerful attacks would hurt him too, and he probably didn't have much aura left.

She did use a touch of telekinesis to pick up one young, immature beowolf and throw it off him and into the nearest tree, but for the rest, she relied upon her weapons. She twirled her rifle in her hands like a spear; she wielded butt and bayonet in equal measure as she tore into the grimm like a fox amongst the chickens. Sunset impaled one; she clubbed another so hard that its mask cracked and the creature recoiled with a howl of pain. She planted herself athwart Cardin - he was still conscious but didn't really look up to contributing to his own defence at all - and as the beowolves gathered all around her, Sunset slung her rifle over her shoulder and gathered her magic to her hands.

The beowolves advanced cautiously as a series of low growls rose up from every throat. Then, at a barked command from the alpha, they surged forward like a black and bone-masked tide against Sunset Shimmer.

Magic flew from her fingertips in miniature bolts of green energy, erupting in all directions, striking at her enemies all around her. Sunset turned this way and that, blasting at the beowolves who lunged at her. None of them struck her, they did not bear her down, but some of them got close enough to tear chunks off her aura before a blast from her magic sent them flying. She lost track of how many there were, how many she had killed and turned to dust; they were a mass, a broiling mass of darkness beyond counting, snarling at her, lunging at her, always absorbing her attacks. She was killing them, she would swear to that, but there were so many, and they kept on bringing her aura down.

And then the alpha beowolf lumbered forward. Its huge spikes of bleached bone rippled with the movement of its muscles. Three shots from Crescent Rose slammed into the alpha's chest, putting it on its back and putting it down. Pyrrha burst in amongst the beowolves like a light to burn away the darkness; her red hair and red sash both flew behind her as she slashed out with her shining spear. Flash's gunblade flared, while Weiss glided in upon a line of glyphs, conjuring ice from the tip of her sword.

The beowolves howling turned to cries of pain, but SAPR and WWSR cut them down all the same.

They cut them down until only one remained, snarling and growling as it squared off against Jaune.

Ruby took aim with Crescent Rose.

"Wait!" Pyrrha cried, holding up one hand. Her whole body looked taut; she was a coiled spring preventing herself from exploding only by great effort, and it was by a similar effort that she kept her voice calm as she added, "Let the prince win his spurs."

Sunset wasn't entirely sure what Jaune had done to warrant being called a prince, but she did as Pyrrha bade them all and held off. Of course, if the beowolf turned the tables on Jaune, then she knew that Pyrrha would be the first one to rush to aid, probably faster even than Ruby, but for now, the other huntsmen waited and watched as Jaune and the last beowolf faced one another.

Jaune didn't take his eyes off the creature as they circled one another. He kept his shield up, covering his chest, and held his sword over it ready to thrust out.

The beowolf charged, howling. Jaune rushed to meet it with a shout that was angry and afraid in equal measure. He drove forward with his shield, slamming into the beowolf as it came, pushing it back as the creature of grimm scrabbled at and around the shield with its claws. Jaune thrust with his sword, striking the beowolf's bony mask. The beowolf recoiled. Jaune started forward, then visibly checked himself as his shield began to fall to his side. The beowolf charged again. Jaune cut off its head in a single clean stroke.

As the grimm turned to ash, Jaune almost looked as though he couldn't believe that he'd done it. He stared at his own sword in disbelief, as Pyrrha looked at him with equal parts relief and delight visible upon her face.

"Are you okay, Sunset?" Ruby asked. "We heard the shooting and came to check on you."

"I'm glad you did," Sunset murmured. She cast her eyes over Pyrrha, Ruby, even Jaune; then she looked at Weiss, whose own gaze flickered between Sunset and the prone Cardin on his back on the ground. Sunset nodded. "Thank you."

Weiss' look was prim and her posture stern as she walked forward. "I should thank you for saving my teammate," she said.

Sunset moved away a little, so that she wasn't straddling Cardin like a mother bear any more. "It... it was the right thing to do," she said quietly.

Weiss' eyes widened. It was only slight, but Sunset noticed it. "You..." she began, and then stopped for a moment. Then, after another moment, she held out one hand. "You know, if you ever want to switch teams, you'll be welcome."

Sunset's eyebrows rose. She grinned as she took Weiss' hand. "Nah, you ever get bored, you can replace Jaune on my team."

"Hey!" Jaune cried.

Sunset laughed and found that Weiss was laughing too, the both of them covering their mouths with their free hands as they squeezed their clasped hands with... a surprising affection, really.

She... she wasn't really a bad person, Weiss Schnee. In her own way, she'd just paid Sunset a great compliment.

Sunset was still going to beat her in every class, of course.

She glanced at Flash as she let go of Weiss' hand. Him… him, she still wasn't sure about. Him, she could not yet forgive. What he had done to her, and for what cause… for all her faults, she hadn't deserved that.

She couldn't forgive him… but she could refrain from sneering at him or yelling at him or doing anything to ruin the moment.

Not now. Not here. Not, amongst other things, in front of Cardin, who was being helped to his feet by Russell. He looked shaken, and he didn't look at Sunset.

Dare I hope that there'll be no more trouble out of him?

"Thanks," Sunset repeated. "To all of you."

XxXxX​

A squadron of Bullheads carried the first year teams back to Beacon, their engines whining as they flew south over Forever Fall.

The Team SAPR Bullhead was on the right flank of the formation, and Sunset looked out of the open right hatch at the open sky and the scarlet forest passing rapidly beneath them. The wind danced through her hair, pushing it this way and that. She tightened her grip on the ceiling strap, just a little.

"So… listen," she said, having to raise her voice more than she would have liked in order to be heard above the sound of the Bullhead's engines and the wind through the plane. She fell silent for a moment, watching the unchanging forest going by beneath her.

I am not Forever Fall. I can change… and I think I must.

She looked up, away from the forest and at her team. She had their attention at least. All three of them were looking at her with some degree of anxiety and curiosity mingled together.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Silence greeted this concession.

"Uh… okay," Jaune said.

"Sorry for what?" Ruby asked.

Sunset smiled wryly. "How about we say 'for everything' and spare me the humiliation of having to make a list?"

"That's… rather remarkably generous of you," Pyrrha said.

Sunset snorted. "I can't guarantee that it will be a permanent change, but I'll do my best."

"Uh… you are Sunset Shimmer, right?" Jaune said.

"Yes, of course I'm Sunset Shimmer."

"You weren't replaced by a shapeshifting grimm or something when you were alone in the forest so that you could infiltrate Beacon?" Jaune followed up.

Sunset looked at him. "I'm not a changeling, I just had… I suppose you could say that I had an epiphany."

Ruby's eyes widened. "You mean there really are shapeshifting grimm?"

"Not as far as I know."

"But you just called them changelings!"

Me and my big mouth. "I just meant… if there were such a thing… which there aren't… then… changelings would be a good name for them, don't you think? Look, I'm trying to apologise for being a jerk here, so can we get back to that?"

Ruby giggled. "You're changing back already."

Sunset was silent for a moment, then she let out a sound that was part sigh, part laugh. "You guys… I don't know what I'd do without you."

"In a good way?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sunset replied. "I guess… what I'm trying to say… ugh, I'm really not good at this… I don't want to end up like Cardin. I don't want to be a bitter failure hating and blaming everyone… although I've kind of been that already, but… the point is…" I should have asked Twilight for advice on how to do this properly. "Pyrrha, I'm really sorry; the fact that you have what I want is not on you, and I… I'm going to get there and be twice as famous as you are, ten times! But I don't need to-"

"I understand," Pyrrha said softly. "Thank you, Sunset. It's very much appreciated."

"Not as much as I appreciate the save," Sunset said. "Just… in the future, if I'm becoming too much of a jerk… if I'm getting too awful… stop me."

"How?" Jaune asked.

Sunset shrugged. "I have faith in you to figure it out." She looked out the hatch again, if only for a moment. "Hey, what do you guys think about going out for dinner tonight?"

XxXxX​

Ruby, Pyrrha, and Jaune were all waiting for Sunset outside of the dorm rooms. Their expressions were a little anxious, as if they were afraid that Sunset might have gone back to the way she was during the period she'd been away from them.

As if? That's probably exactly what they're worried about.

Sunset slipped her hands into her jacket pockets as she walked towards them. In her right pocket, she could feel Summer Rose's journal. She would have to give that to Ruby at some point, and soon, too. There wasn't much reason for holding onto it, nor many excuses she could give for still holding onto it. Except for the fact that she'd rather give it to Ruby in private than where anyone, or even Jaune and Pyrrha, could see and hear.

"Shall we get going?"

"Sure," Ruby said. "Lead the way."

Sunset did not, in fact, lead the way - they walked side by side in a line, with Sunset in the middle, Ruby on her left, and Jaune and Pyrrha on her right - but she did kind of steer the group along the right paths out of the campus and down the gravel path towards the old hunting lodge. The red lights of the Benni Haven's sign gleamed in the darkness like a lighthouse Beacon drawing them safely in.

"So, what made you want to eat here tonight?" Jaune asked.

"Because... I just thought it would be nice," Sunset admitted. "Something new for a new start, that sort of thing."

"But you have been here before, haven't you?" Pyrrha inquired, slightly anxiously.

"Yes, and yes, it won't poison anybody," Sunset assured her. "I haven't had a full meal here, but what I had was nice. I'm sure that you'll all like it. At least I hope we will."

Ruby chuckled. "It looks just like our house," she observed, as they approached the restaurant. "If someone had stuck a big red sign on it, anyway."

Sunset put one arm around Ruby's shoulders. "Who knows, maybe when your father gets a little older, this will be something for him to consider."

Ruby snorted. "I think home is a little far out of the way for people to come and eat. I can't think who'd wander into the middle of nowhere just to get dinner."

Sunset looked down at her. "The middle of nowhere?" she repeated. "You mean you don't even live in a village?"

"No," Ruby said, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "It's just me, Dad, Yang, and Zwei. That's our dog."

"That sounds... really dangerous," remarked Jaune.

"I agree," Pyrrha murmured. "Towns and villages are vulnerable enough to the grimm, but to live all on your own... you must be very brave." She paused. "But then, I suppose we knew that already."

"We don't actually get bothered by that many grimm," Ruby informed them. "I mean, there was the time I was walking back from... the time that I was walking back home, and I got attacked by like a hundred beowolves-"

"A hundred?" Jaune squawked.

"It was a lot," Ruby said. "But I was just bang bang! And then I was like hwa! And I was able to take care of them before Yang showed up. There was also the time that an ursa showed up after I knocked myself out running into a tree, but Yang was able to handle that just fine on her own."

Sunset stared down at Ruby. "Did both those things actually happen?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, in a voice that was half admission and half protest.

"Remind me never to visit your house."

"That's only two times!"

"For most people, that would be quite enough," Pyrrha reminded her.

"I think we don't attract so many grimm because we live on our own," Ruby declared. "We all get along so well that there's no negative energy to draw them in."

"Only you could get away with saying something like that, Ruby Rose," Sunset said, as they reached the door to Benni Haven's with its nine panes of glass. Light shone from inside the establishment, spilling out into the darkness of the night beyond.

Sunset opened the door and led her team into the restaurant. The night air had a cool and bracing edge to it, but inside Benni's was warm and inviting, helped by the fire raging brightly within the stone fireplace. Sunset couldn't see any other first year teams she recognised in here, but it was a lot more crowded than it had been the last time Sunset had visited.

"What a charming establishment," Pyrrha said, as she, the last person in, closed the door behind them all.

"Outside looked like your house, Ruby, but the inside reminds me of back home," Jaune said quietly.

Benni Haven herself was cleaning a table towards the back of the restaurant, but as soon as she saw the four new arrivals, she stuffed her cloth into the pocket of her apron and strode between the tables towards them. "Hey, Sunset Shimmer, welcome back!" she cried. "And I see you brought your whole team with you this time. Eating in or taking out?"

"Eating in," Sunset replied. "If you can fit us in."

"Oh, sure, don't worry about it," Benni said, as she reached the four of them. "Welcome to Benni Haven's, Team Sapphire. I'm Benni, and it's always great to meet the new students."

Pyrrha bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am; thank you for having us."

Benni grinned. "You gotta love the Mistral students; they open their mouths once, and you can tell straightaway where they come from." As a slight blush of embarrassment rose to Pyrrha's cheeks, Benni continued, "I know Sunset, but what about the rest of you?"

"Jaune Arc."

"Pyrrha Nikos," Pyrrha added softly.

"And I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby said brightly.

Benni stared at her. "Ruby Rose," she repeated. "You any relation to Summer Rose?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "You knew my mom?"

Benni nodded. "She was the year above me at Beacon. Even before they saved the day at Ozpin's Stand, we were all in awe of Team Stark, but your mom was always willing to help a freshman out if they needed it. Not like her snooty partner. How's your mom doing?"

Ruby's chin dipped. "She... Mom, uh..."

"Ah," Benni said, understanding at once. "Yeah, isn't that always the way? I'm sorry to hear that, Ruby Rose. Your mother was good people."

"Is it?" Jaune asked. "Always the way, I mean?"

Benni was silent for a moment. "Come here, kid, and take a look at this." She stepped around Fluffy the Beowolf and gestured to the wall of pictures that hung just beyond him, the large picture of Benni's own team that dominated the wall but also the row upon row of smaller framed photographs that surrounded it. All the smiling young huntsmen and huntresses posed around Fluffy, some of them treating it like the fifth member of their team, others acting as though they had killed it. "Some of those kids are still at Beacon," Bennie explained, "but of those that aren't... do you think every one of those faces is still here?"

Jaune's eyes widened. He stared at all the photographs, but did not reply. He just stared at them all, as if he was trying to commit them to memory.

"Those smiles won't last forever," Benni said, a hint of regret creeping into her voice. "So treasure them while they last." Her voice perked up a little. "Hey, do you guys want to have your picture taken? Still plenty of room on the wall?"

"Maybe after we've eaten," Sunset said.

"Right, sure, the table," Benni replied, as though she'd forgotten. "Follow me."

She led them to a table by the fireplace, not far from the spot she'd been cleaning when they came in. Jaune lingered, still looking at the photographs upon the walls and only hastened to join the others when Pyrrha called to him. The fire felt particularly warm here, and Sunset took off her jacket as a result. Benni set four menus in front of them and promised to be back soon.

Pyrrha opened the menu, her green eyes scanning the choices. "A lot of this looks slightly unhealthy."

"Oh, indulge yourself for once," Sunset urged. "It's not like I'm suggesting we eat here every night."

"This is traditional Valish food, Pyrrha," Ruby told her. "Everything comes with fries."

Pyrrha smiled. "Oh, really? Well, then I suppose I'm obligated to try it in order to get the real experience of living in another kingdom."

"Ooh, they have a cookie sundae!" Ruby cried.

"You can't skip straight to dessert," Sunset said.

"Aww!"

"Jaune? Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked. "Jaune?"

Jaune who had been looking a little distant, visibly recovered himself. "What? Oh, yeah. Uh, I think I'll have the Huntsman's Chicken, that sounds nice."

"The Huntsman's Chicken for the Chicken Huntsman," Ruby quipped.

"I asked you never to repeat that!"

Sunset grinned. "What's this now?"

"It's nothing," Jaune said quickly. "Nothing at all... compared to the story of how Ruby was able to knock herself out running into a tree."

"Oh, that's just mean, Jaune!" Ruby cried.

They had a good time that night. Sunset hoped they did, and she thought they did, judging by how much laughter there was from their table. She, certainly, had a good time that night as they talked and laughed, and at the end of the night, they had a picture taken by Benni of themselves posed around the beowolf by the door. Sunset and Ruby stood in front of the beast, Sunset bent down with her arms wrapped around Ruby's shoulders and her chin resting on to the top of Ruby's head while Fluffy loomed over the pair of them; Jaune and Pyrrha stood on either side of the creature, Jaune with one hand resting on it while Pyrrha clasped her hands together in front of her. Benni set a copy to each of their scrolls and promised to stick the photo up on the wall by the next time they paid a visit. Yes, Sunset had a good time that night, but at the same time... at the same time, she had such a good time that it made her sad, if that made any sense. It made her sad because all of this could have been hers years ago if she'd only been willing to make the effort. All that time despising Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash for the time and attention they lavished on their weak and unworthy friends, and now... now, she understood it a little better. She felt as though she had wasted so much time.

But on the other hoof, if she hadn't, then she might not have had this team and these friends.

So maybe, just maybe, it had all worked out for the best.

XxXxX​

After dinner, there was still time for Jaune and Pyrrha to do a little more training, and so, while Ruby and Sunset headed back to the dorm room the two of them remained, lingering by the garages in a somewhat secluded spot, while the stars and the emerald lights of the tower gleamed above their heads.

But Jaune seemed distracted, unfocussed, and Pyrrha eventually had to stop and ask, "Jaune? What's the matter?"

Jaune's hands fell down by his sides, bearing his sword and shield with them. "I just… I can't stop thinking about it."

Pyrrha's brow furrowed. "About what?"

"Your father, Ruby's mom," Jaune said. "What Mrs Haven said about all these teams with their photograph on the wall. Do you think it's true, what she said?"

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. If Sunset were here, she would perhaps say that we are too skilled to suffer such a fate. But Jaune wouldn't want me to patronise him with a lie, even if it is kindly meant. "I… I'm going to be honest with you, Jaune. There is a good chance that one of us, at least one of us, may die in the field. My father, Ruby's mother, they didn't meet that fate because they were incompetent or even unlucky, but because… because that is a possible fate for any huntsman."

"You say that so… calmly," Jaune murmured. "I don't… the way you sound now, the way that Ruby sounded when she was talking about Sunset's mission in the forest, how can you both accept this so easily? So readily?"

"Ruby is far more ready than I," Pyrrha said. "I… it is, perhaps, a little hypocritical of me, but it concerns me. Yes, death is a hazard we all must face, but she is so young. There are times when I think Professor Ozpin should not have admitted her to Beacon."

"She's good enough," Jaune pointed out.

"But still so young," Pyrrha replied. "Could she not have been allowed two more years or childhood yet?"

"I think, if you asked her, she'd tell you that she didn't want it," Jaune suggested.

"She seems eager to shoulder the burdens to the world," Pyrrha agreed, albeit in a soft tone touched with a hint of sadness, "but that does not mean that she should have to." She fell silent for a moment. "Of course, none of this answers your question, does it? I cannot speak for why Ruby is willing to risk her life upon the hazards of the battlefield, save that she has a fearless heart and a will to use her strength for the good of the world. For myself, I do not desire my life to end, but if that is my fate… then so be it."

Jaune laughed bitterly. "No offence, Pyrrha, but your explanation doesn't explain anything. Perhaps, instead of teaching me how to fight, I should ask you to teach me to be as brave as you instead."

"It has nothing to do with courage," Pyrrha replied. "I am sure that, when the moment comes, you would not hesitate to hurl your body into the breach if that was the only way to save a life."

Jaune did not reply to that. "I guess… it didn't really hit me until today… this isn't a glorious line of work, is it?"

"No," Pyrrha agreed. "And it is a dangerous one. Does that… does that worry you?"

"Yes," Jaune admitted, his voice small and very quiet. "But not enough to make me change my mind."

"No?" Pyrrha asked.

"You and Ruby, even Sunset," Jaune said. "You've taken a chance on me, you're willing to fight alongside me… how can I do any less? If you're willing to risk your life with me, then I'll risk mine with you." He smiled. "And maybe, together, it won't come to that."

He is so brave, Pyrrha thought. And braver still for being so inexperienced and unskilled compared to the rest of us. It was… very admirable. "Yes," she agreed. "With good fortune, it shall be so."

XxXxX​

"Ruby," Sunset said, as she patted a spot on the bed beside her. "Sit down here a second, while Jaune and Pyrrha are out."

Ruby looked a little puzzled, but she did as Sunset asked, and sat herself down on the bed next to Sunset.

Sunset hesitated. "I could do with some advice," she admitted.

"From me?"

Sunset smiled at her. "You… you have such a good heart I'm hoping you'll know what I should do. Because I don't."

Ruby still looked a little bemused by this, but she nodded anyway. "I'll help you out if I can. What's up?"

"I... I kind of want to write to someone... but I don't know if I should."

"Who do you want to write to?"

"Someone from back home," Sunset said. "And... my old teacher, kind of. We didn't... part on the best of terms, but now... I'd like to hear from her again, but I don't know if..."

"You were close?" Ruby said.

Sunset nodded. "She pretty much raised me. She did raise me. And then I threw it all back in her face."

"So?" Ruby asked. "It doesn't mean that she stopped loving you."

"That's the thing," Sunset said. "I don't know if she ever did love me, or if she just... I don't know."

"But you loved her, right?"

Sunset hesitated before she nodded. "Yeah. The difference is that she deserved to be loved."

"Sometimes, giving other people a chance means giving yourself a chance as well," Ruby postulated. "You're not a bad person, Sunset, and although I don't know this teacher of yours, if you cared about her so much, then she can't be a bad person either. So why don't you just give it a try, because if you don't, then all that you'll do is regret it."

Sunset looked down at her. "You're very wise for such a little kid." She reached into the pocket of her jacket. "I… I have something for you," she said quietly, as she pulled out the little black book with the rose painted on the cover. Summer Rose's journal. She… Sunset wasn't quite sure what else to say about it really, so she simply placed it on Ruby's lap and let it lie there, the rose facing upwards towards them both. "This… I think it belongs to you."

Ruby did not respond. She stared at the book for a moment, one pale hand reaching gingerly to touch the cover. Ruby's fingers traced the rose painted in white upon the black, before she gingerly flipped the journal open. A gasp escaped her lips. When she looked back up at Sunset, her eyes were wide. "Is this… Mom? Sunset how did you… is this real?"

"It's real," Sunset said. "It's real," she repeated. "I can attest to that. And... it's your mother's."

If Ruby's eyes went any wider than they would consume her entire face. Her mouth hung open, contorting into various shapes as it framed words that did not come. "How?"

"You know Jaune's transcripts?" Sunset said. "The ones that got lost? Yeah, they got lost because I... trespassed slightly in the archives and removed them." That reminded her; she should probably burn those or something. She shouldn't keep them in case they tempted her to bad habits. "And then... while I was there, I decided to look at my records, and while I was looking, I found your mother's box, and... that was in there. I haven't looked at it. Well, I stopped as soon as I realised what it was. I don't know anything."

Ruby stared up at her for a moment, and then a moment longer. Her eyes began to fill with tears. And then she flung her arms around Sunset's neck and squeezed her tight into a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered into one of Sunset's ears.

Sunset was stiff, startled into statuesque rigidity. People didn't hug Sunset Shimmer. She hadn't gotten a hug in... since Flash broke up with her, at least. And even then, they'd… kind of stopped hugging at some point, even though Sunset couldn't exactly remember when. Regardless, it had been a long time since anyone embraced her the way that Ruby was doing now.

And to be honest, it wasn't half bad.

Slowly, gently, gingerly, Sunset put one arm around Ruby's shoulder. "It was nothing, really. I was just passing through."

Ruby refused to let her go. "Mom," she murmured. "There's so much that I don't know, and Dad won't tell me and nor will Uncle Qrow, and I know that they're not telling me stuff! And I think... I think that Beacon might have something to do with it, but I don't know what I just... thank you."

"I hope you find the answers," Sunset said. "But, even if you don't... I hope that you know your mom a little better by the time you're through." Sunset hadn't known her mother either; she'd died bringing Sunset into the world. Princess Celestia had been the closest that Sunset had ever known to... she pushed that thought aside; that confusion was a large part of how she'd ended up this way in the first place. If her mother had left Sunset some way of knowing her, even after she was gone, then maybe…

She hoped that Ruby got something out of it.

A smile was still playing across Ruby's face as she said, "Hey, Sunset? Can I ask you something, even though it's going to sound stupid?"

"That depends on how stupid it is," Sunset replied.

"Would you… would you sing for me?"

Sunset blinked. That was not what she had been expecting. "Why?"

"Because you said you could," Ruby said. "And I'd like to hear it. I'd like to hear a song from where you come from."

"That… is not going to happen," Sunset replied. "We have no songs… those songs are a little too raw for me." She paused. "But I will sing you something, if you like. A song I heard in Atlas, it's… it's quite appropriate."

"Okay," Ruby said softly, as she snuggled in closer to Sunset, as though she were trying to burrow her way into Sunset's jacket.

Sunset smiled at this, and shook her head. Her tail twitched gently on the bed as she cleared her throat, and began to sing.

I wished to numb my heart,

To numb my heart,

Against the pain and take it away,

Because there must be more than this.​

And so, Sunset sang, a song that Sunset had always liked but never really understood until this moment, when she felt… when she felt as though it were about her more than anyone else.

Ruby was asleep by the time Sunset was finished, her eyes closed and her breathing gentle as she lay pressed against Sunset.

Sunset chuckled softly. "Sweet dreams, Ruby Rose." She kept one arm around Ruby and used telekinesis to pull the journal out from underneath the bed, open it up, and place it on her lap. It rested there, fortunately needing no second hand to balance it, as Sunset used more magic to grab a pen.

A pen which hovered over the page uncertainly. Where did she even start? How should she begin?

How could she say all that needed to be said?

And how would Celestia react to it?

In the end, there was only one way to find out.

Sunset began to scribble across the journal page.

Dear Princess Twilight

You have been telling me that I should try and understand Cardin Winchester. I didn't want to. I still don't want to. But unfortunately for me, I do understand him a little better now, and in understanding him, I better understand myself.

It sucks. Mostly because I do.

Sunset paused for a moment, pondering how she could best proceed.

I don't know what to do now. I don't want to continue being what I am, but I'm not sure that I know how to be anything else. I'm worried that I can't be anything else. I feel like I might need your help. You said yourself that's what you do, right? You help people like me?

What do I do? How do I do it?

How do I become better than I am?

All my life, I've wanted power. I've wanted glory. I wanted to ascend, to shine, to be admired and adored. I wanted to be the hero. I still want that. I still want all those things. But I also want

I also always wanted

I want to be

I don't know if I can be

I don't know if I deserve to be

Are you really going to make me say it?

I need help.

I need your help.

Twilight Sparkle, will you do me a favour?

Will you tell Celestia

Sunset stopped, wondering just what she could or felt comfortable with asking Twilight to tell Celestia

Will you please tell Celestia how sorry I am?

 

[ScipioSmith]

The sequel fic, SAPR: Volume 1.5, has commenced and can be found here.

Sunset Shimmer has taken a good, hard look in the mirror and admitted some of her more unattractive impulses. Having managed, against all odds, to win the friendship of her teammates Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, Sunset is determined to move forward and turn over a new leaf.
However, the equilibrium at Beacon Academy is disturbed by the arrival of Team RSPT (Rosepetal) from Atlas, led by Sunset's old nemesis Rainbow Dash, the Ace of Canterlot. Team RSPT's purpose is unclear, but might have something to do with quirky and eccentric Penny Polendina, who swiftly befriends Ruby and Pyrrha.
If the arrival of the Atlesians bothers Sunset it has an even more dramatic effect on quiet, studious Blake Belladonna, who seems appalled by the presence of a faunus in Atlesian uniform. Blake's reaction to Rainbow Dash sparks a conflict that reveals Blake's darkest secrets, and puts Team SAPR in the middle of a battle with the murderous White Fang and their terrifying leader, Adam Taurus.

 

[RedWolff]

The sequel fic, SAPR: Volume 1.5, has commenced and can be found here.

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Thanks for the update. So, you plan to divide the SAPR threads separately based on Volumes, huh?