You Cannot Redeem Me, Sunset Shimmer.

by Multiversecruise

Rating: teen
Tags: Adagio Dazzle, Sunset Shimmer, Slice of Life, Equestria Girls
Length: 1456

Choose Your Own Adventure Story from Sunset's Perspective

Play as Sunset Shimmer and try to get Adagio to stop being so very... her.

(An experimental story: basically a mass effect dialogue wheel with illustrations.)

Written for Ebonquill's Dazzling's contest, following the Redeemed path.

Published 2017-10-15 21:50:07 UTC
Last updated 2017-10-15 21:50:07 UTC

(1)

I lived, bitch.

I don’t know what you thought your little light show would do, but it didn’t turn us to stone or blast us into a million pieces. And it certainly didn’t magically brainwash us like it did you, little miss ‘reformed’.

Hah! I’ll bet that confused you, didn’t it? You and all your sycophantic friends wore those ridiculous outfits, held hands and vomited rainbows on us but I’m still here. I’m still fighting. You keep throwing everything you have at me but I won’t fall in line and march to your tune of conformity.”

“tune of conformity”? Your tune literally tried to brainwash everyone into your slaves!" 1-a)

If I hate you it's because you deserve it. 1-b)

I wasn’t magically ‘brainwashed’. 1-c)

1-b-i)-(a)

...are you serious? Out of all the crimes my sisters and I have committed over thousands of years to the people of this world and the world that you and I come from do you really think that’s the one that keeps me up at night? Thats a bit egotistical of you, isn’t it?

=>

1-d

Hmph. Whatever.

=>

1-e

Hm… maybe there’s still a little bit of the old you in there after all.

=>

1-f

...oh no, you caught me paying you a compliment! Now embarassment will finish me off where you and your friends failed! How will I ever cope?

Yeah, ok, I liked what I heard about you from before we got here.

So what? Big deal. That doesn’t change anything.

=>

(2)

Look, the point is that this is where we stand, now:

I’m still here! You weakened me but I'm still ready to kick your ass! I’m not gonna join your little hugbox, and I still hate you!!

Fine. Let's just avoid each other. 2-a)

I know that you can’t survive without draining negative emotions and Equestrian magic. Well, it just so happens that I have a whole lot of both. And I can share it with you. 2-b)

Why are you still here? 2-c)

1-b-3-(a)

Ooh, I see! Thats how this is, then, pony? Your race’s ancient foe from antiquity shows up and so you must fight us to avenge your ancestors? I had no idea when we were doing our high school musical popularity contest that things had gotten quite so epic.

Should I start speaking Old Ponish when I think of some particularly quotable oath of revenge?

=>

2-a-i)

Oh, I’d love nothing more than to never see you again. But its a small school! We could draw a line down the middle and each keep to one side? But I think that cuts you off from the cafeteria, and then we’d both be starving.

Starving?! 2-a-i)-1

If you’re having trouble… I have magic to spare... 2-a-i)-2

2-a-i-(a)

Oh, don’t look at me like that. No, we’re not *actually* starving.

I was being dramatic. But we feed on magic and negativity, remember? Well you’ve got all the magic and it’s not like we have our powers to cause people to fight anymore. So it's been a little hard but we've got it under control. Don't make it weird, Shimmer.

And hey! Next time you goody-two-shoes get in a fight with some random magical supervillain we’ll feed on what’s left behind.

If you’re having trouble… I have magic to spare...2-b-i)

I see.(6)

2-b-i)

Haha, what?! You’d let me drain your magic?

You really do live for this self-sacrifice martyrdom bullshit, don’t you?

=>

(6)

Yeah. Now stop looking at me like that, 'hero', and get lost.

We're done here.

[end]

(3)

What are you even doing here, hero? How do you even have time? You’re always saddling yourself with all the world’s problems. Isn’t there some crazy magic horse monster setting an orphanage on fire somewhere?

Can’t you hear the screams? I need your help to save them! 3-a)

Being saddled with this school’s problems has given me friendship and more influence than my days as a bully ever did. 3-b)

3-a-i)

[giggles]

Hehe, oh, shut up. Go get your “rainbooms” to save them now that you’ve all got powers. Leave me out of it.

=>

3-b-i)

And people keep coming to you with more of their problems. From now on, everytime someone needs something they'll go to you. Face it: they’re taking advantage of you, pony girl.

=>

(4)

The fact is, you’re nothing but a glorified errand girl. Don’t you ever miss doing things for yourself? Don’t you miss being a manipulator? A conqueror? A queen?

Yes, sometimes I miss using my old skills. 4-a)

I won’t cause real pain to anyone the way I used to, but yes, I do miss causing trouble sometimes.4-b)

No, the new life I’ve made for myself with my friends is all I need. 4-c)

No, I’m nothing like who I was before. I reject my past completely. 4-d)

(5a)

Hm… maybe I misjudged you, Sunset Shimmer.
...how about this: come with me sometime and I’ll show you how the sirens cause mischief. We’ve had to get creative without our powers, but we still know how to have some fun.

And don’t worry, we won’t do anything too bad. You don't have to worry about your new hero reputation, miss “reformed”. Think of them as pranks. And if you don’t like something then you can walk. Who knows? Maybe youll get… nostalgic.

[End]

(5b)

Oh.

Huh. You know, that really wasn't the answer I was expecting.

[sighs]

Look, I know what you’re trying to do. You girls are really obsessed with converting everyone into your little friendship cult, aren't you? I just… don’t think my sisters and I would fit in, ok? We’re just not wired that way.

But… I appreciate it, pony-girl. Who knows? Maybe even if we can't be friends we can still come to understand each other.

Look, I need to go meet my sisters. But I’ll see you around, ok? Bye, Sunset Shimmer.

[End]

1-c-i)

Oh yeah, sure. Then you tell me: how come when the powerful, ambitious, hot she-demon that you used to be got smashed into a crater by magic....

...the meek little punching bag that you are now crawled out?

Face it. You’re not the same Sunset Shimmer. The magic didn’t just change you: it replaced you with a completely different person.

The magic just gave me perspective. 1-c-i-1)

The magic defeated me, but I chose to change on my own. 1-c-i-2)

The magic gave me my friends, and they’re the ones that changed me. 1-c-i-3)

You sound like you admire the old me. 1-c-i-4)

“Hot”? 1-c-i-5)

Maybe… you’re right. Maybe I let this redemption thing change me too much. 1-c-i-6)

2-c-i)

Yeah. Us thousand-year-old sirens, the scourge of ancient Equestria, stuck here, feeding off the little scraps of negative emotions that high school drama generates.

You can go ahead and laugh. I won’t even be mad. It really is laughably pathetic.

If you’re having trouble, I have magic to spare... 2-c-i)-1

[Laugh] 2-c-i)-2

I see. 2-c-i)-3

1-a-i)

Oh, please spare me the self-righteousness, Sunset Shimmer.

All we did was set them free to be the ambitious, selfish, people we all are, deep down.

Or am I to believe that you've forgotten what its like to fight to be on top? The queen of Canterlot High: breaking all the rules but too conniving and popular to call out, drop-dead gorgeous but too high and mighty to touch.

Don’t tell me you don’t miss that? But instead you deny it to yourself and everyone else because that pony magic rewrote you into a simpering, pathetic little sidekick to your pony Princess Twilight.

The magic just gave me perspective. 1-a-i)-1)

The magic defeated me, but I chose to change on my own. 1-a-i)-2)

The magic gave me my friends, and they’re the ones that changed me. 1-a-i)-3)

You sound like you admire the old me. 1-a-i)-4)

“Gorgeous”? 1-a-i)-5)

Maybe… you’re right. Maybe I let this redemption thing change me too much. 1-a-i)-6):

1-b-i)

There it is! Theres the fire and anger I was expecting! Well? Don’t tell me thats all? No, don’t hold back! Tell me how you really feel!

You got Trixie to lock my friends and I up under the stage for hours! 1-b-i)-1)

You tried to brainwash the whole school to be your slaves! 1-b-i)-2)

I learned about monsters like you from the writings of starswirl the bearded. I know all about how you terrorized ancient ponykind. 1-b-i)-3)