Chapters The breeze of the early morning freed Diana from the putrid horror that had been the underworld, informing her that she was in a different location before she even opened her eyes. So took in a deep breath in anticipation for what was to come before she opened her eyes...only to find, to her amusement, that she was standing on a sidewalk next to rows of houses.
'This is the land that Hades needed me to go to, that he couldn't?' she asked as she gazed upon the foreign world, one that looked very similar to hers. She heard a gasp and turned her head to see an elderly woman and a child standing across the road from her, with the elderly woman giving Diana a glare while covering the child's eyes.
"Young people these days," Diana heard the old woman grumble before she dragged her grandchild off, getting Diana to look down at her outfit with a shrug.
"Huh. It's accepted on my Earth." Diana then turned behind her to spy a massive high school towering above the rest of the houses. She raised an eyebrow at the sheer size of the high school, which she discovered was named Canterlot High after peering at a sign not too far away. "Quite large for a high school. This world is a little strange, but I've seen stranger."
'I wonder if they have heroes here,' Diana asked herself after getting another strange glance, from people that she was beginning to notice were more...colorful than the people of her planet. She shrugged it off before remembering the file, which she brought up to her face and opened.
"Wait a moment, this is...an application?" she asked with sheer disbelief at what she saw. It was indeed an application, and behind that was an I.D. with information that Diana noticed wasn't entirely true. "This is what you sent me here for, Hades?! So I can be a teacher?!" Diana then glanced at the school across the road, tying more of the pieces together. "And that's where you want me to teach. So does that mean those items you seek are within there?"
'That is how I read it as well, Diana.' Diana lifted her head to the sky, spying an owl that was as pure as the snow, fly down to her. Diana held out an arm so the owl could perch itself upon her, smiling at the creature as it landed upon her bracelet. 'The more important question is, what does Hades truly need with these items?'
"You believe that he didn't tell me the truth back in the underworld, Athena?" Diana asked the owl, who shook her head with a furrowed brow.
'Not all of it at least. With your lasso upon him, he was forced to tell you some of his plan. But I would not put it past him to tell you a truth that was not whole. Be on your guard, Diana.'
"There doesn't seem to be much here that I need to guard myself against," Diana muttered as a few more people gawked at her outfit, getting a sigh out of her before she kicked off with her legs to hurl herself into the sky. Her angel was perfect and she landed on the other side of the school, making sure no one was watching before she unclipped her lasso from her hip.
She then cracked the lasso like a whip to extend it to its full length, before she started to twirl it around her, causing spirals of magical energy to vortex around her body. Her Amazonian garb swiftly changed into that of a blue suit, while the magic caused her blade to vanish.
"And for the final touch," she muttered before twirling her lasso once more, creating a pair of glasses similar to the ones Clark wore. After placing them on her face, she glanced down at herself to see that nearly all of her wondrous side had been covered up...save for her bracelets and her lasso, which she tucked under her jacket. "There, now I blend in."
'You certainly do match the attire that the mortals here wear,' Athena agreed with a nod.
"But what brings you here, goddess Athena?" Diana asked as she walked out from the side of the school, gazing at the massive statue of a horse that stood near the entrance. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed upon it, her body telling her that there was something...strange about it. "I am certain that you would not follow me without a good reason."
'Your wisdom is as sound as ever, Princess. I followed you here because I do not trust Hades nor the plans that he has,' the owl responded while her head slowly turned to look around her. 'Any time in the past where Hades has sought a weapon or magic of sorts that would increase his power, it has always ended with us having to deal with him.'
"Then why doesn't Zeus or one of the others gods simply stop him before he can begin?"
'Sigh...you know the gods, Diana. And you know the lack of wisdom that most of them have,' Athena responded with a shake of her head. 'Zeus is far too preoccupied at the moment with his son, Hercules, who seems to be growing stronger. And Poseidon is locked in combat with your fellow Justice League member over control of the strange meteor that fell into the ocean. And the others simply don't care. If the problem doesn't concern them, they tend to ignore it.'
"Once again, the gods avoid the affairs of mortals," Diana spat with some spite before bowing slightly to the owl on her arm. "Most of them, at least. I am grateful that you chose to aid me."
'It was the wise thing to do. However, this is not my true form. This is a servant that I have sent with you so we can communicate. I am still back on Olympus, trying to be the voice of reason.
"And good luck with that." Diana then lifted the file once more and gazed at the information that she assumed Hades had set up for her, nodding when she saw that he had given her name as Diana W. Prince. 'At least that's accurate,' she thought before noticing a small card attached with a paperclip. 'You have an appointment with the principal at ten when you arrive. Do not be late. And do not worry, she is a fool. You will have no issues getting a job,' Diana read, making her eyes narrow further.
"What I fail to understand is, why Hades simply does not come here himself. Even if he cannot take the magic, surely he would not dare leave gathering it to anyone but himself."
'That is because there is a powerful magic here, one that can keep even the gods out,' Athena explained to Diana. 'Unless one from this world tears the magic barrier apart, even we cannot enter this realm. I can barely speak through my familiar, and even then my powers are greatly restrained.'
"Then how did I make it through?"
'Perhaps the barrier sensed your noble soul and allowed you passage?'
"Perhaps. But now what do I do?"
'My advice would be to play along with what he has planned,' Athena spoke. 'At least until you uncover what Hades is truly after.'
"Yes, but...I may be a warrior and an ambassador for my lands, but a teacher I am not. At least, not this kind of teacher," Diana said, voicing her concerns as she gazed up at the school once more. "Even though the principal may be a...fool, students would be able to see through me after it is made clear that I do not know what I am doing."
'Fear not Diana, this is why I am here with you. I have observed humanity ever since we came into being. I can guide you through the pains of being a teacher of mortals,' Athena reassured the princess before turning her owl head towards clock tower above the entrance. 'And if that clock up there is correct, then your appointment is in less than five minutes. I suggest that you head inside.'
Diana followed the god's wisdom by heading into the entrance, pushing open the doors to find the hallways practically deserted. Aside from a few janitors that gawked at her and her owl as she walked by, Diana did not find any other people within the halls.
'I believe that the students are on, what they call, summer break,' Athena said, having moved from Diana's arm to her shoulder to free up her limbs.
A map upon the wall revealed the location of the principal's office to the princess, who memorized the location before heading in its direction. Diana did take a little time to gaze at the walls and rooms as she walked through the halls, occasionally spying a student or two that were within a room. Yet as the time for the appointment drew closer, Diana found her step increasing while she grew closer to the office.
"Finally," she muttered aloud upon reaching a door with the words "Principal Celestia" upon them. She reached out her hand for the handle only for the door to swing open from within, and a person walked out and ran straight into Diana. Diana didn't budge, but her hand shot out and grabbed hold of the girl to keep her from falling.
Diana took in the girl in an instant, noticing her red and yellow hair that burned like a bright flame. But then her eyes glanced down at her face to see that exhaustion shown plainly upon her face, with the underside of her eyes baggy and black.
"Careful," Diana told her once she had pulled the girl back to her feet, though from the way she swayed Diana wasn't certain if she would remain standing. The girl nodded slowly before rubbing her eyes and walking towards the exit, leaving Diana to watch her with narrowed eyes. Diana then shook her head as a voice told her to enter, which she did so to find two people waiting for her.
The first of them was tall and regal, with hair that seemed to shine with the colors of the sky. She smiled warmly at Diana and motioned for her to take a seat while the other, a woman with hair as beautiful as the cosmos, gazed at the owl on Diana's shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
"Hello, Ms. Prince," Principal Celestia said with a smile as warm as the sun while she extended a hand towards Diana, one that Diana shook while smiling in reply. "I have been looking over the information that you sent in a few days ago and I must say that your resume is indeed impressive."
"I am glad to hear that, but please, call me Diana," Diana said with a smile, but her eyes were watching the pair of them for anything out of the ordinary.
"Well Diana, you are quite the active teacher. Spending years in Greece learning all about their history before moving to the States to help teach people about peace. It is all incredible," Celestia said with an approving look as she gazed over the file before her.
'Hades, you are despicable,' Diana thought with a smirk, now understanding what the god of the dead had done.
"Why do you have an owl with you?" the other lady asked Diana, who turned her attention towards her as Celestia rose from her chair.
"I am sorry Diana, I forgot to introduce you. This is my sister Luna, who is principal like me," Celestia introduced as Luna held out a hand that Diana also shook. "But as there is no real title for two principals, most of the students just call her Ms. Luna."
"Pleased to meet you. As for the owl, it was believed in Greek culture that a baby owl was the symbol of Athena, the goddess of intelligence," Diana explained while the owl hooted. "So I carry this one with me in hopes that Athena will share her wisdom with me. So far it seems to be working."
Celestia chuckled politely at Diana's words while Luna simply raised another eyebrow, but after a moment a more serious look shone on Celestia's face. "Well, I see you are devoted to your work. And you are also lucky as one of our previous history professors has called in to say that they will not be able to teach this year. Actually, he taught the same kind of history that you studied about. What a coincidence."
Diana smiled outwardly at the "coincidence", but inwardly she promised that she would look into the teacher and make sure that Hades hadn't done anything to warrant his disappearance. Celestia spent another moment in silence going over Diana's file, occasionally making a remark aloud.
"Trained gymnast, that's interesting. Proficient in other languages. And all these letters from people that you've helped," Celestia muttered, making Diana seethe inwardly while wondering how the god had gotten his hands upon her things. "Well, I'm sold. You're resume is amazing and you seem like quite the capable person. I like that."
"Thank you, Ms. Celestia," Diana said.
"Oh please, just Celestia," Celestia said with a laugh as she stood up, Diana doing the same as they shook hands once more.
"One moment please," Luna interjected, turning Diana's attention towards her. "I have a question for you Diana. "Why do want to teach here? What brought you to our school?"
"A god asked me to," Diana said with a smile that made the other two think she was joking. Diana then took on a more serious expression as she thought about her answer for a moment. "I want to guide the younger generation. I want to help them to avoid going down roads like the people of the past did. I want to help them to discover themselves, to help them improve while also being able to keep them from the wrong path. I want to help them shine." A small smile crossed Luna's face at Diana's words and a silent nod informed Diana that she had impressed the lady.
"Alright Diana, classes start tomorrow," Celestia informed Diana, getting a surprised hoot from the owl. Celestia giggled at the owl before continuing. "You'll be teaching four classes tomorrow, with the first starting at seven thirty. Please get here early so we can introduce you to the other teachers."
"Do not worry. I shall be here," Diana promised.
"Also, feel free to look around the school before you leave so you can learn where everything is," Celestia said as she herself remembered. Diana nodded once more before bowing slightly to the both of them.
"They both seem nice," Diana said to Athena once she was back in the hallways, wandering around them while noticing that more students had arrived.
'I now see why Hades called Celestia a fool. That is not how most teachers are hired,' Athena grumbled as her feathers puffed up.
"Perhaps thing are different on this world," Diana said as she stopped to allow a large group of students to walk by her, taking a moment to glance at some of them. Some wore strange clothes, others dressed similar to people she had seen on earth, and even one girl wore a cowboy hat. "I have noticed it since I first arrived. Things here feel...softer, than they do in our world."
'I agree. Whatever this world is, it is...did you feel that?' Both the owl and Diana's eyes had narrowed as each of them felt something, their godly senses allowing them to sense a powerful magic that seemed to be coming from the crowd of students. Diana pondered for a moment if she should try to find the source of it, but after a brief moment it was gone, leaving both her and the owl to share a look of concern.
'So now we know that Hades was telling some of the truth. There is a powerful magic here,' Athena spoke with cautious words.
"Yes. And I have to find it."
Their thoughts about the magic were interrupted when one of the students noticed the owl on Diana's shoulder, causing the girl to rush up to her and beg to be able to touch it. Diana agreed, though Athena did not, and soon dozens of students were either touching or looking at the bird of wisdom that tried in vain to get away. but while they focused on the owl, Diana focused on the students, wondering what Hades really wanted with the kids of the school.
'It can't be good, whatever it is. So I have to keep them safe while finding these items,' Diana promised as she smiled at the students. 'Because starting tomorrow, they are my students. And I hope they're ready to learn.'
Excited murmurs filled the classroom when the bell for the final class before the end of the day rang its warning, with nearly every seat filled as most of the students prepared for their last subject of the school day. Some were excited to meet the new teachers, others talked about how their first day of school had gone, and the rest just wanted to go home.
"I'm so excited. I was talking to the principal and apparently our new teacher studied abroad in Greece!" Twilight said as she pushed her glasses back up, imagining what it would be like to spend a semester in Greece. Fluttershy was barely paying her friend any attention, for all she saw was the white owl that was resting upon a perch on the side of the teacher's desk.
Just as the final bell rang, the door to the classroom opened and the teacher came walking in. Every conversation stopped while every eye was drawn to her. Most of the students didn't know what to think of her at first, and those that were still capable of cognitive thought were amazed. The teacher was beautiful, but she also had an aura of power that radiated from her.
"Good afternoon, students," Diana greeted the class as she walked in front of her desk, leaning against it as she took in all the amazed expressions that gazed at her. She glanced over each of her students in return, seeing the looks in their eyes. Most were in awe. Some looked bored. And one set of eyes looked to be on the verge of passing out. "And welcome to my history class. I'll be your teacher for this semester. Call me Diana. No Ms."
Some of the students began to murmur to themselves while Diana picked up a list from her desk and glanced over it, her eyes checking each name before a smile crossed her face once again. "Now I know all of you have just returned from break, so I won't be too hard on you this first day. So we'll be doing something fun."
"A test?" Twilight exclaimed before she realized what she had said and started to slink under her desk from the looks she was getting. A smile crossed Diana's face at Twilight's response, and she placed her list down so that she could focus her full attention on the student.
"No, but that is an excellent idea for later. Actually, what I had planned was that we would get to know more about each other. So I'd like each of you to tell me your name and a little bit about yourself. And since you were so kind to volunteer..." Diana said with a nod to Twilight, who emerged from beneath the mahogany desk to smile awkwardly at the other students.
"H-hi everyone. I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight nervously introduced herself, shrinking slightly under the gaze of every student. "I'm new here, transferred from...well, most of you already know that. Um, I love to study, I love books and...that's it." Twilight sat back down with her face red, making Diana consider changing her approach.
"Thank you, Twilight. I've always appreciated being around those who have a desire to learn," Diana said with a smile before glancing around the room. "Now then, do we have any other volunteers or do I have to start calling out names?"
"I'll go." Diana raised an eyebrow at the fact that the class let out a small gasp when the girl with the pink hair slowly rose out of her seat, smiling with an even more nervous expression than the one Twilight wore. "I'm...Fluttershy," she squeaked in a voice that only Diana could hear. "I like animals...and quiet."
"Fluttershy," Diana repeated so that the girl wouldn't have to. "And you say you like animals, do you?"
"Oh yes, I love them. I especially love that owl you have there," Fluttershy said in a louder voice that everyone could hear. Her eyes practically lit up as she stared at the owl, who cracked an eye open at being mentioned. "Do you mind if I...pet it?" Diana motioned for Fluttershy to do so, moving to the side so that she could get right next to Athena. The owl raised an eyebrow at the girl, but as Fluttershy gently began to run her fingers across its head it settled down once more.
"She's just lovely. What's her name?"
"Her name is Athena. Extra credit for whoever can tell me why you would name an owl that." Diana smiled when the only hand that went up in the room was Twilight's. But then the girl saw the looks she was getting and slowly started to lower it once more. "Don't be intimidated Twilight, I'm not judging you. Please, tell me why."
"Because, well, owls, or rather, baby owls, were seen as the symbol of Athena, the goddess of intelligence," Twilight stated with such confidence that even Diana was impressed. But then a student snickered and the confidence fell away, leaving Twilight to sit back down with an embarrassed smile."I...assume that's why you named her that."
"Start of the year and already you have an 'A'. Good job," Diana said before turning back to Fluttershy, who was completely enamored with Athena. "You can go back to your seat now, Fluttershy." Fluttershy nodded and headed back to her desk, with the owl resting upon her arm. All Diana could do was roll her eyes as Fluttershy continued to focus solely on Athena at her own desk.
Other students began to speak up, though Diana noticed that most of them were either not as interested or had little to say about themselves. The most she got out of most of them was their name and a hobby that they had, yet most said their hobby with such a bored tone that she wondered if any of them enjoyed what they did.
"Well, thank you for that...amazing speech, Bulk," Diana said with a smile after Bulk got done speaking, trying hard not to laugh at how he seemed squished in his chair. She then looked over to the next student that was getting up before a sound interrupted the class.
A loud thud had come from a seat in the back corner of the room, turning most eyes, including Diana's, towards the cause. On one of the desks lay a girl with red and yellow hair, face down and fast asleep. Diana's eyes narrowed slightly when she recognized the girl from the other day, before picking up her list to see which student it was. The teacher then walked over to where the sleeping student lay.
"I am sorry if the first day back seems boring, but if you're having a hard time staying awake now, you're not going to enjoy this class," Diana said calmly to the sleeping student, but her words were clearly not enough to wake the girl. Diana then rested a hand upon her shoulder and shook her once. "Sunset Shimmer," she said in a powerful voice. "Please, wake-"
Sunset's head then snapped up off of her desk, allowing Diana to see that the bags were still under her eyes. Exhaustion was clearly written on the girl's face, yet when Sunset turned her head to look up at Diana, the amazon's eyes widened--not at how tired Sunset was, but the fear that she saw in her eyes--the horrified, desperate fear that Diana had only seen in those who were either about to die or dying.
"W-what? I'm so sorry, Diana. I didn't mean to..." Sunset said rapidly as she rubbed her eyes before giving Diana a weary smile. Yet Diana's expression did not change for a moment while she continued to stare down at Sunset, causing the smile to fall from the girl's face.
"See me after class, please," Diana finally spoke as she returned to the front of the class, hearing Sunset groan while her head slammed down onto the desk. The students continued to introduce themselves, but Diana's focus was no longer on them. Her eyes stared out from behind her glass at Sunset, who was doing everything in her power to stay awake.
'The look in her eyes...I have only seen that look in those who believe they are about to die,' Diana thought while a student began to ramble about all the things she enjoyed. 'That would imply she was having a nightmare, but by Hera what nightmare could cause such terror? And judging by the bags under her eyes, this nightmare has pestered her for longer than I've been here...'
It was at that moment that another interruption decided to grace the class, when the door to the room was kicked open and a girl playing the air guitar leapt into the room. She whipped her head up and down while humming a beat to herself, eyes shut as she played while also being moving to her seat. Diana didn't need to look at the student chart to know who this was. The rainbow hair and the warning Celestia had given her earlier in the day were enough.
"Rainbow Dash. How nice of you to finally join us," Diana said in a calm voice, yet every student shuddered slightly at the power behind it.
"Sorry that I'm late, teach. Pickup game at the soccer field ran late," Rainbow Dash explained as she kicked back in her chair and propped her feet up on her desk. "And you know that I couldn't just up and leave, especially when the game was so close. You understand, right?"
None of the students saw the lightning that flashed in Diana's eyes, but with complete self-mastery she forced her face to remain neutral as she sat back against her desk.
"Since it is the first day back, I will be lenient this once," Diana informed Rainbow Dash, who replied with two thumbs up as she began to play a solo. Then the mood in the room seemed to shift, and Dash cracked open her eyes to see Diana giving her a look that made Dash sit properly in her seat. "But please do your best to not let it happen again. Now then, who wishes to introduce themselves next?"
Yet as Diana glanced around the room, she could see that her reaction to Dash's lateness had silenced the rest of the students from speaking. Diana sighed before running one of her hands through her hair, then moving off of her desk and to the whiteboard behind her.
"Thank you for allowing me to get to know most of you better. Now here are some things that you should know about me and this class," Diana began as she wrote down information upon the board. "The first is that I believe in fairness. If you are fair with me, I will be fair with you. Next is that my teaching style will most likely be very different from how you have been taught. I teach with a more hands on approach as opposed to out of a book. In fact, don't bother bringing the textbooks to class unless I say to."
The students all began to murmur with surprise at Diana's words, but they all went as silent as the dead when she turned to face them once again. "I also encourage conversation, of sharing knowledge and information. You wish to discuss with one another about what you are learning? That I am fine with. But when I speak, you listen."
Diana then turned back to the board and lifted her hand to write again before a sound caught her ears, which was quickly followed by another sound. Without bothering to turn her head, Diana swung back with her free hand and obliterated the spitball that had been heading towards her. If it was possible, the class became even quieter at what she had just done before Diana slowly turned her head towards the culprit, who sat as stiff as a corpse in his seat.
"Boneclaw," Diana began slowly to a larger boy sitting in the back, who looked as if he was going to wet himself. "When using a weapon that requires your own breath, such as a blow dart or a spitball, try not to inhale so loudly. It can give your attack and location away." A small smile crossed Diana's face at the reaction that the students had to her words. She placed her marker on her desk before looking at each and every student with a look that would have held the attention of the League.
"You are here to learn and I am here to teach you. Yet, I will not just teach you names and "facts," I will also teach you skills and will build up the person you want to be. The tests and homework in this class won't be from a book. Each assignment will be tailored to each of you and your skills. That way you can all give me your best." Diana then removed her glasses and looked upon the students with eyes that beamed like the sun. "You are not just a class for me to teach or a job that I have to do. You are all my students, and I promise that I will not fail any of you, if you are willing to give me a chance. Now then, who's ready to learn?"
_-=W=-_
Diana waved to the students as they all poured out of her classroom, the sound of the bell drawing them from their seats and to the exit of the room. Diana then let out a sigh as she began to gather all of the papers on her desk, giving Athena a chance to land on Diana's shoulder.
'That was quite impressive for your first day. And you did not even impale any of the arrogant and defiant mortals upon your sword. You are already doing far better than most other gods.'
"They are children, Athena. They still have a few more years to be arrogant and defiant," Diana reminded the goddess. "And while I do enjoy teaching ones as young as themselves, if it was not for that surge of magic we felt upon arrival I would call Hades a fool...actually, I will call him a fool anyway."
'Whatever that surge of magic was the other day, I have not felt anything like it in the time that we've been here,' Athena informed Diana, who nodded in agreement before Athena glanced down at the papers. 'I am actually quite impressed that you managed to get everything ready for a class on another world in under a day.'
"Superspeed helps. Plus Hades was kind enough to also leave some rare jewels and gold within that file, so I will not have to worry about money while I am here," Diana said as she placed all of the papers within her file and stood up. "Well, the first day is down. We just need to keep going until-"
Diana ceased to speak when she turned around to see Sunset Shimmer standing before her desk, her weary eyes filled with confusion as she gazed from her teacher to the bird. "Um, it might be the lack of sleep making me see things, but were you just having a conversation with your owl?"
"What? Don't you speak with animals?" Diana asked with a smile.
"No...and I'm sorry for falling asleep in class today," Sunset apologized as she rubbed her eyes once more. "I've just been so tired lately and-"
"Sunset, that lack of sleep is actually why I asked you to stay after class. I'm not mad at you for falling asleep, but I'd like to know the reason why you are having trouble sleeping," Diana asked the girl, noticing that Sunset chose to avert her eyes instead of answer. Diana then placed both hands on Sunset's shoulders, giving the girl her full attention. "Sunset, if something is the matter, you can always tell me. I'll help you."
For a brief moment, Diana thought that Sunset would tell her what the problem was. But then doubt clouded her eyes and Sunset shook her head with a smile. "No, it's nothing. Just some...bad dreams. That's all." Diana could feel the weight of her lasso within her coat, knowing that gaining the truth would be easy enough.
'No. If she does not wish to confide in me, then it shows that I have not yet earned her trust,' Diana thought as she nodded and motioned for Sunset to go. 'I will have to work on that with all of them.'
'So what now, Diana?' Athena asked from Diana's shoulder as Diana locked the door behind her and headed down the hallway.
"Now, we look for an apartment. Seems I'm going to be staying here longer than I thought."
"Have a good rest of your day. Try to relax and get some rest," Diana said with a smile while her students each passed by her, each of them groaning when they handed a piece of paper to her as they went by. Diana spared a glance down at one of the student's papers and shook her head with a small sigh. "Come on now, the questions were hardly that difficult."
"They were actually pretty easy, Diana," Twilight Sparkle agreed with an energetic smile as she handed her paper to Diana, who took a quick glance over it before handing it back to Twilight. Twilight's eyes shrunk when she took her paper with fear in her eyes. "One hundred percent, Twilight. Impressive."
Twilight's face lit up like the sun as a smile spread across her face, but then a few of the students behind her muttered something about her being a kiss-up. The smile fell from Twilight's face and her head lowered slightly, but all Diana did was motion for those three students to hand their tests to her.
"Hmm...seems that the three of you should have studied harder. This isn't how you want to start the semester," Diana informed the three, who had looks of rage only for a moment before they caught their teacher's eye and gazed down at the floor. She placed their tests with the rest of the papers, pulling them all together and straightening them out. "Well, that week went by quickly. This teaching isn't as hard as I thought it would be."
'That is because I have been there to correct you on some decisions that would have been foolish for a teacher to make,' Athena reminded Diana from her perch, getting the Amazon to smile over at the owl. 'But there is a lack of wisdom in this room that I haven't seen since the rise of the Romans. It is amazing some of these students have the brain power to function, let alone answer questions for a test.'
"Athena, do you think I sprung the test on them too early in the year? They did just get back from summer break," Diana asked the owl, who scoffed at her suggestion.
'I say the more tests, the better. These students need to use their brains far more if these answers are all the intellect they can muster,' the owl said before hopping onto the tests, scowling down at most of them. 'Twilight seems to be the only one with any wisdom. The rest are...ugh.'
'And speaking of rest,' Diana thought to herself as she gazed at the last student in the room, who sat in one of the back desks while propped up on her hand to keep herself from falling over. 'Sunset is the last one to finish her test, but given the state she is in, I'm more surprised that she managed to stay awake.' Sunset stifled a yawn before she began to write upon her paper once more. The bell that signaled the end of the day rang once more, but it wasn't until much later that she finally rose from her seat and staggered to the front of the room.
"I'm...sorry that I took so long," Sunset apologized in-between yawns, handing her paper to Diana who was already beginning to fear the worst as she glanced down at Sunset's paper. She raised an eyebrow as she scanned over the answers before nodding to the half asleep girl.
"You should go home and get some sleep for the day, Sunset. You look like you could use it." Sunset nodded sleepily and walked out of the room, banging into a wall a few times before finally managing to make it to the door. Athena let out a hoot as she hopped up onto Diana's shoulder, gazing over the last student's test.
'By the power of Zeus...'
"Indeed. Quite impressive, isn't it?" Diana asked Athena, both of whom were looking at another nearly flawless test. "And look at that, the only question she got wrong was one that she corrected me on. Apparently, I made an error in the description of one of the warriors."
'How does the daughter of an amazon queen that serves the gods manage to make an error on a test?' Athena asked the Princess, who compiled the papers and tucked them into a bag she had bought a few days prior. 'Perhaps you should be in those seats and being taught?'
"Because I made the error on purpose. I wanted not only to see which students knew the answers, but also which were really paying attention," Diana informed the owl as she exited the room, locking it behind her before heading towards the teachers' lounge. "Like I said at the beginning of the week, I will test the students in different ways. This was the first one."
'Clever. I like that,' Athena agreed as the owl sat comfortably on Diana's shoulder. 'Yet, it amazes me that the student that seems to get no sleep was the one that caught the error.'
"Yes. It amazes me as well." After yelling at a pair of students that were running through the halls and helping a student open their locker, Diana finally reached the teachers' lounge, remembering the note that Celestia had sent out about some of the newer teachers meeting there at the end of every week. She opened the door to see that she was the last teacher to arrive, meaning she was the one that got everyone's stare.
"Sorry. A student took longer on a test than I thought they would," Diana explained as she slipped into the room.
"A test on the first week? You're cruel, Diana?" a teacher that went by the name of Discord said to her with a toothy grin.
"Bah, the students here are all too soft. I say give them harder tests, that will make them learn," a teacher with black hair named Sombra snarled while crossing his arms.
"Yes, thank you for that suggestion, Sombra. It is the same suggestion that you make every year," Luna muttered under her breath from the front of the room, sitting next to her sister. Celestia rose from her seat and cleared her throat, causing the chattering amongst the teachers that were there to stop.
"Thank you all for coming. Since most of you here are new, and since Sombra needs to be constantly reminded, there are a few...school specific rules and policies that I figured that you should know about," Celestia said as she pulled out a small list. "The first is that we still do not allow pets or animals of any kind in the school, unless it is a class pet. We've noticed a few more mice running around and I'm not happy about it. Diana, keep an eye on Fluttershy. She seems to be a magnet for the little critters. Athena is considered a class pet, by the way."
"If you just let me set up traps-"
"No Sombra, I'm not letting you set up traps of any kind," Luna cut the man off, getting a snarl out of him as he again crossed his arms.
"The second rule is that students here tend to...sing when they really get in the mood," Celestia continued, making Diana raise an eyebrow in amusement as the other teachers chuckled at the news. "So, if a student or even a whole class breaks out into song, just go with it. I learned it's better to not question it." Diana was just as baffled at this as the other new teachers, while Sombra simply muttered under his breath about what he would do if he was in charge.
"The final rule is...strange things sometimes happen at this school. Strange things that many attribute to...magic." Both Diana's and Athena's ears perked up at this and they focused with far more intensity than they had before. "Now while we haven't...confirmed what the real cause of these occurrences are, you don't need to worry about any of them. They are under control."
"She's lying," Diana whispered to Athena, who nodded her head in agreement. "I don't need the lasso to know that. But if that's the case, does that mean that magic is out of control at this school?" Athena didn't get the chance to answer as Celestia chose that moment to dismiss the teachers, who all filed out of the door.
"Well, that went better than last semester," Celestia whispered to Luna, never knowing that Diana was listening in on them. "But we need to do something about the...magic and soon. Has Sunset said anything to you about it?"
"No, but with the state she's been in, I'm amazed she's still making it to school," Luna whispered back. "I've talked to her friends and they're just as concerned as we are, but Sunset has said nothing to them about it. I'll ask again later." Diana had heard all she needed to and by the time the sisters finished talking, they were the only ones left in the room.
The moon was almost halfway across its journey through the sky when Diana opened the door to her apartment room, the only one that she found she could tolerate. The insides of the room were plain and basic, with white walls and only a few items of furniture that took up any space at all. Diana paid that no mind as she slid her lasso out from under her jacket and twirled it around her once, returning her outfit to its true form while she slammed the door behind her and walked to the table. She dumped the groceries she had bought across the table, not caring in the least about how much she had paid for them.
"He even set me up a bank account...Well, the first week here has passed and all we have learned so far is that there is a magic problem at the school and that the students don't seem to study as they should," Diana recapped as Athena landed on the plain table with a hoot. Diana sat down in the sole chair in the room and pulled the papers out of her bag, sighing as she glanced over them.
Deciding to get it out of the way, she grabbed a pen and began to grade the papers at an incredible pace with her super speed. Within a matter of moments she had graded not only the papers for her last class, but every other class she had given them to.
'Seems you have a lot of work to do. Only a few of the students managed to pass with an acceptable grade,' Athena said with a shake of her head. 'And you constantly wonder why your Justice League has to save the world. Well, it is because the people of the world seem to be idiots.'
"Thank you for reminding me; would you mind going to visit Batman or one of the Leaguers and telling them that I'm away on mission? I seem to have forgotten in my desire to remove Hades' head from his neck," Diana asked Athena, who nodded her head before she sat motionless on the table. Diana figured that meant she had returned to her true, godly form back on her earth and wouldn't be back for a while. She rose and walked over to the window, moving back the curtain to glance out at the world beyond.
'Well, there are not any wars here currently. That says something for it,' Diana noted with interest before smiling as she gazed around her humble abode. 'How long has it been since I lived like a regular mortal, a regular member of society? Either I've been dealing with League threats, battling the pantheon of gods or been off-world. Haven't had much time to live like a regular person.'
Then Diana's attention was drawn away from her thoughts and back to the window. Her eyes narrowed when she felt something...off in the distance, something that made her open the window before hurling herself through it. In a moment Diana had taken to the sky, soaring through the night sky like a missile heading for a target. She came to a dead stop above a long row of houses, searching left and right for what had drawn her out of her home.
The moment she had arrived the ominous feeling that she had faded away, and after a few moments she didn't feel anything at all. Diana's eyes narrowed as she gazed down at the row of houses below her, knowing that whatever had brought her there had been coming from within. Yet with no clear idea where the source of distress had come from, she found she had no choice but to turn around and fly towards her apartment once again.
Yet as she flew over the school, she found that she couldn't help but stop above it, gazing down and remembering what Celestia had said about the magic being out of control. 'I should take a look around,' she decided while she floated down towards the statue in the front, keeping an eye out for where the security cameras were, only to find that there were hardly any. 'And see if I can find where some of this magic may be hiding.'
Upon noticing that none of the cameras were aimed at the statue, Diana landed next to the massive, marble statue of a stallion. She pressed her hand up against the statue as she felt...something course through her skin, a magic that she had never felt before. But despite pressing a little harder, the magic didn't reveal itself to her and she feared that any harder would shatter the statue. After leaving the statue and taking to the sky, she found herself being pulled to the back of the school where she found...
"A dirt bike course?" she asked with confusion when she landed amongst the tracks, yet her attention was swiftly drawn away from the course and instead to the air around it. Diana's eyes narrowed as she felt the same, strange magic that she had felt by the statue once more. While she was looking around, a small tear in the air next to her appeared and a small vortex of magic appeared. She gazed at it with curiosity, wondering if she should get closer when a small creature emerged from within.
"What in the name of Hera...?" Diana muttered as a tiny insect floated up to her. It was a ball of blue with large, green eyes and little wings. The creature floated up to Diana with a smile on its face, but when it got too close it let out a small yelp and flew back into the vortex. Diana's face hardened as the vortex shut behind it, having traveled to enough other worlds to know a portal to one when she saw it.
'So creatures from other lands are showing up in this world...by magic, if what my senses are telling me is correct,' Diana pieced together as she launched herself into the sky once more, heading back to her home. 'That part of Celestia's story is true. But what does Sunset and her friends have to do with it? And why did Hades want me here bad enough that he was willing to kill Steve to get me here? All I can do is play along and hope the answers reveal themselves soon.'
Diana then flew back in through her window to find that Athena was gone, while the location of the moon informed her that she should get some sleep. 'But at least now I have a plan of action. I need to speak with Sunset and her friends and maybe they can help me find out what is going on.'
"Seriously, you need to see a doctor or something. You look like crap," Rainbow Dash reminded Sunset, whose answer was consumed by a large yawn.
"Way to be smooth about it, Rainbow," Applejack said with a glare at Dash, who shrugged her shoulders in response. Sunset Shimmer simply grunted as she and her friends walked down the street, each of them keeping their eyes on her while Sunset tried her best to keep her eyes open.
"Doctor...can't help nightmares," Sunset grunted in a sleepy tone before yawning again, obstructing her vision and nearly making her walk into a pole in the process.
"Maybe not, but perhaps you can get some sleeping pills or something," Rarity added as she pulled Sunset to her side, helping her to avoid the pole. Sunset grunted in response before her head dipped down slightly and she started to snore.
"Seriously, why won't see she a doctor or something? She's sleepwalking at this point," Rainbow pointed out to her friends while the sleeping Sunset walked along.
"Maybe I could do a brain scan or something. See if there's a magical reason that she's having such a hard time sleeping," Twilight suggested, but the conversation was stopped when Sunset let out a yelp and woke back up with a start. She clutched at her heart as her eyes shrunk down, her friends giving her worried looks while she began to shiver slightly.
"Come on Sunset, tell us what's the matter," Applejack suggested as she placed her hands on Sunset's shoulder, but Sunset averted her eyes and pushed past her friends.
"You can't help me," she whispered loud enough so that they could barely hear her, glancing up to see that they had arrived at the high school. "No one can." Sunset bolted ahead into the crowd of people and her friends quickly lost her amongst the other students.
"Well, that went well," Dash remarked, getting her numerous stares from the others.
"She's getting worse. I can tell," Twilight observed as she pushed her glasses back up onto her face. "Why won't she tell us what's the matter? We can help her if she'd let us."
"Because she's scared." All eyes turned towards Fluttershy, who wore a sympathetic gaze upon her face. "I know that look all too well. Something has her terrified out of her mind, something that she feels that she can't share. It might just be a nightmare to us, but to her it's as real as, well, us."
"So what should we do then?" Rarity asked her friends, none of whom had an answer at the moment. The bell to the school rang to break their thoughts, causing the group to split apart as they rushed to each of their classes. Only Fluttershy didn't head into the school. Instead, she glanced around to make sure that she was alone before racing over to numerous bushes by the school, where she sat down and slipped her backpack off of her shoulder.
"It's okay everyone. You can come out now," she said as she unzipped her bag, allowing numerous critters to crawl out. Mice, a rabbit and even a baby raccoon emerged from her bag. Fluttershy then reached inside her backpack and pulled out a bottle before whistling to the raccoon. The baby gingerly walked over to her on three legs, allowing Fluttershy to pick it up and gently cuddle it in her arms.
"Oh please, don't be fussy. You need to drink up if you want to regain your strength," Fluttershy whispered to the baby as she gently pushed the top of the bottle into its mouth. She giggled as the raccoon began to drink away at the milk happily, making Fluttershy happy as well. That was, until, her bunny raced up to her with wide eyes.
"Angel, what's the matter?" Fluttershy asked the bunny, but the question was answered a moment later when she spied a pair of feet standing in front of her. Fluttershy's eyes widened when she turned her gaze upward to find that a new teacher was looking down at her with a quizzical expression. The animals all raced around Fluttershy as she remained frozen in place under the teacher's gaze, her voice barely a squeak while Diana walked up to Fluttershy.
"Hello, Fluttershy. Quite the assortment of animals you have." Diana then sat down across from Fluttershy and held out a hand to the mice, who sniffed at her once with hesitation before racing back to Fluttershy. Diana said nothing about the mice, but instead lifted her gaze to the girl with the pink hair who was still completely frozen.
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. And I'm not going to tell Celestia about the animals." Fluttershy finally let out a sigh of relief, which Diana noticed also caused the animals around her to become more relaxed as well. Except for the bunny, which seemed to keep an eye on the sky with dread.
"You're...you're not?" Fluttershy meekly asked Diana, who smiled as she shook her head. "But animals aren't allowed in the school. And you're a teacher."
"Yes, but we're not in the school right now, are we?" Diana asked Fluttershy, whose eyes widened before a small smile spread across her face. Diana then glanced at the baby raccoon, who was still happily drinking away at the bottle. Then her eyes caught the hind leg of the creature and her experience told her that one of the legs was injured. "It's nice of you to care for a wounded animals, but wouldn't it be better if you took it to a vet?"
"Well, I wanted to, but this little guy was in such bad shape when I found him on the side of the road that I couldn't risk making the trip," Fluttershy explained as the raccoon finished the drink, letting out a small yawn before it fell asleep in Fluttershy's arms. "So I've been taking care of him, even having to sneak him into school so I could always keep an eye on him."
"That's noble of you. But shouldn't you be in class right now?" Diana asked Fluttershy, who hid behind her hair for a moment.
"Well...my first class is one that I generally do really well in and the teacher, Discord, doesn't seem to mind me being late...or not showing up," Fluttershy nervously stammered out, hiding even deeper in her mane as Diana raised an eyebrow at her. "But what about you? Shouldn't you be teaching right now?"
"Oh don't worry. Athena is teaching for me right now." Fluttershy was tempted to giggle at Diana's joke, but the laugh never came out when she realized that Diana was being dead serious. Upon hearing that the owl was nowhere near them, Angel finally stopped staring at the sky and hopped over to Fluttershy, while giving Diana a nasty look. "I don't think your rabbit likes me."
"That's Angel. I'm really the only one he likes," Fluttershy explained as the rabbit hopped over to Fluttershy's backpack and began to toss out books in search of food. The two then sat in silence for a few minutes before Diana decided it was time to ask a question.
"Fluttershy...have you heard anything about there being magic at this school?" Diana was keeping a close eye on Fluttershy's face and the moment the word magic left her mouth, Fluttershy's eyes widened. She then hurriedly started to get the animals back into her bag, gently resting the sleeping raccoon inside as well before slipping the backpack over her shoulder and hopping to her feet.
"I'm sorry but I've really got to go to class and everything you understand bye!" Fluttershy then turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, racing to the side of the school and giving Diana one last look that the teacher read as uncertainty before turning the corner.
"Well, Fluttershy was the wrong one to ask," Diana muttered to herself as she leaned up against the building, glancing down to see that Fluttershy had forgotten the bottle for the raccoon. She picked it up and gazed at it, going over her plans once more. 'She knows something. That much is clear by her reaction. But I don't want to force the truth from her. Not like that. But I've seen and felt the magic here...maybe one of Sunset's other friends will be more cooperative. Applejack seems like a reasonable one. Maybe I'll try-'
Diana's thoughts were cut off as the sound of space and time ripping apart caused her to spin around. A vortex that was at least twice as big as the one she had found the other night greeted her, making her eyes narrow when a creature that she had never seen before emerged from within. It was a wolf that was covered in bark and twigs, green eyes glowing with ferocity as they locked onto the teacher. Diana read the look in the predator's eyes and cracked her knuckles in response.
"Trust me. You don't want to do this," Diana promised the creature as she rolled up her sleeves to reveal two silver bracelets. The creature ignored her warning and lunged towards the teacher with a snarl, fangs and claws outstretched as it went in for the kill. But instead of striking flesh, it ran into a right hand that cracked its wooden face and sent it hurtling across the school yard. It kept going until it slammed into a stop sign, twisting the sign as it collapsed to the ground.
The wolf let out a weak moan while it looked up to find that Diana was already upon it. She grabbed it by the throat and hoisted it into the air, giving it a cold stare before hurling it back across the street and next to the portal. She then glanced at the twisted sign before plucking it from the ground. She gripped it with both hands and with a little bit of effort, straightened it out once more. She planted the sign back into the concrete before leaping across the street and landing next to the wolf.
"You're not getting away. You're going back in the portal," Diana promised the wolf as it scrambled to its feet and raced around the side of the building. Diana took after it with incredible speed, but the moment she turned the corner she was greeted by a sight she did not expect to see.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Fluttershy promised the wolf as she gently walked towards it, unfazed by the fact that the creature snarled at her and backed away. Diana narrowed her eyes as she spent a quick moment debating whether she would interfere or not, but then the wolf let out a low howl and staggered over to Fluttershy. Fluttershy then cradled the head of the wolf in her arms, humming to it gently.
Then it happened. For a brief moment Fluttershy glowed with a golden light that covered her whole body. Diana watched with wide eyes as her mane grew longer and wings grew out of the back of Fluttershy. And in that moment Diana sensed the same magic that she had felt when she had first gotten there...which made her uneasy. A moment later Fluttershy returned to normal, smiling down at the wolf.
"You came through one of those portals, didn't you? Come on, let's get you home." Fluttershy turned with the wolf and headed in the direction from where it came, but neither of them bothered looking up to see Diana floating far above their heads. Her face looked like it was chiseled out of stone and with crossed arms she watched as Fluttershy helped the wolf into the vortex, waving to it as the portal closed behind the creature.
'No wonder she was so worried about me finding out about the magic. She is magical,' Diana deduced as Fluttershy glanced around to make sure that she wasn't being watched before she turned and raced into the building, leaving Diana alone with her thoughts.
'Athena will want to hear about this,' Diana mused. 'But I'm still not sure what this means. Fluttershy has access to magic. That's fine, I've been near plenty of people that can call upon magic at will. It's also clear that she wants to keep it a secret or else she wouldn't have reacted the way she did when I asked about magic. But then, add Hades into this equation and things take a turn for the worse. Hades is looking for six elements of magic, six items that he told me will win back Steve's life. But is this what he was talking about? Instead of magical trinkets...is Fluttershy one of the items that he wanted?'
Diana shook her head as she descended back onto the ground, glancing at a clock to see that it was almost time for class to wrap up and she still needed to make sure that everything was going right with her class. She rolled down her sleeves once more to hide the bracelets while calming her emotions at the same time.
'I need more information. But Celestia was right. Sunset's friends do seem to be in charge of the magic around here. But why keep it secret?' Diana asked herself as she walked into the school and headed for her classroom. 'And do the other students know about it? And what does Hades really want with the magic? Things just keep getting more and more difficult.'
Diana opened the door to her classroom and walked in to find that Athena held a piece of chalk within her talons, writing out instructions and questions upon the board. Every eye in the room fell upon Diana, who gazed over her morning class to find that each of them had expressions of disbelief and some of fear.
"What? None of you were taught by owls growing up?"
-w-
"Honestly, I was not expecting to hear from you again so soon," a voice that sat behind a large desk in a revolving chair said in her phone. "No, not that it's a problem at all. I'm always delighted to talk to one of the most generous donators to our school."
"I am glad to hear that, Principal Cinch. Because I have a favor to ask of you."
"A favor? Well, I can't turn down any request of yours, especially after you helped me regain my reputation after those disastrous Friendship Games," the principal said into her phone with a laugh, but then she heard the request from the other end and her face fell slightly. "You wish for me to transfer the three students you hand picked to Canterlot High? But there are so many other students...no no, I'm not arguing. If you wish for me to, I am certain that it will be no problem. Goodbye."
Principal Cinch then hung up the phone and crossed her fingers, wondering to herself why he would ask for those three students in particular. She shrugged it off and pressed a button on her machine, which caused Dean Cadence to enter into her room a few moments later.
"You called for me, Principal?"
"Indeed I did. Here is a list of three students that I wish for you to bring to my office at once," Cinch instructed to Cadence as she held out the names of the students to her, making Cadence raise an eyebrow before nodding to the principal and leaving the room. "I may not know what the full plan is, but as long as it can help me to get back at those blasted magic users for humiliating me, I do not care. For I will show that my school is supreme, as we've always been."
"Well Diana, now that you've been here for two weeks, what do you think of our school so far?" Luna asked Diana as the two walked down the hallways filled with students, most of whom moved out of the way of the teachers. "I've heard from the students how most seem to...listen to you, though I can't help but feel that they might be afraid of you."
"I'm an intimidating person. I try not to be, but when you're raised like I was it comes naturally," Diana explained to Luna, who raised an eyebrow in response. "But I like the students. Most of them. Rainbow Dash keeps getting on my nerves and some of the other students aren't even trying, but the rest seem like good souls that just need a little help."
"Yes, Rainbow can be a bit of a problem academically, but she does have incredible talent...and magic," Luna whispered under her breath, not knowing that Diana could hear her fine. "Also, you have Sunset Shimmer in one of your classes, correct? How is she doing?"
Diana made sure to watch Luna's face carefully out of the corner of her eye when she answered. "She's been falling asleep a lot in class and that's when she manages to keep herself awake. I don't believe I've had a single class that she's made it all the way through awake."
"Ah," Luna responded while biting her lip.
"But she is an intelligent student and one that is trying her best. That's one of the reasons that I haven't docked her any points yet," Diana continued. Luna gave Diana a stunned look at the news while the other teacher's eyes narrowed. "And I know that the lack of sleep isn't her fault. She's being plagued by nightmares, nightmares that have her scared for her life. I just wish I knew how to help her."
"So do I, Diana. So do I," Luna agreed before thinking the problem over in her mind. But then the teacher was distracted by something that she saw posted on the wall outside of the cafeteria, something that made her snarl slightly. "So that's why sister was so insistent that I go with you to the cafeteria. Because it's freaking taco Tuesday."
"Do you not like Tacos?" Diana asked, but then the both of them heard the sounds of shouting and screaming coming from the other side of the doors, followed by a tray filled with food striking the windows in front of them.
"No, Diana, I love tacos fine. It's just that for some strange reason every time it's taco Tuesday, something bizarre happens in this school!" Luna snarled as she glanced through the other window to see what the damage was. "First it was the sirens singing, then it was some kind of serpent that nearly turned the kids to stone and..." Luna realized what she was saying and whipped her head around to Diana, who was giving the assistant principal a curious look.
"The sirens were a group of singers and the serpent was nothing more than a student in a costume. Still strange, wouldn't you agree?" Luna backpedaled as fast as she could.
"Yes. That is indeed strange," Diana agreed before the screaming got louder.
"Fortunately, it only seems like a food fight today," Luna sighed before giving Diana a glance. "So, think you've been here long enough that you're ready to put a stop to a food fight."
"It has to be easier than getting shot at." Leaving the wide-eyed Luna with that remark, Diana kicked open the doors and walked into the cafeteria to find the place in complete shambles. Students were hurling not only food, but also backpacks and trays. Yet even as she ducked out of the way of a flying muffin and took shelter behind a pillar, Diana felt the strangest traces of magic.
'So, are the students here being controlled? Or is this just usual behavior?' she pondered to herself before one of the students, a blue haired boy by the name of Flash Sentry that she had in the morning class, noticed the teacher behind the pillar.
"We've got a new teacher in the warzone!" Flash called out to the other students as he leapt up onto the desk, turning every head in the room towards Diana. "Let's give her a welcome to Canterlot High that she'll never forget!" Flash called out before taking aim with a bowl of spaghetti in his hands, nearly every other student in the room doing the same.
Diana just had a few seconds before the fight would resume, but in those moment she used her incredible speed to glance around at every person in the room. First was their eyes, which was where she normally saw signs of mind control. But to her fascination their eyes didn't look any different. Another thing that drew her attention was how all of the students were smiling, as if they were having fun.
'So, you kids find breaking the rules and harassing the teachers for fun, huh?' Diana thought as she stamped down on a tray that rested near her feet, launching it off of the floor and into her hands just as the students began to fling food towards her. 'Then let's have fun.'
With precision that very few others could match, Diana began to swat or deflect the food items that were hurled at her out of the way, a smile crossing her face when the students' jaws dropped for a brief moment before a look of rage flashed across Flash's face. A look that no student should be able to make.
'So something is wrong here. Time to find out what.' Diana then began to walk into the center of the room, using the tray to deflect everything that was thrown at her. The dozens of students tried harder and harder to hit her, some of them throwing things like forks and metal trays. But with a smile still upon her face, Diana managed to deflect anything that came at her, even attacks from behind that she shouldn't have been able to see.
"That...isn't possible..." Flash whispered to himself in so low a voice that only Diana heard him. Her eyes narrowed when she began to advance through the gobsmacked students towards Sentry, one of her hands reaching inside of her jacket for the Lasso of Truth.
"Stop it! All of you!" Every head in the room, including Diana, turned to see Sunset Shimmer standing in the doorway to the cafeteria, black bags under her eyes that burned like a fire. Diana took a quick glance around to see that most of the students had stopped moving at her arrival and none of them threw anything as Sunset walked into the room.
"We are Canterlot High! We are the students that fought back against Crystal Prep and fought off the spell of the sirens! And yet all of you are acting like...like..." Sunset tried to finish before she let out a loud yawn. "We are better than this! Our school should act like a team, not throwing food at one another!"
To the surprise of Diana, the room seemed to calm down at Sunset's words. Students began to lower their arms and gazed at Diana and each other with guilty looks. Only Flash remained unfazed by Sunset's words, but Diana could still only gaze at Sunset with an impressed gaze.
"Well done," Diana said with praise to Sunset, who smile tiredly at the teacher before gazing at the students who had started to clean up the room. Then one of the students pointed up and both Diana and Sunset looked up to see that one of the fluorescent lights had fallen out of the ceiling and was heading straight for Sunset.
'She's too tired to move out of the way,' Diana realized as Sunset had only just began to process what was happening. She blinked her eyes right before the light came crashing down on her...only to blink as a fist collided with the light and pulverized it out of existence. If the room could get any quieter, it did as every student gazed at Diana, who retracted her arm before gazing down at Sunset. "Are you alright? None of the glass hit you, did it?"
"No...I think I'm fine," Sunset said with uncertainty as she glanced down at herself. Diana gazed from the student to the light, narrowing her eyes in the process. She then gazed around the room, noticing that Flash had lowered himself off of the table with eyes that seemed confused.
"Well, glad to see that's over," Luna said as she walked into the room, a look on her face that made every student know they were in trouble. "Diana, thank you for putting a stop to that. I would have helped, but honestly after seeing your ninja moves I would have probably gotten in the way."
"It was no problem," Diana said as she gazed down at Sunset, who was holding a hand to her head. "Sunset, I want to see you after class later. Now go get some rest and be careful." Sunset nodded as she left he cafeteria while Luna turned towards Flash and motioned for him to join them.
"Well Flash, what do you have to say for yourself?" Luna asked the boy when he walked over, her tone of voice telling Diana that she was extremely angry. Flash blinked once in confusion as his reply, further angering Luna. "Flash, for this little food fight of yours, I have no choice but to-"
"Detention Flash. Tomorrow. With me," Diana butted in before Luna could finish, her words causing Luna to turn towards her with shock. Diana swiftly moved beside Luna and placed her mouth close to the assistant principals ear. "I do not believe Flash was entirely in control of his actions. There is something wrong here, something very wrong."
Luna gave Diana another strange look while Diana walked out of the cafeteria, needing to consult Athena before deciding on her next move.
-wWw-
The last of the students had cleared out of the classroom as Diana finished erasing her notes from the whiteboard, turning around to find that Sunset was asleep in her seat once more. As Diana watched, Sunset's face became distorted and she began to whimper slightly as she tossed and turned. After a few more moments Sunset shot up in her seat, her face pale as she held a hand to her heart.
"I fell asleep in class again, didn't I?" she asked after having a moment to recover, Diana's nod causing Sunset to groan as she held her hands in her hands. "I'm so sorry. All I can seem to do nowadays is mess up." Diana and Athena shared a glance before Diana walked over to Sunset, sitting down in the desk before her and placing a hand on Sunset's shoulder.
"Sunset...what is the matter. And please be honest with me." Sunset averted her gaze from Diana, yet was unable to hide the fear in her eyes.
"It's...nothing. Nothing you can help me with."
"Then you need to see someone who can. Maybe a sleep doctor or-"
"No. No one can help me. Not with this."
Diana's face hardened at her words and she placed her hand under Sunset's chin, lifting the girl's eyes so she was looking directly into Diana's. "Sunset, I have dealt with problems the likes of which you could not believe. I am your teacher. I am not only here to teach you, but to help you when you need me. You can trust me."
For a long moment, Sunset just gazed up into Diana's eyes before letting out a sigh and hiding her head in her arms. "I've been having nightmares. Terrible nightmares. In them...my friends need my help but I'm unable to help them. In some of the worst ones I'm actually the one that kills them. And at the end of all of my dreams, this thing with metal limbs tells me how I'm going to fail, how I'm going to be the one responsible for the downfall of this world. All because I'm not good enough. And then it kills me. Over and over."
"And you believe it?" Diana asked after a few moments of silence.
"Of course. Because it's right," Sunset said with a nod. "Because I failed those who believed in me in the past. I'm nothing more than a-"
"Do not finish that statement," Diana cut her off with such force that Sunset actually managed to open her eyes all the way in surprise. "In the two weeks I have been here, I have had no other student that has impressed me as much as you. You are exhausted, to the point where you constantly pass out, but you still manage to do well on tests and earlier today stopped students from throwing a massive food fight with nothing but your words. You are an amazing person, Sunset, and you shouldn't listen to what a nightmare has to say."
"I'm scared, Diana," Sunset finally admitted to Diana. Sunset's body shivered and she wrapped her hands around her arms, gazing down at the desk with fear shaking her. "Scared that every time I fall asleep that thing and its voice will be there. Scared that one day I'll go to sleep and won't wake up. I'm so scared...that this nightmare will kill me."
Diana gently gazed down at the student who was shivering in her seat, wondering what she could do to help. Then Diana reached into her jacket with one hand and placed the other over Sunset's. "Sunset, do you trust me?" Diana asked Sunset, who gazed back at her with scared eyes. "If you do, I want you to try and sleep here. Trust me," Diana continued before Sunset could argue. "And I promise that this time will be different."
For the longest moment of her life Sunset gazed up at Diana. Then she took in a shaky breath and lowered her head onto her arms. With how tired she was, it only took a moment before Sunset was fast asleep on her desk. The moment Diana sensed that Sunset was asleep she slipped the Lasso of Truth out from her jacket and gently placed it into Sunset's grasp.
"What are you doing?" Athena asked Diana as the teacher stepped away from the desk, watching Sunset's face with held breath. Sunset let out a sigh as her hand began to glow gold before a smile spread across her face, which in turn caused a smile to spread out across Diana's.
"This nightmare that Sunset has been having has been telling her that she's a failure, that she will be the downfall of her friends and that she's better off dead," Diana informed Athena, who raised an eyebrow in response. "And after so long of being subjected to those lies, I think she was beginning to believe them."
"So that's why you gave her the lasso."
"Correct. I don't care how powerful the nightmare or how strong the lies, with that lasso Sunset will only be able to dream about the truth about herself...and from the look on her face," Diana said as she glanced over at Sunset, who was sleeping with a smile spread across her face and finally resting peacefully. "I'd say that she's finally having a good dream."
Diana then walked over to her desk and pulled out the papers that she still had to grade. She knew that with her super speed she could grade all of them in a matter of moments, but then she glanced over to Sunset who was still sleeping with a smile on her face. A soft smile spread across Diana's face before she turned back to the papers, planning to take a long time grading them. As long as Sunset needed.
Monsters
None of Sunset's friends had any idea what they were looking at when the red haired girl raced down the street towards them with a smile upon her face that they hadn't seen in days. A light radiated from her that dwarfed even the blaze of the sun, despite the actual star resting just above the horizon.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" she asked them as she skidded to a halt near the crosswalk, the smile fading slightly when she saw their faces. "Um, what's the matter guys? Is there a magical attack going on or something?"
"No, it's just that you...seem cheerful. And rested," Twilight pointed out as she squinted her eyes at Sunset, who glanced down at herself.
"Yeah, not to be rude, but you've looked like crap ever since the school year began," Rainbow Dash added, only to be nudged hard in the stomach by Rarity. "Well, it's true!"
"Yeah, I guess I have been feeling kind of...really down as of late," Sunset admitted to her friends as she rubbed the back of her head. "The nightmares that I had been having really did a number on me. Between shattering my confidence in myself, trying to make me think that I'd fail all of you, and outright trying to kill me, it's amazing I haven't broken down yet."
Sunset blinked twice after speaking, realizing that she had spoken far more of the truth than she had planned. She then gazed at the horrified expressions that her friends wore, remembering why she hadn't wanted to tell them about her nightmares in the first place.
"But it's okay now! The nightmares are gone!" Sunset promised them as she unzipped her jacket, moving it to the side to reveal a rope that had been wrapped many times around her waist.
"Sunset...that's a rope."
"That's not just a rope, it's a lasso. And quite the lasso at that," Applejack said with shining eyes as she crouched down next to Sunset and ran her fingers over the rope. She felt a tingling sensation run through her fingers before she stood back up with a curious glance. "Ah've never felt anything like it before and ah've used plenty of rope. Where'd ya get it."
"Diana gave it to me. She said that it was given to her by her mother and that whoever wields it will be filled with the truth," Sunset explained as she placed a hand on the rope. "And she's been right about that. Ever since I've started sleeping with this, the nightmares are nowhere to be seen. I guess she was right--that everything those nightmares were saying were just lies."
"So that lasso is filled with the truth?" Twilight asked before aiming her watch at the lasso, but a frown crossed her face when the watch remained silent. "Darn, for a moment I thought it might be Equestrian magic, but my watch isn't picking up anything. Does that make it just a rope?"
"Well whatever it is, it's working," Sunset said as the group turned and started to head towards the school. "I've haven't slept so well in weeks."
"That was nice of her to give it to you," Fluttershy said from Sunset's side, but Sunset noticed that Fluttershy had a strange look on her face while she stared ahead.
"Especially if it was given to her from her mother. Ya must have really been in need of its help," Applejack added.
"You're right about that. I should go by her room around lunch and thank her."
"It is truly divine though. Look at the shine that is coming off of it," Rarity added as she leaned in to get a good look. "My word, it looks as if it could have been crafted by gods. I'm amazed that Diana would be willing to part with it. You must have made quite the impression on her."
"I guess I did," Sunset whispered, thinking about what Diana had said to her the previous week. "But we've also got a few other things to worry about. I've been out of action thanks to the nightmares and since that happened, more and more of those portals are popping up around the area. Fluttershy, you said that there was a timberwolf here a few days ago, right?"
"Hm...oh yes, there was definitely one of those," Fluttershy stammered quickly as Sunset's voice broke her from her thoughts. "But there was something strange about it. The poor thing was in pain. And its jaw had been crushed pretty badly. I wonder if it had been hit by a truck?"
"Well, we'll need to keep a closer eye out. Especially since Principal Celestia doesn't want word of there being magic getting out of the school if she can help it," Twilight reminded the group as they approached the entrance. "She's even trying to keep the teachers from knowing. So far only a few of them have caught on, but she assured me that they've agreed to be quiet about it."
"What about Diana?" Sunset asked the group after a moment of thinking. "Should we tell her? After all, she's been really kind to me and I...don't feel like I could lie to her. Not after helping me get rid of my nightmares."
"Are you kidding? What good would telling her do?" Rainbow asked with a scoff as she rested her hands behind her head. "Oh, hey teach, just to let you know we fight monsters in our spare time using magic from another dimension. Do you really think she'd believe us, and even if she did, what good would she be?"
"Apparently you need to start paying more attention. Didn't you hear about what she did to that light in the cafeteria that almost hit Sunset?" Twilight asked, sighing when Dash shrugged her shoulders. "She destroyed it with a single punch--after deflecting everything that was thrown at her with a lunch tray. As weird as she is, there is no doubt that Diana is strong."
"So she's a modern day Amazon. I still say we don't tell her."
The group cut their conversation there as they entered into the halls, walking past students as their topics drifted off into other areas. That was until Twilight bumped into a certain boy and was nearly knocked over as a result.
"Whoa there!" Flash called out as he caught Twilight around the waist, the two of them glancing at each other before he pulled her up. "Sorry about that," he apologized as both of them looked everywhere except where the other was.
"It's nothing."
"Hey Flash, been a while since I've seen you," Sunset cut in when neither of them spoke. "I think that the last time we met, you were throwing food at my head."
"Yeah...sorry about that too."
"Heard that assistant principal Luna was all ready to expel ya, but Diana intervened and gave ya detention instead," Applejack remembered, getting a nod filled with shame from Flash as he hid his hands in his pockets. "How'd that go by the way? She beat ya upside the head with a lunch tray or something?"
"No...actually, detention wasn't that bad. All Diana did was ask me a few question and then let me go home," Flash said with a shrug, but when he saw their expressions demanding more he continued. "Well, the first thing she asked was if any strangers had approached me recently. I told her no and it seemed to worry her. She then asked if I had encountered something strange. I said no again and this time it frustrated her. She then asked if I have been having any nightmares."
"I'm noticing a pattern," Twilight muttered to herself.
"I told her no...except for the one I had where I had to perform a play by myself in front of the whole school. While in my underwear," he muttered as Rainbow began to laugh, turning his face red. "She laughed too when I said that."
"And then she let you go?" Sunset asked once Rarity had stopped Rainbow's laughter.
"Yeah. She didn't even seem mad at me for what I did in the cafeteria. But I still remember how she looked at me when questioning me," Flash shivered. "It felt like her eyes pierced through me, kind of what it's like when someone far beyond you is gazing at you. In all honesty I was glad to leave."
The girls all shared a look, but before they could continue the bell above them rang and told them it was time to get to class. They promised each other that they would pick up the conversation later before splitting apart.
-wWw-
"I didn't get the chance to thank you for stopping that food fight the other day. So, thank you, Diana." Diana didn't register the praise at first, as she was too busy staring out Celestia's window when the last of the students cleared out for the day. All except for Sunset's group, who were hanging out in front of the statue out front.
"I do not deserve all the praise," Diana explained as she tore her eyes from them and turned her attention back towards the smiling Celestia. "I may have...intervened, but it was Sunset who truly stopped the food fight. She is quite the authority figure here, isn't she?"
"She may be, but I believe that you did more than intervene," Luna spoke up with a raise eyebrow. "Did you train with the Spartans when you were over in Greece, because you moved like a fighter yourself when you were in that cafeteria. Dozens of teenagers throwing their food and other items at you and you didn't get hit once."
"You are not wrong Luna, I have been trained how to fight since I was little," Diana answered truthfully. "My teacher prepared me for nearly anything I might come across, but I admit that having food thrown at me was new."
"You also said something about being shot at?"
"As I said, he prepared me for many things."
Diana had to hide her smile as she watched the sisters share the same look with each other, but then Celestia's smile returned to her face and she rose out of her seat. "Actually Diana, I wanted to do more than thank you. I wanted to ask you something. I feel that the students here have been...struggling as of late, so I'm thinking that perhaps a field trip would do them some good. And I want you to be the teacher in charge."
"Why me?" Diana asked, but before Celestia could answer Luna stepped forward with a list in her hands.
"Well, let's see. The students all respect you, you're the only teacher that has no issues with disobedience, you punched a glass light to dust and you are stern but fair with the students. I think it's safe to say that you're prime leader material."
"Plus, Sombra is the other teacher that you will be working with. And I'd like someone I know I can trust partnered with him," Celestia added with a sigh. "He means well, but dear heaven is he extreme. So will you do it, Diana? Your will be taking your own classes of course."
"Very well, I shall do it. So where are we going?"
"There's a field in a forest not too far from here where a battle was fought a long time ago. Since you and Sombra both teach about history and battles, I figured that this would be a good chance to get the students out in the field and help them to learn," Celestia said. "There is also a museum, but in my experience students don't seem to like those as much."
Motion out the window caught Diana's attention and her eyes flicked over to see that Sunset and her friends were racing off towards the back of the school, looks on their faces that made Diana's eyes narrow slightly. Diana made a hurried excuse before walking out of the room and heading in the direction that she had seen the girls go. The moment she was alone she used her superspeed to quickly exit the building and race around back, spying the girls standing out in the dirt filled area...across from a monster.
'A manticore?' Diana thought as she recognized the monster, which roared at the girls before it began to lumber towards them. Yet to Diana's interest, the girls did not falter under the creature's roar and actually began to advance towards it themselves. All except for Twilight, who hung back.
The creature roared again before lunging at Sunset, but right before it grabbed her a blast of red light erupted from her body and hurled the creature back. Diana's eyes widened as each of the girls followed suit and were bathed in a different colored light, changing them from regular girls to girls filed with magic. She saw that Dash and Fluttershy had wings as well.
'So, all of them possess that kind of magic?' Diana pondered before gazing at Twilight, who was the only one that hadn't changed. The girls then hurled themselves at the creature, most of them flying around it. For a brief moment Diana considered what she should do before hiding behind a pair of bleachers, every muscles tensed in case she needed to enter the fight.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash slammed their shoulders into the creature, forcing it back as it roared with fury. It raised its paws to slash at them, but beams of white and red magic wrapped themselves around its arms and held it in place. Diana noted that Rarity and Sunset where the ones using the beams, leaving Pinkie and Fluttershy to be the only ones yet to act.
To Diana's complete surprise, Pinkie threw herself onto the creature's back and grabbed hold of its face, forcing it to keep its eyes open as Fluttershy slowly walked up to it. It struggled with all of its might, but with the other five pinning it down it could not move.
'What is your plan, Fluttershy?' Diana pondered as Fluttershy stopped in front of the manticore, taking in a deep breath before glaring into the creature's eyes. Diana raised an eyebrow at the motion, but once more she was surprise as the creature began to howl as if it was in pain. It struggled against its bonds, but was unable to break free. Fluttershy then began to advance forward and pushed the creature back with her glare, backing it up towards the vortex on the field.
And then something happened that only Diana was fast enough to see. A beam of what looked like broken glass severed the magic that had been holding the manticore's arms. With its limbs free it swatted away Applejack and Rainbow Dash, before the creature's eyes turned red and it turned towards Sunset with a furious bellow. The girl barely had time to lift her arms and cry out as the creature barreled down on her.
CRACK!
Sunset's screams were drowned out by the sound of something breaking. A loud crack came from the back of the manticore's skull before the creature fell flat on its face, with a rock lodged in the back of its head. Fluttershy rushed to the creature's side as the others checked up on Sunset, who was gazing in the direction of where the rock had come from. But to her confusion, she didn't see anyone.
'So that is the magic that Celestia was talking about,' Diana deduced far above the field, gazing down from the sky at the seven girls with interest. 'And aside from Twilight, the six of them seem to be able to tap into a magical power that is powerful. I can feel it. But how did the six of them...'
Diana's thoughts then died as she remembered something that Hades had said to her--about the magical items that he had wanted. That there were six of them. With realization dawning in her eyes, Diana gazed back down at the girls, piecing together what Hades had said. Piecing together exactly what magic Hades wanted her to take from this world.
"Hades. You bastard."
Diana stretched her muscles under the shining rays of the sun, giving the backyard of the school one quick look to make sure that everything was in place for her final class. A faint hoot told her that they were on their way, and she knelt down to collect numerous papers from a duffle bag that rested at her feet. She stood up and glanced behind her to see her final class of the day walking towards her, being led by Athena.
"Greetings, class. Glad to see that you're all getting a little more used to listening to Athena," Diana said with a small chuckle as she held out her arm for the owl, who landed upon it and immediately fell asleep. A few giggles turned Diana's attention away from the owl and she caught some of the students giggling to themselves. "Is there something amusing?"
"Just...what you're wearing," one of the students said with a laugh that had failed to be contained. Diana glanced down at her sweat pants and workout clothes with confusion on her face, while other students began to chuckle as well. "Is this not the garb that one wears for outdoor activities?"
"Not since maybe the seventies," Crystal said with a laugh before realization dawned on her. "Wait a moment, outdoor activities? Just what do you mean by that?"
"I mean that today all of you are going to be doing a little outside work," she said. A smile crossed Diana's face when she saw the students' mirth at her outfit vanish and be replaced with groans (by most of them). "Since we have the field trip coming up next week, I wanted to make the most of the classes that we will be having this week. So I'm going to be testing you on what you've learned about gods. Athena, if you wouldn't mind?"
Athena grabbed hold of half of the papers that Diana was offering to her and aided the teacher in passing them out to the students, who gazed over the papers with either excitement or annoyance at what was written upon them. "Can anyone here tell me what this paper is?"
"It's a scavenger hunt!" Sunset said with delight in her voice.
"Correct, Sunset. Today all of you are going to be breaking up into teams of four and going on a little scavenger hunt," Diana began to explain to her students while Athena flew off to a nearby tree. "Around the school I have hidden items that relate to the Greek Pantheon, be they their symbols or weapons. Can anyone tell me how many members are in the Greek Pantheon?"
"Twelve!" Twilight called out without a moment's delay.
"Yes Twilight, according to your books there are twelve gods," Diana agreed before holding up the paper. "On here are clues and hints that will lead you to the items or animals." Diana couldn't help but smile at how the word animals made Fluttershy's face light up. "Working with your team and the tasks to claim the items will be easy. We go until all the items have been collected."
"Or until class is over," Crystal remarked, but the smile that crossed Diana's face knocked the smile off of her face.
"No, until they are all collected. I have permission from Luna to keep you here until I see fit, not until the bell has rung. However, those with special obligations may of course leave if they clear it with me. However, you will be glad to know that every other class found the items with time to spare. I am not cruel."
"When did you have time to do all of this?" Flash asked Diana from the back.
"I work quick."
"No, I mean when does a teacher have time to do anything besides grade papers and teach?" he said with a shrug, getting the class to laugh at his joke. "I also think they sleep under the desks in coffins." Diana frowned at his words, but chose to ignore them as she waved a hand to the students to silence them.
"Break up into teams and start to look around. The back of the papers have a checklist for those of you with poor management skills," Diana told them as they got into their teams. She wasn't surprised at all to see that Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight were one group, while the rest sorted themselves out as best they could. "I will be grading you not only on what items you bring to me, but also how you deduced what items belong to which god. Because it may be possible that I left a few decoys out there as well."
"You did all that in-between classes?! You must be crazy."
"Detention, Sentry."
"What?! Why?"
"Because I'm crazy."
Diana stepped to the side as groups of students ran past her, each of them already singling out specific gods or areas in which they believed the items to be. Diana was glad to see that most of them were smiling as they ran by her, including Twilight's group, but to her surprise Sunset walked up to the teacher and held out the paper to her.
"Just a quick question. I couldn't help but notice with the list of the twelve gods, that there's half a blank space at the bottom of the page," she pointed out to Diana, who glanced at the paper to indeed see that there was a spot for another god that had been cut off by page restriction. "I was just wondering if that was an accident or if there's a thirteenth god."
"You heard what Twilight said, Sunset. According to the book, there are twelve gods in the pantheon," Diana replied. Sunset's eyes narrowed slightly at Diana's response before she walked off to join her friends, muttering under her breath about the gods.
''They look to be having fun," Athena said as she floated down onto Diana's shoulder.
"Indeed they do. And they already seem to be going faster than the other class," she said as she spied numerous students heading towards a lake Diana had found near the trees. "But I'm curious to see if any of them will do what the other classes I teach failed to do," she said as she sat down and kept an eye on all her students, wondering if any of them would impress her.
-wWw-
"Ugh, I can't believe that we're out here on such a hot day digging around the place looking for trinkets!" Crystal said with a sigh of frustration when she and her team of three walked across the back of the school with the trident of Poseidon resting on her shoulders. "Studying is boring enough, but add physical labor on top of it and it becomes unbearable."
"I fail to see why you're complaining. We're winning," Agatha reminded her teammate from underneath a helmet with ram horns upon it. "Besides, I like learning about these gods. Couldn't you imagine what it would be like to possess all that power and make the mortals around you squirm simply by looking at them funny?"
"No, because I'm not a psychopath like you," Crystal snarled as she gazed over her shoulder at Boulder, who was smiling at his reflection in a disc shaped like the sun. "Boulder, why are you staring at yourself? You're not a pretty sight, trust me. Make yourself useful and go find another of these artifacts."
"And what will you do?"
"I'm going to take a well-deserved rest," Crystal said as she impaled the tips of the trident into the ground before sitting under a tree, sighing while she shielded her eyes from the sun. Agatha sat down under another tree, pulling out a book and starting to read. Crystal's eyes narrowed into slits when she spied Sunset's group across the field from them. "So, those are some of the students that Cinch wants us to keep an eye on, huh? Don't see why, they don't look so special."
"According to the rumors, those students are magical in some way," Agatha said as she gazed up from her book. "Apparently that's how they were able to tie us in the last Friendship Games."
"I heard about that. Of course, the only way this joke of a school could win is if they used magic," Crystal snarled to herself before she glanced around her. "Where did Boulder get to?"
"Probably to do what you told him to. For someone who isn't a psycho, you sure seem to enjoy bossing others around."
"What can I say, I was born for the role," Crystal smiled as she closed her eyes and began to rest. Agatha rolled her eyes and tried to get back into her book, but then she glanced up in time to see something interesting. "Well, that's unusual."
Crystal cracked open her eyes to see what the fuss was about. She sat up with interest though, when she spied Sunset and her group glancing around suspiciously before they began to walk very quickly away from where the students were. "Now what are those four up to?"
"Seems they're trying to sneak out of class."
Crystal narrowed her eyes at those words before a devious smile crossed her face and she gazed at Agatha with a sinister look in her eyes. "Well, we can't have that, can we. Students shouldn't be sneaking off during class. We'll have to inform the teacher about this."
"Do we have to? I just got comfortable."
"Of course we have to! This way we can get back at them a little for the Games!" Crystal said as she grabbed Agatha and pulled her to her feet, dragging her across the yard to where Diana was still sitting.
"Three items? Your group is doing pretty well for itself," Diana observed as the two drew closer.
"Thank you, Diana, but we've got something urgent to tell you," Crystal began. "See, we were trying to discern the location of one of the items when we spied Sunset's group...leaving the school grounds." She pointed in the direction of Sunset's group as she said this, getting Diana to glance over to see that indeed the four students were trying to sneak out.
"I do not know why they would want to be leaving the grounds, but a teacher cannot let students just walk out of class, can they?" Crystal asked as Diana rose to her feet.
"Sunset Shimmer." despite being nearly a full field away from their teacher, Sunset heard the words from Diana almost as if the teacher had been standing next to her. Very slowly, the girl and her friends turned around to see Diana glaring right at them, motioning with her index finger for them to join her. The students slowly walked over to Diana doing their best to hide their guilt, with some having better success than others.
"Crystal here tells me that you and your friends were trying to leave class. Is this true?"
"Yes," Sunset blurted out before holding both hands to her mouth with shock. Her friends gave her a quick look as Diana's eyes narrowed, pretending not to hear Crystal snicker as she asked her next question.
"Would you care to tell me why you are trying to sneak out of my class, despite your group only having two items?" Diana asked with a neutral tone.
"Because there's a mon-" Sunset began, but in a flash Rainbow Dash had covered Sunset's mouth with both of her hands before giving Diana a small laugh.
"That Sunset's a real kidder. We, um, we..."
"There's something urgent that we need to take care of," Twilight said when Rainbow faltered, all three of her friends agreeing with her at once.
"Something urgent that requires all of you. Care to tell me what could be so urgent that you felt you needed to sneak out of class?" Diana asked them with a raised eyebrow. The girls all shared similar looks of concern for a brief moment before Twilight took a tiny step forward.
"We...actually...can't say," Twilight replied meekly. Diana's eyebrow went even higher as Crystal snickered from behind her. For a moment, Diana just gazed down at the four girls that were smiling nervously at her, before she let out a small sigh and waved to them.
"Very well. Go deal with whatever is so urgent," Diana said, getting all sets of jaws to drop in surprise. "Just know that if you leave now, then your team won't win the hunt." The four nodded to her with dumbfounded expressions before racing off, Diana watching them go with a hidden smile.
"That's it?! No punishment, no scolding, no...nothing?!" Crystal asked with sheer bafflement in her voice.
"As I said, those with previous obligations may leave if they clear it with me," Diana said as she then looked down at Crystal. "And shouldn't you be getting back to the scavenger hunt? Another team just found their fourth item."
-wWw-
"Come in," Diana replied after hearing a knock at her door, looking up from her desk to see Sunset poke her head in with a small smile on her face. "Hello, Sunset. I hope that you and your friends took care of whatever was so urgent," Diana greeted as she glanced back down at her papers.
"We did, actually...thank you for letting us take care of it."
"We all have urgent matters that can spring up on us when we least expect it," Diana wisely said before gazing over the top of her glasses at Sunset. "I just wish that you would trust me enough to tell me what the urgent matter was. Perhaps I could have aided you?"
"Thank you, but we handled it." Sunset then sat down in front of the desk and reached into her backpack, pulling out a picture and placing it on the desk in front of Diana. "It's a fireplace, one that I found when I searched the schoolyard after our...problem."
"Yes, it does seem to be that. Why are you showing it to me?" Diana asked, but a coy smile spread across Sunset's face that made Diana smile in reply.
"The book does say that there are twelve gods in the pantheon. But in class I remember you saying that you didn't like to follow the book. Just how I also remember the myth you told us, about how it was decided which gods would be a part of the twelve. And how to avoid conflict, Hestia chose to allow Dionysus to have her seat instead."
"And what does this have to do with the fireplace?"
"Because a fireplace, or hearth, is the symbol of Hestia. The thirteenth member of the pantheon that gave up her title," Sunset replied with a smile that made Diana believe she was looking at a small sun. "And that's why there was a thirteen spot that was cut in half. Technically, she was a part of it."
"Very clever, Sunset. A+."
Sunset then stood up and began to walk towards the door, but as she reached it she glanced back at Diana with a sad look upon her face. "Diana, I am really sorry that I had to cut class today. Truth is I really like you as a teacher. You're far different from the other ones and seem to really enjoy teaching us, even when some of us don't even care to be here. Not to mention what you did to help me with my nightmare problem...I wish that I could tell you everything, but I can't."
"It is fine Sunset, I can respect your need for privacy," Diana said with a comforting smile. "But I also want you to know that I am proud of what you have done this semester. You are quick-witted, have a curious mind, and seem to be the only one who picks up on these little problems I like to give out. You are one of a kind, Sunset, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Thanks, Diana. I guess then I'll see you on Monday for the field trip," Sunset said with a wave as she began to exit.
"Sunset." Sunset glanced back around at Diana, who now wore a look upon her face that made Sunset widen her eyes in surprise. "During the field trip on Monday, I want you to stick close to me. Can you promise me that you will do that?"
"Um, sure Diana. I'll do my best." Diana then nodded to Sunset and the girl left the room, leaving Diana to cross her fingers and practically stare a hole through the wall across from her.
"Care to tell me what that was about?"
"I have a feeling, Athena. A very bad feeling."
"Yes, yes. I know that all of you are excited. But this would go a lot easier if you all sat down and SHUT UP!" Sombra bellowed at the students on the bus, but to his increasing frustration not one of them listened to him. Instead the students continued to throw things around, talk amongst themselves and completely ignore their teacher. "I swear I do not get paid enough for this."
"From the way the students listen to you, it's amazing that you've managed to hold onto your job for this long," Diana said from the seats across from Sombra, a laugh escaping her lips at the sinister glare that she found hilarious. "Let them be kids, Sombra. Today is a day for laughter."
"They won't be laughing when they find out that they'll have to write a paper on everything they learn here," Sombra cackled while rubbing his hands together, getting Diana to roll her eyes while she gazed over her shoulder at the students. Most of them were talking excitedly amongst their friends about what they were going to see at the museum, including Sunset and her friends.
'It makes me wonder though, will the school be safe from the creatures that plague it with four of their seven away?' Diana found herself thinking as she too gazed out at the window, knowing that they were almost there. 'Athena may be there to keep an eye on things, but I do not wish to fly back to Canterlot High to fight a monster and leave these students without any supervision.'
"Excuse me, Miss, but the students are getting a bit too wild for my liking," the bus driver said to Diana, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Would ya mind trying to calm them down before we get there? Especially since the other teacher seems to have zero control over them."
Diana nodded to the bus driver, then she stood up and placed her index finger upon her thumb, before pushing them together. The resulting snap made nearly all of the students jump out of their seats, each of them rubbing their ears from the soundwave. After a stern look from Diana, they all sat in their seats and didn't move, though they did resume talking again after a few moments.
"And that is how you quiet a bus full of students," Diana said with a laugh to Sombra, who shook his head with amazement.
"You terrify me, woman, you know that?"
"I do."
A few minutes later the bus came skidding to a halt outside of the museum, joining up with the three other buses that were also carrying students. Diana ushered the students off of her bus, while Sombra roared over all the talking, ordering them to stay in their groups and not separate, which nearly all of them did immediately.
"I will end all of you!" Sombra bellowed as he started to chase after some of the students while Diana waited by the bus until a certain red-headed student walked off of it. Diana smiled at her, but the smile fell as Sunset walked right past the teacher without a second glance.
"Hold on a moment, young lady," Diana called out as she reached out and grabbed hold of the back of Sunset's jacket, bringing her to a dead stop. "Did you forget that you're stuck with me today?"
"Come on Diana, is it really necessary?" Sunset asked with a laugh, but the look that Diana gave the girl informed her that the topic was not up for debate. "Sorry guys, but I'll have to catch up with you later. Apparently I'm the teacher's pet today."
"Welp, have fun," Rainbow Dash said with a laugh as she raced off towards the museum. The other students followed suit while Sunset sat on a concrete sign, kicking her feet back and forth as she waited for Diana to finish helping out the students.
"You know, I was really looking forward to this. Just me and my friends getting to spend the day exploring a museum while trying to avoid getting into trouble," Sunset pouted slightly as Diana wrote down the attendance on her clipboard, noticing that Sentry was missing from the class. Ten more minutes passed as Diana got everything in order before she finally glanced back at the girl laying on her back and staring at the sky.
"Sunset, I'm sorry if this annoys you, but I believe it to be best if you stick with me for today," Diana said as she waved to the bus driver as he and the others pulled out of the area, her words getting a huff out of Sunset before she hopped off the sign. "Now come on, there's a lot to look at and I know that I'm curious to see the history here."
Diana and Sunset walked into the front of the museum after Diana talked to the women behind the counters for a minute. The first place they stopped at was the map of the place, giving Diana an idea of where to go while Sunset stared at the ceiling.
'Sunset.'
Sunset nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard the voice in her head, gazing around to see where it had come from. Yet aside from Diana and the two women behind the counters, there was no one else in the entrance with them.
"What's the matter, Sunset?" Diana asked Sunset.
"Did you hear a voice just now?" Sunset asked Diana.
"No, I cannot say that I did...perhaps it is the voice from the movie in the other room," Diana replied while shaking her head. Sunset gazed around her once more before shrugging her shoulders, figuring that it was just her imagination.
'Sunset.'
Sunset whipped her head around and stared out the window towards where numerous trees were, narrowing her eyes as she spied something within the trees. It was tall and stood upon four legs, yet from the distance she could not make it out. But she knew that shape better than any other person in Canterlot high. Because it was how she used to look.
"A pony," Sunset whispered to herself as realization dawned on her. She then shot a worried glance at Diana, who was in an argument with a guard who stood next to her with a metal detector. 'Do I tell her? No, Equestria magic and beings that come here are my responsibility. Sorry Diana, but I have to handle this.'
"And for the last time, these are not weapons! They were gifted to me by my mother!" Diana roared at the security guard as he stalked off with a snarl upon his lips, a look that was on Diana's face as well. "I swear some people just can't take a hint Sunset...Sunset?" Diana asked as she glanced around the entrance to find the student gone. "Sunset?"
-wWw-
Sunset panted heavily as she raced through the forest, pushing branches out of her way while she glanced around in every direction for where the pony had gotten to. She let out a growl as a branch tore through her jacket before gazing around to find herself surrounded by trees.
"Hello? Is there somepony there?!" Sunset called into the trees, only for the silence of the forest to answer her. "If you're a pony, I know that you're lost and that you need help! Don't worry, I can help you! If you're not a pony, you might want to just walk away because this might all seem crazy to you..."
Sunset chuckled slightly at her joke before it turned into a sigh as she glanced around, knowing exactly where she was. She was lost. 'Well Sunset, you wanted to get away from the museum and you did. So at least that worked out for you. But now I've got to try and get-'
A blow that could have felled a tree struck Sunset in the arm, ripping the girl from the ground and hurling her into the side of a tree. She cried out in pain as she folded against the bark before collapsing to the forest floor, tears filling her eyes while pain flooded through her body. She grunted as she placed both her hands on the ground to push herself back up, but with another cry she realized that her left arm was in agonizing pain.
"That's definitely broken," she muttered while she forced herself back up, leaning against the tree for support as she glared through the pain to see what had hit her. Her eyes focused to see a figure standing across from her, a figure that made her eyes shrink down while her heart plummeted into her stomach. He wore a brownish cloak that covered most of his body, but through tears and worn cloth Sunset could see metal limbs sticking out from beneath.
"No..." she whispered with horror, all of the pain leaving her as the soul-crushing dread of what she was staring at took its place. "No, you can't be here! You're not real! You were nothing more than a nightmare that I had! You can't be real!"
"I am more than real, girl. I am here. And I am annoyed," the creature replied in a voice that sounded older than the very stones that Sunset stood upon. He then began to slowly advanced towards her, reaching out with one hand for the girl. Sunset forced down her fear and turned to sprint away from the creature, but in a flash of motion it was upon her. Metal fingers wrapped around her throat and hoisted her into the air, where she gagged while the fingers tightened around her throat. Sunset struck at the creature's arm with her good hand, but all she felt was pain as her fist struck metal.
"W-what do you want from me?" Sunset stammered out as tears streaked down her face.
"You just wouldn't die, would you?" the creature asked Sunset, who could only whimper in reply. "I prefer not to get my hands dirty when changing a world. If anything, I prefer not to interfere in any way whatsoever. But you had to be stubborn. Resilient. Foolish. Even after I attacked your mind to show you what a failure you are, even after I set numerous things in that school of yours to kill you, you refused to die. And so you have left me to dirty my hands with your demise."
"That...was all you?" Sunset choked out.
"Do you not listen? Of course I did it all. I just said that. Now please remain quiet," the being said as the free hand began to glow with a power that seemed to tear space and time around it. "Because I always hate to hear a being scream as it dies."
In the face of certain death Sunset managed to repress her fear, giving her just enough sense to summon the magic within her. A blast of red light erupted from her as ears grew on the top of her head and her hair grew into a long ponytail. The creature seemed to pause at her transformation before Sunset pointed her hand right in the creature's face.
"I beat you once! I can do it again!" she roared before unleashing a blast of red magic into the creature's hooded face. But as Sunset ceased her attack after a few moments, she knew that it had done nothing. The creature's grip upon her throat was still as tight as ever and it hadn't even flinched from the blow. Horror wrapped around her heart like a snake as the smoke cleared away from its face, to reveal that not only had she failed to kill it, but also that it only seemed annoyed by the attack.
"Are you finished? Then die." Sunset closed her eyes as the creature brought back its hand, not wanting to watch as it tore her heart from her-
CRACK!
Sunset heard the sound of something being snapped as the creature's hand left her throat. She had just begun to fall before she felt a pair of arms catch her, arms that made her crack open her eyes to find herself staring up at a teacher that she knew well.
"Diana?" Sunset weakly asked as she tried to move, but then pain coursed through her arm and she feebly cried out.
"Do not move. Your arm is broken and the rest of you isn't doing much better," Diana said in a soothing voice while she gently laid Sunset at the base of a tree. She then rose back up with her eyes flashing with enough rage and lightning to put Zeus to shame. "And as for you," she began as she turned her full attention to the cloaked figure, who was rubbing his jaw from where he had been hit. "You must be that piece of minotaur dung that has been giving Sunset nightmares. Finally decided to stop hiding in the darkness, did you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. Because soon the both of you will be dead," the creature replied as it lifted an arm and pointed it at the two of them, the strange energy that seemed to look like shattered glass ripping apart the area around its hand. "And before I kill you. End you. Destroy you I have one question. How did you manage to find us in such a short time?"
"It doesn't matter how I found you," Diana spat back with a smirk upon her face as she cracked her knuckles. "Because soon you're going to be breathing out of a straw."
"Diana...get out of here," Sunset warned Diana as she struggled to move. "His power...is far greater than anything I've ever seen. You need...to run!"
"Sunset, what did I say to all of you on the first day of class?" Diana asked Sunset, who stared up at the teacher with bafflement as to why she would pick now to bring that up. "I told you that you were my students and that I would not fail any of you. Rest Sunset, and let me deal with this."
"You should have run. Because then you would have lasted perhaps a minute longer," the creature spoke before unleashing its shattered magic straight for Diana, who dug her heels into the ground before crossing her arms in front of her. A massive explosion of energy tore apart the surrounding area, causing trees to fade away while everything else was splintered and shattered. Yet as the explosion died down, the creature found that for the first time in as long as he could remember, he was confused. For despite everything around them being destroyed by his power, the teacher remained standing with only the sleeves of her jacket destroyed--revealing two silver bracelets beneath.
"What in the worlds-" the creature began to ask before a right hook that could have collapsed Olympus drove itself into the side of his head, snapping his skull to the side while the force hurled the creature backwards into a boulder. Stone shattered beneath the creature as it was imbedded into the rock, trying to make sense of what had happened.
"Wait a moment..." the creature began to piece together as he gazed at her arms. "Those bracelets..."
"Diana?" Sunset whispered with awe as Diana turned back to face her, holding out a hand to the girl.
"Sunset, would you mind giving me back my lasso for a moment? This won't take long." Sunset did as Diana asked and with her lasso in hand once more, Diana began to twirl the rope of golden light around herself. As the light enveloped Diana her suit was replaced by another suit, one that was red and blue and had silver lining along most of it. Red boots replaced Diana's heels and a tiara of pure silver crowned Diana's head, but what truly made Sunset's eyes widened was the sword and shield that appeared on Diana's back.
"Diana? What...are you?" Sunset asked with amazement at her teacher, who smiled down at her student before glaring back at the cloaked creature.
"I see. Now I recognize who you are," the creature snarled as it pulled itself out of what remained of the boulder, glaring down at the woman who clipped the lasso to her side before advancing towards him. "You are that infernal Spirit of Truth. One of the Trinity. You are the Princess. The Amazon."
"Wonder Woman."
With a cry of battle that would have caused the dead to tremble with fear, Wonder Woman hurled herself at the creature. The creature snarled as it unleashed blasts of shattered energy from its hands to stop the woman's advance, but every single one of its attacks were deflected by the indestructible bracelets. Diana reached the creature a moment after its final blast had been deflected, a smile on her face while she brought a fist back.
The earth trembled beneath Wonder Woman's might as she drove her fist into the gut of the creature, hitting him with such force that he was torn from the ground and sent airborne. Diana followed up with a second punch that hit with such force that the trees behind the creature were knocked down by the shock of her punch. The creature was rocketed into the sky by the second blow, only to be joined by Diana a moment later. She gripped both her hands tightly as she lifted them over head and swung down with all of her might.
"What the...?" Diana asked when the creature seemed to fade out of existence, appearing on the ground a few yards away from her with both hands aimed at the Amazon. The shattered energy fired from its hands once more, this time in millions of little shards that sliced through the air on their path towards Diana. Yet another smile crossed the woman's face as she began to move both her body and arms with such speed and precision that every single one of the shards was knocked out of the sky.
She then hurled herself down towards the creature like a rocket, creating an explosion of dirt as she drove herself right into the creature. Sunset narrowed her eyes to see through the dirt, trying to figure out what was going on before a metallic clang could be heard and Diana came flying out of the dirt cloud. She snapped a tree in half with her body before plowing into the dirt, allowing the creature to emerge from the crater that had been created by their collision.
"This should not be," the creature said to itself with confusion as Diana rose to her feet once more, cracking her neck twice before lunging towards him once more. He deflected one of her strikes with his metal limbs before catching her second punch with one of his hands. Wonder Woman then went for an elbow strike that the creature also managed to deflect with his other arm. The two strained against each other, causing the whole forest to shake as one smiled at the other.
"What's the matter? Killing someone isn't as fun when they're stronger than you?" Wonder Woman asked the being before she slammed her forehead into the center of the creature's head. Another metallic clang echoed throughout the forest and Diana backed up slightly while holding a hand to her head. The creature took that chance to throw a blow right into the side of Diana's head, fire erupting from the force of the punch as he sent her hurtling back.
"Not bad," Diana growled as she halted her momentum by digging her feet into the ground, using her thumb to wipe away a thin streak of blood that fell from the corner of her mouth. "But you're going to need to do a lot better than that if you hope to beat me."
"I do not need to beat you. I should not even be fighting you. You should not be here," the creature said with a tone that was clearly annoyed. "This world should be just like all the other ones nearly identical to it. But for some reason a being like you is here, preventing me from killing that girl behind you and changing this world." Diana snarled at the creature's words before unclipping her lasso and letting it fly, wrapping the golden rope around the creature's throat.
"That is a question that I have been wanting to ask this entire fight. Why did you attack Sunset's dreams? Why have you been trying to kill a girl that has done nothing to you or anyone else?!" Diana demanded of the creature, who tried to resist her words. But under the influence of the lasso of truth, he quickly found that his will meant nothing.
"To see what would happen." The entire forest seemed to go quiet at the creature's words. Sunset glanced from the creature to Diana, who was rooted in place while staring at the creature with a look that she had never seen on the teacher's face before.
"What?" Wonder Woman asked in a whisper that chilled Sunset to her soul.
"That is what I do. I see how worlds would be different if something about them was changed. Normally I would prefer not to interfere directly, but Sunset just refused to die," the creature explained truthfully while trying to get the lasso off of its neck. "And for this world I wanted to see what it would be like if Sunset was dead--to see how her friends would fight against the magic that is invading this world. To see what the other worlds would do in response. It would have been quite the experiment, until you interfered."
The sky roared with fury overhead as lightning streaked across what had been blue skies minutes ago, getting Sunset to look up to find that black clouds had taken over the sky. But she then turned her attention back to Diana, who was shaking with such ferocity that the ground beneath her was being split in half by her rage.
"You're telling me, that the reason you attacked one of the kindest and most intelligent children that I have met...is because you wanted to see what would happen if she was dead?" Wonder Woman asked in a tone far calmer than the previous one she had used.
"Of course. Sunset Shimmer is a failure," the creature truthfully spoke as it glared at the girl. "She failed her teacher Celestia in the other world. She failed to take over this world. She has failed in nearly everything she has done. She is destined to fail all those who care about her. No one would care if one of those many Sunsets out there died. I know I don't."
"Sunset," Diana said with both of her eyes hidden beneath her hair, yet Sunset felt her soul go cold from Diana's tone. "I want you to look away. Because I promise you that you won't want to see...what I'm about to do." Wonder Woman then let out an unholy scream as lightning crashed down from the sky upon her, causing her eyes and bracelets to surge with the power of Zeus himself. Those eyes then set themselves upon the creature and with one mighty pull of her arms she ripped the creature from the ground.
"I have so many questions that I want to ask you!" Wonder Woman roared as she swung the lasso over her head and in turn swung the creature by its neck. She then slammed a foot down on the lasso and made it come to an abrupt stop. A loud snap could be heard as the creature came to a sudden stop and collapsed to the ground.
"Like who you are? Or where did you come from? Or what sort of being goes around killing off people to change a world?!" Diana roared as she swung the lasso again, tearing the creature from the ground only to slam it into the dirt once more. "But the only question I feel like asking you now," Diana began as she yanked on her lasso and pulled the creature towards her, fist brought back as she prepared to strike. "Is how badly is this going to hurt?"
"Incredibly."
Wonder Woman then drove her fist clean through the creature with a bellow of the gods, tearing through the being's metal body as her fist erupted out of the creature's back. She then held her arm high as another lightning bolt came down and struck her arm, electrocuting the metal being on the end of her arm. She then wrapped her other hand around its face and ripped it off of her arm, tossing it onto the ground as she drew her blade.
"How...are you so strong?" the creature asked. "The Wonder Women I know of are not this powerful."
"Because you attacked one of my students. And that makes me angry. So if you have any gods, pray to them now," Diana whispered to the creature, which was slowly beginning to pick itself up. "Because you are about to experience my full wrath."
"No...this is not how it was supposed to go," the creature said in a voice that didn't sound any different than when it spoke earlier. "This development requires more studying to understand. I am done fighting. It never solves anything anyway. Goodbye." Diana lunged forward with her blade, but the creature faded out of existence right before her sword cleaved through the air. Wonder Woman let out a roar to the sky that shook the whole forest while lightning flashed above her, almost as if it resonated with her rage.
Then she let out a sigh and sheathed her blade, reattaching her lasso to her side before turning and walking back over to Sunset. The girl gazed up at Diana with eyes that were beyond conflicted, with fear being the only emotion that shone clearly. Diana gazed down at her for a moment before she sighed and sat down next to Sunset at the base of the tree.
"I bet you have a few questions for me after that performance. Go ahead, ask away."
"What...are you?" Diana couldn't help but smirk at that question, knowing that it was going to be the first one out of her student's mouth.
"I am an Amazon, a race of women who are trained since birth to be fighters. At least, that's who I used to be. Now it is more accurate to call me a goddess from another reality." Diana glanced over at Sunset to see her reaction to her words, but to Diana's surprise Sunset didn't seemed bothered at all by the reveal. "You are not surprised that your teacher is actually a goddess from another world?"
"Not really. I mean the whole goddess and superpowers thing, yeah. But you being from another world isn't that strange to me...because I'm also from another world." Now it was Diana's turn to look shocked.
"Is that what that bastard meant by you failed Celestia in the other world?" Diana asked Sunset, who nodded somberly.
"In the other world, I was power hungry. I wanted to have it all. And when my teacher, Celestia, refused to give it to me I fled here, so I could rule this world. The only reason I'm still not that girl is because Twilight, the other world Twilight, and my friends here stopped me...and I've stayed here ever since, trying to learn about the ultimate magic that we call friendship."
"I see. It seems you have already suffered much in your life," Diana said as she rose and wrapped the lasso around her, changing out of her Wonder Woman attire and back to her teacher's outfit with both sleeves repaired. Diana then twirled her lasso and pulled out a small vial, which she then offered to Sunset. "Here, this is medicine that was given to me by Hermes. It will heal your wounds."
"Oh...wow," Sunset muttered after drinking a little of the medicine, stretching out her arm to find that it was as good as new. She returned the medicine to Diana and shakily stood up, finding that the rest of her body had been healed as well.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah, actually. Thanks." Sunset then stared down at the ground for a long moment, her body language telling Diana that something else was wrong. "I'm so pathetic."
"Where did this come from?"
"Because that's the second time that that thing nearly killed me. And both times I tried to fight against it, it beat me down with no effort. If it wasn't for you Diana, I would be dead," Sunset admitted before a sad smirk crossed her face. "Here I am with some of the most powerful magic within me in the human world, and I can't even fend off nightmares without your help. Not to mention all of the magical problems that this world is facing, because I stole Twilight's crown and brought it here. I really am the worst."
"Sunset, look at me," Diana said as she clasped both of her hands onto Sunset's shoulders. "You are not weak. You are kind, noble and intelligent. And you fought those nightmares for weeks without my help. You have the courage of a warrior and the heart of a hero. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. And there is no shame in needing help from those who care about you. Trust me."
"I...I'll try," Sunset promised. Diana smiled at her before rising and walking towards the exit of what remained of the forest. Sunset stared at her for a moment before turning back to see the damage that had been caused by the battle with the creature. 'I have a part of the strongest magic in Equestria and I couldn't even phase that thing. And Diana beat it down with her fists. But she won't always be here to protect me...but maybe she can teach me...'
"Diana!" Sunset called out, racing to Diana's side once she had stopped to glance down at her student. Sunset tried to find the way to ask Diana, but after a moment of frustration she simply bowed her head. "Please, teach me how to fight like you! I'm tired of being weak. Tired of being unable to rely on myself when things go wrong. Please...teach me to be strong."
Diana glanced down at Sunset for a moment, pondering over her decision before a sigh and a small smile escaped from her lips. "Very well Sunset, I will teach you. Meet me after school next week and I will give you the Amazon treatment." Sunset's eyes shone like the sun at Diana's response, and with a large smile she walked alongside Diana as they approached the museum.
"Hey Diana, one last question. What's a goddess like you doing here anyway?" Sunset asked. "I mean, don't you have more important things to be doing then teaching a bunch of students?"
"I am here because a close friend of mine was murdered and Hades said that the only way I could bring him back was to bring him six magical powers that he wants," Diana responded. Sunset thought about what Diana said for a moment before realization dawned on her.
"Our Elements?" she asked, getting a nod from Diana. Sunset then lowered her head for a moment, lost in thought. "And...are you going to take them?"
"No. I may have considered it at first, but now I know that this world needs you girls and your magic. I will find another way to restore my friend to life, even if it means I have to beat Hades for all eternity until he finally relents. But I will find another way. I always do."
"Come on Diana, where are you," Sunset muttered to herself when she glanced down at her phone, sighing since for the fifth time in twenty minutes she had checked it. "You were the one that was so insistent that I be on time, and yet you're the one that's not here...wherever here is," Sunset continued as she glanced around at the empty field around her.
"Didn't even know we had an empty field this close to town," Sunset said as she placed her phone into her gym pants, sitting down with a sigh and gazing up at the sun. "Wonder how Twilight is doing in Equestria? I wonder how Celestia is doing? I wonder if she's forgiven me yet?"
Sunset's thoughts were interrupted when the sky exploded above her and she snapped her head around to see a woman floating down towards the ground. "Diana? You can fly?" Sunset asked as Diana touched down in front of the girl, a smile on her face and a sword gripped in her hand.
"Of course I can fly. Glad to see that you made it on time," Diana greeted as she walked towards Sunset.
"I've been waiting for you for nearly half an hour," Sunset grumbled before she glanced down at what Diana was wearing and snickered despite herself. "Uh, I don't know where you do your shopping, but your clothes are...dated, to say the least."
"Why do my students keep saying things like that?" Diana muttered while glancing down at her neon clothing. "This was perfectly acceptable to wear not that long ago? Why does everyone seem to hate it now?"
"Because it belongs in the seventies?" Sunset suggested.
"Ugh, I forget how quickly time can move for regular people," Diana muttered before stretching out one her arms. "Alright Sunset, you asked to be trained by me and today we'll be starting your training with something simple."
"And what would that be?" Diana's response was to flip the sword over in her hand and offer the hilt to Sunset, whose eyes went wide at the blade that shone like the sun. "Um, Diana. I don't know how to use a sword. I don't think I've even held one before."
"And that is why I am here. To teach you how. Now please, take it." Sunset did as Diana asked, grunting as she had to grip the blade with both hands to keep it from sinking. Sunset glanced up at Diana as the woman rolled her sleeves back to reveal her two silver bracelets, which she then slammed together to create electricity. Diana then wrapped her hands around the electricity and drew forth a blade that was made of the lightning, dropping Sunset's jaw as Diana flipped the sword around and caught it.
"You really are a god, aren't you?"
"Goddess. Now then, are you ready?" Diana asked as she placed her free hand behind her back while pointing the tip of her blade at Sunset, whose eyes shrunk with fear. "Do not worry, I will not be attacking. Not with any intent to hurt. All this exercise is for, is to show me how much you need to learn."
"But...these are real swords," Sunset pointed out.
"Yes, they are. Or, if you are worried about being hurt or harming me, allow me to calm your fears. I am skilled enough to avoid hurting you, and if you manage to hurt me then I have failed at far more than being a teacher. Now then, begin."
With no idea what to do, Sunset hefted the sword over her head and prepared to swing at Diana. Yet she failed to accommodate for the weight of the blade, causing her to nearly tip over before she dropped it. Sunset let out an embarrassed laugh while she picked up the sword again, missing the raised eyebrow that Diana gave to her. The next time Sunset attacked she opted for a thrust instead, yet all Diana did was sidestep and the girl hurled herself right past Diana.
"Well, at least I have an idea of where you're at," Diana positively said as she grabbed the back of Sunset's shirt to keep her from being dragged down by the blade. After retrieving her blade from Sunset and returning the other one to her bracelets, she then wrapped her fingers around Sunset's arm and squeezed once. "Hmm, far weaker than I believed at first. There we have our first step, Sunset, and that is to build your muscle and endurance. Come, we'll run."
Diana and Sunset both took off at a considerable pace, though the brief jog was nothing to the Amazon. Sunset struggled to keep up with her teacher, however, and after thirty minutes Diana found herself shaking her head as Sunset doubled over while trying to regain her breath.
"We have a long way to go," Diana noted as Sunset finally managed to catch her breath, giving her the chance to sigh before falling over.
"Dear...Faust...that was exhausting," Sunset panted out in between lungfulls of air.
"Come now, it wasn't that difficult. When I did my run at your age, my sisters would shoot arrows and flaming spears at me while I ran. Some days I had to dodge thousands of arrows before I was allowed to finish running."
"Thousands? Dear Celestia, how many sisters did you have?"
"An island full."
"You really are a Spartan."
"Actually, I am an Amazonian," Diana corrected as she sat down beside Sunset, reading the look on her student's face. "Go ahead, ask me the question."
"Back when you were fighting my nightmare, it talked like it knew you or something. Is it a creature from your world?"
"No, I can say for certain that I have never fought a being like that," Diana muttered as her brows furrowed, her thoughts drawn back to the being she had beaten back. "He may have heard of me through my deeds with the Justice League, but I know that was my first meeting with him. Doubt it will be my last, though."
"Justice League...and it also called you a few other things. The Spirit of Truth, a member of the trinity...Wonder Woman?" Sunset asked Diana, who smiled slightly as she stared up at the sky.
"Back on my version of Earth, I am considered to be one of the three greatest heroes known to mankind. My true name is Diana, but to the world I am known as Wonder Woman. The Spirit of Truth," Diana explained to Sunset, whose eyes shone brightly at her teacher's words. Then another question invaded Sunset's mind, and against her will she found herself asking it.
"Do you think that the nightmare will be back?" Sunset asked with traces of fear in her voice, before she groaned and held her hands to her head. "Argh, why can't I keep my mouth shut? For weeks I've been unable to shut up! What is wrong with me?!"
"That may be my fault," Diana said as she held out a hand. "May I have my lasso please?" Sunset did as Diana asked and returned the golden rope to its rightful owner, who clipped it to her side before glancing back at her student. "There you are, you should be able to control your thoughts now."
"Wait, the lasso was what was making me speak my mind all the time?" Sunset asked, losing herself in thought for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Oh, I get it now, the lasso just doesn't embody truth, those who wear it are forced to speak the truth, aren't they? That's why I couldn't stop talking whenever I wore it."
"You really do pick up on things quickly, don't you?" Diana asked before standing back up, holding out a hand when Sunset tried to do the same. "Not you. You've got to get started on building up your muscles. And we'll start with the oldest way first. Push ups."
"Ugh, how many?" Sunset asked as she placed her palms onto the grass and glanced up at Diana.
"Until I say to stop."
The exasperated sigh that Sunset gave off before she started made Diana smirk, for it brought up memories of how she had been trained back on the island. 'Starting off small is the best course of action. If she can still feel her arms after she is done, perhaps it is best that I teach her some beginner fighting techniques. If that creature is going to return anytime soon, I don't want her to be completely helpless before it again.'
"Hey...Diana...?" Sunset asked in-between reps, getting Diana to glance down at her student. "You don't...need to worry...I'll keep...your secret for you. That you're actually a kick-butt goddess from another reality that beats monster and nightmares into glue."
"That is kind of you Sunset, but I am certain that sooner or later the students here will find out anyway," Diana informed Sunset, who stopped for a moment to glance at her teacher. "Secret identities have a nasty habit of getting out no matter how hard you try to hide them."
"Oh...okay," Sunset muttered. "So what are you going to do about your friend that's being held in the clutches of Hades? Are you sure that you don't want to give Hades our magic to free him? I'm sure that the other girls would be more than willing to help you if I simply explain the situation to them."
"Thank you for the offer Sunset, but my answer is still no," Diana said with such resolve that Sunset didn't bother to argue. Diana saw the look on her student's face and let out a quick sigh, knowing that she needed to give her an explanation. "You may not know this, but Hades is a god that cannot be trusted with power. For every time he has gotten it, he has used it to either free himself from his rule of the Underworld or to overthrow the world above. Even if he was to keep his promise and free the soul of my friend, the tradeoff would be too risky."
"I understand...I just don't think I'd be able to do it," Sunset muttered as she stared off into the distance. "I don't know if I could leave my friend down there without doing everything I could to save them."
"And that is because you have a noble heart. That is also the other reason that I don't ask for your magic," Diana continued, getting Sunset to glance up at her teacher. "You and your friends use your magic to combat the magical forces that come to this land. You are making far greater use of your magic than Hades ever will. Besides, I am not giving up on freeing Steve that easily. For even though he is a god, I am certain that with the right amount of pain even Hades will become reasonable."
"For such a kind person, you can be downright terrifying. Do you know that?" Sunset asked with a good natured smile.
"Indeed I...wait a moment, I do not recall giving you permission to stop," Diana noticed as her eyes narrowed. Sunset's eyes widened in response when she realized that she was busted, averting her eyes as Diana gave her student a stern look. "Very well then Sunset, if you are tired of push ups...then it is back to running!"
Sunset let out a cry to the sky before Diana grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her to her feet, racing on ahead with a laugh while Sunset tried to keep up with the Amazon. But even though her lungs burned and her muscles ached, Sunset just couldn't help herself from smiling as she chased after Diana.
-wWw-
"Oh Diana, why must you always be so difficult?"
Hades turned away from the orb that allowed him to gaze upon the Amazon, shaking his head with disappointment at what he had just heard. "All I asked was for six items of powerful magic and it seems that that was too much for you to handle...no, that cannot be it. All you lack is the proper incentive, my niece. Steve Trevor's soul was not enough it seems. But if his soul will not move you to bring me the girls...then perhaps I should send another to retrieve their magic for me."
Hades then walked over to a large vortex of green plasma that swirled in the center of the room, the howls of the damned echoing out from within. Hades extended his hands over the vortex and closed his eyes, channeling his divine power into the pool to draw forth the creatures from within.
"I will need something powerful, something that should be a threat to even Diana. Something that will not hesitate to go after the very students that she cares so much about," Hades laughed to himself as he felt the soul of the being he needed, using his power to draw forth its soul from within. Hades then grabbed hold of the green sphere that he had summoned and tossed in into the dirt behind him, watching with a smile of pure malice as a beast rose forth from below. The dirt swirled around the sphere and began to give the creature form, and eventually the creature's conscious returned along with its body. Moments later a monstrous being with grey skin towered over Hades, letting out a weak moan as it began to focus.
"Where am I?" it asked in a wailing tone as it glanced around with yellow eyes, eyes that looked down at its hands moments later with fear. "What...done to me? What...me become?"
"What have I done? My friend, you are dead. This you have done to yourself," Hades reminded the being before him. "But I am here to offer you a chance. A chance to reclaim your mortal form and correct the mistake that you made so long ago. All I ask of you is that you go and bring me six girls."
"Girls? What girls you need?!" the being asked Hades, who found himself smiling as he motioned the creature to follow him. Hades then placed his hand on the creature's head and unleashed his magic, burning the image of the girls into its mind.
"Those girls. But they are protected by someone you know well. My stubborn niece. Wonder Woman."
"Wonder Woman. I know Wonder Woman!" the creature growled as it slammed its fists together, creating a small shockwave that irritated the Lord of the Dead.
"Good. That means I don't have to explain what you need to do to her," Hades growled as he motioned the creature to the portal to the other world, extending his hand towards it only to have a beam of magic force him back. "So, bring me the girls ALIVE. I want their magic, not their corpses. But as for my niece, what will you do to Wonder Woman?"
"Grundy smash her!"
Diana's eyes slowly opened as she heard the door to her classroom be kicked open, eyes glancing at the rainbow haired girl that burst through the open door and skidded to a stop right in front of Diana's desk. Rainbow Dash gazed up at the clock behind Diana to see that she was only five minutes late, which made her fist pump before she swung out the chair before her and sat down.
"You're late," Diana informed Rainbow Dash.
"Eh, it's only a few minutes. Not that big a deal," Rainbow Dash shrugged before dismissively waving her hand. Diana saw Athena puff up with rage at the girl's flippancy, but Diana placed a hand on her owl's shoulder before pulling up a stack of papers.
"Do you know why I've called you here today, Rainbow Dash?" Diana asked the girl, who seemed too busy staring out the window at the leaves that were beginning to change color. "Because of your grades. They are atrocious, to say the least. And this is not only my class, but I have heard other teachers complain about your grades as well. What do you have to say about yourself?"
"Hey, don't blame the student, blame the teacher," Rainbow replied with a laugh that only made Diana's eyes narrow in response. "Come on, class is a total bore. I'd rather be out on the field, kicking around a ball, than stuck in a stuffy room having to take a boring test."
"And speaking of tests," Diana began as she held up the numerous papers in both of her hands, "I have a list of tests that you've taken in my class and in others. Care to hear how you did on them?" Diana had to fight her rage back down when all Dash did in response was roll her eyes. "Here's your first one. F. Your second. F. F. F. Another F. Huh, a D. Didn't expect to see that in here."
"You got a point to make or are you just going to tell me what I already know?"
'You insufferable child, I will teach you-'
"What I am trying to tell you is that you do not seem to be taking your studies seriously," Diana interjected, cutting Athena off. Rainbow Dash only gave Diana a "no duh" look that made the Amazon's blood boil. But then a cold smile spread across Diana's face. "Well maybe you'll care about this. Until you get your grades back up...you're off the soccer team. For good."
"WHAT?!" Dash bellowed as she sprang out of her seat, but all it took was a stare as cold as the underworld from Diana to sit the girl back down. "You...you can't do this! You can't just-"
"I can and I have," Diana corrected Dash while she held out a slip of paper for Rainbow Dash to read, a note that came straight from the coach of the soccer team himself. "I brought up your grades to him and we both agreed that it would be best for you to focus on your studies more than it would be to kick a ball around, as you put it."
"But this is me we're talking about! If I'm not on that team, then we're going to get ruined by the other schools!" Dash tried to reason with Diana, but all the teacher did was raise an eyebrow at her words.
"Glad to see that you have so much faith in your team." Diana then pulled out another slip of paper and handed it to Dash, who glanced down at it with a look of loathing. "Yes, I also talked with Celestia and we both agreed that it would be best if you worked with a teacher to help improve your grades. Since I am a nice person, however, I decided that I would let you pick the teacher that you want help from."
"But all that's on this list is you and Sombra!" Dash pointed out. "And the both of you are crazy! It'll be a miracle if I survive either of you!"
'It's more of a miracle that she can read, with how low her grades are,' Athena added, gaining her a look from Diana.
"That is because Sombra was the only other teacher who volunteered to tutor you," Diana informed Rainbow Dash. "He said something like, he wished to thank you for that time you let loose all of the frogs in his class. And then he laughed at the ceiling for a good minute. So if you would Rainbow, please make your choice."
Rainbow writhed in agony for a long minute before she sighed and slammed her head down on Diana's desk in defeat. "Fine, I'll take your stupid tutoring. When do I have to show up?"
"Every morning, an hour before school starts," Diana said. Dash's head shot up with disbelief written clear on her face.
"I have to come here BEFORE school?! Why can't I just come get tutored after school?!"
"Because after school I'm working with another student, one that seems to understand the value of hard work and knowledge," Diana said, brushing all of the papers together once again. "Unless of course, you want to go with Sombra. I believe his tutoring runs till around eight in the evening. Now then, you're free to go."
Dash stood up and stalked towards the door with both hands in her pockets, but when she reached the door Diana cleared her throat to stop the girl once more. "Some advice, Rainbow Dash. I have found that having a little more information in my corner was far more valuable then all the strength I had in my body."
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you have a lot to learn. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning." Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath as she walked out of the room, leaving Diana alone to shake her head as she packed up her things.
"That was quite the quote. Almost as if it came from the Goddess of Intelligence herself," Athena praised as she fluttered onto Diana's shoulder.
"I spoke the truth. Knowledge has saved my life far more often than my power ever has," Diana said as she gazed out the window to see Dash joining her friends. "I just pray that it will not take an event like that for Dash to see that as well."
-wWw-
"And here I thought that you were just going to get detention for your bad grades," Twilight said as she pushed her glasses up. "But to have to be tutored by Diana before school...that actually sounds pretty cool! Do you know if she will teach me as well?"
"I can't believe that she got me benched! Doesn't she know that I'm the only chance my team has of beating the Crystal Preppies?!" Rainbow Dash screamed at the sky as she walked alongside the rest of her friends.
"No, because ya only think that yer the only chance our team has of winning," Applejack clarified for Dash, but her words were lost on the rainbow haired girl.
"I have an idea! Why don't you challenge Diana to a game of soccer? Then you can show her how good you are and how much the team needs you," Pinkie suggested.
"You know, that's not actually a bad idea," Rainbow Dash muttered while rubbing her chin. "Actually Pinkie, I think I might just...what, what was that laugh?" Rainbow asked when she turned on Sunset, who had accidentally let a laugh slip out when Pinkie mentioned the challenge.
"Sorry, but...the idea of you facing a teacher in soccer just seems silly to me," she laughed once more with an apologetic look, but from the snarl Dash gave her it was clear the student wasn't happy.
"Yeah, right. Do you really think I can't beat that world trotting fruit at my game?" Rainbow Dash asked Sunset point blank.
"No. I don't." Rainbow's eyes widened while Sunset glanced down at the rope around her waist before slapping her palm to her forehead. "Dash, I didn't mean it like-"
"Yeah, I know what you meant. Just drop it."
"Again, sorry...look, I need to leave. I have studies I need to go work on and-"
"Wait a moment, you're the second student that Diana is teaching?" Rainbow asked Sunset, who couldn't do anything aside from nod with a sigh. "Why is everyone so fascinated with that teacher?!"
"Maybe if you actually took the time to know her, you would figure out why." Sunset then ran off with her hands clamped over her mouth to make sure she didn't blurt anything else out, leaving a fuming Rainbow Dash next to Applejack and Twilight. The trio then headed off to the mall, with AJ and Twilight talking while Rainbow Dash stared at the sky
"So when did Sunset get so snarky all of a sudden?" Dash grumbled after twenty minutes of silence on her part.
"She was just being honest. And to continue the trend, Diana is right," Applejack agreed. "Ya haven't been focusing on yer studies and instead spend all of yer time goofing off or wasting time. Yer lucky that getting ya pulled from the team was all she did."
"Seriously?! Even you are on her side?"
"Everyone else seems to be," Twilight muttered as she pulled out a calculator and punched a few figures into it. "Actually, from the data I've gathered on her, she currently seems to be the most respected teacher at Canterlot High. Well, that and feared."
"Wait, why feared?"
Applejack and Twilight both shared a glance before turning their focus to Rainbow. "Dash, haven't you been paying any attention all year? Diana can stop troublemakers with just a glare. Even Sombra takes orders from her, and we all know he doesn't listen to anyone."
"Then, there's also the time she used a food tray to deflect every morsel of food that was thrown her way. That was before she destroyed a light with a single punch," Applejack added on.
"So she works out and can do a few fancy things. Big deal. We got magic! We can fly, shoot magical lasers and lay the smack down on any evil that we come across. We're the heroes of this world, not her! And I dare any evil that thinks otherwise to-"
"Solomon Grundy." Dash's words died a horrible death when she and the other two girls turned around to find themselves staring up at a massive, gray colossus that towered over them. It glared down at the three with yellow eyes, eyes that were able to see the magical energies radiating off of their bodies. "Give Grundy magic. Grundy need magic!"
"Ya just had to ask fer it, didn't ya?" Applejack snarked as Grundy lifted its hands over its head and let out a bellow. "Well girls, any ideas?"
"Yeah. Run!"
-wWw-
Sunset yelled with power as she hurled her leg at Diana's head. Her blow was interrupted by a forearm that absorbed the blow from the kick with little effort, leaving Sunset free to a palm strike to the gut that sent her flying across the field. The red haired student managed to roll when she hit the ground and sprang back up to her feet, but she then gritted her teeth while holding a hand to her stomach.
"Are you alright? We can take a break if you need to," Diana asked out of concern, but Sunset's response was to smirk at her teacher before spitting off to the side.
"Tell me, Diana, would that nightmare you fought give me a break after a blow like that?" Sunset asked in wheezy voice, her answer gaining her a smile from her teacher. "Trust me, I can handle getting hit a few times just fine."
"Because I'm holding back," Diana reminded her student before leaping forward and driving her palm towards Sunset. Sunset registered the attack and rolled behind Diana, but the moment the student was back on her feet she felt arms wrap themselves around her neck. "And also because you still rely on rolling too much in combat. If used right, it can catch your opponent off guard, but if used too often..."
"I get it. Now let go before you take my head off!" Sunset grunted as she struggled to break free of Diana's grip. Diana released her student a moment later, allowing Sunset to regain her breath. "Ugh, that didn't go as well as I wanted it to. You're just so darn fast and powerful."
"If you were able to beat me at this stage, then I would be very concerned with what power lay within you," Diana replied as she reached down and picked up two bottles of water, one of which she tossed to Sunset. "But you show great potential and you learn quick. You're a good student who actually listens to what I have to say."
"Yeah, if only I had realized that back in Equestria," Sunset said with a sad smile when she sat down on the grass, Diana joining her a moment later. A glance at the teacher showed that she was curious, so after taking a swig of her water Sunset explained herself. "I told you about Celestia, how I failed to heed her warnings and sought too much power. And it's been the greatest regret in my life. She believed in me, saw the potential within me...and I threw it all away for power. I let her down. You ever have that, Diana? Something you wish you could take back or do over?"
"You have no idea," Diana responded. "But in a way, I am grateful for those events. For without them I would not be the person I am today. And neither would you. So instead of focusing on what we did wrong, we should focus more on what we can make right."
"Heh, is that the wisdom of Athena talking?" Sunset asked before pulling at the rope that was wrapped around her waist. "Speaking of gods, do you think I still need this? I might have ruined my friendship with Rainbow Dash earlier by being a bit too truthful."
"Until I know for certain that you are safe from that nightmare creature, I would rather..." In a flash Diana had taken the lasso from Sunset's waist and twirled it around herself, changing from her workout clothing to her Wonder Woman attire. "Stay here. I'm sensing a very powerful magic and something else along with it."
Before Sunset could get even one of her questions out, Wonder Woman had already taken to the sky and was flying off towards the source of the magic. Her journey came to a stop above a nearby mall, where she narrowed her eyes when she saw three students of hers running from a gray beast that seemed awfully familiar.
'Is that who I think it is? Well if it is, they need my help. But since I don't want to be recognized...' Another twirl of her lasso summoned forth a black helmet with two large ram horns, which she slid over her head to conceal her identity. Wonder Woman tucked her hair into the helmet before diving down towards the gray beast, which had cornered the girls in the parking lot. It let out a snarl as it raised its fists over them, but before it could strike Diana slammed into its back and hurled both of them into the sky.
"You wish to fight, creature? Then you fight me!" Diana bellowed as she slammed a fist into the back of the beast, sending it hurtling down into an empty parking lot away from the mall. The creature shattered through the concrete as it impacted the ground, while Wonder Woman floated down to see that the creature was indeed who she had believed it to be.
"So why are you chasing after those kids, Grundy? I thought you didn't like to hurt children?" Diana asked the creature as it pulled itself out of the crater. Grundy said nothing in reply, only let out a yell before hurling itself at the wonder. "Alright then, we can just skip talking," Diana began as she cocked a fist back. "And get to the part where I send you back to Hades!"
An uppercut straight to the jaw of the zombie sent him hurling backwards, slamming into the side of a building where he collapsed to the ground. With a grunt of pain, Grundy pulled himself back up to his feet and glared at the wonder standing before him.
"Come on Grundy, you know how this battle ends," Wonder Woman reminded Grundy, whose response was to spit to the side before charging towards her again. Diana sighed before she darted to the side and avoided the twin arms that grabbed at her, retaliating with a kick to the side that caused Grundy to stagger.
"And I notice that you're not being as talkative as you usually are, even if it is limited speech," Diana continued as she wrapped her arms around Grundy's leg and hurled him across the parking lot and into the street. Grundy snarled while he pushed himself back up, eyes narrowing as the helmeted wonder floated across the street towards him. "And I couldn't help but notice that you were about to smash three, innocent children. You know that upsets me, Grundy."
Grundy bellowed with fury before charging at Wonder Woman, tackling her out of the air and driving her into the side of a building. Diana slammed her forehead into the nose of the zombie and snapped his head back, giving her an opening to plant both boots onto his chest and kick him off of her with one, powerful strike.
Hurling herself forward, Diana drove both fists into Grundy and began to drive him back. Godly blow after blow pounded away on Grundy, but the zombie refused to falter as Diana hammered away on him. "Talk to me Grundy. Why are you here? How did you even get here in the first place?"
"Grundy...smash!" Solomon roared before driving his fist right in the chest of Wonder Woman's, the blow hurling her backwards through a building. The force carried her through the walls and out of the roof of the building, sending her skyward before she finally managed to recover. Wonder Woman shook her head once and looked down in time to see a minivan hurtling through the air towards her. Wonder Woman extended both hands and caught the automobile out of the air with her Amazonian strength, hurling the car into the empty lot before resuming the fight.
"Grundy, please. I do not wish to fight you," Diana tried to reason, but all Grundy did in reply was snatch another car from the road and take aim at the floating woman--a car that Diana noticed had a mother with her two children in the back. "Very well Grundy. You made your choice."
With the speed of a goddess, Diana threw herself down at Grundy and drove both feet into his face. The blow snapped Grundy back and caused him to lose his grip on the car, but it fell for only a moment before Diana caught it. "Do not worry, you are safe," Wonder Woman comforted the people inside, but Diana didn't need her super senses to know that the people inside were screaming.
She lowered the car to the ground and then immediately turned her attention back to the zombie, who was charging towards her with both arms extended. Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes from beneath her helmet while reaching back, taking up her sword and shield as she prepared for the dead man.
Grundy threw a mighty right hook towards Diana, who lifted her shield in time to intercept the blow. The air around the two shattered as fist met steel, creating a shockwave that blew out the windows in the area around them. Grundy roared and staggered back while clutching his wrist, while Diana recovered far quicker. She lunged forward with a cry of battle before swinging her blade with all her Amazonian strength. The blade severed the flesh of Grundy and cleaved his arm clean from his body.
"Stand down, Grundy," Wonder Woman warned the zombie one last time as Grundy collapsed to one knee, snarling as he gazed down at his severed limb. He the reached out and took hold of the arm, holding it to where it had been removed. A moment later dark magic reattached the limb to the zombie, who smirked as he rose up while swinging his fixed limb. "And you've learned a few new tricks since I last fought you. But you aren't smart enough to learn them on your own. Who's helping you?"
Grundy's response was once again to bellow with rage as he charged the Amazon, who simply shook her head at his tactics. Again Diana deflected the punch from Grundy before plunging the sword into his stomach, getting Grundy to howl as black dust began to spurt from his wound. Diana raised an eyebrow in surprise at what was seeping from inside Grundy, giving the zombie a chance to lash out with a left hook.
The blow caught Wonder Woman in the side of the helmet and sent her hurtling through the air, while also dazing her to the point where she couldn't catch herself like before. So a moment later Wonder Woman came crashing back down to Earth, with a car being in the wrong place at the wrong time to catch her fall. Glass shattered and metal folded as the Spirit of Truth crashed down onto the vehicle, getting a small groan from her as she pulled herself free.
"Lucky shot, Grundy," Diana muttered as she rose to her feet...only to take a moment to look around her to see dozens of people standing around the broken car with dumbfounded looks on their faces. "What? Never seen an Amazonian warrior before?" she asked them, yet none could answer when the ground shattered as a massive, grey zombie came crashing down across the parking lot from Diana.
"I would recommend that you all leave in a calm manner," Wonder Woman instructed the people as she placed her sword on top of her shield and hopped off of the car, slowly approaching Grundy as the monster moved towards her in a lumbering fashion. Grundy's next move was to plunge his hands into the ground and tear out a chunk of cement that he aimed at Wonder Woman. She responded by letting her blade fly and impaled the zombie in the arm that had been reattached, causing Grundy to roar as his arm fell to the side...and also caused the chunk of cement to land square on top of his head.
The zombie fell without a sound, allowing Diana to walk forward and pull her blade free of the monster's shoulder. Diana then kicked over Grundy so that he was laying on his back. Grundy grunted once while blinking his eyes, glancing up to find the tip of a blade inches above his face.
"Enough, Grundy. The battle is over. You have lost," Wonder Woman stated. She then placed her shield upon her back before grabbing hold of her lasso, tossing it upon Grundy's chest. "Now then, who is the one responsible for sending you here?" Wonder Woman then waited a full moment, but to her surprise the zombie never spoke. She sheathed her blade and wrapped the lasso around both of Grundy's arms, tightening it with a pull. "Grundy. Who sent you here? I know that you can speak."
"Grundy...can no say," Grundy finally replied, making Diana's eyes widen in shock at his answer. "Grundy want to die. But only way Grundy can...is to get girls magic. Bring magic...or else."
"By the gods, what magic can cancel the lasso's power?" Wonder Woman wondered aloud as she glanced down at her golden lasso. She then gazed down into Grundy's eyes, eyes that were as cold and lifeless as the body that held them. "I am sorry that you returned to life in such a way, Grundy," Wonder Woman apologized as she drew her blade once more. "Perhaps the next time you return from the grave, you will be more reasonable. I have missed speaking with the gentler you."
"Grundy no die. Grundy come back. Grundy always does," Grundy reminded Diana as he stared up at her blade that shone in the sunlight. "Grundy hate it."
"I know. And I am sorry." Diana then plunged her blade right between Grundy's eyes, driving the blade through his skull and out the other side. She watched as Grundy's eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp, but to her surprise Grundy's body began to fade away in the black sand that he had bled earlier. After a few moments, Grundy was nothing more than a pile of black sand that too faded once the wind blew it away.
"Rest well, Grundy. I will see you again once you rise," Diana promised the zombie before turning to see dozens of people all staring at her with gobsmacked expressions on their faces. Deciding that she didn't want to deal with explanations right now, the Amazon instead chose to hurl herself into the sky and head back to where her student was waiting.
-wWw-
"Diana!" Sunset exclaimed when she saw the Amazonian float down into the field, racing over to her teacher as Diana removed the helmet from her head and freed her hair once more. "Are you alright?! After you flew off, I've been reading reports about a battle that took place downtown..."
"Do not worry, Sunset. I am fine," Wonder Woman comforted her student as she twirled the lasso around her once more, returning to her mortal outfit that still made Sunset wince. "Just an encounter with an old friend that I did not expect to see here."
"That giant zombie thing was your friend?" Sunset asked.
"In one of his lives, he was," Diana replied with a sad shake of her head before sitting down. Sunset sat down next to her teacher with a look of concern, one that Diana easily read before sighing. "Ask me what you wish, Sunset."
"What was that thing? What is it doing here?"
"I am not certain what Grundy was doing here, but I can do my best to tell you what he was," Diana replied. "Grundy is a cursed soul, one that is forced to return to life after dying or being killed. Each time he returns he possesses a different personality. Sometimes he is brutal and evil, other times he can be reasoned with and is docile. This was not one of those times."
"So he can return from the dead? Is that why you had no issues with...killing him?" Diana glanced at Sunset with a raised eyebrow. Sunset in turn responded by pulling out her phone and tapping on it twice before showing it to Diana. Diana watched as a video of her battling Grundy in the parking lot appeared before her eyes, which ended with her plunging the blade into the zombie's skull.
"Only happened a few moments ago and already it is up on the Internet. The speed at which some humans can upload fascinates me some times."
"Diana, don't you know what this means? It means that people know you're out there," Sunset informed Diana with concern in her voice. "It means that they know Wonder Woman is out there somewhere."
"It was bound to happen eventually, Sunset. That is why I wore the helmet of Ares," Diana replied. "And while they know of Wonder Woman, they do not know who is beneath the helmet. And if Clark has taught me anything, it's that humans are very bad at figuring out secret identities without aid."
"To answer your earlier question though, no, I had no issues with killing Grundy," Diana continued. Diana then saw the look Sunset gave her and replied with a calming smile. "No, it is not because I am a heartless killing machine. Grundy has died many times and has constantly come back, as I stated. What I did simply returned him to the land of the dead for a while. He will be back. Even Hades himself can't-"
"Hades. That's the reason Grundy ended up here," Sunset cut Diana off as the girl rose to her feet and began to think. "He revived Grundy and sent him to this land for a reason. Tell me, when you first found Grundy, what was he doing?"
"Chasing after a few of your magical friends," Diana stated, already catching onto what Sunset was implying. "So, Hades sent Grundy here to either capture or kill some of your friends. That is a very disturbing development. Why would he do that?"
"I don't know...what about the others? Won't he have sent something after them too?" Sunset asked. Diana closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, yet when she felt nothing she opened her eyes once more.
"No, I do not believe that he has. I felt Grundy when he appeared here, so I assume that I would be able to do the same with any other being he has summoned. But to be safe, I want you and your friends to stick together. Do you girls still do sleepovers or is that an eighties thing as well?"
"No, we still do that here in the twenty-first century," Sunset said with a small laugh. Diana smiled in reply and for a moment the two sat in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
"Hey Diana, I know that you were there for my friends today, but what happens in the future if you aren't there to protect us?" Sunset eventually asked, voicing her fears to her teacher. "I used to think that the power of our Harmony was invincible, but then the nightmare appeared and..."
"All the more reason to train you now, so that you can face whatever comes your way in the future if I am not here," Diana responded with confidence and strength in her voice. As she rose to her feet, Diana used the lasso to summon forth her blades once more, holding out the hilt of one to Sunset. "You must be strong in the face of the unknown, or else it will be able to defeat you without having to try. Be strong, Sunset."
Sunset nodded and rose as well, taking the sword and gripping it with both hands. The two began to fight, if it could be called that, with Diana calling out how to stand or how to move the blade to Sunset. Yet even as they battled, the Amazonian couldn't help but retreat back to her thoughts of what was to come.
'I pray that Sunset is not right and that Hades has not sent Grundy here for a purpose. But if he has, I wonder what that purpose could be. Grundy was ready to kill Rainbow Dash and the others, that I know for certain. But what would he gain from killing them?' Diana pondered as she easily deflected a weak strike from Sunset. 'They are not a part of his world, so he would not have claim on their souls. And if they die, I am fairly certain that the power of the Elements would seek out different hosts.'
'But that does not change what I saw. Hades, if he is behind the attack, was willing to kill the girls and I need to know why--because he sent Grundy here to do it, a very dangerous being. And since Grundy failed, I have no doubt that he will send more of the infinite souls in his realm to try as well. So the questions become, who will he send to try and claim the girls...and will I be strong enough to protect them?'
"Well, for our first class I have to say that I'm impressed with each of you," Diana said to praise the students. The response of the four kids in her class was to groan, sigh or make a noise at her that she chose to ignore. "Now, I want all of you to get ready for class. We have a long day ahead of us. You are all dismissed."
Diana chose to ignore how quickly the students rose from their chairs and raced from the room, each of them grumbling to themselves as they stalked off. Diana smiled at each of them as they passed, but none of them made eye contact with her, save for Rainbow Dash, who cast Diana a glare before leaving the room. Diana waited until they had closed the door to her room and heard the footsteps fade away before she poked the owl resting beside her once.
"They're gone. You can speak now."
"Your students have to be the most ungrateful, ignorant lot I have had the misfortune of having to watch over in a very long time," Athena snarled as she flapped her wings in anger before hopping across the desk to Diana's lessons. "With all of their grades so low, you think that they would be grateful that you were taking the time out of your own day to teach them. But no. They gripe and complain and see you as the villain. I do not know why you bother."
"Because I enjoy teaching. Now then, have you done as I requested, my Goddess?" Diana asked. Athena nodded before her eyes began to glow with a divine power. Diana quickly checked outside of her door to make sure that no one was around before she sat back down and closed her eyes, feeling the divine power washing over her mind. She could feel her consciousness traveling across the plain of existence, traveling to a place of which she had little knowledge.
'I must warn you Diana, that I cannot keep this open for more than five minutes at most. Whatever it is that you wish to say, you must say it quickly,' Athena's voice spoke within Diana's mind once she felt the power settling down. Diana nodded before stretching out her conscious to another, a conscious whose power she could feel even on a mental level.
"Doctor Fate, are you there?" Diana asked. She heard the sound of someone talking followed by a few other voices, before the conscious that she was seeking turned its full attention to her.
"Wonder Woman? Is that you I hear?" the voice of the doctor said within Diana's mind. "I have been subjected to many mental talks over the years, but I will admit that the conversation we are having now is new to me."
"That is because I am using Athena's power to speak with you. I must be quick, as I do not have much time. What I must tell you first is, that I want the more magically inclined members of the Justice League to keep an eye on Hades while I am away. He is up to no good."
"That...we can do. But Diana, where are you? All we have received of your whereabouts was a cryptic message from Athena. Is something the matter?"
"Hades is up to no good. He is trying to steal a magic that will grant him power. I am going to make sure he doesn't. I can handle things on this end, but I need to make sure that he doesn't try anything else in our reality."
"You are currently not in our reality?"
"Diana."
"Right. I do not have much more time, so I will make this next one quick. I am looking for someone. Someone dangerous."
"Isn't searching for madmen Batman's specialty?"
"If they are from our reality, yes. But this creature is not, at least not to my knowledge. All I can tell you about the being is that it wears a brown cloak, is almost completely metal, and likes to talk in triplicates. And also, it possesses a power that I have never faced before. I need you to hunt it down."
"That I can also do. I can sense that our connection is almost up. Before we part Diana, know that you do not need to do this alone. We can help you," Doctor Fate said.
"Thank you, Fate, but I have dealt with the gods all of my life. I can handle this. Not to mention there is...another reason that I stay here. A personal one." The connection to the doctor then snapped when Athena's power burned out, causing Diana's eyes to snap open as she returned to her world. Upon returning to her reality, Diana discovered Sunset Shimmer sitting in a chair across from the teacher's desk with a look of curiosity upon her face.
"Greetings, Sunset. What can I help you with?" Diana asked after she had taken a moment to recover.
"Um, why were you sitting in a room and talking to yourself?" Sunset asked with concern.
"Because I was speaking with a member of the Justice League about some of the problems that you and your friends have been dealing with recently," Diana informed her student while also standing up and gathering together her teaching supplies. "If there is anything else you wish to ask, please tell me as we walk. I have classes to teach soon."
"Alright, so I went to the library and did as much digging as I could on the gods, Hades in particular," Sunset said outside in the hallway while the two walked to their classes. Diana raised an eyebrow at her student as she reached into her backpack and pulled out dozens of pages worth of notes. "Including his full history, most interpretations of him, and why he would be so desperate for our magic. And I'm starting to think that-"
"Thank you Sunset, but you did not have to do all this for me," Diana said.
"Of course I did! This is also my battle and I want to help you in any way I can!" Sunset said with a determination so strong that Diana knew it would be pointless to try and fight it. With a wave of her hand, she allowed Sunset to continue speaking, though after a few minutes of listening to the human's take on Hades, she found she couldn't listen any more.
"So, what do you think?" Sunset asked, snapping Diana back into the real world. The teacher shook her head before glancing down at her student, who was waiting with a huge smile for what the teacher had to say. Diana pondered what she had heard for a moment before deciding to answer with a question of her own.
"First, allow me to ask a question of my own. Have you and the girls been doing your sleepovers like I have requested?" Diana asked Sunset.
"Yep. They seemed puzzled at why I was so insistent that we have them so often, but I got around that by telling Pinkie that the fate of our friendship depends on the sleepovers. Which it does. And none of us can refuse Pinkie when she's at her best. So, for the past couple days we've all stayed at one another's houses," Sunset informed Diana before her face fell slightly. "I just wish I could tell them the full truth."
"You will be able to in time. I asked my fellow Leaguers to keep an eye on Hades in my world, so hopefully we will not have any issues with him any time soon," Diana said.
"But we may have other issues," Sunset muttered before cursing at the lasso. "Ugh, I'm worried that some of the people at our school might figure out that you and the woman that wrecked a part of downtown are one and the same. It wouldn't take a genius to figure it out."
"How do you figure that?" Diana asked.
"It's so obvious. New teacher shows up and has incredible, ninja moves. Woman shows up who kicks the crap out of a zombie. It wouldn't be hard to at least suspect," Sunset whispered, only talking when none of the students or teachers were close to the two. "Speaking of, you should have seen the comments freak out when the video of you fighting Grundy got posted. Everyone was certain that the zombie apocalypse had begun."
"Trust me, I have seen the zombie apocalypse and it looks nothing like that," Diana assured her.
"So what does it look like?"
"The zombies wear far more black and have rings. Now then, I believe that it is time you get to class while I also...go find out whatever is causing this feeling." Leaving Sunset in the hall, Diana headed towards whatever had just made itself known to her senses. The sensation brought her from the halls of the school to the entrance of the building. "This is an odd sensation. It is not like Hades' magic, nor the magic of Sunset. But then what..."
Diana got her answer when she walked around the corner of the school to find one of the new students from Crystal Prep standing in the center of a large, demonic symbol while muttering dark incantations under her breath. Diana's eyes widened for a moment before she raced forward and snagged the girl by the back of her coat. Agatha let out a yelp while she was torn from the symbol, which Diana made sure to break by wiping away a part of it with her foot.
"Hey, what's going on?!" Agatha cried out while struggling against her captor, but when Diana moved the girl so that they could be face to face, all resistance died as Agatha seemed to shrink in Diana's grasp.
"I could ask you the same question. I assume that you knew full well what you were doing, so instead I'm going to ask what in the name of the gods were you thinking?!" Diana scolded with a look of fury, but to her surprise Agatha's face seemed to alight at the rage that Diana held.
"Then there is magic here." It took a considerable effort for Diana to not show any reaction to Agatha's words, but at that point the student was in her own world. "If there wasn't magic here, then you wouldn't be reacting so strongly to an attempt to access the power of the dark arts. Therefor-"
"Enough. You just stated yourself that you were trying to conjure black magic," Diana cut the student off, taking the reigns of the conversation once more. "Aside from that being both futile and idiotic, what could possibly possess a young girl such as yourself to even resort to the dark arts?"
"You wouldn't believe me," Agatha said with a sneer.
"Try me," Diana shot back with a cold stare.
"Fine. But first, put me down." After Diana did as the girl asked, Agatha flipped open the book she carried with her and showed a page to Diana. "This is what I was trying to do."
"A book on how to channel the power of the dead?" Diana whispered to herself, hiding the horror of the fact that a girl would be holding such a book with another cold glare. "May I ask why you have this with you? You seem to be an intelligent young lady, so I assume that even if they are considered fiction, that zombies are a bad idea?"
"Because I want power, Diana. A power that only a demon or the dead can grant to me," Agatha replied as she brushed her black hair out of her eyes.
"And what do you want this power for?"
"What do you think? To be powerful. To no longer be looked down upon or seen as a freak," Agatha replied in a tone that was as cold as the underworld. Diana gazed down at the student for a long minute before sighing and shaking her head.
"Agatha...what you seek is not power. What you seek is to be accepted. To not look in the mirror and hate what looks back. You seek the approval of others," Diana informed the girl as she placed a hand on her shoulder. Agatha tried to shake the teacher off, but Diana's grip was not easily broken. "But you do not have to seek out others' approval to be happy. All you have to do is accept yourself."
"Accept myself?" Agatha asked with what sounded like half a laugh and half a gag. "Accept the goth freak that gets made fun of for-"
"There is nothing wrong with who you are. Do not let what others say about you, make you think any less of yourself," Diana cut her off once again. "Because there is only one you. No matter what anyone else says, you are a unique individual." Diana hoped that her words would help the girl, but upon seeing the look she was being given, Diana figured that she'd have to add a little more.
"Agatha, do you want to know the true secret to being powerful?" Diana asked Agatha, whose eyes lit up for a moment at the question. "It is to accept yourself. Accept your potential and who you are. Because once you free yourself from those doubts, you will have a power that none can take from you."
"Accept my potential," Agatha muttered. Diana smiled in reply before turning her head towards the school as the sound of the bell ringing drew her attention.
"And it seems that I've missed first period. Oh well, I know Athena will have covered for me," Diana muttered with a shrug as she glanced down at Agatha once more, who was pondering over the teacher's words. "If any of the teachers ask where you were, simply tell them that you were with me. I will back you up. And also Agatha, please take my words to heart. I know that you may not believe it now, but you hold a strength inside of you. All you have to do is accept it."
"Diana," Agatha asked, getting the teacher to stop before she could leave the student alone. "Answer me this one last question. When you were talking to me about black magic, you called the demons and the magic foolish and spoken of in fiction...but you never denied it yourself. So if you are being completely honest with me, answer me this. Is there magic at this school?"
Diana gave her student a long, contemplative look as she pondered over her answer. Torn between keeping the secret of the magic safe and being completely honest with those who trusted her, Diana forced herself to make a decision.
"It is not the same magic that you believe in, but yes. There is magic in these halls." Diana then walked back into the school before Agatha could ask any more questions, but her hurried leave prevented her from seeing the thin smile that Agatha wore upon her face.
"So, there is magic here. And the only way a teacher as new as you would know about it is if you were magical yourself. Not to mention that ungodly strength of yours and the fact that you are so fast...this semester just got a lot more interesting. After all, not many students can say that they were taught by a zombie-slaying warrior. Oh, I bet my boss would love to hear about this."
Hades gazed into the pits of hellfire that burned beneath him, pleased by the sounds of Grundy's soul as it screamed in agony. Yet, the god quickly grew bored with the sound of the immortal's suffering and turned back towards his throne with a small sigh.
"That is what I get for sending a brainless fool such as Grundy to try and convince Wonder Woman to do what I asked. I cannot believe I thought that would work. I must truly be getting desperate." Hades strode to his throne and the portal to the other world that rested beside it, holding out his hand towards the vortex of magic. Yet, just as it had done many times in the past, a burst of rainbow magic blasted his hand back and prevented its entry.
"But what to do now? I could send another soul of the damned, but there is no guarantee that they will yield any greater results. And even if I do send one of them there, Diana has shown that she would rather fight to the last breath than allow my minions to claim their magic. This is truly a dilemma."
"One that you could easily avoid, if you think. Ponder. Plan."
Hades turned his head so that he could glance over his shoulder, spying a being standing behind him that was covered in a brown cloak and had a hole punched through its chest. "But you are a fool. A moron. A god."
"And clearly you are no wiser since you insult me in my realm," Hades spat back with brimstone in his voice. The creature didn't seem impressed with Hades' rage and walked up beside him, touching its hand to the vortex and changing the image to that of the students Diana fought so hard to protect. "But your appearance here intrigues me, so I will stay my hand until I learn what you are here for."
"I am here for her life," the creature replied as it focused the portal on a girl with red and yellow hair. "But Diana prevented me from claiming it. So, I come to deal with the god of the dead."
"Then you are the fool I believed, for I need that girl alive so that I can have the magic that she possesses within her," Hades informed the being, who paid the god no mind as it moved its face closer to the vortex. Far closer, Hades noticed, than the vortex ever allowed him. "But it seems that while a fool, you possess something I do not. You can enter their world, can't you?"
"Have my words not made that clear, you arrogant ass of a god?" the being snapped back. Hades would have killed for that insult, but his curiosity stayed his hand a little longer. "But though I hate to admit it, you can do something that I cannot. You can slay that infernal Spirit of Truth. I cannot best her. At least, not this version of her."
"So, it seems that we both need each other if we are to both get what we want," Hades mused before waving his hand and summoning forth hundreds of souls. "Very well being, I will make a deal with you. If you aid me in securing the magic within those six girls, then I will personally slay Sunset Shimmer myself." Hades extended a hand after saying this with a smile, yet the creature under the cloak stared at his hand for a long time before nodding in reply.
"Very well, Lord of the Dead, since I can see no other option that would benefit me. Actually I can, but it would change this world so severely that it is not worth it. I shall work with you--until I no longer have any need of you."
"How curious, I was about to say the same thing," Hades quipped coolly with a toothy grin. "So then, partner, may I ask what our next move should be? I have thousands of souls that would slaughter an entire world to be free of death. Which of them do we need?"
"We need none of them yet, you idiot. Did you not see what Grundy did? It put the Amazon on guard. She will be on the lookout for anything that is a threat, and with that owl of hers we will not be able to surprise her like before," the creature ridiculed Hades, whose eyes blazed with a fire that he fought to keep from consuming him. "No, for the time being we must watch. Wait. Plan. Perhaps we will see a chance to attack. Or perhaps, we will find one that we can get to work for us. But patience will be our ally."
Hades nodded in agreement, watching as the creature faded out of existence before letting out a snarl of fury. He took a moment to calm himself while also staring back at the hundreds of souls that he had summoned. With a flick of his hand, he sent them all back into the abyss from which he had called them, save for one that he called to his side. He grabbed hold of the soul and gazed down at it with a smile, taking in a soul as black as the greatest evil that he held within his clutches.
'Very well creature, I shall work with you for now. But when the time comes for another of my citizens to pay Diana a visit, I know exactly who it shall be.'
=wWw=
"A zombie? That is what they were calling the creature that appeared downtown?" Sombra asked before throwing back his head and laughing at the top of his lungs, ignoring the looks of annoyance that the other teachers gave him. "Please, zombies are nothing more than stupid stories that authors use to make a quick buck."
"As usual Sombra, your opinion is valued," Cranky said with a roll of his eyes.
"Forget the zombie, I want to know more about the woman that fought it," Cheerilee said as she glanced down at her phone, bringing up the image of the woman standing across from the zombie. "According to reports, she was incredibly strong and could even fly. Do you all know what this means?"
"That I'm not going to be able to go on the Internet for a while without hundreds of people freaking out over her?"
"This could be the world's first super being! I mean, aside from Sunset and her friends of course," Cheerilee whispered as she gazed across the teachers' lounge at Diana, who seemed far too absorbed in her book to be paying the three any mind. "This could change the world!"
"Don't bank on it. Most are calling it a hoax, while others say its simply another online video," Sombra remarked while he gazed down at his own phone with a raised eyebrow. "Since there were only eyewitnesses and no cameras to catch the battle, aside from the phone that did, a hoax seems to be the general consensus."
"And is that your opinion?" Cranky asked Sombra, who rolled his eyes in response. "So, you don't believe that a woman in a strange attire fought a zombie in the middle of downtown?"
"Please. The only superwoman in this world is sitting over there listening in on us. Now could this be real? Sure, but until I get more concrete evidence, I'm just going to chalk this up as one of those weird, magical things that happens around here and leave it at that." Sombra's eyes shrunk slightly when he spied Diana standing up. He then became fascinated with the ground when the teacher walked over to their table, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to the others.
"Now, how did you know I was listening in?" Diana asked Sombra. Instead of answering, Sombra chose to focus on the owl that landed on the center of the table. "Sombra," Diana repeated in a tone that made his spine shiver. "Please, explain to me."
"Because there's only so many times a person can read the same page, before it becomes clear that they are not reading the page. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go somewhere that I don't fear for my well being," Sombra snarled before rising from his chair and storming out of the room.
"Well, since you were listening in, what do you think Diana?" Cheerilee asked the teacher while showing her the image on her phone. Diana gazed down at the fuzzy image with a blank face, feeling the other twos' eyes upon her. "Is it real or is it a hoax?"
"It is not a clear image, that much is certain," Diana muttered under her breath. "Well Cheerilee, I have heard tales of strange things happening around this school. Perhaps one of these strange events poured out into the city?"
"So you think it is real?"
"I believe that it could be real. But I also am sure that if it is real, then that would mean something serious is going on," Diana said in a tone that made the other two teachers lean in closer. "Can I ask the two of you to do me a favor?"
"What kind of favor?" Cranky asked with suspicion.
"If either of you see anything that seems out of the ordinary, please tell me about it as soon as you are able," Diana asked the pair of them. Both Cheerilee and Cranky stared at her for a long moment, with Diana gazing back into their eyes to try and read what they were thinking. Then something seemed to click in Cranky's eyes, and a moment later he nodded.
"Alright Diana, I'll keep an eye out for anything strange," Cranky promised before elbowing Cheerilee. "I think we should do it Cheerilee. If what I heard is right, then some of our students almost got hurt by that creature. We need to communicate with each other if we wish to keep our students safe."
"Um, sure Cranky, I can do that," Cheerilee agreed with a confused smile.
"I am grateful to the both of you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a student that I need to go meet with," Diana said as Athena hopped onto her arm. Diana then rose and exited the room, fully aware that both of the teachers were giving her strange looks as she left.
'They suspect you,' Athena informed Diana.
"They are suspicious of me. I do not believe that they suspect me," Diana replied, turning the corner down a hallway to see Boulder ripping the doors off of lockers and gazing inside. "And speaking of suspects...BOULDER! What are you doing?!" Diana yelled. The giant of a student leapt about five feet in the air as his head snapped towards Diana, his eyes shrinking under her glare. He turned and began to run for his life, but he had barely gone five steps before Diana had a hand upon his shoulder.
"You can't run from me, Boulder. Explain to me what you were doing and maybe you will avoid my fury," Diana advised the student, while also gazing behind her to see that numerous other lockers had been ripped open.
"C-Crystal couldn't find her locket. She figured that someone had stolen it," Boulder stammered out while keeping his eyes glued to the floor. Despite being nearly as tall as Diana, he didn't dare look her in the eyes. He was afraid that her gaze might turn him to stone. "So, I figured that I would find it for her. And if another student did steal it..."
"For the love of Hera," Diana muttered under her breath before glaring at Boulder, who shrank under her gaze. "To detention with you, Boulder. Find Sombra's classroom. And if Crystal has had something stolen, then tell her to talk to a teacher about it. Better yet, send her to me. I'll deal with her."
Diana shook her head as the boy walked away, turning back towards the exit once he was out of sight. "First Agatha, now Boulder. How much do you wish to wager that I will be having trouble with Crystal before too long?" Diana asked her owl friend.
'That would be an unwise bet on my part,' Athena replied. Diana said farewell to the students that were still in the entrance to the school before she headed through the front doors to find Sunset sitting on a guard rail. A smile crossed the student's face when she spied her teacher, and after hopping off of the rail Sunset raced towards Diana.
"Hey Diana, how'd the day go? Any magical attacks or old foes returning from the dead that I need to know about?" Sunset asked in a whisper while she gazed around to make sure no one else was listening.
"No Sunset, nothing like that happened. Aside from one of Twilight's experiments nearly blowing up the science classroom, it was a quiet day," Diana responded before gazing over her shoulder to see Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway of the school with narrowed eyes. Diana raised an eyebrow at her before motioning for her to join them. Dash smirked in response before she leapt onto a skateboard near her feet and raced away from the school.
"Sorry about that, Dash has been upset that I seem to be spending more time with you than her--or any of my other friends," Sunset admitted with a small sigh. "I wish I could tell them that I'm not avoiding them. I need to learn how to fight."
"Soon, you will be able to tell them. I promise," Diana promised her student as the two headed to the secluded area that Diana preferred. "In the meantime, simply focus on your studies and training, but I would also recommend that you do make time for them. I do not wish for you to waste all of your time with an old lady like myself."
"Old? Diana, nearly every girl at this school is jealous of how you look," Sunset said with a laugh before she gazed into the distance. "Hey, Diana? If Hades does send another of his lackeys here to try to get us and you fight them, would you mind if...I fight with you?"
"No."
"No you don't mind?"
"No, I don't want you to fight with me."
"Why not? The best place to get experience to fight is-"
"One, you are not ready for actual combat. Two, I am teaching you how to fight so that you can defend yourself if I am not there to protect you," Diana cut her off with such a powerful tone that Sunset immediately shut up. "And three, the kind of creatures Hades might send are far beyond anything you have seen. I would not risk your safety like that."
"But you won't always be here to protect me," Sunset muttered, but Diana was still able to hear her. Diana placed a hand upon Sunset's shoulder to stop her and the young girl gazed up at Diana with an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry Diana. I just...want to prove to you that I am learning. That you aren't wasting your time teaching me."
"I have never believed that I am wasting my time or my teachings with you, Sunset. And never let yourself think that," Diana calmly replied to Sunset with a warm smile. "And while it is true that I may not always be here to protect you, I promise that when I leave, you will not need to worry about either Hades or your nightmare causing you any more harm. I do not doubt your abilities. I simply do not wish to risk the life of my student when I do not have to. Now come, today I'm going to be teaching you how to break limbs and this is a lesson you will want to focus on."
Sunset nodded before the two walked down into the grassy field and took up positions across from each other, both of them wearing smiles upon their faces as the next lesson began.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Diana," Celestia said as Diana sat down in the chair next to her.
"It must have been important, considering that you sent a substitute to my classroom just to make sure that I would come," Diana replied.
"It is important," Luna added as she opened the door to the principal's office and glanced at the hallway. "Have you heard of Principal Cinch?"
"No, I cannot say that I have."
"She runs a rival school to our own and has always seen herself as superior to us. Her school is undefeated in the Friendship Games, our annual competition between the two schools," Celestia explained. "That was, until the last one where we tied."
"She wasn't happy about that?"
"It was...the way we tied," Luna said as she rubbed the back of her head. "See, we were having issues with magic at the time and so during some of the events certain students had access to...magic."
"So she believes that you cheated?"
"That would be putting it lightly."
"But why tell me this? I thought you were keeping the talk about magic between those you trusted?" Diana pointed out to the two. Luna and Celestia shared a quick look.
"I've been talking to Sunset recently and from what I can worm out of her, you are the one responsible for helping her get over her nightmares," Luna said. "Other students have also said how kind and patient you have been with them, while being firm when needed. So my sister and I talked it over and we both agreed that you are a person that can be trusted with this information."
"I am glad that you have so much faith in me," Diana nodded with a kind smile. "But that still doesn't explain why I'm here."
"That's because-" Before Celestia could finish the door to the principal's office was thrown open and a tall woman with purple hair walked inside. Her eyes were cold and she gazed at Celestia and Luna with a look of annoyance, but that turned into a look of interest when she spied Diana.
"I was told that this talk would be kept between me and the two of you. Why is she here?" Cinch asked in a less than friendly tone. Diana gave her a cold stare in reply, but it was Celestia that spoke.
"This is Diana. She is one of the teachers here and one that nearly all of the students respect. We have picked her."
"Very well," Cinch said while Diana tried to figure out what Celestia meant. Cinch sat down in the chair across from Celestia's desk and pulled out a sheet of paper that she laid before the principal. "These are the terms and conditions that I have drawn up for the...rematch, as it were."
"Principal Cinch, I know you have your own way of doing things, but some of these requests are...absurd," Celestia said after reading the paper over. "Anyone caught using magic is to be expelled? Neither Luna nor I are allowed near the games?"
"Absurd? At the last games my students were attacked by plants, watched a battle between two of your students that nearly tore apart the fabric of reality, and what is worse, some of my students lost respect for me. After all that, I believe that my requests are reasonable. And I assume that you believe so as well, because you have brought your substitute."
All eyes fell to Diana, who had taken the paper and was reading it over herself. As she read, a smirk crossed her face numerous times, and once she even laughed out loud, before she placed the paper on the desk and glared at Cinch.
"Diana, what we meant by 'we chose you' was-"
"I understand what you meant, Celestia. Since the two of you aren't allowed to help any of the students, you wanted to leave it in the hands of a person you could trust," Diana finished for her with a narrow glare at Cinch. "Fine, I'll help the students in your places. And Principal Cinch?"
Diana then rose out of her chair and walked over to where Cinch was sitting, placing her face just inches away from the principal so she could glare directly into her eyes, "You've just made a terrible mistake." Diana waited until Cinch's pupils had shrunk as far as they could go before she returned to her seat, picking up the paper once more and glancing over it. "But I am confused about one part. You stated in here that Twilight and her friends are not allowed to compete, but you want Sunset to compete. Why is that?"
"If you must know, Sunset is responsible for my school losing one of its best students to this...place," Cinch spat out. "Her defeat in front of my entire school will do wonders for their morale."
"Implying that Sunset would ever lose to the likes of you," Diana cooly responded. "And know this. I don't agree to those terms. Twilight and all of her friends will be able to compete." Cinch opened her mouth to argue, but Diana glared at her once again. For a brief moment, only Cinch could see the literal lightning that flashed in Diana's eyes. Cinch reeled back in her chair before clearing her throat.
"Very well. Twilight and her friends may compete. But if there is even a whiff of magic being used, they are automatically disqualified."
"Now that I can agree to."
"I have also decided the events that will take place," Cinch said as she took control of the room again. "The first event will be something that even your students should be able to handle. A simple game of trivia."
"Sounds easy enough," Celestia agreed.
"Next, I have decided on an obstacle course. One that will be both mentally and physically trying. I would suggest that you pick your star student to participate in that once," Cinch said with a cold smile towards Diana, who knew exactly about whom she was talking.
"And the final challenge will be something your students are sure to be familiar with. A soccer match, between Crystal Prep and Canterlot High." Diana glanced over to see Luna and Celestia sharing nervous looks. "What is the matter, Celestia? Afraid that your team won't be able to defeat us?"
"I have nothing but absolute faith in our team," Celestia replied, before giving Diana a worried look.
"If you say so. Now-" Cinch started to speak, but Diana held up a hand to silence her and glanced towards the door.
"Rainbow, it would be easier to hear what we're saying if you came in here, instead of trying to listen through the door." The three principals' eyes widened as the door slowly creaked open and a rainbow-haired girl peeked in with a meek smile on her face.
"Um, I was just passing by and...I just..."
"You clearly wish to say something to me," Diana interrupted with a sigh. "Go ahead, tell me what it is."
"Well, I couldn't help but overhear what you guys were talking about. And with one of the challenges being a match between our soccer teams, I was hoping that you would allow me to play--just so we can crush those Crystal Prep students. Come on Diana, our school has wanted to beat them for so long!"
Diana felt every gaze on the room upon her, but she remained unmoved by Rainbow's plea. "As I said Rainbow Dash, if you wish to play on the soccer team, then you will need to get your grades up. And they currently aren't good enough."
"That's completely unfair!" Dash yelled. "Without me on the team, then we stand no chance against Crystal Prep! We'll lose!"
"Cinch, when will these games take place?" Diana asked.
"Next February. Why?"
"There you go Rainbow Dash, you have at least five months until your team plays. I'll tell you what, if your grades are impressive enough by the time winter break comes around, I'll put you back on the team early," Diana said with a smile. Dash still wore an expression of rage on her face, but it was clear even to her that Diana would not be moved. Rainbow Dash then sighed and left the room without another word.
"Why Diana, with an attitude like that you should be playing for my team," Cinch chuckled, but a glare from Diana silenced her. "Alright Celestia, I have submitted my ideas for the rematch. Are we in agreement?" Celestia crossed her hands and stared down at her desk for a moment before sighing and nodding.
"Very well, Principal Cinch. A rematch is in order. But let it be known that the same restrictions that you placed on us will be on your students as well," Celestia warned her. "If any of your students are caught using any magical forces to cheat, they too will be disqualified."
"As if my students would need to cheat to defeat yours," Cinch replied with a smirk before she rose and walked towards the door. "It was interesting to meet you Diana. I can see why the students talk about you so much. See you all next February. I doubt it will be much of a competition."
"She wants Sunset to run the obstacle course," Luna stated once Cinch had left the room. "She has a personal vendetta against her and I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't have an opponent all lined up for her already."
"Then perhaps we should decide now who should be in the trivia challenge and which of our students should run the obstacle course," Celestia suggested. "I believe that Twilight should be the one to participate in the trivia challenge. She is incredibly intelligent."
"I agree."
"So do I."
"Alright, now for the obstacle course..."
"Sunset can handle it." Both Luna and Celestia turned to face Diana, who had a look of complete confidence on her face. "Sunset can handle anything that Cinch throws at her. I've been working with her personally and she has amazed me many times. I have no doubt in her." Celestia and Luna shared another look before Celestia nodded.
"Very well Diana, if you have such faith in Sunset, then we shall indeed have her run the obstacle course," Celestia agreed. "That just brings us to the topic about Rainbow Dash-"
"I will not let her back on the team until her grades are up," Diana stated once more. "If we let her back on simply because she begged us to, what would that teach her? That she can get whatever she wants by whining? No, if she wishes for her revenge against Crystal Prep, she will have to earn it."
"Are you sure that you are not a Spartan, Diana?" Luna asked. Diana chuckled in reply before rising out of her chair. She headed for the door, but Celestia cleared her throat to stop the teacher. "As my sister and I are not allowed to...interfere in this competition, we leave Sunset in your hands."
"Do not worry. She is an incredible student and fast learner. Neither of us will fail you."
"I hope not," Celestia muttered under her breath as Diana closed the door to her office, leaving her and her sister alone. "I am worried, Sister. I cannot shake the feeling that something bad will happen like last time."
"Are you sure that you're not just afraid of us losing? Even with magic on our side, all we could do last time was tie," Luna reminded her sister. "Perhaps the Crystal Prep students are simply more skilled than our students?"
"You say another word and I'll fire you for treason," Celestia joked before glancing down at the paper stating the rules. "But if any teacher can help our students to win, it's Diana. And I can't wait to see the look on Cinch's face when Sunset turns out to be a full-fledged ninja."
=wWw=
Principal Cinch glanced down at her pocket watch with a sigh, annoyed that those she was waiting for were already five minutes late. 'Being at this school, even for this short time, has made them soft. When they return to Crystal Prep, I will be certain to place them in our toughest classes so that they catch up,' she thought while standing in the shade of the horse statue.
"Hello, Principal. Sorry that we're late." Cinch turned around to see the smiling face of Crystal, the annoyed face of Agatha and the content face of Boulder. "We would have been here on time but all of the students in this school are so intent on trying to learn every, single, little thing about you that it took us a while to escape."
"It is no fault of your own. The students here simply see the talent and wish to learn their secrets. Now then, what have you learned?" Cinch asked them.
"First off is that Sunset and her little band of misfits are definitely where all the magic in this school is coming from," Crystal reported. "And what's worse, it seems like that new teacher, Diana, knows this and is on their side." Cinch bit her lower lip at the news, but regained her composure a moment later.
"No matter. We will be on the lookout for magic this time and they know that. As pathetic as they are, even these students would not dare to use magic," Cinch said before a frown crossed her face. "And what of this Diana? She is an unknown in this situation."
"Diana is really nice. Likes to help students all the time and is always willing to listen to them," Boulder said before a shiver went up his spine. "But when she gets angry, it's like she becomes one of the scariest beings on the planet. She doesn't say anything, but the look she gives you makes you want to curl up in your chair and die."
"Yeah, I've gotten that look too. And even I falter under it," Crystal agreed before both she and Boulder gazed over at Agatha. "Well? Don't you have anything to say about Diana?"
"She's overrated. I don't see why all of you are so worried about her," Agatha replied with a shrug. "As scary as she seems, she's nothing more than a regular teacher who has a good glare. You should see my father's. Sunset is the only threat we face, and even then she's hardly a challenge." Cinch seemed relieved at her words and a smile crossed her face.
"Well keep me informed if anything different occurs. We will not allow even the smallest chance of these fools to defeat us come to pass." Cinch then left the students alone and the group split apart, save for Agatha who glanced down at her hand.
"So, why didn't you want me to tell Cinch about who Diana truly is?" she asked her hand, where the image of a helmet that was invisible to all but Agatha was printed on her hand.
'Because I do not want the surprise to be spoiled so early. And because Cinch is a fool. Do not worry. Soon enough you shall have all that I have promised you.'
"And then I can finally crush all those who dared to look down on me...just like you, Sunset."
Orange and red leaves covered the ground, rustling with a crackling sound. The chilled air blew through the park, trying to knock the remaining leaves that hung onto the trees for their fleeting lives to join their brethren. But if the wind failed to knock the leaves to the ground, then the force of the two fighters colliding would.
The girl with hair that matched the landscape lunged forward with an incredible speed, hurling her right leg towards the head of her teacher. Yet in the face of being kicked in the head, all the teacher did was smile before leaning to the side to dodge the blow.
"Too slow, Sunset," Diana taunted as she grabbed hold of Sunset's leg. Before she could toss the girl to the side however, Sunset flipped over in Diana's grasp and drove her other foot towards Diana's face. Diana leapt backwards to avoid the blow, but the sudden movement made her lose her grip on her foe.
Sunset had barely hit the ground before she threw herself back into the fight, going with rapid rights and lefts at Diana's stomach. Diana brought her arms in and deflected each punch with relative ease. Sunset grunted as she ceased her rapid-fire attack and took aim right for Diana's nose. But the moment Diana saw the attacks cease, she kicked straight up and caught Sunset right in the chest.
The girl was launched across the park and slammed into the ground, flat on her back. The leaves she landed on took to the sky once more, dancing around the girl while she struggled to get her breath back.
"Are you alright over there?" Diana called out to Sunset. Shimmer responded by rolling onto her stomach and slamming her fist into the ground before pushing herself back up. "I was afraid for a moment that I had taken your head off, but now I can see that you just blended in with the leaves. Actually, in this environment, you might actually be able to sneak up on me."
'Keep laughing, Diana. And keep your guard down,' Sunset mused. Sunset steadied herself on her feet before grabbing hold of her black jacket. She then tore the jacket from her body and tossed it to the side, leaving her with her red and orange T-shirt and an expression of pure concentration.
Diana motioned for Sunset to bring it. Doing as her instructor asked, Sunset lunged forward once more and jabbed her elbow right at Diana's face. Diana caught the attack with one hand while going for a chop with the other. Sunset caught the movement and used her other arm to push both of their arms in front of the attack. Diana raised an eyebrow as her own arm stopped her attack. But she was still ready for the leaping kick that Sunset tried to catch her with.
"Not good enough." Diana slammed her own elbow into Sunset's gut and sent her straight to the ground. Sunset let out a gasp of pain as she impacted the dirt. Diana then swung down with a punch of her own, but to her surprise Sunset was still aware enough to block the attack with her forearms.
"Seems you've toughened up quite a bit since the last time we fought like this," Diana praised as she used her strength to slowly push down Sunset's arm. "But this fight is not yours. You've taken too much and you've shown your hand too early. Are you ready to call it quits?"
"N-never!" Sunset planted both of her feet into Diana's chest and kicked off. While Diana was far too powerful to be budged by the attack, that was not the intent of Sunset's attack. Instead, Sunset employed Diana like a springboard and used the force in her legs to propel herself backwards. She then rolled up to her feet and immediately took up her fighting stance once more.
Diana raised an eyebrow at her student, who was panting heavily and clearly was exhausted. 'But she still wants to keep going,' Diana mused as she too took up her fighting stance once more. Diana took the initiative this time and closed the gap between the two of them in the blink of an eye. Sunset had just enough time to register that Diana had moved before Diana swept her student's legs out from under her. But once again Sunset surprised her, because she landed like she was going to roll, before kipping back up to her feet.
'She's been this way for months now,' Diana pondered while she ducked under a kick aimed at her head. 'Almost like she has something that she wants to prove and she's willing to do anything to prove it.' Diana blocked a second kick with her shin before whipping her leg back around to catch Sunset in the shoulder. The blow sent Sunset sprawling to the ground, but once again she pushed herself back up with sheer willpower.
"Covering yourself in leaves now? Are you actually trying to blend in?" Diana teased. Sunset brushed most of the leaves that had gotten tangled in her hair off with a growl, but she regained her composure as she slowly advanced towards the Amazon.
Sunset tried for a quick right, but Diana responded with a palm strike to the chest that knocked Sunset back. Sunset then went low as she tried to tackle Diana's legs, yet with a simple leap Diana dodged the attack and went right over Sunset.
"Sunset, this is getting ridiculous," Diana said with a sigh as she landed. Sunset spun around and brought her fists up once more, but Diana could hear how heavily she was breathing. "You're obviously tired. Let's take a break and I can show you more ways to break a person's joints. How's that sound?"
"No. I'm not done."
"Sunset, I applaud your bravery, but this fight is over," Diana informed her student in a stern voice. "You're obviously exhausted. The only reason this fight continues on is because I have decided not to end it."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Sunset asked as she glanced to the right for a brief moment. Diana followed her gaze but didn't see anything interesting. "Go ahead. Finish it."
Diana shook her head before closing the gap between her and her student with a single step, preparing a simple pressure point strike that would end the battle. Yet the moment she got close to Sunset a massive gust of wind blew across the field. The moment Sunset felt the gust of wind she kicked up the leaves that were around her into the air. The leaves were immediately caught by the gust and swirled around both Diana and Sunset.
'What's she...wait, where did she go?' Diana asked as she found for a brief moment she couldn't see Sunset in the leaves.
CRACK!
Diana blinked with surprise as Sunset's knee connected right in her jaw. However, the cracking sound wasn't caused by Sunset's knee snapping Diana's head back. Instead, it was caused by a human knee striking an Amazonian skull.
"Son of a GRAH!" Sunset cried out as she crashed to the ground, clutching at the knee that had struck Diana. Diana grabbed hold of her lasso and summoned Hermes healing elixir while Sunset swore at the sky in pain. A few drops down Sunset's throat was enough to sooth the pain, but as Diana glanced at the bottle she found that she had frighteningly little left.
"That looked like it hurt," Diana said as she helped Sunset sit up. "This is why I told you not to strike me as hard as you could."
"Okay, first: that hurt like hell. Second: what the hell? I've hit you before and it was nothing like that," Sunset pointed out.
"Well, that's because every time you struck me in the past I was fast enough to register the strike and move myself back with the blow," Diana informed her student.
"So wait a second. In all of our past sparring matches whenever I hit you, I wasn't actually hitting you?" Sunset asked. "If you had wanted to, you could have actually gotten out of the way."
"Of course, Sunset. I am far faster than any regular human."
"Well, there goes all the confidence I gained from fighting you in the past," Sunset grumbled as she pulled her knees up and started to sulk. A cold gust of wind ceased the sulking and got Sunset to begin shivering. Diana retrieved the jacket for her student before sitting down next to her. The pair watched the leaves dance across the field in silence, allowing the crackling of the leaves to entertain them.
"That was brilliant of you though," Diana eventually said to break the silence. "To use the fact that your hair and shirt were the same color as the leaves to blend in. It caught me completely off guard."
"It was a bad idea for you to suggest the idea in the first place," Sunset responded with a smirk before glancing up at Diana's jaw. "But today...I actually got you, right? That was the first time I've landed an actual strike on you?"
"To be completely honest, yes. You got me." Diana sneaked a glance at her student to see that her eyes were shining like the sun, a smile on her face that Diana had not seen in a long time. "So why was it so important to you to actually strike me? Your reward for doing so was nearly a busted knee."
"But that shows that I'm learning, Diana! That I'm getting better!" Sunset replied with raw excitement. "It shows that no matter what Cinch or Hades throw at me, I'll be ready for them!"
"Ah," Diana said, finally starting to understand. "This is about proving yourself, isn't it?" Sunset nodded once before wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her head upon them.
"Well, kinda, but not to anyone at the school. More like...argh," Sunset grumbled before laying down on her back and staring at the autumn sky for a long time. "Did you have a mentor, Diana?" she eventually asked. "A person that you looked up to, admired...wanted to be like when your grew up?"
"Yes, I did indeed," Diana said. "He was Ares, the God of War. And he was the one who taught me how to fight. How to be strong. I saw him as more than a mentor, I saw him as family. Well, he technically was family, but that's beside the point. Yes, I did admire him. And I strove to be like him."
"Did you ever...fail him?" Diana took in a deep breath at that moment, recalling all that had happened to her. From being an outcast, to being selected by Ares to be trained, to the night in the Labyrinth. Then she gazed down at Sunset, who was averting her eyes to make sure Diana did not see her face.
"Yes. I did." The moment Diana spoke those words, Sunset turned to face her teacher, who wore an expression that Sunset knew all too well. "He took me in. Trained me in the ways of war. Taught how to fight...to kill. And for my final test, to prove that I was a warrior, I was sent into the Labyrinth to kill the minotaur."
"And you didn't."
"I could not. After defeating the beast, I raised my blade and prepared to strike it down. But as I gazed into its eyes, I did not see a monster, I saw a living being...a being that was helpless. Afraid. And I could not strike it down," Diana said in a near whisper. "I spared its life. And for my actions, Ares cast me aside and said that I would forever be his greatest failure. And those words still carve into my very soul today. I do not regret sparing the minotaur's life, but that god took me in and trained me...trusted me. And I failed him."
The pair then sat in silence again for a long time, Sunset not knowing what to say while Diana was simply lost in memories of her time training with Ares. Sunset then began to think of the times she had trained with Celestia...and how much like Diana, she had failed.
"At least you betrayed your teacher for noble reasons," Sunset finally said. Diana broke free of her memories and gazed down at Sunset with sympathy. "I did it because I wanted power. I cast aside the love and caring of the pony that took me under their wing, all for power. I deserve to be outcast here. I deserve to be cast aside like the failure I am."
Diana's face softened for a moment before she wrapped her arm around Sunset's shoulder and pulled her student close to her. "We have all made mistakes in our lives. What is important is that we learn from them. And you are my student now, and I promise that I will not cast you aside."
"You don't want me to be your student, Diana. I'll probably fail you too."
"Of course you will. The student's job is to fail from time to time," Diana informed Sunset. "But a teacher's job is to help you learn from those failures and become better in the process. And if your teacher gives up on you, or believes that you are beyond help, then that teacher is a far greater failure than that student shall ever be."
"That's...pretty powerful. Who told you that?"
"Ares."
Sunset found that she couldn't help but smile at that and she leaned into Diana slightly. "Hey Diana, do you mind if we keep training? I don't feel like going home yet and I want to do something productive with my time. Think you can start preparing me for the Friendship games coming up? Rumor has it that you selected me specifically to go up against Crystal Prep."
"Of course I did. You are my star student, after all. I might not know what kind of obstacles that you face, but I can do my best to prepare you for what you might face," Diana said. The two both rose to their feet, Diana gazing up at the sky. "Do you need to call your parents first and make sure that they know where you are?"
"I don't have parents here. I mean, I'm sure that my counterpart here does, but my parents are back on Equestria," Sunset said with a sad smile.
"I am sorry, Sunset. I did not know."
"It's fine. I've made peace with it," Sunset admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "This is my life now, and for all the bad things that I've done it's a better life than I deserve."
"You are too hard on yourself. You are a better person than you believe."
"And you're a far better mentor than I deserve," Sunset whispered as she gazed towards the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to set. For a moment, she wondered how Celestia and Twilight were doing. Then she thought of her parents and her family and wondered how they had been in her absence. Then, she cast those thoughts aside and gazed back towards Diana, who was talking with an owl on her shoulder.
'I promise here, Diana, that I won't fail you the way I did Celestia,' Sunset promised to the darkening sky as she tightened her fist over her heart. 'I'm going to win the Friendship Games and show you that your teaching wasn't wasted on me. That I am not the failure I believe myself to be. I promise I'll make you proud.'
Sunset and Applejack tried to keep their cool when the creature walked towards them with its blade pointed at the pair. But in the face of a being covered completely in skeletal armor, it was hard to remain calm. Sunset and Applejack slowly backed away from the creature, which chuckled at their efforts.
"Oh please, don't try to run," it said, though the mask that was made from an actual skull distorted its voice. "You won't be able to escape me. Now you have two options: You can come quietly and neither of you will be harmed, or you can run and this gets a whole lot more fun."
"Why does this keep happening to me?" Applejack asked. Sunset didn't answer, since she was far too busy glancing around to see if there was anything that could help the two of them. "And why do ya want our magic so badly? Who are ya anyway?"
"Someone that plans to take your magic. And someone that can't stand you and your friends," the skeletal knight replied, its voice sending shivers down Applejack's spine. "Now then, don't try anything or else I'll..."
"As soon as I distract her, you make a break for it and get our friends. Or Diana. Or both," Sunset whispered to Applejack. Applejack flashed her a look, thinking that Sunset had gone crazy.
"What are you whispering about?" the knight asked.
"Nothing much; just wondering if you're any good at dodge ball," Sunset replied. The knight tilted its head in confusion, wondering what Sunset meant. The moment Sunset sensed the confusion she pulled out her phone and chucked it right into the knight's face. "RUN!" she screamed at Applejack the moment the creature was distracted.
"That didn't really go with what ya said," Applejack pointed out as the two turned and sprinted away from the knight.
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's hard to think up witty one liners when a monster has a sword pointed at me!" Sunset snapped back. A howl of fury erupted behind the two and they glanced over their shoulders to see the knight tearing through the air after the both of them.
"I will tear you apart for that, Shimmer!" the knight screamed at them as it rapidly gained ground.
"Separate!" Sunset instructed Applejack. "It's after me now! That'll give you the chance to get away!"
"And leave ya alone to face that thing?! No way in hell!" AJ replied stubbornly.
"Neither of us are a match for it! Go get Diana!" Sunset bellowed. Applejack would have argued longer, but Sunset took a sharp right and headed down a separate street from the one that they had been running along. AJ glanced at the knight to see it bellow and turn after Sunset. AJ skidded to a stop, planning to go after the pair. But Sunset looked over her shoulder at AJ and motioned for her to run. "Please," Sunset mouthed.
"Yer gonna get yerself killed," AJ said with a shake of her head before turning and racing off towards the school. Sunset watched over her shoulder as AJ ran away from her. Sunset then let out a sigh as she came to a stop next in a small park, leaning up against some playground equipment that was there for children to play on.
"Finally decided to accept your fate, huh? Or are you just taking a breather before you run like a coward again?" the creature asked while it floated down across the playground from Sunset, who slowly turned to glare at it with wrath burning in her soul.
"I'm done running. All I've done for years now is run. But this time," Sunset began as she brought up both of her fists and slid her right leg back, taking up the stance that had been beaten into her. "This time I'm going to fight." The skeletal creature stared at her for a moment before it threw its head back and laughed up at the black sky.
"You have got to be joking me! I have armor forged by a god! You're a fool if you think you can even touch me!" the knight cackled as it lowered its head and slowly began to advance towards Sunset, twirling its blade in its right hand. "But thank you for making this fun. I've wanted to knock that smug look off of your face for a long time, Shimmer."
Sunset did not respond with words. Instead, she took in a deep breath to calm her nerves before slowly advancing towards the knight. The two moved closer and closer with neither making the first move, both curious to see what the other would do. Then the knight's patience wore out and it swung the blade at Sunset. Sunset caught the motion and turned her body to the left, feeling the air being sliced apart as the blade cleaved the space where she had been a moment ago.
"What the...?" the knight asked, not believing how quickly Sunset had moved. Seeing that her opponent was confused, Sunset let out a yell as she dug one heel into the ground. She the pivoted her body so that her second foot was set on a course right for the knight's head.
The sound of foot striking bone echoed throughout the empty park. The knight staggered back under the force of the kick, but Sunset nearly collapsed to her knees as pain lanced up her leg. She let out a curse as she crouched down to check on her leg, which hurt when she touched it gingerly.
"Huh, didn't know that you were a fighter," the knight said as it began to advance towards Sunset again. "But even if you can fight, your attacks can't hurt me in this armor. All you'll do is kill yourself trying to hurt me." Sunset ignored the pain in her leg as she pushed herself back up, a snarl on her face while she brought up her hands once more. "You can't beat a god, Sunset."
"Please, I've fought someone far stronger than a god. And you're not on their level," Sunset spat back. The knight snarled before lunging at Sunset, blade extended and aimed right at her heart. But once more Sunset easily moved out of the way, choosing to duck under the blade of crimson. She moved forward as rapidly as she could to close the gap between the two. The moment she was within striking range, she threw three quick punches to the armored chest of the knight before slamming her palm into the side of its skull-like helmet.
"You little-" the knight tried to say, but with another yell Sunset spun on her heels to build up momentum before driving her left elbow into the center of the helmet. The knight cried out as it staggered back, but once again Sunset did more damage to herself than her foe.
"Damn it, that hurt," she whispered while clutching at her left elbow, removing her hand to see blood upon her palm. A glance at her elbow showed that she had sliced herself open on the boney headpiece. Forcing the pain down once more, she spun towards her foe and resumed the attack. She hurled herself at the knight, wrapping her hands around the back of the knight's helmet and pulling its head down while bringing her knee up to meet it.
"Not this time!" the knight bellowed before slamming a fist into Sunset's chest. Sunset felt the air get punched out of her chest before she was hurled across the playground, landing on her back hard. If she had any air left in her lungs after the punch, it was expelled the moment she hit the ground.
'Got to...get up...can't give it...a chance...' Sunset realized as she struggled to push herself back up.
"GRAH!"
Without bothering to look behind her Sunset threw herself to the side, just in time to watch as the blade came down and cleaved the ground where she had been laying. The knight turned its head towards Sunset with the eyeholes blazing with fury.
"You are such a nuisance!" the creature bellowed as it thrust the blade at Sunset, who was now on her feet. Sunset moved to the side to dodge the blow before retaliating with another palm strike. This time the knight was ready and caught Sunset's wrist with its free hand. Sunset tried for another strike, but with a bellow of fury the creature flung Sunset across the playground once more with only one arm. Sunset crashed into a jungle gym, where she cried out as her body struck metal.
"Look at you now, Sunset. The queen of Canterlot High beaten and broke in the dirt, where she belongs," the knight spat at Sunset, who was trying to untangle herself from the metal bars. "Remember back when you were so popular? Remember when you were so perfect? Because I don't."
"Have we...met before?" Sunset weakly stammered out. The knight let out a laugh before lunging forward once more. Sunset used whatever strength she had left to hurl herself out of the way of the knight, who sliced the jungle gym to pieces with three strikes of her sword that severed the metal easily. Sunset crashed to the ground as pieces of metal fell around her.
'I can't keep fighting her with my bare hands. I need a weapon,' Sunset realized as she glanced around at the metal pieces. She spied a piece that was fairly long in length and grabbed it, using it to push herself back up before she took up the second stance that was beaten into her.
"What's this? You're really going to fight against a godly being using a piece of metal?" the knight asked her before throwing back its head once more and letting out a cackle of madness. Sunset roared in response as she lunged and swung the metal piece the way Diana had taught her...only to watch as the skeleton knight swung its sword and cleaved the metal piece in two. Sunset only had a second to glance down at her severed weapon before the knight slammed the hilt of her blade into the back of Sunset's body, sending her straight into the dirt.
"You're lucky that my master wants you in one piece," the knight informed Sunset. It reached down and grabbed hold of the girl's hair, slowly pulling her back up to her feet. "Because if it was up to me, I would make you suffer every single humiliation you forced upon me. What do you say to that?" Sunset responded by driving her forehead into the helmet of the knight.
"Oh, that looked like it hurt," the knight cackled as Sunset cried out in pain. The knight released Sunset as the girl staggered backwards, clutching at her head. The knight's sword flashed once more and Sunset screamed as she felt a burning sensation in her side. She clutched at the blazing pain while nearly falling to her knees.
'I...can't win,' Sunset slowly realized as she pulled her hands away from the pain in her side. Blood began to stream down her body, pouring into the dirt as she glanced back to see the knight advancing towards her once more. 'It's too powerful. I can't even make a dent in that armor. So has all this training been for nothing?! Am I really so helpless that I can't-?'
The knight rushed forward and slammed its fist into Sunset's face, knocking the girl to the dirt once more. With tears of both pain and rage streaking down her face, Sunset clutched at her side in agony. 'I'm so useless. I can't help my friends. I can't even help myself. I'm just so-'
Then her fingers brushed against something that was wrapped around her hips, something that blasted away all the doubt and pain when she touched it. Something that helped her to see the truth.
"No..." she spat out through the pain as she pushed herself up. Her fingers began to undo the rope that was wrapped around her, feeling the truth seeping through her soul. "No, I promised that I would no longer be the weak girl that I was! I will not be weak any longer! I am strong! And I will fight!"
Sunset then spun to face the knight, cracking the rope like a whip as she did so. The knight laughed at the display from Sunset before lunging at her once more, blade held high over her head. Sunset grabbed hold of the lasso with both hands, lifting it so that some of the lasso was between the sword at her. The knight let out another cackle as it swung down...only for the laugh to die when the sword was stopped by the lasso.
"But...how...?" the knight asked in disbelief.
"Do you think you're the only one that's got a god in their corner?" Sunset asked before she moved, wrapping the lasso around the blade. With all of her strength she tore at the sword, wrenching it free of the knight's grasp and hurling it away from it.
The creature let out a roar of fury as it threw a punch at Sunset, but in a blur of motion Sunset wrapped the lasso around the knight's fist. Sunset then pulled the trapped arm over her shoulder while also driving the heel of her foot into the back of the knight's knee. The knight roared as it was forced down to one knee, but when it tried to get up, Sunset brought its elbow down upon her shoulder.
"Your armor might protect you from my blows, but it can't protect your joints," Sunset said as the knight howled out in pain. She then cranked the knight's arm up behind its head, causing it to cry out even louder as the torque nearly tore its arm off. "Now...you're going to answer my questions...and don't bother lying...because this lasso doesn't let you."
"You little-GRAH!" the knight cried out once more as Sunset applied more force.
"Now then, who...are you?" Sunset weakly asked, the pain and loss of blood beginning to get to her.
"I'm...I'm..." the knight began to say as it struggled against the power of the lasso. Then it lifted its head towards the sky and for a moment, Sunset thought that she could see a smile underneath the helmet. "I'm out of here." Smoke erupted from the knight and moments later the lasso fell to the ground, with the being that it had trapped gone. Sunset glanced around to see if she could spy where it had gone before the pain flashed through her body. She cried out weakly before collapsing to the ground. Her vision started to go black as she felt herself getting weaker and weaker.
Then something at the speed of a meteor slammed into the center of the playground next to her. The impact tore the playground equipment out of the ground and sent it flying in different directions. The ground itself was shattered and cracked by the impact, but the only thing in the playground that hadn't been affected was Sunset. And that was because the source of the impact had taken her into its arms.
"Diana?" Sunset weakly asked as she pushed herself to gaze through her blackening vision, recognizing that her teacher was wearing the same outfit that she had when she crushed the nightmare. Diana stared down at Sunset with a look that was one half absolute fury and another that was terror and fear for her student.
"Dear gods in Olympus, Sunset, what has happened to you?" Diana asked with a voice that was filled to the brim with concern and fear. Diana then glanced around the area for whoever had dared to touch her student, but there was no one around. Sunset weakly opened her mouth, but Diana shook her head with a kind, and worried, smile. "No, don't speak. Save your strength."
"But Diana...you need to hear this," Sunset protested as she used what little strength she had left to smile. "I did it, Diana. I defended myself. I used what you taught me...and fought off...a god...ly...creature. It was stronger...faster...had a sword...and I...beat it...I did...as you...taught. Did...I...make you...prou...?"
"Sunset?" Diana asked as Sunset closed her eyes and leaned her head against Diana's chest, before going completely limp and motionless. "Sunset? SUNSET?!"
The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, signaling that the night had gone and that morning now reigned. But even as the light streaked through the window and rested upon Diana's face, she never lifted her eyes for even a moment as she continued to gaze down at her student.
Sunset was fast asleep in her bed, breathing softly while Diana watched over her. Diana had brought Sunset home the moment she had found her wounded in the park, learning her address by using the lasso of truth on a postal worker that she had spotted from above. It was only now that she realized she had never apologized to the man.
'How is she?' the voice of Athena spoke from behind Diana.
"She is finally resting and her fever died down earlier this morning," Diana informed the goddess without turning around. Athena alighted on Diana's shoulder, resting there and gazing down at Sunset with concern. "However, she is still incredibly weak from her battle last night and will most likely not be back at one hundred percent for some time."
'Why not give her the medicine that Hermes entrusted to you? You have given it to her before?' Athena asked. Diana's response was to hand her a now empty vial.
"I gave Sunset the remainder of it last night, when I got her here. It was able to heal her wounds, but..." Diana trailed off. Sensing that Diana no longer wished to speak, Athena glanced around at the small apartment that Sunset called home. It amazed the goddess how similar it was compared to Diana's; only the bare essentials: A table. A fridge. Her bed. And numerous books all over the place.
'Then again, she does live by herself,' Athena figured. The sun slowly continued to rise as the pair sat in silence, gazing over the sleeping student. Then in a flash Diana struck the side cabinet with her fist, blasting it into splinters while the air exploded from the force of the blow. Athena leaped off of Diana's shoulders and hovered in the air above her, able to see her fury radiating from her body.
'You look like Ares did when he got mad,' Athena informed Diana.
"I should have been there," Diana whispered, yet the very air around her trembled in fear of her power. "I let my guard down and Hades nearly claimed Sunset because of my lapse of judgment. He will pay for this. I swear to Zeus that he will pay."
'And I am certain that he will, but right now you have other matters to attend to," Athena reminded Diana. When Diana gave her a questioning look that would have terrified anyone other than the goddess, Athena tilted her head towards a clock on the wall. 'It is almost time for class to start. You have already missed your morning tutoring sessions with Rainbow Dash and the other students. Are you going to miss class as well?'
"To Hades with the class. I will not abandon Sunset again when she is like this," Diana swore. Athena shook her head before landing on the bed before Diana, gazing up with eyes that were filled with wisdom.
'While that is noble and kind of you, you are of little use to Sunset right now. The wiser decision would be to go to Canterlot High and find out what you can about the enemy that attacked Sunset last night,' Athena instructed Diana. Diana wished to argue that she would stay, but she knew better than to question Athena's wisdom.
"How can I do that? The only person that was there when the attacker appeared was..."
'I see that you are starting to think straight again. Yes, Sunset might have been the one that fought with the creature, but there was another student that warned us of their plight.'
"Yes, there was. Watch over Sunset for me and alert me the moment there is any change...or if Hades comes for her again." Diana said no more words after that. She instead left the small apartment and took to the skies, hurtling towards Canterlot High. It wasn't until she was floating above the school that she realized that she was still in her Amazonian garb.
With the power of her lasso she returned to her teacher's outfit once more. She touched down at the school entrance after making sure that there was no one around to see her fly in. It took all of Diana's efforts to not tear the doors off of their hinges as she entered into the building.
"Well, look who it is," Sombra said with a smirk when he spotted Diana. "Celestia wasn't happy when you didn't show up for tutoring today. Had to hand it off to me instead. The students weren't happy either and I bet that-" Whatever else Sombra had to say was silenced, for Diana spun her head to face him with the wrath of a goddess flashing in her eyes. Sombra fell over with sheer terror while trying to cower away from her gaze.
Diana left the man lying in a pool of his own sweat, heading in the direction of Cranky's classroom. From what Sunset had told her about her friends and their schedules, she knew that Applejack was in Cranky's class first thing in the morning. Upon finding the classroom, she rapped her knuckles against the door twice before hurling it open so she could enter.
"Uh, Miss Diana?" Cranky said with some confusion when she stormed into the room. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, you can. I need to borrow Applejack," Diana instructed. Without waiting for his answer Diana walked over to Applejack and motioned for her to follow Diana.
"What's this all about?" AJ asked.
"I'll tell you outside," Diana replied before practically lifting Applejack out of her seat and walking her towards the exit.
"Wait a moment Diana, you can't just-"
Diana snapped her head around with such ferocity and rage in her eyes that every student in the room, along with the teacher, practically leapt back from her gaze alone. For a long moment no one dared to even breathe, and if one of them had looked at the clock, they would have seen that even time had frozen in fear of the Amazon's wrath. Then Diana turned her gaze away from the students and ushered Applejack out the door. The students and Cranky all let out a sigh of relief as she exited.
"Alright, back to listening. And don't any of you do anything that brings her back in," Cranky warned them while wiping his brow with his sleeve.
=wWw=
Out in the back of the school, near the dirt bike track that had yet to be taken down, Diana essentially dragged Applejack with her. AJ had tried multiple times to break Diana's grip and ask her what was going on, but Diana's strength made Big Mac seem pathetic in comparison.
"Ouch. Geez ya have one nasty grip," Applejack complained when Diana finally let go of her shoulder. "Mighty rude of you just dragging me out of class like that," AJ remarked while rubbing her sore shoulder.
"I need you to tell me everything you know about the creature that attacked you and Sunset the other day," Diana said. From the way the teacher crossed her arms and glared down at Applejack, it was clear to the student that Diana didn't want to hear any questions or remarks.
"Ah don't know that much. We were walking along, talking with one another, when suddenly that...skull knight appeared out of the sky and attacked us," Applejack began to explain, but she had questions of her own forming about the monster...and Diana. "It pointed its sword at us and told us not to run, but we didn't listen to it. It then went after Sunset, talking to her in a manner that made it seem like the two knew each other. Or at least, it knew her."
"So, that would make it someone from either this world or Sunset's other world," Diana muttered to herself, just quiet enough so that AJ couldn't hear. "What happened next?"
"Sunset told me that we needed to split up, since it was after her. She told me to get our friends...or you." Diana saw suspicion in Applejack's eyes as she said this.
'Why would she tell me to get you?' Diana thought to herself, practically reading AJ's mind. 'You're a teacher while our friends have the greatest magic in this world. Unless you're more than just a teacher.'
"And that's exactly what ah did," AJ continued, not asking the question that Diana thought she would. "Ah came to the school and found ya almost immediately. Then ya took off with a speed ah wouldn't give ya credit fer, and I know nothing else that's happened, and I've been worried out of mah mind fer my friend. Now yer going to answer a question fer me. What happened to Sunset?"
The look of concern and fury that AJ gave Diana impressed the teacher, but she kept her face neutral. "Sunset was badly injured by the skeletal creature. When I found her, she had lost a lot of blood and was barely conscious. I rushed her to her home and tended to her wounds. She's sleeping there as we speak."
"And ya left her all alone? What if that thing comes back?! What happened to that thing anyway?!" AJ yelled at Diana.
"She is not alone. Athena is watching over her," Diana said in a voice so stern that any other outbursts were silenced before they could start. "As for what that thing was, I truly have no idea. I did not see it, I arrived after it had already left. All I know of it is what little you have told me."
"All ah remember is that it wore bone-like armor and had a sword as red as Sunset's hair," AJ said with a cold tone of her own.
"Thank you for telling me about this. You may go back to class now," Diana instructed as she turned and started to walk away.
"Sunset showed up at this school a long time ago and strange things started happening. Then three girls known as the Sirens appeared at the school and mind-controlled everyone to make the fight. Then Twilight showed up and started to suck the magic out of us," Applejack began. It wasn't her words, but rather her tone that made Diana turn around to face the student once more.
"Are you trying to imply something, Applejack?" Diana asked. Applejack replied with a long stare.
"Then Sunset starts getting horrible nightmares right before a new and mysterious teacher shows up, a teacher that is smart, fast, and stronger than any human should be," Applejack continued. "And then a giant zombie monster shows up along with a skull knight, not long after that teacher." Diana's eyes narrowed before she walked up to Applejack, towering over her with a stern glare. But to Applejack's credit, she glared right back up at Diana without giving an inch.
"If you have something you wish to say to me Applejack, then please say it to my face."
"Yer a part of the strange things that have been going on around here. Ah don't know if yer the cause of what's been going on or if yer trying to stop it, but there is far more to ya then yer letting on," Applejack said in a whisper. Diana didn't bother saying whether Applejack was right or not. Both of them knew that she was.
"And if what you say is true, what will you do next?" Diana asked. Applejack went silent for a long time after that, so long that the bell for the next period rang while she was thinking. Then, after nearly twenty minutes, she let out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders.
"Sunset trusts ya, to the point where she told me to get ya when a monster was chasing after her. While ah may not trust ya entirely, ah trust Sunset. And since she hasn't told anyone about ya, then ah guess it's not my place to say anything either," AJ finally said before turning and walking away. Then she stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Diana. "But if ya are on our side and are trying to stop these attacks, then ya need to get a move on. Yesterday showed that ya can't protect all of us at the same time."
Diana remained silent as Applejack walked back to class, a smirk on her face at the tone that the student had taken with the goddess. 'But she's right. I haven't been doing enough to stop Hades' plans,' she realized as she too started to head back to her classes. 'And now I know he won't stop until he gets their magic. But what can I do? I can't give him their magic or else gods know what he'd do with it. But I can't keep defending these girls all of my life--and theirs. What should I do?'
=wWw=
Hades sighed to himself as he closed his portal to the other world, having seen enough disappointment for one day. 'But clearly today is a day for constant annoyance for me,' he thought as he spied the cloaked creature storming towards him. Hades might not have been able to see the being's face, but he knew all too well when a being was angry with him.
"You acted without consulting me. That was foolish," the being scorned.
"You may be angry, but we agreed that we would work together. I never said that I would tell you of all my plans or that I would stop trying to gather the magic in my own way," Hades shot back with a smirk at the being's anger. "You also told me not to send in any more of these dead souls to that world. Instead, I simply empowered someone there who was already loyal to me."
"You are making grave errors. Every time you show Diana more of your hand, you are giving her more knowledge to arm herself for her next move," the being snarled at Hades before using his shattered magic to open up his own portal with which to view the land. "And worst of all, Sunset still lives. This world has gone so far off course from what I had planned that it almost makes me want to stop observing it. Almost. Not quite. Never."
"Seems that you're the one who is bound to this world, now that you must know how it ends," Hades muttered to himself while also rolling around the soul he was holding in his hand...before creating a silver dagger out of blackness. "You're not as powerful as you believed. But..." he continued as he hid the dagger in the shadows once more. "I can still use you."
"For you see, I have a plan," Hades informed the being, who turned around to glare at the God of the Dead.
"And what manner of plan be that?"
"The only reason Diana has had so much success at thwarting us, is that she can hide away next to the humans as one of them. But if she was to be revealed for what she really is, then she would be placed in a far less...advantageous position," Hades explained as he waved his hand and brought up an image that interested the being. "All we must do is wait a little while longer. And then I shall send in one of my strongest souls to show that world what she really is...and why they should fear her."
The winds howled in protest while the snow beat itself against the windows, but the students within the walls of the classroom had far more to worry about than the blizzard outside. For it was test time, and the students under the tutelage of Diana knew that her tests were ones to be feared. Her tests were crafty and most of the time the questions had more than one answer.
So, as Diana walked down the rows of seats with a smile on her face, handing out the sheets of paper to the students, they all felt a chill go down their spines when they stared down at the last test for the year. All except for Twilight, who relished the challenge that Diana's tests gave her.
"You should all know the rules by now. You have until the end of class to complete the test. Work hard and no talking. And if I catch any of you cheating...well...I'll let your imaginations take care of the rest," Diana said with a small chuckle, chilling the room further. "Now then, the test begins...now."
Every student turned their attention to their tests and began to scribble away, allowing Diana and the owl on her desk to gaze out across the room and see which students had studied and which were in for a rough time.
'Poor Crush, seems this test might be the one that causes his brain to stop,' Athena said with a shake of her head. Diana gazed over at the student to find him banging his head against his desk in a desperate attempt to recall what he had learned.
"Crush, please keep the noise down. You'll disturb the other students," Diana advised. Crush obeyed her words immediately, but Diana could see that he was almost on the brink of tears. "Crush, I've also found that meditation and deep breathing can be helpful in recalling information. If you are willing to bash your head against your desk, then perhaps you would also be willing to give this a try."
With nothing to lose, Crush closed his eyes and began to softly breath. Diana smiled before turning her gaze to the rest of the students. Diana gazed over Fluttershy quickly, seeing that her face was a pale color and she was chewing nervously on her pencil. But then Diana glanced down at her test and found that she was doing well.
'She doesn't need any advice,' Diana decided while gazing at the only empty chair in the room. With the injuries Sunset had received, she had fallen behind a few weeks in terms of classwork.
'It was very kind of you to allow her extra time to study so she wouldn't fail,' Athena said after seeing where Diana had been looking.
'Somehow, I get the feeling she would pass even with the missing time,' Diana smirked. 'But I do not wish to push her too hard. She already does that to herself. Between her training and "helping" me with finding solutions to Hades, I figured she could use a little more time for school.'
'Diana, you're not showing favoritism because Sunset is your prized pupil, are you?' Athena asked in a joking tone.
'Of course not. I'm simply taking into account what Sunset has gone through and adjusting accordingly. It's not her fault that one of Hades' lackeys attacked her,' Diana thought in reply, before a smile crossed her face. 'Besides, Sunset wouldn't be happy if I went easy on her. That's not the kind of person she is. She works hard and given the chance, she'll soar even higher.'
'Yes, she does. Now if only every student you gave that chance to would take it,' Athena muttered. Diana glanced at the back of the room towards a rainbow-haired student, knowing full well at whom Athena was looking. With her enhanced eyes, Diana was able to easily see the sweat forming on Rainbow's forehead while her face had a look of absolute terror upon it.
'Seems that she didn't know about the change to the final section. That's what she gets for missing the tutoring you tried to offer her,' Athena chuckled while Diana simply shook her head with disappointment. 'That's right, this test is her last chance to get her grades up so she can play on her team. What does she need to get on the test to make that happen again?'
"At least an A-," Diana muttered. Her focus was taken away from Dash and to Twilight, who was walking up to her desk with a smug smile on her face.
"That was a pretty tricky last question, but only for students who forgot the little hints that you dropped at the end of the last class," Twilight said as she handed her paper to Diana. Diana and Athena both rapidly glanced over the test. A large smile crossed Diana's face when she finished looking it over before she raised her eyebrows at Twilight.
"One hundred percent again, Twilight. You never fail to impress," Diana said as she grabbed her red pen and wrote the letter grade at the top of the paper. "With brains such as yours, you have many doors open to you. I am curious to see what you decide to do in the future."
Twilight made a squeaking sound as she took the test and raced out the door, Diana smirking when she spied Twilight do a fist pump on the other side. She then glanced up at the clock to see that there was still plenty of time left and went back to watching the students like a hawk.
One by one, the students came up and handed their tests to Diana. They waited before her with nervous looks as she gazed over their tests, deciding their fates. "Good job Fluttershy, this is a B. You've put a lot of work into this. D+ Crush, a far better score than your previous test. See, you are learning. Seriously, Lightning Dust? You drew on your test?"
The students filed out of the room after Diana graded their tests, until the only people left in the room were Diana and Rainbow Dash, who was still staring down at her paper in the back. Rainbow Dash dared a glance up at the clock to see that she had only a few minutes left, causing her face to fall...as she slammed her head onto her desk.
"Do not worry about the time, Rainbow," Diana said, causing Rainbow to snap back up. "You can go until you finish." Rainbow visibly sighed in relief before turning her attention back to her paper. Athena raised an eyebrow at Diana's words before the door opened and the face of Sunset peeked in. Diana held up a finger to signal that she needed more time. Sunset nodded and closed the door after giving Rainbow a worried look.
Ten more minutes passed before Rainbow Dash slowly rose out of her chair and walked towards Diana's desk. Both Diana and Athena noticed that her legs were shaking as she approached the teacher, and when she handed her test to Diana she couldn't look the teacher in the eyes. Diana raised an eyebrow at Rainbow's behavior before she and Athena glanced over the test.
'Well, she did better on this than I expected,' Athena admitted. 'Ah, but there we go. There's the errors in the section she missed out on. Well I've done the math Diana and I believe the both of us know what she got on this test.'
'Yes. B,' Diana agreed before glancing up at Rainbow Dash, who looked like she was going to throw up. Diana then removed her glasses as she glared at Rainbow Dash with a stern look, a look that nearly made Dash hurl. "Rainbow Dash, I can't help but notice that most of the points that you missed came from the last section, a section that I went over in great detail during our morning tutoring--tutoring you were not there for that day."
"I-I know that I missed that day, but something really important came up that I had to take care of!" Rainbow Dash argued.
"That's fine. But then why didn't you come to me afterwards and see if you could have made up what you missed?" Diana asked. Rainbow's response was to stare at the floor with a look that Diana couldn't place. "Rainbow Dash, what was so important that it took up days of your time, time that you could have been using to study for this test?"
"I...can't say," Dash finally admitted. Diana and Athena both shared a look at her response.
'It had to be something related to the vortexes that have been opening up recently,' Diana thought. 'Sunset told me that they started to appear again.'
'As sad as that is, Rainbow still failed to get the grade she needed. Perhaps if she had taken learning seriously from the beginning, then this wouldn't have happened,' Athena said with no compassion in her voice. Instead of responding, Diana chose to glance down at Rainbow's test once more.
'With the grades that she was getting at the beginning of the year, it is still impressive that she was able to get such a high score,' Diana noticed before glancing again at the two bonus questions. 'She even figured out acceptable responses to my riddles, something only Sunset managed to do in the past. She really devoted herself, didn't she?' Diana then crossed her hands and thought for a long time. She glanced up at Dash with a stern look, one that nearly brought Dash to tears.
"Rainbow Dash...I'll talk to your coach and get you put back on the team." How quickly Rainbow Dash went from nearly having a breakdown to euphoric surprised Diana, and a moment later Rainbow Dash was dancing around the room yelling as loud as she could.
"You mean I passed?!" Rainbow Dash asked Diana when she had finally calmed down enough.
"Your test showed me that you have learned. You also showed me how dedicated you are to your friends and helping others," Diana explained, though her explanation only caused Rainbow Dash to stare at her teacher with confusion. "The bonus points are what saved you. But to put it simply: yes, you passed."
Dash let out another victory cry while Diana stood up, marking down a few things on Dash's test before handing it back to her. Dash grabbed the test and held it tight, before racing towards the door with the largest grin on her face.
"However," Diana said with such authority that Dash was stopped dead in her tracks, "if you stop studying or your grades fall once more, then not only will I take you off the team once again, I will personally drag you to the tutoring lessons with Sombra and make sure that you attend each one. Am I clear?"
"Yes Ma'am!" Rainbow Dash said as she saluted Diana. Diana then smiled and waved Dash away with a chuckle. The student raced out of the room, but as Diana cleaned up her desk she could still hear Rainbow Dash celebrating in the halls.
'I am not happy with you, Diana,' Athena said with some heat while Diana finished packing up. 'Dash did not deserve to pass. You and I both know that. Yet you chose to give her a higher grade than what she deserved. I am disappointed.'
"Didn't you hear me, Athena? I gave her bonus points," Diana responded as the door to her room opened once more.
"Um, can I come in now?" Sunset asked.
"Of course, Sunset. How are you feeling?" Diana asked her student while ignoring the looks of anger and rage that Athena was giving her.
"Much better, actually. And I'm ready to begin training again!" Sunset said with confidence, gaining a laugh from Diana.
"I have no doubt that you are, but I would prefer if you rested a little longer, just to be safe," Diana replied as she headed for the exit. Sunset pouted for a second before following Diana out of the room. "However, there is something that you can do for me."
"What's that?" Sunset asked.
"You said that your friends in Equestria are skilled at magic, correct?"
"Well, I'm skilled as well, but yes, they are."
"Good. Because I've been doing some thinking and an answer to a question continues to elude me. Care to take a guess at what the answer might be?"
"Of course!"
"Good. My question is, why hasn't Hades himself come to your world and tried to steal the magic himself?" Diana asked. "All he has done so far is send in minions of his that he knows stand no chance against me. Now if he were to come himself, even I couldn't guarantee that I would keep all of you safe. But he hasn't yet. And my question is why?"
"Maybe...because there's a magic here that's keeping him out?" Sunset answered.
"An excellent idea. In fact, that is right along the lines that Athena and I were thinking," Diana praised with a smile.
"But I thought you didn't have an answer."
"We don't. That's just our hypothesis for now," Diana answered. "But say there is a magic that is keeping Hades out, but not his forces. What do you think we should do next, then?"
"Well, I would modify the magical power so that it would keep both Hades and all of his..." Sunset trailed off, catching onto Diana's plan and gazing up at her with a smile. "You want me to see if my Equestrian friends can figure anything out about this magic and help us with creating a shield that will prevent Hades from getting to this world?"
"And my star student strikes again," Diana said with a laugh, but as she laughed she didn't see Sunset's eyes light up at her words. "Yes, if we can make that barrier even stronger, then perhaps not only would we be able to keep Hades out, but maybe that nightmare that wants to end your life. If we could do that...then I would no longer need to protect you and your friends."
"So then...you would go home, right?" Sunset asked as she looked away.
"I have to eventually. I am needed on my world."
"Yeah, I figured," Sunset whispered sadly before glancing up at Athena, who was glaring at Diana. "Um, why is Athena so mad at you? I've never seen her mad at you."
"Do you mind if I answer your question with a question?" Diana asked in reply, getting a confused look from Sunset. "Can you tell me what Rainbow Dash was doing during the early morning last Tuesday?"
"That's easy. A three-headed serpent came through a vortex and attacked Rarity on her way to school. Rainbow Dash got her call for help and raced to her from the school. If Rainbow hadn't shown up, Rarity might not have made it," Sunset explained, though she was confused a moment later when Diana gave a smug smile to Athena.
"So, she missed class so that she could save her friend and stop a monster. I'd say that's worth some bonus points, wouldn't you Sunset?" Diana asked. Sunset could only nod her head in confusion once more, not knowing why Athena then let out a scoff and flew off on her own.
"What was that about?"
"Don't worry, gods just have a hard time admitting defeat," Diana laughed as the two reached the front doors. "Come on, it's the last day of school for the year and I want to teach you a few tricks to fighting in the snow. Need to make the most of the time we have left, after all."
Friends On the Other Side
'I've never understood why people care for this drink so much,' Diana mused while she sipped at the hot coffee. The bitter drink didn't appeal to her in any way, but since Celestia was the one that bought it for her, she figured that the least she could do was finish it. Across the small café table sat both Celestia and Luna, both of whom were gulping down their drinks while doing their best not to shiver from the cold.
Diana spared a glance behind her to see the snow and wind pounding away on the café windows, chilling nearly every patron in the café aside from Diana. She had been to the depths of the underworld before. Compared to that, the cold of the world she was in was easy to deal with.
"Oh, that hits the spot," Celestia said with a sigh, putting her steaming drink down and clearing her throat slightly. Sensing that the conversation was starting, Diana placed her mostly full drink on the table and leaned in closer. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well, Diana. How goes the break for you?"
"Boring, mostly," Diana said. "I miss talking and interacting with the students."
"Well, you'll be getting to meet with them sooner than you believed," Luna said. Diana raised an eyebrow at her wording as Luna slid a paper to Diana. "Cinch made another call the day after school let out. Apparently she wants to move the first two events up from February to when school gets back in. The very first day back, she demanded that we have the trivia contest."
"That woman sure is annoying," Diana muttered as she gazed over the paper. "Glad to see that she's willing to let us chose half of the questions...ah, but there's the catch. She wants her school to be the one to construct the obstacle course. Did you already agree to these terms, or did you do the smart thing and wait until you spoke with me?" Diana sighed as both Luna and Celestia shared the same bashful smile.
"I will need to speak with Twilight and Sunset to make sure that they know that they had less time than we thought," Diana said as she rose up from her seat. "Thank you for the drink and telling me about the change."
"Speaking of changes, we heard that you placed Rainbow Dash back on her soccer team. I honestly didn't know that you could be so kind," Luna poked with a coy smile.
"I'm actually a very kind person, Luna. It's just that most of the time, kindness isn't the best solution to the problem at hand," Diana replied as she picked up her scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I have other matters that I must attend to."
Diana walked out into the blizzard lost in her thoughts. 'So Cinch wants to gain the upper hand, does she? She wants to make Sunset lose, that much is clear, or else she wouldn't have asked to build the course. Which means I need to train Sunset even harder than I was. Cinch is in for a nasty surprise if she thinks Sunset will go down so easily.'
Glancing around to see that she was the only person on the streets, Diana decided that speed was of the essence. She kicked off of the snow covered sidewalk and hurled herself into the sky, gliding along the icy air currents as she concentrated on the magic of her lasso. Diana followed the trail of magic to find that it led to the mall.
Landing away from the eyes of the shoppers, Diana moved swiftly into the shopping mall. She wiped the snow off of her coat as she glanced around at all of the shoppers, able to feel the magic of the lasso somewhere within the crowd of people.
'So many people. These places are always crowded around this time of year, but this is just ridiculous.' Diana had to literally push her way through the crowd of people, which wasn't too difficult for her, given her strength. Some people tried to shove her to get by, but Diana never noticed those who found that she was unmovable. She followed the trail of the magic into a clothing store, a smirk crossing her face as she figured which of Sunset's friends had dragged her into that place.
Upon entering the store, Diana's senses immediately picked up on a high-pitched squealing in the back of the store, one that made her wince slightly. "Oh my goodness darling, you look absolutely amazing in that dress. No don't move, I have at least five other outfits that I want you to try on."
A large smile crossed Diana's face as she spied the group of friends near the changing rooms, with Fluttershy and Sunset both wearing fancy dresses. Rarity was tearing apart the clothing section across from them, leaving Fluttershy and Sunset to glance at the other's outfit.
"She's not wrong. You do look cute in that," Sunset said to Fluttershy, who glanced at the floor sheepishly.
"Yes, but I don't think it's my size. In fact, it's a little tight," Fluttershy admitted before glancing up to see the teacher approaching. "Oh, hello there Diana, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Hello, Fluttershy. I'm glad to see that you're doing well," Diana greeted before glancing over at Sunset, who was already halfway out of her dress. She tore off the rest of the outfit while doing her best not to rip it. She pulled the dress over her head to reveal her smiling face.
"Hey Diana. Don't worry, I'll be ready in a sec," Sunset said while freeing herself from the rest of the fancy deathtrap. "Hey Rarity, put this back!" Sunset directed as she tossed the dress to Rarity, who turned around in time to catch the outfit with her face.
"B-But it looked so good on you!" Rarity protested as Sunset fit her snowcap over her head.
"Sorry, but this is important! I promise that we'll pick this up another time you two!" Sunset called out as she raced over to Diana's side, smiling up at the teacher while also trying to put her coat on at the same time. "It is important, right? End of the world important?"
"Not that bad, but I do need to speak with you," Diana said as she waved goodbye to Rarity and Fluttershy, who was now the sole focus of the fashionista. Diana waited until the both of them were out of the store before she began to talk. "Have you managed to get into contact with your friends?" she asked as the two stepped outside, noticing that the storm had died down significantly.
"I sent them a message, but so far nothing," Sunset answered as she pulled out a brown book with a strange creature on the front. She flipped open its pages to show that they were all blank. "If they had responded, their writing would have shown up here. Sorry."
"Do not be sorry. All we can do now is wait. Speaking of your friends, perhaps you can send a message to the Twilight of this world using that method of "texting"," Diana suggested.
"Sure. What do you want me to tell her?" Sunset asked as she pulled out her phone.
"Tell her that Cinch has moved up the date of the trivia contest. She has until school has started to study up on whatever subjects were given to her." Diana glanced down as Sunset typed out the message, but as she pressed send she gazed up at Diana with a serious expression.
"If Twilight's contest was moved, that probably means mine was as well."
"Correct. Yours will take place a week after hers," Diana replied. "Also, Celestia and Luna agreed to allow Crystal Prep to prepare the obstacle course that you will be running. So I expect that whomever they choose to run against you will know that course inside and out."
"Of course Crystal Prep would play underhanded. So what are we going to do? More intense training?" Sunset asked as she slammed her fist into her palm, the smile on her face showing Diana that she relished the challenge.
"Of course we will be training harder, but that doesn't mean that you will be going in blind," Diana said with a small chuckle. "I've had Athena watching that school when she's not watching you and your friends, in case Hades tries to do anything with those students. She'll be able to give us the details of the course if she finds Cinch trying to give her own student an edge."
"And if she's not helping her student?"
"Then Athena will not tell you anything about the course either. That way we can keep it fair," Diana responded. A buzzing sound then came from Sunset Shimmer's coat as the pair reached a crosswalk. Sunset pulled out her phone and glanced down at it, only for her eyes to go wide before she stuck the phone back into her coat and pulled out the book once more. "Your friends in Equestria finally respond?"
"Yeah, Twilight sent a message back. She says that a barrier of magic around the world isn't too absurd, but she's going to need to do some research before she can know for certain," Sunset said to Diana, who glanced over her student's shoulder to see more writing appear on the previously blank pages. "She also says that if the barrier does exist, then she should have a few spell books that will be able to strengthen it to what you asked for."
"I see. Thank her for me and ask her to hurry," Diana replied in a tone that held hints of concern. Sunset replied as Diana asked, but she gave her teacher a glance of worry as she closed the book.
"You're afraid that Hades will try something?" Sunset asked as the light turned green and the pair of them walked across the road.
"He's been able to keep up with everything that has been happening in this world. I wouldn't put it past him to figure out that we plan to keep him and his forces out for good," Diana muttered as her brow narrowed. "And if there is one thing I've had beaten into me more than anything else, it's that there is nothing more dangerous than a god running out of options. Hades will try something and soon, you have my word on that. The question is, what will he try?"
"Well, it doesn't matter what he tries, because if he shows his pasty face I'll kick his rear back to the underworld," Sunset said with a laugh as she began to throw out quick and rapid punches. Diana shook her head at her student's words, but couldn't help but find herself smiling at her courage.
'She is a far different person than the girl I met when I first arrived here. She is a brave fighter and a kind heart. I wish there were more like her,' Diana thought before placing her hand on Sunset's head and messing up her hair. "While I would love nothing more than to watch you put Hades in his place, I also want to keep you safe. So please promise me that you won't do anything dangerous or take on any force that is beyond you."
"Come on Diana, with your training I can take on anything that comes my way!" Sunset bragged, but then she caught her teacher's eye and her ego deflated. "Alright Diana, I promise that I won't do anything dangerous or take on a foe that's out of my league. Guess I'll have to settle for watching you beat the living crap out of them."
"Thank you for laying some of my fears to rest. Now come, I believe it is time you were taught what it is like to fight on an icy surface," Diana said before she snapped her head around and gazed behind her. Even with her enhanced senses, it was still hard for her to pierce through the snow and fog with her eyes. 'For just a moment, I thought that I felt...Athena, keep an eye on the other girls. Just to be safe.'
Diana then placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder and began to tell her tales of when she trained with her sisters.
=wWw=
"Finally that freaking owl decides to leave," Agatha muttered as the snow white owl that had been gazing down upon the school finally left its perch and flew off into the fog. The moment the owl was gone, Agatha glanced around to make sure that no one was watching her before she took off towards Crystal Prep's entrance. The doors opened before her and she rushed inside, keeping both eyes peeled to make sure that she was alone.
"This place seems quiet enough," she muttered when she walked into the gymnasium, figuring that the only other students that were here were those that were studying with Cinch. She sat down on one of the bleachers and turned her palm over, revealing the black blade that hovered slightly above her skin. She let out a sigh as she pressed down with her finger, gritting her teeth to prepare for the pain.
"And what are you doing here by yourself?" Agatha yelped as she leapt into the air. Her heart tried to punch out of her chest as she glanced over to see Crystal and Boulder walking towards her, the former giving her a glare.
"Oh...it's just you two," Agatha muttered as she pressed her palms onto her knees.
"Just us two? How about that Boulder, the first time she's talked to us in nearly a month and it's 'just us two'," Crystal said with a laugh before she sat down next to Agatha and gave her a stern glare. "You've changed, friend, and not in the way any of us wanted. You've avoided us, your classes, and all of your little club friends. What happened?"
"Perhaps I finally got fed up with you and your attitude," Agatha suggested while giving Crystal a cold glare. Crystal sneered at her friend's words before standing up and holding out a piece of paper to her.
"Cinch's orders. Seems that you've been selected to go up against Twilight in the trivia contest, since you're a black hole for useless information," Crystal said. Agatha glanced down at the paper with annoyance, but that was before she saw who had been selected to face Sunset.
"Wait a moment. You're fighting Sunset on the obstacle course?" Agatha asked with the most emotion that Crystal had ever heard from the girl.
"Yep. What, you think that I look this good without working out?" Crystal asked with a laugh before she snapped her fingers. "Come on Boulder, let's go and talk to some people that would be happy to see me."
"But aside from me, I don't think that there's..."
"Finally, I thought they'd never leave," Agatha muttered as the two walked off. Without waiting a second longer, she flipped her palm over and drove the sword into her hand, seething slightly as pain coursed through her hand. But then a mirror appeared in her grip and two red eyes appeared on the other side.
"I had been wondering when you would decide to show yourself," Hades said in a dark tone.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't bring Sunset to you, Master. She was far more skilled than I thought," Agatha admitted as she hung her head.
"She is being trained by Wonder Woman. It is no surprise that Sunset has grown stronger," Hades scolded. "But enough about past failures. I have news. Diana plans to strengthen the magical barrier around your world, so not only does it keep me out, but it also blocks any force that I wish to send in."
"But if she does that-"
"Then I can't get my magic and you can't become a member of my forces," Hades finished for her. "However, the magic will take time to finish. So this is my task to you. Find out how Sunset is communicating with those who can strengthen the magic and cease their talks. I am depending on you."
"Of course, Master. But...if I were to fail again..."
"If you fail, then I will have to act sooner rather than later," Hades said in a very dark tone. "And that would mean unleashing a force upon your land that I cannot control...but before it comes to that, there is you, and then there is my strongest soul within my control. And I am certain between the both of you, you will not fail. Am I clear?"
"Of course, Master." Hades' eyes then vanished, leaving the girl alone on the bleachers to wonder how she was going to get close enough to Sunset so she could stop her.
Hundreds of students clamored amongst themselves as they awaited the arrival of the principals so that they could bring the new year of school in. Not that any of the students cared about school. All they wanted was to finally have revenge against Crystal Prep. And since the smartest student that any of them knew was in the opening game, none of the students at Canterlot High had any doubts that they would win.
The talk died down slightly when Celestia and Luna entered the gymnasium, walking onto the stage and holding up their hands to silence the rest of the talkers. While the students finished what they were saying, Celestia lowered a large screen down over the stage and asked for the lights to be dimmed.
"Hello students of Canterlot High and welcome back to school. Did you all enjoy your break?" Celestia asked. The crowd cheered in response, getting Celestia to smile as her sister walked up beside her with microphone in hand.
"Now as you know, things have been a little weird around here, but we assure you that that will not stop us from teaching you to-"
"Just get on with the competition already!"
"Thank you, Flash," Luna muttered before gazing around at all of the students, shaking her head slightly when she figured out that none of them wanted to hear her talk about anything other than the competition. "Alright, since that seems to be the only thing any of you care about, I will get on with the competition. As I assume all of you know, Principal Cinch wasn't happy with how the last games turned out. So, she selected three events for our schools to compete in so that it could be decided who the real winners are."
"The first event is a trivia competition, with Twilight Sparkle being chosen to represent us," Luna continued. The crowd began to mutter, some of them wondering if Twilight truly had changed sides or if she would take a dive for the other school. "This event will also be taking place at Crystal Prep. But for those of you who are worried about Twilight's safety or that Cinch might try to cheat, worry not. We sent Diana over to keep an eye on things."
A good chunk of the student body got a laugh out of her statement. "It was agreed on by both Cinch and my sister that Diana will be there to support our students during these events, since my sister and I are unable to. We believe that we have chosen well in that regard. In fact, I am certain that we stand a very good chance of winning these games. Perhaps this will be the first time we hand Crystal Prep their first loss."
The crowd of students lost it at those words, causing them to cheer and stamp their feet while chanting for the show to start. "I know how important winning is to all of us, but I would like to remind you all that these games were created to help strengthen the bond between our two schools," Celestia cut in, raining on the parade of the students. "This competition is about being friends with one another and enjoying good sport. It shouldn't be about simply winning or losing."
Every student in the crowd, and even her sister, gave Celestia a look that showed that they weren't buying what she was selling. Celestia saw these looks and let out a small sigh before handing the mic back to her sister. "Fine, you go ahead and talk to them. I've got paperwork I'm going to do," she muttered to Luna before leaving the stage.
"I believe that you have all waited long enough!" Luna called out to the crowd, who roared in response. The roaring got even louder as the screen came to life and showed another gymnasium that was filled to the brim with students in different uniforms. The students of Canterlot High began to boo at the sight of the students, but the boos turned to cheers when the camera turned to Twilight.
Twilight was shaking like a leaf and the amount of sweat that was dripping from her face caused her glasses to keep slipping down her nose, so every few seconds she had to push them back up. Beside her stood Diana, who had a look upon her face that was akin to a war face. She glared with strength and confidence over the Crystal Prep crowd, who remained silent under her stern glare despite it being their home turf.
The Crystal Prep crowd then began to applaud when Cinch walked into the chamber, but surprise quickly rippled across the students' faces when they saw that it was not Agatha with her, but instead Crystal. "I apologize for such a late change to the contest, but I have had to remove Agatha from this event due to...reasons," Cinch explained to her students, who were just as confused as the Canterlot High kids.
"Do not worry, Agatha will be competing again in the next event, but for now, let us cheer on Crystal. And do not worry about the sudden change, no student at Crystal Prep would ever lose to a student at Canterlot High...even if that student used to be one of our own." The Crystal Prep crowd hissed at Twilight, who seemed to shrink down as she hid behind Diana. In contrast Diana seemed to grow even larger in the face of the booing and she glared down each student in the audience until there was silence again.
"Never the less, I know that none of you will be happy until we crush Canterlot High and prove to them just how superior we are," Cinch continued, but none of the crowd cheered for her words. Instead, every student in the room glanced at Diana, who had now turned her attention to the principal. "And I assure you that today our victory is as certain as the sun-"
"Perhaps we should begin the contest," a powerful voice said softly, as an even more powerful hand placed itself onto Cinch's shoulder. Cinch slowly turned her gaze around to find Diana glaring down at her, a cold yet powerful stare upon her face. "It seems that the students are eagerly anticipating the match."
"Er, yes, you are completely right," Cinch agreed, straightening her glasses when Diana let go of her shoulder. "Students, to the podiums, if you please." Both Twilight and Crystal walked up to their respective podiums, one of them shyly glancing at the crowd while the other glared down her foe with a smirk of victory already upon her face.
"Now then, let the competition, begin!"
=wWw=
The cheers and roars of the students in the auditorium distracted her every once and a while, but after a few screams Sunset was able to tune the students out completely. She knew that what was going on with Twilight versus Crystal Prep was huge for both schools, but at the moment she had more important matters to attend to. So she sat alone in the empty hallways of her school, staring down at a list of dozens of students with confusion wracking her brain.
'There's just too many,' she eventually decided while letting out a sigh and slamming her head back into he locker behind her. 'Too many that I don't even know where to begin. This seems so hopeless.'
"Sunset? What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Sunset glanced to the side to see Fluttershy sitting down beside her. "Shouldn't you be with the others, cheering Twilight on as she fights against her old school? She'll really need your support if she hopes to win this."
"She has Diana with her, she has more than enough support," Sunset replied before showing a list to Fluttershy. "What I'm doing is going through a list of students that I think would hate me more than any of the other students that go here."
"Um, why would you be doing that...?" Fluttershy asked.
"Applejack told you about the creature that attacked me and her, right?" Sunset asked, getting Fluttershy to nod in response. "Well, from the way it talked to me and how it chose to go after me, I figured that maybe it knows me. And then Diana suggested that maybe the reason it went after me was because it harbored a grudge against me. So I've been putting together a list of all the students that might hate me enough to use magic to try and attack me."
"It's a pretty extensive list...wait a second, you told Diana about a magical creature?" Fluttershy asked with some fear in her voice.
"I tell Diana about a lot of things. And there's no point in trying to keep it a secret. Diana told me she figured out we were magical within the first week of school," Sunset said with a laugh. "She saw one of our fights against a manticore. Remember that rock that came out of nowhere and saved us? That was her."
"Oh...that makes sense, I guess. But I don't understand this list," Fluttershy continued. "Who would want to hurt you? All the students here love you now." Sunset's face fell at Fluttershy's words and she pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.
"Pain and hurt doesn't go away as easy as some might think. And I hurt a lot of people when I first arrived in this world," Sunset said in a near whisper. "I was cruel and mean and took my own pain out on anyone that would stand still. In fact, I made you cry not that long ago when I forced you to give up Twilight's crown. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the students I've hurt wanted revenge on me. I'd deserve it. And that is something that Hades would take advantage of."
"What was that last bit?" Fluttershy asked, not able to hear the final part of Sunset's sentence. When Sunset didn't say anything, Fluttershy's gaze softened. She slid her backpack off of her shoulders and placed it before her, unzipping it and reaching inside. "You're right, Sunset. You were really mean back then. But that's not who you are anymore."
As she said this she pulled out a kitten from her bag, who mewed softly as Fluttershy tucked it in close and began to poke at its nose. Sunset found she couldn't help but smile as the kitten began to paw at Fluttershy's finger, and for a long time the two watched the cat play.
"You're a good person, Sunset. And whatever mistakes you've made, I have no doubt that you've made up for them," Fluttershy comforted. "And I am also certain that the students here have also forgiven you. I don't think any of them could think badly of you anymore. At least, not enough to try and kill you." A warm smile crossed Sunset's face as Fluttershy's kind words touched at her heart, but the feeling was replaced by realization as something else Fluttershy said made her think.
"Fluttershy, I think you might be on to something there!" Sunset exclaimed as she took the list back from Fluttershy.
"What would that be?"
"I was thinking too small. Yes, I offended and hurt a lot of people here, but like you said most of them seem to have forgiven me," Sunset began as she started to write down more names upon the paper. "But these weren't the only students that I came into contact with when I was a colossal jerk. Remember when we had that joint field trip with Crystal Prep a few years ago?"
"How could I forget? That was the field trip where you sent half of their class to the wrong place and it ended with most of them covered in mud and...you think that the creature that attacked you was a Crystal Prep student?" Fluttershy asked as her eyes widened.
"It would make the most sense. I haven't made up with any of them for my crappy attitude back then, and most of them hate me anyway, thanks to Cinch," Sunset explained as she started to scan the list of names. "But which of them could it be? And what did I do to them that would cause them to want to kill me?"
=wWw=
"Why did you pull me from the contest?" Agatha asked Cinch as she stood in the principal's office. Cinch didn't answer in response, but instead slid a paper across her desk to Agatha. Agatha took the paper and glanced over it quickly, surprise on her face when she saw what was written upon it. "Why am I facing Sunset in the obstacle course? I'm not exactly the most physically fit student here."
"Believe me Agatha, you would not be my first choice to take on Sunset," Cinch agreed before the sounds of students groaning could be heard coming from the gym. "Seems that Twilight will be winning this contest after all. I knew that I should have let Boulder compete instead of Crystal."
"Back to Sunset."
"Right. See, while I would never send you up against her, one of our benefactors, a very wealthy man that has been very generous to our school, was not happy with the lineup that we had to face Canterlot High. So he asked that I change the lineup a little and have you face Sunset instead of Crystal," Cinch explained. During her explanation Agatha had become increasingly nervous, a feeling that she knew who this person was creeping in the back of her mind.
"And as he has donated a great deal of money to this school, I gladly did as he asked. In fact, it was on his suggestion that you and your two friends were sent to Canterlot High in the first place. He said something about wanting you to get to know your enemy before you had your final battle with her."
'Hades. You've been playing this game from the beginning,' Agatha realized as a cold sweat dripped out across her face. "D-did this donator of yours say anything else when he contacted you?"
"Yes, he had a message for you. He said that this was your last chance to do him proud or else he would take back the gifts that he gave you." Agatha's heart nearly stopped at those words. "And he also asked me to tell you that if you do fail him again, he will have no choice but to send in his most powerful competitor. Now I do not know what he means by that and I do not care, but if I were you Agatha, I would not fail him in this next competition...or me for that matter."
Cinch stood up and walked out of the room, making sure to give Agatha a cold stare one last time before leaving. When she left Agatha clutched her hands to her heart, fear starting to course through her body while she tried to figure out what Hades meant by his message.
'Whatever he meant, I know that I cannot fail him again. He might take away this power...I need to find out how Sunset is communicating with the other world and put a stop to it. And beating her in the obstacle course wouldn't hurt. But alone I'm no match for her.' Then Agatha placed her finger onto the blade hovering over her palm and slightly pushed it in. She felt strength course through her body, but a smile crossed her face when she saw that she didn't transform.
'But I'm not alone. I've got a god in my corner. The most powerful god of them all.'
Sunset hummed a tune to herself as she gathered her books out of her locker, wondering what Diana had in store for her later in the day. Ever since Sunset had been selected to be a part of the obstacle course race, Diana had been surprising her each day with a different task or course for her to run.
'Of course, I just hope this one doesn't have any more fire in it,' Sunset thought with a frown. 'Lost my favorite jacket to that course. Seriously Diana, what the heck kind of family did you have, that giant geysers of fire were commonplace in your training?'
She shrugged her shoulders and closed her locker, but when she turned to head off to her class, she found a student standing in the hallway, blocking her way. It took Sunset a moment to recognized her, because she had her head hidden beneath a large hat.
"Agatha? Er, what's up?" Sunset asked with an awkward smile. Agatha's response was to slowly lift her head so that she glare into Sunset's eyes, with no emotion showing upon her face. "Um, do you need something? Can I-"
"You won't beat me," Agatha promised Sunset. All airs of niceness went out the window at those words, and Sunset crossed her arms while raising an eyebrow, a smirk slowly spreading across her face.
"Oh I won't, will I? Please, tell me why I can't beat you in the race," Sunset asked with a chuckle. But the humor died down when Agatha continued to glare down Sunset with a look that sent chills up Sunset's spine.
"Because I have to win. To prove that I am not the freak or failure everyone else thought I was. To prove that I deserve what I have been given," Agatha said in a cold voice. "And to prove to the one that taught me everything I know, that their faith in me wasn't misplaced." Sunset felt her competitive side slowly fade away as compassion and understanding replaced it.
"Agatha...I know how you-"
"Don't finish that sentence. You know nothing about me," Agatha spat back, silencing Sunset. "You're too busy being stuck in your own perfect little world. But I'm here to tear that world down and show you just how it feels to be left in the dirt."
Sunset wanted to correct her, wanted to tell her how wrong she was, but when Sunset stared into Agatha's eyes she saw only hatred and darkness. Her words would not reach the girl. So instead of trying to convince her she was wrong, Sunset instead sighed slightly before giving Agatha a cold stare.
"You're wrong about me. But you won't believe me until I prove it to you," Sunset replied in a neutral tone. Agatha sneered before turning to leave. "And I won't lose either. Because like you, there is someone that I have to prove myself to as well. Someone that I too have to win for. And I will win, even if I have to go through you to do it."
"No you won't," Agatha replied with a chuckle that made Sunset shiver. "Because you don't know how to prevail. All you know how to do is fail those that are foolish enough to put their trust in you. And I'll prove it to you, when I beat you during the race. And then we'll see what those who believe in you think then."
Agatha left after saying her piece, but the words stuck in Sunset like an arrow that had pierced her very soul. She clenched her fists as she tried to get mad at what Agatha had said, but the words had buried themselves too deeply into her to forget about them so easily.
'She's wrong. I will prevail. I will prove to Diana that she didn't make a mistake trying to teach me!' Sunset roared within her mind, trying to burn out the pain with her flames of rage. But the coldness of reality slowly began to snuff out the flames, leaving Sunset to clutch her arms as she shivered slightly with doubt.
'But what if I do lose? What if Diana sees that even with the training of a goddess, I'm still a failure? W-would she get rid of me? Or would she be disappointed with me? I don't know which would be worst, honestly.' Sunset then shook her head and tried to push the doubts to the back of her mind. 'No, all I need to do is win. If I win, then I won't have to worry about either happening. I don't care what you say to me, Agatha, I was trained by a goddess! I will not fall to a girl who thinks she can break me with just words! And I swear-'
Whatever Sunset was going to swear was interrupted by the sound of a buzzing from her bag. Her thoughts of conquest and rage were banished as she reached into her bag and pulled out her book from Equestria, which was buzzing while a magical light emanated from it. She glanced around quickly to make sure no one was looking, before she sat down against the lockers and cracked it open.
'Hello Sunset, Twilight here,' the message within the book read. 'I've been looking into what you asked me, about a barrier around your world that would be able to keep out evil forces, and I think I've found a way that it might work. See, while we may not have Elements anymore on our world, you and your friends in your world still possess their power. And as the Elements combat evil emotions such as hatred, jealously and intent to harm others, it isn't impossible that they might be able to create the barrier that you are asking for.'
'However, there is a little bit more to this. While the Elements might be capable of producing such a field, the six of you might not be able to handle the sheer magical power that would be produced. If you do try to create a barrier like that, you might need something that could handle the sheer magical power of the six Elements. However, I still believe that the Elements can manage a barrier. I'd just prefer you having a strong conduit for their power. I'll keep looking to see if there might be anything I missed. How are you doing by the way? I've heard through the grapevine that things might be getting hectic at your school. Do you need my help?'
'Twilight.'
Sunset smiled at the Twilight's offer to help before pondering over what she had written, about needing a source that could channel the full power of all six Elements at once. 'Didn't I do that when I helped this world's Twilight fight down the evil that was possessing her? Or is this different?' Sunset asked herself. When she couldn't think of any reasonable answer, she sighed and instead decided to answer Twilight.
'Dear Twilight,'
'Thank you for the offer to come over and help, but we've got things under control for the most part. Don't worry, me and the others are safe. We've just had a few creatures attack us, nothing we can't handle. Instead, I'd like you to look into more about a source that can handle all six of the Elements' full power. If it does come down to needing that conduit, then I want to have as many options as possible. And again, don't worry about me. I've got a...an ally here that is even stronger than Celestia and Luna. There's something for you to chew over until we talk next.'
'Sunset.'
Sunset then closed the book and smiled to herself, able to see the reaction on Twilight's face when she read that last bit. The bell for class then rang and a swear escaped Sunset's lips as she realized she was late for Diana's class. She shoved the book into her bag while pushing herself to her feet, sprinting down the hallway the second she was vertical. She was so focused on getting to class that she didn't see the figure emerge out of one of the shadows, a figure that had a smile on their face...but it was hidden beneath a skeletal helmet.
'So that's how you're contacting the other world...with that magical little book of yours,' the knight thought to itself before cackling once as it returned back into the shadows. 'Well, destroying that should be easy enough. But first, I'm going to destroy you at the race, Sunset. I'll destroy your connections to both your friends here and the friends in the other world.'
=wWw=
"Sharp! Sharp! Why is everything sharp?!" Sunset screamed as she barely ducked under another arrow, which nearly made her lose her balance on the thin bridge she was standing upon. "If this is how your sisters showed they loved you back on your island, then it's a weird way of showing it!" she yelled down at Diana.
"Come now Sunset, haven't you heard of cupid? Arrows represent love," Diana said with a laugh in reply, while she loaded another arrow and aimed at her student. "For example, I would love for you to get out of the way of these next couple of shots."
Sunset yelped as she ducked down while the arrow tore over her head. She watched as Diana began nocking the next three arrows, the sight of which gave her the strength to run to the end of the bridge with as much speed as she could muster. Right as Diana took aim at her Sunset rolled behind a large sheet of wood that had been constructed as cover, taking the reprieve to gather her breath and thoughts.
"I thought you were being paid a teacher's salary! How in the heck did you manage to build all of this?!" Sunset called to Diana from behind the wall, glancing down at the rest of the course with disbelief. Diana's response was to let an arrow fly, an arrow that pierced through the wall that Sunset was leaning again and emerged right next to her hand. Sunset yelped and began to race down the rest of the course.
"I may being paid a feeble excuse of a salary for teaching, but I also have a good supply of gold, thanks to...family," Diana replied as Sunset rolled under the next arrow, but her evasive tactics nearly rolled her off the edge of the course. Sunset reached out with her right hand and managed to grip the edge of the course, sighing in relief when she glanced down at the drop she would have had. But her moment of relief turned into a moment of terror as she glanced over at Diana to see her reaching back into her quiver.
Sunset reached up with her other hand and began to pull herself up, trying not to focus on the fact that Diana was nocking another arrow. Sunset pulled herself back onto the course just as Diana took aim. The moment she was back on the course Sunset took off down the rest of it, spying the flag that awaited her at the end...of multiple pillars of different heights that she'd have to jump across.
"Of course you'd do this to me," Sunset grumbled before hurling herself onto the first pillar. Sunset staggered slightly, but managed to remain balanced. She then remembered Diana and moved herself slightly to the side...just in time to watch as an arrow whizzed by her head.
"That's a fifty point deduction, Sunset," Diana called out as she reached back into her quiver. "If I was trying to kill you that last arrow would have struck you in the back of your skull." Sunset nodded before leaping to the next pillar, managing to land with both feet. She quickly kicked off and landed once more, but this time she ducked down and swung herself over the side of the pillar. Diana smirked when she found she couldn't get a clear shot and was forced to watch as Sunset flung herself from the side of the pillars, using them as a shield from the arrows.
"She might make it to the end," Diana realized as she removed the arrow from her bow and drew another arrow that she had hidden in the quiver. "We can't have that now, can we?"
'I can see the end!' Sunset thought as she reached the last pillar, having one more jump before she arrived at the end. 'All I have to do is make this jump.' She then dared a glance back at Diana, spying that she only had one arrow left in her quiver and was drawing it. 'All I have to do is dodge that arrow then I'm home free. Come on legs don't fail me now!'
Sunset crouched down and tensed her muscles, preparing everything she had for the last jump. She then leapt forward with an explosion of energy, hurling herself over the last gap and towards the end. She had timed it perfectly, so that she would land right on the end. That was until a boxing glove punched her right in the gut.
"Urk," was all Sunset managed to get out before she began to plummet down to the ground below. Before she managed to actually fall though, Diana appeared beneath her and caught Sunset out of the air. "What...the hell...was that?" Sunset wheezed.
"The Green Arrow special," Diana replied with a laugh as she landed, gently placing Sunset on the ground while retrieving the arrow. "The boxing glove arrow." Sunset took the arrow when Diana offered it to her, amazed that the name described what had hit her perfectly.
"Why the heck do you have an arrow like that?" Sunset choked out as Diana helped her to her feet. "And why did you have to shoot me in the gut with it?"
"Because while it is not practical for actual combat, I do admit that the idea amuses me," Diana admitted as Sunset leaned against her teacher, still trying to regain her breath. "And because you don't know what you'll be up against in the course tomorrow. Athena informed me that Cinch has yet to tell Agatha anything about the course, so in order to be fair I will have you go in blind as well."
"If I recover from that," Sunset half laughed before the words of Agatha came back to her. She clutched at her stomach a little harder and gazed away from Diana, something that Diana noticed. "Hey Diana, I know that with all this training and everything that there should be no way that I can lose, but...are you worried that I might lose tomorrow?"
"Not in the least," Diana replied with pure confidence. "I have watched as you have progressed these past months and I am completely certain that you will be able to handle whatever Cinch throws at you. As long as you do your best, I am absolutely certain that you will win. I have taught you everything you need to know. I know you will make me proud."
Sunset's stomach tied itself into a knot at Diana's words, but their conversation was ruined as a vortex of magic tore through reality before the both of them. A creature then jumped through the portal and landed before the two, roaring fiercely as it did so. It had three heads, with one being a tiger, another a snake and the final one a goat. It just finished its roar before a fist slammed into one of the heads and sent the body flying across the training area.
"Well, you certainly picked the worst possible place to appear," Diana said as she cracked her knuckles and glared down at the creature, with Sunset mimicking her teacher's stare. "Welcome to this planet. Don't worry, you won't be staying long."
Author's Note
Think of the course along the lines of Ninja Warrior.
Race to the End
Butterflies ran rampant in Sunset's stomach as she tried her best to focus on stretching, trying to warm herself up in the locker rooms before the big race. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the images of her failing, her losing, out of her mind. And then the images of Diana, face full of disappointment, flashed before her eyes and she felt her stomach begin to cramp.
"No, I've got to do this," she said to herself while punching herself in the gut a few times. "Diana has trained me for this. And I'm not going to let my friends and school down a second time. I can win."
"There's the fighting spirit that I like to hear from you," Sunset turned around to see Diana walking towards her. "And don't look so nervous. This test should be easy for you."
"O-of course Diana, you know it," Sunset weakly stammered out with a laugh. "Nothing easier. Just got to get through this obstacle course without making a total fool of myself or letting anyone down. No pressure." Diana noticed her tone and the sweat that was dripping down Sunset's face, getting her to sigh before gently placing a hand on Sunset's shoulder.
"Sunset, do not worry yourself so much. This is nothing more than a race. It isn't for the fate of the world or anything that serious," Diana said, trying to comfort her student as best she could.
"Maybe not for you," Sunset said in a near whisper.
"You know I can still hear you even when you whisper, right?" Diana reminded Sunset, who groaned in reply. "Sunset, there is more going on here, isn't there? Please, talk to me."
"I just...don't want to let you down. You've placed so much faith in me and," Sunset said softly before gazing at the floor. "I just want to make you proud."
"You will make me proud. I have no doubt about that," Diana said with confidence before turning Sunset around and pointing her at the exit. "But it is almost time for the race to begin. Time to show your peers who you really are." Sunset smiled weakly up at Diana over her shoulder, but as she began to walk forward she felt her stomach start to tighten once more.
'No, Diana believes in me. My friends believe in me. I can't lose!' Sunset willed herself to think as she headed to the starting line.
=wWw=
The sun beat down on the heads of the hundreds of students that had gathered to see the second event in the Friendship Games rematch. Two sets of bleachers had been constructed around the obstacle course, with the teachers emphasizing that the two schools should sit together. Of course, neither school wanted to sit anywhere remotely close to the other, and so Canterlot High sat to the left side and Crystal Prep took the right.
The students from Canterlot High were in a near uproar, having never been ahead in the Friendship Games before. But with the lead Twilight had given them in the previous match, spirits were high as they prepared for the next event. Crystal Prep had a foul air about them, none of them knowing how they would cope if they had to listen to the inferior school bragging over them for another full year. And for a certain principal, she knew she would be the laughing stock of the school if she lost this event as well.
'However, my student will not be losing,' she thought to herself with a smile, gazing out from the special booth she and Celestia shared across the obstacle course. The course had been built behind Crystal Prep and was a well kept secret, with only the builders and Cinch having access to it. "Quite the hot day out, isn't it Celestia? I hope Sunset can handle the heat."
"You will find that Sunset will do just fine," Celestia replied before noticing someone else entering the booth. "Ah Diana, I'm glad that you made it. The contest is about to begin."
"Was just giving our star student a few words of advice before beginning the race," Diana smiled at Celestia before giving Cinch a look, one that Cinch gladly gave in response.
"Yes, the contest. Or as one could call it, the fall of Sunset Shimmer. Oh come now Diana, do you really believe that that girl stands the slightest chance against my student?" Cinch poked when she saw Diana's eyes narrow. "Sunset is a smart student, but she is weak and has a history of failure. What makes you think that today will be any different?"
"Because you do not know Sunset like I do," Diana replied as she sat down in one of the empty chairs, Athena resting on Diana's shoulder. The both of them gazed over the course, neither of them liking what they were seeing.
'She's made a few changes to it since the last time I laid eyes upon it,' Athena informed Diana, who frowned at that news.
The roar of the students turned the teachers' attentions to the starting line, seeing that Agatha had finally joined Sunset at the line. Agatha wore a black tracksuit, while Sunset wore a jacket over a tee-shirt with sweat pants. Both cast looks of disgust at what the other was wearing. Or at the other, in Agatha's case.
"Ready to be exposed for the failure that you are? Ready for everyone to see how you're a failure?" Agatha snarled at Sunset, who smirked in reply.
"If that's what you're wearing to this event, them I'm already winning," Sunset shot back. Agatha smirked as well before crouching down on the starting line, Sunset mirroring the action herself.
"Here are the rules!" Celestia yelled into the crowd after picking up a megaphone. "The first student to get to the end of the course before the other is the winner. There are four obstacles in this course that the two must pass to make it to the finish line, however. And those are the monkey bars, the bouncing balls of doom, the rolling log, and finally the rock face! Whoever gets to the end of that is the winner!"
The crowd of students roared as the obstacles began to rise out of the ground, revealing pools of water underneath each obstacle in case a student fell. 'That has to be a safety violation,' Athena muttered to Diana.
'The monkey bars and the rock wall should be no problem for her, but the bouncing balls and the rolling log are something I didn't prepare her for,' Diana mused with a concerned expression, but when she glanced over at Cinch she saw no worry upon her face. 'Yet not an ounce of concern from you. But it's just a bluff. Athena was watching you the entire time before this event, so there was no way that you could communicate anything about the course to your student. They're both on an even playing field.'
"On your marks! Get set! GO!" Both Sunset and Agatha took off sprinting the moment Celestia said go. They both tore across the opening platform straight to the monkey bars with incredible speeds. Sunset reached the long line of bars first, not bothering to stop as she leapt over the water and skipped six bars before finally grabbing onto them.
"Go get her, Sunset!" her friends cheered from the crowd as Sunset rapidly began to work her way through the bars, moving at a pace that shocked the students from Crystal Prep. When Sunset got close to the end, she glanced behind her to see how far ahead she was...only to see that Agatha was right behind her on the other set.
"What's the matter? You thought you were the only strong woman here?" Agatha spat before kicking forward and skipping the rest of her bars, landing at the end before Sunset. Sunset snarled as she forced herself to go even faster, reaching the end and racing forward to catch up with Agatha.
The next obstacle was numerous red, giant balls that floated along the surface of the water. Figuring out what they were supposed to do almost immediately, Agatha leapt forward and bounced from the first ball to the second. Sunset reached the balls when Agatha was nearly halfway across, muttering a swear to herself as she leapt down and started to catch up. Despite being ahead, due to misfortune or a bad bounce, Agatha caught one of the balls wrong and slipped to the side, plunging into the water.
"Oh, that's going to cost Agatha some time," Celestia commented as Agatha surfaced, glaring up at Sunset as she managed to skip ahead of her floating foe. Agatha then swam toward the ladder out of the water at the end of the course, but by the time she pulled herself out of the drink Sunset was already at the rolling log. Taking a moment to steel herself, Sunset then leapt on top of the log and began to roll it across the rails with her feet.
"There's no way your student can catch up now," Diana taunted Cinch, who was gripping her chair with enough force to leave marks. "Seems that Sunset is going to do the exact opposite of what you thought she would. Guess you're not that good a teacher after all."
But while Cinch was unable to defend her student, Agatha was more than capable of doing that for herself. The moment she reached the log she slammed her foot into it and sent it rolling down the rail. The Canterlot crowd began to cheer at what they thought was a mistake, but Agatha then raced back to gain some distance.
What she did next blew the minds of the students and the teachers. Even though the log was already halfway across the rails, Agatha sprinted forward at full speeds with all of her might. The moment her foot touched the edge of the course she hurled herself into the air, clearing the insane distance towards the log with a single jump. But if that wasn't enough to impress the crowd, the moment her other foot hit the log she kicked off again and sailed herself the rest of the distance towards the other ledge. And she stuck the landing.
"How is that possible?" Diana whispered as the Crystal Prep side of the stands went crazy. Even Cinch had a look of absolute bafflement upon her face, but the moment she saw Diana's disbelief she changed her tone.
"Seems that my student has been training her heart out, even more so than your student," Cinch taunted, getting a cold glare from Diana. "Oh come Diana, did you think I would not notice? You spy on me with your owl, I spy on you in my own way. And while we haven't seen much of you training Sunset, we have seen Sunset train on her own and know what she's capable of."
"You little..." Diana began, but Athena shook her head before Diana got truly angry. Diana snarled before glancing back at the course, seeing that the two students were now at the rock wall. An instructor helped Sunset into a harness before she hurled herself onto the wall, scaling it with incredible speeds. Yet Agatha was no slouch either, reaching the wall not long after Sunset. She too hurled herself onto the wall after being harnessed and began to scale with speeds almost equal to Sunset.
The crowd was in sheer pandemonium as the two were practically neck and neck, each straining to get ahead of the other. Diana watched the entire time with a smile upon her face, for with her eyes she was clearly able to see that Sunset had the edge and that a gap was starting to form between the two.
'I've almost made it!' Sunset thought to herself, that thought pushing her through the burning that was going on in her muscles. 'I'm going to win! I'm-'
SNAP!
Sunset's heart went cold as she thought for a second that her rope had snapped. But when she glanced up she saw that it was perfectly alright. She let out a quick sigh of relief before scaling the last few feet of the wall, gripping the edge and pulling herself over the top. A smile that beamed like the sun spread across her face as she spied the finish line at the end of the course. All she had to do was race over to it and she'd win.
"Help." Once more Sunset felt her heart go cold as she turned around and glanced over the edge of the rock wall, spying Agatha not too far down. But as she glanced at the girl's harness, she saw the source of the snapping sound. While her rope had not snapped, it was Agatha's that had. Not only that, but the girl was in a bad spot and from the way her arms were shaking Sunset could tell she wasn't going to be able to hold on much longer.
"I think her harness broke," Celestia said to Diana and Cinch, who both gasped in terror. Cinch rushed to her feet and snatched the binoculars from Celestia, but Diana remained seated with her eyes on Sunset. "We need to stop the race and get someone to-"
"No, we will not be stopping it!" While Celestia and Cinch argued, Diana kept her eyes glued to Sunset. She was ready at a moment's notice to fly over and grab Agatha before she fell, but not until she saw what happened next.
'She needs help,' Sunset realized as she took a step forward.' And I still have my harness on. I could go down and-' But then Sunset glanced over her shoulder at the finish line, which was practically calling out for her. 'But I could win. All I have to do is rush over to the finish line and win. Then I can come back for her.'
Agatha called out for help once more and Sunset turned her focus to her foe, torn between doing what she knew was right...and proving to everyone that she was a winner. Sunset clenched her teeth as she tried to decide what to do, before roaring at the sky before getting back on the rock wall. She moved down towards Agatha, who was losing her grip.
"Give me your hand," Sunset said once she was close enough to Agatha, extending her hand to the girl.
"I think some of the rocks broke under me when the rope snapped!" Agatha informed Sunset as she reached out. Sunset wrapped her hand around Agatha's and wrapped it around her shoulder.
"Alright, we're going to move up this together, alright?" Sunset told Agatha, who nodded weakly. Leaning against each other, the two began to crawl up the wall. Each of them climbed one hand and foot at a time. It was a slow process, but after a minute the both of them made it up to the top of the rock side. The crowd cheered as Sunset pushed Agatha over the edge first, before sighing in relief before starting to pull herself up.
"Hey Sunset?" Agatha began. Sunset looked up at Agatha with a smile, but that smile faded into a look of absolute terror when she saw the look of evil upon Agatha's face. "Thanks for the help." The rocks that Sunset were standing upon gave out under the girl and she felt herself slip back down. Instinct kicked in and she grabbed the edge with one of her hands, stopping her long fall back down.
With an effort she pulled herself back on top and rolled over the edge, but as she lifted her head she felt her soul shatter into thousands of pieces. For standing across the victory line was Agatha, who was waving her arms around and laughing as the Crystal Prep students cheered with thunderous applause. The Canterlot High students were as silent as a graveyard, none of them able to look at the faces of the Crystal Prep students.
"Well, it seems that despite your best efforts to sabotage us, the better student won," Cinch said with a sneer to Celestia, who rounded on the principal with a look of fury.
"Us? This is your damned course, Cinch! I'd say that you're the bitch that probably tried to get our student hurt!" Celestia roared back. While the two women began to scream at each other, Diana kept her eyes upon the two students atop the rock wall.
'I didn't feel any of Hades' power or the magic from the land when the rope snapped or when the rocks gave out. Whatever the cause, it wasn't either of those,' Athena informed Diana. But if Diana heard her friend's words, she didn't show it. Instead, her gaze was solely focused on Sunset.
'No...I...couldn't,' Sunset weakly thought as she rested on her hands and knees, staring down at the ground beneath her as the reality of what had happened began to sink in. 'I...failed? Even with Diana's training...and my own skill...I...?' Tears then began to drip onto her hands and the ground around her as her heart was shattered. Sunset couldn't hear the sounds of the crowd, nor could she feel the eyes that were upon her. All she felt was the crushing realization that she had failed once again.
And then she slammed her head into the ground and let out a scream that no one heard, a scream of fury, frustration, and sorrow. But most of all it was a scream of agony. The agony of having to know that she had failed once again.
Five girls stood around the entrance to one of the rooms at an apartment complex, each of them talking quietly as they awaited their final member. They had arrived at the entrance in the early morning, but the sun was practically sinking below the horizon before their final member showed.
"Sorry I'm late girls, something really serious happened," Twilight apologized as she came running up the stairs, doubling over at the top and taking in a few deep breaths.
"Yeah, something serious happened. What happened is that Sunset has been in there for nearly two days now and hasn't once said anything to anyone!" Rainbow Dash criticized as Twilight pushed her glasses back up her nose. "I should be at soccer practice right now, but instead I'm here waiting for you to show."
"Sorry...so, she hasn't said or done anything in nearly two days?" Twilight asked as she approached the door to Sunset's apartment. "Have any of you tried talking to her?"
"That's what we spent most of this morning doing, but she simply refuses to open the door or talk to us," Rarity said with a shake of her head. "Every once in a while we hear her sobbing to herself, but other than that...nothing."
"I see. That really does sound bad," Twilight agreed before losing herself in thought for a moment. "What about force? I don't want to disturb her privacy, but if it's serious enough..."
"Don't bother. Sunset used her magical power to seal that door shut. Rainbow and I both tried kicking it down and it didn't budge. And that was after we ponied up," Applejack explained.
"Yeah. Even I can't get in there. And I can get into anywhere!" Pinkie exclaimed with disbelief.
"So...what do we do?" Twilight asked her friends, each of whom shook their heads when she looked at them.
"Not much we can do at this point. She clearly wants to be alone, so I say we let her and let me get back to practice," Rainbow Dash suggested with a shrug, which gained her numerous nasty looks. "Hey, I didn't go to Diana's tutoring for weeks just to get benched at the biggest game of the year! I earned my spot on that team!"
"I agree with Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy spoke up in a soft whisper. "Not about the whole team thing, but about leaving her alone. If she wants to talk to us, she will. But for now, we can't do anything for her."
"I see. Then how about I try." All six of the girls yelped before spinning around to see Diana standing beside them, a look of concern upon her face.
"Diana? Where the heck did you come from?" Twilight asked as she glanced at the stairs, knowing that Diana didn't use those.
"I came here because I thought by now Sunset would have been able to snap out of whatever funk she was in. But if she skips school because of it and even ignores me, then it's clear that whatever is affecting her is worse than I believed," Diana explained as she walked to the door, the girls moving out of her way so that she could. Diana then knocked twice upon the door. "Sunset? It's me. Can I come in?"
"Seems she doesn't want to talk to you. Ah wonder why?" Applejack said in a cold tone that turned every head towards her. "Oh, don't act so surprised, Diana. She's upset that she failed to beat the Crystal Prep student in the obstacle course."
"Why would that bother her so much? It was just an event?" Rarity asked.
"Yer mah star pupil. Ah know ya won't fail me. Yer guaranteed to win. Ya won't let me down," Applejack said in a tone that was clearly mocking Diana, but the teacher's face remained unmoved by Applejack's words. "With all that pressure on her, it's no wonder that she-"
"Be quiet." The arrogance was struck from the face of Applejack by Diana's words, and though her face didn't change in the least, all six of the girls became very aware of the fury that was bubbling beneath Diana's calm exterior. "And do not act like you know what she has had to go through...why she hates herself so. There is more here than you can clearly see. Leave. I wish to speak to her in private," Diana instructed as she grabbed the door itself.
"Good luck getting past that. Even with our power we-" Diana pressed against the door in one swift strike and a moment later the door was obliterated into splinters, silencing the girls once more. Diana then glanced over her shoulder at the girls, looking from them to the stairs. Catching the hint, the now very concerned girls walked away from what remained of Sunset's front door. Diana waited until the six of them were far enough away before she walked into Sunset's apartment, which was cast in shadows.
"Sunset," Diana said with a softening tone as she spied the red-headed girl laying on her bed, curled up into a small ball. "Sunset, please talk to me." Sunset said nothing to show that she had heard Diana's words, leaving the teacher to sigh as she sat down on the edge of the girl's bed. "Sunset, I know that you are upset right now, but I want you to know that I am not angry with you. How could I be?"
"How?" Sunset replied in a voice that was hoarse from the sobbing and lack of use. "Because I'm the biggest failure that this world has ever seen. All your training. All the advice and help that you gave me. And I still lost. I still couldn't win, even when I had victory right in front of me. I let you down."
"Sunset-"
"And that's all I seem to be able to do! Whenever a teacher or friend puts their faith in me, all I do is screw things up!" Sunset screamed into her bed, her whole body shaking with fury and sorrow. "Celestia told me that one day I would be greater than her, but I succumbed to the desire for power and let her down! Twilight told me that I would be able to take care of this world in her place, but I keep messing up again and again! And even the other day, when you had no doubt that I would win, when you told Cinch to her face that I, your "star pupil" would triumph...I failed." Diana said nothing in reply as Sunset began to sob once more.
"Maybe that nightmare was right. Maybe I am the reason all the bad things are happening at Canterlot High. Maybe if Twilight was here, she would be able to stop the vortexes and actually be of use to you in the fight against Hades. Maybe...I would be better off dead."
Diana felt a pang of pain in her heart at Sunset's words, but it wasn't until she gazed down at what Sunset held clutched in her hands that Diana's heart truly did break. For Sunset was gripping onto the lasso of truth as if its magic would have the power to fix what had been done.
'And that means everything she just said was the complete truth,' Diana realized as she shook her head sadly. 'Oh Sunset, you poor girl. I never wished for you to put so much pressure on yourself. All I wished to do was help you find your confidence again. To be...she needs to hear this from me. And she needs to hear all of it.'
"Sunset...I know how badly you wanted to win that race. To feel that all the training you put in wasn't wasted. To prove to everyone that you weren't the failure that they, and you, saw in yourself," Diana said to the still unmoving Sunset. "And then something happened that you couldn't expect. The harness of your opponent broke and she lost her footing. Now whether it was on purpose or foul play, at that time it didn't matter. You were given a choice. Win the race. Or save your opponent. You chose the latter. And because of it, your opponent won the race."
Diana saw a slight movement in Sunset's body as she curled even tighter into a ball and Diana was certain that she heard a faint sniffle. But then Diana let the kindest and most true smile she had cross her face, before she gently reached out and placed her hand upon Sunset's shoulder.
"Sunset...I am so proud of you." In an instant Sunset sat up and spun to face Diana, her puffy, red eyes filled with absolute disbelief as she looked at the smile on Diana's face.
"Why?" Sunset croaked out. "I didn't win. I let you and all the other students down. Everything you trained me for...Cinch will always-"
"Do you think I truly care what that idiot of a teacher has to say about me?" Diana asked with a smirk before regaining her composure. "And yes, I truly did believe that you would win that race. That was, until Agatha found herself in jeopardy. That's when I became concerned for you."
"That I would lose?"
"No. That you would choose to win." Sunset gave Diana a look of pure confusion at Diana's words. "Sunset, the entire time I have been here, beings have been attacking you. Not your intelligence, not your looks, and not your physical or magical abilities. They have been attacking you, the kindest, caring--and one of the strongest-willed people I have met. And none of them managed to break you, no matter how hard they tried. But I was afraid that the race would be the one thing to do so. That you would go against who you are...to make me proud."
Sunset found that she couldn't say anything in reply. All she did was blink weakly as Diana took in a deep breath and continued on.
"I know how badly you wanted to win. But it wasn't about winning--not completely. It was about showing me that you did learn from me. That you truly were my star pupil. You knew how much I believed in you...and for a moment, you were willing to risk Agatha's life just so you could win and prove me right. So that I'd be proud of you," Diana explained. "And that's what all of this has been about, isn't it?" Sunset's eyes answered for her as she gazed down at the bed, unable to face her teacher.
"I had failed Celestia. I had disappointed her. And ever since that day, I wish I could go back and fix what I had done. That if given a second chance, I would make her proud," Sunset admitted weakly. "And then one day, when I was at my weakest, you appeared. You saved me, you helped me...you saw potential in me and took me under your wing. You saved me, in more ways that one. So, I promised that I would not fail you the same way I had failed Celestia. That I would be a student...worth being proud of."
"And you are," Diana said once more, and once again Sunset gazed up at her teacher with disbelief and doubt. "You chose to save Agatha. You chose to sacrifice what you had been after for so long to save the life of another. Even with victory before you, you didn't allow that kindness of yours, that inner...goodness, to be sacrificed. You chose to do the right thing, even though you believed that it had cost you everything. And in that moment, you showed me the true spirit of the girl that I have been training. The girl who would not sacrifice another to get what she wanted. You showed me that she is someone I can be proud of."
Tears were beginning to fall from Sunset's face once again as she stared up at Diana's smiling face with both confusion and happiness filling up her heart, unable to decide which emotion she should go with. Diana then removed her hand from Sunset's shoulder and extended it to Sunset, with Diana's eyes blazing with both pride and kindness.
"I don't give a damn about wins or losses. I don't care about a stupid competition between schools to see which is better. But I do care about you and the person that you are. And you are a good girl with a good heart," Diana said. "You are my star pupil. You are my prized student. You are Sunset Shimmer...and I couldn't be prouder."
Sunset glanced from Diana's face to her extended hand, knowing that Diana wished to shake hands with her. But then the floodgates holding back Sunset's emotions were blasted open and she hurled herself around Diana's midsection with a hug, wrapping her arms around tightly as she began to sob uncontrollably with sheer relief. For a moment Diana was shocked at the sudden bear hug, but then a small smile spread upon her face once more and she gently held Sunset close.
The two stayed like that until Sunset finally calmed down to the point where she released Diana and started to wipe the tears away from her eyes. It was then that she noticed that she no longer had a front door. "Um, Diana? What happened to my door?"
"I destroyed it. You had a magical shield around it and I didn't want to waste time trying to get rid of the magic," Diana explained with a laugh. Sunset beamed up at her teacher before she started to laugh as well. But the laughter was cut short when Diana's senses went on alert and she spun her head in the direction of the school. "For a brief moment...I thought I felt Hades' magic. But none of the girls are at the school and you're...Sunset, is there anything at the school that would make Hades send a minion?"
"Um, I don't really know?" Sunset replied. Diana thought long and hard for a moment before her eyes widened and she glanced at Sunset with concern.
"Sunset, did you bring your school bag home with you after the game?" Diana asked with fear.
"No, I left it in my locker before we left for Crystal Prep. Why?"
"Dammit all, that's what Hades was after. He's probably after that book that allows you to communicate with your friends in Equestria," Diana realized as she rose to her feet and headed for the hole in the wall. "If he destroys that, then we won't be able to create the barrier to-"
"Let him have my bag." Diana spun around with confusion at Sunset's words, but the confusion was replaced by a devious smile when she saw what Sunset had in her hands. "After you voiced your concerns about Hades going after the source of our communication, I had Rarity make me a few fakes that I've stashed in places his forces might look. I might have been an emotional wreck the past couple of days, but I held onto enough sense to keep this with me."
"Sunset, you continue to impress," Diana said with a laugh, before her face fell again. "But your decoys won't last long. And once he finds out that his minion failed to destroy the real one, he won't be happy."
"Good. Him happy is what we're trying to avoid."
Despite the thought of what was to come, Diana couldn't help but smile at her student's tone. She then turned her full gaze towards Sunset once more, and, upon seeing the look of confidence and strength that had replaced the features of suffering a few minutes prior, she found that she couldn't bring herself to worry.
"Well, despite not winning the race, I believe that a reward is in order for what you did. Is there anywhere that you want to go or something that you want? I'm buying." Diana felt a fear for her wallet when she saw a smile of pure evil cross Sunset's face.
"Oh, I've got a few things that I wouldn't mind having. But at the front of the list is a new door. My other one is scattered across the floor in pieces."
Hades shook his head with disappointment while he gazed into the portal to the other world--the world of magic that still wasn't his. 'I still cannot understand how I have not made that magic my own,' he seethed, and his anger caused the souls within the pit beneath him to howl with agony. 'Those who wield this magic are nothing more than children and yet they defy me at...no, it is not them. It is Diana. She is who keeps interfering.'
"This is what I get for being soft," Hades said to the soul he was clutching in his hand, a soul as black as the night. "For sending in Diana so that no one would be hurt. I should have just used you from the beginning and dealt with the souls you'd send my way afterwards. But no, I had to be nice. That will not happen again."
Hades then placed the soul into the center of his chamber and began to channel his power, giving form to the soul. Muscles formed from sand, and blood made of ash made up the body of the being, but before Hades could finish he felt his minion in the other world call out to him.
"Lord Hades, can you hear me?" Agatha asked through the vortex. Hades sighed with disappointment as he ceased working on the soul and turned towards the portal. Through it he could see the smiling face of the young girl, but Hades' face was anything but thrilled to see her.
"Why do you bother me? I am far too busy right now to be bothered with the likes of you," he replied in a cold tone that made the souls of the dead shiver.
"But master Hades, I bring news! I destroyed the source of communication between Sunset and her friends' world!" Agatha said, eyes beaming as she awaited praise from Hades. Instead, the Dark God sneered as he snapped his fingers and brought forth an image of the Earth.
"Do you know what this is? This is your world. And this," he began as he snapped his fingers once more and revealed a barrier of purple energy around it. "Is the barrier that is keeping me out. And it is getting stronger. In order for it to be doing so, Sunset must still be communicating with her friends on the other side. Which means that either she has a second way to contact her friends, or that you failed in your task."
"But that's impossible! I saw how she was talking with her friends! I destroyed the book myself!" Agatha argued, but Hades held up a hand to silence her.
"Did you check to see if the book you destroyed held the same magical properties as the girls?" Hades asked. The lack of answer answered for her. "Then it is clear that what you destroyed was a decoy, and that Sunset has once again proven herself superior to you."
"T-that can't be," Agatha stammered out as Hades turned away from her. "Lord Hades, please, give me another chance! I'll find the real-"
"No!" Hades said, silencing her with that single word. "You have done nothing but fail me when I instruct you with even the most miniscule of tasks. You are not only a failure as my trainee, but you are a failure at simply being useful. No, be silent and do not ruin anything else, lest I turn my wrath upon you."
Without waiting to hear what excuse she would come up with, Hades ceased communication with Agatha and turned back towards the black soul. To his surprise, he found that the sheer willpower of the soul had finished the rest of its body. The being was staggering towards Hades at a turtle's pace, but its eyes glowed with a red light as it extended a hand towards the Ruler of the Dead. But the hand it extended wasn't an attempt to get help. It was an attempt to kill Hades.
"Hello there, resident of my land," Hades greeted. The being let out a weak sound before it lunged forward towards the God of the Dead. Even with his godly strength, Hades was still pushed back as the creature slammed into his chest. "Enough," Hades decided, snapping his fingers and causing black chains to erupt from the ground and restrain the creature, bringing it down to its knees.
"You believe your chains can hold me?" the being asked in a weak whisper, but even as it struggled with its ungodly power against its bonds, Hades simply smiled at the display. "You cannot keep me down here. I will break free! And I will have my vengeance!"
"And all I wish to do is help you obtain your vengeance," Hades said in a voice like silk to the being, calming it down to the point where it did not struggle. "See, you are currently dead, but if you do a little something for me, I will repay you by restoring you to life. And then you will be free to exact your revenge on whomever you desire." The being went quiet for a moment before nodding up at Hades.
Hades smiled as he snapped his fingers and turned the chains to smoke, allowing the being to rise once more. "All I ask that you do, is go to another world and bring me the six girls there that wield a magic that you will be able to sense," Hades explained as he raised both hands towards the being, continuing the work that he had begun.
"Is that all I need to do?" the being asked Hades as skin began to form across its form.
"Well, there is something else you could do that I would greatly appreciate. While you are in that world, kill Wonder Woman." The being smiled with its newly reformed lips as Hades said this and let out a laugh that even the Lord of the Dead didn't enjoy hearing.
"Kill Wonder Woman? Hmph, I would have done that eventually," the being replied as it reached up and stroked its facial hair. "But since the opportunity has presented itself...how can I say no?"
=wWw=
The hundreds of students roared as the soccer ball was intercepted by Rainbow Dash's face, stopping its trajectory towards the Canterlot High goal. Dash used her forehead to slam the ball to the ground, where she began to kick it up the field while weaving in an out of the other team. Three of Crystal Prep's fastest players raced up to stop her, but the rainbow-haired girl smirked before kicking the ball over their heads. Then, in front of the dumbfounded girls, she performed a backflip and kicked the ball across the field and into the opponent's goal.
"And Rainbow Dash ties it up three to three!" the voice of Celestia rang across the soccer field, getting wild cheers from Canterlot High's side while the Crystal Prep students roared in anger from the other side. Dash raced across the field while blowing kisses to her school before turning and making faces at the opposing team.
"She's going to get kicked out of the game if she keeps acting like that," Sunset said with a shake of her head.
"Really, a lady should behave herself better. Then again, Dash isn't much of a lady," Rarity muttered from beside Sunset.
"She's Rainbow Dash. And that's all she's ever gonna be," Applejack said from behind the two before glancing down at Sunset. "So how ya feeling, Sunset? Diana manage to help ya with whatever ya were going through last week?"
"Yes, actually. She really...opened my eyes," Sunset said with a warm smile that was not lost on her friends.
"I'm glad that you're feeling better," Fluttershy said from Sunset's other side before glancing down at her bunny, who was holding up a sign that said he demanded to see blood. "Angel, what are you doing here? I thought I left you at home?"
"He probably wanted to see the biggest game in the history of Canterlot High!" Pinkie exclaimed, sending pieces of all of the candy and popcorn that she had been eating all over her friends. "I mean, we're all tied up with Crystal Prep in both the soccer game and points overall! If we win this, then it will be the first time in, like, ever that we beat them! Hopefully those clouds go away so the game doesn't get canceled. Nobody would want that."
"Well, right now we seem to be doing well, but Crystal Prep has figured out that Dash is their biggest threat and have moved more of their players to cover her," Twilight observed before writing some notes down on the pad she had brought with her. "However, that has also left a hole on the left side of the field that our team can take advantage of if we-"
"Dash takes the ball right up the center," Sunset finished for Twilight, who glanced up to see that Dash had once again stolen the ball from the other team. "Now I see why she was so desperate to play. She's really making this into her game."
"Yes, but I'm confused as to why she's playing," Twilight muttered, with the concern in her tone drawing her friends in close. "She showed me her test that she passed to return to soccer, but after adding up the numbers she shouldn't have gotten a grade high enough to satisfy Diana's request. Did Diana just let her back onto the team?"
"Yeah, that sounds like something Diana would do. It makes no sense and none of us can understand why she'd do it, but it makes sense," Rarity said.
"What is something I would do?" All six heads spun around to see that Diana was standing behind their bleachers, a bottle of water in hand as she watched the game. "I swear the amount of money people charge for bottled water is insane. Water should be free, or at the very least cheaper than this."
"Diana! You actually showed up!" Sunset said with happiness in every word.
"Of course I did. Considering how badly you've been pestering me for the last five days, I feared for what might happen if I didn't show," Diana replied with a smirk before sitting down in an empty spot behind Sunset. The crowd exploded around them as another of the players on Canterlot High's team scored another goal. "We have this won. Every time Crystal Prep focuses all of their efforts on stopping Dash, another of her team members will use their openings to score. All this game is now, is how many goals can they stop."
"That would be such a nice way to start the semester. Knowing that if we won, we'd never have to hear from Crystal Prep how better they are than us," Fluttershy muttered, Angel nodding his head in agreement before waving his sign around.
"It's been one heck of a semester already and that's only a few months in," Applejack added before giving Diana a look. "So, do you have anything else crazy planned for the rest of the year, or are ya saving some of your tricks for the year after this one?"
"Actually Applejack, it's very unlikely that I will be returning for the next school year," Diana informed them. All of the girls save Sunset gasped and turned their attention towards the teacher.
"But you're one of the best teachers that we've had in a long time! You keep Sombra in check! No one keeps Sombra in check!" Rarity informed Diana.
"You also give the best tests! Tests with tricky questions and riddles within riddles and...it's so much fun being in your class!" Twilight said.
"Yes, I know. But to be perfectly honest, I wasn't really sure that I would be a teacher here until very late. And even then, I had no intentions of staying long," Diana informed the girls. "It was more of a last minute thing. And there are many more people out there who need me far more than you do. I know that I haven't been here long, but I can already see that this school (and this world) are in good hands."
"D-do you know when you'll be leaving?" Sunset asked in a morose tone. Diana gave her a kind smile before gently placing her hands on Sunset's shoulder.
"Do not worry, I plan to leave at the end of the semester. After all, I have to make sure that you all actually learned in my class and just weren't getting by through luck." Most of the girls chuckled at those words, except for Sunset, who stared at the ground while gripping her drink tight. The crowd around the group then started to boo, and all of them looked up to see that Crystal Prep had managed to steal the ball back and score a goal in the process.
"Well, seems they have some fight left in them after all," Diana muttered as she gazed up at the score board. "And barely ten minutes into the game. This game sure does take a long time."
"Most sports generally do, "Applejack stated.
"Not the ones that I participated in," Diana muttered as she took another sip.
"Well, maybe that's because your superhuman strength crushes any that stand in your way," Pinkie pointed out, getting her a look from Diana. "What? We were all there when you obliterated Sunset's door. You scary."
"Right...girls, about the other day and my attitude-"
"You were worried about Sunset. There's nothing to be sorry for," AJ cut off.
Any other words that Diana was going to say were cut off by the roar of the crowd as Dash stole the ball from a Crystal Prep player and began to race down the field with it. The crowd of Canterlot High students leapt to their feet as Dash cleared by defender after defender, until all that was left was her and the goalie. Every eye in the stadium was upon Dash as she and the goalie sized each other up, leaving Dash to smirk as she brought her leg back and prepared to kick the ball in.
KRA-BOOM!
The sky was blasted apart as something came flying down with such speeds that it blasted apart both the sound barrier and the ground of the stadium as it impacted. The players and crowd screamed as they were knocked off their feet by the impact, which created a massive crater in the center of the field. Before any could wonder what was going on, a blast of red light erupted from the crater and incinerated the goal next to Rainbow Dash.
"What in the world?!" Diana roared as the crowd screamed, leaping to her feet as she began to head down to the field. But then something else came flying out of the crater, something that grabbed Dash by the throat and lifted her into the air with no effort. The crowd and the girls with Diana stared at the being in shock, none of them able to register the speed at which it had moved. But only Diana had been able to follow the being's movements, and what she saw in the being before her terrified Diana. For the creature was a man, a man with black hair and facial hair upon his face. But it wasn't at his face where Diana was looking. It was at his chest and the symbol that was upon it.
"Greetings, pathetic beings of this Earth. I am Zod. And before this day is done, you will kneel before me," Zod informed the crowd before turning his gaze to the crowd before him. "But before I conquer all of you, I have a simple question. Where are you, Wonder Woman?!"
For a brief moment, time seemed to stop as every one of the spectators that were terrified out of their minds took in the scene before them: A man in black armor had descended from the sky and created a crater in the middle of a soccer field, before blasting a structure made of metal to ash. And now he was standing in the center of the field with one hand at Rainbow Dash's throat, while he glared down each person in the stadium. And then the panic started.
Students started screaming in horror as they started to race for the exits, fleeing in fear that the being would incinerate them the same way he had the goal.
"SILENCE!" Zod roared with such fury that it felt like the entire planet shook beneath his might. Every living being that was within hearing distance of his shout went silent and stopped moving. All except for Diana, who glared at the being that stood amongst the destruction with a look of sheer wrath upon her face. Once every person had been silenced and Zod was certain that no one was trying to escape did he decide to continue speaking.
"Greetings, mortals. Do not fear me, for if I get what I have come for I swear that I shall leave you all in peace," Zod promised them before tightening his grip on Dash, getting her to scream in agony. "But I am not the one who will decide your fates. Instead, your lives will be decided by the hero known as Wonder Woman. Because I am here to kill her."
'No you're not, Zod. There's something more going on. You're after the girls,' Diana silently thought, wary of his super hearing.
"Wonder Woman! I know that you can hear me! I know that you would never stray far from these...special students!" Zod roared before tightening his grip further on Dash, squeezing tears out of her eyes as her body started to go limp. "So here is your ultimatum! For every minute that you do not reveal yourself, I shall kill one of these students...starting with this one in my grasp!"
The crowd gasped at this while Diana tightened her grip on the bleacher beneath her hard enough to tear the metal. "And none of you should bother trying to escape. For if I see any of you trying to leave, then I will start taking your lives. So the choice is yours, Wonder Woman! Hide in the darkness and let these students die...or face me and die yourself."
Diana seethed in place before glancing at the people around her. Everyone had a look of fear and terror upon their faces, except for the girls next to her, who were far more concerned with Dash's safety. Diana then locked eyes with Sunset, who gazed up at Diana with uncertain eyes.
"Sunset...hand me my lasso." Sunset didn't say a word while she did as Diana asked, unwrapping the lasso from around her midsection and handing it to Diana. Diana nodded to her before gripping the lasso hard as she started to walk towards Zod.
"Diana..." Sunset weakly got out. "Who is that?"
"I don't have time to tell you, but I promise that if I survive, I will tell you everything." Sunset's heart plummeted at Diana's words, but Diana had to ignore the fears of her student as she started to walk down the steps. It was hard enough for her to keep her own fears down at that moment.
"Come, Wonder Woman! Thirty seconds more...and I tear this one's head off," Zod promised as he glared at Dash with red eyes, eyes that made Dash practically sob in fear of the being. But even if he didn't have super hearing, in the silence of the stadium Zod would have still been able to hear the sound of heels on metal. Every eye in the stadium, including Zod's, turned towards the source of the noise...turned towards the single teacher that walked down onto the field.
With her enhanced vision, Diana watched as every person in the stadium mouthed her name, none of them able to predict what was about to happen next. All except for Zod, who sneered at the teacher as she walked onto the field and towards him. Diana stopped about twenty feet away from him, but even in her teacher's outfit all Zod had to do to confirm her identity was glance at the lasso in her hand.
"Release my student, Zod. And I promise that your death will be painless," Diana whispered in a voice that made lightning crackle overhead. Zod smirked at the display, but tossed Dash across the field anyway. Dash crashed into the grass at the edge of the soccer field, where her friends rushed down to help her.
"So this is where you have been hiding, Princess," Zod sneered at Diana, who said nothing in reply. "Why bother with your earthly attire? Show the world who you really are, so they can be all the more crushed when I kill-" Diana moved in a blur of motion and slammed her fist into Zod's face, snapping his head back as the force sent him tumbling across the field. The crowd gasped in shock and awe at the sudden burst of speed, none of them able to keep up with Diana's speed.
"Careful what you ask for, Zod," Diana said before she let her lasso crack, whipping it to its full length before twirling it around her. A pure light of golden power bathed the Amazon, while the magical nature of the lasso changed her attire. Her earthly attire was replaced with that of her Wonder Woman outfit, causing her to glow with light as the transformation ceased.
The crowd was dead silent as Diana clipped the lasso back to her hip before she unsheathed her sword and shield, taking up a fighting stance while Zod picked himself out of the dirt. He rubbed his thumb across his mouth before smirking as he floated back to his feet.
"You had better fight me with all of your might, Wonder Woman," Zod snarled as he floated towards Diana with his hands folded behind his back. "Because when you die, I will destroy this world and kill every living being in it."
"It seems that your time in the underworld hasn't changed you. You're still as self-centered and evil as ever," Wonder Woman spat. The area exploded as Zod rocketed forward with speed so blindingly fast that only Diana was able to keep up with it. She raised her shield just in time to intercept Zod's punch, but his superman-like strength sent the Wonder skidding back across the field.
Wonder Woman let out a cry of fury as she lunged back across the field, stabbing at Zod's chest with her sword when she was within range. Zod dodged the blow and retaliated with a backhand that Diana blocked with her shield once more. Yet the impact still staggered her, giving Zod a chance to drive his boot into her side and send her flying.
Diana was rocketed through the goal at the end of the field and only came to a stop when she dug her sword into the dirt to slow her speed. She glared up in time to see blasts of heat lance from Zod's eyes, forcing her to cross her arms to deflect the blast with her bracelets. She angled the blast straight up so she didn't risk hitting any of the students, but in doing so she left herself open.
"Fool," Zod said as he appeared behind her, driving his elbow into her spine. Wonder Woman roared with pain as she stumbled forward, only to feel Zod wrap a hand around her leg before he swung her over his head. She was slammed back first into the ground, with the impact nearly causing her to black out. Zod hurled himself into the sky before plummeting back down with both fists extended. Diana regained her senses in time to roll to the side, but she was still caught by the shockwave of Zod slamming into the ground. As the shockwave hurled her through the air, she managed to regain her balance by using her power of flight. Then Zod rocketed up and slammed his shoulder into her chest.
"You cannot defeat me, woman," Zod told Diana as he threw rapid lefts and rights that Wonder Woman could barely keep up with, let alone deflect. After a few moments of keeping Wonder Woman focused on the punches, Zod then brought his knee right into Diana's stomach. Wonder Woman doubled over from the force of the blow before Zod sent her hurtling into the ground with an elbow to the back of the head.
Diana slammed her feet into the ground to stop her descent before hurling herself back into the air after Zod, catching him off guard with her sudden recovery. She slammed her skull into his nose and snapped his head back once again, giving her an opening to swing with her blade. The moment before her blade cleaved through Zod, the kryptonian unleashed a blast of air from his lungs that was equivalent to a hurricane. Diana was blown out of the air by the force of the gale, leaving her open to a blow to the side of the head that sent her flying into the ground.
"You are strong, Wonder Woman, but you are not on par with me," Zod taunted as he lunged at Diana, who picked herself up just in time to duck under Zod's strike. She retaliated with three blows to Zod's stomach before cracking him in the jaw with her palm. Despite those blows being able to fell skyscrapers, all Zod did was smile before slamming his elbow into Wonder Woman's jaw to send her spinning.
"I am the equal to the strongest being in your world. I possess the same powers as him, but with a far greater intellect," Zod reminded Wonder Woman as he grabbed her by her head and drove his knee into her stomach. Diana coughed up blood before dropping to one knee, causing Zod to smile as he glared down at her. "Close, but I know you can do better," Zod said as his eyes began to glow red, lifting a boot over her head. "Now before I kill you, I want you to kneel!"
Zod slammed his foot down towards Diana, but in a flash of motion she lifted her blade and drove the tip of it clean through Zod's foot. Zod howled in more surprise than pain before Wonder Woman was back on her feet, slashing through Zod's armor and drawing blood as her blade ripped apart the flesh on his chest. She spun and prepared to unleash another strike, but before she could Zod slammed his hands together to create a shockwave that blasted her back.
"How...?" he muttered as he placed his hand to his chest and brought it back to see blood gleaming on his hand. "How could you possibly hurt me? I am Zod! I do not-" Wonder Woman silenced Zod by letting her shield fly right into his face, leaving him open to a knee from Diana that cracked the general's nose. Zod roared with pain before Diana slammed her boots into his chest, driving him into the ground with enough force to shatter the surrounding area.
"You said it yourself, Zod," Wonder Woman growled as she grabbed Zod by his throat and slowly pulled him out of the crater she had made with his body. "You have all of Superman's powers...along with his weaknesses. What's the matter, never felt the sting of magic before?"
Zod snarled before letting twin beams of heat strike Diana in the face. Diana roared in pain as she staggered backwards, trying to regain her sight. Zod took advantage of the situation and hurled another punch into Diana's chest. The entire stadium could hear the sounds of Diana's bones breaking from the blow, before she was sent hurtling up into the sky. With a force of effort and will, Wonder Woman ceased her momentum, roaring in both pain and fury as she hurled herself back into battle.
Zod dodged her sword strike and slammed his hand into her wrist, causing Diana to drop her sword. He then swung at her with all of his might, while Diana brought up her shield to defend herself. But even Amazonian-crafted weaponry couldn't stand up to the overwhelming strength of a superman, and Diana's shield shattered into shards from the impact of Zod's fist. Wonder Woman dug her heels into the ground to keep herself from being rocketed back.
Both parties assessed the other as they began to circle each other, neither wanting to make the first move that might put them in danger. Then Zod smirked before he turned towards the crowd and fired out a beam of heat vision right at the spot where Sunset and her friends were sitting. The girls had just enough time to register the beam of light before Diana was in front of them, using her bracelets to deflect the heat vision away from them.
But even though she succeeded in saving Sunset and the others, in doing so she played right into Zod's hands. With his super speed Zod appeared behind Diana and drove his fists into her back, sending her crashing down into the dirt. Diana growled in pain as she pulled herself out of the ground, but when she glanced up at Zod all she saw was his boot as it slammed into her face.
Zod grabbed the Amazon with both hands and pulled her out of the ground, lifting her over his head before slamming her into the ground once more. Wonder Woman weakly snarled as she struggled to push herself out of the dirt, but her process was halted when Zod placed his boot upon her chest.
"Burn," Zod whispered before unleashing his heat vision upon her. Even though she was pinned, Wonder Woman mustered enough strength to move her chest out of the way of the blast. Instead of burning through her heart, the piercing heat beams instead lanced through her left shoulder, getting Wonder Woman to roar in pain. "Does it hurt, Wonder Woman? Good. Because I want you to know that the pain you feel right now is what I shall inflict on everything within this world and the world of Superman. This pain is only the beginning!"
Zod ceased his heat vision before reaching down with blinding speeds, grabbing Diana by the face. He pulled her head up before driving the back of her skull into the ground. He repeated the process twice more before he completely pulled her out of the earth, holding her up by her face before he began to squeeze. Diana clawed at Zod's hand as she felt his fingers start to crush her skull, but her power couldn't break his grip of steel.
"Now you die, Wonder Woman. And as you die, I want you to know that you are only the first," Zod promised Diana. "Soon, your precious League will join you in the underworld, where Hades will force you to suffer for the rest of eternity. So watch, Wonder Woman, watch as I-GRAH!"
Wonder Woman felt the pressure alleviate itself from her skull as something distracted Zod. Knowing that might be the only chance she got, Diana kicked out with both legs for all she was worth and caught Zod in the chin. The blow was strong enough to completely break his grasp, but even as Diana fell to the ground Zod snarled before striking Diana in the side of the head.
"Who dares to interfere?" Zod asked in a whisper as he turned around to see who had struck him. But to his bafflement, and Diana's utter horror, they both found a girl with red hair holding Diana's magic sword, which now had even more of Zod's blood upon it. "And just what do you think you're doing?" Zod asked in a tone that could have scared the gods.
"W-what Diana would do for me. S-stopping you," Sunset barely managed to choke out.
"You would take me on for her?" Zod asked before swatting the blade out of Sunset's hand, grabbing her by the throat. Wonder Woman roared as she lunged up at Zod, but the attack had been anticipated by him and he drove his boot into her face. He slammed her face into the ground and kept her pinned there with his power, before turning his full attention to the girl that was struggling in his grasp. He looked from the student to the struggling teacher, a smile spreading across his face as he did so.
"You wish so much to be like her?" Zod asked Sunset as his eyes glowed red, aiming right at Sunset's face. "Then you can die like her."
'NO!'
The roar of Hades ripped through Zod's mind, causing Zod to curse as he held a hand to his head. Sensing her chance to attack, Diana kicked with one leg and caught Zod in a very tender area. Zod wheezed as he doubled over, dropping Sunset and giving up his pressure on Diana while he staggered back. Diana was on her feet a second later and started unloading into Zod's face with rights and lefts.
"Sunset, are ya alright?" Applejack called out as she and the other girls rushed over to Sunset's side, except for Dash, who was staying as far away from Zod as possible.
"I'm...I'm fine," Sunset comforted her friends as they helped her back up. Sunset then turned her gaze back to the battle, where Zod had managed to gain the upper hand again against Diana. Sunset spied Diana's sword and rushed over to it, but when she reached down to grab it a hand stopped her. "What are you doing Applejack, I have to get in there and--"
"And what? Get yerself killed?!" Applejack screamed at her friend. "Sunset, this is a battle between monsters! None of us can even keep up with what's happening! Ya shouldn't be anywhere near these two! None of us should! Why in the Sam Hill would ya risk yer life fer-?
"Because I owe Diana my life. Now let...GO!" Sunset hurled Applejack off of her with a strength that none of the girls knew she possessed. Sunset snatched up the sword before racing back towards the battle.
"We need to help her! That darned fool is gonna get herself killed!" Applejack said to the others. "Come on girls, let's-"
"By all means," Zod said as he appeared before Applejack and grabbed her by the throat, then knocking the other girls to the ground with a simple wave of his free hand. "Enter then battle. Give me a reason to kill you before you could even blink." Wonder Woman appeared behind Zod a second later and managed to get the lasso around Zod's neck. And despite how strong he was, even Zod couldn't break free of its power. Wonder Woman then chopped Zods arm with her hand, forcing him to let go of the girl.
"This is between us, Zod!" Wonder Woman roared as she rocketed Zod across the field faster than anyone could register, tightening her lasso around hos throat. "Answer me, Zod! Why does Hades keep sending you undead bastards here?! Why did you try to kill Sunset?!" Wonder Woman roared as she yanked on the lasso while repeatedly punching Zod in the face for good measure. "Hades wants her magic! Why did you try to kill her?!"
"I do not give a damn what Hades wants! No one controls Zod!" Zod roared before reaching up and grabbing hold of Diana's arms, flinging her over his head and slamming her into the ground at his feet. He then reached up and unraveled the lasso from his throat, snarling down at it before he tossed it to the side. "But I'll kill that girl and any others you care about just to make you suffer. Just watch as you writhe before I extinguish your pathetic life."
"Not on my watch, Zod. You've been killed before and I will do it again!" Wonder Woman promised before rocketing herself into Zod's gut, following with an uppercut to the jaw that staggered Zod.
"Diana! Catch!" Sunset called out as she tossed the sword to Diana. Wonder Woman held out her hand and caught the blade out of the air, twirling it in her grasp before she went on the offensive. Zod was forced to duck and dodge out of the way of each sword swing, for every time he tried to retaliate Wonder Woman was ready and deflected the attempt at a comeback.
Zod threw a punch at Diana's head with supersonic speeds, but a lifetime of training gave Wonder Woman the reflexes to duck the attack and retaliate with a sword swing that cleaved Zod's arm from his body. Zod howled in pain as his severed limb fell to the dirt, spewing dust from his wound just as Grundy had done before him.
"Do you see, Zod? You are not alive. You are still in the grasp of Hades, no matter how hard you try to escape," Wonder Woman informed Zod, who glared down at his missing limb before glaring at Wonder Woman with crimson eyes. "Now surrender, and I promise that I will send you back to Hades as painlessly as I can."
"Dear God that speed. Wait a sec, yer going to kill him?" Applejack asked from the sidelines as her friends helped her up. Wonder Woman cast a glance to see that the girls were horrified by the thought of what she was going to do. "But, yer such a good person! Why would ya-?"
"Because he is not alive," Diana said loudly enough so that all in the arena could hear. "He was revived just to do the bidding of a god. He has barely any flesh and blood, as you can clearly see. All I will be doing when I slay him, is send his soul back to the dark depths from whence it came."
"Empty threats, Wonder Woman," Zod spat with a crazed smile on his face. "Because how will you be able to kill me...when you're far to busy saving all of them?!" Zod then rocketed into the sky as he spoke, a laughter of pure insanity echoing over the playing field as he glared down with eyes burning like the sun. Wonder Woman realized what he was about to do and kicked off towards Zod, rocketing towards him at max speed. "Now all of you can die!"
Wonder Woman came to a stop as she crossed both of her arms, preparing to deflect the blast of heat vision with her bracelets. Zod let out another cackle as he took aim...before shooting his heat vision straight up into the air. Wonder Woman had just a moment to wonder what he was doing, before she realized that his blast had removed all the clouds...and allowed the sunlight to come pouring down.
"Oh Hera, help me," Wonder Woman whispered before Zod roared and hurled himself at her, driving his fist into her stomach with greater power than before. Diana spat out blood before Zod drove his knee into her face, sending her hurtling back into the ground. The entire school shook from the force of the impact, kicking up torrents of dirt and dust that blinded the petrified spectators.
"Yes...bathe me in your light. Restore my strength that Hades stole from me," Zod laughed as he floated down, watching with a smile as a bloodied Wonder Woman pulled herself out of the crater her body had made, shaking with both pain and rage as she took up her blade once more. Yet before she could even take a step forward, Zod appeared beside her and drove his fist into her face. Wonder Woman was slammed back into the ground once more, where Zod began to wail on her with his single fist while a smile of malice stained his face.
"Hey ugly!" Zod turned his head and reached up with his hand to catch the lasso that had been hurled at him, catching Sunset completely off guard. Zod then lightly tugged the lasso, which resulted in Sunset being yanked off her feet and right into the hand of the general.
"Still interfering, child?" Zod asked before driving Sunset into the dirt next to Diana. Sunset let out a weak cough before going limp, causing Diana's eyes to go wide before she snarled up at Zod. Zod kicked her in the chest and sent her flying across the field once more, before he used his speed to appear behind her and drive her skull into the ground.
'I...can't beat him,' she realized as Zod threw another punch into her stomach. 'Gods help me, he's getting stronger with each second while I can barely...what do I do?'
'Give in, my student. You are not using your full power. Embrace my title...and end this fool's battle. If not for your sake...for hers.' Diana the gazed down at her student before turning her eyes towards the terrified expressions of every person in the stands. And then she knew what she had to do.
Wonder Woman let out a roar of absolute fury before spinning around and slamming her fist into the side of Zod's head, knocking him straight to the dirt. Diana then reached down and removed both of her bracelets from her arms, tossing them to the side before reaching up with both hands. A blast of lightning descended from on high and charged her body with electricity, causing her eyes to turn a blue that mirrored the lightning, and her body began to glow with an unearthly power.
But there was also something else...something every person in the stadium felt as they gazed upon Diana. For everyone watching the battle suddenly felt the urge to rise up and fight alongside Wonder Woman...to the bloody death. But Diana held up a hand when people began to rise, before she marched upon Zod.
Zod sneered as he rose back up and threw a punch at Diana, but to his horror she caught his fist with one hand while the other reintroduced itself to his face. A sickening crunch could be heard as Zod staggered backwards, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Shaking the doubts from his mind he spun and unleashed his heat vision upon Wonder Woman, but the wonder shot lightning from her eyes that intercepted the blasts of heat. An explosion was generated by the two powers meeting, and it hurled the two gods away from each other.
"A pretty trick, using the lightning and clouds to make yourself appear more powerful," Zod mocked with a sneer. Wonder Woman remained silent, letting the look of absolute wrath on her face speak for her. Zod then glared up at the dark clouds that had reformed overhead. "But you cannot keep me out of the sun forever. Come Wonder Woman, let us take this battle between us two to where it belongs! In the heavens!"
Zod hurled himself into the sky and above the clouds as he said this. He then spun around and let his eyes glow red as he awaited Wonder Woman to burst through the cloud cover. He was so focused on awaiting her arrival that he was caught completely off guard when a boot slammed into the back of his head.
"What?!" he screamed as he spun around to find Wonder Woman floating behind him, her hands soaked in blood. "How did you get here so fast?! How did I not-?" Wonder Woman cut him off by driving her fist into his face, shattering his nose while also hurling Zod across the sky. Zod righted himself in time to receive another blow to the face that nearly shattered his jaw.
Zod roared in fury as he unleashed his heat vision upon Wonder Woman once more, but this time the wonder didn't bother to deflect the attack. The heat vision struck her dead in the face, but to the horror of Zod she was completely un-phased by the attack. Zod bellowed once more as he channeled all of his power into a single punch and hurled it at Wonder Woman, catching her right in the forehead. The force of the impact blasted away all of the clouds around them and shook the city below, but once again Diana didn't even budge.
"How...?" Zod asked with a new emotion in his voice: fear. Wonder Woman's response was to slam the hilt of her sword onto the top of his head and stagger him. She then drove her fist into his face, shattering the sky as Zod was sent hurtling down into the earth. The whole planet shook from the impact of Zod, terrifying the spectators when they saw Zod weakly pull himself out of the fifth crater that had been made on school grounds.
"How?" Zod asked in a near whisper once more as Wonder Woman floated down in front of him, her hands dripping blood as she pointed her sword at his throat. "How are you...this powerful? You were not this strong before! What are you?!" The sky seemed to blacken as Diana smiled, a smile that showed she was reveling in what was transpiring.
"What am I, Zod? I am Wonder Woman," she began before she plunged her blade right into the chest of Zod. Zod let out a roar of pain before Diana lifted the blade and Zod into the air, where the black clouds overhead began to tremble with the thought of what was to come. "I am an Amazon. I am a member of the Justice League. I am a champion for all." Then her gaze darkened.
"But I have become so much more. I am now fueled by conflict. I can make a nation battle with itself through my sheer presence alone. Pain, strife and destruction...now makes me far more powerful than you could ever hope to be," she whispered to Zod, whose eyes had gone wide at her words. Diana then hefted Zod over her head, demanding that the heavens unleash their divine wrath upon him. And when the skies obeyed and unleashed a bolt of Zeus down towards her, did Wonder Woman roar her true name so that all could hear:
"I am Diana Prince! And I am the Goddess of WAR!"
The lightning then descended upon her blade and consumed Zod within its power. "A gods power revived you and a goddess power shall destroy you." The kryptonian let out one last roar before the lightning sent from Zeus himself burned him away into nothing. Wonder Woman then roared as she stuck her blade into the ground, channeling the lightning into the earth so that its power would not hurt anyone else.
All eyes from the crowd were on the figure in the center of the stadium, who was being healed from her injuries by the destruction and rage that burned within her. But then as she turned her gaze to the people who were watching, she saw that most of them had looks of rage and hatred within them. Eyes that were ready for war.
"No. I am not the same god he was," Wonder Woman whispered before she flew over to where her gauntlets lay. She slid them over her forearms once more and secured them shut, letting out a sigh as she felt her godly side being sealed away once more. As her divine power was sealed away, so was the desire for war that had begun to burn within the hearts of those that were watching.
But as the rage and hatred faded, the teachers and students gazed around at the field. It had been completely destroyed in the battle between the two gods, and even though none of those in the crowd had been harmed during the battle, every eye still stared at Diana with absolute terror in their eyes.
But Diana ignored their gazes while she retrieved her lasso, clipping it to her side before she collapsed to her knees. She remained kneeling in silence for minutes completely undisturbed. For no one on or off the field dared to get close to the woman in armor that was soaked in blood. No one, except for a single girl.
"Um...Diana?" Sunset asked in a near whisper while she approached Diana at a snail's pace, fear and trepidation racing through her mind. She had never seen Diana like that before, even at her angriest. And the expression upon her teacher's face when she declared who she was, would give Sunset a new set of nightmares to deal with. "It's...you, right? You're back, right?"
For a long moment Sunset wasn't sure if it was Diana or...the goddess...that knelt on the grass before her. But then Diana turned around with the same caring and loving smile that Sunset knew all too well. Sunset sighed in relief as her legs gave out on her and she collapsed to the ground, joining Diana in gazing around at all of the destruction that had been caused.
"So...you're the Goddess of War, huh?" Sunset asked after a moment of silence. "Yeah...I think I can see that."
"Really?" Diana asked with a tired smile. "You see me as powerful, terrifying, and causing destruction and strife wherever I go?" Sunset then glanced once more at all of the destruction around them, at the petrified faces in the crowd, and then up at the black clouds that still had yet to vanish.
"After today...yeah. Totally."
...and Clark Kent is Superman
Only the second hand ticking away created any sound within the principal's office, where every figure in the room was as silent as the void. Diana sat (still in her Wonder Woman outfit) in the chair across from Celestia, a look of calm upon her face while Athena sat upon her shoulder.
Celestia and Luna did not share the same look of calmness that she did. The two of them had started to become accustomed to magical attacks on their school, but what they had just seen had shaken the both of them to their cores. Not just what Zod had done to the students, but what Diana had done to Zod.
Seven students were also in the room with the teachers, but only Sunset sat beside Diana. The other students stayed as far away from Diana as they could, while Dash avoided looking at the teacher at all. But each of the seven, save Sunset, wore the same expression upon their faces--ooks of fear absolute.
"So...Diana. The Goddess of War," Celestia finally said, breaking the near half hour of silence. "That's what you called yourself out there during that...battle, if we can even call it that."
"I'd say it was more like a clash of the gods," Luna whispered with a hand to her head, still trying to process what she had just seen.
"Well, we now know that one of the combatants was a god. It's entirely possible that the other was a god as well," Celestia said in a dark tone as she gave Diana an unkind gaze. Diana kept her face motionless while she awaited her turn to speak, knowing that if she tried to explain herself they would not listen. "So let me ask, Diana, if that is your real name. Was that...thing a god as well?"
"No, not any god that you would know of. But with his power, Zod might as well have been a god," Diana calmly replied. Celestia's eyes darkened at this and she retreated to silence for a few minutes more.
"All the time that you've been here, all that stuff you told us about being a teacher and wanting to help us...was it all a lie?" Diana turned her head toward Rainbow Dash, who was staring at Diana with a broken image.
"I have not lied to any of you since I have arrived here. Every word I have spoken is the truth," Diana said calmly, but her words did not quell any of the girls' fears.
"So, when you told my sister and me that a god sent you here...you were telling the truth?" Luna asked, getting a nod in response. "So, all that stuff about training with Spartans, fighting against terrorists...being a keeper of the peace...you didn't mean ambassador; you meant as a god."
"Yes and no. I am an ambassador. From my home of the Amazons," Diana explained, but when she spoke the word 'Amazons,' Celestia let out a sigh. "And I do fight against the evils of the world, but as a hero. Not as the God of War. In fact, I prefer not to use my...godly side unless I am forced to, as I was with Zod."
"So, you were that woman that killed that zombie thing that attacked us a while ago," Twilight deduced. "The one with the helmet that made a mess of some people's cars."
"Always able to come up with the answers. You truly have a talent for knowledge," Diana praised, but instead of smiling Twilight seemed to shrink under Diana's words.
"It's...strange hearing words of praise coming from the Goddess of War," Twilight whispered. "I'm not sure if I should be grateful...or afraid."
"That is actually how most of the students feel," Celestia said, turning the focus back to her. "After that event, I've canceled school for the time being. The students will need time to recuperate. But Sunset, now I see why you were so intent on having Diana train you. You knew that she was the Goddess of War, didn't you?"
"No, actually. I mean, I knew she had powers, I saw that up close, but I didn't know she was a goddess," Sunset explained.
"But I told you after I drove my fist through your nightmare," Diana reminded Sunset.
"Honestly, I thought you were just saying that to impress me."
"Wait a moment, nightmare?" Luna interrupted. "You mean that the nightmares that Sunset had been having...actually attacked her?"
"Yep. In fact, if Diana hadn't been there...it would have killed me," Sunset said in a whisper, getting horrified gasps from the principals and girls. "I suppose it's time I told all of you. In my nightmares, this creature would constantly use my fears against me, breaking me down day in and day out. It was getting close to the point...where I was having dark thoughts."
"But Diana helped me with that. She gave me her lasso, which compels any who are touching it to only see and speak the truth. With it, I was able to fight against the dark lies that the nightmare was feeding me. I thought that was the end of it. Then it showed up in real life, attacking me on the day of our field trip. It lured me away from the group and planned to kill me in the middle of the forest."
"And that's when Diana showed up, changed into the outfit that you see her in now and beat the unholy hell out the nightmare," Sunset said with a grateful smile to Diana, a smile that Diana returned. "And we haven't seen anything from it since. But you're right Celestia, I did start to hang around Diana more after that. In fact, she's been training me to be stronger and faster. And it's actually working."
"Wait a moment, you were going through all this pain and not once did you consult us?" Rarity asked, hurt by the lies. "We could have helped you, dear. Done something to fight that nightmare."
"I...wanted to tell all of you. But I also didn't want to give away Diana's cover," Sunset said with an apologetic look, but not all of her friends gave a kind look in reply. "The nightmare stopped me from thinking straight most of the time, so by the time I thought to tell you guys about being attacked...Diana had already dealt with it. And with her looking over me, I felt that I didn't need to worry the rest of you."
"Ah still wish that ya would have trusted us more, but ah guess when ya have a goddess looking out fer ya, ya don't feel too worried," Applejack said with a smirk before removing her hat and bowing slightly to Diana. "Seems ah was wrong about ya. Yer not the evil that ah thought ya were. Course, this isn't much better. But thank ya fer saving our friend."
"Yes, but what I want to know is where did...Zod, did you say, came from? And why did he attack the students? It was clear that he had a vendetta with you, Diana, and I can't imagine why. But why go after them?" Luna asked.
"Aside from Zod being one of the most evil beings that has ever lived, he was sent here by the very same god that sent me to your school," Diana revealed. The room went deathly silent again and all eyes were upon Diana. "What I am about to tell you should not leave these walls. Am I clear?" Diana waited until everyone had nodded before she began to speak.
"Hades, whom you should all know from my classes, killed a good friend of mine and used his death to lure me into the underworld. Once there, he told me that he would make a trade. He would restore my friend to life...if I went to a strange world and gathered the six magical forces he sought for himself." Diana glanced at the girls as she said this, and realization sprung up in their eyes. "Yes, the six elements that you possess. He wanted me to bring them or their hosts to him and in exchange he would free my friend."
"But you didn't," Twilight pieced together.
"No. After meeting all of you, getting to know you, I could not let Hades get his hands upon your magic or you. So I stayed here as a teacher, doing my best to protect you from the forces he has sent while also teaching you," Diana said with a fire within her, a fire that put nearly everyone else in the room on edge. "I had hoped that eventually he would simply give up, as he is apt to do, but he is determined this time. I have contacted my allies in the other world and asked for their help, but it seems that they have not had much luck in stopping him."
"What about the other gods?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Like Zeus or Poseidon. Shouldn't they be able to stop him?"
'If Zeus and Poseidon had any brains within their skulls, many of the world's problems would have been solved years ago,' Athena said with spite, dropping every jaw in the room.
"Did your owl...?" Pinkie began.
'Talk? Yes. And please do try to be more respectful, as you are speaking to the true Athena,' Athena said.
"So that owl...is actually another goddess?" Twilight whispered in complete shock.
"Why didn't you tell me that?!" Sunset asked Diana, who gave a sly smile to her student.
"Because it was up to Athena whether she wanted to tell you or not."
'And to answer your question Twilight, this is actually my familiar for this world. As I am needed on Diana's world, and it would be unwise to leave Olympus without wisdom, I have been speaking through this owl the entire time we have been here,' Athena explained.
"Which explains why that owl showed up after the zombie attacked us," Rainbow said with a smirk. "You sent her to keep an eye on us in case another creature showed up, didn't you?"
"See what happens when you study and learn, Dash? You start to see the answers to problems that were previously unsolvable," Diana praised.
"While this whole...god thing is fascinating, that still leaves me with a question," Celestia spoke back up, bringing the talk back on track. "You said that Hades is responsible for sending the zombie and Zod here, presumably so that they would take the magic from the girls. What's stopping Hades from sending all of the billions of souls that are dead after them until he finally succeeds?"
"Well, at the moment, me. But we have another plan in place," Diana explained. "Sunset helped me with it. Using the Equestrian magic, we are forming a barrier around your world, a barrier that will be able to keep out all of Hades' forces."
"We found out that there was a magical barrier already around our world, one that was keeping Hades himself out. We figured that if we strengthened it, that none of his forces would be able to make it through," Sunset continued for Diana. "Considering how desperate he's seemed in the past couple of weeks, we think it's working."
"So, when this barrier is up, our world will be completely safe from Hades?" Luna asked.
"As far as I know, yes. But I won't leave until I know for certain that you all are safe," Diana promised them, but only Sunset seemed to be comforted by her teacher's words.
"I don't like this," Celestia said after a moment of silence. "I don't like leaving the fate of my students up...well, up to the gods. But if what you have said is true...and since you've always been honest with us, then you're the reason that even with such godly foes there have been almost no casualties. I thank you for keeping all of us safe, Diana. Or should we call you Wonder Woman? Or the Goddess of War?"
"Diana is fine. All three of those are the same person, after all," Diana said with a smile, before a look of concern covered her face. "It won't be long before the barrier is complete. That means that if Hades wants this magic, then he'll be making his most desperate play yet. If you seven wouldn't mind, I'd prefer that you all stay together or in large groups until the barrier is finished."
"Yes, I suppose that we can do that," Rarity agreed.
"Looks like we're having another sleepover!" Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled all of her friends into a large hug.
"That sounds like a plan. Now if you all will excuse me, my sister and I need to explain to the police what just the hell happened the other day," Luna said with a sigh of exhaustion. "Because it seems that none of them want to believe that a monster and a goddess duked it out with each other."
"If it is any help, I can fly by and show them that you are telling the truth," Diana offered. "But don't they already know that I was the goddess?"
"Actually...none of the students or the staff from either school have outed you. I think...it's their way of thanking you for saving them," Celestia theorized. "Perhaps those at Crystal Prep aren't as bad as we thought. Even Cinch has remained quiet, but who knows why she has."
"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps the only true evil one is Hades."
=wWw=
A flash of light went off in the underworld, the only light generated that was not under the command of its ruler. From the light emerged a being in a brown cloak with metallic limbs, a being that Hades loathed to see on a good day. After his most recent failure though, he considered killing the being on the spot before it could speak.
"And behold, the mighty god has failed yet again. How tiring it must be to fail again and again," the being in the cloak said to Hades, who was sitting upon his throne with a murderous look upon his face. "Your greatest soul, the most powerful being that you held, and even it failed you. Seems that you have no options left."
"You are...correct. I had hoped that Zod would be powerful enough to kill Diana, but he has failed," Hades growled before turning the growl into a sigh. "Perhaps it is time I ceased desiring this magic. There are plenty of other ways for me to increase my own power, and all this venture has done is embarrass me. Perhaps it's time I stopped." Hades' rage was reignited when the cloaked being laughed in the weakest laugh possible, turning Hades' full attention on the being.
"There are the words that I wished to hear. I wanted to hear the mighty god give in before I offered my assistance," the being said before it walked beside Hades, who could swear that he saw a smile beneath the hood that looked like a cosmos. "Because now I am too invested to not see how this ends. So I will aid you this once. And when I am done, either the girls will walk into your lair by themselves...or Diana's soul shall be yours."
A knock at the door drew Diana's attention from all of the new paperwork that had been dropped off at her desk, and to who had disturbed her. A smile creased her face when Sunset opened the door and entered into the teacher's room. Diana motioned for her to sit and placed the papers to the side as Sunset sat across the desk from her.
"Hello, Sunset. Is there something I can help you with?" Diana asked. Sunset's response was to glance up at the clock before glancing around at the empty room.
"It's time for class. But I'm the only student that's coming, aren't I?" Sunset asked Diana, who smiled with good humor in reply.
"I do not blame them for not showing up. Most people, when finding out that their teacher is a goddess, would not take the news well," Diana said with a shrug. "Give them time and I'm sure that some of them will...make peace with the fact. Speaking of the students, how are your friends doing? No attacks in the past week, I hope."
"No. So far if Hades has tried anything, we haven't seen any of it," Sunset explained, but her face showed that there was indeed news to tell. "But that doesn't mean they're doing well. Twilight, aside from me, is the only one of us that isn't too upset with your reveal. The others...Rarity and Fluttershy...don't know what to think. Applejack is often lost in thought. Pinkie...is Pinkie. And Dash still has a look of terror on her face any time any of us mention you or Zod. I think she's been traumatized."
"Zod nearly killed her. If I were her, I'd be afraid too," Diana said. "But I am glad that you are all safe. Have you heard any news from the Twilight of the other world on the speed of the barrier?"
"Yes. She says that it is almost finished. Once she has the spell finished, she'll send me instructions on how to perform it and then the girls and I will cast it," Sunset said with a smile. "And then none of us will have to worry about Hades ever again."
"Indeed. And once you are all safe, I'll storm the underworld myself and make him regret ever having dared to attack the seven of you," Diana promised Sunset, but she caught a look that had quickly spread across Sunset's face. "You do not wish for me to leave, do you?"
"No, it's just that...I know that you're needed on your home world. After finding out that you're a goddess, you're absence has probably thrown some things there out of whack," Sunset explained before her face fell and she glanced to the side. "But I am going to miss you. Miss our training sessions or just...hanging out and talking. You're my teacher...and I'd like to think that you're my friend."
"Of course we are friends, Sunset. And you are still my prized pupil," Diana said as she rose and walked over to Sunset, placing a hand on her shoulder while giving the girl a confident smile. "You have learned much from me and have shown yourself to be incredibly skilled. I have no doubt that you will do a fine job keeping this world safe, even after I have left it."
"If you believe in me that much, then I'm certain that there is nothing that I can't do...just don't ask me to go winning any obstacle races," Sunset joked, getting a smile out of Diana before glancing across her desk and seeing a sheet of paper that made her eyes widen. "You're going to be stop being a teacher?"
"Yes, Sunset. I told you, that once the barrier is complete you will no longer-"
"But the barrier spell won't be complete for at least another week! But that resignation is for today!" Sunset argued as she shot to her feet. "You still have another week to teach us, to impart some of your knowledge upon us and-"
"Sunset." Diana's tone silenced any further argument, but Sunset did glare to the side as she glanced at the floor. "Sometimes I think it was a mistake for me to take on the roll of a teacher here. How many of you have I put in danger because I brought Hades' forces here? The battle with Zod, and his desire to hurt all of you...perhaps I should have kept my distance and simply helped from the sidelines. You would all be safer that way."
"No, I wouldn't be safer! I would be dead!" Sunset screamed at Diana, who was taken aback by the sudden outburst of emotion. "You remember what I was like when you first showed up! If you hadn't been here, hadn't helped me when you did, then that nightmare would have been the death of me! One way or another!"
"And then there's all the students that you helped as well! Dash has never had her grades that high until you gave her a kick in the pants! And if you hadn't taught me how to fight, that skull knight would have dragged me to the depths of the underworld and there would have been nothing that I could do! You have helped us so many times, but now you just want to quit?!" Sunset bellowed. She glared at Diana for a few moments afterwards, before the cool gaze of Diana was enough to bring her back to her senses.
"I'm sorry, I just...I don't know what came over me," she apologized before shaking her head and walking towards the door. "I guess...that I'm not ready to say goodbye to you. Not yet." Diana's face softened as she walked over to the girl, gently wrapping her arms around Sunset and pulling her into a hug.
"I will not be gone forever, Sunset. And even with the barrier up, I still will be able to visit," Diana promised the girl. "And even if I cannot, perhaps you can visit me. I can introduce you to my friends and allies, perhaps even the other gods, provided they're in a good mood and Zeus is as far away from you as possible. It is not goodbye, though. It's just farewell until next time."
"Yeah...you're right," Sunset agreed as she broke free of Diana's grip. "It's been nice, though. Being a student once again. And I don't mean like a school student, I-"
"I know what you mean," Diana said before walking to her desk and taking her resignation off of it. "And I have truly enjoyed having you as my student. You have given me faith that there are those out there who will listen to knowledge and reason, instead of just force. There are too many of those kind of people in both worlds."
"Yeah...come on, I want to go with you when you turn it in," Sunset said. Diana nodded and the two left the room to head for the principal's office. Neither of them spoke along the way, for Diana was too busy thinking about what Hades' next move might be, while all Sunset could think about was what life would be like without her teacher to guide her. But the two hadn't even made it past the front entrance before Diana was immediately on guard.
"This is...bizarre," she said in an concerned tone as she glanced around. "Even though no students showed up for my class...for the whole school to be completely empty...something is very wrong!"
"Indeed it is you fool. Come to the back of the school," a voice said from all around them at once, a voice that Sunset and Diana knew all too well. "There you will find your precious students and faculty. And you will also find your graves."
"Diana...that's the nightmare," Sunset said in a horrified whisper, and from the expression on Diana's face she knew it as well. Diana let her lasso crack before circling it around her, transforming her into the Spirit of Truth. She grabbed hold of Sunset and rocketed out of the school, circling around to the back where both she and Sunset were stunned by what they saw.
The entire student body and the teachers were all trapped within crystal-like spheres, spheres that floated in the sky like shining balloons. But the two's attention was quickly drawn away from the trapped people to the cloaked being that stared up at them from the center of the track course, motioning for them to join him.
"When we land, stay behind me. Let me deal with him," Wonder Woman instructed Sunset as she started her descent. The pair landed and Wonder Woman released Sunset, handing her sword to the girl before she advanced upon the nightmare. "So you're back, are you? I see that the hole I punched through your chest has healed nicely."
"Indeed, you did manage to gain an advantageous position over me the last time we...conflicted," the nightmare agreed before glancing around at all of the trapped people. "But now you are under my control. My will. And if you do not do as I say, then I will bring about the deaths of all those around you. I'd prefer not to, as there is only one...two beings here that I want dead. And that is the both of you."
"Doubtful. How did you manage to get the drop on me?" Diana demanded. "I was with Sunset and Athena was watching over the others. How did you-?
"How indeed?" the being asked before it held out its hand, revealing a bloodied owl that had been ripped to pieces. "A god this creature is not. And do not worry, you shall both be joining it soon."
"Hate to break it to you, but neither of us are dying today," Wonder Woman snarled as she walked towards the nightmare. "But before I tear your head off of your body, I'm going to give you a chance. You tell me what you are and what you're doing, what you're really doing, and perhaps I won't send you to Hades."
"As if that fool could contain one such as myself. But seeing as you will soon be dead, I do not see any disadvantage to increasing what little knowledge you have," the nightmare sneered beneath its hood. "I have no name. Some call me god. Some call me architect. The annoying silver one calls me Maestro. All of them are accurate. As for my purpose...it is as I said. I wish to see what would happen. If a person died in a world. If a person lived. If they never existed at all."
"Have you seen what your world would have been like if Superman had never arrived on Earth? If he had been sucked into a black hole? It is truly fascinating. In some versions all of you die to the forces of evil. In others you become the very evil that you swore to fight. In one Shazam took on the mantel of Superman. And it was just as if Superman never appeared. Now imagine all the other heroes and villains. Yes, I have seen many different ways your world could have played out. Along with uncountable others."
"And you're the reason for each of those changes, aren't you?" Wonder Woman growled. "You sent Superman into the black hole. You probably influenced the world so that we would become villains. How many did you kill just to see what would happen?"
"I stopped counting eons ago," the Maestro answered. "And no, I do not interfere all the time. Only when I must see how an outcome would be arrived at. Such as what would happen to this world...if Sunset had died." As he said this he turned his cloaked head towards Sunset, who pointed her blade at his chest. "But you have ruined my dream. This world has been far too altered by your arrival. Now I will have to wait until another world like this one appears. And then I shall kill that Sunset."
"Like hell you will!" Wonder Woman roared as she clashed her bracelets together, sending lightning crackling between them. She then drew two blades made of the living lightning from her bracelets, swinging them each before she started to advance upon the Maestro. "You will never harm another living being again. Because today I'm bringing you down."
"Will you now? I will love to see try. Struggle. Fail." Wonder Woman let out a roar as she lunged forward, plunging one of her blades into the Maestro's chest. Annoyance flashed across her face when her foe phased out of reality, appearing behind her a second later. He fired a blast of his shattered energy at her, which she managed to deflect in time with her bracelets.
"You cannot win this fight, Wonder Woman," the Maestro informed her as he crossed his arms. Wonder Woman responded by swinging her swords at his head, which he ducked under to avoid being decapitated. "I have already won. I am simply allowing you to think that you have a chance of beating me before crushing your hopes."
"Really? Because all you're doing is dodging!" Wonder Woman roared as the Maestro teleported away again. But this time Diana was ready for him. She spun around and stuck out her leg, catching the Maestro right on the jaw when he phased back into reality. His head was snapped back by the force of the kick and was sent spiraling into the dirt. Wonder Woman was upon him in an instant and grabbed him by his coat before hoisting him up.
"And just like that the battle is over," Wonder Woman said in a tone like ice before bringing her sword back. "Now then, you would like a chance to pray before I-"
"GRAH!" The second she heard the cry of pain Wonder Woman spun around and glanced up at one of the crystal bubbles, which had constricted around one of the students to the point where it was crushing them.
"Stop your magic, monster!" Diana roared as she turned her attention back to the Maestro.
"What do you think I have been doing?" A look of confusion crossed Diana's face, but after a moment it was Sunset who let out a gasp.
"No...you don't mean..."
"Yes I do. This "magic" as you call it, is constantly trying to crush those within the spheres. The only thing stopping them from doing so is my power," the Maestro informed Wonder Woman, who gazed down at the being with horror. "So kill me. Destroy me. End me. If you do, there will be no one who can stop those within from being crushed."
Wonder Woman sneered before she punched the Maestro to the ground. She then launched herself to the sky, driving her blade into the side of one of the spheres. But to her amazement the sword failed to even scratch the surface of the sphere.
"Did you think that because you could hurt this form that you could destroy my power? This form is weak. My power is unlimited. Now come back down here, before I decide to kill all of them." With no other current options, Diana descended down towards the Maestro, knowing full well that he was smiling under his hood. "Now, I could force you to stand still and simply be killed by me, but I have thought of something more fair. Even. Cruel."
"Out with it, you bastard," Wonder Woman spat.
"I am going to have you fight a foe. A battle that will decide the fate of all those who are within these spheres," the Maestro explained. "Do not worry for their safety, because win or lose I will free them. I do not want them dead. But know that the only way this battle ends is when either you or your foe is dead."
"Are you trying to use my nobler side against me? Bring on your monsters or forces of evil, I will defeat them all," Wonder Woman said before pointing her blade at Maestro.
"You are willing to kill them? Good. Now then, allow me to introduce your opponent." The Maestro then stepped off to the side, revealing the person that had been standing behind him. She had red and yellow hair, wore a black leather jacket and was holding Diana's sword in her grasp.
"No..." Wonder Woman whispered as both her and Sunset's eyes widened, a soul chilling water pouring into their souls as they realized what the Maestro had done. "You..."
"Yes, I do. For the only way for you to save these precious students of yours is if you fight your student in combat. In battle. To the death."
"No..." Diana whispered once more as she and Sunset gazed at each other, neither knowing what to do. "No, no you bastard! I won't do it!" Wonder Woman bellowed before she turned upon the Maestro and swung her blade at his head. The being simply phased out of existence, appearing across the field from Wonder Woman with a shake of his head.
"Fool. Can you not understand?" the Maestro asked as Wonder Woman prepared to attack him once more. "These people will die if you slay me. Or even if I decide to leave. The only way for you to save them is to fight your student to the death. If you refuse, I will kill all of them. If you attack me again, I will kill all of them and then Sunset. Am I clear?"
"If you think for a moment that I would dare to raise my blade against Sunset, then you are far more delusional than I believed!" Wonder Woman bellowed as she clashed her swords together and created bolts of lightning that arced across the metal. "I'll find another way, no matter how hard it seems. Because I don't-"
CRACK!
Sickening horror creeped up Wonder Woman's spine as she gazed up at one of the spheres, which had shrunken considerably in a matter of seconds and had crushed the person within. The person inside was laying within the sphere motionless, and Wonder Woman didn't need her super vision to know what had happened. Wonder Woman turned her focus back towards the Maestro, the wrath of Zeus and Ares blazing in her eyes.
"If you do not start fighting, then I shall start crushing all of the spheres. Now fight!" Maestro demanded.
"Never. I swear I'll-"
"GGGRRRRAAAAHHHH!!"
Wonder Woman spun around at the cry, expecting to see that Maestro had carried out his threat. But what she saw was far more terrifying than the Maestro could ever be. For what Wonder Woman saw was Sunset Shimmer descending towards her, blade held high and violence flashing in her eyes. Wonder Woman raised her blade just in time to intercept the blow, holding back the struggling Sunset as she tried to force Wonder Woman's blade down.
"Sunset! What in the name of the gods are you doing?!" Diana asked her student. But Sunset gave no reply. Instead she took a step back before thrusting the sword towards Diana's midsection. Wonder Woman spun her second blade down and parried the attack, but Sunset swung the blade back around and aimed at Wonder Woman's head. "Sunset, what has come over you?!" Diana asked as she used her bracelet to deflect the blow.
"We...we have to fight..." Sunset said weakly, closing her eyes as she glanced away from Wonder Woman. "Don't you see that? We have...to fight to the death. Or else he'll kill all of them."
"No he won't! I promise that I'll find a way to stop him!" Wonder Woman said, but when Sunset glanced up at Wonder Woman there was a light in Sunset's eyes--a light that she had never seen in her prized pupil before.
"I know you will. But how many people will he kill before you can?" Sunset asked in a whisper. Wonder Woman opened her mouth to reply, but then she glanced over at the Maestro with uncertainty. "Diana, we have to fight. At the very least, it will buy time until you can think of something. But if you can't..." Sunset began before giving Diana a tear-filled smile. "I truly enjoyed being your student. The last thing I can do before I die...is show you how much I have learned from you. So come on Diana. Let's go all out. Have an actual fight between the two of us."
Sunset took up the fighting stance that Diana had taught her so long ago, letting out a sigh as she made peace with her decision. She then screamed as loud as she could before racing towards Diana, blade held high as she prepared to strike.
"No." Wonder Woman flipped her blades around in her hands and drove their tips into the ground. She then knelt down and placed her hands upon her knees, closing her eyes as she heard Sunset approach. Sunset skidded to a halt in front of her teacher, gazing down at her with confusion.
"Diana, what are you doing?! We have to fight or-"
"No we do not. Maestro said that he would let the people go when one of us is dead. I will not let anyone else die...but I cannot kill you," Diana said in calm voice. "So strike me down. Free the students and staff. It will be my penance for not killing this evil when I had the chance."
Sunset stared down at Diana, who hadn't moved since she had knelt down. Sunset gazed from her teacher to her sword, not knowing what to do. Tears then ran down her face as she lifted the blade over her head, taking aim at the back of Diana's neck. For a long, silent moment, nothing dared to move. Then Sunset let out a scream as she hurled her blade on the ground.
"I can't...I'm so sorry..." she sobbed as she backed away. Her words snapped Wonder Woman's eyes open and in a moment she was on her feet, gazing down at Sunset.
"Sunset, you have to. It's for the sake of-"
"And you called me cruel and evil, Princess. Yet it seems that you are the most heartless of us all." Wonder Woman snapped her head over towards the Maestro, who had walked closer to the pair. "Trying to make Sunset Shimmer kill you in cold blood? Even I can tell that's evil."
"You said that you would only free the students when one of us was dead. And I will not kill her," Wonder Woman informed the Maestro.
"But if she kills you, then you will have damned her to a worse fate than death," the Maestro replied. "Do not believe me? Just take a look at your 'oh-so-precious' student." Wonder Woman did as the Maestro asked, finding Sunset kneeling on the ground with tears streaming down her face as she looked away from Wonder Woman.
"You took her in at her weakest. Helped not only heal her physically, but emotionally as well. Always believing in her and helping her to better herself. Being the loving teacher that she has sought to make proud for so long," the Maestro said, with Wonder Woman beginning to get the picture. "Your teachings, the time you have spent together and your relationship are everything to her, everything that she has sought. And now you are asking her to kill you. And I thought I was...heartless."
"Sunset..." Wonder Woman whispered weakly, but her student looked away from her with a sob.
"If she killed you, it would destroy her. Sunset would still die, but her body would physically live on," the Maestro finished with a small chuckle. "Leaves you in quite the interesting predicament. You do not wish to kill her, but if she kills you she will be forever destroyed. But if neither of you kill the other..." Another cracking sound could be heard and Wonder Woman glanced behind her to see that another sphere had contracted, killing the person within.
Wonder Woman gazed from the motionless body to her student, her heart being torn to pieces as she made the hardest decision of her life. She then closed her eyes in acceptance before pulling both her blades from the ground.
"Sunset." Sunset looked up in time to see one of Diana's godly blades embed itself into the dirt before her. Sunset then looked up at Wonder Woman, whose eyes could not be seen under her bangs. "Take the blade Sunset. Because this will be your final test." Sunset slowly rose to her feet and pulled the blade out from the dirt, sorrow spreading across her face as she took up a fighting stance.
"Because in this test, you will fight me. To the death," Wonder Woman said softly as she took up her own fighting stance. "If you are to even hope to win this battle...then you will have to use everything I have taught you along with what tricks you have. Fight your hardest and do not hesitate to strike. For I will be using all of my skill to fight you as well."
"Diana..." Sunset tried to argue, but Wonder Woman shook her head to cut her off.
"Fight as hard as you can, Sunset. For them. I know you'll make me proud."
Tears stained Sunset's eyes once more before she looked past Wonder Woman at all of her fellow students and the teachers, all of whom were gazing down upon the scene with terror in all of their eyes. Terror for their lives...and also terror for what was about to happen. Sunset closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, before charging forward with a bellow. Wonder Woman brought up her blade to defend herself, sparks flying as the twin blades of lightning clashed.
Wonder Woman then pushed Sunset back with a small effort before hurling a kick at the girl's head. Sunset rolled under the kick and slashed at Wonder Woman's ankles, but by the time the blade reached where Wonder Woman had been standing, she was already flying over Sunset.
Sunset hurled herself out of the way as Wonder Woman slammed her fist into the ground, creating an earthquake that could be felt for miles. The shockwave generated by the punch hurled Sunset across the field, but her training kicked in and she managed to roll to avoid any serious damage. But the moment she was back upon her feet, Wonder Woman was upon her, unleashing a flurry of sword strikes that Sunset could barely deflect.
With Sunset so focused upon the sword strikes, she never saw Diana's knee coming until it had slammed into her gut and lifted her feet off of the ground. Sunset let out a gagging sound as she collapsed to her knees, but even in the incredible pain she was in she managed to catch movement out of the corner of her eyes. She rolled just in time to avoid the tip of Wonder Woman's blade, which plunged itself into the ground where she had been just a moment before.
'This really is the final test,' Sunset realized as she fought through the pain and pushed herself back to her feet. Wonder Woman attacked in a flurry of strikes once more, forcing Sunset back as the student did everything in her power to deflect or dodge the blows. 'She's fighting to kill. Please Diana, tell me that you have another plan and you're just stalling until you can enact it. I don't think...that I can kill you. Please...don't ask that of me.'
'Dammit it all, what can I do?!' Wonder Woman bellowed within the confines of her mind as she tried to think of some strategy, some solution, that would allow her to avoid fighting Sunset while being able to save everyone else. 'Maestro's spheres are created by him, but they naturally shrink unless he uses his power to stop them. Is that the truth or just a bluff?'
Diana kicked Sunset hard in the ribs and sent her crashing into the ground, where Sunset spat out a bit of blood before shakily picking herself back up. In the moment Sunset was getting up, Wonder Woman glanced over at the spheres and the two that were already dead. 'That's a risk that I can't take. Even if he's lying, I don't know how many he will kill before I can stop him...if I can stop him. Think Diana! It's only a matter of time before he realizes that I'm holding back!'
"You know Diana, I should thank you, I suppose," Maestro said from the sidelines, turning Diana's focus to him. "Because this is a far more interesting outcome than I expected would ever have come from simply killing Sunset. I must prepare myself for disappointment, when the world where I kill Sunset does not provide such results." The Maestro's words caused Wonder Woman to see red and for a moment she pointed her blade at him.
"You listen well, bastard. I promise you that-ARGH!" Wonder Woman cried out as pain lanced along her side. She leapt back while holding a hand to her side, shocked to see blood when she removed it. She then glanced up at Sunset, who had a look of horror on her face as well as Wonder Woman's blood upon her sword. For a moment Diana gazed at her student in disbelief before a small smile crossed her face.
"You do not wish to fight. You don't want to kill me. But the moment that your foe is distracted, you go for blood," Diana whispered to herself as she took up her fighting stance once more. "You never fail to make me proud, Sunset. So I pray...that you can forgive me."
With a roar of her own Wonder Woman then hurled herself forward, unleashing all of her power upon Sunset. Sunset managed to deflect the first sword strike, but the sheer force of the blow knocked her off of her feet and sent her flying. She crashed into the ground, pain coursing through her body as she slowly sat up to see Wonder Woman slowly marching upon her.
Sunset let out a shriek as she rose and lunged at Wonder Woman, who ducked under her strike before slamming her fist into Sunset's leg. The leg gave out immediately and Sunset crumpled to the ground. She managed to hold onto enough of her senses to raise her sword to deflect the next strike from Diana, creating more sparks as the two blades forged by the gods collided.
'Can't...hold out...' Sunset realized as she deflected another strike from Diana, her arms screaming in agony as they tried to stand up to the force of a goddess. 'Diana...if you have a plan...do it now. Because if you don't...I can't...much longer...'
'I can't think of anything. Athena help me, I can't think of anything,' Wonder Woman realized as she slammed her blade into Sunset's, the force dropping Sunset to her back. 'I can't stop Maestro...I can't break through his spheres, not before he's had the chance to kill all of them. What can I do?' Diana let out a roar as she swung her blade once more and Sunset brought her blade up to intercept once again. But as the blades collided, something happened that neither could predict. And that was Sunset's sword shattered under the force of the impact.
A blast of lightning erupted from the destroyed sword and forced Wonder Woman back for a moment, but after the lightning faded she glanced down to see Sunset lying beaten and exhausted upon the ground.
"It seems that the battle is over," the Maestro said. "Now kill her or I will kill all of them." Wonder Woman glanced over her shoulder at the Maestro, able to see that the spheres were already beginning to shrink. With sorrow and regret tearing apart her very being, Wonder Woman gazed down at her student. But there was no fear or pain in Sunset's eyes. There was only a smile on her face.
"I guess...you win...no surprise there," Sunset said weakly with a small laugh. "Guess...the test is over...so before...I move on...how'd I...do?" she asked with kindness and understanding in her eyes, no hatred towards Wonder Woman for what she was about to do.
"You...did amazingly," Wonder Woman managed to choke out as she lifted her blade over Sunset, pointing it down towards her. "Even when I used nearly all of my power...you still kept fighting. You never gave in. I couldn't be any prouder of you."
"That's all...I ever...wanted," Sunset whispered before closing her eyes, a smile of contentment upon her face. Diana then glanced over her shoulder at the shrinking spheres, to the hooded face of the Maestro, before then gazing back down at the smile on her student's face. A single tear fell from Diana's eyes as she softly whispered a prayer. And then she struck.
Even with her eyes closed, Sunset knew what the warm liquid was that sprayed all over her body. But what she didn't understand was why she didn't feel any pain from the killing blow. After a few moments, she opened her eyes to see what had happened...and the very first image she saw brought horror to her soul.
"Diana...DIANA!" Sunset screamed as she shot to her feet, racing over to Diana who was on her knees and soaked with blood. Sunset covered her mouth in horror as she gazed at Diana's blade, which had been driven through her chest up to the hilt. "Oh God, what did you do?! Why did you-?!"
"Because...the battle can only end...when one of us dies," Wonder Woman said in a whisper. Sunset knelt down next to Wonder Woman and leaned her teacher against her body, supporting her as best she could as she pulled the sword from Diana's body and hurled it to the side.
"But why? You had won! You should have..." Sunset said, tears pouring from her eyes. "We still need you! Who's going to stop Hades?! Who's going to get back at the Maestro...why? Why didn't you kill me?" Wonder Woman turned her head to gaze at Sunset, a warm smile on her face as she reached up and placed her hand upon Sunset's cheek.
"How...could I? You are...my beloved student...even with...Hades...and Maestro...I could never...hurt you," Wonder Woman weakly said, her face growing paler and paler. "Your life...is worth...so much more...than mine ever could be. You are...the future...of this world. You will go...so far...beyond me. You are...a light...for...others."
Wonder Woman then fell over weakly, collapsing into the blood soaked ground all around her feet. "Diana? DIANA?!" Sunset screamed as she shook Wonder Woman, who was barely moving. But even as she felt the last of her strength leave her, as she felt the cold grip of Hades slowly clasp around her soul, she still found the will to smile at Sunset one last time.
"I am...so proud...of you...and I...always will be. In life...or in death," Wonder Woman said with all of her strength. "And if I die...so you can live...then it is a death...worth dying. Be strong, Sunset. Be kind...be brave...be...yourself. You are...my special...and beloved...student...thank...you..."
Sunset's heart went cold as Diana closed her eyes and her hand slid off of Sunset's cheek, weakly hitting the grass. For the longest moment, neither time moved nor did sound dare to interrupt the silence. Then Sunset let out a wail to the sky, hurling herself over the motionless body of her teacher and sobbing with all of her sorrow.
For Wonder Woman...Diana...was dead.
Despite still being trapped within the spheres and at the mercy of Maestro, not one of the people that were trapped had any thought of concern for themselves. For all of them were either too stunned or filled with sorrow at what they had just witnessed. Every eye in the entire area was fixed upon the motionless body of Wonder Woman and the sobbing Sunset Shimmer, who had yet to leave her teacher's side.
"Truly remarkable. I did not think for a moment that the annoyance would take her own life to spare yours," the Maestro remarked with pleasure in his voice. "There is nothing I love more than an unpredictable outcome. Seeing as Wonder Woman is dead...I supposed I should hold up my end of the deal." The Maestro then flashed the spheres a look, and one by one they lowered to the ground, popping on impact as if they were as fragile as actually bubbles.
"But with that annoyance out of the way," the Maestro continued as he walked up behind Sunset and aimed his hand at the back of her head, his shattered power forming in his grasp, "it is time that I dealt with the other one. You have been alive far longer than I should have allowed. Time to remedy that."
"NO!" Sunset's friends screamed as they all raced to their friend, but at the speed they were going they would be too late. The power formed into a sphere in the Maestro's hand as he prepared to fire, but then stopped as he looked off to the side. A snarl escaped from him while he brought his hand back, ceasing his power and confusing those who were watching.
"Thank the Lord of the Dead, Sunset. He has bought you a little more time to live," the Maestro informed Sunset, who made no indication that she had heard him. The Maestro then glanced down at the dead body of Wonder Woman and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he found a reason to be happy. "But today has not been a complete loss. Failure. Disaster. We shall meet again, Sunset, and far sooner than you would believe."
As the Maestro faded out of their reality, Sunset's friends slowly approached Sunset. She had stopped sobbing, but she hadn't moved from where she knelt next to her teacher. The six came to a stop close to the girl, none of them knowing what to say or even where to begin.
"Sunset," Twilight began weakly. "Are you...no, of course you're not. Sunset...oh God, Sunset, I'm so sorry." Sunset said nothing to her friends. She continued to kneel next to Wonder Woman with her hair obstructing her face. Twilight reached out to place her hand on Sunset's shoulder, but then she stopped and pulled it back with sorrow-filled eyes.
"I...I can't believe she's gone," Pinkie said with her own tears streaming down her face.
"I can't believe what she did to save Sunset," Rainbow Dash said with respect and sorrow in every word.
"She gave her life fer Sunset and us. Ah expected nothing less from her," Applejack agreed.
"I think...she has more than earned our respect," Twilight said softly, every student and teacher nodding in agreement. For twenty minutes, no one dared to speak. Students and teachers gathered around Diana, none of them with dry eyes. Then, to the group's horror, Diana started to fade away. Her body crumbled as if she were made of sand or dirt, and after a few seconds there was nothing more than a pile of dust. That was all that remained of their teacher.
None of the students knew how to respond to what they had just seen. Most didn't even try. Instead, they hung their heads and cried over the loss, not just Diana's, but the others that had been killed by Maestro. All focused on the pain. All except for Celestia.
"What do we do now?" she eventually asked, turning every head towards her. "Diana was the only one that could fight back against Hades' forces. She was the only one that could stop him. The barrier isn't ready. So what's stopping Hades from simply sending another of his forces here and taking the seven of you."
"We're here! We'd fight!" Rainbow Dash said with as much strength as she could muster. The other girls agreed with her, but when they looked down at Sunset for her support, she responded with silence.
"And you would lose," Luna said in a far more emotional tone than her sister. "You saw what Zod was capable of. How many of those kinds of souls does Hades have? We could not hope to stop one. What if he sent all of them? The only reason that Hades doesn't have your magic...is because he has chosen not to claim it yet."
"Magic." Every head snapped towards Sunset, the person that had spoken the word. She slowly lifted her head to show that tears were still pouring from her eyes, but those eyes now held a fire within them...and it was a fire that made her friends back away from her slightly. "Magic...that's the key."
"Key to what?" Fluttershy barely managed to squeak out. Sunset then rose to her feet and turned around to look at her friends. But the look in her eyes immediately put her friends on guard, because they had never seen the look that Sunset now wore upon her face.
"Do any of you remember the reason that Diana came to our world in the first place? The reason she decided to become a teacher?" Sunset asked her friends, who only shook their heads numbly, far too shocked to think straight. "It was because Hades had killed one of Diana's friends, someone that she cared about. And then he made her a deal."
"Sunset..." Applejack whispered with horror spreading across her face, catching onto what Sunset was thinking. "Ya can't be-"
"He offered her a trade. The life of her friend...for six magical powers," Sunset finished, getting a gasp out of everyone around her. She then glanced around with eyes that seemed mad. "Diana is dead. She never got to complete the trade. She didn't want to. But now...HADES! If you can hear me, then answer!...I have a deal for you."
As if on command, a vortex of blackness opened ten feet in front of Sunset, getting the students to jump back with shock. But the only change to Sunset when she saw the portal was a smile crossed her face, a smile that her friends had not seen since her evil days. And then Sunset began to walk towards the portal.
"What the hell are ya thinking?!" Applejack screamed as she reached out and grabbed hold of Sunset's arm, stopping the girl in her tracks. Sunset slowly turned her head around to glare over her shoulder at Applejack, her stare making Applejack's heart go cold.
"You know exactly what I'm thinking," Sunset replied in a whisper as she yanked her arm out of Applejack's grasp. She then took another step towards the portal, but this time Applejack ran around in front of Sunset and held her arms out to the side to obstruct her path.
"Well, there's no way ah'm gonna let ya go! And if ya want to, ya have to go through me!" Applejack challenged with fire in her eyes. "Diana just gave her life fer ya, to keep ya safe from Hades! And now ya want to go marching right up to the monster that's been after ya this entire time?! Don't be stupid! This is what he wants! Don't let Diana's death be fer-"
In a flash of movement Sunset was upon Applejack, slamming her hand into Applejack's throat before clenching her fingers and hoisting the girl up with one arm. Applejack gagged as she struggled against Sunset, but her attempts were useless against Sunset's greater strength.
"Sunset! What are you doing?!" her friends screamed at her, but Sunset ignored them as she tightened her grip.
"Do not think for a moment I have forgotten why Diana gave her life...killed herself...to save me," Sunset whispered with such menace that Applejack's eyes shrunk with fear. "It was because I was weak. Because I needed saving. If I had the strength to kill the nightmare myself...then she would have never needed to die. But as long as I have the smallest chance to save her, like she did me, then I'll take it."
Sunset then hurled Applejack behind her, where Applejack slammed into the ground with a cry of pain. AJ's friends rushed to her side and slowly helped her up, while Applejack gazed at Sunset with disbelief and sorrow in her eyes. Sunset glared over her shoulder at the group, rage and pain flooding her eyes. But then the gaze softened to that of regret and she looked away from them.
"I'm sorry. But I have to do this. She saved me so many times. I have to save her...I have to try...no matter the cost." Sunset then raced ahead into the portal, ignoring the screams from her friends in the process. The moment she entered it her entire body felt like she was being pulled apart and put back together. But despite the unyielding pain, she remained focused.
'This time I will save you.'
=wWw=
A groan escaped Sunset's lips as she opened her eyes, finding herself laying face down on a cold floor. She slowly pushed herself up and looked down to find that the floor was not only cold, but it held within it the faces of people writhing in pain. A yelp escaped her lips as she sprang to her feet and backed up, but everywhere she glanced faces of torment gazed out at her from beneath the sickly, green flooring.
"Forgive me, I did not expect to have a guest today and did not have time to cover them up. Come, Sunset." Sunset glanced up to see that there was only one place the voice could have come from, and that was from the massive door before her. Sunset stole her courage as she began to walk forward, walking past statues of bones that would have terrified the hell out of her at any other time. But she knew why she was down there. And she pressed on.
The door opened before her to reveal a massive chamber, with a black throne made of bones that rested upon the center. Around the room constructed of souls were windows that allowed her to gaze out upon a burning landscape, where the souls of those trapped within screamed and cried out for help. And as much as it pained her to do so, Sunset ignored them and instead focused on the figure in the center of the room.
He wore black armor, armor that made Sunset's stomach turn just to look at. But as terrifying as his armor was, the expression upon his pale face was far more menacing. Because when Sunset looked into the face that smiled like the sun, she knew that she stood no chance against the being before her. She could feel the power, the unstoppable might, that radiated off of him. Just like she had felt from Diana when she had fought Zod. Sunset she was in the presence of a god.
"Sunset Shimmer. You have been causing me quite a bit of trouble lately. Please, sit." As Hades said this, a second chair of bones erupted out of the floor, right behind Sunset. For a moment she considered saying no, but with Diana's life on the line she didn't dare do anything to upset the god. So with as much courage as she could muster once more, she sat upon the chair.
"I must admit, it is nice to finally meet you in person. How are you doing by the way? You look like you've been through a lot?" Hades asked as he sat down across from her on his throne, but all Sunset responded with was a stone faced silence. "Right to business, eh? I can respect that. Now then, I believe that you are here because you have a deal for me?"
"T-that's right," Sunset stammered out, doing everything in her power to keep her fear from overtaking her. "A trade. The soul of Wonder Woman...Diana...for my magic." A thin smile creased Hades' face as he held out his hand. A bright light illuminated around it and a moment later a sphere of radiant light appeared within his grasp. Even though it was nothing more than a ball of light, Sunset knew what, or rather at whom, she was looking.
"Diana..." she whispered.
"Indeed. And I am interested in your offer. Because, as you said, I made another offer to Wonder Woman so many months ago," Hades said in a calm tone. He then smiled at Sunset and in that moment, Sunset considered running for her life. "The magic that I have sought for quite a while...but I am sorry Sunset, I cannot accept your offer."
"What?! WHY?!" Sunset bellowed as she shot out of her chair, forgetting for a second to whom she was talking. Hades raised an eyebrow in response, but Sunset did not back down.
"Quite the fire within you. I can see why Diana was so impressed. The reason why, is because the deal is not complete," Hades explained as he entwined his fingers and leaned back in his seat. "For Diana, even though she is family, is one of my most hated foes. If you wished for me to return her to life, well...that would cost more than your magic. I would need the complete set."
Sunset's heart sank in her chest as she heard this, knowing now that Diana's soul would be lost to her forever. "I...I can't," she whispered as the sorrow tore apart her heart. "I can't trade you my friends. Myself...that's not an issue. But I won't give them or their magic up. I would never betray them like that."
"That's fine by me. Because it seems that they are more than willing." Sunset spun around to see all six of her friends standing at the entrance to the chamber. Most of them smiled at her, except for Rarity who gazed in horror at the décor, and Fluttershy, who simply gazed in horror. But within all of their eyes was the very same fire that Sunset held within hers, except a bit more noble.
"Guys...what are you all doing here?" she asked them as they walked over to her, with RD having to drag Fluttershy. "This...no, you can't be thinking what I think you're-"
"Of course we are. We want to save her just as badly as you," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk before she elbowed Sunset in the arm. "How am I supposed to show Diana up if she's dead?"
"We thought about what you said. We spent days doing it," Twilight informed Sunset, who looked over at Hades with confusion.
"Time moves here as fast or as slow as I wish," he informed her with a smile.
"And eventually we agreed that...you were right," Applejack said as she walked forward with a remorseful look upon her face. "Diana would have given everything to save us. She did give everything to save us. It's only fair...it's only right that we be willing to risk everything to save her."
"Yeah! Friends don't give up on each other! No matter what!" Pinkie said with a stern nod.
"Are...are you all sure that you're all okay with this? Giving up your magic?" she asked them. But as she glanced over each of her friends, they all smiled and nodded at her. Even Fluttershy, who went back to looking terrified the moment Sunset moved on down the row.
"We're by your side, Sunset. No matter what happens," Rarity said as she stepped forward, with the other girls doing the same, except for Twilight.
"I may not have magic, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit by and watch as my best friend takes on the Lord of the Dead. We'll always be by your side, even if we have to go to hell and back again...which is what we're doing right now," Twilight said with a beaming smile. "And we may not have Equestrian magic, but we'll have the greatest magic of all. Friendship."
"And that's all the magic that we need," Applejack continued, nodding at each of the five who stood with her. Sunset felt tears running down her face before she tackled the group, pulling them all into a hug. Despite there being six of them, she still managed to crush most of them with her strength.
"You guys are the best friends anyone could ask for," she said with tears as she held them tight. The group then broke the hug and all turned to face Hades, who watched on with a smile upon his face. "Hades, I want you to promise me this. If we give you the magic, do you swear to return Diana to life?"
"I swear it on the greatest of oaths that can bind a god," he promised. Figuring that was the best they were going to get, Sunset nodded to the other girls. They all grabbed hands and felt the magic channel within them. A rainbow aura surrounded them as they started to float into the air, bathing the land of the dead in a kindness and peace that it had not felt since its creation.
"Yes...finally, the power I have sought for so long," Hades said as he rose from his throne, extending his hand towards the magic. The girls then all screamed at once as they unleashed the rainbow upon Hades, who closed his eyes as he let its power consume him. A blinding light went off within the throne room and radiated across all of the underworld, filling its denizens with hope and power. But then the light faded and the darkness returned.
"Ugh...did, did it work?" Sunset asked as she picked herself off of the floor. But when she lifted her head, her eyes went wide as she gazed at Hades. His body shone with the power of the Elements, with each of their cutie marks engraved into his armor. The other girls slowly rose up along with Sunset, who gazed upon the god with fear.
"This...power. It is far greater...than I could have ever imagined," he whispered as he stared down at his hands, which had pulses of rainbow energy running through them.
"There. We've given you the power of the Elements," Sunset spat, gaining her Hades' attention as every girl glared at him. "Now fulfill your promise. Restore Diana to life!"
"Indeed I shall...but first, there is another promise that I must keep," Hades informed the girls, who were shocked by his words.
"Another promise? But to whom?" Sunset asked.
"Mine." The girls let out gasps as the Maestro appeared behind Hades. Hades then lifted his arm and fired a blast of magic that punched a hole clean though Sunset's chest. Her friends screamed in horror at the killing blow, but all Sunset did was slowly look down at the new hole in her chest with wide eyes. She then slowly lifted her head to Hades, who wore a smile upon his face.
"Di...an...a." Sunset then coughed up a bit of blood before collapsing to her knees, reaching out towards Hades before she fell over and lay motionless on the ground.
The deal is complete, Maestro. Sunset Shimmer is dead."
As Twilight and the other girls knelt down next to the motionless body of Sunset, they did everything in their power to try and save Sunset's life no matter how vain their efforts were. But even if they had their magic, they knew there was little chance they would be able to save her from such a wound. Without it? The cold realization dawned on them and they found themselves breaking down into tears, while Sunset stared ahead with blank eyes.
"Finally," the Maestro said with a very neutral tone, but only Hades turned to face him. "Finally, she is dead."
"Now you can see how this world plays out, just as you wanted," Hades said.
"Idiot. This world has been far too contaminated by your and Wonder Woman's interference," the Maestro spat at Hades, whose eyes narrowed dangerously before he let out a sigh and released the anger. "Watching Sunset die was more of a personal victory, you can say. There is glory in these small victories, after all."
"Indeed there are." The Maestro then shushed Hades as the darkness beneath the hood began to glow, making Hades raise an eyebrow in surprise as the Maestro went deathly silent. "I have never seen you do that before. Is something the matter?"
"It does not concern you. All that it means is a new development has occurred on another reality," the Maestro snapped at Hades before his whole body began to shimmer. "It is time I left this reality. Aside from watching Wonder Woman and Sunset die, there has been nothing enjoyable or illuminating about this place. Especially not you. I shall not miss it."
Hades didn't blink as the Maestro vanished into the nothingness, but the moment the being was gone Hades threw back his head and began to laugh. His laughter terrified every single deceased soul within the underworld, but none of the girls acknowledged the God of the Dead. They were too busy mourning.
"Finally, that infernal, egotistical jackass is gone," Hades said with a sigh of relief, before glancing over at the sobbing girls. A smile crossed his face and he extended his arm towards them, placing his forefinger on his thumb. "And with him finally gone..."
Hades then snapped his fingers with such force that the sound echoed across the fields of the damned. But the moment he did so, the hole within Sunset's chest repaired itself along with her clothes. Her eyes blazed with light before she sat up, taking in a deep breath before she started to shiver.
"W-what the hell just happened?" she stammered out as she stared down at her chest, which was perfectly healed. Her friends let out cries of joy before they all tackled her at once, but Sunset lifted her eyes towards the radiant Hades with confusion. "H-how? W-why?"
"You are in my world, Sunset. I decide who lives and dies down here," Hades said with a laugh before glancing back at where the Maestro had vanished. "Why? Because I have nothing against you. The only reason I "killed" you was to finally get rid of that idiot. I would have preferred to kill him, but I cannot. So, I will settle for spiting him instead."
"B-but I thought you promised..."
"Yes, I promised I would kill you. I never promised you would stay dead," Hades said with a laugh before pulling out Diana's soul. "Now then, I believe there is a second promise that I must fulfill."
"Wait..." Sunset spat out as she stood up on shaky legs. Applejack and Twilight each took one of her arms and draped them over their shoulders, helping Sunset stand as she glared down the God of the Dead. "I want...to adjust the deal. Promise me...you won't kill Diana...after you bring her back to life."
"Ah, you have learned that you have to be specific when dealing with a god. You have already shown that you are far smarter than that supposed studier of worlds," Hades said with another chuckle. "Very well, I promise that I shall not kill Diana unless she tries to stop me. But if she does, all deals go out the window."
Hades then slammed his hand into the ground and drew forth a body made of clay that looked just like Diana. He then snapped his fingers and her outfit, her bracelets and her lasso appeared around the clay body as well. Hades then took the sphere and plunged it into the heart of the clay body, before taking a step back as it began to glow with light.
"Your mother created you from clay. Now I shall do the same. Diana, live." The clay figure took its first breath as Hades said these words and collapsed to all fours, the clay turning to skin as Diana started to suck in breath after breath. Hades smiled down at Wonder Woman before he vanished in a flash of light.
"Diana!" Sunset called out as she broke free of her friends' grasp and raced over to her teacher, who was blinking through bleary eyes. Sunset tackled Wonder Woman with a huge hug, but she barely moved the lady with her impact. "You're alive! You're back!"
"I...am alive, that much is certain..." Diana muttered as she stood up as well, able to feel the strength of the gods flowing through her once more. She glanced down at her body to find that it was just the way she had been before the battle with Sunset. "Hades. Sunset...how am I alive? And why are we all...?" Realization crossed Wonder Woman's face as she glanced around the chamber, terror crossing her face when she could not find its ruler.
"We...traded the Elements. For your life," Sunset explained in a soft voice to Diana, who gazed down at her student with absolute terror flooding in her eyes. "It was the only way to save you! The only way to get you back after the Maestro forced you to kill yourself!"
"And so you gave your world's most powerful magic to the Lord of the Dead?!" Diana screamed at Sunset with disbelief, her tone surprising Sunset to the point where she took a step back. "Sunset...I cannot believe that you would do that. Of all the foolish, idiotic...I have to go. I have to get out of here."
"Why...?" Sunset asked weakly, but Diana said nothing as she walked by her student. But before she could get to the door, the other girls placed themselves between the door and Diana.
"Out of my way," Diana demanded. "You have no idea what Hades might be up to out there! I need to go before-" An explosion rocked the entire underworld, knocking all of them off of their feet. Diana was the first one up and she raced to the windows, where she gazed up in a terror that she never thought she would feel. For all of the souls in the underworld were being sucked into a vortex, a portal. And on the other side of the portal Diana could see Earth. Her Earth.
"Sunset...what have you done?" Diana asked her student with terror as she turned to face Sunset.
"I...I just wanted to-"
"Sunset...I am so disappointed," Wonder Woman said with a shake of her head. The girls gasped while Sunset's heart shattered, none of them saying anything when Wonder Woman raised her head once more and raced towards the exit. "I thought that I had taught you better. I never thought you would do something like this."
"Well, I'm glad I did."
Both the girls and Diana were stuck dumb by this statement. Diana slowly turned to face Sunset, who was glaring at the floor with her fists in knots. "I'm glad that I gave Hades the magic..."
"Sunset..." Diana asked with disbelief in every word. "How can you be glad for that? Hades now has unspeakable power! He is taking the souls of the dead and bringing them to the world of the living! What, in the name of the gods, could make you glad that-?!"
"Because it saved your life!" Sunset screamed back at Wonder Woman, silencing her teacher. "I don't care if bringing you back to life gave Hades that power! I don't care that you think it was the wrong decision! I don't care...that you're...disappointed with me," Sunset choked out weakly before the fire returned to her soul. "Because it saved you. And if that disappointment--your disappointment--is what I have to bear for saving you...then I can bear it."
"Sunset...there is more to this than my approval," Diana tried to tell Sunset. "What you have done-"
"Is something you should have done right from the beginning." If at all possible, the chamber seemed to grow colder at Sunset's words. Diana could only stare at her student with shock as Sunset forced herself to walk up to Diana and stare into her eyes, with her own eyes shining with the truth. "If there is one thing I have learned from being in the human world, it's that you never give up on your friends. No matter how bad things look or how high the risk...when one of them needs your help, you do everything in your power to help them."
"And you may have taught me to fight, how to be strong, and how to...live again, but they," Sunset said as she pointed at the girls, "showed me what true magic was. The magic of friendship. And ever since you have come here, ever since I discovered your reason for being brought here, I always disagreed with you not wanting to save your friend!"
"I wanted to!" Diana roared back, but Sunset held her ground. "But I would not risk you girls or your magic to restore him to life! The price was too high!"
"No, Diana. When your friends and those you care about are on the line, no price is too high," Sunset informed Diana before pointing to her friends. "We paid the price of our magic to save you. I almost paid with my life as well. But I assure you, that if we were given the choice again, each and everyone of us would save you again and again. Wouldn't we?"
"Yep.
"Of course."
"Darn tootin."
"Naturally."
"Friends always help each other!"
"Yes."
"See Diana?" Sunset asked Wonder Woman, who wore a look of uncertainty upon her face. "Friends will do anything for each other. Even if we have to give magic to a psycho, Lord of the Dead."
"But now Hades has your power...and Hera help me, I do not know if I have the strength to stop him," Diana admitted with a shake of her head. Sunset smiled up at Wonder Woman before giving her another hug.
"Didn't you hear what I just said? That's what friends are for, Diana. To help you when you need to kick the crap out of a psycho, Lord of the Dead. So how about it, girls? You want to help Diana kick the hell out of death?" The girls let out a battle cry as they raced around Diana, who couldn't help but smile as she gazed at their confident faces.
"I will bring you with me. You are safer with me than down here. But promise me, each of you, that you will leave the fighting to me," Diana asked them. When they all nodded with their hands behind their backs, Diana tapped into her godly power to tear open a hole in the underworld. She then took in a deep breath as she clashed her bracelets together before walking through the portal, afraid of what she would see on the other side.
=wWw=
It was worse than she could ever imagine. As Diana and the girls stepped through the portal, the very first sight that greeted their eyes was that of trillions of souls circling overhead. The souls blocked out the light of the sun and created black clouds that eternally covered the land.
"That...is downright terrifying," Rainbow Dash admitted as she and the other girls moved a little closer to each other for comfort.
"That is not terrifying. This is terrifying." The girls turned to where Diana was looking to see dozens of stone statues lining the area where they were standing.
"Diana...where are we?" Fluttershy asked with pure terror.
"As close to the top of Mount Olympus as I could get us," Diana informed the girls before she began to walk forward. "If there was any place we would find Hades after he conquered the world, it would be here."
"But how could he have conquered the world already?" Twilight asked as she and the girls followed Diana through the statues, glancing at them with fear. One of the statues was of a huge man with fins on his head and arms, laying on the ground and impaled upon his own trident.
"Poseidon," Sunset whispered.
"Time moves as fast as Hades wants in the underworld. He probably set it to move slower than my world, so by the time I escaped he would have already conquered this world," Diana explained as she started walking up a large staircase made of bones. She then glanced at one of the statues, a woman with a Spartan helmet and a look of rage upon her face. "I am so sorry Athena. I should have been here."
The girls followed Diana up the staircase, having to occasionally step over statues of fallen gods that Sunset named whenever they passed by them. "Hermes....Hephaestus...Zeus," she whispered with sheer terror as she spied the king of the gods chained on the edge of a cliff, where bolts of red lightning struck at him constantly. She shivered as she thought she heard his screams, racing forward a little fast before tripping over another statue.
"Who...?" she asked herself as she gazed at the stone being with pointy ears and a bat symbol on his chest.
"Are theses...gods?" Twilight asked as she stepped past a stone being that was pointing a ring at an unseen foe.
"If they are, I didn't learn about any of them," Rarity muttered as she walked past a stone human with a lightning bolt on his chest, who was frozen in stone and time.
"Hey Diana?" Pinkie asked as she gazed up into the face of a stone being, not sure if half his face was covered in a mask or was mechanical. "Do you know who these guys are?" Diana responded with silence as she continued to climb. The girls shared concerned looks before they followed after her. The group reached the top a few minutes later, where a large, circular platform that was home to a beautiful garden awaited them. For a brief moment, the girls were taken in by the beauty...before their eyes rested upon another statue in the center of the place.
"Come on. The entrance to the peak of Olympus is right over there," Diana said as she pointed to a cavern filled with light. She marched across the garden with a quickening pace, but all of the girls noticed that when she walked by this statue she averted her gaze for just a moment.
"So...think we stand a chance? Can we win?" Fluttershy asked as the group walked by the statue, following Diana.
"We don't have a choice, sugarcube. If we fail here, then not only will Diana's world be destroyed, but most likely ours eventually," Applejack said as she tipped her hat to avoid looking at the statue. Only Rainbow Dash stopped next to the statue as she passed it. Her gaze softened for a moment as she looked upon it and, for reasons she didn't know herself, she pressed her hand up against it for a moment.
"I can't but wonder...who were you guys?" she asked the stone being with the cape and the large "S" upon its chest. She then raced after the rest of the group, who were standing at the entrance to the Hall of the Gods.
"Are you all ready?" Diana asked the girls as she drew forth her electric blades from her bracelets.
"No," Fluttershy responded.
"Well at least you're being honest. Come on," Diana instructed. The group then walked through the entrance and emerged a moment later at the peak of the mountain. "Magic. That's how we got up here so fast," Wonder Woman told them before they could ask, before she glared up at what had once been the home of the gods. Where twelve thrones had once stood, now there was only one. The throne of Hades. And sitting atop the throne, was the dark god himself.
"Hades," Wonder Woman said with venom.
"Ah, Diana. I wondered when you would finally appear," Hades said with a laugh before rising from his throne and flying over the group. "Do you like what I've done with the world? It is finally they way it was supposed to be. Under my rule."
"What happened to your promise?! You promised to only use the magic to improve the underworld!" Diana roared up at Hades.
"That was indeed my promise. And I have fulfilled it. The dead now walk the Earth. There is now plenty of free, empty space in the underworld," Hades informed Diana with a laugh. "I have done exactly as I said I would do. Plus a little more. For you see, now the humans of Earth no longer have to worry about my arrogant older brothers, who would mess with them just for fun. There is only one god now. There is only Hades...Lord of Olympus!"
"Wrong." Hades glanced down at Diana, whose body radiated a crimson light that made Hades want to kill her then and there. "There is still one more. There is still one last god, goddess, that opposes you!" Wonder Woman then let out a scream that would wake the dead as she crossed her arms, summoning forth a helmet with ram horns atop it and a fur cap that was stained with the blood of countless wars. Diana threw her bracelets to the side, allowing her full, godly power to consume her. She then bellowed as she glared up at Hades with solid white eyes, the wrath of war flashing in her eyes.
"For that goddess is me! The Goddess of WAR!"
For a moment, Hades didn't say anything as he stared down his niece. But then a smile crossed his face before he lowered himself to the ground.
"Indeed you are right. There is one, last god that I must be rid of," Hades agreed before letting his own power flow. The Elements shone with their divine light as they fueled his body with their magic, creating an aura of peace and harmony that drowned out even the Goddess of War. "If you have any prayers Diana, then save them. For god will not answer them."
"You are the one who will be praying by the end of this," the Goddess of War roared. "For what you've done to my world, my allies...my student...you will pray to me for a quick and painless end to your existence. But it won't come. That is my promise to you."
"So you say, Diana. But I must admit, that I enjoy the irony in this," Hades said as he reached into the ground and pulled out a scythe filled with the power of the Elements. Diana roared as she created two portals and reached into them, pulling out a double-sided ax and a blade that belonged to her late master. "For today is the day that Death finally ascends to be king of all the gods."
"And what a better way to ring in the age of death...than with the bloodiest war?"
The Earth itself shook with fear as the Goddess of War collided with the God of Olympus. As scythe clashed with axe, the shockwaves generated from the blows tore apart the top of Olympus. Diana bellowed with fury unmatched as she clashed her blade against Hades' scythe, but the god barely faltered under her power. Instead, he smiled before pushing Diana back and driving the end of his scythe into the floor at his feet. A column of rainbow energy erupted from beneath him.
"You cannot hope to best me, my dear Diana," Hades informed Diana as she faltered under the unrelenting power of the Elements. "The power of the Elements is far greater than any power. Even that of the gods. And with its power added to my own..." But Diana refused to believe Hades' words while she used her axe to slice through the rainbow burst, hurling herself into the storm of magic with Ares' blade held high.
"You think yourself invincible with this power?!" Diana bellowed while she slashed down with all of her might. Hades let go of the scythe and held up a hand to grab the blade out of the air, holding the blade as Diana tried to force it through him. "You are no different than the other villains that I have faced! Believing yourself untouchable, until we come along and knock you down to size!"
"Indeed you are right, Diana. In the past, multiple foes of yours believed to have won long before their victory was truly secured. But in this case, I am different!" Hades laughed as he grabbed his scythe and swung at Diana, who barely ducked underneath the swing. Yet despite not hitting its intended target, the blade still cleaved through the clouds and the wave of souls that circled overhead, allowing a light of crimson hue to shine down from the equally crimson moon.
"I have chosen not to claim the rest of this world! Not until I had faced you and sent you to my realm once and for all!" Hades informed Diana as their blades collided once more. "I have bested the gods! I have turned your precious Justice League to stone! None who opposed me were able to defeat me! But I still did not consider my victory complete! Not until I faced you one last time."
"Then you are truly a fool!" Diana bellowed while she again clashed with Hades using both her sword and axe, hurling the God of Olympus backwards. She followed up her momentary advantage by slamming her blades into the floor, creating cracks filled with fire that erupted around where Hades stood. The God of Olympus let out a roar as the flames began to consume him. "For if you were not one, you never would have revived me. For even you must have known that I would not stop until you had been cast down once more."
"Yes, Diana. I knew full well that you would seek me out. I knew full well that our blades would cross." The scythe cleaved through the fire that was surrounding Hades and banished it from existence, revealing that the god was smiling. "I would not allow your death to be at the hands of the Maestro. A warrior such as yourself does not deserve to die by a coward's hands. You shall be slain by me. And only when you are truly dead at my feet, can I claim my true rule over the Earth."
"That's not going to happen!" Diana bellowed before clutching the axe close to her chest, muttering words into it. She then lunged at Hades with eyes blazing with war, strengthening her as she charged shoulder first into the God of Olympus. Despite the power of the Elements and his own godly might, Hades was still pushed back by the raw power of Wonder Woman. She then planted her feet with a roar, lifting Hades off of the floor and hoisting him into the air.
"I'm not dying! Not today! There are too many lives on the line! Lives that I will not surrender to you!" Diana bellowed as she spun and slammed Hades into the floor of Olympus. The decorated floor which had been forged by the gods themselves shattered under the force of Hades, and the damage became even greater when Diana slammed her boot into Hades' chest, pushing him further and further into the floor.
"That is a foolish way of thinking, Diana," Hades said with a laugh before he vanished into the darkness. Diana glanced around to where he could be, before she glanced down slowly to see the scythe around her throat. "Because all lives eventually succumb to me. Even yours."
Hades ripped the scythe back with all of his might, but through her life of fighting, Diana managed to bring her sword up in time to take the slash that would have cleaved her head from her body. The blade was not spared from the god's wrath, as the scythe cut through the weapon of War and sliced it in two. Diana backed away as she stared down at the severed sword, rage flooding through her veins at what had become of Ares' weapon.
"Even the weapons of the gods succumb to me as well, Diana," Hades told her as he shouldered his scythe, landing next to the statue of Zeus. He placed his hand upon his brother and for a moment lightning crackled along his hand. "You possess the knowledge of Athena, so you should know how this ends. You are a single goddess. A powerful one, yes, but you are alone. I defeated the entire pantheon with this power. I defeated the Justice League. Even if you are War, even if you are Wonder Woman, I have beaten both sides that you belong to. How can you, by yourself, hope to defeat me?"
"The same way I do everything," Diana whispered as she tossed what remained of Ares' sword to the side and grabbed hold of her lasso. She then whipped it to its full length, letting the sound of it cracking echo across the battlefield. "With faith, with love and fighting with every fiber of my being. You wish for death? I'll give you war."
=wWw=
"We have to help her," Sunset said as she rose up from behind the fallen pillar, where she and the other girls had been hiding while Diana battled with Hades. Yet the moment she stood up six sets of hands grabbed hold of her and forced her back down.
"Are you out of your freaking mind?!" Twilight practically screamed at Sunset. The moment she screamed she covered her mouth and peeked over the top of the pillar to see if they had been discovered. But the gods were far too preoccupied with each other to even give the seven girls so much as a glance. "You cannot go out there. If you go out there, you will be killed in mere moments! This is beyond Zod! This is the god that killed all the other gods!"
"Not killed. They're all still alive," Fluttershy said as she gazed out from behind the pillar, only to retreat behind it once again as the sky shattered from the battle. "I can feel it. They're in pain, screaming in agony, but none of them are dead. Same goes for the other beings that were encased in stone."
"Why then?" Sunset muttered to herself as she gazed out from behind the pillar once more. "Hades is clearly stronger than any of the gods and even the members of the Justice League. And he clearly hates all of them. So why leave them alive? Why not kill them?"
"The Justice League?" Rarity asked before the sound of metal striking metal blasted apart the area. The girls took cover as bits and pieces of the top of Olympus came raining down.
"That's what Hades called the beings trapped in stone. Diana also said that she is a member of the Justice League, her planet's strongest defenders," Sunset informed the girls. "I need to get out there. I need to help Diana, in any way I can."
"If that's what Hades did to their strongest defenders, then what chance do ya have?" Applejack asked Sunset, who glanced back at her friend. "These beings are all on par with Diana, right? They were beaten. How about the gods, who are also on par with Diana. They were also beaten. What difference do ya think ya can make...what difference can any of us make?"
"We have to do something! We have to do-" Sunset was cut off once more as the entire mountaintop exploded in a flash of power. The girls all screamed as the force of the explosion hurled them from the top of the mountain. As they all started to plummet down towards the base of the mountain, each of them had their lives flash before their eyes. Yet none of them had even gotten to their preteen years before a blur grabbed them out of the sky and set them down one by one next to the statues.
"Diana?" Sunset asked as she was the last one snatched out of the sky, looking up into the eyes of Diana that held a rage unequal to any that had come before it. Sunset then looked at the rest of Diana to see that her body was bleeding from multiple slashes and impalements. "You're hurt. You need our help! Let us-"
"NO!" Diana bellowed with such power and rage that the clouds around the two were blown away by her voice. "This battle is far too dangerous for any of you to be close. Stay here, where it's...safer."
"But you need help! You can't beat this guy by yourself! Not even the heroes of your world or the gods of Olympus could do it when they were working together," Sunset argued, but with the rage of war that flooded through Diana it became clear to Sunset that reason wouldn't be of any use."
"You promised me that you would not get into any battles with beings that far outclassed you. Well this battle is one that you should not even be a part of," Diana instructed Sunset as she started to descend to where she had placed the rest of the girls. "Now promise you you'll stay here and you won't-ARGH!" Diana roared as Hades scythe ripped through her chest.
"Diana!" Sunset screamed as Diana let her go, sending the girl plummeting towards where the others were. By good fortune, Sunset managed to land in the pool of water next to the statue with the "S," yet when she surfaced a few moments later she gazed up at the sky to see that Wonder Woman was impaled on the end of Hades' scythe.
"You see, Diana," Sunset heard Hades say. "Even you, with all of your power and might, eventually fell to me as well. Do not worry Diana, I am not merciless. I shall do to you what I have done to your family and friends. And you can join them at standing at my feet, crushed beneath my boots."
Sunset watched as Diana roared with fury and pulled herself off of the scythe, flying back away from Hades as blood seeped from her wound. But then Diana let out a furious roar and the wound began to heal itself, but then Sunset glanced over at Hades and found the God of Olympus smiling to himself.
"Of course, Diana. Being the Goddess of War does give you an advantage every time you are in a battle. Especially against a foe as powerful as me," Hades said loud enough that Sunset was able to hear. "But while war fuels you, it also adds unlimited power to one such as myself. For how can you have war...without DEATH?!"
The two began to battle once more, ascending into the sky bathed in the blood with those that had fallen. Sunset watched until they were out of sight before she pulled herself out of the water and staggered towards the stairs that led down the mountain. She glanced down them to see her friends racing up towards her.
"Are all of you alright?" she asked them once they had regrouped. The sound of the battle drew their eyes to the sky, where they could see flashes of light from where the gods battled. "We have to figure out what to do. Even if war fuels her, eventually death will win out. It's the way of battle."
"We can't do anything. Don't you see that?" Twilight asked her friend, shaking her head sadly. "We'd just get killed. We don't even have our magic to-"
"Or maybe...we do." The girls all gave Sunset a look of concern as she said this, but she ignored them as she started to think. "The reason that Hades left the gods alive...the heroes...perhaps, even us, wasn't because he didn't want to kill us. Perhaps, at least with the Elements power, he couldn't."
"I don't get it," Rainbow muttered.
"Think about it. Why didn't Hades just have us killed after he took our magic? He could have done so with ease. Was it really because he has nothing against us? Or was it because...the Elements still need to be linked to us to use? Do the gods still have to be alive for him to use their power? Is that the reason they are all still live?"
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that Hades doesn't have the full power of the Elements. Only what we gave to him. Which might mean," Sunset muttered as she held her hand to her chest, trying to find that part of her, the true part of her, that her Element was derived from. And when she held out her hand again, a small flame burned within it. "That we're not out of this fight yet."
=wWw=
Even though she was a goddess of war, Diana could still feel that she was reaching her limit as she raised her axe to deflect another blow from Hades' scythe. Yet when the scythe struck the axe, it shattered it as it had previously done Ares' sword. Diana roared with fury as she tossed what remained of the axe away and cracked her lasso at Hades, but all the God of Olympus did was smile at her rage. For it was not a bloody rage, but an exhausted rage. A rage on its last leg.
"It seems that this battle is coming to an end," Hades informed Diana as he grabbed the lasso and yanked with all of his might, pulling Diana in towards him. The moment she was within range he drove his Element-fueled fist into her face, shattering her nose and snapping her head back. He followed up with a knee to the gut that doubled Diana over before elbowing her in the back to send her hurtling into the ground far below Olympus at the edge of the sea. Diana created a crater when she crashed into the ground, but as Hades descended next to the crater he smiled at the bloody goddess as she slowly rose back to her feet.
"For as powerful as war is at the height of its battle, even it knows that all war ends in death," Hades finished as he raised his scythe to the sky. The power of Zeus came crashing down and struck the scythe, before Hades swung it to the side and plunged it into the ocean next to the both of them. The finishing touch was his own brand of hellfire, which made the scythe glow with an ethereal power that existed amongst both the living and the dead. "So allow me to ask you this, Diana? Do you still have a chance to win?"
"Of course," Diana spat. Hades smiled at her response before he swung his scythe towards her with a hell raising roar. Diana grabbed the lasso with both hands and pulled it taut, before lifting it to intercept the blow. The scythe slashed down on the lasso and for a brief moment truth and death clashed. Then the scythe cleaved the lasso in two. Diana screamed as an explosion of magic erupted from the lasso and hurled her backwards. She landed hard on her back and skidded to a halt a few moments later, but as she shakily sat up she gazed down at the lasso of truth...which had been severed in two.
"The gods fall, the heroes lose, and it seems that even truth is no more," Hades laughed as he walked up to Diana, who lifted her head towards the God of Olympus with fear in her eyes. Hades then pointed his scythe at Diana, victory flashing in his eyes. "Now, I can truly say, this world belongs to the dead. And now you shall join them."
Elemental power flooded through Hades as he drove his boot into the chest of Diana, knocking her onto her back. He marched over to her and slammed his boot on top of her chest, smiling down at her as she struggled to push him off of her. Yet even with the strength of war and her own upbringing, Diana could not budge Hades at all.
"You have no power left," Hades informed her. Diana's response was to spit at Hades before again trying to remove his boot from her chest. "Your Amazonian strength fails you. There is no war left in the world. There is only death. And soon, you shall join your comrades as my eternal prisoners." Hades then pointed his scythe down at Diana's throat. "I will miss our little discussions, my dear. But it's time that you finally-"
A small blast of light struck Hades in the side of the head, cutting him off mid sentence. He let out a small sigh as he turned his gaze to the stairs behind him, where he spied the seven girls staring him down. An eyebrow raised upon his head when he saw that six of them glowed with the light of the Elements, but it was far dimmer than it had been when they had given their power to him.
"And just what did you hope to accomplish with that?" he asked the six of them. Sunset's response was to charge another shot of magic in her palms before firing it at the god. Hades gave her a look as the spell fizzled out against his chest, before letting out another sigh. "Very well, I guess I'm doing this now."
In a blur Hades slammed the butt of his scythe into the face of Wonder Woman, snapping her head back and cracking her nose even further. With his only real threat incapacitated for the moment, Hades turned and began to walk towards the six girls.
"Why bother attacking me? You know that with the pitiful remains of your magic you cannot even amuse me," Hades reminded the girls as he walked up to them, glaring down at the seven with eyes as crimson as the moon. "And you certainly stand no hope of even scratching me. So unless you would prefer to return to the underworld, then you'd-"
Hades was cut off once more as Sunset fired another blast of magic into his face. Hades simply shook his head at her actions before his hand shot out and grabbed hold of Sunset by her throat. The other girls raced forward and unleashed what magic they had upon Hades, but he ignored them as he held Sunset aloft.
"Did you not hear your god's words? I could kill you with a flick of my fingers," Hades reminded her. But to his surprise, Sunset gave him a smirk before flipping up two fingers that made Hades narrow his eyes. "Do not tempt me, for with-"
"Then just do it already," Sunset told him. Hades' eyes widened in surprise for a moment before they darkened. "Go ahead, kill me. Kill me and my friends. But if you do that, you'd better get used to not having those Elements any more." Sunset's smile spread even wider when she saw Hades' eyes widen for just a second before they resumed their angry look.
"That's right. I know. That's the reason you haven't killed us. That's the reason you haven't killed any of the gods. Because you need them alive if you want to use their power," Sunset explained to Hades, who remained silent the entire time. "So you could kill us. But then the Elements' power would no longer be yours. And then where would that leave you?"
"You are a fool. True, I may not wish to risk killing you, but there are other ways to deal with annoyances like you," Hades replied as he tossed Sunset to the ground. He then let out a roar before his body began to shine with the power of the Elements. He then unleashed all of the Elemental power into Sunset, who was consumed by a beam of rainbow light. "I shall turn you to stone, same as I did the-"
"And you call me a fool." Hades took a step back when the rainbow light faded and revealed that Sunset was still standing, a smile on her face and two crimson wings coming out of her back. "We are the wielders of the Elements. Even if you have their power, we embody them. So trying to use them against us...is a losing battle!"
Hades snarled as Sunset aimed her arms at her friends and fired off beams of light into them as well. One by one they were each infused with their Elemental power, causing pony ears to grow out of their heads and for their hair to extend. Fluttershy and Dash even got their wings back.
"And when we're together...there is nothing we can't do!" Sunset yelled as the six of them formed a circle in the air, causing their bodies to glow with a divine light. That beam shot into the air and began to form a giant sphere of magic.
But in a heartbeat Hades was in front of Sunset. He plunged his hand through the magical barrier and tore her from the circle, cutting off the magic and ceasing the spell that they were casting. Hades then hurled Sunset into the ground with enough force to shatter some of the girl's ribs. Sunset cried out in pain before she began to cough up blood.
The other girls lunged forward to try and save their friend, but Hades whipped the backside of his scythe around and swatted them out of the air. The other Element wielders crashed to the ground, where they struggled to get back up as Hades approached Sunset Shimmer.
"As I said. Fools," Hades said as he lifted his boot over one of her legs. "You do not wish to be entrapped in stone? Very well. Then my kindness is at an end. Instead of stone, I shall simply shatter you."
"Do your worst. But as long as one of us draws breath, we will fight against you," Sunset said through the pain as she slowly forced herself to sit up. "And no matter how long it takes, we will never stop fighting. You...won't win...this war."
"This war? You fool, this war is over. This little battle of yours-"
"Was just what I needed." Hades spun around in time to receive five knuckles to the face. He staggered back from the sucker punch and left himself open to be kicked in the head. Diana followed up the kick by hurling Ares' helmet to the side before removing her tiara and letting it fly towards Hades. Even though it was a sharp as any blade, all the tiara could manage to do was distract Hades. But a distraction was what Diana needed.
"Are you all okay?" Diana asked the girls in a weak voice as they staggered over to her and Sunset.
"No...not really," Sunset said with a laugh before she spat up more blood. Diana wore a look of concern as she gazed over each girl, but the girls could see that Diana herself still hadn't recovered from the injuries she had sustained either.
"Diana...what do we do?" Rainbow Dash asked Diana. Before Diana could answer Hades grabbed hold of the back of her head and hurled her into the side of Olympus. In a moment he was before her and unleashed blow after blow that shook the very mountain of the gods to its core.
"I have had enough!" Hades bellowed before punching Diana with enough force to send her hurtling through Olympus and out the other side. Diana weakly pulled herself off of the ground before Hades was upon her again, driving his fists into the side of her head and knocking her down once more. "This battle is over. You cannot beat me. Your student cannot beat me. Now finally die!"
Just as Hades was about to sever Diana's soul from her body, another explosion of rainbow light erupted from the other side of Olympus. Hades let out a howl of rage as he turned to face the girls once more, but this time it was only Sunset that stared him down...as she glared down at him with her whole body covered in celestial magic. White wings spread from her back and a horn of absolute magic extended from her head, giving her the appearance of a goddess.
"You truly do not know when to quit, do you?" Hades asked Sunset as he swung his scythe around and prepared to do battle. But upon a second inspection, he found that Sunset was breathing heavily and that her form was flickering weakly. "I see. It is taking all of your strength to simply remain standing, isn't it?"
"Yeah...what of it?" Sunset asked with a weak smirk. She then lifted both arms and fired a beam of pure magic at Hades. The God of Olympus simply slipped into the shadows to avoid the attack before appearing behind Sunset, slamming the end of his scythe into her head and sending her crashing down to the ground.
"Sunset..." Diana said weakly as she pulled herself over to Sunset, whose divine form was flickering weakly as she tried to maintain it.
"Sorry...Diana...guess I just wasn't strong enough," Sunset said in a soft tone. "Guess you were right. Guess I shouldn't have...given him...the magic...but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't stand by and leave you in his clutches without trying to save you. You're...my teacher. And my friend. Sorry I couldn't make you proud."
"Sunset, do not listen to the words of this fool," Diana said as she weakly pushed herself back up. "You are right. We should never...give up. On our friends or what we believe in. This just goes to show...that I have nothing left to teach you." Diana then forced herself to stand back up, glaring up at Hades as she placed herself between her and her student.
"So does this mean I pass your class?" Sunset asked with a small chuckle.
"Of course. But I'm still going to give you a final question," Diana panted weakly before floating up to confront Hades once more. "And that's, can you see a way to defeat Hades? Because gods help me, I can't."
Sunset forced herself to her knees as the battle between Hades and Diana resumed once more. From the first blow it was clear to Sunset that Diana was just too tired and too outmatched to even stand a chance in this fight.
'But she's given the task to me,' Sunset thought as she looked down at her fists, trying to think through the pain for a solution to the unstoppable power of Hades. 'As her student, I have to think of something, anything to help her!' Sunset glanced around desperately for an answer. The gods were of no help. The other heroes of Earth had fallen. Her friends were beaten. And she and Diana could barely stand.
'And then there's Hades and that scythe of his, which can drain the godly power out of Diana,' Sunset thought before an idea formed in her mind. 'That's right. Drain the godly power. And wound the very being that made it.'
With all of her power and might she forced herself to stand back up, locking away the agony of her ribs that screamed throughout her body. Sunset then aimed her arms at Diana and took aim, before unleashing the full power of the Elements upon her. The divine, holy beam of magic struck the wonder in the back and began to infuse her body with power. A Spartan helmet of the purest silver formed upon her head, a cape of white crossed her shoulders and metallic gauntlets and grieves formed on her limbs.
"So, they have given you the power of the Elements as well, have they?" Hades asked with a laugh as he gazed down at Sunset, who had passed out upon the ground. "But yours is nothing more than a small percent of the true power. The true power that I wield." Hades then lifted his scythe to the sky, where both lightning and rain consumed the blade of the weapon. Hades then traced his fingers across the blade, infusing it with his own power.
Hades then lunged at Diana and slashed at her with the scythe, cleaving the heavens and the earth with each swing. Diana in turn blocked every strike with her Elemental gauntlets, but just as Hades said, she only had a fraction of the power. So with each swing the scythe of the dead sliced away at the gauntlets, sending pieces of them flying with each strike.
"It may only be a fraction of their power, but this is the power that Sunset entrusted to me!" Diana bellowed as she raised a hand to catch the scythe before it could strike her. The two gods strained against each other before, with all of her might, Diana tore the scythe from Hades' hands and tossed it to the ground below.
With his weapon gone, Hades snarled before he charged Diana and slammed his shoulder into her gut. He drove the both of them into the earth, shattering it with his power. He then grabbed hold of Diana's throat with both hands, squeezing the life out of her as he constricted his fingers with a smile of pure malice. Diana clawed at Hades' face as she struggled to push him off, but he ignored the pain as her efforts to escape began to wane.
"So this was your student's grand plan? Infuse you with a weak version of the magic I use? Give you a boost that barely increased your power?! It seems that she truly does take after you. Just as you failed Ares, now she fails-" Hades then let out a scream of agony to the sky as his scythe drove itself through his back and burst through his chest. The God of Olympus slowly looked behind him to see Sunset Shimmer, a smile on her face and his scythe in her hands.
"This had...better get me...extra credit," Sunset spat out.
"Do you...ever...give up..." Hades weakly asked.
"So I have a question on this test, Diana. Can we kill death?" Sunset asked before she placed her shoulder against the scythe. Sunset then screamed as she poured every last ounce of her strength into lifting the scythe. The scythe then began to drain the godly power from Hades, stealing from him the powers that he himself had stolen. But even though the scythe could pierce through Hades and strip him of his power, with her broken ribs and exhausted muscles Sunset could barely move the scythe any further.
"Got to admit Sunset, I don't know either," Diana spat as she leapt forward and grabbed the blade of the scythe that was sticking through Hades' chest, glaring into the eyes of the dark god. "But we can sure find out." The two then roared together as they swung the blade up with all of their remaining might, slicing through flesh and armor before the scythe ripped itself free of Hades.
Hades screamed with agony as both blood and magic erupted from his body, bathing the area in a light of crimson magic. Diana felt the power of the Elements flooding through her as their power left Hades' body, and for a moment she felt their true power.
"Sunset," Diana said weakly as she floated over to Sunset's side, leaning her student up against her as Sunset let go of the scythe. "We have to end this together. This is your power. You need to be the one to tell it what to do. Go on Sunset. Time to end this."
Hades weakly turned his head around to see teacher and student standing together, glaring down the god with the same look in their eyes. And then, for a brief moment, both Sunset and Diana were wearing the same outfit. The same armor of the gods. Sunset screamed as she unleashed all of the elemental power she had upon Hades, who didn't have the strength to cry out as the magic enveloped him. But then a smile creased his lips as his body began to turn to stone.
"Very well, Diana. I concede this one to you."
One last flash of light went off and when it cleared, the God of Olympus was completely sealed in stone. Sunset and Diana both stared at the god for a moment before the light of the Elements shot into the sky, raining down upon the land to undo all that Hades had done. With the power of the Elements no longer within them, though, all that was left for Diana and Sunset to do was collapse to the ground. Each of them trying not to think about how the pain sucked as they lay flat on their backs, staring up at the sky.
"Hey...Diana...?" Sunset finally asked, getting a groan out of her teacher as Diana was forced to turn her head to look at her student. "Did I pass the test?" Diana blinked once at her student before letting out a small laugh, then returned her gaze to the sky, which was the same blue that it was when she had left.
"Sorry Sunset, but I'm going to be using up all of my sick days for the next week. But from what I'm looking at, it might be your highest grade yet."
The briefcase shut closed with a small snapping sound, the last of Diana's papers stored away within. She sighed with relief that her work was done before she lifted her head to gaze at the empty classroom. But while no students were in it at the moment, Diana could still hear them laughing, playing and panicking whenever she busted out a surprise test on them. She would miss this place.
'But my time here is done. I've taught them all I can,' Diana knew as she picked up her briefcase and walked towards the exit of the room, glancing back one last time with a smile on her face before she flicked the lights off and closed the door behind her. The hallway of Canterlot High was devoid of any students as Diana walked through the halls, but when she reached the front doors she found that there were still those that wished to speak with her. "Principal Luna. Principal Celestia. What can I do for you?"
"We just...wanted to give you this, before you headed out," Celestia said with a smile as she handed a small plaque to Diana. Diana received the plaque with a nod before glancing down at it, seeing her picture on the front and the words "Teacher of the year" underneath it.
"Are you sure that you wish to give this me?" Diana asked Celestia and Luna with a smirk. "I am part of the reason monsters with unspeakable power showed up at your school and attacked all of you."
"Please, I deal with Sunset and her friends on a daily basis. Monster attacks are nothing new to me," Celestia laughed as she waved off Diana's words. "But you've also done a great deal of good while you were here. Helping the students to grow. Being stern yet kind when they needed you to be. Helping Sunset to regain the fire in her eyes that I haven't seen in so long."
"Are you sure that we can't convince you stay a little longer?" Luna asked. "I kinda like having the students actually listen to us. Of course, it only works when you're in the room, but still..."
"Sorry, but my home still has a lot of cleaning up to do after what happened with Hades," Diana replied with a shake of her head. "Even with the gods restored, Steve brought back to life--as well as those that were lost here--and the Justice League freed from stone...there is too much that needs to be done. And I am sure that there is much that you need to do as well."
"I figured you would say that. Guess I'll have to go back to the megaphone to be heard over the students," Luna smirked with a shrug. Celestia then stepped forward and held out her hand to Diana with a smile on her face.
"Then I wish you the best in your future endeavors, Diana. It was nice to meet...a goddess as kind as you." Diana smiled before grasping Celestia's hand and shaking it. Luna gave Diana a wave when Diana turned to her and Diana responded with a nod. She then walked past the both of them and exited the school. The wind caught her hair and caused it to wave gently behind her as she gazed up at the sky.
"One last stop before I go," Diana muttered before taking to the sky. She flew until she reached a field where she had spent many mornings and evenings, training a particular student. That same student awaited Diana's arrival and raced over to Diana when she landed. "Hello, Sunset. Been waiting long?"
"Ten minutes. Not that long," Sunset said with a forced smile, but Diana could see the sorrow and tears in her student's eyes. "Yeah-yeah, I know that I shouldn't cry but...this is going to be hard for me," Sunset admitted as she wiped the tears away from her eyes.
"My world needs me, Sunset. I would stay longer, but I can't," Diana informed Sunset with a shake of her head.
"I know. You have to go and be a hero or goddess or whatever you feel like being," Sunset said with a wry smirk. "Who knows, maybe someone needs you like I did."
"You don't need me anymore, Sunset," Diana replied. "I have nothing left that I can teach you."
"Now that's a lie," Sunset replied with an even larger smirk. "The end of days must truly be upon us. The Spirit of Truth lying to her own student? Truly the end times."
"Well, my views are different from yours, you little smart aleck," Diana laughed.
"But I mean it, Diana. Whenever you want to visit, come on back. I know that I wouldn't mind seeing you again," Sunset softly said.
"I know. But with the barrier up, it might be hard for me to come visit," Diana replied before she lifted her briefcase and opened it up. "And since I won't always be here, I figured that I should leave you a parting gift. Something that you might like."
Sunset's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates when Diana pulled out two bracelets from her briefcase, bracelets which blazed with red and yellows that reminded Sunset of her hair. Sunset let out a little squeak as Diana offered the bracelets to her, her hands shaking as she took the armor from her mentor.
"Hephaestus made these for you, exactly the same way he made mine. It's his way of thanking you," Diana informed Sunset as the girl slipped the bracelets onto her arms. "Zeus even enchanted them so they'd be as indestructible as mine. But there's another secret. Clap your hands together and pull them apart."
Sunset did as Diana asked and to her amazement, she pulled a sword that blazed like the sun from within the bracelets. The hilt was fashioned to resemble a phoenix and the guard was the phoenix's wings. But what made Sunset's eyes mist up was the inscription written upon the blade of the weapon.
'A student of war. A student of truth. A student that made her teacher proud.'
"In case you ever forget what I've taught you, that blade will be there to remind you," Diana informed Sunset while the girl tested the blade by swinging it a few times. "It can only be wielded by you, so don't worry about anyone using it against you."
"How did you manage to get it to do that?" Sunset asked as she read the inscription once more.
"Because it belonged to Ares. It's made up of the blade that Hades ruined. He passed that blade onto me. And now I pass it onto you," Diana said with a smile while Sunset's eyes misted up once more. "But I also have something else for you...something to help drive the nightmares away in case they ever return."
"Diana...I can't accept this," Sunset said with a shake of her head as she gazed down at the golden lasso that had been repaired. "This is your lasso of truth! This is...a gift from your mother!"
"And now it is my gift to you," Diana replied, offering the lasso to Sunset once more. Sunset hesitantly reached out for it and wrapped her fingers around it, gently pulling it close to her while giving Diana an unsure look. "Do not worry, I am sure Hephaestus will forge me another one in time. And if I bother him enough."
"Why would you give this to me?" Sunset asked.
"For numerous reasons. So that you can be this world's Spirit of Truth. So that you can always expose those who wish to deceive you. And so you always stay true to yourself," Diana replied with a kind smile. An explosion of magic erupted behind the two and both turned to see a yellow portal that was in an odd shape. "That is the symbol of Fate. Doctor Fate has opened the portal that I asked for."
"So then...this is goodbye?" Sunset asked. Diana's response was to reach out to the girl and pull her into a hug. Sunset hugged Diana back, though far tighter than Diana did. After a moment they broke apart, and Diana gazed down at her student one last time.
"It is not goodbye forever. It's just goodbye for now," Diana reminded her. "And we will meet again. Perhaps next time you can come see my world. I promise that it is a lot nicer when Death isn't taking over it."
"I believe you."
"And I believe in you. You have made me so proud, Sunset Shimmer. Never forget that." Diana then turned and floated into the portal, waving to Sunset one last time before she vanished into the hands of Fate. Sunset watched until the portal closed upon itself, leaving her standing alone in an empty field. She then gazed down at her bracelets and the lasso of truth, which shone with a light of gold that reflected in Sunset's eyes. And she saw the truth.
=wWw=
"Are you girls ready?" Sunset asked her friends, each of whom nodded in response. The six girls then joined hands as their elemental power flooded through them, lifting them into the sky while a rainbow light shone amongst the six. They all then let out a scream, as a beam of pure rainbow light ascended into the sky and erupted far above the planet, creating a rainbow barrier that spread all across the planet.
"Did that do it?" Dash asked as they all landed on the ground.
"Yeah, I think it did," Sunset responded as she looked up to see the barrier slowly fade away, but her connection to the Elements told her that it was still there. "Looks like our world is finally safe from Hades and any other evil force that tries to come to our world."
"But it also might keep Diana out," Fluttershy reminded Sunset.
"Doubt it. Diana will find a way back if she has to," Applejack said with a smirk. "Ah bet she'd just break the barrier if she's desperate enough."
"Probably," Sunset said with a shrug before she sensed something and glanced around behind her. "Can you guys give me a moment. I'll meet you by the front of the school." The girls did as she asked and a moment later Sunset was all alone at the back of the school. That was until a figure stepped out of the shadows to confront her.
"Agatha. Care to tell me why your sneaking around back here?" Sunset asked the girl as she approached, not liking the glare in her eyes.
"This isn't over, Sunset," Agatha spat. "You and your teacher may have stopped my master, but I still wield some of his power." To prove her point she summoned the black armor onto her. "And I promise you that I will not stop until I make you pay for what you have done to me."
"Agatha...I am sorry for whatever I did to you all those years ago," Sunset apologized. "There are a lot of things in my life I wish I could do over again. But while I may not be able to change how I acted to you in the past, I can decide how I do it now." Sunset then stepped forward and held out a hand to Agatha. "And if you're willing to let bygones be bygones, then I will as well. I'd like to start over, if we could."
"No," Agatha spat out almost immediately. "Not until I have seen you suffer the way me and my master have. And I will avenge him by doing what he couldn't. I will destroy you." Agatha then vanished into the darkness, leaving Sunset to shake her head at what Agatha had said.
"You're hurting, Agatha. I know how you feel. And I promise that I won't stop until I've helped you," Sunset promised before she turned and headed towards the front of the school, where all of her friends were standing in front of the statue. "Sorry about that, had something I needed to deal with real quick."
"No problem...um, she responded by the way," Twilight said as she handed Sunset's book back to her. "The other me says that the portal is open...Sunset...are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes...I see the truth now. I've been running from this for a long time," Sunset admitted as she looked into the portal at the base of the statue. "But I can't run. I have to accept my past...and try to make up for what I've done. But I can't let my fears rule me forever...see you guys soon."
And with that, Sunset walked forward into the portal. And for the first time in a long time, she wasn't afraid of what she would find on the other side.
=wWw=
"While I am happy to see that everything is alright, I will say that I believe that you are rushing into this," Dr. Fate advised Diana, who looked as if she was armed for war. "You should be resting, not about to throw yourself to the multiverse to try and find wherever this...Maestro vanished to."
"That's because you weren't there, Fate. You didn't see what he would do just to kill a single girl," Wonder Woman reminded Fate. "And that was a single world. He told me that he's been doing this for gods know how long. How many innocents has he killed just to see what would happen? How many worlds and races has he doomed just to prove a theory. He is a monster...and one that I must stop."
"But must you go alone?" Fate asked. When Diana didn't answer, he let out a sigh before handing her a device. "This is a dimensional stone, but far more powerful than regular ones. With this one, and what you have told me of the Maestro, it will help you to find him. But I warn you, that this will be unlike any other journey that you have gone on."
"Thank you, Doctor," Wonder Woman responded before she used the stone to open a vortex into the multiverse, to where Fate had found a trace amount of the Maestro's power.
"I must ask again, Diana. Why must you go alone? He is not your problem."
"Because the Maestro made this personal when he attacked my student. He made it personal when he wanted to kill those who had just begun to live to see the results," Diana whispered as she glanced back at Fate with a look that Fate remembered seeing upon the face of Ares years ago. "Maestro made me his problem. And I'm going to make sure he regrets ever having done so. Goodbye, Doctor."
And with that, Diana hurled herself into the multiverse, to make sure that the one that threatened Sunset would never harm another again. For any other being it would have been an insurmountable task. But Diana was not just any other being. She was a wonder. And she would find him.
Author's Note
And as the bell rings to let class out, we move on from the world of high school back to the world of ponies. But for this next story, we follow the path of a warrior trying to become the best. But can he? Can he conquer both external and internal demons? Can he be a teacher when he himself has so much to learn? Can he find what has been missing all along?
Sure Ryu can.
The chilling cold of the blackness that surrounded her made Sunset grab her shoulders with her arms, shivering as she gazed around into the void of darkness. No matter where she looked, all she could see was the darkness, a darkness that soaked into her very soul.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called into the blackness, gripping her jacket more tightly as she started to walk forward into the unknown. Upon feeling like something was watching her, she spun her head around only to find the darkness staring back. With nervous eyes she took step after step, her body chilling under the blackness.
Just when she was beginning to believe that she was trapped in eternal darkness, six pillars of light burst forth from the shadows before her. Her eyes reflected the brilliance of the light that shone in the darkness while she gazed upon the images within, images of friends that she knew all too well.
"My friends." Within each of the lights was stained glass that held one of her six friends within them. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Twilight all appeared in majestic fashion within the glass, giving off a warm and powerful light that seemed to fight back against the darkness. "But what do these images mean? Why am I seeing the six of them?"
"Because they are the six you shall fail."
Sunset snapped around as she gazed into the darkness, squinting her eyes as she tried to find who had spoken.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" The owner of the voice did not reveal themselves, but instead cackled in a manner that chilled Sunset far more than the shadows ever had. Sunset blurted out, "I'm warning you, I have magic with me!"
"Magic? Your magic is nothing to me. And it is nothing to them either," the voice spoke once more, followed by a cracking sound that made Sunset turn back around to face the stained images. All of them had small cracks growing within them, which slowly spread throughout the pictures. "For I have seen what this world will become. It is doomed. And you will be the one to doom it."
"No! That is not who I am anymore!" Sunset yelled back into the darkness, yet the moment she spoke the cracks in the stained glass grew wider. She felt the eyes' presence upon her once more and shivered under their stare, almost certain that whatever was watching her was right beside her.
"No, you are not. Yet you misinterpret my words. You will doom this world because you are weak. Pathetic. Worthless," the voice spoke to her, chilling her very soul. "And just as you failed your teacher in the past, so now you shall fail your friends who are foolish enough to put their trust in a failure. It is the same story no matter where I go."
"I am not a failure," Sunset spoke with bitter resentment in her voice, yet all her words did was draw forth another cackle from the ancient voice.
"Celestia. Twilight. All of this world. You have failed so many times. Honestly, this world would be far better off without you."
"Shut up," she whispered as she clamped her hands over her ears.
"Better off gone."
"Shut up..."
"Better off dead."
"SHUT UP!"
Sunset then fell to her knees, her whole body shaking as the cold seeped into her very soul. She gazed up at her friends' images for strength and comfort, but to her horror the images were cracked beyond repair. She lifted out a hand to them, yet the moment she did so the images shattered into thousands of pieces that rained down upon her. Sunset shielded herself with her arms, yet the glass did not cut. She glanced down at her arms to see that she was fine, before slowly standing up...feeling alone once more.
"Yes...I am curious to see what that would be like." Sickening horror clung to Sunset's soul as she finally knew where the voice was speaking from. It was coming from right behind her. "Curious to see how this world would progress...without you in it."
A hand then wrapped itself around Sunset's throat from behind, preventing her from crying out as she was slowly lifted into the air. She clawed at the cold, metallic fingers with all of her might, but they didn't seem to even register her blows. She flailed as best she could, kicking behind her with all her might only to strike at empty air. As the grip of the fingers tightened around her throat, everything around Sunset began to go black while she felt herself slipping away...
"GAH!" Sunset screamed as she shot straight up, staring straight ahead to the other side of the room with eyes wider than dinner plates. Her heart was beating with such speed and force that it seemed like it was trying to punch itself through her chest. When the realization that she was awake slowly dawned on the girl, she lifted her hands that trembled like leaves in the wind to her throat.
'Was that...a dream?' she wondered. But when she placed her hands near her throat, she could still feel the metal fingers that had grabbed her; still hear the words that had dug into her very soul...bringing her fears back to life. Sunset then glanced around her room as she shivered once more, drawing the covers on her bed up to her. She wrapped them around herself while she remained sitting on her bed, her terrified eyes glancing at every shadow as she waited in a cold sweat...afraid to return to sleep.
Afraid that the voice would be waiting for her in her dreams.
< W>
Hades knew that if one were to ask a mortal which of the gods was the least fearful, a majority of them would say him. That as the ruler of the underworld, he must have little to no fear of death or the prospect of actually dying. Yet even as he sat upon his throne of skulls and bones with his fingers interlocked, gazing across the fields of the damned that were always within his vision, he could not but feel the thinnest hint of fear at the sounds of two fists slamming into the door to his throne room with all of their might.
He listened carefully to each impact, able to hear the metal bend with each blow, but then he heard the roaring of a dog followed by silence. He turned in his throne towards the door, wondering if Cerberus had indeed been enough to drive off the intruder...before the doors were torn off their hinges as his guard dog was hurled through them. Cerberus sailed over the head of the black armored god and landed with enough force to shake all of the underworld in one of the fields behind the god.
"Well, I see that you still know how to make an entrance," Hades said with as little surprise as he could when he turned to face the intruder. Standing in the frame of what had until a moment ago been the entrance to his throne room was a woman, a woman that glared at him with eyes that blazed with a wrath that he had only seen in his eldest brother. "I am glad to see you once again...Diana."
Diana then slowly began to march towards the god of the dead, reaching behind her black hair to draw forth a blade that crackled as if it had been forged in lightning itself. Her red and blue outfit was covered in the saliva of Hades the guard dog, and her knuckles were blooded by those that had stood in her way. Yet despite the fury in her face and the sheen of her sword, Hades could not help but be drawn to the lasso that shone like gold upon her side. Yet, reason took him once again and he lifted his eyes to her blazing face, which was now only feet away from him.
"Can I help you, my niece? It is not often that you-" Hades moved his head to the side as her blade imbedded itself into the back of his throne, where his head had been just a moment before. "Diana, mind your manners. You are in my land now and-" Once more Hades was cut off as Diana's fist drove itself into his face, striking the god with enough force to hurl him through his own throne and across the white floor of his throne room.
"Do not bother trying to sooth my wrath, Hades. You know all too well why I'm down here," Diana spat with venom as she removed her sword from what remained of Hades' throne and lunged towards the god, driving one of her boots that was as crimson as the blood on her hands onto his chest. Despite being a god, even Hades was pushed back down under the force of the Amazon that glared down at him with sword at his throat. "Now answer my question Hades, and perhaps you can get out of this without too many new holes in your body? Why did you kill Steve Trevor?"
Hades' answer was the chuckle before vanishing in a swirl of smoke and fire, appearing beside Diana a moment later. She spun around and slashed with her sword, only for it to be intercepted by a blade comprised of bone and death itself. Undeterred by the weapon, Diana swung at Hades once more only to have her weapon deflected. He slashed down at Diana, yet with one of the bracelets upon her wrist she deflected his blade that could cleave souls with ease.
"Diana, you know it is pointless to fight me, especially in my do-" Another right hook by the Amazonian Princess knocked Hades' words right out of his mouth, while also causing him to stagger backwards. A snarl escaped the god's lips while he ran his finger along his mouth to find traces of blood, but when the Amazon lunged at him again he vanished in another vortex of smoke.
"Steve Trevor?" Hades asked with a smile when he appeared across the room from Diana, who rotated towards the god with arm brought back to throw her sword. Yet before she could let the blade fly, Hades snapped his fingers and caused a blue orb of light to descend from above, which he plucked out of the air and rested in the palm of his hand. "Ah yes, the soldier that you have befriended. Here he is Diana...his soul at least. So I say this. Put that sword of yours away or I will make him suffer torment that a mortal can only dream of."
Hades could still see the fury blazing in the depths of her soul, but slowly the Amazon lifted her blade and sheathed it behind her once more. Hades then dropped his bone blade into the darkness below him, before gently throwing Trevor's soul back into the sea of souls that swam far above them.
"Speak quickly Hades, before I decide to tear your tongue from your skull," Diana said with a snarl at the god while she kept herself ready for any surprise attack.
"I killed him, Diana, because I knew that that would get you down here; get you to see me," Hades said as he began to explain himself. "Because I need your help, yet the only way you would ever help me, despite us being family, is if I had something that you wanted. So I claimed the soul of one of your friends."
"And you wonder why I don't trust or like you. I should end you here and-"
"Patience, Diana. At least let me finish. See, I have discovered recently that there are...items in a far-off world that posses incredible power, a power that I want. Yet I would not be able to claim them, as I am not...a being that they would choose to hold them. However, the world that originally held the items lost them, because their wielders sacrificed them to save their world. But by good fortune, I have recently discovered another world, one not unlike ours, that houses that same power. That is where I want you to go. Go and find me those items."
"My answer is no. I know you well enough to know that any item of power that you want can only be disastrous for both myself and the world."
"Listen, Diana. I know that you have no reason to trust me and you are completely right not to do so. But I swear that the only reason I want these items is to increase the underworld. With so many souls entering into it daily, not helped by those your Justice League fails to save, it has grown overcrowded. Souls wail lost in the chasms of the underworld, with no place to take comfort. But with these items, I will be able to expand my empire to fit the new souls. All I seek is to help those who have lost their lives find rest down here. Surely you would not deny them that, would you?"
"My answer is still no," Diana said before drawing her blade once more and advancing upon the god. "You are a liar and your words are empty. Now prepare yourself."
"Ah, but is there not a way you can tell if I am lying or not?" Diana stopped in her tracks, eyes narrowing at the god before she sheathed her blade once more and drew forth her lasso, twirling it once before letting it fly. The lasso wrapped around Hades' neck, causing a light that shone with the light of truth to bathe the god of the dead.
"What do you seek these items for?" she asked him.
"I seek them to expand my underworld, so that I can host the new souls that are coming in," Hades replied. Diana narrowed her eyes before she backed away from the god. "See Diana, I am telling the truth. And since the lasso is still upon me, you know I speak the truth when I say that if you get these six items for me, I will return the soul of Steve Trevor to you, with no tricks or backstabbing."
Diana's eyes narrowed while she pondered over the god's offer, knowing that he was not one that should be trusted. But she also knew that under the lasso's power he, despite being a god, had no choice but to answer her truthfully. She then gazed off into the fields of souls, seeing all the unfortunate souls that were trapped in suffering because they had no place to go. And in the face of such pain, even the wrath of Diana was soothed slightly.
"Is there anything else I should know about these items?" Diana eventually asked with a cold stare, causing Hades to smile as he snapped his fingers and caused a file to appear out of the darkness. Diana raised a confused eyebrow at the mortal tool before Hades handed it to her, his smile growing as she took it.
"All you need to know will be in there," he said truthfully as Diana kept the file in one hand while the other was tight upon the lasso. Hades then snapped his fingers again and created a vortex of a multitude of colors behind him. "Upon reaching where this portal takes you, you can read it. Once there, you will need to find the items or where they have taken refuge. Once you have them, simply pray for me and I will appear. Also, I have set some things up ahead of time in the other world, so do not be surprised if there are others...expecting you when you get there."
"So you knew that I would agree to aid you all this time? Very well Hades, I will play your game for now." Diana then tightened the lasso around the god's throat and with a yank, dragged him over to her where she could glare into his dead eyes with the fury of the gods flashing in hers. "But know that if you betray me, you will wish that Zeus had never freed you from your father's stomach."
Diana then freed Hades from the lasso and walked past him, leaving the god to rub his throat with a snarl while Diana placed her lasso upon her side once more. She approached the portal with both curiosity and caution within her, before turning back to Hades with one last glare. Then she took a step forward and vanished into the portal, leaving Hades alone in his domain once more.
"Thank you, Diana," he said with a small chuckle as he snapped his fingers and the portal closed behind her. "I can always count on family when I need help."
"Well that can't be good," Luna muttered to herself as she hung up the phone, her words drawing her sister free from her work. "I just got a call from Crystal Prep. Seems that they'll be sending over three transfer students to our school tomorrow and they wanted to make sure that they had already been approved. Did you...?"
"Yes. I did," Celestia confirmed before holding up a hand to stem her sister's words before they could start. "Look, Principal Cinch insisted that we let these students into our school, so she must have a reason. And we both know that it can't be good."
"Then why let them in at all?"
"Because something strange has been going on at this school," Celestia muttered as she weaved her fingers together and leaned against her hands. "And I mean even weirder than usual."
"Care to explain what you mean by that?"
"The teachers that suddenly quit or disappear. Sunset having nightmares that nearly drove her over the brink. Students acting up and going rogue. These aren't the regular magic threats that we've faced before. This...is something else. I can feel it."
Luna's eyes narrowed with concern as she bit her bottom lip, knowing that her sister's hunches were far too accurate to argue with. "But what other force besides magic could it be?"
"I don't know, but I plan to get to the bottom of this," Celestia said as she rose out of her chair and gazed out her window, amazed that the sun was already starting to go down. "I've already informed Sunset and her friends about my suspicions and they all seem to agree with me. Sunset especially. They'll be on the lookout for anything strange...or anyone." Luna raised an eyebrow at the tone in Celestia's voice, knowing her sister well enough to know there was more.
"You suspect someone?"
"I do, Sister. Even though I have no evidence...or even reason, to do so," Celestia said before gazing back at her sister. "But I suspect Diana."
"I...can see that," Luna agreed as she rested her hands on the table. "So what are we going to do?"
"As I said, she's done nothing to warrant any action or even suspicion. But I just have a feeling that there's something she's not telling us. Something about what's going on...there's so much mystery nowadays. Who's behind the new attacks? Why is Cinch sending students to us, and what is Diana hiding? I miss the days where the biggest threat to the school was the cafeteria food."
-wWw-
"Diana. You have yet to answer me with anything but silence." To Athena's growing frustration, Diana continued to walk down the sidewalks that were bathed in moonlight in complete silence. Her head was bent down slightly and she wore a look that Athena had seen on her face before...right before she flattened Hercules. "Diana, this is an order from your goddess. Tell me what troubles you."
"I apologize for my silence, but I discovered what Hades is after...and I don't know what to do," Diana finally whispered as she came to a stop in the middle of a park, removing the hood from her head and allowing her hair to be free once more. She sighed slightly as she gazed up at the moon, giving Athena the chance to land upon her shoulder.
"Well, you do have the goddess of intelligence with you. It would be foolish not to advise her in your time of indecision," Athena reminded Diana, who smiled for a moment before her face hardened.
"I finally found the magic that Hades has been seeking. But the magic that he wishes for does not reside in magical artifacts...but instead inside six of the children here...specifically, Sunset Shimmer and most of her friends." Diana glanced over to see Athena staring off into the distance, with concern in her eyes but not surprise. "You knew that they were what he was after?"
"I suspected it--from the moment you told me about Fluttershy's transformation. It is not the first time that he has hunted those with magic that he could not fathom," Athena informed Diana, whose eyes flashed with the lightning of Zeus in response. Athena noticed the expression and it made her next question all the more difficult. "Diana, now that we know what he is after, I must ask what will you do? For if you turn the six over to Hades, I have no guarantee that he will spare them. But if you do not, Steve Trevor's soul..."
"I am still deciding what to do," Diana informed the owl, who nodded to Diana before glancing off to the side.
"I am needed among the gods. Zeus has called a meeting. When it is over, I shall join you once more if I am able." Diana nodded to Athena, whose eyes glowed with an incredible power before fading out. When the owl opened her eyes again, she turned towards Diana and let out a hoot.
"Fly free, little friend," Diana told the owl as it hopped onto her arm before spreading its wings and soaring into the night sky. Diana watched it go for a second before she too kicked off of the ground and sailed into the night sky, having no destination in mind as she flew over the land, lost in her own thoughts. 'Perhaps there may be a way to remove the magic from the girls without needing to kill them, because I will not allow Hades to claim their lives. But they also use their magic to defend their homes from all sorts of creatures, so even if they give me their magic willingly that would leave them defenseless. Curse you Hades, I should have kicked your skull in when I had the chance.'
Yet, Diana's rage towards Hades was stripped clear from her mind when she felt a presence once more, the same presence that she had felt weeks ago, but this time it was...stronger. Without a moment to lose, Diana rocketed across the night sky, following the source of the presence until she came to a stop above the same row of houses where she had felt it before.
'I recognize this neighborhood,' she realized as she glanced down at the houses, eyes falling onto a certain house when she felt the presence vanish once more. Her eyes narrowed practically into slits as she stared down at the house where the presence had been strongest, as well as feeling the magic of another powerful item...an item she knew well.
The moon was in the middle of the sky before Diana finally decided to cease her silent vigil and return to where she was residing, her thoughts like a whirlwind as she started to sort through the new puzzle pieces that had fallen into her lap.
'So, Sunset was right. Those aren't just regular nightmares she's been having,' Diana assumed as she landed outside of her apartment, waiting beside the door to see if her owl friend would return before she had to retire for the day. 'Something is after her, but what? It's not Hades, at least I don't believe it to be...I need to keep a closer eye on her. And all of her friends. Something strange is going on here and I don't like it.'
-wWw-
The news that Celestia was going to allow the students to go on a field trip early in the year had spread like wildfire, and practically every student could find nothing else to gossip about. So when the bell rang to inform the students that it was time for lunch, they wandered out to the front of the school to discuss what they would do once on the trip and perhaps what they might see.
But even though it had barely begun, all talking that had been going on in front of the school came to a stop when the attention of the students was grabbed by something that they had not seen before. Three students, each of whom were radically different from the other, were strutting up from the bus stop to the front of the school.
The girl to the right was absorbed in a book, but when she did tear her gaze away from her stories, she gave the other students a glare that sent chills down their spines. The boy to the left only stared ahead, for which the students were grateful. Because none of them were certain if they could look a student as large as he was in the eyes and not run away screaming. And that left the main girl in the center of the other two, a girl that radiated like a star as she walked with her head held high in a regal way.
"Look at this place. Principal Cinch was really worried about them one day surpassing our school?" the one in the center asked with a scoff, getting her some unfriendly gazes from the students around the three. The large boy let out a grunt and the glares all turned straight down, getting another scoff from the main girl. "Ugh, I can't believe that she sent us here. Out of all the schools in the city, and she had to choose this one. The things I do to make my principal proud."
"Seems friendlier than Crystal Prep. I like it."
"That's because you like everything, Boulder. Except what I tell you not to like," the girl reminded him before casting an unkind gaze at the other girl beside her, who paid her leader no mind as she continued to read. "As for you, do you think you could pull your head out of that voodoo book of yours for three seconds! We need to make a good first impression."
"Why bother? None of them like us already," she pointed as the three walked into the front hall, each of them noticing that their uniforms were already garnering them nasty looks.
"I swear Agatha, if you give me lip one more time-"
"Teacher."
That shut the girl up as she put on her best smile while facing forward, bowing slightly as the principal of the school walked down the hallway towards the three. "Greetings, Principal Celestia. We are the three transfer students that you have so graciously allowed into your school."
"It was no trouble at all, Crystal. We're honored to have you," the principal replied with a kind smile before moving to the side to reveal a girl with red and yellow hair and a kind smile. "This is Sunset Shimmer. She volunteered to escort the three of you around so you can get a better feel for the place."
"How sweet of her," Crystal replied with a smile of her own, but neither Celestia nor Sunset saw it because Celestia had pulled Sunset aside for a moment.
"Make sure you keep a close eye on the three of them, Sunset. I don't want this to turn into another fiasco like the Sirens were," Celestia reminded Sunset. "I hate having my mind messed with."
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on them. All of us will." With that promise Celestia let go of Sunset and nodded to the new students before walking away, leaving Sunset to wave the three over to her. "Alright you guys, I have class in about ten minutes, so I'd like to make this quick. Our school may be smaller than yours, but we make up for it by having a big heart."
"Which I'm sure does your teams great at the sporting events," Crystal remarked snidely from behind Sunset, who let the insult go with a sigh before regaining her smile.
"Over there we have the arts and crafts section, which is always under use. And that there is the cafeteria. Celestia has instituted a no singing policy while in there, so don't go and get any ideas." Sunset smiled back at them after telling her joke, but to her annoyance she found that only Boulder was paying attention to her.
"Yes, it's certainly all lovely," Crystal said with no effort to hide the fact that she didn't care at all. Instead, she chose to glare into the eyes of each student she met, smiling each time they cowered under her gaze. As the tour went on she found that she had the chance to even stare down a few of the newer teachers, something she always enjoyed doing.
"So, is it true that you have all sorts of magic at this school?" Agatha asked Sunset, who struggled with all of her might to keep from blurting out the truth. "Black magic? Dark magic that allows one to gain unfathomable power? Anything like that?"
"No, I can say with complete honesty that we have nothing like that," Sunset answered as she let out a sigh and wiped the back of her hand across her brow. "How about I show you where the gym is located?"
"So why did you volunteer to show us around? I'm sure that Celestia could have dumped this task off on some problem student if she wanted to," Crystal pointed out before a sly smile crossed her face. "Unless you are a problem student yourself, Shimmer."
"Oh, I used to be a problem student. One of the worst. I was cruel and mean and didn't care at all for anyone other than my...I'll stop myself now," Sunset said with an embarrassed blush before smacking her head, wondering why she couldn't help but blurt the truth out. Crystal rolled her eyes while Agatha returned to her book with no longer any interest in the place, but Boulder seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Your school seems very friendly. A lot friendlier than Crystal Prep," he pointed out.
"Our school is very friendly. In fact, we've barely had any issues with the harmony of the school, aside from a few...incidents," Sunset said while biting her lip to keep any more information from coming out. "I'm sure that after a few days of being here, that the three of you will fit in no problem."
"I don't know. The students here don't seem to like us," Boulder pointed out as he gazed around at the students that hadn't been glared down already by Crystal, none of them giving any of the three a friendly gaze.
"Ah, give them a few days. They'll warm up to you." Sunset turned her attention forward to see Diana walking towards her, causing Sunset to wave to Diana while racing towards her. "Hey Diana, did you finally get finished grading our tests yet?"
"Yes I did, Sunset. I am sorry that they are so late, but numerous things came up that I had to take care of," Diana informed Sunset with a smile. "How are you doing? I hope that you haven't had any more of those nightmares?"
"Nope. That lasso of yours has kept all of them at bay," Sunset informed Diana before she was pushed to the side and Crystal stood before the teacher.
"Greetings. I'm Crystal and these are my 'friends.' We're new here," she explained to Diana as she stuck out a hand. Diana smiled and shook the girl's hand, allowing Crystal to gaze into Diana's eyes to stare her down. But for the first time in Crystal's life, upon trying to stare down another she instead found herself averting her gaze.
"Crystal. And you two must be Boulder and Agatha," Diana said, not paying any attention to what had just occurred. "I believe I have all of you in my class. Study hard, because as your classmates can tell you, I put Spartans to shame for how tough I am."
"Crystal, what was that?" Agatha whispered into her friend's ear, both of them gazing at Diana as she walked away from them. "I've never seen you back down like that."
"And I've never felt a presence like that before," Crystal whispered back with a smile on her face." Principal Cinch was right. This place is going to be fun."
Parent Teacher Conference
"Thank you for coming in to speak to me. I'm glad to have your son in my class," Diana said with a kind smile and a wave. The parents that she had been speaking with smiled back as well before standing up to leave, giving Diana a moment to glance down at her list to see who was next.
'Well this should be fun,' Athena said from the perch on Diana's desk. 'Rainbow Dash's father is next. Think he'll agree with the decision you made to take Dash off of the team?'
"Whether he agrees or not matters little to me," Diana replied in a bored tone as she gazed out the window, staring up at the black clouds that rumbled overhead. "Odd, I didn't expect it to rain today."
'This world is weird, Diana. Why wouldn't the weather be as well?' Athena figured. 'Eyes forward, he's here.' Diana did as the goddess suggested as the man entered into the room. Diana and Athena immediately deduced his relation to Dash, since his hair was the same rainbow color as hers.
"Greetings, Mr. Dash. It is a pleasure to meet you," Diana said while she extended her hand. The parent shook her hand, but his expression was less than thrilled when he sat down in the chair in front of Diana's desk. "It is clear that you are not happy with something. Please feel free to speak freely before me."
"Alright. I've only got one question for you. Why did you take my daughter, the star athlete, off of her team?" Mr. Dash asked Diana. Diana had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes and instead put on a smile filled with warmth. She reached down into a side drawer and pulled out Rainbow Dash's grades, placing them before her father and pushing the grades over to him.
"I pulled your daughter from the team because it seems that she cares absolutely nothing for her schoolwork," Diana cooly replied. Dash's father took the list and glanced down at it, though Diana found it interesting that he wore an expression of amusement on his face.
"So schoolwork isn't her strong suit. That's fine, since I fully expect her to get into college on a sports scholarship, not grades," Mr. Dash said as he tossed the grades back to Diana. "But the schools won't be looking at her if she isn't on the field. So I would greatly appreciate it if you would allow her to play."
'And I thought gods were a pain.'
"I can see where you are coming from, and I have no doubt that Rainbow Dash will have no issues getting a scholarship based off of her athletic abilities," Diana began as she took back the grades. "But what if she doesn't? What if those schools that you are so certain will love her don't like her athletic abilities? What then?"
Neither Diana nor Athena were expecting Dash to throw back his head and laugh, but that was exactly what he did. "Diana, can I call you Diana? Every generation of my family for as far back as there have been awards for athletics has received one. My father did, his father did and my sister did along with me. I have no doubt that my own daughter will keep the trend going."
"I see. This is about more than just her," Diana muttered under her breath. "Very well, now that I know where you're coming from, I can give you my answer. And it is still no." Mr. Dash's face fell as the words left Diana mouth, leaving the man dumbstruck while Diana continued. "If Dash wishes to play with her team, then she will need to get her grades up. While you may not see knowledge as important, I do. And as her teacher, it is my call."
Diana watched with mild interest as Mr. Dash's eyes narrowed and a look of calm rage slowly spread across his features. Meanwhile Diana's eyes remained unconcerned with his growing frustration and glanced down at the list she had on her desk instead.
"If you have anything else you'd like to discuss, please do it now. If not, the next family has arrived and I would prefer to see as many of them as I could today." Diana glanced up to see her flippant tone had infuriated Dash even further and he rose while struggling to control his emotions.
"You may think you are doing what is best for my daughter, but I assure you that you are making a grave mistake," Mr. Dash promised her. "One that I will rectify myself, even if it means going to the principals. But make no mistake Diana, I will fight you on this until my daughter is back on her team."
"Yes, you will fight. And you will lose. But you are welcome to try," Diana replied with a smile. Be it her cold tone or the lightning in her eyes, Mr. Dash decided that he didn't wish to speak anymore. He instead turned and left the room, stalking past the people that were waiting outside.
"Seems I've made a new enemy today," Diana muttered as she pulled out the papers for the next student.
'Please, an enemy is a person that may become a threat to you. I'd say that instead you've found a minor annoyance,' Athena corrected. Diana smirked at the statement before glancing up at the next family that was sitting down before her.
"Thank you for coming today, Mrs. Granny Smith," Diana greeted the old lady, who nodded with a smile. "And thank you for coming as I requested, Applebloom."
"Why am ah here again?"
"Because I have a question for you and your granny," Diana explained before looking at Granny Smith. "What the heck is an eleven year old doing enrolled in high school?"
=wWw=
Outside of the room where Diana was speaking with the parents of her students, sat a single figure. She held a pair of binoculars and watched what Diana was doing with great interest. But as soon as she saw Granny Smith and Applebloom enter the room, a large smile spread across her face.
"So, not all of the Elements are in the school right now, are they?" the figure asked herself before chuckling and putting the binoculars away. She then lifted her hand, glancing down at her palm where the image of a helmet that phased in and out of reality appeared. "That means that at least one of them isn't under your protection right now."
Agatha leapt out of the tree she had been hiding in and raced across the road away from the school. She came to a stop next to an empty building before glancing around to make sure no one was watching her. She then pressed her index finger to the image and muttered a few words. The image of the helmet began to change until it was that of a mirror, a mirror that held a pair of red eyes that stared up at Agatha.
"So you have finally contacted me again. I assume that you have news for me that is important?" a voice that was as cold as the dead spoke from within the mirror.
"Yup. I've been scoping out the school and right now one of the Elements that you've been after isn't close to Diana," Agatha informed the Lord of the Dead. "And Diana is far too distracted with the parents to notice whatever creature you send to this land. So if you want her power, now would be the time to strike."
Hades went silent for nearly a minute as he pondered over what he was being told. All the while, Agatha stood there silently with baited breath, hoping that her news would have impressed her boss enough to earn his approval. "...This information is indeed valuable, but sadly I will not be able to act upon it."
"But...why not?" Agatha asked as her hopes started to falter.
"Diana has shown in the past that her senses are far too sharp to be caught off guard. It was mere moments after I sent Grundy to your world that she was there to battle him. If I sent any creature to your world, then she would sense either it or my magic." Agatha bit down on her nails, trying to think of a way to salvage her information while also impressing Hades at the same time.
"But what if you didn't send a creature?" she blurted out. The red eyes of Hades gave her a questioning gaze, daring her to continue on. "What if you had someone or thing here that could get the Element for you? Even if Diana felt your magic to draw the Element there, it would be too late and you would have one. Then you could barter for the rest!"
Hades went silent again for a long time once more, leaving Agatha to fear that she had messed up big. "Why are you so keen on helping me, mortal child? You are clearly intelligent, so you must know that you are helping the Lord of the Dead?"
"Because I was told that I need to accept my potential if I am to finally be strong," Agatha admitted. "And if there was any being in all of the worlds that could help me to unlock that potential, it's you, the Lord of the Dead--the most powerful of the gods."
"Very good answer, Agatha," Hades said with a menacing chuckle. "You said that I needed someone already in that world to gather the Element? And that you also want your full potential to be unlocked? Well then, why not kill two birds with one stone?"
Agatha was about to ask what Hades was talking about when the mirror changed into the image of a sword, a sword that plunged itself into Agatha's hand. Agatha yelped in pain when the sword bit down, sending tendrils of black energy through her veins.
"Hades! W-what's going on?" she asked as the tendrils of darkness wrapped themselves around her body.
"That is simple, Agatha. I am unlocking your true potential." The tendrils then begin to dissipate, allowing Agatha to look down at her body. Her arms were covered in a black armor that looked to be made of bones, and gazing down at the rest of her body revealed that she was wearing similar looking armor across her whole body. A red sword comprised entirely of bones appeared in the ground before her, beckoning her. She reached down and grabbed hold of the hilt, feeling power course through her veins as she pulled the blade free.
"This...power. It's incredible," she whispered while she turned the blade over in her hands, not noticing that her voice was different. "What is this?"
"Why, your true potential, of course," Hades' voice replied with a laugh. "If you wish to reclaim your mortal form, then simply place your hand on the blade in your skin and drawn it out. But I do not see why you would ever wish to give up this power."
"And I won't!" Agatha promised as she let out a laugh to the skies.
"Now then my dear, go and gather that Element of Harmony for me. I do not know how long this form will remain invisible to Diana or that infernal owl of hers," Hades demanded. Agatha nodded her head before letting out another cackle as she took to the skies, able to feel the draw of the Element off in the distance.
"Time to prove to my master why I was chosen! This is who I am!" she screamed with delight while rocketing across the sky towards the source of the magic. "And woe be to any who stand in my way or bullied me in the past! Because I will send you to meet my master!"
=wWw=
Thunder rumbled in the clouds as black as the night overhead, leaving the two girls that were sitting upon the bench to glance up at the sky to make sure that it wasn't raining.
"Not a very pretty afternoon, is it?" Applejack asked Sunset, who held out her hand to check for raindrops. "Ah swear the weather is getting crazier and crazier these days. Think it has anything to do with the Equestrian magic seeping into our world?"
"It could be any number of reasons, but I admit that I hadn't given Equestrian magic a thought," Sunset admitted before standing up. "We should probably find shelter in case it does decide to start raining." Applejack nodded in agreement and the two headed off towards wherever they could find shelter.
"Thanks fer coming to kill time with me today," Applejack said as the pair walked. "Today is a day that ah don't like to think about--parent teacher conference and all. Brings back painful memories. Better to spend it with a friend than thinking about the past."
"It's no problem. I'm just glad that I can help you," Sunset replied with a smile to AJ, who flashed her a grateful smile in return. "And to be honest, I don't like to think about today either."
"Makes ya think about yer parents?"
"Yeah. That and parent teacher conferences back in Equestria," Sunset sighed as her eyes glazed over slightly. "Back when I was Celestia's star pupil, my parents would love coming to those meetings and hearing about how I was the greatest student that Celestia had ever trained. Wonder what they think of me now...oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking about my parents like this when your-"
"It's fine, Sunset." The two walked along in silence for a few minutes before Applejack glanced over at Sunset once more. "Ya know...ya could always ask yer parents what they think of you. All ya have to do is send a message to Princess Twilight and ask her to open to portal."
"No," Sunset replied in a tone that was cold.
"Why not? Ya have been here for so long, keeping yourself isolated from yer family and friends," AJ reminded her. "It's been a long time since all of that stuff happened, and ah'm sure that they would all love to see ya again."
"No. Not after what I did."
"Sunset, ah'm sure that they forgave ya for what ya did. We forgave you for the way you acted to us, and even Princess Twilight said that was certain that ya would be welcomed back in Equestria," Applejack said. "Just pay them a short visit. Ah bet yer parents miss ya. Ah know ah would miss my family."
'Maybe she's right,' Sunset thought when Applejack stopped talking. 'Maybe it has been long enough that I can...no, I can't go back. Not as the same failure that I was when I left. It would be too...' Sunset's train of thought came to a sudden stop when she heard a screeching sound. Both she and Applejack looked up just in time to see a skeletal monster diving down towards them.
"MOVE!" Sunset screamed as she hurled herself into Applejack, knocking the both of them out of the way as the creature crashed down where they had been standing.
"My, my, two of the Elements here? Truly I must be having a lucky day," the creature said as it pulled itself out of the crater it had made, eyes glowing red while it glared down at the two girls. It then pointed its crimson blade at them while slowly advancing closer. "Don't try to resist, girls. Because I've been wanting to try these powers out, and I would love nothing more than to use them on both of you."
