Sunset Shimmer rummaged through her drawers, looking for something. When she didn’t find it, she opened up her closet and looked there. Her face lit up, and she pulled out a small crown, resembling Twilight’s Element of Magic.
“Never thought I’d need this,” Sunset mumbled.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s the crown that I was going to use to replace Twilight’s back in my sophomore year of high school.”
“The year that Twilight had to win the vote for Fall Formal Princess?” I recalled.
“Yes,” Sunset answered. “The same year I transformed into a…” Sunset shivered. “…she-demon. Some of the dark magic fused into my body. When I put this on, I transform back, but it hurts to do so.”
“When did you figure that out?” I asked.
“After the battle between us and the Dazzlings,” Sunset said. “I was in my room, trying on different outfits, when I found the fake crown. I put it on, and transformed back into the monstrosity I was. I quickly removed the crown, and transformed back. I hid the crown in my closet, and never thought about it again. Until now.”
“We may need it,” I agreed. “That much dark magic could be useful. But let’s hope we don’t have to use it.” Sunset Shimmer put the crown into my shoulder pack. I put on my gun holster and slid the revolver inside. I put 6 bullets into the chamber and spun it. The front door, which I had repaired earlier, suddenly flew open. I whipped out my gun and pointed it toward the entrance.
“Dude, what’re you doing?!” Rainbow Dash cried, hands in the air. “Put that thing away!” I saw Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Human 5. I released the hammer and sheathed the gun.
“Sorry about that,” I apologized.
“You guys need to come with us,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now.” We heard a faint boom, and a cloud of smoke rise up in the distance. The sky was red with fire and ash was raining down.
“What the hell happened!?” Sunset Shimmer cried.
“The Dazzlings ‘re back,” Applejack stated. “They ‘nslaved the ‘ntire school ‘nd absorbed the student’s souls. We barely escaped.”
“Did they sing?” I asked.
“No,” Fluttershy said. “They just swept the souls right from our classmates’ bodies without warning. The magic of our friendship protected us, but we had to make a break for it.”
“Oh no,” Sunset Shimmer gasped.
“This is bad,” I said, unnecessarily. “Where are the Dazzlings now?”
“They’re at Canterlot Central Park,” Pinkie Pie said, a serious tone in her voice. I nodded. We ran out of the neighborhood and to Central Park.
~~~
The Dazzlings were in their true forms, with transparent wings, equine ears, and longer hair meant to resemble a tail. They were drawing out the souls of unfortunate citizens of Canterlot, and even around the globe. The whole world was in turmoil. Buildings destroyed, vegetation set on fire, and dead bodies strewn everywhere. Adagio Dazzle in particular was laughing evilly, finally able to conquer this world. We ran up to the park, which was in ruin. Our group was armed with whatever we could find, ranging from baseball bats to bits of rubble, and even a makeshift bow and arrow with flaming tips. The Dazzlings didn’t notice us at first. I pulled out my gun and took a shot at Adagio’s head. A red forcefield surrounded the Dazzlings and the bullet bounced off. The Dazzlings stopped their assault and turned around.
“HEY!!!” I screamed at them. “YOU THOUGHT YOU’D GET AN EASY FIGHT?!?” Adagio growled and motioned for Aria to attack. Aria dove down and we dodged the attack. She stopped quickly and turned back around. She shot a blast of energy at us, and Sunset Shimmer deflected it with a thin piece of rebar. Aria screeched at us, furious. She charged and picked me up. She flew high into the air, trying to punch me. I avoided her attacks, and retaliated. I swung at her with my Terminator arm and clocked her in the face. She let go of me and both she and I fell.
“Well, shit,” I cursed as I fell. So this was the end of me. Falling to my death. I closed my eyes and waited for impact. I suddenly felt my body change directions. I opened my eyes and saw Rainbow Dash holding me as she landed on the ground on her feet.
“Thanks for the lift.” I said as Rainbow Dash put me down.
“Any time,” Rainbow nodded. She tackled me as a blast of energy exploded behind her. We rolled and landed back on our feet.
“Thanks,” I said again.
“Don’t mention it,” Rainbow Dash said. We joined back up with the group, and Aria flew back up with the other Dazzlings. Applejack drew the flaming bow and let loose an arrow. The arrow whizzed by Sonata’s head, singeing a strand of hair. Adagio charged up a powerful blast and held it up high. I pulled out my pistol and shot the charging blast. It exploded in Adagio’s hand, causing the Dazzlings to severely flinch. Applejack fired off another arrow, and it struck Sonata in the gut. Sonata screamed, and she quickly tore the arrow out. She bled for a moment, but the power of the amulets healed her quickly.
“That’s gonna make our job a whole lot hard’r.” Applejack said.
“Keep fighting!” I cried. “We can’t let them win.”
“There’s nothing left to fight for,” Adagio cackled, her voice in an echo. “Your world is in ruin, and all you care for is gone.”
“We care for each other!” Sunset Shimmer cried. “And we will always fight for friendship!” The Dazzlings fired a blast of energy at us. We jumped back and the blast exploded. We ended up separated, quite a bit of distance between us.
“SUNSET!!!” I cried. “CATCH!!!” I grabbed the crown from my pack and threw it to Sunset Shimmer. She caught it and quickly put it on. A black and white pillar of energy blasted into the sky, and it almost immediately disappeared. Sunset Shimmer had changed to her she-demon form. I had never seen anything like this. She was significantly taller, had a tattered fiery dress, and her skin was a dark red. She had black and green eyes, bat wings, and fiery hair. She looked rather terrifying. Sunset Shimmer grabbed the Dazzlings with her dark magic and threw them across the park. She looked down at us.
“Cover your eyes!” she ordered. Her voice was deeper, and also in an echo. The rest of us shielded our eyes, and Sunset’s changed to a hypnotic swirl. Glowing rings looped around the heads of the many dead bodies lying around, and they rose up, eyes glowing green. The zombies stood in lines underneath Demon Shimmer, ready to fight. We opened our eyes as the Dazzlings came flying back. Sonata fired a blast, and a wave of zombies leapt up. The blast incinerated the zombies, protecting Demon Shimmer and the rest of us.
“NOW!!!” I cried. Demon Shimmer fired a dark blast, I shot my pistol, and Applejack fired an arrow. The Dazzlings simply brushed off the attacks and fired attacks of their own. The blast sent the zombies and us flying, and a small piece of rubble knocked the crown off Demon Shimmer’s head, changing her back to normal. The zombies’ eyes went blank again, and Adagio laughed.
“You failed, Sunset Shimmer,” she said. “Your friends have failed you. Finish them.” Aria, Sonata, and Adagio levitated everyone except for me on top of the CHS Orpheum. They tied nooses around their necks and prepared to push them off. I was underneath a pile of zombie corpses. I pushed them off to see Rarity get pushed off the Orpheum. She fell only a few feet before the noose snapped her neck, leaving her hanging. I ran to try and save them, but Pinkie Pie was shoved off. She was hung as well.
“Take another step and we kill the rest!” Aria yelled. I kept running. Sonata, Aria, and Adagio pushed off Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, leaving them for Death to retrieve. Aria stepped behind Sunset Shimmer. I stopped dead.
“And now, you see everything die before you!” Aria laughed.
“No, please,” I angrily begged. “Don’t do this. Just let her go, and take me instead.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Aria said, evilly grinning. As she kicked Sunset Shimmer off the edge, everything went into slow motion. I screamed and ran toward the stage. I jumped, and the metal plate on my back exploded into mechanical wings. I sliced the rope that Sunset was attached to and grabbed her mid jump. I landed on the ground with Sunset Shimmer in my arms as time reverted to normal. Sunset Shimmer looked up at me. I had equine ears, longer hair to resemble the tail, and my mechanical wings were spread wide on my back. I put her down, and she took my hand. She magically grew her own equine ears and long hair. This is what protected us. Our love for each other. I held my pistol out, and Sunset held it with her free hand. Magic bubbled up within the chambered bullet, and the Dazzlings knew that it was now or never. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata charged up a powerful blast and launched it down at us. The blast was absorbed into the bullet, making it even more powerful. Sunset and I looked at each other, and nodded. We turned back to the Dazzlings, and pulled the trigger. The bullet blasted out of the shell, infused with our own magic and the absorbed magic of the Dazzlings. The bullet struck Adagio Dazzle in the chest, and it exploded. The blinding light of the explosion caused me and Sunset to close our eyes. When we opened them back up, the Dazzlings were gone. Sunset and I dropped to the charred ground, exhausted. Lightning suddenly flashed, casting shadows of Sunset’s friends’ hanging corpses. We looked up, and immediately turned away, for it was a gruesome sight. We stood up, and Sunset’s left leg gave out. I caught her on my shoulder. Sunset looked at me.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?” I whispered back, tears in my eyes.
“Saving my life,” Sunset said. She kissed me on the lips, and I returned the kiss. I helped Sunset limp out of the park, the Dazzlings finally defeated. But it came at a dreadful cost, the loss of friends and an entire world.
