Sunset Shimmer whistled on her way to the music room. Her friends were waiting, and she wasn't going to let them down.
"Sunset Shimmer?"
Principal Celestia was standing by the door along with Vice Principal Luna. They both looked at her with faces of approval.
"We wish to say thank you for your work here at this school. We hope to see you again in the future." And with that, they headed to the gym. Sunset just smiled at her teachers.
"Sunset. Change of plans. We need you to go to the gym in five minutes. Meet us there," Rainbow called as she rushed past her, followed by every one of her friends.
Sunset chuckled. "Guess I'll stay here."
She started to head to the gym, once getting the approval of her phone. She opened the doors and noticed it was dark. She moved along the wall searching for the light switch as the door closed.
"SURPRISE!"
She jumped as the lights flickered on and the entire school crowded the place. They all smiled and grinned at her.
"Um, hi. What's going on?" Sunset asked while stepping to the stage, trying to escape the hordes of people.
"We would like to explain that to you, if you would sit." Luna stepped at a microphone, her sister waiting. Sunset looked around. Where were her friends?
"Sunset!" Rainbow waved her over. Sunset walked over to her best friends and sat next to Pinkie and Fluttershy. They patted her gently.
"Sunset Shimmer. We are gathered here today to say thank you. You have done a great deed for us. You have saved our school three times, and we owe you a great deal.
"You have protected us, and we are truly grateful for it. The Battle of the Bands, the Friendship Games, Camp Everfree...in fact, Gloriosa asked us to tell you thanks. We all give you this gift."
And with that, they turned around to the bag sitting on the ground.
And the bag moved.
It transformed.
The thing was was hideous. It was a she, guessing with the long green-blue hair. A green-blue dress hung from her figure. She had black skin, plus a horn. A horn that had holes. She had holes. She was a hole in the world.
She was Queen Chrysalis.
The queen of the Changelings laughed. "Come out, my subjects. Feast." And with that, all hell exploded.
Changelings everywhere. Sunset witnessed something she could never forget- death. A Changelings grabbed Flash Sentry and bit into his neck. They did that to everyone they could get their hands on. They killed and fed. It was horrible.
Sunset felt a tug on her arm. Rainbow was pulling her away. Rainbow was saving her. Where was Fluttershy? What about Rarity and Applejack? Pinkie and Twilight?
"Come on, Sunset. Applejack!" Rainbow yelled. The country girl was over with Rarity. They were making their way towards them. Fluttershy and Pinkie were carrying Twilight. Twilight wasn't awake.
Fluttershy suddenly gasped. "Scootaloo! Applebloom! Sweetie Belle!" She ran to the trio as they were cornered. The Changelings cornering them looked up in surprise as she pushed past them and grabbed the girls. She got to the exit just as the others got out.
They ran and ran. No idea where they were going. They just ran.
"We need to get to the portal." Sunset muttered.
"No. We have to see...Granny...Big Mac...." Applejack ran to the barn they had somehow gotten to. "Granny!"
"What are you doing, Applejack? The world's not ending. Hold on." Granny Smith opened the door slowly and Applejack lunged at her with a hug.
"Granny," she sobbed, "I was so worried."
"What are you goin on about?"
Sunset pushed past them and collapsed.
"Is she all right?" Granny asked. "Are any of you all right?"
The other girls carried Twilight in and Fluttershy cradled the younger girls in her arms. "It's all right."
"What's going on?" Granny Smith demanded.
"Where's Big Mac?" Applejack asked, looking around.
"He's with Cherilee at the school."
Applejack's eyes widened. She dropped to her knees and sobbed. She had lost her brother.
Rainbow bent down next to her friend. "Applejack, I'm sorry. But he would want you to survive. So that's what we need to do."
"Sis." Applebloom sat down. "I know what you feel. But Rainbow is right. He would want us to survive, and he wouldn't want us to die jus' cause he did." Tears ran from her eyes but she continued on. "We have to because that's what Big Mac wants. We need to respect his wishes."
"What are you going on about?" Granny was getting worried and she let it crawl into her voice. "Why are you crying, and where is Big Mac?"
"Granny, where do you keep your tools and also first aid kit?" Rarity asked.
"First aid? In the cabinet."
Applebloom stood and wiped her tears. "I'll get it."
"Oh no, you won't, not til you give me some sort of explanation," Granny Smith said. She grabbed Applebloom's arm. "What in tarnation is going on?"
As they led the Apples away, no one truly saw Granny's reaction. No one other than those who were present.
"Come on, Twilight," Rarity muttered while applying bandages to her friend's head. "Please wake up."
"Sunset?" Fluttershy knelt down to the fiery haired girl. "Are you all right?"
Sunset hadn't responded. She had looked into the small fire that someone had started, she didn't know who. She started and thought how she was going to rip every Changeling in the world to shreds.
Author's Note
The first chapter didn't go well. I hope you all will reconsider in these next chapters, at least to remove the downvote. If not, that's perfectly fine.
Current State
That had been four months ago. Sunset hadn't gotten a chance to tell Princess Twilight about it yet. The Changelings had been attacking different cities and growing larger. Maretonia was gone. Trottington was a base, overrun by the monsters, and they believed Queen Chrysalis was there.
She didn't know. All she wanted was to think everything was all right. It had all happened so fast....
Sunset had studied the Changelings as Celestia's student. They fed on love. Which raised the question why they were attacking. That perhaps, fed them, but not enough. They had slaves which fed them a steady supply of love. The news was given to them by the radio. Some smart people were hiding and had a signal. That, and cameras.
She paused to look at her hand. A Changeling had taken a bite out of it in an earlier fight. Fluttershy had wrapped it carefully in bandages. It still made her since at times, but she toughed it out.
Right now she was on a looting run, trying to find supplies. It was hard to harvest any crops at times like this, even with the Apples farming speciality. In the first week, it was seeing the survivors. Trixie, Gilda, Photo Finish and her assistants. Pinkie's family. That was all. Canterlot was overrun.
She didn't live here, but she felt some sadness at the world she knew dead. She glared at the ground as she walked.
"Flaming 1, this is Multi 3. Location? Over." Rainbow Dash's voice came through her earpiece. Twilight had made them for all of her friends. They especially used them for missions like these, when they needed simple communication. Not a phone, where you would need to hold it.
"Multi 3, this is Flaming 1. Location is at Sugarcube Corner. Going in. Over." She looked around the corner to see a Changeling. She reached down into a sheath by her ankle and pulled out a dangerously sharp knife. Sharper than most knives, and would easily slice a throat. She growled and gripped it tighter.
"Changeling in sight. I am engaging. Over." She took a breath before running towards the Changeling. It dropped it's meal and hissed. She didn't shout, not wanting to draw unwanted attention.
She ran to a box, jumped on it, and used the momentum to swing herself on the Changeling. With one smooth move, she held out her knife and sliced it in a big smile on the throat. As she slid down, she pressed a button on her earpiece. "This is Flaming 1. I have killed a Changeling by Sugarcube Corner. Over."
Walking away, she scowled. The Changelings would pay for what they did. She would make sure of it.
Queen Chrysalis smirked. The cowering human in front of her was making her feel extremely powerful. She stepped away from her throne. "So," she said in her slithering voice, "the ponies in a parallel universe had turned to humans. Fascinating. A portal, which Princess Twilight must have gone through. She cares about this world. And that is why we will slaughter everyone and when she comes back...." She grinned.
"This is just perfect."
Sunset headed to the farm. She fully expected the blade that swung to meet her throat.
"Why are you here Changeling?" Limestone Pie growled. She gripped her sword tighter. "Answer quick if you value your head."
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Aaaahmahlahquickchsjsnd." The code word Pinkie made up. They had to repeat it over and over to get it exactly right. However, it would be hard with a forked tongue.
Limestone's expression got no softer but she released her hold on Sunset. "You may pass."
Sunset walked away from Pinkie Pie's violent sister. They were all so different from the pink girl, but you could see they were related.
"Hi Sunset! Heard you got a Changeling. Get any food?" Pinkie Pie, speak of the devil, popped up. "Rarity and Fluttershy got some medicine. Good thing too, we were running out."
Sunset nodded. "Not much."
Pinkie's smile slipped a little, but she shrugged. "Little is better than none!"
The fiery haired girl went to the barn. As she stepped in, she noticed that Twilight was reading to the CMC. Probably teaching them new things, she figured. You could never have too much knowledge, in Twilight's opinion.
Rarity noticed Sunset Shimmer and went to her. "How are you? Did you get supplies?"
Sunset held up the bag with food and drinks so her friend could see. She was so exhausted that it didn't matter. She hadn't been sleeping properly since the Changelings attacked. Rarity saw this and patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry. It's not your shift tonight. It's Rainbow's and AJ's."
"What about the other parts of the farm?" Sunset asked, slightly delirious.
Rarity smiled gently at her friend. "Gilda and Trixie. We might leave Limestone on her watch. Spike is going to help out too. He could tell us if we're under attack."
"Yeah, okay. I'm going to call it a night." Sunset mumbled. "Here, take the food and supplies. Night."
She headed to the room she and her friends slept in. It was Applejack's room, but she shared. The CMC slept in Applebloom's room, along with the people from school. Pinkie's family slept in Big Mac's room.
She collapsed on her spot and fell asleep, knowing that she most likely wouldn't be able to sleep.
Sunset woke groggily. She looked around and saw Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy all sleeping in their spots. She looked at the clock and saw it was 5:30. She groaned. "Great. Another not good sleep." She stood up and stretched. "Better than most nights."
She went to the kitchen. Granny Smith was already there, creating something with an aroma that made Sunset's mouth water. Pinkie Pie's parents were here as well.
"Good morning, Sunset." Granny Smith welcomed her with a gesture of her spoon. "Morning indeed. Up early again?"
"I couldn't sleep." Sunset sighed and slouched.
"Slouching is bad for your back, missy," Granny Smith lectured. She waved the spoon in the air. "Stand up straight!"
Sunset smiled and did as she was told. She walked out to Gilda and Trixie. They looked over at her with worry.
"You two can go back inside. I can take your shift for now." Sunset walked to them and swung her hand to the farmhouse.
"Are you sure?" Gilda asked. Her ego had gone down a considerable amount with everything. She was much easier to speak to when she wasn't bragging or saying that you were a dweeb or loser. She was also more agreeable with fear.
Sunset nodded. "I'm fine."
Trixie didn't say anything, just nodded back with relief. They disappeared and Sunset Shimmer turned to look at the forest in front of her. She sighed once more, knowing she was going to eventually pass out with exhaustion. She accepted this, and made sure to stand rather than sit.
Besides, it was better to be standing if Changelings attacked.
