Sunset Shimmer: War Mage

Once everyone was gathered, Sparky and her friends repeated the details of their individual meetings.  It did not take long; the Order leaders had covered what little was known as best they could.  Once they were done sharing those updates, they discussed the new living arrangements.  Everyone was in too much shock for there to be any protest to the mandatory guests, not that Sparky expected any.  She asked Dusk to help her arrange their new living quarters.

The plan, which only took a few minutes because of Sparky's guidance, set an initial draft to be revisited as needed.  Everyone would be sharing their rooms based on personality and available space.  Sparky claimed both Star Dust and Wild Tart on the pretext of allowing the Trois Fleurs to share a room.  Though Pixie wanted Midnight in her room, she was to move into the master bedroom with her parents and sister.  That placed Midnight with Dusk and away from the hidden tarot deck.  Their other guests would have to share the basement, allowing those who knew what was actually happening to isolate them when necessary.

Then there was the concern over True Names.  Sparky, her cabal-mates, the Trois Fleurs, and the two Sleepers all knew each other.  The only exception was Pixel Bit, who could be trusted to keep the secret.  Sparky alone knew Midnight's True Name, while the teen only knew Sparky's and Orchid's.

If not for Rarity and Scootaloo, there would be no issue.  The Sleepers would not understand the need for code names, and forcing them to accept it was crossing too far into abusing magick and risked harming them.  There was no way to keep them safe by removing them from the equation and sending them elsewhere.

Given how deeply engrained her Shadow Name was, it even being on her driver's license, Midnight preferred not to share her True Name.  Her higher status and greater overall magickal enlightenment to the others made it fair for her to refuse.  Trust existed, but the current situation made it a bad idea to share a True Name, even with a geas.

They settled upon an alternative.  Sparky suggested using a Mind spell that would erase their True Names from Midnight's memory if she fell into enemy hands or when she relocated from the sanctum.  It was not the same as the one used when she revealed her True Name to Sparky, as that required a powerful Witch to cast it on both and Star Dust admitted she was not up to the task.  Midnight or Sparky could trigger it for all or for select names, and Sparky could Bind it to the others' True Names to ensure it could not be used to alter any of Midnight's other memories.  The only minor issue was that she would have to cast the spell at the sanctum, since it would require she speak their names.

"Why are you staying with us?" Orchid asked.  "Ace and Clash are pretty strong."

"Clash will be staying with his pack until this is over, and Ace will have to come and go.  Even with my skill, I'd be vulnerable.  I requested to stay with you when Ace was driving us here.  I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Sparky assured her.  "I think we'll all feel safer with your help."

Everyone nodded, including their two youngest members, though that may have been due to Pixie's oncoming crash and the fact that Violet liked to bob her head when others did.  Satisfied, Sparky agreed to ride with the Trois Fleurs, who would also transport Midnight.  They would be going to purchase something to pass for beds.  The sanctum did not have places available for so many extra people to sleep, even including the fold-out couch and the two recliners - unless they started sleeping in shifts - and neither did they have the space nor the money to add normal beds.

At a sporting goods store, Sparky helped select fold-out cots for the extras, almost exactly like the ones used at the Adamantine Arrow's boot camp.  They also decided to get foam pads to make the cots more comfortable.  Light sleeping bags and pillows rounded out their immediate necessities.  As they paid for everything, Sparky was glad the Consilium planned to reimburse expenses.  Her cabal members had each agreed to pool all of their income, but that did not mean they had large sums of money sitting in the bank.  She kept the night's receipt and tucked it into her wallet for preservation like it was an holy relic.

They were glad everything fit into the boot of Walker's car.  There would be time to purchase more food the next day, as well as to take the others to collect their necessities.  The small group preferred to get some rest as soon as possible.

The others were waiting for them when they arrived.  After moving their three sleeping friends to the basement, they each dispersed to their quarters for the night.  The two cots fit snugly in Sunset's room, leaving them just the space needed to manoeuvre should any of them have to get up during the night.  When she suggested rotating so each could have a turn on a real bed, Trixie and Lemon Zest refused.

"We'll be fine on the cots.  You need a proper bed for your leg."

When she saw the firm resolution on their faces, Sunset knew there would be no arguing with her friends.  She only sighed before retiring.

The next morning, she realised they had all made a significant oversight:  There was no plan to explain the extra guests to Rarity and Scootaloo.  The fashionista and the skateboarder were more than a little surprised when Rose, Lily, and Daisy joined them in the kitchen for breakfast, which Sunset had cooked.  In lieu of using magick yet again, she knew she would have to tell them as much of the truth as could.

"There are crazy and violent people in this city hunting for 'witches,'" she said.  "Our involvement with the Equestrian magic at school makes us targets.  For whatever reason, the girls here have been threatened, too."

"Good heavens!"  Rarity placed a hand over her heart.  "What about the rest of our friends and their families?"

She shook her head.  "Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are safely hidden, but they got to Fluttershy and Sweet Apple Acres before we even knew they were here."

"Wait, you mean...."  Rarity shuddered.  "Applejack and her family are gone?  They murdered Fluttershy?"  She began to cry again.  "Why?  What ever did we do to them?"

As Sweetie Belle hugged her sister, Sunset continued, "Apple Bloom is safe.  Pinkie checked on her and confirmed it last night.  The police are taking her into protective custody for now."

"How did they know about us?"

"I don't know, Scootaloo.  The authorities are already investigating.  I know it's not much, but we'll do what we can to keep you safe until they're caught."

"Let me at those bastards; I'll kill them myself," Scootaloo declared.  Sunset recognised the fire in the young woman's eyes, not too different from Sunset's when she abandoned Equestria and began plotting the destruction of her home.

"Scootaloo, I know you're angry, but you don't want to go that route."

"Yes, I do.  They're going to pay, Sunset.  Jail's too good.  I'll rip them apart with my bare hands if I have to."

"No, you won't.  I will lock you in the basement until the police catch them, but I don't think I'll have to resort to that.  You know why?"  Before Scootaloo could answer the question or object, Sunset continued, "You're not a murderer.  No matter how bad they are, I want to think about it.  Could you really kill them?"

"Yes."

Sunset guided her friend to the basement to give them privacy.  She pulled a loaded gun from the waistband of her jeans before flicking the safety to give it to Scootaloo.

"I'm not letting you out unless you kill me."

"Now's not the time for dramatics."  Scootaloo tried to return the weapon, but Sunset refused to take it.  "What's gotten into you?"

"You're angry and want to get back at the people who killed our friends.  I understand that better than you know.  If you're looking for targets, start here.  Everyone would be fine if I hadn't come through that gods-damned portal, so this is my fault."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Sunset grabbed the her friend's hands and pointed the gun at her own chest.

"I brought that stupid crown here and accidentally gave everyone the magic that started this mess.  Those killers wouldn't be after all of you if I hadn't been so selfish.  I started it.  If you can kill me, you'll prove you're ready to punish them."

Scootaloo tried to move her hands, but Sunset kept them in place.  "You didn't kill them.  What is wrong with you?"

"I might as well have.  You wouldn't be targets if I hadn't come here.  Applejack would be an ordinary farmer.  Fluttershy would be a really great veterinarian that loves animals.  Flash Sentry, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Rarity's parents would be alive.  It's my fault, Scootaloo.  Kill me."

"You need help."  She wrested the gun from Sunset's hands and dropped it, which caused it to discharge into the wall.  Scootaloo paled, her eyes wide as she inspected the new hole in the wall.  "That was loaded?"

"Of course."  Sunset's face was expressionless.  "You'd either kill me and then them, kill me and lose it, or not kill me.  What are you going to do?"

"I still want to get revenge."  Scootaloo's breathing was a little ragged and her hands trembled, though a decent portion of her overwhelming rage had vanished into fear, anger, and sorrow.  "They don't deserve a second chance for something like this."

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with being angry.  You heard Pinkie:  We all are.  I just don't want to see you become a killer."

Sweetie Belle opened the door and ran down the stairs.  "What's going on?  Was that a gunshot?"

"Sunset Shimmer has gone mental."

Scootaloo recounted what had happened.  She did not see Rarity at the top of the stairs, who descended to join them when Scootaloo finished speaking.

"I hope that was merely a teaching device, darling.  If you really blame yourself for what these ... so-and-sos are doing, then I must concur that you do need help."

"And if I do?  Why would you disagree?"

"Because you changed.  You may not have had the correct reason for coming here or for stealing the crown, but you left that behind you years ago.  If not for you, my dear sister would have continued to suffer, Pixie may not even exist, and I would not have had my own change."

"You've helped the rest of us a lot, too," Scootaloo offered.  "Like when I went for that scholarship, and you helped me write the essay that got it.  You've been another big sister for all of us."

Sunset hugged them both.  "This didn't exactly go how I meant it, but are you two feeling even a little better?"

"This distraction, insane as it was, has helped to clear my mind."  Rarity returned the hug.

"We can't bring back the family and friends we've lost, but we will get through this.  Please promise me that you'll stay here and be safe.  Let the professionals catch the bad guys."

"I will," Scootaloo said, Rarity echoing her.  "What about your friends?  Those people who got rid of the spirits?"

"They're targets, too, but they have magick to protect themselves.  They'll be giving me updates as they learn more."

"Where's Water Sapphire?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Pixie took him upstairs to play.  You have no idea how much I appreciate her maturity and willingness to help."

Sunset checked their emotions again and found that Rarity had been honest:  She was more settled, though her grief remained.  They would all need time to heal, but the companionship of friends was likely to accelerate the process.

She knew that her plan had been absurd, though she was pleased with the results.  Her teachers in the Adamantine Arrow had devoted much time to the concept of redirection, though most would have berated her rash actions with Scootaloo.  They also would have known instantly that she had presented a loaded gun not because she was sure Scootaloo would not use it but because Sunset did feel guilt.  She was glad none of her peers or leaders would ever learn of that, else they would definitely order her into counselling.

With the situation under control, they went back upstairs to have breakfast.  None of the Trois Fleurs asked what had happened.

After the meal, Sunset took Midnight to visit the sites of some of the other attacks.  The Consilium was focused on their sancta, having Witches and Alchemists search for clues.  Midnight normally would have participated in the investigation with the others, but she was the most talented with soothsaying in the area, so they needed her readings.  Their leaders seemed to have forgotten that a closer connection to the victims would give her the sympathetic connections for more accurate fortune telling, which was why she agreed to help Sunset.

First was Sweetie Belle's old home.  Sunset had not visited it since the day she took custody of her friend.  Like all the other attack sites, it was a burnt husk.  What it represented to Sunset had changed significantly, but she did have fond memories there, making its destruction more than a little painful.

Police tape blocked the area, though there were no guards present at that time.  While their presence did not matter to experienced Mages, Sunset preferred to avoid using magick when she did not need it.  They strolled onto the property, not caring if any neighbours saw them.  At least a few would likely recognise Sunset, though she was nearly untraceable at that point and was not concerned with whether the police decided to look for her.

Midnight was an Adept of Time, which gave her the power to look well into the past or even into the future.  While the latter still would not allow them to find the Witch Hunters or any future targets, the former was about to help them know what had happened at the house.  Though she was only an Initiate of Death, Midnight could lock her review of the past onto the inhabitants' demise.

As she had with Sweetie Belle, Sunset established a link between them while Midnight searched for the moment Magnum and Cookie died, then looked back further to see what had happened.

The late-middle-aged couple were wishing Rarity a good night and a safe trip home, happily exclaiming over the coming grandchild and gleefully spoiling Water Sapphire.  Though she felt some anger on Sweetie Belle's behalf for the unfair treatment, Sunset ignored it to watch the scene.

As with the events at Sweet Apple Acres, a vehicle rented from a different agency pulled into the drive, missing Rarity only by a few minutes.  One the masqued attackers, a woman, kicked her way through the front door, holding her gun.

"Where are your daughters?" she shouted at the terrified spouses.

To her credit, despite trembling at the weapon pointed in their faces, Cookie replied, "I'm not telling you."

A single bullet ended her.  "Wrong answer, bitch."  The assailant looked at Magnum.  "Where are they?  Tell me now."

Magnum's eyes were watering as he looked at his wife's body.  Blood seeped across the floor, her face still twisted into defiance.

"I'm not telling you."

He took three bullets, aimed for pain, and still refused to give either of his daughters' locations.  He did not admit that he did not know where to find Sweetie Belle, even if he had been willing to betray her again.  Finally, the attacker seemed to realise she would not get the answer she desired and killed him.

Three Witch Hunters burnt the house exactly as they had the farm before leaving.  Sunset was not so outraged as she had been for the Apples' murders, but she was still angry.  She did not want to see them killed, even if they had abused her best friend, despite what her old nightmares of torturing them once suggested.

"It doesn't surprise me that the Witch Hunters couldn't find Sweetie Belle, but why couldn't they find Rarity?  They killed her husband.  Maybe they realised they had just missed her?"

"You didn't read her mind while we were looking back?"

"It was hidden from me.  My only other question is 'why Sweetie Belle?'  Do you think they figured out that she's a Mage?  I know Apple Bloom's not in the city, but they didn't bother with Scootaloo, who would have been an easy target, even though they went after all of my friends."

"I'm not sure."  Midnight contemplated the question as they returned to Sunset's car.  "They clearly know a lot about us, so it's possible her identity as a Mage leaked at some point."

"Animal hospital next?"

Midnight nodded.  "Yeah."

Taking the most direct route they could, they travelled to the location Fluttershy had spent her final moments.  The shell of scorched brick that smelt of death had a guard present, but Mind and Space meant Sunset could move into places without being seen or could get access from someone who would immediately forget her.

This Vigilante had also been female.  She entered the building just as it was closing for the day.  Without a word, she used a gun to kill the receptionist before marching into the back.  It appeared to have a normal suppressor on the end, but it was far better at genuinely silencing the weapon than any Sunset had ever seen.

Even with her attempt to be discreet, the animals seemed to know that there was a threat present.  Fluttershy had been shutting them into their various kennels for the night when every critter started to behave madly, the many still free charging at the door.  Those few already within their cages began to throw themselves at the gates, a few battering their way to freedom.

Some of the smaller animals, bunnies gerbils, and birds in particular, tried to guide their beloved caretaker to the rear door while the dogs and cats guarded the entrance.

"What's going on?" the young woman asked.  "Why are you acting like this?"

The animals' response was to become more frantic in getting her to safety.  The assailant was not waiting; she forced her way into the shelter.  Though many of the animals swarmed their enemy, she was too skilled to be deterred.  With vicious kicks, she shattered a few of the largest defenders, the sound of their bones breaking causing both Sunset and Midnight to wince.  What animals got under her feet were mercilessly trampled.  The smartest attempted to encircle her, falling to quiet bullets.

Fluttershy had been screaming and sobbing as she witnessed the manner in which her friends were were maimed and butchered.  Despite her choked pleas for the brutality to cease, they continued to fight.  No matter how many fell, so great was the animals' love for her - easily visible to Sunset's magick despite it being a view of the past - that they continued until none remained.  Those still living whined and groaned as they struggled to return to the battle, their bodies too badly damaged to do anything other than watch as the woman advanced at the person they so desperately wished to protect.

The smaller critters abandoned their attempt to push Fluttershy to safety and launched their own attack.  Their swarm was no more successful than the first, the killer easily forcing her way past them.  She was somehow capable of moving with speed and dexterity far greater than the average person.  In seconds, many more small bodies littered the floor.

Fluttershy knelt there, sobbing, her hands clenching and releasing.  She did not once turn her gaze from the carnage, her only words having been to beg the animals to abandon her when she realised the assailant would not stop.  When the woman stopped a mere two paces from the shaking veterinarian, Fluttershy looked directly into her eyes.

She kept her voice firm, primal rage filling her and giving her the strength to offer what would be her final words.  "I don't know why you want to kill me, but you didn't have to hurt them.  I would have given myself up.  What kind of monster are you?"

There was no response.  The attacker levelled her gun and ended Fluttershy's life.  What animals survived began to wail, ignored as the killer's accomplices entered and began dousing the room in fuel.  They only paused at the door to set the room ablaze.  Without looking back at what they had done, they left.

Midnight ended their view of the past.  She had only met Fluttershy twice, but it was obvious that seeing to what depths their enemy would stoop had left her empty.  Sunset felt the same, unable to find words suitable for what they had witnessed.  The two shared a brief embrace, allowing it to speak for them.

Their final stop was Carousel Boutique.  Shortly after Rarity graduated, Night Star herself had offered full financial backing in exchange for forty-nine percent ownership.  It had been one of the happiest days of Rarity's life.  During one of her increasingly infrequent visits, Princess Twilight had remarked on how similar the building was to pony-Rarity's own boutique in Ponyville.  It was good she could not see it now, the customary ruins of life and livelihood belying the beauty and warmth that the establishment once exuded.

Flash Sentry had been getting ready for bed when the attackers came.  He saw their masqued faces through an upstairs window and raced into the bedroom to retrieve a gun.  When a man entered the shop by kicking his way through the door, Flash was positioned at the top of the stairs and began shooting at the intruder.

Though Flash's time in military service meant that he knew how to handle a gun, he made the mistake of aiming for the centre of mass on a person wearing heavy body armour.  Three of his four shots were true, but failed to do harm to the assassin.  The attacker returned fire, missing his target as Flash ducked into the living spaces above the sales floor.  The two waiting in the car must have heard the exchange, as they joined their ally.

All three marched carefully up the stairs, using hand signals and gestures as one watched the hallway to cover the other two searching each room.  They found their target in the master bedroom, where he managed to get a few more shots at them.  Flash had learnt his lesson and aimed for less-protected targets.  One of his shots struck an assailant in the neck, who did not make a sound as he collapsed to the floor.  His partner returned fire, clipping Flash's side and causing him to drop his gun.

Before he could retrieve it or move, both uninjured men were upon him.

"Where is your wife?" one asked, his foot atop the loose gun.  "You get one chance to answer."

One hand clutched to his bleeding side, Flash Sentry remained silent.  He deigned only to salute them with his middle finger.  They each shot him once, aiming for non-vital targets that would only cause him to bleed to death.

When they were satisfied that he would not be able to move, and that he did not have a telephone accessible, they retreated with their fallen comrade.  Once they stashed the body in their rented vehicle - being careful not to leave any traces of blood - they set fire to the lower area.  Flash bled on the floor, his eyes fixed to a bedside photograph of the two of them at their wedding.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save your shop," he wheezed.  "Please, God, protect her and the kids."

Sunset and Midnight did not watch to see whether the smoke or the blood loss killed him.  Death Sight would tell them if they wanted to know.  When they ended their review of the past, both were again without words.

They returned to the car, Sunset only then able to break the silence.  "I was a bridesmaid at their wedding with all of our friends."  Her voice cracked as she asked, "Why would they do something like that?  How do people turn into ... that?"

Midnight was silent until they neared the house.

"Professional Hunters with a large Conspiracy have access to things that make it harder for us to see them," she explained.  "Considering everything I've ever heard of them, though, this is massive.  Their cells are like our cabals.  I'm starting to think the Hierarch was right:  This is a Compact-level attack."

"Compact?"

"Cells are like cabals, Conspiracies are like the global Orders, and Compacts are like individual Consilia or Assemblies."

Over one hundred Mages called the city their home.  Sunset understood what Midnight was telling her.  "Bloody hell."

As each attack had been simultaneous, it meant Sunset had personally witnessed thirteen different Witch Hunters.  Not one of their cells had left anything easily traced.  Even Midnight could not focus on them outside viewing the past, and even then needed some other anchor to know where to look.  Something made them difficult to track in the present.  Gender notwithstanding, their armour and clothing ensured they all looked the same, and their vehicles were each rented from different agencies across the city.

If they were capable of disguising themselves from Mages, then there would be more deaths, Banishers or no Banishers.