Past Desires, Future Ambitious
“Hurry! Run! Before she finds us!”
“We’re dead! We’re Dead! She’ll kill us all!”
“Shut up, all of you! And keep moving. We’re not dead yet!”
Vaul ran along side his companions through the building’s ruined interior with only a hole ridden wall as cover, listening to their grief-stricken minds foretell death for them all. Looking around the foreboding husk of the building, Vaul found it hard not to agree with them.
Their leader, Brotes, came to a stop at an opening, signalled them to be quiet before examining the area before them. Satisfied, Brotes lead them down a steep ditch that had once been a source of water for the entire city. Vaul was the last to land within the ditch just as Brotes crossed over the lip of the other side. Catching his breath, Vaul ran his gaze over the dry ditch he stood in before looking into the sky, allowing memories to rush to the forefront of his mind.
Planet Vice was a thriving world. Its many cultures and species had achieved a respectable harmony that cultivated to the planet’s civilizations reaching utopian prosperity. As a result, the people of Vice had little use for weapons of any kind as every dispute, whether it was a difference in opinions or a difference in belief, was settled diplomatically where both sides would eventually settle into a compromise. That all changed when the Saiyans arrived.
“Vaul! What are you doing?” Startled, Vaul turned to see Brotes looking at him as he pulled one of their companions out of the ditch. “Get moving, before we get spo…ah!”
Vaul looked on, his face paled in horror as Brotes groaned in pain before coughing up blood while catching the expression of disbelief from the companion he was helping up. Following his gaze, Brotes lowered his eyes down his chest to discover what had frightened his companion as well as the cause of his discomfort.
There was a hand sticking out of his chest.
“Hehehe. I found you.”
Brotes clinched his teeth in pain as he looked over his shoulder the voice had spoken from to find a female with blue skin, waring a skintight purple top and black pants, purple gloves and boots with standard Saiyan armor that featured guards at the shoulders and hips. Her hair was a lighter shade of blue with dark blue streaks that flowed into a rather long pony tail.
And she was smiling.
“It was fun playing with you guys.” She said in a high pitched voice as she lowered her hand, aiming it towards Vaul and his companions as a dark blue energy orb appeared in her hand. Grinning maniacally, the Saiyan, Sonata Dusk brought her face right beside Brotes. “But now it’s time to kill you all.”
And with that, Vaul watched helplessly as Sonata obliterated them all, laughing as if she were playing a simple game with her friends.
An explosion erupted in the distance of where two women sat on the top of a abandoned skyscraper. One of the two, Aria Blaze, who had pink skin, purple hair styled into long pigtails with aquamarine streaks down both of them, wore a green and purple standard Saiyan armor that only had shoulder guards with a greenish blue top and reddish purple pants and deep purple bracers and boots, watch with mild interest as more explosions appeared in the horizon.
“Looks like Sonata found the rest of the survivors.” Aria said aloud as she turned to look at her sister. “It’s about time, too. The food here was terrible. I need a meal, Adagio.”
The second woman, who had yellow skin, big, orange, curly hair with yellow streaks in it that covered her entire back and wore a light blue shirt and pants with black gloves, boots, and armor that did not have shoulder guards, Adagio Dazzle stood up from her seat and walked toward the edge of the skyscraper’s roof. “Yes Aria, you’ve made that perfectly clear for the last week.”
Standing at the edge, Adagio watched as Sonata made her way toward them, all the while firing off energy blasts as she went. “And now that the last of this planet’s inhabitants are dead, we can be on our way.” Adagio said with a smirk growing on her face.
“Kinda makes me wonder though…” Aria began as she laid down with her hands behind her head. “…why King Sombra wanted us to destroy a highly advanced civilization and sell what’s left rather then conquer it. He could’ve gotten a better price that way.”
“(chuckle) What’s to wonder?’ Adagio replied causing Aria to look at her. “King Sombra doesn’t care about profit. He wants to send a message.” To emphasize her point, Adagio waved both her arms before her, indicating the landscape before them. “This is what awaits those that dare challenge his power.”
Aria couldn’t help but notice, once again, how animated Adagio got when she talks about their lord, King Sombra. The intergalactic tyrant has ruled three-fourths of the known universe for countless years through fear and his unimaginable power. Being personally chosen to be his Elite squad, Adagio, Aria and Sonata have traveled from planet to planet expanding his empire while also eliminating potential threats to his rule or those that choice to defy his authority. No matter how advanced there civilization may be, as their latest conquest could attest to. As the years went on, Aria began to notice Adagio’s behaviour towards King Sombra as well as his disinterest in her. Every mission he would send them on always gave Adagio hope that their success would show King Sombra she was worthy to be by his side.
There was just one problem; King Sombra only had eyes for their fellow Saiyan, Sunset Shimmer.
With that thought, Aria got a wicked idea. While she was weaker then both Adagio and Sunset, there was one thing she was great at that the others couldn’t hope to match; getting under their skin. “For such an important task, I’m surprised he didn’t order ‘Sunset Shimmer’ to take Vice.” Aria said with a hint of snark as Adagio visibly flinched at Sunset’s name. “That’s right, because nobodies been able to reach her for a while now. Kinda sucks being King Sombra’s ‘second’ pick, huh Adagio?”
Adagio lowered her arms to her side, clutching her fists as her anger grew. Unaware of Sonata quickly approaching them from below.
“Still, we did take this planet a lot faster then his scientists predicted we could…” Aria said as she stood up, shooting a grin at Adagio. “…even though Sunset’s ‘stronger’ then you and could have taken it much faster.”
Adagio eyes hardened as she rose her arm up to blast Aria.
“I’m Back!” Sonata announced happily as she cleared the building’s edge. On pure instinct, Adagio turned and aimed her attack at Sonata. “…uh oh…” Sonata chirped.
Adagio unleashed her attack straight at Sonata. Reacting quickly, Sonata fired twin energy blasts from her feet, propelling her up just as Adagio’s attack raged below her, continuing on until it hit the ruins of the city. The impact spread out, creating a dome of destruction that caused the wind around the three Saiyans to reach speeds that rocked the skyscraper. The building, unable to withstand the winds furious speeds collapsed, prompting Aria and Adagio to take to the air, joining Sonata as the destructive scene began to diminish. As the dust settled all that remained was a crater that cover three-fourths of the city.
“Wow! That was so Cool!” Sonata squeaked with excitement, after recovering from her near death experience.
“Gees, Adagio…” Aria droned as she wiped the dust of the collapsed skyscraper from her body. “…why didn’t we do that sooner? This job would’ve been done by now if we did.” Aria had finished dusting herself off when Adagio appeared before her with her hand inches away from Aria’s face, an energy blast ready to fire. Frozen with fear, Aria slowly turned her gaze to meet Adagio’s and learned she had pushed her too far.
Adagio was going to kill her.
“I’ve put up with your attitude long enough, ‘sister’.” Adagio spoke low with malice dripping from each word said. “But no more.”
The two Saiyans floated hundreds of feet in the air over the ruined city, staring into each others eyes, neither one refusing to blink as Adagio was about to blast Aria to ash only to be stopped by the ringing of their communication devises.
“Oh! I got it!” Sonata chirped, oblivious to the tense situation before her. Pulling her com devise from her armor, Sonata looked at the screen and gasped before looking at Adagio and Aria. “Adagio…” she whispered. “…it’s Him!”
Ripping her gaze from Aria, Adagio looked at Sonata in surprise. “King Sombra?” At Sonata’s nod of confirmation Adagio lowered her arm, canceling her attack to make her way to Sonata as Aria released a breath she was unaware of holding. Reaching Sonata, Adagio took the devise from her sister and answered it.
“My King Sombra.” Adagio answered with a bow of her head. “This is an unexpected surprise, My King. What is your command?”
“…Adagio.” The voice that spoke her name sent chills down Adagio’s spine. Deep, emphatic, dripping with atrocity, and overflowing with power, King Sombra’s infamous green eyes, blood crimson pupils, and wisps of deep violet energy emanating from them, appeared on the communicators screen. “You three must go to a planet on the far reaches of the universe, beyond my Empire, and retrieve someone who was stolen from me.”
Adagio gripped the com harder as Aria made her way to Sonata’s side, who moved behind her in fear of King Sombra. Looking at her younger sister cowering behind her, Aria could only imagine what she felt every time they were around him. Over the years, Sonata had managed to develop the ability to sense the strength of everyone she meets on a level much greater then the cheap scooters King Sombra’s scientists developed. Hence why nether her nor Adagio wore one.
However, having that ability meant she was the only being alive who knew just how powerful King Sombra really was and it scared Aria seeing Sonata so terrified.
“And who is this person that was stolen from you, My King?” Adagio asked, knowing full well his answer.
“Sunset Shimmer.” His confirmation making Adagio crack the communicator in anger. “I have received ‘questionable’ reports that she was defeated in battle and has since joined with the ones who bested her.”
Adagio had barely managed to keep herself from smiling upon hearing this. The thought of Sunset finally being defeated made her more happy then simple words could express. But, she knew if King Sombra saw her joy in Sunset’s defeat, he would not share in her celebration.
Turning her gaze back to Adagio, Aria knew as well as her sister why King Sombra was sending them to retrieve their fellow Saiyan. Ever since he came to their home world, Planet Vegeta, King Sombra has had an unsettling interest in Sunset Shimmer after she refused to be his underling, even going so far as to challenge him, only to be easily bested. The only way King Sombra finally got Sunset to join his Elite team was by threatening to destroy their planet, obliterating the Saiyan race.
Since then, Sunset Shimmer has always traveled the universe, conquering planets in King Sombra’s name, getting stronger with every battle, alone.
“Your destination is the planet her ship is currently on.” King Sombra continued. “The inhabitants call it ‘Earth’.”
“As…you command, My King.” Adagio replied with another bow. “We will retrieve Sunset Shimmer and return her to you without fail.”
“See that you do.” King Sombra said as his eyes narrowed on the screen. “I want her ‘Alive’, Adagio. And should you fail…” King Sombra’s eyes disappeared from the screen to be replaced by a live feed video of her home, the red planet Vegeta.
“…I will destroy Vegeta.”
Having nothing further to say, King Sombra ended the transmission prompting Adagio to crush the com device, destroying it. The three Saiyans floated in silence, each taking in the orders they were given in their own way. Sonata let out a audible sigh of relief before moving away from Aria to float around in her carefree way.
Aria observed Sonata with a shake of her head then turned to look at Adagio, feeling concerned with what comes next. Having never really hated Sunset herself, Aria couldn’t ignore her Saiyan blood regarding the difference in power they had. It had gotten smaller over the years, but what always bothered her was Adagio’s constant need to be better then Sunset in King Sombra’s eyes. As far as Aria was concerned, all they had to do was kill her to finally be done with it.
However, the fear of what King Sombra would do always lingered in their minds.
Releasing her grip on the crushed communicator, Adagio suddenly charged her power then flew off with great speed towards their space pods. Exchanging looks at one another, Aria and Sonata followed suit and flew off after Adagio who’s thoughts were only on one person.
Sunset Shimmer! You have been a constant source of grief for me since day one! Adagio grinned. Now it’s my turn to cause you grief.
“LOOK OUT, SUNSET SHIMMER! I’M COMING FOR YOU!” Adagio shouted, as a plan began to form in her mind that will break Sunset Shimmer of all her pride.
Six months later.
Laughing, she throws a punch sending Applejack crashing into a stone wall, her face bruised and bloodied as she slides to the gravel floor, dead.
“THATS WHAT YOU GET!” She shouted, launching a kick that sends Burning Twilight skidding across the ground. She comes to a stop, reverting to her base form as her final breath escaped her body.
“NO ONE HUMILIATES ME!” She cried out as an energy beam flew from her outstretched arm, shooting Pinkie Pie in the back. She let out a painful cry before falling forward into the dirt, forever ceasing her laughter.
“DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Rage dripped from her words as she raised her knee, lifting Rarity into the air. Her face contouring into a painful, shocked expression until she crashes into the earth, her eyes lifeless.
“NO ONE!” She screamed as an explosion of energy emanated from her body, Fluttershy stood there surprised and betrayed as the energy enveloped her. Fluttershy’s scream of pain echoed long after she stopped.
Fluttershy’s body collapsed to the ground, joining her deceased friends at her feet as Sunset Shimmer laughed in demented glee as she held Rainbow Dash by the throat before her.
“None of your ‘friendship’ tricks will work on me!” Sunset declared, choking Rainbow. “I’ve beaten you all! Me! SUNSET SHIMMER! THE GREATEST WARRIOR IN THE UNIVERSE!” She finished, laughing manically.
“I knew we couldn’t trust you.” Rainbow said clearly, despite Sunset’s grip around her throat. “You’ll never be our friend. You’ll never be anything but a murderous monster!”
“SHUT UP!” Sunset shouted as she drew her arm back, ready to punch her head off when suddenly Rainbow’s eyes changed from magenta to green with red iris’s and violet mist flowing from them.
The Eyes of King Sombra.
Frozen in fear at seeing those eyes, Sunset realized it wasn’t Rainbow she was holding by the throat, but herself.
“What are you waiting for, Sunset?” Her copy said in Rainbow’s voice. “Kill me!” Despite having a firm hold of her copy, Sunset found that she was somehow getting closer to her.
“Kill her.” The copy spoke again. This time making Sunset shake in fear as the voice she used this time was King Sombra’s. “It is what you are great at. Almost greater at it then me.”
She wanted to let go of her copy’s throat, to get as far away from that voice as she could possibly get. However, Sunset couldn’t release her grip no matter how hard she tried. If anything, her grip got tighter.
“Admit it, you enjoyed taking all those weakling’s lives.” Her copy said, this time using her own voice. “What’s six more gonna do?”
Sunset struggled to release her copy until something grabbed her. Looking down, Sunset was horrified to see Fluttershy holding on to her leg. Fluttershys dead body looked up to meet Sunset’s eyes with her dead ones as the rest of the Fighters of Harmony crawled towards her, all of them chanting the same thing.
“Kill them. Kill them. Kill them…” Turning her gaze back to her copy, Sunset could feel her grip getting so tight, her fingers were touching her thumb.
“Kill them. Kill them. Kill them…” Sunset watched as her copies head changed.
“Kill me!” Rainbow demanded, fierce hatred burning in her eyes.
“Kill her!” King Sombra ordered, his face shrouded in darkness save his eyes.
“KILL THEM!” The Sunset copy shouted, taking the form of a she demon.
Sunset screamed as her fist clinched around her copies throat…
Sunset screamed as her eyes flew open raising from her bed, cold sweat streamed down her face as she drew in large breathes of air attempting to calm herself. Her eyes darting from one side of her room to the other unsure if she truly was awake or not until she caught site of the blanket covering her. A hand made gift from Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy of a sunset covering a mountain ridge with pine trees and a river. Finally convinced she was awake, Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath and sighed, falling back into her bed.
“What a nightmare.”
Throwing her legs over the edge of her bed, Sunset Shimmer stood up and walks to her front door, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she goes. She opens the door to witness the tranquil forest just outside as the sun slowly rises above the trees; she yawns while raising her arms over her head in an effort to stretch the sleep from her muscles until a splash draws her attention. To her left, Sunset veers her gaze to a lake where she saw what was making the splashes.
A giant fish swimming with its dorsal fin breaching the waters surface.
Her stomach growls as a smile forms on Sunset’s face. “Mmmm. Fish for breakfast.” Bringing her arms down, Sunset began moving towards the lake eventually breaking into a run as soon as her stomach growled once more. Reaching the edge of the water Sunset jumps into the air, throwing off her clothes.
“WOO-HOO!” She cheers in joy just before splashing into the water, prompting the fish to dive deeper into the lake.
The surface of the lake finally settled. The world returned to its natural routine of birds singing their songs, rodents scurrying the forest floor for food as the predators hunt for them. Suddenly, the giant fish broke through the waters surface but stopped as its tail left the water. It flayed about, trying to return to the water but failed as Sunset's strong grip held the fish by its tail, preventing any escape.
Thrusting her head out of the water, Sunset wiped her eyes clear of water before looking up at her catch. “Gotcha now, breakfast.”
“…four hundred and ninety…one. Four hundred and ninety…two. Four hundred and…”
The fire cracked, the morning sunrise a backdrop to the training Sunset, now clothed in the training outfit Rarity and Applejack made for her, was doing while the fish finished cooking. While she had no problem eating fish raw, Sunset grew to enjoy cooked food after her time on a planet deprived of plant life. Called Voretus, the planet’s inhabitants had evolved into creatures that didn’t require the need for oxygen to live, leaving the only source of food anywhere as the inhabitants themselves.
“Four hundred and ninety…four. Four hundred and ninety…five.”
While dressing herself, Sunset couldn’t help but think back to when her two friends gave her the outfit. It was two months ago when she had finished her training, Applejack and Rarity had arrived. Having lost her scooter during her battle with her now ‘friends’, Sunset had decided to learn how to sense energy levels but was having difficulty wrapping her head around the technique. As such, she was taken by surprise by their arrival and had launched an energy beam when they spoke up.
Luckily, Rarity reacted quick enough by summoning a diamond shield.
“Watch it, Sunset!” Applejack called out. “Ya tryin’ ta kill us? Again?”
“Applejack!” Rarity had gasped, seeing Sunset’s expression of regret realized her attack was instinctual. “That was uncalled for! It was an accident.” She looked at Sunset, flashing her apologetic smile. “My apologies, Sunset for startling you like that.” Glancing at Applejack, Rarity elbowed her in the side causing Applejack to yelp in surprise before glaring at Rarity. The two glared at each other until Applejack conceded.
“Yeah, ah’m sorry too.” Applejack began. “Fer bringin’ up ancient history like that.”
Sunset, having a chance to calm down, gave them a small smile. “It’s fine. Besides, I should be the one apologizing…”
“Think nothing of it, darling. All is forgiven.” Rarity stated as she made her way to Sunset. “Now, let’s put this behind us shall we?”
“Sounds good ta me.” Applejack chimed in.
“Alright.” Sunset agreed with a chuckle. “What are you guys doing here, anyway? I thought you all had things to do.”
“We did, dear.” Rarity answered before floating a box of her diamond shields in front of her. “And we finished it.”
“What is it?” Sunset asked.
“It’s ah lil somethin me and Rarity cooked up fer ya.” Applejack said, walking past Sunset.
Sunset looked from Applejack to Rarity, who had the diamond box floating in front of her. Rarity made the box vanish, except the bottom piece, to reveal a training outfit that was reminiscent to her Saiyan uniform, except it was a cyan blue rather then a darker blue. The top was form fitting while the pants were baggy.
“Do you like it?” Rarity asked excitingly. “Despite our rough start, I really admired your Saiyan clothes! There was a sense of style to its basicness.”
“Basicness?” Applejack said as she performed some stretches. “Ah’m pretty sure that’s not ah word, Rarity.”
“Oh hush.” Rarity said with a huff.
“Wow, Rarity. It looks great.” Sunset replied sincerely. “But, you didn’t…”
“Ah, ah, ah. Not another word.” Rarity interrupted. “It is a gift, Sunset. And one does not need a reason to give a gift.”
Sunset looked at the outfit, back to Rarity, then turned to Applejack who had finished stretching.
“It’s better if ya just except it, Sunset.” Applejack replied with a wink.
Smiling, Sunset turned to Rarity. “Thank you, Rarity. I’ll defiantly put it to good use.”
“Ooo. I just knew you’d love it!” Rarity said with joy. “Go on and try it on.”
Sunset returned after putting her new training clothes on, much to Rarity’s joy while Applejack gave a nod of approval of the work they did.
“Not too shabby.” Applejack concluded. “Especially since ah had ta make sure Rarity made it more functional then fancy.” Rarity gave a humph as her response. “Now…” Applejack started as she got into her fighting stance. “…why don’t we give that there suit of yer’s ah test run!”
“Four hundred and ninety…nine! Five hundred!”
Rolling onto her back Sunset relaxed as the morning breeze cooled the sweat on her body. She smiled as the memory of her sparing match with Applejack played through her mind. The smell of her fish drew her attention back to her stomach, encouraging Sunset to stand and return to her breakfast. While she ate Sunset looked over the house in front of her; it was a round structure with a roof that extends past the walls it rested on. Made of sturdy wood, the interior was decorated with a rustic look with splashes of bright violet and yellow throughout and felt advanced beyond its look.
Sunset continued to feast on her meal as a smile spread across her face in response to another memory playing in her mind of the day before.
“SUNSET SHIMMER! WAKE UP!”
Her eyes flew open as Sunset heard her name shouted followed by someone banging on her space pod, her current residents. Tired, she activates her pods security system to see Pinkie and Twilight standing outside.
“Pinkie…” Twilight sighed with a facepalm.
“Come on, Sunset!” Pinkie whined as she banged on the pod again. “We got a super, amazing surprise for you! But you can’t get it if you’re sleeping!”
Sighing with a smile on her face Sunset pushes the release button to open the pod, making Pinkie’s left fore arm tingle and startling Twilight. Fully open, Sunset steps out of the pod and right into Pinkie Pie’s infamous hugs.
“GOOD MORNING, SUNSET!” Pinkie cheered when a thought occurred, causing her to snort with laughter. “That’s silly! You’re suppose to say good night at sunset not good morning.”
Both Sunset and Twilight laugh with Pinkie as she releases her. “So…” Sunset began after composing herself. “…what’s this about a ‘surprise’?” Ever since Rarity and Applejack had given her the training suit, Sunset had been worried her other ‘friends’ would follow suit and had been a bit worried ever since.
“Well…”
“Silly, Sunset!” Pinkie Pie jumped in, interrupting Twilight, who gave Pinkie a ‘Really?’ look. “The only way to find out what the surprise is…” Pinkie started to float towards the forest area Sunset had relocated her space pod close to. “…is to come and see it for yourself!” She finished before entering the forest.
Sunset gave Twilight a look, raising her right eyebrow to emphasize her confusion. Twilight just chuckled.
“Come on. Everyone’s waiting.”
With that, Sunset watched as Twilight left in the same direction Pinkie floated away. Shrugging her shoulders, Sunset followed. Trekking through the forest gave Sunset a sense of peace the likes of which she had never experienced before. While she had visited planets that had vegetation on it, some that had overtaken the planet, Sunset never really saw them as resource for food, shelter, or profit.
As she followed Twilight closer to the others, Sunset would chuckle every time Pinkie would appear, seemingly from out of no where to watch them. Making sure Sunset was still following them. Looking up into the forest canopy Sunset took a deep breath, breathing in the clean air around them. During the last six months she had spent time around the members of the Fighters of Harmony, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, and out of all of them Sunset found herself gravitating toward Fluttershy.
After her defeat at their hands it was Fluttershy that had stood up for her and would seek Sunset out whenever they where at school. As such, Fluttershy was always inviting Sunset to join her whenever she went to take care of her animal friends outside of town. Since then, Fluttershy has shown Sunset just how wonderful nature is once you stop and notice it.
Sunset brought her gaze back forward, toward the now impossibly stationary Pinkie as Twilight reached her. With a grin so wide it threatened to split her face in half, Pinkie dashed out of the forest. Looking back with a smile, Twilight follows Pinkie as Sunset reached the forests edge and stepped out to see Twilight and the others standing together.
In front of the building that would be her new home.
“HAPPY HOUSEWARMING, SUNSET SHIMMER!” Everyone cheered as Sunset made her way to them, catching Rainbow Dash standing at the edge of the clearing, brooding.
Sunset slowly made her way to the building, her face awestruck from the site. “Wha…why…whe…”
“When you told me you never had a place to call your own…” Sunset froze and looked at Fluttershy, who bashfully avoided her eyes. “…I thought, maybe we could change that.”
“Fluttershy asked all of us to help.” Twilight chimed in, standing beside Fluttershy. “We all agreed it would be a great token of our friendship.” Rainbow Dash humphed at that, earning a glare from Twilight. “Well, most of us, anyway.”
“This here house of yers is the reason all of us have been too busy, lately.” Applejack said, her hands on her hips as she admired the building. “We wanted ta get this home of yers done ASAP…” Applejack turned to look at Sunset with a wink. “…so ya’ll don’t have ta sleep in that there space ship of yers.”
“Not to mention as a thank you for all the training you helped us with since you’ve joined us.” Rarity added as she made her way to Sunset, placing her hand on Sunset’s shoulder.
“So? Whatcha think? Do you like it?” Pinkie asked, barely able to contain her excitement.
Tearing her gaze away from her new home, Sunset looked at each of the girls, their smiles giving her the same warm feeling their Rainbow Harmony Cannon had. On impulse Sunset turned to look at Rainbow, catching her fellow warriors eye and finding something past the distrust and hate they held. Unable to place it, Sunset decided it was Rainbow’s way of expressing her loyalty to her friends.
And by extension, her as well.
“I love it”
The wind rushes past as Sunset makes her way to town. The land below her flew past while Sunset swerved her gaze around, honing her ability to sense energy levels. As she drew closer to town Sunset began picking out the energy signals of the other girls fairly easy, but she decided to focus on trying to detect lower level creatures to better her skill. Looking down at the ground she spotted a lone wolf creeping within the tall grass, staking its prey.
Sunset closed her eyes to better focus on the steps Fluttershy had taught her; picturing the wolf in her mind, Sunset started to notice something about it. While faint, she couldn’t keep the smile of her face when she realized that what she was feeling was the wolf’s life energy as it felt similar, though smaller, to what she felt when Sunset would sense Fluttershy and the others.
Satisfied with the progress she had made, Sunset poured more energy into her flight rocketing away towards the school and leaving the wolf to its hunt.
Sunset landed a few blocks away from the school in an area no one would notice her. When she arrived on earth, the Fighters of Harmony let slip just how dangerous she was before confronting her. After her defeat and before going to school it was agreed that the knowledge that Sunset was that threat should not be revealed to the students, much to Rainbow and Applejack's disapproval.
Sunset played along, pretending to be weaker then she really was in an attempt to ‘fit in’. While she noticed some students and teachers giving her looks, implying that they might have noticed the coincidence of her arrival after the Fighters ‘defeated’ the invading threat. However, no one had called her out on it.
As the school came into view, Sunset could tell where the others were as she was sure they knew that she had just arrived. Unsurprising, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in the school field sparring as students gathered to watch. Pinkie and Rarity were in the cafeteria socializing while Twilight mediated on the roof of the school and Fluttershy sat in front of the school with a bunch of animals around her.
Catching her eye Fluttershy smiled and waved as Sunset made her way up the stairs, waving back before entering the school. As she waked toward her locker Sunset closed her eyes and tried to sense her way around the students. With every step the students took Sunset’s ability grew sharper, able to tell who was around her, avoid colliding with anyone, even discover who had been watching her every move since she first arrived.
Reaching her locker Sunset cast her senses as far as she could manage and found who she was looking for. Standing on the opposite side of the hallway a little ways down was a young man who was watching her from the corner of his eye. Standing a foot taller then her at 5’10, he had pure white skin that reminded her of Rarity and red hair that resembled a flame, wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt. She couldn’t remember ever learning his name even though they had the same classes throughout the day. He never stood out to her aside from always being alone.
On occasion Sunset would notice a few of the students gather around him, mocking him about the odd quirks and hobbies he had. She never intervened as Sunset had no interest in anyone who couldn’t defend themselves against such minor offences. Grabbing her books Sunset closed her locker and turned towards the boy causing him to turn his gaze toward his locker, acting as if nothing happened.
That’s it. I’m putting an end to his stalking right now.
Sunset made her way towards the young man as he closed his own locker; noticing her approach, Sunset grew annoyed when his expression turned horrified while taking a step back in an attempt to run away.
“Hey, Sunset.”
So fixated on the stalker Sunset was jarred when another young man suddenly appeared before her, blocking her path from her objective. Blinking away her surprise Sunset looked past the young man in front of her to see that her stalker had escaped. Frustrated, she looked at the young man’s face and recognized who it was.
“Didn’t anyone tell you not to sneak up on people, Flash?”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean too.” Flash apologized with a shrug. “You’re usually so alert. I didn’t think anyone ‘could’ sneak up on you.”
Touché
“Yeah, well…I’m a little off today, is all.” Sunset replied weakly, turning around to head for her next class with Flash close behind.
“Is everything alright?”
“…I’ll be fine.” Sunset said before looking over at him. “What about you?”
Flash caught up with Sunset and gave her a look. “What about me?”
“Was there a reason for jumping in front of me…” Sunset asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. “…or did you just want a laugh from my expense?”
“Oh! Right.” Flash began with a laidback attitude. “No, I wasn’t trying to get a laugh. I wanted to ask if you were busy after school. The cafe nearby has some of the best milkshakes in town and I was wondering if you’d like to join me for one.”
Sunset stood there, completely blindsided by Flash’s invitation. “Wait. Are you…asking me out?”
Flash chuckled nervously. “Basically, yeah. Is that a no?”
“Uh…no. It’s not that.” Sunset reassured him. “It’s just, I’ve never been asked out before is all. It just…surprised me.”
“I seem to be doing that a bit lately.” Flash commented with a chuckle.
“So it would seem.”
Sunset and Flash gave each other a smile. Never once had the thought of building a romantic relationship ever crossed her mind, let alone what she would do if anyone actually had the courage to ask her out on a date. Seeing Flash approach her so confidently, albeit suddenly, and without fear gave Sunset a moment of pause and see him for a man she might consider a potential romantic partner.
After all, it would take someone truly powerful to stand by her side.
“Sorry, Flash.” Sunset finally answered. “But, the girls and I have plans after school.”
“Oh…right.”
Flash visibly deflated causing Sunset to giggle. “But, I wouldn’t mind trying out those milkshakes after school tomorrow.”
“Really? All right! It’s a date.” Flash whoop with excitement, turning to leave for his class. “I’ll meet you by the statue in front of the school!”
Sunset held her books as she watched Flash leave, a smile never leaving her face.
“Oooooo. Sunset’s got a date!”
Closing her eyes with a sigh, Sunset drooped her head down as Pinkie bounced past her, a wicked, mischievous expression on her face.
“And with Flash Sentry of all people.” Pinkie teased.
“Yes, Pinkie.” Sunset answered as she brought her head up. “I have a date with Flash Sentry.”
“I for one, am proud of you Sunset.” Rarity chimed in as she looped her arm around Sunset’s, leading her to their first class. “It shows that you’re making excellent progress in…”
Rarity, Sunset and Pinkie continued their gossiping, unaware of the young man leading against the wall just around the corner with trails of tears running down his cheeks.
“…I’m such a coward…”
Applejack threw her arms up, crossing them in front of her face as Sunset’s kick landed; the power behind it pushing her across the ground, two trails in the dirt as indication. A smirk appeared on her face as Applejack lowered her arms away from her face before lunging forward, drawing back her fist as she drew closer to her opponent. Sunset smiled confidently as she caught Applejack’s punch, the force of it causing a powerful wind to erupt behind her. The two fighters locked eyes before vanishing as loud booms filled the sky, taking their sparring match to the next level.
Meanwhile, Twilight stood away from her friends, observing their match despite the speeds they were moving. Finally spotting what she was looking for, Twilight teleported into the sky and threw a kick with her right leg. At the end of Twilight’s leg was Sunset, who had just blocked the kick as Applejack took the opportunity to take another shot at Sunset. Only for Twilight to twist her body towards Applejack, firing a blast at the oncoming warrior. Applejack deflects the blast into a nearby river as Sunset pushes Twilight away, only for the two of them to attack her together.
“Do they ever stop fighting?” Fluttershy watched her three friends spar with each other from the foot of a tree with Spike on her lap. “It’s all you girls ever do now.” Spike added while scratching his ear.
“Well, Sunset can be a little…insistent when it comes to how much training we should be doing.” Fluttershy answered while turning her attention from Sunset’s group sparring to Rarity and Pinkie’s match.
Rarity elegantly dodged Pinkies left jab by twirling right, narrowly escaping Pinkie’s attack, planting her left foot beside Pinkie before using the momentum of her twirl to launch her right leg directly for Pinkie’s head. However, Pinkie managed to see the attack coming and ducks under the kick, twisting around and throwing mini energy grenades that exploded in front of Rarity.
The force of the blast caused the two of them to be obscured by a cloud of dust until the gentle breeze cleared it away, revealing the two trapped in a stalemate. Pinkie had one arm bond to her body as her feet were rooted to the ground due to Rarity’s diamond constructs while Rarity was surrounded by more of Pinkie’s exploding energy grenades.
“Well, darling. I must say, you’re making excellent use of your special abilities for combat purposes.” Rarity praised as sweat crawled down the side of her nose, an energy grenade inches away from her well kept locks.
“Thanks, Rarity! You’re gems are great, too!” Pinkie replied.
Fluttershy looked on as Pinkie’s energy grenades explode, cracking the diamond constructs that held her to the ground as Rarity summoned more in front of all of the energy grenades that surrounded her. As the smokescreen covered the two, Rarity and Pinkie flew into the air to continue their match.
“Maybe you do have a point, Spike.” Fluttershy spoke as she watched her five friends training. “It is pretty hard to remember the last we did anything else, besides training.”
“Right?” Spike proclaimed as he jumped off of Fluttershy’s lap then turn to face her. “You girls should be…I don’t know…whatever high school girls do that’s not training!”
A sad frown appeared on Fluttershy’s face as she let Spike’s words sink in. They really had been spending much of their free time on training themselves to become stronger ever since Sunset had joined them. While not a entirely bad thing to do it seemed as if that was the only thing Sunset EVER wanted to do, even when she convinced Sunset to ease back a bit and take things slowly. Straightening up suddenly, Fluttershy had a thought that caused her to look up the tree she was sitting next to and found who she was looking for.
Her arms crossed and eyes closed with her back leaning against the tree, Rainbow Dash sat on a sturdy branch above, the same scowl on her face since they left the school.
Just then Applejack crashes to the ground, startling both Fluttershy and Spike. “Phew! Ah think that about does it fer me.” With that, Applejack makes her way to the tree her friends were seated and laid down beside it, placing her hat over her face as Sunset and Twilight land before them.
“You’re not quitting on me, are you AJ?” Sunset asked as she rests her hands on her hips, giving Applejack a grin.
“Naw.” Applejack replies as she lifts her hat up. “Unlike you, ah have mah chores ta do later and ah can’t afford ta get too banged up, ya hear?” With that, Applejack place her hat back down on her face.
“Whatever you say, Applejack. What about you, Twi?” Sunset asked as she faced Twilight.
“Sure, Sunset.” Twilight replies. “I can go for one more round.”
“Great!” Sunset said cheerfully as she took her stance. When she saw that Twilight was ready, Sunset lunged at her with a right kick only for Twilight to sidestep to her left. On pure instinct, Sunset brought her right leg in then attempted to kick Twilight again. Her kick connects, knocking Twilight backward into a backflip using the momentum to launch herself into the air. Sunset eyed her then charged, the two of them vanishing as they continued to spar.
“Applejack?” Fluttershy asked. “What do you think about all of us going to the mall after school tomorrow?”
“Ah don’t see why not.” Applejack replied as she lifted her hat from her face. “Why do ya ask?”
“It’s just we’ve been training a lot lately, I thought that a change of pace would do us some good.”
“I most certainly agree with you, darling!”
Fluttershy turned to see Rarity and Pinkie approach them. “All this fighting has been wreaking havoc on my wardrobe.” Rarity explained as she elegantly removed a piece of dirt from her blouse. “I am in much need of a shopping trip for more clothes.”
“Not to mention all the fun sales their having right now!” Pinkie added.
Rainbow looked down at her friends as they planed their trip to the mall for tomorrow.
It’s definitely better then training again. Rainbow thought as she turned her gaze to the two fighters in the the air.
Sunset greatly enjoyed sparing with Twilight; ever since their first battle together she had been doing everything she could to get her friend to unleash that awesome power of hers. Every time Sunset asked her about it Twilight would say that she didn’t remember getting that strong even though everyone of their friends, aside from Rainbow, had also witnessed it.
Blocking a energy blast that sent her close to the ground, Sunset had began to wonder if the power boast can only be called upon when Twilight is in extreme situations.
Sunset grinned as an idea came to her, causing Rainbow to eye her suspiciously.
“Alright, Twilight!” Sunset called out. “Time to step it up!”
“Wha…?” Twilight expressed as she visibly backed away. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m not pulling my attacks for one minute.” Sunset explained she powered up. “So get ready!”
“Wait! Sunset! Let’s talk about…” Twilight began to protest, only for them to fall on deft eyes.
“Here I Come!” Sunset launched at Twilight who barely redirected the punch before charging up herself for a punch of her own. The two of them fought much harder then they did before, crating powerful winds that shook the trees around them. Applejack’s hat flew off her face but was able to catch it before it blew away as Rarity put up a diamond barrier in front of everyone. Pinkie held on to Fluttershy at the foot of the tree while Fluttershy clutched Spike to her chest.
Rainbow stood like a rock on her branch, never taking her eyes off of Sunset.
During the powerful exchanges, Sunset felt the rush of excitement she got every time she fought at her best. Her attacks precise, her defence strong, the rising fear in her opponents eyes as they begin to realize their fighting a losing battle. Catching Twilight’s punch, Sunset drew her right fist back when a image flashed in her minds eye.
In place of Twilight’s face was the she demon from her nightmare, only this time she had King Sombra’s eyes.
Scared, confused, and surprised, Sunset threw her fist as hard as she could at it, sending her opponent hurdling toward the ground; the impact crated a crater so big it knocked over several trees.
The forest was deathly silent save for Sunset’s heavy breathing until Rainbow shouted. “TWILIGHT!” Everyone looked at the crater, gasping and calling out Twilight’s name as Fluttershy, still holding Spike, and Pinkie Pie dashed to her side while Applejack and Rarity stood by the tree truck, petrified.
“Twilight!” Spike cried as he jumped out of Fluttershy’s arms, landing right beside her head. “Are you alright? Say something!”
Twilight groaned as Fluttershy knelt down, flaring up her powers before her knees touched the ground as Pinkie stood beside them. Within moments, Twilight’s injuries disappeared as she opened her eyes.
Sunset was distraught as she landed just outside of the crater, watching Fluttershy and Pinkie help Twilight out of it with Spike not far behind. She couldn’t believe what had happened; Sunset had never intended to punch her so hard before that image appeared.
“Twilight, I…” Sunset began as she took a step toward her only for Rainbow Dash to appear right in front of her.
“What’s your problem, Sunset?” Rainbow accused harshly as she met Sunsets eyes.
Twilight forgotten, Sunset matched Rainbow’s glare with her own. “I could ask you the same thing, Dash.” She retorted while squaring her shoulders, ready for anything.
“It was an accident, Dash.” Twilight called out as they stepped out of the crater. “Accidents happen during sparring matches.”
“That punch was no ‘accident’. I saw the look in her eyes when she threw it!” Rainbow announced, spitting every word out with anger. “You put everything you had into that punch, didn’t you?”
“Rainbow dear, perhaps you should calm…” Rarity said in an attempt to defuse the tension between Sunset and Rainbow, only for Applejack to grab her by the shoulder. Looking back at her Rarity watched as Applejack slowly shook her head side to side.
“You know what, Rainbow.” Sunset began “You’ve had a problem with me ever since I joined your team and I’m fed up with it.”
“You nearly killed me. That’s something that can’t easily be forgiven.” Rainbow retorted.
“Instead of holding on to the past, why not fight me and get it out of your system?” Sunset offered as the sparks between them flew.
The two stood there, unmoving as the light breeze blew through the area. At the edge of the crater, a tiny rock began to teeter on top of a much larger rock until it rolled off. As soon as the tiny rock hit the ground both Sunset and Rainbow threw a punch so powerful the dust around them blew away as they caught each others fist.
Then, they vanished with only the booming sounds of their attacks the only indication of their presence.
“Girls, please!” Fluttershy plead. “You don’t need to…”
“Yer wrong, Fluttershy.” Applejacks statement drew the girls attention to her. “These two need this.”
“Maybe so, Applejack. But in the state there in…” Rarity expressed, her voice filled with worry.
“It can’t be helped. Rainbow has had ah bone ta pick with Sunset fer too long.” Applejack explained as she placed her hat back on. “It’s about time they settled it.”
Try as she could, Sunset could not land a single good hit on Rainbow. The ones that did connect hardly slowed her down. Luckily, her Saiyan instincts were giving her just enough of an advantage to counter Rainbow’s ridiculous speed. But to her disappointment, she had no way of blocking out her opponents words.
“All you care about is fighting!” Rainbow shouted as her kick flew past Sunset.
“I’m a Saiyan! Fighting is what we do!” Sunset replied before blasting at Rainbow only to miss.
“It’s not what we HUMANS do!” Rainbow vanished then reappeared behind Sunset, grabbing her in a choke hold.
“You call yourselves ‘Fighters’ of Harmony!” Sunset shouted as she flew backward, intending to slam Rainbow into the ground.
“And you being here disrupts that harmony!” Rainbow said causing Sunset to lose concentration, a moment Rainbow need to release her and allow Sunset to crash into the ground. Landing a few meters away, Rainbow watched as Sunset stood up with an expression of confusion.
“Wha…what do you mean by that?” Sunset asked.
“Exactly what I said. You don’t care why we fight. You only care about fighting!” Rainbow spat, each word conveying her anger. “The only reason your with us is because Fluttershy and Twilight took pity on you!”
Sunset gasped in shock frozen in place at Rainbow’s words.
“You’ve gone too far, Rainbow!” Twilight shouted. “You know perfectly well why we asked Sunset to join us!”
“And I still disagree with it.” Rainbow admitted as she faced Twilight. “Someone like Sunset, who’s spent her whole life spreading suffering and disharmony, can never change!” Rainbow glared at Sunset. “She’s unredeemable!
Pinkie, unable to stand by and allow her friends to argue with each other, smiles as an idea formed in her head. As the others continued to argue, she slowly crept closer towards Sunset Shimmer.
Clutching her fists, Sunset grew angry at Rainbow. She didn’t want to believe her words, especially since they mirrored her own thoughts. After her defeat Sunset truly believed they would destroy her, but they didn’t. She thought they would punish her for her many crimes, but they didn’t. Over time, Sunset began to wonder why they hadn’t until an inescapable thought appeared.
Are they befriending me out of pity?
Shutting her eyes Sunset grew so angry at the idea that she failed to notice Pinkie creeping up on her, intended to show how much her friendship meant to her with a hug. But just as Sunset’s angry boiled over, prompting her to charge Rainbow, Pinkie leaped at her and shouted. “It’s not true, Sunset! We’re your frie…!”
Caught off guard Sunset turned and, with all her might, back fisted Pinkie. The impact resulted in a audible snap as Pinkie was sent hurdling toward the tree Rainbow had been occupying before Applejack appeared and caught her.
“Fluttershy! Get over here! NOW!” Applejack shouted as she gently placed Pinkie on a diamond table that Rarity had constructed. Twilight, holding Spike, teleported Fluttershy to Pinkie’s side who wasted no time healing her severely injured friend. As Fluttershy worked, Rarity cast a glare at Sunset who was completely dumbfounded with what she had just done. Twilight squeezed Spike as her fear of losing Pinkie grew and grew while Applejack removed her hat, a sign of how upset she had become.
“YOU MURDEROUS MONSTER!!!!” Rainbow shouted before launching herself at Sunset. Turning to face her, Sunset was sent flying into the tree just past the others by Rainbow's punch, it’s strength evident as the tree fell over from the impact. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision when she sensed Rainbow coming at her. Her mind set on fighting, Sunset rolled backward just as Rainbow punch the tree she had just been occupying, launching herself back into the air before coming back down onto the tree while Rainbow stood up to glare at her.
“I KNEW we couldn’t trust you!” Rainbow shouted. Sunset froze at those words, memories of her dream flashing to her forefront of her mind, providing just the opening Rainbow needed. In a split second Rainbow cleared the gap between them and landed a punch right into Sunset’s stomach, buckling her over in pain and surprise only for Rainbow to grab her by the collar, bringing them their faces inches from each other.
“First Twilight, Now PINKIE?” Rainbow expressed angrily as her grip got stronger. “I won’t stand by anymore and let you use my friends as punching bags for your arrogant pride!”
Sunset’s eyes turn cold at the mention of her pride. Her mind cleared of any thought but her primal instinct to protect her it, Sunset was acutely aware of Rainbow’s fist aimed for her face. She caught her opponents fist without much thought, her left arm all but moving on its own, as the force of the attack blew away the leaves that had remained on their branches after falling. Meeting Rainbow’s harsh, accusing eyes, Sunset allowed all the frustration she felt towards her current opponent to ignite her anger. She reached up with her free hand to grab the hand Rainbow currently held her with before slowly grappling with each other, struggling to overpower the other.
“You can say whatever you want about me. But when you insult my pride…” Sunset spoke eerily calm before her power rose dramatically. “…YOU’D BETTER BE READY TO FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE!!”
Rainbow was being pushed back by Sunset until she powered herself up to her max. She wasn’t as strong as Sunset Shimmer, but the training she did as well as her anger towards Sunset allowed her to get to a level that could challenge the Saiyan. Sunset was a little surprised by Rainbow’s show of strength that she released her grip on Dash’s hands, allowing them to separate and get some distance between them.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Rarity worked together to keep Pinkie alive.
“Rarity, I need you to keep Pinkie’s neck straight.” Fluttershy commanded as her power enveloped Pinkie’s body to her shoulders, too afraid her power would heal her friends neck as it was.
“Of coarse, darling.” Working together Rarity and Fluttershy had straightened Pinkie’s neck, thankful she was unconscious, allowing Rarity to construct a diamond neck brace for their fallen friend. Confident her neck was positioned properly Fluttershy slowly eased her healing power to Pinkie’s neck, able to feel the stat her neck was in and piece them together again. As they worked Applejack, Twilight, and Spike watched on, too afraid that taking a breath would somehow cause their friends death. Just then, both Sunset and Rainbow had powered up to their max, drawing their attention away from Pinkie.
“Damn it, you two!” Applejack spat. “Ah never thought things would get this bad.”
“Applejack, if we don’t stop them, they could end up killing Pinkie.” Twilight expressed before facing her friend. “Or even destroy the planet!”
“Right!” Applejack said before launching herself into the air.
Twilight placed Spike on the ground. “Stay with Fluttershy!” With that Twilight follows Applejack to stop their friends.
Rainbow and Sunset stared each other down with murderous intent in their eyes; the force their combined powers were enough to shave the bark off the tree they stood on, cause rocks and roots and dust to raise into the air as if gravity no longer commanded the area. As the two warriors got into their fighting stances, Applejack and Twilight powered up to their maximum. The two opposing fighters moved so fast, everything around them seemed to have frozen in time. In the span of two seconds, Rainbow and Sunset had launched at each other only for Sunset to collide with Applejack, who’s raw strength barely managed to stop the Saiyan in her tracks, and Rainbow to be ensnared in Twilight’s strongest telekinetic grip.
The force of their sudden stop was so strong it had forced Rarity to create a diamond barrier to protect the three of them from it.
“That’s Enough You Two!” Twilight commanded. “Your fighting is only going to make things worse!”
“Let me GO, Twilight! She needs to pay for everything she’s done!” Rainbow argued as she struggled against Twilight’s magic.
“This has nothing to do with what I did in the past!” Sunset declared. “This is about how I nearly killed you!”
“Shut up, Sunset!” Applejack demanded as she strained herself to keep Sunset from attacking. “Y’all need ta stop NOW, before ya do somethin ya’ll regret!”
The power the four of them were putting out was incredible. The sky above them grew dark as the fluctuating temperature in the air began crating storm clouds; thunder boomed as lightning flashed over head, catching the attention of the city.
At the school, both Principle Celestia and Vice-Principle Luna stood at the foot of the school stairs on their way home when the sky over the forest outside of the city grew dark.
“That’s odd.” Vice-Principle Luna said as she brought her hand to her chin. “There was nothing on the radio that said a storm was coming.” She turned to Celestia. “Could it have something to do with Twilight and her friends?”
“…I’d be surprised, and worried, if it didn’t.” Celestia replied, her eyes fixed on the black clouds. “Sunset Shimmer…”
Celestia couldn’t help but think back to the day Twilight and her friends convinced her to allow Sunset Shimmer to enrol in Canterlot High. A difficult tasks as Principle Celestia had a suspicion that Sunset was more intelligent then she appeared.
“What about her?” Luna asked.
“Whenever I’m around her, I feel a sense of…foreboding and dread.” Celestia explained as she clutched her fist. “That turning my back to her would be the death of me.”
“That’s a relief.” Luna commented as she met Celestia’s questioning look. “For I have had a very similar feeling.” Smiling at each other as teasing sisters do, Celestia and Luna returned their gaze towards the storm clouds.
“Perhaps we should get more ‘involved’ with their training. Don’t you think, sister?” Luna suggested as she makes her way to her car.
Celestia allowed a small smile to appear before following her sister. “Perhaps we should.”
Twilight could feel her power slipping as well as the unnatural storm clouds overhead. Rainbow had gotten much stronger then Twilight thought she could get over the course of six months. But that knowledge didn’t help her in finding a way to stop her friends from tearing each other apart. Meanwhile, Applejack had a strong hold of Sunset’s hands and was using her whole body to hold Sunset back. But with Sunset at her strongest it was like a boulder trying to hold back a flood, eventually the boulder’s gonna give to the floods raging power.
Twilight and Applejack were quickly nearing the end of their rope. Rainbow and Sunset were just too powerful for them to hold back any longer. But just as the rest of their power left them, something unexpected happened.
“STOP FIGHTING!”
Fluttershy had completely repaired Pinkie’s neck and she was angry.
As the echo of her command faded away Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, and Sunset looked at her and, upon seeing her furious gaze, all power down resulting in the storm clouds slowly dissipating. Being the most kind and generous person on the team, Fluttershy very rarely would get angry. But when she does, she becomes the most terrifying person in the world. As Fluttershy’s furious gaze met the four girls one by one she spoke.
“Do you four realize what you were doing? The four of you were putting out so much power, a storm started to form above you!”
Genuinely surprised Rainbow, Applejack, and Sunset all looked up to see the last wisps of the previous storm clouds disappear.
“Not only that…” Fluttershy continued, drawing their attention. “…but you almost interrupted me from healing Pinkie Pie!” Everyone fixed their eyes on their comatose friend. “If it hadn’t been for Rarity, we could’ve lost her!”
Her eyes on Pinkie’s motionless body Sunset slowly turned her attention to Rarity, who gave Sunset a look that spoke volumes of the disappointment she felt towards her. Applejack’s movement caught her notice next, seeing not only more disappointment within them but also sadness and anger towards her. Sunset’s eyes met Twilight’s next, the only one among them that had a shred of sympathy for her.
If only just a shred.
Unintentional as it was Sunset and Rainbow had caught each others look. In Rainbow’s eyes Sunset could see all the rage and hatred she felt towards her as well as the regret for taking part in something that nearly cost the life of one of her best friends. And in that regret, something that Sunset could fully relate with, she finally felt the two of them had shared a powerful connection with each other.
Then she met Fluttershy’s eyes.
Traveling through the cosmos Sunset had encountered many creatures and races of aliens that would otherwise terrify even the bravest of Saiyans. Yet she found herself more excited with each encounter; the promise of a exciting battle with a ferocious creature always made her blood pump.
None of it prepared Sunset for the look her friend was giving her. It was so hard to bare Fluttershy’s look of anger and let down, it forced Sunset to do the one thing she had never done before in her entire life.
She fled.
Sunset shot into the air, her sudden departure knocking Applejack off the tree as well as Twilight. Rainbow, thanks to her heightened speed, was able to brace herself for the blowback.
“She’s getting away!” She shouted charging her power enough to easily catch up with Sunset Shimmer.
“Don’t you DARE, Rainbow Dash!”
Flinching, Rainbow powered down as she looked back at Fluttershy. “You’re seriously gonna let you leave?”
“Yes, because the two of you need to cool off.” Fluttershy replied as Applejack picked herself up and brushed leaves off herself and Spike nuzzled Twilight in order to help her up.
“ME cool off? You guys are the one’s that need to have your heads examined!” Rainbow announced. “Sunset Shimmer is monster! She’s killed HUNDREDS, maybe even THOUSANDS of lives and you want to give her a chance of redemption? Wake UP! That’s never going to happen!”
“How can you be so willing to demonize her like that? You don’t know what she’s been through!” Fluttershy argued as her friends gathered around Pinkie.
“Because of what she has done! Why don’t you get that?”
“That’s right; DONE. Past Tense. Which means your condemning her for what she has done and not noticing her attempt to redeem herself!”
“Like what happened with Twilight? Or nearly killing Pinkie Pie?
“Those were Sunset’s instincts protecting her! I know she would never hurt any of us on purpose!”
Rainbow steadily grew more angry as the argument went on. The loyalty she felt towards her friends fuelled that anger as her fear of seeing any of them hurt or killed was unacceptable to her. With the Element so charged with her raw power and strong loyal ties Rainbow, for a brief moment, tapped into her Elements power causing her eyes to turn red, her skin became blinding white, and her rainbow hair stood straight up as arcs of lightning flashed around her.
All her friends froze as Rainbow’s ‘appearance’ returned to normal just as quickly as it happened.
“Sunset Shimmer is a murdering monster with no hope of being anything else.” Rainbow turned around ready to head back home when she looked back at her friends. “The sooner you all accept that, the sooner we can deal with her. Once and for all!” With that, Rainbow charged her power and flew off towards town.
Everyone stood at the foot of the fallen tree, speechless. Fluttershy was having a difficult time figuring out what had just happened to Rainbow. Applejack, for her part, started to wonder if maybe Rainbow had a point about Sunset. Having fought her once and sparred with her all this time, she began to understand Sunset’s Saiyan nature a lot and what she was discovering caused her to worry.
“Well…not exactly the evening we all had in mind.” Rarity, unable to tolerate the awkward silence any longer, admitted as she struggled to find any flaw or contradiction in Rainbow’s arguments. Sadly, she was unable to find any. “Seeing as no one is in the mood to continue training, not to mention poor Pinkie Pie in need of some serious bedrest…” She continued as she levitated the diamond table Pinkie was currently resting on. “…I believe it would be wise to take Pinkie to the hospital, where she can make a much speedy recovery.”
“…Yeah. That’s a…good idea.” Twilight agreed sadly as she slowly lost faith in Sunset. “Let’s go.” Picking up Spike, Twilight and Rarity combined their powers to ensure Pinkie would not be buffered by the high speed air currents as they launch into the air, flying in the same direction as Rainbow Dash.
“…what ah mess.” Fluttershy, snapped out of her thoughts, turned to Applejack who hid her eyes from Fluttershy with her hat. “Truth is, ah can’t rightly blame Rainbow fer her distrust of Sunset." Applejack raises her head to look at Fluttershy with a hard look of defeat. “Thinkin’ bout it, Rainbow’s right. Every chance Sunset gets is spent fightin.”
Fluttershy, slowly losing her fire, was unable to stop a single tear from rolling down her cheek. “I wish I could make you girls understand Sunset like I do.” Unable to bare Applejack see her cry Fluttershy lowered her gaze to the ground, closing them as her hair acted as a curtain. “If only you could have felt the pain she had to live with for so long.”
Applejack kept her eyes on Fluttershy as she was on the brink of braking down in front of her. The last time she had seen her friend shed any tears was in passing before they met at The Friendship Tournament. Somehow, her name came up when Principle Celestia announced who would be competing. Because she was so painfully shy, she couldn’t bring herself to tell Celestia she didn’t want to participate. Instead she turned around and run right past her, crying.
Looking at her now Applejack could see just how strong and confident she had become since then. After all, it took all her friends telling her she was wrong about Sunset Shimmer to bring back her tears.
“Look sugarcube, ah know Sunset’s been trying…” Applejack began as she placed her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “…but ya need ta understand that, ta have ah past like that, ya can’t expect things ta run smoothly.” Removing her hand from Fluttershy’s shoulder, Applejack turns around to face the direction Twilight and Rarity had taken Pinkie. “In the end, our choices are what make us who we are. And Sunset, like it or not, made her choices.”
“…please…” Fluttershy squeaked, barely loud enough for Applejack to hear her. “…we can’t give up on her now. She just needs time and support. She IS redeemable. …I know it.”
With a sigh, Applejack looked back at her grief ridden friend. “Ah admire yer conviction, Fluttershy. Fer yer sake, ah hope it’s not misplaced.” Having nothing more to say, Applejack flew away just as Fluttershy’s will to hold back her tears broke, leaving her alone crying.
At that exact moment on a cliff over looking a tranquil canyon on the other side of the planet, Sunset Shimmer sat at the edge holding her legs to her body with twin rivulets of tears pouring down her cheeks.
“…Twilight…(sob)…Pinkie…(gasp)…Fluttershy…(heavy breath)…I’m so, so sorry…”
I seems the Fighters of Harmony are not as ‘harmonized’ as they thought! With an injury like that, will Pinkie Pie ever wake up? And what about Rainbow Dash? Can she ever let go of her vendetta against Sunset Shimmer? Can the others help her? Will they? With everything crashing down around her, just what will Sunset Shimmer do?
Find out next time in Chapter 2 of Fighters of Harmony: The Saiyan Sirens, Saiyan Reckoning.
Her composer only holding on by a thread Fluttershy slowly made her way home. At that moment all she really wanted to do is curl up with her stuffed animals and cry herself to sleep. As the town came into view of her blurred vision a sudden jolt of someones energy flashed through her senses. Coming to a halt, Fluttershy turned her gaze to the sky behind her, believing that was the direction the jolt came from. However, she was unable to pick up the source of it.
“…it…must’ve been my imagination.” She concluded before turning back towards her hometown. “That was strange. For a second, it felt like there were…three Sunset Shimmer’s.
Fluttershy continued on her way, unaware of the three space pods shooting past the moon and on a collision course with her home planet, Earth. Inside the lead ship Adagio sat resting until her nav computer came online.
“Alert. Alert. Now approaching primary target. Wake up, Adagio Dazzle.” At the sound of her name, the Saiyan Elite warrior Adagio, threw open her eyes to see the oncoming planet.
Adagio allowed the smile on her face to grow into a toothy grin.
Author's Note
Enter the Siren Saga. Took forever to write. Stupid procrastination. 
I'm aiming for to release the second chapter by March, so long as procrastination doesn't strike again. 
Creative criticism is always welcome.
You are all awesome!
