P3R50N4: Equestria Girls

The next morning Sunset got to sleep a few extra minutes before waking up, thankful she could eat indoors before heading out. She grabbed a bowl and poured herself some cereal and milk and started eating at her desk, while looking at her phone. It was then she noticed something strange: there was a new app on her phone, one she didn’t recognize. The icon had a black background and a red X through it, with the name “META” on it.

Must be one of those spam apps…though I don’t usually go onto any risky websites. She then deleted the app before continuing her breakfast and looking through the news. One of the articles mentioned Mr. Executive, who in real life was actually known as Gladmane and he was in charge of many different businesses over at Las Pegasus, and apparently he was gaining attention in the news, not because of the incident with Sunset herself but rather similar ones with different women, those working in said businesses or regular citizens. Sunset couldn’t help but smirk a little bit. Maybe the accusations wouldn’t stick but it was nice to know the bastard was going to sweat a bit. Maybe just maybe, the investigation will be opened after all.

Once she was done eating, she got into the shower before brushing her teeth and getting dressed. Today was supposed to be a lot warmer so she decided to leave her jacket behind for today. Grabbing her bag, she then took off for school.

On her way towards the school, she again heard the sound of someone running behind her. “Hey!” Luckily, Rainbow didn’t run into her but rather slowed down next to her. “Good, I managed to catch you before you got to school.”

“What’s up?” Sunset asked.

“Well I’m not sure if they’re going to announce it, but some of the sports teams are having try-outs for anyone who wants to join. Kind of a last chance before the season is over.”

“…Why would they have try-outs in the middle of the season?” Sunset asked.

“Well…to be honest, turnout has been kind of low the past couple of years so the coaches are really trying to encourage to join up. Plus the soccer team is…kinda running low on replacements.”

“…You’re asking me to join the soccer team.”

“N-No! I’m just saying, you know new student and all, you should be informed of these things…ehehe…”

“Rainbow, while I appreciate the offer, the most I’ve done at school was either track or field hockey but I doubt I’d be good enough to do soccer.”

“Oh come on, just think about it okay? Maybe not soccer but hey, what better way to support your new school am I right?”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“Cool and look, if you do join something, I’ll help out with paying for any equipment you need.”

“I still think there’s some ulterior motive here…”

“Oh come on, I’m serious!”

Sunset had gotten to her class about ten minutes and saw that Twilight was in the same seat as yesterday. Going towards her and finding a seat Sunset commented, “Are you always this early for class?”

Again, Twilight had been sucked into her book that she jumped when she heard Sunset speak and blushed slightly. “Uh…ehehe…kind of. It’s kind of a habit of mine. Anyway, how’d you do on your homework?”

“I…didn’t exactly finish it.” When Sunset saw Twilight’s look of disappointment she then giggled. “I’m kidding. It was for the most part easy.”

Twilight then laughed slightly. “Oh…right…you were joking. Most people talk to who say that are usually serious.”

“Nah, I’m kinda like you, I try to get it done as soon as possible.” It was then she remembered something. “So…I found out you and Cadance know each other.”

“Oh, you know her?” Twilight said, beaming. “I’m assuming that means you’re living at the dorm, which means…your parents aren’t living here?”

“It’s…kind of a long story…” Sunset began.

“Oh, is it personal? Sorry, it’s none of my business anyway,” Twilight said before looking back at her book.

There was silence between them for the next couple of moments before Sunset spoke up. “Say listen Twilight…I don’t know what your schedule is but…maybe sometime after school we could hang out and do something?”

Twilight suddenly stared out for a moment and then looked at Sunset with a big grin. “You mean like do a study session!?” she said excitedly.

“I…was thinking less school-related…”

“Oh…w-well I guess we could,” Twilight said, sighing slightly. “I’m going to be honest, I’m kinda awkward around others, at least people I’m not really familiar with.” She paused for a moment before she blushed more. “N-Not that I’m not comfortable around you! I know we just met but I…guess I feel as if you’re a person I can talk to. Cadance is like a sister to me, and sometimes like a mom and she’s always looking out for me and wanting for me to meet new people but…it’s hard considering how things were in Crystal Prep.” She then shook her head. “But don’t worry about it, I’d be happy to hang out with you sometime. In fact, I’ll just go ahead and give you my number.”

After the two exchanged numbers, Sunset said, “Actually, I got invited by some of the girls here to go to the soccer game on Saturday. Did you want to join us, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

“Uh…which girls?”

“Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity-”

“Wow, you made friends with them already?” Twilight gasped. “I mean, I guess Rainbow is the most popular of the group but still…”

“Yeah, they kinda accepted me rather quickly…”

“Hmm…” Twilight was silent for a moment as she was deep in thought. “Well, this would be a good opportunity to learn how to uh…socialize better I guess. There’s something about you just makes others like you.”

“I…highly doubt that.”

“Come on, humor me for a bit? You girls just met and you’re already friends?”

“…Yeah I guess it does seem odd. But then again it beats the people at Manehattan.”

“Therefore, this calls for research in the field…ahem, I mean that I’ll come with you to observe.”

Sunset smirked. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The afternoon came quicker than Sunset expected, much to her relief. Once she got her lunch, she found the girls at the same table as yesterday and sat down. “Oh good, Sunset you’re here,” Rarity said. “Rainbow here was telling us how she’s been hounding you to-”

“I was not!” Rainbow argued.

“…hounding you to join the soccer team,” Rarity continued, looking slightly annoyed. “However, if you are looking for some sort of activity to do, why not join a club instead? Almost all of them are open to join and there’s no worry about having to join late. Besides, as I was explaining to Rainbow you’d have to get a physical done, get cleared by your doctor and get all your needed documents filled out and by then it’ll be close to the end of the season.”

“Alright, alright I get it,” Rainbow said, looking annoyed. “But hey, there’s always winter sports. Of course, the only ones they have in winter are basketball and swimming so not much to choose from.”

“Um…I appreciate the thought, but I think for now I should focus on settling in before I go around trying new activities,” Sunset said.

“Well I think personally you should join the baking club.” Sunset looked over and almost jumped when she realized Pinkie was sitting next to her.

“H-How did you-?”

“It’s best not to question it,” Applejack said. “Pinkie, what are you doing here? I thought you had lunch last period.”

“Yeah…I kinda got called in and I guess they changed my lunch period around, something about a noise complaint but I’m not really sure what that was about.”

“I’m pretty sure they were talking about you Pinkie,” Fluttershy said.

“Me? Pft, now that’s just silly! But this is great, now all six of us are here together!”

“Actually, that just reminded me, about Saturday, I thought I could bring someone with me. Do you girls know Twilight?”

“Oh, the egghead?” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.

“Rainbow, don’t be rude,” Rarity scolded her. “We know her, though I don’t any of us has really talked to her. She seems like a nice girl she’s just…not very social.”

“Well I think she’s opening up a bit to me, believe it or not,” Sunset replied. “So…would it be alright if she hung out with us?”

“Sure, why not?” Applejack said. “We wouldn’t be living up to our reputation as an open bunch if we said no. As long as someone doesn’t try to give her a bad time…”

“Oh give me a break,” Rainbow scoffed. “I’ve nothing against her, I’m just not a fan of Crystal Prep. They think they’re better than everyone else and they’re not afraid to brag about it constantly.”

“Yeah, but Twilight isn’t like that at all,” Pinkie said. “I mean, she doesn’t talk to a lot of people but still, it’d be great to have her!”

Sunset got out her phone to give Twilight a text when she noticed the same app that was on her phone this morning was back. What the hell? “Hey, have you guys ever heard of this app called Meta?”

“Doesn’t sound familiar to me,” Rainbow shrugged. “Sounds like a scam.”

“Well, it doesn’t want to stay deleted apparently,” Sunset said, annoyed as she tried to once again delete it. However, the app wasn’t leaving her screen.

“Might want to get that checked then,” Applejack said. “I’ve rarely ever heard of people getting viruses on their phones though…”

“Whatever, I guess I’ll find a tech place or something after school,” Sunset said as she texted Twilight the good news.

“Maybe I can join you?” Rainbow asked. “We don’t have practice today so maybe I can crash at your dorm for a bit.”

“Sure, why not?” Sunset shrugged. “As long as you don’t mention anything about soccer.”

Once the school day was over, Sunset waited outside the school entrance until Rainbow finally came out. “Are you sure you’re not just overreacting?” Rainbow then asked as they started making their way downtown. “Just try resetting your phone.”

“I did, and now the app is acting like it was pre-installed onto my phone,” Sunset said as she looked at her phone.

“…Did you try opening it?”

“Seriously? I know once I do my phone will be infected if it isn’t already. You know the kind of things hackers do with your phone?”

“I’ve gotten weird messages from freshmen so I’ve seen my share.”

“…Fine but if my phone is toast after this I’m making you get a new one for me.” Sunset tapped on the app which opened and for a moment all was black before a loading circle appeared. Then almost instantly text appeared in the middle of the screen.

WELCOME SUNSET.

WILL YOU ENTER THE METAVERSE AND FULFILL YOUR DESTINY?

“Okay, this is getting too weird,” Sunset said. “This is deep web type of shit and I am not getting involved with the police-”

“Oh come on, you worry too much, just tap the damn button,” Rainbow said.

“…I know I’m going to regret this…” Sunset sighed and tapped the Enter button underneath. After that the screen went blank. “Okay…maybe it is just a broken app after all.”

“Uh…are my eyes playing tricks on me or is everything…flickering?” Rainbow asked.

Sunset looked around and indeed something was off. The area around them was beginning to dull in color until it all turned to black and white before disappearing completely and all they could see were numbers and code. “What the hell is happening?” Sunset looked down at her phone but the screen was still black. At this point it wasn’t even responding.

“Oh man this is super trippy…” Rainbow said as she grabbed onto Sunset’s arm in fear. However, the background of code didn’t last long as suddenly the setting changed to a more grim and dreary background. The sky was filled with a red haze that enveloped everything while the ground beneath them was a blinding white.

“This is…” Sunset couldn’t be sure what she was seeing. Moments before they had been surrounded by buildings as well as the school and now all they saw was what looked like a barren area with structures here and there.

“…We’re dead aren’t we?” Rainbow said in a hollow voice.

“No we’re just…honestly I have no idea what’s going on or where we are. But I’m pretty sure we aren’t dead.” Sunset looked down. “And what the hell are we wearing?”

Both of them were wearing black attire, almost all leather with Sunset wearing a bomber jacket while Rainbow wore a leather vest. “Well this is…different. Not bad I guess,” Rainbow said. “But seriously, where the hell are we?”

“You’re just in the Metaverse…which I guess is a different dimension from the one you’re used to.”

The voice suddenly put them both on edge. “W-Who’s there?” Rainbow asked, gripping tighter on Sunset’s arm.

“Oh come on, it’s just me, the one who’s been trying to contact-oh wait you can’t see me can you? So much for the mysterious introduction…just stay there I’m coming over to you.”

The two of them held their breath for a few moments as they heard something coming towards them. Finally the figure emerged but it wasn’t what they were expecting. Out of the haze came a small dog that resembled a young cocker spaniel.

“Uh…a dog?” Sunset asked.

“Oh great, now along with having to worry about our own hides we have to worry about this mutt too,” Rainbow grumbled.

“Mutt? Wow, talk about rude.”

The silence was deafening. “Did that dog just talk?” Rainbow asked, her eyes widening.

“…Yeah, it did,” Sunset replied, looking just as shocked.

“That dog has a name you know,” the dog said. “And his name is Spike. Come on, you’re telling me a talking dog is the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen?”

“Man, Fluttershy would have a field day if she was here right now…” Rainbow muttered.

“Well, it’s definitely not normal,” Sunset replied. “Anyway, what is this place and how did we get here?”

“Like I said, you’re in the Metaverse and you got here by finally answering my message,” Spike said.

“Wait…are you talking about the app?” Sunset asked.

“Well duh. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day!” Spike said, now looking annoyed.

“Okay but why? Why me?” Sunset asked.

Spike looked her straight in the eye. “Because you’re the only one that can save this world.” His gaze broke as he looked around. “It wasn’t always like this…it used to be a peaceful place, or at least that’s how I remembered it. That was before the Shadows of course.”

“Uh…Shadows?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah, pretty much the embodiment of negative feelings inside people and they all come in different shapes and forms too.” Spike shivered slightly. “In fact, this really isn’t the place to be hanging around.”

Suddenly, the sound of grunting could be heard. “What the hell is that?” Rainbow asked.

“That…would be a Shadow,” Spike said. “I hope you made sure to bring something you can fight with.”

“That might’ve been something nice to tell us before we came here,” Sunset snapped.

“Wait…you mean you’re not…oh crap. Uh, run!”

The three of them ran in the opposite direction, and yet despite that it felt as if the Shadows behind them were starting to catch up. There was a building up ahead. “Over there!” Sunset yelled as the three of them ran as fast as they could.

Sunset tried to open the door but the door appeared to be locked. “Oh man, we’re so screwed,” Rainbow said. They turned around and saw the Shadows approaching them; they resembled blobs, the kind seen in old horror movies. Even if they kept running, there’s no way that the Shadows would give up and it would only be a matter of time before they would be exhausted.

Sunset gritted her teeth in frustration. After everything I’ve gone through…is it really going to end like this? No…the hell with that! I’m going to live, damn it! At that moment, Sunset looked up and in front of her was a card, floating in place right in front of her. She knew it was beckoning to her and wasted no time reaching for it. As soon as she touched it, the word went straight to her brain, the word that would change her life completely. And just like that, it came out of her mouth automatically. “Persona…”

The card in her hand suddenly burst into flame and disintegrated as a fiery red aura enveloped around her. The aura suddenly shifted and shaped into a fiery creature with large wings that screeched loudly. “I am thou…thou art I…From the sea of thy soul, I come… I am Phoenix, my flames will cleanse this world of sin and bring justice to all who need it!”

“I have no idea what’s going on but this is fucking awesome!” Rainbow yelled.

Sunset couldn’t comprehend what was happening but she didn’t have to. It was almost as if she was on autopilot, but at the same time she didn’t fear the being in front of her but rather embraced it. Let’s do this.

Phoenix flapped his wings as fire rained down on the blobs, killing them instantly. The rest that followed paused for a moment, as if hesitating. Sunset stepped forward and pointed; Phoenix obeyed her command and burned the rest of them to a crisp. With his role fulfilled, he then disappeared.

Everything was quiet as Sunset, Rainbow, and Spike were all in a state of shock. “That…was…AWESOME!” Rainbow suddenly yelled. She went up and put her arm around Sunset. “How did you do that!? Don’t tell me that was something you could do all along?”

“I…have no idea what just happened,” Sunset said who suddenly fell to her knees.

“H-Hey are you alright?” Spike asked with a worried look on his face.

“Yeah…it just took a lot more out than I expected.” Sunset took a few moments to catch her breath before she got back up. “I think it’s time you explained just what’s going on here, Spike.”

“There’s not much to tell honestly,” Spike said, sighing slightly. “As I said, this place used to be full of people and it was a happy place…but then something changed. The people, if you want to call them that, changed. Over time more and more negativity filled this entire world and then…they were all gone and in their place were the Shadows you just saw.”

“If that’s the case why haven’t you changed?” Rainbow asked.

“I’m not sure really,” Spike frowned. “Maybe I somehow prevented myself from being corrupted, or maybe this is the work of something else. The point is, I was desperate to call someone, anyone that could help me.”

“Which explains the app…” Sunset said. She still wasn’t sure why she was chosen, though the events before seemed to provide an answer. “Alright Spike, I’m not sure how much help I can be but…I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Really?” Spike asked.

“Really?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong I sympathize and all that but how are you going to do all of this by yourself? And better yet, why?”

“…I guess I’m just the kind of girl that wants to help others,” Sunset shrugged. “I know this is all confusing, and really it is, and I know I’m asking a lot but will you help me?”

“Are you kidding? After all that happened you are like the most awesome person ever!” Rainbow grinned. “At this point, regardless of what happens, I got your back Shimmer.”

“Thanks Rainbow,” Sunset said. “So Spike, how exactly can we tackle this problem?”

“Uh…well actually I’m not really sure,” Spike chuckled slightly. “But I do know the Shadows seem to group together in certain places, usually big buildings. I’m not sure what they symbolize but if we were to take them out…”

“It would lessen the population of Shadows,” Sunset finished. “It sounds like an impossible task but hey, it’s worth a try right? Perhaps tomorrow we can plan our first move.”

“That’s great but…how do we get back?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh! Right, I kinda forgot to mention that,” Spike said. “If you click on the app again on your phone it should take you back to your world. As for me, I’ll do some snooping around. The Shadows don’t seem to take an interest in me so I can sneak around if need be.”

“Then I guess it’s settled then,” Sunset said. “We’ll see you tomorrow then Spike.”

“Alright, but just do me one favor?” Spike asked, looking slightly annoyed. “From now on, please try not to ignore my calls or delete anything.”

It only lasted a few moments but suddenly Sunset and Rainbow were back in the same exact place they had left. “Whoa, so we’re right back where we started,” Rainbow said. She looked up at the sky and squinted in confusion. “What time is it?”

Sunset looked at her phone. “It’s still after three…which means barely any time passed at all while we were gone.”

“Huh…so we could spend hours in that other world and come back and it’ll be like nothing happened.”

“It seems that way. Are you having doubts now?”

“No…we both know what we saw was real…though I’m sure anyone else would think we’re crazy.”

“Then we don’t tell them. This will be our little crusade.”

“Heh, I like the sound of that,” Rainbow chuckled. “Well, I guess you don’t need your phone fixed after all. I know I said I’d stop over but I think I’m going to go home and…process everything. Plus we should get prepared for tomorrow anyway.”

“Yeah…I think I might end up going to bed early tonight. Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Yeah, you too. Just be careful not to set anything on fire okay?” Rainbow snickered as she took off, leaving Sunset with a semi-annoyed look on her face.”