Shimmer Run 1981

Two burly police ponies lead Trixie, Sunset Shimmer and the Alicorn Amulet in hoof shackles to the central office of the police precinct. As they entered Princesses Luna and Twilight Sparkle stared with abject disapproval. The police ponies walked out and shut the door behind them.

"Shimmer! Laser-run!" Luna boomed. "You do realize impersonating a police pony is a serious felony right? That magicaine dealer you got killed was set to testify against Shadow Whorl once the Neighami police reined him in!" Luna slammed her hoof down on the desk. "Not to mention the untold amounts of property damage. You're just lucky that young colt is going to make it."

"I just can't believe you could be so reckless." Twilight sighed as she walked up to Sunset Shimmer. "I could imagine Trixie pulling a stunt like this, but you!?" Twilight slapped her hoof against her face. Trixie gave Twilight a dirty look while Sunset Shimmer hung her head in shame. "What were you thinking?" Twilight sighed.

"I just wanted to take the lead and do something good for once. To make up for what I did all those years ago at Canterlot High." Sunset Shimmer sobbed.

"Princesses, this was all my idea!" Stygian blurted.

"I don't care whose idea this was!" Luna shouted. "Canterlot is taking over this case and if the three of you aren't out of Neighami by tomorrow morning I'll personally see to it that you are charged for crimes against the kingdom!"

"Then we're free to go?" Sunset Shimmer asked meekly.

Luna slowly crept towards Sunset Shimmer. "And to make sure you leave the three of you can spend the night in a jail cell!" Luna boomed.

The two burly police ponies came back in and lead the trio to a large steel barred jail cell. After leading them in they removed the hoof shackles and slammed the door shut, walking off.

"I knew this was going to happen." Stygian sighed.

"I should have listened to you, right!?" Sunset Shimmer chided as she turned away to face the wall. "I should have..." She sighed. "Luna and Twilight are right. This was reckless and stupid. This whole thing. I just want to do some good in the world so that everypony isn't talking behind my back in the halls." She sobbed.

"You made a mistake. We all make mistakes. But this adventure we share. This is all we have together." Stygian sighed.

"Well then maybe we both would have been better off if we never met!" Sunset Shimmer cried as she turned back to Stygian. Trixie looked over in shock. "Then Trixie could have you all to herself. And I would just be that weird girl back in class." Sunset Shimmer slumped down as she sent the amulet hovering over to Trixie.

"She doesn't mean that." Trixie sighed as she gave the amulet a comforting pat with her hoof.

The silence was deafening as the trio sat quietly for what felt like an eternity; until they heard the unmistakable clang of the jail cell unlocking. Deputy Vice stepped in.

"When I asked you to meet me at the precinct this isn't what I had in mind." Deputy Vice sighed. "I have a lead on an incoming shipment of magicaine. We have to get to the Uptown Harbor for sunset. It's union turf and Shadow Whorl owns the unions around here but with the help of you three we might be able to blow this case wide open." He explained.

"But princess Luna-" Trixie started.

"I talked to her already. She said you have to leave tomorrow. It's not tomorrow yet. I had my boys in the impound garage fix your wheel" Deputy Vice Winked.

"Let's go, Shimmer." Trixie urged. "Let's at least finish what we started."

The light of the sunset raced off of the water, bombarding the street along side the Uptown Harbor with a blinding orange glow. The four parked the caravan in a nearby alleyway out of sight. Trixie took the amulet in tow and the four trotted quietly toward the harbor. They found a row of bushes with a vantage point of the main gate to the harbor and hid low, observing the activity.

"It looks like most of the dock workers have gone home already." Sunset Shimmer observed.

"Perfect opportunity for Shadow Whorl and his boys to move in and do their dirty work." Deputy Vice added.

"Somepony is coming!" Trixie pointed to a long black carriage being towed toward the gates. The guards at the gates waved the carriage in and then returned to their 'ready' posture. "This way." Trixie waved.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Deputy Vice said as the group followed her around the side of the fence. A maintenance shed was positioned close to the fence.

"We can use this shed for cover." Trixie explained as she began using her magic to cut a hole in the fence. The team scrambled in and ducked behind the shed.

Deputy Vice looked around and spotted the black carriage parked beside on of the piers. "Over there!" he pointed.

"We need to make sure we stay in cover." Stygian warned. "Without the carriage I can't grant you laser vision."

"What about that?" Sunset Shimmer pointed to a large fuel tank closer to the black carriage.

"We'll never make it there before we're seen." Deputy Vice sighed.

"Leave that to Trixie!" Trixie threw a smoke bomb toward the guards at the gate. It exploded into a puff of smoke and the team scrambled behind the fuel tank as the guards went over to investigate.

They now had a vantage point of a large yacht. A tall cloaked unicorn stood talking to a the large zebra from earlier as a small group of underlings looked through crates on the deck.

"I wish we could hear what they were saying." Deputy Vice said. He motioned with his head toward the black carriage. "Let's take cover over there."

The others nodded and they scrambled over behind the black carriage.

"As you can see your merch is here." The large zebra said in a thick accent and then paused and sniffed the air. "But I do smell a rat is near."

The groups heart pounded as they looked around for an escape route. A bunch of guards quickly flanked them and motioned for them to head to the ship.

"Busted." Sunset Shimmer sighed.

Trixie kept her head down and mumbled inaudibly to herself.

"What's our plan B?" Deputy Vice asked.

The guards walked the group up onto the deck of the yacht. They were outnumbered and surrounded.

Trixie's horn glowed and the fuel tank they had hid behind earlier exploded. A searing orange fireball rose into the sky above the harbor, startling everypony. Trixie grabbed Deputy Vice and jumped for cover behind a crate and Sunset Shimmer jumped behind another. A flurry of magical bolts flew back and forth as a firefight erupted.

The large zebra motioned at a pony operating a cargo crane. Sunset Shimmer seized the opportunity and popped out and fired a salvo of horn blasts, knocking some of the hencponies down. Trixie motioned to Deputy Vice and prepared to throw a smoke bomb. The cloud of smoke lit up with the light of a magical blast and as the smoke cleared Trixie lay wounded on the ground.

"You traitor!" Sunset Shimmer shouted as she fired at Deputy Vice and then jumped behind a different crate.

"I warned you that we owned the police force." He laughed.

The boom of a loading crane swung over the deck and the large zebra jumped on as it swung him to safety.

"We can't win this." Stygian sighed. As Deputy Vice and the rest of the henchponies circled around them on the deck.

"I need you right now!" Shimmer said as her horn began to charge up. She levitated the amulet from Trixie's side over to herself. She touched her horn against the amulet and a blast of magic came radiating from the pair, knocking down everypony left on the dock except for the cloaked unicorn who erected a shield of energy that the blast broke against.

"Well played." The unicorn fired a blast, striking the amulet and it fell to the ground.

"Stygg!" Shimmer cried out as she followed him to the ground. One of the gems was cracked and energy arced out of it.

"It's a shame you didn't remain with Celestia to keep honing your talents." The unicorn lectured as he stepped closer.

"What do you know about me or Celestia!?" Shimmer snapped.

"That voice..." Stygian strained.

The unicorn tossed his cloak to the ground revealing his true identity- It was Starswirl.

"I don't understand..." Stygian continued.

"How could you betray Equestria!?" Sunset Shimmer cried out. She fired a powerful blast at Starswirl but his energy shield still held.

"Betray? All these years blindly following codes of morality and I had never bothered to look at things with the shoe on the other hoof." He lectured calmly as he walked closer yet to Sunset Shimmer. "So many years the ponies of Equestria have been forced to make compromise after compromise to save themselves from existential threats when we all could have been so much more powerful, so much more in charge of our destiny. I only do what is best for Equestria."

Sunset Shimmer hadn't noticed in the heated exchange that the crane operator had swung the boom back and positioned a cage above her head. Starswirl fired a blast at the chain holding the cage to the crane, knocking it down around Sunset Shimmer.

"Starswirl, stop this madness..." Stygian pleaded. "Let her go..."

Starswirl levitated the amulet up to his face. "Please don't take this too personally Stygian Laser-run, my old friend" He cast the amulet to the ground and then stomped on it. Stygian screamed in pain as more energy arced out.

"Don't hurt him!" Sunset Shimmer screamed as she bucked at the bars of the cage to no effect.

"It would take more than a few cracks and dents to kill him." Starswirl turned his nose up. He then delivered a swift kick that sent the amulet sliding off the deck of the boat and into the water with a splash. "But it will take an expert diving team to find him." He snickered.

Starswirl signaled to the crane operator again. As the last light of dusk gave way to night the crates and the cage were loaded onto the black carriage. As the drivers galloped off into the night the docks fell still.