Magic: It's in everything. No, seriously, it's in everything! It's in all the food, the plants, animals, people, and many types of materials. I realized this while doing magical rehabilitation with Doctor Strange. Sunset didn't notice this little detail at all during her time in Equestria. Neither did Nurse Joy or Doctor Strange notice when I mention it to them. In fact, now that I think about it, they gave me a weird look when I told them about the ambient magic all around us.

I think I became a Sensory Type when I evolved. Handy, but annoying to master. I feel like a Pokemon. At least I'll be able to sense Ghost Types...

Magic Rehab mostly involved with me getting "back in the saddle" with my magic. Of course, I already knew how to control my Mana, Sunset's memories really helped in that area, but effectively control it? Yeeee~ah-no. There are a few holes, crushed equipment, melted everything, and a frazzled janitor in the Magical Testing Lab cleaning up my mess now. Sorry.

As it turns out from my little test, (and to the jaw-dropping shock of the entire hospital), I can use every type of magic. Even Multi-Casting, Silent-Casting, and Aura-Suppression. From Sunset's memories, I thought everyone was capable of doing those feats, but I guess that's not the case. Normally, Magi have to "SHOUT TO THE HEAVENS LIKE AN EIGHTH-GRADER!" in order to cast a Spell. Also, they can only cast one Spell at a time. Only. One. I didn't believe until Nurse Rough Touch used an Adept-Level Water Conjuration Spell called: Aqua Sphere.

"I am born of water from my circle of infinity. Please give the shapeless form from deep within my heart. Summon forth the elixir of life from the light of the moon to the palm of my hand!"

"Aqua Sphaera!"

When Nurse Rough Touch finished his magically dumb chant, there was a sphere of magically condensed water the size of a basketball hovering an inch above his hand. It took him a total of nine seconds to create it. I did it in one and without sounding like a thirteen-year-old that watches waa~aay too much anime. Of course, I put way too much power into it, so now the basement is partially flooded. Sorry again Strange-senpai!

After visiting the laundry room to clean my devilishly enticing attire, I got my release forms and was forced to wait in the lobby for Princess Celestia herself to come and pick me up. Two guards stood next to me wearing identical sets of armor made out of gold. I'm not joking. I could tell due to my passive Mana-Sense. The metal vibrates at the same frequency as the coins Equestria uses for currency, which is enchanted pure gold. I hope to Buda that their armor is only ceremonial. I'll eat my panties if it isn't.

Looking around the lobby as I wait for Celestia to finish her meeting with Doctor Strange, I saw a statue. The statue sat in the middle of the lobby. It's the first thing one would see when walking through the front doors. I couldn't get a good look at the sculpture from where I sat, but I know it's marble and that it depicts a long-haired Magi.

I wondered if the woman has any cultural or religious meaning in Equestria? Probably, considering how this world functions on magic. She must have done something in the past that earned her a statue in the hospital. There was nothing in Sunset's memories that told me about the woman. And since I have a couple of guards doing absolutely nothing but look like expensive ornaments. I asked the one standing to my right about the statue. "Who's the chick with the fancy robes?"

The guard didn't make a sound. Rude.

Thankfully, a random stranger heard my question and decided to grace me with her presence. She was a Griffonian. I can tell by the size of her wings. Valkyrie wings reach to the chin and the knees. Griffonians, however, reach to the top of the head and barely scrape the ground. They were also exquisitely fluffy! I'm definitely going to be an angel-sexual by the end of the week.

Anyway, the Griffonian wore scantily-clad white robes that showed off her cleavage, arms, hips, belly button, shoulders, and she wore decorative sandals to complete the outfit. She also had pure-white hair, wings, and silver eyes. She was the definition of Sexy Angel Priestess. And her boobs! They had to be G-cup at least! I couldn't help but be a little jealous even though I was formally male.

Staring dumbly at the beauty aside, I gave her a small wave to show my acknowledgment of her existence. She gave me a small smile in response.

"Good afternoon young mistress," the Griffonian introduced herself with a voice made of silk and a small bow. "My name is Verria Xexirus. I'm a Priestess of the Hylian Faith and apostle of Nayru. I overheard your desire to know about the statue. May I have the pleasure to gift you the knowledge that you seek?"

Well then, that's convenient. Here I thought I would have to torture my guards for the information I require. I guess they don't have to be my unholy sacrifices to the eldritch god of Kek. There is only so much torture one could take before their hearts give out. Magic will be a wonderful tool for my pranks. 'Thank my perky nipples my uncle isn't here. If he finds out my plans for Invisibility and Transformation, I don't think I'll be able to walk for the rest of my life from the beating that follows. My dream of becoming the greatest spy in the world will come to fruition! Mwahahahaha!'

'Now, how do I go about asking a Priestess about my lack of faith? I think playing the ignorant traveler would be good in this situation.' I stood up, placed my right hand on my heart, and gave her a respectful bow.

"I'm not really one for religion. I was home-schooled for most of my life. There are some things in this land that I'm ignorant of, but it's my desire to understand the world, magic, and life in general. So I'm a little curious about the statue and who it depicts rather than the one who made it. Would it be too much to ask for a beautiful maiden such as yourself to enlighten this lost soul?" I asked before looking back up.

The Priestess acquired a shade of pink on her cheeks. Even her wings gained a bit of color. Sunset uses Charm. It's super effective! Everyone else around me, even my guards, gave me their attention as well. Charm had an area-of-effect. SUPER EXCELLENT!

"O-Of course!" Verria sputtered out with a cute flutter of her wings. "The sculpture depicts the third daughter of Hylia and Goddess of Wisdom, Restoration, and Life: Lady Nayru. You can find art or a shrine in most hospitals and schools all over Equestria."

Wait. Hylia? Nayru? Sisters?! Equestria believes in Goddess of a video game?! How in the Nine Hells did that happen?! Why doesn't Sunset know about that?! Religion is an extremely important cultural aspect of a country! Knowing the religion of a country lets you understand the general belief of a populace! And knowing that belief allows one to connect and sympathize with the people! How can she not—

Locked in a Tower.

Trapped in a Castle.

Unable to connect with others.

Alone.

Forever alone.

—I fell to one knee. The sudden memory came so abruptly. My left eye burned, the right dripped the color of crimson. There was no sound, no feeling of touch, only the emotion of pure, absolute, soul-crushing, loneliness. Celestia locked Sunset in that tower. She sealed her away from everyone. Sunset wasn't allowed to leave the castle grounds. She wasn't allowed to bring anyone home. Not because of her ability to move the sun and moon, but because she was a commoner. An orphan. She was nothing more than a pretty clipped bird in a golden cage. The only place where she could interact with others was Celestia's School for Gifted Magi, however. No one there gave a fucking crap about her.

From the age of three, Sunset Shimmer was harassed, bullied, and ridiculed because of her non-noble status. They picked on her even though she was Celestia's personal student. In fact, that only fueled the fire. At the age of eight, Sunset never went back to that school and chose to stay in the cage Celestia made for her. The best part about this little memory? Celestia stopped interacting with her altogether when Twilight Sparkle destroyed the primary Examination Room for Celestia's school with a baby dragon egg.

Sunset would watch Celestia and Twilight play from afar while tending to the bruises, scrapes, and cuts from the physical abuse she suffered during her time at the school. She watched in silent agony from her tower while her so-called "mother" played with Twilight in the gardens without a care in the world. She didn't even acknowledge her existence, or rather, she didn't fucking care while Sunset cried and begged for someone to protect her from the monsters lurking in plain sight! Not even the teachers, guards, or the rest of the castle staff would help her! No one!

No one would help a little girl bleeding from having ice thrown at her in the middle of winter! No one helped her when she walked back to her cage with shredded clothes! She healed the wounds inflicted by the children of the nobles on her own! She fixed her clothes by herself! She was all alone! Alone! Alone!

ALONE!

Even though this memory was just a combination of hundreds of fragments from hundreds of memories, how could Celestia-no, everyone ruthlessly torment Sunset!? How could anyone stand by while a fucking child begged for someone to protect her?! Why didn't anyone try to comfort, heal, and love her!? And to make things worse! Everyone is acting like I'm the fucking incarnation of Hylia! Why now?! It doesn't make sense!

It's a trick. It has to be.

Celestia suddenly deciding that I'm important to her and choosing to "care" about my health is a farce. She never gave a shit about Sunset, especially when Twilight Sparkle came into the picture. The proof shows in the guards chosen to "protect" me. They weren't meant to protect, only detain. Their purpose was to keep me from wandering too far from Celestia. Also, the hospital staff was too polite and overly accommodating. If I wanted something, they would rush to the other side of town to get it for me. Even a five-star steak dinner that I had for food after my magical testing. Hospitals wouldn't do that. They need to maintain a strict code of conduct when it comes to food. Otherwise, they could cause complications with their treatments. Certain herbs and spices have been known to interfere with medication, and don't get me started on allergies! That's something I don't want to deal with.

I'm Sunset Shimmer now, and because of that. I have to deal with all her problems. Celestia must be here to force me back into the cage. Sunset's cage. Well, I'm not going! Not now! Not ever! I'm not going back to the cage! I'm not going back! I'M NOT GOING BACK!

'Okay, take a deep breath! Breathe in and out. My senses aren't working. Need to fix that. The flashback fucked me up. Calm down. Breathe.'

"...St...ck...She's...mon...!"

'Sound! I can vaguely understand, but I know someone is talking! My vision is still tinted red, and I'm on the ground in a crouching position. It felt like I'm standing in warm mud. Magic is spazzing out. Don't know why. Have to take control before it causes too much damage.'

"...The bar-rier...H-ow is s-he...De-m-on...Ge-t th-e prin-ess...!"

'It sounds like there are multiple people. I don't like their tone. They sound frantic...as if they are worried about something. My heart stopped racing. It's hard to move. Vision still tinted red. The scent of brimstone is suffocating. I'm warm. Why am I warm? Need to get a hold of myself. I'm not going back to the cage! Need to get up. Get up. GET UP!'

"...How is she not dead!? She's standing in lava...!"

"...Forget about that! She's a Demon! Keep the barrier up until her Highness arrives...!"

Blinking away the red liquid from my eyes, I'm finally able to view my surroundings. I'm still in the lobby of the hospital. There are twelve guards around me. Six of them are using magic. It's a barrier spell—Apprentice-Level—the barrier is dome-shaped, large, and around me. Not good, but beatable. I found out what's generating the scent of brimstone! It's the ground. I'm literally standing in a pool of molten stone! Why isn't my clothes on fire? Whatever. That's not important. Need to escape. Escape is important! I won't go back in the cage! I won't!

"Fuck, the demon is standing up!"

"Where's the Princess?!"

"I'm here! What is...The...Problem...?"

There are two new people in the lobby. One is my doctor. The other is a woman. The woman wore a beautiful white dress with yellow trim, gold jewelry, a crown, gold torc around her neck, and diamond high heels. Her long, flowing, multi-colored hair, reached passed her over-sized butt. Her giant, pure-white wings, were slightly opened in alarm. Gold covered the rim of her long, pointed ears. And her eyes! Her vile, hollow, putrid, lying, violet fucking eyes! The eyes of deception! The eyes of a liar! Those eyes belong to the one who abandoned Sunset! The one who didn't give a fucking damn of a little girl who wanted a mother! The one who locked Sunset in the tower! The cage! THE CAGE!

I'M NOT GOING BACK!

Author's Note

I had to change some things, but it should be all good. The next chapter should be out sometime next week. Holidays and all. So, the next chap will be short as this one due to the changes.

Making a VRMMO RPG game is a lot harder than you think...... Even though I'm only doing it for my English Major.... Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!