o0o - Celestia - o0o

When Celestia heard the news that her daughter was turning into a demon, she dropped everything she was doing so she could save her. Not because Sunset was turning into a Demon, such a transformation required years worth of Dark Mana intake before the process could occur, and Sunset never touched Dark Magic in her life. No, she's going to save her from the Royal Guard. She knew the threat they possessed towards Sunset now after her talk with Doctor Strange. Celestia needed to get to her before they caused any damage.

Doctor Strange followed behind her as they ran through the evacuation hospital. Doctors and Nurses alike frantically rushed to get their patients to safety from whatever threat her trusted guard caused. Celestia could feel what sent the guard on high alert. Doctor Strange as well. The amount of raw Mana pulsating from a single location is concerning. So much so, that if it weren't for the enchantments placed on the hospital by Strange, the entire building would be on fire in a matter of minutes, but they won't last for much longer. They only had a matter of time before Sunset's surge jeopardizes the lives of Canterlot.

'If only I wasn't wearing heels...' Celestia cursed herself as she carefully ran down the stairs. She would have teleported to the lobby, but it possed too much of a risk. The enchantments could fail if she passed through them with how Greater Fairy Warp works. In any case, it wouldn't matter in the scheme of things. Fairy Warp takes the same amount of time to run down three flights of stairs to chant out the Spell. And Strange won't use his Mystic-arts Warp Gate to teleport anyone either for any reason. It's quite frustrating at times.

Another frustrating thought about the situation came from the information Strange gave her about Sunset's condition regarding her mind and magic. Sunset showed signs of Borderline Personality Disorder, which is a condition that affected her emotions in very intense ways. This condition wouldn't have been an issue. Equestria has the medical knowledge and technology to help regulate her condition. The problems stem from her magic—Without proper control, Sunset could Surge or even Flare if she felt the wrong emotion!

Sunset had no control over her magic, and to make matters worse? She had more magic than a recently awakened Aetherial! If Sunset Surged, she could level a five-story building in a matter of seconds, but if she Flared?

She could destroy a small town just as fast.

Love could also be potentially dangerous for Sunset to experience. The amount of destruction from the betrayal of the heart could be apocalyptic. Not to mention Sunset might never feel love for the rest of her life towards the person who betrayed her. Or at all! Cadence shouldn't be a part of Sunset's life. Knowing her niece, she would try playing matchmaker with her daughter the second she meets her. That can't happen. The risk isn't worth a life of absolute unhappiness. Continuing her rush through the hospital, Celestia finally arrived at the scene that her guards were so worried about, and stared in horror.

In the center of the main lobby of Canterlot General Hospital, standing in a pool of molten stone, held in place by a Class-3 Elemental Phoenix Barrier, surrounded by guards, was her daughter. Sunset's body let out bolts of black lightning that violently struck against the barrier. Her hair made an F-5 fire tornado look calm as a summer breeze. And her eyes! The sclera flickered between purple and black, same with the iris, but with red and aqua instead. As for her pupil? It was as sharp as an elder dragon's. After Celesta made her brief observation, Sunset's maelstrom eyes locked onto her, causing her body to freeze.

Hate: Pure, unrelenting, violent, vengeful, seething, vicious, hatred, filled Sunset's slitted eyes with an undertone of fear, pain, and anguish. She snarled at Celesta like a rabid dog, showing a row of perfectly sharp teeth that looked more draconic than human. The sound of her growl even distorted the air around her.

"This is more than just a magical surge," Celestia gulped taking a step back. "She has absolute control over her raging mana. One false move and everything within a two-mile-radius will turn to ash."

"Thank god all her attention is on you then," Strange nodded in agreement with an expression of annoyed indifference. "Keep her distracted while I put her to sleep. The second the barrier breaks, she's going to try to connect your face with her fist."

Celestia didn't like the fact she's going to be a target for an enraged Magi, but she understood the reasoning behind the decision. All of Sunset's attention was on her at the moment, she didn't know why or how her daughter became so enraged, but one thing's for certain.

It wasn't natural.

Another thing that wasn't natural about Sunset was her brute strength. With a single punch, she broke through a barrier meant to hold down a rampaging, fully grown, adult dragon. When the shield fell, the entire room drowned in the heat coming off of Sunset. The sudden change in temperature caused everything flammable to burst into flames. The ceiling, the benches, even the statue of Naru started to melt. As for the sprinkler system meant to snuff out a fire when detected? Boiling-hot steam flash-cooked everything it touched. If it weren't for Strange's quick reaction, Celestia could have died. Her guards, however, weren't as fortunate.

The guards of the Arcane Special Forces, the ones responsible for the barrier in the first place, were on the ground screaming as their armor fused with their cooking flesh. Well, what's left of it anyways. Charing bone is visible through the cooking muscle. Not to mention the boiling air dissolved what's left of the skin where it's exposed. Their horse screams echoed an eldrich choir to the tune of Iram Caelesti Phoenix, and the scent of human flesh made the scene all the more horrifying.

As for the rest of the Guard that were unfortunate to find themselves locked in the lobby with Sunset? They were ash staining the marble floor with the color of blood-gray and liquid metal. Only the Arcane Special Forces have special enchantments tailored for Elemental Magic of the highest caliber. Though, considering they were holding Sunset in place for as long as they have. It's not surprising those enchantments failed. They must have drawn from the mana powering their armor to keep the barrier up which was a fatal mistake. They should have drawn from the hospitals emergency power. 'Oh well. That's one problem I no longer need to deal with. The fewer witnesses, the better.'

During Celestia's analysis of the developing situation, Strange made his move and vanished from sight. Celestia didn't know where he went, but she knew he didn't go far. Now, the only people visible in the melting lobby was Sunset and Celestia. The former slowly walking toward the latter with enough killing intent to murder an army. Celestia couldn't help but feel nervous. Her first interaction with her long lost daughter is one with death and destruction. Also, she needs to keep her daughter distracted long enough for Strange to do whatever he needs to do. 'This is not the family reunion I envisioned,' Celestia thought solemnly. Letting out a sigh, she made her first move.

Gathering her mana into her hands, Celestia weaved a simple Froze Prison spell and launched in at Sunset, thinking that it would hold her in place for a few minutes. However, when Froze Prison collided with Sunset, the ice only added to the boiling mist, and Sunset dashed with her fist in the air in retaliation. 'I'm stupid. Frost Prison? What was I thinking?! I should have used Dante's Flame Palace. At least that spell would have consumed Sunset's fire, making it impossible for her to move.'

'This is going to hurt.'

Celestia couldn't dodge, raise a shield, nor respond to Sunset's attack. And such an attack it was! Sunset's fist made contact with Celestia's face, as Strange predicted, the impact destroyed the barrier protecting her, sent her flying through a wall of solid concrete, several more walls, out the hospital, through the city, and into the castle.

When Celestia finally stopped her impromptu flight, she found herself resting at the base of her throne surrounded by her guards. She did a quick scan on herself and found out that her wings are broken. Same with her arms, legs, ribs, and face; the front half of her body is charred, her clothes destroyed and exposing her naked body to the world, and everything else severely damaged. The only word she muttered out before her body shut down to repair itself was the definition of poetic genius.

"Ouch."

Meanwhile, Strange watched with muted glee at the sight of Celestia knowing what it's like to be punched by a mock Asgardian...or the Hulk. He didn't like her, not by a long shot. Her sense of morality was as twisted as her mother's. Which was something that led to the utter destruction of Paradisia, and nearly...The World.

He was there during that battle, watching from the sidelines. The moon was destroyed, rebuilt, and used as a weapon. The entire planet split apart into giant shards that almost floated off into space, and Celestia's mother laughed at the destruction...after she killed her own siblings, absorbed their power and souls, and proclaimed herself the God of the New World before being put down by Cherry, Clover, and Black. The world was also repaired by those three after the battle.

Strange knew how that monster came to be, but he couldn't do anything about it. Even as the Grandmother walked through the Castle on a daily basis without a care in the world, and unaware of the possibility of assassins waiting to end her life. Just one spell, one poison, one dagger, and the Unity Wars, the Demon Wars, the Fire Wars, and the Void Wars won't happen. Just. One.

He sighed, knowing that Time should not be tampered with when its already set in motion. All he can do is watch and prepare for the inevitable. Speaking of which, he turned to Sunset, who was making her way to the hole she made and snapped his fingers. The teenage girl collapsed onto the floor, unconscious from having all her mana ejected from her body so suddenly. Another snap repaired the lobby as if nothing happened, and another erased all the bodies littering the floor.

"Thank you, Hylia, for warning me about Sunset's surge," he said as he picked up the girl in question. "Now, let's take you home that the Goddess herself prepared for you."

One more snap of his fingers, he was gone, and the hospital returned to normal as if nothing happened that afternoon.

Where am I? That's the question going through my mind right now. I have no idea what happened after my little episode when I let the emotions of Sunset's core memories overwhelmed my own. One moment I am standing in the lobby glaring pure death at Princess Celestia, the next I'm wrapped in some form of cloth. Not only that, but someones carrying me to an unknown location. I can tell from the gentle swaying of my body with each step my holder is taking.

I wish I could see, however. There is the slight problem of a cotton scarf covering my eyes. Thankfully, my carrier noticed my predicament and moved the blindfold from my eyes. And the first thing I see was a pair of powerful, deep, loving, compassionate, soft, warm, and sorrowful emerald-green eyes silhouetted by moonlight and snow. That's when I noticed something off about her eyes. The iris glowed and shifted in a flower-petal pattern, and from aqua-green to emerald-green as I noticed before. Kinda' like Toneri Otsutsuki's eyes. What was it called again? The Tenseigan? Cool, but freaky.

I couldn't make out any other details about the person aside from the shape being feminine, and she looked like a more mature version of Sunset Shimmer. Not only that, but her hair had the appearance of fire, her face had several scars, and she had a very motherly smile on her face. She looked away from me for a moment, much to my displeasure. I wanted to see more of her face, to memorize every detail, but something had to interrupt my investigation. Thankfully, it made itself know.

"We don't have much time, Hylia. If we don't leave this era soon and return you to your original time-period, bad timey-wimey things will happen!"

Was that David Tennant's voice? No way! First senpai Strange and now the Doctor! Please tell me I'm dreaming?! I must be dreaming! If this is a dream. Don't wake me up!

"I know, Doctor, but what I need to do cannot be rushed," the women holding me replied with a voice made from the smoothest silk and the softest of feathers. Her voice filled my heart with the warmth of a mother's love.

She looked back down at me, her eyes now filled with regret, pain, and sorrow. Her gentle smile quivered, tears began falling down her face. I felt my body slowly descend in what appeared to be a doorway of an expensive-looking building. I didn't want her to cry. Why is she crying? Why?! I don't understand!

"I'm so, so sorry Sunset, but I have to leave you here. You'll see me again, one day when you're older and much, much stronger," she choked out a sob. "Be a good girl for me, okay? Your life will b-be hard and filled with p-pain, and I know it'll appear as though I'm ab-abandoning you, and I don't w-want to, b-but if I don't le-leave you here. Then th-the world will end!" She paused to give me a trembling kiss on my forehead, and all I could do to respond was cry with her. "Goodbye, Sunny, m-make Mommy proud!"

Then she started to sing. "You are my sunshine~ My only sunshine. You make me happy~ When skies are gray."

'Wait!'

"You'll never know, dear, how much I love you~ Please don't take my sunshine away." She continued to sing while walking away from me without taking her tear-streaked eyes off of me.

'Don't go! I have questions!'

"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping~ I dreamed I held you in my a-arms. When I awoke, d-dear, I was mistaken~ And I hung my head and c-cried."

'Please don't go!' I tried to reach out, but my cacoon prevented me from doing so. Hylia gave me one last smile before knocking heavily on the door with her magic. I shouted, cried, begged for her not to go, but to no avail.

"Y-You are my sun-s-shine, my only s-sunshine~ You make me ha-happy~ When skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I lo-lo-love y-you. Please...D-don't ta-take m-my...Sunshine aw-away." With one final tear, one last reassuring smile, Hylia dissolved into a cloud of red and yellow rose petals. Leaving me alone, in a strange place, by myself, before the door opened to reveal a strange woman wearing a nightgown and holding a lantern.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iJRfz9H5cU

Original Posting of this chapter was Feb 1 2019, not Dec 27. ANY way! Got me some cover art being made! Yay!