The swirling formation of colors and the pulling of her body was the only thing that Sunset could comprehend after she jumped into the mirror to escape the guards and, more importantly, Princess Celestia. As Sunset came closer to the exit, it felt as though she was about to be ripped in half. Then the sense of weightlessness overtook her as she was shot of the portal at neck-breaking speeds. The first thing that registered in her mind before she slammed into the ground was an overwhelming sense of cold. That soon became coupled with the pain of her slamming into the concrete walkway. She slid a foot or two before she was pressed up against the soft fluff of snow. The cold, however, was unwelcomed for the interdimensional traveler.
She scrambled on her knees and lifted her hand to her face before she was left gaping at the sight of the new appendage. The five digits reminded her of the minotaurs that had just arrived at the castle to discuss entertainment trades. Looking down at herself, Sunset found herself completely naked save for the backpack that hung on her back. Looking around, she saw the lingering shine of the portal at the base of a horse statue. She rubbed her arms subconsciously, as she looked around the place the portal had dumped her. She was surrounded completely, but her left, by a massive building that created a 'u' like shape in its design. To her left lay, her portal and a road to pony knows where. She thought she was alone until she heard the crunching of snow. Sunset was overcome by the sense of fear and unexpectedly shame. She scrambled to do something but could seem to get her body to do what she wanted it to.
"Target acquired moving to intercept now," a stern voice suddenly spoke. Looking over her shoulder, Sunset saw a strange creature making its way over to her with five others. It stood on two legs and was covered entirely in black material. They had three lights coming from their bodies. One was green, and the other red both being at what Sunset assumed was the waist. The other was just next to its large white filled eyes. They were moving fast to intercept her. Fear controlled her body as she went to the sole sense of protection in her mind—the portal.
She clumsily but quickly made her way to the base. That was when the first creature made it to her. They gripped her shoulders tight. Sunset responded on instinct. She lashed out towards the creature with both legs. Even as she reached towards the portal, Sunset could hear the shattering of bone. A muffled curse before her body was filled with pain, and her body seized with the loud sounds of clicking filling her ears. With one last tremendous push, she touched the portal.
That was when something unexpected happened. The portal shined, making the area around the building to light up like the sun had been grounded on earth. Sunset screamed as the magic from the entrance latched onto her. It burned, twisted, dug, and punctured her body. A power so overwhelming entered her body that her very body trembled, barely containing the massive power that poured into her. Images of other places, of other worlds dimensions, paradoxes, different realities flooded her mind.
Sunset just wished to be given the graces of unconsciousness. However, each new image, each second that passed created a new pain for her to endure. Sunset could feel herself breaking feel the very damage that was being rocked against her soul. Then nothing. It stopped, everything, Sunset hovered a foot off the ground before she collapsed in a pile of twitching limbs. Her jaw clenched and unclenched. Her eyes darted from place to place with tears rolling down her face. Sunset didn't even know where she was anymore. It wasn't long until Sunset's brain could no longer take it anymore and shut down. However, just before she passed out, Sunset felt something that made her embrace the inevitable blackness. The portal that was once brimming with energy was nothing but an insignificant chunk of rock now. She was stuck here. For how long? She had no idea.
The next day people of Canterlot woke to a strange sight. The school that had been there for as long as anyone could remember was snowless. Everything surrounding the school was covered in four feet of snow, yet the grounds of Canterlot High were clean with light green grass showing through the straw-like grass. Residence did remark about seeing a bright light from the school, but many believed it to be the work of teenagers turning on the stadium lights. A belief that soon was accepted as investigating the stadium light control room showed the signs of forced entry with the lock having been cut with cutters. Strangely, the tapes from the night before were missing. With no evidence being found, it became a cold case and was forgotten about.
Celestia looked at the mirror. The sadness she felt over the loss of her student was close to that of losing her sister. Cadence was next to her, looking at her Aunt in worry. She had been staring at the mirror for a minute or two. In deep concentration as if trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle. Cadence was startled when Celestia suddenly shifted her gaze to her.
"Cadence, this will be your first test as a princess. You are in charge of Equestria until I return," She stoically said.
"What but auntie," Cadence started.
"I have no doubt you'll do fine."
Celestia stated before moving towards the mirror. Just as she was about to enter, a crack formed, causing her to pause to her horror, more cracks formed as they began spreading across the mirror. Soon, the whole mirror was covered in fractures. Then with a final flickering flash, the mirror exploded. Celestia and Cadence unshielded their eyes, their wings returned to their sides as Celestia stood in the center of ethereal bits of the mirror. The mirror itself was intact. It was as though the magic of the portal was a shell of the mirror. All seemed calm until the pieces began to fade, floating up before gradually disappearing.
Celestia, shocked out of her stupor by the disappearing magic, flew into a frantic mess.
"LEAVE CADENCE!" Celestia bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice.
Cadence needed no prompting. The voice Celestia used wasn't the voice of her Aunt. It wasn't a voice of a Princess but of a Ruler commanding her subject. Cadence teleported out of the room as Celestia's horn lite with a celestial glow that would've blinded all permanently. Cadence, who was outside the door, watched in horror as the door, along with half of the hall, began to be ripped from their foundations. Then, without a moment's notice, a ripping like sound could be heard as the room, and the hall vanished without a trace. Cadence stood there as she looked on in awe. An entire section of the castle was gone. The sounds of sirens could be heard as the guard assembled to the destruction. The shouting grew as the castle guards saw the damage done to the castle and the Princesses' last known location. The palace began to lockdown as troops rushed to the destroyed room and the castle walls preparing to fight the unseen enemy.
A guard rushed up to her before asking, "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, I am well," Cadence responded dazedly.
"That's good. With the absence of the Captain, I have temporarily taken over. The guards at the wall fortifying the walls with crossbows. While a separate group is setting up a magic shield to cover the castle from the skies above. A squad of soldiers is on its way to help me protect you and Princess Celestia," the guard reported.
"That won't be necessary, um, I never did get your name."
"Lieutenant Shining Armor, Princess." Shining Armor saluted.
"Shining, Well, you see this damage was caused by Princess Celestia while performing an advanced spell. As far as I can tell, Princess Celestia transported this part somewhere, though I have no idea where. I need you to calm everypony down and tell them that everything is fine. I also need you to get Raven and ask her to hire some construction workers to rebuild this part of the castle."
"Yes, ma'am."
After everypony had left the area, Cadence waited at the edge of the broken hallway. She simply waited until something happened. After about an hour, the crackling of energy caught her attention. There in the center of the rubble was a portal with a tired alicorn emerging from the vortex. It looked like the weight of a manticore was put upon her shoulders. They were slumped, and her head hung low as she looked up to see her worried niece.
"I've done all I can. I've succeeded in retrieving all the pieces and making sure they don't fade. However, the ability to recreate the portal using those pieces is lost to me. I don't even know where to begin," Celestia confessed somberly.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. Sunset is one of the best ponies in terms of magic," Cadence said, trying to lift Celestia's spirit.
However, Celestia only shook her head, "Sunset traveled to a world with no magic. It was used by Starswirl the Bearded to banish creatures or items that were a danger to ponies life. I'm afraid the only pony that could help is him, and he has long since passed. He and the other elements vanished one day, never to be seen again. Sunset is truly alone, and there is nothing I can do to help her should she need it."
Sunset woke slowly before she shot out of bed. Or at least tried to, she found herself restrained to the bed with a white hospital gown with the numbers 0015. All around her were those same beings that had captured her. She tried to call out to tell them to let her go, but they paid her little mind. They drew blood so often from her that she began lightheaded. The very sight of needle causing her to tremble, which only led to them being rougher.
She was sore and could barely move once they were all done. Afterward, they pumped her full of sedatives and unclipped her from the bed. They half dragged half carried Sunset out of the room. She couldn't bring together her thoughts enough to notice the direction they were going. She soon found out it was a bathroom. They tossed her inside and proceeded to grab the power hose and spray her down with cold water. She was then dragged fully to her next stop, a small white room with a grey bed. They threw her on the ground and proceed to walk out the door. It would be how Sunset spent the rest of her eight years in this world. Being a genie pig that was tested, poked, treated like a prisoner, and in a way, she was. She would stay that way for years to come, slowly losing herself and where she came from, until the day that she snapped.
Author's Note
A new story, a new take on Sunset. I've had this idea for a while. Those of you that read my first story The Price of Wanting it will still be updated and I plan on writing one chapter after another. That being said the schedule for the updates will go this chapter than a new chapter for The Price of Wanting and after that a new chapter for this story.
Hope, you all enjoy it. Leave a comment down below on what you think of the new story.
It was a new moon, and an approaching storm created a sense of foreboding in the atmosphere at the walled compound hidden deep within the mountains. Despite it being a regular night shift for them, the guards seemed to sense it as well. It was quiet as though the forest itself was holding its breath. A small crack of thunder sliced through the tension, causing many guards to produce a slight flinch. As the snow and sleet began to batter the remote outpost, the suspense slowly slipped and returned to normal. Even if they had remained alert in the following minutes, nothing would have saved them from what would happen next.
Deep underground at the core of the mountain, a single entity was sprawled out on the floor in the corner of a large room. If not for the slow rising of the chest, one would think it dead. There was bruising around the mouth, and her wrists were bloodied and bruised. Her skin was pale with a barely noticeable amber tint to it. Her hair was long, reaching to her knees, fanned over her like a cloak. It was a matted orange-brown mess that was fraying at the ends. Beneath the dry layer of hair hung a grey dress with SBJ 015 on the back.
However, it was the eyes that caught the most attention. She stared straight forward, unblinking. Dark circles, almost like bruises, circled her sunken eyes. The pupils practically entirely consumed the irises. Only the slightest of aqua rings shined in the inky blackness of her cell. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot, but instead of red as ordinary people would have, hers were black. However, that wasn't what caused many to be unnerved by the stare. No, it was the anger of it. Subject 015 was displaying signs of aggression towards anything, despite it being in a constant sedative state. Subject 015 was incredibly dangerous and paralyzed with a potent drug for six hours out of twenty-four hour days, ten if tests were being run on it.
As she laid there motionless, the airlock doors opened up. The large pins unlocked from the other door with a loud clank, letting in a giant of a man with glasses. His broad shoulders were hidden underneath a white lab coat. His crop cut white hair was like a holy flame in the dark as he clopped over to SBJ 015. He stroked his graying goatee as his blood-red eyes stared condescendingly at the prone form beneath him as it glared at him.
"Pathetic. Is all you can do is glare at me?" The man's voice was deep guttural as he turned his back on SBJ 015. "I brought you here, don't think for a second that I can't get rid of you should I desire it. You're a monster that is very much useful to me. Very soon, I plan to release you on my enemies. The only thing standing in my way is your refusal to become obedient and join me on my assault. With your destructive capabilities, I can strike fear into the hearts of any who defy me, and my plans for Equus being the number one power on this planet will be realized. No one would dare to attack us, for if they did, you, along with the others, would destroy everything of worth those pathetic nations value. With you under my command, sooner or later, Equus would become mine, and I would rule everything."
He suddenly whipped around, striking SBJ 015 in the gut, "Unfortunately, the one thing that keeps the plan grounded is you and your refusal to conform. Your unwillingness to kill and lack of following orders is keeping me from my dreams."
SBJ 015 continued to lay mute as he ground her face into the steel floor.
"No matter, I have a test prepared for you. This will prove whether or not it's worth keeping you alive, for should you fail this test, it will result in your death. The test will commence an hour after your paralysis wears off. Don't say I never gave you anything. Should you survive this test, I'll place you through the memory wipe program. While I would love to stay and watch, I have more important matters to attend to." He began to walk to the door when he stopped. "It's a shame, really. You should have heard 'her' calling out for you. Unfortunately for you, it's too late to save her. Had you joined me sooner, you might have been able to save her."
A frail and stammering voice broke its silence, "S-s-six-sixx-six-x-t-teen?"
"Yes, SBJ 016 is no longer with us, and you could've saved her too if not for your own stubbornness and selfish desires. You may live with that on your conscience should you survive this test. You are weak. I shall see if you can survive the forging process. Should you survive, there might be a place by my side, or perhaps not."
With that, he left, the doors hissing shut behind him. All that was left was the one that was once named Sunset. All that was left was burning hate that leaked out of her like a dying ember. The hate made up the totality of her being now. Unnoticed by her, the black treads in her eyes pulsed and expanded, and the area around her eyes became a crimson red as her hate grew. She curled her body into the fetal position.
This was how they found her two hours later. The guards placed the restraining hooks around her neck. They zapped with electricity as they jolted her into a standing position. She shuffled forward as they brought her to the testing area. Her hair hooded her eyes, and she was eventually brought to her testing area. The room was filled with steam, and a fiery glow light the room. She was led to a walkway hovering over the glowing material. Forced to walk to the edge of the walkway showed what was beneath.
The entire bottom half of the room was filled with molten lava. She glanced at it with little care as beads of sweat-soaked her hair.
A scratchy voice sounded overhead, "Commencing the lava test. Should SBJ 015 survive, she is to be sedated immediately, and General Gorgar is to be notified. Release restraints and clear the testing zone."
The restraining hooks released their grip on her neck, and the guards started to retreat. As they did, thoughts began to run through Sunset's head. Those thoughts turned to voices, and she began to listen.
"You can give up."
"No, you need to run."
"No, Fight back. Kill them all."
"K-k-kill?"
"Yes, kill them."
"No, don't."
"Yes, kill them, get revenge for what they did to her. What they did to you."
"How? They're too strong. There are too many."
"Don't listen," the other voices were getting hard to hear over the commanding tone of the last.
"There's power all around you. Use it."
"Whe-here?"
"The fire, the lava, the heat, molten rock, and metal, use them. Your anger will help you. Let it go. Jump in and be reborn and use your power, the magic that lies deep within."
"L-l-la-va?"
She looked at the red and orange swirls of molten rock. Black specks of cooled rock floated within them. She stared at the lava long and hard before she took a step towards the edge. The molten lava burned her eyes as she stared mesmerized by the swirling colors. She closed her eyes as she dropped into the pool of burning rock. She felt the burning rock touch her foot first before the rest of her body followed. As she plunged underneath the molten layer, she heard the voice speak again, "Draw it inside you. Take its heat and draw it within yourself, into your core and use it to destroy them."
Doing as the voice said, she began to draw in the energy from the lava. As she raised up in the lava, the surrounding temperatures started to cool. As her head broke the surface, the surrounding lava cooled and turned to stone. The swirling lava pool that once burned with a metallic smoke was now nothing more than a slab of obsidian and basalt. Sunset herself shined like a miniature sun as she broke her way through the formed crystals and fine stone. With every breath, she expelled small wisps of fire.
"Good, you have the strength to leave and crush any who stand in your way. Look, there are your first victims. Shred them to ribbons."
Slow eyes looked towards the guards above the lava pit, pointing tranquilizers at her. Sudden hate consumed her as the guards fired the darts. The darts came within five feet of her before they were sent flying up into melted glop. She raised her left arm up and made a slamming motion. A firey appendage appeared, connected to her hand, above a guard's head before it mimicked her motion. The ghostly image crashed down as the guard's screams of terror were cut short. The hand lifted up, showing the guard's crushed and charred body that burned with a purple flame. A swatting motion led to the second guard being cleaved in half. The upper half was crisped and smoking as it fell out of the spectral hand. The lower half flopped down, as a pile of blood formed from the torn half.
Lowering her arm, the fiery arm vanished as she stared at her hands. Slowly clenching her hands caused her arms to glow as bright as the sun. Her hands sparked with electricity as she changed the form of her fire into a more chaotic form of energy. Electricity sparked around the room as it struck the unseen barrier. Letting the focused magic from her arms stopped both the lightning and the glowing of her hands. Looking at the walls, Sunset aimed at the room's entrance before lifting her hand towards it with a closed fist. A fire like a blow torch slammed the walls and melted through moments after it slammed against the door. The flame bent the metal as it forced outwards from the force and heat. After stopping, Sunset once again drew in the heat and flames recovering some of her spent magic.
You did an excellent job of mastering this world's magic, but I suppose being a Goddess's student and being trained by killers would do that to someone.
"Go-g-godd-ess-s?"
"Ah, that's right, your mind isn't all there anymore, is it? No matter. You're still not done. There are many more. Go to the top entrance and fire upon them from below. Destroy this place. There's no one left but you and your captors. The others were taken. I no longer sense their power, meaning either they died or were taken by that bastard. Destroy this place, then escape somewhere they won't find us."
"Oo-ok-okay-y."
She began to walk up the makeshift ramp towards the innards of the base. A trail of molten metal in her wake as she made her way deeper into the base. As she walked up the ramp, the alarm began to ring throughout the base. Stopping at the top of the ramp, she looked at the corpses of the two guards. A sadistic smile spread across her face as she fired two blasts at them before she left, leaving only a small pile of ash.
Gunfire rang throughout the fire, as did screams of pain and terror. A defensive line formed at the elevators, six guards with tranquilizers and nine with automatic weapons stood defensively around three technicians trying to shut the elevators down. The room with the breakers for the elevators had been melted shut from the outside. Everyone in the room was presumed dead from the lack of response after a distress signal was sent. That left the remaining guards and technicians scrambling to shut down all the elevators manually. Unfortunately, it meant the remaining members still down in the complex would likely be trapped down with the SBJ 015. During a breakout event, guards were ordered by the General to cut the elevator cables that lead to the surface.
"How much longer on that lift, Tech?" A guard asked, standing at the forefront of the defensive circle, over the sound of power tools
"My job is to fix the problems, not create them. Not to mention these cables need to be cut at the same time, or one of us could lose a leg," a clearly frustrated and on edge technician snapped at the guard as the power tools stopped.
"I know, but we need to hurray. The sounds are getting closer."
"I'm working as fast as I can as safely as possible."
The sounds of clanking and whirring began a new as they all shuffled in a spot. The radio crackled as teams reported their successes in shutting the lifts down. Theirs was the last lift that led to the surface. After sabotaging the lift, the creature would be trapped down here where it would be recaptured. Hopefully, during the time of being trapped down here, they could repair the long distant comms. The room was utterly destroyed, and the tower had been struck by lightning, causing a power surge that fried the capacitors, causing the tower to short circuit. Meaning it would be hours, possibly days, before anyone knew that Subject 015 escaped.
A loud screeching caused the guards to look behind them. The three technicians were panting and wiping their brows. The one from earlier sighed loudly before saying, "We're clear. It's trashed," a distant crash resounded from the elevator shaft. "We're trapped down here."
That statement drove home a level of dread that was new to many of the group.
A moment of silence passed before a guard asked, "Is it getting hot in here to anyone else?"
The statement caused goosebumps to form as they turned to look down the hallway. Slow wet padding sounded from the hallway down the ways and to the right. Reacting quickly, the guards aimed their weapons at the corner as the central raised a riot shield from off the ground. A scarlet glow started to light the hallway as the overhead lights burst from a building pressure that causing many guards to gasp for air. A bolt of electricity became visible from the corridor, as did the fiery glow of heated metal. That was when Subject 015 rounded the corner and stood to face them. Everyone but the front guard backed up either out of fear or the heat, no one would know.
Her hair spun wildly, almost like it was aflame in of itself. Her once pale skin looked like the surface of the sun. It glowed a bright amber with a slight red tint at the edges of her skin. All around her, a purple fire consumed her as it slowly tapered off to a fiery orange—lightning arced from the edges of her fiery dome. Her glowing cyan eyes stared at the elevator shaft before an unmistakable scowl spread across her face. The central guard was surprised by how a young girl was turned into a science experiment. She faced the wall and slowly started to shuffle towards it. Placing her hand on the wall created a small stream of smoke.
The metal on the wall began to sag as she continued to lay it on the melting metal. She continued to stand there until she suddenly flicked her hand off the wall, towards the anxious guards. The guard behind the riot shield felt a massive impact against the shield; looking at the area showed a fist-size dent. The sound of collapsing bodies caught his attention as his fellow guards on the left dropped with smoke emitting from their chest, heads, and necks. Looking behind him revealed two of the engineers also having smoking holes in their chests.
Looking back at the creator showed its cold gaze, working up the courage, the soldier shouted, "GET BACK IN YOUR CELL SBJ 015."
If possible, the heat increased, leaving his soles smoking and sweat to evaporate before it even hit the ground. That's where it went from bad to worst. The guards to his right began to open fire at the fiery phantom. A deep reverberating growl escaped from the creature as the bullets were let loose on her. The bullets hit the invisible barrier before they vanished in a wisp of ash. She sucked in a slow breath before she opened her mouth, and the guard watched in horror as a fire stream began to shoot out of her mouth. The remaining guards didn't stand a chance. They were consumed by fire, and faint screams echoed as their bodies were burned to a crisp.
The only one left in the corridor was the defiant guard with the shield. Shifting nervously as the demon glowered down at him. Placing his hand over his chest, he gripped a circular object. He closed his eyes as he spoke, "Sorry, Honey. I don't think I'll be coming home."
Blinking away a tear, he charged the demon, seeing that guns had little effect on the beast. He ducked behind his shield as he yelled with fury and fear. He meant to slam against the demon, but she moved out of the way. Realizing his back was open, he shifted towards her when the force of a truck slammed against his shield.
He flopped back against the blow as he skidded across the floor. Trying to stand up lead to a snapping sound coming from his shield arm. Screaming in pain, he gripped his forearm, noticing one of his bones was broken and sticking out through his skin. His arm was still attached to the shield put it had lost most of its protection as it was sliced to ribbons leaving a jetting piece of metal attached to his arm. Gritting his teeth, he weighed his options as the wet splat of feet walking on molten metal closed steadily on him. One option was to continue to fight, and likely lose his life, or run. He let out a frustrated grunt as he made his decision. Tightening the strap on his makeshift knife, he began to crawl away from the approaching steps.
His scrambling paused as he felt the searing heat from behind. A glance behind him showed the demon standing right behind him as it watched him crawl. Facing forward again, he screwed his eyes shut before he screamed. Lashing out behind him like a cornered snake, he lunged. He felt a small sense of satisfaction as the jagged remains of his shield plunged into its leg. An inhuman scream tore through the halls as pain as the demon grabbed at its leg before it lashed out at the guard slamming its arm against his chest as he felt his breath leave him. He sailed through the air before he slammed into the wall, and the world fell into blackness as he hit the ground.
The blood steamed as it slid down her leg. She was gasping at the pain that rocked her system. Her hand naturally moved towards the wound as she placed her burning hand on the puncture wound. Her screams renewed as her hands burned the already wounded leg. Jerking her hands away from her leg, she stared at the crumpled form of the guard. Red covered her vision as she produced a fireball.
She was about to throw the ball when the voice from earlier called out, "Leave him. He's not worth our time. He'll be turned to ash when we send this place to Tartarus."
The fireball dimmed as it faded. She turned around to face the elevator. Before she slowly made her way through the burnt corpses to look at the elevator shaft. She looked down below to see no roof of an elevator. A look above showed swaying cables dangling from the darkness above her. As she stood there looking for a way up the shaft, she concluded there was no way up. There was at least no way to climb up. It was at that moment when her eyes light up as a faint memory opened from the recess of her mind began to play.
She was reading a picture book. It was about ponies. The colorful pictures told a story about a princess being sent to retrieve a crown from a greedy dragon. As she made her way out of the dragon's hoarded loot, the dragon awoke from its slumber and began to chase the princess for stealing from it. The princess narrowly escaped with a well-placed teleportation spell. Inspired by the feats of heroism and daring, she set off wanting to master the spell.
Thus, she searched the library for the books explaining how it was supposed to be done. She raided the space sections, combed through clockmaking, flipped through the transmutation sections, absorbed everything on transfiguration before finally finding the transportation books. With her goal accomplished, she began to read through every book. After stacking the last book precariously on top of the leaning unorganized book pile, Sunset got up from the table and walked to the royal gardens to practice everything she had learned. As she walked away, the librarian came by the pile of books. Staring in awe of how the pile swayed back and forth, he was generally surprised it didn't fall over. However, removing the top book caused all the books to fall, spreading them across the table and floor. Looking rather annoyed, he began to pick the books up when cyan-colored magic enveloped the book in his magic and ripped it out of his grasp. A resounding thud echoed as the librarian was left standing in a mess of books, and she left the destroyed library.
Hours later, soft pattering could be heard as they approached the corner leading to the throne room. Peering around the corner showed the giant golden doors looming ahead with two guards blocking the way in. Next to the two guards were small rose bushes. Smiling mischievously, cyan magic encapsulated the two bushes as it seeped into the plants. The plants slowly shifted before the created and thorny smile with roses as the eyes. A brief command made the thorny vines raise before they lashed out. The two stallions, shocked by the sudden attack, fell into a collapsed heap of twisted limbs as they struggled to regain their bearings. After disentangling themselves, the two looked towards their attackers, only see two rose bushes hopping away with shining helmets atop their 'heads.' A quick glance up revealed they were missing a part of their uniform. Shocked, they began chasing after the giggling bushes.
All was quiet for a minute before the soft canter of her hooves approached the gilded doors. Slowly cracking the door open showed enough to see two guards on the other side. Cursing her luck, she slowly shut the doors. She paced in front of the door while thinking of what to do. The clanking of armor caught her attention as she stopped to hear the guards returning to their post. Startled, she cracked the door open and looked around.
Her eyes searched the room before they lit up as they caught the perfect place. She focused harder as the strain on her magic grew, then as quick as a wink, her body phased out of existence and reappeared above the guards in the room. Scrambling, she wrapped her hooves around the ceiling rafters. After ensuring she wouldn't fall, she began to shuffle forward on her stomach. It wasn't until she was above her target that she concentrated on forming a spell to ultimately defeat her enemy without a fight. Casting a spell over the entire court, she waited for the effects to take hold. She grinned when she saw the first signs of it happening with the pony that was currently speaking. It was quick but noticeable as the speaker wiggled his upper lip as it brushed against his nose. Another pony, a noble mare, sniffled and brought her hoof to rub against her nose. Even her target was twitching in odd places along her snout. That was when the show began.
The first pony to make a sound was a guard in the back. They tried to keep it quiet but soon broke into a fit of sneezing. It soon spread, and everyone but the target was sneezing, but beads of sweat ran down her face as she concentrated.
Smiling in delight, the small form concentrated her magic and teleported above the target. She swiped the crown before teleporting again to the base of the stairs. She stood proudly as the cloak billowed behind her. Upon her head was the crown as she smugly showed it off. A look of understanding took place over the now crownless princess.
Her small voice called out over the sneezing as she cast the counterspell for the sneeze cloud, "I have Platinum's Crown and shall return it to the Princess. Hadkhuna, you can't catch me, for I am the Princess of stealing, and I've never been caught before!"
The guards moved to catch her when the Princess lifted her hoof, commanding them to stop, "Is that so? Then I shall give you a head start. Let's see if you are so great," She spoke in a deep, exaggerated voice.
"Hmph, You'll never catch I, The Twilight Princess, for I have magic, and you don't," With that, she winked from existence.
"Enjoy your trip down memory lane? If you're done, we need to leave. Give me control, and I'll get us up there in no time," the voice said with an almost seductive voice.
Almost.
Looking up into the dark, she wondered if she could accomplish what happened in her vision. Her eyes suddenly got itch as she stared into the darkness. She closed her eyes as she rubbed them. As she opened her eyes again, the dark elevator was no longer a black shaft. It seemed to have lightened up considerably in the once dark shaft. Saving the weird elevator shaft for later, she took a deep breath before she gathered her magic once again. Taking longer than she had with any of her spells thus far, she picked a space, and in a blink, she disappeared from where she was standing. Twenty feet above in the elevator shaft, a flash of teal and red exploded as a body appeared from the burst.
She fell five feet before another explosion happened, and she appeared again, this time thirty feet from her teleport. She fell another five feet before she again teleported twenty feet from where she teleported. She fell once again but spotted another elevator door, teleporting again at the door's lip. She placed her hand on the metal, causing her hand to sink into the metal like soft mud. She brought her free hand to the door and released the sealed magic. The entrance was a melted hole in no time as it splashed on the ground in a pile of molten goo.
Pulling her hand from the wall, she walked through the door. She walked into a large room that stored weirdly shaped boxes that reminded her of train carts or metal versions of a wagon. However, four were different because they were more long metal tubes with four hanging metal planks than metal wagons.
She was going to walk by them when the voice from earlier spoke up, "You need to destroy them. They can follow us. If you want to escape, then you need to listen to me from now on. Release your magic, don't hold anything back. Light those metal containers on fire and take the fire from the results. The same goes for those things over there."
She let her magic flow naturally. She made six small bursts of flames that shot outwards. Two of the fires struck the tanks while four tore through the metal carriages, and the rest following as they struck the metal tubes that lined the one side of the metal room. The result was almost instantaneous as the room exploded into a fiery inferno. It rocked the building and caused portions of the wall and roof to shoot away from the building. The fires resulting from such a blast was surprisingly sparse for such an explosion. The sounds of yelling and crunching snow could be heard as smoldering metal glowed in the center of what once was a metal bunker. Shadowy figures began to form around the building's perimeter as the girl shook with the amount of energy gathered in her body.
An explosion rocked the encampment causing all the guards to fall over. Looking over to cause, guards saw a plume of smoke that formed into a fire whirl in the swirling snow. At the epicenter of the explosion, a flaming entity stared out. It's aqua-colored eyes shining through the smoke. Its shadow was menacing as it seemed to grow larger as ghostly images of wings unfolded from the figure. A gust of wind swept away a patch of smoke, causing the figure to become visible.
Their long hair burned and danced with unrestrained power. Her eye's burned with an ether-like glow. Fire puffs escaped from her mouth as the inside glowed from an inner fire that causing her dragon-like teeth to gleam. The rest of her was barely covered with the tattered remains of her gown. The sleeves and most of the ends where her legs came in contact were nothing more than charred and tattered. Her hands were black and cracked, which ended in sharp claws. Upon a closer look, it looked like molten metal had formed dripping molten gauntlets. Her skin, while still a pale shade of amber, it was slowly becoming red along her arms and legs. Strange black lines ran along her limbs, creating word like shapes.
It was still for a moment before a shout sounded, "OPEN FIRE!!!"
Gunfire ripped through the air as all manner of gunshots went off—thunderous sounds of gunfire as they all whizzed through the air towards the escaped subject. As the bullets raced towards her, a bright flash happened as she was gone. The flash caused many to drop their weapons in pain and grab at their eyes from the flash's sheer intensity. Then a blood-curdling scream broke through the ranks. The ones that could still see looked to see a burning hand gripping a man's throat. The screams stopped abruptly when a jet of fire exploded from his mouth and eyes.
A flash happened as it swept its arms in a broad arc, causing a wall of flame to slam into the hillside. More explosions sounded as grenades and propane ignited. A punch caused a man to fly into another soldier. With a loud crack, he trapped another beneath his weight as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Trapped under her dead comrade's weight, a swift stomp shattered her ribcage, causing her ribs to pierce her own heart.
To say it was carnage was an understatement as the creature massacred all that still fired at her. A deep breath had three screams as their skin boiled and burst, leaving burnt and gasping corpses. Teleporting into the air, the figure floated while twenty fireballs surrounded her. She fed more magic into the balls before sending them to cover the encampment and exploded as they struck the ground. Slowly floating back to the ground, she landed on the scorched earth, and all was quiet as fires roared in the wind.
A single shot fired from a pistol, and it sliced a small gash on the girl's arm. Turning to the source showed a man sitting against the outer shell of what was once the hanger. A pistol was raised, and he fired again. It turned to ash before it touched her. He fired again, and she held an arm up and swatted it. The bullet slammed into her hand. Upon contact, it heated to the point of glowing before racing like a rocket to the man's head. The man's mouth hung open as it fell, as did his arm. The flames licked at the bleeding gash as she walked to what was once the middle of the grounds. She held her hands up to the sky as the snow raged above. That was when the Aurora Borealis light up the sky broke through the clouded skies.
A ghostly image appeared forming from red lines and yellow astral skin. It took shape as a dragon a quarter of the size of the mountain. A screech sounded before the mountain exploded. The blast turned night into day as the Borealis disappeared, as did the dragon's divine image. When the explosion finally ended and the day returned to night, the grasp of winter retook hold of the mountain, or at least what was left of it. Only the front side of the mountain remained intact. The back was nothing but a smoking crater with small portions of what was once a lab remaining intact. Two lone figures stared at the destruction, one above on top of the mountain, and the other staring out a room its edges glowed from the heated metal. Feeling a heated glare on them, the room's occupant looked above to see the glowing blue eyes stare at them in the darkness. Its glare burned into their skull.
"You can count yourself lucky to have survived. You were the only one to make it out," a voice sounded in their head. "You'll act as a messenger. You tell him, should he search for me. The weapon he groomed will turn on him and his country, leaving nothing but scorched earth and poisoned skies."
With that, the figure disappeared, and a large flash exploded. For a moment, the man feared he'd be permanently blinded. When he could see again, the experiment was gone, and he was stuck. He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding as he slumped against the wall of his destroyed room. Trembling fingers, whether from fear or the cold, he wasn't sure just yet, grasped at the zipper of his jacket. Once he succeeded in grabbing it, he unzipped it a part of the way and pulled out a heart-shaped locket. Looking at the pictures inside, which held an image of his future wife and one of his family, he couldn't help but laugh in relief.
"I'm alive," he said, barely above a whisper. "That makes it official. Once I deliver my report, I'm retiring from the military. Cady and my parents would like that."
The man, Shining Armor, shifted to where he was the most protected from the elements and hoped people to rescue him before he died of hypothermia. All while he looked at the picture of his future wife and his sister. He couldn't wait to see them again. This was going to be his final mission anyway, so he had little to worry about finding a job. Perhaps he could get a job at his old school or be a stay at home husband once they tied the knot. He could help his mom with her books or something. As long as it got him away from this hell, he experienced he'd be happy.
Author's Note
Hello, my fellow readers. A few things to go over. Some way feel that Sunset is really strong in this fic. I designed her to be that way and have shown a hint of that in the prologue. Her strength is matched to that of a horse for obvious reasons. Two, her stutter is designed for her as well. She's been in a very stressful place for a long time with very little vocal interaction. If any of you have seen Kipo and the Wonderbeast, she has mental issues much like Kipo's mom which give her a voice impairment. The third is slightly more personal, I feel like I'm asking a lot but fmriver an author on the site who was one of the first to get me into reading fimfics is interested in finding people to write stories for them as they don't have the energy to do so. I asking for you guys to either pm fmriver if you're interested or reach out to your friends and followers to see if any of them are interested. Anyway, one last thing I'd like to do is thank my editor, Sollys, for taking time out of their busy day to edit my monster of a chapter, go give them a follow and show them some love.
Don't forget to leave a comment down below I always enjoy reading them.
