As Sunset walked home from the Fall Formal, she reflected on her actions. In a matter of hours, five long years of work had gone up in literal smoke. She would have laughed if not for the searing pain in her back where her demon wings had been. As she walked, the cold wind blew past, making her shiver as the cold of Autumn bit through her practically destroyed leather jacket. As she walked, she was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as a set of hands pulled her into a dark alleyway. As she turned around to see who had grabbed her, she met with two bullies who had ruled the school before Sunset came into power.

"Well, well, well." Cackled Gilda Griffin, a powerfully built woman with a bad attitude, rivaled only by her extremely short temper.

"If it isn't little Ms. Demon herself." Standing behind Gilda was a much shorter and leaner girl, with more of a runner's body, compared to the Amazon of a woman in front. This girl's name was Lightning Dust, co-caption of the school's soccer team and a fierce rival of Rainbow Dash.

Sunset looked at the two in mild annoyance. "What do you want?" She asked as she looked around her for anyone passing by. Gilda grinned as she looked at her prey like a jungle cat eyeing a wounded animal. "Let's see what I want?" Gilda said, giving a thoughtful look mockingly. "I think I want what should have been mine all along."

With a snap of Gilda's fingers, Lightning grabbed Sunset's arms, pinning them behind her. As her arms twisted, Lightning slammed her elbows into her lower back, barely missing the raw wounds. "It's payback time, She-demon!" she cackled, raising her fist in preparation for a strike. Sunset shut her eyes, waiting for the hit to land, only to hear a sound she thought she would never hear in this town. Her ears were picking up the sound of a wolf followed by the cracking of whips. With the punch not coming and her curiosity winning over her instincts, Sunset peeked one eye open only to gasp at the sight before her.

When Sunset looked again, she saw Gilda and Lightning, tied down by what looked like oily black wisps of smoke, come to life. They had been surrounded by a pack of massive black wolves that looked like they had just crawled out of the dark shadows, dripping off them with each flex of their powerful muscles. As she watched, one of them twitched more than the others. This one seemed twice as big as the rest of the pack, as they were the same size as a Timberwolf from Equestria. The alpha began to change shape. He started to take the form of a young man no older than Sunset, wearing a pure black cloak that seemed to suck up the darkness around him, wolf ears poking out the top of his upturned hood.

He then kneeled to be in direct eyesight with Gilda and Lightning. He then said in a dark and sinister voice: "I will let you two off easy this time, but if you try a stunt like this again," he then posed as he lifted the tip of his hood to give them a direct look at his face, "I will show no MERCY." From where they were looking, a toxic green light appeared in the exact spot where his eyes would be as he growled out the last word in the most blood-curdling growl she had ever heard.

With that, he lowered his hood and continued to look at Gilda and Lightning. "Do I make myself clear?" he asked as the two would-be muggers gulped and nodded. He stood, never breaking eye contact with the two, "excellent, now beat it." he muttered to them as he flicked his wrist, causing the shadows binding the two to jolt like strings controlled by a puppet master. His arms gestured to the entrance to the ally, and the shadow strings dragged them screaming out into the open street, stopping at a street light as they crashed right on top of each other. Sunset, finally realizing she was safe, collapsed onto the cold asphalt, the adrenalin running out of her system. He must have heard her fall because he turned her way, kneeling next to her, to assess her well-being.

"You are safe, now, young one," he said in a tone surprisingly gentle after distilling so much fear into Gilda and Lightning, "what's your name?" Sunset, beginning to become light-headed, reached up to her savior's hood. He seemed to understand the request as he pulled down his hood. Sunset's eyes widened at the sight she was seeing. Her savior had toxic-green eyes that seemed to glow in the dark alleyway surrounding them, his skin as white as fallen snow, and hair that blended into the shadows of the ally perfectly. He had a scar in the exact shape of dragon claw marks over his left eye, yet he seemed to be able to see fine. His mouth had two fangs sticking out where the human canines would be. His ears weren't at the side of his head but at the top like a wolf. "I'm Sunset Shimmer," she muttered, her eyes growing heavy. "Sunset," he said calmly, "I need you to stay awake." Sunset, not wanting to stay awake, did as was instructed. "Now, can you tell me where you're bleeding from?" he asked in a more serious tone. "My back," she said, still struggling to keep her eyes open. He nodded as he reached for her shoulders. "I'm going to turn you over to get a better look," he said as if to ask her permission. Sunset nodded, though if she understood or if she was giving consent, it was unclear.

He nodded, taking it as consent. "This is going to hurt a bit," he said, getting ready to turn Sunset onto her front. "on three." Sunset became more delirious as she nodded again, bracing herself for the pain. "One, two, Three." He counted and then turned her over as she winced in pain. From there, she felt a cooling sensation as if he were taking away the hot pain from her back. As the blood began to subside, Sunset couldn't stay awake any longer. Her eyes began to grow heavier and heavier. The last thing she heard before she became unconscious was, "Don't worry, my dear. I shall take care of you."

Sunset awoke to a warm, plush pillow under her head and a warm blanket over her body, the sun shining its warm, bright glow on her face. She smiled at the feeling that made her feel like she was back home. Princess Celestia must be starting her day by now. Better get my assignments from her done, she thought as she stretched out her fingers. Her eyes snapped open, realizing she wasn't in Equestria, the memories from last night flooding back to her. She gingerly sat up, ascertaining her surroundings and her state of being.

Sunset looked around, finding herself in a very spacious bedroom. The bed she was on was in a loft that faced a large, grand window with a beautiful view of the rising sun. The blanket she was under had a strange icon that looked like a cutie mark but not like one she had ever seen. Sunset looked down at her cloaths and found herself in a set that was not her own; they were a plain black T-shirt that was at least two sizes too big for her, a pair of black shorts with the same icon as the blanket on both hips as if it were a cutie mark. She noticed her back didn't hurt as it did last night but still felt tender. Looking under the shirt, she blushed as she saw that her bra was missing in its place and was gauze wrapped around her chest, going down to her waist.

She climbed out of bed as quietly as possible, not to alert whoever had brought her into the room that she was awake. Sunset crept down the stairs to the loft and out the door leading to the bedroom. As she walked into the hallway, she followed her nose to the distinct smell of coffee. She continued following the sent as it seemed to lead her to what appeared to be a dining room.

Sunset stood in front of a beautiful table that looked like solid oak. On the table set a feast of toast, eggs, yogurt, mixed fruit, and a fresh steaming hot cup of coffee. She stood there salivating, unsure if she should dig in or not. "Are you going to eat, or are you going to stand there drooling?" a voice behind her asked. Sunset jumped in alarm at the sudden noise. Standing behind her was the boy from last night. He had changed his wardrobe to be almost like what Sunset was wearing. He wore a black T-shirt that depicted a stary night with wolf silhouettes howling under a full moon as its light shined down on them. He had black jeans with a leather belt with the same icon as on her shorts on the buckle. Around his neck was a silver necklace with a crescent moon hanging from the chain. His hair was combed out of his face, revealing that his eyes, which were once toxic green and now arctic blue, looked like he had seen far more than his age had let on.

Sunset sat down at the table, her savior, sitting in front of her, pouring himself a cup of coffee. She stared at him as if to try to figure him out. He looked up from his cup and chuckled. "I do apologize for the wardrobe change," he said with an easy-going smile. "your old cloaths are being cleaned and repaired as we speak." Sunset looked down at her food and started to eat. "Why did you save me last night," she muttered. "and who exactly are you?" his eyes widened as if he had just realized that he had not introduced himself. "Oh, I beg your pardon. Where are my manners?" he said. "My name is Moon Shadow, but please, call me Shadow."

Sunset nodded as she continued eating her breakfast. Shadow took a long drink of his coffee and cleared his throat. "Now I believe we have some things to discuss," he said, suddenly all business. "the first thing I suppose I should tell you is that those are some of my old clothes, and yours are in the wash then shall be repaired." Sunset choked on her food at this revelation, even if she had speculated that bit for herself. Somehow, hearing it confirmed only made it more awkward. "The reasons behind that are because I needed to bandage up your back, and I didn't want blood all over my sheets. That's all I did, Sunset, of that, I assure you." Sunset nodded, deciding to believe him for now. She took a long, slow drink of her coffee, savoring the flavor as it warmed her body and woke her system up. "Besides, I couldn't heal in one go." he added to clarify what had happened. "dark magic is tricky enough to heal on its own, even if I wasn't rusty at healing magic," he muttered to himself. Sunset's eyes widened as she spat her coffee.

"How do you know about magic!?" she shrieked in alarm. Shadow wiped off his face as if not faced by the scolding hot liquid. He looked at Sunset and raised an eyebrow. "Do you honestly think this dimension has never had magic before?" he asked with a sarcastic grin. "and before you get your tail in a knot, yes, I am fully aware you are not from this dimension. Your magic circuits can tell me that for themselves, my little equine friend." Sunset began to panic as she put her coffee cup down with shaky hands. "So you're telling me that this dimension had magic in it this whole time?" she asked, shaking her head as if struggling to wrap her head around that. "Yep, the only reason others haven't used magic in reason times is that the lay lines in the earth are overused to the point where they are more like shrunken arteries," he said, drinking his coffee so that there was only a little bit left in his cup. "now the lay lines look about like this." He showed Sunset his cup to see the barely noticeable amount left inside.

Sunset, beginning to feel like she was back in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, nodded as she held onto every word. "Now, after that blast of magic from last night," Shadow continued as he poured more coffee into his cup. "I theorize that super blast of magic was like a shot of adrenalin right to the cardiac arteries." Sunset remained quiet, thinking about the information she had handed. "So you're saying, this whole time, I could have used magic, just not as powerfully?" she asked in exasperation. Shadow pursed his lips, thinking about how best to answer that. "Well, not exactly," he said hesitantly, "the best way to answer that is like this." he sighed, feeling like this was going to be a long-winded lecture. "When I said that, I could tell that you were from a different dimension by your magic circuits because they are wired differently from any other living creature from this dimension." he continued, taking another drink from his cup. "To put it bluntly, it would be like trying to wire something for AC compatibility to something for DC compatibility."

Sunset was unsure if she should be relieved that she couldn't use magic in this dimension after last night's incident or be sad that for the next two and a half years without her magic, if she decided to stay at all. Shadow seemed to have another theory brewing as he did some math quietly. "Care to share your theory with the class, Shadow?" Sunset asked, knowing the look of a thought brewing. Shadow's eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. "Well, it's less of a theory and more of a hypothesis." He said, finishing up his thought process. Sunset waved her hand in a "go on" gesture. "I hypothesize," he began, "that the amount of magic you blasted this dimension with would have not only filled back up the lay lines but would have made it so only people with your specific magic circuitry can use it." To prove his point, he drained the rest of his coffee and refilled it with the creamer that happened to be sitting behind the coffee pot.

Sunset looked at him like he had given her the most precious gift possible. "So I could use magic even here?" she asked like a filly on hearth's warming eve. Shadow sighed as if he knew what he had to say next would not be pleasant for her to hear. "In a way," he began, "yes, I suppose you could." Sunset's eyes widened with pure delight at using her magic again under her control this time. "However, I would advise against using your magic until you get yourself resituated," he warned hesitantly. "whoever shot that big blast of light magic to try to purify all the dark magic in your system did a half-assed job." He grabbed the coffee pot and prepared for another visual demonstration.

"If you tried using your magic now," Shadow said, gesturing to the coffee pot. "you would tear yourself apart from the inside out." Sunset didn't need him to elaborate, knowing what would happen if the two mixed. "Let me guess," Sunset sighed, "if I tried it now, the light and dark magic would fight for control and tear me apart in the process." Shadow nodded, stirring the contents of his cup into the coffee pot and stirring the two together until it turned white. "I would advise against using magic until one or the other works its way out of your system," He said, looking Sunset right in the eye. "Which set of magic you want out of your system is entirely up to you." Sunset jolted, unsure how to respond to react to that. Shadow sighed, "Look, I'm not some Saturday morning kid's show cartoon character, and I'm not your conscience, given human form because of a mental breakdown. Though if you want to be known as a selfish ambushes monster for the rest of your life, fine, that's all on you." He paused, looking at Sunset, his hands clasped together. "If you want to change for the better, I recommend keeping the light magic in your system; the choice is yours."

Author's Note

I know, I know. Mugged in a dark alleyway, total cleché. But hey that cleché always works for heros in comics so why not this case scenario?

So anyways, again this is my first fimfic, and being I am learning how to be a comic writter soon I figured this would be the best way to have some storyline practice for if I want to make one of my stories into a comic or something. And like all others; vote, comment, and I always am looking for suggestions and corrections to any misspelling and grammar. By others I mean other authors