Sunset in the gods

by red-sun

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 7 (EqG), Random, Adventure, Violence, Princess Celestia, Wonderbolts, Death, Human, Sunset Shimmer, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Equestria Girls
Length: 93511

Queen Luna, tired of serving the gods, has decided to start a rebellion against the authority of the gods.

The kingdom of Equestria has been a country loyal to the gods until the current generation, but the gods are not pleased with the current queen.
Queen Luna, tired of serving the gods, has decided to start a rebellion against the authority of the gods.
Princess Sunset Shimmer, adopted daughter of Celestia. Despite having poor health and a weak body, she had a gift, the gift of fortune telling, she had a vision and saw that the fall of Equestria was inevitable, but she also saw that in order for Equestria to be reborn, she would have to sacrifice herself.

Thanks to MrPirriot SunShim fan 1 for helping correct the story

Act 0 - The Rebel Queen.
Act I - Slaves.
Act II - Fallen Gods.
Act III - The City of Beasts.
Act ? - Siege of seven days.
Act ? - magic is friendship.
Act ? - friendship is magic.
Act ? - Equal under heaven.
Act ? - Defense of the hundred.
Act ? - The birth of an empire.
Act ? - War against humanity.

There will be more acts

Published 2022-05-26 23:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2025-01-31 05:08:17 UTC

Act 0 – The Rebel Queen – Chapter 2

Gods... they appeared in this world long before humanity. They are beings that can control the powers of heaven and earth, they manipulate the wind, the rain, the thunder... their capacities have no limits. Humans for a long time succumbed to his power and believed that the gods were far beyond humanity, so much so that no human by any means could represent a challenge... however, is it really so?

MANY YEARS AGO

"Why you ask?"

“I have seen how the miners who work in the sufuro mines north of the city live. I feel sorry for them. For many years they endure various hardships inside the mines to feed their families... father, I understand why we don't have slaves like other countries. But is it necessary to invest so much in the mines to please the gods? We could invest the resources of the country to expand our own industry.” says a twelve-year-old Princess Celestia.

"My Daughter...it is unfortunate but we must work for the gods...if we don't follow their orders we will be punished with many calamities...and if those times come, people will have to face even more suffering." Says a king already too old.

"Father, why don't we try to overthrow the authority of the gods?" Says a ten year old Luna princess.

"Luna, your thoughts are very naive."

“My daughters, do you know why the kings and queens of Equestria do not have blood lines? Five hundred years ago the king of Equestria at that time had the same idea... but in a single night, more than a thousand warriors were slaughtered by just one god. The All Master himself went to stop the revelion. As a punishment no king or queen of equestria could have children of their own, the royal line ended at that very moment. That is why every ruler must seek out and adopt an orphan to rule."

“Where is All Master?" Celestia asks.

“I heard that he is across the ocean, in a distant land, in the direction of sunrise. It is a place where no human can go.”

"I wanna go." Luna says.

"Do you really want to go daughter?"

“Yes, no matter how difficult it may be, I want to go to the land of the gods. I want to see the gods head-on and punch them in the face."

IN ACTUALITY

What terrifying pressure!! It was Luna's first thought. She knew that the gods would have to appear sooner or later but she never thought that they would send one of the 'great gods'

Then the red-skinned god grabs Luna's horse's jaw and legs. "Queen Luna, All Master has declared that you must die tonight." Then he raises the horse with Luna still on top. "Go dead". He lets go of the animal's leg and delivers a powerful blow to its stomach, throwing Luna and her horse hard towards the walls.

In a display of overwhelming power and strength, only one blow was enough to remove the will to fight from the soldiers of Equestria. The din of battle was completely silenced as each soldier felt terror.

They all witnessed how one of the great gods fell and finished off with a single blow to the Queen Luna , leaving only a small hole in the city walls, splattered with blood with remnants of flesh and bone.

“My lord Tirek. He did not expect one of the great gods to come. Especially one of the battle faction. The Queen Luna was not worthy of the honor of her presence, it was all decided in a matter of seconds.”

"Sacred Voice, All Master considers this matter of vital importance... that's why he sent four of us to battle." Tirek said.

"Oh... that's very strange... you mean four great gods are here?"

“...not only them”

Sacred Voice didn't know what Tirek wanted to say until he got a better look at the cloud from which the god jumped. And he was surprised.

All the soldiers on both sides looked up and were surprised at what they saw.

“I didn't expect things to turn out this way...” Celestia says as she looks up at the sky. "It seems that everything will get even worse"

"This can not be real"

"What is that?"

"It's a floating castle!" the soldiers shouted.

Out of the clearing clouds appeared an imposing stone castle that had an appearance as majestic as it was terrifying.

"The ancient sacred castle that can only be controlled by..." Celestia knew who had arrived and that scared her.

"All Master" whispered Sunset from the balcony of Canterlot Castle where she was observing the battle from afar.

“Awesome sight.” Sunset looks to where the sound is coming from, and sees a tall, skinny, white-haired man who seemed malnourished but was nonetheless brimming with energy.

"Discord, you came." Sunset puts on a soft smile.

"Of course I came, how could I miss all this, I mean, the All Master himself came too." Then Discord gets serious. "After all, for the plan to work I have to do my part even if I don't like it... Ahuizotl is also doing his part of the plan in Tartarus, although it will take a while." Then Discort puts on a big smile again. "In short, it's not long before the show ends, it's better to sit down, see how it all ends and we wait quietly for our turn to come." Discord said as he sits next to Sunset and hands her a pot of water.

"Why are you giving me this?" Sunset asks.

"I want you to see the battle well." Discord then touches the water with the tip of his finger. Then in the water images begin to form.

"Those images... it's the outskirts of Canterlot... it's the battle!" Sunset is surprised. "it's amazing. how did you do this?"

"Hahaha! You are easy to impress girl. This is part of my all seeing eye 'divine power'. Let's keep watching the battle."

“The castle is coming towards us!”

"It's huge!"

"What do we do?!"

The battlefield was turning into chaos with the appearance of the floating castle.

"Hahaha! Just look at that! Look at that bunch of humans down there! everyone trembling with fear!” Shouted a tall man with his body covered in white fur wearing black armor. He was Storm one of the great gods of the Lightning Faction. "Seriously, I can't believe he dared to challenge us!"

"To be honest, I can't understand what should have prompted them to do this..." said a dark-skinned woman with green hair. She, too, was wearing black armor. Her name was Chrysalis, she was one of the great goddesses of the Plague Faction. “If it wasn't for us they would still be primitive Barvaros”

"!I do not care about that! I just want to play with them a bit!” Storm yells excitedly. “Tirek, stop! You are a great god of battle, you could finish this in an instant, I would like you to leave something to us.”

"enough!!" shouts the last of the group. A brown-skinned man who is as muscular as Tirek but slightly shorter in size. His name is Scorpan one of the great gods of the wrath faction "why don't we start at once? !! My patience is running out!!"

"Go on, I have no interest in this kind of thing." Chrysalis says nonchalantly.

"Hahaha! You miss out on the fun,” Storm told him. And she jumps from the castle to the center of the battlefield.

Then an equestrian soldier attacks him, but before he knows it the lightning god touches him with the tip of his finger and the soldier receives a strong electric shock killing him instantly. "Hahaha! These humans die so easily.” Then Storm raises a fist and begins to fill with small electrical particles.

“everyone run!!” Celestia shouts that she was near the place.

"Die" Storm said with a wide grin and slammed into the ground causing heavy volleys around him killing all nearby soldiers.

As Celestia goes to attack the god, Scorpan suddenly appears and starts attacking Celestia. “Hey warrior woman! let me play with you for a bit!” he grabs Celestia by her shoulders and throws her hard to the ground seriously hurting her. “I like strong prey... the stronger the better! Human. I heard that you killed lesser gods. how did you achieve such a thing? show me!!"

“Ha! This is so funny, according to the decrees of All Master and the council of gods, we can't kill humans on a whim. The labors and services they provide are very important...heh, however, today we can make an exception, I haven't had this much fun in years!" and when Storm stretches out his hand to launch more lightning, suddenly nothing came out and he starts to feel a strange pain in his arm and realizes that his hand is lying on the ground and then he starts screaming “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!! !! MY ARM, SOMEONE CUT MY ARM OFF!!”

All the gods and humans were surprised to see that.

“So you consider this massacre funny...” The voice was Queen Luna, but this time she looked different, as black smoke began to rise from her body. "I think hearing you scream in pain is more fun..." Then he raised the sword with which he cut off Storm's arm and said "I think I'm going to have some more fun."

Act 0 – The Rebel Queen – Chapter 3

“Damn human! but how...? You should have died after that blow Tirek gave you... there's no way you could still be alive!" Storm yells as he tries to stop the bleeding from his arm.

Tirek is also surprised, and feels a strange aura that Luna is emitting.

"Are they surprised?" Luna calmly replies. “Or is it that all of you overestimated yourself. The supposedly 'mighty gods' aren't as strong as I thought. Your name is Storm from the lightning faction? Let me tell you what awaits you.” Luna draws a second sword. “I am going to slice your body piece by piece. You'll scream in agony, you'll beg for mercy and when I'm about to kill you... I won't, I'll leave your body in agony lying on the ground."

“You dare to threaten me? To threaten a god? You will regret those words!!” Storm yells in anger and gets into a combat stance. "Divine Power" prepares to attack. “'Swift strike'” Storm's feet begin to emit lightning bolts and he begins to run at full speed towards Luna.

But quickly Luna moves a little and places a sword in position in which Storm ends up cutting off a leg by her own impulse and ends up falling. “Aaaaah!! my leg... you cut off my leg!”

"Don't be an idiot, I just kept my sword still, you were the one who came running and didn't see where he was going." Luna says sarcastically.

"Wow... that woman is scary, I wouldn't want to run into her... again." Discord tells Sunset.

Sunset looks up from the water and looks curiously at Discord.

Discord notices Sunset's curiosity. “It's a long story... or was it many stories? No matter. The only thing that matters is that they all end with Luna trying to kill someone (me) and with Celestia unable to stop laughing.

"And why is that important?" Asks Sunset.

“Because she could never catch me ha ha ha! and after seeing what he is doing to that god, that gives another kind of joy to those memories.”

After a long laugh, Sunset asks "Discord, why do you fight against the gods?"

"Why do you want to know girl?"

"I can understand why humans fight other humans but why would gods fight other gods?"

"What is not obvious? For the same reason that anyone would fight for... for power, prestige, ideals, opinions, etc, etc... I personally... I just don't agree with their opinions, also in the sacred land the society of the gods is very boring, and lastly... I love humans, they are always in a kind of order and chaos, it's a vicious circle... no, it's not a circle, it's a spiral."

"A spiral?"

"Yes! They simply seek order but too much order is oppression, when there is oppression they seek freedom but too much freedom creates chaos and when there is a lot of chaos they never seek order, it is in the same way but each attempt is different and the same at the same time. And that makes it more fun."

After saying that, both decide to continue observing the battle.

“Aaaaaahhh!!” Storm screams loudly when Luna steps on his back.

"Yes... that scream of agony... I want to hear more!" And Luna steps on Storm one more time.

Although Luna's opponent could no longer fight back or defend himself, Luna never stopped attacking, but even though she had the chance, she didn't give him the finishing blow... Luna wanted the god to cry out in suffering. Luna wanted to humiliate him in front of everyone.

"This is outrageous... Am I really going to die at the hands of this human?" Storm yells while he did not stop suffering.

"human! I see you have skills. Let me put them to the test again” shouts Tirek runs directly towards Luna to attack her. "Divine Power 'Mountain Avalanche'". And he lands a powerful blow against Luna. But Luna uses her two swords to defend against the blow. Hurting Tirek's fist in the process.

"Okay, I just hurt your hand a little, I see that the gods of battle affiliation are stronger than they seem." Luna then gets in position to attack.

“Human... you haven't unleashed your true power yet... show me...” then Tirek is also placed in his combat potion.

“So you noticed huh…? in that case... here you have it!!” At that moment the black smoke that came out of Luna's armor began to enter Luna's body. Her black armor turned blue, her skin turned black, and a pair of bat wings emerged from her back.

What is this aura? a divine power? No, it's just a simple human... it's the armor. Tirek couldn't stop thinking about what was happening as he prepared for the next attack.

"So he decided to use it," said Discord.

"What is happening to Luna?" Sunset asks worriedly.

“Listen Sunset, hundreds of years ago, there was a duel. All Master fought against an ancient beast, I don't know all the details but after a long fight, the beast was finally killed... however, it is said that the spirit of the beast was indestructible, only a tiny particle of essence was needed so that he would survive. His name was...Nightmare.” Discord tells him.

"But how is it that Luna has it?"

"That's what I'm getting to. During the war of unification of the three kingdoms that would form Equestria, there was a warrior who met the beast that was mortally wounded. Then somehow Nightmare's soul entered the armor of that warrior, making his power to be shared with the wearer of the armor, that warrior won many battles and became known as the first king of Equestria. After the king died, the armor was sealed in the mausoleums of Canterlot where only the royal family was allowed to enter.

"Why didn't the king who rebelled wear that armor?" Sunset asks.

“Because he couldn't, the armor is a living being in itself, and only the armor decides who will wear it. Luna found the armor when she was ten years old. Apparently there was some sort of connection between her and the armor, similar to the one the first king had."

"How much power does Nightmare have?"

"Nightmare was mortally wounded when the king found him, and a beast capable of fighting against All Master equally must be very powerful but it also means that it will cost him more to recover, and in all these years I don't know how much power he recovered".

“Divine Power 'Locust Swarm'” Chrysalis had joined the battle to help Tirek and Storm. With his attack a swarm of locusts appeared and enveloped Luna. But the locusts began to drop dead. "I guess I'd better do it the old fashioned way." Chrysalis then pulls out a halberd and begins to fight at Tirek's side.

On top of the floating castle, a man watched the battle from his throne. He was a muscular man of slim build, pitch black eyes, long black hair that reached to his upper back. He was wearing lead-colored pants. On his legs, he wore gray metal greaves and wore a long dark blue robe. That god was called All master the lord of all gods.

"Nightmare?" All Master begins to speak in a soft but authoritative voice. “Priestess Cinch, is it here? Is this where the threat of the gods will appear?”

“Yes…it certainly seems to be the one our diviners were referring to. 'He who with the determination and power to defy the authority of the gods will appear in the chaos of a mighty dead nation' and the mighty country of Equestria is dying." Says a mature woman just entering the old age. She was wearing a lilac colored ceremonial robe. "Unfortunately my predecessor Discord is clouding the details of the divination, but if he acts now he may prevent it from happening."

“...the determination to defy the authority of the gods...” All Master whispers as he continues to watch the battle.

Meanwhile Celestia was having her own match against Scorpan.

"Hahaha..." Scorpan laughed as he adjusted a dislocated arm. "This is so fun. I haven't been hurt by a human in a long time…hey swordswoman, you're not using your true abilities.”

“You should pay a little attention to the situation of your companions. They are having problems." Celestia tells him while she was trying to recover.

“I don't care, I'm here for my own benefit. Do you know how long a god lives? he becomes very boring and depressing leading such a long life… just fighting just fighting, hunting, destroying powerful opponents gives my life meaning!” Scorpan yells happily. And your swordswoman you are a strong opponent. Scorpan then crouches into a combat stance. “Divine Power 'Wolves of the Shadows'”. At that moment a pack of wolves came out of Scorpan's shadow heading straight for Celestia.

“Swordswoman I haven't seen your sword! where is it?! take it out and fight seriously with me!” Scorpan yells as he runs past his wolves to attack Celestia.

Celestia stretches out both her hands and makes a few moves and a rush of air cuts through all of the wolves except Scorpan who only receives minor cuts.

“AH!! these wounds, my wolves have just been defeated in such a short time?” Scorpan says as he looks at his wounds with emotion.

"You know I haven't really touched a sword for over five years..." Then Celestia raises her hand. “because my sword exists in the void. Materialization aura 'sword aura'”. And she makes a flick with his arm and a thick, handleless greatsword slams into Scorpan, burying itself in his back.

Scorpan gets up with the sword still buried in his back. “So that's the reason… a materialization master… very few of the masters survived the purge. But you're still young, so a survivor taught you” then he lunges directly at Celestia, slamming her hard.

This guy... he attacked me despite his back injury... I expected nothing less from an older god, Celestia thinks as she recovers from the blow.

"Yes! This is the emotion I'm looking for! I haven't felt here since...????" Scorpan suddenly falls silent and looks up at the sky. “It's a shame... it seems that I won't be able to continue playing.

Then the landscape began to change color, Celestia didn't know what was happening, she thought something was wrong with her eyes”.

“Discord, what's going on?" Why did the battlefield change color to shades of gray? Sunset asks worriedly.

Discord puts on a serious expression and responds. “It is the 'Monochromatic' divine power. It is a power that suppresses everything around the user, restricting and draining the vitality of living things, accompanied by the withering of all colors, hence its name. And only a god possesses that divine power…”

Luna opens her eyes and realizes that for a moment she lost consciousness and notices that everything around her changes color. She also knew that the gods she was fighting had moved away from her. So for some reason she was feeling afraid.

"Human..." Luna felt a chill when she heard a calm but authoritative voice behind her. "Why do you oppose me...?"

All Master appeared.

Act 0 – The Rebel Queen – Chapter 4

“Human... why do you oppose me? I believe everything... I set the rules for this world... without the guidance of those rules, you little humans would just be killing each other to your own extinction." All Master tells Luna.

Despite Luna's fear, she responds. “Heh heh... don't flatter yourself so much. Even without the laws of the gods, we would have continued to exist!!” Luna tightly grips her two swords, she arms herself with courage and turns around to attack All Master.

But All Master barely made a movement with one hand and ripped off one of Luna's wings, leaving her lying on the ground. "The Nightmare Beast you trust... I lacerated both of her wings with my bare hands when she was at her best." Then he grabs Luna's other wing and lifts it up. “Little by little I ripped the skin off her original body. There is nothing about you that surprises me.” All Master looks Luna in the face. "And so today history will repeat itself again, however my priestess said that in the future someone would have enough power to challenge the authority of the gods, but I don't see any indication of that."

Then, in the midst of her agony, Luna begins to laugh. “Heh heh HA HA… seriously? Did the All Master himself come here for a possible future? It's hard to imagine that there is even a time when the leader of all the gods is also afraid, huh? Heh heh…”

“Human listen carefully” All Master leans close to Luna's ear. "As long as I'm here, the authority of the gods will never fall" then he begins to pull Luna's wing little by little. "As for you and that future, today they will be destroyed by me." And she rips the other wing off of her. “Human, do you feel depressed? The difference in power between you and me is greater than you think. You will never win against me."

"YOUR MAJESTY!!" a group of equestrian soldiers run to attack the god who was subduing his queen. But being within the range of All Master's 'monochomatic' divine power, they began to feel a strong pressure on their bodies that caused them to cough up blood and fall to the ground. But Celestia appeared and stopped the rest of the soldiers.

“Stop! There is a powerful divine barrier surrounding them. They will die if they get any closer... I can take it longer... leave it to me”. And Celestia runs directly to help her sister despite the fact that the divine power of the god affected her, making her spit blood from her and blood also comes out of her nose, eyes and ears. She stretched out her two hands together aiming at All Masters “Materialization Aura 'Great Sword'” and a gigantic four meter long thick sword without a handle materialized and shot directly at All Master. But the god stops the sword with one finger.

The god looks at the sword slightly surprised “Aura of materialization huh? So there are still aura masters who oppose us... I reckon you're pretty impressive to be able to cut through my monochromatic field. However, you have reached your limit. Then All Master pushes the sword with one finger and the sword starts to crack and disintegrate, then he throws Luna's body on Celestia. "Remember that you are only human."

Celestia becomes unconscious due to overexertion but not Luna, despite her injuries Luna raises her sword and prepares to attack All Master. “Human... what's the point of standing up? You hardly have any breath left." But Luna just gave a faint smile and ran to attack the god.

Everything is so silent... I don't hear anything anymore. I am leaving this world. These moments seem to be very long. I remember my past... I remember my loved ones, the good and bad times. I chose my path and I don't regret anything, but when did it start? yes... it happened years ago, however, these memories are still very fresh in my memory... it happened when I was ten years old and I visited the tomb of the first king of Equestria... and when I saw the armor... my world changed completely.

TIME AGO

“This matter...” Luna was drinking tea while Celestia ate her fourth slice of cake “how can I put it? There was a voice in my head and it guided me to that tomb, don't you think it's strange?"

"I'll tell you it's strange" Suddenly Discord appears between the two sisters scaring them both.

“Discord!! You are crazy! Why do you appear like this?!” Luna yells at her while Celestia laughs at the situation.

"Hahaha! So what if I'm crazy? Of course, I also have a voice in my head, but that doesn't mean I have to obey them (almost always)” then Discord takes a chair and sits down. "So you were telling a ghost story..."

"No, actually Luna was telling how she went crazy and listened to the voices in her head" Celestia told her as she poured more cake.

"I'm not crazy!" Luna screams with shame.

"Little Luna, we're all crazy, most of us just know how to hide it" Discord says to her while he also serves himself cake. "But ignore me and keep telling your ghost story."

Luna was about to say something but she gave up and continued her story "Well... it turns out that in the tomb I found an armor in perfect condition, and I heard that the armor was once worn by the first king of Equestria, it's as if... as if I could communicate with... Are you two listening to me?!” Luna yells as Celestia continues eating cake and Discor is sleeping.

"I'm listening to you sister and Discord too... I think?" Celestia says dubiously as she watches Discord sleep. "Just keep telling your story."

Luna sighs and continues talking “the point is do you believe in destiny? I have this feeling that something incredible will happen to me. Discord, you who can guess the future, what can you tell me?”

Discord widens his eyes. "Listen Luna, I can't use my divination power much anymore... I'm also using most of my power to mess up the other gods' divination, why do you want to know anyway?"

“Last month, I spent a few days at the mine outside of Canterlot. The people there are suffering. You wouldn't believe the hardships that happen. Although we do not use slaves like other kingdoms, and the miners are paid, they are not forced to work in the mines, they can seek other means of earning a living but…”

"But most of the kingdom's money is invested in the mines and that is why we cannot expand our economy well, it is also a crime not to meet the quotas requested by the gods." Celestia responds, leaving Luna surprised by the answer "remember, sister, that I am also a candidate for the throne."

“Sister... I want...”. Luna shakes her head. "It doesn't matter... you know sister, you eat too much cake."

"Is that a problem, Luna?"

And Discord tells Celestia "what he's trying to say is that you're going to get fat if you keep eating like that."

"What?!"

"That's right, you should do some kind of exercise... have you thought about practicing with the sword?" Luna suggests.

TIME AFTER

"Are you sure about this Celestia?" Luna says as she sees Celestia holding a five year old girl.

"Actually I don't know Luna, I just saw her alone in the desert on the way back, she was hurt, I don't know how it ended like that, I just wanted to take her so she wouldn't die in the middle of nowhere." And Celestia wipes the girl's dirty cheek.

Luna sighs. "Does she at least have a name?"

Celestia looks at the girl and smiles motherly. "Yes, her name is Sunset Shimmer."

ONE YEAR LATER

Celestia was about to cry, while Luna talked to the doctor "what does doctor mean?"

"Your Majesty of her, as you know, the princess was found in the desert and that she was injured." The doctor tells them.

"Yes..." Celestia replies. "She had a lot of dislocated bones and breathing difficulties... but she recovered from her injuries along the way."

The doctor sighs and answers. “The problem is that his bones did not settle well, which caused problems for his physical condition... and his respiratory problem... although I don't know how long he was in the desert, it was enough for him to breathe a considerable amount of sand and that caused him to develop breathing difficulties... and at such a young age...” The doctor didn't have to finish the sentence for Luna and Celestia to know what he was going to say.

"Goodbye mom!" a nine-year-old Sunset Simmer watched as her mother walked away from her to continue traveling.

“Are you sure you want him to go away?” Luna asks her niece.

"No, I don't want her to go, but I don't want to keep her here just for me either, I knew that mother liked to travel before meeting me and I don't like to see her hold back just for me and my health problem" for the kingdom of Equestria, the problem of Princess Sunset's deteriorating health was kept secret at Sunset's request, not even Luna and Celestia knew why, but they respected her decision.

“Sunset, Celestia doesn't mind stopping traveling...” Luna notices that Sunset is crying. “Sunset, what happened to you?” Question worried.

"I recently had another vision, a vision with a more hopeful future but... but that future has a price."

"Please tell me".

"For the current authority of the gods to fall, you must be the one to start everything, but you will not be the one to finish it... Aunt Luna... you will never be able to see the change that you will initiate." Sunset responds with tears in her eyes.

"Does that mean... will I die?" Luna watches as Sunset continues to stand with tears in her eyes and in silence. "Do not Cry for Me. You are just a girl, you must not shed tears”. Luna reaches down and wipes Sunset's face. “You have a great gift for divination, however I want you to promise one thing, from now on, you will no longer use it, I don't want you to cry for things that haven't happened yet. I will do only what I think is necessary, I will walk the path that I consider to be the right one... and if the path I take leads me to destruction, I will not escape it."

PRESENT

All Master looked at Queen Luna's lifeless body as she held a shattered heart in her hand. "Was over. One more time Nightmare was defeated by me. I have to admit that if you had stayed alive, you and Nightmare would have gotten more power in the future... But now you don't have a chance. This world will continue under the command of the Gods. Our world!" All Master looks at the other major gods. "We are leaving". Before All Master also left he saw Luna's body and noticed that her face had a satisfied smile, as if she had achieved what he wanted, then he left her.

Meanwhile what remained of the Equestrian army began to crumble. But an equestrian general shouted. "Raise your weapons!" shouts the general "We are the army of Equestria, even if our queen has fallen, we must continue!" Little by little the morale of the soldiers rises, "Today we will all die... but our enemies will die with us!" And the remnant of the equestrian army goes into battle.

Despite the death of Queen Luna, the remnants of the equestrian army continued to risk their lives in order to defend Canterlot. The gods did not intervene in the battle any more after Luna's death. And the Equestrian army was able to resist for a while... but they were too weakened... and the voices of the resistance were silenced one after another...

"It is useless to fight." The King Sombra tells the soldier. "Please rest... all the pain will be gone very soon." After the equestrian soldier falls dead the gates of the walls of Canterlot are able to open allowing the soldiers of the Crystal Kingdom to enter the city. “Kill anyone who resists! Those who give up will be forgiven! Look for the queen's niece, I want Princess Sunset Shimmer captured alive!” Sombra enters Canterlot with his army and gives orders to his generals. He also told his generals that the soldiers could loot whatever they want, but by the time the sun rises the order of the city must be restored.

"I'm sorry". Discord tells Sunset as she was crying, when she is done crying he gets up from her seat.

"...I have given orders to evacuate the castle, right now, except for Velvet who is waiting for me in the garden, the place is empty." She tells her as she wipes away her tears.

“You know… there could be another way. You don't have to die for the plan to work," Discord tells him.

"Discord... my death will buy him time, time he needs to grow stronger, to adjust, to prepare for what's to come, to... to make friends." She tells Discord. "Please promise me you'll help her."

"Okay...I promise...but I'll do it my way!" Discord tells him.

Sunset smiles at Discord's answer. "I couldn't expect less from you...thank you for everything." and Sunset heads to the castle garden with a strong determination.

"Stop!" Sunset stops and receives a small vial with a liquid in it.

"I understand that you have to sacrifice yourself but... drink that, at least you won't have to suffer any pain." and Discord disappears.

"Goodbye Discord" then Sunset arrives at the castle garden where her maid Velvet awaits her. Then Sunset walks over to a horse statue and looks at the base of the statue. "At any moment she will arrive."

Act 0 – The Rebel Queen – Chapter 5

I have this dream, always the same dream. I dream that I am strong, stronger than anyone, I can run faster than ever, I can overcome any obstacle that is in my way, that I live in a world full of magic and wonders, that if I put my mind to it I can even fly and move the sun... but I also feel that I am missing something, that I failed someone, that I was abandoned, that no matter how hard I tried, I would never reach the expectations that were expected of me... I can feel that I am full of anger but also loneliness ...

The princess was standing in front of the horse statue waiting. She knew that the enemy army would arrive at any moment but she still kept waiting. Then something happened. A girl who looked the same age as the princess came out from the base of the statue.

"What's this! What happened to my hooves?! where is my horn?!” The princess waits for the girl to calm down so she can talk to her. Then the girl starts to look around her. When the princess looks at the girl she notices that except for a few small details she and the girl were the same in appearance. Velvet was also amazed by the girl who came out of the statue when comparing her princess with the girl, what stood out the most were her looks. While the princess's gaze was warm and gentle, the girl's was firm and determined but at the same time full of anger and pain.

"Please calm down, my name is Sunset Shimmer and if I'm right, your name is also Sunset Shimmer." Then the girl stares at the princess. “If my guess is correct, you and I are the same person. "I'm not sure what the details are that brought you here, but I want to make a deal."

The girl stares at the princess and then around her and asks seriously, "What do you mean by a deal?"

The princess replies “I want you to be me”.

The girl looks disconcerted at the princess "What do you mean?".

"I want you to take my identity as the princess Sunset Shimmer of this world."

"Hahaha! Someone with your same appearance suddenly appears, and you want me to impersonate you and become a princess? Tempting but why?

“Because this world is ruled by beings who only see us as slaves and I can't do anything to stop them. But you have more possibilities than me and you will not become a princess... you will be a queen”.

Those words surprise the girl. “Why do you think I will accept?”

"Because if you accept... you will be closer to achieving your goal."

"You know what I want?"

"I know the basics".

"It's very tempting and all but... why should I accept? You say I could do it, but why do you say you can't?"

Then the princess holds the girl's hand. “Tell me how much pressure do you feel in your hand?”

"So they're called hands... just like minotaurs..." the girl whispers, then she replies. "I feel like you press it softly."

"Believe it or not I'm squeezing it with all my might." That surprised the girl. "A bad healing in my body left me like this, that's why I ask you to take my place."

"If I take your place, what will happen to you?"

“You just have to know that I will make sure to give you time.”

"Time for what?"

"For you to prepare for what will come." Suddenly they felt a small tremor “so do you accept?”

The girl looks at the horse statue, she knew she couldn't go back to her world yet and then she looks at the princess. "I accept". And she feels another tremor in the castle.

"There's no time velvet will explain what you should know" . The princess takes out a pendant and hands it to the girl. "This is my token of royalty, only I should have this." The girl stares at him and is surprised at the symbol on her pendant. "When you think you're ready just use this." The girl knew very well the emblem of the sun that was on her necklace. Then another tremor was felt. "There is no more time, you have to go now... and thank you." Then Velvet took the girl by the hand and they took a secret passage that opened in the castle garden.

The gate of the passage closes, the princess is left alone and goes to one of the castle towers.

On the floating castle, All Master watched as the city of Canterlot was sacked. "I defeated Nightmare again and killed Queen Luna... priestess, does that mean her divination that foretold about the threat died with her?"

Priestess Cinch is silent in thought and then replies “yes, it is possible that Nightmare played an important role in the prophecy, however he was defeated by you today. It will take at least a few hundred years for him to recover… and even if he is reborn, by then, the time for the divination to be fulfilled is over.”

All Master sits on his throne and says. “Well that puts me at ease. I'll go back to sleep, don't let anything make me wake up again."

As All Mastes falls asleep, Cinch bows, “Please, take a good rest and let the council of the gods take care of the rest. Today was a busy night."

Velvet was leading Sunset through the secret passageway to escape the castle, but she noticed that the girl kept wobbling.

"These things...feet...I still have to get some balance."

Velvet sighs and crouches down, "Your Highness, please get on my back."

Sunset didn't like being treated like she was a burden "I'm fine, I don't need that kind of help".

"Your Highness we are trying to escape as quickly as possible, please allow me to take you." Velvet told him.

As much as she didn't like the situation, Sunset reluctantly agreed. "Why do you call me her highness?"

"The moment you accepted the deal you became my new princess... no, the queen just died now you are my new queen" she tells him as she begins to carry Sunset.

"And what about my other self?"

Velvet falls silent as she continues to advance.

Sunste had reached the top of the tower, it was not the highest tower in the castle, but it was high enough so that the soldiers who had entered the castle could see and identify who was there. The top of the tower was made of wood. When the soldiers entered the castle, Sunset was biding her time.

King Sombra had entered the castle along with his soldiers and saw Sunset in the tower. “Princess Sunset, please surrender peacefully! The war is over, there is no need to continue the conflict!” The King Sombra yelled.

Sunset ignores King Sombra. Then he drinks the liquid that Discord gave him and throws a torch. At that moment the tower begins to catch fire with her inside. "Wow, seriously, I don't feel any pain." Sunset says when the fire reaches her, then she begins to cry, she cried for the death of her aunt Luna, she cried because she would never see her mother Celestia again, he cried for the death of Equestria and above all he cried for the difficult path that his other self would have to travel.

At that moment Velvet and Sunset came out of the secret passageway, they were on the outskirts of Canterlot. "The sun is about to rise your majesty, do you think she can walk well now?" Velvet asks.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it. What's the plan?"

We'll meet up with my family and hide out for a while. Meanwhile I have to teach you everything you should know about this world... you should also know that only I know that you are from another world, for my family I only helped you escape to protect you... they are also loyal and will help us with whatever you decide to do your majesty”.

"I suppose you will only tell me your majesty when we are in private right".

"In order to pass from incognito for a while." Velvet tells him. "It's already dawn, it's better to keep moving forward."

Velvet was going to close the passageway but Sunset stops her. "Wait!"

"Is something wrong, Your Majesty?"

“Who else knows this passage?”

"Just me and the royal family, why do you ask?"

"I need to hide something." Sunset looks into a bag she was carrying to see that a very thick journal with the symbol of the sun was there. "I need to hide this for a while." And she leaves the bag inside the passage before Velvet closes the doors.

In the castle of Canterlo, a group of soldiers review the rubble of a recently burned tower. "I found something!" A soldier shouts, then the King Sombra approaches the place, the soldier stands firm to greet his king. "Because of its size, I would say it is the body of a girl."

Sombra walked over to examine the body. “How am I supposed to break the news to Cadenesa?” He says sadly.

"What a pity..." Sacred Voice appeared to observe the situation. "I managed to escape so easily... this is just an insult to the gods, she and all those who were related to Queen Luna deserved severe punishment... but now the Crystal kingdom has emerged victorious, and although there are still some free rebels, they do not represent a threat...” Sacred Voice then raises its voice. “King Sombra! He has done a great job for the gods and has earned their blessing! From today on, the Crystal Kingdom will be known as the Crystal Empire! May the empire prosper and live forever!”

Near the walls of Canterlot the bodies of the Equestrian soldiers were impaled. "Here's another one still alive" shouts a soldier about to kill the other wounded soldier but is stopped by Scorpan.

"I thought I had ordered all the surviving soldiers to be brought to me." Says the god as he smiles ominously.

"I'm sorry" said the scared soldier.

"Just take the soldier and put him on the cart." Scorpan points out a caravan of carts that were pulled by a species of six-foot-tall lizards. As Scorpan continues walking he comes across another wounded body and his smile widens. "Heh... you're lucky, swordswoman." He then lifts Celestia's injured body. "I'll make sure you can fight again soon."

Sunset watched as Velvet's family bowed to her, "Your Majesty they are my husband Night Light, my eldest son Shining Armor and my youngest daughter Twilight Sparkle, all of them ready to serve you." Sunset looks at the family, Night Light seems to be an adult man, shining armor seems to be a child a little bigger than the body that sunset had and twilight seems to be the same age as her, she also noticed that twilight looked at her strangely, as if she already knew her and had noticed the difference with her other self.

"Nice to meet all of you... I guess you understand the danger and risk of following me, right?" The family is silent for a while until Night Light speaks.

"I told my children about what could happen... I take the risk that we will take... the Sparkle bloodline has always been loyal to the throne of equestria and always will be."

Sunset smiles at the answer, she knew that she would have to work to achieve her true goals, but first she would have to learn how the world she had come to works.

End of act–0

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 1

Grandfather? Why do I have to go with them? Is it because of the fire that I accidentally caused with my magic? Is it because I'm a unicorn? Is it because I don't have wings? Is it because I'm not strong enough? Please answer me Grandpa Gruff.

Sunset suddenly wakes up in Twilight's lap. "what happened?"

“You're finally awake, what a relief.” Twilight puts her hand on Sunset's cheek but she pushes it away from her. "you feel good?"

"I'm fine, just a bad dream." Sunset answers. "what happened?"

“The slavers surrounded us and hit you hard on the head. You were unconscious for two days." Says Shining Armor, who was next to his sister.

"Where we are?" Sunset asks still disoriented.

"Hey, keep quiet or they'll hit you." Says a girl who appeared to be about ten years old, with blonde hair and wearing a stetson hat.

"Don't blame her, she woke up and appeared in a cage, it's normal for her to be like that." A blue-haired boy says. “My name is Flash Sentry and this is Applejack, and we're in a slave caravan, Equestria is fallen and the Crystal Kingdom rules. Now slavery is legal and there is no shortage of slaveholders who do not take advantage of the opportunity”.

"You still haven't told me where we are or at least where the slavers are taking us." Sunset says.

“To the mines of the northern mountains. They sold us to work there.” Reply Flash Sentry. "I wonder, what kind of place is it?"

"It is one of the largest mines in the Crystal Kingdom, all under a great mountain, they say it will be decades before it begins to run out, I guess with the fall of Equestria and the arrival of more slaves, more sections will be opened for the extraction of minerals”. Twilight says. And everyone in the carriage even the one driving the cart stares at her. "That? I like reading".

"Look, I think we've arrived." He says Shining Armor and points to the spot. "The mountain doesn't look that big."

“Must be underground. If it is the largest mine that exists, then there must be kilometers of tunnels”. Says Sunset while she also looks at the mountain.

"Wow... Do you know that just by looking at her?" Applejack asks surprised.

"That and looking at the size of the caravan." Sunset, now more awake, points behind the cart showing other carts with more slaves. The view reached the horizon.

When they reach a village the carts stop. "Everyone get down from your cages!" A guard wearing light leather armor yells as he opens the cage, other guards also open the other cages. "Everyone gather there!" He tells him pointing to an open field. When Sunset comes out of the cage she looks around and finds Velvet and Night Light, apparently taking them on another wagon. Then Sunset and the family get together and proceed to the place the guard pointed out. "We welcome the owner of the mines, Mr. Filthy Rich!" On a platform appears a man who seemed to have just entered old age, had dark gray hair combed back. He wore robes with a very elegant collar, and was accompanied by a girl who appeared to be about eight years old, had lavender and white hair, and was wearing a tiara.

“As you may already know my name is Filthy Rich!” the man yelled “And today is the first day of the rest of your life! As you know from the rumors, the mountain has opened four sections to dig given the large availability of slaves today. Before you set foot in your new home, keep in mind that the northern mountains are ruled and protected by the gods. Any dispute outside is none of our business, any more than the newly inducted Shadow Emperor is with our business or the gods. Were it not for the decree of the gods, all of you would have had to suffer through the flames of war. But now that the war is over, everyone will have to adjust to the new status quo. All of you and you don't know how slavery works, other more experienced slaves will be brought to teach you how everything works ".

"This is boring!" The girl next to Filthy starts throwing a tantrum. "Daddy I want to go play!"

"Okay my little girl, she waits a minute." She said playfully to the girl. "Guards, bring in the new slaves, let me know when the next batch arrives."

A large gate opens for the slaves to enter the mountain. Entering the mountain, Sunset along with the rest of the group lined up. As they entered, they began to hear screams from the group that had entered first.

"They are marking the slaves." Flash says. "Prepare, this is going to hurt." Ahead you could see a group of men branding people in the arms with a red-hot iron.

“Forgive me, your majesty. Due to our carelessness it will have to rise unnecessarily”. Velvet whispers to Sunset. "Hide the necklace well so they don't take it off."

While Sunset sees how the people cry and complain about the pain of the brand, she responds. “Leave it like that, now I'm thinking about what to do. Besides, she needs something more than a hot iron to make me scream”. When Sunset's turn came and they put the mark on her left arm despite her pain she didn't scream, compared to the burns she sometimes suffered in fire magic training in her world, this was nothing. As she kept walking she noticed that the ones behind her didn't shout as much as the ones in front of her. He sees Applejack go by. "I see that you can handle the pain."

"Ha! I guess when I notice you didn't yell I'll take it as a challenge." The next to appear is a fourteen-year-old teenager who for his age has well-formed muscles and Applejack recognized him. "Big Macintosh!" Applejack runs to hug the teen. "I'm happy to hear you're well. Was Apple Bloom able to escape?

"Yep"

"Granny Smith?"

"Yep"

"Grandpa Pear?"

"Yep"

"I'm glad to hear they managed to escape."

“I see that it is of few words”. Sunset says.

"Yep"

"My brother is like that, his name is Big Macintosh as you heard my name is Applejack... sorry for my attitude in the cage, I was a little worried about my family at that time... what did you say your name was?"

“I didn't say it, my name is Sunt...”. Sunset remembered that she had to go undercover for a while and decided to lie. "It's Sun, nice to meet you Applejack." And sunset noticed how Applejack puts a curious look but then ignores him. Then he walks away to join Velvet and her family and they keep walking until they reach the work area.

The mine was huge, despite being under the mountain it was spacious as Twilight said. He may have just opened this section of the mine but it had definitely been ready for more workers for some time.

"Hey everyone! Everyone come here!” A tall thin man with no hair who despite looking like a slave was better groomed than the others. He was smiling Sunset noticed that she was a forced smile, years among nobles and an immortal princess had taught her to notice those things. “They must be scared about their new life, right? They'll get used to it. They call me Old Brother, I am the foreman of this area and from now on I am in charge of you. That is why I must tell you how everything works here and thus ensure that everyone can work well. To motivate you a little I am also a slave, but... ”Old Brother shows his arm with his mark but it looked bigger. “I am a slave of a higher level. It is an honor that can only be obtained after years of hard work. Then with some effort they will also have opportunities to ascend”.

“With some effort you will also have the opportunity to ascend”.

Sunset frowned suddenly taught. "You're good?". Twilight asks worriedly.

"Just a bad memory." Sunset answers.

“First of all, the rules. Everyone look at that bell, the bell determines when it's time to eat, work and rest. Second, each slave must comply with a quota of minerals, the one who does not comply does not eat. Third..."

After the introduction given by Old Brother Sunset and his group they were already working. "Did you find some of the rocks we need?" Flash asks as he hits with a hammer to break some rocks.

"So this is what they want." Sunset examines the rocks. It was a brown stone. “Why would the gods want the carnelian?”

"What do you mean?" Twilight asks as she too checks the rocks. "Isn't it for her jewelry and that sort of thing?"

"I thought that too at first but..." Sunset remembered that in her world carnelian was one of the least prized minerals since diamonds were better used for magic. “They sent more than twelve thousand slaves to extract this mineral, they said that they opened four new areas to be able to extract them and that these mines are exclusive to the gods, it is difficult to believe that they need these stones so much just for decoration.”

“Hey you guys!” Everyone looked where the scream came from. "What are you doing talking?! If they don't work they will bring trouble to all of us!"

"Limestone?" Applejack says recognizing the other slave. She has straight, short, light gray hair.

"Applejack?" The slave responds and runs to hug the girl. "I can't believe we met again.

While that reunion was happening, Sunset noticed that in one of the dark caverns of the mine there was someone watching from the dark part, just when she was about to go to see, the bells ring.

"Finally, time to eat." Shining says.

In the place where they meet to eat, you can see how they bring baskets with bread, rice, fish and a pond with water. But when the guards walk away a large group of slaves huddle together.

"There are a lot of people." Says Night Light. “I'm going to see if I can reach something. So he tries to get between the other slaves to get something but is just stopped by Old Brother. "Excuse me foremen, but why does he stop me?"

“There are rules around here and you guys are new so you don't have any contributions, listen, this group of slaves over there are the experienced slaves, and as such they are your superiors and have the right to eat first. You can wait a moment, you will have your turn when they finish”. Explains Old Brother.

While waiting their turn Sunset he notices that the first group was eating in that same place and that they were trying to get more food than they should have. "Hey Old Brother! I don't know if you realize it but if they continue like this there won't be anything left for the rest." Says Sunset trying to contain her anger.

"They just didn't dole out enough for everyone." He responds nonchalantly.

That answer infuriated sunset. "Are you an idiot or what?! Don't you realize that they are taking out more food than it should?! You're supposed to be the foreman, do your job!"

At that moment Old Brother stops smiling and hits Sunset with a stick. "You don't speak to me like that!" He starts screaming as he continues to hit her. "I run this part of the mine, I decide how the food is distributed, I decide the rules here!" He screamed non-stop as he punched Sunset but then Twilight gets in front of Sunset to protect her taking a hit herself.

"Please stop!" Twilight says as blood comes out of her mouth. “We will no longer insist! Please, enough is enough!” She begs through tears.

“I don't care if he eats or not, that's not the problem now. The problem is discipline. So back off at once."

"No!". Twilight answers firmly.

"Well, don't push yourself away... I'm going to discipline you too!" And Twilight gets hit too, but she doesn't back away from her, shielding Sunset from the hits the entire time.

"Enough!!" a guard yells. “If you keep hitting her like that you will kill them and less slaves is less production”.

"Sorry boss." Old Brother replies, faking a smile again, and looks back at Sunset. "Take this girl and she goes back to work." Sunset, still a little hurt, picks up Twilight and takes her to the rest tunnels where the slaves sleep.

"I'm sorry, your majesty." Twilight whispers to Sunset.

"Don't speak, your wounds are worse than mine." Sunset told him. Just then Velvet and Night Light approach to help Sunset but she stops them."You guys keep working while I'll make sure Twilight is okay." Twilight's parents wanted to object but decided to obey Sunset, noticing that she was worried about Twilight. On the way, she asked other foremen and guards if they had doctors to help her, but they all gave negative answers, until a slave explained that they do not have doctors in the mines and that when a slave was injured or sick, they only hoped that they would recover or die. . Those answers frustrated Sunset. “Why do I care about you? You ended up like this because you put yourself in the middle, you are like this because of your own fault. Sunset was telling an unconscious Twilight as she tried to hold back her tears. “I will do what is necessary to help you since you are my subject. You, Velvet, Night Light and Shining Armor are my only subjects at the moment so I will do what I can to take care of them.”

"It's not the answers I was hoping for, but I'll settle for it." She said a voice that could be heard from the dark side of the cave, apparently Sunset was lost while she looked for help.

"Who are you?! Show yourself! Can you help me?!

Then suddenly a tall thin man with a beard and white hair appeared. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Discord, I appear before you and yes, I can help you.

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 2

Sunset was in front of the old man who called himself Discord, curiously it reminded her of a statue that he had in the castle gardens in his world, although he didn't remember which statue it was.

“I saw it, I saw it all. The girl has just been severely beaten.” Discord examines Twilight's injuries. "You would do anything to save her, right?" Discord smiles. "I want to hear you promise."

"No". Sunset answers after calming down a bit.

"No?" Discord was a little surprised at the answer.

"No". Repeat again.

"A moment ago you wanted to save her, I offered you an opportunity for that and now you reject it... why?"

“She protected me, she took all those hits for me. But you're offering me a way to save her in exchange for me doing anything and I've seen what pon... people ask for when they make these kinds of offers. And whatever you ask me to do would make her feel guilty and she's no use to me like that."

"You're not funny. How about this? I won't ask you for anything you don't have, nothing you can't give, and I definitely won't ask you for anything that gets in the way of your plans. What do you think of the deal?"

Sunset thinks about the deal Discord offered her. “And what are you supposed to ask me for?”

Then Discor puts on a serious face and answers. "An act of mercy."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That's the only thing I'm going to tell you...". Discord smiles again. "So is there a deal?"

Sunset looks at Twilight still unconscious and answers. “Am I going to regret this?”

“That depends on how you will be in the future.”

"Well we have a deal."

"Excellent!" Discord starts looking for something in his pockets. "Here it is". He hands Sunset a small bag that has something resembling red raisins. "Make her eat one every day, she'll be completely healthy in a week."

Sunset takes one of the raisins, making sure Twilight eats one. "I hope this works... Where did you go?!" Discord disappeared without Sunset noticing. She decided to leave it that way and go back to the cave where the slaves slept.

Twilight's parents thanked Sunset for taking care of her and she just told them to make sure their daughter doesn't do anything stupid again.

At night Sunset looks at Twilight to see how far her recovery has progressed. Look around the cave. Sunset knew that she was just a slave now. Those rules, the work of the slaves, that filled her with anger, but she was determined to resist.

And before he knew it, a week had already passed and Twilight had almost fully recovered. Sunset managed to meet the carnelian quota in order to get her proper food ration, but it seemed that Old Brother still resented Sunset for the way he challenged his authority.

As Sunset continues to work together with Shining, she notices Applejack, Flash Sentry and Big Macintosh approaching.

"Hey, Sun you sure are working hard." Flash says.

“What are you doing here? If you see them with me Old Brother will be angry with you too”. Sunset says.

“We came to help you theron of sugar cube, do you really think that you two can finish the quota by yourself? It will be easier if you have more co-workers”. Applejack answers.

"I understand but why?"

"We came to this place together and it's natural that we take care of each other... and besides, I don't like how the foreman treats us, right brother."

"Yep". He replies Big Macintosh as he grabs a big mallet and starts to work.

Sunset had to admit that she needed help.

"You know? I enjoyed watching you yell at the foreman... except when he started hitting you. He thinks he is the owner of the mine only because he is a foreman... besides, he has the support of other slaves”. Applejack says.

“It is natural, the foreman gives priority and benefits to the old slaves and the old slaves receive food first and take advantage of the new slaves.” Flash said.

"Are all the new slaves from the kingdom of equestria?" Sunset asked.

"Yep".

“At least the vast majority. And as equestria had no slavery almost no one is familiar with how things work. Shining said. "What was your life like before the war?"

“I was an apprentice blacksmith, my father taught me the trade. He had a blacksmith shop in Canterlot but we fled before the siege started... too bad the slavers caught us on the way”. Flash responds.

“Me and my family had a farm in a town outside of Canterlot but we had to leave too. Granny Smith didn't like the idea of leaving our land but she didn't like that his family became slaves. So she decided to run away with my little sister Apple Bloom, big macintosh and me. We were supposed to meet up with other Apples on the way and head to a colony in the east but my brother and I were captured...luckily Grandma and my sister managed to escape...so What is your story Sun? if that is your real name?"

Sunset stops working and looks directly at Applejack, then notices Shining Armor gripping her mallet tightly.

"What do you want me to say?"

"He wants to know who you are." Flash says. “I can see it in you. There is something in you, I could not say what it is but... I have seen the way the family that accompanies you treat you, the way they talk to you, when you tell them something they do not hesitate to obey... Right now I can see how Shining is waiting for you to give an order.”

Sunset was thinking what to do, she didn't want to attract too much attention and she didn't know if they would trust her but she was planning something and to achieve it she would need more people. "How did you know she was lying to you?"

"Why do you think I'll answer you...?"

"It's not a big deal, it's a family thing, we just notice when someone is lying." Says big mac interrupting her sister. Applejack gives her brother an angry look. "That? Not that that was a secret."

"Brother I know you don't talk much but please learn to keep your mouth shut!"

Sunset weighs her options and decides to take a chance. "My name is Sunset Shimmer." That surprises everyone.

Applejack stares at Sunset. "You're not lying, but I had heard that you had died during the Siege of Canterlot."

"I look dead to you."

"Nope." Answer Big Mac.

“But what are you doing here?” Flash asks.

"A group of slavers captured us while we were escaping, me and my family took care of protecting and serving His Majesty." Shining responds.

“And that's why I had to lie about my name. Although the truth is that being here is convenient.”

"And how is it convenient to be captured?" Applejack asks.

"I needed to spend some time in hiding... And what better place to hide than here?"

"Thank you for telling us the truth." Applejack says.

"Don't you want to know anything else?" Sunset decided to push her luck by asking.

“With that it's fine, what happens is that in my family we don't like being lied to and I also don't like calling you by a false name without knowing what your real name was. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me and my brother."

"Yep".

"I'll keep your secret too. You can trust me". Flash also says.

Sunset didn't know if she should take the risk but she had no choice but to trust them, not that she had another alternative, she decided to stop thinking about it for a while and continue working.

"Take this". Sunset hands a piece of bread to Velvet. "Give it to Twilight, she's already on the mend and we need her to go back to work... Has she told you how she feels?"

“She's already feeling better, she should be able to go back to work tomorrow, Your Majesty… she shouldn't just give her share of the food. And the foreman is still upset about the way I talk to him. You have worked for her for too long and yet every night she goes out to explore… Why does she overexert herself for my daughter?” Velvet asks.

“Because I am planning something and I will need people to achieve it and...”. Sunset can see on the outside of the cave a silhouette that she recognized as Discord. “Stay here with your daughter. I have to do something". And she takes off running.

Sunset followed Discord to one of the caves that were in the highest area of the mines. “Hey girl… I didn't lie to you, right? Your little maid has made a full recovery.”

But Sunset ignores her words and changes the subject. “You are not a slave”.

“How did you know? No matter. I take it you've been digging around and looking for clues about me, right?"

"No, I just noticed that you didn't have a mark on your arm." Sunset replies. And Discord looks at his arm and sighs.

"I guess I should fix those little details... well, what else did you notice about me?" Discord smiles like it's a guessing game.

"There's something about you... like a kind of presence... Discord, you're not human, right?"

"Hahaha! You're right, I'm not human and neither are you.

Sunset was scared for a moment but she tries to stay calm. "What do you mean?" She asks a little nervous.

"I know a lot about you... Sunset Shimmer." Sunset couldn't hide how worried she was. "I know you're not from this world, I know the 'agreement' you made with another Sunset Shimmer, I know you're a unicorn."

Sunset tries to stay calm again and says. "Assuming you're right... you still haven't told me it's you."

"Isn't that obvious...? I'm a god! … Why aren't you surprised?”

Sunset decided to tell her the truth. “You are right, I am a unicorn. And I'm not surprised because Velvet has been explaining to me how this world works, she has also been explaining to me what the gods are, compared to what she told me and what I've seen in my world, the truth... I'm disappointed".

“Fuck… you're not funny… but what I am shouldn't matter to you. Tell me something, why did you come to this world?

"I came to this world because I thought I could get something that in my world was denied me...".

"And what is it that is denied you?" Discord waits for Sunset's response but there is only silence. "Well don't tell me but will you honor the deal you made with the other Sunset?"

Sunset answers. "Don't worry. I will keep my word after all, maybe this will help me achieve my wish.”

Discord and Sunset fall silent, then Discord starts laughing. "Hahahaha!! Well girl, I'll have to settle for this!"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to help you... I also want to keep a promise."

"And how will you help me?"

"I will help you gain power, but first you have to escape from the mine... let it be your first test to see what you are capable of...". Discord looks around. "We are not alone". Discord and Sunset were going to check the cave but it wasn't necessary because Discord immediately saw in the dark part that there was a ten year old girl with fluffy bright raspberry hair. "Hello... who are you?"

"Hello... my name is Pinkie Pie." The girl answers.

"When did you get here?" Sunset asks.

"I was here a little before you guys got here, I was going to leave but you guys were in the way of the exit and I didn't want to interrupt your conversation." Pinkie replies with a wide grin.

"Does that mean you heard everything?" Discord asks.

"Yes. Listen to every word of their conversation."

"Would you keep a secret?" Discord asked.

Sunset interrupts Discord. "Why do you ask him that? do you think we can trust her?”

“If you're going to escape, you'll need more people. I take responsibility if something happens." Discord whispers

Sunset didn't like the idea but Discord was right. "Fine, but you don't have to say anything you heard."

"Yes! Secrets help to forge friendships, it will be a secret between the four of us."

“We four?” Sunset asked, finding what Pinkie said strange.

As Pinkie rubs her hand on the back of her neck, she says. "Excuse me, my sister Maud also heard." Discord and Sunset look at the shadow next to Pinkie and saw a teenage girl with short grayish-blue-violet hair.

Sunse tries to contain her anger and responds. "Okay... it will be a secret between the four of us...".

"Five...". Maud says in a flat voice, interrupting Sunset, and everyone looks at Maud.

"Boulder listened too." He says maud as he shows a rock.

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 3

“I love sleepovers!” Pinkie jumps up and screams with excitement.

"Can someone tell her this isn't a sleepover?" Flash said frustrated.

"Nope." Big Mac answers while he loads a cart with carnelian and throws it where there is more of the extracted mineral.

“Let her think that. She and her sisters work the best, plus that seems to keep her awake.” Sunset answers.

"Hey, we don't have room to hide any more carnelian around here." Applejack reports.

“It doesn't matter, just take out enough so that no foreman suspects us…Twilight. How long until the day begins? Sunset asks.

“I would say if we keep everything hidden now we can sleep…like four hours.” Twilight answers.

"We better go back so we can get some sleep." Shining suggests.

A MONTH AGO

“We are going to escape from the mines.” Sunset tells them.

“Why are you telling us that all of a sudden?” Applejack asks.

"Because so far they're the closest thing I have to pon... trustworthy people."

"Thanks...? That was a compliment right? Flash question.

"The point is that I found a way to escape... we're going to dig a tunnel."

“Dig a tunnel? From here to the outside...? Do you realize what you're saying?!" Limestone yelled at Sunset but Pinkie covered her sister's mouth.

"It's a secret." She whispers to him.

“I've been exploring through the night. The security inside the mines is not so strict, there are only a hundred guards, obviously that amount is insufficient to guard thousands of slaves and most of the guards are guarding the exit of the mine”.

“What do you think the competition system is for? They would denounce us to get a better living condition.”

“Horsey, horsey!!” A girl is heard playing

"What's going on?" Flash peeks out to see what's going on. "We better not leave this cave for a while... Diamond Tiara is playing again, she is using the slaves as horses".

"It irritates me every time I see her 'play'...why don't we kidnap her and use her so we can escape from the mines?" Limestone suggests.

"You couldn't, all the time she has a group of bodyguards protecting her." Shining replied.

“That's why digging a tunnel is the best solution. We can work secretly at night, as I said the security is not very strict, no one will notice”.

“You forget a detail... the production quota, if we work at night we will be too tired to work during the day, besides, how will you know how long until dawn? They could discover us if we don't coordinate the schedules well." Applejack says.

"It's easy." Twilight answers. "We use the shift changes to guide us, the guards take turns every two hours, we just have to pay attention to that."

“And about the quota I already have a kind of solution”. Sunset points to a corner where Maud was working.

"Were you there the whole time?" Flash question.

“Her name is Maud Pie, don't worry about her…she's like that…what matters is what she can do. She apparently knows where to look for large mineral deposits, so she took her to the caves in the highest areas and found the right place to dig and at the same time we got carnelian for production”.

"It's a very risky plan... if they catch us they will kill us all." Flash says.

“Do you see any difference between us and the dead?”

“Since we are almost dead people, what can we fear?” Says Big Mac.

"Count on me for the plan." Applejack says.

"My sisters and I support you with the plan." Limestone also responds.

"It's not that I have anything else to do." Flash responds.

After that Sunset and her group started working every night. Maud had pointed out to them where they could make the tunnel without problems, with that they could dig an escape tunnel, at the same time they could get enough minerals to meet the quotas without raising suspicions.

It was a long and arduous job, Sunset knew that the tunnel could not be finished in a short time. They just had to persevere and one day he might escape the mines.

As the days passed, Sunset noticed that unlike other slaves that as time passed they looked more depressed. While in his group he looked more animated, he wondered what was different in his group, would it be the feeling of camaraderie that came from working together? The fact that some of them had known each other before and that encouraged them? Or was it just hope? Hope that they still have a future?

PRESENT

That same night Sunset slips away to continue working. "Girl, are you going to work at night again?" Sunset sees a slave lying in a corner of one of the caves and freaks out a little as she believes he has discovered his escape plan. "You get so little rest each night, you should take care of your own health." Sunset is relieved to note that they hadn't figured out her plan.

"It's alright sir, I have no problem with that." I respond trying to keep her innocence.

“You know, at first I believed in what the foremen told us, that if I worked hard I could have a better future. But nothing has changed... we equestrians did not know slavery until the fall of the kingdom and now we work day after day without stopping... and the same is repeated day after day. Now that I think about it, the sad thing is that this will be the rest of my life... cough cough...”

“Old man, are you sick?”

“It doesn't matter... I won't live long with these living conditions... continue on your way girl. Thank you for listening to the nonsense of an old man.” Then Sunset says goodbye to the slave and runs off.

As Sunset continued on her way, she looked around and saw the slaves sleeping inside the caves. When her plan was successful she and her entire group would escape, while the rest of the thousands of slaves would be trapped in the mines forever, but she didn't care, she had her own problems, Sunset didn't have time to worry about the rest.

When Sunset is arriving with the rest of her classmates she begins to speak, “Hey! I've been thinking why don't we make the tunnel bigger so more people can go through? After all...". Sunset sees Applejack, Big Mac and Shining lying on the ground hurt and sees that the culprit is Big Brother who was about to hit Maud and Flash until he realizes that she had arrived.

“So they were planning to let even more people escape? That is very reckless." Says Old Brother without trying to hide his discontent. The foreman looks at the accumulated carnelian and then looks at Sunset. “It seemed strange to me that they fulfilled the production quota and at the same time it seemed that they did not work very hard.”

Sunset tries to stay calm. "Please listen to me...". Before she could finish speaking, Old Brother punches Sunset hard in the stomach.

"You know Sun... I never liked you, from the first moment I saw you, there was something in you... as if you believed that you are better than everyone here... With this I can finally get rid of you when I inform the guards about your escape plan.” The foreman tells him.

Sunset, still sore from the blow, tries to speak. “We can get out of these mines together! You too can escape from this place when we finish escaping!”

Then the foreman hits Sunset again. “Why do you think I want to escape? I like life here. Do you think everyone wants to get out of here? I worked hard to be appointed as foreman and to be in charge of a group of slaves! what could I do out there? farmer? fisherman? Or just beg? I don't want to be any of that! I want to stay here and even become a lead foreman! I don't care about the rest!" Those words surprised Sunset she never believed that she would see someone who would settle for such a life of slavery let alone enjoy it. "I will report this to the guards... after this they will sentence all of you to death." And Old Brother proceeds to leave the cave.

As the foreman was about to leave, he suddenly fell to the ground and screamed before having difficulty breathing. Sunset had jumped on his back and with his arms began to strangle him. But Old Brother is bigger and stronger, he started to get up but Big Mac and Flash quickly run to help Sunset hitting the foreman's legs making him fall again, the foreman begins to bleed from the nose while Sunset presses harder with her arms to continue strangling him until Old Brother ends up dead.

"Sunset...you can let go...he's already dead." Flash tells him.

"Yep".

Sunset tries to calm down and looks at the foreman's corpse.

"I heard screaming over here!"

"Curse. The shout of the foreman drew the attention of the guards...! what do we do?" Flash question.

“Quick, we have to cover the tunnel immediately! no one must find out about the escape plan!” Sunset says. "Let's also try to hide the carnelian."

Shining tells Sunset that Twilight, Limestone and Pinkie were still inside the tunnel they were digging but Sunset replies that it's better this way, that way they don't catch everyone, Shining understands and with the help of Big Mac covers the tunnel before the guards arrive, while Applejack and Flash cover the carnelian with earth.

Sunset, Applejack, Big Mac, Flash, Shining and Maud were in a cage waiting for what was going to happen.

"Although we are locked up here, there is only one guard watching... why don't we escape?" Flash asked.

"It wouldn't make sense, even if we got out of the cage it wouldn't open any place to escape." Applejack replied.

Someone was talking to the guard and then approached the cage, it was Night Light. "They finally let me in to talk to you guys."

"Dad, how did they let you talk to us?"

"I told the guard that you are my son and that I was going to give you a good lecture for what you had done... what exactly happened...?"

“Old Brother discovered everything... the tunnel, the carnelian we accumulated, the escape plan... everything... what happened to the others, are they okay? what do they say about us?”

“The others are fine, they stayed hidden until everyone had left. At the moment nothing has been said about the escape plan... according to what I heard, there was only a fight last night with Old Brother... it's no secret how badly they got along... Filthy Rich plans to make a public trial. He intends to use you guys as an example to keep order.”

“ha! public trial? As soon as the guards arrived, they subdued us and put us here. They didn't even ask what happened! I bet he's thinking of doing a show with us!” Applejack complained.

"You say everyone knew how Old Brother and Sunset got along?"

"Yes!. Not that it was a big secret!” Pinkie responds by suddenly appearing.

“AAAHH!!” everyone screamed in fright even the guard.

"You shouldn't be...! It doesn't matter, keep it short." And the guard returns to his post.

"Sister, don't worry, I'm taking care of Boulder for you."

"Sunset, what do you think we should do?" Applejack asked, noticing that Sunset had been quiet all this time. "Sunset... are you alright?"

"Were you softening me up?" Sunset gets out of her trance and notices that everyone was looking at her "what were they saying?"

"You seem distracted... in general, you are always more attentive to everything around you."

"It's just... it's the first time I've killed someone."

After a while of silence Applejack approaches Sunset. "Do you regret what you did?"

"No! And that is the problem! that's normal?"

"You don't regret it because not killing him would have been worse." Applejack told him as he puts a hand on Sunset's back. “You know sugar cube… I also killed someone before I got here… when the family was escaping during the war we joined other Apples on the way and we came to form a caravan and on the way a band of raiders attacked the camp. While most of the adults were fighting, the children stayed hidden in one of the tents, in the middle of the fight one of the assailants entered the tent and looked at all the children, the worst of all was the look he had... It doesn't take a genius to know what he was thinking, when he saw my little sister I saw how the assailant smiled sickly... before letting me touch her, I jumped on the assailant and hit her head with a rock... and I did not stop hitting him until I broke his skull and killed him”.

"You were scared, you didn't think, you just reacted without thinking, you had no choice." Flash said.

“You're wrong about something Flash. Yes, I was scared, but I also thought very well about the situation and acted aware that I was killing someone.” Applejack stands in front of Sunset and looks into her eyes. “Sunset, I didn't kill the assailant because he had no choice… I killed him because the option was worse. If you hadn't killed the foreman, the guards would have found the escape tunnel and tortured us to find out who else was involved." Appleckjack hugs Sunset as she tries to hold back her tears. "Please don't blame yourself for what happened."

Sunset wipes away her tears. "Thanks Applejack."

"I don't want to spoil this emotional moment but what about our public trial?"

"Night, I need you to explain the situation to me." Sunset said with determination.

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 4

Sunset, Applejack, Big Mac, Shining, Flash and Maud were in a cage in the middle of the mine, around thousands of slaves watching, in front of the cage there was a stone wall and above there was a terrace where Filthy Rich and his daughter Diamond Tiara watched them.

Filthy began to speak. "Two nights ago one of my foremen was murdered!" His shout echoed loud enough for many of the slaves to hear. "And not only that! They told me that the ones who killed him were children!” He looked at the prisoner's cage: "How do you plead?!"

Sunset gets up from the ground to answer. “We plead guilty sir!”

"Listen up everyone, the defendants will lay themselves guilty!" Filthy sighs in disappointment, as if he had wanted more resistance. “Slaves like these would only sow discord in the mines, so he sentenced them to have their throats cut and use their bodies to feed the beasts!”

“You can't do that! it would be unfair!” Filthy didn't expect Sunset to say that after admitting his guilt.

"Why would you say it's unfair?! I manage these mines! I decide what is fair or not!”

“Old Brother was a terrible foreman! He didn't share the food evenly! He mistreated some slaves! He gave privileges to other slaves in exchange for them being his personal gang! Things like that were not only unfair but also affected job performance! It was obvious that someone would end up killing him for it!” Filthy didn't like the way Sunset responded.

Just when he was going to order the execution. A slave is heard screaming. "it is true!"

"Because of Old Brother some of us haven't eaten in days!" yells another slave.

“The foreman lied about the amount of production to make us work more!”

"The foreman deserved what happened to him!"

Filthy noticed how all the slaves began to complain about how Old Brother treated them. He then raises his arms to tell the slaves to be silent. "Given the recent information given, the death penalty has been reversed!" Screams of joy from the slaves are heard. “However, there is still the fact that one of my foremen was murdered! Each of you will have a limb cut off and…!”

"This is so boring!" Diamond Tiara interrupted his father's sentence. "Daddy, why don't we make this more fun?"

Filthy put on a happier face in front of her daughter. “Of course my little girl. what do you suggest?” Diamond whispers in his father's ear. "Alright, we'll do that." He gets serious to give another announcement. “I have decided to give you another option to the science, a week ago we received a group of Diamond Dogs! You will have to fight one of those beasts in the arena in front of everyone! If you survive five minutes I'll forgive you... if you win I'll reward you! what do you decide?!”

Sunset looks at the others, as if she expects them to refuse but the look on their faces tells her to go ahead. “We accept the offer!”

"Why did you accept the offer?!" Applejack screams.

"Didn't you want me to accept?" Sunset asks confused.

"NO!!!!" They all yelled at him at the same time.

"But the way they looked at me... I thought they were urging me to accept!"

"We were trying to tell you to refuse!!"

"But they were going to cut off a limb."

"And now we're all going to die... have you ever seen a Diamond Dogs?"

"Of course I've seen them and I know how to fight them... you just have to follow my instructions." He told them with confidence since in his world he had seen and fought against that race, it couldn't be much different in this world.

They kept walking until they reached the combat arena. In the stands you could see many slaves waiting for the fight.

"Why did they have a place like this?" Flash asked.

"They built it so that if there was any dispute between slaves they would solve it in a fight... that saved a lot of time". Maud said monotonously.

At the top of the arena could be seen a box where Filthy and his daughter would watch the fight. "Daddy, what are the Diamond Dogs like?"

"They are a breed of humanoid canines that live in the underground kingdom of Diamondia in the east of the continent, they are difficult to capture but they are worth it because they are excellent diggers." Filthy notices that the slaves have already arrived at the convate arena. "Wait here my girl I have to announce the fight". He signals to the guards and they throw some spears and swords into the sand. "Listen everyone!" He picks up an hourglass and turns it upside down. “When the five minutes are up the fight is over! Let the fight start!”

Sunset, Maud and Big Mac quickly pick up some swords, Flash, Shining and Applejack pick up some spears then they all pick up a shield. “Everyone get together!” Sunset orders and the group obeys. One of the large doors in the arena opens for the Diamond Dogs to enter to battle. A roar is heard and a Diamond Dogs runs out to attack. It was exactly the same as the ones in Sunset's world except for one detail. “That thing is four meters tall!!” Sunset yells after everyone dodges the envestiadas.

"Or not! I've never seen Maud so scared!" Pinkie yelled from the audience and everyone tried to look at Maud to see if she had changed her expression...she didn't.

After recovering from the attack, Sunset began to formulate a plan. "Flash! I need you to distract the beast for a while!”

"that?! because I?!"

“You are the fastest of the group! Just keep him busy while I come up with a plan!”

"Alright!" He says with resignation and throws the spear to the dog but it doesn't do anything. "Here! Try to catch me!” He yells trying to get attention.

While the beast chases Flash, Sunset gathers the rest to tell them the strategy. "This is the plan." After saying his plan Sunset I wait for some objection. "Alright, let's start!"

Sunset tries to get Flash's attention, when she succeeds she points to a part of the arena and Flash goes where she points. When Flash got to where Sunset was pointing he noticed that he was trapped between the dog and the wall of the arena but he wasn't afraid because he trusted Sunset. The beast slowly approaches Flash and before he could do anything, Sunset yelled. "NOW!!" The dog was so focused on Flash that he hadn't realized that the rest had discreetly surrounded and approached him, when Sunset gave the signal Big Mac and Applejack used their shields to hit both of the dog's heels, the beast falls to its knees and supports itself with its hands on the ground but at that moment Shining and Maud attack the dog's wrists in the same way, causing him to fall on the ground, finally Sunset runs on the beast's back and with his shield hits him hard on the back of the neck leaving him unconscious.

There was a long silence and Sunset stared at the diamond dog and noticed some cracks on his neck. "You are also a slave." she whispered.

"Yessss !!!" Pinkie yells and then the rest of the audience. No one expected them to win.

"I almost died!" Flash yells and falls on his knees.

"Yep". Bic Mac replies as he picks Flash up.

"Hey sugarcube, was the fight against the Diamond dog part of the plan?"

“Would you rather have a limb cut off?”

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE TRIAL

"My plan is based on the fact that Filthy Rich is not an incompetent person."

"And what makes you think he's not incompetent?"

"You may not have noticed, but the food rations are enough for everyone and it's not little, we just didn't eat well because the foreman gave preference to his companions, good blankets were distributed to all of us so as not to have problems sleeping and the hours of rest are well distributed so that we can all rest well”

“Yes, you are good at noticing those details.” Shining said.

"But that also means that he knows that if he keeps the slaves in good condition they will be able to work better, also to avoid riots and anarchy in the mines... that is where we will need your help." Sunset takes aim at Pinkie and Night.

"They have to get the slaves to support us."

"But how are we going to do that?"

“Speak in our favor, let him know about the incompetence of the foremen, little by little the other slaves will support us causing a disturbance in the trial, so Filthy will worry that the slaves do not mutiny. Then you will have no choice but to think of a sentence other than death.”

"Do you think the other slaves will play along?"

"They plow it since Old Brother was not well liked for his methods."

"Okay... my fault for asking." And Applejack bumps fists with Sunset.

"I'm happy we're all alive." Maud said. "what's the plan now?"

Filthy gets up from her seat to speak. “Winner, as promised, I will reward you for that! Ask for anything and I will give it to you!”

Sunset wasted no time in speaking. “Mr. Filthy Rich! Please allow me to replace Old Brother as the foreman!” That request surprised everyone. “I know very well how the work of a foreman works and I know that I can do a good job!”

Filthy is thoughtful. “Being a foreman... Although there are precedents of child slaves who have been foremen, those were special circumstances, and you're also a newcomer...! Fine… you will become a foreman… Only if the rest of your friends give up their share of the reward!”

"We quit!"
"We quit!"
"We quit!"
"We quit!"
"We quit!"

They all said at the same time surprising Sunset she thought she would have to try to convince them but none of them doubted.

Filthy didn't expect that but she couldn't back down in front of all the slaves. "You can go... As for you, girl, the guards will take you so they can put the foreman's mark on your arm." Filthy leaves and Sunset separates from the group to get the mark placed on her.

"That hurts". Sunset was complaining about the pain in her arm after they put the foreman's mark on it.

Velvet was wiping a wet cloth over the burn on Sunset's arm. "I'll try to be more careful, Your Majesty."

Everyone was gathered to know how to talk about the situation.

"How does 'foreman' feel now? Does it feel good to have some authority?" Applejack asks sarcastically.

Sunset rolls her eyes. “Applejack has been like this since they put the mark. Are you going to bother me all night?”

"We gave up our share of the reward to get you the job of foreman... I'd say all of us are within our rights to bother you." Flash says as he laughs a little.

"I guess that's fair." Admits Sunset. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

“The truth is that I thought that not all of you would survive but you really surprised me. Tell me how did you know how to defeat such a big beast?" Limestone asked.

“That was awesome Sunset! I also want to know how you knew how to see a Diamond dog!” Pinkie said excitedly.

"I'm also curious... it's like you know how to handle a giant." Twilight says.

And everyone was expectantly waiting for Sunset's answer.

A LONG TIME AGO

“Grandpa Gruff! Grandpa Gruff!” A little unicorn filly walks into an old house.

"Why wake me up? Did you get into another fight?” A grumpy old griffon asks.

"Yes!" Says the filly proudly. "And I won!"

"I hope you haven't used magic... you know how angry others get when their children arrive with half their feathers burned."

"I didn't use magic, I just hit them the way you taught me."

"Well done my little pony... Why was the fight?"

“I found a gold coin and the others wanted to take it away from me”. He says the filly and hands the coin to the griffon.

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"You promised me that with every coin I gave you you would tell me a story."

The old griffin smiled and nodded. "Okay, what story do you want to hear?"

"I want a story about the Arimaspi war."

"Well... the first thing you should know before starting is that the Arimaspis are gigantic creatures and..."

Sunset smiles at the memory. "Maybe one day I'll tell you."

Pinkie pouts. "I wanted a story."

Limestone places her hand on Pinkie's shoulder. "Maybe one day I'll tell you that story."

"But good job encouraging the slaves to support us." Sunset notices that everyone was quiet. "something happened?"

"Your Majesty... none of us spoke first."

"What do you mean?"

“It was amazing! We didn't have to start anything! It was the slaves themselves who decided to talk instead of us starting!” Pinquie replied.

"But how?" Sunset wonders disconcerted.

“Many saw how badly you and Old Brother got along. The slaves admire you for how you stood up to him." Sunset thinks while everyone is silent again.

"Then Your Majesty... What is the plan now that you are the foreman?" Velvet says trying to change the subject.

Sunset looks at her group and asks. "Maud, how long would it take to finish the escape tunnel?"

"If we continue at this rate, the tunnel would be ready in six years."

"Six years?!"

“Yes, the further we advance in the tunnel we will have to move the minerals and stones that we excavate further and we are not many people”.

"Not yet". They all look at Sunset.

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 5

A LONG TIME AGO

In the garden of a great castle, an alicorn and her little apprentice were having tea and cake to relax a bit.

“Sunset, I heard that you've been rude to a teacher again, you don't do anything, neither homework nor study. I understand that you are excellent with the basic spells but”. Celestia sighs. "Has something happened to you my little sun?"

"I don't see the need to learn complicated maths, potions or social sciences, all I need is my gut and my strength."

Celestia levitates a cup of tea. “He cooled you down, could you warm him up a bit please?”

Sunset smiles and fires a small beam at the cup of tea but the cup breaks. "that?!" she is surprised.

Celestia feigns surprise. "I spilled a little on the table, could you please dry it?"

Sunset casts a heat spell on the table but the table ends up burning but Celestia casts a spell and everything is fixed. “If you had calculated the amount of magic correctly, you would not have broken the cup, instead of using a heat spell, an evaporation spell on the water would have been better and you would not have burned the table... Sunset, what do you want to do in the future?"

"I want to go back to griffonstone and rebuild the Griffon Kingdom." Says the little filly as she looks at the ground.

"Listen to me Sunset, you can continue like this, you may not be a good magician but you are powerful despite having an average magic source, by living in a harsh environment you managed to strengthen your body well which gives you resistance to use more powerful magic, you could go back to griffonstone and show your strength and they will fear you but... you will never go further. You'll never get to rebuild that country... because what the griffons need is a leader to bring order, and you won't be because they can never trust you... not because you're a pony. They will not trust you because you will not know what you are doing, you have to know how to organize, keep accounts, delegate, and most importantly, you have to know them so they can see you as a leader they can trust... because by not having knowledge you will not know what to do and they will not be able to trust you”.

"But you told me I'm a natural leader."

Celestia gently embraces Sunset with her wings “a natural leader only has a knack for following him and nothing else... but someone who prepares to be a leader can achieve great things. You have a great future, my little sun, but I need you to make an effort so that you can shape it.”

Now Sunset was in charge of one hundred and eighty and three slaves. They all suffered from how Old Brother treated them when he was foreman. Now that Sunset was in charge and he would make sure things ran smoothly.

Sunset made sure that the food was distributed equally, she also created a rotation system so that the slaves had a little rest so that the work remained stable, but in reality she was planning something else.

"Applejack, is there any progress?"

"We have thirty people willing to help, while Flash made subtle hints I could tell who was willing to risk the escape plan and who was not, do you think that will be enough people?"

Sunset sighs. "It will be enough for the moment but the further we go we will need more people... we will also have to make more tunnels".

"You are crazy! What do you mean by more tunnels?!” Limestone yells at Sunset but Pinkie covers her sister's mouth.

"It's a secret." She whispers in his ear.

"What do you want to say with more tunnels?" Shining asked.

"I want to try to free as many slaves as I can."

“But how do you think we can do that? We can barely handle a single tunnel, do you already have another plan for that?”

“I still have to refine the details”.

At that moment a very old slave appears, no slave lives so long in the mines unless you are a foreman and the old man who approaches Sunset was the chief foreman. "Hey Sun I see you're resting."

Sunset's group stands up and splits up. "Sorry about that, boss, they'll go back to work right away." He tells her with a fake smile.

"Don't worry, girl, after all, your group is the one that works the best, even though you've only been a foreman for two weeks."

"I do what I can boss..." Before the boss foreman leaves, Sunset asks him. "Boss, what happened to the Diamond Dog that I and the others fought with?"

“They have him locked up in the dungeons, they told me it was a gift from the crystal empire, they recently conquered Diamondia and now they want to use the diamond dogs as beasts of burden. However, now the beast is useless due to the wound you gave it.”

"Did you see the fight too?"

“No, but there is talk all over the mine about combat. But as I was saying, the diamond dog has not eaten anything, it is only expected to die once and for all”.

That same night, instead of going to work in the escape tunnel, Sunset heads to the dungeons.

"How's my defeated opponent doing?" He tells Diamond Dog that he is locked up. "I didn't come here to bother you." Sunset pulls out a small bag still holding some of the red raisins Discord gave her and feeds one to the injured beast. "I hope you recover, after all you are a slave just like me...

You know, I found out that they were going to use you as a beast of burden but... if you're like the Diamond Dogs that I know then they don't know the true value in you... I hope you recover from your injuries."

Ever since Sunset got more help, the digging of the tunnel has accelerated but...

"What's wrong Pinkie? Why are you stopping?" Twilight asks.

"My leg is shaking."

“What's your sugar cube? Why does Pinkie stop?”

"He says her leg is shaking."

Applejack makes a worried face. "The left or the right?"

“I think the right? why?"

“Everyone get out!! The tunnel is going to collapse!!”

Everyone who was digging quickly exits the tunnel in time as the tunnel is starting to look unstable.

"What happened?" Sunset asks worriedly.

“Pinkie predicted that the tunnel would collapse, but how? Most diviners are gods, and human diviners are almost nonexistent." Twilight answers.

“It's something she's always had, I wouldn't call her fortune-telling, I could say it's more of her feeling, I remember we always asked her for help to find out how the harvest would be. Better not think too much about it, it will only cause you problems.” Applejack tells him.

"Speaking of problems, I just found help to finish the tunnel." At that moment three diamond dogs appear and all the slaves are put on guard. "Calm down everyone, they will help us dig their names are Rover, Fido and Spot... Rover is the one we fight Applejack."

“But how could you convince these animals to help?” Twilight asked curiously.

"The diamong dogs are more intelligent than they seem, besides they are also slaves and they also want to leave the mines, it cost a little to bring them here without the guards seeing them but it will be worth it". Fido then approaches the unstable tunnel and begins to put pressure on the walls and stabilize the tunnel. “Believe it or not, the diamong dogs are the best diggers I have ever seen... while they are digging we will move the earth and the excavated minerals and thus speed up the work... Pinkie, since you have these 'feelings' for sure you'll have to go with them so you can alert them to possible cave-ins”.

"Yes!!" Pinkie gets emotional and jumps on one of the dogs to hug it. “You are my new best friend!”

"I hope we can bring more diamond dogs for the other tunnels." Said Twilight

"In a few weeks there will be about two hundred diamong dogs recently captured, as they have been enslaved recently they will be easy to convince... Applejack will need your help." Sunset said.

"what do you need?"

"I'm going to see if we can convince other foremen to get more help and I'll need to know if they would betray us or not."

"I'll help you in whatever I can sugarcube."

And so Sunset's grand escape plan began. Although many foremen who showed that they wanted to escape joined the excavation effort. But there were some who proved to be satisfied with their slavery, so they made sure to keep them out of it all.

It was a long way to go. Night after night of hard work, as the weeks and months passed, Sunset gained the trust of other foremen who helped make her head foreman in half a year, and with that authority, Sunset was able to organize the jobs at her convenience.

And when Sunset served a year of slavery.

"Incredible that now we can work in the tunnels also during the day." Night Light said while seeing how much carnelian had accumulated.

"And thanks to Maud we can make the tunnels where there are minerals so that they don't raise suspicions." Shining responded to her father. "Twilight, how's the food storage going?"

"It's still not enough, we need to increase the amount of rice a little more if we want it to last when we escape."

"Don't worry too much, it will be some time before we can carry out the escape plan also...". Sunset was interrupted.

“Where are you where are you where are you?!!” A very excited Pinkie ran through the mine.

"What's wrong Pinkie?" Sunset asked concerned.

“There it is! come!". Pinkie grabs Sunset and leads her into one of the tunnels they are digging. When they reach the end of the dead end tunnel, Pinkie hands Sunset a shovel.

"What was all that for and why are you giving me a shovel?"

"Because I think you have the right to do this."

"Do what Pinkie?"

Pinkie points up the tunnel and Sunset looks at the ceiling and immediately understands that she is passing and starts digging, and after digging for a while some dirt falls out and Sunset feels the fresh air. "We made it... we made it!!" Sunset hugs Pinkie happily. “Finally the first tunnel is ready!!”.

TWO YEARS LATER

A few kilometers from the mines an elegant chariot was approaching escorted by a dozen well-equipped guards.

"Are you sure he could train me godmother?" asks a teenage girl with pink, purple and yellow streaked hair.

"It will have to be that way, after all, I can't teach you what you want to learn and there are few aura masters left... Sometimes I think the purge was unnecessary." Says a woman with grayish black skin and long bluish green hair, she was wearing a black light metal armor. "Cadance sleeps, there's still a bit to go to get to the mines."

"Then I'll rest for a while godmother."

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 6

"The mines of the northern mountains feel very honored to have them here." Filthy Rich and the guards were kneeling at the entrance to the mine to greet their two visitors. "Welcome goddess Chrysalis, welcome crown princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

Once inside Filthy Rich's mansion he proceeded to attend to the visitors in the guest room. As Filthy Rich poured them wine, Chrysalis spoke. “I am going to be direct with you, I am not here for some matter of the production of the mines. It is the job of the lesser gods to deal with such matters.”

"So... excuse my boldness but what other reason would they have?" Filthy asked in the most humble way possible.

“As you may know, Princess Cadance has been my goddaughter for two years, she recently turned fifteen. And at that young age she is very intelligent and has great ambitions. She wants to possess as many skills as possible to become a great enperatris for the crystal empire... it's a pity that we gods can't teach our divine abilities to humans, however... among humans I can only think of someone who can teach him what he wants... a master of the materialization aura, a survivor of the purge... you Filthy Rich.”

Filthy goes silent and thinks about what Chrysalis said and then responds. “Do you understand what you are asking of me, goddess? After the purge, the council of the gods offered forgiveness to the survivors in exchange for not teaching the art of the materialization aura anymore, we can only teach one of our children, if we disobey that order it would be death for my family and for me, do you understand what you are asking of me?"

"The other gods only believe that I am accompanying the princess, they do not know that she is here to learn the art of the aura."

“Princess… the materialization aura is not something that everyone can learn. If you do not have the physical and mental capacity, it will be useless for you to learn it. Princess, why do you want to spend so much effort on this?”

"Because before ascending the throne I must become strong in every way." Cadance bows in a humble gesture. “please let me stay and learn from you. The moment he thinks I don't have the ability to learn, he can reject me."

"Besides, I could owe you a favor." Chrysalis said. "A favor from one of the great goddesses."

"Although the offer is tempting, at the moment I cannot receive it here." Filthy noticed the curious glances from Chrysalis and Cadance. "To be honest, we've had a problem in the mines... there are some unknown beasts that have been devouring the slaves in recent months."

“Some beasts? How could it happen?" The princess asks.

“It is believed that it is some species of ancient beasts that were buried in the depths of the mines, since the only entrance to the mine is always guarded and nothing suspicious has been seen. I have tried to keep this information secret.”

"HAHAHA! And I thought this trip would be boring... Filthy, I would like to see the hestias with my own eyes.” Chrysalis said.

Right in the middle of the mine, Filthy Rich was leading the princess and the goddess as they were escorted by a group of guards. “This is the mining work area. There are approximately two thousand passages and tunnels in which there are approximately one hundred slaves working in each of the tunnels. Tunnels that have a green board are safe to work in, those with a red board are more dangerous because they have toxic minerals so you have to be careful lately we have found many excavations like this. It is easy to get lost due to the large number of intricate corridors. Although in a couple of years we have increased the production of the mine enormously, that acceleration may be the reason why we ran into some tunnel where the beasts lived."

"I remember stories about ancient beasts like Nightmare and Tantabus... I also know that during the last demon incursion before they were totally exiled to Tartarus they let loose their own beasts."

"Goddess Chrysalis, at first I also thought the same but the last demon incursion was more than a hundred years ago and ancient beasts are not something that can go unnoticed."

"What are the details of the matter?" The princess asked.

"I will call someone who is more informed of the situation." Filthy gives an order to a guard, after waiting a while the guard brings a girl with her head completely covered with a piece of cloth except for her eyes. "She is the chief foreman of the mine, her name is Sun, as you will see she is quite young but very intelligent for her age... I would say that she is a couple of years younger than you Princess Cadanze."

When Sunset heard that name she got a little nervous but she tried not to show it. “How can I serve you sir?” Says Sunset and leans in a bit.

“Sun, I present to you the imperial princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the goddess Chrysalis, one of the great goddesses of the plague faction. They will help us with the matter of the beasts. You will inform them about all the details.”

"As you order sir... it all started a few months ago, the slaves began to mysteriously disappear... later someone found the body of a slave in one of the caves... actually he didn't find the body, he just found the arm, then other remains of half-devoured bodies began to appear... the first to disappear were the old, the weakest slaves... at first the beasts chose the easiest prey but... when there were no easy prey left, other stronger slaves began to disappear... the mines are closed to the outside. .. so it was ruled out that the beasts have come from abroad..."

"You said 'the beasts'. What makes you believe that there are more than one beasts in the mines?"

"More than five hundred slaves have died and disappeared, if only they had left the corpses lying around, then they would only defend their territory but... they always take the bodies, that means they are feeding... and with that number of dead... there must be too many beasts”.

"Are there any witnesses?"

“Some slaves who claim to have seen the animal were terrified by what they saw. These beasts are almost as tall as a full-grown man and their bodies are covered with black fur... some are robust and strong others are slender and slender. They have long jaws like a wolf or a bear, and long, sharp claws.”

"Have you seen these beasts with your own eyes?" The Goddess asks.

"I've seen them from afar after they catch a slave... I've never seen them up close."

"Godmother, if this beast is still on the loose it can affect the level of production, we could stay to hunt the beasts and in return Mr. Filthy could teach me about the aura... what do you think Mr. Filthy?" The princess asks.

Filthy Rich bows to the princess and the goddess. “Any help to fix this is greatly appreciated. Sun, as chief foreman it will be your duty to provide any necessities that our guests need”.

"As you order sir."

The princess approaches Sunset. "I hope we can work well together." She tells him with a smile.

"Me too princess." She replied as she bowed. Then Sunset noticed that the princess was looking at her intently. "Has something happened to you princess?"

"No...I'm just curious...why do you have your head covered?"

"I and other slaves had to go into the caves that have toxic minerals."

"Why? isn't that dangerous?"

“Yes, it is dangerous but it is our job, we are also looking at the possibility that the beasts are hiding in those caves. Please understand".

The princess makes a sad look. "I understand... please be careful, you're still a girl."

"Princess... it's been years since I stopped being a girl."

When Sunset returned to the cave where she was resting, she saw Velvet very worried.

"Is something wrong?"

"Your Majesty... I heard that the princess Mi Amore Cadenza came to the mines."

"Yes, I just saw it, Filthy wanted me to show her the mines."

“Your Majesty… she knew the other you… the two of you were close friends. Did she not recognize you? truth?".

“Who would have thought that the universe has a sense of humor? don't worry, I had my head covered because I had to get out of the 'dangerous tunnels'”

"Did you know the princess in her world?"

"Yes". Sunset replies bitterly. "Even though we weren't exactly friends with her...I hated her...at first I hated her because she was given something that she had to win...something that I wanted to have."

"Don't you hate her anymore?"

"Not anymore. I realized that it wasn't her fault that they gave her that gift... we didn't become friends but I stopped being ostile with her... What else can you tell me about the princess?

"She is that she is the King Sombra niece and his heiress."

“His heir to her? Does the king have no sons?

"It was a pact he had with the previous king... the mother of the princess was not fit for the throne and Sombra, who was more fit despite being the youngest of the brothers, asked his father to give him the throne." . Sombra became king but to avoid a civil war between the brothers an oath was made that his niece would be the next in line of succession.”

"Would you say that the princess is fit to inherit the throne...?"

"Yes"

“Call Shining and Flash. I'll need those two to check something."

“What does she plan to do, Your Majesty?”

That same night Sunset was together with some guards and slaves who were watching the surroundings.

"Amazing! The imperial princess herself and one of the great goddesses will help us!” Said a guard.

"I hope the rumors about the goddess Chrysalis are false." Said another guard.

That got Sunset's attention. "What kind of rumours?" Sunset Question

They say that wherever the goddess Chrysalis goes, some children always disappear. The guard whispered to him.

“Children disappearing?”

“It turns out that the goddess and the princess have been traveling together with the excuse that the princess is studying for when she ascends the throne. But wherever they go the princess always brings a child or two to the goddess, and those children are never seen again...”

"The beast!!! The beast is attacking!!!” The mine bells rang loudly as the guards raised the alarm.

The mine guards can see two of the beasts darting through the more open area of the mine. The beasts are too agile when moving since they could easily dodge the guards but at that moment the princess appeared carrying a halberd to attack the beasts. The beasts go towards the princess but instead of attacking her they dodge her to be able to surround her, the princess makes a move to attack one of the beasts tearing open the animal's abdomen, appearing to seriously injure it as she sheds too much blood, but the beasts manage to escape from her.

“Princess! Alright?!" one of the guards asks.

"I'm fine, one of the beasts is wounded, we have to follow the trail of blood."

After a long time while the princess and the guards followed the trail of blood, Cadance noticed something strange. “How long have we been following the trail of blood?”

"Like an hour princess." A guard answers.

“The wound that the animal has must have caused the animal to bleed to death and because of the trail of blood it left on the road, it must have already died... what kind of animal is it?”

The beasts managed to hide from their pursuers but then they noticed that someone else was inside the hiding place.

"They did a great job with all that ruckus they caused." Said the intruder who turned out to be Sunset.

"What did you want to accomplish by ordering us to make all that ruckus?" One of the beasts removes its false head revealing itself to be Flash Sentry.

"I wanted to know how competent the princess was... Shining, are you hurt?"

The second beast removes its disguise revealing itself to be Shining Armor. “I'm fine, Your Majesty, the blood bag I was carrying with me just got pierced. I wanted to try to get another slave by pretending that the beast killed him."

"It doesn't matter anymore, with the princess and the goddess we run the risk of being discovered."

"We'll have to be more careful." Flash said.

“Not only will we have to be more careful... we will have to advance the plan. It's time for us to get out of here."

"Should we get out of here...? That means...?"

Sunset smiles. "Yes, gather all the foremen, we start the escape plan".

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 8

The bells of the mines rang as usual to wake up all the slaves. As always, water and a piece of bread were distributed to them every morning, but that morning the ration was a little larger than normal. Sunset told the group of slaves in charge of preparing the food, to use all the sacks of flour, that they were not going to take any more to the surface camp.

When Sunset finished eating he joined the other foremen to give the weekly report to Filthy Rich, usually Filhy would go down to the mines to meet with the foremen, but since 'the beasts' began to appear, the guards suggested that he go to the meetings on the surface. Which was convenient for Sunset's plans. Since he was prevented any slave from leaving the mines, but the overseers were an exception given the current situation.

At all meetings Sunset and the foremen observed the surroundings. They tried to study the area, see the behavior of the guards and know the location of their target... Diamond Tiara.

"Boss forewoman... there goes the objective". One of the foremen whispers to Sunset.

Diamond Tiara always went out at the same time in the morning so she could play 'hunt', before the beast's rampage started, the spoiled little girl also went out to play in the mines disturbing all the slaves.

"Shining, Big Mac, are you ready?"

"We just wait for the order."

“Eeyup”

“There are two costumes of beasts where a small hiding place was dug... make sure you tie the girl well and leave the place well hidden... I don't have to tell you that it took us months to dig out that hiding place without the guards noticing... We'll make sure no one notices you're not here but you'll have to be quick before they do."

Meanwhile in a bush two shadows stalked the girl.

When the guards returned with a dead hare. "Miss, here is her prey..." Then the guards noticed that Diamond Tiara was not where she had stayed. "Miss? Where is she? ”. Before they know it, both guards are attacked from behind and knocked out.

"Weeks of planning and it turns out she's pushing the guards away for us!"

“Eeyup”. Bic Mac says as he carries an unconscious Diamond Tiara on her back.

“I feel cheated”.

“Eeyup”

"Let's quickly take the girl to the hideout, I don't think she'll wake up for a long time, I'll find something to cover the hole and we can get back to the others quickly, make sure she's well tied up... When the guards regain consciousness they'll raise the alarm ”. Shining said as she took off her costume.”

While at Filthy Rich's mansion, Sunset and the other foremen waited for Filthy to join them for the weekly report. “why is it taking so long? In general, the gentleman is very punctual”. One of the foremen complained.

"He must be in another meeting with the imperial princess." Another foreman answers.

Hearing that, Sunset gets nervous. "Did you suspect something boss?"

"Don't worry, just hoping everything goes well." What she really worried about was the fact that the princess knew the other Sunset and that she might recognize her. As she tried to calm down she felt something strange and familiar. Something similar to magic but at the same time it was not magic. That feeling came from the room next door, Sunset stopped to try to see what that feeling was, luckily she didn't have guards in the room since they were used to the foremen coming for meetings.

Sunset opens the door a little to see what was going on and is surprised at what she sees.

Filthy Rich was sitting on the floor and had the palm of his hands together and separated them little by little. Between his two palms a small whirlpool of air formed and small particles of dust formed in the whirlpool, then he brought his hands together again, making the small whirlpool disappear. Which surprised Sunset.

"Did you see it?" Filthy asked.

"Yes". Answers the princess who was in the same room observing.

“That is the aura of materialization. It works by manipulating the illusory air around us and condensing it into different shapes. The condensed air will appear in different forms, it can be in the form of any tool, you can even create an elemental aura. If you are able to reach the pinnacle of this technique, the materialization aura will take the form you most desire."

"I also heard that from my godmother Chrysalis, but she doesn't seem to know the nuances of the technique." The princess answers.

"Unlike humans, the gods were born with incredible power and strength, they would not even bother trying to find out the details of the materialization aura, humans are born without power, that means we have to strengthen ourselves from scratch."

"How powerful can you get to be an aura master?" The princess asks seriously.

“The truth is that those who have mastered the technique are capable of fighting at the level of lesser gods. However, it is very rare to find a master of this technique, since the practitioner himself must have mental vision and must be able to detect how the air flows in the surroundings, though an ordinary human can gain the vision and abilities with some practice. But they can only learn if taught by an aura master. Although there are also people who are born with innate talent and become self-taught. Regarding you princess we will have to check if you have the talent or not”.

“Did any master go to the level of a great god?”

Filthy is silent for a moment. "...Yes...seven to be precise."

"The seven great masters of the materialization aura..." Cadence whispered.

“Yes, the pillars. Although it is believed that all died during the purge.

"Thank you for sharing this knowledge with me, Mr. Filthy Rich."

Sunset paid attention to everything Filthy Rich had said to Cadence. He was surprised by the fact that he existed something similar to magic, since since she came to the human world Sunset almost lost his connection with his magic. She knew that she was still within herself, but she had no access to it, and now that she knew of the existence of such a power, he had to find a way to learn how to use it.

"What are you listening?" A voice said scaring Sunset. When she saw where she was coming from she saw a seven year old girl dressed in rags. Sunset saw that the girl is a slave. She had grayish-blue skin and a short, light amaranth-colored hair.

“What are you doing here? No slave can leave the mines without authorization... ”Sunset noticed that she was scaring the girl so she tried to calm her down. "What's your name girl?"

"My name is Ocellus... the princess went down to the mines and she told me that she had a special job for me." The girl replied shyly.

"The princess?" Then Sunset remembered the rumor of children disappearing wherever the princess and goddess visited. Sunset didn't want anything to happen to the girl, but the plan was already underway and she didn't want to hesitate. She tried to put on her best smile to calm Ocellus down. "Don't worry... just do what they tell you."

"Don't worry chief foreman... I will do my best to be useful". Ocellus says before walking away.

Then Sunset notices that Shining and Big Mac have returned. She then walks up to them to ask how they got on with her assignment.

"There was no problem... it was easier than I thought." Shining replied. "We also left claw marks to make it look like an animal appeared and took off its shoes so we could put up red herrings and buy more time." She said as she showed the object. "It would seem that the beast is also on the surface." Shining said sarcastically.

Then a guard runs into the room where Filthy Rich and the princess were.

"Looks like the guards we knocked out woke up earlier than expected."

“Did they hide the girl well?” Sunset asked.

"Sep".

"Okay... now let's wait and see how she reacts."

At that moment Filthy Rich leaves the room where he was to speak with the foremen. Luckily the princess didn't go with him which relieved Sunset because she believed that she was going to recognize her.

"Is something wrong sir?" Asked a foreman feigning concern.

"The beast kidnapped my daughter!" Filthy Rich scream altered. “Right now I'm calling all the mine guards to help look for her in the woods! I want all of you to go back to the mines and tell all the slaves to look for the beasts' lair in the mines! that's an order!!"

Sunset had never seen Filthy Rich so angry, she had to be careful not to provoke him, so Sunset talks to the other foremen to tell them to go back to the mines. She then calls Shining Armor. “I need you to bring a slave girl I just saw. She is called Ocellus”. Shining obeys and goes to search the girl immediately.

When Shining finds the girl, he calls her. "You're Ocellus right?"

“Yes...” she answers nervously. "Are you one of the foremen?"

"Yes, the chief foreman sent me to look for you so that you can return to the mine."

"What are you doing here?" Princess Cadence suddenly appeared.

"Mr. Filthy Rich ordered all the slaves to return to the mines." Shining Armor replied as she tilted her head.

"Leave her here, the goddess Chrysalis wants to see the girl." The princess replied.

“May I know when she will return? She still has work to do."

"Give the job to someone else, you won't need the girl anymore." Then the princess takes Ocellus's hand to lead her to the goddess.

Shining Armor had also been hearing the rumors of missing children, the guards never stopped talking about it. Then he nervously thought that maybe it was some sort of tribute to the goddess.

“When am I going to go back to work?” Ocellus asked.

"Don't worry... you'll be back soon." Said Shining Armor and then walks away.

On the way back to the Sunset Mine and the other foremen see the guards coming out of the mine to look for Diamond Tiara. Which made Sunset happy because it meant the plan was going well. At that moment Shining Armor catches up with them and whispers in her ear what happened with Ocellus which causes Sunset's mood to change. The plan went well, the guards left the mines, the slaves headed to the safe caves and in a short time a controlled landslide would cover the entrance of the mine so that the slaves could escape... and only one would be left behind.

"Shining... was Filthy Rich still angry when you left?" Sunset asked.

"He's furious, the disappearance of Diamond Tiara has upset him too much."

"Do you still have the girl's shoe?"

"Yes" Shining Armor said as he shows the shoe. Sunset takes the shoe and returns to Filthy Rich's mansion. "majesty. what are you doing?” He asks worriedly.

“Tell the others to continue with the plan. I'll be back in time." Some guards stop Sunset when she is separated from the group. "I think I know where the lady is... I must please speak to Mr. Filthy Rich." The guards escort Sunset as Shining Armor returns to the mines worried about what might happen to his queen.

Filthy Rich is sitting trying to calm down, but he couldn't, the disappearance of Diamond Tiara kept disturbing him.

"Mister". A guard said.

"That?! Have you found my daughter yet?!” Filthy Rich scream.

"No sir, but we already gathered all the mine guards and they are deployed in the forest looking for her." The guard answers nervously. “But I came because the boss has information to tell you.

Then Sunset enters the room. Filthy Rich orders the guard to stand down. "Sun... I'm feeling pretty irritated right now, what do you want?"

“I know where Diamond Tiara is located.” Filthy Rich gave a very serious look that scared Sunset a little but she stood her ground. "A moment ago Princess Cadence was taking a little girl to the goddess's invitation and I decided to peek because she was curious... and inside the invitation I found this." Then Sunset shows her Diamond Tiara's shoe.

Filthy Rich had also heard the rumors circulating about the princess and the goddess but he did not believe them. "Are you sure what you're saying?" Filthy Rich asked as he tried to suppress his anger. Sunset just stayed silent.

"Princess, why are you blindfolding me?" Ocellus asked.

"You will be less afraid if you don't look at what happens." Cadence replied. "Do not worry everything will be fine".

"You said your name is Ocellus, right?" Chrysalis asked the girl.

"Yes". The girl responded scared.

Chrysalis strokes Ocellus's head while. “Despite being such a small girl, you are so full of life… you know… I have been looking for boys and girls like you for quite some time”. Then the goddess begins to sniff the girl and then smiles. “You are just what I was looking for”.

Just at that moment the door to Chrysalis's room is knocked down. "Where is my daughter?!!" Filthy Rich yells.

“Whoa, what an unexpected surprise Mr. Filthy. Why does she come into my room so suddenly? ” Chrysalis asked as she handed the girl over to Cadence.

"Where is my daughter?!" Filthy Rich asked again.

“How would I know?” Chrysalis replied nonchalantly.

“I've heard the rumors about you two but decided to ignore it, whatever you guys do then do it somewhere else. Don't you dare do these things in my domain!"

"Looks like there's some kind of misunderstanding..." Chrysalis stares at Filthy Rich. "There are no such things as your domains, the gods are owners and masters of everything."

"I'll ask just once... did you do something to my daughter?"

Chrysalis smiles and answers. “So what if I did? does it matter?"

“AURA OF MATERIALIZATION 'GOLDEN PIECE'!!!”

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 9

“Why are you crying in the library? Can't you see some ponies trying to study?" A little red-maned filly angrily tells a young pink alicorn that she is trying to hide between the book shelves.

"It's my magic... no matter how hard I try I can't control it." Cadanse says as he cries. "I don't understand anything about magic... I only got my horn a few months ago... and I don't know how to use it." Then Cadense looks at Sunset.

"Why don't you find someone to teach you?" Sunset asks frustrated.

"Sunset... could you teach me how to use magic?"

“Why do you think I could help you? You could ask the princess to teach you or you could ask a teacher at school.”

“Because they wouldn't take me seriously…everyone flatters me even when I do things wrong they hope to get something out of just flattering me but you…you…” Cadanse takes a deep breath to try to calm down. "But you are the only one who has been honest with me, the only one who doesn't flatter me or want something from me."

"Actually if I want something from you, you just can't give it to me." She tells her as she stares at Cadanse's wings.

“I know you were raised by griffons...” . Cadanse noticed Sunset's angry look. Sunset wasn't ashamed of the fact that she had been raised by another species, she actually felt proud of it but... many children of nobles who attended Celestia's school reminded her of it to try to annoy her. "What I'm trying to say is that you were self-taught in magic... you learned from scratch... without understanding any of the complicated terms that they teach you in school."

"Although I can teach you... as you recently said I was raised by griffons... and griffons don't do anything for free, what can you give me that is equivalent to teaching you magic."

"I was raised by Earth ponies."

"And?"

"That means I had to learn to fly on my own..." Cadanse looks at Sunset with determination. "Sunset Shimmer... if you teach me how to use magic, I..." Cadanse takes another deep breath. "I will teach you to fly when you earn your wings!"

Sunset dropped the book she was reading, she didn't know what to say, just hearing Cadanse acknowledge that she would ascend was something she never expected.

“I don't know why I became an alicorn... it just happened. But you... I always see you try so hard, when I hear Tia talk about you, she's practically preparing you for something big, that's why I...”. Sunset lifts her hoof for Cadanse to stop talking.

"I want you to go to the royal gardens early tomorrow, I don't want you to be late for your first lesson." As Sunset leaves the library, Cadanse asks her with a smile.

"Can we have a special greeting?!"

PRESENT

“AURA OF MATERIALIZATION 'GOLDEN PIECE'!!!”

The instant Filthy Rich screamed, a two-meter gold coin materialized and hit the goddess Chrysalis hard, knocking her out of the mansion.

Filthy Rich was furious, the fact that something bad had happened to his only daughter infuriated him, he didn't care who was to blame, it would just destroy him.

Filthy Rich creates another gold coin and throws it at Chrysalis, but the goddess easily dodges the second attack.

"Not bad Filthy Rich, I didn't think he was still in shape to fight, your aura is intense and powerful but it's useless if you miss your attacks". Chrysalis says as she dodges another attack. Filthy Rich just ignores what the goddess tells him and keeps attacking. “Why do you keep missing your attacks? Is your vision impaired? She tells him sarcastically.

Filthy Rich's vision begins to blur and then he realizes that he has a bug on the back of his neck, he quickly gets rid of the bug. “What did you do to me?!” Filthy Rich yells but he had lost sight of the goddess until he feels a pain in her back.

"My poisonous lobster has injected you with its poison." Chrysalis says as she sinks her claws into Filthy Rich's back. "Once you're bitten, your reactions will slow down."

Despite the pain Filthy Rich quickly moves away from the goddess, her wound on her back was not very deep but he was having difficulty breathing and felt her body paralyze little by little.

“I'm surprised Filthy Rich, normally a normal human being would be unconscious by now. The truth is that I try not to underestimate humans so much, the war against Equestria three years ago made me have a certain admiration for them...” Chrysalis dodges another two gold coins thrown at her by Filthy Rich. "Please don't try too hard, I need you alive to teach my goddaughter the art of the aura, you can calm down." Two giant gold coins suddenly crushed Chrysalis.

Filthy Rich gasped with exhaustion as he held his palms together. “What did you do to my daughter?!” He screams knowing that an attack like that would not kill the goddess.

The goddess manages to get out from between the two gold coins destroying them. "I'm running out of patience!" Chrysalis yells. “First, I didn't take your daughter! And second, if I wanted to have your daughter, I would tell you and you would have to give her up obediently! That is the right attitude to show to the gods!” Chrysalis jumps straight at Filthy Rich to attack him with her claw.

Filthy Rich doesn't dodge the attack but Chrysalis's fingers break as they collide with his opponent's abdomen. Filthy Rich accumulated aura on his body to harden his muscles. "This is a technique to strengthen the body, a basic technique among aura masters." Taking advantage of the opportunity Filthy Rich makes another attack. “'GOLDEN PIECE'”. And another coin falls on the goddess.

From the destroyed wall, Princess Cadanse watches the fight perplexed. "How could this have ended like this?" Then she remembered that Ocellus was still in her room but when he went to look for her he was surprised at what he saw. In front of her was someone who should be dead. Her best friend Princess Sunset Shimmer who was taking Ocellus away. "Who are you?!".

Sunset wanted to avoid the problem of Princess Cadanse recognizing her, that would save her a lot of trouble, so she tried to get Ocellus out as discreetly as possible. "Find a safe place." Sunset whispers to Ocellus.

The princess holds a halberd and points it at the intruder. “I ask you again! who are you?!" Ask again the princess.

"Who do you think I am, princess?" Sunset asks as she tries to stay calm.

The princess does a breathing exercise to calm down and think clearly, knowing after all her friend had died three years ago. She even remembered seeing the burned remains of her friend. "Sorry for yelling at you... you just looked like a friend, now that I'm a little calmer, could I ask you to hand over little Ocellus?"

Sunset looks at the way Cadanse holds the halberd and realizes that the princess knows how to fight. "I'm sorry princess but Ocellus is coming with me."

"You realize that you are only a slave and you dare to deny what an imperial princess is asking of you."

Sunset smiled slightly as she thought that if the princess Cadanse of her world had had an attitude like the one in this world, maybe she would have respected her a little more. "Believe me, princess, I am very aware of what I am doing." Sunset throws dirt at the princess's eyes blurring her vision, then she jumps on her to try to subdue her but the princess quickly uses the halberd's pole to hit Sunset's legs and knock her down.

"You should know that attacking a princess is punishable by death." She says as she subdues Sunset by bending her wrist behind her back.

"Let her go now!" Ocellus yells as he attacks the princess with a stick, but Cadanse quickly uses her halberd to fend off the attack.

"Please girl, could you stay still for a while." The princess says as she continues to subdue Sunset.

Sunset did not want to admit it but Princess Cadanse is too strong, she had used the three years in the mines to become familiar with her human body, she even exercised it to make it stronger, but the princess knew how to fight, she knew that at the moment she was not yet strong enough to fight against a trained fighter and in her current situation, she had to think how to get back to the mines as quickly as possible and remembered something that could help her.

"Princess, how close were you with your friend?" Sunset asked.

“Does it matter, she is dead”.

"Look at my neck." Sunset knew that if she wanted to beat the princess she would have to make her distract herself.

Princess Cadanse thought what the slave asked her was strange, but she still checked Sunset's neck and she saw a pendant with the ying yang symbol wrapped in a red and yellow sun. Why do you have that?!”

Sunset took advantage of the distraction to free herself from the princess' grip and grabs the stick Ocellus had. Sunset knew that the necklace that her other self gave her would make the princess lose her concentration. She tried to knock the princess out by hitting her with the stick but the princess quickly dodged the attack.

"I don't know where you got that from but it doesn't belong to you!" Yells the princess.

If Sunset knew anything, it's that when your opponent is angry, they don't think too well. Since Sunset had an anger problem she knew the consequences of fighting here, but this time it was her opponent who was angry and she was going to take her chance.

"I'm sorry princess but this necklace belongs to me, after all this emblem is definitely mine." She told him in a mocking tone.

Cadanse quickly attacks Sunset, but Sunset dodges the attack but realizes that this time the princess is trying to kill her. "You don't have the right to have that!" She makes another move with her halberd trying to slice off Sunset's head, but she manages to dodge the attack.

"On the contrary, princess, I have every right to have it." Sunset says trying to stay calm. So he decided to risk another plan. "You said you were very close to that friend, right?"

The princess was ready to attack again ignoring Sunset's question.

"Did you and your friend have a special greeting?" Sunset watched as the princess stopped, that confirmed everything Sunset needed to know. Then Sunset began to sing. “Sunshine Sunshine”. Sunset sees how the princess sheds a tear. "Ladybugs awake". The princess drops her halberd. “Clap your...”

"Clap your hands". The princess ends up singing while she begins to cry. "Sunset... Sunset Shimmer... it's you... you're alive...".

Quickly Ocellus takes advantage of the opportunity and hits the princess with a stick leaving her unconscious.

"Thanks Ocellus, I didn't expect you to attack her."

"No?" Ocellus asks.

"No...I wanted her to be distracted so I could knock her out...but I appreciate the help."

"What are we going to do now?"

Sunset looks around the room and finds a scroll, takes it, writes something and then leaves it in the hand of the princess who is still unconscious. "We must return to the mines immediately, the others should have already started with the plan." Sunset was about to leave until she had a strange feeling, the same feeling she had when she met Discord.

"What a surprise... I came to ask Cadanse to help me talk more calmly with Filthy Rich but I never expected to find this." The goddess Chrysalis appears as she drags the unconscious body of Filthy Rich. "Since all the guards are looking for the girl in the forest, they did not realize what was happening here."

"Ocellus quickly come with me!"

"You know, even though Cadanse is very young, she's had the best combat coaches, even though she's still a long way from reaching her potential, I like to think that she's stronger than the average human... that includes a single slave.” Chrysalis lets go of Filthy Rich and prepares to attack Sunset. "I had a lot of trouble defeating this human without killing him but..." Chrysalis smirks mischievously as she looks at Sunset. "I don't need you alive."

"You haven't changed a bit, Chrysalis." Sunset hears footsteps approaching behind her. “Your opponent is just a human girl and yet you great goddess of plague affiliation, you are going to fight her.”

Sunset turns to see who was approaching and she is surprised to see someone she hasn't seen in three years.

"Don't you think you're exaggerating?" Discord steps in front of Sunset. "Chrysalis, how about you let me take her place?"

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 10

"Hey girl! It's been a while!" Discord says as he pats Sunset on the head a few times. "Do you remember the test I gave you the last time we met?"

"Yeah, I'm in the middle of that now." Sunset replied. "Is that why you're here?"

"Certain issues arose, one thing led to another and... I decided that it was better for me to get you out of the mines, but first I had to take care of some obstacles." Discord looks directly at Chrysalis.

"Master Discord, how long without seeing each other?" Chrysalis greets Discord respectfully which surprises Sunset.

“It's been years since I last saw you Chrysalis, I remember that back then you were just a minor goddess. Why are you chasing two girls? Don't you think that's something deplorable?"

“We are gods, it doesn't matter what we do, deplorable or not we have the right to do so... but I'm curious. what are you doing here?"

"I'm just here to pick up a little friend and then I'm going to go...can we just pretend none of this happened?"

“Master Discord, you know very well that I cannot let you go. You betrayed your duty and chose to be an enemy to your own kind. You were an outstanding priest of the divination faction, a wise god, and also you were my teacher whom I deeply respected in the past, but now you are only the enemy of the gods.”

"Yes! I betrayed my own kind! but what about that?! I like humans but that's not why I'm going to hate the gods, the gods are simply very boring, besides... haven't you noticed that something strange happens in the sacred domains of the gods? Don't you think it's weird that we suddenly need more carnelian now than we have in the last thousand years?"

“If All-Master or the council of the gods ask humans to dig more carnelian, I don't care. But now I'm curious. Who is that girl? Why did you risk saving her?”

"I could ask you the same question... I noticed that you have a strange interest in...". After a while of silence Discord looks at Sunset.

"Ocellus". Sunset whispers to Discord.

"Ocellus". Then Discord stares at Ocellus and smiles when he realizes something. "I think I know why your interest in this girl... does this have to do with your mutation?"

"Divine power! 'Locust Swarm!'” A swarm of locusts engulfs Discord but the god claps once causing all the locusts to fall.

"What character!" Discord says as he shakes off the dead locusts on top of him. "Although from what I notice you have become very strong." Discord snaps his fingers. “However this level of attack is not enough to defeat me. "Divine power". Discord prepares to strike despite being far from Chrysalis “'Void Strike'”. And a fist suddenly appeared hitting Chrysalis's abdomen.

"I notice that you've gotten older, Master Discord, there was a time when an attack like that could have killed me." Says Chrysalis while recovering from the attack she received. So she runs to attack Discord directly. “Divine Power” Chrysalis's hands begin to briyar in a green aura. “'Venomous Claws'.” When the goddess tried to stab Discord with her claws, the god easily dodged it. That infuriated Chrysalis.

"Listen girl." Discord calls Sunset. "You'd better take your little friend and run into the woods, I'll catch up with you later."

"I do not can! I have to go back to the mines right now!” Sunset responds. “There are people I am now responsible for!”

Discord dodges another attack from Chrysalis while he listens to Sunset. "I don't know what has happened in the last three years but...!" The god dodges another attack from the goddess. “But I came here specifically to find you! so please just…!” Discord dodges another attack… “hey!! You almost took my eye out!!”

“I see that your true divine power 'divination eye' has weakened in recent years. I wasn't going to try to poke your eyes out in at least three moves…usually you would have predicted it sooner."

"What did you expect... I try to have a conversation with the girl.” Answer Discord.

"Which girl?" Chrysalis asked.

Discord looks at where Sunset and Ocellus had been and sighs in frustration. “I was able to get it out earlier but no! I had to give her a test to see what she was capable of doing and that she seems to be taking it pretty seriously!”.

Chrysalis continued to attack discord. “worry more about yourself”.

As Sunset and Ocellus run towards the mines they heard a loud bang.

"What was that?!". Ocellus asked scared.

"Looks like the fight has escalated!" Sunset replied.

In the distance they can see the entrance to the mine but on the way they find an unconscious guard.

“Chief foreman. Do you think they were our companions?"

"I don't think so, an unconscious guard would alert the rest and..." Sunset notices that there are more unconscious guards. "Ignore them and quickly return to the mines."

As they walk through the long corridor of the cave, Sunset reflects. "It's curious"

"What is curious?" Ocellus asks.

“This is the main entrance to the mines. Three years ago I entered against my will and they made me a slave. But now I enter again of my own free will through this same entrance, because the next time I come out I will be free, you will be free, everyone in the mines will be free at last”.

When Sunset and Ocellus were halfway there, a voice calls out to them. "You must be Sunset Shimmer." When they turned around to see who it was, they were surprised at what they saw.

There were two teenagers who are riding a three meter tall bear

One of them had yellow skin. She has long pink hair that curls at the ends. The other teenager had light green skin and darker green tangled hair. From the way the two were dressed, Sunset deduced that they weren't slaves. It could be said that they were nomads.

"You must be Sunset Shimmer." She says the one with pink hair. "Discord told me that you should come with us." She says she shyly.

Sunset could feel the same presence that she felt with Discord. "Are you two goddesses?" Sunset asks.

"Yes". She says the one with the green hair. “My name is Wallflower Blush and this is Fluttershy. We don't know how long Discord can hold off Chrysalis, we need to leave now."

Sunset was tempted to accompany them, when she saw the aura powers and divine powers, she thought how she could learn them but...

“Chief foreman. Are you going with them?" Ocellus asked.

Sunset looked at the entrance of the mine where the other slaves were. She noticed that they hadn't started to tear down the entrance yet, then she realized that the reason for not starting was because they were waiting for her to come back, even though she told them to start without her. The slaves trusted that Sunset would return, they were not going to start until she returned, so she replied.

"I'm not going to go with you, I have to go back to the mine."

"Why? Discord went to all this trouble to get you out of here." Fluttershy answers.

"It's not to be ungrateful but... there are people who are waiting for me... besides, I'm not sure what Discord wants from me but I already have my own plans."

Fluttershy and Wallflower dismount from the bear and Wallflower tells her. "When we told you that you had to come with us, it wasn't a question."

“What are they going to do? Take me away by force?" I ask Sunset defiantly.

"Not us, even though we are goddesses, Fluttershy doesn't like to hurt any living being." Wallflower replied. "And I..." The goddess bumps her fists. "I could kill you if I'm not careful."

"Sorry for this". Fluttershy says. "Harry, please don't hurt her too much." She tells the bear.

"Don't worry, in our camp we have comrades from the healing affiliation." It says wallflower.

When the gigantic bear was approaching Sunset and Ocellus, then a loud roar is heard and two Diamonds dogs pounced on the bear while Flash, Applejack and Pinkie brought a group of slaves that surrounded the two goddesses.

“What are you doing here?! I told you to prepare to demolish the entrance!" Sunset yelled trying to hide the fact that she was happy they showed up to help.

“Sorry, sugar cube, everyone is ready and prepared except for...”

"What Applejack is trying to say is that none of the slaves wanted to leave without you since you were the one who inspired the entire escape plan and gave all the slaves the dream of freedom so no one wanted to start until you came back then my Pinkie sense told me that I should come here and some slaves saw me running and followed me to see what happened, When I was coming some slaves noticed that something was happening at the entrance of the mine and when we saw that a bear was going to attack them the diamond dogs that accompanied us went ahead to save you and here we are now”.

After a while of silence Wallflower asked. "How can you talk so much without breathing?"

"The mysteries of the universe". Flash Sentry sighed.

"Now answer why do you want to kidnap Sun?"

“Sun? I thought her name was Sunset Shimmer." Fluttershy says confused.

"Yes!" Pinkie Pie says, then she notices how Applejack, Flash and Sunset look at her. "But is a secret". Pinkie whispers to the goddesses.

“Listen up everyone! We're just going to take Sunset Shimmer and go! Whatever they're doing we don't care!” Wallflower calms down a bit. "You have no choice, we are goddesses, we have the advantage, none of you have a choice."

Sunset noticed that the slaves were ready to fight to protect her, but she also knew that none of them would have a chance against the goddesses, the situation left her without options, if she decided to try to escape, there was the possibility that no slave would come out unharmed.

"So are you all willing to fight for me?" Sunset asks the slaves.

None responded but all remained firm in their positions ready to fight. That was all Sunset needed to know.

"It seems I made them wait..." says Discord and begins to notice the situation. "I lost something?"

Fluttershy runs up to Discord and hugs him. "I was worried that something bad had happened to you!"

"Hello girl... I see you already met my friends."

"Yes... they were about to introduce me to their bear too." Sunset says pointing to the bear that was being subdued by the diamond dogs.

"Don't worry, Harry is relatively harmless, he waits for you to meet Angel…that thing if he's scary."

"Discord... how did you get out of that situation?"

"That's a very good story." Discord says with a smile.

A FEW MINUTES AGO

Discord continued to dodge the goddess's attacks. "You know Chrysalis, I always saw you as the most sensible of my apprentices... despite your arrogance."

"If you want to say something, say it now!" Chrysalis was going to attack with another divine power.

"I want to make a deal with you." Discord notices that her former student continues to attack. "I can help you with the Ocellus thing." Chrysalis stops her attack and Discord smiles. "To be precise... I can help you with the matter of the other children as well."

“Do you really think you can help me? Besides, if the council of gods finds out about my secret, I won't be the only one to die...".

"I can find them... I can find all the children... and I'll tell you where each one of them is, but I can't promise they'll be safe."

Chrysalis lowers her claws. "What do you want me to do?"

NOW

"What happened?!" You were silent for a while!” Pinkie says.

"The point is that now we can leave without a problem." Discord says.

"Don't worry Discord, today all the slaves escape from the mines." Sunset replied.

“Really girl? I know I told you to prove your worth trying to escape but due to certain circumstances I came to get you out first. Well, surprise me girl!"

"Come join us." Sunset looks at the bear and asks. "Will he behave well?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Harry doesn't cause trouble." Fluttershy answers timidly.

Then with a gesture Sunset tells the diamond dogs to release the bear. Then they all head to the mines, relieved that the situation has calmed down.

“Chief foreman! I'm glad you're okay!" Twilight yells as he approaches Sunset.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. How's the evacuation going?" Sunset asked.

"At the moment there has not been any serious problem, we already got all those we could out, for the moment those who did not manage to get out, we left them in the safe caves so that they are safe for when we collapse the entrance, we were just waiting for her before we started.”

"Okay, we'll head to one of the caves." A few diamnogs dogs were ready to tear down the entrance. Sunset approaches the diamonds dogs. "I know you guys are used to this kind of situation but... please be careful." The diamond dogs make a gesture showing that they understood what Sunset told them.

"I see that you have put together a great operation in here, I am surprised how everyone here cooperates... and by the way they greet you, everyone has great respect for you." Discord says.

"It was not easy and I would never have achieved this alone but in the end it was achieved." Sunset and the group that accompanied her entered one of the caves.

Then Shining Armor appeared. "We are all ready, you just need to give the order." He says it as he hands her a bell that the guards used to sound the alarm.

Sunset looks around, sees the caves, sees the ovens, sees the bell... and makes it ring...

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 11

Outside the mines, Chrysalis could see the entrance covered with rocks. She just stares until Cadance approaches.

"I see you're okay." Chrysalis tells his goddaughter.

"Yes, although my head still hurts a little"

"Has Filthy Rich calmed down yet?"

"Yes, I told him where her daughter was and he ran to look for her."

"How do you know where the little girl is?" Chrysalis asks curiously.

The princess shows a piece of paper to the goddess. “When I woke up she had this in her hand, she says the place where the girl was hidden. I think it was Sunset... that it was the slave who left me the note... I actually think she manipulated us all." Cadence says with frustration.

"You do know her, right."

"I think it's Sunset Shimmer... but she should be dead."

Just at that moment, Filthy Rich arrives.

"If you're here I guess you found your daughter." Says the goddess.

"Yes, right now she is sleeping in her room." Filthy Rich bows to Chrysalis. "Goddess Chrysalis...I beg your pardon for the sin I committed in attacking her...I will accept whatever punishment I see fit."

"While you were unconscious the entrance to the mine collapsed with all the slaves inside." Filthy Rich was surprised by the news. “How long would it take to clear the entrance?”

"I couldn't tell you, the mine entrance was designed as a bottleneck in the event of a revolt and thus it would be easier to prevent them from escaping, the collapse could have covered the entire entrance corridor, it could take weeks or even months" . Filthy Rich answers.

"This whole situation, the beast, the disappearance of your daughter, the fact that you sent all your guards to look for the girl, even our fight... ha ha ha ha ha!" Filthy Rich was bewildered by the goddess's laughter. "It seems that they fooled us all."

"What's going to happen now?" asked Filthy Rich.

The goddess walks away from the collapsed entrance to the mines and as she passes Filthy Rich she tells him. "It is a pity that the mines have collapsed killing all the slaves." Filthy Rich didn't know what to say. But he had realized what the goddess meant. “Fortunately his contributions to the gods were great. I will speak to the council of the gods so that they forgive you... You owe me one. Make sure you teach my goddaughter well. If you do, I'll forget everything that happened today."

"Thank you goddess Chrysalis." Again he bows.

"One last question. Were you always this strong in aura techniques?” asks the goddess.

"I really don't know... I just assumed that this level of power was due to my anger but... it was like there was some kind of blessing in the aura."

After hearing the answer, Chrysalis leaves.

Then the princess speaks. "Mr. Filthy Rich... I need you to tell me everything you know about the slave named Sun."

Creature from another world, you are just what I am looking for and I am just what you need, at some point hundreds of years ago I had a body but that body was destroyed, but my soul never disappeared. I found a container and that container was used by a human who achieved great things thanks to me. I slept for hundreds of years until a human worthy of carrying me appeared again, she fought against my greatest enemy... and she was defeated... a large part of the vessel was destroyed but my immortal soul still survives in the remains. You creature from another world, come find me, you will find me where your journey began, find me and I will give you the power to fight your enemies.

Sunset woke up suddenly, the dream she had bothered her a bit but even so, more than a dream, her instinct told her it was real.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Twilight enters the room where Sunset was sleeping.

"I'm fine... it was just a bad dream... how is the situation now". Says Sunset to change the subject.

It had been three days since Sunset and all the slaves had escaped from the mines and they were all preparing to leave. When the first escape tunnel was finished, it was planned that a group of slaves would go up to the surface and take charge of preparing everything for when the other slaves escaped. It was lucky that they located a gigantic forest on the other side of the mountain. They built storehouses to store food, they built wagons, they hunted caribou to tame them and use them for transportation. They prepared for the long journey so they could all be on their way for when they were free... and now they are.

“Everything is going well, although some do not know what to do. Many of the freed slaves were left homeless after the fall of Equestria."

Sunset knew that rebuilding a country would be difficult, during her stay in the Velvet mines she had told him the state of everything. Devastated towns, Destroyed Cities... Sunset had a long way to go, Velvet knew of armies that were far from Canterlot during the siege, and also of possible loyal supporters who could help, but what really worried her were the gods. After seeing the power of Chrysalis she understood that the gods were the real threat, but she also remembered when Filthy Rich talked about the power of the materialization aura, Sunset still felt that she had magic but she didn't know how to use it in the human body, but if she could learn to use that power of the aura of materialization she would have a chance.

Sunset knew that Twilight was some kind of walking library, bragging about having read almost all of Canterlo's royal library, then she asked. "Twilight. what do you know about the masters of the aura of materialization?"

“Not much, just the basics. It is supposed that over a thousand years ago during the most war-torn time in human history, demonic incursions began. Somehow they managed to open the gates of Tartarus and wanted to settle in the human lands, they massacred all the kingdoms that crossed their path, then the gods decided to intervene, the battles were cruel and brutal, the war reached a stalemate. Until one day The Pillars appeared, the original seven masters of the aura, they helped the gods defeat the demons, but every certain amount of time another demonic incursion arrived, but thanks to the blessing of the gods, the schools of the aura were founded and the humans managed to defend themselves from each attack”.

"Do you know where I can find an aura master?" Sunset asked.

"It would be difficult to find a master, I only know that the few that are left by decree of the gods can only teach one of their children." Twilight replied.

"Why?"

"By the rebellion of Stygian the heretic pillar". Velvet entered Sunset's small room and looked around. “I am always surprised by everything that has been built in all this time... I'm sorry for interrupting, Your Majesty, but the meeting is about to begin. Twilight later you can finish telling him the story.”

"Sorry, sometimes I don't realize how much I'm talking, mom." She says a little blushing.

Sunset was having one last meeting with the foremen... former foremen who were now each in charge of transporting the freed slaves to their respective homes. Although the majority are from Equestria, a minority would have to make longer trips to return to their countries. When the meeting was about to end, sunset noticed that the former foremen were nervous about something.

“Did something happen that I should know about?” Sunset asked and saw Redheart move closer to speak.

"We know who you are." Sunset remained silent. "We know that you are actually Sunset Simmer the current queen of Equestria."

Sunset could have denied it, she needed to be discreet until she was ready but she knew Redheart wasn't stupid so she just asked. "How did you find out?"

"At first I only suspected it." Redheart replied. "I was Doctor Horse's assistant, his personal doctor, although we hardly ever saw each other, and actually we never spoke, for a moment I thought you were someone else until I noticed your relationship with the Sparkle family... they only obey the royal family..." After a moment of silence. "And Ocellus has been telling what happened when you went looking for her." I finish saying Redheart.

Sunset sighed as she realized she forgot to ask Ocellus to keep the secret. "Now that they know my secret, what do they want to do?"

"Your Majesty, are you going to save the kingdom?"

Sunset had made a deal with her other self, that she would save Equestria and with that she could fulfill her own objective. She also remembered that she isn't strong enough to fight a god yet, then she thought about the strange dream she had that night.

"Do you think I'm strong?" Sunset asks.

“After what we have all experienced in the mines, no one would doubt it. And many of us want to accompany her on her journey.”

"I need to think about it." And Sunset quickly leaves the meeting.

"Incredible girl!" Discord says as he looks around the small town. "You created all this in just three years."

"It took some time to build everything, now the freed slaves will gather in groups that will travel to their respective homes... although the majority are from Equestria...". Sunset looks at her left arm and then looks at the arms of the others. "Discord, I heard from your partner that they had healing powers."

“Yes, we have comrades who specialize in healing...why? you're hurt?"

"No, I just wanted to know...". Sunset shows her arm. “can you make the scar disappear?”

"Sorry, they can heal wounds and illnesses but they can't make scars disappear."

"I guess I'll have to get used to it."

“Cheer up girl, my original plan was to get you out of the mines three years ago, but you were still too much... let's just say I wanted to see how strong you are. Leaving aside your fighting skills…”

"And how strong do you think I am?" Sunset asks.

"Remember I saw your fight with the pink princess." Sunset frowned and Discord continued to speak. “As I was saying omitting your fighting skills I am very satisfied with the level of your other qualities. But you will improve with time, we will be able to train you calmly when you join us.”

"what are you talking about?"

"Sunset shimmer, I want you to join the fallen gods."

“The fallen gods?”

Discord ignored Sunset's question and continued talking. “When you come to our camp we will be able to train you without problems. Also, I'm curious to know what you could achieve with the power you brought."

Sunset immediately understood that he was referring to magic and it didn't seem like a bad idea to try to improve her abilities, he might even find a way to gain access to his own magic again. "I understand but I need you to wait a bit, I have to finish some business here."

"Indeed, your comrades and friends who were in the mines, as soon as you finish you will have to say goodbye to them."

"Why?! They have helped me a lot in the mines, and some have already discovered my identity and want to accompany me”. Even if Sunset didn't quite consider them friends, she was beginning to understand the need for someone to turn to. I even come to appreciate them.

"Because they are ordinary humans." Fluttershy says when she appears. “And those ordinary humans should do ordinary things, get married, have children and live a completely full and normal life… but you, now you are preparing for something big and that is why you could put them all at risk, do you understand? If you insist that they accompany you, you will only cause them to die." She says with a sad look.

"You must decide. Will you join us or return to your human comrades?” Discord tells him

"If I join you, will you help me gain power?" Sunset asks.

"Yeah. Although it will be a hard and intense training and I don't think you will find another way to obtain it than with us”.

"I understand...". Then Sunset decides to tell him about the dream she had. "Last night I had a dream... in that dream I felt like a voice in my cave was whispering to me." Sunset notices a change in Discord's face but decides to continue. "And that voice offered me power, but I must go where my journey began... Discord... I will not join the fallen gods, I will return to Canterlot."

"But you will put your comrades in danger." Fluttershy retorts.

“They are already in danger! They can't go back to having a normal life! Not while they have this mark!” Sunset says angrily and points to the slave scar on her arm. "They want to come with me voluntarily!" Sunset calms down a bit. "And now that I am queen I have a responsibility to all of them."

"But!" When Fluttershy was going to continue speaking, Discord stops her.

"You know girl, I already had plans on how to train you, I even expected you to accept with the temptation of power... I wanted to help you improve..." Discord says sadly then smiles again. “Well, I guess I'll have to tweak the plan a bit… this is my new offer. Two years is all I ask. You and a small entourage of yours can come with us, you will not join us, we will not force you to separate from your comrades, we will even take you to Canterlot personally... Fluttershy we will have to talk to Gloriosa to make room for more visits."

"Only two years?" Sunset meditated on Discord's proposal, she really needed to be stronger and apparently Discord knew something about the dream she had.

"I promise, it doesn't matter if we achieve anything with the training or not."

"Thank you Discord." Sunset says with a smile and for a moment Discord sees the little Sunset that he had known for a long time.

Sunset returned to the camp where Redheard was waiting for her along with the rest of the leaders and representatives. When Redheard was going to speak, Sunset interrupts her so she can speak first.

“I asked you if you thought I was strong... I asked you because when I fought against the princess I noticed that I wasn't as strong as I thought I was... I need to be stronger if I want to save Equestria. That's why I have to train more if I want to be the queen that the kingdom needs." Sunset looks at Redheard and the rest of the ex-slaves. “Some people will go with me but not all... two years... in two years I'll be ready to start, some of you will want to leave and I won't stop you, but those who want to help me I need you to do something. I need you to go to Canterlot and prepare for my arrival. I only ask that."

After Sunset finishes speaking Redheard and all the ex-slaves kneel down. "As you command your majesty."

Sunset was preparing to leave until Applejack and Pinkie Pie show up. “I knew you were going to go off with that half-rare god.”

"I thought it was fun." Pinky says.

“Yes, I need to be stronger and he told me that he would help me. Some people will also join us. Are they coming to say goodbye? Sunset asks.

"Nope." Applejack says. "We want to accompany you too."

Sunset is surprised that they want to accompany her. "I thought you and your brother would go look for his family."

“We will look for them but we don't know where to start. After three years they could be anywhere, plus I also want to be stronger so I can better protect my family.” Applejack says determinedly.

"And what is your motive?" Sunset asked Pinkie.

"I think it will be fun, my sister Maud just wants to be with me and Limestone is coming too because she says Maud and I couldn't survive without her."

"Do you remember that I am the queen of Equestria, the kingdom that opposed the gods?" Sunset asks.

Applejack crosses her arms and says. "I'm not going to kneel before you... PINKIE PIE!!" she screams as she sees Pinkie kneel down.

"What?! Isn't that what you meant by reminding us that you are a queen?” Pinkie asks

Sunset laughs. "What I mean is that it's probably very dangerous to be with me."

“More reason to be stronger”. Applejack replied. "After everything we've been through, I'd say we're friends now."

"Friends?" Sunset remembered the experience they had in the mines, then Sunset also remembered something else.

You know Sunset, you may be right when you say that friendship can be an obstacle to achieving your goals, but overcoming obstacles is what will make you stronger to achieve your true goals.

"I hate when she has a reason." Sunset whispered.

"Did you say something?"

"No nothing... I'd better finish preparing myself." Sunset says when she hears some noise outside. "What is all this scandal?"

“Our transport”. Discord said while he was standing on some kind of giant eight-legged lizard.

"And are we all going to climb on that lizard?" Applejack asks.

"Of course not". Discord said. "This poor reptile could barely handle about fifteen people and a dog." He said as he pointed at a diamond dog. "That's why I brought seven more." Appearing more lizards. "Hey, who wants to try driving one?" He says and hands Sunset a rope.”

"Why not?" Sunset says as he takes the rope.

End of act – I

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 1

CAMP OF THE FALLEN GODS

A young woman with long raspberry hair and a flower crown was walking at night around a nomad camp.

"Hey Gloriosa, why do you go out at this time of night?" asks a teenager with green hair.

"Sorry for worrying you Timber but Discord said he was coming back tonight."

"Why don't you look happy about that?" I ask his sister.

"Because he said that he would bring more guests than expected." She answered.

"Didn't you hear something?" Timber said.

“AAAAAAAAAAA!!”

In an instant Gloriosa and Timber saw two giant lizards running past.

"I win! I win!" Pinkie yells as she jumps for joy on top of the lizard.

"Who let Pinkie Pie take the reins of the lizard!?" Limestone yelled furiously.

"Pinkie wanted to know when Sunset's birthday was and they both bet on a race." Maud replied.

"Okay, you won. I'll tell you when my birthday is, but don't tell anyone else!"

"Your Majesty, please, why don't you let the more experienced one drive next time?" Shining Armor says as he is holding tightly to his belt.

"It's not that bad...Harry didn't complain." Sunset said with a face that showed how much fun she was having despite losing the bet. Sunset didn't like to lose but for some reason she didn't care much this time.

"It's because the poor thing is paralyzed with fear!" Fluttershy replied as he tries to calm a traumatized bear.

Then Sunset looks around and sees many tents made of leather and skins, she also notices that more people begin to appear and she immediately remembered that from what Discord said, most of them are gods, she also noticed that there were some humans, since humans did not emit the same presence of the gods.

Discord suddenly lifts Sunset up onto his shoulders. "Welcome to the headquarters of the fallen gods." Discord then looks around. "Didn't I take eight lizards with me?"

Just at that moment, the eighth lizard that was ridden by Wallflower appeared. "Why did you think it was a good idea to bring all the diamond dogs in one lizard?" Said the green goddess.

"Well... I think that's all of them." Discord said as he ignored Wallflower's complaints. “What about you? I take it there weren't any problems while I was gone?"

Gloriosa sighs in resignation and talks to Discord. "We'd have less trouble if you hadn't taken Wallflower...how do you justify that?"

"I used some divination and it turns out they weren't going to need her until..." Discord looks at the sky and answers. "Now!"

Wallflower runs to the center of the camp and raises his hands. “Divine Power 'Eye Closed'”

"Hey girl, do you want to know what's happening?" Discord asks Sunset. "I want you to look up and tell me what you see."

Sunset looks up at the sky and concentrates without knowing what to look for. "It would be easier if you tell me what I'm looking for." Discord touches one of Sunset's eyes. “aaaah!! Why did you do that!?” Then she sees Discord pointing at the sky and Sunset sees a giant eye. "What is that?"

“That's the 'omnipresent eye.' It is something that can only be used by someone from the divination affiliation, they can use it to watch or look for something. Although it can only be used in a temple that is in the land of the gods and I also think that the name is a bit exaggerated, since although the eye can see in a place at the same time it can still be in any place".

"And what is she doing?" Said the redhead.

"That's a divine power... but Wallflower's is special since she can make the eye ignore us." Discord replied.

"Is it over?" someone asked.

"Yeah. Hey Wallflower, the danger is over!" said Timber.

Wallflower lowers his hands and sits down to rest. Meanwhile Gloriosa continues to talk to Discord.

“You seem to be in a good mood. I take it you found what you were looking for?”

"Yeah. Hey girl come over and meet Gloriosa Daisy, she is the leader of the fallen gods”.

“She is the leader…? I thought you were the leader?" Sunset asked. The gods who heard Sunset looked at each other and then began to laugh. "What did I say?"

Timber who was also laughing approaches Sunset to explain. "Listen, miss... Discord is a good person, his advice is listened to and appreciated, and many of us here wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him, but..." Timber made a serious face. "I'd rather fight All Master with my hands tied than leave Discord in charge of anything."

Discord pretends to be offended and says. "Come on... I'm not such a bad leader."

"Yes you are!!" All the gods shout.

"Hey!! Do you remember the shipwreck from which I saved them all?” Discord said.

"You mean the same shipwreck you caused?" Timber replied.

"What a shipwreck...?" asked Pinkie.

"We don't talk about it." Timber answered but when Pinkie was going to insist Timber answered again. "We never talk about it!"

While Discord and Timber were arguing, Gloriosa approaches the humans and diamond dogs that had arrived. "Welcome to our camp, I have been preparing your tents so you can rest, tomorrow we will assign tasks to everyone to help with the camp."

BEFORE LEAVING THE CAMP

"I need one of you to go to Canterlot." Sunset tells Velvet and Night Light. "Redheard is going to organize the freed slaves and rally other factions to the cause...and she's going to need someone from House Sparkle to prove the legitimacy of it all."

"In that case I volunteer to go." Reply Nightlight.

“Do you understand how important everything you have to do is?”

"I know how dangerous this mission, Your Majesty, can be."

"Please stay safe please." Velvet nudges her husband as they hug.

Sunset didn't like the idea of breaking up the family. She knew how sad that was from her own experience. Sometimes he wondered if Grandpa Gruff was okay.

"You'll need this." Sunset hands him her necklace with the royal ring. "With this you can convince more groups to join."

"But Your Majesty." Night Light tries to talk until Sunset interrupts him.

"I'm not going to need it for a while so take care of it."

"I will do that, Your Majesty"

NOW

That same afternoon Sunset was enjoying a good rest in her tent until...

“Hey girl! Wake up!" Discord yells.

"What happen to you?! Don't you see I try to get some rest?!” Sunset said angrily.

"You've been resting since we came... I remember it like it was yesterday." Said Discord.

“We arrived today in the morning!!”

"Seriously? As time flies... come we have to see what you are layers of ".

After Sunset gets ready she follows Discord into the forest.

"Why are we here? Sunset asks.

“To start…” Discord looks around the forest. “I'm escaping from Gloriosa who keeps asking me for an explanation about all the humans I brought with me. Second... I want you to tell me if you can still use magic. And third, I want you to tell me what your plans are from now on.” Discord replied.

Sunset sighs and answers. "As I said before, no, although I feel that I still have my magic for some reason I can't use it... maybe the human body simply isn't good for magic."

"And how did you learn to use magic in your world?"

"I was self-taught." The former unicorn replied.

"Autodidact? Don't they have schools of magic or at least teachers who teach it?"

"There are but... but I didn't live among unicorns at first." Sunset noticed Discord's look that said he wanted to know more. “I lived my childhood among griffins... and they don't exactly specialize in magic and there were no other unicorns around to teach me so I had to teach myself. Eventually my grandfather sent me to a unicorn school where I was able to improve."

"Then the situation is not as bad as it seems."

"What are you trying to say?" Sunset found what Discord said weird.

“What I'm trying to say is that it's easier for you to walk the same path that you once walked. And you told me that you were self-taught... that means that you already know that way”. He said with a wide smile. "You just have to walk it again."

Am I going to walk the same path that I once walked?

"Time is on your side girl, I guarantee it."

“I suppose it could work but... I heard Filthy Rich talk about the aura of materialization. Could you teach me how to use it?"

"I guess sooner or later you were going to find out about that... and the answer is no, at least a god couldn't teach you that."

"Why?"

"Simple answer, I have no idea how it works, I know of humans who learned without the need for a teacher but they all had mental vision."

"Mind vision?"

“It allows you to see things that ordinary humans can't…” Discord started looking around and noticed something. "On that rock, can you see anything?"

Sunset concentrates but doesn't notice anything. "I do not see anything". Sunset said.

"I see a mass of air floating." Pinkie Pie said that she was next to Sunset also looking at the same rock.

"AAHHH!" Sunset screamed in fright. “Pinkie! What are you doing here?!”

Suddenly Applejak appears from behind a bush. "Pinkie Pie saw you heading to the forest with Discord and I told her to leave you alone but she insisted since you still haven't told her when it's your birthday then I lost sight of her and then I found her here."

Sunset sighs as she remembers the bet. “Discord, could you let them stay? They also want to train to be stronger.”

"Hey, pink, how much did you hear?" Discord asked.

"Almost everything!" Pinkie says happily.

"Okay. The rest you explain to your friend... I'm not going to repeat everything... back on topic, if you don't have mental vision then you don't have the talent to learn it yourself and you will need a teacher."

"Do you have mind vision?" asks the redhead.

"Of course not, mental vision is something unique to humans, I can just notice faint cues in the environment, that's why I knew about the air mass."

"Are you talking about that air mass?" Applejack asked.

"Can you see it too?" Discord asked surprised.

"Actually before I couldn't see it that clearly, just small and fuzzy spaces but for some reason lately I've been seeing it more clearly." Applejack replied.

"Now that's weird..." Discord thinks about the situation. "That's a mystery for later. Now I guess you two could try to learn it and then teach Sunset... meanwhile we can also train you to improve your fitness and also learn to fight. It will be very difficult. Do you think you can bear it?"

"We are not afraid of difficulties." They all respond.

“Excellent if you want we can start the training now”. Discord says as he hands the three girls a stick. "First lesson Real combat!".

The three girls were going to attack Discord until he stops them. "They're not going to fight me!" And the three stop. "You girls are going to fight against..."

"Sorry for the wait, I'm here now." At that moment Fluttershy appears. And the three girls look at Discord.

“They won't fight her either…not her really…Fluttershy, call them now.

Fluttershy settles down. "I'll try to be kind... 'Divine Power'." Fluttershy's shadow begins to get bigger.

Sunset prepares to fight. "Are you ready Applejak?"

"Like a cake fresh out of the oven."

"And you Pinkie?" And Pinkie doesn't answer. "Pinkie Pie?" Sunset realizes that Pinkie is missing. "Where did she go?" They then notice that Pinkie was running. "Pinkie Pie! Why are you running away?!” Sunset yelled noticing how far away Pinkie was.

“Pinkie sense!!” Pinkie Pie yells in the distance.

"You know Sunset... I think we should run too." Applejack said.

Then Fluttershy screams. “'Pack of Beasts!!'”.

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 2

Sunset woke up inside one of the camp tents. And she realizes that Twilight and Velvet were accompanying her. "What happened to me?" Sunset asked before you felt a sharp pain in her ribs.

“They beat us almost immediately.” Applejack replied that she was lying on a blanket and was being accompanied by her brother Big Macintosh. "How do you feel sugar cube?"

"My whole body is sore... How long were we unconscious?" Sunset asked.

“We were unconscious for almost a whole day!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “We suffered internal injuries and fractures all over our bodies!” She said in a way that was too cheerful despite having been hurt so much.

"Don't say it so proudly!" Limestone yells that she also came with Maud to check on Pinkie Pie. "Look how upset Maud is!" She says angrily as she points to her sister, Maud continues with the same expression as always.

"Not that I'm complaining but how come I don't see any injuries and we can still move?" Applejack asked.

"That's thanks to him." Twilight said as he pointed to a god with short brown hair and an average build.

"My name is Greymare and I belong to the healing affiliation." Said the god. “And don't worry, despite all the injuries you sustained, none of you were in danger of death. Fluttershy trained her beasts very well so unless she wants to, none of her pets will actually try to kill them. But as you may have noticed, even if I heal all your wounds completely, it will still hurt for a while".

Velvet and Twilight bow before the god. "Thank you for taking care of them."

“You don't have to thank me, I heal people because I want to heal them, not because I'm looking for thanks or adoration... just try to keep Discord from putting you in some other crazy workout. With your permission I retire."

Just as the god came out of the tent Discord enters. "I see they're all still alive!" Discord says. "Too bad only one of you passed the first test."

“What do you mean that only one of us passed the test? Those animals almost killed us!” Applejack yelled.

"Actually, Greymare said that none of you were in mortal danger." It says Twilight.

Ignoring what Twilight said, Sunset begins to speak. "What do you mean that only one step tests it?"

"Yes, and our winner is..." Then Disord points to Pinkie Pie.

"I won...? I won! I win! I wi...!! why did i win? The animals also caught up with me”.

“Stop acting proud about it and let him finish talking!!” Limestone yells at her sister again.

"I'll explain. What was the first test supposed to be?”

"You said real combat," Applejack replied.

"And what do you do in real combat in your current state?"

Although Twilight did not attend the training, she knew what had happened. "You have to flee before an opponent of superior or unknown abilities." She answers.

"Correct! And that's why our pink friend passed and you two didn't. You must understand this girls, if you follow the path you set out for yourself sooner or later you will end up fighting a god and I must tell you that even the weakest faction can easily win over a mortal”.

"I suppose you are very disappointed." Sunset says.

"Don't worry, I'm not disappointed, since it's normal for you to fail."

"Are you telling me that the test was intentionally made to fail?" Sunset says with rising anger.

"Discord, Gloriosa is looking for you, she says that you gather all the people you brought so that you can assign them a job." Fluttershy says as she bursts into the tent.

“AAAHH!! She's coming to finish the job!" Pinkie yells as she hides under her blanket.

"I better go... Fluttershy, take care of our guests while the rest will have to come with me." Discord says.

"We'll be back soon, Your Majesty." Velvet says as she leaves accompanied by Twilight.

"Take care little sister." Big Macintosh says goodbye.

"Behave...or at least don't behave so badly!" And Limestone withdraws with Maud.

At that moment they are alone in the bed with an awkward silence.

"So..." Applejack tries to break the silence. "You're a goddess".

“Yeah…” Fluttershy answers timidly. "I belong to the faction of anger..."

“To the faction of anger?!” Applejack yelled scaring Sunset by accident. "Sorry about that sugarcube."

"Just try not to yell like that again." The redheaded girl then remembered something that Velvet explained to her about the gods.

TWO DAYS AFTER THE FALL OF CANTERLOT

“Then much of the world is ruled by gods?” Asked a girl who was just getting used to her new body.

"Yes, Your Majesty, although it is not known how your geralchy works, it is known that All Master governs all the gods which are made up of ten factions: the faction of Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Lightning, Battle, Healing, Divination, Plague and lastly the Anger faction. Velvet explained.

"It sounds like every faction is dangerous."

“They are each in their own way. Your Majesty... if you want to rebuild Equestria sooner or later you will meet the gods and of all the gods the gods of anger are the most dangerous, because to belong to that faction you must commit a heresy before the gods themselves”.

Sunset understood what Velvet meant, because she had learned from both Grandpa Gruff and Princess Celestia that there was a big difference between powerful and dangerous.

"Does that mean you belonged to another faction?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Yes... I belonged to the earth faction before." The goddess timidly replied. "I'm sorry again for having hurt you so much." She said, trying to change the subject. "I made sure that all my pets were very careful with their attacks." Then the goddess stares at Sunset. "You should know that Discord has a lot of hope for you... after all he had a vision."

"A vision?"

"Yeah. Discord belonged to the divination faction... and of all the gods, visions of him were the most accurate. He has always been telling us about his vision... he saw that the gods lose their status, and that you will be involved in it. But he never says the exact details".

"There will come an era in which the world will achieve harmony... such a thought is only a consolation, an attempt to bring hope." The girls and the goddess notice that Wallflower Blush enters the tent. "Sorry for the interruption but the truth is that the meeting outside was boring me and the truth is that hardly anyone notices that I am there."

"So you don't believe in that prophecy Fluttershy is telling us about?" Applejack asks.

"Do not be confused, there is a big difference between a prophecy and a divination". Wallflower noticed Applejack's look that hinted that he didn't understand what he wanted to say. “A divination is a probability, something that can be changed if you can read the vision well. Something that tells us what the problem is and we immediately look for a solution. But a prophecy is..."

"A prophecy is something absolute, it cannot be changed, there is no solution, only there are options, options to prepare for when it is fulfilled." Sunset said interrupting Wallflower.

"I see you already understand that kind of thing." Wallflower replied.

"Yeah... more than I'd like to understand... So is Discord holding on to a divination?"

“Yes, he doesn't tell us that he saw exactly but he has made sure to do everything possible to make that divination come true. From time to time he leaves the camp and doesn't come back for months and no one knows what he does”. Wallflower looks out of the tent. It seems that the meeting is over, I better go to sleep? And Wallflower retires.

"Better I'm leaving too... tomorrow will be a long day and you're going to continue with the training" Fluttershy said and also left leaving the girls to sleep.

"I hope next time it smoothes out a bit... good night." Applejack says.

"Good evening... what's up Sunset?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Just some insects that are bothering me." She says her as she shakes herself off. "good night".

ONE MONTH AFTER

Sunset was beginning to understand the life that the fallen gods led. Everyone in the camp has a job, and after all this time watching them, Sunset found it strange that even though they are gods they don't use their divine powers. Discord told Sunset that they moved the camp every six months, leading a nomadic lifestyle.

The leader of the camp is Gloriosa, she always made sure that everyone in the camp had what it takes to support themselves. Her brother Timber was second in command and also one of the strongest gods in the place.

Twilight and Sunset were assigned as Dusty Pages' helpers. Their jobs consisted of taking care of the books and records of the camp. Twilight did not stop getting excited after three years without reading anything interesting while Sunset took advantage of seeing that she could learn.

Pinkie Pie had to help the couple of camp bakers, Carrot Cake and Cup Cake who noticed that Pinkie had a talent in baking and pastry.

Sunset's entourage, among which were Applejack and Big Macintosh, had to go out together with other gods, humans and some diamond dogs to collect food for the camp.

Shining Armor and Flash Sentry were assigned as assistants to Cheese Sandwich, the camp's blacksmith. Which brought certain advantages.

“Hey Shining, Flash. Do you have what I asked for?" Sunset asked.

"Your Majesty, I finished them this morning." Shining Armor says as she pulls out some armor breastplates. "Are you going to train with Fluttershy again?"

"Yes". The redhead replied. "And you two? Are they going to train too?"

"Yes". Flash said.

Shining Armor and Flash Sentry found out that Timber is a skilled swordsman and asked him to teach them how to fight. Although Timber initially refused, he later agreed to train them when Discord told him it was better for them to learn. When Timber asked him if he had anything to do with any of his visions, Discord just winked and left.

"You should learn to use the sword too girl." Discord said to Sunset as he appeared next to her.

"Why do you show up like that?!" Shouted Sunset after receiving a scare. "I've had enough of Pinkie doing the same...!" then the girl takes a deep breath to calm down. "What do you want anyway?"

"I just wanted to know your progress." Then Discord looks at the metal breastplates that Sunset was carrying. "I see you're learning, girl... where's Cheese Sandwich?"

"He went with Pinkie Pie for a secret project they have." Says Shining Armor.

Suddenly a loud crash is heard.

"What was that?!" Discord asked.

"Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie's Secret Project." Flash replied calmly.

"I understand... so girl... did you think of any method for your other training?" Discord asks.

Sunset understood that she was talking about magic. "Actually I think I know what I can do."

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 3

It was a night like any other in Griffinstone, Gruff said to himself as he stood in front of the statue of one of the ancient kings, but Gruff had not gone to see the statue. He had gone out looking for a little pony that he was taking care of, one of his neighbors told him that Sunset was in the old Griffinstone library, although the old griffin had to pay a couple of coins to get the information.

After searching for a long time, he was able to find the little filly trying to read a book. "What are you doing little girl? I've been looking for you all night, dinner is getting cold…” Gruff noticed that the filly had been crying. "Did something happen girl?"

"I had another surge of magic this afternoon." Said the little filly. "I almost hurt another griffon."

"Is that why you came here?"

"I came here because I want to find a book that will help me control this." She said as she pointed at her horn.

"I'm sorry girl but there is no book that talks about unicorn magic in this old library." Gruff told Sunset.

"I know, I've been looking all day and the few unicorn books I've found are almost ruined." Says the frustrated filly.

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because if I can't find something to help me control my magic, I'll use another type of magic to control it." And the filly shows him one of the books that he found to the old griffin.

The old griffin reads the title of the book 'Griffon Wizards'. “Listen little pony, griffon magic works much differently than unicorn magic. Why do you think this will help you? Then the old griffin noticed the sad face of the filly.

"Because I have to start with something no matter what it is as long as it's a learning base that helps me control my magic it's enough not to hurt anyone by accident!" Then the little unicorn realizes the outburst she had. "I'm sorry for yelling at you grandpa."

The old griffon looks at the book again. "You should know that there are no more griffon wizards since the death of the last king, the last wizard died in the Arimaspi war."

"I know". she whispered.

"And griffon magic is harder to control because griffons don't have horns to absorb outside magic."

"I know". She returned to answer the filly.

The old griffin sighed and went over to an old shelf with books and began to go through them.

"What are you doing, Grandpa Gruff?"

"I think there were more magic books around here, if I help you find some, we can go home faster so we can have dinner." Then the griffin feels something on his leg.

"Thank you Grandpa Gruff." She said as she hugged the old griffon.

PRESENT

Sunset and Discord were walking through the woods until they came to the area where they always trained. In that place, Applejack was training his aura.

"Whenever I see Applejack train it seems like she's just trying to hold the air with her hands. Can you explain that to me?" Sunset asked.

"As I told you before, I don't understand how it works exactly but I have met great masters of the aura, they have told me how they learned and trained." Discord replied. "What Applejack is doing is exactly what you just said, trying to take on the air mass."

"You mean what you explained to us on our first day."

"Yes, and your pink friend is also doing the same type of training."

Then Sunset approaches Applejack. "Hello Sunset."

"Hello Applejack. Is that where the air mass is supposed to be?”

"Yes, Discord only told me that he tried to hold her and that when he managed to hold her firmly I would know what the next step in my training is." Then Applejack notices that Sunset is trying to do the same thing. "What are you doing?"

"I try to take the air mass." Sunset replied even though she couldn't see the same as Applejack. "Is he supposed to be here?"

“Eeyup, but don't try so hard. I can see the dough but I still can't take it”.

When Sunset put her hand over where the air mass was supposed to be, she closed her eyes and concentrated and for an instant she felt something.

"Sorry to bother you Applejack." She said as she withdrew her hand. "I'll let you train quietly." But before leaving she remembers something. "Take this, one is for you and the other is Pinkie's." She said as she hands Applejack two armor breastplates.

"Thanks sugar cube, this will be very useful for training with Fluttershy." After saying that out loud, you both felt a small chill when remembering those moments.

After saying goodbye, Sunset continues talking with Discord. “I could feel it”.

"Feel what girl?"

"I could feel the aura, I can't see it but I could feel it, it looks like magic but at the same time it's something very different."

“Do you think you could learn to use it?”

"It would not be the first time that I learn something that does not go with my nature."

"That's the spirit!"

"Applejack, would you let me stand right in the center of the mass of energy?" the redhead asked.

"No problem Sunset, plus I can easily find another one."

"Snooty". Sunset tells her with a smile because even though Sunset doesn't want to admit it, she has come to respect Applejack.

"Was it always easy for you to find him?" Discord asks curiously.

“Not really, I used to see those as little distorted images of the landscape but…”. After thinking a bit the girl answers. "I have begun to see it more clearly since they took us to the mines."

"Thanks for the information".

"There is no problem. I leave them alone to train."

As Sunset sat where the mass of energy should be, she spoke. "Discord, do you know what magic is in my world?"

“The truth is that I am a little curious”

As Sunset sat down she began to explain. “Where I come from, magic is... the very source of the energy that moves the world. All living creatures have magic to some degree but…”

"But...?"

"...not everyone can use magic freely." She sadly said.

"Because?"

"Because not all creatures have a means to channel magic, unicorns are one of the few beings that can, and to a lesser extent pegasi and earth ponies"

"But you are a unicorn in that world, you would have no problem using magic."

"Actually I had a lot of problems because of that, as I told you before I was raised by griffins and no one could teach me how to use my horn so I had no control over my magic and I hurt many griffos because of that." Sunset settled into a meditative position. "So since I couldn't learn unicorn magic I decided to try griffon magic."

"Could griffins use magic too?"

"Yes they can, but the last griffin wizards died in the last Arimaspi war, that's why I had to look for a book that would help me." Then Sunset remembered that she had to get into context. "The Arimaspi war was a moment in history that meant the collapse of the griffon government, maybe I'll tell you the whole story one day."

Discord had to settle for that explanation. "And what did you learn?"

"It's simple and complicated at the same time... I must first have an image of my inner magic, then I must try to visualize the magic coming out of me and finally I must try to mix it with the magic that is in the air, but this world lacks magic, so I must find a substitute".

“You mean the mass of energy? Do you think the materialization aura can be a substitute for magic?”

“Energy is energy, it doesn't matter where it comes from, you just have to know how to process it”.

"But basically you use your body as a medium and you condense the natural energy of your body and together with the energy that you find outside of your body... it's curious."

"What thing?" Sunset asked.

"It's almost the same concept that the masters of the aura have." Discord replied.

"I saw the fight between Filthy Rich and Chrysalis, they were both impressive in their own way but there is something I don't understand." Sunset sees that Discord is waiting for her to ask. “Why do they say 'divine power' or 'materialization aura' before attacking? Is it really necessary to say it out loud?"

Discord chuckles a bit. "The answer is yes and no." Discord notes that Sunset didn't understand the answer. “That is simply a decorative sentence, the words have nothing to do with the aura or divine power, many even the gods with their divine power say it out loud because that helps to visualize their attack. The divine power or the aura depending on which one you use have a different definition of control but both are based on the user's desire. But controlling energy through desire is difficult to achieve. For that reason, many say or shout the attack they are going to launch, in order to mentally reinforce themselves in the attack. Of course, when you get to a high enough level you can use it without saying it out loud, although many still say it out loud out of habit."

"Chrysalis was one of the great gods but she heard her saying her attacks out loud."

"It's because she wasn't fighting seriously."

Those words scared Sunset a bit as she understood the level that the gods could have.

"Do you understand aura enough to compare it to divine power? I thought you said that a god can't teach how to use aura?"

"And you have a reason but I can show them how they can learn, from that point they have to learn on their own."

"How come you know so much about aura?"

"I met many great masters of the aura." Discord said with a sad face. "Many of them were my friends."

"What happened?"

"I do not want to talk about that". Discord stands up and starts to leave. "I'm going to see how Applejack is training, then tell me if your method works."

Sunset wondered why Discord suddenly changed his mood.

"Discord doesn't really like to talk about his past with the aura masters." Sunset then notices that a girl was next to her with orange skin and short magenta hair.

"And you are?" Sunset asks.

"Hello, my name is Scootaloo." The girl replied with a wide smile.

"And what are you doing here?"

“I like to explore the surroundings of the camps since we are constantly on the move. I want to be like my parents, they explore and verify which areas are safe for when we move the camp”.

So Sunset decides to get back on topic. “You said Discord didn't like to talk about the subject of aura masters. You know why?"

At that moment, Gloriosa appears. “Scootaloo! What did I tell you about escaping your duties?!”

“Hello Gloriosa, any problem?”

"No problem, just trying to catch that little girl who still has homework to do." Then Gloriosa notices that Sunset is alone. "I thought you were training with Discord?"

"Yes, but he got a little sad and went to see how the others were."

"They were talking about the friendship he had with the aura masters." Scootaloo said.

"Is a delicate topic?"

"A bit, Discord had a very good friendship with the pillars, it's not that it's a big secret since it's something that all the gods know but they avoid talking about it in front of him, and I had stopped being a minor goddess during that time and I didn't know all the details until later, besides it happened when Discord was still the priest of the divination faction”. Gloriosa replied.

“Did something bad happen at that time?”

“Discord was the one who proposed that the aura masters be purged.”

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 4

Discord had seen many battlefields throughout his life, he saw them in his visions and saw them personally, he prevented some from happening and other times he himself made sure they happened.

The march of the beasts, demons tamed and managed to pass through the gates of Tartarus the largest stampede of demonic beasts of that era, but Discord's vision helped stop the situation thanks to the joint work between the gods and the masters of the aura .

The tidal wave war, when the goddess who was the leader of the water faction rebelled against All Master to try to overthrow him, but Discord was able to predict her plans and the gods managed to defeat her. The supporters of the goddess disappeared in the lands of humans, the water gods that are born are closely watched, After capturing the leader, she was sentenced to slow petrification, the worst punishment that can be given to the gods, the goddess is slowly turning to stone, but the goddess keeps whispering 'they will come'.

The Stygian Rebellion was one of Discord's greatest achievements. Stygian also known as the heretic pillar took all his disciples to Tartarus and then returned with a demonic army. He began by attacking all the mines that belonged to the gods, he also attacked the schools of the aura. Although Stygian was not the most powerful of the pillars, he was the most cunning, with his strategies he almost managed to win, but once again, thanks to Discord's visions, Stygian was able to be stopped. Somehow Stygian fought against the six pillars but in the end he was defeated and Discord witnessed everything, before Starswirl killed Stygian he asked him 'Why?' And Stygian simply replied 'For friendship'.

The subjugation of cerverus, thanks to Discord it was possible to find the last ancestral beast that remained in the land of humans, the beast was captured and subdued thanks to the gods of the faction of the earth. Since that day the beast is used to guard the gates of Tartarus in order to prevent any future demonic incursion.

The purge of the masters of the aura, at that time the gods were distancing themselves more from the humans and at the same time they began to ask for more offerings from all the kingdoms, for some reason All Master and the council of the gods kept asking for more carnelian. Then Discord had one of the worst visions in his life, he saw the end of everything, he saw how the masters of the aura revealed themselves and fought against the gods, and Discord thought that the best thing is to let everything happen but he also saw the consequences of that rebellion and Discord went to the council chamber of the gods. What surprised Discord the most is that the Gods already plan to get rid of the masters of the aura, they only waited for the excuse to kill them all because since Cerverus guarded the gates of Tartarus the demonic incursions stopped, that is why the gods decided that they no longer needed the masters of the aura. The attack of the gods was swift and brutal, thousands of masters of the aura died that day, but when the army of the gods headed to attack Aura Prime the city where the six main schools of the remaining aura and home of The Pillars were found. They found nothing, only an empty crater, The Pillars and the population of the city were never found.

From that day Discord was no longer the same, he always believed that the gods should be a guide for humans, an example of respect and ethics, but that things had changed or maybe nothing changed and simply the gods were always like that. Then a year after the purge an incident happened, the council of the gods punished an entire city just because Scorpan came to love the humans of that city, Scorpan was punished by becoming a god of the rage faction. And as an extra punishment, the gods infused him with a thirst for violence and worst of all, he had to share that curse with the inhabitants of the city that is now known as the City of Beasts.

Discord was enraged by that, he yelled at Tirek reprimanding him for not helping and protecting his brother, he went directly to the council of the gods and reprimanded them for their actions, Discord didn't think, he just yelled at everyone including All Master. That would have cost Discord his life but instead of executing him they just imprisoned him in the dungeons until he calmed down, but when Discord calmed down he refused to leave his cell and resigned from his position as priest of the divination faction.

Discord remained meditating in his prison, at first he thought that the gods would change a bit when they saw that their best soothsayer had resigned but it wasn't like that. He found out that the goddess Cinch had taken over the faction's priestess position.

As time passed, Discord notes that the number of imprisoned gods gradually increased, none of the imprisoned gods had disobeyed any law. The only thing they did was say what they thought about the current situation in the world and what should be changed. It also seemed strange to him that no one was converted to the faction of anger, then he realized that the council of the gods was going to undo all the imprisoned gods. It was at that moment that Discord decided to escape with all the gods that were imprisoned.

Trying his best he managed to rescue all the gods who were prisoners, he even convinced a few gods from the wrath faction to accompany them. Although he gathered all the gods he could and escaped from the sacred lands, most of them didn't want to fight, some just wanted to live a normal life, others did not want to continue involved in that situation and others were afraid of All Maste and the council of the gods. In the end, with the exception of a few, the gods decided to stay together and called themselves the fallen gods.

Discord did not always stay with the fallen gods, sometimes he traveled alone to be able to live with humans, other times he returned to the caravan to visit his friends.

But one day he had a vision in which he could only see the void and Discord did not know what to do. He tried to come up with plans and strategies so that the vision would not come true, but the only thing he achieved was to advance or delay the event that he saw in the vision. He even traveled to Tartarus to see if he could find a solution with Ahuizotl the last diviner demon, but he also had the same vision.

Not finding a way to avoid that future Discord decided to change his approach and decided to only delay it until he found a solution and for a while it worked but he knew it would only be a temporary measure.

In one of his trips he went to the barren lands of the east, a wild area where there is only desolation, wild human tribes and where they were neglected because those lands served as an example of what a world without gods would be like. In those lands is where he met two little girls, Celestia and Luna, both orphan girls who, despite their young age, knew the area very well and Discord hired them as guides. At first Didcord traveled with the two girls so as not to feel alone during the trip, and before he knew it he had struck up a friendship with both of them.

When Discord decided to leave the eastern lands and was going to say goodbye to Celestia and Luna, he was going to give them both some food and some gold, but in the end he didn't like the idea of leaving two little girls in such a wild and dangerous area. So Discord took them to Equestria because in every other kingdom they turn orphans into slaves. But when he left them both in an orphanage his vision changed abruptly and he noticed that the future of the void was delayed considerably, but to be sure he didn't see them again for a year.

When he returned to Equestria to visit them, Celestia and Luna became princesses when they were adopted by the king of Equestria. After Discord visited them whenever he had the opportunity, he would never forget the fun times he spent with them. Discord could say that it was the happiest time of his life.

But those days had to end, the day the next ruler of Equestria was going to be chosen Celestia and Luna asked Discord if he had any divination to choose one of the two sisters as queens, but unfortunately he couldn't. Ever since he escaped from the holy lands of the gods he has been using his power to obscure the vision of the gods and as a side effect he has only been able to keep the last vision he had, if he tries to make any divination, then he would have to erase his current vision. And he couldn't afford that, if he didn't keep his vision he couldn't see the changes.

Discord chose Luna, not because she was smart, strong or a great leader even though she was all of those. He chose her because she challenges that bleak future more. After Luna Celestia's coronation she went on a trip because despite all the luxury of being royalty she was a free spirit.

When Celestia returned from her first trip, she had become a powerful swordswoman. But what surprised Discord was that Celestia was being trained by an aura master. Discord wanted to ask for the teacher's name but when he was about to ask he noticed that the future changed to a more devastating one, so he decided not to ask.

On one of Celestia's trips she had returned to the barren lands of the east. But when he returned to Canterlot she had with him a little girl of six or seven years old and Discord couldn't help noticing Celestia's motherly smile, she hadn't seen her so cheerful since the first time she ate cake. When Discord asked Celestia if she was sure she wanted to adopt the little girl, Celestia didn't hesitate to answer that she was. And Discord's vision changed again and in that bleak future he saw a redheaded teenager and Discord understood that perhaps the key to avoiding that future was the little girl.

Discord had planned to go find a god from the healing faction when he found out about Sunset's health problems to help her, but it was Sunset herself who told him not to do it, that disconcerted Discord, then Sunset told him that she had divination powers, but for a human to have visions was extremely rare and the visions of humans were small compared to the visions of the gods, but Discord knew that human diviners could see small details that the gods always ignored, Discord decided to trust Sunset.

One day when Discord was leaving Canterlot to continue his journey, he saw Sunset in the garden of the Canterlot palace, Discord noticed how Sunset took care of the flowers, Sunset told Discord how her friend Princess Cadence had her own garden in the Crystal Palace, Sunset also told him that she wanted to put something in the middle of the garden to make it more beautiful, he promised to bring her something when he got back.

A few months passed and Discord returned to Canterlot after arranging some issues, he remembered the promise he made to Sunset so he started looking for something for the garden that the little girl was doing. Discord doesn't know why but when he saw an old statue of a horse standing in a derelict part of the Canterlot slums he thought it would be the perfect gift. He would never have felt so sad about that decision.

Discord simply took the statue and placed it in the middle of Sunset's garden. He would return the next day to see the surprised face of the little girl. When Discord awoke in the morning his vision changed once more, but what he saw was not a bleak future of emptiness, he saw a future of hope and he saw Sunset in that future but he noticed something different about Sunset than he saw in the previous vision, as if she was another person.

Discord went to the castle garden but he was still disconcerted by the vision, when he got to the garden he saw the princess touching the statue with a smile, Discord was happy to see that Sunset liked his gift, It would take a while for Discord to understand what Sunset meant when she said 'thank you for giving us a future'.

PRESENT

“Divinations and visions are not something you can easily change. Do you know what the trick is to change a possible future? I could give you a long and complicated explanation about the details of how divinations and visions work, but I will tell you the simplest, you must first understand that a vision is the result of how the flow of time goes. They understand? But they are also the consequences of the decisions you make. That is why the determination you have to carry out a decision is the second most important thing to change the future. But the most important thing is that there must be a possibility, and here is the trick because if there is even the slightest possibility, the future can be changed. Any questions?". Says Discord to a trio of Diamonds Dogs that he was talking to.

When the three Diamonds Dogs raise their claws to ask, Discord interrupts them. "I'm not going to predict what I'm going to eat tomorrow." And the three diamond dogs lower their claws.

“And if the future changes for the worse or simply to a scenario that you don't like?” Sunset asked as she stood next to one of the diamond dogs.

Discord is silent for a while. “How long have you been listening?” The god asks.

"Almost from the beginning of the story you were telling." Sunset replied. "But please answer my question." Sunset says seriously.

“That's the tricky part, as I said before if you want to change the future you will need determination, but only the one with the vision can know if he is changing the future. So the moment you decide to take an action you have to be sure that you will do it but when the vision changes and you don't like what you see then you have to change your mind no matter how determined you were to comply with it”.

“So you just have to change a decision that you are determined to comply with?” Sunset asked.

"Yes".

After hearing that response Sunset stands up and leaves.

Discord finds Sunset meditating, Discord could tell that although patience wasn't exactly the redhead's specialty, effort is. "I see you're still training as hard as ever girl." But Sunset remained silent. “You know, in order to relax a bit, I always find a random group and I like to explain anything complicated to them. What do you do to relax?"

"Then I am a possibility." Sunset said ignoring what Discord says.

"It's a way of saying it."

"So maybe at some point another person will appear who can improve the future you saw?" She asks Discord.

The god notices a small hint of anger in the girl. "Maybe yes, maybe no, I don't want to explain everything again."

"It doesn't matter, it's better that way, at least I know that my achievements were due to my own effort and not because I was destined, and if your vision changes again then I just have to try harder."

Discord stands in front of Sunset. "What are you scared of?"

You promised me that it would be me, that you would never give up on me!! And you're just telling me that no matter how hard I try, it's not my destiny?!! That destiny belongs to someone else?!!

"Would you replace me if you found someone better for that future you talk about so much?" After a long time of silence. "Why do not you answer me".

"Sorry, I was just delete my vision." Discord replied.

"What?! Just a moment ago you were talking about how you need to maintain that vision in order to be prepared for possible changes! And you just delete it?! because?!"

“I have let this vision guide my life, I have dedicated decades to ensure a better future for the world, I erased my vision because I no longer need it, it is true that there may be someone who can achieve a better future but personally I prefer to bet everything on you Sunset Shimmer ”.

"Because?" Sunset asks again, surprised by Discord's response.

"At first it was because I believed that it was my responsibility as a god but since I started traveling I met other humans who were not masters of the aura, normal and simple people who lived only worrying about how they would get the livelihood of the day, because I met people who, despite having achieved great status, continued to be the same, because I made a promise, because I saw what you achieved in the mines, because I believe in you and... and because she decided to believe in you”. Discord says sadly as he walks away.

"Discord!" Sunset calls out to the old god before he leaves. "I want to clarify something, I'm not exactly a good person, the reason I do this is not because of some act of kindness or because my other self asked me to, she gave me her identity because she said that I could achieve what she couldn't and that in exchange I would have what it takes to achieve my own goals”. Discord notices that the redhead is raising her hand pointing to a rock "I'm going to fulfill the deal I made with her, and also...". Sunset's hand begins to shine and a rock begins to levitate, surprising the god. "Thank you for having faith in me."

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 5

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH." A loud cry of pain came from one of the tents in the camp.

"Did Discord make humans train with Fluttershy again?" Said a god that passed by.

"Yeah, no one knows that he wants to achieve Discord by training humans like that but he sure knows what he's doing." Said another god.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Discord said.

"You're sure? And here I thought you were just trying to get Fluttershy to kill us." Flash Sentry says sarcastically as Greymare heals him.

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh replied that he was lying down and was also very hurt.

"Are you okay bro?" Twilight asks Shining Armor since he was also injured.

"I'm not sure, is it normal that he doesn't feel anything anymore?" Twilight's brother asks as he looks at his dislocated arm.

Meanwhile Limestone continued to complain of pain. “Whose brilliant idea was it for us to join the training?! The only thing we do is fight animes!”

"Sorry about that". Fluttershy says while she's in a corner.

"You don't have to apologize Fluttershy, plus it was your idea and I think you said something like 'it's not fair that only you guys get stronger', plus how can you get stronger if the training isn't hard?" Says Wallflower. “Even Twilight plans to join the next training.

“I just want to be able to improve so that I can help Your Majesty.” It says Twilight.

"Me and Shinnig are only here because Timber said we shouldn't get used to the same opponent." Flash Sentry says.

"Maybe we should change the training a bit." Discord says. "So far the only thing I'm trying to do is get them used to being in dangerous situations by having Fluttershy's animals attack them and that also helps improve their physical condition, I guess now we should change the trainer."

"What kind of coach will we have now?"

"Now we are going to teach them to fight for real and I know who is the right god for them to learn."

THE NEXT DAY

"So you want me to teach them how to fight." Timber says. “First you ask me to train Shinning and Flash. And now you ask me to train more humans?"

"Yes". Discord responds simply.

“Okay, but you know very well that I have to help Gloriosa to maintain the camp and we have to be ready for when Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood come back and tell us the new locations to move the camp. And now that the population has increased, more preparations have to be made, so don't expect me to dedicate all my effort to training them, do you understand?" Timber asked.

"Yes, and don't worry, you don't have to make them great warriors, they just have to learn to defend themselves."

"So when do I have to start training them?" Timber asked as he looked at the group of humans.

"You already started!" Discord yelled as he ran away.

"I hate when you do that." Timber said resigned. "Shining, Flash! You two bring the training weapons.” The two quickly run off to find what Timber asked for. “While we wait for those two here is something I have to say to all of you. I don't like any of you and you don't like me…” Timber sees Pinkie Pie raise her hand. "what's up pink human?"

"I like you." Pinkie responds with a wide smile.

After a while of cilensio Timber responds. "So I guess I kind of like you guys... but what I'm trying to say is that I'm not going to make it easy for you." Just then Shinnig Armor and Flash Sentry return with a large number of wooden swords of different designs. "pick a sword." And they all picked up a sword.

Then Twilight raises her hand. "Master Timber, what fighting style are we going to learn?"

“First, don't call me a teacher yet, because after this first day, some may give up on what I am going to teach them. And second, they won't learn any fighting style from me." Timber replied.

“How come we won't learn any sword style?! So what is the training for?!” Limestone said angrily.

“The training is for the same as the previous training, that they can be stronger, but the training with Fluttershy consisted more of survival, mine will be to be able to face the dangers. And about the fighting style. Do you know why I won't teach you?" Timber asked waiting for an answer.

"Because a fighting style can become a weakness." Sunset replied.

"You have reason Sunset, you may learn and become a master of a style but that has its flaws." Timber says.

"But I do not understand? Aren't fighting styles supposed to shape your body so you can learn related techniques?" Twilight asks.

"And that is why it can become a disadvantage, Sunset since you answered my question, could you tell the rest why it is a disadvantage?"

"Because it makes you predictable, with each style you develop muscle memory that could limit you for other moves and if your opponent knows your style then he can know your weaknesses."

"Wow, looks like you met some veteran warrior so you know those things." Pinkie Pie says surprised.

"I met several." Sunset replied.

"So what are you going to teach us?"

“I will only teach you the basics but all of you will create your own styles. Now we'll start with something simple.” Timber points to some logs that were in the place. "I want everyone to spend the whole day hitting the logs, if the swords break, take another one and keep hitting and you...". He then notices that Wallflower was also with the humans. "When did you get here?" asked Timber.

"I was already here before all of you arrived." Wallflower replied.

“Since you're here I need you to make sure no human gets hurt. Shining, Flash, you two will oversee the training while I'm gone."

"Yes Master". They both said at the same time.

As Timber leaves, he runs into Discord. “Well? what do you think?"

"Shining and Flash have a talent for swordsmanship, Sunset seems to have some knowledge about the use of weapons although I don't know if she could apply it and about the rest... I still don't know what to say, the others are just beginning." Timber replied.

"You seem to enjoy the idea of training humans, I know I asked you to train them but why did you agree?" Discord asked curiously.

"Besides that you escaped before I told you no."

"Sorry about that". Discord said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Do you know when was the first time I saw a human?"

"I suppose you're going to tell me." Discord replied with a smile.

“It was during the Stygian Rebellion. In my first battle I was almost killed by a simple demon soldier, I was tired and could barely hold my sword, I was afraid of dying, but at that moment a group of humans attacked the demon to save me, also that group of humans were not even masters of the aura, and in the middle of the battle I fell unconscious from exhaustion. When I woke up I saw the demon dead and surrounded by the corpses of the humans who saved me."

"I guess you felt sad about that."

“I felt sad, I felt weak, I felt angry and above all I felt ashamed. When when I saw the faces of the soldiers who saved me, do you know what I saw in their faces? Satisfaction, satisfaction of having achieved something with their own deaths. We are supposed to protect humans, not humans us! I wonder how they would feel if they knew what most gods are like?" After a while of silence Timber continues talking. "That's why I agreed to train those children, we as gods believe that we are better because we were born with power, but humans are weak, frail, have short lives and still they go on with their lives with the idea of achieving something, that's why I admire humans”.

"Is that why you refused to participate in the purge?"

“Yes, Discord I don't know what you saw in your visions for you to have suggested the death of so many humans but I have to ask, do you regret it? Do you regret having proposed the extermination of so many teachers? Is there no other way?"

“I regret not finding another way to stop a big disaster. It's a guilt I'll carry for the rest of my life."

“And is there any change in your vision?”

"I don't know". Discord replied simply

"What do you mean you don't know?" asked Timber.

"I erased my vision of that future, I will no longer know if the future will change or not, unless I have another vision or divination on that day, I don't know what will happen."

"I should...!" Just as Timber was yelling at Discord for how stupid that iso realized something else. “That means you can now have other visions! that's good!"

“Calm down, the visions could come at any moment, but for now just focus on training the humans. How fast can you train them?”

"Two or three years if they have talent, but I think that in a few years I can make them a little stronger than a normal human."

"Is not sufficient. Let it be a year."

“One year is not enough, I need more time”.

"It will have to be enough time, besides, I am not the only one who has made plans for the future." Discord says.

"Anything that I or Gloriosa should know?"

"Maybe he's invited other friends to camp to try to make some sort of alliance that some would find questionable."

"Discord!" Timber said sternly. "Don't tell me that more humans are coming to the camp."

Discord smiles. "Then you should be happy that no more humans are coming to the camp."

"I hope so... who's coming?"

Discord smiles nervously.

"What's the point of hitting these logs all day?" Applejack says as she complains.

Shining Armor was going to answer but Sunset spoke first. "We have to get used to holding a sword well despite the fatigue." Sunset answered happily despite being tired of hitting the log.

“I see that she is happy Your Majesty. Does she enjoy the exercise? Twilight says while she is lying on the grass tired.

"I remembered that I have hands and can hold a sword." Sunset responded without realizing how baffled everyone was by her response. But Sunset could only remember seeing griffins holding clawed swords while she as a filly saw her own hooves.

"You humans are weird." Wallflower said.

“And what about you green goddess? Don't you want to train with us? And now that I think about it, what is your job in the camp?” Limestone asked.

"My job is to make sure that no one who wants to harm us finds the camp." Wallflower replied.

Although no one asked how, Sunset knew that it was Wallflower's Divine power to prevent a giant eye in the sky from finding them. "Someday I'll have to ask how it works in divine power." Sunset whispered.

“Hey Wally, did you say that no one who wants to hurt us can find us? truth?". asked Pinkie Pie.

“Don't call me Wally. And if".

"Then that group of sinisterly hooded people won't harm us right?" At that moment they all look at the place where Pinkie was pointing.

At the edge of the forest there was a group of ten hooded people.

"I don't know who they are but they shouldn't have found this place." Wallflower said. "All of you should return to the other gods and raise the alarm."

"I don't think we'll get very far, we're all tired of training." Flash Sentry said.

"You don't have to worry, we're here." Gloriosa says as she appears together with a group of gods armed with swords and spears. As Gloriosa stares at the intruders she realizes something. “I can't believe it, they are demons. How could they cross the gates of Tartarus? The gates of the tartarus are supposed to be guarded by cerverus and nothing can get past their vigilance."

“There are many small doors that connect to the tartarus. The one that cerverus watches over is simply the biggest door, that's why no more demonic armies have passed. Says Discord while he just arrived accompanied by Timber. “Put down your weapons, I invited you”.

Then Gloriosa grabs Discord by the neck and yells at him. “That you invited them?! Do you realize the danger you are exposing us to?! Give me a reason not to hit you now! why do not you answer me?!".

"I'm not sure how the physiology of the gods works but maybe he would respond if he stopped strangling him." It says Twilight.

Then Gloriosa calms down and lets go of Discord. "I am not going to continue judging your reasoning, if you say that you will take charge of the situation I am going to trust you, but you will have to always keep an eye on them." Gloriosa says as she lowers her spear and the other gods also lower her weapons. "All of you, I don't know what you plan exactly but I don't trust you, but I do trust Discord, but if they cause any trouble in the camp, I'll just tell them that many here are veterans who fought in the Stygian rebellion and as far as I know, only one demon clan survived and it was because they escaped”. Gloriosa and the other gods withdraw. "You have all been warned."

After the gods leave, Discord approaches his guests. "Sorry for the show, I suppose that if they are here it means that Starlight Glimmer is almost finished unifying the clans"

"Hello Discord, you have a more comfortable place to talk." Says one of the hooded figures. "It was a long trip and we would like to rest for a while."

"Of course". Discord says.

While the demons followed Discord, one of the hooded men stopped and looked at the group of humans who witnessed the whole show, then focused his gaze directly on Sunset and instantly appeared standing in front of the redhead, surprising everyone with the speed that he moved.

Then Shining and Flash run to defend Sunset but the hooded demon quickly turns around and punches both humans unconscious, then turns back in front of Sunset.

"What do you want?" Sunset asks as she tries to stay calm.

The demon just whispers with a wide smile. “You smell like a unicorn, you smell like a pony”.

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 6

THOUSAND YEARS AGO

A kind of portal opened in the middle of an abandoned town, three teenagers fell from the portal.

“Damn Starswirl! How dare you banish us!” Shouts one of the lilac-haired teenagers.

"Aria".

"I swear if I see you again I'm going to kill you as slowly as possible!"

"Aria!".

"It's not like we killed any ponies outright, most of them were already fighting when we got there!"

"Aria!!"

"What do you want Sonata!?"

"Look at our bodies!!" Says the teenager with arctic blue hair.

Then Aria notices the shape of her new body. "What happened to us!? We look like shaved minotaurs!”

Then while Aria was looking at her new body Sonata of hers she just realized something. "Where's Adagio!?"

“That idiot! Where did she get to!?"

After looking for her missing sister for a while, they find her near a burned-out house.

"Hey Adagio, what are you doing here?" Aria asks the teenager with wavy orange hair.

"I don't feel hungry." Adagio answers, disconcerting Aria by the answer. "Since we arrived at this place to which they threw us, I stopped being hungry." Agagio inhale profusely. "We may not have seen any signs of life since we came but wherever we are right now is full of negative energy."

A shocked Aria realizes the same thing. "So where did all the energy come from?"

"I don't know, but I think we're going to love this place." She says her as she smiles.

PRESENT

Sunset was afraid at first, afraid of the being that was in front of her, but the fear changed to confusion when she heard a whisper.

"You smell like a unicorn, you smell like a pony."

Sunset couldn't understand how she could know that she was a unicorn, the only ones who knew her secret were Discord, Velvet, Pinkie Pie and maybe Maud. But the being that was in front of her simply knew.

"Aria stop it for once!" One of the demons screamed as he removed his hood. "We are guests here, we are not supposed to make a scandal." The demon pulls Aria away from Sunset. "I apologize for my colleague's attitude, she's just too..." while the demon thought about what to say Sunset studied the appearance of the demon, he has dark grayish skin and short hair and different shades of white, he also seemed to be close to adulthood but like the gods his age could vary with his appearance. "... Moody". He said simply. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Double Diamond and I am one of the four lieutenants of Starlight Glimmer, and my grumpy partner is Aria Blaze the leader of the Squalo Clan."

"Don't go around giving out our names without knowing who they are!" Aria said.

"Hello my name is Pinkie Pie!" The human introduces herself.

Aria looks at Pikie Pie's big smile. "You remind me of my sister."

"Thanks!"

"It wasn't a compliment!" Aria said screaming.

"No one yells at my sister without my permission!" Limestone yells at Aria.

"I don't need anyone's permission to scream, if I want to scream I scream and that's it!" She screams defiantly.

So Discord decides to intervene. "Hey, we don't have to kill each other when we just met."

"It's true! Why don't we have a homecoming party and after we get to know each other better we can try to kill each other?!” Then everyone will stare at Pinkie Pie for her strange suggestion.

Ignoring Pinkie Pie, Discord continued to speak. “I prepared a tent so they can rest from their trip, then we will start the meeting. Fluttershy, could you please take our guests to the tent I mentioned." Then notice how nervous the goddess is. "Don't worry they don't bite... maybe they do Aria." Look at the demon. "You don't bite, do you?" Discord asks Aria.

"Only when I'm hungry or craving and I haven't been hungry for hundreds of years, but we do talk about cravings." Then Aria smiles as she shows off the sharp fangs of hers.

After resting for a while, Sunset wanted to talk to the demon named Aria, she didn't know why but Aria knew that Sunset was a unicorn.

When Sunset was heading to the demon tent she ran into Discord who was also going to the same place.

"Hey girl, it's good that I see you, I wanted to talk to you later but since you're here."

"I also need to talk to you Discord and I also want to talk to Aria."

“Don't worry, she requested a meeting with you too. But why do you want to talk to Aria?"

"She knows where I come from and she also knows what I am from another species." Sunset notices that Discord is thoughtful. "Is that expression that you are surprised or you are not surprised?"

"I wouldn't know what to say, among all the demons that I have known, Aria is one of the oldest after Ahuizotl, to be precise, the oldest known record of Aria was during the first demonic incursion a thousand years ago. The first time I saw her you could tell how much she enjoyed battles and conquests, but something changed in her, when the Stygian rebellion started she and her clan were the most savage in battles, during the rebellion I only saw her once and there was a mixture of anger and despair. The last I heard from her is that she had an argument with Stygian and then Aria returned to Tartarus along with her entire clan".

"Why did she withdraw from the war?" Sunset asks.

"Because Stygian broke his end of the deal." Aria said walking calmly. "You were taking time pony"

"I was just looking for you." Sunset replied. "I would like to know how do you know that I am a pony?"

"I gather that saying that in front of Discord means that he knows about you too."

"We can talk freely, I trust Discord." Sunset answers.

“Then I'll ask you something. Are the three tribes still united? Did the Starswirl experiment work? Or did it all fall apart in the end?

Sunset initially thought Aria's questions were weird so she decided to ask as well. “How long have you been in this world?”

Sunset noticed that Aria was getting angry that Sunset didn't answer the question but she tried to calm down. "Adagio has more patience for this." Aria muttered. "Me and my sisters have been in this world for more than a thousand years."

"Sisters? You mean you didn't come alone?"

"Just answer the questions!"

"At that time the princesses Celestia and Luna had just ascended to the throne and still kept the three tribes together, although Celestia currently rules alone." Sunset notes that Aria was surprised.

“Currently? That would not be possible unless…”. Aria starts laughing. "So Starswirl if he was able to find alicorns? I guess that's why she was able to unite the three tribes and her project to create a nation made up of the three tribes worked". After Aria finishes laughing she asks Sunset another question. “What was your crime? Why did they throw you here?"

"I came into this world on my own." The red-haired girl replied.

"It's a joke right? Of all the beings I have met, none of them came here because they wanted to”.

"It's true, although to be more precise I was escaping from someone, that I came to this world was just an accident... what do you mean with other beings?"

"I can see your ignorance so I'll tell you. Starswirl used this world to throw down to the equestria scum beings powerful enough that he couldn't defeat them because for some reason there isn't much magic here."

"I know, it took me a long time to accumulate energy to be able to unlock my own magic." Sunset says.

“So you also have a method to access your magic? It doesn't matter, you can answer me later. So why are you here? Discord said that you would be important to a plan that he and the demons have come up with."

Sunset tells her everything she's been through since she came to the human world until now, then she asks. “I realized that at no time did you ask me if I know a method to return to our world. Because?"

Aria looks directly into Sunset's eyes. "I'm going to explain something to you, me and my sisters are mermaids, we call ourselves The Dazzlings and we feed on negative emotions, our world did not lack that, but one day the three breeds of ponies decided to unite in harmony and little by little the negative emotions began to diminish and before we knew it we began to feel hungry. At first our race thought that it would be temporary that the ponies would fight each other again at any moment, sometimes they had wars with other races but they didn't last as long as before, so we waited, but the negative emotions kept decreasing and the mermaids began to die of starvation. Even me and my sisters cause conflicts to keep feeding ourselves. But since we came into this world we haven't been hungry for a single day, even in times of peace there are negative emotions to feed oneself. That's why I didn't ask you about adding to our world, it's because we love this world and we're not going to leave”. Aria said with a predatory smile.

"I don't know whether to feel offended or flattered." Discord replied.

“And what about you little pony? Suppose everything goes well, you save the humans and manage to get your own kingdom. what happens next?" Aria asked.

"I will take the power that I have accumulated, the army that I have built and march to Equestria."

After Aria went ahead of the meeting with the other demons Sunset spoke. "Discord, do you still trust me?"

"Yes girl, I still trust you." Discord answers as she walks towards the meeting.

"Despite what I just said?" Sunset asks while accompanying Discord.

“Listen girl, you made a deal with the other you, you would help save her kingdom and in exchange you would get the means to achieve your ambition. I also decided to trust you and I will always trust you regardless of the decisions you make, I just hope you do not regret the path you have chosen". Discord replied. "Do you remember the dream you had after escaping from the mines?" Asks the god trying to change the subject.

Sunset couldn't forget that dream because she felt it as a calling. “Yes, I have the same dream two or three times a month. When I told you about this dream, you seemed to know what it was about."

"Yes, I know very well what those dreams are about." When they arrive at the meeting tent, Discord sits on a rock and sighs. "Your dream is a call, it is the call of the spirit of an ancient demon beast called Nightmare."

"Why would an ancient demon beast call me?"

"I can think of various reasons, but what worries me is the fact that the beast has enough power to call you, I saw when All Master killed the former bearer." Discord said sadly. "And I also saw how All Master destroyed the ancient vessel of the beast, I know that the nightmare soul can survive almost anything but with the damage it received it should have taken hundreds of years to recover."

"Could Nightmare give me more power?"

"Yes, but I don't know what I will ask you for in return."

"Why do you tell me that now?"

“Because another demon wants to see you and Nightmare is the reason why he wants to talk to you. Although I don't know what exactly he is going to want, I had a lot of time to learn their culture well but there are still many mysteries, I even went to the tataro a couple of times and barely made it out alive”. Discord responds.

"I guess I'll have to figure it out." Says the former unicorn. “You know, when Twilight and I helped Dusty Pages organize the books and scrolls we would read them so we could study and learn whatever we found and I found out how bad the gods and demons got along. Why do you want his help?" Sunstett asked.

"Originally I didn't plan to let the demons get involved but they are going to intervene with or without my help."

"Is it because of one of the possible futures that you saw?"

"Yeah. the demons were ready for another demonic raid after the war of Equestria and the Crystal kingdom ended. That would have ruined all the plans I had, so I went straight to Tartarus to speak with the current supreme demon queen Starlight Glimmer."

“Supreme Queen? From what I read in the books, a demon only has the right to call themselves King or Queen Supreme if they manage to subdue at least one third of the demon clans.”

"Right, when I went to see her, she had already managed to subdue more than half of the demon clans, but she had decided that she would take advantage of the chaos of the war to make her own move."

"How did you convince her otherwise?" Sunset asked out of curiosity.

Do you remember that I mentioned Ahuizotl? Discord watched as Sunset nodded. “He is an ancient demon and when I say ancient I mean thousands of years and he is also a fortune teller, to be precise he is the ultimate fortune teller demon. Many clan chiefs make pilgrimages to ask him for advice, I went to ask him for help convincing Starlight Glimmer. He said that he could convince her but she was going to ask for something from her and now that her representatives have arrived, I should listen to what she wants."

“Are you worried about what they are going to order?” Sunset asked.

"I know what they are going to ask for but the decision to accept or not is not up to me." When they both arrive at a tent where the demons were gathered, Discord asks. “Do you want to participate in the meeting?”

"Don't worry, I'll wait outside. There are things I should think about." With that response, Sunset sits on a rock as she watches Discord walk into the meeting.

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 7

"I see you already rested." Applejack says as she sees Sunset sitting next to a tent.

“I'm just waiting for Discord to finish his meeting with the demons. How are Flash and Shining Armor? ”. Sunset asked casually.

“They will be fine, they are still unconscious, also compared to the training with Fluttershy they felt almost nothing. We all worried about you when that demon approached you, Twilight was also thinking of going to help you like Shining and Flash did but I stopped her”.

"It couldn't be helped, Twilight is too loyal, thank you for stopping her."

"You are welcome. Did you know that Big Max was also going to help those two fight the demon?"

"Oh really? Twilight trying to help I can understand, but your brother? don't be offended but although I am grateful that you and your brother accompanied us, you do not have any obligation to me”

“We are still grateful for saving us from a life of slavery, plus in a way I consider you a good friend and part of the family, plus…”. A loud crash interrupts Applejack and Sunset's conversation.

“Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich's secret project again. Aren't you curious to see what it's about?" Twilight asked who was just arriving along with Fluttershy.

"It's not that there's anything else to do." Sunset replied.

"I'm going to accompany them." Fluttershy also said. "Those loud noises don't let my animals sleep."

“Can the animals that live in your shadow hear the noises?” Applejack asked out of curiosity.

"My animals can hear the same thing that I hear when they are in my shade." Fluttershy said shyly. "And they can only sleep when I sleep."

"FIRE!!"

A strong explosion destroyed a small tree that was far away on a hill.

"There is still a long way to go to achieve what we need, the shot was too powerful." Cheese Sandwich says as he looks at the destroyed tree.

"The tree was shattered, if it had been a human or even a minor god it would have died instantly." Pinkie Pie said as she went through the pieces of wood.

"Of course that would happen, maybe if we used less black powder and a ball that isn't iron?" Cheese Sandwich asked as he looked at the cannon that Pinlie Pie was holding.

“You're right, I guess there's still a long way to go before I can create a 'party cannon', at least now we have a prototype”. Pinkie Pie says a little discouraged.

“A prototype?! So that?!" Twilight yelled excitedly. Her companions did not find it strange that she acted like this since they had noticed Twilight's need to learn and do experiments. "You have to explain everything to me!" She said excitedly as she walked over to Pinkie.

"Twilight, why don't you give Pinkie space so she can talk?" Applejack says.

"It feels weird that you're saying that to anyone other than Pinkie Pie." Sunset says.

“So this is the secret project that you and Cheese Sandwich have been working on?” Fluttershy said pointing to the cannon Pinkie Pie was holding. "What is it supposed to be for?"

“It's a party cannon! Cheese Sandwich and I made it to shoot confetti but first we are experimenting to know the power and type of bullet it will need to be able to shoot people safely. I just hope he's ready for Sunset's birthday." Pinkie answered with her usual smile and when they all heard her answer they looked at the tree that was destroyed.

"So you're going to shoot Sunset with that?" Applejack asked.

"Yep". She answered simply.

After a long and awkward silence Sunset responds. "Definitely nothing scary."

Twilight asks. “Can you show us how it works?”

"Of course!" Answers Pinkie excited. "First we have to throw some black powder, then an iron ball, then we aim at the target and...!" Pinkie points the cannon in the distance and fires.

BANG

A strong impact is seen in the same place where the tree was before.

"Incredible! TRUE?!"

“How do you make black powder?” Twilight asks.

"It's a secret recipe that me and Cheese Sandwich invented."

“And the iron ball? Do you have any special manufacturing process?”

"I don't know". Pinkie replied.

"Cheese Sandwich, did you make the iron ball?"

"I made a few but Pinkie made the most." The god answered.

"I suppose we will have to go look for the ball that you already shot." Applejack said.

“It is not necessary, here is another one”. And Pinkie had an iron ball in his hand.

"Where did you get it from?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know, I just needed an iron ball and then it just appeared." Pinkie Pie answered as if it was something normal.

Twilight pulls out a small scroll and a quill. "Could you take out another iron ball please?"

"Because? I already have one here"

"That's not the point, I want to see how you make another iron ball appear!" Twilight replied with a frustrated tone.

"I thought the point was to see how the cannon fired." Pinkie said not understanding what Twilight wanted.

"Just pull out another iron ball!" Shouts Twilight.

"Relax sugar cube." Says Applejack trying to relax Twilight. "Why don't you focus on something else?"

Twilight sighs. "You're right Applejack, sorry for yelling at you Pinkie Pie, would you lend me the ball to study?"

"Of course". But when Pinkie hands the ball to Twilight, she drops it because she can't bear the weight of the object.

"You are well?" Sunset asked a little worried.

"I'm fine, sorry to worry you, your majesty, it's just that that thing is too heavy..." Twilight falls silent when she sees that Applejack lifts the ball without problem. “How can you lift that so easily!?”

"It is true that this thing weighs but not that much." Then Applejack stares at the iron ball. “This has a weird glow to it but this glow looks like the glow that air mass we always train with.”

"Could you pass me the iron ball Applejack?" When Sunset takes the object she is surprised because she felt the same energy that she felt when she was near the masses of energies that Applejack was pointing at her. "I think this iron ball was formed with the aura of materialization." She says surprised.

"Pinkie Pie! when did you achieve this!?” Twilight asks.

“It all started when Cheese Sandwich and I were looking for a fun way to instantly bring a party but didn't know how so we thought what do all parties have in common?...”

Five minutes later...

"...then Cheese Sandwich told me not to bring the fire near the barrel containing the black powder which is curious since he belongs to the affiliation of the fire..."

Ten minutes later...

"...so while we were having lunch and he explained to me how metallurgy worked, plus his power with fire helped to shape metal..."

Fifteen minutes later…

"...after he helped put out the fire after the accident, I asked him how the black powder worked and he told me how sometimes he liked to make toys..."

Twenty minutes later...

"...so after manufacturing some ten iron balls we started testing the prototype..."

Twenty five minutes later...

"...and we had not realized that we had run out of iron balls because we had fired them about fourteen times and we realized that it made them appear in my hand like this." Then Twilight, who was falling asleep, gets up abruptly and wakes the others so they can see what Pinkie Pie was about to do.

They all look at Pinkie Pie's hand and notice as if a shiny dust was accumulating and little by little an iron ball was materializing. "Pinkie Pie, I think you unconsciously learned how to use the materialization aura." Fluttershy says surprised.

"Pinkie, repeat everything." Twilight says.

“It all started when Cheese Sandwich and I were looking for…” She starts counting it all over again.

“Don't tell the story!! I just want you to materialize an iron ball again!!” Twilight screamed.

"Wouldn't it be better to report this to Discord?" They all looked in the direction of the voice to see who it was and they all jumped in surprise when they noticed Wallflower Blush.

"How long have you been there?" asked Applejack.

"Since the pink girl began to tell her story." Wallflower answered without much encouragement. “I came because the meeting with the demons is over and Discord is looking for Sunset and Fluttershy.

After walking for a while Sunset decided to speak. "I'm curious Wallflower, the day we arrived at the camp and saw the giant eye in the sky, I saw you use your divine power but there was something I couldn't realize, what affiliation do you belong to?"

"Sunset please don't ask Wallflower that." Fluttershy said.

"Because? Is that offensive in any way?" Sunset asks blankly.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, she's just a human so she doesn't understand this kind of thing, I guess you already know what the affiliations of the gods are."

"I know the name of the ten affiliations"

"I'm from the divination faction but in a way I'm different." Wallflower replied.

"Different?"

"There is something you must understand Sunset." Fluttershy says. "When a god is born he does not belong to any affiliation, but when we reach a certain age we receive our revelation and instinctively find out what affiliation we belong to."

"So the affiliation is random?"

“More or less, in essence there are certain factors that influence. Once you know which affiliation you belong to, you have to go to one of the nine temples that corresponds to the affiliation where they train you so that you know how to use divine powers...".

“Nine temples, one by affiliation? I thought there were ten affiliations”. Sunset says.

"The affiliation of anger does not have a temple." Fluttershy replied. “Going back to the Wallflower theme, belong to the affiliation of..”

"I belong to the divination affiliation." Wallflower answers.

"Was that a problem?" Sunset asked.

"Not that it's a problem but..." Fluttershy didn't know how to answer the question.

So Wallflower decides to respond. “Of all the affiliations, the Divination affiliation is the one that is expected to contribute the most in the society of the gods, but in all my life I have not had any visions and I have not cast Divinations either. It is curious that from the affiliation from which something is expected the most and one cannot contribute anything ”. Sunset noticed Wallflower's sad look. "It was even noticed at some point that I did not appear in any vision or divination of the other gods, it was as if the world ignored me, but Discord did not ignore me. He told me that if the world ignores you then it's because the world hasn't realized your potential and that would take it by surprise”. Then Wallflower smiles softly. "When we escaped from the sacred lands I wanted to be of more help so if I couldn't use divination then I would train my own body to improve myself."

"It must have been hard for you." Sunset said.

"It was at first, but thanks to that I achieved something that nobody could." Wallflower said.

"Do you remember the 'omnipresent eye'?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, Discord told me what it was for."

“That saves time. One day we noticed that the eye was approaching the camp and I was afraid that they would capture us, I just wanted the eye to ignore us, so the eye just passed by, at first no one knew why, but Discord looked at me and smiled, It turns out that I unconsciously activated my unique divine power that helps me to be ignored in many ways. Since then I have tried to improve my ability and have used it to keep the camp safe.”

After Wallflower finished speaking, the three of them arrive where Discord is, who was in the company of Double Diamond and another demon who had not yet introduced herself.

"I brought them as you requested Discord"

"Thank you Wallflower, Fluttershy, please, we need you to join the meeting."

“Is it important that I participate?” the goddess asked shyly.

"You may be one of the important parts of Starlight Glimmer's plan." Double Diamond said. "Wallflower, we also need to ask you for something."

The two concerned goddesses look at Discord and he calms them down. "Don't worry, they're not going to force you to do anything you don't want." And the two goddesses enter the tent. "Hey girl." Discord calls Sunset. "There is someone who wants to talk to you, I will be inside the meeting." Then Discord also enters the tent leaving her alone with a demon.

"Thank you for agreeing to talk to me." The demon removes her hood revealing long bright purple hair streaked with white and elegantly styled. Despite being covered by the hood at first, her skin is dark purple instead of dark gray like the other demons. "My name is Rarity Belle, member and representative of the clan The Children of Nightmare." Rarity respectfully bows to Sunset, "It's an honor to finally meet the future bearer of Nightmare."

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 8

MORE THAN NINE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

SECOND DEMONIC INCURSION.

In the middle of a city in ruins you could see a countless amount of corpses of both humans, gods and demons. And in one of the buildings that were barely intact, a demon wearing bone and skin armor slit the throat of a god and threw his corpse along with others that were accumulated.

"I guess it was another flop." Aria Blaze said as she wiped the blood off her knife and she gazed at the ruined city whose name she never bothered to learn. "I hate when she has a reason."

"Oh really? Because I love having the reason." Said a goddess with an arrogant smile calmly approaching Aria.

"What are you doing here Adagio? Why aren't you with the other gods celebrating the victory?" Aria asked with little encouragement.

“I want to ask you the same thing, you, your clan and the rest of the demons are still here, why? At the moment I dissuaded the great gods from taking over other zones and Sonata was barely able to dissuade the aura masters that they have to regroup first.” Says Adagio.

"Oh really? Sonata managed to convince them? The same Sonata that can't convince a stone to stay still? ”

"Yeah". Adagio said as he showed a flat look. Then the two sisters laugh together for a while, happy about the reunion.

After finishing laughing Aria speaks. “Before he died, the supreme king had already given the order to return to Tartarus, but a good number of demons did not want to leave until they recovered Nightmare's corpse. Me and my clan are protecting the rear so that it does not attack the group that is taking the body. Aria sighs. “That idiot king thought that attacking in the middle of a human war would give us the upper hand.”

“Do you want to recover the body? In that case I'm not surprised, I could see All Master's fight against Nightmare, it's supposed to be an ancient demonic beast, its corpse itself has great value but why are you helping them?"

“For nothing in particular but…”. Aria thinks for a while. "I guess some demons will owe me a favor later."

"Who knew that a few decades in Tartarus would make you smarter?" Adagio ignored Aria's scowl. "Did you know that Sonata earned the right to open her own aura school?" Says Adagio trying to change the subject.

PRESENT

"Could you repeat what you said?" Sunset asks the demon.

"You are the one Nightmare has chosen as the next bearer." Rarity answers.

“I figured Nightmare was the reason you wanted to talk to me because Discord explained that to me. but why? I know that Nightmare was an ancient demon beast and that the soul was in an armor for a while, but I also knew that that armor was destroyed.”

"You're right, the armor was destroyed and a large part of the Nightmare's soul was dissipated, but the Nightmare's soul is still calling you." The demon sighs. "Let's walk for a while." Sunset and Rarity walk around the camp and Rarity watches the scenery. "The surface of this place is so charming, it reminds me why we demons keep fighting."

Sunset wanted to ask why she said that but she didn't want to change the subject. "So are you going to explain it to me?"

"Sorry dear, let me explain." Rarity unsheaths the sword that she had at her waist. “Unlike humans and gods, all demons have a special gift. Tell me, what do you see in this sword?

Sunset stares at the sword, it looked like any longsword, it had a fancy hilt and looked well cared for. But then she noticed something small, like when she felt the aura of materialization despite not being able to see it or when she saw a divine power for the first time. "The sword is alive." She whispered trying to hide her shocked expression.

“Excellent observation”. Rarity said. “This sword is my 'Spirit Weapon'. As you know, the gods have their divine powers, humans have the aura of matecialization and demons have 'Spiritual Weapons'. Rarity begins to make some movements with the sword demonstrating her ability. "Have you heard the saying, that the sword is an extension of your body?" Before Sunset can reply, Rarity throws the sword away and the weapon burrows into the top of a tree. "For demons it's something a little deeper." Rarity lifts the scabbard of her sword and the sword detaches from the tree and returns directly to the scabbard. “Although we demons are in good physical condition, that is not enough to fight against the gods. When we pick up a weapon we have the ability to infuse a fraction of our souls, that makes our weapons more powerful and also gives us some abilities.”

"But what does it have to do with Nightmare?"

"Now I'll explain. During the Second Demon Raid the Supreme King of that era somehow convinced Nightmare to participate as well. That war lasted for seven years, and to stop Nightmare the All Master had to intervene directly. When Nightmare died, many demons fought to recover Nightmare's corpse." Rarity picked the fruit from a tree and looked at it as if it were a great treasure. "In Tartarus there is always a shortage of food, sometimes the famine comes to such an extent that we resort to cannibalism."

Sunset was a bit surprised at first but she remembered when Grandpa Gruff told her stories of the old griffin wars and how sometimes they would go so far as to eat their dead companions.

“The name of the first demon that ate Nightmare's flesh and blood has been lost a long time ago but many who ate it became great warriors and for some reason the corpse still continues to regenerate even though it has no life essence left, but not all the demons that eat it survive."

"I guessed it, power given away always comes with a flaw."

"I wouldn't say it's a defect, actually it's a precaution." Rarity noticed Sunset's curiosity. "Actually it's simple, only the weak can be blessed with power, if a demon that is already powerful itself eats Nightmare's body then it dies."

"You too committee?"

"Yes, me and my sister went on the journey and ate the meat and drank the Nightmare's blood to..."

"My sister even brought plates, forks, knives, and a pair of fancy glasses to drink the blood!" It says a little demon girl who has the same skin tone as Rarity and her hair was long with light pink and pale purple carvings.

“Sweetie Belle!! What did I tell you about interrupting conversations?! And of course I would bring those things! We are not savages that we have to eat using our hands!”

"Although what you are telling me is interesting, you still haven't explained why they were looking for me."

"I'm sorry about that, now I'll explain. During the fall of Equestria, all living demons that have eaten Nightmare's flesh felt the soul of the beast roaring in pain. Later we learned that All Master fought against the bearer of Nightmare. None knew that the soul still existed. Then we all left our respective clans and came together to create a new clan made up of only demons that have consumed Nightmare's body." Rarity sighs after explaining everything to Sunset. "Now we are looking for the surviving soul and your Sunset Shimmer can guide us."

"Discord told me that Nightmare's soul is calling me, but I want you to understand that I'm not going to go looking for him yet, also I don't know what to do with the soul when I find him."

"What you do with the soul is your decision, Nightmare chose you and we are not going to contradict the decision he made, the job of our clan is only to guarantee your safety until you claim the soul."

“How long are they going to stay?” Gloriosa asks Discord while they are both drinking alcohol sitting by a campfire.

"I don't know". Discord replied, taking a drink from his bottle.

"Humans have been in the camp for almost a year now but we haven't had any problems with them, even the children are having fun." Glorious with a warm smile she watches the children both gods and humans play while Scootaloo rides a diamond dog. "When I see this sometimes I forget the problems of the world."

"It's scenes like this that are worth fighting for." Discord says while also smiling.

“Discord, the fallen gods were founded so that the gods who escaped from the sacred land could have a calm and peaceful life, not to overthrow the council of the gods or All Master. But you brought humans and now you bring demons our ancestral enemies into our home, even some in the camp are talking about another demonic incursion. Humans won't be able to survive because there are almost no aura masters left because of the purge."

"Don't worry, the demons won't invade the humans this time." Discord replied.

"This time? Discord... what did you do?" Gloriosa asked with a concerned expression.

"I did what I thought was necessary for everyone to have a future." Discord noted that Gloriosa wanted a more specific answer. "After All Master withdrew from Canterlot I headed straight for Tartarus to meet with Ahuizotl to discuss future plans, but Starlight Glimmer had an army ready for a raid."

"But Cerberus guards the door."

“And she already had a plan to kill him, she would lose the life of many demons but they would still manage to kill the beast and it would march to the human lands. I offered him a better plan, I told him that there is a way to subdue Cerberus without anyone dying and I also offered him a better objective".

“A better target? From what I know what the demons want is to settle in the human lands, the reason why the council of the gods protects the humans and allowed the masters of the aura is so that they don't stop the extraction of carnelian, thanks to cerberus that the demons could be contained, the Council of the gods could approve the purge. But what would be a better target?”. asks the goddess.

"Sacred Land".

“Discord, do you realize what you just said? The only times the sacred land had conflicts were during the era of the Old Gods over five thousand years ago and in the Tidal Wave War and that was over one hundred and fifty years ago. And finally, do you know how to get there? I must remind you that the only safe way is in the floating castles, trying to reach it by sea is suicide unless you know which direction to take”.

"When the day ends, those problems may already be solved, but only if they accept." Discord replied.

"They?" Gloriosa thought for a bit until she realized it. "Wallflower and Fluttershy."

"I'm not going to force them, it will be their own decisions."

“And if they refuse?”

"The same will happen but the number of deaths will be higher."

“And how will they get to the sacred island? You know very well that it is almost impossible to go by sea because of the supernatural mist that surrounds the island and even if they arrive, the entrance is guarded by The Hundred Defenders”.

“Now there is someone who can guide us to the island... to be precise, there are two people who can guide us. And about The Hundred Defenders... that is an obstacle that cannot be avoided, but don't worry, I know what their weakness is”.

“Timber told me that you erased the vision you've had saved all these years. Are you sure of that decision?

"Yes, I decided that I am no longer going to let those visions decide more for me."

“And about the demons? Can you trust them?

"I know that I can trust Aria and Starlight Glimmer."

"And why are you so sure of that?"

“Aria, she needs to get to the sacred ground for her own personal reasons and she knows she can't do it alone. And The Supreme Queen has a strong desire for demons to live on the surface but…” Gloriosa notices Discord's look of sadness and guilt. "She also has a deep hatred for the advice of the gods."

AWAY FROM THE CAMP

"This way, Master Tiara." Says a twelve year old girl while she is crouched looking at the ground. She wore thick-framed glasses and leather clothing.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Master? Listen Silver Spoon, you're my friend, not my servant and not my bodyguard, besides, I've been able to take care of myself for weeks now”. The girl says as she materializes a chakram in her hand.

"I understand. But we've already gone too far, are you sure you want to continue?"

"Yes, I'm not going to stop until I find the slave responsible for all the insidete that happened a year ago."

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 9

THREE MONTHS AGO

CRYSTAL EMPIRE

In the Royal Gardens of the Crystal Castle Princess Cadance was in a meditative position with her hands together, then she slowly separates her hands and dust particles begin to form and then dissipate.

"I am glad to see that in a short time you have managed to master the basics of the aura materialization technique, I am really surprised, the simple fact of having the mental eye has greatly accelerated your training." Filthy Rich says proudly. “Unfortunately, since I didn't have the mental eye, it took me longer to learn the techniques of the aura. But with your natural talent you will be able to master more advanced techniques”.

"I am grateful for your teachings, Master Rich, I will make sure not to disappoint you." The princess says respectfully.

“Diamond Tiara! Why don't you pay attention?!” Filthy Rich strongly rebuked his daughter who was sleeping right next to the princess.

"Because? I already learned the art of aura faster than the princess.”

“Child, you have seen me use the aura all your life and also you have the mental eye, It is natural that you have learned faster, but the princess only started training half a year ago and she has made a lot of progress, at this rate she will be better than you."

After listening to her father's sermon Diamond Tiara gets up to leave. "I'm going to leave the castle for a while."

"May the Silver Spoon be with you." After seeing how her daughter leaves, Filthy Rich sighs in resignation. "I don't know what I'm going to do with her."

"She just needs time, I guess her kidnapping affected her too much." Said Princess Cadanse.

“More than you can imagine, before the kidnapping she had no interest in anything other than having fun but after that she seemed to mature a bit, she began to study more and put more effort into her training with the aura but when she finally managed to materialize something. ..”

"She just thinks she's missing something."

"Suppose she wants to find slave Sun so she can take revenge." When Filthy Rich finished speaking she saw that the princess stood up but she had a gloomy face as if she didn't like to be left out of the subject.

"Are you sure what you want to do, Master Tiara?" Silver Spoon asked as he saddled a couple of horses.

"It doesn't matter, as long as I wait it seems that the princess will never be able to find the escaped slaves and the gods have their own business." Diamond Tiara said. "I guess I'll have to find it myself."

“But Master Tiara. Where should she start looking?

“Well, where it started, the northern mines. And I'm going to need your skills, Silver Spoon."

“We've been traveling for three weeks, how are you sure it's around here? The mines are on the other side of the mountain and I understand that Master Filthy Rich found nothing." Silver Spoon says as she and Diamond Tiara ride through a forest.

"Daddy never looked for the slaves." Silver Spoon was surprised by what her friend said. "The goddess Chrysalis prohibited any search or investigation."

"Because?"

"Officially all the slaves died in the collapse of the mine but the reality is that I don't know what happened, the goddess simply said that it was a problem that the gods had to solve."

"Miss Tiara, look." Silver Spoon points out what appears to be an abandoned town. "This place must have been without inhabitants for months." While the girls continued advancing they could see corrals, steel mills, blacksmith shops, food stores and small houses. "It's like this place was made especially as a supply base."

"Just by seeing this town I can deduce that the plan to escape from the mine took a few years." Then Diamond Tiara kicks a wall in frustration. “That slave had me kidnapped, gagged and stayed in a hole for a whole day! I need to find a trace! whatever!".

Silver Spoon begins to scour the makeshift settlement looking for clues. “Master Tiara, it is true that that slave was responsible for what happened to her, but why is she looking for her? Now you are fine, what is the need to seek revenge and…”

"You misunderstood me!" Diamond Tiara interrupted her friend. "Who said I'm looking for revenge?" Diamond Tiara noticed how taken aback Silver Spoon was. “As you already know, all my life I have never been in any danger, not even the most insignificant. Daddy was always there to protect me. But while I was kidnapped I realized how spoiled, vulnerable and weak I was and that experience taught me a valuable lesson, now I have managed to understand many things”.

"It's true, lately I've noticed that when you ask for something and you're denied, you no longer throw a tantrum and accept that you won't have it." Says Silver Spoon. "I also noticed that he put more effort into his aura training."

"Silver Spoon, please keep looking for traces."

"Sorry, continue with what she was saying."

"What she was going to say is that I want to find her and get to know better the girl who freed more than thirty thousand slaves."

"Master Tiara, I found something."

"What did you find?"

"Look over there." Silver Spoon points out a large area that despite the passage of time some traces of footprints are still preserved. "It is hard to believe that more than thirty thousand slaves have camped here."

"I don't think they have all been here at the same time, I would say that after collapsing the entrance, most of them stayed inside the mine and gradually came to the surface." Diamond Tiara stares at the tracks that left the town. "Most of the tracks go in the direction of Equestria and the rest go other ways."

"They should be the slaves of other nations who want to return to their respective countries." Then Silver Spoon notices something curious. "Master Tiara, look at this." She points to some footprints that look different. "These tracks are not caribou tracks, they actually look like tracks of Running Lizards."

“Running lizards?”

“Yes, they are wild creatures from the barren lands to the east. It was said that before the gods abandoned those lands, the inhabitants tamed them and used them to travel long distances, although now they are just predators".

"Can you track it Silver Spoon?"

Silver Spoon smirked. "I belonged to the tribes of the eastern lands, I can track anything." Then examine the tracks. "Despite all this time, it's incredible that these traces have lasted so long, I suppose it's because no one else should pass through here because it is so remote."

"If dad had made an effort to search, he would have found this place but... the goddess Chrysalis specifically ordered him not to look for the slaves, I think there was something that involved the affairs of the gods."

"I think I know where they're headed, they're definitely going south."

“We have been moving south for almost a month! How far should we keep traveling?”

“Since we're tracking running lizards, they definitely traveled a long way,” Silver Spoon replies.

“But do we have to cross the forest? Wouldn't it be better to surround the area to avoid danger?"

"If we surround the forest we could lose a lot of time." Then they both realize that it is getting dark. "We will have to camp, it would be very dangerous anyway to continue traveling."

While Silver Spoon sets up a tent, Diamond Tiara gathers dry branches and wood for a campfire. But as she picked up the branches she felt that something was watching her from the middle of the trees, Diamond Tiara tried to see what she was and what she saw scared her. It was a black wolf almost the size of a horse, but when Diamond Tiara was about to escape, but the wolf bowed his head in greeting and left.

"That? That a wolf greeted him":

"It's true Silver Spoon." Diamond Tiara says as she throws nearby branches around the camp. "That wolf was huge and when he saw me he bowed his head in greeting."

"Master Tiara...do you remember what I told you about eating any mushroom from the forest?"

“I haven't eaten any mushrooms...! Lately, But I know what I saw!"

“I'm not saying otherwise, just that it's hard to believe. For now, let's sleep tonight and tomorrow morning we'll continue talking."

"Okay... but I know what I saw!"

"Good night, Master Tiara."

"Good evening, Silver Spoon." So the two girls entered the tent. "Silver Spoon?"

"What's up Master Tiara?"

"Thank you for accompanying me on this capricious journey."

In the middle of the night Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon woke up to hear branches breaking, someone had approached the camp.

"What was that noise?" Whispered Diamond Tiara.

"They are definitely bandits." Silver Spoon answers as she discreetly peeks out of the tent. "I can see three beloved men with swords and two others who appear to be archers." The raiders were wearing remnants of armor that appeared to be from different sets. "Their equipment doesn't seem to be very good, it seems that the equipment they own is looted."

Diamond Tiara quickly materialized two chakram. "I can take care of the three who carry swords, you kill the two archers when I give you the signal."

"But Master Tiara, isn't it better to be a little more discreet?"

"Attack!" Diamond Tiara yelled, interrupting what Silver Spoon was trying to say.

Diamond Tiara quickly comes out of the tent and quickly attacks a bandit cutting his neck and before the others react one of the archers received an arrow to the chest and the other archer received an arrow to the head. At the same time, Diamond Tiara threw her two chakrams at the other two bandits, cutting off their heads.

"Good job Silver Spoon." Diamond Tiara said as Silver Spoon came out of the tent holding a bow and arrow.

"Thank you for the compliment, Master Tiara, but there is a possibility that more bandits are coming."

Then a few arrows are fired and Silver Spoon quickly dodges them.

"What was that!" Diamond Tiara screams in alarm.

"More bandits... RUN!" Silver Spoon yelled as she pulled a bag out of the tent and then both girls ran straight into the woods as the bandit group rode out to capture them. "I was going to tell you to wait to analyze the situation but you are always that reckless!"

"But why are they chasing us?!" Diamond Tiara asked as she ran through the trees trying not to get hit by the arrows.

“Are you serious?! We just killed five of them and you ask why?!” complained Silver Spoon. Then they begin to hear their pursuers screaming and the two girls noticed that they were no longer being followed.

The two stop to see what happened but they didn't see any of their pursuers. "Why aren't they after us anymore?"

"I don't know but we better keep moving forward."

"Isn't it dangerous to walk through the woods at night?"

"I think it would be more dangerous to go back to where the bandits are."

"You have a reason, keep moving forward."

While Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon decided to continue advancing, the sky cleared, leaving the moon to shine and illuminate the broken bodies of the bandits.

It was already dawn and the two traveling girls had not stopped walking. "I'm hungry, we should try to find food." Diamond Tiara says tiredly.

“Look Master Tiara. There is a cabin in that direction”. The cabin was made of bricks and mud, it also seemed to be too old but it stood firm.

"Do you think there is someone living in that house?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Yes, surely there is still someone living in the cabin, look that way." Silver Spoon points to a pair of graves that were in what appeared to be the cottage's courtyard, “although one grave appears to have been there for over a year the other grave appears to have been dug just a few days ago”.

“About a week ago to be precise.” Says a voice that comes from the house.

Instinctively Silver Spoon points his bow and arrow in the direction from which he came from. She was a girl who looked the same age as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Her hair is red and her skin is yellow, she wears a pink bow in her hair.

“I see that you are both tired, my name is Applebloom. Would you both like to come in and rest?"

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 10

“Sorry for the mess but I don't usually have many visitors.” Although the house was too old, it was evident that it was sturdy and the interior was decently maintained. “I have some tea, or would you prefer cider?” Apple Bloom asks her visitors.

"Don't worry. She is my Master Diamond Tiara and my name is Silver Spoon, I am a humble servant.” The two bow in greeting.

“Thank you very much for the invitation to your home.” Diamond Tiara says.

“This is not my home, my grandparents and I found this abandoned house and we simply moved in, we wanted to leave later but my grandparents' health began to fail.”

“Those two graves in the patio?” Diamond Tiarara asked.

“Grand Pear and Granny Smith.” Apple Bloom responded sadly. But he notices that his guests also get a little sad. “Sorry for spoiling the atmosphere.”

“Don't worry, I shouldn't have asked.”

“And you two, why did you go so deep into the forest?”

“We were escaping from a group of bandits, but you don't have to worry, they stopped following us for a while.” Silver Spoon responded.

“The bandits must be dead.” And Applebloom noticed how disconcerted his two guests were. “This is a bit sudden but... Do you think it's possible for humans to talk to animals?”

"That? Why do you ask us?”

“I thought that since they were traveling it was possible that they heard stories or rumors.”

“That would be impossible.” Diamond Tiara responded. “Unless he is a god of the faction of the earth who are the only ones who can. Maybe there are animals that are a little more intelligent than average or humans that can understand animals a little, but I don't think it's possible to talk between humans and animals."

Apple Bloom smiles sadly. “Near this there is a huge wolf that can easily talk to humans.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon start laughing at what Apple Bloom told them. Then they notice that Apple Bloom stops smiling.

“Let's not talk about that anymore. Excuse me for mentioning that silly story.”

Diamond Tiara realizes that Apple Bloom was serious. “Sorry for the lack of respect, could you please explain to us about the wolf?”

“Don't worry... like I said it's just a silly story.”

“'Aura of materialization'”. Diamond Tiara materialisa chakram. "My father is one of the few aura masters who were forgiven during the purge, in the future I will also be an aura master even though I am barely an apprentice, do not underestimate what I decide to believe or not."

I met him about a year ago. My sister and brother had been turned into slaves, after I found out that they were sent to work in the mines, I and my grandparents thought we would never see them again until we heard rumors of an escape.

“Grandpa Pear. “Are you sure we should continue down this path?”

“I'm old but I'm not decrepit! If I say that the trail continues through the forest, it is because it is through the forest!” An old man says that he is riding a horse.

“But we only took this road because you and grandma said you had a hunch after seeing the footprints in that abandoned settlement.”

“Correct, I said which trail would lead us to find your brothers and thanks to Granny Smith we are doubly sure.”

“If you say so... Grandma, you look tired, maybe we should stop so you can rest?”

“Of course I'm not tired, but it's getting dark and we have to camp.” Then Granny Smith sees an abandoned cabin. “Look over there! Surely the owners of the house will let us stay tonight.”

When the three approach the house and knock on the door, they begin to notice that the house was empty. “Let's go in anyway, you can see that the place has been abandoned for a long time.” Then Applebloom and Grand Pear break down the door.

“I'm not going to repair that.” Granny Smith said as he examined the rest of the house. “The fireplace looks in good condition, I think I can light it to make a decent dinner.”

That was the first night in a long time that we ate and slept inside a cabin, I felt happy to have to eat at a table with my grandparents and although the beds were not very comfortable at least it was better than sleeping on the floor, but the next day.

"Grandmother! Grandmother!". Apple Bloom screams through tears.

"What's going on!"

“Grandpa doesn't wake up!!”

I never knew how it happened. Was he sick and we didn't know it? He was hurt and he didn't want to tell us? Or was he just very old? It was all he could think about as he dug the grave for Grandpa Pear. And then I met him.

Apple Bloom sees a huge wolf approaching, the wolf looked old, it had black fur and it was obvious that its body was full of scars. The girl didn't know what to do because she was scared and too tired to run, at that moment she only thought of one thing.

"Dad are you! We have finally found you!” Apple Bloom shouted. “You are my father who was cursed and transformed into a wolf! “My grandmother and I have been looking for you non-stop.”

It was complete nonsense of course. In my family we always stood for truth and honesty... but I was scared and I was barely thinking clearly... or to be precise I was not thinking clearly and I told that lie without thinking twice.

The huge wolf stared at the girl who looks desperate and scared and for a moment it seemed like he was thinking about something and then...

“Mother, is she in good health, daughter?”

Since that day the wolf brought us food, sometimes a wild boar, other times he brought us a deer, the wolf took care of us as if we were really his family and without us realizing it, time passed.

Apple Bloom watched how it was snowing in the forest. “Grandma, is it normal for it to snow this time of year?”

“Of course not, when the gods give blessings, they improve the weather in certain areas, but this causes the weather in other places to go crazy and get weird.” Granny Smith said.

“Grandma, please go to bed, you haven't been in good health for some time, you need to rest.”

"I will rest when I die, besides we still have to find your brothers, so we will be leaving after the snow melts."

Time continues to pass and the wolf kept bringing us food, but I noticed a lonely look in his eyes, I felt bad for continuing to be afraid of him... and for continuing to lie.

“Can I accompany you? I need to collect some plants for grandma’s medicine.”

The wolf seems to think about Apple Bloom's request. “Stay close to me, you could get lost in the forest.”

After a whole afternoon the wolf and Apple Bloom return to the cabin, before Apple Bloom enters the cabin she looks at the wolf nervously. “Thank you for letting me accompany you... dad.” And quickly the girl enters the house.

I started accompanying him whenever I could, I enjoyed every walk we had together and every time I called him dad it felt less like a lie.

“Come grandmother! Why don’t you want to see dad?” Apple Bloom asked as she tried to get Granny Smith to leave the cabin.

"You know very well that I don't like to lie, I still believe that we should tell him the truth. Also, why do you think the wolf believed you?" Granny Smith asked.

But Applebloom ignores what his grandmother says about him. “Look, here it comes! This way dad!” Applebloom calls to the wolf. “Grandma, please try to be polite.”

“My granddaughter tells me to be polite? I’m definitely getting too old.” Then Granny Smith looks at the wolf who was standing in front of the cabin.

The wolf had doubts at first but he greeted her. “How are you feeling, mother?” You could notice the nervousness in the wolf's voice.

After a short moment of silence Granny Smith smiles and answers. “I can finally see you again son.”

I never knew why Grandma decided not to tell him the truth. She and dad spent the entire afternoon together talking and laughing, although I never knew what they were talking about, it always seemed to improve her mood but... but those days couldn't last forever.

“Grandma, I brought you more medicine, dad says that this plant is very effective in relieving pain…”

“Applebloom... how long have we been here?” Granny Smith asked his granddaughter.

“Almost a year, grandma.”

“I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you to look for your brothers.”

"Don't say that grandma, you will recover and then you and dad can go look for...". Apple Bloom remained silent after realizing what she was saying.

“Apple Bloom, he is not your father, we can't keep lying to the wolf. We must tell him to stop working so hard, tell him to return to nature and live his own life... we must tell him that we are not his family.”

“It's only been two weeks since I buried grandma and dad is still crying over her death.” Tears began to come out in the girl's eyes. “And I still haven't dared to tell her the truth...what do you think she should do?” She asked Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who listened attentively to the story.

“Don't tell him the truth.” Diamond Tiara says. “If what you say is true, then your lie has become too big, if you tell the truth the wolf may want to kill you or at best it will just abandon you. But if you keep the lie, that wolf 'will belong to you.'"

Apple Bloom quickly stands up and opens the door to the cabin. "Get out of here! How can you...?!". The girl's screams stop when an arrow hits her shoulder.

“Silver Spoon!” Diamond Tiara shouts.

“Right away Master!” Silver Spoon responds as she runs to pick up the injured girl while Diamond Tiara quickly closes the door.

“We know you are there!!” Shout someone. "We were originally thinking about killing you because you killed some of my subordinates but we know that one of you belongs to a wealthy family, if we capture you we can ask for a large ransom."

“They must be the bandits we ran into and apparently they searched our tent so they know who we are... Silver Spoon, how is Apple Bloom?!”

“The arrow did not go through the shoulder, if I remove the arrow it could cause bleeding!” Silver Spoon responded as he tended to the injured girl.

“Okay, let's make sure she doesn't die.” She says as she looks out the window to see the situation. "I can count about fifteen bandits, there may be more and since we don't have the surprise factor I don't think we can confront them."

Apple Bloom tried to speak despite the pain caused by her injury.

"Please don't talk." Silver Spoon tries to calm Apple Bloom. "Master Tiara, she looks like she's in shock!"

Apple Bloom was losing consciousness but before she lost consciousness she heard the loud howl of a wolf.

Apple Bloom was waking up in bed and had noticed that her arm was bandaged. "What happened?".

“The bandits who were chasing us found us and wounded you, you have been unconscious for almost two days.” Diamond Tiara tells him, she was sitting in a chair next to the bed. “They had us surrounded but the wolf attacked the bandits and saved us.”

“How is Dad?” Apple Bloom asked but he got no answer. "Because you do not answer?". She quickly gets out of bed despite the pain of her wound and begins searching throughout the cabin until she enters a room where she found the wolf that was injured.

“When the fight ended the wolf had lost too much blood. Silver Spoon knows some medicine but he couldn't do much...". Diamond Tiara watched as Apple Bloom hugged the wolf and cried.

“Sorry, sorry for making you have to take care of me and grandma!” Apple Bloom couldn't stop crying.

"Do not worry daughter. Besides, what kind of father wouldn't protect his family?” The wounded wolf said.

Apple Bloom felt happy and hurt by the wolf's words. “There is something you should know.” Apple Bloom mustered up the courage to say the next words. “The truth is that I... and grandma are not...”.

"I know". The wolf responded before the girl finished speaking. "I always knew it".

“But…but how?” She asked bewilderedly.

The wolf laughs weakly despite his wounds. “I am a wolf that can talk to humans. How silly do you think I am?”

“Why did you take care of us if you knew the truth?”

"I'm an old wolf, maybe too old, when I saw you burying your grandfather I noticed the glassy look in your eyes, I thought that maybe a little scare would cheer up the human who lost hope of living, so I just got close enough so you could see me. Of all the reactions I expected you to call me 'dad', it was something I never expected. At first it was a whim but as time progressed and we spent it together whether it was walking in the forest and teaching about plants to a little girl who saw me as a father or a simple conversation with a nice old lady who considered me a son... ”. Then the wolf growls in pain.

“Please don't talk too much, you're still hurt.” Apple Bloom says worriedly.

“I don't think I have much time left. When you feel better, you will have to go south, I found a trail with a smell similar to yours... you still have a real family, remember that you told me that you have to find your brothers. I gave the directions to one of our visitors, apparently she is a good tracker.”

“I will look for them, I will find them and I will tell them about you.”

“Thank you, daughter…” The wolf said as he narrowed his eyes.

“I’ll miss you dad.”

“How is your arm?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Better, I don't think I have travel problems.

“Just try not to slow us down too much.” Diamond Tiara said.

“Hey, we Apples always heal quickly.” Applebloom said proudly.

"I hope so. Silver Spoon, are the horses ready?”

“Everything is ready, we have enough food for two or three weeks.”

“Apple Bloom, haven't you forgotten anything?”

Apple Bloom looks at the old cabin and then looks at the three graves in the yard. “No, I haven't forgotten anything, we can go now.”

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 11

"Again!". A little unicorn with a red mane shouts.

“I'm really trying.” Says a pink alicorn.

"Are you sure? The only thing I'm asking you is to drink water from the glass while you walk, it's simple."

“But I can't, it's difficult when I walk.”

Sunset levitates a glass of water and drinks while she levitates another glass which she fills with more water. “What is difficult? ”

“Sorry, I wish I was as talented as you.” Cadance notices Sunset's angry look. “Sorry, I forgot I wasn't supposed to say that... can't you think of anything that could help me?”

Sunset does a breathing exercise that Cadance had taught her to calm down. Sunset might never admit it but those breathing exercises had helped her a lot with her temper problem. “I made sure you didn't drink any liquids all day to help you.”

Confused, the alicorn asked. “How does making me thirsty help?”

Sunset sighs knowing that she will have to explain herself. "One of the methods to control magic is desire, you must incorporate your desire into magic by controlling it, that way the magic will come to life." Sunset levitates the glasses and sets them down neatly on a table. "But managing to control magic through desire is difficult to achieve at first."

“But I have seen foals use levitation without problem.”

“It's because they started with an early education that is practically natural, you and I weren't raised by unicorns, and you were a pegasus raised by earth ponies that's why we couldn't understand the magic at first anyway... It is as if an adult fish grew legs and had to learn to walk.” Sunset uses her magic to take out a jar of water and pour it into the glasses. "For that reason I told you not to drink water all day, to reinforce your desire to quench your thirst and the magic can flow more naturally."

“So when I wish for something I subconsciously direct desire to my magic?”

“In essence, if you manage to learn to control a simple unconscious desire, you will be able to handle more complicated things.”

“Complicated things? Like what?".

Sunset thinks for a while. “Like taking notes while having a tea party with the princess.”

"Are you taking notes while we have our tea parties?" Asked Princess Celestia, who had just arrived.

"...maybe?" The filly answers nervously.

“You know we have these tea parties so you can relax from your studies?”

“It's not my fault the talks are about magic.”

“Actually, it is your fault.” Celestia responded while Cadance couldn't stop laughing when she saw Sunset blushing with embarrassment.

PRESENT

Aria and Velvet were looking at Sunset who was sitting while she tried to absorb energy from the mass of aura from the place where she pointed out Applejack.

“So she does the same routine every day?” Aria asked.

"Yes". Velvet responded. “Your Majesty, she always tries hard but…”

“When you say it that way it's because there is a problem.”

“I still feel my magic inside me and I try to assimilate the energy of this world so I can use my magic.” Sunset sighs. “It would be easier if I still had my horn.”

“And have you made any progress?”

“A little, look at this.” Sunset points her hand towards a rock and the rock begins to levitate and squeeze until it turns into dust, which surprises Aria a little but then Sunset's fingers start to bleed.

“You better stop, it seems that using magic will hurt you.”

“Let me help you, Your Majesty.” Velvet reaches out to clean the blood from Sunset's fingers.

“Thank you Velvet.”

“Does that happen very often? Aria asked.

"At first nothing was happening to me, but the more powerful the magic I try to use, the more it seems to put pressure on my body and sometimes I faint, that's why Velvet accompanies me."

“I am only doing my duty to help, Your Majesty.” Velvet says as she finishes cleaning the blood off of him.

“Does she also know where you are from?”

“Velvet knew from the beginning and then some people ended up finding out.” She says as she remembers the little encounter in the mines. "You told me that you and your sisters kept a little of their magic."

“Somehow our gems separated from our bodies when we came into this world, which allowed me and my sisters to sing to cause chaos.”

“Can I see the gem?”

"No... and even if I wanted to show it to you it would be difficult, many times we almost lost our gems so we had to take drastic measures."

“What kind of drastic measures?” Sunset asked with a bit of curiosity.

“Maybe one day I'll tell you... or maybe I won't.” Aira responds as if it were an unpleasant memory. "But about your method of gathering energy, I haven't seen that type of training in centuries, the griffons used it a lot."

“Do you know the griffons' method of magic?”

"I wouldn't say I know it but I've seen it in action, it doesn't produce as much magic as unicorns do but those creatures knew how to use it in a more practical way... It's curious, that method of absorbing energy is similar to the method of the aura masters, did a griffo magician teach you?"

“No, unfortunately there are no griffon wizards left... I was raised in griffonstone by my grandfather Gruff.”

“That sounds like a griffon name, were you an orphan adopted by griffons?”

“Grandpa Gruff told me that his son found me when I was still a baby... although Grandpa Gruff has never told me the whole story.” The ex-unicorn responded seriously. “But returning to another topic... could you teach me how to use the aura? Discord only teaches us the little he knows, I don't even think it's the basics and from what I notice I'm the one with the least talent for that."

"Forget it, pony, I'm a demon, I have no idea how I can teach you that, believe me, I tried... or to be more precise, we tried...". Aria noticed Sunset's look which she interpreted as her wanting a better explanation. “I hate explaining complicated things. At first I and my sisters believed that we were of the same race but no, Adagio is a goddess of the water faction and Sonata is a human, when we found out that we were different species we tried to learn their respective powers, but we could not use the power of another.”

“Your sister Sonata, could you teach me?”

Suddenly Aria started laughing and after calming down a little she responded. "She is no good at teaching, she once won the right to found an aura school, when I saw her again some time later she told me that it didn't go very well and I have no idea where she is now."

"Because? Don't you have any kind of contact? They fought?"

“My sisters and I always fight, it's just complicated that we're all together... as you already know, demons don't get along very well with gods and humans. When we came to this world and encountered any race that caused... some misunderstandings and at a certain point we realized that if the three of us stayed together then sooner or later we could die."

“So they are not separated because they wanted to.”

“No, no one liked the idea but it had to be done, we took advantage of the first demonic incursion to mingle. Adagio is arrogant so she had no problem mixing with those gods and Sonata was a fool but humans were also fools so she didn't have so many problems, as for me... I am not going to deny that I somewhat enjoy living in a trival society of demons, I even formed my own clan. Furthermore, we can still communicate with our songs despite the distances, after all we are mermaids and also every time there was a demonic incursion we could meet again."

“So you participated in all the demonic raids just so you could see your sisters?”

"Yeah". Aria responded proudly.

“And you have no problem with the demons finding it strange that you live almost a thousand years?”

"Not many, a demon has a life expectancy of two hundred years but I learned that ancient demons lived for thousands of years. Adagio suggested that I spread the rumor that I had the blood of ancient demons and the problem was solved. The gods were a little easier since they can live as long as they can develop their divine powers, the stronger their powers are, the longer they live. With Sonata it was a little more complicated since a human does not live that long but they say that an aura master knows methods to maintain good health although I have no idea how".

“Finish cleaning your wound your majesty, it is not a wound you need to worry about but the amount of blood you are losing is worrying.”

“Thank you for your concern Velvet.”

Aria sighs after the interruption. “Anyway, I don't think I can really teach you anything useful…” then the conversation stops when Sunset, Aria and Velvet see the Limestone leading a Pinkie Pie carrying a stick and she was blindfolded.

“Hey Limestone, why is Pinkie Pie blindfolded?” They then notice that Limestone covers his sister's ears.

“Someone got caught in one of our animal traps, it seems like an intruder and Gloriosa asked us to deal with this problem.” Limestone responded.

"An intruder? Why didn't they inform me? Sunset asked.

“No one bothers you when you are... the truth is I don't know what you do but no one interrupts you when you do it.” Limestone said referring to when Sunset trains.

Sunset decides to accompany Limestone to see what exactly is happening and Aria follows them. “This could get interesting.” Aria commented.

"Velvet returns to camp". Then Sunset remembered. “Limestone still hasn't told me why Pinkie is blindfolded.”

“How long do you plan to leave her like this?” Fluttershy asked. “Don't you think she's a little cruel?”

“How long has she been like this?” Applejack asks Flash Sentry.

“I think she's been hanging for like fifteen minutes.”

Applejack remains thoughtful for a while. "Let's give her fifteen more minutes.” She said with a smile.

“This is so humbling!” shouts Diamond Tiara, who was hanging upside down after setting off an animal trap.

“Why do you enjoy seeing a poor girl tormented?”

Flash explains to Fluttershy how Diamond Tiara liked to bother the slaves in the mines. “Do you still feel sorry for her?”

“I guess I feel less sorry for her now, but it doesn't mean they should leave her that way!” Fluttershy replied.

"I guess we can't leave her like this forever." Shining Armor says. “Listen little one.” Shining Armor speaks to Diamond Tiara. “Could you tell me, how many are coming with you to capture us?”

“No one has come to capture them! Just get me down from here and I'll explain everything!” Diamond Tiara couldn't stop screaming.

At that moment Sunset, Aria, Limestone and Pinkie Pie had arrived at the place and Applejack gagged Diamond Tiara to stop her screaming.

“Isn't that Filthy Rich's daughter?” Sunset asks surprised.

“In flesh and blood.” Limestone responded. “Have you given any important information?”

When Applejack was about to answer, she noticed that Sunset was accompanying her. "Also you also came for the 'game'." Applejack said with a smile.

"The game?". Sunset asks curiously.

"You will see". Limestone also said with a smile. “Pinkie, do you remember the piñata I promised you?”

Pinkie squeals with joy while she is still blindfolded. “I knew you would remember!”

“So that's what blindfolds were for?” Sunset said without understanding what was happening.

When Pinkie Pie raises a stick to hit the 'piñata' an arrow shoots straight at Pinkie's head but Aria grabs the arrow before it hits Pinkie's face, then everyone is on alert for a possible enemy.

“I feel like death was about to hit me in the face...! Sorry, just my nose is itchy.” Pinkie Pie says.

“You saved my sister's life, thank you.” Limestone tells Aria gratefully.

“It wasn't my intention,” Aria responds with indifference. “Now let's see who the other guests are.”

“I can ask you kindly to release my Master and then we will just continue on our way please.” From behind some bushes someone appears pointing an arrow at Pinkie. “We didn't know this was her territory.”

"Maybe I would have accepted your request if it weren't for the fact that you decided to try to kill instead of explaining the situation first, but now..." Aria pulls out a knife and holds it to Diamond Tiara's neck. “I want to ask you to drop your bow and surrender.” Everyone is tense at the moment until...

“APPLEJACK!” Another girl's scream was heard.

“Apple Bloom?”

“SISTER I FOUND YOU!” Apple Bloom runs and hugs Applejack. Both sisters cry from the emotion of the reunion.

“How cute, I have no idea what's going on but it's so cute.” Pinkie said while she was still blindfolded.

After Apple Bloom explains the situation and how the three had met, they still had to decide what to do with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“So you came all this way to get to know me better?” Sunset asked Diamond Tiara.

“It's a little more complicated than that but yes.”

“Wow, it looks like you have an admirer.” Discord says since he also joined the conversation.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked.

“I came to tell you all to prepare, in a week we are going to move the camp... but who is our guest?”

“Her name is Diamond Tiara, the daughter of the one she was in charge of the northern mines.” Twilight responded. "We were thinking about what to do with them since they brought Applejack's sister and we are grateful but since her father is someone powerful he may be looking for her, I guess we can leave them here before he moves the camp." Twilight responded.

"No!" Diamond Tiara said. “Do you know how much it cost us to find you?”

“I'm sorry but you are a risk.” Sunset says. “Your father is a very influential man, he could be looking for you now and that would put everything in danger, he could even ask the gods for help.”

“I can be useful, I can…”. She was thinking what to say. “I can help take care of the place.”

“How would you do that?”

“Look.” Then Diamond Tiara materializes her weapon. “I am an aura user.”

"SOLD!" Discord shouted.

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 12

On the shore of a calm lake, some little girls looked at the group of humans sitting on the ground with closed eyes as if they were meditating.

“How long do you think they will last?” Scootaloo asked.

“The last time it lasted about two hours.” Sweetie Belle says.

“I don't know how long they'll last but my sister isn't very patient so I think she'll be the first to complain again.” Apple Bloom commented.

“How long am I supposed to be in this position?!” Applejack yells.

“My butt hurts from lying on the ground so much!” Pinkie Pie complains.

“I can't take it anymore! Why do we have to sit on the floor?! “Can’t we sit on a chair?!” Flash Sentry yells.

"Do any of you understand the training we're doing?!" says Shining Armor. "I'd rather swing my sword and do physical training!" .

“I have no problems with training... and neither does Your Majesty.” Twilight commented.

“This is going to get too complicated.” Timber sighed as he watched the scene.

It had been two months since they moved the camp and Diamond Tiara had agreed to teach what she knew about the materialization aura. Some complained, others accepted it but the decision had already been made.

Discord had explained to Diamond Tiara how little she knew about the aura and the type of training Sunset and the others had. Diamond Tiara scolded Discord telling him how bad he was doing and Discord defended himself by saying that Pinkie Pie learned... partially. And Dianond Tiara responded. “Well, if you had taught her well, she would have learned it in half the time.”

Diamond Tiara knew that she was not yet a teacher as such but at least she could teach them what she already knew and for that she would have to make big changes in the training regimen.

“Can't they understand the training?” Diamond Tiara says bewilderedly.

"Yeah". Shining Armor answers. "I understand that the training is to sense and control the aura carefully. But everyone is already at their limit.”

“Tell me, how were you guys training before?”

“Discord told us that the little she knew was that she knew we had to constantly train the body. When a bone is trained it becomes harder. When a muscle is trained it becomes larger and stiffer. The heart and lungs work constantly, increasing work capacity and increasing oxygen in our body, which helps attract the aura when we do the meditation exercise.”

“I'll tell you the same thing I told Discord... they're doing it wrong. I'll explain to you, what Discord knows about aura training is half..." Diamond Tiara said frustratedly.

“So what's wrong?”

“What's wrong is that it's the second half of the training, not the first.” Shining Armor is surprised by the girl's response and she decides to explain. “Physical ability has its own limits. No matter how hard you train your bones and muscles have a limit, it could be said that when you reach a certain physical state, training the body is no longer necessary.

"But how? In any fight the most reliable thing is our physical condition.” Then Shining Armor notices a slight smile on the girl.

Diamond Tiara gathered everyone who was training with the aura.

“I have received some complaints that we are not comfortable with the way things are being done, that they should go back to physical training.” The girl noticed that everyone was paying attention. "You! Come here!". She orders Big mac. “I want to ask everyone... what is the difference between the two of us!”

“Besides size and muscles? I have no idea". Limestone responded sarcastically.

“Hit me.” Diamond Tiara says to Big mac.

Everyone is surprised by the girl's request.

“Nope.” Bigmac responds.

“He won't hit you, grandma taught him very well not to abuse physical force.” Applejack says.

“Don't worry, nothing will happen to me.”

Then, after thinking about it a little, Big Mac hits the girl's stomach hard, but he ends up hurting his fist. When Sunset saw that she remembered the attack Filthy Rich received when he fought with the goddess Chrysalis.

“This is a basic aura technique to strengthen the body, this technique was invented by Rockhoof after the first demonic incursion.” Diamond Tiara says.

“Actually he had already invented the technique but he started teaching it later.” Aria interrupted.

“Unless you saw him use the technique in the first demonic incursion, I would prefer that you not interrupt.”

“I saw it, I was there to see it.” Aria responded.

The girl was still not used to seeing demons. Her father had told her stories of how her grandfather fought against demons and rebel aura users during the Stygian Revelion. Some were very different from what her father told her.

Ignoring what Aria said, Diamond Tiara continues explaining. “This technique is relatively simple, you just have to accumulate aura inside yourself and that's it, the best of all is that at the same time you can improve your own aura management…” then she looks at Applejack. “You, Apple Bloom’s sister.”

“I have a name.”

“Whatever come and sit here.”

Applejack pays attention and sits on the floor then watches as Diamond Tiara places both of her hands on her back. "What are you doing?"

“Shut up and focus! I try to make you understand how to do it! All who have mental vision, observe carefully!”

Sunset gets a little angry about not having mental vision because she notices that most people can see what is happening well.

“I found out that most of you didn't know why you had to sit on the floor... the answer is that when you are sitting on the floor you can absorb more aura.”

“Do we absorb the aura through the butt?” Pinkie asked.

Diamond Tiara paused at Pinkie's question. “To be precise, you can absorb the aura better when you are on natural terrain.” She responded to Pinkie. “Apple Bloom's sister imagine the aura gathering in your hand... can you feel it?”

Applejack reaches out and looks at her hand. “Yes... it feels so natural and...”. Then Diamond Tiara quickly takes a stick and hits Applejack's hand hard causing the stick to break. "What happens to you?! “Why did you do that?!”

"Did it hurt?"

Then Applejack noticed that he barely felt the blow of the stick. “It didn't hurt…” She says surprised.

“Remember that sensation and continue meditating.”

While everyone is back to training Diamond Tiara heads to Sunset Shimmer. "We can talk?"

“Who taught you that form of meditation?” Diamond Tiara asked. “Was it your mother?”

Sunset tried not to be surprised by the question because she didn't know anything about the Celestia of the human world, for Sunset she was a stranger. “What do you know about my mother?”

"I know that she was the sister of Queen Luna, I also know that during the fall of Canterlot it was learned that she was a master of the aura... which means that I know that in reality you are the legitimate queen of the fallen kingdom of Equestria" . Diamond Tiara smiles widely. “And I thought you were a simple slave.”

“And what gave me away?”

“There is a statue of you in the gardens of Princess Miamore Cadensa, it is difficult not to notice the similarities, but she insists that you are not Sunset Shimmer, she says that you are an imposter. You officially burned to death in a tower during the fall of Canterlot.”

“Let's say half of that is true, but why did you call me?”

“Do you remember Applejack? The reason for that was because I wanted to know how good she is at controlling aura.”

“And?”

“She is a prodigy, in reality she Twilight and the crazy pink girl have incredible talent.”

"How did you realize?"

"What I did with Applejack was just to confirm it but I knew because I used mental vision, of all those who meditated, the three of them could absorb aura in a better way than the others."

Sunset didn't know why Diamond Tiara was telling her that, it's like she was trying to make sense of everything. “Why are you telling me that?”

“You have no talent... when they meditate a large amount of aura is stored in their bodies, enough to materialize things of great size, but you... because of the amount you have, I would say that you could barely materialize a knife, although with some effort you could strengthen your body." Diamond Tiara expected Sunset to get angry or at least start a little scandal but...

“So I just have to put in a little more effort?”

Sunset's question surprised her a little. "I suppose so, from what my father told me there were many aura masters who had no talent, but that did not prevent them from becoming powerful warriors. I understand that of the Styjian pillars, the traitor pillar was the one with the least talent." .

“I guess I should thank you for being honest with me... but did you tell me all that to make me give up?” Diamond Tiara just stayed silent until Discord appeared.

“Sorry for interrupting this awkward moment of honesty, but I would like to talk to the bossy girl.”

“No problem, I'm going back to the others.” Then Sunset leaves.

"What do you need from me?". Diamond Tiara asked angrily at the interruption.

“Sorry about that…I heard what you were saying to Sunset.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“I just don't think it's good to encourage others to give up.”

“So you want me to cheer her on until the end even though the road is clearly a dead end? What would happen if she works hard until the end but all that awaits her is failure and frustration? Will you take responsibility for the consequences?”

“Do you know what was the first challenge I gave Sunset? I told him to escape from the mines. And what did she achieve? She escaped with all the slaves and not alone which could have been easier. If she finds herself in a dead-end street, she does not look for another way out, she creates them.”

“I guess I'm rushing to conclusions a little... is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“I just want to ask you something... haven't you noticed something strange about Sunset when she meditates?”

“So you noticed it too.”

Discord smiles at the girl's response. "I'm not sure if we notice the same thing since the gods can't feel the aura but when the redhead meditates the energy around her changes slightly as if..."

Diamond Tiara interrupts Discord. "Meditation is for the body to absorb aura, it is assumed that by storing it inside we can control it to our liking, although there are talents that do not need that type of training, when Sunset absorbs the aura...

The aura does not stay inside her, it is as if she absorbs it and expels it from her body instantly but..."

"But?"

“The aura she expels is different, as if she were impregnated with whatever is inside her.”

"That's bad?"

"I don't know, but the aura that she expels is also reabsorbed by her companions and I don't know what kind of consequences she will have." Then Discor laughs. "what is so funny?"

"The truth is that I always imagined that that girl would bring some change to the world and she is already doing it in a way that I never imagined, she may not have realized it and I have no idea what is going to happen, aren’t you curious what kind of changes she will bring?” then Discord stops laughing. “Diamond Tiara…thank you.”

"Why do you thank me? I have barely taught them the basics and unfortunately that is how little I know.”

“Because even if you don't believe it, those small contributions can strongly influence the future.”

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 13

Celestia often worried that her student couldn't make friends. The princess knew that Sunset's life in Griffin society made it more difficult to integrate with the ponies. She had even worried about the bias she had against Cadance, but suddenly the two of them had gotten together every morning to study, which gave the princess relief and also gave her hope that Sunset could make friends.

But one day something happened, an accident that seriously hurt Sunset. Celestia was worried, she couldn't deny the affection she felt for her student and seeing her in such bad condition in a hospital bed hurt her. When her student was more stable Celestia went to Cadance's room.

“I want you to tell me what happened.” Despite how severe the white alicorn sounded, Cadance could notice the sadness and concern in the princess' voice and she couldn't blame her. Sunset Shimmer was in the hospital, in serious condition.

“Sunset was teaching me magic like always and…” Cadance could barely hold back her tears. “Usually she uses the spell before teaching me how to use it and…”

“I understand... this book...”. Celestia levitates a thick book. "I remember I had it stored in my room, I don't know how she took it out without me noticing, but the spells and magic in the book can only be learned by alicorns, if a unicorn tries to use any of these spells... they would only hurt themselves.”

“I just wanted to learn and Sunset wanted to learn it first to see how it works and teach me.” Tears began to well up in Cadance's eyes. "It´s just that, as I thought you would turn her into an alicorn in the future..." After saying those words Celestia interrupts Cadensa.

"Cadance...Sunset will never become an alicorn...she shouldn't become an alicorn." Those words surprised the young alicorn. “Sunset is a powerful unicorn in her own right, if she sets her mind to something she will achieve it no matter how difficult it is, but that is not her destiny.”

"She has always worked hard to improve herself, she always tries her best, the way you teach her... I thought you were preparing her for something big."

"I'm sorry...I can't tell you." The pink alicorn saw Celestia's sadness. Cadance knew that the princess loved Sunset as if she were her own daughter but she also knew that she couldn't give her special treatment beyond being a personal student of hers. “I need to know something…what spell did Sunset use?”

PRESENT

Sunset was levitating several stones at once, spinning them around her and then shooting them directly at a large rock that was there and destroying the stones. Sunset was satisfied with the result until she started bleeding from one of her eyes and between her nails.

“Your Majesty, you should be more careful.” Twilight said as she cleaned up the blood.

"I don't know what kind of power you're using, but it seems like it's hurting you." Said Rarity, who had been accompanying Sunset since Sunset wanted to learn more about demons, and had noticed that demon society was kind of like a mix of equestrian and griffin society.

“You don't have to worry too much, my body is already getting used to it.”

"I hope so". Discord had just arrived and looks at the destroyed rocks. "This will break Maud's heart... I found out how thw others were doing in their own training sessions."

“And what did you find out?”

“Timber says that most of you would have no problem fighting an ordinary soldier, although Shining Armord and Flash Sentry have become experts in swordsmanship. As for the aura training, although everyone is progressing satisfactorily, even though you just learned how to materialize a dagger, just as Diamond Tiara had said, at least everyone progressed with their respective training."

"Almost, Twilight, although she has good aura, she sadly lacks physical fitness and Diamond Tiara says she has little imagination." Discord laughs a little as he remembers something. "Which is funny because she always imagines a lot of destructive scenarios just because she can't find a book or a scroll."

“I follow logic too much because I must first know an object in detail if I want to materialize it.” Twilight excused herself with a pout. "And you have no idea what disasters can happen if even one book is missing."

"I'm sorry to say this, dear, but you could barely materialize a pen and that's only because you were desperate for nothing to write a list with." Rarity said.

"And we searched the entire camp only to discover that what you lost was the list of a list... at least you have materialized something, Applejack, although she has absorbed a lot of aura for some reason she is the only one who has not been able to materialize something... .and with Pinkie Pie it's hard to know what's an aura and what's not." Sunset replied.

Then Discord changes the topic. “There are four months left until the deadline is met.”

“Yes… I wonder how difficult it will be” Sunset said knowing that in that time she would have to return to Canterlot. “What will the demons do during that time?” She asks to Rarity.

"As far as I know, Starlight Glimmer has already consolidated her power in Tartarus, the next thing she's waiting for is Fluttershy and Wallflower's response so she can continue with her own plans."

“They already accepted.” Discord responded.

“Out of curiosity, why does she need them?” Twilight asked.

Rarity was debating whether to tell her or not, but Discord spoke up. "Don't worry, she is trustworthy."

Then Rarity responds more calmly. "There are few portals to enter and exit Tartarus, Almost all of them are small where only one or two demons can pass through at a time, but there is a portal... the gates of Tartarus, it is the largest portal and the only one where an army can cross with no problems, but it is currently guarded by Cerberus, an ancient beast… and it is not easy to defeat.”

“It was a nightmare to capture that animal, he was unpredictable, it took us fifteen years to tame it and have Cerberus stand guard at the gates of Tartarus.” Discord said frustrated.

“But Fluttershy has the ability to calm the animal and then we could go through the door. As for Wallflower, with his unique ability we will be able to get closer to the sacred lands without the gods noticing.”

"Do you realize that many things can go wrong?” Twilight replies. "That plan is crazy in itself."

“You don't have to worry dear, the Supreme Queen already took care of the small details.”

Sunset and Discord returned to the camp, leaving Rarity to continue explaining the details to Twilight.

"Knowing Twilight, she's so busy trying to figure out all the details of the plan that we´d never notice." And Discord laughs at Sunset's response.

Then Discord stops "Tell me something... Do you want to continue?"

Sunset didn't understand the question. "What are you talking about?" She asked seriously.

“Since I cleared my last vision I have been able to lighten my divine power a little, and from time to time I have small visions when resting, this morning I had a vision.” Discord walks over to a bush, pulls out a bag and a saddlebag, and shows Sunset the contents.

When the former unicorn sees the contents, she can make out travel equipment, supplies, and many other related objects. "Discord...why are you showing me this?"

"Because this is your last chance." It was the first time Sunset had heard Discord speak so seriously. “I'm not going into details about what I saw, but what I know is that if you take this equipment and leave now without looking back you will be able to return home without problems... but if you decide to stay it will be a long time before you can rest ...this is your last chance because if you stay you will have no choice but to fight until the end.”

“Did you stop having hopes for me?” the redhead asked.

"No, but soon your real fight will begin and you may suffer in more ways than one... I'm just giving you the chance to leave before it all begins, before there is no way back."

“Would the sunset shimmer of this world have given up?” Discord just remains silent without answering the question. "Discord... from what I understand, this all started with the vision of a possible future, and the truth is that..." Sunset looks towards the camp where the former slaves she had freed were set up. “I don't want to abandon them, you know? In a certain way I have come to appreciate them, not as subjects but as….” Sunset didn't know how to say it.

"As friends?" Discord said with a smile.

"I mean, I was going to say comrades but… Discord, I'm going to continue with this, no matter how difficult it is… I made a deal with my other self but…” The girl remains silent, not knowing what to respond. "I better get back." And Sunset goes back to camp.

"I didn't know you had a habit of eavesdropping." Discord says as he looks at Gloriosa comming out from behind a tree.

“I barely heard anything and I wasn't hiding anyway, if you had paid more attention you would have noticed me faster.” Gloriosa responded. “But I'm curious, why did you say that to the human? I remember you always got excited when you said how she would change the world.”

“I am concerned about Sunset's progress, I originally wanted her to stay for at least five years and then go out into the world to rebuild Equestria and help overthrow the authority of the gods and All Master. But when she said her conditions I had to accept because forcing her would make the future change, and since I erased my vision I don't know if I'm on the right path... I don't know if she would save the world...but she'll bring big changes, and probably..." Discord looks into the distance as Sunset arrives at camp and is greeted by a cheerful Pinkie Pie who probably wanted to show off her new version of the party cannon. "Nevermind... I was just rambling".

"I have also noticed that for a normal human she has made good progress but... she does not seem to have the ability to fight against a god, when you told us about your vision I imagined that she would be like an aura master before the purge".

Discord had a tired expression as if he felt the weight of the world. “Do you think I'm selfish?”

"Yeah". Was Gloriosa's response. “You do what you want, you barely listen to other people's opinions, you never ask permission for something…” The goddess sighs and continues. “But… I don't think you're a bad person… you just don't want humans to suffer.”

"It's good to talk to you Gloriosa." Discord said with a smile.

“Are you sure it's around here?” Sweetie Belle asked.

"Of course, after all, I was the one who brought food to the previous guard." Scootaloo responded.

"That doesn't mean they'll still be here, the guards are always on the move to protect more ground." told Silver Spoon who was a little upset about being late with the food.

"I want us to hurry back to the camp and eat, it's already getting dark." Diamond Tiara complained.

"You know, I was curious to know what the gods ate and I was really surprised that it was almost the same as humans." Apple Bloom said as she carried a basket of food.

“What do you mean by almost the same?” Diamond Tiara asked.

"Scootaloo told me that gods don't eat vegetables."

"Gods can eat pretty much the same things humans eat, Scootaloo just doesn't like vegetables, my dad and I have dined with the goddess Chrysalis many times and I've never heard her complain about the food." Diamond Tiara said.

"And what do demons like to eat? Is it true that they eat raw meat?" Scootaloo asked Sweetie Belle.

"We can eat almost anything, the environment of Tartarus means that our species had to get used to all types of food." She says with a wide smile but then puts on a serious face. "But the raw meat thing only happened once!"

“I guess it doesn't matter what you eat…” Then Apple Bloom trips and falls to the ground.

"Are you okay? You should be more careful." Silver Spoon said as she helped Apple Bloom up. "There's almost no light now, you should be more careful..." Silver Spoon falls silent as she sees something on the ground.

“It's the guard! What happened!?" Apple Bloom said scared when she saw the corpse of a god.

Sweetie Belle walks over to examine the body. “It looks like someone broke his neck, I would say they took him by surprise.”

"But he was from the fighting faction, the gods of that faction are supposed to be physically the strongest and have instincts sharp enough to not be taken by surprise." Scootaloo said. “Unless the one who killed him…”

"We must alert the camp!" Diamond Tiara said and then everyone ran towards the camp without realizing that they were being watched.

“Should we stop them?” asked a god who was watching from a tree.

"No, let them go, the attack group is in charge, our job is only to prevent the rebels from escaping alive."

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 14

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara ran straight to the camp to alert everyone about the possible attack. As they were running, they noticed that Sweetie Belle's dark skin changed to a very light gray color.

“What's wrong Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked.

"The Supreme Queen told us that enemy gods must not know about demons, so she ordered that if something like this ever happened we must keep our identity in secret." Sweetie Belle responded.

When the girls arrived at the camp they saw many alarmed gods and humans, then they saw a teenage girl with cream skin and purple hair who approached and hugged Sweetie Belle.

"Sister! What's going on!?"

"We have lost contact with most of the camp guards, we still have to find the guards in the eastern area."

“We come from that area! One of the guards is dead, his neck was broken!” Sweetie Belle says. "I put on human appearance like you said in case of emergency."

At that moment Aria Blaze had also arrived in her human disguise, Rarity noticed that Aria was angry... more angry than usual. "Dear... Do you know what is going through?"

"We are being attacked, the gods found the camp." Aria growled. "I don't know how, the fallen gods always take a lot of precautions not to be found."

"Somehow they managed to find us... but the omnimpent eye has never been here." Rarity said.

Then Aria sees a moth fluttering near Diamond Tiara, Aria holds the girl's head and looks directly into her eyes.

"You!". Aria growled again. “Since when do you have eyes that color?!”

Diamond Tiara was scared by the way the demon spoke and just as Silver Spoond pulled out a knife, Discord intervened.

“Aria release the human!” Discord shouted.

“Don't you see what happened?” Aria shouted.

"Aria! Do as you're told!" Double Diamond said.

Aria reluctantly lets go of the girl. Diamond Tiara falls to her knees in fear as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Silver Spoon hug her to comfort her.

Discord looks Diamond Tiara in the eyes and when he was about to say something Silver Spoon interrupts. "Her eye color turned greener a few months after she was kidnapped, Master Rich took her to a doctor but there was nothing wrong with her, so we just ignored it."

Discord catches a moth and shows it to the girls. “This insect was bred to follow certain types of smells, the gods of the plague faction create certain types of diseases… they don't cause pain, they don't itch, they don't burn, but they emit a slight smell, so they only have to release a few insects and no matter where you are, they will always find the smell, the change in eye color is just a small side effect."

“So they found us because of me?” Diamond Tiara said as she was on the verge of tears.

No one had noticed the dark clouds that had formed over the camp and at that moment two lightning bolts struck near the camp. When the smoke cleared, two gods appeared.

"Chrysalis and Tirek." Discord said. "How long have we not seen each other?"

Chrysalis notices that Discord was examining Diamond Tiara and the goddess lets out a small laugh. "I see you've figured it out, but don't blame the little human."

"I don't blame her, I personally think you just used her to find us."

The goddess laughs again. "Do you really believe that? The truth is that this was all an accident." Then the goddess notices that no one understood what she was referring to. "I only gave her the small illness that the girl has so I could take care of her, when they kidnapped her I took precautions, her discovering the fallen gods was just a happy coincidence."

“You once told me that even if you are a god of divination, you cannot foresee everything… my friend.” Tirek said.

"It's been a long time my cuckold friend, how is Scorpan doing?"

“He also came, you can say hello when you see him.” Tirek replied. "I guess you regret bringing her." The god said as he pointed at the girl.

“No, even if I had realized, I would still have brought them to camp, it is true that there are things that I cannot foresee and every action we take can alter the future, but the decisions we make can change or preserve the results... ". Discord sees Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Silver Spoon trying to comfort Diamond Tiara. “Each decision is a fragment that constantly changes and each fragment is a piece to form the future and I do not regret the future that may be forming... even this moment is another fragment.”

"Is that why you rebelled against All Master and the council of gods?!" Tirek exclaimed. "When the council of gods found out about your divination, they expected you to cooperate to prevent that future, but you conspired to ensure that future, you wanted other gods to join you, you are suspected of urging Queen Luna to provoke a rebellion and you are even using your divine power to block the divinations of the loyal gods just because you believe that humans do not need the gods… the only thing you have achieved is chaos".

“Do you still blame humans for what happened to your brother?”

Tirek was about to attack Discord but Chrysalis stops him. "Listen Discord, many in the council of the gods still have a certain respect for you and believe that it would be a waste to kill you and your followers, so they say, that if you surrender peacefully, the punishment will be light and everyone will be able to return to the sacred land. "

"I see that they also brought a considerable number of the lightning faction." Discord deduced as he saw the dark clouds in the sky.

"As soon as I order it, each lightning strike will teleport a god from different factions ready to fight against you and the fallen gods."

“Did they make the same offer to our guards?” Discord asks and Chrysalis remains silent. “Then this is how it will be.”

Chrysalis seems disappointed about the situation and signals with her halberd and a large amount of lightning strikes the camp.

Aria didn't really like running away from a battle but she had agreed to follow Starlight and Discord's plan, that meant not revealing that there were demons outside of Tartarus. "This is going to get worse before it gets better, we have to find Wallflower and Fluttershy, then we have to return to the gates of Tartarus." She said to Rarity.

"My clan's priority is the return of Nightmare's soul." The demon replies.

"Your clan submitted to the Supreme Queen, the rest is secondary!" Aria responds.

"Okay, but as soon as we have achieved the objectives, I will return to my mission." Rarity said reluctantly, then she saw her sister. "Sweetie Belle, you and your friends are with us until we find a safe place."

“Thank you sister, I will stay with my friend, remember that plans were made in case of an attack on the camp.”

Rarity retreats with Aria and the girls while around them the gods begin to fight.

“The council of gods found us and launched an attack throughout the camp. Right now Gloriosa is gathering all the humans and fallen gods so they can escape in small groups, the fallen gods who can fight will be in charge of covering the retreat.”

“And Discord?” Sunset asked.

"He was in the center of the camp when it all started." Timber responded. “I don't know what Discord expects from you but…”

"Interesting." Said a god holding a fire sword. "After all, there were humans collaborating with the fallen."

“Do you think that's why they sent us to this area?” Another god said. "I know we are minor gods but they send us to deal with humans... I feel insulted."

"You better take advantage of this opportunity, I don't know if you have noticed but he is the legendary Timber Spruse, before he defected he was the best swordsman of the lightning affiliation, killing him could improve our status."

The group of gods were talking and taking everything lightly, Timber noted that they were young gods who had never left the domain of the gods. “Listen Sunset, when I give you the signal you will have to run quickly with the others, I will take care of them.” He said as he unsheathed a sword.

"Are you sure? There are too many." But Sunset realized that Timber wasn't going to back down. "What's the sign?" In an instant, Timber transforms into lightning and quickly attacks the enemy gods. "I guess that's that sign." Then Sunset runs in the direction he had pointed.

Sunset ran until she reached Fluttershy who had gathered a group of humans. "I'm glad you're okay, some didn't want to leave without you." The goddess said worriedly.

"Your Majesty, we finally found you." Twilight said.

"You wouldn't believe the scandal, Twilight said she wouldn't leave without you." Applejack said.

“Where is Velvet?” Sunset asks.

"Mom had to leave in another group... although she didn't want to leave without you, we had to separate or else we wouldn't be able to escape, she said that if this got worse we should meet in Canterlot." Shining Armor reported.

"It's a shame, I was starting to like this place." Pinkie Pie said a little sad.

"Me too". Flash Sentry said.

"Most of the fallen gods are fighting, we will take advantage of the distraction to flee, Carrot Cake and Cheese Sandwich are waiting to help us escape." Fluttershy told them as most of the humans left. "If everything goes well we can..." A spear suddenly hits Fluttershy's back, leaving the goddess seriously injured.

"I'm disappointed, Shy, I didn't expect you to fall so easily." A dark-skinned god with a toned body and arms and legs so thick that looked like trunks.

"Who are you?" Applejack shouted as he prepared to fight.

"Don't confront him!" Fluttershy shouted as she tried to stop the bleeding from his wound. "His name is Scorpan, he is one of the great gods, he belongs to the Wrath affiliation."

"You are not gods." Scorpan says and apparently that made him smile. "And here I thought this would be boring." He then prepares to throw another spear.

"Run!!" Sunset shouted and quickly picked up Fluttershy to carry her so she could escape too.

“Why do we run away? “We are more and now we are all a little stronger.” Applejack asked Sunset as they ran.

"Don't you remember the first thing Discord wanted us to learn when we arrived?" Sunset said.

“You have to flee from an opponent of superior or unknown abilities.” Pinkie Pie yelled.

"We can't go back with the others." Fluttershy said weakly as she could barely speak due to the spear wound. "Scorpan is too powerful, he could kill us all."

Sunset thought about what the wounded goddess had said. "Let's quickly return to camp!" No one argued with Sunset's order and they went straight to the camp even though they saw that many tents were on fire.

When Scorpan noticed that instead of going to the forest the humans were heading to the camp, the god couldn't help but smiled. "Interesting... then let's play." Scorpan waited for the humans to enter the camp and then began chasing them.

Sunset, Flash, Shining, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Fluttershy were all hiding in the same tent hoping that Scorpan wouldn't find them and at the same time seeing how hurt the goddess was.

"I hope we're safe here." Twilight said.

"I never thought I would see the corpse of a god." Flash said referring to the bodies they found along the way.

“The battle was quick, as soon as it was over the survivors must have gone to another part of the camp.” Shining Armor said.

“But what should we do? From what I understand, one of the Great Gods was chasing us and instead of heading into the forest we decided to return to the camp.” Applejack complained.

"Scorpan has a little obsession with humans." Fluttershy said weakly. "If we met up with the others, Scorpan would kill them all."

"I finally found them." Everyone quickly took out their swords and saw where the voice came from. “Let me tell you, you still have half a century before you make me fight seriously.” Aria said as she walked in along with Rarity, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara.

Applejack went to hug her sister, grateful that she were okay. "You don't know how worried I was about you." Then Applejack realizes something. "Why aren't you with the other groups to escape?"

"We were in the center of the camp when the attack began." Rarity said. "Discord and other gods are fighting now."

“Besides, we couldn't leave without Fluttershy, she is vital to our plans, at least Wallflower is safe, Double Diamond is with her right now. And why haven't you escaped?"

"Fluttershy told us not to meet the others." Flash responds. "A god named Scorpan is chasing us."

"That's bad". Aria said. "I don't know why, but Scorpan has an unhealthy love for humans."

“You are one of the most powerful demons that exists, do you think you could stop him?”

"I could fight him." Aria responded. "But the Supreme Queen ordered that we must not yet expose ourselves to our enemies."

Sunset spoke. "Rarity told me why Fluttershy is necessary for the plan and I think I understand why they have to keep the demons a secret..." No one knew how to get out of the situation. "We'll have to distract Scorpan so they can take Futtershy away safely."

"Are you crazy?!" Applejack exclaimed. He's not a diamond dog you can fight and I'm sure you'd need a more complicated plan than in the mines."

"We will support whatever plan your majesty has." Shining Armor said.

"I trust that whatever plan you have won't kill us." Flash said.

Sunset saw the determined looks of her comrades.

“They have hope in you.” Aria said.

"You do realize that maybe we could all die, right?" Applejack asked.

"Maybe?" Sunset replied.

"Well, I just wanted to be sure of your decision. What's the plan?"

"Pinkie, do you remember what you wanted to show me today?" Sunset asks with a half smile as Pinkie makes a bigger smile.

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 15

Scorpan stalked the ruined camp like a predator searching for its prey. When he saw how the humans escaped towards the camp instead of the forest, the god became excited, he assumed that the humans had a plan.

The god looked for the humans expecting some surprise from them, walking through the ruined camp he looked for possible hiding places, at one point, when he was getting bored, he was going to trample a collapsed tent but then he saw a few meters away a human with blue hair running.

“Finally a prey.” Scorpan was about to throw a spear until he felt a small pain in his ankle, he realized that in the tent he was going to step on, there was a hidden human. “If the first human hadn't run, I would have found you both, but you let yourself be discovered so I wouldn't kill the one who ran.” The god was going to attack the human who attacked him but then an arrow hit Scorpan, the human who attacked her was now a girl with a stetson hat.

“Run now Shining Armor!” Applejack shouted as she prepared to shoot again.

Scorpan was going to run straight to Applejack but for some reason he trips and falls. “It seems like I lost my balance, but why?” The god realized that the humans had everything planned, at the moment he was about to find one, another ran and distracted him and when he was going to attack another, one more appeared to distract the god, so the god just sat and watched. “one… two… three… four… I don't know what you're planning, but since you're trying so hard to keep me here I'll play along!” The god shouted with joy. “At least I have noticed that there are four of you.”

That alerted the others. “Your majesty, you must flee.” Shining Armor said while he had arrived at Sunset's hiding place.

“Not yet, we have to buy time while we wait for Pinkie and Twilight.” Sunset said as she wiped the blood from her nose.

“But that power you are using seems to hurt you.”

“I just have to make him trip, I'll try to be careful.” But then they hear the god shout.

"'Divine power'". The shadow of the god begins to grow larger. "'Pack of wolves!'". Four black wolves emerged from the shadows and headed towards where the four humans were. “Let's see what you are capable of.”

A FEW MINUTES AGO

While Rarity was healing Fluttershy's wound, the goddess explained some things to her about Scorpan. "Although it may not seem like it, Scorpan is not an arrogant god, he will always seem confident but in reality he always tests his opponents... especially if they are humans."

“Is that why he didn't follow us right away?”

“Yes, he wanted to give them an advantage so he could see what they were capable of.” Fluttershy said.

“That just makes it easier.” Sunset said. "We just have to distract him until you guys can escape and if we're lucky what Pinkie Pie has prepared could kill him."

“No one could kill him…” said Fluttershy. "Or to be more precise, even if they manage to kill him, it won't be enough, the truth is I don't know how many times you have to kill him so he finally stays dead."

“What do you mean?”

"I can't explain it now, but I tell you... if he decides to take you as prisoners please don't resist, when I am in charge of Cerberus I will go rescue you."

Then Aria raises the goddess. “just try not to die pony.”

“Unfortunately I have to accompany Aria but I will also look for you as soon as I can.” Rarity said.

“Please take care of yourself sister.” Apple Bloom said as she said goodbye to Applejack, then left with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara.

Sunset and Shining Armor ran trying to escape from the two wolves but they were being overtaken.

"Compared to Fluttershy's they seem a little weaker, do you think you can fight these wolves?" Sunset asked.

“I could against one but not against both at the same time.”

“I'll take care of one, you take care of the other.” Sunset said. “I'll take care of the one on the left, you attack the one on the right.”

“As your majesty orders.”

"Now!". Sunset shouted, the two turned around to attack the wolves.

Shining Armor turned around and when the wolf was going to jump directly towards his prey, the teenager quickly drew his sword and took advantage of the momentum to decapitate the wolf.

Meanwhile, Sunset used her aura power for the first time in a real fight. “'Aura of materialization'.” Sunset imagined the only thing she could materialize with the little aura she had, “'Dagger'”. And the weapon materialized. Sunset had no time to waste and just focused on the wolf that was running towards her and quickly did the same thing she did with Scorpan. Sunset's hand glowed and she focused on one of the wolf's paws, while the wolf was running, one of its legs slipped a little, causing the wolf to fall and Sunset immediately attacked the wolf, burying the dagger under its jaw and piercing its brain.

“Your Majesty, you did it well.” Shining Armor said as he tried to catch a second wind after running so much.

“You did well too, Timber was right when he said you had talent with the sword.” Sunset answered as she tried to rest.

At that moment Twilight and Pinkie Pie appeared “Your Majesty! Are you okay?!" Twilight asked worriedly as she wiped the blood from Sunset's nose.

“I'm fine, did you find what I asked for?”

“okie dokie loki”

Flash Sentry is unconscious lying on the ground while Scorpan held Applejack's neck with one hand.

"This is incredible, the boy is a prodigy with the sword because of the way he killed one of my wolves, you..." Scorpan looks at the corpse of a wolf with a broken neck. “I have never seen a human kill one of my wolves with bare hands.”

“Would you like to know how simple humans can be so strong?” Sunset shouted in the distance.

“So you are the human that was hidden.” Scorpan looks at Sunset's dagger. "That dagger is made of aura, wait a little, I'll take care of these two and you'll go later."

But then the former unicorn speaks. “Didn't you think it was strange that you suddenly tripped?” Those words surprised the god.

"Hahaha! Are you implying that this stumbling was intentional?” The god notices Sunset's seriousness. “Then let me see how you did that.” Scorpan runs directly towards Sunset but halfway there Scorpan received a strong impact knocking him down while a good distance away Pinkie held her new version of the 'party cannon' while Twilight gave her instructions.

“Did I hit the bullseye?” Pinkie asked.

"Yeah". Twilight responded. “Your Majesty, are you okay?” she shouted.

"Yeah". Sunset replied. “It was a good shot…” then Sunset sees how the god gets up, Sunset can see the god's shattered ribs and she wondered how he could survive that.

"Ha ha ha! “It is a very powerful toy.” The god said between laughs while he saw Pinkie holding the still smoking cannon.

"How did he survive?" Sunset noticed that the god's wound was healing quickly. “Quickly, shoot again!” She screamed worried. Besides, Scorpan was heading to where Twilight and Pinkie were.

“Quickly, we must prepare the cannon.” Twilight said as she helped reload the cannon. "He's getting closer." She said scared.

“Here goes another one!” Pinkie shouted as she fired again, hitting the god's abdomen again.

With the cannonball embedded in his stomach, Scorpan began to vomit blood and laugh. “Ha! And here I thought this would be a boring mission.” The god's abdomen begins to heal. “But I found something much more fun.” And he continues running where the two humans were.

“How could he withstand two impacts?” Twilight Scream. “Quick Pinkie, we have to shoot again.”

“That's what I'm doing!” She responded as she finished reloading the cannon but it was too late.

Scorpan was already in front of them and took away the cannon. “What an interesting toy.” He said with a laugh as he examined the object without realizing that it was aimed at himself, Twilight took the opportunity to quickly activate the cannon's fuse causing the cannon to fire directly at the god's head.

“Do you think he's dead?” Pinkie asked with a smile.

Twilight rolls her eyes. “Pinkie, he received three cannon shots and one went straight in the face. why do you ask that?"

“Because like you said we had to shoot him three times.” While she points to the body of the god lying on the ground.

“I think I understand how it works.” Scorpan said as he stood up. “It's not bad... I'm starting to feel a little dizzy.” He said as he felt half of his skull shattered. “It's really hard to believe that this was done by human children.” Nobody could believe it, they had underestimated the power of one of the great gods, he had managed to physically withstand the cannon shots then. “They are actually good at attacking but…” The god raises his fist. “How good they are at defending themselves.” When he was about to hit Twilight, Pinkie pushes her friend, receiving the hit herself.

“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted, worried about her friend.

“You guys never stop surprising me.” The god said as he looks at an unconscious Pinkie Pie. “That blow must have destroyed her head... she must know aura techniques.” Then he looks at Twilight. “If she defended you it means that you don't know any hardening techniques, I guess you're not that strong.” He was about to attack Twilight but...

“Are you underestimating us?” Sunset shouted and the god turned around to see the red-haired girl.

“That dagger... it's filled with aura, right?” The god stares at Sunset. “I'm sure you had no problem killing my wolves... I actually thought one or two of you would die... and about what you said, I never underestimate my opponents and even less the humans, I realized that you had a plan to stop me because, believe it or not, I am examining you, I want to see how much damage you can cause me, I'm even ignoring your two friends who are trying to escape while you try to distract me because I want to see what other surprise they you prepared."

Then Sunset smiles. “Shining!” Shining Armor throws the bag of black powder that Pinkie used for her party cannon, quickly covering himself with a large wet blanket along with Pinkie and Twilight.

The bag breaks, covering Scorpan in black dust and the god is disconcerted to see Sunset who was also covering herself with a wet blanket. Sunset uses her magic again but not to levitate, although she still couldn't use complicated spells like throwing fire. she didn't need to throw fire, she just needed a spark.

The black dust in the air caught fire, burning everything, including the god, while the rest protected themselves with wet blankets. When the black powder was consumed everyone came out from under the blankets.

“Is your majesty well?” Shining Armor asked.

"Yeah". Sunset looks at the god's burned body, Sunset summons her dagger and stabs it into Scorpan's head. “That guy was tougher than I thought... How are the others doing?”

"Pinkie is still unconscious but she´ll be fine, Flash and Applejack are also unconscious but they were far enough away to not get hurt." Twilight answers.

“We have to wake them up and leave quickly before…” Shining's words were interrupted by a strong blow that threw him away.

The god was healing his burned body. “I never believed that a group of humans could hurt me so much.” He said smiling. “Please tell me you have more surprises.”

“How can you stay alive?” Sunset asked, surprised by the way the god regenerated.

"Are you scared? To be honest with you... this was never a fair battle, no matter how many times or how you kill me, I will always come back... but don't think it's any fun, In fact, it is a curse, the greatest punishment that a god of the faction of wrath can suffer.” Scorpan then lifts Twilight's unconscious body.

Sunset realized that she never really had a chance to beat him, the former unicorn didn't know what to do, everyone had already been defeated and Twilight was the god's prisoner.

“You are very brave, human. I like you... I could tell that you are the leader of this small group and my instinct tells me that you haven't reached your limit yet, have you? Don't worry, every time I see a human with the potential to be powerful I make sure to 'help' them improve." He said with a sadistic smile. “I'm noticing that you are worried about this human.”

Sunset tries not to show fear. “Why do you think I would worry about her!? "Do you want to keep fighting? Leave her lying there and let's continue the fight." Sunset Lied to try to get the god to release Twilight.

Scorpan picks up a broken stick and points it at Twilight's abdomen. “I've done this many times...humans never show their potential until they're cornered.” Then he stabbed Twilight with the stick. “Pain, despair, hatred, all that will make your soul burn fiercely and feed your anger! I have not yet received a definitive death and the night is young!”

Sunset always had a plan for everything, she knew that with a powerful opponent she would have to use every trick. But now the only thing she thought about was how to save her companions, if they were any stranger Sunset would just abandon them but they are her subjects, they are her comrades... her friends...

Scorpan lets go of Twilight's body and sees Sunset's anger. “That's the face I want to see! Show me what else a human can do!”

And blinded by her anger Sunset screamed. “KNEEL!!” And the landscape changed color.

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 16

Gruff didn't dislike ponies, what the griffon disliked was pony society itself, they always believed that they should get involved in everything and help everyone as if it were a duty or an obligation... but Gruff didn't see it that way, no one should help out of obligation or duty, maybe he would understand that they helped because it was the right thing to do or to return a favor, the old griffo helped a lot in Griffonstone because he simply wanted to help.

After the Arimaspi war, the griffon tried to help the younger ones since most of the adults had died. Gruff tried to be a mentor to all the children and that's why he earned the nickname 'Grandpa Gruff'. Although he loved all children equally, the old griffin had a special affection for a baby unicorn that his son saved during the war. He still remembers his last words from his son before he fell dead. 'please give him a name'

He raised the filly the best he could but he could only raise her as a griffin, he had problems when she started to develop magic, that's why one day he had to send her to Canterlot, to a school for unicorns, although Sunset was sad at first to have to leave Griffintone, but little by little she began to adapt to pony society, gradually the old griffin received more letters from the filly telling him how she learned to control magic, she told him that she had a companion called Cadance, she even once wrote that there was a possibility that she could get wings.

But one day the griffin received a letter from the princess that said about an accident that Sunset had, that scared the griffin and as soon as he had the opportunity he took the first train heading to Canterlot. When he arrived at the city a pegasus guard was waiting for him.

The guard escorted him to the hospital, when Gruff arrived and was heading to Sunset's room he saw Princess Celestia passing by, the old gryphon bowed as a sign of respect. “Good afternoon princess, thank you for taking care of my granddaughter.”

"Good afternoon to you, I suppose it's been a long time since we last saw each other at the big gala, it's a shame that it's under these circumstances." She says with a sad expression. “Although you thanked me for taking care of Sunset, I can't accept her gratitude since she ended up hurt.”

"Don't worry princess, what happened to Sunset will help her learn another lesson in life."

“But being her teacher, I worry about her learning that way.” The griffin could only notice the princess's concern. “I won't keep you any longer, have a good afternoon.” Then the princess leaves and the griffin enters the filly's room.

“Grandpa Gruff! Did you come! how are you!?" says the filly happily.

“I feel older than yesterday, and you?” the old griffin asked, unable to hide his joy at seeing Sunset again.

“I'm in a hospital. How do you think I'm doing?” said the filly, happy to see her grandfather.

“It's not unusual for you to get hurt, but usually you sent other griffons to the hospital... I guess only you could send yourself to the hospital by yourself.”

“Was that a compliment or an insult?”

“That depends... what exactly happened?”

Sunset responded with a bit of embarrassment. “Try to make a complicated spell.”

“How complicated?”

“A spell that apparently would have only worked well if I were an alicorn.” She said as she covered herself with her blanket in shame.

“And why did you think you could do it?”

“Because I really believed I could, like when I learned some griffon spells.”

The griffin sighed, knowing that when Sunset thinks she can do something she won't stop until she achieves it or until she causes enough damage that she realizes she has to stop.

“Even the princess worries about you, she just tries not to stress her out.”

“Don't worry, grandpa, it's normal for her to worry, after all she has a great future prepared for me.”

“I believe that your future is great without anyone preparing it for you.”

Sunset smiled at her grandfather's words. “Where are you going to stay, grandpa?”

"At first I thought I would stay at the embassy but according to the princess's letter I can stay in the castle for a while, I will also take advantage of doing an errand, Gustave wants me to get a baking book."

“Does he still want to make the perfect eclair?”

“That griffo never gives up.” He said with a sigh.

Sunset Shimmer and Gruff talked non-stop until visiting hours ended.

“Goodbye Grandpa, it was good to see you.”

“See you Sunset.” So before the griffon leaves he decides to ask. “Out of curiosity, what spell did you try to use that ended up getting you in here?”

Then Sunset smiles. “Do you really want to know?”

PRESENT

Scorpan did not understand what was happening, for some reason he was kneeling and it was requiring an enormous effort to stand up, it was as if something was forcing him to submit and the most surprising thing of all is that the landscape changed color, a monochromatic color, there was only one god with a power that could distort the environment like that, but All Master is currently in the sacred lands.

"This is incredible! A human is using a divine power and not just any power! “She is using a power that resembles All Master's!” Scorpan shouted with joy as he had finally managed to stand up.

“'KNEEL!'”. The former unicorn screamed again and Scorpan knelt down again in a more abrupt manner.

“I don't know how you're doing it but…” then the god felt a strong blow to the head and when he was going to look at what hit him he felt another blow and the blows did not stop.

Discord and the other gods are still battling in the center of the camp and neither side was giving ground.

“We have to resist a little more then everyone must flee!!” Discord shouted to his allies but then he felt something, a divine power that he knew very well but the god knew that was not possible, but then he noticed something curious in the energy and then he realized that Sunset had done something. Discord looked around among the enemy gods to see if anyone else noticed him but everyone was focused on their own battles which Discord would take advantage of so that no one would notice Sunset.

“I didn't expect things to end like this.” The god whispered, but at that moment he dodged an attack from Chrysalis.

“You're getting distracted.” Chrysalis said as he attacked the god with a halberd. “Are you afraid that everything you have achieved so far will be in vain? Are you afraid of dying in this battle?”

Contrary to what Chrysalis said, Discord was not afraid of death, and Discord did not know when he was going to die, but in his youth he had a vision and he knew who was going to kill him and that is why he knew that he was not going to die today. “Say what you want, I already laid the foundation for the future, it doesn't matter if you kill me today.”

“If you really want to die for your beliefs…” Then a fist goes through Discord's back. “I will grant you that wish old friend.” Tirek plunges his other hand into Discord's wound and quickly splits him in half.

Discord screams in pain and then the Fallen run to help Discord but the god lying on the ground shouts an order. “Stand back and disperse, no one else has to die today!” Some fled immediately, others hesitated but in the end they also obeyed.

The gods see the Fallen flee but do not pursue them.

“This was an easy battle.” Chrysalis said. “More than half of the Fallen were annihilated today.”

"Do not underestimate them, it is true that I helped found the Fallen but I was never the leader." Discord says as he tries to get comfortable after losing half of his body. “I wonder how I'll manage to go to the bathroom?” He said to himself.

“It's been years since we last saw each other.” A feminine but aged voice said she said.

“I see that someone is enjoying my defeat, should I call you Priestess Cinch now?”

“Although I want to imagine that I won this position through my own merit, unfortunately I only got it because you betrayed us.” She says with a slight tone of anger but calms down again. “I also inform you that the council of the gods gave me the power to decide your punishment.”

"I guess they're going to kill me."

“Maybe... Some want to see you dead, the simple fact that you are alive is a shame, you are also using your power to block the visions of our fortune tellers which has caused many problems but there are others who want you to stay alive out of respect and for the great contributions you have made to our society." Cinch thinks for a moment. “Tirek, you were a close friend of Discord. What should I decide?”

Tirek looks at Discord and answers. “kill him.”

“I was expecting a more pious response from you.”

“What I'm asking for is merciful, look at him, we destroyed his dreams and maybe even his plans and he will probably live in agony if he continues in that state.”

“Can they decide quickly? Can't you see that I'm dying? Discord complained.

“And your Chrysalis? “You were his student, should we kill him?”

"No"

“I take it you have a good reason to forgive him?” Remember that if we kill him our fortune tellers will recover their visions.”

“This is not forgiveness, sentence him to slow petrification.” When Chrysalis said that all the gods looked at her as if she had said something taboo. "I will explain... he betrayed us and incited others to betray us, so we must set an example with him."

"But the time it takes for him to die would be counterproductive because while he is alive we will not be able to have more divinations." The priestess told him.

"In his current state he will not live more than five or six years, we have managed very well without the fortune tellers, and they can still have minor visions."

After thinking about it, the priestess makes a decision. “Discord, for the crimes of treason, incitement of treason, provoking unnecessary conflict between humans and in the death of other gods I condemn you to slow petrification.” The priestess calls two soldiers. “take him to our domains.”

“Do we chase those who fled?” Tirek asked.

"We have the entire camp surrounded, I don't think anyone will be able to escape." Cinch said. "And even if some manage to flee, without Discord they will not have any symbol to unite them, I can safely tell you that the Fallen have been defeated."

“¡¡KNEEL!!”

Sunset screamed again and made the god kneel again, but every time she screamed she felt great pain in her body, her eyes were bloodshot from the pressure but even so the former unicorn continued hitting the god's head with an iron ball that she had picked up. Sunset could feel that the magic was trying to adapt itself roughly to her human body...and that hurt her.

“¡¡KNEEL!!”

She continued to feel weaker every time she used the spell. Every time the god tried to get up Sunset screamed again and hit the god again, destroying his head, but she could feel the pressure of the magic like a boiling pot but with the lid tightly sealed.

“¡¡KNEEL!!”

Sunset still remembers when Cadance brought her a book of alicorn spells and how she asked him to teach her how to use them, Sunset still remembers how she was excited because she could learn magic more advanced than that of unicorns, Sunset still remembers the first time she tried to use a spell from that book, Sunset still remembered how she ended up hospitalized for trying to use the royal voice.

“¡¡KNEEL!!”

When she recovered from that incident, the princess scolded the filly, but that scolding did not feel like a teacher scolding a student, because when he scolded her the princess didn't look angry, she looked sad, she said that the spell was something that only alicorns could endure, that as long as she remained a unicorn she would never be able to use her royal voice, but Sunset interpreted those words as encouragement to try harder.

“¡¡KNEEL!!”

But here she was using a spell that not only wasn't made for unicorns, but now she was using it on a human body that can barely handle magic.

Sunset was about to scream again when Scorpan regenerated again but then she noticed that he had dropped the iron ball, she knew that she might be getting too tired from the way she was attacking but she still believed she could continue, but then she noticed because she let go of the iron ball, she noticed that she didn't have her left arm.

“Damn human, how dare you hurt one of the great gods.” A god had arrived that Sunset didn't notice.

Sunset only remained silent while she saw her left arm lying on the ground, although she began to feel a lot of pain, she could not scream due to exhaustion.

“I don't know how you managed to get that power but you're going to die now.” But when he was about to finish off Sunset, Scorpan hits the god's head, breaking his neck.

“I don't know who you are nor do I care but you interrupted a great moment.” Scorpan sees the former unicorn. “I just can't believe it.” Scorpan said with a face of sick joy. “Do you know how many times you killed me?” The god asked. “Do you know how many lives I had to use? I even had to use more than one life due to an injury that was difficult to recover from.” The god sees how Sunset could barely stand until she fainted. “I guess she couldn't take it anymore.” He said as he approached the fainted girl but then someone stood in the way.

“I won't let you get any closer.” A scared Twilight said.

“And what do you think you can do about it?” Scorpan is surprised how the human who seemed to be the weakest of the group tries to stand firm in the face of a god, he also notices that the other humans were regaining consciousness. “I can tell that you would fight to the end to protect her…” The god is happy for what he was able to find in the battle. “You would like to be my prisoners.”

Act II – Fallen Gods – Chapter 17

Sonata was finishing putting the utensils for the meal while smiling with happiness, she didn't always have the opportunity to have dinner with her sisters and now they had been living together for a month.

“Sisters! The dinner is ready!" Sonata shouted.

“You don't have to say it so loudly, we were in the next room.” Aria growled.

“Let Sonata scream all she wants, after all she made this beautiful house for us.” Adagio said.

“You don't have to flatter me after all, I just used the designs you showed me.” Sonata answers happily.

“I guess only you could have thought of this kind of elegant design... I'm surprised you haven't ordered a gold statue.” She said with a roll of her eyes. “Sonata, are you sure you're not trying too hard to maintain all this?”

“I’m not even making an effort.” She answered the mermaid happily as she brought the food. “This house won't start to fade until after a month.”

“Just sit down and eat, soon we will all have to go back to our routines, let's just take advantage of this dinner that Sonata worked so hard to prepare.”

“Hopefully your cooking has improved, sister.” Aria said with a small smile.

“I have been practicing, my disciples have been helping me.” Sonata responded with a pout.

“disciples? Hadn't your aura school closed?” The older Mermaid asked in surprise.

"Yeah...". She said a little sadly. "They closed the building, Starswirl and the other pillars say that I am no good for educating the masses... but that only means that I cannot have more than five students independently." Then he smiles again and sits down. “But let's not talk about small failures that almost crumbled a society and let's start eating.”

“Wait!” The older sister exclaimed. "Aria?".

“I already washed my hands, why don't you say anything to Sonata?”

“She was the first one I told.”

"It's true". The younger sister says while showing her clean hands.

The sisters began to eat while they continued talking, laughing, they even argued a little, but you could feel the joy of the reunion.

“I finished first! I'm going for dessert!" The younger mermaid said as she stood up.

“Will this girl ever grow up?” Aria said.

“Do you want dessert too?” Adagio asks.

“...Yes”

At that moment Sonata returned with three glasses of ice cream. “Thank you for the ice Dagi, without you I could never have prepared this.”

“Anything for my little sister.” She said as they began to eat her dessert.

“Adagio, I was finally able to finish the list you asked me for.” Aria said as she ate.

“Excellent, I knew I could trust you.”

“What listing?” Sonata asked.

“Some gods that are Adagio's competition... or were they the guys you disliked?”

“It's not fair, there are aura masters that I dislike and you won't let me kill them.”

"They were the competition, it was nothing personal, with them out of the way I can become the next candidate for leader of the water faction and with that position I can have more influence in the land of the gods." Then Aria and Sonata stare at Adagio. “Maybe I didn't like one or two of them, but that was just a happy coincidence.”

“But the current leader of the water faction is still alive.” Sonata said.

"Not anymore". And both sisters look at Aria. “I ran into it by accident, doesn't that alter your plan?”

Adagio hugs Aria. “You are my new favorite sister.”

"What about me? I built a house and made dinner.”

“Sorry, I got carried away.”

After finishing eating dessert the sisters begin to say goodbye. “I have to go back, the Supreme King hasn't stopped asking for a report from my clan.”

“Don't worry, you have to see what All Master's temper is like when someone fails.”

“You guys are lucky, I have to put up with The Pillars.”

Then the three sisters left the elegant house, the house was in the middle of what was a battlefield and there were also three camps, one of demons, another of gods and the last of humans, but they did not attack each other, because they are the most reliable and loyal subordinates of the mermaids.

“I guess we won't see each other until the next incurtion.” Sonata said a little sad.

"Actually it's Aria who should be sad, at least you and I can manage to meet."

“Don't worry Sonata, Adagio has a plan and it may be very long term but if everything goes well we can be together again and nothing will ever be able to separate us…”

550 YEARS AGO

EIGHTH DEMONIC INCURTION

"...nothing will ever be able to separate us…"

"Did you say something?" Timber asked.

“I was just remembering something.” Aria responded.

Gloriosa looked at the burning camp as she waited for all the Fallen to gather at the agreed upon area.

“I think we've waited long enough.” Timber said. “We just have to accept the fact that we may be the only ones left.”

“We have to hurry or else they will realize that we all gathered together so we could all be together instead of dispersing.” Aria said.

"She's right, when they realize that no one has tried to escape individually, they will realize that we all tried to escape together." Fluttershy said.

“It will be more difficult now.” Double Diamond said. “The gods have regrouped into larger squads and blocked all possible large escape routes.”

"They are many?" Groriosa asked.

“There are too many... I think more than half of us left will die if we try to leave by force... what if we form small groups and disperse?”

"It will not work". Gloriosa said. “The original plan was for us all to group up and then Wallflower would use his divine power so we could all escape unnoticed but…” The goddess looks at where a very badly injured green goddess was. “Our healers can heal her wounds but cannot recharge divine powers.”

While everyone was discussing how they were going to escape Rarity talks to Fluttershy. “The others have already taken a while.”

Fluttershy knew that by 'others' she meant Sunset and her group. "They are well".

"How are you so sure?"

“I was watching the fight the whole time.” Then a small dark bird approaches and enters Fluttershy's shadow. "Now they are Scorpan's prisoners and that is why they are under his protection... for now."

“Do you know what he's going to do with them?”

"Yes..." The shy goddess responded. "And as soon as we finish what we have to do with Ceberus, I promise you that we will go to rescue them, but now we must escape."

"You are crazy!" The conversation was interrupted by Gloriosa's screams. “Do you realize that that is where the enemy has reinforced itself the most?!”

“Yes, but due to the current situation we will have to take risks.” Aria said.

“Do you think we can do it?” Timber asked.

“Yes, but I will need you two to accompany me and not tell anyone what is going to happen.”

“I learned that you are from the Water Faction.” A god asked one of his soldiers.

“Yes sir, I hope that is not a problem.” The other god responded.

"Don't worry, although I am from the Fire Faction, my mother was from the Water Faction."

“It's funny, my father was from the Fire Faction.”

“I hope the other soldiers haven't bothered you.”

“They didn't bother me, plus they told me that the discrimination has softened compared to how things were after the Wave War two hundred years ago.”

“As long as you are a good soldier, I am not going to discriminate against you... Also, a third of the soldiers here are from the Water Faction... can I get one question right?” The god's look showed that he didn't care. “Is it true that when you have your divine revelation you have to go see her...?”

“The leader of the rebellion? The cause of the Wave War? “The former leader of the Water Faction?” After a pause of silence the god responds. “Yes, it is assumed that this way we will not forget the consequences of opposing the council of the gods, it is incredible that she has not yet completely turned into stone.”

Both gods laugh while they are enjoying the conversation they have until...

“Do you think they'll stop by here?” A god asks.

"I don't think so, this may be the largest area for a large group to escape but most of the forces that did not participate in the attack are here which would make it crazy to pass through here."

“someone is coming!” shouts a god.

"How many are they?"

“There are three of them, it seems like they are giving up.”

“Excellent, the priestess Cinsh ordered that if we could we capture them alive.”

“Why do we have to come alone?” Timber asked.

“Because what I'm going to do must be kept a secret and I think I can trust you two.” Aria responded.

“It better work, because this is the area with the most enemy soldiers.” Gloriosa said nervously.

Then the three are surrounded by hundreds of enemy soldiers.

“I hope your plan works.” Tinber said.

“To be honest I would say it's actually a gamble.” Aria said. “Just stay on your guard.”

One of the gods who seemed to be the leader approaches. “I guess they are coming to surrender?”

“We come to negotiate.” Timber responded.

“Do you know that you are not in a position for a negotiation? The area is surrounded by an entire army.” The god responded.

"It's true but... If you continue like this many gods on both sides will die, I'm just trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender without chaos so that no more lives are lost." Gloriosa said.

The god hesitated a little but thought that if he had the opportunity to end everything peacefully then it was better to take advantage of the opportunity. “They will come with us but first everyone hand over their weapons.”

Timber and Gloriosa drop their swords and Aria takes off a belt full of knives.

“Who needs so many knives?” One of the gods asked.

“I don't need them, but using them makes things more fun.” Aria responded.

As they continued walking, the three noticed that there were hundreds of gods armed and ready to stop those who tried to escape by any means.

“I see they put too much effort into this attack.” Aria said a little surprised.

"Yeah". One of the soldiers said. “As soon as it was known where the Fallen were, everyone who was available had to be mobilized.”

“You seem nice.” Aria said. “Just out of curiosity... are we in the center of their army?”

“I wouldn't call it an army but yes, that means it will be impossible for you to escape.”

“Don't worry, the truth is that I would like you to not be able to escape.” Aria said with a smile as she disappeared from her human disguise returning to her demonic form.

All the gods were surprised by what they saw, the older gods could not believe it while the younger gods had never seen a demon.

"This will be fun". Aria said and started singing. “♪Aaaaaaaaaah~ Haaaaaaaaa~ Aaaaaaahhhh~ Aaaaaaaah~♪ ♪Aaaaaaaaaah~ Haaaaaaaaa~ Aaaaaaahhhh~ Aaaaaaaah~♪”

One of the gods made a fiery sword appear. “I don't know what this means but…” the god couldn't finish speaking because he was stabbed in the back. "what's the meaning of this?" He said barely as he saw an ice sword pierced his chest, when he saw his attacker it turned out to be a god of the Water Faction. "Because?" He asked before falling to the ground.

The god of the Water Faction only saw his companion die and whispered. “For the glory of Adagio.”

Gloriosa and Timber couldn't believe what they were seeing, whatever Aria had done caused everyone from the Water Faction to treacherously attack the other gods.

“You two, don't just stand there and stare.” Aria said. “We may have had the surprise factor but they can reorganize quickly, it would be better if we helped.” She says with a smile, then a god of the water faction with a bow returns the knives to Aria.

“Your weapons my lady.” The god said respectfully.

Aria unsheathes one of the knives and throws it, killing a god, she unsheathes another one. She only gave an order. “Let none escape!”

After the battle ended Timber and Gloriosa were lying on the ground tired and still surprised by the simple fact that a god bowed down to a demon.

“You two should get up and go look for the others, we don't know when the enemy will notice that something happened here.” Aria told them as she cleaned the blood from her knives.

“How do you insist?” Gloriosa asked.

“How did I do what?” Aria asked.

“How did you do all this?!” Timber shouted.

Aria smiled cockily. “You should know that I have participated in all the Demonic incursions.”, this battle was just… I can't even really call it a battle.”

“They outnumbered us!” Timber yelled but then he tried to calm down.

“What my brother and I are trying to say is…” Gloriosa tries to think of how to ask.

“My sister lent them to me, the truth is that I never thought she would use them but there is always a first time.” Aria responded knowing what they were referring to.

“Aria, no faction would obey the orders of a demon without hesitation, and how can you be the sister of a god? Especially the current leader of the Water Faction?” Gloriosa questioned.

"The current leader is a facade, the leader of the Water Faction has not changed in the last five hundred years."

“But five hundred years ago the leader of the faction was…” Then Timber realizes something. “Is your sister Adagio Dazzle the one who was considered the strongest water goddess in our history and who almost sank the land of the gods during the Wave War?”

“That's Dagi, always trying to get attention... I want you to understand something, I brought you both here because you are the best warriors available, that way we could have the advantage in the battle, neither All Master nor the Council of the Gods must know that the Water Faction is still loyal to my sister." She said in a threatening tone. "As for my sister being a goddess...maybe one day she will tell him the story...or maybe not."

“I better go look for the others so I can escape.” She said Gloriosa that she is still surprised by what happened.

Scorpan brings a cart with a cage and tells his prisoners to enter.

“It won't be a long trip, but maybe we'll make some stops.” Scorpan told them.

Twilight had stopped Sunset's bleeding while Shining Armor helped the others into the cage.

"You have the potential to be great warriors." Scorpan said. "Soon I will make sure that you all become more powerful... or die trying."

As they entered the cages Flash asks the god. "What do you want from us?"

Scorpan looks at Flash and then looks at Sunset, who is still unconscious. "I want a definitive death." While he smiles maniacally.

End of act – II

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 2

A LONG TIME AGO

In the royal gardens of Canterlot Castle, a unicorn filly was trying to give classes to a young alicorn.

“So magic comes from the bones?” The young pink alicorn asked.

"No!". The red-maned unicorn filly said. “The magic is inside the body! "Simply all races bring out their magic differently!" Then the filly points to a blackboard where the three types of ponies were drawn. “Summarize what I explained to you.” She says as she points to the picture of an earth pony.

“Earth ponies use their hooves passively to use their magic.”

“Right, that's why they are supposed to be such good farmers, while they plant and harvest they unconsciously insert a little magic into the fruits and vegetables.” Now Sunset points to the image of a pegasus.

"I know that! When pegasi grow their feathers, they accumulate a small amount of magic, which is why they can shape clouds and if they are skilled enough, they can fly faster even without wind or air currents. The more magic the feathers have, the more fast they are". Cadance said proudly.

“And now the reason we study this.” She pointed to the image of a unicorn.

“Unicorns have active and passive magic at the same time, although they have their own internal magic at birth, their horn begins to accumulate magic from the environment unconsciously, but at some point they have to release all the accumulated magic.”

“Right, so we have hooves, feathers and horns. What do the three of them have in common?”

Cadance thought for a moment before answering. “What is attached to our body?”

“That is connected to our inner source of magic!” Sunset replied. “Usually unicorns learn the basics when they are foals but with you we must understand the logic before teaching you how to use your horn.” Sunset sees Celestia on the castle balcony and notices that the sun is going down. “It's getting late and tomorrow I have classes with the princess, next week we will continue with your magic lessons.”

"I'll be here". She says happily but Cadance doesn't move from where she is and just looks at the filly.

"Something happens? Do you need to ask me something? I know we've been doing this for a month now but..."

Cadanse just smiles a little. "It doesn't matter". Cadanse interrupted. “It's nothing important, I'll be here next week, goodbye Sunset.”

PRESENT

“Try moving a finger now.” Applejack tells Sunset as she finishes adjusting the wooden arm.

Sunset Shimmer closed her eyes and began to imagine that she still had her arm, trying to imagine how the magic extended to the prosthesis as if the prosthesis itself were her horn.

"Incredible!" Pinkie Pie said as she cheered Sunset on. “Although I'm sure fingers shouldn't bend like that.”

Sunset opens her eyes and sees that when she stretches out her wooden hand, the fingers bend backwards, breaking them all.

“For a thousand apples it happened again!” Applejack sighs in resignation. “We barely have a few spare hands left to practice on,” she says as she detaches the broken hand from her arm.

“Maybe we should try another type of wood.” Twilight said as she prepared another hand. "any ideas?"

“Why don't we use a real hand?!” Pinkie Pie suggested.

After an awkward silence, everyone decided to ignore what Pinkie said. Weeks had passed since Sunset started moving the wooden prosthesis. She had been practicing to make the movement more fluid, but at the moment she had only been able to move her arm. She still had problems. with hand.

“I guess I'll have to carve more hands.” Applejack murmured.

“You better collect a lot of wood, in a few hours we will reach the desert.” Scorpan said, the god let the group out of the cages so they could stretch their legs and some of them strayed too far from the cart but they always came back, not that they could do much to escape from a god, besides none of them would abandon the other.

After they fixed everything Scorpan begins to direct the cart until they reached the desert. “Get ready, we are about to arrive.”

They opened many carts with empty cages that had not been abandoned for a long time, then Scorpan blows a kind of whistle but Sunset and none of the others heard anything, then everyone begins to see that something was approaching and coming from the desert, at first they believed that they were some lizards like the ones The Fallen had but they were a little slower and looked slightly different, they looked more like an iguana, they stopped right in front of Scorpan, they were about four meters long and two meters high, both iguanas had a kind of shape -tent on the back so that three humans could fit.

"When everyone is ready, enter the tents, it will be four days through the desert until you reach the city, inside you will remain fresh."

Flash checks the tents. "He's right, this is designed to keep the interiors cool and from what I notice..." Then the young teenager looks in the direction of the desert. “I think that once we enter we will no longer have the opportunity to escape.”

“We never had the chance to escape.” Sunset said.

"I don't believe it". Applejack said. “We just have to make a good plan and that's it.”

"I don't know if anyone noticed but... At what point did Scorpan watch us?"

“Now that you mention it…” Shining Armor responded. “I tried to search and see when he watched us the most but…”

“He never watched us, because he didn't need it.” Sunset replied. "It's like he wants us to try something, Applejack, you yourself said that Scorpan didn't care that you had a knife, which you could have used to try to stab him.".

"I didn't think I could stab him, it would take more than a simple knife to hurt a god, you stabbed him many times with your aura dagger."

“So we just go to the City of Beasts and accept what we get?” Flash said.

“If I always accepted what I got then we would still be in the mines, we will go to the City of Beasts and we will make a plan to escape again.”

“My little eyes see something…”

“Pinkie Pie! We are inside a tent with no view to the outside! "We're not going to play that!" Flash Sentry exclaimed while Shining Armor seemed to agree.

“But there is nothing better to do and the others are in the other iguana.” Pinkie responded with a pout.

“I need you to remember me because she is the one who accompanies us.”

“Because her majesty, Applejack and my sister are experimenting with the arm.” Shining responded resignedly.

“How long have we been in the desert?” Flash asked.

"half an hour". Shining responded as she held her head.

"Do not worry! I still have a lot of ideas so we can have fun!”

“Do you think it was a good idea for them to stay with Pinkie?” Applejack asked worriedly.

"They'll be fine". Sunset said without concern. “Besides, I need help with this.” Sunset raises the wooden arm. “At the moment I can move my arm without a problem but we still have problems with my hand.”

“I think Pinkie was right about the hand.” Twilight says and she notices Applejack and Sunset looking at her like she's grown a third head. “What I'm trying to say is why doesn't she try to materialize a real hand?”

"Is that possible?" Applejack asked.

"It could work, when Diamon Tyara arrived I took the opportunity to ask her things that Discord didn't know and she told me that there were masters who could materialize organic objects." Twilight said. “But first you had to have a complete understanding of the anatomy of the body.”

Sunset thought a little about that suggestion, although it might work she would still have to learn about the biology of the human body, for a moment she remembered how she tried to understand the body of a unicorn, even at that time she had completely memorized how a unicorn's horn was made up.

“It might work but…” Sunset lifts her arm for real. “'aura of materialization' 'Dagger.'” Then the weapon materializes. “This is all I can materialize, plus if I let go of it then it doesn't last more than five minutes before it starts to fade, that means a hand let alone an entire arm is out of the question for the moment.”

“No problem for me, after the effort I put into making that prosthesis for you, I would feel offended if you decided to throw away that arm.” Applejack said.

"When we escape I will make sure to get good materials so you can make another one." Sunset said.

“And I'll make sure it's even better than the real thing.” Applejack said proudly.

"Your majesty, I suggest that if possible you hide the fact that you are missing an arm." Twilight said.

“Twilight, I'm not going to hide this as an embarrassment, so I hope you give me a good reason to suggest that.”

“When we escape and then head to Canterlot, my father should have already prepared everything for his majesty's return, you must lead his people but if they see you without your arm it could demoralize many, you must show yourself strong and a queen without an arm is not."

Sunset didn't like the idea but she understood Twilight's reasoning. "It's fine". She said reluctantly. “I guess I just have to master this to make it, Applejack. How many hands do we have left?”

“Enough so as not to get bored.”

THE SACRED LANDS

Discord felt no pain, he felt neither cold nor hot, no matter how brightly the sun shone or how cold the night got, Discord felt nothing, his body was left near a cliff facing the sea while the god's body slowly petrified. .

“At least I have a panoramic view.” Discord joked.

“You were lucky, I have to turn my head.”

A goddess with long fluffy hair who looked like she was sitting but her body from her feet to her shoulders were petrified, the name of the goddess is Adagio Dazzle and she was once known as the goddess of the Water Faction more powerful. “And when the petrification reaches the neck I will no longer be able to turn my head.”

"I'm still surprised that the petrification is slower than normal with you, and it was Cinch who gave me the petrification, that offends a little."

"Why? Did you expect more?”

“if we take into account that I made a small percentage of gods defect and that it is thanks to me that the gods cannot make divinations…”

"You're just jealous that my sentence was carried out by All Master." Adagio said arrogantly. “And all I had to do was a small rebellion, fight All Master directly and almost sink the sacred land under the ocean, did I forget something?”

“Conceited.”

“Remember that it was your fault that my entire plan failed.”

“What did you expect? If your plan succeeded then the world would fall into anarchy.” Discord replied.

“And you think your plan will succeed?”

“I have no idea.”

"What?! I'm putting my Faction, my infiltrators, and my sisters at risk because of your stupid plan based on your stupid vision! And now you tell me you don't know?!”

“I never saw the result of my vision.” That answer baffled adagio. “The vision always showed me someone fighting the gods in the land of the gods, it never showed anything else.”

“If only I could get up to hit you, I would get up to hit you! You know!? I only care what...” Adagio stops talking and closes his eyes trying to concentrate.

Discord did not say anything, he knew that he should not interrupt Adagio's concentration, the god had visited the goddess many times in the past during the first days of the sentence, there were times when he found her in that same form, when he met Aria he found out why, her sister is sending him a message.

After a few minutes Adagio opened her eyes. “My sister captured the small fortress that the gods used to guard the gates of Tartarus.”

“Does that mean they are going to start pacifying Cerberus?” Discord asked.

And with a smile Adagio responds. "Actually they already pacified it, Aria told me that they attacked the fortress at the same time that a goddess went to the dog."

“That was risky, did they tell you why?”

“They said they wanted to rescue someone, but what matters is that everything turned out well.”

"Luckily the Gates of Tartarus are one of the few areas that the omnipresent eye cannot monitor... what an irony."

“But won't the gods notice when they have to supply the fortress?”

“Our friend who has been accompanying us is going to help us.” Discord said.

At that moment Chrysalis who had heard the entire conversation from behind a statue intervened. "Don't worry, my most trusted agents will keep up the façade. If we let the Water Faction do everything then many would become suspicious, but first I must make sure that they don't attack my subordinates."

“They won't plow it, I'll let them know, just tell me what I need to know.” Adagio said.

Chrysalis gives the instructions to Adagio and when she finishes she heads to talk to Discord. “How will she send the message? “Will she send one of her agents?”

♪Aaaaaaaaaah~ Haaaaaaaaa~ Aaaaaaahhhh~ Aaaaaaaah~♪

“Why do you start singing?” Chrysalis wondered.

"What you are hearing is the greatest secret of the true leader of the Water Faction." Discord responded. “What do you know about the spy hunts during the Tenth Demonic Incursion?”

“Besides the fact that no spy was captured?” Chrysalis responded.

"My predecessor told me that for some reason the demons predicted our movements, for a moment it was suspected that the demons had a fortune teller but the only suspect cannot leave Tartarus which prevented him from actively participating in any raid, then someone suggested the possibility of a spy.”

“From what I know, if it weren't for All Master, everything would have fallen into chaos due to paranoia.” Chrysalis sighed.

"In the end she did not find any spy, after the Wave War, a few days before I formed the Fallen she told me how she sent messages to her sisters." Discord closes his eyes to hear Adagio better. “She has a beautiful voice... and her sisters also have equally beautiful voices.”

“I never knew she had sisters, what faction are they from?” The goddess asked curiously.

"I wouldn't say they are in any faction, one of their sisters is the leader of the Squalo Clan, the other sister is a crazy aura master who doesn't realize she has disciples."

“Do you realize how crazy you are telling me?” Chrysalis looks at Discord as if she had told him a boring joke but then the goddess notices the seriousness of her words. "How is that possible? And why are you telling me this?”

“For your first question I will let Adagio answer but for your second question it is because he trusted you to fulfill your part of our agreement, plus my agents have already found many of those you are looking for.”

Then Adagio finishes singing. “I already sent the message along with all the instructions, did I miss something?”

“Yes, our new friend already knows about your sisters, could you explain the rest?”

FORTRESS IN FRONT OF THE GATES OF TARTARUS

In front of the Gates of Tartarus there is a fortress, that fortress belonged to the masters of the aura,
The function of the fortress was to watch the gates of Tartarus and make sure the world knew when a demonic incursion began while the occupants delayed the incursion as long as they could, after the purge, the fortress was occupied by the gods, when Cerberus was subdued and placed to guard the gates, the fortress was used to keep the new guard, a fortress with a long history that had survived hundreds of legendary battles, the fortress fell in a single night.

“My grandmother told me stories about this place.” Big Mac said as he and other humans threw corpses into a pit. “It is incredible that she fell due to a simple surprise attack.”

“It is because so many soldiers were no longer needed because this place began to be used to take care of Cerverus.” Timber said.

"My people also used this fortress, when an incursion began this fortress was always captured to be able to coordinate the troops that left Tartarus or when we retreated back." Rarity says as she wiped the blood off her sword.

“I hope he doesn't use that if we have to train again.” Limestone said as he could see in the distance how Fluttershy was petting a gigantic three-headed dog. “That thing is supposed to guard those gigantic doors and that shy goddess tames it easily.”

“Eeyup”

“And she's not going to help?” Limestone pointed out to Aria that she was just standing at the edge of the wall. “She just started singing and then she just stayed silent and didn't move at any time.”

"Better not bother her, the Supreme Queen ordered us that when she acts like this she should never interrupt her." Double Diamondle said.
But then Aria smiles and heads straight towards Double Diamond. “It's time to open the doors.”

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 3

A LONG TIME AGO

Princess Celestia was walking through the library looking for someone, she was looking for a young alicorn named Mi Amore Cadenza or as she liked to be called Cadance.

Cadanse always tried to go to the library at specific times, times where he wouldn't run into Sunset Shimmer, Princess Celestia had noticed that detail, although she was not sure, she believed that the young alicorn avoided Sunset because she felt responsible for the incident with the 'royal voice', she even asked her to transfer her to another school, although she wanted to know the reason, Celestia didn't dare ask.

“Sunset is grounded for the entire week because of the fight she had at school, I guess you can use the library without problems during that time.” The princess said.

"What happened?". Cadance asked.

“She hit someone who was apparently speaking ill of the griffons.” She said as she sighed.

“She's like that, she's always been proud of having been raised by griffins.” Cadance said as she remembered how Sunset told her stories about Griffonstone.

“If she keeps this up she won't be able to make friends.” Celestia said. “She's been like this ever since you stopped going to her classes, why did you stop going? I even thought you were friends already.”

Cadance puts on a sad face thinking about that. “I don't think we can be friends... not anymore.”

“I don't think Sunset is mad at you for the accident.”

“It's not because of the accident!” She suddenly shouted but then calmed down. “I just don't feel capable of looking her in the face.” Said the young alicorn.

"but I need Sunset to make friends!"

“She is your student and that is why you can't force her to make friends.” Said the young alicorn knowing that those words could hurt Celestia.

Cadance knew the type of relationship the two had, Sunset despite being an orphan never lacked a father figure since a griffon had raised her, but the filly did lack a mother figure that she unconsciously tried to fill with Celestia, Cadance had also observed how Celestia had slowly grown fond of the filly and without realizing it tried to be a mother and a teacher at the same time.

“Friendship shouldn’t be forced, why do you want to force that feeling on Sunset?”

PRESENT

It had been four days since they started crossing the desert, Sunset had been exercising her magic as usual and also practicing the mobility of her prosthesis since that helped her practice the flow of mana, incredibly her human body had been getting used to magic a little.

"We're almost there, if you want you can look out to see." Scorpan said.

Twilight peeks her head out and the first thing she sees is red fog. “What is this?” She asked.

“This fog prevents anyone from entering or leaving, only the Wrath Faction can pass through at will and decide who enters or leaves.” Scorpan replied. “Look, we're here.”

Sunset also looked out to see and could see many iguanas that had the same type of tent-mount she was in, she also saw some six-meter-high stone walls and a huge iron door that seemed to be the entrance to the city.

“Everyone get out now.” Scorpan ordered, Sunset and the others got off their mounts.

“How was your trip bro?” Twilight asked but she noticed that Shining Armor didn't say anything. “Brother? Is something wrong?”

“He can't hear you.” Flash said. “It was his turn to go into a trance.” Then he snaps his fingers in front of Shining making him wake up.

“What's wrong?! “Am I done with my shift?!” Shining Armor said as he looks around. “Finally it's all over!”

“Anything we should know?” Applejack asked.

“We’re finally here!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she also came out and hugged Shining and Flash. “Even though these four days of traveling are over, I will always treasure each of the memories we made together!”

“I think we should not ask,” Sunset said as she noticed the two boys’ empty gazes.

“Open the doors!” Scorpan shouted.

When the giant doors opened, strange gray-skinned people appeared. Although they seemed thin, one could notice the muscular development they had. It also seemed that none of them had hair and their eyes were completely black. Sunset noticed that none of them were gods, but they weren't human either.

“Great god Scorpan, we are glad you are back... I see you brought more humans but...” The beings stare at Sunset and her group. “I see they are still children.”

“Don't underestimate them, they can use the aura and one can use a power similar to divine power.” The god said. “I lost count of how many times they killed me.”

“Their fight happened more than a month ago?” One of the beings asked.

“Yes.”

“Great god Scorpan, more than forty died that day, so were they responsible?”

“It seems so,” Scorpan said, happy with the news, then looked at Sunset. “I have high expectations.” After those words, they continued moving forward.

As they followed Scorpan, Sunset and the others looked at the city, the city of bricks, carved stones and tiles, one would say that it is a typical desert city.

“Aren't there any activities on the streets?” Twilight asked.

“Look at the walls.” Sunset said.

Everyone noticed that there were some strange marks. “They look like claw marks, but they don’t seem to be from any animal that you’ve seen before.”

“There are also dried blood marks.” Shining Armor observed. “Whatever happened happened a long time ago.”

“Everyone keep walking, I will take you to the citadel.” Scorpan ordered.

As they continued walking they began to see more humans being guided by gods.

“It seems that once again the others preferred quantity over quality, if they continue like this their torment will never end.” Scorpan said with a tone of disappointment.

Sunset preferred not to ask, not caring about her curiosity, and began to observe the other humans that the gods brought. She noticed that many of them were in good physical condition despite the fact that they had scars from cuts and marks of blows as if...

“Bandits, mercenaries, ex-soldiers, criminals, prisoners who couldn’t be locked up, that’s all they bring,” said a teenager who appeared behind Sunset, she has amber hair, turquoise skin and was wearing chainmail. “If we’re lucky, there might be a few real warriors in this lot.”

“It's not that we're not grateful for the information we were obviously going to find out, but who are you?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“My name is Lightning Dust, the current leader of the Washouts, and you don't have to distrust me. We're all prisoners here.”

“Who are the Washouts?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“They are a mercenary company that is known for recruiting only soldiers or warriors of questionable origins.” Twilight interrupted.

“I see that our reputation precedes us, most of the recruits are people who have not been admitted into their own armies, renegades or who have simply been kicked out of their respective groups, we have ex Royal Guard, ex Shadowbolts, ex Crystal Guard, ex Wonderbolts, although technically all Wonderbolts are now ex.”

“He also has a reputation for accepting any job assigned to him, no matter how questionable it is.” Flash Sentry said.

“In our defense when we accept a job we will never betray the contract or the client no matter how much gold they offer us to betray it, the only way to cancel our contract is for the client to cancel it.” Lightning Dust said proudly.

“Why are you suddenly approaching us?” Sunset asked.

“Finally an intelligent question, because you are young, too young to be considered dangerous people, that means you are more than you seem and if we want to get out of here we will need to collaborate.”

Since she entered the city Sunset was trying to formulate a plan to escape, she knew it would take time to create a plan but suddenly someone notices and offers a collaboration. “Why do you think we will try to escape?”

“Everyone here has been complaining that they won't get out alive, that they will die here...”

“Of course we’re all going to die!!” A short, dark orange man with yellow hair yelled.

“Of course we are all going to die if you continue with that attitude!” Lightning Dust yelled at the man. “His name is Short Fuse and he has a terrible temper but he’s a good guy, but what I was trying to say is that another thing I noticed about you is that you’ve been looking around like you’re planning something and I think we could work together.”

"So what if I have anger issues?!" Short Fuse yells as he punches someone.

"We'll talk more later." Lightning Dust then sighs in frustration, "That guy will be the cause of my death."

“Do you think we can trust them, Your Majesty?” Shining Armor asked.

“Applejack, did you notice if she was lying?” Sunset asked.

“She told the truth, I didn't notice any lies.”

“Twilight, you said they were from questionable backgrounds.”

Twilight understood what Sunset wanted to know. “It's true that they recruit from rejects and expelled people, but they weren't expelled because they were mediocre, they were expelled because they didn't follow rules, rules that, if not followed, put the lives of others at risk.”

“Are you going to trust them, Your Majesty?” Shining Armor asked.

“I don’t know yet.”

After two hours of walking they reach the citadel. “The walls seem to be twice the size of the outer walls.” Flash said.

At the entrance of the citadel you could see how the gods were guiding the humans inside the citadel. “Once everyone enters, listen to everything they are told if you want to survive.” Scorpan told them. “Redhead girl.” He called Sunset. “In a couple of days I will take you to see someone, so I want you to wait here for me then.” Then the god just left.

“What should we do now?” Flash asked.

“For now, let's go inside and see what this place is.” Sunset said.

When they entered the citadel, they could see that there were more people, and they noticed that there were guards in armor guiding the newcomers to some rows.

“You guys are practically children.” Said a man who looked disheveled and ragged as he approached the group, looking at the girls with a depraved smile. “They say that if you want to survive here you might need protection.” While taking Sunset by the shoulder, Shining was about to do something until someone intervened.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” Then a light blue teenage girl wearing light leather armor with long rainbow-colored hair approached the man. “I don't know if you noticed but it was the god Scorpan who brought that group of humans.”

“As far as I know, we are all here because a god of Wrath brought us here.” The man replied, somewhat annoyed by the teenager's intervention. “And a god of wrath only brings you here if you are dangerous... and that includes me.”

“Yes, but even though we are all here for one reason or another, the god Scorpan is known for choosing quality over quantity.”

The man was irritated by the teenager's challenge but decided to stop. “I suppose you are right.” The man said, calming down.

“It's good to know that you understood.” The teenager said with a smile.

Then the teenager turns around to leave but when she turned her back the man picks up a rock to attack her, Applejack was going to warn her but Sunset stops her, Applejack was going to reply to Sunset's decision but when the man was going to attack the teenager something appears on the teenager's back, a light blue wing materialized and with a quick movement she cuts her attacker's neck causing him to fall and bleed to death.

"I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Rainbow Dash and welcome to the City of Beasts."

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 4

AGO YEARS

“Fluttershy, was this massacre necessary?” asked the priestess Cinch as she watched a young goddess crying.

“I didn’t want this, I didn’t know about famine, I didn’t know that they only wanted to feed their families to survive.” She says through tears. “When I saw the dead animals I just burst into anger and my animals came out of my shadow.”

Cinch continued to observe the destroyed village, the town was relatively young, the houses newly built, it is natural that a newly built town has food problems the first few months but in a year they would have the first harvests to be self-sufficient but now all the inhabitants were being devoured by Fluttershy’s animals, a town that was now nothing.

"When you were assigned to a forest I was against the decision, despite your natural talent with your divine power, I was going to tell the council that you were still immature, still a rookie but..." Cinch didn't know what else to say. "How did it happen?"

“I had decided to live for the sake of the animals. I knew every animal in this forest, but I couldn't stand what the humans did.”
h didn't want to do what she was going to do. “Do you know what will happen now?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied.

“Do you know why we call it the wrath even though many of that faction don’t express it as such?” Fluttershy remained silent then the priestess continued speaking. “Half of the punishment goes to the gods, but the other half goes to the cause that caused the gods to commit such acts, I mean those who you wanted to help, in their minds they will feel pain, their souls will be torn and will be linked to the god and the god will feel all their anger to the point of wishing for death and none of them will be able to do anything against each other”

“But I only did this to help animals.”

“And that is why the animals will be the ones to bear your sin”

PRESENT

GATES OF TARTARUS

Fluttershy was petting Cerberus while at the same time she saw the gigantic gates of Tartarus open for the first time since the Eleventh Demonic Incursion or as others called it the Stygian Rebellion and the goddess was sad because she knew there was no turning back.

“Do you feel sorry for having participated in this?” Aria asked as she walked over to Fluttershy.

“I still don’t know how to feel, Discord told me that many will die no matter what I do but he also told me that my part in this would save some lives.” Fluttershy replied.

“I guess only time will tell.” Aria sighed as she watched the army leave the gates. “So do you know where the Beast City is now?” She decided to ask directly.

“You ask that as if the city had been somewhere else.”

“There was another city, didn't you know that?” Aria asked a little surprised.

“I thought they rebuilt it after it was destroyed during the Tenth Demonic Incursion.”

“I guess the gods don't like to talk about their defeats.” The demon said with a small smile.

“Defeated? We younger ones are told that after the Tenth Demonic Incursion, all the gods of the Wrath Faction were given full pardon.” Fluttershy noticed that Aria was trying to suppress a laugh. “I don’t know why you find that so funny.”

“The reason why after the Tenth Demonic Incursion those gods were pardoned is that none of them were actually left alive.” Aria said.

“The Wrath Faction is supposed to be the second strongest faction after the Battle Faction, but how is it possible that none of them were left alive?” The goddess asked in surprise.

“Because I found out the secret of how to kill them easily, while the Supreme King and his army fought against the Wrath Faction, almost all of my clan and I invaded the City of Beasts, we killed each of the Wrath Beasts we found, do you understand now?”.

“Yes... I understand.” The goddess said, surprised by such an achievement. “Will you do the same with the current city?”.

“No, this time we have to be discreet, and if I take my entire clan then we risk the gods realizing that another raid has begun, so don't worry, your beasts are safe.”

“My beasts are not in the city, my beasts have always been with me.”

Those words surprised Aria. “Don't tell me you let those monsters loose out there?”

“No, they are always with me, they forgave me for the consequences of my selfishness and I only accept my punishment without accepting the solution that the city offers me.”

Aria looks at Fluttershy's shadow and the demon begins to laugh. “I don't know if you make me laugh or scare me.”

“The same can be said about the demon who decided to attack the ancient city of beasts and from what I know that city was bigger than the current one.”

“I can't argue with that.” And they both continue laughing.

“How big will this Demonic Incursion?” Fluttershy asked.

Then Aria stops laughing at the question. “Do you know how many Demonic Incursions I participated in?”

“I don't know... two? Three?”

“I participated in all of them, but I never submitted myself or my clan to any king or queen. I knew them all, some were good rulers, others were bloodthirsty despots, even some of the kings were my friends although others hated me to death, but none of them could subdue all the clans... I never submitted to any of them.”

“But you participated in all the Raids.”

“Yes.” She answers. “But I never swore loyalty to any of them, I offered my help but nothing more, but Starlight Glimmer succeeded, she subdued.” Aria pauses for a moment. “Subdued is not the word, she unified each and every one of the demonic clans, even me and my clan decided to march under her banner, you asked how big this Incursion would be, this will be the biggest Demonic Incursion of all and this time we will not back down, believe it or not all the demons will leave Tartarus never to return, whether we win or lose the Twelfth Demonic Raid will be the last.”

CITY OF BEASTS

Sunset and her group were still contemplating what they had just seen.

That wing was made of aura.” Twilight said surprised. “She made an organic materialization.”

“It would be amazing if she helps us with your arm dilemma, your majesty.” Shining Armor said.

“Let's not rush, we must first know what our situation is exactly.” Flash said.

Then Pinkie Pie raises a hand excitedly. “I know, I know! We're trapped in some kind of cursed city in the middle of the desert!”

“I guess we should see that detail too.” Applejack sighed.

Then atop the wall stands a woman wearing blue armor, she had yellow skin and orange hair. “Attention everyone! My name is Spitfire! As you may have noticed, everyone is here because they are dangerous in one way or another...”

“Is something wrong Shining?” Applejack asked.

“I know her, she was a cadet of the Wonderbolts.” Shining Armor answered.

“The Wonderbolts?” Sunset asked, surprised that there was also a parallel to the Pegasus team.

“Yes, the late Queen Luna is supposed to have sent most of the young recruits along with a small company of veterans to the eastern borders to ensure that the tribes of the barren lands did not attack Equestria during the war against the Crystal Kingdom and the gods.” Shining Armor said.

“Do you think they can help us?” Sunset asked.

“I don't know, I don't even know if any high command is still alive.”

“I hope you all understood!” Spitfire finished saying.

“Did anyone understand the instructions?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Then Twilight heard what Spitfire said and was about to answer, but noticed everyone's gaze implying that they wanted a simple explanation. "She basically gave us a motivational speech and then told us to walk in a circle around the walls of the inner citadel, what do you think we should do, your majesty?"

“For now we are just going to gather information, find out what this place is for and finally try to escape.” Sunset said.

“Attention, everyone follow us!” One of the guards shouted and everyone started walking.

For an hour everyone had been walking around the citadel, everyone thought it was strange and for some reason there were guards watching all the prisoners but not to watch them but as if they were evaluating them.

“That's strange.” Applejack said. “Twilight, Pinkie, did you notice it too?”

“Is something wrong?” Flash asked.

“I don't think this is an endurance test, we just walked, some even stopped to rest and no one says anything to them.” Sunset replied. “I'm sure that...” At that moment Sunset felt something and stopped walking.

“What's wrong, your majesty?” Shining asked, also stopping with the others.

“Twilight, I need you to look where I just passed.” Sunset ordered.

Twilight obeys without hesitation. “I see… I think it’s a mass of air.”

Applejack also observes. “That’s true, but this one looks slightly different.”

“Different how?” Sunset asks.

Then Twilight answers. “The ones we usually see are the ones that are randomly found anywhere but this one, it's like it was placed here intentionally, I didn't even know you could do that.”

“But they're everywhere.” Pinkie Pie said. “I thought everyone noticed?”

Then Sunset realized what the test was about.

Then some guards approached. “You three will go to the central citadel.” They said pointing at Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “And you three will stay in the outer citadel, you can leave.” He said to Sunset, Shining Armor and Flash Sentry.

“Wait! You can't separate us!” Twilight complained.

“Twilight do what you're told.” Sunset ordered trying to avoid making a fuss although she sees that Twilight reluctantly obeys. “I'll find a way for us all to meet again.”

“Don't worry sister, I will continue with our duty.” Shining Armor said to calm his sister.

“I don't think anything bad will happen to her with us here.” Flash said.

“I'm not so weak for you to say that.” Sunset said a little offended.

After they separated Flash asked, “Why do you think they took them?”

“Pinkie said that the air masses were everywhere and we were the only ones who couldn't see it, only Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie have mind vision.” The redhead replied.

“That means they are gathering potential aura users.” Shining Armor said.

“But anyone can learn about the aura, you don't have mind vision and you still know how to use it.” Flash said.

“Yes, but remember what Discord and Diamond Tiara said, that although everyone can learn, those with mental vision have an innate talent.” Sunset said. “But what worries me is knowing what will happen to us.”

“Everyone pay attention!” said one of the guards with pale blue skin and dark grayish blue hair and dressed in armor just like Spitfire had. “Welcome! My name is Soarin and I will be in charge of this part of the tests! I know that everyone wants to rest after this long journey through the desert and I promise that after this you will be able to rest!”

Then a group of guards begin to hand out wooden swords.

“All newcomers will have a one-on-one fight!” Soarin replied. “You will go to the combat arenas, everyone will have an opponent and you will have to fight, killing is strictly prohibited.” After those words the guards led them to the combat arenas.

When they arrived at the place Sunset examines the wooden sword that had been given to her.

“I know they said killing is forbidden, but this sword, despite being made of wood, is still dangerous.” Flash Sentry said.

“Yeah, I remember when Timber had to stop us from one of our training duels because we almost beat each other to death.” Shining Armor said as if that was a pleasant memory.

“Shining.” Sunset said as she watched the guards assign opponents to everyone. “How would you say our sword skills are?”

On the terrace of a tower, Rainbow Dash watches the battle arenas. "I don't like these tests."

“Really? I remember two years ago you kept bragging about how you beat everyone.” Spitfire said.

“That was before I knew what that meant.”

“There's nothing we can do.” Said a woman who was sitting in front of a desk, the woman had almost the same appearance as Spitfire but looked older. “The hunt will be in a month and we can't afford to be soft with the newbies.”

“Whatever you say Stormy.” Said Rainbow Dash without giving it much importance but continued looking at the combat arenas.

“At least this year few children have arrived.” Said Spitfire.

“There's nothing we can do,” Stormy said with a bit of frustration. “Many cities take advantage of getting rid of their criminals here, it's not unusual to have a few children, Spitfire...”

“Don't worry, mom, the tests will be as usual.”

“I hope they can avoid the hunt this month at least.”

“I don't know, the young people I saw had potential, half of them have talent for the aura.” Rainbow Dash said. “Right now the other half are in the combat arena.”

“Remember that here talent is not enough to survive.” Spitfire said. “Besides, Sorarin will make sure that they get beaten up so that he can train them well later.”

Then while Rainbow Dash watched the tests she began to smile with excitement. “Well, I'd say that they are well trained.” She said while continuing to look outside.

“What do you mean?” Spitfire asked as she peeked over to see what Rainbow Dash meant, she was shocked to see a young redhead standing in front of an unconscious man who was almost twice her size. “What happened?”

“Something twenty percent cooler.”

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 5

HALF A YEAR AGO

“You've been hitting the log all day, why don't you rest a little?” Timber says.

Sunset was very tired so she didn't notice the god's presence. “You don't have to worry, besides I need to get better quickly.”

“Why? If you take it easy, you'll only need seven years, and you'll be a great swordswoman in five years if you gain experience in some battles.”

“How many years will Shining and Flash need?” Sunset asks as she continues to hit the log.

After thinking about it for a while Timber answers, “Two years.” Timber notices that Sunset stops hitting the tree trunk and then she collapses tiredly on the ground. “I see that hurt you more than the training with Fluttershy, but you don’t have to worry, those two have talent, it just means that it will take you longer to reach their level.” Then Timber notices something. “Can you let go of the sword?” He asks her seriously.

Sunset tries to open her hand but she can't. “I don't know why I can't let go of the sword.” She says tiredly.

Then Velvet, who was nearby watching Sunset's training, comes over to help her. "Your Majesty should take better care of yourself." She says as she looks at Sunset's hands, which are covered in burst blisters.

“You should listen to her, although the healing faction will be able to fix it, if you are careless you could delay your progress, besides not being able to drop a sword is as dangerous as not being able to hold one.”

“How much talent do I have compared to Shining and Flash?”

“You have no talent.” Timber said. “Although I think you should dedicate your effort to something else.” The god noticed Sunset’s frustration, who was still lying on the ground from exhaustion. “There are simply people with talent and people without talent.”

“Not having talent doesn’t mean anything, I just have to try harder.” Sunset says, “A long time ago I dedicated myself to something I had no talent for and I still became the best, someone even told me that I had a great future ahead of me.”

“And what happened?”

“I was scammed, I was made to believe that I had a great destiny and they lied to me.” Sunset noticed that Timber remained silent as if he knew that he touched on a delicate subject. “Why are you training humans?” She asked in order to change the conversation.

“Because Discord asked me to.”

“But if Discord hadn’t asked you?”

“I suppose I would train them too, why do you ask?”

“I've seen you train us and I can tell the difference between when someone does something because they want to or because they were asked to.”

Timber smiles slightly. “You're right, why do you train so hard? I don't think you do it because Discord asked you to after what you told me.”

“If I told you it's to gain power, would you believe me?”

“Power is only a means to achieve an objective.”

“There was a time when power was my goal, actually it still is but now...”

“An aura master once told me: to be strong one must know weakness, from weakness comes fear, fear is the result of not wanting to lose something, and whoever has something to lose will feel driven to be strong and be able to protect that something.” Timber said. “Sunset Shimmer, queen of the fallen kingdom of Equestria, what do you want to protect?”

Sunset thinks of the slaves in the mines, when they all fell to their knees, putting their faith in her and the group that accompanied her to the Fallen camp. “I made a deal.” She sees Velvet’s worried look, but Sunset knew how much to say and how much not to say. “Part of that deal is to help what’s left of Equestria, but part of me is doing it now because I truly want to help them, and that’s why I ask: What can I do to become stronger?”

PRESENT

Sunset analyzed her opponent, he was almost twice her size, with a muscular body, even though the guy looked cocky Sunset could see the scars on his body that showed he had resistance to cuts and that he didn't bother to defend himself much, so she began to analyze the environment trying to find something that could be useful.

“A girl?! Really?! Bring me a real opponent!” The man shouted.

“He's right.” Sunset said indifferently. “From what I know, they bring the most dangerous and strongest people you can find here.” Sunset then shows an arrogant smile. “And they only bring me this excuse as an opponent of... I have no idea what you are.” She says feigning disappointment.

The man's anger was building up, Shining Armor and Flash got a little nervous and prepared to defend Sunset just in case but a look from Sunset told them not to get involved.

“Forget what I said, I will destroy every piece of your body.” Sunset’s opponent drops the wooden sword. “With my own hands.”

“Everyone remember that we don’t want any dead, the first to surrender or if I judge that you can’t fight anymore then the fight ends.” Said a guard who was going to act as referee. “Now both of you take distance.” When Sunset and the opponent moved away the referee raised his hand to give the signal. “start!”

As soon as they started, Sunset's opponent ran straight towards her to attack her, but Sunset dodged him, but her opponent never stopped attacking.

"I can see the fear in your eyes, girl!" The opponent shouted.

But it wasn't fear at all, Sunset was surprised, she had trained her body with the animals of the goddess Futterchy, she had trained sword handling with the god Timber a renowned warrior among the gods, she had understood the handling of the aura thanks to Diamond Tiara, she even had a violent fight against the god of the Wrath Faction Scorpan and compared to all that every movement of her opponent seemed slow.

“I guess we shouldn't have worried so much.” Flash Sentry said.

“That's true, but she has to incapacitate him in order to win, and she can't if she just keeps dodging.”

Sunset then moves away from the opponent and quickly throws her wooden sword at him, hitting him right between the eyes.

“Damn you!” He screams, as the blow left him somewhat disoriented. “I don't care about the rules! I'm going to kill you!” And quickly he tries to catch Sunset.

But Sunset was expecting that and makes a discreet movement with her fingers causing her telekinesis to slightly move the opponent's foot causing him to fall, then Sunset takes advantage of the opportunity and while the man falls she uses her wooden hand to hit him directly in the head and leave him unconscious.

Then the referee just hands her a small wooden tablet with a number written on it. “You will be number two thousand and thirteen.”

“You say that as if that number were my name.” Sunset said, also noticing that he apparently didn't like Sunset winning.

“It's not worth learning someone's name here unless they survive their first 'hunt.'” He replied.

Sunset wanted to know what he meant but decided not to ask, while she waited for Shining and Flash she began to observe others who were also arriving from a fight and she wondered what the reason for it all was, why did Scorpan bring them? Why did he separate them and measure their forces? Why did they bring criminals?

“What number are you?” Flash said, having arrived. “I am the two thousand and forty-five.”

“I am two thousand thirteen,” Sunset replied.

“And I am two thousand two hundred and fifty.” Shining Armor said, who had also arrived.

“What's strange? What kind of order do the numbers assign us?” Flash asked, and then he saw that the guards just reached into a bag and pulled out a random tablet.

“How did your fights go?” Sunset asked.

“I don't want to brag.” Flash said proudly.

“But you're going to brag anyway.” Shining Armor interrupted.

“Yeah, but back to the topic, the fight was easy.”

“Like the world moved slower.” Sunset said.

“Exactly! How did you know? Did it happen to you too?” He asked a little puzzled.

“Yes, I suppose the training we had with the Fallen was more effective than we expected.” Sunset said.

“In retrospect we trained with beings that surpassed human capabilities which makes fighting humans feel more relaxing than fighting gods.” Shining Armor said.

Sunset remembered how Celestia taught her magic, she remembered how the princess taught her to get the most out of such a simple spell and she thought that if she had learned from a normal unicorn she might not have achieved such potential.

“Those who have already finished the test will be sent to barracks!” A guard shouted while pointing to the place.

As the three of them headed to the barracks, a woman with violet skin and cream-colored hair approached. “Hi, friend.” The woman said. “I think I have a message for you.” The woman noticed Sunset’s suspicious look. “Sorry for the rudeness, my name is Rolling Thunder and I’m sent by Lightning Dust.”

“I understand, but why is she sending me a message? Also how do you know I'm the one Lightning Dust is looking for? I didn't even tell her my name.”

“I know, that's why she just told me to look for a redheaded girl and if you haven't noticed you're the only redhead around here, it seems you made a good impression on the boss.” She said pointing around. “Plus you look like someone important.”

“Do I look like someone important?” She said a little bewildered, when she was going to ask Flash and Shining about that comment she noticed that one was on her left and the other on her right and realized that it seemed that the two were escorting her. “It doesn't matter, although I didn't expect to have left a big impression on her. What does Lightning want?”

Rolling Thunder approaches Sunset and whispers in her ear. “Tonight we are going to escape.”

Sunset, Flash and Shining managed to reach the barracks and saw how the prisoners were settling in while the three of them moved away to talk about what Rolling Thunder told them.

“I think it's a little suspicious.” Flash said.

“I agree,” Shining said. “We barely arrive and we are already presented with an opportunity to escape.”

"Do you think this is a trick or something?"

“Maybe, I'm not sure it's a trick but we've already seen this city, it's so big that it even has a double citadel, we're in the middle of the desert and it would be a four-day trip, an escape like that and on a large scale would take many months to plan, plus they're including more people on the last day before the escape, Your Majesty, what do you think we should do?”

Sunset had remained silent thinking about the situation, this time it would not be like in the mines, she had to think of another method for an escape, that an opportunity had presented itself to her seemed like a stroke of luck. "Rolling said that we should meet her before nightfall and that at that moment the escape would begin, we will accompany them."

“Are we going to abandon the others?” Flash asked a little surprised, while Shining remained silent with a cold look.

“No, we are not going to escape and we are not going to abandon anyone, we are just going to accompany the group that is going to escape.” Those words only made Flash confused and Shining simply did not understand. “I want to see the escape route to know our options, then we will come back and make our own plan.” Although Sunset was tempted to escape at that moment she decided not to do it, it could be said that she did not want to abandon her subjects but there was another reason, the truth is that she had come to love the people who had accompanied her during her trip, it could be said that it is friendship. “We entered this city together and we will leave here together.”

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 6

“Princes, princesses, kings and queens, five hundred years ago when that rebellion failed and All Master decided to extinguish the royal bloodline, he decided to personally kill the entire royal family except the king and queen, they would be responsible for choosing an orphan and raising him or her to be the new king or queen.” Velvet was leading her two children through the castle as they looked at the portraits of the former kings and queens of Equestria.

“I know, mother.” Shining Armor said as he carried a six-year-old Twilight. “The king and queen were the last of a great noble lineage. You’ve told me and Twi that story many times, but why are you telling us again?”

“As you know, Queen Luna’s sister returned a few days ago and she…” Velvet looks seriously at her two children. “She brought a girl and Queen Luna has accepted the girl as the next in line of succession.”

“Does that mean that Twi or I will have to prepare to dedicate our lives to the future queen?”

“Yes.” Velvet replied, not knowing if her children would want that future or not. “The reason I tell you the story again is because I will now reveal to you the part that is only told to the children of our family when the next heir to the kingdom is chosen.”

“Is there more to the story?”

“Yes, the last queen of the royal line was pregnant and if the gods found out they would kill the baby, but the first orphan queen, Queen Megan knew, kept the secret and protected the baby, that baby would be the first Sparkle.”

“Are you saying that we have the blood of the true royal family?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t matter anymore, now our family is dedicated to serving the orphan kings of Equerstria, since it is our oath, our duty and our responsibility, I don’t want them to ever forget it.”

PRESENT

“You’ve all been brought here because you might be special!” A guard shouts.

“I always knew I was special.” Lightning Dust says proudly.

“Can you remind me why you are accompanying us?” Applejack asks a little desperately..

“It couldn’t be helped.” Lightning Dust replied. “I’m the only one out of my entire group who was brought here and you’re the only ones I know.”

“We’ve only just met for the first time today and you already consider us close?” Pinkie Pie asked with a wide smile. “Friendship hug!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she jumped up with her arms open to hug Lightning Dust.

Lightning Dust quickly dodges her. “Please respect my personal space.” She said simply.

“Silence!!” The guard shouted as he looked at the group that was making a fuss and then he continued to soften. “Do any of you know what the Aura of Materialization is?!” He asked the crowd.

Pinkie Pie was about to raise her hand but Applejack stops her. “You’ll have to calm down, sugar cube, but it’s better that for now they don’t know that we know.”

“And why don’t you stop Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asks.

Applejack sees how Twilight raises her hand but her friend quickly lowers her hand before the guard notices. “You too.”

“Sorry, I got a little emotional.” Twilight said a little embarrassed.

“It is a unique power among humans!” The guard said. “You all have the innate talent to be able to use it.” All the prisoners began to pay more attention. “Through the training and refinement of mental vision, the practitioner collects the invisible air that surrounds him!” The guard raises a hand and slowly begins to materialize a spear.

“He is definitely a master of the aura.” Twilight said.

The guard finished materializing the spear. “With the aura you can create solid objects, whether normal weapons, simple objects, or you can even create elements like fire or water, your only limit is your imagination!”

“Isn't that great?” Lightning Dust said. “I guess if we stayed we could learn that stuff, but I guess you guys already know something about that.”

“What makes you think we know?” Twilight asked a little nervously.

“He is definitely a master of the aura.” Lightning Dust said trying to imitate Twilight.

“Maybe we know a thing or two about aura but what good does knowing that do you? From what I noticed here they are going to train us for that.” Twilight said.

“Would you keep a secret?” Lightning asked.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie said suddenly, catching Twilight and Lightning's attention.

Applejack intervened. “It's a 'Pinkie promise', don't worry, it's something she usually says.” Then she seriously says. “I assure you that she keeps her word when she says that.”

“I guess I can trust you three.” Lightning said.

"Seriously!?". Pinkie Pie said with a wide smile.

“No.” She replied indifferently and Pinkie gets a little sad. “But I like your redhead friend.” And Pinkie’s smile returns.

“Why?” Twilight asked.

“Because when I saw her she had the look of a reject.”

“Rejected?”

“Yes, call it instinct or sixth sense but as I told you most of the recruited Washouts are rejects of something.” Lightning Dust answered. “And usually the rejects always try to prove or compensate something.”

Twilight understood what Lightning Dust was referring to, she had heard rumors about Sunset Shimmer's poor health, that the girl's body was delicate and weak, but Twilight attributed it to the fact that she was almost always out of sight and was rarely seen in public or in the throne room, but when Twilight and her brother saw her for the first time they did not see a girl with health problems.

Sunset Shimmer didn't look delicate and weak, she was the picture of health, she has a strong body as if she had been trained to survive, but Twilight also noticed that she overexerted herself a lot, from the escape in the mines to the training at the Fallen camp.

"I wouldn't say she's trying to compensate for something or feels rejected, she just has a lot of weight on her shoulders." Applejack said trying not to give away Sunset's identity.

“I guess she'll tell me herself if I see her again.” Lightning Dust said.

“But tell us what the secret is!” Pinkie Pie said as she shook Lightning Dust.

“Pinkie, she won't be able to say anything as long as you keep shaking her.” Applejack said.

“Oops, sorry.” Pinkie Pie said.

“They should put a leash on her.”

“Wouldn't work, it's been tried, believe me, that was one of the worst ideas.” Applejack said.

Lightning Dust noticed Applejack's seriousness and decided to believe her. "I'm not going to give it another thought, tonight there will be a breakout."

The three of them remained silent, none of them expected those words.

Lightning Dust, satisfied with the reaction, continued to speak. "When they were making us walk through the citadel, someone approached me and my group, saying that they had almost everything ready but they needed people to complete the escape plans."

"Don't you think it's strange that suddenly someone comes and offers you an escape plan the day you arrived?" Applejack replied.

"Of course it's strange, but many of the Washouts decided to take the risk and I'll just accompany them and if it turns out that they manage to escape, I'll escape too."

“I don't think it's as easy as it sounds.” Twilight said. “We're in the central citadel, there's the outer citadel, then there's the city.”

“That's true.” Applejack said. “Those pale guys living there give me the creeps, and those claw marks we saw in the city didn't just happen.”

“Plus we're in the middle of the desert, that red mist covering the city seems a bit suspicious to me.”

“All the more reason for me to go, they're my people and if something happens they'll need their leader, don't you want to come with us?”

“No.” Twilight replied. “For now we just want to contact our friends who are in the outer citadel.”

“I can understand that, until we meet again.” Lightning Dust said goodbye. “If I see the others, I'll send them my regards.”

“Do you think we should ask someone if the guard said anything important?” Pinkie Pie asked after noticing that the guard had finished explaining the aura.

“These beds are incredibly comfortable!” Pinkie Pie says happily as she jumps on a mattress.

“I can’t remember the last time we slept in a real bed.” Applejack said.

“I wonder if her majesty has a comfortable bed too?” Twilight wondered.

“I hope so, she must be really tired right now.” Applejack said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Didn’t you notice? There was more noise on the side where Sunset, Flash, and Shining went, whatever’s going on on that side they’re just being rough with them.” Applejack said. “While we were sent to rest after they explained what they were planning to do next.” Applejack notices the concern on Twilight’s face. “Don’t worry, I don’t think whatever they’re doing to them is any worse than the training we had at Fallen camp.”

“You're right.” Twilight said, managing to calm down a bit. “It's simply my family's duty to care for and serve the kings of Equestria.”

“My grandmother told me that ever since Equestria began to be ruled by orphan kings, there was always a Sparkle at their side.”

“It's our oath, our duty, and our responsibility.” Twilight said as if those words were sacred. “My brother or I are supposed to dedicate our lives to serving the queen. Normally, a family member would dedicate their entire life to serving the queen unconditionally, even though the entire family is at her service, one of us would always be at her side.”

“That's too much responsibility.” Applejack said.

“I know, but I'm not complaining. The truth is that it's an honor for me to serve the queen directly. I would give my life for her.”

“Everyone get up!” A guard shouted.

“Is it dawn yet?!” Pinkie Pie was frightened by the guard's sudden appearance.

“Pinkie Pie taken by surprise? I have to tell Big Macintosh about that.”

“Actually, it got dark three hours ago.” Twilight said.

As Twilight watched the guards lead many prisoners to the outer citadel in the middle of the night, she took the opportunity to look for Sunset.

“I guess that's why they sent us to bed early.” Applejack said. “Whatever they want to do, they need us wide awake for that.”

“Look above.” Pinkie Pie says.

When they looked up they saw some guards with wings. “They look like those wings that Rainbow Dash materialized.” Twilight said surprised by the number of guards who knew how to use the aura. “Do you think there is any aura master who survived the purge around here?”

“Right now I'm just worried about where they're taking us.” Applejack replied.

“Look! There's Rainbow Dash! But she looks a little weird.” Pinkie Pie said as she noticed that the expression on the flyer's face was too serious.

As they continued walking all the prisoners were leaving the inner citadel, they also noticed that people from the outer citadel had joined and then one of the flyers stood in front of everyone.

“My name is Stormy Flare, I'm in charge of everything here and tonight we will show you why you have been brought to this city!”

“Finally!” Pinkie Pie said before Applejack covered her mouth.

“Some try to listen... and not draw attention.” Applejack whispered.

“Everyone is going to climb to the top of the walls!” Stormy Flare says as she points to the walls of the outer citadel. “And you'll have to see what happens in the city tonight.”

“I guess that's why they only took out the prisoners who came with us.” Twilight said as she climbed up the wall with her two companions. “I hope we can see her majesty now that we're in the outer citadel.”

“Twilight.” Applejack called out to her friend. “I think Sunset is out there.” She said as she points to a group of prisoners she could see despite how far away they were. “Look, right in the middle of the city.”

“But what are they doing out there?!” Twilight screams, upset and worried at the same time. “And my brother and Flash are there too!”

“There's something else.” Applejack said. “There are small groups of prisoners in various areas.”

“I'm sorry for your friends.” Then Rainbow Dash comes down and stands next to Twilight while her expression represents a repressed anger as she observes the city. “But right now we need you, everyone to observe and learn the true danger of the City of Beasts and that's why I regret to tell you that none of your friends down there will come out alive.”

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 7

“Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves And do a little shake! Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves And do a little shake!”.

A small red-maned unicorn and a young pink alicorn were singing together while a phoenix watched them, although the alicorn looked happy while a little nervous as she bumped hooves with the unicorn, the filly barely seemed to want to participate but she did it anyway because for some reason she enjoyed it a little even though she never wants to admit it.

As soon as they finished singing, Sunset went to see the table that was in the royal gardens. "Now let's see if you learned anything." The filly checked carefully. "Plates, forks, spoon, teapot..." Sunset saw how Cadance was nervous to know the result of the class while Philomena just watched, although the alicorn had learned from Sunset how to use telekinesis, the filly thought it would be good for her to learn while they did their 'special greeting' so she would learn to divide her concentration. "Good job, you didn't make a mistake at all, for a moment I thought you would get a little distracted but I think I worried for nothing."

“So I passed?”

“Yes, you passed.” Sunset replied.

At that moment Cadance hugged the filly tightly. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“I can’t breathe!”

“Sorry.” She says, a little embarrassed.

“Now that I know you're good with telekinesis, I guess I can teach you how to teleport.”

Cadance was happy. “I've always asked you to teach me that, and now.”

“You better not start crying.”

“I'm sorry, please continue.”

While Cadance served her tea, the filly explained the basics of teleportation. “Did you understand anything?”

Cadance tilted her head as if she didn't understand anything.

“Maybe we should change the angle of this class.” Sunset said and in that instant she had an idea, she quickly teleported away leaving Cadance alone with Philomena.

“You know her better than I do, what do you think she's planning?” She asked the phoenix.

Philomena just made a motion that said 'no idea'.

Sunset reappeared with a large slice of cake. “I need you to eat this.” The filly said.

Cadance looked suspiciously at the slice of cake, it looked delicious and noticed that it was elegantly decorated. “What’s in the cake?”

“It’s not poisoned, I just need you to eat it while I explain something to you and don’t wipe your mouth when you’re done.”

Cadance thought Sunset’s request was strange but she decided to trust her, she ate a little and her eyes sparkled with happiness. “It’s delicious!” She said without noticing a small sinister smile from Sunset.

“So I’m going to ask you something, do you know who invented the teleportation spells?”

Cadance thought for a moment and answered. “Starswirl the Bearded?”

“No!” Sunset exclaimed, scaring Cadance a little. “Teleportation existed before Starswirl was born. No one knows who invented the spell, we only know that it existed, but since at that time there were no magic formulas to create spells, unicorns had learned in another way.”

“Trial and error?” Cadance asked, then Sunset smiled and whispered something to Philomena. The phoenix looked doubtfully at Sunset and then flew away.

“Don’t worry, she just went to deliver a message,” Sunset said. “And your answer is more or less correct, teleportation was born thanks to fear.”

"Fear?" Cadance asked, puzzled. "Is that possible?"

"Actually, many spells in history were born out of fear, or to be precise, the survival instinct. Every time a creature attacked a pony, fear plus the desire to survive made the pony want to be somewhere else."

"Were other spells born that way?"

“Yes, unicorns who tried to overcome their fears created shield spells and those who tried to face their fears created attack spells like fire spells, all of those spells were born from fear and the need to survive.”

“But Sunset, did you also feel fear and that's why you learned so much?”

“Of course not, I'm not afraid of anything.” She said while feigning indignation. “Starswirl the Bearded collected spells during his travels, studied them and created the formulas to use them without problems.”

“But Sunset, you know I'm not very good at understanding those kinds of formulas.”

That's when Philomena came back. “If you're here, it means the message got through.” Sunset said smiling.

“What message?” But Sunset ignored the question.

“GUARDS GATHER!!.”

"That was really fast." Sunset said a little surprised. “You didn't wipe your face, so we can continue.”

“Sunset, what is happening?” The alicorn asked a little scared.

“That delicious cake was Celestia's.” Sunset said.

Then a furious white alicorn was flying on top of the castle looking for something until in the distance she could see Cadanse with pieces of cake in his mouth making the alicorn's anger grow.

“Sunset, what did you do?!” Said the pink alicorn who was getting more and more scared.

Sunset finished her tea and left calmly. “Tomorrow here at the same time, I want to know what you learned.”

Sunset, Shining and Flash left the barracks as soon as it got dark, just as the instructions they were given told them to. As they advanced through the citadel, they noticed that there were no guards on the way, although Sunset suspected that something was wrong. Flash calmed her down by telling her that maybe the absence of guards was part of the plan.

As they continued to advance, other prisoners began to appear. Sunset wondered if any of them were part of those who devised the escape plan.

“This is going to be a great escape.” Flash said, surprised by the number of people gathered. “Sunset, if this plan is successful, then you will have to come up with a more complicated one.”

“I know that.” Sunset replied. “I assumed it from the beginning, whether the escape is successful or not, they will have to investigate what happened and maybe reinforce everything so that it doesn't happen again, but that also helps me, for a plan to be good you must not only know what you can do, you must also know what you can't do.”

Then they saw the exit of the citadel, before crossing the door they saw some hooded men giving something to the prisoners who were leaving, when they reached the door one of the hooded men gave them a sword to each one, then they crossed the doors and arrived at the city.

“Incredible.” Flash said when he saw the amount of people leaving from other doors. “It really seems like a great escape, there must be hundreds of prisoners.”

“Your Majesty, don’t you find it strange?” Shining Armor asked.

“Are you referring to the number of prisoners or the fact that they give us weapons?”

“I can understand that they recruit a few at the last minute but look around, there are hundreds of people here and I can recognize many of them who arrived in the city the same day as us.” Shining replied.

“I’m worried that they gave us swords,” Flash said.

“You’re right,” Sunset said. “Even we in the mines try to be careful when new slaves arrive, there’s something very suspicious about all this.”

“What happened in the mines, Your Majesty?” A voice said behind Sunset. “And why do they call you Your Majesty?”

Shining Armor quickly stands between Sunset and the person who interrupted them.

Lightning Dust raised her hands to calm the situation. “It wasn't my intention to listen.”

“Shining, put down your sword.” Sunset orders him.

“I see you have company.” Flash Sentry said.

“Yes, I ran into some friends.” Lightning Dust said, then Sunset noticed that there were a large number of prisoners gathered behind the mercenary. “And about what I asked you…”

“We are former slaves, we escaped from the mines in the northern mountains a couple of years ago.” Sunset answered. “And about your second question…” The redhead was thinking if she should tell him who she was.

Lightning Dust sighed. “You don’t have to answer me now, we have other problems anyway, 'so your majesty', are you going to participate in the escape?”

“No.” Sunset noticed a small expression of relief on Lightning Dust for that answer. “I just wanted to know what the escape plan is and then create my own but I think I’ll go back to the citadel, there’s something strange about all this.”

“Then you also noticed it, on my side I am looking for all the Washouts and then we will return to the citadel as quickly as possible, besides this place at night gives chills, the truth is I hope that all this is just paranoia and nothing really happens.” Then she leaves with the rest of the Washouts. “Would you like to accompany us to look for the rest?”.

Shining Armord whispers to Sunset. “Should we accompany them? We already know that something is wrong and we should return before the guards realize that we are not in the barracks.”

“For the moment we will help them.” Said Sunset. “Given the situation we will need more people for a future escape plan.” Shining sighed resignedly accepting the answer of his queen.

“I suppose that we will not return yet.” Said Flash deducing what Shining and Sunset were saying.

“We will help you but we need to know how to identify your mercenaries.” Said the redhead. “My name is Sunset Shimmer, sorry for not telling you my name before.”

Lightning Dust makes a slight smile and continues on his way. “When this is over I hope you tell me why they called you your majesty.”

“We should go back.” Flash said. “I still have a bad feeling about all this.”

“Sunset, you've been a little quiet, are you worried about something?” Lightning Dust asked. "I mean, is there anything besides all of this?"

“Why did they give us swords and also the people who were handing them out, why haven't we seen anyone else from those who devised the escape plan?”

Lightning Dust was also worried about that and decided that they had been outside long enough. “You're right, besides I don't want to risk it anymore, listen up everyone!” The mercenary shouted. “We're going back to the citadel!” And all the Washouts began to go back where they came from.

“Don't you think you'd draw a lot of attention with that shout?” Flash Sentry asked.

“I don't know if you noticed, boy, but we haven't seen any guards since we left the citadel.” One of the Washouts said.

“He doesn't mean the guards, he means the villagers.” Sunset said.

“I don't think they're a problem.” The mercenary said, “Don't you remember what they looked like? That grayish skin, I don't think it's because they're in good health, and everyone I saw was too malnourished, like they were never fed, we just have to...”

Then a window breaks and a hand grabs the mercenary's head and presses it until it shatters the skull and quickly drags the body into the house.

“Ambush!” Lightning Dust shouted. “Everyone in defense formation! We're heading to the citadel gates right now!”

Sunset didn't know what was happening, everything was just very calm and suddenly something appears and kills one of the prisoners in a brutal way, Shining and Flash had drawn their swords ready to defend Sunset from any attack, Sunset began to remember when they arrived in the city the amount of people she saw, she couldn't help but notice that maybe the inhabitants of the city were more than they seemed and that couldn't stop her from starting to feel afraid.

"Your Majesty we must leave here." Shining Armor said.

But Sunset was just still and scared with the feeling that she was stalked by predators, she was silent until she saw something. "Lightning." Sunset tried to call her.

"Not now! I'm trying to think!".

But Sunset insists "Look over the walls Lightning Dust!" She shouted as if it were an order.

The mercenary leader looks at where the redhead told her. “This must be a joke.” On the walls of the citadel she could see many lit torches that were not there before and she also sees that there were many people watching the city. “This was never an escape plan.” Lightning Dust said furiously.

On one of the towers of the wall Scorpan watched the city. “I'd say there are about five hundred humans down there.” He said with a wide smile. “Who do those Wrath Beasts belong to?”

One of the gods stepped forward. “They're mine.” The god was almost two meters tall, he was completely shaved, his clothes were just rags and his skin was the color of blood red.

“Tell me your name and what faction you belonged to before you got here.” Scorpan ordered him.

“My name is Redfist, I used to belong to the Fire Faction.”

“I want you to go and put on a good show.”

When the god was about to jump off the wall he saw something. “Great god, their prey is there.” Scorpan looks in the direction Redfist pointed at him.

The god smiles at the unexpectedness of the situation. “I don't care, if they can't survive against you that means they were never worthy of being my prey.” Then before Redfist jumped off the wall Scorpan said something else to him. “Redfist, I hope you find death.”

After Redfist heard those words he smiled sadistically and decided to follow the order that the great god had given.

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 8

“I'm sorry for your friends.” Then Rainbow Dash comes down and stands next to Twilight while her expression represents a repressed anger as she observes the city. “But right now we need you, everyone to observe and learn the true danger of the City of Beasts and that's why I regret to tell you that none of your friends down there will come out alive.”

“What do you mean, none of them will survive? And why are they down there?” Twilight asked, trying not to panic.

“This is just a small-scale exhibition for the new recruits, so they know what they’ll have to deal with. We usually pick people we think will be trouble and just get rid of them by saying that there’s an escape plan.” Rainbow Dash says this in a tone that shows she doesn’t like what’s happening. “And the reason I think his friends are there is because there are times when problematic prisoners invite other prisoners.”

“So you're saying that the whole escape plan is a farce?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, it's a shame that their friends abandoned them to escape.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“They didn't abandon us.” Applejack said.

“Why are you so sure about that? Look where they are, if they're there it's because they abandoned them.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“They won't abandon us, Sunset has had plenty of opportunities, she could abandon us and run without looking back but she hasn't, I don't know why she's there, but I do know that it's not to abandon us.” Applejack replied with determination.

“I guess you've all been through a lot.”

“You can't even imagine! We had a massive breakout from the mines in the northern mountains! Did I say massive?! We trained with some nice deserter gods! We almost got killed by the god Scorpan!” Twilight then covers Pinkie's mouth.

“Pinkie, you don't have to tell her our life story.” Twilight says.

Rainbow Dash looks at Pinkie, not knowing if what she said was true or not. “I understand, but you can't do anything else for them.”

“They will survive,” Twilight says, calming down.

“Do you really believe that?”

“We don't believe it, we know it.”

“Everyone stay away from the doors and windows! No one runs, we're out of here!” Lightning Dust shouted.

“Lightning Dust seems like a competent leader but I think she should stop yelling or she might wake up all the creatures in the houses.” Flash said as he walked forward with Sunset and Shining.

“I would agree with you if it weren't for one small detail.” Shining Armor said as he pointed at one of the houses.

Flash stares and notices a couple of creatures stalking them from inside the houses.

“Something tells me that all or at least most of the houses have that kind of creatures.” Sunset says as she tries to think of something. “In the end the whole escape plan was a farce but I still think we can get away with this one.” She said trying to stay calm.

As the prisoners advanced they began to see traces of blood and signs of struggles along the way.

“Hey everyone, when I give you the signal we're going to pick up the pac...” But Lightning Dust's instructions were interrupted by a loud explosion. “And now what?!”.

“What was that?” Twilight asked as she saw an explosion.

“One of the gods of wrath descended.” Rainbow Dash replied. “These demonstrations must always involve a god of wrath and all his beasts.

“How can they fight against a god?” Is he as powerful as Scorpan?!” Twilight asked as she became agitated again.

“Ha ha ha! The god Scorpan is supposed to be the most powerful god of the Wrath Faction and this god...” Rainbow Dash looked around the area. “I think that area belongs to Redfist, he is supposed to have belonged to the Fire Faction before he was punished but he was a minor god.”

Loud noises began to be heard inside the houses and the creatures began to come out. “At least this time it wasn’t a surprise attack.” One of the mercenaries said as he unsheathed his sword.

And the beasts ran straight to attack them.

“Get ready!” Lightning Dust shouted.

“What just happened?!” Flash shouted as he fought one of the beasts. “At first they were cautious and suddenly they all became unhinged and wild!”

One of the beasts attacked Sunset but the former unicorn protected herself with her wooden arm causing the beast to bite it, Sunset took the opportunity to stab the beast killing the creature.

“Are you okay your majesty?”.

“Yes, but it seems I'll need a new arm.” She said when she saw her cracked prosthesis.

“Stop talking and move!” Lightning Dust yells at them while she fights using two swords.

After a few minutes of battle the situation calms down.

“How many died?” Lightning Dust asked one of the Washouts.

“A few of our people died, although most of the dead were just prisoners who decided to accompany us.”

"We must accelerate the pace, although we were able to survive, we do not know when they will attack again, something tells me that all the inhabitants of the city are monsters." Lightning Dust said.

“The battle was strange. Did you notice it?” Sunset asked Shining.

“Notice what? Your Majesty.”

“They weren't defending themselves.” Sunset said. “When I attacked, the creature had the opportunity to dodge or release my arm but they only dedicated themselves to attacking.”

“I noticed it too, in reality no creature defended itself, we should take advantage of that advantage.” Lightning Dust said but then she looks at Sunset's arm. “I see that you are hurt.”

“I'll be fine.” Sunset said while trying to hide her fake arm. “You don't have to worry.”

“Why aren't you bleeding on that arm?” Lightning Dust asked with a little suspicion but she notices the look on Shining Armor and Flash Sentry's face. “I understand, another secret, if we survive this you will explain it to me.”

“Seems fair to me.”

hen everyone starts to hear someone clapping. “Incredible, I didn’t think so many survived.”

“He’s a god!” Someone shouted.

“Let me introduce myself, my name is Redfist.” Then the god looks at the corpses of the beasts and then smiles. “I’ve been killing groups of prisoners everywhere but you guys are the biggest and most organized group, I guess you guys could give me a decent fight.”

Sunset was furious with herself for being afraid and she was even more so after seeing the god, the former unicorn could tell that the god was weaker than Scorpan but there was no doubt that for being a god he was already strong.

“Your Majesty, we should run away.”

“Shining, look at the roofs of the houses.” Flash Sentry says.

Then Shining Armor realized that they were trapped, on each roof there were beasts lurking waiting to attack.

"My original plan was to have the beasts force all of them to move where I was." The god continued speaking, ignoring the looks of fear and hatred from the humans. “But many of you were able to resist the attacks very well, in the end I had to bring all my beasts.” The god remains thoughtful until an idea occurs to him. “Since you are trying so hard to stay alive, I will give you a chance. For five minutes I will fight without using any divine power or ability and my beasts will not attack you, I promise. If you manage to kill me, I swear that I will free you all.”

Those words caught the attention of all the prisoners.

“How can we know that he will keep his word?” Flash Sentry asked.

“We don’t know.” Sunset said quietly. “But the slightest chance of survival is enough to motivate or drive everyone mad.”

“We need to change the situation somehow.” Lightning Dust said. “That god is just playing with us.”

But before they could plan anything the god attacked and that made all the prisoners desperately attack the god.

Lightning Dust quickly orders all the Washouts to not attack and to regroup. “Does anyone know how long until we get to the citadel?”

Sunset looks in the direction of the citadel and answers. “Definitely more than five minutes.” But then she saw one of the beasts fall dead which was weird because no one attacked him but for some reason he had a wound in his abdomen.

“Unbelievable, that guy was able to stab the god in the abdomen and he’s still alive.”

Sunset could hear a mercenary comment, Sunset didn’t believe it was a coincidence when she saw that the god had a wound healing quickly in the same place where the dead beast had the same wound and then she remembered when Scorpan said that he had to use a lot of lives.

“Is something wrong, your majesty?” Shining Armor asked.

“How long has it been since the god started fighting?!” Sunset asked, almost desperate.

“Almost two minutes.”

Then Sunset runs directly to one of the beasts. She noticed that the beasts were not reacting and quickly slaughtered one of the creatures, and still none of them reacted, implying that what the god said about no beast attacking was true. “Shining, Flash! Don't ask, just kill all the beasts you can!” And the two obeyed Sunset's order without hesitation.

“What are you doing?!” Lightning Dust shouted, not understanding what Sunset was doing.

“Tell your mercenaries to do the same!” Sunset told her.

Lightning Dust didn't understand why the girl was doing that, but he noticed that no beast was attacking. “Listen Washouts, attack all beasts!”

For the three minutes left, while Redfist continued to fight the prisoners, although he had noticed that others were attacking his beasts, Redfist didn't care, he was actually happy, but the five minutes were up.

“'Divine power' 'Fire fist'” Redfist's hands became engulfed in flames and he struck one of the prisoners hard, killing him instantly. “I guess the game is over now.”

Then all the beasts attacked.

In a lonely tower in the middle of the city a woman wakes up because of the noise outside.

"What's going on outside?" She says reluctantly.

Then Scorpan appears behind the bedroom door. "I see you're awake swordswoman."

"It's hard to sleep with all that noise outside." The woman answers. "Did another hunt start?"

"No, they're just getting rid of the undesirables but some promising prey I brought got mixed in, don't worry it will all be over soon."

"Promising prey? It's strange that you bring someone, me and the remnants of the equestrian army were the last ones you brought."

"Yes, but that little redhead has a lot of potential, no one has killed me so many times in a long time, if she survives she can participate in the hunt."

"Why do you think I care?"

"Because if that girl is who I think she is then you will leave this tower of your own free will." Scorpan can't stop smiling with excitement. "If she survives I will bring her to you and we can finally have our life or death battle."

"Just let me sleep peacefully."

"I hope you sleep well Celestia."

Act 0 – The Rebel Queen – Chapter 1

In a market in the middle of the great Equestria capital city of Canterlot, it was always a very noisy place. But today there was silence, because in the middle of the market there is a hooded man with a big hump walking directly towards the castle.

The people opened the way for him because they knew very well who he is. His name is Sacred Voice the messenger of the gods.

“Canterlot has grown a lot since the last time I was here.” Sacred Voice said with a rough voice. “But still a nice place.” He says as he continues on his way to the castle.

In the great hall, the Queen Luna is seated on the throne while the rest of her entourage is around her.

Sacred Voice enters and shows a twisted smile. "Queen Luna... I finally found her... heh... how tired I am... certainly the work of a messenger is very hard... I have walked consecutively for thirty days without a single moment of rest with the mission of deliver a message to you in person.” Sacred Voice laughs a little. "It's a message from the council of gods... please make sure you pay close attention..."

"Speech." Queen Luna said coldly from her throne.

“For over a thousand years, Equestria has served the gods and their contributions have been many. However, since you came to the throne, it seems that the will of the country has waned. The gods have begun to doubt her determination to serve them...”

At this time Sacred Voice takes out a scroll from her back. “But, this can be remedied... On this map is the location of a new excavation site. Her majesty, please do your best and fulfill the wishes of the gods...”

Sacred Voice hands the scroll to a servant who then brings the scroll to Queen Luna. The queen opens the scroll and stares at it.

After seeing the scroll, Queen Luna stares at Sacred Voice. “Dig another new hole? Every year we invest thousands of men and women in this type of task... how do you expect us to sacrifice lives that we no longer have just to follow the will of the gods?”

"It's true. However, for Equestria not to lack manpower to work with, I'm sure she could take them from other countries. She would have the full support of the gods." He suggests Sacred Voice.

At that moment Queen Luna frown taught. "Are you saying that... the gods are ordering me to attack other countries to confiscate all her resources and enslave people to continue working in her mines?"

"Heh heh... he understood quickly queen. With her army and the support of the gods, I assure you that she will be able to defeat all the countries she invades in one fell swoop. This is a fabulous opportunity, you will become the founder of a powerful dynasty that will reign over an entire empire, and you will be able to place a vast population under the will of the gods.”

After Sacred Voice tells the queen that, the throne room is silent, no one said anything, everyone waiting for the queen's response to her.

"Ha ha ha...!" Everyone in the tone room was stunned by an unexpected laugh from her queen, the special Sacred Voice.

When the queen finishes laughing she says “For more than a thousand years since the founding of Equestria, my predecessors served the gods… they strove to fulfill their wishes while the country tried to live in harmony, and for what reason exactly? I really don't understand."

“I am quite puzzled, humans fear gods, there is no need for such disrespect. Each of your predecessors faithfully fulfilled their duties, they did so to the best of their abilities, am I sure you would not want to betray the legacy of your ancestors?” Says the messenger.

“My predecessors failed to give me a reason. I will not follow the same path.” Then Queen Luna burns the parchment in front of the entire court and the messenger. “Equestria has lived too long wearing the mantle of servitude to the gods, but from this day on they will live their own lives, go Sacred Voice!! Thirty days of travel await you to report this to the gods!!”

“Queen Luna, please reconsider… the gods will not allow such an offense. If she recants now, she will still be a good ruler… if not, what awaits her is destruction.”

"It's decided, there's no point in continuing to talk, go away! tell the gods to unleash their wrath!”

While this was happening, in the corner of the throne room, a red-haired girl was watching this whole scene happen with a look of sadness in her eyes and she whispered. "So this is the path you chose."

In one of the towers of the Cantrelot castle was the same red-haired girl, her name was Sunset Shimmer, the crown princess of Equestria. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it true mother." At that moment a woman with long, multicolored hair appears, wearing a light leather armor, which allowed her to have more mobility, although she did not carry any sword. Her name was Celestia, sister of Queen Luna and also the most powerful warrior in Equestria.

"Yes, it is indeed a beautiful night." says Celestia.

"How have you been these months mother?"

"Those were days of walking aimlessly, I'm just a simple nomad."

“A simple nomad? You are the most powerful swordswoman in existence. There are always stories of your exploits.”

"You can retire Velvet." She tells her maid that she accompanied her. "Do you know what you have to do?"

"Yes my lady" then the maid bows and leaves.

"Equestria will fall soon," Celestia says with a sad look. “Did you see this future with your power of divination?”

"This was a possible future... and yes, I told Aunt Luna what could happen if she continued this war." She says sadly.

“Did you tell her what would happen if she didn't? Did you tell her what would happen if she kept obeying the gods?"

"Yes." Sunset begins to gaze at the city walls, and then at the horizon where she can see in the distance the army of the Crystal Kingdom approaching. "I wonder how Princess Cadance is doing?" She sighs and looks at her adoptive mother and tells her. “If Luna had obeyed the command of the gods, in five years Equestria would become an empire. In seven years she would achieve absolute dominance of the known world, and in eight years…” Sunset falls silent.

“what happens next?” Celestia asks. And then he notices the face of fear and sadness of her daughter. "My little sun, what did you see that scares you and makes you so sad?" She asks him worried about her daughter.

"Void". She simply answers. "Every time I try to see the future, I don't see anything, I can't see anything beyond twenty years" she replied sadly. “But when Luna one day said as a joke that I should fight against the gods, for an instant I saw something, and I couldn't stay silent and I told her...” Sunset was on the verge of tears, so Celestia hugged her.

"Sunset... you're just a girl... you shouldn't carry that weight." as Celestia hugs her daughter, Sunset begins to cough. "You are tired, your body has made too much effort... you must rest, daughter."

Then Celestia looks at her daughter and tells her. “I can get you out of here... I know your body is a bit weak for the journey. But we can find a place, live together as a family, you just have to ask and I…” Then Sunset puts two fingers to her mother's lips to stop her talking.

"Please, you came back from your trip to help Luna, not to rescue me mother." At that moment Celestia separates from her daughter to go to battle, but before she goes she looks at her daughter and asks her.

"After tonight... in your visions, after the battle... will we meet again?"

Sunset puts on a sad smile. "You will see me again." then Celestia smiles and continues on her way. When Celestia disappeared from her sight she whispered. "but I will be the one who will not see you again mother"

Just outside of Canterlot, a man in heavy silver armor, with black hair. He was the King Sombra, king of the crystal kingdom, at that moment he was standing on top of a hill he was looking at the walls of Canterlot.

"There is Canterlot, the capital of Equestria... the atmosphere of blood can already be felt in the air." The King Sombra whispers.

“Congratulations, King Sombra… this will be his victory night! You have obeyed the decree of the gods, and led a crusade against the rogue queen and shown true loyalty.”

"Heh... Sacred Voice, I'm just replacing the queen of equestria as the new servant of the gods."

“That's not the proper way to put it. You follow the wish of the gods, but you also command people. After all, you are one of the highest ranking rulers.”

“I just want the gods to keep their promise. Once I'm done."

"What the gods promised will be granted." Sacred Voice answers seriously.

At that moment, a girl with pink skin, long hair with pink, purple and yellow lines comes out on a float. Her name was Mi Amore Cadenza, Crown Princess of the Crystal Kingdom. “Uncle Sombra. Is the battle going to start already?"

King Sombra did not like the idea of bringing his niece into the battlefield, but she insisted because she wanted to make sure Princess Sunset Shimmer, her personal friend, was not harmed. "Yes, niece, I'll give the order to start shortly... and don't worry, I'll make sure they don't hurt Princess Sunset Shimmer."

"Thank you very much uncle."

At that moment King Sombra puts on a crown-shaped helmet and goes to where his soldier is “Warriors of the Crystal Kingdom!! You have traveled thousands of miles leaving your homes behind. Do you know what this place is in front of you? It's Canterlot, the capital of Equestria! It is one of the richest lands in the world, a land full of gold and priceless treasures. That and more lies before you, just a few more steps and you can take it all...” at that moment the shadow king raises his sword. “And then what will they do?!”

“WE WILL TAKE IT ALL!!” All the soldiers shout.

The war against Equestria lasted six months, when Queen Luna opposed the mandate of the gods, then the duty to destroy Equestria passed to the current king of the crystal kingdom who received the support and blessing of the gods.

Both sides engaged in a bloody battle where the Equestrian soldiers ended up being forced back.

With unstoppable power, the soldiers of the crystal kingdom arrived at Canterlot.

In the middle of the city, Queen Luna wore a black light metal armor and rode her horse towards the city gates. Behind her was followed what was left of her army.

At that moment, Celestia appeared in front of Luna. "Won't you say goodbye to Sunset, dear sister?"

When the soldiers saw the scene they began to murmur.

“She is the elder sister of the queen. Did you hear what happened to her?"

"Yes... when she renounced the right to the throne she went on a journey, she became a renowned swordswoman."

"But she doesn't carry a sword"

"She doesn't need it"

"It is said that she is one of the few mortals with the ability to kill a god."

And the whispers of the soldiers continued.

Luna smiles when she sees Celestia. "I knew you would come back to fight by my side dear sister."

Celestia smiles too. "Or maybe he came back to kill you and present your head to the gods and end this war."

"You wouldn't do that, we both hate gods."

“Yes, I hate the gods, but I care about the lives of the people of Equestria. When she gave up the throne and I went on a trip, I asked you to promise one thing. That you protect Equestria and the people of it. But right now, Equestria is in danger and the people of it are on the verge of annihilation. What do you have to say in your defense?"

Luna sighs and stares at Celestia. “If Equestria continued to be dominated by the gods, it wouldn't matter if it was a hundred, two hundred, or just 'twenty', it would still be a meaningless existence. I don't care what others think, I can't bear to serve a power that sees us as slaves. If you still think that I should give in to this, then kill me right now.”

"You haven't changed a bit sister." and Celestia smiles. “You will die, you know?”

"Let cowards rejoice in life" Luna said, and she kept marching in front of her army.

At the main gate of Canterlot the battle was fierce, but the armies of Equestria stood their ground.

“Hehe… crystal realm soldiers are certainly powerful. After tonight, King Sombra will take a big step for his ambition.” Sacred Voice said.

As Sombra watches the battle he tells Sacred Voice. "I haven't seen any reinforcements from the gods yet."

“King,Sombra I am only a messenger from the gods. It is very difficult to discern the thoughts of the gods... normally they are not interested in wars between humans. Don't worry though, I'm sure reinforcements will show up when they're needed, just like they did when Equestria was still loyal. After all, the wish of the gods is that the Queen Luna be defeated.”

"The only target is Queen Luna?" Sombra asks.

"Yes. Queen Luna who dared to oppose the gods. She must die... and it must not be a quick death...”

As Sacred Voice spoke, Sombra noticed something, the gates of the city were opening. And at that moment the Canterlot cavalry left the city with Queen Luna leading the attack and destroying everything in her path.

As always Luna was always reckless, she emerged as the spearhead of her cavalry and defeated a large number of my soldiers. “Archers, shoot the cavalry!!” Sombra shouts to a group of archers, but nothing happens. When she looks where his archer should be she is surprised at what he sees.

Where a company of archers was ready to attack, they were all dead by decapitation, while Celestia calmly advanced between the enemy soldiers.

A group of soldiers runs to attack Celestia but before she can get any closer, the soldiers feel a gust of air and their heads fall as Celestia continues walking calmly.

“King Sombra!! It's been a while since the last time we saw each other! How about being the new pet of the gods?" Luna yells from her horse.

“Queen Luna!! You know very well why I do this! If you want to stop serving the gods, I won't criticize it, but now the gods have ordered me to destroy Equestria and kill you!” yells shadow.

Then Luna rides straight towards Somba "King Sombra, I'm coming for you!"

And Sombra pulls the sword out of him. “Queen Luna, I am waiting for you!”

Suddenly a huge black cloud forms in the sky and a sphere falls from the cloud.

"King Sombra, stop this instant, the reinforcements have arrived" Sacred Voice tells him while smiling.

A sphere falls in front of Luna stopping her ride.

"What is that sound?" says a soldier.

"The whole earth is shaking!" yells another soldier.

"I'll take care of it" a voice is heard in the smoke that left the sphere to crash. When the smoke dissipates, an incredibly muscular man appears, with red skin, black eyes, with two bull horns on his head, the man is almost two meters tall and only wears pants.

"Heh... it's time to execute the command of the gods." says Sacred Voice.

"So they're here" Luna says seriously, ready to attack

Act I – Slaves – Chapter 7

TWO YEARS AGO

Sunset was in a meeting with the foremen to decide the next step in the plan.

"We must seize this opportunity and try to escape now."

"We can't do that, we could be discovered immediately."

"We must act now or we won't get another chance."

“Currently the mines house more than fifteen thousand slaves. How will we escape without the guards noticing?”

"Even if we escape now, they could still capture us again."

The foremen did not stop arguing, although the first tunnel was finished, it was too dangerous to escape outside without being prepared. For Sunset, his plan was to get as many slaves out as possible, but he couldn't do it if they kept arguing like this.

“Silence!” Sunset yelled and everyone fell silent. There was a certain authority in Sunset's voice that made everyone obey. "First things first, I want to thank you for your efforts with the first finished tunnel, we are also lucky that the tunnel is on the other side of the mountain in the middle of the forest so no one could easily find it..." Everyone was listening to Sunset carefully. "Maud, how long could we have other tunnels ready?"

"If we continue at this rate and without mishap... a year, less if we can make the diamonds dogs work harder."

"We can't force the diamond dogs to work so hard, plus the guards will notice how tired they are during the day." Said one of the foremen.

"Can we get them to work in rotation?" Said another foreman.

"It might work, but we'll have to do some extra work ourselves to make up for it." Said another foreman.

“Although we are making progress with the tunnels, how will we move afterwards?” Flash asked

"What do you mean?"

Flash clears his throat. "Even if we go out... we are still in the middle of the forest, we have stored food for when we escape, but the trip will be difficult if we leave without being prepared."

"We can use caribus." Limestone said. "The forests of these areas have caribus that can be tamed to use for riding or for carts, and since hardly anyone goes to that part of the mountain, we can assume that the population of these animals is full."

“But we will need people who are out for a long time. How are we going to get so many people out without the guards noticing?”

“I think I can offer a solution?” A foreman said, she was tall, middle-aged, with fair skin, short pale pink hair.

"What do you suggest Redheart?" Sunset asked.

How far has this epidemic spread? Filthy Rich asked.

“We are not sure sir, there are hundreds of infected and we have quarantined them all.” Sunset replied. “We assume that many are already dead... sir, I suggest we burn the bodies in the ovens to prevent this from spreading. I also ask you to keep the guards away while we dispose of the contaminated bodies.”

“Why do you want the guards to go away?”

“Because the guards are responsible for bringing food and blankets, if one of them unknowingly gets infected and contaminates the food, the situation could get worse.”

Filthy thinks about it for a while. “Well I will take your advice and rally the guards while you burn the bodies. Mineral collecting went very well this month so I can allow work to be suspended for a couple of weeks. But after that the mine has to start working again”.

“As you order sir”

"The guards have already left, we can start." Sunset said to a large group of slaves. "Twilight, is that all of them?"

"Yes. Each and every one of them has the skills of blacksmithing, carpentry, hunters, beast tamers and farmers. They will be the first to leave, the forest area has enough wood to build carts, a small planting area and we can build warehouses to better accumulate supplies. There are approximately more than five hundred people who will come out of the mines... although they will not be enough, and we cannot do without many workers”.

“There are actually others that we can do without.” Redheart interrupted.

"I think I know who you mean." Sunset said with a slight smile.

"The sick slaves". Redheart said.

"But many of them can barely work." Twilight said. "And sorry to say this but I don't think some will last more than a few weeks."

Redheart sighed and said to Twilight. “Actually they are not as sick as you think, most of them have respiratory problems and lack of sunlight, they are simply not used to a closed environment, as soon as they go out and breathe fresh air they will begin to recover. I was a doctor's assistant before the fall of Equestria, I learned a lot about medicine and the condition of the body".

Twilight was doing the math until Pinkie interrupted her. "There are one thousand five hundred and thirty three sick slaves!"

"Aaaaay!!" Twilight got scared. "Where did you come from?!"

"When my mom and dad were..." Pinkie began to explain until she was interrupted.

"Forget the question. What were you saying about the number of sick people?” Twilight said trying to calm down.

"That there are one thousand five hundred and thirty-three sick slaves." Pinkie repeated.

"And how do you know that?"

"I like to make them smile before they go to a better place." Pinkie says with the cutest and creepiest smile.

"It could work... Redheart, Twilight, let's go check on those slaves and see if we can get them out to help outside."

Sunset, Twilight, Pinkie and Redheart observe the vast number of sick slaves. "So... you just need sunlight and fresh air?" Sunset asked.

"Yes... at least the majority... the rest are really sick and don't have much hope of surviving and others are too old." Redheart replied.

"Twilight, how many of them worked or know about the tunnel?"

"Very few. We didn't bring in or involve any of them. The few who know it is because they got sick after working”.

Sunset watched as the slaves were lying in various caves waiting to die. And she thought how to tell them that they would have to go back to work despite their condition... "Are you sure that some will recover as soon as they get out of the mines?" Sunset asked.

"Most yes, but I can't guarantee anything for the weakest or oldest." Redheart snorted.

"Twilight, is there a guard nearby?"

“No, they all went out hoping they wouldn't catch 'the plague'”.

"Perfect". Sunset stood in the center of the place where the sick slaves were. “Wake up everyone!!” Scream Sunset. When she noticed that all the sick slaves were paying attention she screamed again. "A few may know but we recently finished the first tunnel to escape!" Then the slaves paid more attention to Sunset. “That tunnel was dug with the blood and sweat of many comrades! In a few days five hundred handpicked slaves will go outside and begin the next phase of a carefully crafted escape plan! But they won't be enough! Most of the slaves are needed here to dig other tunnels!” More of the sick slaves began to come out of their caves to listen to Sunset. “That's why we need all of you to help those who are going out! You guys don't deserve it! You guys haven't earned it! But they're all we have!" Sunset sighed again thinking what else to say. “You will be given the privilege of being one of the first groups out! They will obey the ones I put in charge! They will work hard and earn the right to be outside to assist in the escape effort!” Sunset gasped at how loud he yelled for everyone to hear.

"Don't you think you were a bit harsh?" Twilight asked.

"I had to be severe... there are many other slaves who wanted out first but we had to be very selective."

"But...".

As Twilight continued talking, one of the slaves approached crying. Seeing Sunset the slave fell on his knees and said something that Sunset never expected to hear. "Thanks".

Sunset hoped some would complain because she would put them to work. Then another slave also approached. "Thank you".

"Thank you!" Another was heard shouting in the distance.

"Thank you!!" Many other slaves kept screaming.

"That's not fair!" says Pinkie Pie. “I come to see them every day trying to cheer them up and you give them a speech about how they have to keep working harder and everyone is happier!” She says her with a pout.

Redheart places a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "You gave them something they lost a long time ago, you gave them a purpose, you gave them a goal and more than anything you gave them hope"

Sunset didn't know what to think, she believed that she would be hated for the fact that by telling her that when they went outside they couldn't escape and that's why the slaves would immediately hate her but now they were thanking her for the opportunity she had given them.

"Twilight, I leave you in charge to organize everything so they can go out, I need to rest a bit."

“Don't worry, I'll take care of it from here”.

ONE YEAR LATER

"We already have five tunnels ready... don't you think this is enough?" one of the foremen said.

“No, if we escape now the guards will notice and they could stop us... when we escape it has to be simultaneous and fast. And even if they find out instantly, it would take weeks to get around the mountain so they can catch up with us. And there is still not enough food stored for the trip. Not counting the fact that at a certain point we are all going to split up and follow our own paths”. Another foreman answered.

"We could collapse the mines." Limestone suggested leaving everyone in the meeting silent. Then he decided to explain it better. “My father worked in the mines of Equestria and his mines were better prepared for cave-ins. That's why they had tunnels to shelter in case there was a landslide, I suggest we dig some safe tunnels to shelter the slaves and then while all the guards are outside, we all take advantage of escaping. It will be weeks before they can clear the entrance to the mines and realize that we are not here”.

PRESENT

"Are you sure we should start?" asked a foreman.

"Yes. Although the flash's plan to scare the guards has been working, the arrival of the princess and the goddess jeopardizes everything we have done so far." Sunset told them. "How many safe caves do we have ready?"

"We have two hundred and fifty-three caves that definitely won't collapse, but we need about fifty more caves so that all the slaves can take refuge."

“How did this happen?! When we started the plan we only needed half of it!” Limestone complained.

"Technically it was our fault..." Twilight replied. "By improving production, Filthy Rich decided to bring in more slaves."

"How many are we now?"

"We are more than thirty thousand slaves."

Before Limestone could say anything, Sunset interrupted her. "We will have to improvise... Twilight, we needed you to calculate how many people we can shelter in the caves, those who do not reach will have to leave first, tomorrow there will be such a scandal that the guards will not notice their absence... listen everyone, we will no longer work in the tunnels tonight, we will settle for the tunnels that are already finished, I want the Diamong Dogs to sleep well tonight, I want you to sleep well tonight, I want everyone to eat well when they wake up, we are no longer going to rationalize the food they give us. We will need you all fit and well rested...tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

Act lll - The City of Beasts - Chapter 1

MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS AGO

Scorpan was crying lying on the ground while around him there was a city in flames.

“The council of gods only wanted one thing from you Scorpan.” Cinch said as she looked disappointedly at Scorpan. "Given the situation, they ordered me to give you a punishment that has not been given for hundreds of years."

The sky began to fill with red clouds, but Scorpan was not listening to the priestess, nor was he paying attention to the sky that was covered with more red clouds or to the humans who were trying to put out the fire in their houses, what Scorpan was seeing was the corpse of a little girl that was at the feet of her brother Tirek.

Then Cinch finishes passing sentence. "Scorpan of the Earth Faction, the council of the gods condemns you to bear the mark of wrath and all the humans of this city will be your penance."

PRESENT

Scorpan was driving the wagon out of camp until...

“Great god Scorpan, I see that you captured some humans.” A god said.

"Yes, but they don't plow anything with them, they are my prisoners." Scorpan said.

“But all the prisoners…”

“Is there something wrong?” Priestess Cinch asked.

The minor god bowed. “Sorry priestess, but the great god Scorpan was taking these humans without permission.”

The priestess looks at the cage and says. "Listen soldier, Scorpan is a god of wrath, therefore under certain conditions he can take as many human prisoners as he wishes, does he understand?" She said looking sternly at the soldier.

“As you order, priestess.” The minor god said before leaving.

“It's strange that you take some humans, especially such young humans, why?” She said with a questioning look.

“They were able to harm me in ways I never expected.”

"Oh really? Can I ask how?”

"ha ha ha! If I told you then you would never let me take them.” Scorpan replied.

Cinch looked at the humans in the cage, they were all injured and beaten but then the priestess noticed a red-haired human who was unconscious, she also noticed that her left arm was missing, Cinch could feel an energy that would be impossible to come from a human, when she was going to ask Scorpan something else a minor god interrupted them.

"Priestess! The Fallen have escaped!” The minor god shouted.

"How is that possible?! We've surrounded the place! There is no way they could have escaped!”

The god tried to calm down so he could explain. “They went to the west.”

“That is the most reinforced area.” Cinch replied.

The god spoke nervously. “They were massacred, we are still looking for survivors but we have not found any.”

“Scorpan, you can go, I have other things to worry about right now.”

“Good luck priestess.” Scorpan said goodbye before leaving. "You are lucky to be my prisoners, all the other humans who are captured will become slaves and will be sent to one of the mines." Scorpan told him.

“Then we will not be slaves again?”

“No, I have better plans for all of you.” They had no more problems leaving the camp and then Scorpan asked. “What are their names? And don't try to lie because I will know."

Sunset, with her voice still a little weak, asks Twilight to respond.

"Her names are Pinkie Pie and Applejack, they are Flash Sentry and my brother Shining Armor, I'm Twilight Sparkle and she's Sunset Shimmer."

“Sunset Shimmer...?” Scorpan was surprised again. “Maybe it's a coincidence or maybe it's not, but if you are who I think you are, then there is someone who is going to want to see you.”

TWO WEEKS LATER

After the fight against Scorpan everyone was able to recover from her injuries but Sunset couldn't move for a few days since using too much magic left her body hurt and exhausted.

"I'm almost done". Applejack said as he was carving a piece of wood.

“Are you sure it's not too much of a problem?” Twilight asks.

“It's not like there's anything else to do in here.” Applejack answered as he pointed to the cage they were all locked in. “Unless you want to play with Pinkie Pie.”

“My little eyes see something light blue.” Pinkie Pie says.

"Heaven?". Shining Armor and Flash Centry respond with very little enthusiasm.

“How is your injury?” Applejack asked Sunset.

"It doesn't look that bad." The former unicorn responded. “If I had to say something positive about losing my arm, it is that at least I no longer have the slave mark.” Sunset was actually furious but she could only suppress her anger and pretend calm.

"Oh really?!" Pinkie Pie asked surprised. "If they had cut off my arm I would be furious and crying out for revenge."

"hahaha! That's the spirit!". Scorpan said as he drove the cart. “For a moment I thought you would be more depressed but from what I notice you are very cheerful in your own way.”

Applejack wanted to ignore the god so she tried to change the subject. “Sunset... What exactly did you do during the fight?”

“Well, try to save them.” Sunset responded as if he were the most obvious thing in the world. "And i did it...". Sunset looks at the cage and sighs. "more or less".

“You know what I mean, you made the environment lose color and for a short period of time you were able to contain a god.” Applejack said.

“Please do not interrogate his majesty.” Twilight interrupted sternly. “Whether she thinks it is necessary to tell us or not is her decision.”

“But we all know that she has that strange power that she always practiced and suddenly...”.

“I don't know what happened exactly.” Sunset usually didn't care about others' arguments but given her situation she had to avoid arguments in the group. “What I can tell you is that the loss of color was something I never expected.”

"It's called 'monochromatic'." The god said, not caring that he was getting into the conversation. "It is a divine power that drains the strength of everything that the user considers an enemy, but for a human to use a divine power is supposed to be impossible, also what you did was something slightly different, it was not a divine power, I would say that It is a kind of imitation, and only All Master has that divine power.”

“Great god Scorpan, what exactly do you want from us? Why did he take pity on us? Twilight asked, trying not to offend the god.

“What makes you believe I had mercy?” the god asked. “All living beings fight to survive, I like humans with a great force of determination who fight to survive, bringing them with me was not an act of mercy, I only give them a second chance to challenge me, that's why they must become stronger... .”. Scorpan looks at Sunset. “If they achieve it, they will be able to continue living.”

“And where are we headed exactly?” Sunset asked.

“To the City of Beasts.”

Sunset noticed that everyone remained silent due to the god's response. "What's going on? Do you know what that place is?” Everyone except the god looked at Sunset, surprised by his ignorance. The former unicorn remembered that Velvet and Discord were not there to clarify some things for her and that she should have been more cautious with his questions.

“I guess it's normal that some people don't know.” Applejack said as she continued carving the piece of wood. “It's supposed to be a story for children to behave well, Granny Smith once told me a story…”

"HISTORY!!". Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly and sat down to listen.

Applejack ignored the interruption and continued. “More than fifty years ago there was a city in the middle of the desert, the original name of the city was lost a long time ago but today it is known as The City of Beasts.”

“Wow!!, it gave me chills.... say it again!” Pinkie said, but a look from Applejack hinted that he didn't want any more interruptions. "sorry".

“The city was very prosperous as it was a crucial point if one wanted to cross the desert, the governor of the city was a god who was kind and generous with humans, but the god became too close with humans, but the actions The god's benevolent actions angered the council of the gods and the order was given to punish the god and the humans who lived in the city.

"Why?" Pinkie asked, getting a little sad at the story.

“They had to set an example.”

“Granny Smith told me the same thing when she told me the story, but continuing, the god's punishment was to become the first god of wrath, which drove him mad, by extension the entire city was cursed, turning humans into wild beasts, Their bodies are no longer of this world and their souls were condemned to suffer until the god redeemed himself from his sin and to calm the maddened humans all the gods of wrath fed them with criminals that other cities handed over.”

“Did it happen like that?” Pinkie Pie asked Scorpan.

Everyone was scared by the daring way in which Pinkie spoke to the god.

"Mostly, yes". Scorpan responded without caring. "But we don't only take criminals, as long as they are powerful humans...."

So they continued in silence the rest of the day.

It had been a month since the attack on the Fallen camp, a month since Scorpan had captured a small group of humans who had put up a good fight.

For a while they tried to plan how to escape, but they realized that it was impossible to escape in the state they were in, so they decided not to make any effort and just focus on recovering.

“Finally!” Applejack said with satisfaction as she finished carving, “Sunset, is your shoulder healing okay?”

“Yeah, my body always heals fast.” Sunset answered, but Twilight was taken aback by the answer. “It looks good.”

“Let me adjust it for you.” Applejack says as she adjusts her arm. “Good thing our jailer didn’t mind me having a knife, carving this prosthetic helped me relax during the trip.”

“I’ll help you.” As Twilight and Applejack adjusted the wooden prosthetic Sunset couldn’t stop thinking about what they would do next.

After training with the Fallen, Sunset was supposed to head to Canterlot where they would have to find Night Light to plan the recovery of Equestria from this world. Sunset knew that crossing the mirror was a gamble into the unknown but meeting another version of herself who would give her her own identity made some things easier for her but she never liked the fact that it was all part of a plan based on Discord's divination. Now he had to plan how to escape from a god who seems to be impossible to kill.

Kill... Sunset never thought she would use that word lightly, she still remembers when Grampa Gruff told her war stories and the times the princess told her about the chaotic ancient era of ponies, Sunset wondered how far she would go to achieve her own ambitions, using all that magic hurt her too much, but she also realized that if she could use her 'royal voice' then she could use other complicated spells, she just had to find a way to use magic safely.

Sunset starts touching her forehead and whispers. “I miss my horn.” Sunset noticed that everyone was suddenly looking at her, maybe everyone heard what she said? The former unicorn got worried. “Was it something I said?”

“I see I see something absolutely strange.” Pinkie said surprised.

“Pinkie, we told you we didn't want to play anymore!” Flash complained who was trying to take a nap while Shining Armor had just woken up and was surprised by what he saw.

“Your majesty, what is happening to you?” Twilight's brother asked.

Then Sunset lowers her hands from her forehead without realizing that she was touching her forehead with both of her hands.